The padding connected first. Unsurprisingly, it compressed. The force of the punch simply too much. Jay's knuckles hit next. They compressed too. Raw power forcing the bones in his hand closer together. The punch didn’t knock Akira away. It kept moving, kept pushing, kept compressing.
Until it didn’t.
Light travels faster than sound. So Jay saw his fist begin to snap sideways before the sonic boom assaulted his eardrums.
The thunderclap blasted Jay’s arm aside. It slammed into his torso, forcing him to backpedal just to stay standing.
Jay looked at the shredded glove on his right fist. Half in horror, half in elation. Everything he’d done in the storm sage’s trials had a huge asterisk next to it. It was all done with the sage’s help.
This was fucking real.
A cough interrupted Jay's daydream. He snapped out of it to see Akira, one knee on the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood. A deep gorge in the gravel stretched several metres from where the punch landed to where he now knelt.
“Nice one! The gorilla won’t know what hit him.” Akira said through a forced, bloody grimace.
“Shit! Are you okay?”
Getting hit was a part of sparring, a part you just have to suck up and accept. Even if someone tried to hold back, there was always a chance you got hit with a good one. There was a difference, however, between a good one and the fucking bomb that Jay had just detonated right in Akira's face.
Akira assured Jay he was okay, before taking a seat and finishing off the remainder of his water.
Jay couldn’t help but feel a little bad. His friend had taken a huge hit for his sake. But Jay was a fighter at heart. Nothing could dampen his excitement after finally recreating the thunder punch. He'd taken the first baby steps into the realm of Harmony. The first steps to winning his second fight.
The dull throbbing in his right shoulder reminded Jay that he still had a long way to go. He tried to shadow box, but his limp punches felt weak and lethargic.
“You’re not gonna throw another punch like that today.” Akira said, sitting cross legged as the colour returned to his face. “If you’re not familiar with an essence, it takes a lot to channel it. You might not feel tired right now, but it’ll hit you eventually since it was your first time properly channelling thunder. Manipulating essence takes a toll on you mentally and physically. Think of it like lifting weights with muscles you’ve never used before. You might be capable of it, but it comes at a cost.”
“So that’s it? I only have one punch worth of thunder?” Jay said. He thought nothing could bring him down from the high of landing the punch. But if he only had one shot? Only one attempt at hitting the gorilla made the fight look a lot less winnable.
“One punch isn’t a lot, but yeah. That’s all you have right now. The more familiar you are with thunder, the easier it is to manipulate it. Also, the more you practice, the more malleable your personal essence becomes. Remember the Venn diagram? Getting a better overlap means you can do more with that essence before you fatigue. Like having a stronger muscle, or whatever makes sense to you. The concept of thunder is static. You can’t change that. But through harmonising you can do two things to increase the overlap.
“First, you can change your personal essence. This doesn’t mean losing what makes you, you. Rather the opposite. Understanding yourself more grants you better control over your personal essence. Imagine you can morph your personal essence circle into a blob so more of it overlaps with the thunder circle.
“Secondly you can find a more specific worldly essence. If you resonate more with the sound of thunder than just thunder. Then you can channel sound of thunder essence, rather than just thunder essence. Creating a better overlap. This is a lot easier said than done though. Understanding a whole concept is far easier than understanding a very specific part of it.”
Jay reckoned he’d have a PhD in Venn diagrams by the end of his first fight. It was beginning to get on his nerves. If Jay ever found out that instead of dying Mr. Venn, or whatever his name was, got reincarnated into the coliseum he wasn’t sure whether he’d thank the man or throttle him.
At least he wasn’t limited to one punch forever. Jay worried about how to increase the amount though, how was he supposed to change his own personal essence within a few days?
“Since you’re done for the day, and the headache you gave me isn’t going anywhere. We could go to get you some gear for the fight. How many CP did you get from your debut?”
Jay pulled up his profile, noticing a new row beneath his rankings.
Alias
Lightning Leonard
Organisation
Second Chance Coliseum (Soulbound)
Grade
E
Rank
970
Offence
999
Defence
950
Strategy
904
Instinct
850
Vitality
989
Speed
793
CP
3010
“3010. Is that a lot?””
Akira squinted. Jay could see the confusion on his face.
“We’re going shopping. Now.”
----------------------------------------
Everyone needs to eat. Everyone needs to shit. Everyone needs a shiny new helmet, you don’t want a lucky potshot to get you in your next fight, do you? If Gambler’s Avenue is known as a hotspot of shady institutions and even shadier financial practices. Hawker’s Avenue is its older brother. At least this octant gives you chance to come out with a bargain though. For every 10 vials of snake oil and every 20 sacred swords, there lies a hidden diamond buried underneath. You just need to know where to look.
This was the second time Akira’s travel guide had mentioned Gamblers Avenue, and neither had been positive. Jay hoped his new friend didn’t have a gambling problem. If the district was so present in Akira’s mind, it had to be somewhat fun. Jay put it on his list for if he ever managed to squeeze a few seconds of free time.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Sights, sounds, and smells simultaneously assaulted Jay as soon as he exited the tram. While all other avenues had lines that reached the ocean, Hawkers did things differently. Barely a few minutes out from the coliseum, a bustling flea market greeted Jay. A sea of people scattered his focus. Hundreds of salesmen, each fighting tooth and nail for attention. Space usually reserved for tramlines was blanketed in multi-coloured tents, each inhabited by a shopkeeper either engaged in negotiation or shouting slogans to the masses.
“I can do 500, that’s the lowest I can go.”
“C’mon, for an old friend. Can’t you just do 495?”
“I can do 500, that’s the lowest I can go.”
“My wares are the best in the business, you won’t find another axe with this much life essence in all of Eterna… What do you mean Verun’s selling the same one! Yeah well, she’s a fake islander. Can’t trust anyone from those parts. Whole bunch of liars. I’m telling you this right here is the best deal on the island.”
“Now this is a sword worth buying! I’m tellin you right now buddy. While you were off getting your dick wet with Stormhaven whores, I was studying the blade. This right here is the real deal.”
“Bullshit… you couldn’t tell a broadsword from a cheeseboard. Name your price and I’ll give you half.”
Akira charged headfirst into the crowd, dragging Jay into the sea of people. Jay expected his friend to barrel through the crowd, based off the strength he showed earlier, but the masses here gave as good as they got. An errant elbow dug into Jay's ribs. When he tried to see who hit him, another elbow came from the opposite side.
Jay never had to worry about crowds on earth, being a heavyweight boxer usually made people steer clear. If anyone did ever bump into him, a stiff glare was usually enough to get an apology. The people here didn’t give a fuck. Height and muscles didn’t mean much on an island when anyone could turn their punches into thunderclaps.
Akira cut his way through the stalls like a man with minutes left to live and seconds to buy a cure. He didn’t use strength to push through the crowds, but he spotted the tiniest of gaps and slipped through them. The gaps closed by the time the trailing Jay followed him though, and Jay earned a few more elbows for his friend’s trouble. Akira sometimes stopped to speak to a vendor, heavily questioning some sellers but sparing others little more than a glance. Occasionally he would stop and ask Jay a question.
“Familiarity, or power. Which is more important?”
“Are you exclusive to red or do you wear other colours too?”
As soon as Jay answered, he would go right back on the hunt.
Thirty minutes of following, losing, finding, losing again, and eventually re-finding Akira went by. Eventually, Akira pointed at a quiet spot, relatively free from the crowds. And the pair walked out.
“I’ve compiled a list of everything that’s worth looking at in there. Sorry I rushed you about, next time we can go to a more regular shop, or an auction house. But I like it here more. I like the chaos, and it’s the best place on the island for a bargain. If you don’t know where to look, you can get tricked into buying a load of crap though.”
Jay understood what he meant. While he wouldn’t usually fall for a scam, Jay only knew the barebones of Harmony. He didn’t think he’d get tricked into buying something useless, but without knowing which things were worth buying, Jay would have probably walked out of the market with nothing but a pair of tired feet to show for it.
A shimmer of gold flashed across Akira's eyes and a table appeared in front of Jay.
Item
Estimated Price
War paint of focus
500 CP
Beads of resilience
700 CP
Lightning in a bottle
1200 CP
Gale-forged dagger
2700 CP
Conquerors fists
1800 CP
Soul ripper
3000 CP
Quick fit boots
1500 CP
Cape of entanglement
800 CP
Jay looked over the list. After a quick skim through the small descriptions displayed when Jay looked over each item, it seemed like they fell into three categories.
The first three looked like training aids, although they could be used in a fight. The war paint of focus granted increased perception for an hour, followed by a debilitating headache for the next two. It was a one-time use item, but if it made the difference between winning and dying. It could be worth it.
The beads of resilience functioned a lot like training weights. If wrapped around a body part, they’d make it ten times heavier. A lot of athletes liked this kind of training, but Jay had never found it too useful. The bodily motion would be different with the weight attached. If you got too used to moving with the weights, your form without them would get sloppy.
The third item intrigued Jay, but he didn’t know what it was for. Poring over the description didn’t help much either.
Lightning in a bottle: Captured from the heart of a ferocious storm, this bolt of pure electricity holds immense power. Its vibrant arcs dance within the glass confines, yearning for release yet held in perpetual stasis. A paradox of contained chaos.
Jay turned to Akira to ask why he’d recommended it.
“I think it’ll help you with understanding lightning essence. Usually, the people who channel lightning are long-range fighters who shoot it at their opponents. This wouldn’t be as useful to them, but since you’re most likely gonna be a short-range fighter using lightning to increase mobility, you might be able to glean some information from its movement.
“If you’re only gonna buy one thing, buy this. I don’t know how useful it’ll be in the immediate future, but I can’t imagine you’ll find a better focus for meditating on lightning essence. Ever. I can only imagine it’s so cheap because its being sold as a novelty, not many people will be able to actually use it, but who knows? It might not be here tomorrow.”
With an appraisal like that, how couldn’t Jay buy it? He struggled to see how Akira called it cheap however. The bottle cost almost forty percent of Jay's budget.
Jay noted Akira's recommendation and moved onto the next three items. These were the big boys, each costing over half his total contribution points. Jay took his time looking each one over.
Gale-forged dagger: A knife intertwined with the name of the wind. This dagger appears just to be a hilt, yet when the activation word is uttered a blade of pure wind is formed. Cutting through metal with ease with the power of a hurricane, this item is useful for warriors and thieves alike.
A gorilla could never predict a wind blade, right?
Jay thought about getting ultra close to the gorilla, before suddenly activating the wind blade from inside his opponent. It certainly would be a dramatic finisher. But Jay decided to check out the other items before launching into any power fantasies.
Conquerors fists: These trench daggers offer unparalleled versatility on the battlefield. Fully cast from denatured steel, they can channel any essence and be used as knuckle-dusters or daggers. The best choice for ultra-close-quarters combat.
A set of knuckle-dusters majorly appealed to Jay. The Gale-forged dagger might be more deadly, but he would have to learn how to wield it. Jay didn’t have much more to learn about punching. These would be a flat bonus to his destructive power and would give him more time to study essence before the fight.
The serrated steel blades, sticking three inches out from the knuckles, would also ease Jay into using a weapon if he ever switched later. He would have to ask what denatured steel was, however.
Soul ripper: This weapon takes its name from the mass murderer who once wielded it. One touch of its three claws can be enough to seal the fate of its victims if the user is convicted enough. Unparalleled power could be at your fingertips, if you have the strength to use it.
Ominous…
Jay wasn’t sure what kind of impression he’d given Akira for the guy to suggest these. While the weapon seemed extremely powerful it seemed extremely risky. What did “if you have the strength to use it” even mean? He wouldn’t have been able to afford anything else if he bought it, so Jay scratched this one off the list.
Maybe it was better that way.
Jay told Akira his reasoning, maybe his more experienced friend could give him some more information.
“Yeah, that all makes sense. I only really put the claw in there because it was the most powerful item here within your budget. It’s kinda terrifying. You raise a good point on using the knife, but it wouldn’t be that hard to learn the basics, especially with a skill crystal. Denatured steel is just steel with the essence of steel removed. It’s a great material for weapons because you can channel any essence through it. I would try and explain how it’s done, but I don’t fully know myself.”
Jay was perfectly fine with leaving that explanation for another day. He moved onto the last two items.
The quick-fit boots seemed interesting, offering a temporary speed boost that could be activated three times a day. Jay couldn’t afford both these and a weapon though, so he didn’t consider buying them. Although he considered coming back to get them if they were still here after the fight.
The cape of entanglement looked like a high-risk high-reward item. A cape, that doubled as a net capable of trapping enemies. While it would probably confound a gorilla, Jay had never worn a cape before. The image of him backpedalling, tripping up on his own gear, and falling over horrified Jay. Dying was already bad, but dying an embarrassing death was even worse. If Jay lost his fight by falling over, he’d never stop cringing in the after-afterlife.
“Why didn’t you recommend me any armour?” Jay said. “Seems like that would be pretty useful in a fight.”
“Have you ever fought in armour before? It’s harder than you think. If you find something mobile, it won’t be strong enough to take a hit from a gorilla. If you find something strong enough, you won’t be able to move in it. If you find something that does both, you wouldn’t be able to afford it. Besides, the clothes the storm sage gave you are really good. I can tell there’s storm essence weaved into them. They’re for sure better than anything you can afford here.”
Final question answered, Jay just had to decide what to buy.
----------------------------------------
“I can just about afford the Lightning in a bottle and the Conquerors fists. It gets me a weapon, and I’m trusting you on the lightning. I can’t think of anything better to do.”
Akira nodded. The pair went back into the crowd, purchased the items, and went on their way.