Chapter 4: Progress
I kept my breath steady as I rushed through the trees. Hearing the sound of something swinging through the air, I dodged to the side, pressing my back to a tree as a plain wooden spear zoomed past me and impaled a tree in front of me.
"You're gonna have to do better than that, Coal," Maria called out.
I dropped to the floor just as her scythe cut through the tree I was hiding behind. Just barely avoiding her blade. Attempting to move, I soon found Maria's blade stabbed into the ground right next to me neck.
"You're pretty good at evading my slashes, I'll give you that, however, there's more to a fight than running away!" Maria said. "If you don't learn to attack while under pressure, then you'll never be able to kill any Grimm."
That was easy to say when she had a scythe while I only had a wooden sword. It might weigh the same as a real sword and allow me to practice different forms, but it didn't do much damage in a real fight. I was barely able to cut through a tree with it while using Aura, total concentration breathing and sun breathing at the same time.
Taking a breath, I rapidly twisted my body and pushed myself up all while taking a swing at Maria.
"Sun Breathing: False Rainbow"
-50 AP
"That's more like it," Maria cheered as she effortlessly deflected my attack with the back end of her scythe before swinging it at me.
I ducked under her blade and slipped past her guard. My wooden sword came up and hit her chest. It was barely a glancing blow, but it served its purpose.
Stepping behind Maria, I took another breath and rapidly brought my wooden sword down on her.
"Sun Breathing: Dance"
-300 AP
Maria brought her scythe over her shoulder, blocking my attack, but I'd planned for that. Grabbing her blade with my bare hand, I forcefully kept it still and aimed a slash at her neck. Only, she wasn't there. Her scythe had been abandoned in my hand and she'd darted off at a much faster speed, bouncing off a tree, she rushed towards me.
I barely had time to look up as her feet impacted my face.
My body jerked violently as I was thrown backwards. I'd been forced to dropping the scythe, but I managed to I hold onto my wooden sword. I hit the ground and my body jolted as I began to roll backwards, but it didn't last long. I soon came to a full stop by hitting a tree.
Ping!
…
Aura is dangerously low
…
Ping!
…
Sun breathing has leveled up: Lvl 7 – 8
…
Ping!
…
Sun breathing: False rainbow has leveled up: Lvl 2 – 3
…
Sun breathing: Dance has leveled up: Lvl 3 – 4
…
I let out a grunt as I pushed myself to a sitting position. Aura dampened the blow by an insane degree, but that didn't mean that I couldn't get hurt while it was active. If I overextended myself or twisted in the wrong way, I could get a muscle cramp or accidentally strained something. Sure Aura would heal my wounds, but that would be a waste of Aura. It was better that I didn't end up hurting myself in the first place.
"Need a hand?" Maria asked, offering hers.
"Yeah." Grabbing on, I quickly found myself being pulled to my feet.
"You did better this time… in fact, I'd say that you're ready to start killing Grimm."
"Wait, really?" I asked.
"Yep," Maria grinned.
That was new. In the month that I'd been training with Maria, she hadn't even so much as mentioned Grimm.
Maria had been training me for about a month now. Well, training was a relative term. She'd attack me and I was expected to defend myself through any means that I could. When we first started, I was barely able to last ten seconds, but now I was up to a full ten minutes.
Through using total concentration breathing, I'd been able to fight for longer and take shorter breaks in between our fighting sessions. The rate at which I recovered Aura was faster than the rate I lost it when I was actively using total concentration breathing, so I kept my Aura active at every waking hour which led to my AP growing much faster than before.
"So how do we do this? Do we go out and search for Grimm on our own, do we need to go to a city? Do I need to get a license?"
"One question at a time," Maria laughed. "I can see that you're eager, but we need to take this one step at a time. You see, ordinarily, you would spend several years learning in a primary combat school like Sanctum Academy and then you'd apply to a Huntsman finishing school like Beacon Academy, but we're going to be doing things a bit differently."
"Different how?" I asked. I already knew that I wasn't going to be enrolling in a Huntsman Academy, they took too much time to graduate from and were hot spots for the coming conflict. I, however, was curious to see what Maria had planned for me.
"Instead of going to a Huntsman Academy, you're going to be doing missions with me and when I think you're ready, I'm going to go to Haven Academy and request that you be given your Huntsman license," Maria explained. "You're different, Coal. The rate at which you've been advancing is nothing short of phenomenal. If you're able to continue improving at your current rate, you'll exceed me at my prime within a year. It would be a waste to confine all that talent in a school for several years."
I didn't really know what to say to that. I wasn't sure if all the training I'd been doing lately had been paying off, but according to Maria, I would be more than ready within a year. I'll admit, I'd been a little worried about if I was growing stronger fast enough, there was no one around other than Maria to measure myself against, something that was currently an exercise in futility.
"We're going to stop here for today," Maria said. "I've got a few things I need to get ready before we go out hunting Grimm, so you can take a break for now and rest up. You've got a big day ahead of you tomorrow after all."
"Alright," I nodded.
Arriving back at the cabin, I sat down on one of the stairs and continued my breathing exercises while Maria went inside. I'd improved drastically in the month that I'd been actively trained my Maria.
Total concentration breathing was really a game changer when it came to growing stronger. The stat increase per level wasn't much, only increasing by 1%, but over the course of the month, I'd managed to increase its level to the point that it was nearly doubling my stats.
…
Total Concentration Breathing (Active) Lvl 83
The power of the breath. By breathing in this pattern, your body absorbs more oxygen, making it more resistant to harsh climates and increasing the rate at which your body recovers. All stats are increased by 83% and every 10 levels Aura regeneration increases by 1%.
…
Added with my Aura regenerating by 9% per minute and my AUR passively growing while I used it, I had more than enough AP to keep the Aura skill active nigh permanently … There was however, one thing preventing me from keeping my Aura skill active permanently.
I couldn't keep total concentration breathing active while I slept. I'd been practicing it pretty much nonstop, but it seemed that I wasn't capable of pulling it off yet. It would likely take getting the skill to level 100 for me to be able to use total concentration constant.
There was a point where I'd been worried that the rate of my growth would hit a peak once I mastered total concentration breathing but then I began to consider what mastering it would mean.
Once I had total concentration constant, I would be able to keep my Aura skill active at all hours, which should in theory both increase my AUR and improve the skill itself. Both of which would allow me to continue practicing my sun breathing at a higher level without having to worry about exhausting myself.
I was worried that I would hit a limit, but the truth was that once I mastered my breathing, I was going to be losing a limit.
Seeing that my Aura was fully recovered, I pushed myself up. My wooden sword grasp firmly in my hands. Maria did say that I needed to take a break, but she hadn't said for how long and I wanted to be as strong as I could before I actually went out hunting Grimm.
…Breathe…
Maria and I had been hiking through the forest for about two hours now. At the rate we were going, we must have already traveled just under fifteen miles already.
Why were we traveling so far into the forest? It's simple. Maria, while retired, was still a Huntsman and was still capable of taking missions. She'd gone to Black Rock by herself, which was in the process of being rebuilt and accepted a search and destroy mission for this section of the forest.
It was fairly straight forward. We were to go out into the forest, look for any lingering Grimm and kill them.
"Stop," Maria announced suddenly, holding her hand up. "There's a group of Grimm ahead of us. Seven… No, nine Grimm. They seem to be a group of Alpha Beowolves."
That was a lot. Last time I struggled to kill one… Then again, last time, I hadn't had any combat training whatsoever and gained sun breathing in that fight.
"Alright, so how do we do this?"
"We?" Maria laughed. "No, you're going to have to figure that out on your own. I'll stand back. Don't worry, I'll jump in if it looks like you can't handle it." Crouching down, Maria jumped and landed on a tree branch.
Well, I should have expected that. Maria did have a sink or swim attitude when it came to teaching me. Unsheathing the real sword which Maria had given me, I observed the Grimm. The group of nine hadn't realized where we were, but by the way they were looking around, they did know that we were in the area.
They were idly moving closer to our location, so I didn't exactly have much time to plan everything out.
Looking for a suitable path, I darted out of my cover and rushed towards the nearest Beowolf. Swinging my blade, I decapitated the first one without too much issue before thrusting my sword forward, through the second one's head.
With the element of surprise lost, the rest of the Beowolves charged towards me, their clawed hands aimed to cut me into pieces.
Ripping my sword out of the rapidly decaying Grimm, I pushed forward, sword sliced through the oncoming Grimm's head as I kicked its body forward and used its body as a platform as I launched myself across the Grimm, wounding another by cutting a line across its face before I landed behind them.
Pushing my advantage, I rushed behind them, beheading three more before they had a chance to react properly. With only three Grimm left, I continued onward, my blade cleaved through the others easily, and before I knew it, I was standing in the forest alone, all the Grimm dead with their bodies rapidly decaying.
That had been easy… much easier than facing Maria. I hadn't lost a single AP, nor had I needed to use a sun breathing technique.
Maria whistled, breaking me from my thoughts. "A month ago, you struggled to beat a single Alpha Beowolf and here you stand now, having killed a whole pack of them effortlessly. Although, I wouldn't get too cocky if I was you. Alpha Beowolves are among the weakest of Grimm out there, only being stronger than creeps. Now Ursa on the other hand…"
Hearing a low growl behind me, my eyes widened as I twisted my body out of the way, just barely evading a powerful swipe from a Grimm's claw.
"Sun Breathing: False Rainbow."
-50 AP
Jumping back, I immediately began to take stock of my situation. There was a new Grimm standing in the clearing, an Ursa if Maria was to be believed. Its body was massive, being even larger than the Alpha Beowolves and it had bone armor covering a good portion of its neck and head. All in all, it looked like a large, evil looking bear.
The Ursa lunged towards me with speed faster than its size suggested. I dodged out of the way, avoiding yet another clawed strike.
Pushing off the ground, I rushed towards it before it could reorient itself and swung my blade digging deeply into its back, only, my blade got stuck in its back. The Grimm let out an angry growl and thrashed around in an attempt to throw me off.
Grabbing onto one of the numerous bone spikes protruding from its back, I used it to help me hold on as I levered my sword inside the Grimm. Twisting it before rapidly pulling the blade up, cutting a line straight through the Ursa's back, all the way through its shoulder.
The Ursa gave one last heave before its body collapsed to the ground.
"That… was more difficult," I said as I flicked my sword to the side, removing anything that had been left on the blade.
"Well don't blink now, because it's about to get worse," Maria announced, pointing into the distance.
Glancing over to what she was pointing at, I let out an annoyed sigh. Several more Ursa had just arrived. With how tough it was to kill one, I wasn't going to be able to hold back here.
Steadying my blade, I darted off towards the new group. My blade cut through the air as I unleashed my first sun breathing technique on the Grimm.
"Sun Breathing: Raging Sun"
-200 AP
My blade impacted the first two Ursa on each side of me, cutting clean through their bodies, bones and all. Seeing an Ursa lunge towards me, I took a breath and rapidly brought my blade down on its head, cutting its entire body in half.
"Sun Breathing: Dance"
-400 AP
Blocking a claw strike with my blade, I pushed it back and stepped forward as I thrust my blade through the Ursa's mouth and out the back of its head. Putting my foot on its chest, I pushed harshly as I tugged my blade out, just in time to cut into a new Ursa.
I continued cutting, stabbing and evading the Ursa until finally only one was left standing in front of me. My blade and my jacket were covered in black splotches of whatever it was that Grimm bled.
Seeing the last Grimm lunge towards me, I sidestepped it and swung my blade in one clean motion, beheading it as it passed by.
The sword in my hands felt warm to the touch. The Grimm essence coating it was rapidly evaporating.
Glancing at my Aura, I let out a relieved sigh.
AP: 310/5215
If there had been just two more, I would have needed help, but as it stood, I'd managed them quite well. I needed to rest for a bit before Maria and I continued looking for more Grimm.
"A full pack of Ursa, huh," Maria noted loudly. Jumping from her branch, she landed directly next to me. "And not even a scratch on you! Although, you seem to have pushed yourself a bit too hard, you're low on Aura."
"Well, they were kind of tough to cut through," I replied. "Just give me ten minutes and I'l be ready to do it all again."
"You'll have five minutes at most before the next Grimm arrives and it's going to be a bit bigger than the last one. An Ursa Major," Maria explained. "If you're not ready when it arrives, I'll take it out while you rest."
Yeah, that wasn't going to happen. I was finally able to measure myself against something accurately. If I remember correctly, it was an Ursa Major that frightened Cardin's team off in the forever falls. Jaune killed it, but he needed Pyrrha's help. If I could kill one, I could accurately say that I was at least on the same level of a first year Beacon student… one of the weaker, none prodigious ones, but a Beacon student nonetheless.
"I'll be ready," I said. Sitting down, I deactivated my Aura to allow it to regenerate faster. I needed to regain as much of it as I possibly could right now.
Focusing on my breathing, several short minutes passed by before a loud roar sounded through the forest. Glancing at my Aura, I winced.
AP: 2394/5215
I'd only been able to regain a little under half my Aura. I wonder if it'll be enough for me to kill the Ursa Major.
"You know, I'll never not be amazed at the rate which you regain Aura," Maria said, her blue goggles focused on me.
"Yeah, well," I began, standing up, I reactivated my Aura. "Let's hope it's enough for this Grimm!"
"That's what I like to hear," Maria smirked. "Just like it was earlier, if I see that you're in trouble, I'll jump in. Now… show me what you've got!"
Seeing Maria jump back into the trees so that she could observe me, I turned to where I heard the roar and began to focus. All the other Ursa had been pretty strong, but also quite slow. They were at their fastest when they lunged at me, but if I got behind them, they needed time to maneuver themselves. I believe it would be safe to say that the same should apply to an Ursa Major. It was after all still an Ursa, albeit a much more powerful one.
Hearing the sound of wood groan, a pair of trees were broken as the Ursa Major pushed through. My first take of the Grimm… It was massive, being several times bigger than regular Ursa. If it had to stand at its full height on its hind legs, its head would peak out of the forest.
"So you're the big ba…"
The Ursa Major lunged at a speed much faster than any of the other Ursa's. I'd barely had time to raise my sword to block its swipe and it still ended up hurling me through the air. My Aura dropped slightly as I clipped a tree.
Tumbling over, I quickly pushed myself to my feet. "The big bad Ursa Major," I finished. It'd been far faster than I'd expected it to be, but nowhere near as fast as Maria had gone when I surprised her in our last spar.
I cursed as the Ursa Major spun around, its red eyes locked onto me. Despite its size, it had been able to maneuver much faster than Regular Ursa. I wasn't going to have much time to kill it if I could even get behind it.
Seeing it getting ready to lunge at me again, I preemptively began dodging, just barely getting out of the way as it zoomed passed me. Turning around, I rushed towards it, my blade ready to strike, but it had already turned around when I neared it. My blade bounced harmlessly off its armored chest.
The Ursa Major swung its claw, aiming to crush me in one hit, but I'd already been on the move.
Ducking under its legs, I grabbed onto the bone spikes jutting out of its back and heaved myself up. The Ursa Major thrashed about, much harder than the first Ursa I killed had. I found myself forgoing climbing in place of holding on.
The longer I held on, the more my chances of killing the Ursa Major dwindled. I wasn't going to be able to kill it without using a Sun breathing technique and I didn't exactly have enough Aura to use as many consecutive moves as I did earlier.
Digging my feet into its back, I let go of its back and launched myself upward. Just as I reached its head, I twisted my body and brought my sword down cutting deeply into its head.
"Sun Breathing: Clear Blue Sky"
-300AP
The Grimm let out a pained roar as I landed in front of it and swung its claws wildly in an attempt to kill me.
Ducking low, I focused as much strength to my legs as I could and jumped upward with explosive speed. My blade hummed loudly as I swung with as much strength as I could muster, momentarily pausing as it hit the Grimms neck before cleaving all the way through.
"Sun Breathing: Dance"
-450AP
Ping!
Twisting in the air, I angled my body so that I would land to the side of the Grimm. If I landed on its body, there was a very good chance that I'd sink into it, what with it rapidly evaporating.
AP: 1175/5215
The fight had been over in less than a minute, but in that time, I'd used up over a thousand AP. However, that didn't matter to me right now. The only thing on my mind was that I'd done it. I'd killed an Ursa Major entirely on my own without any outside help.
Cardin and his team had tried to flee from one of these. I was stronger than an entire first year Beacon team and that was with a month of training and half my Aura.
"Not bad," Maria said as she leaped back down. "In the month that I've been training you, you've become strong enough to take on an entire pack of Alpha Beowolves, a pack of Ursa and one Ursa Major on your own. It's really impressive."
"Thanks," I replied. Feeling pride swell in my chest.
"Don't let it give you a big head," Maria smirked. "While this may be an impressive feat for a beginner, these are still some of the weakest Grimm out there. From this point on, the Grimm are only going to grow more powerful and numerous. You struggled to kill a single Ursa Major, but they're fodder to Deathstalkers and Taijitu!"
And I immediately deflated.
"However… I'm proud of you."
My eye began to twitch at the constant back and forth between being happy that I'd become so strong to being told that I still had a long way to go.
"Now, let's take a short break and then we'll head back. That should have been most of the Grimm in this section of forest."
"Great."
Bringing up my menu, I decided to see what the notification had been about.
…
A new Technique has been created.
Sun Breathing: Flash (Active) Lvl1/10
Strength is focused to your legs in order to explosively increase your speed. Consumes 50 AP per use.
…
Well, that was a useful technique. I'd definitely need to work on leveling that one up. Glancing at my current stats, I was happy with how high they were, but on the other hand, I was definitely going to need to increase the base stats themselves at some point. For now, I'd let them increase passively as I focused on improving my breathing and Aura skills.
…
Coal
Semblance: Gamer Lite
AP: 1225/5215
STR: 30 = (109.8)
DEX: 28 = (102.4)
CON: 25= (91.5)
AUR: 57 = (104.3)
…
Alrighty then. Coal's slowly getting experience with fighting Grimm and he's getting learning new, useful abilities that allow him to hit above his level.
I'm taking a little time to help develop Coal and having him grow stronger. I'm all for an OP protagonist and Coal will eventually going to become extremely powerful, but these are still the early days for him, given time, he'll become something that Remnant hasn't seen before.
As for Coal learning other abilities like Haki. I'm pretty much going to stick to Demon Slayer for now, but he might gain something similar in the future. There's still a ton of abilities out there that don't require anything special from the user other than knowing about them.
Also, the thing about Aura... in the main show, it's not really specific on if Aura is permanently active or not. I'm going with not as characters can be killed when caught of guard, (Sienna Kahn.)
Anyways, I'm 5 chapters ahead on the P word website.
P
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I go by the name of ThatKircguy. Just copy the name and paste it in the Patty Rio On search bar. It'd help me out immensely, but don't worry if that's not your style. I will be uploading weekly, so it's not going to be stuck there permanently.
Also, I post my original stuff there as well. It's nothing much, just two short stories for now, but I'll post more as I write them.
Next chapter is uploaded on the 26th of May.
See you all in the next one, dudes and dudettes.