My Gramps and I stood facing each other. We had both assumed our battle stances. My Dad stood outside the arena, in the same room we were training in, watching us.
"They've been at it for a whole week now" my Dad watched us.
I stared at my fists, clenched and released them.
"You're now utilizing a fourth out of a seventh of your current physical ability. I've been removing the inhibitors that limit your physical strength gradually. It appears you are gradually becoming more and more accustomed to each level of your strength" my Gramps said.
"Yeah, but with the release of each inhibitor, my movements become jerkier and more uncontrollable. It becomes a little more difficult to accurately gauge energy output and I wind up using either too much force or too little force than I intend" I said.
"That's why I sent for a little help" my Gramps said just as my Granny walked into the arena with Concordia.
"Hello San, long time no see" Concordia greeted.
"Concordia?" I stared at her in surprise.
"Concordia will be aiding you in various aspects of your training" my Gramps said. "For starters, you will be honing your precision, reflexes and reaction speed" my Gramps said.
"I look forward to it" I said.
"For now, you should rest. Tomorrow, your training commences. Concordia, I leave it to you to determine the method of training to employ" my Gramps said.
"Thank you your highness" Concordia said with a respectful bow.
My Gramps, Granny and my Dad left the arena leaving Concordia and I alone.
"Long time no see Concordia. Hope you've been honing your skills. As soon as I get back to the Real World, we're having our rematch in XCalibur AOP, War Of The Worlds" I said with a smirk.
"Glad to hear that but we could have our rematch starting tomorrow, during your training sessions. About slacking off in my training, you don't need to worry about that. Arlene, Mitsuki, your siblings and I spend most of our time honing our abilities" Concordia said.
"You've been training together?" I asked.
"Something like that" Concordia said.
"So how are things in the Real World?" I asked.
"Relatively peaceful though we've began to realize some disturbing patterns to the recent attacks. It appears the coastal regions are currently suffering the worst of the Nightmare invasions. Your Dad believes there might be a thinning in the veil that separates the coastal regions from the Dream World. As a precautionary measure, he had your siblings, Arlene, Mitsuki and I transfer to your school" Concordia explained.
"I see. So how is Ciella doing?" I asked with a nostalgic smile.
"Why don't you ask her yourself? Arlene gave me a mini-representation of Christopher to allow you to communicate with the rest of the gang back in the Real World but…I'm not giving it to you until your training is complete" Concordia said.
"You mean the training programme I'm going to undergo starting tomorrow?" I asked.
"Yep" Concordia said.
"That should give you a little motivation" Concordia said with a laugh.
The following day, Concordia and I stood in the arena. Concordia placed her briefcase on the ground, opened it and removed her bow and quiver.
"You're not going to toss your briefcase into the air anymore Concordia?" I teased.
"Not in a battle against you I won't" Concordia said with a smirk.
"You know this method of retrieving your sigil leaves an even bigger opening in actual combat than tossing your briefcase into the air right?" I teased.
"Tossing my briefcase into the air is simply an aesthetic. I could equip my sigil without opening my briefcase if I really need to" Concordia said.
"That's true" I nodded.
"So have you decided on the method through which I'll be honing my precision, reflexes and reaction?" I asked.
"Of course. KRAKEN ANDROMEDA! FORMATION DREAM REALM BORDER WALL DEFENSE!" Concordia roared as countless arrows materialized in the space surrounding us.
They all aimed for me.
"You'll be defending against a barrage of attacks from my Kraken Andromeda in its Dream Realm Border Wall Defense mode. As a penalty, I've integrated a sting function into each of my arrows. If you fail to evade them, you will not be fatally injured or wounded in any way though you might feel as though you've been stung by a hornet" Concordia said.
"Why the heck would you do something like that?!" I argued.
Concordia assumed a serious look.
"You want to become a Dream Knight don't you? Well, on the actual battlefield, a hit from an enemy's arrow or sigil could mean instant death. This test should at least mentally prepare you for situations like that" Concordia said.
"I see. Makes sense" I sighed.
"I'll begin by firing shots at you periodically. Over time, I'll gradually decrease the timespan between each shot" Concordia said.
I nodded seriously.
"Ready? Here I go!" Concordia called as an arrow suddenly fired from the front.
I stared at it as it approached. It appeared to approach in slow mo. However, when I attempted to sidestep, the force of my movement carried me further than I'd intended to go almost ramming me right into the wall of arrows surrounding me.
Concordia stared at me in shock.
"His speed is nothing like it was when we first fought" she said and stared at my previous position.
There were great cracks in the ground.
"His physical ability seems to have greatly improved as well however…he currently seems to lack the ability to accurately control his movements" Concordia noted.
I continued to evade Concordia's shots however, each evasion caused me to exert more energy than necessary and I often stopped short of crashing into Concordia's wall of arrows surrounding the entire area.
"Your movements have become far too angular" Concordia said echoing my Gramps' words.
"With her wall of arrows cutting off the walls of this place, I can't use the technique Gramps taught me and to top it off it's easier to predict the path of Concordia's arrows when she's aiming at me with her bow. However, with the Dream Realm Border Wall Defense mode, it's difficult to determine which arrow in the formation will be aimed at me. I'm only able to evade because…" I was saying when a thought struck me.
"Time is relative. By observing other living creatures, it becomes obvious that how quickly or slowly they can move is in a sense tied to their perception of time. By altering the perception of time of the rampaging Nightmares and drastically reducing it, I can slow them down to a crawl…" I recalled Mitsuki's words after she had summoned the active form of her sigil.
"Could this be what Mitsuki spoke about earlier? Could my current physical ability have altered my perception of time?" I thought as Concordia's arrows headed towards me in virtually slow motion.
It wasn't that Concordia's arrows were moving slower than they usually did but rather my immense speed made me perceive the movement of her arrows as though they were slow.
"Perhaps, I should stop attempting to evade for now" I thought as I very lightly attempted a sidestep and at the same time grabbed one of Concordia's arrows that was heading towards me. It snapped in my hands.
"TCH! Too much force!" I complained to myself.
"He…caught my arrow?" Concordia stared in shock. "However from the expression on his face, snapping it wasn't his intention" Concordia realized as well.
"San, I'm reducing the timespan between each shot by a fraction" Concordia said as the arrows began to head towards me more rapidly.
The moment I tried to evade an arrow, I noticed others heading towards me in an attempt to intercept my path.
"Regardless of your speed, your movements are too angular. It's very easy to anticipate and intercept your path" Concordia said as two arrows grazed my right arm and thigh while I was in the middle of attempting an evasion.
It stung however I had no visible wounds. I grunted in pain.
"Hope you're not too hurt" Concordia said.
"It hurts surely but not as much as my Gramps' blows" I said with a smirk.
"That's the spirit" Concordia said and continued to fire.
"Reflex and reaction can be honed through the repetitive practice of simple motions. The more effort you put into evading my arrows, the more accustomed your body will become to executing those motions naturally" Concordia explained as I continued to evade her arrows.
"As the timespan between each shot reduces, the more complex your evasive manoeuvres will become and the less time you'll have to think about your next move. At that point some of your movements might actually land you in the path of an oncoming attack. To avoid getting hit, you'll have to merge improvisation with instinct" Concordia explained.
Our training sessions carried on for weeks. By the end of each week, I'd completely mastered the level of strength I'd been using at the beginning of the week. Three weeks passed and I was now utilizing my full physical ability almost effortlessly. Concordia's arrows were now firing at me almost simultaneously.
I caught two of her arrows. They didn't snap. I smiled and began to spin them around myself to deflect other arrows aimed at me while simultaneously evading other arrows.
"My movements feel a lot more natural now" I said as I aimed the arrows I'd caught at two other arrows headed my way.
They clashed and were deflected. They fell to the ground. I performed a one-eighty degree sidestep and caught two more arrows. I threw them towards more arrows headed my way and managed to deflect them.
"He's countering my arrows…with my arrows now. His strength is nothing like it was when we first fought and it's not just raw strength. His accuracy and ability to use his environment to his advantage are quite terrifying as well. Is this what they call the street wisdom and wits of a Dreamweaver?" Concordia thought in mixed feelings of alarm and excitement.
I caught more of Concordia's arrows and deflected her attacks with them while simultaneously evading other arrows.
"Aside from Keiran, no one has ever been able to completely ward off my sigil's Dream Realm Border Wall Defense Formation but San has done this twice now…" Concordia recalled our first battle when I caught her in a tight lockhold.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" she recalled her angry yell.
"It's a Mutually Assured Destruction Last Resort Technique! Aim for me and you'll self-destruct!" she recalled my warning right before she'd countered me with a throw.
"It appears San is gradually developing a counteroffensive style of combat. The troublesome thing about this style of combat is the more devastating an opponent's attack is, the greater the damage the opponent is likely to receive. I can't be careless in battles against him from now on" Concordia said seriously. "San! Think you can evade a simultaneous attack from the entire formation?" Concordia called.
"Why don't you try it and find out?" I said with a smirk as I extended my arms before and behind myself. I crouched slightly to widen my stance.
"His stance changed!" Concordia realized just as her arrows began to head towards me.
I commenced my defense by performing sequential one-eighty degree sidesteps and gradually increased the spin of my sidesteps.
"GOUEN TATSUMAKI SENPU! (GRAND FLAMING HURRICANE WHIRLWIND!) FULL BODY VERSION!" I roared as the friction caused by the speed my spinning body exerted on the surrounding air caused the air to ignite transforming my body into a great spinning current of blazing wind.
Concordia's arrows turned to ash the moment they made contact with the spinning currents of blazing wind.
(Once again, a spin can be either clockwise or counterclockwise!)
"I see" Concordia recalled the final attack I'd launched against her Porcupine Defense Mode the first time we'd fought.
"That fight was indeed a draw. If San hadn't been distracted at the last moment, then there's no telling what the final result would have been" Concordia thought.
In the next instant, her arrows disappeared.
"I'm impressed San. Your training is now complete. At least this phase" Concordia said as she placed her bow and quiver into her briefcase.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the mini-representation of Christopher.
"You are now able to completely control your physical strength" Concordia said.
"Thanks to you" I said gratefully.
"Here, a promise is a promise after all" Concordia said and tossed the mini-representation of Christopher to me.
I caught it.
My Gramps walked in.
"Looks like you've finally completed this phase of your training" he said with a smirk.
"You were watching?" I asked.
"Of course, it's my job to oversee your training programme. Well done and thank you Concordia" my Gramps said gratefully.
"You're welcome your highness" Concordia said with a respectful bow. "I'll be returning to the World Of Reality now. Feel free to call for me if you need my assistance" Concordia said.
"I will" my Gramps said as Concordia walked out of the arena.