Slashing
999 (999 + 500)
Ice
999 (499 + 500)
Piercing
1500 (1000 + 500)
Acid
999 (999 + 500)
Blunt
1790 (1290 + 500)
Poison
999 (999 + 500)
Fire
999 (650 + 500)
Lightning
999 (699 + 500)
Necrotic
999 (499 + 500)
Radiant
999 (499 + 500)
Force
999 (499 + 500)
Exhaustion
999 (500 + 500)
Body
501 (1 + 500)
Mental
265
Spirit
10
Curse
105
V@#%
6
~
~
Wouldn't twenty be a good round number? I have seventeen resistances, and apparently, there is a set cap on how many there are. I mean, one of my titles mentions that hard limit.
Resilience Incarnate U 2/3]
To get to a point where even trolls envy your engorged vitality, you must become [Resilience Incarnate]. This Title will be taken away if there is someone better suited for this Title.
Regenerationš: Your regeneration will break the confines of your species, whatever that may be.
Healthš: When your health is at or above 50%, your health bonus is doubled.
Resistanceš(Unlock every resistance type)]
I wonder what the last few resistance are? Regardless, it doesn't matter right now. My current objective isn't to try and unlock this random new resistance but to get most of my resistances to 999.
I don't expect to break through... and I won't gain any more "strength" from this training. It will make it better for me in the future. If I ever get into a moment where I can break my bottleneck, like jumping into a volcano, I can easily break through.
[Iron Hide] adds my level to my resistance, allowing me to instantly get 500 more points into any resistance, the caveat being that I'm not at a bottleneck.
Rather than sitting in the lotus position and having my tamed beasts beat me until I'm black and blue or jumping neck first into a fracture naked with nothing but a dream, I figured I'd talk to a professional.
But the only professional I know is going to beat my ass. Hey, maybe I'm strong enough now to fight back.
I wipe a sweat drop as I approach a set of familiar doors. Maybe I'm making the wrong decision... There's a reason why I haven't done this before, even though this was always an option.
It's not like I'm desperate. Or in need of a spike in power. I have many, realistically too many, avenues to increase my strength.
I don't want to waste time. Less than five months... And I don't want to spend the rest of my time getting beaten. I need to power through for a while. Maybe one month or a few weeks, and that's it.
I still hesitate. Before I decided whether to turn tail or harden my resolve, I heard his voice.
"You're here, disciple. I didn't bring this up yesterday because of the nice lady you brought last time, but did you rank up your martial arts?"
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Fuck
Welp, in for a penny, in for a pound of flesh.
"Master Wang. Is it possible to ask you for a duel?"
~~~
"What's the average speed for ranking the Broken Body martial arts? It's been half a year, and I'm on the cusp of rank A. That must mean something, right?"
"Speak less."
Master Wang is aware of my resistance stats and the fact that mine grow unrealistically fast compared to other people. These stats aren't an "Ellis Vincere" exclusive. Apparently, only hardcore people train these stats, and usually only one of them.
Assassins might train their poison resistance lest they hurt themselves with their own poisons. Fire mages might train a fire resistance if other methods of not burning themselves aren't available.
I would ask if Master Wang has any resistance stats, but he doesn't have a system. That question would trigger him to talk about philosophy or something. And I don't care that much.
Master Wang hits me again. A welt visibly forms on my bare thigh. I'm standing with my legs apart in the horse stance, and I'm not supposed to move.
I got my ass BEAT. It was horrendous.
I expected Master Wang to chuckle or tell me I'm not ready. I would even accept him smacking the top of my head and calling me foolish.
~Earlier~
Master Wang matches my eyes with a gaze and nods his head. He silently walks away, expecting me to follow, and I do.
At an outside training field - we rarely use - my master stands before me. The wind starts to blow, ruffling his Gi. With his hands behind his back and his white goatee shifting with the breeze, he truly looks like a martial arts master.
The light reflecting off his dome was removing the awe from the moment.
"Leave behind everything you aren't willing to part from. It won't be just your body I break."
Taking the hint, I removed all my magic items and told Duchess, who was on my shoulders, to fly a distance away. The only thing besides my Gi is my sword. I contemplated bringing my ring since the reflective damage could make or break the fight. But if Master Wangs broke my ring, I would cry blood.
I can probably heal my ring with my busted healing skill, but some things can't be fixed by torrenting mana into things... like my mother. I don't want to find my first treasure broken... Speaking of, I'll probably toss my sword aside as well.
I can always summon it if I really need it.
"A disciple challenging their master is an important event in the Martial Arts world. It means that the disciple believes that they have the means to win. That their master has nothing else to teach them. That the legacy of their arts no longer needs their master, but instead will be held by their disciple."
"..."
"Do you understand the weight of this duel? This isn't a sparring match or a training session."
"I honestly don't. Please take care of me." I bow.
Master Wang returns the bow and gets into a fighting stance. It has many openings, just like he taught me.
He takes the first move, but since this isn't a fight to the death, I guess he didn't pull out the heart stopper or the cranium crusher.
My perception is much lower than my main five stats. I barely registered a blur before Master Wang's knuckles were placed on my chest like he just finished a one-inch punch without me noticing the 'inch' part of the punch.
"[Broken Body: Femur Breaker]."
I was about to say something stupid like, 'Why are you declaring your martial arts move? But then my legs collapsed underneath me. All the bones in my legs, not just my femurs, broke into many pieces.
I tightened my muscles to keep myself upright, but the slight delay caused me to be slightly squatting and somewhat hunched over. The mother of all uppercuts hits me in the face.
The blood that gushes out of my broken nose is hot. My feet lift off the ground, but before I can get far, Master Wang grabs me by one of my ankles and slams me into the ground, my back indenting into the field.
"You have exceptional durability, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't counterattack. Use your decent strength and agility." Master Wang swings me in an arc and slams me face-first into the field.
I'm being manhandled because his might is better, and his attacks go through my defenses like they don't exist. Just because I'm as durable as metal and stone doesn't mean I weigh the same.
I slam my hands against the ground, turning 180 degrees, my ankle turning into a twisted pretzel. I tense the muscles in my body so I'm no longer limply on the ground but stabilized a few inches above it.
With my ankle still being held, I use my thigh and glutes to bend my captured leg so I can kick him a few times with my other. Master Wang isn't one to dodge attacks, so my flurry of kicks makes contact.
My position doesn't allow me to use my entire strength, but I should've left some marks... right? The only thing that happens in this exchange is that my left ankle is mangled, my right foot is broken in 27 places, oozing blood with bones sticking from my skin, and the bones below my pelvis disconnected in sections.
"Don't sacrifice your legs like that. In this situation, sacrifice is necessary, but be efficient and optimize limb loss. You can recover in seconds, but you'll need every last one."
Like a lizard discarding its tail, I escape his grasp. I surged my left foot with death energy; it naturally falls off in the blink of an eye. I land on my hands that I shot behind me and try to push myself backward onto my feet - foot - but Master Wang soccer kicks me across the field.
"You wasted movement. You broke my tempo, so you should've dragged me into yours. Yank me to the ground, gnaw at my ankles to level the playing field, advance from your disadvantaged position. I was fighting long before you were born. Long before this country was founded. Claw and scratch. Struggle in the dirt. Gnash your teeth and bare your soul."
I'm good at floundering in the dirt and scurrying like a rat. Since that was the only way I could survive punching up and killing monsters above my weight class.
I pour mana into my wounds, completely undoing everything Master Wang has done to me since the start of this fight. Instead of rushing in or waiting for him to attack, I put every ounce of effort into pinging him with pain, using my attuned energy while still on the ground.
Master Wang shows a rare gentle smile and says, "Good. You are learning."
His feet lightly kicked off the ground and appeared above me, positioned to stomp down on my head. But I was ready. I always summon my sword in my hands because where else could I summon it? Well, where ever I could theoretically bleed from. Gripping the hilt with my toes, I punch up at Master Wang.
At his Wang.
[Donkey Punch], to add my agility to this attack.
[Cross Counter], to ignore his defenses and reflect 75% percent of the damage he'll do to me during this attack.
[Sacrifice Health], to sacrifice tens of thousands of health points to deal 1-1 more damage. Since this skill is attached to my blade, I must wield it to use it.
[Heal Anything], to regain my health points using mana.
[Broken Blood], to refresh my mana using health.
[Sacrifice Health], to sacrifice even more health points.
[Battered Bones], to add an additional percentage increase to the damage at the cost of breaking the bones in my arm.
And the numerous damage increased due to various titles and passives.
Doing this all at once, at a fraction of a second, in the midst's of an attack my a Master martial artists strains me to no end. I blacked out from this attack. The additional damage with [Sacrifice Health] should've reached 100,000 alone.
When I woke up, Master Wang berated me for trying to end his bloodline with a single punch. Just because I couldn't beat him doesn't mean I can take it out on the next generation. And that he's disappointed because if I was going to throw such a punch, I should at least get a direct hit.
The Broken Body martial arts teaches supplementing your defense by choosing where the enemy attacks you rather than dodging. Master Wang managed to 'move his family jewels' while slightly moving to the side, so instead of two cracked eggs, I burst the flesh around Master Wang's inner thigh. I cracked the bone and his leg would've been blown off if it wasn't for another technique he used to keep his limbs intact.
I passed out due to two reasons. One, I was playing with my life force by rapidly draining, refilling, and draining both my health and my mana, and Master Wang kicked my head and broke my neck. My head snapped backward 90 degrees, and my eyes rolled back into my skull.
I'm alright now, just a little sore.
I smack my lips and wonder what I should do next, but then Master Wang dragged me away for more training. I'm guessing that now that he has seen that I won't immediately croak during a fight with him, he can go a little more heavy-handed.
Yippee.