“Impact Testing?” (Marco)

“Kyu (Yep, Impact Testing)” (Kyu Gal)

Earlier, the three commentators want to know what does Marigold meant when she said she was so close. As such, they asked for a professional opinion.

JustADragon (stagename Kyu Gal), helpfully provide them her service (with an undisclosed fee), gladly explain to them what’s happening under the surface, sitting grandly on her special seat on top of the white table.

“Um...so what do you mean by that exactly, Ms. Kyu Gal?” (Marco)

“Well, to put it simply...Do you know the Third Law of Motions?”

“Third Law of Motions…? Um, was it ‘Every punch is met with an equal and opposite Cross Counter?’ ” (Marco)

“ ‘Every slice of pie is met with an equal and opposite mouth?’ ” (Polo)

“ ’Every tasteful peek is met with an equal and opposite slap in the face?’ “ (Venice)

“Kyu! (Wow, all of the answers are wrong! Marco gets points for effort though.)” (Kyu Gal)

Completing their impromptu skit, they earned a chuckle from the audience, now finally focusing on them (or rather the very promiscuous Kyu Gal) looking for answers.

Taking their cue, Kyu Gal then helpfully brings out a whiteboard filled with helpful scribbles and drawings, as she teaches the audience what she meant with small glasses and a pointing stick.

“Kyukyukyu (Newton's Third Law of Motions: 'For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction'. Which means, for every hit you inflicted upon the opponents, the opponent will also inflict back a force upon you, from the sheer reaction of their body receiving it.)” (Kyu Gal)

“Kyukyu (Conventionally, that means no matter how cleanly you perform your blow, there is no avoiding the recoil, feedback, and resistance you will feel from the opponent's body, especially if they're also a trained fighter that works hard to toughen their body just like you. There is a way to avoid that, but that isn’t what we’re discussing here today)” (Kyu Gal)

“Wait, there is a way to avoid the law of physics?” (Polo)

“Kyu (There is, but not what we’re here to talk about today. Pay attention to the lesson, Polo.)” (Kyu Gal)

Lightly tapping Marco’s head as a reminder, Kyu Gal continued

“Kyukyu (Everybody is different, and consequently everyone's body is different. They will have different reactions when receiving damage from your attack, and will provide different feedback back to you.)"

“Kyu (From there, you could surmise that everyone’s feedback and reaction to your attack is completely unique to them, and as such, there is a lot you can learn.)”

“Kyukyu (How dull or sharp you feel the blow landed on the body, what sort of sound does your impact make, how hard or soft or smooth or coarse their surface is as you feel it with the skin of your hand...All of it is a completely unique signature that a fighter can use, to learn more and more about their opponent, even just through each contact and pure exchange of blows.)”

“Kyu (Even if you’re completely lacking in all 5 senses, as long as you can feel where the force is from the opponent's body back to you, you will be able to know everything about them.)"

Tapping on the drawing of Marigold punching the Dummy God to smithereens, squeezing out everything she needs to know about them, Kyu Gal dramatically pushes up her small glasses and glints impressively, under the ooh and aah of the attentive audience.

“...Wait, so all this time, Marigold is only trying to learn about the opponent first, Miss Dragon?” (No.1)

“Kyu! (That’s right! It isn’t as if she is doing anything dramatic or complicated, you know. It’s just the very basic of basics, so simple I don’t even need to explain to you two of all people, right?)”

Looking unamused at the pair of people, who have been staring at Marigold's fight with stupefied looks on their faces, her judging gaze makes them reflexively turn away with egg on their faces.

“I-I mean, anyone would be looking as dopey as us when seeing something that ridiculous, right?” (Headmaster)

(((Nod nod))) (The chick)

“Kyu… (...Look at you agreeing with all those chicks that don't even know their right from their left. Aren't you supposed to be the Headmaster, for Laplace’s sake?)” (Kyu Gal)

“Guu...just look at the fight right now! How the heck are we supposed to guess anything else but her just ruthlessly bullying that poor dummy?” (Headmaster)

“Kyu (Aren’t you the one who advocates people to look deeper than meet the eyes? Something about “Observing the function, not the form. The essence, not the dazzle”?)” (Kyu Gal)

“Ugh...W-well it’s hard to do that when you can’t keep up with half of the fight…” (Headmaster)

“Kyu… (Excuse excuse...and you claim to be the Master of Martial Art, and Trainer of Heroes, for Laplace's sake. Should I call you the Master of Mouth instead for how much you like to cover yourself?)” (Kyu Gal)

“Urgh…” (Headmaster)

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Looking disappointed at him (in jest), she tapped his head over and over again, with judgy eyes that were expecting way better of him. Finding no more words to fight back, he can only hang his head in shame, almost collapsing himself into a fetal position.

Slightly pitying him, and knowing that she isn’t much better, No.1 decided to speak up for him, by asking something else.

“So, Miss Dragon, I may ask...Why does Miss Marigold need to go so overkill, just to learn about the Dummy God?” (No.1)

“Kyukyu (Well, of course because it’s necessary. Aside from the fact that the Dummy God is infinitely tougher than you, she needs to learn a lot more fact about the Dummy God as well, from their personality and disposition to the exact molecular structure on each and every single part of their body…)" (Kyu Gal)

“Wait, why does she need to learn all of that, I may ask?” (No.1)

“Kyu...(Well...to put it simply, the technique she is preparing right now wouldn’t have work properly otherwise.)” (Kyu Gal)

“Technique?” (No.1)

“Kyu (Fufu...well, for now, just know that all of what she has done so far is necessary for her ultimate move)"

“...Even the carnage that is happening right now?” (No.1)

Looking at the scene of the Dummy God being viciously pummeled apart (without damage) by Marigold, who's looking like the very incarnation of the God of War at the moment, she can't help but make her remark.

“Kyu (Even that...Well, even I must admit that Mari Sis is getting a bit too excited though)” (Kyu Gal)

“Is that so, Miss Dragon-wait, Sis…?” (No.1)

With No.1 making a whole new revelation and furiously scribbling it down, JustADragon returned back to her commentary seat, and continued watching on with the rest of the audience.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shining like stars, she crosses back and forth all across the ring countless times, like bolts of lightning crisscrossing themselves endlessly.

Trapped to go along with that lightning, a dummy found itself being punt around back and forth violently, their path as if being crudely drawn upon by an angry kid in a tantrum.

Unable to resist the momentum, the Dummy God's body involuntarily rag-dolling around, all parts of their body travel to all places at once, twisting and turning their already-flexible body into unthinkable and incomprehensible shapes. One could think that they're being stretched to their limit, so much that they could almost see the seam between their strawed joints start to unfurl.

But, their body still remains unhurt.

(It was like hitting at empty spaces)

The strength within each of their strike, is the same star-shattering force as it was in the beginning, each of them landed squarely right within the body of the dummy, threatening to explode it to pieces. Moreover, that force would also then scatter matter in a giant heatwave which will instantly swallow the entire planet, vaporizing it instantly.

But, thanks to the barrier containing most of the force that escaped out of the dummy god's body, the planet remained unharmed, and people can surround the ring to watch without worrying about getting logged out.

Moreover, the area within, where limitation is lifted, operates under different physical laws, which help dampen and separate the force contained within the body from the outside world, allowing movements impossible to perform within the atmosphere

to occur, without the audience getting their eyes blinded by the heat.

All of that is facilitated by the Dummy God in the center of it all, who both preserves the sanctum within the ring, and absorbed the star-shattering might.

So much so, that punching deep into their gut is like punching into empty space itself. Most of the force is quickly dissipated, and only a few applied to their skin get transmitted and delivered.

(...No, it’s not exactly like empty space either)

With every strike and blow she rapidly delivers on the twisting vessel of the Dummy God, she feels through her skin each and every piece of straw that make up their body.

Every piece is made out of countless strands, every strand is made out of countless strings, every string is made out of even smaller string…

The repeated fractal of strings twining into strings, ending with the smallest piece is made out of countless infinitesimals of dimensionless string. Each string is made out of endless infinitesimal, combine into one finite straw.

Infinite, was made within the finite. And through every punch and kick she delivers with the force of a star, she can feel as if her force has been delivered and contained to each and every single endless infinitesimal, which is made into endlessly thin layers endlessly stacked on top of each other, each of them spread the force out into an endless expanse of space folded within each infinitely-tiny straw and gone away into emptiness.

It isn't like hitting an empty space, where nothing is stopping you from moving. Instead, it feel like she was hitting through countless upon countless infinitely-thin planes of existences stacked infinitely together, into one layer of straw that absorbed all energy, stacking on countless layers of straw that absorbed all things.

Smaller than micro, smaller than femto, smaller than the Planck scale that humanity just barely grasps.

It was existence, at the very edge of nothingness. The smaller most closest digit before zero, and as such the most indivisible.

It was, by the most literal definition, the boundary. Between thing and no thing. Between existence and non-existence. Between everything and nothing.

It was, by the most extreme definition, the final frontier, the final destination that existence could have reached.

(...As expected, the Dummy God’s true nature was that huh.)

(Stacking countless strings together, and you got a plane. Stacking countless planes together, and you got a space.)

"...And stacking countless spaces together, and we got you.”

*BANG*

It all ended suddenly, with a thunderous roar.

The great impact from the heaven, slamming upon the earth, spread verberation and vibration to everywhere outside of the ring, shaking the entire dojo with an unescapable tremor.

The once-pristine holy and sacred ground within the sanctuary circle is no more, as it's carved and breaks apart like fragile cookies, and right in the center of that cracked crust lay the pit with depth so deep one can’t see the light.

The dummies at the ring barely held on to their wooden foot standing, their body tattered so much they’re nearly fallen into pieces. Yet, their head still looks on.

With awe, with anticipation, with sheer divine expectation.

They look straight on, into the glowing figure gently landing, oozing with energy and filling with fighting spirit, so much so that their short black hair lightly floats.

“Hahaha….hahahahahahaha~!”

A shrill laughter rang on from the endless pit, almost maddening, definitely deafening.

Swiftly popped out above, the Dummy God’s divine body, dirtied with dirt from head to toe, still lay unhurt and undestructible.

Yet, their chest hasn't stopped undulating, as the Dummy God is seemingly out of breath, despite not needing to breathe.

“Come on, come on, come on! Why do you stop, I know you’re this close already, right?”

“Ah, I’m glad you notice~.”

“How can I not, when I began to feel your blow!... You're now ready, right? Come on and give your best shot, I am all here for you to helplessly eviscerate!”

“Haha, I’m glad that you’re excited…”

Even Marigold can only give a wry smile, when faced with such overwhelming enthusiastion from the Dummy God, that she can visibly see them hyperventilating through their non-existence nostril.

Either way, she is ready.

Placing her foot firmly on the ground, she gathers her aura closer and closer to her body, until it is completely inside, exhibiting a terrifying amount of density.

Then, without any notice, without any warning, the gaze and focus of everyone stopped, and slowly move inward.

From a blade of grass to a piece of rock, from child to adult, man and woman, human and dragon. Everyone and everything, in clear eyesight, began to pay attention to her all of a sudden, as if by pure instinct, or perhaps even an invisible attractive force.

Without any notice, without any warning, with only a simple signal...the world’s perspective is warping toward her.