Chương 18: Glimpses of improvement

Over the following days, Kite quickly became quite a bit more familiar with his new master. Master Stone, as he insisted on being called rather than his full name, was a kind but stern man. He brooked no nonsense in his dealings with Kite, but still surprised with a fondness for philosophical debate and pondering on the essence of things. Less surprising was his passion for creating great and beautiful things out of simple materials, as demonstrated by his dwelling.

And he was very keen on challenging Kite, body, mind and soul. At the moment, master Stone sat meditating on a large flat rock near the bottom of the grand stairs leading up to his abode. Even with his eyes closed, a chunk of limestone floated in the air in front of him as chip after chip was shaved from it. Not long after, a beautiful statuette in the shape of a local monster was put down on the stone beneath him. It looked like a bear with crystalline carapace, its sculpt giving off the sense of power and motion.

Another piece of limestone floated up into the air, the process beginning anew as he opened his eyes to gauge Kite's process. The young man stood in a wide stance beneath a nearby waterfall, its waters crashing down on the barrier held above him. He was clad in only a pair of simple, loose pants and looked to be quite strained by the force of the water which hammered on his barrier in addition to the uncomfortable chill of the air and water.

"While your tenacity is admirable, boy, it doesn't look like you'll manage to hold on until I've carved the whole set as instructed." he noted, his deep voice easily carrying above the noise of the waterfall.

"Why do you think that is?"

"Because- I'm not- strong enough yet?" Kite answered through gritted teeth, body and mind too strained to give the matter any deeper thought.

"That might be one part of it." master Stone acknowledged.

"But facing something stronger or more relentless than you is not something uncommon. It's not even a serious enough problem that it should stop you."

"H-h-h-h-ow s-s-s-so?" Kite managed to get out, as his teeth had started to chatter.

"Ponder this then, boy. Two warriors are facing each other. Their bodies, training, equipment and powers are identical. Impressive mirrored specimens. No one is inherently more powerful than the other one. When their strength and power are equal, what determines the victor?" Kite tried to force out an answer, but was unable to gather his thoughts under the strain.

"Calm your mind, boy. Meditation is a good tool in almost any given situation." As master Stone's words got through to his addled mind, Kite took as deep a breath as his situation allowed. Slowly, he managed to calm his mind and leave the tribulations of his body in the background. He thought about the situation that master Stone had described, then thought it over again. And again. After taking his proper time, Kite managed an answer, even managing to curtail his chattering teeth long enough for coherent speech.

"There should be many deciding factors. Which one uses the terrain to their advantage in the best way? Who takes initiative? And other outside factors. And who makes the smartest use of their pow…" he said before trailing off, looking up at his barrier. It was slightly cracked, held straight up like an umbrella as the water from the small waterfall hit its center before cascading off to the sides.

"... powers." he repeated, not seeing the grin on master Stone's face. Little by little, Kite started to angle his raised barrier, even taking a half step to the side. The streaming water started hitting it at an angle, streaming off to one side, and Kite immediately noticed the strain lessen. It was still heavy going, but with this he should be able to make it.

"Master Stone, I understand! I understand wha-" he started, words drowned in a splash as his moment of lost focus unbalanced him beneath the pressure still hammering down from above, which moved his barrier and let half of the stream of water crash down directly on him. His master was laughing aloud as he pulled himself from the small stream beneath the waterfall, spluttering and coughing.

"Not bad, boy. You did indeed get it, and learned another valuable lesson in the process. Epiphanies are ever so satisfactory, but losing your focus will always cost you no matter the circumstance. Come, let us get you dried up. We have some sparring to do." During the weeks to follow, master Stone truly pushed Kite through his paces along the general guidelines he had presented to Kite after their first day together.

That day had consisted of Kite showing, describing and theorizing about each and every one of his abilities, in addition to a marathon of combat demonstration against master Stone where Kite demonstrated as much as he could of every weapon he was proficient with. As he had lain splayed out in exhaustion on the stone courtyard, master Stone had given his verdict.

"It seems like Walker has turned you into fertile soil and planted a few seeds of competence, but there is much to be done if you want those seeds to grow into heaven-defying trees, boy. The main focus of my path is barriers, walls and others like it. They are my offense and my defense, motion and strategy. I have built my whole combat technique around it. But it is clear that this path is not yours. Your barriers are a supplement, secondary to how you fight.

There is no shame in that, and I believe that you can learn much from me on how to properly incorporate them into your combat technique without them being the dominant factor. However, you should know that I am no weapons master. I can give some guidance on how to mesh your barriers with what you have, but it will be up to you to find more teachers and experience to further those parts of your path. Knowing this, do you still want to train under me?"

Kite had managed to produce a weak "Yes, master Stone" between panting breaths.

"Good. Walker wouldn't have sent you here if you didn't have some tenacity," the older man said, before adding, "and you truly need it. Your barrier-work is atrocious. You treat it like a separate part, removed from the rest of your technique and powers. But I believe we can rectify that." Master Stone had proceeded to deliver as promised. After Kite's lesson at the waterfall, they got into more in-depth lessons about the importance of angles and transference of forces.

Intense practice-sessions helped Kite start to get a grip about when to block an attack straight on, when to deflect it by angling his barriers and when to simply dodge or employ other tactics. Kite had once more been surprised by the older man's academic and philosophical approach to his powers, in addition to being impressed by his skills and knowledge. One evening, the pair was meditating on the top floor of the pagoda with a splendid view over the landscape. It was master Stone who broke the long silence.

"Boy, I can sense you have a question. Better ask, than letting it chip away at your focus. It shows in your aura." Kite opened his eyes and looked at his master. It had felt surprisingly familiar to have another person be able to glean so much from your aura, and Kite felt a small tug in the pit of his stomach as he thought about Serene. And Dragonfly. And Uncle Walker. But those were not the objects of the question which had nagged on his mind, so he refocused and spoke.

"If I may ask, master Stone, why have you been here for so long? I had the impression that most who had progressed as far as your rank had left this region long ago, in search of greater challenge to further temper your path." Master Stone looked at him for a while before answering.

"Parts of that answer is something you are not yet ready to know, boy. But some I can tell you. I realized that I was stuck; that my path had reached an impasse. And sage guidance from someone I trust very much led me to the realization that what I needed was not to do more of what I did. It was to see if I could do the same even if I had less to work with. Coming here was about limiting myself, to use fine control instead of simply taking in and using more mana.

To use patience and meticulousness to accomplish what I couldn't do with more raw power even if that power was available. Over the past years, I have gained many insights. Partially from my own training and meditation, and partially by training whelps such as you. And I believe these insights will be enough to reach my goals."

"Which are?" Kite prompted.

"For you to find out if you can take your path far enough, boy." master Stone chuckled.

"Now, calm your mind again. Remember that meditation we practiced." After reaching a level which master Stone called 'an adequate foundation' they proceeded to continue with more real-life practice. He had Kite hunt down different monsters of the region, which proved to be a different challenge. Due to the more mountainous surroundings, there was a greater propensity for tougher, more armored monsters to manifest.

As Kite still struggled the most against tough enemies with less reliance on the purely magical, it was not only his barriers which got a lot of practice under the stern oversight of master Stone. His practice with angling his barriers really paid dividends under the heavy fists of stone elementals, as each blow took less out of the barrier and significantly increased Kite's endurance in a fight.

Versus more numerous opponents, he had started using the conjured wall of force to create funnels in the terrain to minimize the amount of opponents being able to attack at any given time. Master Stone even gave praise to Sage, calling the familiar an unprecedentedly useful training tool as long as Kite could manage the increased frequency of monster manifestations. It still wasn't any kind of spectacular increase, but master Stone seemed to believe that Kite needed anything he could get.

The astral gatherer seemed quite pleased with the praise, floating in what Kite thought were excited circles around his mentor. Their outings were mostly the same repetition of hunting the monsters which master Stone located with his aura and reflecting on the battles afterwards. But two things happened during those weeks that broke the rhythm. The first was when Kite's ability manifested another item. This time it was a greatsword, albeit rather short and wide for such a weapon.

Its rectangular blade had no point, but seemed to have veins of different minerals throughout its length, and the handle and wide crossguard looked to be made of polished stone. WWJS: [Item] Stratum Shield-blade Rank: Iron - Rare [Effect] Greatly increased durability [Effect] While wielded, increases strength of barriers, shields and earth constructs conjured by the wielder. [Effect] Plunge the blade into the ground to create an area of medium radius around the blade.

Allies within the area benefits from the strength of the earth, increasing their physical strength and damage reduction by a small amount. This weapon counts as wielded while this is in effect, even if not held by the wielder. Effect requires a surface of stone, earth or other similar substance to work. Cost: Low mana per second.

Duration: Until retrieved Cooldown: 1h Master Stone had thought it a quite fitting memento of their time together so far, urging Kite to work on how to incorporate it into his fighting style and when to bring it out. The second event was during an outing on the northern slopes of the mountains. While Kite hadn't seen it, he got the distinct feeling from Sage that there had been a magical manifestation in the area.

Master Stone was amenable to the detour, and they followed the familiar toward a more geothermically active region some kilometers to the north. Here, the lower slopes formed a kind of stair with several, sulfur-smelling scaldingly hot springs of water. Sage led them toward a hole in the side of the mountain, which rather frequently shot out a great stream of scalding water. After spending a short time searching around, master Stone's more magically sensitive senses located the source.

Apparently, the manifestation had occurred in the depths of the geyser. Kite had felt a bit disappointed as he realized that he could not brave the hole and see what had manifested, as his iron-rank body would be thoroughly boiled by the scalding eruptions. Master Stone had no such compunctions, simply jumping down into the opening. Kite felt a bit concerned as the geyser went off several times during this time in its depths, but his master emerged not long after with a smug grin. He was wet, but unharmed.

"What did you find, master?" Kite asked, curious and quite impressed by the resilience of a silver-ranker.

"Perform well enough during training, boy, and I might let you know what it was." master Stone answered with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Another rock was launched against Kite, who brought up his barrier with a snapped "Ward" which it impacted before ricocheting off to the side as he released the barrier again. He repeated it again and again as the frequency of the rocks increased, as did the complexity of the angles.

The one assailing him was none other than master Stone, who used an iron-rank magical gauntlet to control and launch different loose stones at him. The lower rank item was what gave Kite a chance to actually interfere with the projectiles in any meaningful way, as any launched by his mentor's own silver-rank power would be too fast and too strong. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The purpose of this particular mode of training was reaction speed, and during his ten weeks training with master Stone, Kite had been able to hold out for longer and longer. To further complicate things, his mentor even started varying the size of the launched stones to force Kite to judge and adjust the angle of his barrier properly.

This intense training had helped Kite to fine-tune the chant of his spell as well, finding the shortest time forming the word and the lowest volume of speech necessary for the spell to work. As they reached the limits of what Kite had previously been able to handle, Stone could feel a surge from Kite's aura as he projected determination, urging his master to continue. Seeing something simmering under his student's aura, master stone acquiesced with an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

Kite strained under the barrage, feeling like the tenuous control he had was steadily slipping away from him. He soldiered on, attempting to use some of the meditation techniques he had been taught by master Stone which were meant to keep his mind calm and focused during combat. As he strained to keep going, the clash between his outer tribulations and inner calm forced his mind into new patterns to better handle his ordeal. Eventually, this led to a mantra coalescing in his beleaguered mind.

It was something which had been on the edge of his mind during his meditations lately, brought out in the intensity of the moment and out of what that moment forced him to become.

"My path will not be shifted by the world. My path will not be cracked by the world. My path will not be moved by the world. The world will be moved by my path." As the mantra repeated again and again, he felt something inside him break. Suddenly, his barriers seemed to hold fast better, each deflection made in the last fraction of a second strengthening his grip on the situation rather than causing it to slip away. Gray light shone from his body, as Kite stood taller than before in the face of the onslaught.

WWJS: Essence gift (Barrier) - Warder has evolved into Deflection master Deflection master - Spells creating barriers and shields have a shortened casting time and can absorb more damage. For the first few moments after creating a barrier, said barrier is impervious to damage. Deflecting an attack during this time refunds the majority of the spell's mana cost. Attacks of a higher rank or especially devastating attacks may not have their whole damage canceled by this effect.

Kite knew that something substantial had happened, but was still too pressured by the practice-session to reflect much about it at the moment. He did get a distinct feeling that timing the barriers properly both improved their capability and saved him quite a lot of mana. Not long after, master Stone stopped the steady flow of stone projectiles.

"A racial gift evolution. You must have really been pushing yourself, boy. Well done. I assume it has something to do with your barriers? From what my magical perception could pick up, they seemed different for a few moments when appearing." Even though Kite had been doing better there at the end, he was still quite wrung out after the intense session. Master Stone noted that as well, and spoke up before he could answer.

"You can explain more after some rest and a spirit coin. Come along, boy." he said before turning for the pagoda.

"Master Stone?"

"Yes, boy?"

"What will you do when you leave this place? Where will you go?" His mentor turned to him. They were sitting on the stairs leading down from the courtyard, watching the sunset while drinking tea.

"I will go back to the heartlands of the kingdom. I have unfinished business there, and someone who's waiting for me." he said, words cryptic and gaze distant. Picking up on the obvious cue that he would not receive more answers than that, Kite changed his line of questioning instead.

"You've been to the heartlands then? The capital?" Upon seeing his mentor nod, he continued.

"Can you tell me about it?". Master Stone leaned back a bit, relaxing slightly.

"That I can, boy. The capital, Heavenward, is a grand place. The architecture is grand, and it houses the richest families and strongest sects in the land. But it is also a place of high ideals. Be they fair or foul, kind or wicked, everything is simply… bigger, for a lack of better terms. I would urge you to visit it, but also warn you off until your path is suitably strong. Otherwise, you risk having your path swept up by someone else and no longer yours to choose. Trust an old man when I say that.

It is not worth it."

"But I can go there? Some day?"

"If the heavens will it, yes. It is said to be the first step in the climb to the heavens and beyond, after all. But be sure you are ready, and take your time. No need to get ahead of yourself, but I admire your ambition." Kite turned down his gaze.

"I must admit, master, that I'm not sure that ambition is the right word to describe it. I think my path is more about going where I want to because I want to. Power seems to be the way to allow just that, but I don't think power alone will take me where I want to go. At least not toward that which is most important." Master Stone looked at him for a moment before laughing merrily.

"It seems like you've really begun to form your path then, boy. After all, a path is only yours if it leads where you want to. The nuances, motivations and directions of each path might be different, but all of the great ones seem to have that in common. Agency." He rose to his feet and began to walk back toward the pagoda.

"I believe it's time for you to complete your training here now, boy. We'll set up a proper test for tomorrow." Kite's heart was torn as he heard master Stone's words. He did feel like he had built the foundation for something great here during his thirteen weeks of training. Time had both flown by and and felt like a slow crawl. Kite knew that his fighting style had begun a small reincarnation, the first of many along his path, and was eager to return to Gilded. But he also had a melancholy feeling.

He liked master Stone and the interesting thoughts their conversations seemed to bring. While he ostensibly was hard and stern like the stones he shaped, his aura felt more like the safe haven of a fortress rather than an imposing mountain.

"Thank you, master. I hope that I am ready. And I will miss you when I leave." Kite answered, following him towards the building. Master Stone seemed a bit taken aback by Kite's sudden earnestness. After a short moment of silence, he tentatively reached out a hand to put on Kite's shoulder as they walked side by side.

"I'll miss you too, boy." The stone warrior raised its heavy sword in an overhead swing, chopping down hard toward its smaller opponent. The young man was stepping in fast, keeping track of the descending sword in his perfectly clear periphery as he had begun a sideways swing of his own with the rectangular, heavy sword. He didn't halt his swing or alter his motion in the slightest, simply muttering a clipped " Ward" in just the right time as a barrier sprang up above him.

It was angled slightly to the side, cracking slightly under the bronze-rank strength of the construct before deflecting the descending blade. His own swing continued, leaving an afterimage of black tears in space as it crashed into the side of the stone soldier, heavy blade and special attack both contributing to a spray of stone shards which left a jagged rift in the construct. Kite's foe was a pristine stone soldier, summoned by his mentor as a test of his abilities and what he had learned.

Master Stone had used a magical lens and a bronze spirit coin to lower the rank of the cast spell from silver to bronze rank, which still was a quite dangerous foe for the young iron ranker. Kite continued, resolute to perform at his very best for what could be his final lesson and test. As he had delivered the first strike and was about to retract the blade, the construct's other fist was already approaching at high speed.

Deeming it too close for a barrier, Kite instead angled the blade of his greatsword downward and close to his body, taking cover behind the flat of the blade which covered over half the width of his torso. The punch crashed into the blade and Kite felt a painful jolt through his body as slight cracks formed in the stones below as one of his abilities kept him from being pushed back.

[Unyielding] Keeping his initiative as the fist rebounded from the blade, Kite stabbed the blade towards one of the construct's feet and the stone courtyard below, activating one of its abilities. The force was enough to carve off the tip of its sculpted greave, and the blade sank into the stone below as if plunged into sand. It anchored itself almost immediately, and Kite felt a slight boost to his power as the strength of stone was channeled through him.

Noting that the sword of his foe was closing in again, this time in a sideward swing mimicking his previous, Kite quickly stepped up onto the crossguard of his greatsword, which was now firmly anchored in the stone, before leaping off it at an angle to carry him past his foe. The bronze-rank speed was too great however, as the sword would catch up to him before he could get out of range. A quickly muttered sequence of " Ward. Wall" produced his personal barrier yet again as a wall of force sprang up behind Kite.

The construct's blade hit his barrier, its higher rank causing cracks to form even though Kite's evolved racial ability greatly strengthened it for a short moment. Having no environment to channel the force into, Kite was launched back. He managed to retain enough control to plant his feet on the conjured wall of force behind him, pushing off before gravity reclaimed him.

His sudden reversal carried him back toward the stone soldier as a wicked bone spear appeared in his hands, once again channeling the power of his void-summoning special attack. The spear only grazed the construct's head, finding it difficult to penetrate the bronze-rank hardness of the stone warrior. The spatial-tears which appeared around it did a better job of it as parts of its head fell in chunks to the side.

Kite managed to conjure another barrier in time to absorb the body slam delivered by his foe, him still being airborne meaning that he was thrown away yet again. This time, he let the throw carry him away a couple of meters, rolling once before springing to his feet to meet the construct which relentlessly pursued him with precise, heavy movements.

Their battle continued in a similar fashion as Kite used his barriers to enable a more aggressive way of fighting, as all his hard-fought training with his barriers let him land more attacks as he did not have to divert his movements to intercept. His void special attack chipped away at the creature, little by little. Kite was not left unhurt through all this, body aching and bruised, but had so far been able to avoid any solid hits which would impede him all the more.

As the battle drew to its climax, the construct's movements seemed to speed up as its structural integrity was failing. Kite could see that it was starting to crumble from the strain, but realized that he would be even more hard-pressed to keep up with its ramping pace. He needed to change the pace of this fight. The crumbling stone warrior charged him again, sword descending once more in an overhead strike. Instead of his aggressive deflection, Kite planted his feet.

Catching the blow with precise timing on yet another barrier, this time he took the blow squarely in its center. Its increased imperviousness caught the brunt of the blow, but the construct continued to press down on the barrier with the sword held in both hands. Cracks rapidly grew across each translucent surface even as Kite continuously channeled mana into it through his essence gift to keep the barrier intact for just a little while longer.

A sudden bright light flashed across the courtyard, as Sage made the decisive move. Floating down from behind Kite's back, it stopped beneath his raised left arm and unleashed all its pent up energy up into the torso of the stone soldier. The white ray unleashed by the familiar punched straight through the construct's chest, unleashing a considerable amount of pent up mana released during the lengthy battle. The pressure on the barrier ceased, followed by a cloud of stone dust as the construct disintegrated.

Kite took a shuddering breath, triumph and exhaustion warring inside him as he straightened and started calming his mind according to master Stone's teachings. The master in question gave Kite an encouraging smile.

"Well done, boy. You truly showed what you have learned!" His expression shifted to a more mischievous one.

"But do you think you can handle one more?" As he spoke another stone warrior rose from the courtyard, brandishing its blade in challenge. Kite responded with a flat look before he chanted:"Dissolve the patterns of power" A ripple shot out from him in a quickly widening cone, passing through the summoned construct which promptly disintegrated to fine stone dust before dissolving, Ripple of Cancellation proving its effectiveness against the temporary summon.

One of Kite's essence gifts made his spell ignore the rank disparity and affect even the bronze-rank summon, but Kite had a reasonable suspicion that a summon of silver rank would not be so readily dispelled, rank disparity being ignored or not. Master Stone looked blankly at the space where his stone warrior had stood, before breaking out into uproarious laughter.

"Bwahahahaha! It seems my lesson in humility fell rather flat. Good job, boy! Don't let an old man like me stand in the way of your path." he finished, still grinning before he threw a small object to Kite.

"You sure earned the little surprise I picked up from the geyser. Come on now. Let's take tonight and celebrate. I'd say your foundation with barriers has become pretty decent for your rank. Now it's time for you to go back into the world and make proper use of it." His mentor was already walking back toward the living quarters, leaving Kite standing there staring at the small stone in his hand which seemed to brim with shackled potential.

WWJS: [Item] Awakening stone of Potency Unranked - epic An awakening stone containing raw power not yet unleashed. Kite once more found himself at the top of the stairs leading up to the residence of his mentor. This time around, it was the light of dawn which colored the beautiful sculpted complex. He was geared for travel, currently bowing with hand cupped toward master Stone who had chosen to see him off at the grand stairway.

"The heaven's truly blessed me with kind masters." Kite said as he rose from the bow.

"Thank you, master Stone, for spending your time with me. I feel like a lot of fragmented knowledge and ideas have come together in ways I could not imagine before. You truly have the sculptor's talents for us small ones as well."

"Well, boy, you did show both tenacity and a reflective mind, so how could I do anything but give it my best? As I said to your uncle, a gem in the rough needs proper attention. If you can keep your tenacity and stay true to the path you are building, I have faith that Fortune will see us meeting again when you have come even further. And remember, even a stone wall can be flexible if you know how to properly make use of it." he finished with a smile.

"Safe travels. May Journey bless your steps."

"And may Fortune favor your future endeavors. I hope this place will eventually bring you to what you seek." Kite replied, giving a wave over his shoulder as he started walking down the stairs, heart filled with the bitter-sweet feeling of farewell. Unyielding Soul of Stone watched his latest protegée make his way down the stairs, eventually reaching the mountain path below. He followed him with his gaze until even his silver rank senses could no longer perceive him amongst the myriad of trees.

Flashes of memories took him back to the same situation, as he had stood there many times before and seen young men and women leave. Many with smiles, some without. Most had even left him as improved versions of themselves, in body, mind and path. He smiled wistfully. His time here had truly given him an appreciation for the small things. His youthful drive for greater feats of prowess seemed almost foolishly singular.

Was there true glory in moving a mountain if it blinded you the small, yet deeply meaningful, things around you. Kite had been one of the best of his students, his earnestness, kindness and tenacity surprising even him at times. It felt good to have had a hand in shaping such a little seedling.

"He may only be of iron rank, but even the smallest part of a wall is important. The villages on the way back to Gilded will probably be quite grateful. If even the tiniest part of a grand wall is worked to such perfection, none left unattended and unpolished, the grand total would be unbreakable." he thought, before frowning. The last parts of his thoughts seemed to resonate with something, a shudder going through him. He swiftly turned toward the pagoda, moving with his silver-rank speed.

He eschewed the interior stairs as stones from the courtyard rose to become a stair under his feet, carrying him upward toward the top before retracting down into the smooth surface again. His mind was already picking up speed as he sat down, the small tremor caused by him impacting the stone floor giving his inner eye a perfect picture of the buildings around him, even spreading out into the surrounding mountainside.

Unyielding Soul of Stone could feel everything, from the small bird landing on far off stone and the beetle crawling below it. The small shift of gravel on a nearby slope. The minerals which the mountain consisted of. His mind went deeper, as smaller components previously unseen were suddenly visible to his mind. He lost himself in the new revelations.

Three days later, as dusk painted the skies above in colors of rose-gold, peach and soft purple, every soul within kilometers suddenly felt the urge to gaze upon the mountain slope. Bearing witness to the golden light which shone like a beacon of the heavens, as a gold-rank aura spread out like a powerful wave.