NOVEL NEXT 17: A Drop of Gravity
The days blurred as Kai slowly carved a path of death and destruction through the network of amber-thread-filled tunnels. Making just enough noise to attract limited attention and fight one to three Ooze hounds at a time, which gradually gained him levels and combat experience.
His upgraded mind and Neural Regeneration trait helped him gradually step closer to re-mastering his basic open palm thrust. Even when he took a moment to rest, he would replay his recent fights in his mind, scouring the scenes for ways he could improve. After every few attempts he’d pause to heal his injuries and then try again. Over and over.
He wiped his mouth in frustration after gulping down some honey and glared at his freshly swollen wrists. He was only using a fraction of the maximum weight he could exert to prevent further injuries at this point.
He slumped against the tunnel wall to recuperate, staring intently at a single bead of sweat cupped in his hands. The bead of sweat glistened like a pearl and he rolled it around and over his hands and through his fingers.
These hands are all I have left. The main reason he’d started training all those years ago was so that he would never be defenceless again, would never need to hold a weapon, he would be the weapon. My fists were something that was never supposed to be taken away from me.
He clenched his hands causing the bead of sweat to drip onto the floor. He sighed. Kai’s gaze flickered between his bead of sweat that was now rolling along the dirt and the wooden beads wrapped around his wrist. Was adhering rigidly to his old teachings preventing a breakthrough in a world of fusions? If water is the perfect traveller because when it travels it becomes the path itself then… Kai wiggled his fingers, watching his stardust aura ripple over each of them. It’s the momentum and weight. The gravity of each strike like water over time — that will forge my path.
An Ooze hound umbra came dashing around the corner. Probably smelled my blood. Sweat snaked down Kai’s face as he dared to ignore the approach of the snarling menace. He focussed on consolidating his thoughts, more afraid of losing his tenuous grasp on his new insight than the beast’s salivating jaw. His aura rippled outwards from his hand in tiny shock-waves as several things clicked into place for him.
The black and yellow wolf lunged for him; Kai pivoted his body and spun, shifting his center of mass. Momentum flowed through his bones and muscles — transmitting power from his feet all the way up — the instant the accumulated momentum reached the end of his palm a memory returned. First form; Water Slap, increase.
His palm slapped the beast’s side with a concussive boom, its fur rippled as its entire body lifted off the ground and hurtled through the air, slamming into the cave wall as if smashed by a battering ram. Kai reflexively covered his eyes as earth and flesh exploded, pelting his face and entering his mouth. When the dust settled, he froze mid spitting out sand and blanched at the disembowelled red wall.
Kai ignored the viscera, too busy trembling from excitement and adrenaline. If the masters at his monastery could only see this, their jaws would drop in astonishment.
Memories of training with water barrels at the river bank washed over his turbulent mind. The aura over his fingers rippled with vibrant intensity. His mind and soul welcomed home the change like an old friend.
Congratulations, your struggle for supremacy has yielded results!
You have glimpsed the fathomless deep, and understand a fraction of hydrokinetic combat.
You have created an aura trait!
Water Slap (Flawed): A surging open palm strike that cascades momentum while greatly redistributing recoil damage throughout your body.
His muscles twitched as he swam through his memories, recalling every detail of his first form. Kai grinned, almost tearful to finally have a piece of himself back. His style was stronger than it had ever been before the System, despite what it said about it being flawed—which annoyed him—but he glossed over that for now. Progressing my soul and aura traits should be a priority. He gazed at his wrists, relieved to no longer have to worry about recoil injuries. With no need to hold back anymore he thickened the aura around his palm till it glowed and felt so heavy he could barely stand. “Yes, yes, this will do nicely.”
He sensed that Kura was impressed, though she refused to admit it or congratulate him.
The only disappointment Kai had was that he only remembered Water Slap and not his other forms. They remained lost within the fog of his mind. Did he need to trigger them like he had done the first time — when he slapped himself? Some of the excitement in his face popped and fizzed out.
Kai strode down the tunnel, before he’d been concerned about stumbling upon some sort of queen bee-hound, now he was eager to test his new capabilities, spoiling for a fight. He felt like he could finally devote some attention to dealing with the trial if he could escape and see what was going on outside.