Water (Buryoku Book 3)

by Aaron Oster

  It was hard to believe that it had been so long since he’d left the Shah clan and his old, miserable life behind. Roy understood Geon’s need for vengeance and planned to dish out some of his own once he was strong enough. More than that, his Ideal, the promise he’d sworn to, the very thing that defined him, was freeing the oppressed.

  He’d help those who were trodden down because they did not conform with societal norms, and those who were ridiculed and belittled, due to their perceived weakness. In Roy’s opinion, one should not be able to rule simply by the strength of their fists and might alone. Leaders needed to be compassionate, have a level head, and not be clouded by power and greed. He would end the current system of rulers ruling because of their might, and he couldn’t think of a better place to start than with the Shah Clan.

  He hadn’t been the only one who was treated badly amongst the Shah. Those who didn’t want to fight or simply weren’t strong enough were ostracized. It wasn’t to the point of being beaten and nearly killed, but they were forced to live in squalor on the outside fringes of the clan. Once, Roy had hated them as he’d hated the others, because even though they were also outcasts, they treated him just as badly as the rest, if not worse.

  He now understood that it was because of their fear and pain that they lashed out at him. He was the only one lower than them, and when they could not take their frustrations out on anyone else due to their poor stations in life, he was the only available punching bag. Even though he understood it, he didn’t yet forgive them. That was something they’d have to earn on their own. But those were plans for the future. Right now, they were heading somewhere else entirely — the Chikurin Empire.

  Roy came to a halt back by the tree he’d hit with his Exploding Fist, chest heaving lightly and his Core just a quarter of the way empty. There was once a time when just five uses of the skill would have drained him, but his Essence reserves were absolutely massive now. Aika was receiving the same training, but because she was already a Green-Belt and relied more on Qi than Essence to advance, it was far less effective.

  In fact, when Aika had done a comparison, she’d told him that he had more than twice the reserves she had. That was a month ago, so he could only imagine that the reserve was a lot bigger now.

  “Fifty Void Spheres.”

  Roy didn’t even bother turning, as he was sure Hermit was already gone. He did as he was told, knowing that the man was still somehow watching. Setting his feet, Roy pumped Essence through his body and up to his open palms. It took less than a second for a glowing golden sphere to appear above his hand, already twisting and spinning.

  He’d discovered that his first Void Sphere, the one that took him roughly three seconds now to conjure, was a second-stage technique. That Void Sphere would expand to over five times the size of this one, its many layers spinning and whirling in a mesmerizing pattern. This one only had a single layer and formed as soon as he summoned and shaped it. He’d subsequentially renamed the larger one Void Sphere-Tear, due to its nature.

  His hand whipped forward, sending the glowing ball into the tree, where it exploded, ripping a chunk of the bark away and leaving a clean gap a few inches wide in its wake. Even as he pulled one arm back, the second was coming forward with another Void Sphere already formed. Unlike the Exploding Fist exercise, this one was all about speed and timing.

  Roy had to hurl the spheres in as little time as possible. He also had to do so while keeping his timing purposefully thrown off. This would both stop him from forming patterns that could be read and force him to be able to concentrate enough to keep the techniques going, even when distracted.

  “You know,” Geon said, intruding into his mind in a very distracting manner. “You really should think better of yourself. You can’t constantly be putting yourself down. That’s my job, so stop stealing it from me.”

  “That’s so thoughtful of you,” Roy grunted as he hurled another Sphere, missing his mark by several inches and having to add another to his count as a result.

  “I know,” Geon replied, still ignorant to sarcasm.

  Roy didn’t know if Geon ignored the sarcasm or if he truly didn’t understand it. He really needed to break the habit of using sarcasm, as it served to aggravate him instead of the Dungeon Core. Roy finished the full fifty-one attacks, further draining his Core by another third and leaving him breathing hard. This was even more challenging than using the Shockwave, as it was easy to run and keep his breathing even. This required uneven movements, which made keeping his breathing the same nearly impossible.

  “Twenty Constellations,” Hermit said, appearing before him and promptly vanishing, not even giving him a second’s respite.

  The Constellation was what he’d named his Terrain technique after almost two weeks of debate. He’d wanted to call it the Exploding Line, but Aika wouldn’t allow it. They’d finally settled the debate when they’d been staring up at the stars one night, and Aika had pointed out how his technique could be formed into a constellation.

  Roy didn’t do that pattern now, instead drawing a straight line with his Essence, pulling all the accrued Power Essence his attacks had pushed into the air. They were currently in an area called the Shimmerwood, a forest flush with Light and Darkness Essence. However, his and Aika’s training, as well as his use of his Power Essence, had generated enough for him to use the Terrain technique as Hermit had commanded. It was why the Constellation was always the last exercise of the day.

  A golden line formed in the air as over a dozen small spheres condensed and exploded along their path.

  “Mix it up. Don’t just draw straight lines.”

  Roy grimaced as Hermit’s voice echoed out of the forest and his carefully crafted plan to take it easy fell apart.

  “Doesn’t pay to cheat, does it?” Geon said smugly.

  “It does if you don’t get caught,” Roy replied, tightening his concentration.

  The Constellation was by far the most difficult technique in his arsenal at the moment, requiring his full attention at the best of times, when he was just tracing simple lines. Once more complicated patterns started being traced, it took all of his concentration, and then some.

  Roy’s focus tightened as he traced an intricate line, one that would target the shoulders, neck, chest, hips, and knees on an average-sized human. A pattern like this would more carefully place the exploding spheres of Essence, rather than just blowing things up in a straight line. Hermit had explained that attacking targeted areas was always better than just blowing stuff up and hoping it would work.

  Roy found this to be contrary to his Essence’s very nature, but there had been no displeasure from the Essence, nor had he had more than average difficulty with getting the Essence to do as he wished. Had he been attempting something that went against Power’s nature, like trying to target an opponent with small, precise blows, it would have been impossible. Since this attack would still blow up and cause massive damage — not just sever nerves or muscles, but blow off entire limbs — his Essence seemed to be just fine with it.

  He watched, with no small amount of pride, as the explosions went off, leaving the perfect imprint of a human body for just an instant, before vanishing. Roy then did the same attack, only this time, tracing the lines of a body that was crouching. This was slightly easier, as it grouped the explosions together, but was still quite challenging. He kept going like this, tracing a human body in motion, one mid-air, one with its leg extended, and so on until he’d completed the exercise.

  “Good work,” Hermit said, appearing before him once again.

  Aika came stumbling through the trees just behind him, her face slicked with sweat and her long ponytail of normally lush black hair looking particularly limp.

  “You look tired,” he commented.

  “Speak for yourself,” Aika replied, giving him a half-smile.

  “Wash up,” Hermit commanded. “Then meet me back at camp for dinner. We have a lot to discuss about the coming weeks.”

&nbs
p; He half-turned to leave, then stopped, turning back halfway, and giving them a pointed look.

  “And make it snappy. Otherwise, you’ll be going hungry tonight.”

  Roy and Aika both took this threat very seriously and were quickly off running towards the stream some half-mile away. After the day they’d had, neither of them felt like going hungry.

  3

  “I feel so much better,” Aika said on their walk back from the stream.

  She was now dressed in a light robe with the sleeves cut off by her shoulder, leaving her slender arms bare. She had also opted to wear a lighter pair of pants that cut off a few inches above her ankle. And, of course, she had on her Green-Belt with the two blue stripes on one end.

  At first, Roy had found this style of robes to be strange and a bit too revealing. Where he’d come from, women never exposed so much of their arms, and the shortest-sleeved robes always ended before the elbows were exposed. However, after receiving a similar pair from Hermit, Roy had found that it was much more comfortable to sleep in, especially in a warm environment like this.

  Neither of them had talked much during their baths, the divider Hermit had rigged being enough to discourage conversation. Besides, they had no idea whether he was secretly watching or not, though for Aika’s sake, Roy really hoped that wasn’t the case.

  “Yeah, me too,” Roy admitted, running his fingers through his short brown hair.

  It had felt good to wash away the dirt and grime that had collected on his body throughout the day. And even though the water was cold, the warm climate made it far more bearable.

  “I wonder what he wants to talk to us about,” Aika said, running a long-toothed comb through her black mane of hair as she walked.

  Roy had no idea how Aika managed to fight with all that hair in the way, even if it was done up in a ponytail. He found that her long hair suited her, but still had to wonder how it was worth it for her.

  “No idea,” Roy replied. “Maybe some new form of hellish training?”

  Aika scrunched her nose up at that, her face contorted in a sour expression that made Roy grin.

  “I hope not,” she replied. “Training is hard enough as it is. I don’t think anything extra will really do more than hurt us by this point.”

  It was at that moment that Ferry came bounding out of the surrounding trees and practically bowled into him, nearly knocking him off his feet. Her wet tongue lapped at his face as he laughed and tried to stave her off.

  “Take it easy,” he chuckled. “I just got clean!”

  Admittedly, he hadn’t been paying her as much attention lately, as he’d been preoccupied with training. That was probably why she was being so friendly right now. Ferry responded to that by sticking her nose in his hair and sniffing, then backing away and shaking her head.

  “What? I used soap!” Roy defended himself as Aika burst into a fit of giggles, and even Geon let out a single “Ha!”

  They continued on like this, bickering and playing as they headed back to camp. It was nearly dark out, and the phosphorescent trees of the Shimmerwood had begun to glow in soft greens and blues. It was one of the odd things about this place that Roy didn’t know if he’d ever grow used to. The way the bark lit up or the way the leaves overhead sparkled as the wind rustled through them was always kind of weird to him.

  An orange glow from up ahead heralded their arrival back at camp, and it seemed that they were just in time, as Hermit was lifting a plate to begin eating, an already empty one sitting beside him. Roy felt wind tear at his robes, and a second later, Aika was standing a few feet from the dark-skinned man, the plate clutched triumphantly in her hand.

  Roy moved quickly as well, snatching the third plate before Hermit could think to reach for it. Sitting down next to Aika, he tucked his legs neatly beneath him and balanced his plate on his lap. Hermit wasn’t the best cook, though seeing as he and Aika were too tired to cook for themselves, they were grateful for what was provided.

  Tonight’s meal consisted of rice and Beast meat. It was nothing special, but filling all the same. Roy’s stomach let out a loud rumble as he took his first bite. Though the meat was a bit overdone and the rice was just a little too crunchy, Roy finished everything on his plate. He even went so far as to pick the individual grains that stuck to the plate with his fingers – though it was considered bad manners.

  “So,” Aika said, her plate still half-full, due to her not wanting to speed-eat like Roy did. “What did you want to talk about?”

  Hermit, to his credit, didn’t make them wait. Roy found that he was like that. This was very much unlike Irusaru, who’d tell him to do something, then make him wait or dance around answers. If he didn’t want to tell Roy something, Hermit would simply say so. And if he said he was going to say something, he didn’t make them wait.

  “We’re getting close to the border of the Shimmerwood, which means we’ll be reaching civilization soon.”

  “Really?” Aika asked curiously. “And where exactly are we going?”

  Hermit had refused to tell them up until now, but now that they were close to the border, perhaps he’d finally divulge that information.

  “Light City,” he replied. “Home to the main family branch of the Itachi clan.”

  “Why are we going there?” Roy asked. “Didn’t you kill a whole bunch of Itachi clan members? Also, in case you’ve forgotten, they turned me out to die and held Aika prisoner for a whole month before threatening to kill her as well.”

  “Me,” a voice chirped in his mind.

  “And Ferry, too,” Roy added, lowering his plate to the ground.

  Ferry’s head landed in his lap as soon as the plate was gone. Roy obliged her, dropping his hand on her ears and stroking her luxurious black fur.

  “Yes, but those were only branch members, and they were the ones sent all the way to an outpost near the Crater,” Hermit replied. “To put it simply, they were placed there because no one wanted them around. They were the worst of the worst as far as I’m concerned and should have been exiled from the clan long ago.”

  “Still doesn’t answer why we’re going to the head family of the Itachi,” Aika said.

  She was staring at Hermit now, her eyes hard and unwavering. More than what they’d done to her, it seemed she hated the Itachi for what they’d done to Roy. Neither of them had been strong enough to do anything about it, and it was only thanks to Hermit that they’d made it out alive. That being said, it was hardly a surprise that neither of them seemed excited at the prospect of going to visit their head family, especially if outcast branch members were so strong.

  “I was getting to that,” Hermit said.

  Nothing changed in the way he was speaking, but both Roy and Aika shut their mouths. Neither of them knew how, but Hermit just had a way of conveying annoyance without even appearing to. It was the same with half a dozen other things, especially intimidation. Beasts never dared venture near him, not that they could get away from him if they tried. He was too quick, too strong, and utterly ruthless, though he no longer hunted the Beasts for anything other than their meat.

  “It’s going to come up as soon as we enter the city anyway, so I may as well get it out of the way now. I am part of the Itachi head family. Not only that, but had I not left, I would be sitting at its head. Don’t ask any questions about why I left because I won’t answer them. Now, as to the reason why…Well, that’s simple. All we’ve been doing for the past three months is getting you ready.”

  “Ready for what?” Aika asked, Roy still being too shocked at the revelation of Hermit’s true identity to even process what he was saying.

  “For your real training to begin.”

  Aika opened her mouth to ask another question, but Hermit held up a hand to forestall her. Rising to his feet, the man gave them a once-over, then turned to leave.

  “We leave at first light. Be ready.”

  Then, he was gone, vanishing off into the trees.

  “I hate it when he does tha
t,” Roy muttered. “Did you have any idea?”

  “That he was part of the Itachi clan’s main family?” Aika asked with a raised brow.

  “Sorry,” Roy replied, feeling a bit embarrassed.

  “I always assumed he was part of one of these Seven Great Clans he told us about,” Aika continued, brushing the apology away. “But I had no idea he was this important.”

  She trailed off, leaving the two of them to think alone in silence. Well, Aika got silence, seeing as she didn’t have a Dungeon Core living in her.

  “Do you think we can get him to kill the Beast King for us?” Geon asked excitedly. “If he’s the leader of a powerful clan, maybe we can convince him!”

  “Why don’t you try?” Roy asked. “He seems to be able to hear you.”

  “Well…” Geon said. “I don’t know about that.”

  Roy could hear the slightly defensive tone in the Core’s words. By now, he’d figured out that it meant Geon was simply too shy to ask. He had no idea why the Dungeon Core didn’t like the idea that other people could hear him. Roy would have assumed he’d love it, especially with how much he liked to chatter when the mood struck.

  “Does this mean that the Itachi clan is one of these Seven clans?” Roy wondered out loud.

  “I would assume so,” Aika said thoughtfully. “It seems the Itachi clan is far more powerful than we’d originally thought. But if Hermit isn’t in charge of the clan, then who is?”

  Roy let out a long yawn then, and Aika, already quite tired, soon followed suit. Ferry yawned as well, her mouth opening wide to reveal dozens of razor-sharp teeth and her long tongue curling upward.

  “I think that’s as good a sign as any that it’s time for bed,” Aika said, covering her mouth.

  “Agreed,” Roy replied, trying to get Ferry to move her head. “I guess we can talk about this more in the morning.”

  Aika nodded, rising smoothly from her seated position and heading over to her sleeping mat.