2nd chapter for today. Also, very long. It contains a lot more information about measurements of strength. If there's anything confusing or if you want to know more, you can ask questions and I will answer to the best of my abilities, but it might include spoilers as the system I have created is based on what I have storyboarded for the first three story arcs and some of it has not been introduced yet.
I'm also not going to update the Wordpress site anymore. The darn thing is confusing for me and I still haven't figured out how to make it work the way I want it to.
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Two weeks had passed since Akiza first ate meat, and she was now following sort of a diet plan set by Akira. She had ate the types of foods that he suggested and began to put on some muscle. However, she was still a young child, so it not develop much. She was more worried about ending up with a lot of muscles like Samuel had. Nonetheless, it had made a difference. Akiza was much stronger than before and she was able to lift a water bucket in each hand now. She no longer had to carry water on her back.
As Akiza looked towards her current goal of building a bath that she could use, she also realized that she could dig deeper into the ground. She used her newfound strength to dig out the clay so that the bath could be 5 ft (150 cm) deep. However, she had not made progress on filling up the water. She was still taking too long on her trips to make reasonable progress with her pool.
"Is there any way to make this faster?" Akiza asked.
"In order to become stronger, you must advance to the next Stage," Akira responded.
"Next Stage?" Akiza asked.
"You are at the peak of the Elementary Stage," Akira explained. "The physical limits of your body is not very high so you are almost at your peak. Once you do reach your peak though, you need to start applying your Internal Energy and regulate its flow. Once you do, you can achieve a breakthrough and advance into the Life Stage, where you can regulate it as you need."
Akiza looked disappointed and continued to carry buckets of water. In addition, she also started doing exercises that she had seen other people do. Running, sit ups, push ups, crunches. If she knew about it, she did some of it. This helped to balance out her strength a little, which turned out to be exactly what she needed.
A few days later, Akira gave Akiza more directions, "I want you to focus your Internal Energy" he said. "Focus on your Dantian, and direct your Internal Energy. Guide it from there to the rest of your body."
Akiza began to focus on controlling her Internal Energy. She found that if she directed it to her hands, she could carry more water. If she directed it to her feet, she could move faster. But this was not enough.
"Not bad, Aki, but it still isn't enough," Akira explained. "You are concentrating the energy into one part of your body, but you are not letting it flow throughout your body."
Akiza relaxed herself and used her senses to guide the flow of her energy. She tried to spread it to her arms and her legs at the same time, but it was difficult. She spent the day trying different combinations, and Akira could sense it. There were times when Akiza could direct the flow to her hands, then times where she did it all to her feet, and there were times when it was in one hand and one foot, but it was not the entire body.
"You should rest, Aki," Akira interrupted. "If you are tired, it is harder."
"I want to keep trying," Akiza responded. "I need to be able to do this to become stronger." As Akiza said these words she remembered the feeling of directing the fire energy in her body. She remembered that she was able to channel that Internal Energy from her Dantian to her arms. She used the same methods to try to maintain the flow of Internal Energy to other parts of her body.
First, Akiza direct the energy to her hands because it was the easiest to maintain. Then, to the feet, which was hard because it was one of the furthest points from her Dantian. This time, she remembered the feeling and warmth of the fire and continued to spread her Internal Energy throughout her body. Slowly, Akiza began to fill her body with a small amount of Internal Energy that was constantly being maintained. This helped her regulate the flow of Internal Energy in her body and this was exactly what was needed for the breakthrough.
Akiza began to feel a burning sensation in her Dantian. All of the stored energy that she had acquired from the foods she had been eating began to activate. In her Dantian, red ball of Internal Energy above her Hero's Flower grew bright red and was absorbed into the Hero's Flower, dying the Hero's Flower a scarlet red.
"She did it!" Akira shouted. He was happy, but kind of mad. A young child who is approaching the age of six, mastered a technique that he had not learned until he was sixteen. In less than a year, Akiza had made progress that had taken Akira years. "This kid is going to be a legend at this rate."
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Meanwhile, Akiza felt the sharp pain that had not appeared in a while. The pain of a breakthrough was still overwhelming for her as the heat from her fire element combined with the sudden burst of Internal Energy created by her breakthrough nearly made her fall over and clench her stomach in pain. When the pain stopped, she checked herself to make sure it was just pain from the breakthrough and nothing else.
"Congratulations, kid," Akira said in a calm voice to her.
"It is thanks to you Master," Akiza replied.
Akiza took a closer look at herself. Her face had changed a little. The color of her skin had lightened and become a bit pale. However, her cheeks still flushed with a bit of red. She touched her arms and legs and realized that the feeling of the muscles in her body had disappeared. However, throughout her body was the sensation of a warm feeling, the same feeling she had when she was able to spread her Internal Energy throughout her body, but much weaker. She focused on inspecting herself and noticed that the Internal Energy in her body was constantly circulating by itself, like an automated process.
"What happened to me Master?" Akiza asked.
"Didn't I tell you before?" Akira responded. "You would one day grow up into a beauty."
"What does this have to do with the changes to my body?" Akiza asked as her face turned red again. This had become her natural reaction to whenever Akira talked about her appearance.
"Muscles are a physical limiation for those who have not trained with their Internal Energy," Akira answered. "Although some people can become as strong as the Limit Stage through pure physical training, they will ultimately hit a limit. By making breakthroughs, you are no longer restricted to the physical limits of a person. Your Internal Energy is a combination of all the methods of power you have acquired, and muscle is not equal to power because you are on a completely different scale."
"Then how do I tell how strong I am?" Akiza asked.
"That is simple, use your World Spiritualist technique and take a good look at yourself," Akira answered. Akira continued his explanation. "You can use this technique to read a person and their strength. If you notice, stationary energy is often weak and limited. As it begins to circulate, the person is able to use that strength properly and that is a sign that the person has at least reached the Life Stage like you just did. If you notice more than one type of energy in a person's body, they are at least at a Spirit Stage. Beyond that, you will feel their presence, and the strength of that person's presence will tell you how strong they are compared to you, though you do have the ability to focus on the person to get a better estimate with the World Spiritualist Technique."
Akiza sat down and closely inspected herself using the World Spiritualist technique. She felt a flow of Internal Energy throughout her body, still mostly Nature, but bits of others such as Ki and Chakra. Yin and Yang was more balanced now even though it had been predominantly Yin when she first learned this. However, her body was warmer than before. "Why am I feeling warm now?" she asked.
"The flow of Internal Energy in your body helps you to maintain an ideal state of strength, which is often when your muscles are warmed up," Akira explained. "However, yours might be warmer than normal due to the high amount of Fire energy in you have."
Akiza continued to focus and was able to affect the flow of her Internal Energy. She could increase and decrease the amount that was moving in her body.
"I see you have noticed it already," Akira said.
"Yes, I can control the flow of Internal Energy," Akiza answered.
"This is an important technique even though most people do not practice it," Akira explained.
"How is this a technique?" Akiza asked.
Akira continued with his explanation. "The flow of Internal Energy is something that takes time to practice, though you seem to be a natural at it and I hate you so much for having this kind of talent."
Akiza looked down on the floor hearing these words, as if she felt ashamed from those words, but Akira continued to talk. "It is something that few people practice because it has no real practical use outside of hiding your power," he said. Your Internal Energy at later Stages can be used to intimidate others, so most people show it off and keep it at their natural level, but this natural level increases as the user gets stronger. However, by regulating your Internal Energy like you just did, it is possible to hide your real power and make enemies underestimate you. That sudden increase can scare others and make it harder for others to find you because there is less Internal Energy to detect."
Akiza listened intently to take in all this information. Everything her Master had spoke of was true so far and was important in helping her grow. This would be no different. Now, she must learn to regulate the Internal Energy in her body in order to continue growing.