At the drop of the hat, he charged forward.

I didn’t even have time to move to the inside of the flower posts. It was obvious that while he understood my plan, he wouldn’t allow me to do so.

It was a repeat of last time slaughter, in the capacity that his strikes were honest. There was no disappearing out of sight and striking in blind spots. It was direct, frontal swordsmanship.

Mana surging from his core down his back leg, as if he was about to jump forward, was more than enough clue for what was coming.

A thrust!

I timed my movement as best as I could. It was tempting to move as soon as I knew what was coming, but moving before he had committed to the attack was a guarantee of being violently punished.

Now!

I slid to the side, trying my best to parry the strike at the same time. Close call, as his weapon clanged against the helmet, piercing my right eardrum. It stung, but adrenaline was already pulsating through my veins; the coercion of flight was strong, but I had already chosen to fight.

After getting hit, I stepped forward.

The thought was to reduce his power. I was fighting my urge to run away, but watching him strike it was logical to assume that the closer to him I was, the less dangerous his weapon would be.

He didn’t let me approach him too much, viciously kicking me into the air. I had little time to think, but the favorably placed stick allowed me to block it somehow. I flew backward and coughed blood.

I’ll probably never get used to this.

I wiped my mouth.

Wincing from the pain in my chest and arms. I didn’t have time to lose. I stood up and ran as fast as possible towards the posts.

While running, I was also thinking.

How do I activate Universal Pressure? I knew it reacted with battle spirit or something similar, but would it be sufficient to just will it so?

While I was running away, I looked at Romuald, who was suspiciously immobile.

What’s going on?

He was there casually, anchoring his feet on the ground and winding his arm back. As if he was about to throw his weapon.

N-no way.. right?

What about the first rule of a—

My doubts were turned into certitude soon enough as mana surged from his core towards his leg and up his upper left arm.

Thunder

The stick ripped through the air. I couldn’t dodge; I didn’t need to.

It flew right past me; stopping just between me and my direction. Sticking itself into the ground.

“I got no problem with you trying to use the terrain, but don’t think I’ll let you do so without fighting back.” After saying that, he appeared in the air above me.

He couldn’t teleport, that much was certain as he was a Galvrung, which made it all the more terrifying since it meant this was pure mana and muscular strength.

Here goes nothing.

I yelled as hard as I could, trying to invoke with that yell my battling spirit. I knew that if it failed, Romuald would mercilessly mock me. But there was no immediate solution. The goal was disrupting his fall just enough that he crashes, so that I can land at least one hit.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.”

As I did so, nothing happened.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.”

Until it did. I could feel energy coursing through my left arm. And from me was unleashed heaven-defying pressure. As soon as I felt it, I stopped yelling and calmed myself. I stopped just short of falling myself.

I looked up. A destabilized Romuald still falling. I loaded my arm and threw the makeshift sword in a fashion similar to what he had done earlier; a spur-of-the-moment action.

The sword flew through toward him.

Please.

Please.

Please.

As I yearned for my weapon to hit him, I momentarily unconsciously activated it again. Please!

The sword nicked the right side of his face. No, it grazed him. It didn’t leave any mark, but it touched him.

One hit.

The implications hit me hard, and I was momentarily destabilized. It didn’t help that my brain was getting foggy from tiredness. Romuald gracefully recovered on the ground, transforming his fall into an attack. He landed in a handstand and started spinning toward me with his legs straddled like a top ripping across a stadium.

What the hell?

This move was the most unexpected, and its speed was ridiculous. By the time I had come back to the fight, I had been struck out cold. He somehow pulled his kick, as my head wasn’t blown out to bits, but it was still painful enough to dread.

The last thing I heard before falling asleep was a proud “Not bad, kid.”

#

I woke up, and I felt something was weird. I felt some pressure in my head.

Uh, oh yeah, I lost again. I wiped my eyes.

My head was ringing, but I was still pretty ecstatic. I had actually hit him.

I opened my eyes slowly, “why is every —“ before I could finish speaking, I stopped. Stun at what was even happening. No fucking way…

My ankles were attached to a rope.

The world was upside down.

What the —

“HAHAHAHA,” a boisterous laughter erupted from under me.

“Looks like you woke up!” Romuald was standing there, dancing with something similar to a big coat. His head looked as bitten by a feral beast.

What the h—

He nodded his head as if he was satisfied at himself for some brilliant idea and then said.

“We got a day and a half. Right now, any gains in strength we would make would be marginal. And admittedly, I am much too strong for you to grow much more at your current level. So what can we work on?”

What the h—

“KID!”

“WHAT THE HELL!” I said, voicing out my thoughts. Was I seriously suspended upside down right now? It was obvious.

The topsy-turvy view and the blood going in my brain were more than enough proof.

Even so, how did that make sense? Like I knew Romuald was crazy… but still—

What’s the

CLAP CLAP CLAP

“Uh,” I said, startled, forced to accept that this ridiculous thing was indeed real.

“Yes, exactly,” Romuald said, still looking smug.

“Your fighting senses, your brains and your learning speed are just passable..” he said

“Hey!”

“But what you lack is the ability to maintain a level head.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“And what does?”

“Shut up,” he said dryly. Releasing some aura with it.

“Ok…”

“Good, you can be smart when you want. You’re even, at times, surprisingly sharp.”

“But your way of thinking is too linear, too contrived!“

“Wh—”

“Right now, you are my hostage! This is torture to get you to spill secrets from... “

He looked at me, hanging powerlessly, as if expecting me to finish his sentence.

“Whatever it doesn’t matter!” He shrugged.

“You will most likely get into situations that make little sense in the future. You might fight one day to meet someone akin to the Ethroas and their ability to hex you, or against someone who can freeze the very air you breathe.”

“This is why you need to keep a cool head and choose your fights well. There’s no need to fight a disadvantageous fight. And in real life, it’s better to run away with a cool head and come back later stronger than to die.”

“Leave honor and everything else that might stifle you to the dogs. You are not someone who can afford to pick your methods.”

I wanted to contest, but I had to admit what he had said was true. Even if I had already decided to do so, it was still painful to hear.

“With that said, focus on your mind. Adapt to this situation and find how you can grow from it.”

S-Should I have just left with Albert? I thought as the blood surged to my brain.

“Good luck, kid!” Romuald yelled as he started walking away from the training grounds.

“You’ll sleep in this position today!”

Yes, maybe I should have.

##

A smug Romuald was walking towards the living quarters, his animal coiffe removed from him like a hood from a cape. He looked significantly more lively than earlier and had totally gone back to his usual self.

I wonder what this kid will find? He thought as he kept walking away.

He had noticed a change in the way he followed the dance during practice. After all, this dance, while being partly memorized movements, was mainly a lesson in following the flow. Being smooth and flexible like water. Which is why the melodious sound of the crashing of water was important. It was what gave structure to the dance, and what allowed you to focus.

However, while observing the kid. He had noticed that his dance lost this flow component, becoming more and more rigid, like a dance that was being followed from memory. Despite that, however, the kid didn’t falter and his concentration didn’t subside.

At that moment, Romuald had felt glee. THIS KID!

I teach him one thing, and he learns five!

Romuald was obviously familiar with what that was, falling so deep into a trance that one cut out their own senses to introspect. The goal was to reach a mastery of self.

When he felt too much sorrow, cutting off the outside and focusing on his inner self through this dance had saved him. He was familiar with his former wife going in such a state too, and therefore he could easily recognize its symptoms.

Hahaha, good luck, kid.

What Romuald couldn’t know was that even with all 5 senses cut off, his student could still see around him, thanks to mana sense. His mana sense, in fact, was much more potent than just sight or hearing, being stifled by them both.

“AAAAARGH! You, thank for your strength, but I don’t need you anymore!” He yelled as he removed the beast's skin from his body

He wasn’t talking about physical strength, but courage. This skin reminding him of what he could do. This skin belonging to one of the most ferocious beasts that could be found in the human lands, amongst all territories. The Abyss’s Child.

Content with this.

He then leaped back home while thinking about all the potential this kid — that his son — had. He would never call him such in his face, but a part of him still saw him as that.

The heavens had given him back his son that they had so cruelly taken years ago.

And for this reason, he’d do everything in his power to strengthen him, even if that meant being hated by him.

###

Every once in a while, I’d bend my body up and reach my feet to ease the pressure in my head before swinging back down.

“What the hell am I supposed to learn?”

It wasn’t much that I had not adapted. In fact, I had adapted too much, finding it all extremely boring, but besides just hanging there, what else was there to do?

Seeing everything inverted was relatively novel, but besides that, it was boring. And it wasn’t like usual, without Romuald there teasing me.

He said we don’t have time, so what is he doing?

“Guess that’s the point.” I sighed.

Alright.

I started bending my body up, touching my feet and going back. Trying to train rather than just waiting there like a sitting duck. I went it at it for quite some time. Folding upwards for a dozen times, before letting myself swing down, resting there and getting back to it after a few minutes.

One set.

Two sets.

Three sets...

Ten sets.

What the fuck!

Boredom led me to wonder about the origin of sayings. Why did we say what the fuck? Like grammatically, did it even make sense? Similarly… what the hell? What the hell of what? Or Whom…

“AAAAAAAAAARGH! NO NO NO NO!”

“There’s no way that’s what I am supposed to do!”

THINK, THINK, THINK!

Hmmmm, he left me alone, supposedly to grow stronger from this and adapt to the situation. If it was physical training, he’d be there. After all, during the whole time we are together, the only moments were Romuald kept his mouth shut for any meaningful amount of time was during mental training. Yes, during meditation...

Alright, so now am I supposed to meditate?

I looked up at my feet. Yeah, I can’t really meditate in that position…

I swung myself to relax. Less because of boredom now, and more to allow myself to think.

Okay, first get out of this situation.

After having rested enough, I folded up enough so that I could touch my feet and somehow remove the knot that was made.

It was obvious, based on what he said, that he wouldn’t come back until tomorrow.

So, let’s do this.

I took a huge breath. And looked down.

Falling would be way too dangerous. Even if I removed the knot, I’d just splatter on the ground. I wanted to do something like rolling myself in the rope and somehow sit in it while removing the rope, but I had no confidence in my ability to do so.

So I picked the long way out

I grabbed the rope above my heels and climbed up. Immediately, this eased the pressure around my heels and allowed me to rest a bit.

Ooh, that felt good. The blood flowing back in my feet.

I then climbed up. I climbed and climbed. Climbed and climbed. Since the branch was fairly far away, I had to do a few breaks during my ascension.

Still, after some time had passed, testified by the burning sensation in my arms and back, I had finally arrived. The branch from which I hung! I had reached it! I went up the branch and just sat on it.

Urgh, let’s take a break.

I was sweaty, tired, and my muscles were sore, but the view was amazing. The light of the crescent moons shimmering with a pale blue light on the foliage of the evonite trees, along with the glorious starry sky, was a view to die for. And in my case, if I were to fall here, I would. I was really high up. For the first time in my life, I felt like I could actually touch the sky.

... Wow. The beauty of this atmosphere left me in awe, and I ended up spending more time than I would have expected admiring it.

Somehow... this was worth it.

Somehow, I felt like all the suffering I had gone through had been worth it. The night sky gave off a mystical and entrancing vibe, the usually vibrant evonite trees being lit by the lunar light, the refreshing breeze that invigorated me.. Somehow I felt like it was all for this moment..

In this moment of contemplation, I looked at the sky and clasped my hands together. I didn’t exactly believe in gods, but something compelled me to.

I didn’t know which god or entity would receive them, but I assumed a praying posture.

Maybe Gregoire had contaminated me.

I didn’t know what I was doing, but I did. I wasn’t quite sure myself what I had prayed about, but evidently I had prayed about something.

After some time had passed, I went back to the task at hand.

Let’s untie this.

The knot wasn’t super complex. In fact, it was a simple bowline knot. Simple to untie when unloaded, but impossible to untie while loaded.

Appropritate.

I had to contort in a weird position to get the rope out of my ankles, but after it was done, the sensation of blood flowing back to my feet unimpeded was indescribable.

O-ooooh-ohh.

I kept massaging the part of the ankle that was tied. Pretty deep marks were left there, and massaging them made me feel a pleasurable pain. After the pain had mostly subsided, blood now flowing normally to my feet, I looked down at the ground.

From here, the poles looked ridiculously small.

Let’s go.

I threw the rope down.. And then, after taking another huge breath, I started my way down.

After a long-winded effort, I reached the ground.

I exhaled storms.

My legs were weak and trembling. I couldn’t stand up for quite some time just from the emotions, and thus touched the surrounding grass, glad to have finally reached the ground. To have finally reached safety.

I was left wondering what had happened up there.

After a considerable time had passed, after I woke up from a day… or should I say night dreaming. I arose and remembered what I was supposed to do.

I looked around me.

Nothing suspicious.

While it was dark, with occasional moonlight lighting the ground, it was irrelevant to me. Balmungs are impervious to darkness.

I stood up and started jumping, jumping to wake myself up, jumping to circulate blood in my body, jumping to prepare for the next step.

I then went into a horse stance, going as deep as I could, holding before bouncing up to open my hips and anchor myself in the ground. After 1 or 2 minutes of that, I finally started swinging in the air.

Imagining the wooden sword we sparred with, I spared an imaginary Romuald. It wasn’t quite as engaging and stressing as the real deal. After all, no matter how imaginative you were at the end of the day, it was hard to feel invested with no feedback. Still, my mental model of him was thorough enough that I could somewhat imagine what attacks would have hit and what attacks would have missed. Most would have missed.

After having done that for quite some time, toasting up my body and sharpening my mind, I walked into an area of darkness. Furthest away from the moonlight, and I closed my eyes.

I was used to dancing using the crashing of the water as a mantra of sort. But with the house being 20 minutes the other way, and the cascade being even further than that, I opted for an alternative. After all, I couldn’t allow myself to depend on a noise that would become inaccessible by the end of the next day.

So I sat. I opened my ears and listened to my environment in pure silence. There wasn’t much noise, most animals being now asleep. The only usable noise was the rustling of the leaves in their frolicking with the wind. Even that, however, was fairly inconsistent: stopping and going, stopping and going, stopping and going.

Urgh.

I stood up, dusted my bottom and mentally circulated my qi. I had no qi nor mana, obviously, but this was a mental exercise Romuald had asked me to do to better my understanding of my body.

Phew, here we go.

I anchored my feet in the ground like in horse stance, and I let my movements be guided by the slow frolics of the wind and leaves. It was awkward having to move and then halt. Often in really awkward positions.

Still, I stuck through.

A not zero amount of time, I felt like quitting and finding something else to do, but I stuck through. And after a long time had passed, I woke up.

The sun was coming out, which was a testament to how long I had spent in that state, in that trance. It wasn’t quite like the zone. In the zone, I felt in full control. I felt like the world was beneath me. This trance felt... I couldn’t even tell what it felt like.

What?

It’s been that long already?

I was left in shock. I was wondering if I had somehow miscalculated the time and had started much later into the night that I initially thought, or if this was a dream and I would soon wake up.

Sadly, I would have no way of knowing that unless I had some tool to time myself. Still, my body felt refreshed, despite having danced all night. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that I could have another go at yesterday’s training.

What just happened?

Tonight was a night of many first times. And I had a lot of questions, still while my body was totally fresh, my mind was tired from staying awake the whole night.

So I slowly sat myself down against a tree, hidden by the shadows of the trees, and I went to sleep.

My heart was full of melancholy. Today would be the last day of training.

I had grown more in these 2 weeks here than I had in the past 6 years.

...

I wonder what I’ll learn today.