Lately not even the absence of daylight proved an obstacle for Riaz in his quest of nurturing the inner energies. He circulated his qi with closed eyes, applying what he had learned from his teacher and breathed according to the method. When meditating like this, the tranquility of the night aided him in his endeavours, plus there was no need to fear any interruptions.
Not that there was anything particularly disruptive about the daytime. He had his training cut out for him during those times.
Everything about his journey had been peaceful and liberating thus far. Only when he closed his eyes to sleep would he again be haunted by his nightmares; the very same visions that befell him back in the village.
Since he couldn't find the peace to sleep and there was not much else to do, he decided to spent his waking times in cultivation.
He was painfully aware that his body and qi had somehow declined, that he could no longer boast the robustness and vigor that the Riaz of his dreams possessed.
During the circulation of his qi, he first noticed it, the immense quantity that pooled together in his lower dantian, concentrated and warm.
According to his teacher, his accumulated qi had reached the qualities to rank him among Expert level warriors. It was a quality uncommonly found in someone his age, unless they had profited from some opportunities in the past.
Unfortunately, that inherent advantage would be of no use to him, unless he quickly raised his constitution. As things stood, he'd be unable to fully draw out his power without bringing injury to himself.
However, he decided not to rush things and instead took his time to properly hone the body. After all, his teacher made sure that he understood how important a warrior's foundations were.
'Right, wasn't there this whole mumbo jumbo about a mana core?' Riaz snapped out of his meditation, a stray thought having led him to remember the conversation with Father Olden.
He understood that he was once possessed by something that drew from a dark power to annihilate its enemies. His frail body, though it had a mana core, couldn't supplement the necessary mana, thus overtaxing said core, or so he thought. He understood too little about mana to truly pinpoint the issues with his core.
'I wonder, is mana different from qi? What is a mana core in the first place? Perhaps I will soon have the chance to visit a larger library and find books detailing the matter.'
Riaz rubbed his eyes and then closed them again to continue meditating.
Came the dawn and his teacher appeared before him with a shadow hanging over his face.
"Brat, have you been at it for the whole night? It won't do when you lack the necessary rest and can't give it your all during training." Aldean didn't seem too pleased when he observed his sleep-deprived disciple.
Riaz opened his eyes and said, "Teacher, but I am already used to the extra gravity and have made steady progress in my cultivation. With my qi helping me to recover from fatigue, what else do I need?"
"Your qi may reduce fatigue of the body, but not of the mind," lectured Aldean. "Just like your body, your spirit, too, needs time to recover."
Riaz seemed to have understood the point, but nonetheless, Aldean chose to take additional measures. He walked to fetch something from the leather bag, which held all sorts of forged iron.
By the time he had returned, Riaz was painfully aware that something tedious was to come and he had already contemplated running off while his teacher wasn't looking.
Proving his suspicions correct, Aldean returned with a wooden shaft, its appearance much like a broomstick's.
"Looks like you feel invincible, so let's put it to the test, my clever disciple," said Aldean in a droning voice and rhythmically tapped the stick against his palm.
Riaz uncrossed his legs with wide eyes that displayed apprehension. "Teacher?"
"Your task is straight-forward, all you have to do is receive my attacks. Dodge or block if you like, you can even use your qi, that is, if you can." He tossed the stick upwards with a twirl.
Riaz followed the soaring stick with his eyes and tensed up. All of a sudden, the stick flickered out of his view.
He knew not how it happened, but he felt a searing pain from his sides and realized that something had struck him.
'Too fast! I couldn't even see it!'
He thought his eyes tricked him when he saw the after-image of his teacher next to him, but clearly his teacher stood where he did before, not having moved an inch.
"What's the matter, disciple? That's just the warm-up. Keep your eyes on the stick now, the next one's coming." Aldean grinned impishly.
Same as before, the stick spun wildly in the air. This time, Riaz circulated his qi and sharpened his senses. His eyes were fixed on the stick; he was ready to dodge at any moment.
The stick flickered once more and Riaz's eyes widened. His legs were thereupon swept away, causing him to fall. In addition, he came to realize that his qi had not softened the blow enough to make a difference. The impact left the sensation of being struck by a large hammer.
"Are you trying to kill me? That blow near broke my leg!" Riaz protested.
"It didn't however, but who's to say the next one won't? Besides, were you thinking that by laying down you'd be safe?" Aldean retorted and then Riaz saw him throw the stick up again.
Riaz instinctively rolled aside and somehow avoided a blow that send the dirt next to him flying. He didn't rest on his success and, with highly-strung nerves, got quickly onto his feet.
"Teacher! I get it already, you can stop now!" He tried to appease his teacher, but Aldean looked like he was enjoying himself too much.
What followed was a repeat of the earlier scene, as Riaz suffered blow after blow. He made desperate attempts to dodge, but no amount of focus sufficed to overcome the obstacle; he still couldn't keep track of the accursed stick.
His mental faculties were strained to max, but while it helped him to better anticipate the incoming attacks, it only helped him to instinctively dodge one out of ten strikes.
His teacher, luckily for him, held back just enough to not break him, but to still allow him to feel a lingering sense of danger.
Eventually, with Riaz not making any progress, Aldean grew annoyed and advised him, "You fool, why do you keep looking at the stick? That's not where your eyes should be."
Riaz felt wronged and cried out towards his teacher, "But you said at the beginning to keep my eyes on the stick. It's too fast and I can't see it!"
Aldean yelled, "That's why you are meant to use your own head instead! Don't be mislead or it will cost you, foolish disciple."
Riaz braced himself and entered a clumsy stance. 'If I am not meant to watch the stick, what else then? How am I supposed to avoid it then?'
Just as Riaz believed the stick would flicker out of view again, it surprisingly remained faithful to its course and landed in his teacher's hand again.
"That's for you to figure out. We will stop here for now and get some grub. Expect the stick again around sundown. I'll see what you've come up with then." Aldean casually tossed the stick to Riaz.
Riaz flinched briefly, but caught the stick and examined it. He asked, "Teacher, why the stick now? I've only just recovered, so why?"
Aldean, scratching his scruffy jaw, replied, "Since you've recovered, it's time to dispense with the carrots. We will be reaching Gridan within less than a week and I intend for you to learn at least some basic sword-play by then."
Riaz's eyes lit up with anticipation and his body jerked with excitement, despite his whole body still being in pain. "You are finally going to teach me how to fight?"
With a hint of a smile, his teacher Aldean turned his back towards Riaz and left him to contemplate the many questions in his head.
Some time later, back on the road, Riaz was bound to walk with a slight limp while his hands tightly held onto the straps of his rucksack. Somewhat loose bandages peeked out from underneath his shirt; it was the aftermath of his self-applied first aid treatment.
He was slowly getting the hang of how to treat his minor injuries. He previously bandaged himself, albeit clumsily after he had rubbed in the ointment provided by his teacher. He belatedly realised how, except for minor swellings and abrasions, the physical harm done to him was minimal.
All bruises considered, he was still in decent enough condition to march under the sun.
For better or worse, the climate didn't fluctuate much, but Riaz had the impression that it would only get warmer as they traveled farther down the south-bound road.
They had passed various villages on their way, but didn't remain around any for long. As their supplies grew sparser, they traded with some passing merchants; and for no more than the bare minimum at that; they acquired a couple pieces of produce and a bundle of spices.
It certainly made the meals more palatable when stewed together with rabbit meat and bones. Most of the time his teacher did the cooking, but, every now and then, he would let Riaz cook at the boy's own request.
Riaz's culinary skills left much to wish for, but Aldean wasn't in the habit to complain about what was on his plate. On the contrary, he very much appreciated his disciple's efforts to claim a fair share of the duties. If anything, his disciple was hardworking, despite whining about everything.
Part of the reason Riaz was being so forthcoming was that he had noticed a change in his teacher's mood. It had all started with Aldean talking to some of the peddlers that had come from the south. Aldean must have heard some irritating news, but ever since, his teacher was in a much greater hurry, though he tried to hide it.
Riaz picked up the pace and approached Aldean and the horse from the left.
"Teacher, what kind of place is Gridan?" he asked. "I've seen it on an old map, but know nothing about it."
Aldean lowered his head and found his disciple staring back at him with a curious lustre in his eyes. He then remembered that it would be the first time for Riaz to visit a large town.
He explained, "Gridan is a town within the Moréy Duchy, sandwiched between Mirad Forest to the west and the Devil's Woods to the east."
Raising his left arm, he pointed into the distance. "If you look there, you will see the woods. To this day, people can't enter the heart of the forest, for the ancient warding put in place. Aside from that, the outer area harbors many deadly beasts and is hardly the place to venture into on a mere whim."
Riaz chose to repress the surging feeling of curiosity that welled up within.
'The forest must truly be a terrible place.' he thought. 'How many people have died trying to uncover its secrets?'
Riaz couldn't help but sigh. From now on he would have to be mindful of where he dared to venture into. Everywhere he went he'd have to be aware of potential dangers.
'It's really true isn't it? This is not the village anymore.'
Aldean noted his disciple's change of attitude and said, "We will stay in Gridan for a night or two and continue south from there. Remember to stay vigilant, for many bastards loiter within Gridan to exploit the gullible."
"Exploit how?" asked Riaz.
Aldean explained, "The unknown begets opportunities and opportunities beget the foolish who seek them. Some people hope to recruit others to explore the woods, but end up betrayed along the way."
He raised his eyes and spoke wisely, "Remember, those who can't discern the character of others will not only fail to find treasures but will find the way to an early grave instead. You are better off relying on yourself first and foremost."
Riaz nodded. "Teacher, have you been in a lot of dangerous situations?"
"Far too many too count, brat. I've grown up in a place where you had to fight for the right to live. There were not handouts! It was a place where the strong preyed on the weak and the weak preyed on those weaker yet." Aldean lifted his chin. "That's the sort of place I am taking you to. Learn and learn fast. Your struggles have yet to begin and I, for my part, look forward to seeing your answer."
Riaz looked at Aldean, thinking to himself, 'What answer? Is he speaking of the stick matter? Why is that so important, when all he really wants is a pretext to beat me up?'
He walked beside Aldean and stared at him with venom in his eyes.
Aldean grew annoyed with him and asked, "What? Are you gay? What are you staring at me for?"
"Teacher." Riaz narrowed his eyes. "You seem to really distrust people, so why did you take me in as your disciple?"
It looked pretty obvious that Aldean had not expected Riaz to ask him that question after so much time had passed.
He paused for a few seconds and spoke, "Am I meant to let the teachings passed down by my master die with me then? It's only natural for a warrior to seek a successor, well, I suppose I did have my odd few reasons for doing so now."
"Reasons? Like what?" Riaz tilted his head to the side.
"You twerp, have you forgotten our first encounter? You've stood your ground against me and showed grit and decisiveness. I knew then that you were a warrior in the making, you just needed to leave the nest first." Aldean stroked his chin.
"What, is that all?" Riaz felt doubtful.
"It was love at first sight, is that not enough?" Aldean teased.
Riaz rolled his eyes. "Very funny, but you are obviously hiding something from me. Don't deny it, teacher."
Aldean chuckled. "Looks like we've both taken a leap of faith then, since both of us have their fair share of secrets."
Riaz rebuked, "It's not the same! I'm not hiding anything, I just don't remember. I'd tell you what I could, if only I knew more."
"Hah, you brat, don't sweat it so much. Soon enough I'll tell you, but you will have to prove yourself first." Aldean spoke mysteriously.
Riaz wanted to ask more, but Aldean spurred on his horse and created distance between them.
They've only talked again when it came time to set up camp for the night. It was also the time that Aldean promised to find him with the stick to see what solution Riaz had arrived at.
During the day's journey, Riaz obviously had plenty of time to think of ways to overcome the challenge. The answer arrived to him when he was swinging the sword and all that was left was to put his hypothesis to the test.
"Well well, time to see what you've come up with, brat." Aldean stood leisurely at the foot of a hill, Riaz to the opposite of him. A gentle breeze tickled their hair and the grass danced as if cheering Riaz on.
Riaz smiled confidently. "Just a second."
Aldean observed Riaz with curiosity as the latter found the leather bag and pulled out a sword.
"Oh?" Aldean heaved a sigh of amusement and watched as his disciple took a basic stance with his sword raised.
Riaz appeared confident and it reflected in his eyes. His naked feet dug into the dirt and grass, his eyes stuck to the stick like glue.
"What is this?" His teacher felt amused and asked, "What do you intend to do with the sword?"
Riaz declared, "It's simple, since I know you will beat me with a stick, all I have to do is cut it so you can't beat me with it."
Aldean broke out into bellowing laughter. "Really? So your answer is to simply cut apart the stick?"
He slapped his thigh, unable to control himself. Riaz, who felt confident until now, felt his face heat up.
"W-what's so funny?" the youth asked.
Wiping away the tears in his eyes, Aldean stifled his laughter and answered, "No, really, that was a good answer. You get full marks. A man has to be domineering like that. However..."
Aldean flipped the stick around in his hand. "You can't cut what you can't see."
The stick soared upwards with a spin.
Riaz's eyes lit up. 'Here it is'
His grip on the sword tightened and he took a deep breath. His qi coursed through his body, priming it for action.
'The stick is a distraction. Since I can't keep up with the stick, I am better off watching my opponent instead.'
He thought deeply about it before. Rather than thinking about how the stick disappeared, he should be asking himself how his enemy moved. Since the stick wasn't going to fly on its own, his teacher had to personally swing it to attack.
His eyes focused on Aldean's shoulder and arm. There was bound to be some movement indicating the attack.
'There! From above!'
He could see it, albeit barely. Aldean's shoulder moved and his body turned ever so slightly.
Riaz stepped to the side and heard something whistle through the air where he once stood. In that moment he saw it; he saw his teacher next to him, holding the stick, suspended in place, with the corner of his lips lifted.
'It worked?'
This time there was no after-image, his teacher didn't return to his original spot. This filled Riaz with suspicion.
Riaz quickly turned around to face Aldean and corrected his stance.
In the same manner, the stick lashed out repeatedly and his teacher chased him across the field, but this time Riaz reacted with newfound understanding.
'From the left.'
'Across my shoulder!'
Riaz dodged and gauged Aldean's next move carefully. The moment for him to counter the attack had arrived.
Aldean gloated with his eyes and sent out another strike, but this time the reaction was different.
"I've got you now!" Riaz didn't dodge to the side, but instead charged Aldean and put all his strength into his own swing. Anticipating the direction of the stick, he aimed at Aldean.
Although the counter-attack came as a surprise to Aldean, it didn't affect his reactions and he quickly brought the stick forward to meet the sword.
Riaz felt the strike connect.
The bones in his arms clamored from the following impact. A shockwave riled up the dirt, some of which landed in his eye. At that time, he had difficulty keeping his eyes open.
Riaz panicked. 'I could't feel my sword cut anything. Why?'
Aldean's voice prompted Riaz to open his eyes.
"Would you look at that." Aldean chuckled. "Looks like your sword is a bit dull, brat."
Riaz could see the blade of his sword touching with the stick, but there was not even the slightest chip in the wood.
"How is that possible?" Riaz yelled in disbelief, but that wasn't the end of his surprise.
With a resounding clang, his blade burst apart into multiple pieces.
The youth's eyes grew wide and his gaze sought out his teacher, desperate for an explanation.
Aldean drew back the stick and relaxed his arm. There was no telling what he was thinking as he deeply stared at his disciple.
Riaz complained, but Aldean didn't pay it any attention. He walked up to Riaz, then placed his hand calmly, but firmly onto his shoulder.
Riaz swallowed hard. 'What now? What's going on?'
Aldean warmly said, "You've done well. You've used your head and arrived at an answer. That was all there was to it."
Riaz didn't know what to expect, but, even then, he still couldn't hide his shock at his teacher's sudden approval.
"But I couldn't cut the stick." Riaz remarked sadly.
Aldean shook his head, "That was not the point to begin with. Brat, you've used your head, trusted your guts and risked it all in a counter-attack. That is the grit befitting a warrior."
He continued, "Your answer has reached me, disciple. Mark my words, I will teach you how to cut, until one day you'll cleave even the mountains in half, not to speak of a trifling stick."
Riaz sobered up from those words and smiled. "Come on, teacher. There's no way anyone could do that."
Aldean shrugged his shoulders. "You say that with your limited worldly experience, but who's to say what can and cannot be done?"
Riaz shook his head and the duo chatted a bit more as they prepared for meal-time.
As time passed, Riaz couldn't shake off the question on how his sword broke during the training, so he finally came around to ask his teacher once more.
Aldean picked up a twig and showed it to Riaz.
"You have learned to circulate your internal energies throughout your body, but why stop there when you can extend the coverage to your weapon as well?" Aldean flicked his wrist towards a nearby rock.
The twig gleamed in a bright hue and shot out, piercing through the outermost part of the rock and ending up buried half-way inside.
"As you see, you can turn even a twig into a weapon, but the real problem lies not with understanding what to do, but in actually applying your qi to a weapon."
Aldean poked Riaz's chest and said, "Being able to cover your weapon or yourself with qi is one of the defining qualities that separate Adept level warriors from experts."
Riaz asked, "You've mentioned it before, but how exactly are warriors ranked?"
"I'll tell you tomorrow, when you start learning how to fight; or should I say re-discover how to fight?" Aldean clapped Riaz's shoulder and left, leaving Riaz frowning.
'What is the harm in telling me now? It's not like you have places to be and things to do.'
"Oh well, its nothing new." Riaz approached the rock with the twig buried in it and examined it. "Using a stick to beat a rock, had someone told me before, I'd surely have laughed at them."
Riaz spent time thinking about the method behind it and didn't stop even when his teacher called him to eat.