"What is CHI" Rodney asked with a befuddled expression. All he knew was video games and ever since getting into this world a lot of things would come at him with an appropriate dose of surprise coated with a little touch of disbelief. So apparently expecting him to know some of this things wasn't just going to happen with the seventeen year old.
"OK before I tell you what CHI is, do you know what Mana is?. Yang asked the boy in front of him. Rodney couldn't help but shake his head at this statement.
"What's with this world and weird names and stuff" he thought. This whole lack of knowledge was unsurprisingly not sitting well with him.
"No I don't". Rodney replied looking at Yang straight in the eye not willing to give away the fact that he was embarrassed on the inside.
"Ok then, we might need to sit for this one". Yang said as he moved to another area of the dojo that had circles of different colours ranging from blue, red, gold, and so on printed on the rug on the floor.
He then went on to sit in one of the circles that was coloured red. Rodney who tagged along remained standing as he wasn't sure if there was a particular order in which one was to sit. He wouldn't want to break more rules or get into trouble and make a fool of himself. He had done enough of those today. Yang seeing that the teenager hadn't picked a spot to sit yet, beckoned on him to go ahead and sit anywhere.
"Go on, sit....in anyone" He said the last one with a bit of a smile. Of course this act didn't go unnoticed by Rodney.
"I must look like an idiot to this oldie now" Rodney said. Well that wasn't true. Yang in fact could pass off as a thirty year old with how young and vibrant he looked. But to the other he looked old which could only be faulted with how mature and reserved he acted. And on the other hand, the reason Yang looked the way he did was about to be explained.
"Every living thing has an essence, a deep rooted core that powers our very existence. What do you think that is bo...sorry err..Rodney? Yang said with a smile at the last part.
"Is it the blood?" Rodney asked.
"No we call it mana. And it resides in every living thing. Now the" Yang said.
"OK cool...so mana is some type of natural battery?..that it?" Rodney asked.
"Well if you want to put that way then..okay" Yang answered with a smile. It was like he was having the best time answering the lad's questions. The thing was, it was his nature to be cheerful, though he could come off quite "convincing" when things got serious. But that hasn't happened yet.
"Okay, so we know what Mana is, what then is CHI?". Rodney asked.
" CHI is the raw energy form of Mana. You see, when living organisms die their Mana leaves their body, but not with CHI. CHI is basically Mana that's not present in a living entity. CHI is everywhere..". Yang stopped to see if the kid was paying attention before he continued
"You know the good part about CHI is, it can be manipulated. You can't increase your Mana but you can increase your CHI. Although too much of it is destructive, like I said it's basically the raw form of Mana. While Mana sustains, CHI builds and destroys simultaneously".
"Okay, so how do I get this CHI and what are the perks of having CHI?" Rodney asked.
"CHI can be gotten with diligent practice. As for the advantages of CHI... How old do you think I am?" Yang asked with an evil bigger smile this time while waiting for an answer from Rodney.
Rodney struggling to come up with why that question mattered in the context of what was being discussed inched a bit closer and looked at Yang's face and that's when he noticed a whit of gray hair on his eye brow. Although this didn't mean anything as lots of young people would be seen with one of those. But it did leave a disturbing thought in Rodney's mind. "Do they age in here?". Then yet again, death here was real so of course certain things would only logically be true.
Snapping himself out of the worm hole of thoughts he was about to enter, his eyes met Yang's whose looked to have been watching a boring TV program Rodney thought. On Yang's part he sat still observing the boy.
"What's with him, one moment he is a child and rushes off to do things, the next he takes too much time to think about things that shouldn't have so much time allocated to them". Yang thought as he struggled to understand the mechanics behind the boy in front of him.
"Hmmm...I'll say you are forty five...forty eight give or take" Rodney finally answered.
"What if I told you I was older?" Yang said again with a rather disturbing smile this time.
"By ....how much?" Rodney asked as he struggled to sit right due to how much Yang would smile. His thoughts each time Yang smiled would be "If this guy is not careful, he could rip his entire face off with that smile". He just wasn't comfortable with someone smiling that way, not if that person could kick his butt faster than he could say his own name.
"Very ...very old" Yang said.
"And all this is because of CHI?" Rodney asked. To which Yang answered...
"Yes and there's more"
"Great, I got beaten up badly by someone who could potentially be my grandpa. Nice going Rodney" Rodney thought making sure not to give away his emotions at the moment.
"There's more like?" Rodney asked.
"With the aid of CHI, you can sharpen your senses. Perform extraordinary feats. Increase your attacks and more". Yang replied. At this point, Rodney was interested since it had to do with getting stronger. But then again something occurred to him. How have they been able to do those things they did with their system, was it another unknown energy they were using and didn't just know?.
"OK so if one can do all these things with CHI, what of our abilities?". Rodney asked as he wanted to learn as much as he could while the window was open. Who knew what tomorrow held. Could be larva rain or a powerful wolf trying to murder you.
"Well I honestly don't have a an answer to that question. I for one think we draw CHI unknowingly from the outside and use it to perform those extraordinary feats. But it could very well be another form of energy entirely". Yang answered earnestly.
Rodney was bummed to hear this. Since what it meant was they couldn't tell when they have gone past their limit and drained this said energy. And how could they restore it back if that ever happened. If there was a third energy which of course there should be since it would only be logical to pay the cost of using such powers that they have been gifted with. Then it would be wise if they did more findings on it.
" Third energy huh?" Rodney smiled as he thought about all the possibilities it could bring if they knew more about it. Maybe then it could be used to boost their abilities further. But now was not the time, as Yang stood up and walked into a door within the dojo. Rodney tagged along and when he got inside the compartment. He didn't need to be told what happens in there. As right now Yang was once again in a sitting position with legs crossed and burning incense burning around him. And once again there were circles all around the place. Only these ones all had a white colour.
"Come on...let's teach you CHI". Yang said