TF Chapter 23 Strength!

The basic gist of the story was that I lost consciousness for a moment, only to awake with such power, I literally summoned the molten stream of metal, causing it to slice through the guy who had been choking me in an instant, before proceeding to butcher the others like meat.

I ruminated over that narration plus the dream I had had. There were many intersecting points which finally led me to believe that the dream had been real.

What really surprised me though, was the fact that I had never seen Danny so animated! It was like had become a very different person.

He was practically fan-girling over me. Bora on the other hand was a different topic. Even though she was near me, I could feel her fear through the glimpses she gave me. It hadn't reached the level of looking at a monster, but there was fear and terror nonetheless. I could have reassured her, but I didn't know what I could say to calm her fears.

The other me...as I had come to call him...had scared the hell out of her by staring at her for a few seconds. Apparently, my pupils had been rimmed silver, a stark contrast with my normal brown. Not to mention, that for some reason, I had seemed machine-like with absolutely no expression.

"We should at least clean up this mess as we vigilantly wait for our next foes." I spoke, chuckling despite myself. It looked like I had strengthened my will enough to even sound nonplussed by the situation.

"Everett's grandfather is most definitely going to kill you. Aren't you worried?" Bora asked as I lifted myself from the ground for the first time, gritting my teeth at the pain.

"Worry...of course I am. But from now on, I have decided to ignore what's beyond my means and focus on the present. I have a question for you, though. Is there some way you could train me in self defense. I don't want to become a pro...just strong enough to get by..." What I didn't say was that I planned to learn how to attack through the way of the forger. The dream had opened up new doors for me. There was no need to be fit to become a formidable person!

Its too bad we were going to have to wait a bit before going back into attempting extraction because of the ever present threat of being attacked.

"Hmmm?! I can teach you that. I doubt Bora's moves are something you can learn. Boxing is easy though." Danny offered.

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"No, it will be better if she teaches me because I believe she will teach better, besides, most of what I want to learn is evasion."

I spoke while picking up a few pieces of flesh. By tacit understanding, we were going to throw them into the molten metal stream outside. It didn't matter if the others saw us since it hadn't been us in the wrong, actually, it would be better if they did, as they would prove to be valuable witnesses.

"I am pretty sure it would be better to learn from me. Would you really want to learn feminine moves?" Danny once again tried to entice me.

"My martial arts aren't tailored for one sex. They are universal. If you ever insinuate such things again, I will kill you." A dangerous air emanated from Bora as we made for the exit, pieces of flesh in hand. It appeared that she took her expertise seriously. I made a mental note never to insult that domain.

"By your standards...the training will be very harsh. Will you be up for it?" She turned to me and asked seriously. Once again I was walking within their midst, something they had subconsciously done in case we were ambushed. My heart once again warmed at their gesture.

As we continuously dumped pieces within the molten metal stream, a crowd was attracted, growing big until the road was blocked off, but we didn't care. It was not like we could chase them away, now could we.

"When would you like to start your lessons?" Bora asked as we finally managed to relax inside. My body was killing me, but I had decided to grit my teeth and put up with it. It served to strengthen my will power...and besides, it would also prep me for whatever harrowing experience her training was going to put me through.

"We can start right away since we won't be able to extract the metal atoms. But first, give me a few hours. My body needs to recover. I think a tore a few muscles." I answered before looking at Danny in amusement. He appeared to be sulking because I had picked Bora over him.

After seeing the display in my dream, I had become eager to at least reach that level. Though, I wouldn't allow myself to get into close range with my opponent, not to mention the fact that I felt like it would be hard to replicate the delicate moves my body had been moving with. But, I could become someone so proficient in the art of controlling metal, I could attack from range with a myriad of variations. Actually, I had been very shocked when I had realised the dream was real because of the fact that I had gotten used to seeing the forgers in their metallic armors without any action...yet, this showed me that those people could unleash such lethality!

"When do you think Celeste will be back?" I asked after a few minutes of awkward silence. Since we had just woken up from sleep, it was going to be some time before we could catch a nap. We had adopted the same resting formation with the entrance within our sights, fearing that someone else would attack.

What made us relaxed though, was the fact that even if someone attacked, it wouldn't be a group as large as Everett's...at most they would be two.

"It seemed pretty urgent. I wonder what could have happened that needed all the forgers to be summoned." I could hear the genuine curiosity within Danny's voice. It matched my own, but since we were too weak and it was non of our business, it simply became a passing conversational topic.