Earth (Buryoku Book 6)

by Aaron Oster

  “One’s personal Path can be as diverse as it is unique,” Doragon said as the creature continued twisting around him. “Yes, you will still face a few limitations. You will never be able to conjure a firestorm as a Water Artist or summon a tidal wave as a Fire Artist. But you can use liquid metal to burn or lava to drown. It all depends on your mindset and perseverance.”

  The creature struck out at the frozen construct, one of its small legs ripping through it and shredding it to pieces.

  “There is no set Path that a Martial Artist has to take, which is why the Martial Arts are so unique. It is also why no branching Path is ever really the same, despite some appearing to be so at first glance.”

  The creature twisting around Doragon faded until it vanished completely, leaving them alone once more.

  “I’ve never seen a dragon like that,” Roy said.

  It was the first thing he could think of, and though not exactly relevant to the topic at hand, he was curious about it.

  “Really? And how many dragons have you seen?” Doragon asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Not many,” Roy admitted. “But the few I have seen all had the same general shape,” he was quick to add.

  “On this continent, dragons look a certain way. On mine, they look quite different,” Doragon replied.

  “But when we fought you, you looked like the dragons I’ve seen,” Roy said, sure he would win this one.

  “The ‘me’ you fought wasn’t actually me,” Doragon replied coolly. “That person was influenced by the norms of this continent and acted accordingly. But we’re getting off topic,” he continued, steering the conversation back to branching Paths. “We’re going to need to find an offshoot of Power that resonates with you, something you feel so comfortable with that it will integrate itself into your cultivation. In order to do that, we’ll need to stabilize your foundations, which means learning a Full-body and Full-area Essence technique. Once that’s done, we can move on to branching Paths.”

  Roy almost groaned internally as he said this. After seeing the way the twisting serpentine dragon had acted, he’d wanted to get started on a branching Path immediately. He couldn’t be sure, but he was fairly positive that that creature had demonstrated a Projected, Armorer, Containment, and Physical technique, all without being dismissed.

  Each pattern, change of movement or behavior, had resulted in a different defeat for each construct. Roy quite liked the idea of not having to do any of the fighting. If only he could summon a creature like that to do all the dirty work. Roy almost sighed as he felt the immediate displeasure fall upon him. The crushing weight of the Spirit of his Path was letting him know that under no uncertain circumstances was he to allow someone else to fight for him.

  It had been a nice thought while it had lasted.

  “Get into your fighting stance,” Doragon said, snapping him from his thoughts.

  Roy immediately did so, his time training getting an almost immediate reaction out of him.

  “Spread your legs wider,” Doragon all but barked. “Elbows tucked in and hands higher.”

  Roy grimaced as he once again forced himself into the uncomfortable fighting stance. It was so rigid, in fact, that it would hamper his mobility.

  “You will only use a Full-area Essence technique and nothing else,” Doragon said, placing his hand on the pedestal. “You will not physically strike back at the constructs. If you do, I’ll send you through that wall on the far side of the grounds. Understand?”

  Roy didn’t like where this was going, not one bit. When Doragon had begun talking, he’d thought — just for a moment — that the man might be more reasonable in their training. It seemed that he’d been wrong.

  Over the next eight hours, Roy was mercilessly beaten by a group of constructs, all apparently trying to knock his head off, break his spine, or shatter his legs. The only thing Doragon allowed him to do was use basic Essence enforcement as he tried to summon a Full-area technique.

  At one point, he’d tried to pull a fast one when Doragon’s back had been turned. The resulting impact against the far wall had been enough to convince him not to try that ever again. Finally, after the eight-hour period ended, the constructs vanished, leaving Roy to sag to the ground.

  “Great first day,” Doragon said, turning toward the portal. “We’ll break now for five hours to eat and recover. Then, we’ll be right back for more training.”

  “You’re joking, right?” Roy asked from his prone position on the ground.

  “No,” Doragon said. “Now you only have four hours, fifty-nine minutes, and thirty seconds. You’d best move if you want to take full advantage of your resting time.”

  “He’s trying to kill us!” Roy exclaimed as he forced his shaky muscles to comply as he tried to regain his footing.

  “I thought that was obvious,” Geon said. “I mean, he did tell you that that was how we were going to train.”

  Getting up even the three small stairs was a struggle. His entire body felt as though it had been tenderized, his muscles having been bludgeoned to a near pulp. He could feel the cracks in several of his bones where his enforcement had eventually failed and knew that a good portion of his resting time would need to be dedicated to cycling so he could heal those injuries.

  Roy stumbled from the portal, only to see the last rays of the setting sun vanish over the horizon. Storm clouds were already moving in as well, blanketing the sky for yet another downpour. Doragon marched resolutely ahead, easily jumping the gap between the split stream and continuing to the small cottage overhanging the waterfall.

  Roy had a much harder time getting over the small gap, his back foot hitting the water as he landed. His legs twinged as he did, and Roy almost fell right then and there. He managed to catch himself just in time, though he didn’t quite make it inside before the downpour began.

  “Go change and take a bath,” Doragon said, throwing a gleaming golden Pill at him. “Food will be ready in fifteen minutes. You’d best hurry and make the most of your break, because you won’t be eating or sleeping again until this time tomorrow.”

  Roy didn’t even acknowledge the man, popping the Pill into his mouth and moving to the indicated room. There was indeed a small tub there, as well as a change of clothes. These robes were new. They were made of solid blood-red material, stitched with black and gold around the edges. An unfamiliar symbol sat on the left breast, as well as a bigger one on the back. A twinge from one of his legs reminded him why he was here, and Roy quickly stripped out of his sodden, torn, and bloody robes, sinking into the steaming bath with a hiss of pain.

  He almost jumped out immediately, as the burning liquid seemed to scorch deep into his skin, but he forced himself to remain where he was. He’d been worried that he might fall asleep in here, but the discomfort of the water had him in and out, and just ten minutes later, Roy was dressed and heading back into the small room where Doragon had been when he’d come in.

  “Food isn’t ready yet,” Doragon said, all but glaring at him.

  A small pot steamed and bubbled over a small fireplace near the back wall, releasing the most wonderful aroma.

  “The bath was uncomfortable,” Roy said. “So I finished quickly.”

  “Tomorrow, you will take the full fifteen minutes,” Doragon said, not looking away from him.

  “This man has to be some sort of sadist,” Roy said to Geon as he sat down across from Doragon.

  “What’s wrong with that?” Geon asked.

  Of course the Dungeon Core would think that was fine. He should have known better than to comment on it.

  The two of them sat in silence until the food was ready, Roy concentrating on cycling the Pill through his battered and weary body. He could already feel his eyes beginning to droop, having to battle against himself just to stay awake.

  “You have exactly ten minutes to eat as much as you can,” Doragon said, taking the scalding pot from the fire with his bare hands and plunking it down on the table.

&nb
sp; The sloshing from within already told Roy what it was, and when he peered in, he was glad to see a rich, dark broth with bunches of long noodles. Small bits of green floated near the top, and judging by the rich, meaty scent it exuded, he knew there would be meat somewhere near the bottom.

  “Do you have a bowl?” Roy asked. “Or utensils?”

  “You have two hands, don’t you?” Doragon asked.

  Roy stared at him, wondering what sort of land this monster had come from where people ate directly from the pot. But when Doragon began counting down, Roy reached out a tentative finger and quickly poked the side of the kettle.

  It was warm, but the heat didn’t bother him at all. He had spent so much time over the past couple of days being beaten to a pulp that he’d forgotten about his Perfect-Body. Lifting the pot, Roy placed it to his lips and drank, feeling the scalding broth pour down his throat without so much as a hint of discomfort.

  He forgot all about propriety as soon as the first drop touched his tongue, and Roy set to demolishing the pot with vigorous abandon. What he couldn’t drink directly from the pot, he ate with his fingers, pulling noodles and meat from the broth and shoveling them down his throat. Despite his best efforts, he’d only managed to finish about half before Doragon snatched it away from him.

  “Time’s up,” the man said, placing the pot on the ground next to him. “Go to bed.”

  Roy almost attacked the man right where he stood. He wasn’t nearly full enough to be satisfied. But the dangerous gleam in the man’s eyes, as well as the painful twinging of his muscles, convinced Roy to do the smart thing and do as Doragon said.

  He was directed to another small room, this one containing only a thin floormat and blanket.

  “Cycle for an hour, then go to sleep,” Doragon said as Roy entered the small room. “Do not stay awake any longer than that. Do you understand?”

  Roy nodded wearily, not sure if he’d even manage to stay awake for a full hour. The door was unceremoniously slammed shut then, plunging him into darkness. Roy collapsed into the uncomfortably thin sleeping mat, pulling the too-thin blanket over himself and closing his eyes.

  He did his best to concentrate on cycling the Pill but kept falling asleep.

  The next thing he knew, a loud bang snapped him awake, and a bright light came flooding into the room.

  “Time to get up,” Doragon said. “If you’re not up and dressed in the next five minutes, I’m coming back to drag you out personally.”

  Having made his threat, Doragon slammed the door closed once again, leaving Roy to contemplate if another five precious minutes were worth a wake-up call from the man.

  He almost went back to sleep until a reminder from Geon about what Doragon might do to him had him sitting bolt upright. He didn’t feel nearly rested enough and his entire body screamed as his tight muscles stretched. If anything, today was going to be far more miserable than the day before.

  Roy was already regretting not leaving when he’d had the chance, but he’d already committed and there was no way he was going to back out now.

  38

  The day was just as miserable as Roy had imagined. If anything, it was worse. Doragon had marched him directly out into a rainstorm, not even giving him the opportunity to get dry before summoning constructs and commanding him into his defensive position upon entering the training Dungeon.

  He spent the next day being simultaneously beaten by the constructs, insulted by both Geon and Doragon, and fighting back his growing rage. He only struck back once, and that had been an attack aimed at his teacher rather than the constructs.

  Oddly enough, Doragon didn’t attack him for doing that. No. What he’d done instead was dismiss the constructs and summon new stronger ones to continue beating him. Now, instead of mere bruises, they were hitting hard enough to break bones, forcing Roy to redouble his efforts to keep his enforcement going, while trying to concentrate enough through the pain to figure out a Full-area technique.

  Every couple of hours, he was allowed to sit for fifteen minutes to cultivate and replenish his Essence, Doragon forcing him to try and push the bounds of his Core, despite the fact that only Chakra should have been able to do that. Roy saw no point in the exercise, but he’d only tried to cheat once before doing it correctly.

  That seemed to be Doragon’s general attitude. If he gave an order and Roy didn’t follow it, severe physical trauma was quick to follow.

  The rest of the day continued on much in the same fashion, between Roy being beaten to a bloody pulp, mixed in with periods of cultivation. Finally, after the full nineteen hours had elapsed and Roy felt about ready to die, Doragon called a halt to the training and headed out.

  Roy was honestly shocked when he managed to drag himself from the training grounds, broken bones and all, and pull himself back to the house. This time, he spent the full fifteen minutes in the scalding, painful bath, and when Doragon offered him a pot of steaming rice and meat, he immediately dove in, managing to shovel down an impressive two-thirds of the dish before it was snatched away from him.

  He fell into bed, trying to ignore the wrenching pain as he cycled the Pill, but once again, Roy fell asleep before he managed the full hour.

  When he awoke the next morning, Roy felt the expected discomfort and exhaustion, though any muscle stiffness he’d expected was oddly missing. When he commented about this out loud, wondering if he was finally getting tougher, Doragon was quick to burst his ego.

  “That’s because you spent the full fifteen minutes in your bath last night, like you were supposed to.”

  “Huh?” Roy intelligently asked.

  “Did you really think regular water would be that uncomfortable to sit in?” Doragon asked. “It contains special healing properties and minerals that seep into your tired muscles and keep them from stiffening up, while promoting growth and restoration.”

  “Then why am I still sore?” Roy asked, feeling at his shoulder.

  “Because you didn’t cycle the Pill for the full hour like you were supposed to,” Doragon said bluntly. “Now get into position.”

  “But…”

  Doragon placed his hand on the pedestal, forcing Roy to comply or be beaten half to death before he could even mount a decent defense.

  The day’s training was no less brutal or painful, Roy standing and taking beating after beating while trying to find some way to use a Full-area technique. He had a feeling that had he not been in so much pain, it would have been far easier to come up with, especially with all the time he had to think. But the constant rain of blows forced him to split his focus between cycling his Essence to reinforce himself and trying to find ways to combine his three techniques into one.

  Roy was no more successful this time around than he had been until now, leaving him to collapse in exhaustion at the end of the day. This time, he forced himself to remain awake for the full hour, despite how tired he was, and the next morning, when Doragon kicked him awake, Roy found that he wasn’t sore in the slightest.

  They fell into that routine over the next week, Roy waking up, only to be beaten half to death, bathe in the painful water, gorge himself on whatever was served, collapse into bed and cycle the Pill, then fall sound asleep.

  It was only on the eighth day of this training that Aika returned, somehow finding her way into the Dungeon, just in time to watch him take a shin to the face.

  “What the hell is going on here?” she snapped.

  The exclamation was enough to break Roy’s concentration, costing him another slip-up, which resulted in a bruised rib.

  “Hold,” Doragon commanded, and the constructs froze in place. “What do you think you’re doing, girl?” he asked, rounding on Aika.

  She stared at him for a moment, seeming at a loss for words, her face going redder and redder. Then, in a flash, she was over by Roy’s side, supporting him as he tried to sit.

  “You call this training?” she retorted, yelling at the man standing calmly to one side.

  “Yes
, I do,” he replied. “Now, if you don’t mind, I would appreciate it if you left us to it. You’re getting in the way of my schedule. If Roy is ever going to be ready for the upcoming competition, he needs every second we can get.”

  “The competition is on then, correct?” Aika asked, ignoring Doragon and looking to Roy.

  For his part, all Roy could do was nod as he tried to catch his breath. Keeping a cycling rhythm going while taking the sort of punishment those constructs dished out was hard, and he was going to take advantage of this unexpected break.

  “Explain,” she said, turning to glare at Doragon.

  “If I do, will you leave?” the man asked, now all but glaring back.

  Aika opened her mouth to talk back, but Roy finally managed to croak something out.

  “He’s right,” Roy wheezed. “We don’t have much time, and I can see that you’ve still got a long way to go.”

  Aika hadn’t advanced even a single Dan in their time apart, not that he was surprised. Getting to even Base Red was going to be difficult. For her to reach the 1st Dan needed to enter was going to be a monstrous task indeed.

  She looked as though she wanted to say something, but pursed her lips and nodded instead.

  “Great,” Doragon said, sounding anything but pleased.

  He quickly outlined the rules of the competition, as well as the requirements needed to enter.

  “Now that you know, kindly leave this place so that we may continue training.”

  Aika, who’d grown grimmer and grimmer as the explanation had continued, was now back on her feet, helping Roy stand as well.

  “It looks like I’m further behind than I’d like,” she muttered, her eyes flicking down to her own Belt, then to Roy’s. “Do you really think I can make it, or should I not bother trying?”

  Roy honestly didn’t know what to say. The chances of Aika making it to Red were astronomically low, and 1st Dan Red even less so. However, he couldn’t go discouraging her just because of long odds.

  “You can definitely do it,” Roy said, gabbing her by her shoulders and squeezing tightly. “There’s no way I’m going to fight without you there by my side.”