Zach slowly opened his eyes, feeling a calmness and mental clarity, he had never experienced before. However, upon noticing new message bubbles, Zach's clear mind became chaotic.
Perception +1
Skill Gained Astral Meditation (Rare): Level 1
"Master Ingral! I have gained a new skill! And a point in perception!" Zach blissfully said.
"Fortune really does favor fools. We have affinities for the same elements, so this meditation technique is what I first used when I was also a runt. Due to its rarity, I had expected it to take you at least a week to learn that meditation technique. Unexpectedly, you luckily entered into a special state, and even gaining a point in perception."
"This meditation technique allows you to enter a state of nothingness, perfect for contemplating, and attuning to, the elements of earth and space. Since combat-focused skills above uncommon rarity are impossible for a beginner to learn in a month; there is no limit on what skills I can teach you. "
"What exactly does skill rarity influence?" Zach could not help but ask excitedly."Typically, the rarer a skill is the higher it's complexity and power. However, this is not always true, for example, your skill Pain Resistance is only common in rarity yet training it is a necessity due to its efficiency in combat."
Halt paused, suddenly touching a ring on his finger and pulling 8 different metallic canes out of what seemed like thin air.
The existence of spacial storage shocked Zach. However, after experiencing the past few days, he was not surprised; Zach quietly waited for Halt inevitable impassioned-explanation.
"These are standard training tools for sensing energy. Each stick releases a different elemental aura."
"Close your eyes and resume the meditative posture. The goal of this exercise is to train your ability to sense and differentiate between energies. I will activate a stick and you will tell me which elemental aura it produces"
Once again picturing himself in the expanse of space, Zach's mind rapidly cleared. However, he did not enter another miraculous state of perception.
Suddenly, Zach's feeling of nothingness disappeared, and he felt a sense of stability and strength. The feeling was similar to being buried in sand at the beach, it relaxed him and gave him a feeling of protection.
However, he had no doubt that if this aura was drastically increased the gentle feeling of protection would be replaced by a suffocating sense of being crushed.
"This elemental aura is earth," Zach said before opening his eyes and seeing a tan brown glow emanating the from stick Halt held beside him.
"If you had gotten this wrong I would certainly lose all hope in training you, considering this element is one you have an affinity for. It is possible to sense the energy and aura of elements you do not have an affinity for, but it requires more effort. This is going to be the main focus of our initial aura training. "
Halt proceeded to hold up another stick, this one released an aura with a color somewhere between gray and black, best described as a translucent charcoal.
This aura gave Zach a feeling of a calm nothingness, yet also a weird sense of fluidity. It felt like swimming in a strange pool where the liquid varied in viscosity and even became gaseous in some places.
"This is space?!" Zach said amazed by the strange feeling the aura provided him with.
Halt was rather amused by Zach's foolish expression and could not resist teasing him.
"Amazing, isn't it? I had a similar reaction when I first went through this training, at age 5! Anyway, the real training will be focused on sensing the other six elements: Dark, Light, Lightning, Water, Fire, and Wind. Resume your meditation so we can begin!"
Re-establishing his mental state Zach waited to feel something. Soon the temperature around him started to subtly drop, he also felt as if some mysterious force surrounded him.
"Is this wind?" Zach uncertainly asked.
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Following a loud crack, Zach howled in pain as Halt hit him in the shoulder with his cane.
"Focus harder on the aura you idiot! Remember the depth of feeling you experienced from earth and space? Do not answer until you are able to sense something comparable!"
Leveraging Pain Resistance Zach was barely able to clear his mind; shortly the familiar chill appeared once again. Wisely, Zach took his time to fully appreciate how exactly this aura affected him.
As the temperature dropped and Zach felt a chill similar to an autumn night; the mysterious force once again surrounded him, and Zach desperately tried to determine what it was. To his annoyance, no matter how much he focused on the feeling all he felt was the unknown accompanied by a thin air of malice and confusion.
Suddenly, it hit him; he could never know exactly what was surrounding him. Zach confidently gave his answer.
"The aura is that of darkness," Zach said before opening his eyes.
"Good, make sure to memorize its color. Close your eyes again and we will continue."
Zachary closed his eyes once again, but not before seeing the purple, yet almost black, aura of darkness...
Their aura training persisted for what felt like another 2-3 hours. Zach was eventually able to sense and recognize all the other five elemental auras: lighting's golden-yellow aura, light's white-golden aura, fire's orange-red aura, water's royal-blue aura, and wind's light- green aura.
Halt's goal was to enable Zach to sense various attacks, including mage's spells. Though mages use energy to mentally guide spell models; these spell models ultimately produce physical effects. Hence, sensing spell's elemental auras assists warriors attempts to counteract or avoid them.
Due to the few but serious injuries Halt had inflicted on him, Zach was allowed a short break. After drinking some water and having the usual energy filled beast-jerky Zach was “ready" for the start of his combat training.
"Before we can get to the fun part of combat training it is necessary for me to hammer the basics into you. I have no clue how long this will take, you must put your entire-being into learning swordsmanship. Let us begin."
Halt removed a metallic greatsword from his spacial storage. It was made of some strange metal which was the darkest black Zach had ever seen.
The sword itself was about six feet long and a foot across, with a blade width of 2-3 inches. Its edges were sharp, or at least as sharp as they could be considering its width, and it narrowed into a triangle towards the end.
When Halt removed it from his spacial storage it was already clasped to his back. It hung on his back at an angle due to it being taller than him.
Removing his sword from its clasps, halt raised it above his head. Suddenly, he swung downwards at a speed Zach could barely see!
Zach was flung onto his ass purely due to the perpendicular shock waves. Everything in the swords path up until the metal-walls of the room was crushed by the air force.
There was a deep jagged line on the rocky floor of the room in which one could see the white metal base underneath the rock. It was as if anything in Halt's swords path was instantly obliterated.
"That was a simple strike and was not infused with any battle aura. However, to avoid killing you with shockwaves I had to use only a tiny fraction of my bodily strength. If a berserker truly masters the greatsword even stars will be extinguished before his casual blows!"
Zach slowly stood back up, forgetting his sore rear-end due to the passionate desire for strength surfacing in his mind.
"There are only a few basic offensives moves which new greatsword users need to learn. However, though they may be easy to learn these moves take years to truly master. But once mastered they will serve as your foundation in forging your own swordsmanship."
"These moves include downward and upward vertical slashes, downward and upward diagonal slashes, horizontal slashes, and thrusts. Any other strikes with a greatsword are simply a variation of these basics." Halt said, as he pulled out a 7-foot greatsword and handed it to Zach.
Zach barely managed to support the weight of the sword with two hands. The sword was made of some type of dull gray alloy. It was clear that just learning to swing it with proper form would be almost as taxing as their physical training.
"Okay let's start with the simplest strike, the downward vertical slash. Lift the sword high above your head, then utilizing your full bodily strength swing downward, stopping when parallel to the ground."
Arms shaking as he raised the sword, Zach tried to mimic the powerful downward slash Halt had performed. He proceeded to clumsily swing downward with all his might. Due to its immense weight, Zach barely managed to keep the sword from leaving his hands as he finished his slash.
"Totally wrong! Widen your stance and do it again! This time make sure you contract the muscles in your core and back! Do not think of wielding the sword as purely arm strength, try to leverage even your leg strength!" Halt yelled in disgust.
Halt made Zach repeat the simple move for what felt like two hours; until he felt that Zach was barely using all the necessary muscles.
"That can be considered barely passable, you will train these simple moves until your form is perfect. A novice trains to perfect a move, a warrior trains to never show any imperfections in his moves. Let us continue..."
Halt made Zach practice all the basic moves until he could barely hold his sword.
Through Halt's meticulous training Zach even gained +1 Precision; making Zach feel that contrary to Halt's opinions, his "hopeless-swordsmanship" was improving.
"That will be all for today. Go rest and prepare for tomorrows training. Bring the sword with you and swing it as much as possible. Also, get used to sleeping with it by your side. Your sword will never lie and never fail you. It must become your closest companion, until you and it are one."
Carrying the sword and making his way back to his small room, Zach climbed into bed with his cold greatsword as a companion. As he drifted towards sleep he could not help but dream of when he too would be able to destroy stars with a swing of his sword…