Chương 53: First Training Session

After changing into a simple short-sleeved linen shirt and matching pants, Evel completed a series of stretches and warm-ups. Then, after a few more minutes of punching the bag of sand, he finally heard the door creak open. Albert was no longer wearing his pyjamas, but instead donned a sleeveless shirt, his muscles popping out like twisted rope. He cleared his throat.

"Alright, show me your punch." Evel complied and swung his fist forward. Albert rubbed his chin as he watched, releasing a quiet hum in contemplation.

"Again."

"Bend your knees."

"Focus on bracing your core and keeping your feet planted on the ground. Your instincts to use your whole body are correct; you just look a little silly doing it."

"Better, now just repeat that for the next hour. Alternate hands. I'll be back then." With that simple command, Albert left. Evel stood there, conflicted. He looked up at the thin glass window, the bright morning light illuminating the basement room. Is this really the best way to learn? With a sigh, Evel got back to punching. His teacher had far more experience, so at the very least, he should trust in that right? If Albert wanted him to punch the bag for the next hour straight, so be it.

That's exactly what he'd do. Right. Left. In the slow, monotonous punches, the time slowly drifted. Without a clock, Evel had no way of knowing how much time had actually passed. Right. Left. His breaths shortened and his knuckles turned rosy. Right. He stole a quick glance at the door, the sweat stinging in his eye. Albert wasn't there. His shoulders were aching, begging for just a short respite. Did he mention if I could take a break? Right. I probably can… but better not to risk it, I suppose. Left.

As he continued punching, the basement walls bled into a gray blur, until the world narrowed down to the rough texture of the bag and the rhythmic thud of his collapsing fist. At the beginning, it had been difficult. His weak body begged him to stop. Yet somehow, after a certain point, the pain had begun to lighten, and his punches became mechanical, with no thought or particular effort behind each one. He was a spectator watching his own body swing its arms in a constant, repetitive motion.

Evel felt a soft weight on his right shoulder as he punched with his left. He blinked, returning to reality. Albert had returned.

"I hope your breaks weren't too long."

"I didn't take a break," Evel managed, the exhaustion hitting his body at once. He almost wanted to say he didn't need them, but with the aching in his body at the forefront of his mind, it was hardly true. Albert paused and looked Evel over once more.

"Oh? Didn't expect a body like yours to have so much stamina." Evel fell backwards onto the ground, unable to reply as he tried to catch his breath. The exhaustion had truly set in this time.

"Here," Albert tossed Evel a small liquid packet.

"These cost about a credit each but will help you recover faster. These are what took me a while to get. From tomorrow onwards, training will have more structure." Evel caught it mid-air and focused his blurry vision on the label. EQUIS STEMPACK The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"It doesn't actually give you your stamina back; it's more like it borrows it from the future. As long as you get some good rest at night, they'll have seemingly no harmful effects." Evel ripped open the corner and drank the thick orange liquid in one go. His face scrunched as the bitter taste went down his stomach. Albert walked over to the sandbag and observed it, lightly rubbing where Evel had been punching. Without turning back, he asked.

"So what exactly is your ability? Avid's usually meticulous about these things, so I was surprised it slipped his mind to tell me." Evel froze. It was this same choice again. Should he reveal his ability or not? His teacher would undoubtedly be able to provide lots of inspiration and help him improve his usage, not to mention that they were working for the same organization. He was probably a figure who could be trusted.

Evel sat, hands hanging on his knees and staring at the ground between his feet as he contemplated.

"Of course, you don't have to tell me if you wish to keep it a secret, but I'm certain telling me would help me help you get much stronger." Abert clarified. He was right. Evel knew he was right. Yet… He shook his head.

"I'd rather keep the specifics a secret for now at least…" Evel hesitated.

"But I'm not opposed to using it during sparring without going into the specific details." One thing Evel really wanted to practice was using Eth during his hand-to-hand combat. He felt there was a lot of potential in that direction, and as long as Albert only knew that part of his ability, then… Then what?

"Alright." Albert cut through his thoughts, pointing to the corner holding racks of dumbbells and other machines Evel hadn't seen before.

"Screw the weight training, you got me curious. I'll explain some general theory to you during the ten or so minutes it'll take the stempack to hit. Then, we go straight into sparring." Evel wiped off the sweat that had accumulated on his mouth and listened intently. Albert punched the sandbag.

"That attack was pretty much with just my arms." Then, he angled his body and added a rotation to his punch. This time, the sandbag flew higher.

"Now I've introduced my abs." Albert lowered his stance, digging his heels deep on the stone floors. He inhaled deeply, then he swung. THUD! The bag flew even higher this time.

"Now I've introduced breathing and ground reaction force. If your feet are flat or your knees are straight, you're basically floating; the ground is essential to get the necessary force. The breath helps you reach further into your maximum output." Thinking back, Evel realized he had been subconsciously at least partially applying this principle. It just felt like the natural way of doing things. Yet without understanding the 'why' behind it, his movements couldn't be as deliberate as he may want them to be.

"Power travels from the ball of the rear foot, through the rotation of the hip braced by the core, then finally exits through your fist," Albert explained.

"For Laymen, that's as far as you can take it…" Albert's aura suddenly flared outward, causing Evel to wince at the density. It exerted a soft, gentle feeling, almost opposite to that of Bremin. Despite the sheer power, it felt more like a thick blanket than a knife at his throat. Then, his aura shrank. Evel's eyes widened. No, his aura wasn't shrinking… It was silently compressing. Until eventually, the only thing exuding any aura at all was his right fist.

Albert got low to the ground, digging his feet and holding his right fist with his left. BANG He fist slammed into the sand bag, ripping it off the hinge on the ceiling and causing it to bounce off the opposite wall.

"Now," He explained as he walked over to the fallen bag.

"We've introduced control over the aura inherently released by your core." He picked up the sandbag and walked back to the center to reattach it to the ceiling.

"That bag is strong…"

"It wasn't cheap." Albert smirked, "Most Weavers won't be able to pull off what I just did, it's simply not worth learning such a thing compared to the sea of other, more useful techniques. I've always been a hand-to-hand type of guy, and my ability doesn't exactly help me in combat, so I decided to invest a lot of time in learning this. Your journey will no doubt be different, and you may choose to never learn this. Still, I believe the demonstration should help you regardless."

One question immediately came to mind, "If I just activate my ability and punch, would it be stronger even without the compression?"

"A little, but not enough to make a big difference. What do you think the main benefit of the technique I just showed you was?"

"The power?" Albert shook his head, "The cost."

"The cost…?"

"A very small amount of Energy is required to actually compress the aura, and the rest of the power comes from the aura itself."

"But doesn't that mean you have to activate your ability? Doesn't that cost Energy?" Albert paused and scratched his nose.

"Of course, right. I was about to get that. Yes, you need your ability to be active, but it's not much of a limiter for me since my ability is easy to maintain. Now, whether or not you'll be able to make use of such an ability, I don't know, but either way, this won't be something you'll be able to learn anytime soon." For Evel, it also wasn't a problem of summoning Eth and letting the hand remain stationary. Although he had a limit, a stationary Eth wasn't too taxing. Albert cleared his throat.

"Of course, throwing a punch is a very small part of fighting. Things like footwork, distance management, defence, precision, feints, and grapples are all essential. Then, all of these aspects have to be completely reshaped once you introduce weapons. Then, once again with Core abilities. Once you get to Weaver, then there'll be even more things to consider. More elements will keep being introduced, and more adaptations will have to be made. That's just the nature of battle."

Albert extended his hand to Evel, who was still on the ground.

"Which is why the basics are so important! Remoulding a vine is always easier than creating it from scratch. The roots are deep, and the life is there; you just have to prune the wild shoots so the energy flows to the fruit." Evel grabbed Albert's hand and felt his body get pulled onto his feet. Taking a step backward, Evel raised his fists to eye level. His doubts about Albert's capability as a teacher had all but disappeared, and he was left with many interesting things to consider.

For now, none of that mattered. Instead, Evel just needed to give his all in this spar.