Khars sent a punch right at me. My eyes widened. Too fast. Way too fast. I held up both forearms to try and protect my head. But the Custodian merely diverted his blow. His fist crashed into my chest. I applied the most basic form of redirection to soften the blow by twisting my body at the last possible moment. Despite that, Khars' attack shattered just about every bone in my torso, rupturing every single organ, before sending me flying away into a wall. When I crashed onto the surface, I realized immediately that my insides had pretty much been turned to mush, like ground grox meat, and that my muscles and bones had burst out of my back. And I knew that Khars hadn't been using his full strength with that punch, because his fist would've just skewered me, otherwise.
What incredible physical strength. I left a trail of blood on the wall as I slid down. My legs were fine, but I could hardly move them as the muscles of my torso simply didn't exist anymore. No human could survive such an attack. Astartes in Power Armor might, but a duel between a Space Marine and a Custodian would likely be fought in Power Armor, which meant a Custodian would likely just punch through Ceramite as though it wasn't there.
I'd severely underestimated the gap in power between myself and Lord Khars. That was a humbling thing to know, I suppose. I thought it had been wide, but it seemed now that there was an entire abyss of power between us – so wide as to be almost impossible to bridge. But I knew better. Sooner or later, I was going to catch up to him – maybe not now or tomorrow, but eventually. After all, this was only training. My room for growth was practically infinite.
First, I couldn't take another punch like the one I just took. It'd destroy any momentum I might've built up and shatter my defenses. I had to move faster somehow. Or react just in time to redirect the blows sent my way. But, once again, such a thing was easier said than done. And I knew that it would take me a while before I could even begin to imagine throwing an actual counter. But, Lord Khars and I both had plenty of time and likely plenty of energy.
"Get up," Khars said, walking towards me. "I know this injury is nothing to you. Get up and use all that you have. I'm sure you're capable of far more than you're showing."
Breathing in, I healed every single injury I suffered, taking absolutely as much effort as blinking. As long as my brain remained undamaged, then I was essentially immortal. I also absorbed all the blood and bones and bits of flesh I'd left behind on the wall behind me and the floor beneath me. It turns out one of my organs fell out; Khars' punch did a lot more than simply breaking my torso, it'd torn open my skin as well. Beautifully deadly.
Once again, I settled into the basic stance of the [Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist]; the only difference this time, I figured, was that I was more than aware of Lord Khars' immense striking ability. Whether or not I could actually do anything against it remained to be seen. Before Khars could attack again, I surged forward. This time, I held nothing back, briefly and explosively increasing the muscle mass of my legs by over three hundred percent, generating enough force to break my leg bones, but also enough to propel me forward even faster than I could've imagined. I caught the very brief flash of surprise in Khars' body language; neither of us expected such a thing, honestly.
I reabsorbed the increased muscle mass and fixed up my legs mid-air. And, as soon as I made contact with Khars, which was a miracle in itself, I gathered up all the kinetic energy I'd previously generated and focused all of it, once again, into a single finger. His torso was exposed, but that was very likely by his own design – a trap. Khars sent another punch, but I kind of saw it coming this time; or, more accurately, I was able to predict which arm he was going to throw at me. Khars' right fist flashed forward, aimed right at my left shoulder – a clean hit would just shatter my bones and rip apart my left arm. So, with all that I had and all that I knew of [Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist] I waited. And, as soon as the fist made contact, I immediately went limp, absorbing and dispersing as much of the kinetic energy as I physically could, which was about forty percent of the total power.
My shoulder still broke, but pain was hardly a deterrent. And forty percent was enough to somewhat stop myself from flying.
I then took the kinetic energy I'd absorbed and, once again, focused it into the pointer finger of my right arm. And then, I realized something. I was close. Very close. The distance between myself and Lord Khars was so close that I was probably merely inches away from his muscular bulk. Close enough that there was very little chance of me missing.
"HAAAAAAAAGH!" Roaring, I coated my right pointer finger in a layer of sharpened bone. Khars took a single step back, likely trying to pivot around my attack. I responded by pivoting and then, as I'd done before, explosively increasing the muscle mass of my legs by around three hundred percent this time, rocketing my body forward at impossible speeds, even if both of my legs practically shattered, my enhanced bones reduced to little more than dust and my leg muscles almost immediately mulching and tearing themselves apart because of their own strength. But they served their purpose.
The additional kinetic energy meant I moved faster than even I could perceive, likely even faster than a bolter round. A great and thunderous clap boomed and across the training room, my body briefly immolating as I moved faster than sound. I hardly saw anything. The sudden burst of explosive speed burnt out both of my eyes.
And then, I felt a warm liquid suddenly coating my right hand, mere moments before I was – once again – sent flying across the training room, my left shoulder torn apart and shattered entirely, alongside every single rib on the left side of my body, crushing my heart, lungs, and several other organs that I otherwise would've needed if I had been a normal human being. I'd lost count, by then, of the number of times that I should've perished.
[Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist] level up!
[Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist] is now level 11!
I did not hit the wall. Instead, I slammed into the armored form of a Custodes, who did not budge or react upon impact. I fell to the floor and immediately replaced my eyes with new ones, before I then healed my legs and my shoulder. And, there I saw, Khars, standing at the center of the training room, a great wound on his forearm, recent, but clotted with dried blood. And I could not help but smile. Thatwas a solid hit, was it not? I made him bleed, after all, which meant I'd succeeded the basic requirement to succeed the quest.
Now, I just needed to land another one for the first optional reward. I had no idea what a Lightsaber was, but ithad to be an excellent weapon if I got it for landing two hits on Khars, a member of the Adeptus Custodes, practically a demi-god among mortals. And I made him bleed, even if only briefly. To be honest, such a thing was already a great achievement, in itself.
"Good," Khars said, nodding. The wound on his hand shrunk with every passing moment, until, after about five seconds, it'd closed completely, leaving only a small red scar. "You've made proper use of your advantages and made sure to cover up your disadvantages. It was a good attempt. Again. Be more creative this time."
Nodding, I settled back into the same stance as before. However, with my recent advancement in level, I shifted slightly – making tiny adjustments so that I was just another step closer to the perfect form of this martial arts. Briefly, I wondered how many levels there were and what I'd be able to achieve once I actually mastered it in its totality. Would I finally be able to stand, toe-to-toe against a Custodes? Perhaps. Only time will tell. That said, my stance now was much... better than it was a level ago. I felt lighter and more confident, and just a tiny bit more secure in my knowledge of [Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist]. Though, to be fair, the gap between level 10 and 11 was strangely... considerable. I knew that if I fought my previous self now, using only martial arts, I'd win handily. Not because I was stronger or faster, but because my knowledge grew.
And so, without wasting more time, I... walked forward. My newfound knowledge told me that I'd been inefficient and wasteful with my previous movements. I didn't need explosive bursts of speed. No, I needed a calm and collected approach. Gathering all the power into a single point in my body was also unnecessary – as I'd done previously by focusing all the kinetic energy I'd stolen into my right pointer finger. It only worked because I was confident in the fact that I wouldn't die from it – that I could simply regenerate. That was the wrong mindset to have, especially for a practitioner of the [Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist]. No, the right mindset was calmness and stillness, belying the presence of a great and terrible power, like a deceptively gentle river whose surface does not break, but possess a current strong enough to rip a man to shreds. I had to be like that river.
Khars threw the first punch and, oddly, I saw his movement. He didn't blur out of focus and send my flying as before, but he wasn't slower, either. No, my reflexes must've increased or, at the very least, sharpened somewhat. I knew where he was aiming at and I knew every single spot on my body that could've been a potential target. It helped, I suppose, finally being able to perceive Khars' freakishly swift attacks. Still, he was fast – easily faster than any foe I'd ever faced before. Khars would've made that Daemon appear slow.
He aimed for my chest again. I also realized quickly enough that Khars was still testing me, likely not even using his full strength. Clearly, if he'd taken this fight seriously, then he would've aimed for some other place.
How generous of him. I'll be sure to repay him when I get the chance.
His fist surged through the air, almost hissing and burning as it pierced the space between us. I couldn't catch it. His punch was too fast, like a blazing meteor, hurling across the sky. I breathed in andfocused. Before his fist struck me, I reached out and used both hands to gently coerce it into another direction, while absorbing as much kinetic energy as I possibly could. Greatly weakened, I was able to force away the blow.
But then Khars followed up his attack with a kick, the first one he'd ever thrown in our sparring. It moved too fast for me to follow. And, at the speed with which it moved, Khars' leg would be akin to a blade and easily be capable of bisecting me. I couldn't dodge or redirect it – not without sacrificing half my body, which I didn't want to do as that went against the fundamental principles of [Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist]. But, what else could I do?
Well, the wealth of knowledge, afforded to my by turning level 11 with this particular martial arts taught me that I could, in fact, neutralize the blow by stepping into its point of leverage, where its power was greatly diminished. And so, that's what I did. I stepped forward. But Khars must've prepared for this as he quickly diverted his kick and stomped on the ground. And, suddenly, he raised a single arm up, hand positioned for a chopping motion, aimed right at the space between my neck and my shoulder. And I knew I had no time. I rushed in. I was going to get hit anyway, then I may as well hit back.
But, was that not the wrong mindset?
Gritting my teeth, I stomped hard on the ground and leapt high, soaring over Khars' head. My follow up attack surged too fast for him to dodge and my foot hit his helmet dead in the center with enough force to fling his head back a little. But that was it. Khars reached up and grabbed my leg, his grip so tight and so powerful that I immediately felt cracks and splinters all throughout my shinbone. I responded by twisting my whole, preemptively breaking my leg and using that break as a lever, before then sending another kick to his head now flinging his head forward.
Another good hit, though I wasn't sure if it counted towards the optional quest rewards as Khars was wearing a helmet.
Khars released his grip. I spun in the open air for a moment, rapidly fixing my broken leg, before the Custodian suddenly spoke, "Maybe, I can finally start taking you seriously."
My breath hitched as he reached up, grabbed me by the head and, before I could even react, slammed me right onto the floor. "Basic rule of hand to hand combat: don't give up ground to the enemy."
Gritting my teeth, I grabbed Khars by the wrist and, breaking quite a lot of bones and lengthening quite a few in the process, spun on the floor and sent a powerful front kick right into Khars' exposed shin and knocked him down to a knee. By the Emperor, I hoped that counted as a knock down, because it would be really great if it did.
Khars chuckled, releasing his grip over my face. "Good. You're finally using your power for more than just healing and regeneration. Maybe, I can take you seriously now, Perry the Guardsman. Prepare yourself."