As the week went on, Luke was ever more grateful for the Gamer.
He could level up and finish his farm work quicker for his uncle Owen, to the point where he only needed to work for up to two hours even on busier days.
Owen didn't question it, Luke was a decently bright boy for his age who worked very hard. If anything he was grateful for it.
The most interesting thing in the world to Luke wasn't even the Gamer, it was Ben Kenobi, also told to Luke as "Obi-Wan" through the Gamer.
He was no longer a strange hermit who lived in the caves abandoned long ago by the Sand People and whoever else roamed Tatooine, but someone who knew of Luke's father.
Who was he? Who were the Jedi? What exactly was the Force?
These were questions that pelted at Luke's mind day and night.
Luke was doing pull-ups and other workouts, using random objects and ledges around Ben's cave apartment one afternoon. He had made him do simple jumps here and there to start improving his endurance, and began to include rudimentary equipment in his home for Luke to exercise while Obi-Wan could stay within his house.
"How exactly did the Jedi work? What were their jobs?" grunted out Luke, using a metal bar Ben had installed.
"Well the Jedi Order, were police officers of sorts, except they didn't necessarily serve at the will of a government. The laws they sought to enforce weren't laws at all, rather they upheld the Force?"
Luke was confused, dropping down and wiping the sweat off his brow. "The Force had laws?"
"Again, not at all. Rather, the Force holds the galaxy in balance. It unites all living things, all life, the Force exists everywhere and through everything at all times. If I can teach you well enough, you can connect well to the Force even in a place as barren as here on Tatooine."
Luke put his hands on his hips as Obi-Wan watched him quietly. "How did the Jedi uphold the Force?"
"The galaxy is a very large place, I doubt your uncle has ever let you travel farther than Mos Espa hasn't he?"
Luke shook his head.
Obi-Wan seemed to think for a moment, Luke could sense that he was considering whether to tell him or not what he wanted to next. However, Obi-Wan was skilled enough with the Force to keep most of the details from Luke's mind.
"As a very large place, it was, and still is, very diverse. Thousands of star systems encompassed the Republic. Each had their own peoples and rules, ways of life, and practices. The Jedi knew that the cruelties of the galaxy, such as murder, violence, slavery, and corruption were inevitable. But it was their job to do its best to stop them everywhere they could. Through missions, special tasks the Jedi council selected to teams of Jedi."
Luke was curious. "What was your first mission like?"
Obi-Wan picked up his lightsaber, tossing Luke his. The boy's reflexes were already quick enough that he caught it perfectly.
"I'll let you know when we reach today's place for training."
…
Two pairs of blue lightsabers were the only light in a giant cave deep within the catacombs of Tatooine connected to Obi-Wan's house.
"I had many missions in the Jedi Order when I became a Padawan." Obi-Wan could already sense Luke's question, he could see his mouth twitch too through the light of their swords. "That's a learner or student a Jedi Knight or Master has to pass on their teachings in the ways of the Force."
"Oh, so like you and I right?"
Obi-Wan chuckled. "Yes," he smiled, as if the words were sweet to him for a moment. "I suppose so."
Obi-Wan continued. "At first, because I was so young, my Master would only take me on certain Jedi tasks in other systems that weren't too dangerous. But when I was old enough, I was sent to settle a trade dispute started over several key special mining areas in some middle Rim territories, I believe slavers were involved then too. Almost escalated into full blown war that trade dispute did."
"A war? Like the Clone Wars? Think I heard some people near Tosche station mentioned it sometime." Luke was able to side step a small rock in the darkness of the cave before it appeared through the Force.
"Mm, a short precursor."
"A war against slavers? Sounds like a lot, I'd love to hear about it."
"I'm afraid that's a story about for another time. We're here."
The farm boy was speechless for a moment.
"Where's, here?"
Luke hadn't seen a place like this in his whole life, he wasn't sure places like it even existed, much less on Tatooine.
The cave they were standing in was more like a large sanctum possibly carved out of a smaller room in the cave systems of Tatooine.
Luke was sure they were travelling downward, not up, but he could see sunlight peeking into the cave, from its roof, in several holes in and around it at all times. What was strange was that several of the holes had sunlight leading to a thin stalactite hanging over a sizable reflective pool of water.
Luke felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
The level of clarity the water had, the ways the sunlight just so happened to touch around the circumference of the stalactite at various angles. It was all so ethereal, so odd, so.
"Beautiful," muttered Luke in utter amazement. "Wh-What is this place?"
"I've long asked myself that very same question," Obi-Wan said. "Can you feel it?"
"Feel what? Wait-"
It had taken a moment from how beautiful the room was for it to sink in.
But it hit Luke, it hit Luke like a crashing wave of emotion.
[You have unlocked Touch Sense!]
[You have gained +250 EXP from using the Force!]
[You have gained +1 to INT!]
Obi-Wan took off his brown cloak as Luke began to look around the room. "This room is powerful with the Force, very powerful. It's almost as if it's like-"
"The epicenter of all of Force within the planet of Tatooine."
"Why would this place exist? How does it exist? Does every planet have this?"
"Doubtful," admitted Ben. "I've called it, simply, The Pool."
The lightsaber tied to Luke's belt clinked as Luke walked closer to the walls, seeing strange inscriptions on it, in a language Luke had never seen.
"A once great people lived here in Tatooine. Some formed tunnels to escape some sort of catastrophe, some already lived in these caves as well. Their Jedi, if they had such an equivalent, found this room to study and meditate in. The Force led me here through Tatooine's catacombs once, when you were just a baby."
Luke turned around, the typically calm and touching old man had a look of sudden anguish and remembrance.
"I had passed through a great tragedy just around that time. I would always stay committed to my task of making sure you were safe, but meanwhile, in my spare time, I tried to see what answers the Force could give me for how to process the tragedy."
Luke, as awestruck by the presence of the Force within the room as he was, had to ask. "Why exactly are we here? To train?"
"Just because Tatooine is a barren, desolate, and fairly eventless planet. Doesn't mean I can't keep you here to train while you continue to live with your uncle. It doesn't mean Tatooine has no secrets to hide. Would you like to find them out? They're part of mastering the ways of the Force, and becoming a Jedi."
"Yes," said Luke instantly.
"Good, then let's get started."
Obi-Wan turned and walked towards a higher ledge. With a decent bit of exertion, the old man jumped over three times his own height.
Luke was stunned, using Observe out of instinctual confusion to try to figure out what that was.
[Force Jump - A technique that activates the force around the user to jump at extreme distances. INT and STA intensive.]
Obi-Wan pointed ahead. "You see that cave spire?"
Luke saw the stalactite with cones of sunlight on it. "Hard to miss." he said quietly, his voice carrying through the cave.
"By the time the first portion of your training is complete, you will be able to jump high enough to touch it."
Luke knew that the Force was powerful. He could feel the echoes and lost language of an ancient civilization tens of thousands of years old because of it. He might've even had the Gamer because of it.
But that stalactite was hanging from the ceiling almost a dozen times over Luke's own height.
"You want me to try to touch that?"
"At some point, yes. Go ahead and try."
Luke walked closer to the edge of The Pool. He looked inwards and saw that the water wasn't necessarily shallow, but it wasn't deep enough that he couldn't see the bottom. Still, Luke wouldn't get hurt if he missed and crashed through the water.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Getting ready to have a running start, Luke prepared himself to leap off a slightly raised area of the basin to leap upwards.
With a tiny 'Hup!' Luke tried as hard as he could.
"Whoa!"
Luke wasn't ready for the Force to send him flying off the floor of the cave like a blaster bolt.
Halfway through the air, the boy struggled, his blonde hair and Tatooine farm robes fluttering about for a moment.
He struggled, and quickly fell, not expecting himself to jump higher than he ever could've imagined he had.
With a huge splash, Luke fell into the water, having formed an arc from where he once was.
He turned, surprised to see Obi-Wan laughing from his tiny perch on the upper part of the cave.
"You expected that to happen right? Why's that funny to you?"
"I did expect you to fail. But I was hoping you would've asked for how to leap properly first." he chuckled out quietly.
The boy gripped the edge of the basin, being careful not to scratch his hand on the jagged edges of the cave forming above The Pool, and began to climb out.
[You have learned a new skill! Force Jump!]
[You have leveled up Force Jump to LV 4!]
Luke attempted the same jump, Obi-Wan giving suggestions for improvement here and there.
At one point, Luke was able to control his ascent, and the rapid and erratic tussle through the air turned into a clean leap. And Luke was able to jump high, higher than he ever thought he could.
Even knowing who Luke's father was, Obi-Wan was, momentarily, decently impressed.
…
After giving Luke a change of clothes back at his apartment, it took around half an hour to set them out to dry and walk back to the pool.
"Today we'll also be studying the fundamentals of saber combat, against a live opponent."
"I'm ready." Luke's hand moved towards his belt wearing some spare clothes Obi-Wan found that could fit him.
Obi-Wan chuckled, shaking his head. "I'm afraid we might injure each other at this stage by using real blades. For now, we'll be using these."
Obi-Wan handed Luke a lightsaber, although, one that looked far different than the sword he was used to using.
"What's this?"
"Training lightsaber. Typically used with younglings and initiates into the Jedi Order. Similar to how the training remote doesn't fire live blaster bolts, these blades will only sting you at worst."
Luke nodded, trying to take a normal fighting stance with his lightsaber similar to the one he took when practicing with the droid.
Obi-Wan raised his sparring sword, and the duel began.
Luke was mostly unsure of how to proceed, he mostly fought an invisible droid firing bolts at random intervals, not another person with a lightsaber.
So, he let his instincts lead him.
The Pool was a serene and ethereal place in and of itself, but it allowed Luke to completely disconnect from everything around him and focus purely on sparring his teacher.
Luke led with two strikes, and Obi-Wan merely moved backwards, parrying the blows towards his chest and leg.
Obi-Wan was fighting extremely defensively, merely biding his time and waiting for Luke to overextend himself, which he soon did.
About halfway through a combination attack, Obi-Wan faked a low attack to Luke's legs, and struck upward, hitting the boy's side.
He yelped quietly and hissed in pain.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, let's keep going."
Obi-Wan turned, facing the long wall around the edge of the left side of The Pool.
"Here, let me show you the proper way to attack and block."
Luke was being shown the stances. How Obi-Wan would thrust with his sparring lightsaber, slash, how to move his body properly, even how to kick or punch.
From what Luke could tell, the movements for using the lightsaber were simply enough, it was their application in real combat that required expert precision.
Even after increasing his strength and endurance for a week through training and using the Gamer, Luke's mind was attuned to the high skill intensity required for actual lightsaber sparring.
When Obi-Wan was done showing Luke the step by steps for basic drills, they resumed sparring.
This time, Luke felt a lot more in control, even if Obi-Wan was going easier now.
However, Obi-Wan was able to help Luke keep track of his distance, when to expect a blow or deliver his own. The timing was tricky, but Luke was keeping his focus on Obi-Wan's body, not his sword.
Luke lost the next two clashes, as the old man practically disarmed him and then nearly caught him with a sharp backfist to the temple that Luke just almost backed away from.
He raised his guard instantly, but Obi-Wan was already there. He barely turned, not even needing to spin, and Obi-Wan's sparring saber lightly tapped against Luke's neck.
His block was far too late, and although the lightsaber barely left so much as a the slightest of bruises, it was clear to Luke that even with his level of control Obi-Wan could've killed him with ease.
Luke shrugged off these losses however, and as Obi-Wan paused, reminded Luke of the need for proper footwork, balance, and trying to remain more explosive with his attacks, Luke began to spar a little better.
He lost the next round narrowly, but the one after, Obi-Wan had actually broken a sweat.
Luke engaged first, as Obi-Wan blocked, Luke began to get a read for how he parried, side stepped, and would suddenly lunge forward. Obi-Wan was more than skilled enough with a lightsaber to make Luke guess everytime, during a counter attack, if he would actually commit or not, but now Luke had his rhythm.
He dodged, ducking slightly and turning his head off angle as Obi-Wan's overhead slash missed by inches. Before Obi-Wan's guard could recover properly, Luke summoned as much energy as he could with his legs, dashing forward.
Luke spun around as he leaped forward, and with a grunt of great effort, slashed cleanly across Obi-Wan's body.
Ben had within half a second to parry, but the blow had landed close enough to his torso that the majority of the impact sent him backward, the energy of the dash strike was released backward with a small gust of wind.
Obi-Wan resettled fast, raising his saber again.
Luke was panting quietly, despite the cool atmosphere of the room, he was sweating intensely.
Obi-Wan led with the first attack, Luke parried twice, and then he struck, thrusting forward, and Obi-Wan parried twice.
Luke was getting tired with how much effort it was taking to keep up with Obi-Wan, who was starting to take the sparring more seriously since Luke practically sent him crashing back with a single hit.
"That's enough for today."
Luke bowed slightly, and he turned after turning the sparring saber off, pausing to wipe his face with a towel and drink from a canteen of water.
He was unable to see however, how much Obi-Wan was smiling. His back hurt, but that was more fun than he'd ever had in years.
[Skill increased! Lightsaber Combat LV 16 (53.1% to LV 17)!]
[Skill created! Dask Strike LV 4 (3.0% to LV 5, a rushing saber attack that allows you to close the distance with enemies or can be used as a mid-range counter or blow with a lightsaber.]
…
Luke was in a meditative position, sitting cross legged on the floor near the edge of The Pool with his eyes closed.
He began to hear tiny drops of water fall from the tip of the stalactite right onto the pool itself in tiny 'plips.'
"Can you feel the Force around you? Flowing through you?"
"Yes."
"Can you feel it in those stones over there?"
Luke seemed to squint with closed eyes, focusing.
"I can."
Obi-Wan watched with silent approval as Luke began to levitate the stones, breathing, in and out.
The water would strike the pool in tiny ripples across crystal clear water.
Luke began to lift the rocks with the force, they began to shake in the air.
And Luke's eyes opened, the rocks fell suddenly.
"What is it?"
"I-I felt something."
Obi-Wan listened.
Luke explained, turning to Obi-Wan. "There's something deeper in the caverns, something strange. Something," Luke paused, trying to find the right words. "Something powerful. I don't know how, but I could sense it, just like those rocks."
"Mm, yes. The Dark Side of the Force." Obi-Wan muttered, stroking his bearded chin.
"There's a Dark side to the Force?" Luke was confused.
Obi-Wan could see the lights falling through the tiny holes through the roof of The Pool's cavern had changed to a certain position.
"It will be getting late soon, your clothes should be dry by now."
…
After Luke got dressed, he was about to head home when he spoke to Obi-Wan.
"It was hard to really do anything at all when I felt the Dark Side, how does it work?"
Obi-Wan was sitting in a small chair in his apartment as Luke listened to him. "Well the Force is similar to us, in that it has its light and dark. Where there is good, there is evil. No one is perfect, in fact, part of the Jedi's downfall was its insistence towards perfection."
"How?" Luke took a seat near him.
Obi-Wan swallowed, looking towards Luke. "The Dark Side tempts us. Tell me Luke, how did you feel training with me today?"
"Better than I ever have been. Like I'm becoming who I'm meant to be, I'm learning things I never thought was possible."
Obi-Wan smiled. "Yes, you're able to unlock capabilities far and away of what a regular boy your age should. But there are those who see those gifts with the Force, not as tools that must only be used when the time comes. But as weapons."
"Like, to hurt others? For the sake of it?"
"In some instances yes. You've asked me before how the Jedi functioned, and a large part of that was to hold back just those who thought the opposite to them. The Sith, masters of the Dark Side, who saw the Force's true meaning as a pathway to power."
Luke listened as Obi-Wan sensed he could trust Luke with the truth.
"Before you were born, a pupil of mine was tempted by the Dark Side. He believed the galaxy was born to serve him, that the mastery he had over the Force was a sign, a sign that he was to subjugate. Not to uphold freedom. His name was Darth Vader, and he helped the Empire wipe the Jedi from existence."
"Almost all of them."
"Yes. Almost."
He could see the worry and confusion written all over the boy's face.
"The Sith have a connection to the Force, same as the both of us Luke. The difference is, the choices they make." Luke nodded, smiling lightly. "Their choices to use their gifts to grow their own power at the suffering and expense of the innocent."
"Yeah."
"That," Obi-Wan raised a finger. "Is the precipice of the Jedi Order. Maintaining balance, understanding that both light and dark exists within us all. And never once letting yourself fall into despair, a lust for power, and depravity."
"Thank you. Ben."
"You should be getting home."
"I should, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Get home safe Luke."
…
As Luke lay in bed that night, he reviewed how the training had gone.
Luke felt so different in just a short time with the Gamer.
Luke was starting to grow strong enough around the farm, that he could start to lift large metal boxes off his landspeeder filled with special materials Beru needed for her hydroponic garden that previously took incredible effort. Now with great ease.
[Name: Luke Skywalker
Class: The Gamer
Level: 26 (Next Level: 55.76%)
Title: Moisture Farmer
Age: 15
HP: 1100/1100
FP: 2000/2000
SP: 1400/1400
STR: 37
STA: 25
DEX: 32
INT: 30
WIS: 32
LUK: 26
Status: N/A
Perks: -Force Potential (There are only a few beings ever born with your potential in the force. All Force skills are learned +10% faster and are +10% more effective)
-Excellent Farmer (Years working on your uncle's farm has made you highly skilled in managing moisture vaporators, and bartering and collecting moisture to survive on Tatooine. Farming skills are learned +15% faster.)
-Jedi Novice (You have begun to learn the fundamentals of Jedi combat training, force sensitivity, and acrobatic technique.)
Flaws: N/A
Skill Points: 0]
His body had changed too, either through the Force, or the Gamer, or both, Luke could feel his muscles develop. Not in noticeably shocking amounts, but substantially so that Luke could tell.
His skills included a wide new list including Force Slash, Dash Strike, and he wondered just what other techniques he could learn.
More than anything, Luke wondered just what laid within the caves of Tatooine. He was scared to know just what was powerful enough that just by meditating into the Force in a sacred room in the catacombs completely broke his concentration.
[New Quest created! Venturing into the Unknown
The deepest caves of Tatooine contain mysteries so dark and old that no one dares even approach their neighboring caverns. Your Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, can take you on a journey within them to help you learn the ways of the Force during the end of this portion of your training.
Time Limit: None
Reward: +10 LVs, +8,000 credits, Advanced lightsaber augmentation
Accept: Y/N]
The Gamer usually gave Luke time limits to complete quests, as tedious as the work around his Uncle Owen's farm, it at least rewarded him for getting his chores done on time.
But he could see that he could complete this quest when he felt ready. As powerful as the Gamer was, being able to let Luke go up nine levels in just around a week of training and regular farm work, Luke felt the quest implied he should ask for Obi-Wan's permission first.
What he noticed was that his lightsaber was to be 'augmented' whatever that meant.
Luke could sense that his aunt and uncle were still in their rooms, fully asleep, nowhere near his own bedroom, so he withdrew his lightsaber.
Bored, he ignited it, looking at the pristine and deadly blue blade.
He looked at it for a bit, and then sheathed it again.
Luke shifted on his bed, tucking the metal weapon back into its hidden spot in his bed side while staring at it quietly.
If his sword was to be augmented, and Obi-Wan told him that to best understand himself, his father's weapon, this mysterious person Obi-Wan knew, would it be best to accept?
Luke then turned to the light blue screen and hit Accept, even if he could choose the right time to venture within the caverns, there was nothing there to fear.
Not if it could help him find out what he really was.
…