Yesterday, I proved that I could tag Mito more than once. Today, Shiki has dragged me out for training by myself. It seems that Mito isn't needed for this exercise.
Shiki: "Today, I'll be teaching you your first combat-based midst technique, past Physical Enhancement. Most midst teachers start with a technique called Strike, which allows your strikes to bear more force. This, at first glance, appears to be the same as Physical Enhancement, but it isn't. Instead, it alters the physical enhancement technique and builds upon the foundation that it sets. Generally, midst techniques are a skill tree, where you can't learn one technique until you've mastered another.
Of course, good teachers can maneuver their students around this, but it's generally frowned upon. However, that's exactly what I plan to do!
As I said before, Strike is the stage ability about Physical Enhancement, which allows one to increase the force of their strikes. In addition, Physical Enhancement allows the general increase of all movements such as running, jumping, and striking. These are just a few of the things Physical Enhancement can assist, and I'm sure you've already noticed its effects elsewhere when using it, but these are all we will mention for now.
Using Physical Enhancement is easy. Pooling midst into a limb of your choice increases its potency in all fields. Ah, did Kiichi use my metaphor of each limb's power being rated on a scale from one to one hundred?"
I think back to when Kiichi explained the importance of basic muscle training and recall this metaphor being used. Absorbing all the information being thrown at me, I simply nod my head. Shiki acknowledges my nod and continues.
Shiki: "Good. That makes this easier. Let's say your leg's basic strength is a 5, but with Physical Enhancement, it is a 20 all-round. When you run, your leg is a 20 in strength. When you kick, your leg is still a 20 in strength. Now, let's say you used the Strike ability in the same leg with a base ability of 5. Your running and leaping ability would remain a 5, but your kick's strength would be closer to 30. By specifying the use of your midst, you can increase your situational ability. Do you understand?"
I nod my head again, although I'm not too confident I understand. Why wouldn't I just use Physical Enhancement regardless? Is 20 power in my leg not enough? Would it be worth sacrificing my running and jumping power just to increase my kicking power to 30?
Shiki chuckles as he watches me pensively in thought.
Shiki: "I see that you understand what I'm saying but can't see the use of it. Come with me."
Is there a mind-reading midst technique? Surely not.
Shiki and I walk over to the training yard, where a particularly sturdy-looking training dummy sits.
Shiki: "I suppose I'll start by showing you the Strike technique, but you will not be learning it today. You have big fights coming up, and I would like to prepare you for opponents stronger than yourself. In battles like these, simply knowing the Strike technique won't cut it. You will need to have an arsenal of utility-type midst techniques at your disposal that will allow you to outsmart your opponents rather than overpower them. This is how we at the Seiei Dojo tend to fight, as it allows for a quicker advancement into the higher ends of combat.
Now, watch closely. This is a strike using simple Physical Enhancement."
Shiki focuses for a moment before striking the dummy with incredible force. It rocks back and forth, almost slapping Shiki back in the process.
Shiki: "Now, this is a strike using the Strike technique."
He focuses for another moment before striking the dummy with even more force than before. This time, rather than rocking back and forth, the dummy flips backward and skids to the end of the training field.
I stand and applaud the strike while Shiki jokingly bows and blows a kiss to the 'crowd.'
Shiki: "There are further branches to this tree down the line, such as a technique that specializes in enhancing an uppercut. It won't affect a normal strike, only an uppercut. Also, a midst technique exists for every type of strike, but we won't go into those right now."
Now I'm starting to get excited.
Adachi: "So, which strike type move will you be teaching me?"
Shiki smiles and chuckles before responding.
Shiki: "None of them!"
My excitement disappears.
Adachi: "Then what was this whole lecture about?!"
Shiki: "Yes, Yes, I'm getting to that. What I'm going to teach you is a move called the penetrating strike. It won't make your strike any stronger than Physical Enhancement will, but instead, it will relocate it."
I scratch my head in confusion. What does he mean by relocate?
Shiki: "Look over at that dummy. Do you see any damage?"
I glance over at the dummy and squint my eyes. I see cracks and damage, as expected, exactly where Kiichi struck it.
Adachi: "Yes, I do see it. There are cracks where you struck it."
Shiki: "Indeed. With a penetrating strike, the damage you cause to your opponent will be invisible. For example, let's say I struck you directly on the chest with a penetrating strike. Your chest on the outside would take no damage. Instead, the damage would travel past it, and the force would be directed straight onto your rib cage."
I stand up, excited once more.
Adachi: "Awesome! Could I punch someone directly in the heart? That would kill them in one shot, correct?"
Shiki shakes his head solemnly.
Shiki: "No, unfortunately, the penetrating strike isn't that strong. If it were, everyone would use it. It's a strike that isn't useful unless used as a counter.
You see, most midst teachers also teach their students another technique known commonly as Guard while they teach them Strike. It's a practical philosophy that teaching students a good balance of offense and defense will excel them as quickly as possible to greater levels. They aren't wrong in that, as Guard is one of the most powerful techniques you can learn early on. A physically enhanced strike won't leave a scratch on someone using Guard. It's a technique that is unreasonably good at protecting one from damage.
Most find it difficult to deal with an opponent who specializes in defensive techniques. Defensive midst techniques are always better than their offensive counterparts. If you assume that Guard is a level 2 defensive technique, that means that you would have to use at least a level 3 offensive technique to get past it. Using strike would generally not damage an enemy using Guard, which is precisely why we won't be learning strike just yet.
Instead, a Penetrating Strike is generally considered to be one of the weakest offensive techniques. It is usually weaker than Strike, assuming that the enemy isn't using Guard.
However, what most people don't know is that Penetrating Strike is the perfect counter to Guard.
Guard is a robust technique at first glance, but it has one weakness. Care to guess what that one weakness is?"
Adachi: "Hmm. From the way this conversation is going, I'd gander that Guard is only a skin-deep technique. So if you used Penetrating Strike on Guard, all the force would go past the Guard technique and straight into the body instead. Am I on the right track?"
Shiki: "Ohoho, that you are! You're a bright one, aren't you? Yes, Guard's weakness is that it only works skin-deep. On the other hand, a Penetrating Strike is a perfect counter to a basic but powerful technique such as Guard. So, do you understand the strength of a penetrating strike now?"
Adachi: "Yes, I'm ready to learn it, Master. Please teach me how to use it."
Shiki chuckles and motions for me to follow him. I'm lucky to have such a prestigious teacher. I feel that here, at Seiei Dojo, I will grow quicker than I would anywhere else.