Time Running Out
Another 5 hours later, Phesx Caolia was in the old man Emer's study room again. He was wolfing a piece of steak, with nothing other than salt, and with a strange red-orange sauce on top. It was semi-solid and soft, melting once it went into his mouth. It was spicy, and Phesx couldn't stop eating more and more because of it.
The old man sat a bit far away, biting a smaller piece of steak from his left hand, watching Phesx eat as time passed. When Phesx finished his last repeated plate, he looked back at the old man and asked, “It’s all good, and heavy. But won’t something like this be worse for my injuries?”
“Maybe. Just keep eating until your fill. Rest 2 hours. You’ll need them before I begin with you.” Emer kept eating. Phesx looked up at the old man before shrugging. Taking the study as his room, he went to a corner and lied down on his side while facing it. The old man gave him a few glances before ignoring him.
Phesx Caolia slept comfortably, although his body heated from the inside, and more so around his wounds, which were many. The old man gave him lots of water to drink, as opposed to the 16 hours of constant learning.
Potentially, because he finished the instructor’s time done like shit, Emer had him eat and rest first. When 2 hours passed, Phesx felt light taps against his back. He woke up to see it was Emer, who was ready to train him.
Bael had him feel like his body was being stabbed, and Phesx had to focus on the parts of his body that were targeted. The Instructor only used a thin needle, more than those Mel shoots him with, and longer. Every time one went through his skin, it felt like a knife, a wide, teethed one. Whenever it touched something from his insides, it felt like his organs or bones were punctured, and if it wasn’t rapidly retrieved, impaled by that knife.
Nevertheless, he had to focus on that spot of his body, or the needle would be twirled and rotated within him. At first, Phesx went through hell to get used to it, but the young boy adapted quickly. He had to be seated on the ground with his back hunching, in case he went into shock and started convulsing so Bael could lie him down.
After the disastrous beginning, Phesx managed to focus with a solid regular of 8 seconds per body spot. At the same time, he was learning. Soon, he’ll know about poison, venom…
“Get up,” Emer brought Phesx to his feet. Phesx was surprised with the setup in the study room. The drawers, lockers, and chairs were all moved to form a kind of ‘jail’ with a small chair trapped in the middle.
Sitting on that chair, only his immediate east, south, north, and west were visible, and Phesx could see the walls at the end of narrow, straight spaces. There were many things dangling from the ceiling, and the drawers and other furniture around.
“You would like to learn how to fend off against an unknown number of danger. Not just from people punching at you. If you think others won’t have great aiming, you will be very curious to drop dead in your first mission before you know it. But that’s nothing important.”
“What are the things nothing and no one can handle? The possibilities of what?” Emer said, asking the young boy, but Phesx couldn’t see the old man anywhere. He felt the old man’s voice was behind him, though, and responded. “Accidents? Troubles… irregularities?”
“Yes, things. Irregularities are the mayhem of any side, of any situation, and for anyone involved. One sole thing can turn everyone upside down, and destroy the rest. True tragedy occurs when these happen— from the smallest of things, becoming too heavy yet unstoppable.” Emer nodded.
“You won’t be harmed by these things. I didn’t have enough time to grab some knifes, handguns, and poison powder. I’ve been too busy here. Every time you are hit by one of these things, I’m going to pull a hair from your shins or near your ear.” Emer’s voice resounded…
“…” Phesx Caolia blinked a few times, before a soft ball of ribbons swung towards him at a mild speed. He knew he shouldn’t use breath or his hyper sensitivity, but the speed was mediocre, even for him. He moved his head to the right, also bringing his upper body to the side, and evaded it. A second later, the ball bashed against another, making the other swing backwards.
Phesx Caolia dodged left and right as the 2 balls made of ribbons rushed to his nape before heading to his face again. When he dodged them again, they went to separate sides, adding another one to the equation when returning.
The 3 weren’t of the same size, and the newest one had a protrusion extending from some of its angles. After another 3 full swings, Phesx felt his right ear traced by that protrusion. Immediately, he jolted as a tiny, sharp pain emerged from his left shin near his heel.
“Aoo!” Phesx frowned as the balls stopped swaying. He saw the ‘main’ one half a meter before him hovering in the air, still. Then, it began to swing at him again. Phesx didn’t think and did the same as before, dodging for 2 balls, although he frowned a little. But there weren’t 2, only 1, and this one swayed to the sides as Phesx only moved left once, getting hit by it on his right side.
“Au!” Phesx exclaimed again, feeling insulted as he saw the main ball get to position. ‘Oh boy.’
Oh boy indeed, these 5 hours had just commenced. His patience and whatnot were just about to be tested. Patience was the most important, but Phesx learned to keep a steady mentality and to not lose his cool… the hard way.
… When the 5 hours under Emer’s training finished, the cotton, ribbon, cloth, and even feather balls were all stopped, just as Phesx Caolia had learned not to move his body all the time. Sometimes, yes, but not every time. His head and neck moved with ease, flowing smoothly and relaxing, but his mind was hardened, and he was stressed out.
Sweating, Phesx Caolia took a breather after everything stopped moving. He felt like a prisoner being punched left and right, but when he stood up and walked out, he felt… anew. His legs and arms, which were ‘tied’ imaginably to the small chair could now move. He felt so much better as the sweat cooled off and his body dried.
His clothes were another set after Bael’s lecture, but Phesx didn’t want to change them now, since he would go to Cala and sweat a whole lot more. This was but the continuation of his training. Phesx started the day with Cala’s lecture, feeling the pillar moved a bit too slow, slower than yesterday… He grinned, as he knew Cala wouldn’t make things easier for him.
. . .
Time passed. Phesx learned, all right.
During these weeks, things only became increasingly more difficult and hair-pulling whenever anything new commenced. However, as Phesx Caolia was new to the next steps, he no longer needed to suffer for too long. He was still slow to get the hang of things, so to speak, for something as ‘artistic’ as murder and stealth. But no longer as slow as before.
With Cala, the pillar moved faster and faster, and Cala’s time with him in those 2 hours became more and more dangerous. But when Phesx Caolia could remain in the pillar for 40 minutes before losing his stamina, and he could do the same while dodging and blocking Cala’s attacks, they followed to the next step.
Phesx had to still hop onto another pillar, but this time, it was longer, and he had to move from one extreme to the other, not just maintain himself atop. However, this would only happen after the first 3 hours. Those 3 hours were replaced with Cala directly sparring with Phesx Caolia, nonstop.
Every new day, Phesx Caolia had to return to Cala. He had to think and figure himself, his moves and what his body could do to not be beaten down so easily. Phesx went from brainstorming how to endure a beating, even while dodging in the chair with Emer, to how to attack back.
As for the last hour’s exercise, Phesx had to reach the other extreme 1 second less after every go. Every new day, he had to start with 1 second less than the worst timing of the day before. If he didn’t follow these rules, Phesx would be bashed down from the pillar.
It was essentially a time limit, which Phesx learned to slowly achieve instead of advancing by many seconds lesser every time. With this, he began understanding his speed. He didn’t know others, but Phesx somehow felt he was slow. Cala never praised him, only laughing or nodding his head depending on what happened.
When that was over, and Phesx achieved a minimum of 13 seconds to move from one extreme to the other, Cala changed his training to firearms and hidden weapons.
The first hour was still sparring with Cala, which Phesx Caolia started gaining strength in his body from. It was rare, of course, as just fighting was inhumanely possible to grow stronger. All Phesx did outside his training hours with the Instructors or Emer was build his stamina.
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But the other 2 hours were about getting used to all types of gunshots coming at him from different angles. Phesx had some ‘experience’ with Mel’s needless by now, and the bullets used were meant to punish the skin, not to kill.
Even then, he was shot multiple times by dozens of bullets, leaving awful, small marks on his skin. The last hour was exchanged with Cala and Phesx having a ‘duel’ with handguns with the same bullets.
Phesx couldn’t hit Cala without being hit twice or thrice each time, so he temporarily sought another way. To stop the bullets Cala shot him. It went from looking like an idiot to deviating one of 3, and sometimes, 1 of 2 bullets hitting him anywhere.
At some point, like before, Phesx adapted. When he first managed to shoot Cala’s body several times in a row, although he received 3 on his arms and forehead, Cala was astonished, even though he hid it. Phesx noticed it the moment he shot Cala, how his movements changed at once. Phesx couldn’t hide his grin and was barraged soon after, leaving him bruised all over.
From then on, Phesx only continued, and as they went on, the distances between each other increased or reduced, with the hours’ exercises changing a little. Some were meant to solidify the base skill, like aiming, throwing hidden weapons, utilizing bions, and rushing to each other to spar. Other times, it was an all-out to beat the other, with Phesx always in the weak side.
As Phesx Caolia’s training neared its end, Cala and Phesx either shot each other once, dodged the others, stabbed each other or hurt one another with hidden weapons once or twice out of a dozen thrown; and landed restrained mortal hits on each other’s body with punches, kicks, elbows, etc.
Phesx wasn’t being trained for long just because he could endure it, he was able to be trained to this point because of the Instructors’ desire to vie for the Head position in 4 years. Even as the new Neophytes joined the training, it was outside Phesx’s hours with the Instructors.
Phesx was clearly a focus the Instructor granted to him. And as he progressed with Mel, Phesx looked more like a Riverlye member and not a young boy learning how to kill. He wasn’t just learning anymore, the young boy was becoming something else entirely.
At last, Phesx was able to find the target he had to kill and killed them. At first, he was still rough. He would be beaten down by the guards afterwards. But after succeeding once, everything became a little clearer, making Phesx feel he was allowed to do more things he thought he couldn’t, or shouldn’t.
Round after round, he sought and found. Sometimes, he quickly took a hostage and used the civilian’s safety, when the guards showed care, to cause a distraction and kill the target before being beaten down.
Then, Phesx found ways to kill the target without taking any civilians. Although he sometimes made them trip, even causing the guards to ‘neutralize’ a civilian, Phesx finished off his target rapidly and fled all across the hall, never once being shot by the needles.
It would go on, with Phesx and the guards sweating, until Mel clapped her hands and marked the start of another round. Everyone would reset, rerun, and ‘appear’ in another scenario like nothing happened. Their sweat turned imaginary, and each played their role.
When Phesx Caolia figured how to blend in and pass as a civilian, or even a guard, and kill the target, the eyes of the Artistas and the Instructor’s changed. Of course, he was beaten at first, until Phesx figured how to not be ‘seen’.
There were no other people, lights, or shadows in the hall. But in the scenario, it was crowded, there were hallways everyone had to walk and follow, and even furniture. Anything helped, and soon, Phesx could silently take care of the target without the guards or a civilian noticing, beating him down or alerting the guards.
The change of the training only occurred when Phesx began targeting the guards first before getting rid of the target. He would overpower them, most of the time sneakily, while the last guard sometimes met him head on. Phesx would surprise them, all of them. Even when the Artistas knew Phesx was capable of surprising them, they couldn’t do anything but to wait being overthrown and ‘killed’ as he laid few and fewer traces or hints of making a move.
Sometimes, just to earn more style points, and for fun, he also killed the civilians before taking the target’s life. Only then did Mel advance with his training.
The next time, Phesx welcomed darkness when opening the door. However, it wasn’t from the poisonous dust falling on his face, but the lights turned off. As soon as he stepped, he evaded a needle, blocked a punch with his palm, grabbing it, and used his first attacker’s body to jump and get out of an encirclement.
Following that were the sounds of body hits, needless dodged by everyone, and some bodies dropping. Sometimes, only one body needed to drop before the lights went on: Phesx’s.
Phesx couldn’t hear anything other than their attacks blocked or dodged by him, followed with the air. When he was finally struck down and the lights went on, he’d see a dozen hooded Artistas walk away. A few seconds later, the lights would go off again, and another round would begin.
At first, Phesx Caolia could only hear the wind of their movements after they attacked him, dodged, blocked, or failed to withstand them. But though another week of learning, and spending quite a good deal of time without being brought down, he could hear it beforehand, but pretended not to.
He tricked them many times with this newly acquired skill, becoming more and more proficient and lasting longer. Phesx soon started beating them down instead, ‘seeing’ their body and the human body’s weaknesses in each of them. Through his senses, his familiarity with such. He ‘won’ each round after a while.
Only then were hidden weapons and handguns introduced, making the task more arduous, yet more ‘addictive’ for Phesx, who felt freed in the dark. It had been a long time since he sharpened his nails or teeth, but it would continue to be that way.
As for the last hour, when he had to endure 1 minute every 5 minutes with 4 minutes of break, as Phesx learned to defend himself and dodge, he improved. However, it was still slow, and even as he faced Artistas in the dark with hidden weapons and handguns, he only remained standing for 30 or 40 seconds before being shot down.
After that, it became a boring routine, so the 1 hour was reduced to half an hour. Phesx would instead learn killing moves directly from Mel. She would start with him, using only her body, but ended with a weapon in her hands. A whip, knife, stone, heavy spherical object, pens; anything. While they were restrained against Phesx, they weren’t towards practice dummies.
All Phesx Caolia had to do was watch and learn. Whether he registered everything in his brain, or some, depended on himself. Mel only had enough time to care for him for half an hour, but she was proficient in her teaching.
At some point, his 3 hours of practicing without help were shared with a segment where he was to use handguns, rifles, and hidden weapons to fire and hit targets while in movement. It would be from the shadows, in the open, while he’s put under pressure with actual firepower firing at allocated angles here and there, and a time limit.
This exercise became more difficult each new day, and the number of bullets grazing against him only increased, as he was shot a few times during those days. Phesx’s learning under Mel was coming to an end, but he had gone through a lot. Definitely not something the regular human can ever endure.
When it came to José’s lectures, they grew somber and more silent, with his breathing taking more importance in his daily training each new day. There were a few times Phesx attended lessons with other Neophytes, where everyone ‘met each other’.
On one of those times, they showed their scars, or the ‘ugliness’ from the past. Phesx Caolia ended up showing his right side a bit. It was still ugly, and with the subsequent weeks of training, his body became riddled with more and more wounds.
Although Phesx did not speak when his turn came, he heard the others talk. Some he could swear were just a little older than him but sounded as typical and ordinary as the girls and boys he met at Ojazul. Yet, everyone had a formidable nature towards Riverlye. They weren’t normal people.
Through these weeks, José had them engage in debate and experiment with drugs, venomous insects and flora, laying their minds out. Even when Phesx wasn’t drawn to the idea, he still participated. It was dull and meaningless to him, and dry for the other persons, but it worked out in the end. Although it was just talking.
It was strange, considering these were talks of the most intimate thoughts and events in each other’s lives. Not solely about sex, or romance, nor tragedy; it was like a cocktail of thoughts and forged attitudes.
Phesx somehow felt it was his mind being trained here, just like his senses, reflects, speed, reaction, and even strength in the others. Here, his mind grew… Just grew.
In the last days before Phesx was given a break after 5 months, he and José just stared at each other, breathing and saying nothing, not even with their eyes.
As for Bael Instructor’s lectures, it was a different type of unending hell. The needle stabbed his body from behind, the front, and even from above to his shoulders, chest, and below to his feet, thighs, shins. Phesx Caolia could feel the ‘knowledge’ of his body increasing his understanding.
It seemed like nothing, but as it happened more and more, Phesx felt he was unleashing his body from any remaining restraint. However, the next steps were hellish.
Being stabbed by a needle became a soft approach, as Phesx was next put under heavily hot or cold temperatures. He was to spar with practice dummies, requiring him to stretch, bend, crouch, jump, dash away, nimbly or simply sidestepping.
They were new types of pain, overexertion, and the realization of the body’s disposition with nature. When that was enough, and Phesx Caolia knew his body better, something that would only continue to happen like a never ending miracle, the next step was started.
Phesx was shot with handguns and rifles. The bullets were specialized, and the angle and firepower, to impact the target with shock and exactly similar sensations as being shot, becoming easy to retrieve. However, they still caused harm. At first, Phesx had no hope in a training like this, but as he experienced it the first time, and his organs were ‘harmed’ yet untouched, he could only keep going.
That didn’t last long, as Phesx only had to get his body used to it. Otherwise, according to the ‘general’ knowledge, when he was set out to do missions, and mayhem befell him, he’d just die on the streets or a random rooftop without knowing how to proceed to survive.
Phesx’s body was also bombarded and tried with poisons, those José couldn’t use on the Neophytes as they were dangerous and not hallucinogenic or ‘relaxing’ alone. Those times, Phesx constantly coughed, sneezed, and had awful toilet memories built forever in his head.
At last, Phesx went from suffering hits from Bael, becoming used to the possible worst scenarios out there, to being taught to ‘enjoy’ torture. His nails broken apart, his lips’ skin layered off, and things like his joints and his most sensitive parts being targeted.
It wasn’t just torture. Phesx’s body would be selectively targeted somewhere, while the rest of his body was punctured by countless thicker needles with blunt tips, or touched by smoking hot or scalding cold objects. Things like electric shocks became a baby’s steps compared to venom or blades with hooks.
The very last training Phesx had under Bael was to exercise like a motherfucker madman, placing his body to the utmost limits in less than 30 minutes, continuing like this for at least 3 hours. He’d sleep for 2 hours in a cold tub, even in front of other Neophytes after his time was over, before returning to the old man and eating his fill prior to the old man’s ensuing training.
Phesx would’ve been glad if he hadn’t arrived to Bael’s last training with every muscle of his body worked up all at the same fucking time, and then relaxing in the cold tub, so soon. He spent a couple of weeks with that ‘last’ training. Either way, when it came to Emer’s training…
…