"Phew---------!!!!!!!!!"
After nearly a hundred breaths of time, the sound of an exhale came to be heard between the trees.
"Umhhhhh---!" - "Fucking hell---, finally! That bastard has left this place."
And after the exhale of air, came the curses, and angry voice of Levis, who made himself seen from the back of a tree that was not so far off from the hollowed one.
Nevertheless, to say that he was of an unshakable mind, as he was making it out to be, would be a lie. Because even right now, he was periodically moving his eyes in the direction that the man had walked off to. Since he was still apprehensive of his potential return.
Although, Levis's uneasiness was not ill-warranted. Because, right as the man left the hollow tree, Levis who was clinging with his back to a tree not far away, could still feel his presence, or rather, his eyes, gazing in the direction of the hollowed tree, while staying hidden. Nevertheless, the gaze had lasted for no more than just a few breaths of time, after which it had ceased all of a sudden. Even so, Levis was forced to remain hidden for a tad bit more time, before he was sure that the man's presence had completely disappeared.
"Haaaaa---!" - "Although---, I have become good at hiding, if he could not pick up on me, while I was this close. And the skimpy footsteps that the Hunter had taught me are working even better now, with how strong---, accurate and fast I am."
It was hard to deduce correctly, but most likely due to the immediacy of the danger, Levis's mastery to move with delicate steps and hide his presence in a swift manner could be said to excel like never before, which could be said to be the reason for his successful evasion to the man's inquisitive eyes.
However, it was more so, that without truly realising, Levis, had come to alter the flow rate of blood and the beating force of his heart, resulting in his presence becoming the quietest that he had ever been.
[Kid---------!!!]
"Umhhhh---, haaaa---!" - [Mmmm?]
But other than the flow of his blood and the beating of his heart, Levis had to wholeheartedly stop his breathing, an action for which, he was paying the consequences by inhaling and exhaling big mouthfuls of air as though a spent horse, after a long journey.
Nonetheless, he did not have the time to collect himself fast enough, because in the moments after, his head rang with pain from Urger's unannounced shout.
[Call me surprised. But this might be the most intelligent and most shrewd action you have performed, since the time I have met you.]
"Haaa---, umhhh--, haaa-, umhhh, haaa!" - [Mmmm---?! What? This???]
However, even as he was confused and mildly irritated at Urger's compliment, Levis's composure and breathing ultimately came under his control, as with each intake and exhale of air, his breathing was becoming more stable and paced.
[And yes, you have made the right decision in not fighting him, as that boy was not your average ranked cultivator, that you might find on the road. After all, even you could clearly sense the threatening danger he was constantly emitting towards you.]
[I knew, I was not wrong about the bastard being dangerous, since I can still feel the threat he was casting a moment ago. Moreover, I did not like him from the moment I first saw him. But I underestimated him, if I were to fight him head-on I could not have beaten him---, probably.]
With the "peril" gone, Levis who stood silent and looked around, gave himself a shake to wake and rid himself of his previous mood, for even now, he was still maintaining the mindset of having to confront the man.
[For once you did good. But still, your idea had been incredibly risky. One wrong step and you would have been easily discovered.]
[This---------. Well, I have seen Grandpa do this a lot, however, he had always failed---, and only now do I understand why, after all, I kept looking at his hiding place. It had always been my fault for his failures. Although---,]
[---.]
[Although---, I am good with my steps, because the village Hunter had taught me how to walk without leaving marks behind, for any possible predators. I guess it really works.]
With his mind pacing downwards to relax from the previous tension, Levis's face released the hardened stance that he kept sporting over him.
And with his mindset refreshed, Levis's gaze moved up and down, left and right, reorganising his position and giving a full look at the forest that was surrounding him. After which, he entered into a contemplating stance, which appeared as though relieving some past memories, as he was nodding oh so slightly, as though an old man recalling his youth.
[But. Why do we---, why do I need this mushroom? It is of no use to me now, since it can barely replenish me with anything. What do I do with it? Do I eat it? But this is poisonous---, wait--, I am going to be alright even if I ate it-, correct? I am immune to poison or poison does not affect me? Right?]
And with his surroundings in check, Levis's gaze ultimately moved to his hand which was holding the reddish mushroom, that brought it to his eye level, to look at it one more time. But while looking at it, his face scrunted in apprehension at the poisonous thing that it was, for he was holding it barehanded.
Yet, while Levis was in his long entrancement as he looked at the mushroom, his face scrunted, perked up, and his right eyebrow moved up in contemplation, after which his whole face brightened into an unexpected blend of wonderment, bewilderment and doubtfulness.
Moreover, his face looked as though awaiting for an answer to arrive, so as to confirm his presumed supposition.
[No, you will not eat it. And---, it is a bit more complicated for you at the moment, but all you need to know is that you do not have any resistance to poisons, yet you can develop one on your own, or it will automatically happen if your cells will decide that they need to combat a harmful substance.]
[Hmmm? I do not understand it.]
With the mushroom in his hand, Levis turned it and rotated it, so he could observe it more closely and more attentively. But if one were to observe him, one might reach to the conclusion that he was weighing the possibility of eating or not, the red mushroom which looked poisonous no matter what one might think of.
[Tsk, lost time giving a half-baked idiotic explanation and you still can not keep up. No matter. Just know, that now you need some silver. And continue to walk ahead, I will tell you when to stop.]
[What?]
However, with the word "silver" thrown out by Urger, Levis's face showed dazedness and stupor for a moment, as though not being sure that he had heard his words corectly.
[Silver? Did you not tell me this morning that we do not need gold? Why do we need it now?]
Even so, confusion or not, his feet proceed to move one after the other, running in the opposite direction of the city and the path that the man had taken.
[Yes I did. And that is because you do not need much to stop your hunger or to buy a piece of clothing, but you need some silver in order to buy the things that will help you earn the energy stones you will need from now on, since you can not bury yourself in the ground nowadays, that you are living amongst the humans.]
[I do? Mmmm---, so what are the things I need?]
[I will tell you part of the at the end of this day and tomorrow. For now, it is time to train you in comprehending your own power. You can stop here.]
[Here?]
But to say the Levis had run far from the hollowed tree would not be truly accurate, since the distance could be covered in a dozen or so breaths of time were he to run.
As for the location in which he was, it was still the forest that stood in the west of Green City, and if calculated, it could be said that Levis was five to six thousand meters deep inside the forest. However, the place in which he stood as of now, it was a small open spot that was clear of any trees, four or five times the size of the room in which he had stayed for the last ten days.
[Yes, here. Now wait a moment.]
[Hmmm---! The grass will be a bit of a nuisance. Wait---? Why?]
Yet, although the opening area was clear from any trees, so as to give one room to move around, the tall grass that was nearly as tall as Levis, proved to be a problem to step about, since he had to bend it and crash it with his feet as he walked.
[I need to conceal myself.]
[Conceal yourself---?] - "Ah---------!!!"
"Disciple, I have told you that this is your master's problem so you need not worry yourself with them."
However, as Levis moved in circles to level the grass, he nearly came to stumble backwards and fall, as Urger materialised himself with a big smile on his face before him. Matter which startled him and threw him off his balance.
"Aha---, aha--, ha-, aha! Did I scare you, disciple?"
"How---, how can you appear like that? Are you---? Are you hiding somewhere close, and then you jump out to fool me?"
"Aha---, aha--, ha-, aha!!! Good one disciple. But although, it is not wrong to say that I am hiding somewhere, and then jump out. Yet, it is not what you think it is. In time you will learn what it is and you will be capable of doing it as well."
"No need to explain anything, we are not here for that."
His sudden apparition truthfully scared Levis, however, it was more frightening seeing his smiling face change into one of absolute calmness and poise which brought a sense of fear in him, as in truth even now he was not sure how to react to his ever-shifting demeanour between the laughing and happy persona, to the one that he was right now.
"Now kid, I have told you once, but I will tell it to you again. Mmmm---, no. I will rephrase it in another manner. You are strong, and you are growing at a speed which puts all post-celestial organisms to shame. However, even so, you are nothing more than a newborn baby that is trying to wield a massive sword, which might fall on your neck at any time, that is why, you need to grasp and control your own power, before this power controls you and makes you a mere husk of flesh, blood and bones that is a slave to the amassing of energy."
"What?"
Although the two of them were looking at one another as per the usual confrontation that occurred between them, Levis came to be disturbed by the last words that came out of Urger's mouth. As even if he could not fully understand all that Urger was saying, the last words raised some alarms within himself.
"Exactly what I said. If you are not careful, you might off yourself without even knowing. But do not worry, since in that case, I will take your body, continue cultivating it, until, it will become the stronger organism in the universe, and achieve some deeds which I have not been able to do in so long. So you need not worry since I will always remember you."
"No! Fuck that! Why do think I will die?!"
With his apathetic-like face, or rather mater-of-fact demeanour, Levis came to be aggravated and infuriated at the sudden and out-of-tone words that Urger was flying in his direction, as though having almost concluded that his death would occur at some point. And so Levis glared at the man who did not look at him with much hope, as though he was looking at some kind of dumb animal, which was fate to fall as prey one day.
"It is a mere possibility."
To Levis's glare, Urger used his right hand to move the air as though trying to wave a fly away from his face, dismissing Levis's glare and words as though having no importance whatsoever.
"Damn be that possibility, I will live! I will not die. I made a promise with Grandpa, and I still have to kill the remaining bastards. I will not die so easily."
"Ha---! Good then!"
But as Levis gave his heated argument back at Urger's words, the man scoffed in a mild laugh with a half smile, while looking at Levis as though he was some kind of animal that had fallen into his pitfall, ready to be killed and eaten at this moment.
But to Urges's half smile, Levis was forced to instinctively take a spet back as he did not have a good impression about the smile which he was witnessing.
"Then with this, I guess you fully agree to be trained by me?"
"Have we not come here for that, why are you repeating yourself again?"
Nonetheless, Levis's suspicion only grew as Urges's grin continued to persist, and morphed into a real smile once he came to agree with him one more time. But unknown to even he himself, Levis had come to take a second step backwards by pure intuition.
"I need to see your resolution, that is all."
"My resolution? I was always going to do it."
"Then be ready."
"Mmmm---?!"
Yet as time passed and the two of them continued to talk, Levis's puzzling and foreboding suspicion lingered him ever so strongly, as it grew within the back of his mind, unbeknown to what the reason might truly be.
"Now---, I will take a step back and let the idiot train you, as I need to take a better look at your progress, from a remote perspective."
"---?"
"Disciple!"
"---? Happy Ur?"
And in a moment, the grin which Urger had fallen, or rather was expanded into a calm and genuine smile, which surprised Levis for a moment, after which he became more relaxed since he was not expecting the happy Urger to be the one to train him, as to which he came to call him with an abbreviated name.
However, to say that it was the smile which let Levis comprehend that the person had truly changed might be a lie, because in truth it was the look in his eyes and the whole ambience about him, that gave him the information for his conclusion, a result of having interacted with him so many times, or maybe it could have been his instinct or the facade to whom he had fallen as a fool, although, in his mind, Levis was content with the simple, fact that he could understand the person with whom he was conversing.
"Hmmm---, "Happy Ur?". Mmmm---, it matters not. Because now, it will be the first lesson and training as master and disciple."
Yet in contrast, Urger appeared not concerned with the naming from Levis, as his eyes and face were all that one would need to see, so as to understand the excitement at this moment, since this, was truly their first true activity as Master and Disciple.
"Hmmm?! Then what do we do?"
"What do you think?"
"We---? Are we going to fight? I mean---, what else is there to do?"
With a simple question thrown by Urger, Levis looked around himself with a raised eyebrow, and pushed out of his mouth the first thought that crossed his mind, since in his opinion, everything was leading to an actual fighting spar.
"Correct! And wrong at the same time. Because, the stone head wants me to explain some matters about fighting as well. Personally, I would have preferred to have given you experience, while you are still blind. But since I am forced, I have to do it. Otherwise, he will not give me the chance to spend some time with you."
"---?"
In response to Levis's answer, Urger's smile fell down, as he appeared troubled and irritated by his other self's request.
In contrast, Levis, stood motionless, listening to what the man was saying, or rather at the frustrated face that Urger was having at this moment.
"Mmmm---, sigh---------!!!"
But as to let go of the minor nuisance that was swirling in his mind, Urger took in a long puff of air after which he let lose a long sigh with his head down, to in the end rise once more, as though reading himself by getting rid of any disturbance that might get in his way.
"Let us begin then. Now listen to my words carefully, as the first lesson---, well, advice that I have to give you is---."
"---?!"
"And that is---."
"---!??"
"That there are no lessons or pieces of advice for any actual fight."
"Eh!?"
But as though falling on emptiness, while walking, Levis came to be baffled by the ridiculous advice that was more of a bad joke to him than anything else, as he stood wide eye looking at the man as though wanting to ask if he was serious about training him or not.
For as he had to listen to his delayed answer, Levis had the feeling that after walkin' a day's worth of road, he had come to tumble into the pit trap of a bear hunter, although this trap did not have anything spiky to stab him as it left him empty with a stomach full of anger at the one that had laid the trap.
"Fighting---, hmmm, no."
"---."
"Tsk!"
"---?"
"Fighting---, well---. Whatever!"
"---?!"
"Aham---, the reason as to why there is nothing to be said, is because fighting is as much of a natural matter as life itself. You see, to control your prowess, you will need to struggle and clash against someone or something, as only by doing so can you hone yourself. Only then, can you understand more about yourself, as you need to be in a true life-and-death scenario to see who, and what are you capable of. Since talking will not mean anything without the real execution"
His reasoning had a rather baffling beginning, as even Urger himself was not very clear in his own words, a matter which delayed him quite a bit on his explanation.
However, his logic ultimately came, as Levis stood attentively listening to the man in earnest.
"Understood."
"Realy? Alright then, shall we begin?!"
However, it was hard to say that Levis understood Urger's discourse, yet, upon seeing his nod and earnest reply that had the liveliness that was usually missing when conversing with his other self, he could only scratch the right side of his abdomen and take it as it was, as he did not want to lose any more time.
"Mmhm!"
And so, with a smile and with his hands on his sides the man looked at Levis, who in turn awaited for him to say or do something.
"---."
"---?"
"---?"
"---!?"
"---?!!"
"Sigh------------------------------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
And so they looked at one another, as time passed and nothing happened between the two of them, as they continued to stand into a sort of staring contest.
Nevertheless, as nothing happened Levis got more and more confused at the strangeness that appeared to manifest between the two of them. As he entered into a state of rapid movement and blinking of his eyes, for he knew not what he was supposed to say or do, waiting for the further instruction that never came his way.
On the other hand, Urger appeared relaxed, maybe too relaxed if one might look at him. As per his last words, he had let his hands drop loosely as though vines that were hanging on his body, which made him appear akin to a tree that was swinging in the wind. Even so, it was his face which had the biggest change, as at the moment, it appeared to lack any kind of muscle strenght, for it looked droopy and extremely slack, surprising Levis quite deeply, since his face right now, was something that might not be able to support the smile which he almost always had, or any emotion for that matter.
Though in the end, a long sigh came from Urger's mouth which made a face of mild disappointment and amusement as though rekindling some emotion on his drastic shift.
"Maybe I am expecting too much from you, disciple."
"---?!?"
However, more than the sigh, it were the words that came from Urger's mouth which left Levis at a loss, as he stared blankly at the man, not understanding where he had failed and why he was sporting the look of disappointment on him.
"But well, this forces me to tell you the second less---, guidance, that I have to hone on to your young mind, disciple."
"---."
However, the deluded countenance lasted for no more than the time to sigh, after which his face returned to the strangely apathetic and relaxed one which he had just begun to show.
In return, Levis looked him in the eye with an even greater determination, despite him not understanding where he had erred.
"And that is the simple fact---, that the fight------, had started long before you---------, or me, or anyone else had ever known, that you had a fight to be fought."
"---??!"
To say that he was not surprised would be an absolute lie, as in this moment, Levis's face sank and small hands became fists that trembled, unknowingly. As even as he did not know why, shame appeared to manifest from the depths of his mind, prompting him to feel a strange yet remote remors he did not fully understand.
"And why is that?"
"---."
Although one might say that the air was cold, Levis could be said to be in front of a block of ice, due to Urger's presence which was becoming heavy and dark with every moment.
"Because of death."
"---???!"
But rather than cold, Levis might say that he was experiencing a different sensation which would be hard to enunciate in words. As he had the vague feeling of a lack of warmth, rather than a presence of frigid air. For even the light and sound appeared to slowly diminish while Urger was speaking, as though everything was moving further away from him.
Yet more appropriate to say would be, that at this moment, Urger's existence was more lacking than being present, in the sense that he was pushing everything far away from him, be it the warmth of the surroundings, the sound of the forest or the light that was shining down on them.
All of this, coalesce to be a suffocating experience for Levis, even as nothing was stopping him from breathing.
"Because the threat of dying is an invariant constant so absolute and so ever-present, that you can not begin to imagine. Greater than even the whole of the willpower to live and exist, of all who are of intrinsic consciousness. "
"What?"
However, at some point along his words that appear to occupy their own space, Urger became aware of the suffocating and strange phenomenon that he invertedly induced without the act of his own volition.
And so, he had to retract his action, onto himself, allowing Levis to feel the warmth from the cold air in he was, the sound of the forest that surrounded them and the light which arrived over their heads.
"And so I must tell you, that the act of not taking the first move, especially in the face of your current reality, is truly---, the most erroneous idle deed you have done on your part."
Yet, with all of his oppressive and with the out-of-the-ordinary phenomenon gone, Urger did nothing else but to shake his head in mild disappointment, albeit he appeared as though reprimanding himself as well.
"What do you mea---?"
Although, on the other hand, Levis was not surprised at his words, even so, he asked him as to why nevertheless.
"Have you forgotten!"
"What?"
But in return to his question, he was greeted by the apathetic and almost callous face of the man that he barely recognized as he could feel an extreme sense of danger spring within himself due to Urger's stance and look that he had never seen on him.
"That you stand before the very epitome of danger."
And in danger, he truly was, as the last words which came from the man before him, brought forward the same empty and leaving sensation from a moment ago.
Yet different from what happened prior to this instance, was the presence, or rather the premonition of death that was creeping from the man, akin to cold air from a frozen mountain.
"What---! Wait--! Idiot-! Restrain yourself otherwis---!!!"
"Crack!"
"---?!"
"Oh---, fuck---------------------------!!!"
"Oops!"
It was fast, far too swift to register and understand what had truly happened. Or maybe he would say that he simply had no idea of what had occurred before him.
But if he were to put it in words, Levis's explanation would consist of the fact, that in one moment he was staying before the never-seen Urger who was suppressing even his will to fight, and in the subsequent, he was observing the trees.
Yet the trees were not those ahead of him and behind Urgers, but those behind him, at his own back.
And then everything shifted towards darkness rapidly.
Even so, he could still hear the exclamations which came from both of his "Masters". One was more surprised than the other, although one was extremely furious.
But Levis could almost swear that he had heard the sound of something breaking, a crunch of sorts. Yet he could not care at all as his consciousness was sinking into the submerging darkness.
"Damn, idiot!!! Look at what you di---!!!"
"That is why I do not want to talk all that much while fightin---!"
Nonetheless, before Levis was all but gone into the cornering darkness that crept from all directions, he could hear the two "Urger", bicker with one another as per their usual quarrel.
But he nevertheless fell, as even their voices slowly lost power to reach him, or was he distancing from them, for he had no definite idea of which one it was, as he could not care less at the moment, since he was no more.
"---."
"------."
"---------."
"------------."
"---------------."
"------------------."
"Mmmm---, hmmm--, ummm-, intresting. When he is in the process of absorbing energy, his healing factor increases by a considerable margin, and the total intake can have an influence as well, a good point to note. That leaves me with the fact that his regenerative speed is slightly more potent than anticipated. Excellent, just as expected of something made by me.”
"Ugh!"
Yet from the sudden dark that he had fallen, Levis came to wake to Urger's incessant words that became clearer and louder by the instant, moreover, it appeared to come from a very close location.
However, as though from a heavy and deep sleep, Levis's wakening was painful, as though having slept badly, but saying as to why he had been sleeping poorly, he could not say, since he was just felt pain all over his body, as though a hand was crushing him, resulting in him having to put strength behind each breath.
"Oh! Are you coming to yourself?"
"Wha---, wh--, wh-, what?!"
Muddled-headed and confused as he was, ultimately, Levis came to be conscious, opening his eyes to look at the man who could not keep his mouth shut for a moment.
"What happened?" - "Argh!" - "Eh! What is happening?!"
Yet from confusion, he jumped into panic and fear. Because after having opened his eyes, Levis was greeted with another familiar sight, although this time, Urger was squatting down and his head was lowered even more, for he looked at him with his eyes that would creep most people, if anyone were to see him.
As for the pain, he groaned once he came to be fully conscious and aware of his near-immobile state, however, the pain appeared to be coming more from a certain region rather than his whole body.
"Ahem! Ahem!! Ahem!!! Disciple, this, is the third lesson---, and an important one at that. Because as you can see, with one sole move, I did not just beat you senseless, but also I put you in a position of powerlessness. For as you are right now, your life and death are at my whim. So never forget, never get knocked out without a plan or else you might fall at the mercy of someone else, and second, always be aware that your opponent might try to end the fight in a single move."
"Argh!!!" - "What? What happened to me?! Why does my jaw and my neck hurt so much???"
Nevertheless, Levis was least interested in Urger's words, and more into why were his jaw and neck hurting as tough having beaten black and blue, as the pain that was coming at him was nothing to scoff at.
"Well---------. That is due to my---, my powerful move! That I will teach you one day. Now you must remember this, never get yourself left unconscious during a fight or else---------, you can imagine, but to be clear, your life and death will truly be at fate's whims. Now come out. As we need to resume the training before the day dies out on us."
However, as though trying to diver Levis's attention, Urger came to give his a big and warm smile while continuing to educate him.
"Oomph!" - "Huuu!!" - "Argh!!!"
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"---."
"I can not! Help me! And what happened to me?"
However, as Levis tried to move himself, he came to the realisation that he could not, matter which perturbed him a little since he had put quite the force behind his action, yet to no avail.
"Sigh---, disciple, look beneath your chin."
"What?"
And as Urger looked at him, for he could only sight and shake his head, pointing at the obvious situation which Levis had missed all along.
"Ah!!! What? Why? Why am I buried in the ground?!"
And yet, despite Urger's antic, Levis's frantic shouts and panic which occurred on his face did not come due to the man's action, but from the state and the fact, that at this moment, he was buried below ground, up to his neck.
"Ah! What have you done to me?"
At the same time, he began to squirm akin to a worm in trying to free himself from the place he had been buried.
"Now, now, now, disciple. There is no need to panic, just remember my words, and try not to end up at the mercy of others in the future. Now come here."
"Ay!" - "Wait!" - "Argh!!" - " It hurts!!" - "Ahhh!!!!"
Without waiting or pausing, Urger came to grasp Levis's head in his grasp and began to pull his upwards, though that only became a painful experience for the already injured Levis, a new pain was added to the old one.
"Stop whining so much, I know how to carefully extract you, I have pulled out carrots and other things buried beneath the ground. And a last pull!"
"Ahhh!!! My neck!!! Ahhh!!!"
"Here you are, fresh a newly plucked human-shaped potato."
With a yank to the left and a jerk, the ground soil finally made way, so as the freshly pulled Levis to rais to the surface with his legs. Levis, who at his moment was livid from both anger and pain, in which his neck was at the moment.
"Argh! My jaw and neck. Eh! Where are my clothes?!"
"Behind you."
With his feet and body on the ground and not beneath it, Levis grunted in pain, as he touched the left side of his jaw and the back of his neck from where the bigger point of ache was coming.
However, not long after his small self-inspection of his, he soon came to realise that he was without any article of clothing on himself, buck naked, and exposed to the wind that was blowing over him.
"No need to clothe yourself fully, since you will get your clothes all dirty, and you will have nothing else to change into. So stay as you are."
"---."
"Mmmm---, tsk! You are right."
However, at Urger's reminder, as he came to put his underwear on himself, then after a mental struggle, he proceeded to grasp his pants and tunic, and with a clink oh his tongue he put them at the edge of the open area, under one of the trees, after which he returned to Urger's side.
But as he returned he could clearly see that the sun had already passed quite the distance in the sky, as a good chunk of the day had already died out.
"Let us begin this, one more time."
"---."
With his return, Urger opened his arms wide and smiled at Levis's comeback, however, the one to return had a face full of suspicion while frowning eyebrows in anger, since he was angry, at the man for using his power to suppress him. After all, at that moment, he had been unable to even see what had happened.
"I know, I know. This time I will not hit you---, so inadequately to your standing."
"---?!"
"Sigh---! You need not worry since I will stay here on this spot, and hold myself back from making you unconscious again."
"---!"
Yet at this moment, nothing Urger was saying could affect Levis's impression of the man, as he could no longer be sure of his words. And so, he could only become dubious and paranoid of his words, as he was on high alert while near him.
"---."
"I will also modify my body, so that you can feel as though you are hitting another human, and not some block of diamond. Happy?"
"---!!?"
Yet, Levis's eyes perked once he heard about the fact that he could hit the man while not harming himself in the matter, although he was unsure of the word "diamond" since he was not familiar with it.
"Are you happy now?"
"Mmmm."
And in confirmation of all the agreements that Urger had made, Levis simply nodded in return, but he came to grimace at the pain that came after his action. Albeit, he could honestly say that with each moment the pain pf his neck and jaw was diminishing at an unsettling speed.
"Good."
"---."
"Let me rephrase it one more time. Today---, well, in this half or quarter of a day that we still have, I will help you train---, no, experience physical combat. Some of it, as I will go easy and put a handicap on my movement, otherwise you will not last long under my assault if I am to be unrestraint in my own assault."
"---."
"Did you understand me?"
With his eyes on Levis, Urger initiated to silence his happy attitude, as his smile began to drop as he sported the same apathetic face that he had not so long ago.
"Mmmm!"
"Then come at me however you want. This time---, I will guide you the proper way."
"---."
"---."
"---."
"Show me what you are made of!"
And with all the noise and words out their way, the two ofter began to stare at one another, albeit, this stare was different than the which Levis had with the man that was after the mushroom, as if one were to look at them at this moment, it would be obvious that the middle age man and child looked as though wanting to kill one another, and not have a simple spar.
On one side, stood Urger, who, from Levis's own instinct he could say that it was the happy and cheerful personality before him, although at this moment, there was nothing which might associate him with these words, since the man before him, appeared as though not to know what excitement might be, as he himself seemed as though a cold stone statue that was staring him down, with the most uninterest and least concern that he had seen.
And on the opposite side, was Levis who was grimacing at the man, as he knew that he could never win, more over the fact that he had lost so miserably, that he did not know what had happened, put him into a tangle of anger, frustration and apprehension.
"Haaa!!!"
However, he could not care for his current fear, as he was far more angry than afraid of the man, so he screamed and jumped, so as to punch him directly in his face.
"Fool!"
Levis's speed and jumping prowess were more than enough to thrust him at Urger's face in a moment. However, as he was pushing forward his fist so as to punch Urger's face, in the following moment, Levis discovered himself revolving for a few times in mid-air, as the view of the land and the sky rotated for him a few times, after which he came to crash heavily with the ground on his right side, causing him to grit his teeth in pain.
At the same time, from Urger's perspective, he stood unchanged in his countenance as the little fellow threw himself at him, with absolute carelessness and abandonment of his entire safety. And as the little fist came in the direction of his face, he could say that he was disappointed at the fruitless recklessness of his disciple. As with the simple gesture of grasping his right fist with his left hand, the man took control of the moment with which Levis had thrown at him, as in the following moment, Urger's hand began to drag the fist in a circle, which made the body of the boy rotate for a few times. And at the same instant, Urge's body leaned heavily towards the right, as he let Levis's body pass beyond him which he continued to rotate until he came to hit the grass and the hard ground.
"Attacking me front on? And mid-air at that? How stupid can you be? And shouting at that---, too obvious and too slow! Again!"
As he stood up on his feet, Levis gave a heavy look at the man who stood with his back at him, as though, not deeming him important enough for him to turn around and face him directly.
"Ahhh!"
And so Levis approached him, standing right behind him within the reach for a kick or a punch, as this time, he did not rush to jump at him, but approached him normally.
Yet normally up until he came within the reach of his striking distance, as which a shout full of anger, Levis threw a kick at the man's knee, wanting him to fall down or at least injure him a little.
"Argh---!!!"
Yet it was all in vain, as Levis came to throw his kick, Urger's whole upper body fell, or rather crouched down. And so, instead of his knee, Levis's leg hit Urger's right shoulder and hand which took a protective guard position, to intercept an incoming strike.
However, the situation was nowhere near its ending, as right upon the clash, Urger's left hand sized and grasped Levi's leg by his ankle, and then with a fast and strong yank, the man dragged the boy with a twisting motion, making him lose all balance as he glided over the grass with one foot, dangerously close to slipping instead.
Even so, the danger and damage did not come from him tumbling on the ground, as he did not have the luxury of such a cushioning landing, as right as he came to be pulled by Urger's left hand, his stomach came to land into his right elbow that was positione in such way, that upon his movement, he was forced to collide with in in the pit of his stomach.
And so Levis grunted in pain.
"Ahhh---------!!!"
In the end, he came to be pulled upwards as Urger rose to his feet and launched him directly at the spot from where he had made his first move, reverting all back as they had begun, although the dirt, dust, and grass that stood on his body was a testament, that he had become nothing more than a toy to be thrown around by Urger.
"Fool---, where is the spirit, come again."
"Argh!"
On his feet, Urger stood unperturbed by anything, as he stood glancing at Levis's figure, with the same apathetic face, that was waiting for him to rise up and try again.
Although, on Levis's side, he could not say that he was in good shape, as at this moment, Levis was silently cursing him with his eyes, since the blow which he had received to his abdomen had not been been light. After all, once Urger had reached for his ankle, and tugged him in that twisting motion, he had the impression of being pulled by a bear and not some scrawny man.
"Ha---, ah--, haa-, ahh!"
"Aha---, ha--, aha-, ha! Not feeling so good now, are we? Well, the best lesson is always the one that your body takes, since it is a great stimulus to your memory, but now come up! Rise to your feet, my little disciple! Fate will not wait for you, and you are not there yet! Rise I said!"
But upon seeing that Levis was not rising up as he was trying to regain his breath, while clenching at his stomach, Urger came to have some mocking chuckles directed at him, while throwing some words as well. In the end, an order came for him, to rise to his feet and face him, as he was getting restless, although the seriousness on his apathetic face made for a strange view.
"Ahhh!"
With a shout, Levis rose to his feet, and ran towards the man to face him, as he had more anger and a fervent want to punch the man than he needed or he wanted.
"Up and come? But this is just the beginning, and I have yet to truly show you, the reality of an actual fight. Now move!"
"Hmph!"
But to his action, Urger mocked and ridiculed him, whilst reminding him of the fact that what had just occurred, was nothing more than the very beginning of what was to come.
And at Urger's words, only a grunt came from Levis's mouth, as he conditioned himself to be ready and to face him once more.
"---."
"---."
On his feet, Levis glared harshly at the man who stood gazing back at him. But unlike the first two times, he did not rush to attack him carelessly, as he began to move around him, looking and waiting for the most opportune moment and favourable place to strike.
To Levis's doing, nothing came from Urger, as he did not do much other than stare down at him as though looking at some kind of wild animal that was growling at him for an unknown reason.
"---."
"---!"
"---."
"Haaa---------!!!"
After circling Urger's position several times, Levis ultimately came to stop once again at his back, when with another shout, he proceeded to dush at him with full force and speed, while putting his right shoulder ahead oh him, as he was planning to crash directly into him his legs to make him fall down, as even if he was to crouch down and defend with his back, he could still make him move and face the ground.
"Slap!"
However, his plan was thwarted far too soon, as none of the envisioned future occurred, as while he was speeding and reading himself to crash onto him, he clearly so Urger curve his spine backwards to face him with his upside down face, and yet what came after that was the true crisis, as with a loud and crisp sound, his left side of the face, his cheek, was slapped by the backside, of Urgers's right-hand whiles he was bending his spine backwards.
"Argh! That---."
The slap was powerful if one was to hear the sound of it, as even while looking one could have observed Levis's body almost fly off the ground for a split moment, however, it was not enough, as the result of the slap was but a push and change in the direction as he moved to the man's right and fell down on the ground, making him eat the grass as he fell face strait, dumfounded by the slap.
"You!"
And he was furious, or rather ashamed, as by a mere slap he was put down, yet even his fury or shame could not hide the pain that his left cheek was suffering, as it grew in size, swollen, as a result of the strong slap he had received from Urger.
"Hmph! I already told you that this is going to get progressively harder. So you should learn as fast as you can. Now come at me, or I will come at you, and you will definitely wish I would have not!"
"Haaa!"
"Slap!
"---!"
"---."
"Ahhh---! You---------!"
"Slap!!"
"You bastard!"
"Slap!!!"
"Yo---!!!"
"Slap!!!!"
"---!?"
Nevertheless, to say that Levis had learned anything from the first slap he had received would be a falsehood, as right after the first humiliation, any notion of safety was flung far away, as he became more and more enraged, for he threw himself at Urger as though he was a mad bull which could not see anything else in his sight.
Yet the result of his actions was nothing more than a sequence of continuous slaps which echoed far and wide in the forest, as Levis let himself be taken by rage and forget any reason or plotted action.
"Ptui!"
Ultimately, as he took some distance after being slapped more than four times in a row, Levis came to stand several meters away from Urger, spitting blood, as he had come to cut himself with his teeth after the repeated slaps.
But what stood out more than the blood, was his swollen reddish face that was alike to a freshly sprung mushroom after a rain, albeit that his own rain had been made from tough and heavy slaps which left him no chance of evading or paring said hand shaped rain drops.
"Do you understand what happened and why is this happening?"
"---?"
However, after taking his distance, a question came, a surprise as up till this point Levis had heard only ridicule or hastening to approach and fight. Nevertheless, he did not know what to say, or he could not say anything with his cheeks swollen as they wore, or maybe he did not have the time to think of that as he raised his eyebrow as though saying he had no idea. Yet one might have been hard-pressed to realize of his raised eyebrow, as even his eyes were swollen and the movement of his eyes were very limited and hard to notice.
"Sigh---, you do not, then listen as I will tell you."
"---!?"
However, the subtle movement was easily taken by Urger's eyes, as he raised his hand to stop Levis in his track, while he was preparing to jump at him at any point.
"There is no point in looking at me like that. Now stay still, recover and listen. As I will not do anything for these few moments."
"---."
With a doubtful look, Levis stopped and relaxed himself, as while looking at the man, he seemed to take a more familiar stance than the one that was assuming while confronting him.
And so he listed, as his eyes were a tad bit inflated which was making it hard for him to see all that well.
"First, you are nothing more than a runt that does not reach even my waist. So in terms of body difference, this is the most obvious and most unfair condition for you, but this will be your circumstance for a very long time too, since you are, and you will be fighting full-grown adults, large beasts or natural disasters which will dwarf you in size, after all, you should not be expecting to fight other children or ants on the ground, so do get accustomed to this unfairness."
"---!"
At Urger's words, Levis appeared as though contemplating over them for a few moments, after which he gave a deep nod in return as though saying to have understood and remembered his words.
"Second, know that adults, will not fight fairly, especially when they will understand how dangerous you are. They will lie, cheat, play dirty and have no mercy, so, remember that you always need to be mindful, of being the first one to lie, cheat, play dirty and have no mercy on anyone, if you want to come out as the one on top."
"---?!"
Surprised and taken aback, was the reaction he had at his words, for in this moment Levis's face was contorted as though not wanting to take in the words that came from Urger's mouth.
"Do I have to lay it out for you to understand? Then listen to me well, disciple. As barely hours ago you ran the risk of being beaten for a mere mushroom. You did good and escaped safely, but if anything had run otherwise, you would have been within an inch of your life or worse killed for no reason."
"---."
"I have seen the boys, the girls and younglings of your species die for less than that. So this is to be expected."
"------."
"Animals and plants are food for one another and for humans. Nature does not care for you, because your death means nothing to it. As you do not move the world, but the world moves you."
"---------."
"And what moves in this word, is evil and self-interest. As even compassion is done with a heart of hypocrisy, as one will desire to control and order the surroundings of his immediate domain which he inhabits, once he has attained the calm and prosperity which he believes to be sufficient."
"------------."
"Moreover, you are young and have still to see the evil which lives in the hearts of humans, the true savagery of beasts, or the impunity with which the world can render all your struggles null."
"---------------."
"So forget your notion and ideals which you have, about being honourable and not, as it will not help you to achieve nothing, to protect nothing and in the end to have nothing."
"------------------."
"But not because honesty will not help you. But because that path will not prepare your heart and mind to face the true evil that you will have to gaze from now on."
"---------------------."
"Because that reasoning is a weakness which you have to grow beyond."
Silence and stillness, that was what Levis was capable of doing during Urger's long-winded comments, although, Levis was not sure which one of the two it was that was speaking at the moment. Even so, as he listened, he did not want to accept all of his words as he knew his nature would change far too greatly, although he knew that he was not wrong as he was already exposed to the true nature of the world by now, yet a part of him was resisting to change beyond the Levis which had been born in that small unknown village.
"And third, which is the most important point and exactly onto the matter of what I was talking about. Never move on your emotions."
"---?"
Although, once Urger made his subsuquest point Levis could not stay unmoved as he became a tad bit bewildered at his mention.
"You fool! Not talking from when I first slapped you and then a few times more, you almost lost your reason on your first attack, then you lost it and attacked me constantly like a mad dog. If this had been a matter of life and death, I could have killed you several times over, due to the lack of openings that you have created by rushing at me like a fool."
"---."
"Remember, that humiliation with rashness, trickery and delusion, by words or by actions are deadly. While fighting, you must come to conquer and understand what they are, or else you are not going to grow, any more than this. I am not telling you to kill your emotions, but while you fight, you should control and use them appropriately, lest they will hinder and fight against you."
"---."
But he continued to stare and stay, time in which he healed himself, and the pain subsided. As in this time, Urger appeared to have quite the number of matters to add and talk about.
"You heard what I just said, right?"
"---!"
"Good, then come at me. This is not over, because you are nowhere near the point of hunting your enemy, least even protecting or helping someone, since you yourself, can not ensure your personal safety."
With a nod of his head, Levis gave the final nod of confirmation that he had attested to the words that Urger had spoken, although to how much he had truly listened or understood only he could know.
But Levis could not care much and put almost everything to the back of his head, as Urger had already begun to taunt him, as he opened his arms wide and mocked him with the condescending gaze that he kept sending him.
"---."
"Haaa!!!"
And he shouted and jumped, just as the first time, head one and to strike at Urger's face, although from his position he did not look as though he was preparing a punch, but a horizontal hammer fist strike with his right hand, while using his body's rotating motion and moment to have as much power as he could.
"Slap!!!!!!!!!" - "Thud!"
A strange move, but coupled with his speed and perfect position it appeared as though he had the perfect condition to land a blow. Yet it was in vain, as once he came to jump, ready himself and be within the striking distance for his short arms, it all ended in an instant. As with no effort whatsoever, Urger's left hand had risen in the air, and then he hit Levis's left side of his face with such force, that Levis could only say that there was no delay between him being slapped and crashing into the ground with a strong thud, which resulted in him being left out of air in his lungs and momentarily perplexing him as to what had happened.
"Yes, I nearly forgot."
Yet after Levis came to be down on the ground, Urger's apathetic and callous face scrunted his eyebrows together, as anger began to manifest on him.
"If you are going to shout! Why not announce where are you going to hit me as well?! That way, I can think of how to beat you even harder. You damn imbecile!"
And from anger, came his insults and curses at the boy who had yet to regain himself after the hard crash on the ground.
"Argh---!"
But not a moment after the harsh and loud words that came from the man, Levis came to pick himself up and move away as he began to grunt quietly from the pain that he was experiencing at the moment.
"Ugh."
"Good. Now endure and persevere as this is only the beginning."
"---."
"------."
"---------."
"------------."
"---------------."
"------------------."
"Haaa----, ahhh--, haaa-, ahhh!"
And he was breathing heavily, as though he was the sun that had nearly reached the end of the day as it stood near the horizon to the west.
But it was not the sun that was breathing, but Levis himself, as right now, anyone who might hear his rugged breath, would know he was akin to a dry lake that needed water to reclaim its name, or else it would die.
"Good, you resisted till now. I am quite delighted by this."
Yet on the other side, Urger's voice sounded happy, content almost, as his satisfaction at this moment could almost be felt in his words.
"Ahhh--, haaa-, ahhh!"
Yet, Levis's breathing sounded like nothing but a massive struggle to breathe, as he was in a state far too remote from the comfortable and contend boy that had first entered the forest.
"In the beginning, I had my doubts about how long were you going to persist, but you did well. Excellent if I have to say."
And one might be inclined to agree, as the sight of the boy was telling the whole story, would out needing any explanation. For in this moment, Levis stood on his knees and hand, incapable of rising up, gasping for air as though he could not have enough of it.
As for the reason for his exhaustion, one only needed to look at his body and would understand, for as he stood kneeling, his whole body was bruised and swollen, with small cuts all over him, blood that dripped in small amounts from his nose and mouth, if one could put it that way, as one might have a hard time looking at his face which had swelled to an inhumane degree. With eyes that could he not use and a mouth with which had trouble breathing, or maybe due to the numerous blows to the neck which had taken his breath numerous times by this point.
A sight which truly looked as though he had been put within a hair's breadth away from death.
But not far away from him stood Urger, who was crouched down, with hands on his knees and his head tilted on the right, looking at the sight in which Levis was at the moment with a pleasing smile on his face.
"Up, up! One last bout. And we can end it for today."
With the annoying words of encouragement which he had come to be sick of, Levis rose up nonetheless. However, getting to his feet appeared to be quite the endeavour for him, as he truly was in pain with each movement that he was taking. But alas, the strangest of matters was, that despite the horrendous state in which he was, each breath he was taking, gave him the impression that his recovering was getting stronger, instead of nearing his mental and physical limit.
"Come at me."
"Arghhh---!"
Greeting his teeth, and forcing all the strength he could muster at the moment, Levis began to stride forward as though wanting to crash into and push Urger at the very least, one time before he would fall from all the pain and exhaustion he was suffering.
"Again this? How many times is it now, you must come with something else than just this obvious face-front charge."
With his eyes opened as broadly as possible, Levis lowered his shoulders as much as he could and ran straight for his right leg, ready to tackle and take him down.
"Time to sleep discipl---, oh!"
And just as he was ready to accomplish his objective, Urger's right leg wiped at him, although his hands pushed away at the leg, which missed his head or his body.
"Ahhh!!!"
"Ohh!"
With his hands having paid the price for taking on his right leg, Levis turned his course and moved to collide against Urger's left leg, using his right shoulder. After which disrigarding any pain, he grasped his leg a forced himself to lift or move him, so as to affect his stance in any way or form he could.
"Hmmm---, a small diversion. Not bad, but all I see is a little fool hugging my leg."
Yet it was still not enough, as only Urger's cold words reached him from above, evidently unaffected by his action at all.
"Ahhh---!!!"
And in the following moment, he felt the leg move and ascend.
"Now time to teach you the price of stupidity."
Right after Urger's right leg returned to the ground, he began to lift his left one, alongside the clinging Levis. Fast and snappy, it was the way it started, and the way it ended, as the movement of Urger's leg did not allow Levis any time to think or to act. As in one moment he was trying to make Urger fall, and in the following, he was high in the air, flying, as after he had not been able to hold on tightly, he was lunched high up in the air due to the abrupt stop.
"Thud!!!"
"Argh---!!!
The result was obvious, as Levis was not a cat, nor was he in any condition to fully analyze his situation, for which, he came crashing down on the ground hard and in a terrible position, as he could feel the bones of his left shoulder rattle and crackle, as though they were made of tree twigs. He did not know from how high he had been launched, although he knew that he had flown for quite a while, as the pain from his muscles and skin was rather strong whilst that from his bones was about to make him scream.
"Ah---! Argh------!! Ah---------!!!"
Without air and in pain, he began to grunt, gasp and struggle for the air that he required at the moment. Yet his body writhed from pain as he continued to grunt from the burning sensation his body was transmitting to his mind.
"Well---. I guess this is it."
With Levis on the ground, Urger stood leaning with his head forward and slightly downwards, at his disciple's beaten-up body, as Levis was breathing heavily due to the swelling of his muscles that had become a problem for him to inhale and exhale properly.
"Wai---!!!"
"Thud!"
"Argh---!!!"
"Crack!"
However, in the following moment, Levis noticed the sight of Urger's figure crashing down over him, with his knee ahead, looming over his chest.
Although he tried to stop him, only an incomplete word came from him, after which came the loud thud of the crash, the grunt that was the forced exhale as his chest was pressured, and then the sounds of bones that were cracking and breaking under the force impact of Urger's knee.
"---."
Although after all was said and done, Levis was not of conscious self for too long, as after he came to hear the sounds of his bones breaking, his mind began to drift and lose the small light that was barely passing through his inflamed eyelids.
"Time to recov---."
"---."
"And time to sleep for a bit."
However, Levis did not fall completely, and he might have risen again, but before anything else, he saw the sight of a fist coming for him, ending his conscious self from being present, and pushing him into the drift of the darkness that crept at the corner of his eyes.
"---."
"---."
"------."
"------."
"---------."
"---------."
"Is this what you wanted?"
A fist akin to a hammer, that was was stood at Levis's forehead, a crash that rattled his brain into a force shut down, that would kill any normal mature human, lest be from a more fragile child.
Blood was flowing from his nose and ears, as his body became limp and unresponsive. His breathing was no more, a most evident effect, as his chest stood caved inwards, bruised and risper by the sharp edges of his broken ribs.
If anyone were to see him, the only logical conclusion was that at this moment the boy was dead, as the trauma upon which he had been forced upon him was more than enough to kill a strong healthy man.
However, if one were to touch his body and stay with the hand over his skin for an hour or so, one would come to realise, that unlike any other corpse, Levis's body would not grow cold, by losing its heat, but instead become increasingly warmer, even as he was not breathing or have any blood flow throw out his veins and arteries.
Moreover, the strange minute movements of his muscles would make anyone believe that underneath his skin, worms were crawling, turning and churning around, as his bones appeared to be moved to align and weld themselves together again. The swellings commenced to subside little by little and new skin emerged over cuts that had not grown a scab whatsoever, leaving the skin clean of any evidence that any damage had been done at all.
"Good enough. Now bury him."
This could be said to the the reason why, Urger stood unperturbed and not concerned at all, at the fact that he had continuously harmed Levis to the point that, he had brought him, to a state where anyone else would commonly perish.
"Alright."
With that said, the man took Levis by his head with his right hand and rose him up to his eye level to observe him.
A puppet, broken and shattered he was, as the bones in his body rattled once he was picked up in the air. Arms and legs that moved with no power, while blood and sweat trickled over him and then onto the grass and ground beneath.
And with Levis in his hand, Urger observed him for ten or so breaths, after which, he walked over the hole in which he had buried him for the first time. With not much change in his face, he slowly put Levis inside the small pit, yet as his body was descending, the earth that had covered and filled part of the hole moved aside to allow Levis to be put once again up to his neck, although his head dropped to one side powerlessly, as the ground moved and covered him tightly.
"What do you think?"
"What do I think? I already knew how it would go, but anyhow, he at the very least has the nerve and mettle to take your abuse, without complaining or crying. So I would say that he stands at the bare minimum."
And with the same placid wide open eyes that one would not see blink even once, the man crouched down to look at Levis's face, albeit, from the way he appeared it was as though he could see the rest of his body even as he stood mostly buried.
"I have taken notice as well, I am pretty sure the pain he was in should have been pretty harsh for him, but he did not break or halted our session even once."
"But those are about all the good traits there are about him. Slow learner, stubborn, and easily provoked, repeating the same action multiple times, does not have a view of the field, or how to use it."
"Sigh---! We will need some time with him."
After a simple yet fast conversation with himself, a sigh escaped his mouth, his placid face took a turn and showed some sign of worriness, as well as a wryly lamenting face and a mildly frustrated one, although of who he was supposed to be would be hard to know, even if Levis was present.
"---."
"---."
"Sigh---!"
In the end, he grew silent, merely letting the time to move on, as he continued to look at the boy. But after said time, he lowered his head, and let loose a soft sigh that was bearable and audible by anyone else other than himself, as the sound died by the time it reached his ears.
"---."
"---."
"So---."
"---?"
"So are you ready?"
"Almost---. I need a few more days, and we will do it."
"Good. As I too want to know."
"---."
"---."
"---."
"------."
"---------."
"------------."
"---------------."
"------------------."
"Khhaaa---! Cough------!! Cough---------!!!"
"Oh! You are back!"
But after a thousand or so breaths of time, the missing breathing which Levis had lost, returned without a warning, with a strong and weirdly sounding cough, as he spat out the blood, mucus and saliva which were blocking his lungs, for the air he was in need of.
Close to him, was the crunching Urger who stood gazing at him with his almost inhumane wide eye, after not moving away from the spot, since he had drooped Levis's body into the ground.
"Huuu! Wha---, what?! What happened?"
Confused and dazed, he slowly began to recover his mental faculties, far faster than the previous time, as in no time his eyes shot wide open to grasp at his surroundings almost in fear.
"I put you to sleep."
"Argh! What is happeni---?"
And fear it was, as once he came to be conscious, at the sight of Urger, he appeared as though wanting to jump back, only to grund once he came to a stop, as he could not move at all.
"Again! You buried me again!"
And his realization came quickly, as he immediately looked beneath his chin, to see the ground that was extremely close to his face. Yet upon his discovery, he gave a long glare at the man who stood unperturbed at his situation.
"There is no need to glare, as this is for your own benefit. As once you are actively or not, amassing energy, your healing factor increases, which helps you regain consciousness far faster than if you were to not do it. Moreover, the overall energy from the ground is far more abounded the the one in the air."
But to his glare, Urger's non-responsive face stumped Levis in his track, as he could not say anything back, nor was he in the mood to speak back, as his mind was still replaying the scene of him getting been over and over again, until he was out and back to the present situation of him being buried to his neck again.
"Now let me give you a hand and pull you out!"
"No!"
And not a moment later, Levis's eyes jumped in fright, as the man reached for his head with his hand whilst speaking, frightening him, as he knew what was to happen if he were to pull him out. And so he screamed and refuted him immediately.
"Arg! Wait no I will do it mysel---! Argh, ah---, ahh------, ahhh---------!!!"
However, his refusal was of no use, since Urger began to pull and sway him to all sides, an action that resulted in him screaming from the paint of having his boy being pulled from beneath the sediment of dirth which ensnared him.
"Does this hurt more than when I punched you?"
"Yes, I feel my head being close to leaving my body!"
Although unhappy, with screams and groans of pain, nothing changed as Levis came to be dragged out completely, as Urger put him with his feet on the ground and not beneath it, at the end of his action.
"Now, now, stay still for a moment."
"Mmmm?"
With Levis in front of him, Urger took a look at the sorry sight in which he was, as he raised an eyebrow at the boy and forced him to stay still for a moment.
To his words, Levis did not know how to react, as he looked at him with no great change in his attitude.
"Ahhh---------! Do you want to continue?"
However, though having been scared to his core, in the next instant he jumped backwards for a few meters, as he looked at the man with fear and extreme apprehension, believing they might fight again, so the only impulse he had was the one to move as far away from him as fast and as much as he could.
"Ah!"
However, it was all futile, as right when he landed from his backwards jump, the man stood right before him, flickering his forehead with one strong strike, which made him tumble his head back almost instinctively.
Yet the power, benight the flick was nowhere as devastating as the slaps, punches and kicks that he had previously endured, making him question the motives behind his action.
"No, the bouting session is over. I just helped you to rinse off the blood and dirt off of you. As you do not have time to find water and wash, with how much time we have left and things we need to do."
"This?"
However, it was only upon hearing Urger's words, that Levis became aware of the fact that he had been cleaned off all of the dirt and blood on him, as he had not been able to focus on the changes over his body, whilst he engulfed by the fear of having to fight him again.
"Now clothe yourself, as we need to move, sell that mushroom, and then you have to return to the guard branch before those boys will begin to look for you."
"Ah! Right, what is the time---?! Shit, the sun is so low!"
Being reminded of the matter which seemed to be left to do, Levis was woken to the fact that the day was nearing its end, with only an hour or so of daylight, as now, he could see the sun only by the little gaps and openings of the trees, for it stood descending on the horizon with its never changing pace.
"Hurry!"
And so, with the hastening from Urger, Levis ran for its clothes not far away from him, as he took, pulled and so he was clothed in a whiff, not looking how, as he was in a hurry to leave, since his late arrival would mean a world of problems for him, given his leaving with no announcement.
And so he left, mushroom in toe and secured, not looking back as he began to dash between the trees in the direction from where he had first come.
Yet, if he were to look back, the clearing in which he had been up till now, was all but how it should have been, as the blood that had stained the grass and the earth, the pit in which he was put, even the harshly torn grass was nowhere to be seen. In their stead, the clearing looked only as though someone had repeatedly run and tumbled over the grass, bending it down over and over again, nothing much and nothing more.
"---."
"---."
"------."
"------."
"---------."
"---------."
[So---!]
It was not long after Levis had begun his dash between the trees, to exit the forest, that Urger's voice came to his mind, exactly as he had been expecting to arrive at some point.
[So what?]
Although Urger's voice, which changed its origin with the outside world for the inside of his mind, did not make Levis feel uneasy or jumpy, as he was beginning to arrive at the acceptance of this bizarre ensuing of his life more and more, for he could not care to be scare of the strange things which were happening because of Urger's doing, or else he might be the one to go mad.
[You must have been wondering, as to why have I beaten you this much, no?]
[Not really.]
[No---!?]
It was a simple answer, to a rather unpleasant question. Yet, said answer, came to throw the usually calm Urger out of his clear-cut conduct, as Levis did not desire to hear his explanation.
[Ahem---, ahem--, ahem-, ahem! Then you must have some queries to ask of me, right?]
[Yes.]
[Good! Head on, as I will listen to your inquiries then.]
However, the mishap did not make Urger lose himself, as he immediately collected his own stumbling demeanour and proceeded in another direction, as his own prior question appeared to bring negligible interest to Levis at all.
[When can I beat you?]
[---.]
[When?]
[---.]
However, the question which came from Levis, due to Urger's changed course, carried him to a mute silence, as Levis continued to run while waiting for an answer from him.
[Disciple---! You are far too conceited, but I do like your optimism. Unfortunately---------.]
[Unfortunately for you kid! That will not happen for a very long time and maybe never. So you can stop dreaming, and just look ahead of you.]
And an answer came, two in fact, although both of them were rather odd and unsettled, as though hiding or concealing something out of fear or apprehension.
"Tsk!" - [Tsk!]
To the two answers, Levis could only clink his town in dissatisfaction, as if there was anything he wanted at this moment, was to get back for the beating he had suffered, although he could not say it properly, for even as he could accept the fact that he had been beaten by Urger all day long, he could not accept that he had been unable to land any retaliation what so ever during the whole time he had tried to do so.
[Now, let me resume the point that the idiot was proceeding towards.]
"Hmmm?"
[This is quite simpl---.]
[Back off! This is my time, I will end this---, not you. So back off, now!]
[Idiot, stay back you, where are goin---!]
[I said---, back off!]
[If you are com---!]
[Now go bac---!]
[You---!]
[---.]
[---.]
[---.]
[---.]
[---.]
[---.]
The comeback from the two answers, was one that directly slipped into a long fight between the two Urgers, as both of them entered into a contest, of who should complete the comment and how the answer should be presented as.
"That is a strange bird."
Yet, regardless of their bickering, Levis began to tone out the noise that they were producing in his head, and became lost-minded while running to exit the last part of the forest.
Although, as he kept running, and stood to pass over the second dirt road, he stooped himself in track, as he looked up at the sky, to see a large bird pass in the opposite direction from where he was going. Overall, its colour was white, however, the ends of its wings were black with a large yellow beak. Although it was larger, the bird was barely larger than he was, however, its wings were very wide, more over, what truly made Levis call the bird strange, was the large and deep beak that was kept open as it flew by.
It was a short stop as the bird flew away with quite the hastyness over itself, almost fearfully if one might have to say. And so after the momentary pause, he adjusted his way and began his dash, to escape the forest.
[Now---, disciple. As I was saying earlier, the reason for me beating you so much, lies within your own actions.]
[My actions?]