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Road to a Hero: Three Chances in Another World
Arc 4: Chapter 19. Forms of training.

Arc 4: Chapter 19. Forms of training.

Arc 4: What families entail

Road to a hero:

Three chances in another world

Chapter 19. Forms of training.

Edward {Where am I…? What day is it…?}

Edward wakes up, groaning in pain. His eye takes a bit to focus, the sun blinding him.

Edward: “A…shed?”

Edward figures that he is in a shed, due to the small wooden structure he finds himself in. He looks at his body to find it wrapped in bandages. He gets up, slowly and painfully making his way out of the shed.

Edward {I’m in the woods? Am I still in Athens?}

Edward walks to the small cabin next to him and knocks on the door.

Edward: “Hello!? Any…body home?”

The door flies open, and Edward looks at a living legend. Lincoln Valentine. Lincoln towers over Edward, his power making Edward feel small and weaker than he already is. Lincoln takes a swig out of his sake bottle, before burping in Edward's face.

Edward: No way…”

Lincoln: “You gonna come inside or you gonna sit here and let all of my hot air out!?”

Edward: “Sorry sir.”

Edward walks into the cabin, to find dirty dishes a disgusting smell, clothes all over the floor, and dirt everywhere.

Lincoln: “SIT DOWN DAMMIT! So why are you looking for me?”

Edward: “I would like your help with ending the civil war. At the rate it’s going Leo is gonna lose…”

Lincoln: “AND SO WHAT!? Those idiots started their fight and they're gonna end it! I know your eyes…what’s the son of Gotsu Van Helsing doin here?”

Edward: “My friends and I want to help Leo win the war and get his help with retrieving Walgonia from the Sect of Anarchy.”

Lincoln: “So it’s selfish reasons you’re here…and how the hell did the Sect take over a country as strong as Walgonia?”

Edward: “Arthur Willams…head commander of the Valatrositce army won the election…but turns out he’s part of the Sect.”

Lincoln: “So he won an election and you wanna take him out because of it?”

Edward: “Well it’s illegal to”

Lincoln: “SHUT THE HELL UP! I hate your damn prestigious time talkin all about how you wanna save people and do the RIGHT thing. Just do what you wanna do…do you want to take him out because he’s EVIL as you say?”

Edward: “Of course…but…”

Lincoln: “SPIT IT OUT! I saw you fucked up and half dead. I was gonna leave for dead but then I saw you kill those men fast and without a thought. You’re taught but you don’t wanna show it.”

Edward: “I don’t know…I just…”

Lincoln: ” FOLLOW ME NOW!”

Edward jolts up from his seat, ready to follow Lincoln.

Lincoln: “Damn you’re well trained. Oh well, follow me.”

They exit the mansion and embark on a walk up the mountain.

Edward: “That smell…it smells like…”

Lincoln: “SUT! Cause we’re on the path up the biggest Volcano on the mountain. The reason Athens has all the resources we used to sell our way to power. I want you to see something up here.”

Edward: “Alright…”

They make their way up the mountain, Edward struggling to make it up.

Lincoln: “Come ON! We’re here, I didn’t want to take you up the volcano I just wanted to show you this opening in the mountain.”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Edward walks into the small opening to see a big hole dug into the ground. Before Edward can say anything he feels a hand on his back, pushing him into the hole. He falls to the bottom, hurting his leg in the fall.

Edward: “WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?”

Lincoln: “I’M GONNA WAIT UP HERE TILL YOUR DUMB ASS TELLS ME WHAT YOU WANT TO DO!”

Edward: “WHAT!? I WANT TO STOP THIS CIVIL WAR!”

Lincoln: “Yeah yeah! I’ll go get you some water and some food.”

Lincoln leaves Edward to himself, himself, and a twenty-five feet deep whole.

Edward {It’s flat…I can’t climb out…and the walls are too far apart for me to push myself out. Ugh…think…THINK!}

Edward: “DAMMIT!”

Edward punches the wall, injuring his hand. He groans in pain before seeing a small impact mark on the wall from the punch.

Edward: “Barley a dent…but I did something…my entire body's aching…and I’m nowhere near my normal strength…I probably couldn’t even lift my…oh wait my swords gone…as well as my eye.

Edward slumps down, staring at the top of the hole. He feels his eye, wincing in pain. The blood-stained cloth coats his finger in old blood.

Edward: “Everything is…gone…it’s only been TWO AND A HALF WEEKS DAMMIT! I have faith Gray will be able to achieve a lot in a short amount of time…but what for me…I don’t have a strong healing factor…in a month he was able to get good enough to presser me…even for a second…in another month or two he might surpass me indefinitely…I’ll be useless…a human shield…”

Edward regains his composure, standing up. He starts to punch the wall, over and over, cracking a foothold in the wall.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gray and Ryo sit by a fire in a clearing in the snow-covered trees.

Gray: “It’s about to be my seventeenth day here.”

Ryo: “Yes almost half the month, and you have progressed better than I expected. Your healing factor is helping your body's growth.”

Gray: “You say that a lot…but I’m not some prodigy…I’m just good at focusing…but I don’t know how good I will be in a fight.”

Ryo: “Well that’s what I want to spend the rest of your time here working on. Your focus in a fight.”

Gray: “That would be helpful…I need to get good at using this katana since I’ve only fought with a broadsword.”

Ryo: “Spiritual combat.”

Gray: “What? Is that like fighting with spirits?”

Ryo: “Kinda. Palm strikes, blunt blows, using your opponents force against them, and constantly scanning and using the environment. Normal punches and kicks are one thing. But focused pinpoint blows are another. Break your opponent down until they can’t fight, read them faster than they can read themselves!”

Gray: “How are palm strikes better than punches?”

Ryo: “The spirits with the flow of your hand better that way, and it’s blunt so it won’t dig into your opponent. Like getting hit with a brick wall instead of the tip of a sword."

Gray: “So…mercy fighting?”

Ryo: “Yes…it is to make sure you don’t make any more mistakes. I mean you did say you feel bad about blindly killing.”

Gray: “Thanks.”

Ryo: “Now let us get started.”

Gray feels a hand press on his chest in a flash, flinging himself back.

Gray {SHIT, THAT HURT! MY GOD DAMN RIBS!}

Ryo: “Do not lose focus. You have been training your control, so, control it.”

Gray {He’s right…I just need to…}

Once again Gray gets hit, over and over reminding him of his time with Musashi. But this time it hurts less, and it’s colder.

Gray {COME ON, DAMMIT! I CAN’T CATCH MY DAMN BREATH!}

Gray overwhelmed with anger, flows a massive amount of mana throughout his body, charging at Ryo.

Ryo: “Calm down Gray, that is more mana than your body can handle.”

Without focus, Gray tries to punch Ryo, though Ryo effortlessly dodges. Each of Gray's punches carries enough power to blow the snow away. Ryo pushes Gray's chest, forcing him into the air, then pushing him back down, slamming him into the ground.

Ryo: “STOP!”

Ryo raising his voice scares Gray into submission. The pain from the mana overload hit like a truck, causing Gray to be overcome with great pain.

Gray: “AHHH DAMMIT! THE MANA HAS NEVER HURT THIS BAD BEFORE!”

Ryo: “It’s because your body's ability to handle it has gone up. But that means to overpower your body you must use a lot more than you’re used to. When you arrived here you were only able to handle using about ten percent of your mana and the max your OD would let you use was about fifteen. But now I would say your body can handle using about fifteen while your max is at twently! You're progressing extremely quickly and you need to keep control of that. Only use low amounts of mana at once, especially when you're outputting it around you're entire body."

Gray: “Why did my max go up so much? Was it just because of that small healing factor?”

Ryo: “Yes, and because your body has been using it so much. Your OD has adapted and it understands your needs. But you need to stop using zero or one hundred of what your body can handle. You need to use lower amounts of mana at a time around you're entire body to prevent breaking down and destroying yourself. Control, focus, understanding your self. That is what you need.”

Gray: “Oh...And...Sorry…that I lost my temper.”

Ryo: “To be honest I got carried away…and I thought a bit too much of you.”

Gray: “What do you mean think too much?”

Ryo: “At the rate, you were progressing I thought this would go more smoothly. I hadn’t seen any of your flaws, but now that I understand I will be able to fix my original training structure. That is my own fault and not your own. You're a person after all.”

Gray: “How will you change it?”

Ryo: “By fighting with you until you learn how to multitask. Now get up and gently focus mana around your entire body, use the spirit sense, and begin!”

Gray: “Ugh…alright”

Ryo: “Now let us begin.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over at Athens, the sun begins to set. Edward still punching at the wall, at a stop much higher than the first dent he made. Trying to make a second foothold. His knuckles are broken, bleeding all over the walls, but Edward continues trying and hitting repeatedly. He hears something approaching the top of the hole.

Edward: “LINCOLN!?”

Lincoln: “Got your food…WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?”

Edward: “MAKING…MY…WAY…OUT!”

Lincoln: “Good. Now stop, I got some food and water for yah.”

Lincoln tosses down some jerky and a canteen of water to Edward. Edward catches the things, though he struggles to hold them due to his broken hands.

Lincoln: “You’re stupid you know. If you don’t get your hands healed they’ll be broken and possibly unusable forever.”

Edward: “Well…I WOULD LOVE TO GET THEM HEALED BUT YOU PUSH ME DOWN HERE!”

Lincoln: “Raising your voice to me…GREAT! I’ll get more stuff for you and make it quick!”

Edward: “Thank you...wait before you go..I never asked you, what's with the cloth covering your face?"

Lincoln removes the cloth, showing that the side of his face had been aged and wrinkled to the point that there is almost no muscle on it. Only skin and bones, not even an eye to see out of. Edward gaps so Lincoln quickly puts the covering back on.

Edward: "What happend?"

Lincoln: "Some times, you have to go through great lengths to get the win, even if it means the cost of your body.

Edward slumps down, takes a breath, and starts eating and drinking his supplies. He removes the bandages around his eye, staring at his reflection in the canteen.

Edward: “They…scared me as well.”

Edward sees that they branded his eye with the Gravestone pirate's flag. The three slashes of the flag are now three burn scars going up his eyelids.

Edward: “Now I’ve forever marked…first my parents and my village…now my eye and my sword…they keep taking and taking…damn this water is good.”

END OF Chapter Nineteen.