Tornados are known for their pure destructive nature but some have been known to pick something up and set it back down miles away, so gently in fact, that it had sustained no damage at all. Fighting can be as destructive or as gentle as a tornado. The outcome now depends on the individual. Indra had learned to fight in such a manner that his body sustained minimal damage while still inflicting maximum damage upon his opponent.

He was still in mid-movement, passing the air and the Alpha had just launched its attack when he reacted. He did so with no plan or preparation, only instinct. He recited the same two words he was beginning to become accustomed to saying.

"Draigan Aansoo." After that, he immediately activated his Spatial Tethering Skill. It is in life-and-death battles that one's potential is fully drawn, and Indra did just that. However, Instead of getting as far away as possible, he appeared halfway between the Alpha and the ground. Indra had gambled and tried to use Spatial Tethering vertically and he succeeded, but he knew that this was a gamble, one that could have easily led to his demise.

Immediately after he did so the beast exploded in the air and came hurtling back to him. Instead of striking it from behind as some may do, he took a different route. He did, after all, have no weapon. The moment the Wolverine's body was going to collide with his own he rotated himself in a way that made his body and the beasts akin to two gears seamlessly rotating together.

As he rotated around his opponent, his palms extended at the same time the beast began to become distanced from him, and instead of aiming to pierce he was aiming to push. His strike launched the Wolverine's body even faster than it was already moving and resulted in the crater it had created before doubling in size.

With an earsplitting noise, the Demonic beast crashed into the forest floor and shook the ground so hard that if it didn't know any better it may have thought an explosion had gone off. Seconds later, Indra had already landed lightly on the ground a few feet away.

He wore an uncharacteristic smirk on his face and a gleam in his eyes. The entire ordeal had happened in a second or two. Indra strolled slowly but surely to the body and examined it. The Wolverine looked like mush, without even touching the body he could see that almost every observable bone in it was completely shattered into bits.

The head looked like a watermelon that had just been dropped from the peak of the mountain and the rest of the body wasn't much better off. He glanced down at his own dirty robes that he had been wearing since the last time he'd run away.

Indra didn't even know why he still had them, why he'd even kept them after leaving the monastery and being taken in by a new family. He could think of only one reason, they let him be strong. The day he had run away from the family that he was sold to he had slipped into his robes and they gave him the courage to leave once again. The strength didn't come from the monastery or the fact that they had given them to him but because he had become a warrior in them.

In his robes, Indra had shed blood, sweat, and tears to become the martial artist he was today, the one thing he had always excelled at, his training. Indra was not only a warrior in the way of physical martial arts but of the mind. He had let the teasing from his peers become fuel for his training and with that Indra had become truly fierce. The light that was becoming more and more familiar with every kill entered his body once again and Indra promptly circulated it throughout himself. That fight had taken a lot out of him after using the spatial tethering and his Draigan Aansoo but once he circulated the qi he was revitalized.

Indra had gotten lucky so far, but if he would have been fighting more than one of those they would tear him apart. This realization gave him what he needed, guidance. If he kept on like this, wandering through the forest and fighting every bloodthirsty creature that happened to find him he'd be dead within the week. Maybe even the day. He needed to train.

…

Ambevilius was on a binge, for days he hadn't even budged from his throne. He ordered all of his servants out, all but Jaakobah. The latter had assumed that his master had done so because he didn't trust anyone else. His assumption was correct. Earlier in the day one of the servants had barged in to inform the lord of something that was supposedly important, neither Jaakobah nor Ambevilius ever found out. The servant never even left the room, he was vaporized on the spot. They each stared at the looking glass intently, the Titan Lord sitting leisurely on his throne while Jaakobah stood adamantly beside it.

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"What do you think Jaakobah?" The question took him by surprise, his lord was actually asking him for his opinion.

"I'm not quite sure what you mean sir."

"What do you think of his technique? If I'm not mistaken your family practices hand-to-hand combat quite vigorously do they not?"

"Indeed they do my lord but he is still just a beginner. I couldn't possibly compare the two."

"Yes yes you're right, how about this? If he were your student would he not be quite exceptional for a beginner as well as a mortal?"

"Indeed master he would, why do you ask such things." Ambevilius' face twisted with anger and Jaakobah immediately chastised himself for asking such a foolish question. No one questions the master, he questions them. Instead of answering Ambevilius returned his gaze to the looking glass and stared intently. With an internal sigh of relief, Jaakobah did so as well. For hours more the young man practised the same behaviour.

He would practically work himself to death performing techniques repeatedly until he was satisfied and then sit down for a moment and meditate, his vigour would seemingly return and the process would be repeated. This time Genesis did not forget to hunt, how could he survive if he did not eat? He was no longer under the protection of the supernatural phenomena caused by enlightenment. Now he was an ordinary mortal. Besides eating, sleeping and relieving himself, all the boy did was train.

He knew quite a few Shaolin forms from the monastery, but he was not skilled at them. His body had been too weak and he lacked the talent to train alongside the others. Shaolin had high demands on one's physical body. It would not be an exaggeration to call it a forging of the human body. Alas, Indra's body was weak. Hence all he could do was practice the forms by himself day in and day out. Now that practice was starting to produce results.

This behaviour went on for days and astounding progress was made in just that short period of time. Indra was truly impressive. He kept on with the progress he was making for a full month before he finally collapsed out of exhaustion. The boy, in his excitement, had still failed to regulate his rest time properly.

Ambevilius turned his head to stare at Jaakobah and he mocked this behaviour. Each one as puzzled as the other. Then the seemingly lifeless body just disappeared.

…

The forest floor was peaceful for once. It was an amicable quiet with the slight whooshing of leaves. They were under the jurisdiction of a gentle breeze that danced its way through the forest, lulling the trees into a slumber and the animals into their dens. Indra was safe, at least for this single moment. It was time for him to move on. So he did. Indra ventured further into the forest, traversing the heavy mist once again.

At least now there was some direction. What he needed to do was find somewhere safe to train. This simple task took him hours, luckily he achieved it just before night fell, only it came at a cost. His only real option was to wander around in the mist until he found something and he did just that. After a few hours of blindly wandering through the dense fog and luckily not stumbling upon any more of the so-called forest dwellers, he happened upon a cave.

The entrance was foreboding, to say the least. It looked as if it may be the entrance to hell itself. The threshold of the cave was almost shaped like a mouth. Grim-looking stalactites descended from the ceiling while stalagmites dominated the floor. All of which looked as if they were primed to take a bite out of anyone who may choose to enter. With a defiant stride, Indra did just that, taking his first step toward his new home. He had to weave his way through the stalagmites which littered the floor and even duck or avoid some of the more ancient of their bat-like brethren.

Eventually, the army of stones came to an end and he could venture freely into the cave. At some point the sunlight had ceased, so he created his own. A sensation of fury but at the same time one of comfort burned in the pit of his stomach when he generated a small flame. The infant fire hovered just above his palm, it took in a steady amount of oxygen and lit the way for his journey.

After what seemed like years, his journey ended. The time he spent walking as well as what time it was, in general, was lost. One thing he did know was he wasn't alone. Just ahead, around a bend in the cave was some source of light flickering eerily off of the wall. The surface of the wall was bumpy and uneven but it also had a reflective sheen to it. Like a layer of laminate was put on it. It didn't seem natural in the least.

The moment Indra saw the light he extinguished his own and crept as stealthily as he could to the corner and peeked around. A weight was lifted from his shoulders the moment he saw what was awaiting him around the bend. It was an old man. He wore nothing but a loincloth and his ribs as well as several other bones were visible beneath his pale skin. It was an obvious case of malnourishment. In front of the man, where Indra couldn't see was the source of light that danced off of the reflective walls. On the elderly man's right was a spear as well as on his left.

The former was much longer than the latter but each of them was nothing more than sharpened sticks. It took quite some time to decide upon a course of action. On one hand, it could be someone friendly, only trying to survive like himself but on the other, he simply didn't know enough about the Conquest System to know what to expect. As if someone read his thoughts, words appeared before him.

[Mountain Sage: An extremely wise demonic beast, what it lacks in power compared to the average beast it makes up for in intelligence. Sages often protect rare items. They are found in secluded places and sometimes dungeons. The Mountain Sage is a lesser sage but nothing to be taken lightly.

Rating: F

Class: Lesser Sage ]