Shun POV:
Droplets of water bundled together to climb the mountains below. Each successful crossing was met with a valley that allowed them to rest. Others joined, increasing their speed and reducing the breaks needed for the journey to the oasis.
They glided over the hard surfaces, uniting with hundreds more, but it was too late. The oasis turned upside down. Its contents splashed against the wet earth, and the cycle repeated.
I flipped back to my feet after the 1,000th set of 100 sit-ups. A slow breath chilled the surrounding atmosphere. It was the result of a focused mindset that discarded everything unnecessary.
Everything apart from revenge.
I tore through the bear meat before dashing the bones into the forest once there was no more flesh to consume. High amounts of protein led to muscle hypertrophy: a process where protein synthesis exceeded protein breakdown.
In other words, I was experiencing constant muscular growth. The regime honed that development in the direction I had specified. Nothing would be overlooked. Everything would be accounted for.
My attention shifted to the Ki aspects of this world.
“Ki Armour.”
The thought came to me when I recalled the many attempts of trying to hurt Chloe. What stood out was the strength of her tongue. In most novels, the inside of the body didn’t have the same protection as the outside. However, that common theme didn’t seem to apply here.
It made sense since I could eat less due to my Ki Stage. This also verified the natural protection that Ki offered. So either Chloe’s Ki Stage was high, there was another method of protecting oneself or both.
I experimented and found the answer within minutes.
By imagining that I was wearing a suit of armour, I was able to increase the density of my Ki to a certain limit. This change caused a drastic improvement to my defence. Given the lack of side effects, it was something that should be kept active at all times.
I reached a nearby stream and drank from it before washing my face.
“Nagi...”
Throughout my training, I cross-referenced it with all the information I had. This included that mysterious boy manipulating the wind. As a result, I didn’t amend my original hypothesis: Nagi was a Ki Stage related to Ki Natures.
I stood up and splayed my hand, concentrating everything into my palm. Several minutes passed by, but nothing happened.
‘...’
I made several adjustments to the hypothesis I was testing. Some time passed, and once my hand fell, I made my way back to the campsite.
A small fire burned in its centre. It didn’t acknowledge my arrival nor dismiss it.
When night fell, the chilling cold came with it. The higher altitudes added to its sharpness, and Ki alone wasn’t enough to protect me from it. In order to not get sick, I needed the extra heat to stay warm.
The fire pounced on the new dead wood that slid toward its base. It consumed its meal in a hurry, growing in size till a few flickering embers left its mouth.
I took a seat at the base of a tree and rested my arm over my knee. I stared at the fire swaying with the light breeze, watching it—studying it in silence.
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‘...’
The morning crawled by till noon took its place. Rays of sunlight shone down on the campsite, empowering the intensity of the fire.
Quiet.
My concentration burned away the surrounding area from my view.
Calm.
A hand stretched toward the dancing flame. I focused on nothing but the fire in front of me.
The gaps between my fingers increased, and the flame began to tilt. It bent its head in my direction, staring at me with intrigue.
I curled the outstretched fingers inward. Only my index finger pointed toward its body. The flame responded. It penetrated the air and erupted into a bonfire.
“The calmness of the body needed to manipulate one’s Ki Nature. It emulates nature, and how nothing is forced. Nagi... reduces this strain and difficulty.”
I pulled my index finger in, forming a fist that made the bonfire shrink back down into a small flame. I got to my feet and guided the fire away from its home.
It swirled around me before latching back onto the wood where it remained. Sweat poured down my face, but the next step would be even more difficult.
I concentrated on the palm of my hand once more. Expansion, reduction and direction. Understanding the fire, feeling the fire, and finally creating the fire.
A small ember formed.
A slight wind rippled by.
The ember grew larger and larger. Moments later, I broke through to Nagi. My Ki rose and, as expected, the difficulty of manipulating my Ki Nature fell by a drastic amount.
I wiped the sweat away and began experimenting with the fire. I tried shaping it into various weapons and tools but ran into a problem within a few seconds.
“It’s more difficult than I thought it’d be.”
Laboured breaths left my mouth while I examined the crude flame sword if you could even call it that.
In order to produce one’s Ki Nature, there were two requirements. First, the practitioner needed to identify the elements they could manipulate. This was done by being in tune with nature-being around the elements and trying to see what would respond to your calm state of mind. The greater the connection, the more you would understand how to form Elemental Ki to replicate that connection.
Once there was enough understanding, Ki could be converted into Elemental Ki via the Ki Center. Alternatively, the practitioner could manipulate the existing element around them.
This would cost far less Ki.
What caused the campfire to expand into a bonfire was the injection of my own Elemental Ki. If I wanted to add more fuel to that fire naturally, then I would need to direct it toward the surrounding environment, i.e. trees.
I continued my experimentation and practised with several crude fire weapons. I spun a staff around my fingers before striking down. Small cracks ran along the ground beneath it.
“My own flames don’t burn me, but it’s probably based on a threshold.”
I could feel the heat from my fingers gripping the fire staff, but that was all. It changed back into a fireball that circled around me, and I took note of the decrease in heat compared to when I was in direct contact with the fire.
After several sessions of experimentation and adjustments, I resumed my training until darkness covered the sky. It felt like I was already approaching the limit of Nagi.
‘Next.’
I splayed my hand with the aim of forming a barrier when it shook. Sweat dyed the earth a darker colour, forcing me to increase the oxygen flowing around my body.
“Are you kidding me? Why is it so damn hard to form a simple barrier?”
A few minutes of struggling led to the formation of a thin screen. It was similar to a light grey wall but transparent.
“That took a lot of Ki too.”
Despite raising both of my hands to create another one, the difficulty remained the same. The veins around my mouth bulged as my fist struck the surface of the barrier, shattering it into pieces that faded away.
“....”
I faced the remaining barrier and threw a punch with less than a fraction of the output than the previous one. The barrier cracked in response before breaking apart.
“....”
I let out a deep breath and parted my lips.
“I don’t even think it can support my own body weight.”
The campfire consumed the last dregs of fuel, then fizzled out. Once I reached the end of the mountain cave, I sat down against the wall, surrounded by darkness.
“Even martial arts don’t seem that effective in this world.”
I wasn’t relying on the system, but there were no special effects or hidden factors unlocked as I drilled them. In retrospect, that made sense, considering the system already knew about all the knowledge I had.
“...At least I can defend myself better than before. As for the barriers, maybe there’s a special way to create them?”
I summarised my findings, retaining all the information in separate categories based on their level of importance for ease of recollection.
“The strengthening aspect of Ki is the same as what I’m familiar with.”
I concluded that a practitioner’s body could only withstand a certain amount of Ki before it began to break apart. In other words, unlimited Ki Reserves were pointless since Ki Stage and other factors limited the body.
So strength couldn’t be deduced solely by Ki alone, though Ki Stages most likely provided a reliable indication.
I closed my eyes and embraced the sleep that came to me. Tomorrow was going to be another busy day.