To describe the experience that Lance was going through as unpleasant would be so much of a complete and utter understatement. The killing intent alone that was emanating off of the beasts caused Lance to feel like he was suffocating.
Every fiber of his being was screaming as danger was all around him. All the animals charged at Lance, leaving him with no space to run or breathe. He had no weapons, his fist seemed to be completely ineffective against these beast. Not only was his blows not causing even the slightest of harm, it seemed to be making them even angrier.
Lance could do nothing but dodge, or at least try to dodge. There was just so many beast coming from all different angles that he would move in one direction, then get hit by some beast. Sometimes, it was leopards claws to his body, other times, wolves would bite his legs and arms.
These blows caused numerous injuries on Lance, but these weren't even the worst of them. There were times where the rhinos would ram him, impaling him with their horn, causing him to spit up blood.
Also, the strength of the gorillas were not a joke. All they would have to do is swing their arm, slapping Lance's body, launching him to the side as he could hear his bone cracking. Every second of every minute was a near death experience for Lance.
He wouldn't actually die however. Just as soon as he was injured or his bones shattered, they would be immediately healed as if nothing had happened. The entire experience was like he was being constantly tortured for an unknown amount of time.
Honestly, it would be surprising if Lance managed to not be traumatized by this entire experience. To experience blood curdling pain over and over again was enough to drive any man insane. The worst thing was that the training has had no indications of stopping or even slowing down.
This experience would go until Lance managed to learn something. Floating above, with his arms crossed, Chao was looking at the entire scene with a stern face, with no hint of compassion. Chao knew that, to get better, being on the line between life and death was the best way.
Lance, of course, could not see Chao. Actually, the thought of Chao never even passed through his head since the battle started. He couldn't afford to think of anything else, all he could think of was staying alive. Granted that he knew he was unable to die, the constant torturous pain made it feel much much worse.
Lance never knew where the next attack was going to come from. Was it going to be from the side, behind him, above him or below? The constant anticipation drove him crazy and fear completely enveloped his heart and soul.
What seemed like hours upon hours of constant pain and suffering led to mental exhaustion. Constantly thinking about where the next attack was going to come from was just too much. His mind couldn't handle the strain, and so it stopped thinking about it.
This concept sounds simple enough, however, it was not at all. To not think in a situation of true life and death could not happen. One must constantly focus because even a second of misguided attention could lead to death.
However, what Lance experience now wasn't a true life and death, but a torture that transcended it. So his mind did what it could do so it wouldn't break, and that was to not think about the next attack. This lead to him being tossed around like a rag doll for a large period of time.
However, as time went on, Lance felt true clarity. Not having to think about the next attack allowed his mind to recover and actually strengthen. Lance looked around and, for once, he felt like he could truly see everything. He could see the hyenas on his left, the leopard on his right, the gorilla pounding its chest behind the leopard. Everywhere he looked he could see everything in detail.
His mind was processing this data so fast and clearly that everything seemed to become slower around him. Lance used this opportunity to analyze everything in front of him. He paid attention to every detail that he could.
Lance watched as the animals charged at him. He saw how each body part moved. He saw where the eyes looked. He saw every little detail of every animal in his view. For the ones behind him, he would have to swing his body to the side to see them.
Lance at this time begun to move again. He tilted his body out of the direction of the leopard's swipe and then jumped over the rhino that charged at him. He was then attacked by the hawks, and thrashed by the gorilla. Lance's body shuddered from the pain and he coughed up blood once again, but Lance was not focused on that.
After all, this time he finally improved. He managed to dodge more than one animal. He broke through the first and biggest hurdle of his training. He could tell where the next attack was coming from. Now all he needed to do was dodge more and more until he couldn't be hit anymore.
For this, he would need to be in complete control of his body. He would need to know how fast he reacted, the amount of distance that can be covered in a second, how high he could jump... He needed to know all of this information.
Lance stood up while looking around. Noticing he was completely surrounded, Lance smiled as he prepared for the onslaught that was coming his way. Chao looked down at Lance and smiled. The advancement has finally begun and the training was bearing fruit.
This training method could easily be considered a hit or miss. If Lance could not last then he would be forever traumatized by battle, and would not survive long in the world. There was also a possibility of his mind breaking, making him completely insane.
Actually, technically, Lance could be considered to have turned insane. He was going straight into the battle to embrace a godly amount of pain that he has already experienced. He also smiled as the bearers of pain charged straight at him.
Lance might not have noticed it, but due to this experience, he has completely changed. He would never again second guess being in a battle. He now had a new desire to improve himself. This desire was very strong and flowed through his veins, becoming a part of his very being.
Once the training has concluded, the feeling of fear in battle will be very rare for Lance. He, who has constantly experienced a fate worse than death for what could be only considered a ridiculous amount of time. Only a being that could utterly destroy Lance with little effort could cause Lance to feel fear.
Lance constantly analyzed the animals around him as he trained with his own body. The pain at this point was now one of the last things in his mind. He focused entirely on understanding his body by comparing it with the animals around him.
Lance would dash from side to side to see his speed compared to the wolf. He would face the gorilla and collide fists with the gorilla punch for punch. He utilized the fact that his body would regenerate to test his threshold and strength.
Lance was now a complete battle machine, focusing on understanding himself and improving himself through fighting. Another large amount of time passed before something interesting happened.
Lance now completely understood his capabilities. His body and mind was now united, causing him to act completely out of instinct. His body dodged with minimal effort as each animal tried to obtain a piece of him. He would swiftly dodge while constantly observing his enemies.
He could see who tried to attack next, how they would attack, and when and how he should dodge. This situation was just like how he was with the wolves, however, he was in control. His mind and body worked together to produce a fluid movement without hesitation.
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He no longer experience any pain and was completely immersed in the feeling of being in complete control. He followed the flow of attacks and was completely unscathed. Lance was enjoying this feeling, when he noticed that all the animals stopped.
The animals no longer were releasing killing intent. They just looked at Lance calmly, without much interest. They had completely changed from the situation before. All the animals then turned around and walked back into the shadows.
Lance stood there looking around to see if anything else was happening. Seeing nothing happened, he let out a breath of fresh air and sat down. Chao then started to float down and revealed himself to Lance.
Lance looked at Chao and smiled. Lance then said, "I don't know whether I should thank you, or kill you. My body is screaming to tear you to pieces, but you're lucky my mind is enjoying this new feeling."
It was true, Lance was now a lot calmer than he was before. Before, Lance was thrown into a different dangerous world, gained a very odd companion, and he himself no longer was human. Everything caused him to be shocked and react strongly to everything.
However, now he had reached true clarity. Lance felt he truly discovered what he wanted to do. He now had a reason to live and survive. That reason was to get stronger and live. 'Weird, I am living to live' Lance thought as he laughed.
He now strongly desired to experience his new life in this world. He had finally embraced the change, allowing all the stress to flow out of him. Even though he was now a lot calmer, he was also a lot deadlier.
"So, are you going to tell me where I am?" Lance said looking at Chao. He could now finally ask the question that he had since the beginning.
"OK, we are still in the same classroom. To be specific, we are in your mind." Chao explained. "One of the 3 skills I have is Chaotic Illusion. This allows me to send my enemy into an illusion. The illusion will show them their worst fear and tear their mind apart."
"My worst fear is animals?" Lance said confused. He understood that his love of animals have plummeted after his experience with the wolves. But it was not to a point where he was afraid of them. However, now, he thoroughly did not like animals one bit.
"No." Chao said while shaking his head. "Because we are connected, I could control the illusion when placed directly in your mind, like a dream. That was why your resistance to the illusion didn't work."
"Ah, OK." Lance said with a calm look. Lance wasn't bothered by it at all. He assumed some trick was used, so, along with his new demeanor, he wasn't surprised.
Chao was secretly shocked at how much Lance has changed. Before, he would have yelled at Chao in which Chao could use it to his advantage to mess with Lance. 'Looks like I am not going to get to act like a fool around him. Well, I will just save it for strangers.' Chao thought shrugging to himself.
"Hey, cool! I heard that." Lance said smiling.
Chao looked at Lance surprised again. Then he smiled the biggest smile his tiny face could muster. To be able to hear Chao's thoughts meant that their connection got stronger and Lance truly was appreciative of what Chao did.
Chao did not expect this kind of reaction out of Lance. Actually, he expected that if there was going to be a reaction, Lance would dislike Chao even more. After all, he did just cause him an amount of pain and suffering that no one should have to go through. However, this bonus was completely out of his expectations.
Chao could always hear Lance's thoughts because he was created from Lance, so his connection and love for Lance couldn't get any stronger. However, to Lance, Chao was a weird stranger that suddenly appeared in his life. Now though, they were truly family and would support each other in the future.
"By the way, you said one out of three skills. What are the other two?" Lance asked. He was truly curious. This was something on his mind since he first knew Chao. So far, he experienced healing and the illusion. What could the third one be?
Chao smiled and said, "As you know, I have a healing skill. It is called Chaos to Chaos. It allows me to heal those of the chaos affiliation by using my own chaotic energy to heal. The last skill I have is Chaos Storm. It is an AoE that creates a chaotic storm above the enemy."
Lance was surprised that these were the only skills that Chao had. No wonder Chao didn't help him fight. Sure Chao could have zapped all the wolves, but then he might have gotten hit. Also, that fight helped Lance learn that he needed training, so everything was beneficial in the end.
"Alright, let's get out of this place." Lance said while getting up and stretching. He really needed to rest.
Even though he didn't have a problem with stamina or injuries, he still strained his mind, body and soul with this trial. The pain, the focus, the fear, it all took it's toll on Lance. He would need some time to be in peak condition.
Once he is in peak condition, he will become a force to reckon with. He kicked ass when he was mentally exhausted. What will happened when not only his body is refreshed, but his mind as well?
"OK, just letting you know that there will be probably be more training later in the future when you need it." Chao said looking at Lance, waiting to see his reaction.
"..."
"I don't even know what to say to that." Lance said as he sighed. The experience was truly traumatic, however, the end result was something Lance could not ignore. He was now happy because he found a reason to live and he got stronger. Lance was truly conflicted.
Chao snickered as he looked at Lance. 'Looks like not all my fun has disappeared just yet.'
Chao snapped his fingers which was followed by the world around them cracking and shattering. Lance looked around and noticed that they really were in the same classroom.
Nothing has changed, he was still in the same spot since Chao poked him in the forehead, creating that mess. The room was still empty and looking out the window, the sun was still up in the sky.
"Oh, by the way, how much time has passed by?" Lance said looking at Chao. The pain and the need to focus on the battle caused Lance's sense of time to be completely warped.
"Only about 30 minutes, I want to say." Chao said while shrugging.
Lance lifted up his eyebrow in shock. However, he quickly understood that he was in his own mind and, like dreams, time was different there. Lance would probably never know how long he spent training.
"By the way, why did you have me get rid of the furniture?" Lance asked looking around the room.
"OH, that was because I didn't know how the illusion affected your body. The knowledge I have about the skill only tells me what it does to the mind. I didn't know if your body would start dodging as well." Chao said as he sat down.
Lance nodded in approval but then shuddered at the thought of obstacles. If there were obstacles obstructing him during the trial, he might really have given in to the pressure. Also, the pain would be much worse, crashing into chairs and desks. The damage would be real. He could have possibly died as well.
Lance stopped his depressing thoughts and stretched his arms, preparing to relax, when an exclamation point showed in his view. Lance was now really interested.
What could he have received from the training. Lance clicked the bubble and a number of panels appeared in his vision. Lance then looked and read the panels.