"Kiddo, save your energy, only you will be able to see me. Balls, who the heck sealed me inside of this crystal?... humm… humm? The Hall of Valhalla? ... bakh! I can’t remember. It doesn’t matter, the fact that you could break the Sigil of Matrix Gaol means that our destinies were bound to be crossed." Although the middle-aged man seemed to be suffering from dementia, he also appeared to be very absent-minded, and he likely wouldn’t be bothered by trivial things like forgetting his own name.
"Break the Sigil?"
"That is correct; this was primarily due to your simple and pure genes."
Wang Tong laughed in joy: "Does that mean my genes are superior? Ha, I knew I was special."
"Piss on that, it only means that you and all of your ancestors were poor peasants, that was what made your genes 'simple'. Most families would have already altered their genes if they could afford it."
The middle aged man not only doused Wang Tong's high spirit with cold water, but he also touched on something personal. Wang Tong pouted and said, "I don't even know my parents, let alone my ancestors."
The man seemed shocked: "Fine, it doesn’t matter; lords and princelings all had peasant ancestors at some point in time. Come, let me teach you a few moves and you should be near invincible in this world. Ahh, I forgot to ask, what year is it and where are we?"
"It is 2565, we are inside of a mine cave on the planet of Norton in the Centaur Galaxy, and we are surrounded by Zerg forces."
"2565...When was I...balls, I can't remember. Doesn't matter, no need to fret lad, they are just bugs, let's fight our way out. Even a massive Zerg army barely poses a threat to me. I recall the days of....of...Bahh, I can't remember...." The expression on the face of the middle-aged man seemed to suggest that he was either a genius or an idiot.
Wang Tong was eager to discover whether the man would truly be of help, but the man's capriciousness had quickly used up Wang Tong’s patience.
"Hey old timer, don’t just talk, show me how you kill an ant."
"Boom.."
Amidst the light, Wang Tong could see that the middle-aged man seemed to have caused something to explode and released a wave of power, however as soon as the power propagated to the edge of the light, it dissipated immediately. The light seemed to have contained the middle-aged man's power.
The man had attempted the explosion a few more times and finally gave up his retaliation of insults. He turned to Wang Tong and asked helplessly, "Lad, let’s make a deal. I will teach you how to fight, and you will take me to Valhalla. I can still vaguely remember that the reason for my imprisonment has something to do with Valhalla. Perhaps it's the jerks who live there that jailed me in here."
"Dear Sir, do you happen to know what is this place called Valhalla and how to get there?" Wang Tong stared at the man like watching a halfwit. Even babes knew that Valhalla, the sacred hall built by the Blade Warriors, was as legendary and mysterious as the Blade Warriors themselves. It was a place of eternity and invincibility and was said to exist in the Astral Realm, a place that can only be reached by the decedents and the disciples of General Li Feng.
Despite his naive question, Wang Tong had a gut feeling that this man was the real deal. Although his soul storm blast was confined within the light, its power looked very impressive to Wang Tong.
"It doesn’t matter; this is a great deal for you. Once you have helped me to reach Valhalla, I will teach you a set of powerful tactics. What do you think of that?"
The middle-aged man seemed to be too eager to become Wang Tong’s master.
Wang Tong thought about his offer for a second and asked suspiciously:"Why are you so insistent to have me as your disciple? What’s in it for you?"
One should beware of deceptions as much as blatant animosities.
This was another one of Old Fart's favorite life lessons, this one, in particular, was told to Wang Tong everytime Old Fart had lost his pocket money in obvious street scams.
"What's in it for me?... Yea, what is it?... Why would I offer to teach you the tactic?" The man seemed dumbfounded by his own actions as if something or someone had controlled his consciousness to say things that he didn't mean to.
The middle-aged man soon returned to his normal self, coming out of his lost memories and said, "Doesn't matter what's in it for me, let's first talk about you. What kind of garbage have you been practicing? Who would need a trap to capture a low-level Zerg? And you almost got yourself killed! I remember those days..."
He suddenly realized that he could no longer remember those days and waved his arms in frustration.
"I was practicing the ‘Tactics of the Blade’." Wang Tong was confident about his answer. The version he had been practicing required sixteen GN nodes instead of eight in the conventional version, it ought to impress the middle-aged man.
"The ‘Tactics of the Blade’?" The middle-aged man said in disbelief and laughed ostentatiously: "Wahahaha... If that were the ‘Tactics of the Blade’, then I would be a Blade Warrior!"
"It really is called the ‘Tactics of the Blade’, it is a common tactic to improve the strength of EMF for us, humans, mind opened or not! It's not just me who calls it that, everyone else does, and my version requires using sixteen GN nodes, unlike the eight nodes in the conventional version."
Wang Tong said it indignantly, he held more respect for Old Fart and his tactic than this middle aged man who had so far shown him more words than actions.
"Humf" The middle-aged man suddenly shifted his eyes and gazed at Wang Tong as if he were studying him. Bright lights shone in his eyes, and Wang Tong felt as if his thoughts were naked under his penetrating gaze. A translucent scene of Wang Tong practicing the tactic appeared in the light, in front of the man's eyes.
"Interesting... who would have thought the ‘Tactics of the Blade’ could be dumbed down into a useless piece of garbage like this? I wonder what the real Blade Warriors would think of this dumbed-down knock-off version of their almost invincible tactics. Time can do terrible things… Lad, do you want to learn the real ‘Tactics of the Blade’? "
"Yes!" Wang Tong nodded without hesitation. No one would pass up the opportunity to learn the tactic used by the legendary Blade Warriors. They were the legends themselves, some even say they were the embodiment of the Gods. Their power which helped humans to win the Great War four hundred years ago surpassed even the technological capabilities of the current era.
But could Wang Tong really be so lucky as to have the chance to learn the real “Tactics of the Blade”? Wang Tong became suspicious again.
"What's the catch?" Wang Tong asked. He knew there were no free lunches.
The middle-aged man sighed and said, "There are none. I only want you to bring me out of the crystal from time to time; it’s really stuffy in there. Look, lad, without me, you will never be able to get out of here in one piece anyways."
"That's fair," Wang Tong nodded. "Umm... there's just one more question that I have, and I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to ask."
"F*ck it, spit it out and be a man, don't act like a baby."
"Okay... Are you a… bully?"
...An awkward silence filled up the cave...
"WHHHOAAT?
"Me? Excuse you! I happen to be the most honorable, the most famous as well as the most revered Einherjar in this world. How could I be a bully? Question my honor again, and I will beat you to a pulp!" The middle-aged man shrieked at Wang Tong furiously.
Wang Tong shrugged his shoulders. Although this middle-aged man's violent inclination and aggressive temperament were close to that of a bully, Wang Tong felt that he was not wretched in his heart.
"Fine, you want me to start the disciple initiation? Let's do it now."
"No need for the initiation, I'll teach you how to fight, in return, you will help me to break free from my imprisonment. We wouldn't owe each other anything."
"Whatever you want, let's start the lessons then." Wang Tong couldn't wait to learn more power and stronger abilities.
"Very well, here we go: The source of human's strength is the sea of consciousness, the stronger the sea of consciousness, the more power one gets. And the ‘Tactics of the Blade’, I mean the real one, was the most effective way to strengthen one's sea of consciousness. "
"Are you really a Blade Warrior? Please don't be; otherwise, I would be very disappointed."
"Piss on you, of course, I’m not!"
"Then where have you learned the real ‘Tactics of the Blade’? Haven't you just told me that only the Blade Warriors knew how to use it? Furthermore, if you are indeed that bad ass, why were you trapped inside the crystal?"
Wang Tong's questions came one after another; he clearly still doubted his new teacher's credibility.
"Balls, you are one hell of a fastidious kid. Yes, what I am about to teach you is indeed the ‘Tactics of the Blade’, and no, I have never learned it myself. I personally used a different kind of tactics which I may or may not want to teach you.
Anyhow, as you know, I am now trapped inside of this crystal sealed by the Sigil of Matrix Gaol, not only my body but also my consciousness was imprisoned and controlled by the power inside the Sigil. Now the power wants me to teach you the ‘Tactics of the Blade’. Therefore I have to; otherwise, it would torment me until I do so. Believe me or not, I have told you the truth."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier? Well fine then, I will give it a try; my situation can’t get any worse, and nobody cares about my well being anyway. Since you can't remember your name, I'll have to pick a nickname for you, let's see, you had insisted that you were an Einherjar, although you could never prove it, how about I call you Einherjar-Wannabe."
"No, not a wannabe, I am one of the Einherjars!” Einherjar-Wannabe protested.
"Come on Mr. Wannabe, Einherjars are the greatest of the great fighters who definitely would not care to argue over something as trivial as a nickname?” Wang Tong's words had rendered Mr. Wannabe speechless. Wang Tong always had been good at dealing with conceited old fools.
"Kiddo, the ‘Tactics of the Blade’ is one of the most powerful tactics that has ever existed, it was created by the Blade Warriors, and only the Blade Warriors themselves have used it. I have no clue how the tactic got inside the crystal, and neither do I have any idea why the power inside the Sigil wanted me to teach you that.
“Anyhow, I have taken a look at the tactic, and it is not that difficult nor is it that different than the ‘Tactics of the Blade’ you have been practicing. The only difference is in the number of GN nodes it requires to be mobilized, instead of 8 or 16, it requires two hundred and fifty-six GN nodes. Every node has to revolve around your EMF fluently without interruption.
“Since I have never learned it myself, I can only teach you the basics; it will then be up to you to master it. I do believe you can do it though, the power inside the Sigil wouldn't have chosen you to learn it for no reason."
"I told you I was special" Wang Tong cracked a smile.
Mr. Wannabe scowled at Wang Tong for his over confidence. A diagram emerged out of the crystal's bright light, and it was the anatomy of a human covered with red dots. Upon closer inspection, Wang Tong realized these red dots were the GN nodes, and without counting, he knew right away that there must be two hundred and fifty-six of them in total.