Paying no mind to the quintuplets and what the rest were doing, Alex took his best friend to the same inside-garden they fought each other in previously. Showing Arthur his tools made him forget that he still needed to rehabilitate his Bro...!
"What's with the mood?" The brawny Warrior became a lot more sensitive after the Transcendent Burst. As someone who had been researching and trying to achieve this level himself, Alex was well-aware of what was happening to his buddy.
"Do you know what a 'Divine Heart' is?" Though he asked this question. It was more a way of teaching the exact nature of True Aura and how it'd affect him in the long run. After all, he needed to adjust his fighting style to fit his current physical qualities.
After putting his currently unusable 'Godly Divinity' within his God Centre, the four Qi Armaments from his Armament Art, the fact his past life's Arts were now useless, and how his physique was different from his past life into consideration... he decided to just fight and figure out a practical way to use his powers into consideration to form a 'Rhythm'.
What was a fighter's rhythm? It allowed a person to optimise their breathing and keep their balance.
Although that sounded similar to 'The Zone', it was a lot more subtle than that. A martial artist's rhythm signified their own way of expressing their fighting style. It's how boxing can have a hundred different 'expressions' when in different hands.
Most importantly, it optimised the user's move-set so they could apply physical force appropriately.
Mastering your own 'Rhythm' was important...
"Not really..." Arthur scratched his head as he replied, which was within Alex's expectations.
What else did he expect from the regular Warrior?
"Divine Hearts are one of the four greatest assets you can get once entering the state of Transcendent Burst. Different from other 'Divine Forces', a empowered Heart is just one step below the strengthened soul in versatility." Alex explained as he knew most Internal Martial Artists of Earth would feel envious Arthur's current situation.
In his past life, this old freak of the Dragon Family had formed his own 'Lower Force' pertaining the heart too. However, the Aura l utilised by him back then was always many times worse than what his brawny friend now became capable of mastering.
"And? What's the point in telling me that...?"
"You suck at using it." He almost felt that it was a waste that this Warrior attained such a power.
If he gained the Divine Flesh or Divine Mind instead, at least he would be able to master it more easily compared to a vague power like the Divine Heart. Having control over one's heart was essential to be able to utilise this internal force...
"...I can't be that bad, right?"
"Arthur."
"Yeah?"
"You've been pressuring me with your True Aura since I showed you around and it has only been getting stronger over time..." He could 'feel' the fighting spirit and savagery in the idiot's heart...
Arthur's face became like this: (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄
His face immediately turned red, unable to make eye-contact after realising Alex spoke the truth.
He really WAS bad at controlling it.
"I-It's not my fault!"
"I know."
"Really? You really understand me?"
"I know that fighting bad guys and hunting in the Dark Forest has affected your mindset. You are so in touch with your 'Inner Aggression' that it has become part of your personality. However, I can't let you fight people other than me now since your Divine Heart amplified your aggression. You may end up killing someone as you are now..."
"I wouldn't...!"
"Then why is it that I can essentially 'feel' your intention to gouge our my eyes and kill me right now?" Arthur flinched as he didn't know that his intentions were being leaked by his True Aura...
Although he was quite a savage before, he would have never thought of doing such a thing to his one and only childhood friend before awakening his Divine Heart. Now... he felt a little depressed since he didn't want their long friendship to be in danger.
"...I-I'll change!"
"Of course you will."
Alex lifted his thumb like this: Σd(๑●.●)
It was almost like his bland attitude signified his trust in Arthur, as he didn't doubt those words.
This still surprised the brawny youth immensely.
"Eh...?!"
"I'm going to 'rehabilitate' your fighting style, and drill into you the methods to not-murder-all-your-opponents. We're going to start your training with me right here, right now." Alex spoke as he took off any accessories and got himself ready to spar.
"...I'll bring out my Spirit Essence."
"Don't." Even though the scholarly youth had agreed to train him, he wasn't going to let them fight each other with everything they had. Even if Vhalen was around, there was no way he was going to risk being potentially killed by his best friend.
"We aren't going to be using weapons." He clarified so Arthur wouldn't use his Rainwing Backsword.
"Why not?"
"Although weapons can make you stronger, it can't make up for the lack combat efficiency. A weapon user is useless without his arm, however, a genuine fighter is strong consistently, whether he has a weapon or not. Try mixing your Swordless Style with your 'Wonder Style'." Alex's words caused the brawny youth to get into a regular brawling stance.
With his right foot and arm forward, the scholarly freak felt he was being too obvious about which was his dominant arm. After all, being too straightforward is never a good sign in martial arts even if you had attained overwhelming mastery...
"Try to sense when I'll hit you. Since you're not the type to listen to explanations, I'll teach your instincts how to control your Divine Heart." As he spoke that, he put his left foot forward. The brawny youth was unaware of the implications of this step.
All Arthur did was nod his head as he wouldn't be able to contain a long explanation in his head anyway. He'd rather experience it himself rather than hearing a lot of useless words... fully unaware of the pain he would experience in order to comprehend the nature of True Aura as well as how to utilise it. Alex wasn't going to go easy on him!
It was better to learn by hitting your limits first.
Some might think that mirroring the opponent's stance made it easier to get hit and put both fighters on equal footing. However, those who thought this obviously didn't understand what it meant to fight a Southpaw Boxer for the first time.
From there, the scholarly freak threw the most realistic feint he could muster up. His left fist shook and baited Arthur to either block or try to counter punch, which ended up with him choosing the latter even though it wasn't really necessary.
The plan he had set up from the beginning was going smoothly with high hopes of success!
Normally, Arthur wouldn't attack so easily and had more of a rational outlook on fighting. He was a Warrior who believed that the first strike mattered most, and should be timed so that it could end a fight immediately rather than act as a set-up.
This Iaido-style way of thinking is what allowed him to form the basics of the Wonder Style himself and defeat many Beasts in his time training... this went on even as Alex was chilling out while travelling around the Human Empire. He wasn't an idiot.
Arthur was a technical fighter, different from what his barbaric appearance may lead one to think.
However, the brawny Warrior still chose to counter punch. He fell for his friend's feint easily due to accidentally relying too heavily on his newly awakened instincts. Making him pick a bad choice.
The worst part was that he was fully confident that his reckless move will succeed, without a shadow of a doubt. Normally, this wouldn't have mattered much. An experienced expert could adapt to anything. He was also physically strong enough to ignore the difference in skill between him and most opponents, but Arthur wasn't fighting just anyone...
...He was fighting Alex Stuman.
Who was this person? He was the only Martial Artist who ever succeeded in reaching the realm of an External Saint. He was experienced fighting against all kinds of different fighters on Earth.
If there was one person who could beat raw strength using technique, it would be him.
And that's exactly what he did. As soon as the punch was thrown, Alex stepped out towards Arthur. His left foot drifted, then his body shifted behind his opponent's body to get out of punching range, and punished the brawny youth after doing so. His position was just right to land a body blow using the fist reinforced by his Strong Physique.
A sound of flesh hitting flesh rang out.
The large Warrior'a physical defence was so strong that his fist didn't make much damage, but he was still able to make the big guy wince. He threw out another feint, which once again worked out even though Arthur should've been on guard by now...
This had to do with the Divine Heart and its ability to sense another's emotions through their Qi or Mana Signature. Arthur could clearly feel the fake yet realistic 'battle intent' of his opponent, which threw him off guard due his reliance on instincts.
Although Alex didn't have any Aura of his own anymore, tricking someone who had a rare empathetic ability was easy for him thanks to training with his mom. If he couldn't do that, then there would be no way for him to hide anything from her... The sole reason he even self-taught himself this technique was to get some privacy.
On top of that, he used a simple strategy from one of the two disciplines he mastered to make every one of the empty-handed Warrior's attacks miss their mark. Unless he took a step back to think about why his punches were missing, Arthur would be continuously punished without ever getting the chance to fight back. The scholarly freak even went as far as to taunt him with a smug face...!
"Is that all you got?" Alex looked down on Arthur as he wanted to see how the Warrior would react.
The reason the freak had dabbled in fighting styles other than Karate and Boxing was because brawling using a hybridised style wasn't as easy as it looked. After all, just switching back and forth between two 'rhythms' would trip him up in the end. The only way to properly blend two Martial Arts together was by properly mastering them before incorporating the practicality into one style.
By succeeding in doing so, he was able to eliminate the blindspot that arose when switching Rhythms.
It made him react a lot faster to attacks.
A genuine fighter only needed one 'Rhythm' if he wanted to be able utilise his strengths, and Alex was someone who was able to supplement the weaknesses of both battle rhythms by himself.
The solution was keeping only one fighting style's form, while discarding anything that was useless.
It was like cleansing his martial arts of impurities.
When he was using the Black Dragon's Unorthodox Karate, his White Dragon's Street Boxing would show itself only when it was the most practical to do so, and right now when he was focused on boxing, he kept his karate at the back of his head.
Though it didn't seem like it was needed as Alex utilised his Southpaw Stance to its fullest effect.
The pain from each punch built up Arthur's irritation just as the scholarly freak was hoping to happen. He wanted the brawny youth to let loose his savage emotions, all of which he'd personally beat out of his heart as a form of 'rehabilitation'.
The Sword Warrior's eyes slowly became more and more lost in anger and aggression. He stopped using a style altogether, utilising his sword-like fingers to claw at his opponent to cause a gash of blood to appear on his chest. The brawny youth's violent impulses took control at that moment as he fought in a similar way to when he went berserk...
Not that the same methods would work twice. Alex uppercut his chin so he would uncontrollably look to sky after the youth tried 'stepping in'. This move was to force his brawny opponent into a slugfest.
Not that the beastly Warrior fighting him desired to do the same... Arthur seemed more keen on trying to rip his childhood friend apart like a wild animal more than actually 'fighting' like a human.
The scholarly freak knew how to properly box like a perfect 'Infighter', but he didn't do so since competing with Arthur physically was impossible to do. He wasn't interested in putting his life on the line against someone so absurdly strong in body.
Alex kept to his advantage and chipped away at the brawny youth slowly like an experienced craftsman shaping a marble sculpture. He was going to thoroughly 'train' his friend with his fists alone...!
"You're aggression is getting in the way of your technical skills. You may be great at channeling your savagery in most practical fights, but you're too predictable... Anyone can beat you up as long as they have a good strategy, and you wouldn't be able to retaliate." He spoke while punching Arthur in the face. Alex had realised that the now berserk Warrior had forgotten how to use his 'empathy'.
Seeing that he didn't need to act out feints against Arthur anymore, the scholarly freak stopped holding back as Arthur lost all reason. He used precise and sharp strikes against his friend's temple to shake his brain back into consciousness.
Once Arthur woke up and was able to use his Emotional Empathy 'Heart Skill' again, Alex taunted the Warrior into a frenzy again... and again... and again... It was to the point that even the spying former Priestess felt sorry for this buddy of his.
What Alex did was essentially bullying Arthur fiercely, but he had his reasons to act this way.
"You need to create a 'Gentle Persona' for when you're fighting battles. You'll never win by just being aggressive...!" This was what he drilled into Arthur with every taunt and excessive bullying.
When someone far superior in fighting kept on humiliating their opponent, this would trigger a genuine fighter's violent nature to the point that they wouldn't be able to recognise their opponent anymore. They'd start losing their inhibitions...
"Got you!" Arthur laughed crazily after eventually just choosing to tackle the scholarly freak before grabbing onto his arm. Now, the Southpaw Stance was broken and he couldn't utilise it anymore.
With his insanely strong grip, all he needed to do was squeeze hard to break some bones, and that's what the berserk Warrior planned to do after all his innate savagery was let loose... until the former Ouroboros Dragon bared his fangs with ferocity!
[Personal Style- Coiling Dragons!]
Arthur was wrong if he thought he was the only person who always had strong violent impulses...
Though the old freak Alex was in his former life had grace aa he fought, that didn't change the fact that fighting using combative martial arts was essentially 'controlled violence' built for battle.
[Basic Skill- Darken!]
Those who learn Martial Arts solely to improve themselves spiritually wouldn't be able to understand the kind of savagery that appeared in the scholarly freak's eyes. He stepped into the large body of his old friend with terrifying intent.
All the berserk Warrior felt was a single palm touch his large wrist before a eerie crackling sound could be heard... The sudden pain made him scream horribly as Alex proceeded to shoulder throw him.
This was while a thick coat of Dark Mana enhanced him to have much more strength in his movements.
[Basic Skill- Lighten!]
The Arcanist's body reflected his change into White Dragon's Street Boxing after switching the Skill he used to enhance himself. He fought against Arthur's 'berserk violence' with his own form of 'controlled violence', forcing the brawny youth to see past his own hysteria. If he wasn't able to succeed, then they would be stuck in a loop.
Unless Arthur wanted to get continuously beaten, it was essential for him to gain some self-awareness.
He knew a fighter's psychology quite well... as well as the difference between normal people and those who were capable of accessing their Inner Aggression in battle using a 'Dark Persona'.
The qualities that could make a professional boxer strong wasn't exactly healthy for people had a family at home... That's why there were many fighters in history who had channelled the darker aspects of their personality using mental tricks.
Most great boxers conditioned themselves and controlled their mentality to focus their 'darkness'.
They convinced themselves that they would change into an entirely different person when in the boxing ring, even going as far as to create entirely separate Dark Egos to take the blame for the actions they would feel guilty of in the ring.
Boxers and other professional fighters were able to become completely different people in and out of the ring using this method. Though that didn't mean there didn't exist those who already had their aggression tethered to their normal personality.
However, those people would eventually find themselves spilling their love for violence into their daily life by accident. They were prone to fits hysteria and losing control of themselves because they made no effort to contain 'that side' in the first place. It was a suffocating lifestyle which made the person in question suffer the most.
Arthur was was one these type of people since he had lived his whole life in a dangerous environment where he'd die from a young age. He was shaped by the hatred in his heart and his surroundings.
While Alex had his past life, Arthur slowly grew from an adolescent child into a young adult having to fight for his life in their first adventure. He had already become accustomed to his aggression long ago and found it useful in a lot of situations.
However, if he didn't make an effort into containing it now, that very same aggression that had helped him in the past would end up destroying his life in the present. Alex couldn't allow that to happen!
He was willing to play the villain if it meant he could anger Arthur to the point of feeling apathy. This was to force Arthur into creating a kind of 'Gentle Persona' if he wanted to defeat him.
What the brawny youth needed wasn't any sort of new power, but to recognise his own weaknesses.
Alex continued to taunt and send the Sword Warrior signals as he was fighting him. If the berserk youth was to look at those jeering words in another light, he'd fight out that his friend was actually letting him now where his weaknesses were and what he should be focusing on. He was giving so many hints that it was suspicious.
Time passed... and Arthur finally calmed down.
He came to realise that his anger was making him weaker rather than stronger. Then he went back to the usual Wonder Style while mixing it with his Swordless Style as the Arcanist suggested before.
The scholarly freak felt like everything that he had done was worth it as the brawny youth had seen what he was feeling through Emotional Empathy and created a 'Gentle Persona' as Alex asked for.
"Stop." Arthur's fist halted just before his scholarly friend's face before he heard the voice continue:
"You have now succeeded in gaining some level of control over your Divine Heart. I'm shocked that you actually learnt what would take many of years of training in just a few hours." Alex praised his friend wholeheartedly as he drew a Light Rune.
That Rune went onto the broken wrist the brawny youth was holding close and patched it together a little. It also acted as a good painkiller. He couldn't fully heal people like Vhalen, but he could patch up wounds nicely enough until a Healer stepped in.
"...Thanks." Was all Arthur spoke as he didn't quite give a hearty response like usual. Though Alex had good intentions, the brawny youth still felt his friend had gone overboard when 'training' him.
He had let himself be hit by wind and rain for the sake of strength, but this was the first time he was so psychologically abused until he could put a cap on his aggression and limit his personal emotions.
Once the training ended, he was back to his usual self as he decided to go talk to Lily after getting healed by Vhalen... There was some questions he had that he was unwilling to ask Alex right now after the humiliation he went through. A forced smile appeared on the scholarly youth's face as he watched him leave. He could patch up wounds, but he couldn't do it to the scars on their friendship...
"..." Alex was awkwardly silent once he realised that Fear had been watching him the whole time.
She didn't even hide using Espionage this time as she pretended she came back earlier before sitting on the inside-garden's bench. Seeing that she was silent, he also decided against talking to her. Alex then went on his way to apologise to Arthur.
His steps were unusually quite, catching the systemically trained Ninja off-guard. Though she pretended not to notice as his back was getting further. His feet didn't stop since he was in a hurry.
That was until the masked girl asked:
"Are you trying to ruin that Warrior?" These words caused him to turn around and glare at the girl.
He wasn't going to ignore her rude inquiry...!