“Now, it’s time to show the fruits of your training, for now, use only the Natural Energies, exclude any Void attacks. Let’s see what you got.” Said Monsoon to Luke, which made the man unsure for a moment.

“Are you sure? Not to be cocky but I can cause some ruckus right now. Wouldn’t want any accidents to happen,”

Bursting into laughter the hall trembled from the might of his voice and the overbearing weight swaying on the carapace-covered limbs. After he collected himself, Monsoon answered:

“Don’t worry little one, while Void is unpredictable, normal magic at your level will have trouble leaving a scratch on me. Even not taking into account the massive gulf in power levels, my species is naturally great at defense. My carapace is tougher than steel. Much more tougher.” He finished with a grin.

“Hit me.”

“Ok, I’ll start at the distance and go one by one,”

Using his newly obtained senses, he sharpened his focus, guiding his energy outside his body. Concentrating it in 7 different points, forming a halo behind his back.

First, four points shot into the ground mimicking spider legs, lifting him from the floor and putting the pressure into his chest. The other 3 shooting from over his shoulder and above his head shot out like thrown spears, shearing the air and smashing against the granite cover of his mentor.

Dispersing into flakes of energy, the recoil got redirected into his elbow. Right arm flew forward with the added speed, like a cannonball shot out of it, a compressed telekinetic bullet with compressed air inside it smashed into the metallic part of the claw that covered the torso in the last moment. The air was disrupted, the mist swirling from rapidly moving projectiles.

With a strain of thought, the four ethereal limbs moved. Rapidly piercing the brickwork, changing his position, and moving him up the wall he started sending out straight after straight of the compressed bullets. The air wailed from the disruption while a bigger load charged in front of Luke’s chest.

Both elbows behind him, the back of his palms meeting his chest forced a mighty push forward. A ball of compressed and constantly changing and shredding energies disrupting the space they occupied traveled forward. Smashing like the blacksmith’s hammer against the carapace on the claw actually chipped the rock on it, flakes and chunks falling in a clutter on the floor. Both of them stopped, Monsoon raising his eyebrow.

“That is a surprisingly good job, what did you do?” He asked.

“I pumped the feeling that I used to shred myself for Body Refining into a compressed space and willed to hit you like a car crash would with it.”

“Hmm, not that fancy but it does its job. Go on.”

With a rapid dash, Luke closed the distance between them. Coating his arms with a thickened energy barrier he Willed it to shred on the edges, like a chainsaw it churned the air, and with enhanced power and speed he started raining a hail of punches on his opponent. Gaining more and more momentum with every punch, more and more into his rhythm and tempo he started grinning. Dust fell from his punches and The Crab actually started getting pushed back centimeter by centimeter.

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Suddenly the air stirred and a slashing claw closed in on him, he curled up, knees and elbows tucked in. With a sudden burst, a bubble of energy expanded in front of him, absorbing a lot of the force and transferring it outside into a gust of air. He slid back four meters, sliding on the slippery rock.

His elbows were strained and his arms filled with bruises, but it mattered little. Luke managed to block a swipe, non-magical and a careless one, but still, a swipe from a multitone being that could stomp him just weeks ago.

Their eyes met and both smiled at each other.

“Good job, kid. Come on, you aren’t done are you?”

He launched in response, gravel exploding behind him like a frag grenade just popped under his feet. In the blink of an eye, they came face to face. Monsoon expected that the right hand of the kid, tucked behind him, ready to throw a punch would be the source of damage.

He was wrong.

The left arm that guarded Luke’s face suddenly lit up, blinding him and flaring like a Lighthouse light all across the hall.

Blinded and surprised he couldn’t prepare for what came next. The arm that was cocked back straightened, and forming a crescent moon the energy coating it extended and solidified. A blade formed of sheer will came down on the crab with the force of an executioner's axe. Aided by the telekinetic constructs that Luke used to place himself the force actually brought Monsoon's carapace down to the stone tiles.

Both of them were crushed under immense weight and force. The crab retaliated, using his human hands he grabbed Luke, easily displacing him from his position and slamming him against the ceiling and then the floor like a wet towel being flopped in the wind.

His eyes watered and his vision got red from blood flooding his eyeballs. The overpowering G-Froces made it almost impossible to move. Almost. While cracking rock with his body, he used the brief moments of respite to throw his arms onto his attackers. Once both were latched, he willed his most powerful of constructs.

“BURZA ISKIER” (SPARK STORM) He yelled.

The air was immediately filled with the smell of frying ozone. The light show seemed like a rave laser stroboscope that went awry. With a wave, the air ignited into plasma veins. From the elbows, the skin turned to charcoal instantly, all the moisture evaporating as the energy passed. Once it reached the threshold of the foreign body it truly ignited. With the force of a truck hitting a deer, the Crab man got tossed into the air. The sound it made made metal shearing seem like a lullaby. With how loud Monsoon hit the wall, getting buried in it, it would defeat any mortal. A collapse fell on him.

Luke flopped to the ground, in pain and entirely spent but with a manic smile on him. He moved the immovable.

HE ACTUALLY DID IT.

Shaking, he used his hands to raise himself up. What met his eyes was the gray-shelled giant ripping himself from the collapsing wall. Both smiling, they needed no in-depth overview of Luke’s performance. Three words were enough.

“Good job, kid,” said the Crab once all the rubble slid off him. He walked closer and helped his protegee to get up. With a bit of pride in his voice he started going over their bout, what was done correctly, and what could be improved.

Overall the improvement was beyond what he expected. Still, the fact that the kid fried himself while using his powers wasn’t ideal, but it was enough to keep him safe Down Below.

They talked, Luke asked questions, and he answered them.

What a breath of fresh air it was, to get a mind so fascinated by what he viewed as something so normal. So many unusual questions, and so many sources of inspiration.

The fight really gave him something to think about. He never was a fighter himself. His bloodline granted him enough power naturally not to worry about gaining more, and while he didn’t use any enhancement during this exchange, it was mind-boggling to think that a baseline human could crack his defenses, not even considering the short time he had to train.

*He is going to be a source of fun*

Stopping the young idiot from venturing into the Depths while exhausted and damaged, he invited him to rest and listen to some lessons. They shared a meal, did some more technique training, and went to sleep.

After some hours, both were waiting for the action to start. Leading him down the cobweb-covered hallways and staircases, they reached a platinum-covered gate studded with rubies.

“Here we are, level two of The Sewers. This is the Down Below. You sure you wanna get in there?”

He asked already knowing the answer.

“Yes, yes I am” He heard in response.

With no further questions asked Monsoon opened the gate, allowing his pupil to enter into the deeper levels of the century-old Sewers.