"Master? What is that?" Ben asked dreadfully. “Did you find a cave-in?” Images of possible scenarios flashed through Ben’s mind, not one of which he desired. The large and bottomless hole seemed to become more significant in his vision until it was all he could see, and everything else disappeared.

"That's where the next stage of your training will be," The Master said casually, glancing at his student. “I just hope you'll be the one to survive; I'm tired of looking for a successor." The master slouched slightly in a rare moment of weakness as if a heavy burden had been laid upon his shoulders. Ben was still overwhelmed by the hole for another moment until he processed what his master said and looked at him in shock, momentarily forgetting about the hole.

Ben’s eccentric and cruel master was a full-blooded Asian, slightly older than middle-aged, with long, messy black hair. He wore a dirty blue martial arts robe that looked different from anything Ben had seen in modern martial arts.

"Wha?!" Ben felt a slight push on his back as he fell straight into the abyss. His stomach dropped as a wave of adrenaline swept through his system, affording him enough time to reduce the impact against the stone.

"Argh!" He grunted as he rolled onto the hard stone, much more difficult when you can’t see when and where you’re landing. Bens's hand shifted the gravel as the adrenaline and fear caused them to shake. As the breath left his body, he curled up in pain.

“Get up! I didn’t teach you to curl up in pain like a weakling!” Although he couldn't see him, Ben could *hear* the snarl on his master's face.

"You crazy old bat! Are you trying to kill me?!" Ben screamed furiously as he weakly pushed himself back to his feet.

“I didn’t train you to be so fragile!” the master's voice, full of scorn, echoed on the stone around him.

As much as Ben hates to admit it, his master is right. Ben fell over thirty feet, enough to severely injure or kill someone. Ben could have died if he wasn’t forced to receive daily beatings until he learned the art of reinforcement.

"And what did I tell you about disrespecting your elders? I swear, kids these days and their video games," The Master exclaimed. “Will you keep it down? You're crying hurts my ears. Your training begins tomorrow morning. Use the time to grow familiar with your environment and reflect on yourself.”

"You fucking son of a bitch!" Ben yelled before the hole was covered and the darkness fell. "I can't believe the old fucker! First, he kidnaps me, forces me through his damn training on some mountain for over a year, and now throws me down a fucking hole?! Someday, I will fucking kill him!" Ben screamed in an outburst.

I won’t let him get away with this!

Ben closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he focused on his Ki. He opened his eyes and could make out some of his surroundings a few feet away. However, it looked like an old black-and-white film. He walked straight, soon coming across a stone wall, the top slightly curved upward towards the hole on the top.

Did he throw me in a dome?

He picked up a small stone and left a mark on the wall before turning and walking. It wasn’t long before he returned to the marking he left.

This dome was carved from stone, so I won't be able to break through. The only way out is the hole on the top, and there's no way I'll be able to get out through there either; it looks like he covered it with a boulder.

“What the?!” Ben replied, startled as his reinforced eyes were blinded by sudden light.

He covered his eyes, withdrew his Ki, and looked towards the entrance. A large shadow fell before the hole got covered again, and he jumped back to avoid the following shadow. The shadow caused the stone floor to tremble. Ben almost lost his balance in surprise and clumsily focused his Ki, barely able to make out the outline of the shadow.

It's moving... It doesn't look big, but more like it's just long. Oh my god, is that a snake?!

The Shadow hissed loudly,

Yeah, that's a snake. Where do you even find a snake that big?! It's built like a tree!

The snake moved towards him slowly; he tried to back away quietly in the darkness but cursed under his breath as the gravel continuously crunched under my feet.

"Hiss!" The snake lunged forward, and Ben barely dodged it, falling into the process. Ben rolled out of the way just before he heard a loud thud. Ben panicked as he attempted to get back up and used too much strength, propelling himself into the air. The snake acted quickly, and its tail flew at him like a whip.

"Arg!" Even though Ben managed to block with both reinforced arms, it felt like he had been hit by a truck and flew several feet back before tumbling.

This isn’t a snake! It’s a goddamn monster! It feels like it fractured my arms! If I don't do something, I'll die!

The snake was almost on Bern just as he stumbled back to his feet. It made another lunge that Ben was lucky enough to predict and sidestepped just in time to jump on its neck just below its head. His arms cried in pain as he squeezed its neck with everything he could. The snake struggled violently, slamming Ben several times into the ground or wall. His body screamed in pain, and his consciousness started to slip. Soon, its strength weakened, and it collapsed with a loud thud. Ben held on until his adrenaline faded and the pain grew too much.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“Hah. Hah. I did it. I killed it. I’m alive.” Ben collapsed on the snake, too exhausted to move, and soon fell asleep.

Why is it so dark? The snake!

Ben woke up after an unknown period, too exhausted to enhance his vision, but he had to know if the snake was dead. Ben was barely able to focus enough, and he could see the snake, or instead, its corpse. Luckily for Ben, its head draped over its lower body so it didn’t end up crushing my arms.

I won. I actually killed that monster.

His throat was dry, he was lightheaded, and his arms throbbed in pain.

I need to heal myself before that psychopath throws something else at me.

Ben forced the Ki to flow to his arms, accelerating the healing process. Hours later, the throbbing reduced to a dull ache, and I could finally use his arms normally again.

What am I supposed to do with the corpse? What is that?

At the edge of his vision, he saw a shadow that wasn’t there before. He pushed himself to his feet, and his vision violently spun before he regained balance. He walked closer to the object, which looked like a small bag.

"Isn't that!" Ben rushed to grab the small bag, and his hunch was correct.

The old bastard left a water skin while I was unconscious.

Ben drank from the bag greedily, drops of water dripping down his chin.

I need to conserve my water.

Ben drank half of the water before he could stop himself.

I don't know what else that old bastard has in mind. Would it kill him to leave some food behind? Or take the corpse away? Asshole.

Thankfully, it was cold in the stone prison, so the body's decay would take longer, though Ben is not sure how long that process will take.

The cavern suddenly lit up, but it suddenly went dark again after something was dropped down the hole.

"Old bastard! Fucking say something!"

Fuck, now what? This old bastard didn't even bring food, and I'm starving! I can hear a lot of moving, no slithering? Another snake? Wait, I see something.

As Ben watched a small shadow move, another shadow bit his calf

"Ow! Son of a bitch!"

Bewn crushed its neck before pulling it out and throwing it against the wall with a splat.

That old fucker! I’ll need resilience and speed to deal with many smaller snakes!

Ben suddenly got dizzy and almost fell over before another snake entered his range of vision.

Poison? Shit!

Ben diverted a quarter of his Ki to healing and the rest towards increasing his body's resilience.

In the end, there were a few dozen pissed-off venomous snakes. Ben couldn't dodge most of them, but only a couple managed to pierce his skin when he lost concentration or uneven Ki distribution. If Ben hadn't been bitten, he could have used all his Ki on resilience, and none of them would have been able to bite into his flesh. After ensuring all the snakes were dead, Ben saw down in exhaustion.

“I’m not dying here, you crazy old Bat!”

“Who are you calling an old Bat? You are an ungrateful brat!” his master’s voice sounded out as a bright light lit up the cave. He landed in the cave and looked around curiously.

“You look like shit. However, they usually die by now. Maybe you’re not so bad after all.”

“Let me out, you old coot!”

“What did I do to get an ungrateful disciple like you?”

“You kidnapped me and forced me to train!”

“Call it tough love. You can’t be a great martial artist without a little danger.”

“I never wanted to be!”

“Power is everything, brat. You just don’t realize it.”

“Go die, you crazy old fart!”

“Well, if you’re that energetic, you should be fine if it gets harder. Maybe someday you’ll succeed where I failed.”

The old master looked up and jumped over three stories through the hole. Ben tried to follow him but could only manage half the distance before falling back down.

“Fuck!”

"Eat up. You'll need the energy."

...Eat these?

Refusing to eat the raw flesh of venomous snakes, Ben lay down on the hard floor and went to bed.

"Agh!"

"Wake up brat!"

A light kick in the side of his ribs woke Ben up violently. Ben grabbed his side as he looked up to his kidnapper and so-called master standing above him.

"You're enemies won't be so kind!"

Crazy bastard!

The old master brought his leg back for another kick, and Ben jumped to his feet in a defensive stance. Circulating his Ki, Ben prepared for the onslaught he knew was coming. The master wasted no time and rushed Ben with a furious barrage of attacks. Gritting his teeth after being hit in the face and ribs, Ben does his best to survive the fierce assault.

"You can't kill your enemies only by defending!"

Heat builds up in his chest as his anger rises, and he takes a glancing blow to risk a counterattack. The master slightly tilts his head, dodges the blow, and releases his counterattack against Bens's sternum.

Crack!

"Agh!"

Back flew backward and crashed into the stone wall, coming to a stop.

"Get up! You're even weaker than before! This is what happens when you don't eat!"

Ben looked at his master with a cold gaze as he struggled to his feet.

"What's wrong, brat?! You can't kill me by glaring at me! You kill with your fist!"

Ben felt a cold fury clearing his mind, his Ki flowing with new strength.

Ben launched forward and dropped down, his master jumping over his leg sweep. Ben threw a punch toward his chest, and his master raised his hand to deflect it. As his master touched his arm, they both froze. Ben looked in disbelief, and his master looked down in shock. Protruding from Ben's fist was a light green spike made of Ki, penetrating through his master's heart and out the other side.

The Ki faded away, and his master stumbled backward and looked back at Ben.

"I knew you were the one."

His master fell forward on his knees and then faceplanted on the stone. Ben watched a dark red puddle form around his master's body.

"He's... actually dead." Ben looked up at the entrance with concern. "How do I get out of here?"