Richemont and Dumas occupied most of the training time as they taught Bam Spear Bearer and Light Bearer skills and Bam hadn't learned much about those two Positions.
Bam felt more grateful than ever towards Master Evankhell for helping him temper his patience and resilience over the past 2 years, as Spear Bearer and Light Bearer weren't exactly his strongest suits, meaning he needed more time than usual to master what Richemont and Dumas had to teach him. Still, as Richemont was willing to praise him for, Bam was definitely a quick learner even by the standards of the Poe Bidau Family, and Khun definitely found it very impressive when Bam described how he was able to get Enna Core right within 2 weeks, as Khun still couldn't pull it off without the help of Beta inside his Lighthouse.
According to Gustang, as Bam already had a remarkable amount of raw power to back up his talents, he might struggle, but it wouldn't be as much as he normally would before, and Bam supposed he was right as he started to show a similar amount of steady growth in learning those skills as he kept adjusting. Soon, he was reportedly acing through stuff that took most people ages to learn. What Bam lacked was, as Gustang said, a solid foundation on both Positions, and even that was being steadily built on due to how quick Bam could learn.
By the third week, Bam was able to build a remarkably strong Lighthouse barrier, control up to 75 lighthouses, and had even gotten the hang of a few unique skills from Richemont, which caused the Poe Bidau High Ranker Light Bearer to sincerely acknowledge his talents, stating he was definitely worthy of Gustang's interest. Even Dumas had to admit his talents as Bam managed to throw spears accurately as far as 3 kilometers without any lighthouse aid within the second week and then show relatively expert-level control over shinsu-enhanced spear bearing.
Bam also learned many more skills beyond that, too. He was taught more refined techniques with the sword, the needle, the observer, and numerous other weapons by varying figures from the Poe Bidau, as Gustang wanted him to expand his horizon to a decent enough level before he would allow Bam to go on missions. Of course, it wouldn't be the Poe Bidau Family if they neglected Bam's shinsu control. They focused on him learning to use shinsu qualities of all kinds, as they wanted Bam to be more flexible.
Fortunately, he excelled more on those "supplementary beginner courses" compared to the "catch-up beginner courses", since he already had built up a solid foundation for Fisherman and Wave Controller. Practically every Poe Bidau was left awed by how quick Bam mastered new shinsu techniques and fighting abilities, and Bam had to admit the way with which the Poe Bidau carried themselves when it came to knowledge and shinsu was truly as competent as the rumors about the Research Association.
His other friends also did their best to grow up and develop their skills more, inspired by how hard Bam was working to grow stronger and wanting to at least help the best that they could. They weren't assigned any teachers, of course, despite Bam's protests, but they were still given upgrades to their equipments and allowed access to certain books to work from, and overall, they were working hard and starting to show results, even if not nearly as fast as Bam.
As for Gustang, he taught Bam primarily at the saturday and sunday, and Bam was a bit relieved it was. Gustang's lessons focused just as much on theory as on practical, as expected for the Leader of the Family who prioritized so much on knowledge and books, and while Bam was not lacking in terms of intelligence, he always focused more on the physical side, so he struggled a bit more.
Gustang taught Bam so many things about the history of the Tower, not emphasizing on simply the Jahad Empire or the 10 Great Families, like FUG did, but practically everything Gustang could afford to have him know, and also had Bam practice his intelligence by having him come up with hypothetical ways to destroy certain parts of the Tower by knowing their culture and history to come up with the best way possible to annihilate them. Gustang also promised Bam would learn about science and engineering, eventually, too.
Gustang also made a point to lecture Bam regarding the many strategies he found useful for Bam to mix in Positions or just applying the Positions one at a time, as Bam now being able to use Spear Bearer and Light Bearer opened new possibilities to use in combat. He had prepared an Arms Inventory for Bam with A+Rank weapons that he gave Bam by the end of the first month of his stay in the Poe Bidau Family, when Bam had already progressed enough.
At the same time when Gustang gave Bam the Arms Inventory, he also told Bam he had located the rest of his friends and forced him to take them into the Poe Bidau Family as well. Bam was admittedly intrigued as that meant all his friends would be reunited, but he still worried about how they would react to having to come with Bam when they had their own groups and goals.
Gustang had then pointed out that if they remained in the open for too long, high chances were the Jahad Army and the 10 Great Families would try to get their hands on them. Gustang then made it coldly clear if that happened, he would not allow Bam to go out and rescue them, so Bam could either take them to safety, or regret it when they inevitably get caught in the cross fire and either killed or imprisoned. Naturally, with such hard choices, Bam could only reluctantly agree to take them in.
He travelled with a strict group of strong High Ranker guards in case anything happened, with Dumas, Richemont, Tiara, and another High Ranker named Erno accompanying him. Bam first went to Team Sweet and Sour at Gustang's discretion, as apparently Wangnan was "special".
Bam had told them a quick summary of everything, focusing only when the time came for him to reveal he had avenged Prince and Arkraptor's deaths. It was a bittersweet moment, as they couldn't be there, but they all agreed and thanked Bam tearfully for doing that. They were willing to join Bam, of course, and were thus taken to the Poe Bidau Family easily. Apparently, what Gustang wanted was Wangnan's blood for some kind of "tracking spell", but he didn't elaborate.
Team Novick didn't need much persuasion as they were already told by Khun, and thus came along quickly. As for the team with Anaak, Endorsi, and Aleksai, it was a bit more complicated as while Endorsi was willing to come with him, Anaak and Aleksai were more cautious, so they asked Bam to find Shibisu and Hatz first before they would come with them.
Bam also reunited with Traveller, who had been swayed by Rachel's promises, and taking pity on him, decided to release him as long as he promised not to come after him or his friends again. However, Traveller was still determined to find a way to bring back Emily, so he pleaded to be allowed into the Poe Bidau Family, promising eternal allegiance if Bam agreed to take him in. The Poe Bidau High Rankers didn't seem pleased, but Bam convinced them by promising Traveler would be of use to them via his skill in making bombs.
And so it was that Bam sent Endorsi and Traveler to the Poe Bidau Family Mothership, but that was when things got more complicated. Shibisu, Hatz, Hockney, and Elaine were all warped away with the rest of FUG, meaning Bam would have to travel to a special area called Seolhyangwon to take them in.
Naturally, FUG had been searching for him everywhere, with Gustang thwarting them every time they tried, so when Bam arrived at Seolhyangwon, he was forced to fight against a few High Rankers who wanted to take him back into FUG. Bam beat them all fairly easily, his experiences on the Nest and all the training he had been through having long since prepared him for fights against opponent of such caliber. He didn't even need to use any of his weapons, simply dispatching them with some shinsu and primarily hand-to-hand combat.
While Bam spared them, the Poe Bidau High Rankers accompanying him weren't as merciful and decided to leave only 5 of them alive, killing the rest and cursing them with a message to deliver to FUG. Bam had protested, as he didn't want to kill when it was unnecessary, especially with how cruelly Tiara did it, but she casually pointed out if they don't clarify things to FUG, they would never stop coming after Bam, and it was at that moment that Richemont told Bam to not be too human, as the Tower was much deeper than he might think.
At the end of the road stood none other but his own master, who was very worried about him. Bam had explained his situation and the deal he had made with Gustang, much to Jinsung's frustration, and he tried to assure his master he was fine, but Jinsung demanded to see Gustang. Surprisingly enough, Richemont revealed he had already expected this, so he agreed, allowing things to end without a fight.
And so Bam returned to the Poe Bidau Family Mothership with his master, Shibisu, Hatz, Elaine, and Hockney, reuniting all his friends into a single team and also getting his master onboard. Gustang had magnamously allowed him to have an entire day free of training to celebrate the "friend reunion", and Bam was grateful for it. He discussed with them how he truly was going to go up against the Jahad Empire, as he realized he wanted to make a difference so not just them, but also everyone who deserved it, could have a good life, and they were all supportive of such a dream, stating they would follow Bam to the end no matter what, much to Bam's gratefulness.
The next day, Bam was brought on to mediate Master Jinsung as he argued with Lord Gustang. Jinsung wanted Bam to return to FUG but Gustang had matter-of-factly pointed out Bam was content to stay in the Poe Bidau Family, as they actually respected his rights, so Jinsung would have to force Bam and Bam had grown strong enough to oppose him. Of course, Jinsung didn't want that to, so Bam invited Master Jinsung aboard to stay as his teacher, and Lord Gustang had agreed, if only as Bam could use one of the stronger Ha Family members to train him in Fisherman and Scout.
Although disgruntled, Master Jinsung still respected Viole's decision, so he decided to finally complete Bam's training under him. Bam was grateful to have a familiar presence to teach him, too. Jinsung still had quite a lot of skills Bam had not yet learned too, acquired from his long life, training as a Ha Family member, and experiences as a high-ranking FUG member.
Jinsung introduced him to new forms of martial arts taught in both the Ha Family and FUG, along with helping him further master the martial arts he already learned from the dojos before the Hell Train. He also proved efficient in helping Bam develop more proficiency with the needle and the sword, having mastered the Ha Family's style of bladework along with the Ari. Of course, someone on the level of his master wasn't limited to just such direct weapons, and he also was proficient enough to help Bam master the Hook and Reel weapon forms of Fisherman.
Jinsung started Bam's Scout training at Gustang's behest, being that he was the one who trained Karaka in his ways of acting as a Scout and had learned from the very best of the Ha Family, starting from how to properly analyze the situation with his senses alone, stealth skills, and mastery over the Observer. Bam had advanced quickly in the Scout, surprising him until Jinsung revealed his father used to be a Scout, explaining why he was so talented in it.
Master Jinsung also had a couple of shinsu control skills left to teach him, as he helped advance Bam's skill with both Flow Control and Reverse Flow Control, taught him numerous other forms of Reinforcement and Piercing Techniques, and Bam learned in particular the devastating Red World and Dragon Tiger Gate skills from his master.
Eventually, 3 months later, Gustang decided to test Bam by having him spar with Jinsung for a full 10 minutes, and Bam agreed. Gustang also attached a few conditions into the spar, in that Bam wasn't allowed to use the Thorn, Transformation of any kind, as Gustang wanted to ensure Bam was strong enough in his base before moving on to such skills, and Bam agreed, realizing Gustang's point. It spoke volumes of how far Bam had come, and how much developing versatility in fighting helped him, as before he struggled to fight back against opponents of White and Kallavan's level, but now Bam was able to fight his master, a similarly strong opponent, to a decent back-and-forth fight, as he sought to test practically all his bases and skillset against Master Jinsung.
He was able to hold his ground against his master in close-range fight, be it with hand-to-hand, swords, or needles, but Jinsung's superior strength and skill would overwhelm Bam, yet the fact Bam could keep up with someone of Jinsung's caliber as a Fisherman was a good enough try. It also gave Jinsung the chance to point out what Bam was still lacking at, as that was also useful for Bam to grow later. With shinsu, they were more or less even as Bam's Orbs allowed him to equal Jinsung's technical prowess with the shinsu. They traded various shinsu techniques, including the ones Bam learned from his master, although Jinsung still had the edge when it came to Reinforcement as he applied it more regularly and seamleslsy than Bam did, another thing he needed to work on.
Bam also sought out to test his developments in the Spear Bearer and Light Bearer position, and found he could somewhat threaten his Master, but it still wasn't quite strong enough yet. His lighthouse flow control could only hold back Jinsung briefly, Jinsung was able to overcome the Enna Core by breaking out sooner before Bam could transform the Mystery Sphere into Red Crystal, and Bam found only strengthening his shinsu attacks or creating barriers proved especially effective against his master's power. As for Spear Bearer, his master caught most of the spears he threw or dodged them, although he did have to remain on his toes against Bam's throws, and his shinsu-manipulated spears could be intercepted by his master's shinsu control.
Still, Bam had developed a good deal of cunning while fighting, so he made use of all his skills to keep up with Jinsung, using his new abilities in various ways to contend with Jinsung's superior experience and prowess. He eventually made it to the 10 minutes time, and Jinsung earnestly complimented his form while Gustang decided that Bam had proven himself. With that, Gustang unveiled the Third Thorn Fragment and gave it to Bam, although he stated Bam needed some more development before he could start using the power.
A month later, and FUG, seemingly realizing that trying to "have full custody" was impossible, decided to finally show their other hands as Grace Mirchea Luslec himself appeared at the Poe Bidau Family Mothership, having been contacted by Jinsung and Hwa Ryun. Gustang had of course immediately intercepted, but Mirchea didn't came to fight. Instead, Mirchea came to discuss terms with Gustang about Bam. As they both could agree they wanted Jahad dead, Mirchea decided that he would allow Bam to stay in the Poe Bidau Family, but FUG must also have a role in Bam's growth.
In the end, a compromise was made in that the Poe Bidau Family would allow teachers from FUG to help advance Bam's skills in return for a ceasefire. Bam also managed to convince Gustang to allow him to go on certain missions, except Bam now had the right to choose which mission he wanted to go on, making sure he was an ally, not part of FUG. Things had gotten too far between them for Bam to return to FUG by choice. He had a talk about it with Mirchea, and the latter agreed to Bam's terms in return for Mirchea being allowed to personally train him.
And so a new schedule was made: As Master Evankhell, and Han Sung had already trained him for years, Gustang decided they might as well finish what they had left to teach him before he proceeded to other FUG mentors. He didn't want too many members of FUG to get involved with Bam, and Bam didn't really blame him. He still did not get along with Han Sung, so he didn't want to be around the man if he could help it. Evankhell taught him the best she knew of regarding Orbs, while Han Sung showed him a few more shinsu techniques, including a couple of "personal tricks" that made Bam realize why the rumors of Han Sung being around Top 500 High Rankings were true.
After Evankhell and Han Sung, Bam would be taught by Slayer Baylord Yama and Elders Khel Hellam as well as Sophia Tan.
Yama, having grown to trust Bam, happily helped him out with mastering the powers of Transformation. He had calmed down a lot and been training hard to become stronger since the Battle of the Nest, and shared with Bam certain information regarding the Lo Po Bia Family. With his help, Bam was able to master the use of Level Seven Transformations with ease and even acquired the External Transformation skill. Yama was also helpful in Bam learning to master the power of Leviathan by providing some of Yasratcha's research as well as giving advices on how he tamed the power of the Fangs of the Beast, which was also efficient in Bam mastering the Red and Blue Thryssa.
The Elder Khel Hellam had been impressed by his performance on both the Cage and during the battle of the Nest, and chose to see him as someone who could indeed defeat Jahad, thus accepting Mirchia's order to train him in the archery-style Spear Bearer, while the Elder Sophia Tan had came to acknowledge Bam after seeing his determination and remarkable growth in person, helping Bam further master Light Bearer. To be honest, Bam preferred archery more than actual spears. He quickly learned how to aim and fire arrows with accuracy and at a rapid rate after having had some experience from back on the Nest, along with also mastering how to fight with a bow in close-range, even using arrows up close to with a blend of hand-to-hand and archery. Bam specialized most in creating and programming shinsu bows as well as arrows, and Hellam also showed him the manual to Soo-Oh's Flow-Bending Blue Sapphire Fish, a particular Wave Controller-efficient skill that allowed Bam to manipulate the direction of shinsu attacks.
From Sophia Tan, Bam learned more techniques for the Light Bearer situation, extending his reach to where he could control up to 100 Lighthouses and greatly refining the basic techniques first before quickly moving on to more advanced skills. Bam was taught various techniques that most efficiently improved his efficiency as both a Wave Controller and Spear Bearer. Sophia was a particularly skilled teacher as she was the leader of Seolhyangwon, which focused on training next generation of warriors for FUG.
Technically, Vicente also taught him, but he no longer considered himself part of FUG or a Slayer. Gustang had decided to permanently extinguish Hoaqin from the collection of souls inside Vicente's body, granting him total control, and he also allowed him to feed on numerous souls of the Jahad Army and certain traitors from the Poe Bidau to recover his strength. Albeda, White's Final Clone, was also revived, as she had become her own existence before, so Gustang accidentally brought her back as well. Both Vicente and Albeda were grateful for Bam, so they chose to stick with him, and Bam found himself deciding to just accept that Hoaqin was responsible, rather than blaming either.
As Bam had the Power of Souls, he was also able to use Arie Swordsmanship to maximum effect, and was able to quickly master the techniques those two taught him regarding the sword. Bam also finally accepted that the Power of Souls was his to use, and learned from those two how to efficiently use their power for good. They were also the first to teach him certain sorcery spells, which Bam quickly took to, as his mother, Arlene, was first and foremost a Sorcerer.
Bam would get the chance to truly showcase how much he had grown during an attack launched on the Poe Bidau Family by the Lo Po Bia Family backed up by High Rankers from the Jahad Army and the Khun Family. The attack was personally lead by Traumerei, as he had been ordered by Jahad to go to war with the Poe Bidau Family, and Bam fought to help despite Gustang telling him to run away, as he realized he couldn't avoid fighting anymore. Bam fought more than 100 Rankers at that day and demonstrated such overwhelming abilities that made him recognized as one of the "MVP" of the fight.
He began by annihilating 30 Advanced Rankers with a single powerful burst of his Shinwonryu, taking down 25 High Rankers with his personal style of blades, dual-wielding both a sword and a needle and using multiple techniques of the Arie, Ari, Ha, and various other "regular" schools of swordsmanship taken to the extreme, and killing 10 powerful Light Bearers with a few incredible shots from the spear and using archery.
Bam then killed Lo Po Bia Elbaba in an astonishingly short fight of simply 3 minutes as he completely outmatched the disgraced Branch Head, before he then eliminated the entire Grey Wolf Branch as they targeted Elaine for the disgrace she caused them. He had tried to spare them at first, but he had no choice and Elaine solemnly allowed him to exterminate her entire Family as they made it clear they had completely disowned her.
Bam was then confronted by none other but Kallavan, who had gotten a power up from his previous fight with Lyborick and proved to be a worthy opponent for Bam. Bam activated all three Thorn Fragments and used the full extent of his strength against the man who had overwhelmed him twice before, finally achieving victory over Kallavan who had been his target for so long.
In their previous fights, Bam had the power to damage Kallavan but lacked the skill to properly take advantage of his power nor the physical constitution to keep it up, but now Bam was a fully seasoned warrior after all the training he had went through. Although he was pushed hard, Bam was able to match Kallavan's power and surpass him in long-range, slowly but surely gaining the upper hand as he gradually wore down and battered the former Squadron Commander with his great power while compensating for his inferior experience through an expert mixture of all his skills.
Bam's physical prowess, now thoroughly conditioned through both intensive physical training and mastering Reinforcement, was now sufficient to effectively clash with Kallavan, albeit with the help of his dual-blades, as they were his most proficient approach to the Fisherman Position, although he also managed to deliver a few kicks strong enough to throw the man back and make him bleed. Bam, however, primarily focused on his shinsu techniques, as it was only with shinsu that Bam could efficiently damage Kallavan.
Each of his shinsu attacks were strong enough to force Kallavan to defend himself seriously, especially as Bam added in his true black shinsu quality into his shinsu loop, further increasing the force of the attack and allowing him to damage Kallavan even when the man was blocking his techniques properly. Bam also didn't hesitate to supplement his Wave Controller techniques with his Light Bearer skills, efficiently covering his blind spots to keep Kallavan unable to expose any of his previous weaknesses and amplifying the force of his attacks. He even used spears he either reinforced or were already made to be strong enough by Gustang from his Arms Inventory that he managed to hit Kallavan with a few times, confirming to Bam how far he had progressed in all his fields.
In an echo to Kallavan's previous battle with Jinsung, Bam ultimately ended the fight by using a variant of the Dragon Tiger Gate, one he made for his own. Closing the distance and feigning being disarmed, Bam placed both hands on Kallavan's chest and activated Twenty-Fifth Bam Style Transcendental Technique: Gate of Moon - Ultimate Floral Butterfly Piercing Technique. Instead of manifesting a dragon and a tiger as the concept, Bam instead used a huge butterfly and a shark-like thryssa for the basis of the skill. He knew Kallavan could potentially still remain able to fight, so Bam purposefully struck at Kallavan's chest before he activated the skill, causing such an injury that even the notoriously tough Kallavan finally collapsed to the ground for the first time since he joined Jahad's Army, bested by the Irregular.
Kallavan was quickly taken away by his old followers, but Bam had other matters to attend to. Still, it felt good to finally triumph over Kallavan after so long of being angry at him and seeking to defeat him for imprisoning his master.
His next contribution was to end Baylord Yama's battle with Lo Po Bia Kirin. Kirin had apparently allied himself with the Revolution, a powerful party that wanted to end the reign of the 10 Great Families, as he was discontented with how Traumerei ruled. Still, Bam found himself disgusted with Kirin as he callously left a few of his men to die, and refused to join him.
Although weakened, Bam was able to fight effectively beside Yama as they overwhelmed the Chief Taming Commander of the Lo Po Bia, a very powerful opponent who had an upper hand over Yama alone. It took a bit while, but Bam and Yama combined their attacks, Bam harnessing the Stardust skill he had employed on Kallavan and Yama using his new Transcendental Technique with Half-Body Transformation, Fanged Blades of Rage, to kill Kirin, eradicating his entire body along with the rest of his forces.
The exhaustion then finally took over Bam and he passed out to wake a few weeks later, with Gustang admitting Bam had fared well despite his initial doubts. When asked about what happened, Gustang revealed that Bam's role in the fight was actually quite crucial.
First, it turned out that some of the Rankers Bam killed in the fight was actually traitors of the Poe Bidau Family from the group called Revolution. Gustang had been keeping an eye on it before through information fed to him by Bellerir, his spy on the organization, but it was Bam that killed and revealed the tight-knit group of traitors. Through analyzing their corpses and reading their thoughts, Gustang was able to uncover the identities of the remaining spies, allowing him to dispatch them.
Gustang would have preferred if Kirin didn't die so soon as it would be good to fracture the Lo Po Bia Family, but he decided what Bam brought him was more than worth it. In addition, the fact that Kirin was a traitor had caused quite the shock for the Lo Po Bia Army, and Traumerei, after hearing this and receiving a direct order from Jahad, decided to fall back, meaning Bam effectively ended the battle before it could cause many more casualties, a relief for Bam.
In consideration to his performance on the battle, Gustang decided to reward Bam by revealing the Fourth Thorn Fragment and the last. It would seal the Thorn's power completely inside him, and that meant Bam would finally be able to start learning the best ways to use the Thorn's power as it became his alone. Gustang reminded Bam, though, that this was just a few steps out of many, and he still required much training if he were to be capable of defeating Jahad.
Still, Bam felt that he was more confident than before, and definitely readier than ever. He requested that Gustang give him a day or two to enjoy with his friends. Bam went out to have just a single day of pure friendship with Khun, Rak, Endorsi, Shibisu, Hwa Ryun, Hatz, Elaine, Hockney, and Anaak as they enjoyed both their survival and victory.
However, Bam still recalled Gustang's words before he left for this day.
Don't forget that no matter how dearly you treasure them, in the end, they are all inferior. You are free to enjoy your life while you still can, but do remember to keep a certain distance, less you be broken before the end of your journey.
Those words kept ringing in his mind as he wondered if he would lose his friends, but Bam suppressed it with all he had.
For this day, he was happy, and as his Master joined in to congratulate Bam for completing the Thorn and winning over Kallavan, the two of them sharing drinks, Bam almost believed everything would be fine.
