"You're okay, right?" I looked up at Cheng Liang, who was looking down at me with worry evident in her eyes. We both stood at the edge of the built-in hot spring, while Wang Nuo and Zhou Ji were whispering to one another a couple of steps away from us.
"What event are we talking about?" I asked for clarity. I exited the world of Teuilas a couple of hours ago, just to realize that it was still night.
Apparently, I was "meditating" for only eight minutes; thus, when I opened my eyes, Wang Nuo thought it didn't work, until I explained mostly what happened to me. The only thing I didn't tell her, Cheng Liang, and Zhou Ji, was the state of my soul.
At first, I was planning on hoping they could give me medical advice or medicines to help me, but Alene advised me not to and when I asked why, she looked at me with a rare, serious face.
"I won't say you can't trust those around you, but I will say that sometimes admitting something to people will cause them more harm than good. Especially because of who you are, little Afi."
Her eyes left me to look at the sky as she spoke gently. "We do not belong to this world and we never will. Keep everything at a certain distance." Her face then went stone as she spat out, "Even with the other Naturas."
"With anything." Chen Liang's voice cut through the memory. I paid attention back to the present and studied the woman who was waiting for my response.
'Admitting something to people will cause them more harm than good.'
"No, I'm fine; I'm just ready to start practicing. Hopefully, I will get some strength to protect myself." I white lied through my teeth. Chen Liang, taking my words at face value, nodded her head.
"Well, I've got you something." She said, reaching into her bag before pulling something out. In her hand were black bandages. However, not like the white ones that I've been wearing, that looked to be used for medical reasons. This one looked to be for decorative reasons, as a white pattern adorned the black slim cloth that looked to be made from silk.
"Many secret guards wear this to keep them fast, quiet, and fluid. A weapon's master created this; it's called Bandage Armor. It's an excellent replacement for bulky types of armor and could be worn under clothes. It's water-proof and flame-resistant, and it could handle up to a Purple Rare weapon. I was having someone make it for you; luckily, it came sooner than later, yeah?" She asked me tenderly with a smile.
The smile made me more determined to not make her more worried than she already is, and I nodded my head while signing a thank you. She smiled brighter before bringing me to one corner to help wrap it around me.
When it was done, I looked in the copper mirror and looked at the bondages that didn't overlap one another. I bent my body in many ways and watched as the bindings stretched to accommodate. I didn't feel restricted, and relatively, it didn't bother me despite covering almost everything besides my face.
Placing my mask back on and my inner clothes, I took one more look in the mirror before exiting the hidden area with a quiet Chen Liang behind me.
Wang Nuo and Zhou Ji looked to have ended their talk as Wang Nuo waved me over to the springs while Zhou Ji walked to stand by Chen Liang.
Seeing my get up, Wang Nuo smiled before teasing, "What a modest boy, how rare." I laughed quietly before entering the water and swimming to my position. She looked at the water a bit before grabbing herbs and placing it in the water as she said, "This time should be easier. There will be bits of pain, but not as much as last time, especially since that disgusting creature isn't in you anymore."
She frowned in disgust before placing more herbs in the spring. When I told her about the Gu Snake that was found in me, she was pissed. It was the first time I saw her calm facade disappear as she took me aside to do multiple tests to see if there was anything else.
On the safe side, she even had me drink some remedies to flush my system. The taste of them almost made me think she had me drinking poison.
She crouched in front of me and asked, "Ready?" and when I nodded my head, she placed the last herb in the water and the pain of heat came instantly, but she was right. It didn't hurt at all and I immediately closed my eyes and started to meditate like instructed.
"In your opinion, do I look better with the red flowers or the pink ones?" I didn't even open my eyes when Alene's voice sounded out.
Opening my eyelids in exasperation, I looked at the woman who sat perched on her boulder. She was looking down at two flower necklaces in her hands. Both were of the Teuila flowers, but one was the familiar red and the other was a pink color.
She seesawed* the two flowers, looking at one another while humming in thought, before looking at me with a raised brow. "So?" She acquired, holding them out in my direction for me to get a better view.
I looked at both of them before saying in my head, "I don't think I'm the best person to ask. I like to match colors in my clothing."
She pursed her lips, bringing the flowers back to her, saying, "You're the only person I can talk to." She looked at the two flower necklaces before twisting them together and putting them on with a satisfied huff.
I didn't comment as I walked up to the boulder and looked up at it. Still feeling the mass amount of energy within me, I once again tried to climb the boulder but no matter what, the energy couldn't make up for the lack of strength I had in my arms to pull my body weight on little to no edges.
I tried a couple times before stopping panting as I looked at the boulder with hate. Upon hearing a snicker, I directed my gaze upwards; I saw amusement-filled golden eyes staring at me with teasing undertones hidden in their depths.
"Looks like you're ready." She spoke. Nodding, Alene smiled before scooting closer to the edge of the boulder so her legs could hang off. She hummed for a second before breathing in and suddenly she roared.
The sound was loud and deep. It wasn't a sound produced by an animal, but I felt myself stiffen in animalistic fear while everything around me started shaking. I fell to the ground and looked up at her. Her tattoos on her body started glowing gold and her dark hair started to shimmer. The roar wasn't long, the maximum probably being ten seconds, but the power behind it made me feel dazed.
When the ground underneath me stopped convulsing, she looked down at me, her tattoos and eyes still glowing as she asked, "Amazing, isn't it? That's Fu'auma*, our warrior battle cry." She smiled with full of teeth on display, showing her canines.
I breathed out a chuckle, nodding my head as my heart still pounded. She beamed before waving her hand in the direction behind me.
Looking over my shoulder, I was surprised as the flowers had moved from their positions and now there was a flat area in the middle of abundances of Teuilas. Standing up on shaking legs, I walked over towards the deserted area.
The ground was pressed down firmly, creating a solid surface. The area itself was a similar size to a college basketball court. I looked around before focusing back on Alene, who was waiting for me.
"Before we start, I want to explain what exactly what we're doing." Alene spoke while walking to stand by me with her hands on her waist.
No longer did she have her head attire on, instead she has her hair put into a low bun, with a couple escaping hair strands surrounding her face. She blew on the untamable strands before looking down at me.
"Body cultivation." She said the two words and then asked, "Ever heard of it?"
Truthfully, I shook my head while thinking, "Not a lot. Though I don't know much in general with Cultivation."
She hummed before walking to the center of the clearing. I followed right behind her.
"Simply put, it's exactly what it's named. The cultivation of the body. It's part of the three biggest types of cultivation: Soul, Spirit, and then Body." She taught and then spun around, causing me to bump into her legs.
Hissing, I looked up at her while she pursed her lips. "We gotta fix that."
"Fix what?" I asked, but she didn't respond. Instead, suddenly she smacked my head. The forced caused me to fall on my butt and I looked at her begrudgingly about to cuss her out but she wasn't there.
Startled by her sudden disappearance, I leapt up and looked around me. "Alene?" I called out, but there was no response. I was going to call out again when I felt a presence behind me.
"Dodge." I heard before I was smacked on the back of my head, and I fell on my knees and hands. Hissing, I got up and looked at my hands that were scratched up and turning to look behind me. The woman was no longer there.
This time I didn't call out and looked around me. My eyes flickered before feeling a presence, but this time I dodged down and saw a hand swiped above me but I still landed on my hands and knees as a foot met my back.
I smacked my lips while a pair of feet walked into my view. Looking up, Alene crouched down as she said, "Body Cultivation is to train your body's capabilities beyond human norms. Using energy, you guide it into your body to strengthen it, and then train your body to utilize it."
She stood up before she disappeared into full view. I got up and looked around, asking, "So you're working on my dodging ability?"
"Reaction ability actually." I dodged the incoming hand and rolled onto the floor to move away from the incoming kick. I looked up as she smiled at me before disappearing.
Once again, I looked around before dodging when she came to my left, however she didn't stop when I dodge it. Instead, she moved her body to block my escape route and did a roundhouse kick into my stomach.
The force caused me to roll backwards until I eventually stopped on my back, looking at the blue sky. I was inhaling deeply while the pain in my stomach burned. Slowly I sat up, and of course, Alene wasn't there.
Smacking my lips, I stood up and looked around me. However, the woman didn't come even when it hit around the five-minute mark.
Looking around, I was thinking about her words, specifically the energy part. Since I absorbed that ball, I've been filled with vitality. Even when I'm practically getting abused right now, the energy is keeping me going.
So how do I use it?
Right now, we're learning reactions and the way living things react to something is by our senses, so how do I strengthen my senses? I touched my chest where I mainly felt the energy gather.
I didn't close my eyes as I looked around and paid extra attention to the heat. I imagined the nebula again and slowly allowed the energy based in the center to flow out, guiding it to different places.
Gradually I felt the heat travel up to my ears and I imagined engraving it there. Moderately, I felt the heat disappear, but while the heat disappeared, my hearing became stronger.
Abruptly I heard something, and I moved my body before a foot slammed down from where I previously stood, causing the ground to crack. I didn't even react to it before I was moving again as the sound of air splitting came and I leapt, ducked and rolled to my left, before running as punches and kicks came my way.
However, I wasn't quick enough as suddenly an enormous body flipped above me, and landed before me, and a back kick swiftly connected to my chest, causing me to fall straight to the ground.
The impact caused me to not even being able to breathe. I was sucking in, but no air came in until a palm slammed into the same place and I could finally inhale. Panting, footsteps came up to me, and a grinning Alene was looking down at me. "You're a real learner, huh? Strengthening your senses is a good idea."
I looked over at her with a million curse words arising, but I communicated, "You don't have any sympathy for the young."
She laughed before her face turned cold. "That world out there won't have any sympathy for you. I might as well get you used to it now." Then she smiled.
I wasn't able to react to the difference of face changing when I was lifted up by the front of my shirt and my legs dangled in the air. "Still got energy in you, Afi?" Alene asks while walking back to the center of the field with me dangling in her hold.
I nodded my head as I still felt the warmth in my chest. "Good, now let's have you try it with your choice of cultivation." She sat me down before holding a large golden hammer in her hand.
I looked towards the hammer while hesitantly asking, "I thought we're working on my body? Why are we using the hammer?"
She stared at me like I was stupid, but she said, "This hammer isn't a mere hammer. It is part of you remember? It's now part of your nebula, your body. That earlier exercise was just testing out where you are at so far and surprisingly, you're doing better than expected, so congratulations. You're getting a promotion."
She gave me it; while I was thinking I didn't want this promotion yet, still I grabbed the hammer anyway and the hammer immediately turned pale red. Looking at the change of color, I asked, "Why does it change color for me? Why aren't I gold like you?"
"That's because my Sun Natura Cultivation led me to an evolution route. Remember, the sun is an enormous ball of hot plasma. The color of our abilities matches that with the color of heat. Pale red is the lowest color, and also the lowest heat." She explained, rolling her shoulder.
I thought about what she said before asking, "So blue-white is the hottest?"
"Yep." She answered popping the p. "It's pale red, red, pale orange, orange, pale yellow, yellow, and then it switches to the extremes which are pale violet, violet, pale indigo, indigo, pale blue, blue, white, and then the final stage which is blue-white."
"So how does golden fit into there?"
She cringed at my question before ultimately saying, "You have a better time than me on knowing what the heck happens. One day my powers were yellow and the next thing I know I leveled up, but instead of getting purple flames I gotten golden."
She took out her hand and golden flames flowed out, wrapping around her hand like a loving cat. "But I don't mind. It looks neat, and it got me by." She smiled at the flames before waving it away and looking down at me.
"Let's continue?" She smiled, but the smile felt like a disaster.
I gripped my hammer, and before I could answer, she had already disappeared, leaving me to fear for my body once again. I looked around, resuming on placing my energy into my hearing.
It didn't take long before I dodged an incoming attack. I gripped my hammer and slammed on the place she was at, but she quickly dodged and didn't even put her foot fully on the ground before leaping towards me again.
I didn't have time to dodge. Instead, I located which limb she was going to use and used my hammer's handle to block the incoming punch. When the punch landed on the handle, it shook my whole body, and my hands burned from maintaining the hold.
My whole body slid back to the ground, and I didn't have a chance to be happy about keeping my stance, when Alene grinned and came at me more forcefully. Throughout the repeating attacks, I mostly maintained a defense posture, as I wasn't even able to lift my hammer before Alene came at with another swing of a fist.
I continued putting energy in my hearing, but noticing she wasn't going to exit my sight; I placed the rest of my energy in my sight. When I did, my sight seemed to be expanded but also zoomed in. It was a contradiction that almost made my head get slammed a big 13 size in men's shoes.
My eyes seemed to move to wherever her body moved and in a way it helped me because just a brief movement on her body made me instantly look at it and in another way, it made me ignore the other movement that was happening.
Thus, when I swept from my feet, I truly didn't see it coming.
Looking at the sky with a familiar pain on my back, I started contemplating weather I'm going to have a terrible back at such a young age.
How wonderful.
"Don't focus so much on one thing. Remember to think about everything that is going to happen. You must look at your opponent's whole body and pay attention to your environment," Alene chastised before lifting me up and placing me on my feet.
I rubbed my back and didn't say anything besides a nod in understanding. Mom always said not to say anything if you don't have anything nice to say.
"Again?" She grinned cheekily. I pursed my lips, but I nodded my head and we continued.
We continued doing this mostly one-sided fight for a while. With her attacking and me dodging. The more we did so, the more I noticed for a while she's been keeping the same tempo.
However, I didn't let that stunt me, instead I used it as an advantage to push myself faster and could finally get a few hits in. During this, I realized a couple of things.
One is that big swings were a no go. It allowed an open area for me to be exposed, which could be fatal. Which is proven by the slowly forming purple marks forming on my body.
Two, I can use everything of a hammer to my advantage. Right now, I'm smaller than my opponents, thus Alene has to bend to punch me. I can use the excessive length of my handle to push me places quickly, similar to that of a vaulting pole, during the small gap where she has to adapt her body to meet mine.
However, this also has its downsides, like me being up in open air like a salmon trying to jump to the next lever of the river with an awaiting hungry bear. The first few times I tried this caused me to be punched down like some bowling alley pins.
However, the more I did it, the more I adapted. I could push myself with the hammer part on the ground so it could not only hold my weight but also to help block the kick.
Unless the punch has already been thrown, I shouldn't push myself too high. It needs to be lower than the chest, making it a weird angle to strike but also an angle where the handle of my hammer would be met first than my body.
Three, the energy within that covered my whole body is helping me stamina wise. Whenever I get tired, my whole body is filled with warmth and the strain lessens. I've been thinking of a water wheel to keep me going.
Once again, I pushed backwards using the hammer to help distance when a swing went my way. Grabbing the hammer with two hands, I swung at her ankles, causing her to leap up.
It took all my muscles to stop mid swing to go the other direction, high enough to hit her waist. She blocked my attack easily, as I watched in fascination as she moved her body in midair fluidly, where her foot came to meet my hammer and she pushed off of it.
Not only did she create distance, but the force of her push off caused my hammer to drop straight to the ground, causing me to lose control a bit. Taking advantage of this, she came up and slammed her palm to my side.
I spun like a wheel before landing on my stomach with a groan. I didn't get up and panted as my body shook from the strain of exertion. All the energy that was keeping me going seemed to be engrained in my body. No longer did it flow around so it can be used like a battery pack.
I felt my body get stronger, but I also felt tired. Whenever I got up, I just plopped right back down as my arms shook and my gaze shook with it. I gave up after the fifth try and just focused on calming my breathing.
I heard familiar footsteps walking up to me, and tugging the back of my shirt. I laid limp as I was now acquainted with the motion of being picked like dirty laundry.
Lot of familiarity.
Lots of sadness for the loss of my old height.
Can make a grown man cry, truly.
"Stop being dramatic." Alene said with an eye roll.
I looked at her with purse lips, replying, "Easy for you to say, you're like what? Six feet and three inches?"
"Six feet and four inches, actually." She mocks, causing me to kiss my teeth.
She smiled before noting, "You're out of stored energy."
"Stored? You talking about the energy in my chest?" I inquired.
She smiled wider before pinching my cheeks, which I just let her, unamusingly. "Such a smart boy." She cooed, causing my eye to twitch and finally I slapped her hand off of my face while I kicked off her chest, causing her to let me go while laughing.
I almost toppled back down but with high strain, I stood with wobbly legs, and looked up at her. She laughed again like it was the funniest thing in the world before saying, "Yeah, that energy in your chest is stored energy. Body cultivation has two types of energy that it gains. One that goes to your chest where your heart is and the other goes around your body."
Finally, I toppled down. I panted before stretching out and the ground shook as Alene plopped in front of me, pulling my arms, causing lots of popping to sound out from behind my back.
I hissed while she continued to explain, "Stored energy is extra energy you gain that your body didn't process. Some people usually will use it to help them with medical practices or, like you, use it to improve certain parts of their body that they feel need to be developed."
The first part of her explanation got me curious and right before I could ask, she pulled my leg, causing me to flop back onto my back and all thoughts of my question went out the window as she pushed my leg to my chest.
"Body Energy Modification" is the term I use for the energy that circulates within your body. This energy is basically homeless energy that works throughout your body, which if you don't do anything with it will give you temporary strength and stamina before spilling out of you, but if you train with it like what we're doing, until it's exhaustion it will pretty much be worked into your body and it will be a permanent thing."
She let go of my leg, and stood up, patting away invisible dust before she jumped and landed on the boulder distances away. Looking back at me, she said, "Come. Try to climb the boulder again."
I stood up and had a slight surprise that my body felt amazing. I walked over with a little bounce in my step and tried to climb the boulder. This time, it was easier to climb, and I could plant my hands on the edges, which I could finally get used to climbing.
Feeling excited, I climbed up. I looked up at Alene, who was looking at me, and she handed out her hand. Happiness rushed through me and I reached out my hand to write, but suddenly there was pressure on me and I was knocked to the ground before I could even comprehend what was happening.
Looking at the blue sky and Alene, who looked down at me with a smile, I silently thought, "I really dislike you right now."
She just smiled while saying, "Well, I like you, so hate to say that the feelings aren't mutual." I rolled my eyes before getting up.
"What was that?" I asked, rubbing my back.
Alene jumped from her boulder and landed in front of me. "Your next training segment after we get back from getting your next energy dose." She smiled as she finally answered, "Spiritual Pressure."