This week had been some of the most strenuous days of his life; he had severely underestimated how sore he would feel. His arms felt like they would fall from his shoulders, and his legs felt weak. He couldn't stop, though he had a week to become competent at fighting and have enough storage, or he wouldn't get into one of the schools for free. He wasn't rich enough to get in or had the status to be accepted freely.
Anyone who would have seen his efforts would think he was mad; the tree he had been using to train had indents left in the wood from where he struck. The trees in this forest were known to be one of the toughest, second only to the enchanted forest. Those trees had a strange chi inside them that usually made them almost impossible to chop down.
By the end of the week, his food had run out, and Gabe had never visited his shop. He tried asking around and found out they had left the day after to the capital... Charlotte also learned they had gotten paid a pretty hefty sum for getting rid of the wolves; he felt he deserved a cut of the earnings. Sadly, he wasn't going to be able to get it.
He had increased his storage by almost twice the size, cleaning himself in the lake. His knuckles had bruises from punching the tree with the gauntlets; now that he had finished his first week, he had to focus on controlling his Chi better.
He focused his Chi on his entire body, feeling the pain weakening and the bruises slowly fading. He had also become slightly more toned from his training, although it didn't change much. He still looked like an easy target, but anyone who tried would be sorely mistaken.
It took a few minutes of his complete focus to heal his fists. He brought his Chi back into the storage. He had lost about a quarter of it but still had plenty to use for himself. He dove into the water; it was time to catch fish for tonight's meal.
The fish had decreased quite a bit; they might have migrated down the river nearby. He didn't think much of it, instead focusing on any nearby fish. He focused his Chi into his arms and legs, launching himself like a bullet toward the fish as he quickly caught two of them with his overwhelming speed.
He had only come out of the water with one fish; the other had been too slippery to hold on with correctly. He was holding onto the other with both hands.
He took some time to make a fire and cook the fish. He turned to the tree he had been punching before walking over and running his hand through the indents in the wood where the gauntlet had left damage.
It was time to see how much stronger he was with Chi. He focused his fist on his right hand, putting everything into it. He hoped not to let it scatter away after the blow; there would always be some that would be lost. The more he could save, the better he would be off.
He focused on controlling the Chi, letting his body move instinctually as he struck the tree. To his surprise, his fist broke the tree's wood, and he got his arm stuck inside the tree up to the elbow.
He hadn't managed to keep his focus completely as more than half the Chi had left him; he put it back into his storage and tried to pull his fist out.
"At least if I hit someone, I can take them down...as long as they haven't already made their body more robust."
He couldn't help but smile as he finally managed to pull his fist out and fell back on the floor.
He held onto his right hand and laughed; he was strong, but maybe not at the level he wished to be. He was way stronger than anyone in his town, though.
Jumping to his feet, he walked over to eat near the fire he had constructed, waiting for his Chi to fill. He had to make enough money to ride a carriage to the capital to focus on increasing his storage in the final week. He could focus on that later this week; for now, he had to keep training.
He would slowly and carefully begin spreading his Chi all across his body, first starting with his head. As he did, things around him seemed to slow down slightly. He could also feel his ability to focus increase. He then spread it across his arms and chest, feeling them grow more robust and formidable, although not to the level it was when he punched through the tree. Finally was his legs; he could most likely keep up with a deer or wolf with this.
He didn't move, though, at least now yet. He wanted to ensure he did this right and wouldn't lose control. One unfortunate thing about spreading it all across his body was the increased sensitivity to everything around him. He could feel any slight chance in the air; his hearing was better, and his sense of touch was also increased. It wasn't easy to remain focused on controlling his Chi with everything else, also asking for his attention.
He managed to tune most things out slowly, but he did notice that no matter what he tried, the Chi would slowly disappear. He could probably keep this going for a bit longer before he ran out, and so he did.
Once he finally ran out of Chi, he felt like he had been sitting still for hours. It wasn't for longer than thirty seconds, but it felt like forever. He had a new goal, moving while maintaining that level of control.
For now, though, he deserved rest. He made sure to stifle the flames of his camp and ensure nothing would catch on fire before slowly climbing up a tree and laying down on one of its thick branches to lay flat. He had put on the gauntlet and firmly dug them into the wood. He could heal any damage from the fall, but why fall in the first place?
He closed his eyes and relaxed, letting his body and mind rest. He had pushed himself for a whole week, and he could afford to let himself relax for a day.