The training lessons just got more extreme from here on out. Kamika became ruthless, and Dragan had little to no chance to make a mistake. He wasn't getting any better either, it was like every mock fight he had with Kamika would lower his spirits and make him more desperate. He would practice by himself until exhaustion took hold and he could no longer stand, then he would sleep the whole night and start the whole routine in the morning.
After sword practice, we would hike home and after Dragan had something to eat, he would practice sword fighting by himself.
This went on for several days, and the week was quickly coming to a close.
I was worried, Kamika wouldn't allow us to leave the village because Dragan wasn't up to standard, but with only three days left in our schedule, Kamika came in with a surprise at the Dojo.
"Here," she said entering the room with a new weapon in hand.
It was a long spear, with a sharp and big blade attached to it.
It looked heavy.
But as soon as Dragan picked it up, it was light as a feather. The end was pointy too, but it had some sort of red ruby encrusted into it.
"This should be more comfortable for a big dodo like you," she said lovingly.
I could see Dragan expression change quickly, the weapon was natural in his hands, and he moved it with grace and elegance, it was almost like he could dance with the spear.
The spear looked ancient, blues and red adorned the hilt. And it held a red scarf at the pommel. With gold lining. It was pretty. And perfect for Dragan.
The spear resembled a Senbon-Yari, something they would use in Sojutsu. Except the actual blade was so large, it was as massive as Dragan himself. His muscular back could easily hide the spear.
"Now come!" she said and took a fighting stance. Dragan moved with precision and intricacy.
Had he always been this good?
The air seemed to dissipate around his feet.
He went in for the attack.
Kamika still managed to hold off his attack, but this time he had gotten closer to hitting her than other times.
"I knew it," she said. Dragan moved with such precision it looked like he was dancing. The weapons connected as Kamika expertly blocked one attack after the other.
"Big guy's like you need an ever bigger weapon," she said with a cocky smile. The mock battle became intense. Red hot particles of molten steel started flying as the wepons clashed with one another. Kamika was concentrated on the fight but could speak at the same time.
"Now it's time you understand real speed," she said. Suddenly stepping back some steps away from Dragan, putting two fingers horizontally towards her face.
Closing her eyes.
Dragan started running towards her, trying to close the gap between the two.
He knew Kami was about to do something.
>Space Amplification Detected
Sybil inside my head. As soon as she mentioned it, I noticed how the air seemed to expand in on itself, away from Kamika. It carried thousands of colors, but still transparent. Like an ocean wave hitting the shore. It passed through me, and Dragan felt it too, but he pushed against it. It was like his body got heavier. Still he swam through it.
Before Dragan could land his next blow, she shouted.
"Creation Breadth: Speed Star!" she cried out, and instantly we were enclosed in a sort of negative force field, as the ocean wave in the air retracted on itself, like the air responded to her, she was the moon that controlled the tides.
He her whole body suddenly became heavy.
The ground started to move down from her feet like she had become the center of gravity. I saw Dragan go for the attack, but it was like he was moving in slow motion.
"Second Movement," she said, and instantly in a flash of light, she barraged around Dragan and started hitting him in open spaces around his stance.
He received the hits in almost a split second.
Her sword was made of wood, so no damage came to his body, except maybe a couple of bruises.
Kamika was no joke. It was like time froze for Dragan, if the sword had been made of steel, he would now have multiple lacerations around his body. Most of them deadly.
I could already see the purple bruises along his torso, his body was already battered and strayed from this week of intense training.
Then the negative space receded, and Dragan hit the ground, face first.
"What just happened?!" I shouted. "That was so cool!" I couldn't control my emotions.
Dragan managed to stand up and sit with his legs crossed.
"Creation Breadth," Dragan pronounced. "In Kamika's case, it gives her a speed advantage by reverting gravity in a negative field.
My expression widen, even though I was in my slime form.
"Reverted gravity!" I said, with my mouth open. Elder Kamika took a stance by impaling her sword to the ground.
"You have much to learn, little clover, I'm still unsure you will be able to leave the village, right now I can't say with confidence you could go into the wasteland and fetch quests for Gula."
Gula I had learned, is this worlds currency, kinda like gold coins, but made out of plastic.
"Please Elder," said Dragan bowing his head. "Teach me how to use Breadth techniques," said Dragan from the spot where he was sitting.
"In three days, you're kidding, right? That's madness, breadth takes centuries to master,"
"Please! If I can show you I can use my techniques, then you'll let us go right, you'll have to let us go, it's the only way," said Dragan with his heart on his sleeve.
"Most techniques start with the student cloning the masters, what makes you think…
Suddenly out of nowhere, I interrupted Kamika.
"Creation Breadth," I started, magic started pooling around me, it got both of their attention.
My slime form was tiny - but the magic suddenly pooling around me in a whirlwind was enough to make me stand all the way to the ceiling of the dojo.
>Notice!
>Space Amplification Detected!
>Calculating
>Enough Mana Reserve for Space Stretching
>Execute?
"Let's give Kamika a big show Sybil!" I said inside my head.
>Accepted
>Commencing Space Stretching
>Space Stretching Successful.
I felt how my body started swirling creating a whirlwind of air, If Kamika had been the moon, I was going to be the sun.
The winds surrounding us were making it hard Dragan and Kamika to hold their place, but Kamika managed to stand tall, while Dragan had to put down his spear down on the floor, damaging the bamboo floors in the process. He held tightly to his spear.
"Fine then -" said Elder Kamika. "Land one hit on me little slime, and I'll see to it the other Elders accept your request to leave the village! Show me that spirit! Come at me!" she said holding a fighting stance.
"All right - seems like I got one chance here!" I spoke out loud.
The mana pooling around me, withouth me noticing, it started leaving my body like strings, and attaching themselves to Dragan.
Suddenly he stood up and Kamika turned around to face him. She visibly gasped.
"What's happening?" said Dragan. "It's like my body is moving on it's own."
"Puppet technique, without fusion?!" she shouted. She was visibly shocked. The space around us seemed like it could break out of this dimension at any moment. The waves were going forward out of me, but they were never receding. The winds were creating so much noise I had to shout.
"One hit, just one hit!?" I shouted to Kamika.
"That's right -" she said and took her fighting stance again.
With that - the air froze, like it was the middle of winter inside the Dojo. My attack was about to go through.
I took a beat.
"Speed Star!" I shouted, the negative gravity pooled out of me and encapsulated all of us, something weird happened.
I felt Dragan go into an almost medative state, like I could peer into his thoughts and memories, in this moment, he was calm, he trusted me. My freeze suddenly melted - and a spring day blossomed.
I could control Dragan now, but no fusion requiered, in this space, every one of muscles was at my command, he let go, completley, he trusted me.
I grabbed his spear from the floor.
"Third Movement," I said not knowing exactly why, or how I knew that.
Then in an instant, a flashing thunder raged across the room.
The next thing I knew, Dragan pushed forward at the speed of sound, Kamika had no time to react. The spear blade got inches away from Kamika's throat.
They stood there, bewildered.
A small fine line opened up across her cheek, blood pooled out of it, she brushed it off and it stopped bleeding.
"W-What?" she said, confused. "You actually managed to hit me?!" she said looking at the blood in her hand. "And a clean hit no less," she looked back at me, her expression was concerning, but bewildered at the same time. "Third movement, huh?"
The negative space recedes into me. Dragan stood his ground.
Then he regained his normal composure.
His brain took control of his body once more.
The mana around me receded and spread out into the air. The space turned back to normal.
"You could control me, but we weren't in fusion," he said.
Kamika looked bewildered.
"How did you do that!" she shouted wanting to know the answer.
"You said copy your ability right, that's what I did,"
"You didn't copy, you went far beyond it," she said.
"What?!" I was confused. "How so?"
"The Third Movement, not even I can do it," said Kamika.
Dragan suddenly erupted with a smile. He started doing a happy dance. Quite cheesy honestly.
"No time for that!" she said batting the back of his head. Dragan stood there like a sad puppy rubbing where she had hit him.
"Wait, what about the first movement," I asked.
"It doesn't exist, speed star is my master's technique, which was passed down through my family, only the second movement is known. But it seems you just found the third."
I wasn't sure I understood.
"Is it more powerful the higher it goes, or the other way around?" I asked.
She started explaining.
"Movements are like sword techniques, each movement holds a long line of sword masters who hold proficiency over that movement and passed it down through generation upon generation." she explained. "It's not that they're more powerful, it's that only certain individuals can hold mastery over it, it seems today you add a third movement to 'Speed Star'" she explained.
"Ah I see," Dragan just looked confused, like all of this was going over his head. He looked kinda cute actually. "So the first movement of Speed Star seems to be long lost to time?" I asked, making sure I understood.
"That's right - to learn it you'll need someone who knows it and masters it - like how Dragan might already know the second movement, the third movement is now special because it requires a puppet technique, and you - little slime, seem to be the master of it." She explained with great gusto.
There was a beat. But she continued.
"We run the dojo here in Tarragon, and my parents are part of the clan who trains military forces," she explained casually. For such a hippie lady, she had some secrets. No wonder she was so good at the sword, she must have been training since she was a little girl.
"The closer the movement gets to zero, the more powerful the attack, right?" said Dragan.
"That's correct, but a zero movement requires an unheard amount of mana," Kamika explained.
I didn't know exactly how I had done it, or why, but all I know is that was dam cool. Being able to move Dragan's body without fusion felt great, and certainly something I wanted to try again. We could use this for combat, to defend ourselves when we most need it.
"So how did you do it," she finally asked. All I could say was.
"I don't know," I said with a haphazard smile. Kamika sighed.
"I knew it, you're mana is still wild and uncontrollable, you probably only managed to do it out of sheer spite, feeling spells with emotions can lead to great consquences, only cast them with logic and reason from now on."
It made sense.
"Emotions are good and all, but it can cause magic overflow if you don't know how to control it, things can turn bad, real bad." said Dragan. Kamika agreed.
"And what happens if magic overflows?" I asked, curious, there was always a consequence for this type of thing. The room suddenly got dark, the red tint from the afternoon sun, seemed like blood washing over the walls.
Kamika got real serious.
"You reach the amok, a shadow of your former self, unable to listen to logic or reason, magic spools out of, and rage blinds you, until your body burns from the inside out, and you're unable to move," explained Kamika. "Amok means going berserk - you're mana won't be satisfied, until it has extinguished itself, in the wrong hands it can create a second contact."
"A contact is a world ending event," explained Dragan.
"That sounds bad," I said.
"What was the first contact like?" I asked out of sheer curiosity.
Dragan looked at Kamika with a hurt expression.
"It's okay -" she said holding him back. "I can talk about it," she said.
"The first contact - created the wastelands and made us retreat into the pods - it's not something people like to talk about, and something they would like to forget, it's a dark period in our history - and the reason all male Zomareon spirits were banned from reincarnation."
A chill went down my whole body.
It seemed the air got heavy and awkward.
Kamika just said we should go home and rest for the day.
I apologized to Dragan on our way up the mountain, he said I shouldn't worry about it, but asking about it was considered taboo, and only certain people can talk about it.
Even knowing about the first contact can create madness and despair.
Consequently, I managed to peak at my stats, INT had gone up, as well as my taboo level. Just knowing about the First Contact, seemed like it could drive some people mad. I was happy Kamika had trusted me with this information, but also a little bit scared.
Nevertheless we decided to relax and take a day off for the rest of the day.