Gasping for air and collapsing on the ground, my entire body is on fire, at least it feels like it. Not able to move an inch, I draw in painful deep breaths. Hearing the dancing of feet around me from the numerous wooden figures, I struggled and lift myself back up to my feet. Wiping away the blood from my eyes due to my forehead bleeding, I take steady breaths and take up my stance once again. Each time I move incorrectly, the gem on my wrists sends a painful shock up, stunning me for a second, allowing the wooden figures to pummel me. Thinking back to the conversation hours before we started this training, I contemplate over the last few hours.
***
“Little One, looking at your body size, gender and the Demonic Fox side of you, the first style of martial arts I will teach you is the Dancing Fox Wind Style. This is nearly perfectly tailored for you, and will fit your gauntlets as well. It uses wind magic to give you more speed and sharper blows, once you’re more skilled you can also flare up any flames you inflict with that kick of yours as well! Since you’ve just started fighting with your fists, now is a good time to beat a new style into you, we will rework how you stand, how you punch and kick, and how you move on the battleground. Put these bracelets on, they will serve as training weights, a pair for your wrists and ankles. If you kick or punch incorrectly, the gem in them will shock you..”
Nodding, I put on the bracelets, one on each ankle and wrist. Feeling the weight on each, my arms and legs are double the weight, making my movements slower. Nodding his head, Sir Lee waves his hand and a humanoid figure about my size appears. Watching it carefully, it moves carefully, limbs loose and moving quickly, striking out with a punch without taking up a stance, arms always resting to the sides, quick and powerful blows. I see streams of air swirling around their body, getting faster each time they move. Memorised, I watched every movement carefully, wanting to intimidate what they were doing and make it my own. Seeing the determined face I was making, Sir Lee nodded.
“I will teach you from the beginning, however I will only teach you the basics to this style! If I taught you everything you would be no more than a copy of my knowledge. Over the course of the next week, I will hammer the basics into you, and with the basics, forge this Style into your own, let it grow while you forge your own path in your world!” Nodding to Sir Lee’s words, I stand ready for what he was going to teach me. Waving his hands once more, ten wooden figures appeared, surrounding me. “The moves I showed you are the basics. First get used to the movements, then I’ll help you unlock your magic and teach you wind magic to complement it! Now, take up your stance, and remember that I will not go easy on you.”
Nodding, I raise my fists in front of my face, readying myself…making my first mistake. Triggering, both gems shock me, the shock is more painful than I thought, stunning me in place. Right at this time, I am pummelled by 3 of the training dummies at the same time, knocking me on my butt. I feel blood seeping from my forehead. Getting up, I realise my mistake right away and take up the stance I saw from the demonstration. A second shock sets off and I’m once again beaten. Getting back up quickly, I tilt my head in confusion and think. Sir Lee remains quiet, seemingly waiting for me to ask for help or realise my mistake. Thinking of how the style was shown, I remember that the figure stood loosely, not taut but relaxed, only tensing up just before their punch connected. Closing my eyes, I relax my body, breath out and let go of any tension in my arms and legs. Buckling a bit, I correct my posture and open my eyes. As if it was responding to me, a dummy approached and I threw a punch. Tensing up early, the punch was about to hit when I felt the shock go through me once again. Stunned, the dummy in front of me and two behind once again pummel me.
***
This has been my life for the past four hours. So far, I’ve managed to start punching a lot more, but my blows are weak. I’m not tensing at the right moment before I land the punch, I know this from the numerous times I’ve been shocked. Seeing the dummy in front of me move towards me again, I keep myself relaxed as I dodge its attack, and throw a punch, tensing inches from the punch hitting. Smashing with more force than I anticipated, I let my hand fall back to my side, limp and scan around. Out of the corner of my eye, I see another one moving to me. Pivoting loosely, I swing out a kick, keeping it loose and watching as it connects and sends the dummy flying. As more blood seeps into my eyes, I turn to another one I see coming towards me, and just as I’m about to lash out, I feel a blow to my back and right leg, collapsing my stance and on reflex I turn, sending a fist towards the source of the blow to my back. Realising my mistake right away, that I had tensed up, I felt the shock go through my body once again and this time 5 dummies move in to punch and kick me.
Facing up, I hear a clap and the pummelling stops. Sir Lee then speaks from somewhere nearby. “Good, you’re getting used to the style much faster than I expected! However, there is a problem we need you to work on, you’re not aware of your surroundings enough. Your senses are not aligned with fighting correctly, you should know when something is coming towards you at all times. Sound, touch, and in particular for your smell. Now, back on your feet, take up your stance but do not attack. Evade attacks with your eyes closed, get used to the feeling of something aiming to do you harm, use your amazing sense of smell to pick out when they get closer, listen to the sounds of each dummy and eliminate useless sounds. Do this and you’ll be a threat on a battlefield!”
Getting up and wiping the blood from my eyes, I stand still, relaxed and close my eyes as instructed. Taking a deep breath, I listen out and prepare myself to move. Dodging is incredibly difficult with these weights on, and very tiring. I’m used to long hours of fighting, but not this intense or with these weights on me. Hearing a sound behind me, I sniff and try to locate it, but the smell of wood is everywhere. I do smell one closer to me, but I can’t tell how close it is. Hearing it step close to me, I dodge to the left and am hit, seems like I dodged into the dummy instead of dodging away. Grunting with pain, I keep myself standing and return to my position.
After a few hours, and a lot more bruises joining the existing ones, I am starting to be able to tell where the dummies are coming from. My sense of smell is getting sharper, I can roughly tell how far something is once I locate its smell, each of the dummies has a different smell to it, hard to detect but unique, I have to ignore the common smell of wood. By eliminating the sounds of movement from the other dummies, I can tell when they are approaching or when they are moving around. With my sense of touch, I can feel when I’m about to be hit and dodge it. It’s not perfect and I am only able to dodge four to five out of ten hits, but I can feel my senses becoming sharper. I continue on for nearly another full day, twenty four hours of nothing but dodging, evading and sharpening my senses. After the time had passed, I was starting to dodge nearly every hit, even with my eyes open and kept on one dummy. The dummies were only doing basic attacks, but thanks to that I feel I have become stronger, and my practice with the stance for Dancing Fox Wind Style nearly became second nature.
“Very good Alisha, very very good! I have never taught or used this style, but even I can tell you are a natural to it. Now, let's practise dodging and attacking, don’t get used to it, the dummies will start moving much faster and with different moves now!”
With a bad feeling in my stomach, I once again take up the stance I have practised for a day and a half, and prepare myself.
***
Crack! Retracting my fist from the last destroyed wooden dummy, I gasp for air and fall on my butt once again. Bruised all over my body, it has been three days since the “advanced” training. I have been shocked, punched, kicked and beaten more times than I can count, but when I started finally moving correctly, I found I could destroy these dummies with enough force. Too much force ended with me punching through it and having it stuck on my fist…shivering at the memory of the beating I received from all the dummies including the one stuck to me when that happened, I got up and looked down. My new clothing was a mess, my fists bloodied, bruised and I’m pretty sure there was no skin on the top. There were also splinters shredded throughout my fists, I can feel each and every one of them. Hearing another clap, I look up at Sir Lee.
“Very good Alisha, remember the feeling you have now. If you are to survive, you must always keep that feeling, always keep relaxed but ready to strike at any moment! Once this becomes natural to you, you will achieve the true form of Dancing Fox Wind Style. Now, come here and eat this.”
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Handing me a thumb sized deep blue crystal, I check it over and prompt the System for more information.
[Pure Mana Stone.
A high quality stone made of pure mana. Can be consumed.]
“After swallowing that, bite down on this.” Handing me a stick of wood, I again prompt the System but nothing comes up. Must be an ordinary stick. I’m not sure what a mana is and only knowing my status shows it, I assume it would help heal my wounds, I swallow it whole and bite on the stick. Smiling at me, Sir Lee nods and says “Good luck Little One.”
The last thing I remember, other than the pain running down my arms, legs and the huge amount of pain just below my chest, was biting through the stick with my…fangs. My vision goes dark, and I find myself floating in an empty void. Looking around, there is nothing here, then suddenly I hear a cracking from above and looking above, I see a deep blue liquid dripping down slowly onto the ground of the void. Slowly a puddle forms, the ground starts to change around it and a small hole appears and starts getting bigger as more liquid comes in. Not able to move, and watching from above the ever growing hole, the liquid starts coming in faster and the once small puddle gets bigger and bigger.
Soon, a lake is before me, the deep blue liquid shining brightly. As I watch, the liquid slowly stops coming in, and the void changes once again, growing from the bottom of the lake weird thick strands grow out, in total five of these strands grow out in different directions and lead off into the void, and as they go out further, I feel something deep within me seemingly change…I’m not sure how to explain it, I know I’m not physically here, but it feels like something has opened inside of me. I see the strange blue liquid start moving through four of the strands, and from the fifth blue liquid starts coming in. Looking closer, I can see the one bringing in the blue liquid is about three times thicker than the other four. Looking at the lake, it’s massive, about fifty metres deep and a hundred metres in width. Soon, I notice a blue mist starts coming from the lake, a calming blue that spreads throughout the void. About to watch more, I feel a tug and the void disappears from my vision.
Opening my eyes, I see I’m back in front of Sir Lee, with the broken stick in my mouth. Spitting it out, I check my teeth and feel that my teeth have become fangs. Quickly checking the top of my head I feel two new ears, moving my hands to my tailbone, I feel no tail there. Did my monster form release? Looking at Sir Lee, he nods and laughs.
“The moment you passed out, you grew out those adorable ears and your teeth became sharp fangs! Truly fascinating, the ears match a Demonic Fox exactly. Don’t worry about the changes, I believe they occurred because you’ve created your mana pool. I don’t know the specifics or even if I’m right, but this is a good thing, the more control you have on your monster side, the stronger you’ll get! Never fear your monster side, it is a part of who you are, Little One.”
Nodding, I don’t mind my change of appearance. Hybrids look identical to humans but we’re not humans, so having this distinction was fine with me, not being confused with a human made me happy. I wouldn’t mind having my tail out, but I guess it doesn’t want to come out yet. Smiling, I check my body over again, my fists are still bloody and splinters still treated my fists as home, but I feel something different within me. Opening my status, I check what has changed.
----------------------------------------
Alisha
Level 10
Demonic Fox and Human Hybrid
Health: 400
Mana: 500
Experience: 7,700/10,000
Class: Not Available
Class Level: Ineligible
Experience: 0/0
Skills: Demonic Fox Awakening (Incomplete, 3.53% Awakened), Lashing Fire Kick
Spells: None
----------------------------------------
I see that my Demonic Fox Awakening has awakened a lot more than before, and now my “Mana” no longer has the locked word next to it. Closing my eyes and feeling my body once again, I feel something circulating around my body.
“What you’re feeling is your mana circulating your body, strengthening it for use and creating mana veins. You would have seen these mana veins in your mana lake, five or six would have come from it connecting to certain parts of your body, with one providing you mana from your surroundings. Those veins are being made in your body right now. Keep focused on that feeling, you’ll find yourself entering a state of mind where everything becomes clear. Hold that feeling for the next twenty four hours. Raise your hands while you do this so I can treat them, keep focused on that feeling.”
Nodding, I clear my mind and focus calmly on the feeling going around my body. Slowly, my mind becomes clearer and clearer, until all I can feel is my body slowly changing inside, getting stronger. I don’t know how long it’s been, but I feel the changes starting to slow down before I sense no more changes happening. Opening my eyes slowly, I look around and see Sir Lee drinking at the table. Getting to my feet, I see my hands are bandaged and feel refreshed, I move over to sit besides Sir Lee.
“Good, it seems your mana veins are complete. Excellent, now it’s time to learn wind magic. I can only teach you so much with the time we have left, so we have to hurry. Now, before we start, a few important things to remember, firstly the System can help cast magic for you, all you need to do is request it like you request your status. This is how humans and monsters alike used magic for the longest time, however that will limit you. Learn to cast magic on reflex, this is very important for the Dancing Fox Wind Style. Secondly, wind magic is very very dangerous, it is sharp and can cut through things around you, including those you fight with. Control is absolutely essential and I will guide you to properly control it. Lastly, continuously using magic will drain you of mana, and when you run out of mana you will suffer from mana exhaustion. Your body will become weaker and your mind will become very light headed, learning to control it will lessen the drain, but it won’t happen overnight!”
Nodding, I asked him a question that I had been holding back.
“Sir Lee, what is magic?”
Hearing a thud, Sir Lee’s head hits the table. Groaning, he mutters “I forgot…you don’t know what magic is” and sitting back up, he ponders before saying “You’ll come to understand it while using it. Now, learning elemental magic is a bit tricky, and requires a bit of trickery. Don’t eat this crystal, I want to focus on it. With enough focus you’ll enter a clear state of mind again, but this time it’ll be a different feeling. imitate that feeling, do it over and over until you get it right. Now, go on.”
Nodding, I get ready to do as Sir Lee says. Staring at the crystal and once again clearing my mind, I enter a state of mind and feel something new around my body, like it was swirling around me. Following this feeling, I try to imitate the feeling. At first, I fail to grasp the feeling, I keep trying. Over and over, I feel myself getting weaker until I finally feel my own small swirl encircling my body. Grasping this feeling, I keep my mind focused on swirling it around, giving it more focus and power as it slowly swirls faster around me, gaining more strength. Opening my eyes, I feel the wind on my skin, covering my arms and legs, circulating fast. Losing focus out of surprise at the feeling, it disappears. Looking at Sir Lee, he smiles and nods.
“Well done Little One. The crystal I gave you taught you how to form and control wind around yourself using mana. What you have used is magic, now I want you to do it again, however do not use the crystal, feel it with your body. If you start feeling light headed, drink this.” Putting down a bottle with clear liquid in it, with the slight smell of alcohol coming from it, I nod and focus on that feeling again.
Slowly, wind starts to pick up around me, I can feel something slowly coming out of me at the same time. This must be the mana thing Sir Lee told me about, ignoring that feeling and focusing completely on controlling the wind swirling on me, I got used to the feeling. My skirt flutters as wind circles my legs, the bandages on my hands slowly come undone as wind comes from palms up to my shoulders. My shirt loosely shakes as the wind covers my body.
“Make it a little stronger Little One.” Nodding, I focus on giving it more power, and the wind picks up faster and more violently. “Good, keep that feeling up. Release it after ten minutes and do it again. Keep this up until it’s as easy as breathing.”
Taking a breath, I concentrate and keep my training with this magic thing going.