User blog:Pollux83/Beyond Light and Darkness, Chapter 30

Chapter Overview

 30 New experiences



 We had been traveling in this country for many months now and slowly it was autumn. Even now Zipangu was showing its beauty again.

But the constant traveling around took its toll. We all needed some relaxation. The scientists had enough of the wooden carts and the soldiers needed some practice. Only training every day is frustrating in the long run. We needed something or someone for blowing off steam.



 Once again Kai had the right idea. He heared about a monastery where monks learned and practiced martial arts. We decided to make a detour to visit the monastery. I was looking forward to see what the warriors of this country could do and if I was better than them.

After 5 days we reached a village. The monastery stood on a nearby mountain, in the middle of a large forest. In the surrounding mountains there were also some waterfalls and the villagers reported that the monks trained there more often. The very thought of it made me shiver. The water from the mountains was ice-cold. How could they train there without freezing? I hopefully did not have to do that too.



 We accommodated ourselves in the village and went to the monastery the next day. 2 of the soldiers accompanied me while Kai stayed in the village. He wanted to follow later.

Alone the stairs were a torture. Running this daily was definitely a good workout, but I hated stairs. So I usually skipped 1-2 steps with my wind magic. The two soldiers struggled to keep pace.



 At the top not only I was out of breath, but also the two soldiers. We had made it, the monastery was within sight and we had a great view of the valley from up here as well. After a few minutes break, we were ready to move on.



 At the entrance to the monastery stood a monk who spoke to us. "Foreigners are unfortunately not allowed in the monastery. So I have to ask you to turn back." He had been really polite, but I had the stupid habit to get my way. Besides, I did not want to have climbed these stairs for nothing. So I did not let myself get rid of that easily. "I'm sorry, but I will not leave until I've seen some of your martial arts." He stood right in front of me. "Since you are not willing to comply my request, I will fulfill your wish."

 He took a foreign stance and seemed to be waiting for my attack. The two soldiers were also ready to fight, but I wanted them to hold back for now. I myself was mediocre in pure melee. No comparison to the skills of the elite soldiers who accompanied me, but I had my magic to compensate it. Since I did not want to hurt him, I only used my wind magic to improve my physical abilities. I was ready to attack.



 I started with a fist punch, but the monk evaded it with ease. He countered with his left fist, whereupon I quickly withdrew my right arm and blocked it. His punch was very powerful. It was as if a stone had hit me and not a fist. For a person without magic, he was extremely strong. Our exchange of blows continued for several minutes. I watched every one of his punches to learn more about this fighting technique. Finally he hit me with a surprising kick in the side.



 I fell to the ground. My goodness hurt that. That would definitely give a bruise. "Do you have enough?" "One second." I got up again. It was enough. Time to get serious. I let my wind magic flow through my body and attacked. He had not expected such a high speed. I broke through his guard and hit him with full force in the stomach. The blow and the subsequent shock wave carried his body through the open gate and he stopped in the middle of the monastery grounds.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> He held his stomach in pain. My magic-boosted attacks could knock down Mamono, but a human was an easy opponent. Finally I was able to enter undisturbed.

Our fight had not gone unnoticed. In no time I was surrounded by monks. Some wore peculiar weapons, others were unarmed. I was not sure if it was really a good idea to get in by force. For safety, activated 2 of my crystals. The two soldiers were also surrounded at the gate and had already put their hand on their sword to defend themselves, but still waited for my orders. 3 unarmed monks finally attacked me.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> They used the same techniques as the monk before. There were three of them, I had my crystals. So the fight was fair.

A barrage of punches and kicks was raining down on me, but I moved like the wind and was able to parry all their attacks. But they regularly put me into trouble. I needed more room for maneuvers.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%">I was waiting for the right moment for a counterattack. Then I leaned on my right hand and swung my left leg. The monk used his arms to block the attack, but the force of my attack just pushed him away. He landed relatively soft on several other monks and knocked them over.

It was good to fight. Over the years I had learned to like it, as long as it was not serious.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> Only 2 left. The monk to my left attacked. I dodged under his fist and hit his belly, whereupon he also landed in the crowd.

The last of the three monks stood quietly in front of me when several monks stepped aside. They made room for a 4th monk. In front of me now stood a real colossus. He was almost a head taller than me and looked like a giant beside the other monks. His entire upper body seemed to consist only of muscles. He was definitely impressive or rather scary. I had to be careful.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> He just stood in front of me, without any defense. He even challenged me. Felt he so confident or did he just underestimate me? Anyway, I could not refuse this invitation. I gathered all my strength and beat as hard as I could on his with muscles bursting belly.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> I hit him perfectly. Like the others, my hit pushed him back into the crowd, but much to my surprise, he stopped. And I had another problem. My fist hurt terribly. The other's stone fists had been bad enough, but that belly was as hard as steel. What had they given him to eat? Although I was sure that nothing was broken, I could not perform such a blow again.

My magic made me stronger, but not invulnerable. If I miscalculated my punches, I could easily break my bones.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> Unimpressed, he came up to me and stood in front of me again. He hit his chest and shouted. Apparently, I should try again.

I agreed and focused my strength this time in my leg. I kicked in full force, but once again I did not manage to knock him over and of course now my left leg was aching too. What did this man consist of?! I could not feel any magic in him. So he had to be a normal person, but he was pretty much the exact opposite of normal.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> He came slowly back to me. But this time in an attack posture. Now he was attacking and how he attacked. His technique was different from that of the other monks. I had trouble avoiding his blows. Blocking was out of the question, because under no circumstances did I want to get hit by one of his punches. I already had enough hurting body parts.

Slowly he pushed me to the edge. Eventually I could not avoid his blow and had to use my left arm to block it.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> This time it was the other way round. I was knocked over. Of course, the monks had all stepped aside before. I landed rudely on the stone ground and struggled to get up again. But that was not the worst. My whole arm was numb. He had touched my arm only briefly and could not possibly have done so much damage. So, how did he do that?! There was nothing broken and yet the entire arm was paralyzed. At that moment I realized one thing: I could not defeat this man in any way, but I did not want to hurt him either.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> I used 2 crystals!? With this I could easily take on most Mamono, but this monk was completely unimpressed. He was so strong he could have taken on a Minotaur himself. A human with such a physical power, that was incredible. And this speed. My eyes could just follow his attacks just because I was used to it through my wind magic.

I had no choice. I activated 2 additional crystals. Then my strength increased dramatically. Carefully, I directed some lightning magic through my left arm. It worked, I had feeling in my arm again, even though it was still half-numb.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> The monk had watched me and noticed my change. He felt that I was no longer the same opponent as I was a moment ago, and had square off a defensive stance. It was time for a rematch.

With my new power I attacked. Now he had the problems. My blows hit one after another and they slowly began to take effect. I was strong enough now to give his steel-hard body a few dents without hurting myself. I was about to strike with all my might, when a voice sounded.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> "That's enough!" I stopped my attack and looked around. An old man came forward. "You fought enough for today. You can retire now." The monk bowed to him and left.

The old man was undoubtedly their master. He was relatively short, wore a long white beard and was bald. I was just about to say something when he already spoke to me. "How dare a whippersnapper like you invade this holy monastery and attack my students!" I did not know how to answer that, because he was right. I had actually attacked first. Suddenly the whole situation was terribly embarrassing. Where was Kai when you needed him?

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> "You may be strong, but that does not give you the right to break in here!" "Um, I'm sorry?" "Sorry? I can not see that you're sorry. You look much more like someone who is so convinced of his own strength that he thinks he can do anything!" "That is not right. All this ... I can explain everything." "You certainly can. Anyway, you think you can do it." "Um ...." I had unconsciously deactivated my crystals, so intimidated was I by now.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> "Have you now forgotten how to speak? I thought you wanted to explain everything." "Yes, yes ... so ..." Gosh, this man was intimidating. "I came here with my companions because I wanted to know more about the fighting techniques practiced in this country." "And why did you want to learn more about our fighting techniques?" "I am a scientist and always looking for new experiences and knowledge. In addition, I was trained to fight. So why not combine both? I had hoped to gain new experiences here as well as to be able to measure my strength with equal opponents."

<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> "So is that. You fight very well stranger. Even my strongest student is not be able to defeat you. I have never seen such a magical fighting technique. Where are you from?" "We come from the western regions of the continent." "That's a long way from here." "That's true." "Such a long journey. Why exactly are you here?" "As I said, I am a scientist. Zipangu has always fascinated me." "I may not know much about science, but I know with certainty that your friends are not scientists." "Um ... they are taking care of our expedition." "They certainly do. The two had a military education. Their posture reveal them. They are just waiting for the order to draw their swords." He looked at me knowingly and I did not know what to answer.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> "The West. These areas are dominated by the Order of God. Yes, they are known here too. The Order is said to have a large army, and I'm pretty sure your friends have been trained by the Order. Am I right?" I had annoyed him enough, so I told him the truth. "They were. Just like me." "But you are not a soldier. Your posture is too undisciplined, as well as yourself. Are all scientists like that?" "I think I can answer that question with yes." "But you are not only a scientist and a soldier, but also a magician. Your mana was clearly felt. But I've never seen a magician using his abilities in this form. This goes far beyond an ordinary strength spell." "I developed this technique myself. It's a combination of some martial arts of the Order and my magic." "Impressive. But that explains the lack of technique. For a scientist you may fight well, but as a warrior nobody would take you seriously." This man knew how to disparage someone.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> "Would you show me how to do it better?" "You want me to teach you? You have to deserve that first. Are you really ready for it?" "Probably not, but I'll do it anyway." "Probably not?" "You have said it, I'm undisciplined and sometimes impulsive. That does not change the fact that I want to try it." "At least you are honest. I will think about it. Give the 2 soldiers some water, they look thirsty. And you come with me." I followed the master into the monastery.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> "You have no idea what a monastery this is." "A monastery where martial arts are trained?" "That was not a question, it was an observation. I do not know about your homeland, but you do not force yourself into a monastery here." "To my apology. After your gatekeeper did not want to let us in, he offered to give me some private training." "That's how it started. He underestimated you, but that does not surprise me. You hide your true power." "I would not say hiding. But I have reserves." "I assume the magic items on your belt. You can keep them, but if you want to train here, then without using them." "I understand."

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> "I have a question for you. Why did not you fight with full force from the beginning?" "I was looking for equal opponents. If I were to fight with all my might I would hardly find any." "So you are looking for challenges. You only strengthened your power when it became necessary. So you have a certain degree of self-control. You are a magician. Surely you can do more than increase your combat power." "Yes." "Magic can be extremely dangerous. How dangerous is your magic?" He looked directly at me. "It is very dangerous." "I understand. Maybe I can really train you and at least teach you something. But it will be hard." "I'm aware of that." "You have no idea what you are getting into. The monks of this monastery often train as a child and steel their bodies for years. Against that your body is as soft as a pillow." This man knew how to encourage someone.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> "I was already able to feel these steel-hard bodies. How is that possible?" "You also boost your skills." "I used magic, but I could not feel any mana in the monks." "There are many ways to use the energies of the body. The Mana of a magician is only one way." "That's new to me." "That does not surprise me. To unlock the secrets of the body requires a lot of time and patience. An attribute that is often lacking in the people of the West." "The secrets of the body. Will you teach me these secrets?" "I can try it. But I do not have too much hope. To control the Chi of the body requires discipline and you missing it." Why did he always have to emphasize that?

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> "So I allow you to train with us. But do not expect special treatment." "Thank you." "You can go to your friends now." "I'll do it. I'm just wondering why we're allowed to train here all of a sudden?" "Although the gatekeeper has rejected you." "Exactly." "It's a test. This monastery allows everyone here to train who really wants it. But those who simply let themselves be sent away obviously do not have the necessary will. Those who stay should demonstrate their abilities. So far, only a few have managed to defeat the guard. Don't pride yourself on it. You're strong, but strength alone will not get you anywhere." "Then I passed the test?" "Yes, but many will follow. You should prepare yourself."

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> The next few weeks were hard, but training with the monks did us all good. Even Kai trained at times, but this training was definitely nothing for him. Honestly for me neither, but it was too good to go to you own limits in a fight. Only under the waterfall nobody could get me.

No idea if I had more discipline at the end, but I had get to know many of their fighting techniques and was now much better in close combat.