Staring at the clear blue lake, I could almost sense the rateh in the air around us.

"Let us begin your training, Lufis. We will start off by dealing with your xetral levels. To advance to Tier 3, you must expend lots of xetral to gain Xetral Points. Normally this would take a long period of time, as one's xetral takes time to refill. Luckily for you, Moss Cavern is similar to the Acutalis Sanctuary in the fact that xetral flows abundantly here, meaning the normal couple of hours needed to regain your xetral can take a minute at most here. Xetral Circulation is a technique where you absorb xetral from the outside world while expending xetral at the same time. This technique can save your life in a fight, but is very difficult to master. It will be much easier to use it here, as the xetral will be more noticeable and abundant as your body absorbs it. Now, Lufis, do you know what the most effective training method for this technique is?"

"No, what is it?" I said shakily.

"Why, life or death situations of course." Elder Luidong grinned maniacally.

Oh brother....

"Here is how it will work. Your job is survival, to stay standing as long as you can. It is that simple. Do anything you can, the only rule is that you cannot leave the cavern. Are you ready?"

"I . . . I guess." I swallowed nervously, my palms already getting sweaty. My mind was already thinking of possible futures I could be about experience, none of which I liked.

"Prepare yourself."

Elder Luidong took a stepped toward the lake and then turned back around.

"A bit of advice before we start, make sure to protect yourself with a xetral barrier. And make sure to keep moving."

Turning back around, Elder Luidong began to walk toward the surface of the water. Without even hesitating, he began to walk on the water. Walking across the top of the water, Elder Luidong reached the stone island and sat down.

How . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SMACK!

Pain suddenly coursed through my body as something hit me directly in the chest, something hard and fast, but it disappeared on impact.

"That was the signal for the start of the excerise. Remember what I told you!"

Sprinting in a zigzag configuration, I surrounded myself in the thickest xetral barrier I could make.

Running in a random pattern, I could hear thuds as projectiles hit the moss floor around me, only causing me to run faster.

I felt a slight pain in my arm as a projectile struck a glancing blow, hitting my xetral barrier.

After sprinting till the lake was just on the horizon on my vision, I quickly ducked behind a spire of rocks to access the situation. As I crouched, breathing heavily, I realized my xetral was already nearly halfway depleted. That meant I needed to use Xetral Circulation, which . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . which . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elder Luidong hadn't told me how to do.

That crazy old man.

Grabbing a rock on the moss floor next to me, I slowly moved the rock to the right of me till it was peeping out from behind the rock. Immediately, it flew out from my hand as a flying projectile smacked into it.

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Silently thanking my smart decision, I quickly surveyed the land. There was nowhere else for me to hide. I had four choices. I could choose to sit here and wait it out till I had more time to think. Second, I could go up and over the rocks, a suicidal ideal. Third, I could run out from the rock back into the open. Fourth, I could run closer toward the entrance of the Moss Cavern, with the rock outcroping protecting my back. I decided to choose the fourth option.

Running forward, I spotted a rock outcrop higher up that provided cover and a place to see Elder Luidong. Gathering my xetral, I jumped upward, landing in the niche in the cave wall, but not before earning a gash a on leg from a projectile.

Panting, I focused the little of my remaining xetral into my eyes and gazed at the island in the lake. Elder Luidong seemed to be staring right at me as he sat there on the stone floor. Holding out his hand, a green ball formed in his palm. Making a fist, he condensed the ball. Then, he threw it, in a 55 degree angle, and stone shattered above me.

So Elder Luidong is hurling rateh balls at me. That explains the speed of the projectiles and why they hurt. He must be using xetral to accelerate them.

Slowly, an inkling of a plan began to form in my mind. It was crazy and seemed completely irrational, but it had the longest survival rate.

Xetral Circulation. The name implies that xetral is circulated in some form to replenish xetral. Luidong kept mentioning xetral outside the body, meaning that I would somehow have to absorb natural xetral. Rotating the xetral inside my body throughout my xetral circuits, I sensed my xetral core to see if it had any effect. None.

What did I do wrong? . . . . . . Elder Luidong is a reknowned xetralite and martial artist. He would not abandon me without giving me hints. In fact, most what Elder Luidong had done today was give me hints to the answer without directly saying the answer. He wanted me to figure it out. Or he was just a crazy old man.

"Xetral Circulation is a technique where you absorb xetral from the outside world while expending xetral at the same time." I groaned as I remembered what Elder Luidong had told me literally just minutes ago.

Next, I circulated my xetral barrier that was protecting me around the exterior of my body. Then, I sensed my xetral core to see if this theory had any effect. It did. Not much, I obviously was doing something wrong, but it was progress. I was definetely slowly regaining my xetral.

"Lufis, do not hide all day! I don't want to have to destroy the Sun Jade that forms the cavern walls. Though I will destroy the Sun Jade where you are hiding, and do not think I do not know where you are."

With the rate that my xetral was coming back, I should be able to keep up my suicidal ideal up for at least an hour. I do not know if my body will last that long though.

Dropping the majority of my xetral barrier that was just providing extra protection, I focused it in my eyes to enhance my vision with using the technique.

I then proceded to jump down to the floor and face Elder Luidong, who was far off at the island. With nowhere to hide, I focused my vision on Elder Luidong. He was laughing as he formed another retah ball in his hand. He pulled back his arm slighlty and went to throw it. 34 degree angle this time. As soon as I saw his hand come forward, I sidestepped out of the way as the rateh ball whizzed past where I had just been standing.

I heard Elder Luidong laugh loudly from the other side of the Moss Cavern. His magnified voice boomed with a rich volume. "Interesting strategy Lufis. Logically this should work. However, all I need to do is increase my speed and acceleration in my throwing to counter your strategy. But, for the sake of this training, let us see how long you can last."

Wiping the sweat off my brow, I focused on Elder Luidong as he began to fire off rateh balls at me. Jumping sideways, I dodged one, two , three rateh balls. The fourth rateh ball clipped my left shoulder, leaving a bruise. He was beginning to predict where I was dodging. Breathing deeply, I focused and watched closely.

Time became a blur. I flipped, twisted, and dodged, doing everything I could to stay alive. My senses heightened like never before, as I struggled to dodge all the projectiles. Blood flowed down my arm where the rateh ball had cut a glancing blow, and I could feel the warm flow of blood down my right leg as well. My xetral was slowly replenishing, just enough to mantain my current xetral use.

Suddenly, the barrage stopped. Twisting in tha air as I dodged a projectile I had thought would come flying at me, I landed on my feet confused but alert.

Suddenly, Elder Luidong seemingly materalized in front of me. Trying to counter, I threw up all my remaining xetral to protect myself in a last ditched attempt. But I was too slow.

Placing his hand on my shoulder Elder Luidong started to chuckle. "Calm down Lufis, you can relax. I am surprised you lasted for two hours. But the training ends for today. After all, it is time for lunch, and I heard they have ham sandwiches today! My personal favorite!"