When my eyes opened, I was greeted by a wide, white area that seemed to expand forever. There was nothing around me and everything was silent.
I looked down and was surprised to see my own body.
"I guess I'm not going to possess another gym bro again," I said with slight disappointment.
As I was checking out my body to see if everything was the same, a bright flash of blue light engulfed the area.
Once the light dissipated, I looked ahead and saw a tall, Asian man with long black hair in a ponytail. He had a sharp beard and mustache and was wearing a black kimono.
'Woah, this guy looks like an off-duty samurai!'
"Hey! Are you my teacher?" I asked.
The man turned to me, looking me up and down, and murmured something under his breath.
"What was that?"
Then, the white landscape vanished and morphed into a mountain peak. My footing slipped on the loose rock, but I caught myself and looked up, seeing the man not moving at all.
We were on a singular mountain and surrounded by clouds.
"Uh, where are we? I thought we were–"
"Quiet," The man said, interrupting me. "Come."
'Why do I always get the strict mentors?'
I climbed up to the very top of the mountain. Once I reached the top, I noticed it was completely flat, making for a 30-meter-wide platform.
The man stood next to me, facing the platform, not uttering a single word. The cold mountain breeze swept through the air, making his hair sway.
"You want to learn, correct?" The man asked.
"Yes, I'm here to learn the Spin Strike Arts."
The man walked to the center of the opening and faced me.
"Attack me with all your power."
I grinned and launched myself at him. I was expecting something like this. Every mean mentor just wants to beat the skills into you!
Surprisingly, I couldn't feel any mana in my body, but I didn't think much of it. I'm not here to use that. My strength and agility are good enough.
As I was nearing the man in the kimono, he didn't move a single inch and just stared at my form. My leg flew toward his side and he still just stood there. But as soon as I made contact with his body, my leg slid off of his side. He then spun, carrying all my momentum with him and countering with a palm attack.
I was ready for a counter so I put up my arms and blocked his palm. The skin receiving the strike burnt as his rough hand slammed into my arms. I dropped my guard after blocking to attack again but another palm was heading straight for my face!
I quickly blocked again, but the attack never came and instead hit my gut.
The force behind the palm sent me flying off the edge of the mountain top and I tumbled down, and down, and down… and down… and down… and… hit an edge of a cliff and stopped.
I was covered in torn skin and dust. My skin was on fire and I had broken my right arm. But instead of a grimace, there was a grin on my face.
"This is a good start," I said in between gasps.
"Climb up when you've recovered and face me again," A deep, male voice rang out from the peak.
"Will do."
…
*CRUMBLE*
"Shit!"
I nearly fell off a cliff as my foothold in the mountain collapsed. The pieces of rock fell down into the abyss beneath me and the collisions echoed from below.
I didn't look down and found another foothold, hoisting myself up to another edge to hold on to. So far, I was halfway up the mountain. It took me over two hours to get here and I didn't have any desire to do it again.
"Just you wait, old man."
…
By the time I finally reached the top, more than five hours had passed. I was panting with my hands on my knees at the edge of the peak where I had just climbed up.
"Haah, finally," I said. "Now… Let's do this again."
I walked up to the flattened platform and saw the man standing still in the middle.
"Come," He said.
I grinned and launched myself in his direction. This time, I started with a sweep. He jumped upwards and flipped forwards with a kick directly to my head. I quickly shoved off the ground and narrowly avoided the leg as it smashed into the rock, leaving a crater the size of a person.
The man immediately retook a fighting stance as I launched a punch to his gut. But this time, I veered my fist at the last second and uppercut straight to his chin. The only sound after was my fist cutting through the air as he leaned back to avoid the blow.
Harnessing his momentum, the man launched a fierce kick toward my chin, but I swiftly dodged by leaning to the right. Seizing the opportunity, I spun with electrifying speed, aiming a devastating kick, only to find it meeting nothing but air. Reacting swiftly, I raised my guard, bracing for an imminent frontal assault. Yet, to my surprise, a sudden blur appeared from the left, and a thunderous foot collided with my head, jolting my senses.
I was sent flying off the side of the mountain again and tumbled hundreds of feet downwards into the cover of the clouds.
On the top of the mountain, the black-haired man in a kimono looked towards the edge the boy had fallen off. After a few seconds, the man turned away and closed his eyes.
…
"Dammit! None of my attacks are connecting. He keeps dodging and quickly countering. I tried being unpredictable but it's like he can see my attacks before I initiate them."
I reviewed the fight as I lay on the sloped side of the mountain with several broken bones.
"His technique is using momentum from dodging and blocking to attack with heavy strikes. I tried to do that but he read everything I threw."
I sighed. "I need to utilize my Flexibility more. It's hard because I've never moved that way before."
…
I reached the top of the mountain quicker. After my first time, I could easily spot places to grab to hoist myself up. The mountain was mostly a straight incline up, so it wasn't too difficult.
"I'm back," I said to the man who had his eyes closed in the middle of the clearing with his arms crossed over his chest.
Without hesitation, I launched a powerful roundhouse kick, aiming to catch him off guard. But his eyes widened, and he swiftly sidestepped, evading my attack with ease. Anticipating his move, I improvised in mid-air, unleashing a lightning-fast kick with my other leg. He had no choice but to defend himself, blocking with his arms shielding his face. My leg made contact, forcing him back, and in a flash, I spun, landing a sharp left punch squarely on his shoulder.
To my frustration, my punch slid off his shoulder as he subtly shifted to the right. Undeterred, I tapped into my Flexibility, twisting to the right, and unleashed a punishing elbow strike toward his face. Yet, he managed to block it. Seizing the recoil, I spun to the left, pivoting on my foot, and unleashed a powerful kick.
But the man anticipated my move, deftly ducking under my kick. Sensing an opening, I leaped forward, driving my pivot foot directly at his face, a triumphant smile spreading across my lips.
'I've got you!'
Yet, in an astonishing display of agility, the man rolled, leaving me kicking at empty air. As we both came to a halt, a brief pause settled over us. The encounter had been intense, leaving my muscles primed and my breath unbroken, but deep down, I could feel the tide turning against me.
Rising from his crouched position, the man straightened his kimono, his indifferent gaze unchanged.
"You're pretty good," I said. "I thought I had you."
"You have the fastest reflexes I've seen and your flexibility to keep up combinations is also amazing," The man said with an indifferent expression. "But, you lack training and experience. I didn't attack you a single time but you kept attacking and trying to catch me off guard."
"Isn't that what you are supposed to do?" I asked, confused.
"I don't know who taught you how to fight, but attacking is not always the best offense. You were open for a counter several times in your combinations and I could have ended the fight immediately. The Spin Strike technique is not made for maintaining momentum when attacking, but for stealing an opponent's momentum and using it against them."
"So you're saying it's a defend first, counter later technique?"
"That is correct. Creating your own momentum and conserving it is pointless when you don't have to. Dodging when you can't block and blocking when you are given an opportunity to steal an opponent's momentum is the foundation of the Spin Strike technique."
"I see. Thank you for your guidance…"
"Hageshi."
"Thank you, Hageshi."
"From now on I will teach you the Strike Spin technique. You need proper training in fundamentals before we can fight again."
"Yes, sir."
The mountain landscape changed and we returned to the blank white area.
"The first fundamental you are lacking in is balance. Pivoting and twisting are nothing without the right balance of weight in your body."
The white area vanished, transforming into a turbulent sea amidst a raging storm. Hageshi and I stood on two, tall wooden poles sticking out from the water below. The rapid winds almost blew me off my balance, but I quickly corrected it and stood steadily.
Hageshi's pole was only a foot away from mine. His balance never faltered even when the winds suddenly changed directions or a massive wave hit the pole, shaking it back and forth.
Hageshi's low voice perfectly cut through the winds and entered my ears. "In these conditions, you have to constantly change your balance to remain upright. Sparring here will improve your balance."
"Sparring?!" Amidst the deafening symphony of thunder, pelting rain, and howling wind, I had to yell in order to reach him. "How are we going to spar?! The poles are only big enough to stand on!"
Instead of answering, the man in the black kimono shot a fist out toward me, hitting my chest and sending me off the edge of the pole, into the turbulent ocean below.
I hit the water and was swallowed by an enormous wave. It pushed my body hundreds of feet under the surface. When Hageshi hit my chest, he punched all the air out as well, so I didn't have any choice but to be forced to open my mouth and inhale the salty water.
I tried fighting against the rough currents pulling me in every way imaginable, but it was useless. Water filled my lungs and I began drowning. No matter how much I resisted, my body was pushed further into the depths of the dark blue sea until I blinked for the final time, losing my life.
…
My consciousness rapidly returned to me and I was standing on a wooden pole. The familiar ocean was beneath me as well as the raging storm above me. I checked my body, only to discover I was the same as when I first came in here.
Hageshi stood across from me, still standing on his pole.
"If you don't want to drown, fight back. Use your balance to remain on top of the pole."
"I thought we were done fighting!" I yelled through the storm.
"We are done fighting. This is sparring," The man said with an indifferent gaze.
Before I could throw out another retort, Hageshi sent the same punch as before, a jab right to the middle of my chest.
I turned my shoulders to the right and dodged the attack, almost tripping backward into the ocean. I swung my arms to regain my balance but another fist shot out and hit my shoulder, careening me off the pole, and down into the water.
…
A fist was sent at my chest and I palmed it to the left. Another one came soon after and I used my extended arm to deflect it and sent back a fist of my own.
Mid-attack, Hageshi grabbed and pulled my arm, and I fell forward into the ocean.
…
Attacks clashed ferociously amidst the tumultuous sea of shifting blue and white. Each strike raw with power as rain cascaded upon the figures atop the poles, soaking them to the bone.
*BOOM*
A bolt of lightning seared the water nearby, illuminating the relentless battle, but neither combatant faltered, unleashing their unyielding barrages without pause.
The boy on the left skillfully deflected most incoming attacks, deftly stealing their momentum to swiftly counter. Yet, the man in the kimono remained in constant motion.
In a daring leap, the boy soared through the air, a flurry of striking kicks unleashed. But each blow was defended by the man, who retaliated with potent palms and fists.
*BOOM*
Another flash of lightning seared the sky, intensifying the charged atmosphere.
The boy dropped into a crouch, narrowly avoiding a sweeping kick, only to launch himself upward with a soaring uppercut, missing its mark once more. The man's disheveled hair whipped across his face as he unleashed relentless barrages upon the boy.
At last, the boy's defenses faltered and he received a blow, but he channeled the momentum downward, refusing to be dislodged from his perch.
*BOOM*
Lightning crackled with heightened frequency, casting an electric backdrop to the escalating confrontation. Their exchanges quickened, punches and kicks wild and rapid from the boy, while the man's strikes were calculated and precise. Their intent wasn't to inflict injury but to forcefully push the other off the pole.
…
Evading a chop from Hageshi for the millionth time, I tried returning a sweep to the legs. He jumped up and avoided it.
'This is my chance!'
I quickly also jumped upwards as I launched my leg to his side.
'He can't dodge this in mid-air!'
As my leg neared Hageshi, he twisted his body and brought his hands down. My kick went under him towards his legs but he pushed off my attack and flipped back onto his pole.
I was in the air, out of range of my pole, and fell down to the water.
"Fuck."