A Joyful Training Session
After spending a satisfying night in the mansion that was now mine, Lena and I made our way to Kaya's house like lightning the moment our appointed hour arrived the next day.
Today was, for all practical purposes, our first official lesson.
Perhaps that was why Kaya taught us with a surprising degree of kindness.
"You'd better not even think about copying my mana control just yet. You got lucky last time, but push it any further and your body could burst."
"It worked out spectacularly, though. So when can I start imitating it?"
"At the very least, wait until your mana meridians have formed stably before you try anything like that."
Thanks to my becoming something of a disciple, Kaya's sparring was no longer as merciless as before.
At the very least, she gave me a moment to catch my breath between rounds.
As I cooled down my body, still burning hot from the bouts, I asked her a question.
"Mana meridians... You mentioned them before, but they're a kind of mana organ, right? How can I develop them quickly?"
"Normally the body changes naturally after prolonged exposure to mana, but... hmm, it might actually be difficult for you. This is where talented people tend to stumble. Their talent works against them, you could say."
"I'm sorry, what? Why?"
What an incomprehensible statement.
I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of talent being a roadblock. Wasn't talent supposed to be a good thing?
"What do you think so-called Talent actually is?"
"Talent? Well... it comes in so many varieties... there's the physical side, and... I'd assume there's a mana-related side too?"
"Exactly. And it's the mana-related talent that causes problems here. Things like mana sensitivity, mana capacity, or even one's command over mana — the list goes on and on."
Kaya folded down her thick fingers one by one as she continued.
"And here's where an interesting contradiction comes in."
"A contradiction?"
"At relatively low levels — meaning up to the early stages of the Expert realm — the more mana-related talent you have, the overwhelmingly easier it is to reach that level. Well, of course it is. You can move mana however you please. You probably didn't struggle that much to produce that strange sword aura of yours, either."
"It was plenty difficult, actually."
"And yet it took you less than a year, didn't it?"
"...About three months?"
"Tsk tsk... You sound like some spoiled brat who'll burst from all the luxury he's been living in."
THWACK!
"OW! Why did you hit me!?"
At my awkward answer, Kaya clicked her tongue and flicked me square on the forehead with her finger.
It was clearly meant as a simple rap on the head, but the sound that rang out was more like someone beating a war drum.
I clutched my throbbing forehead and lodged a protest, but Kaya only blew a raspberry at me.
"None of that nonsense, please?"
"Ugh, fine..."
"Anyway — with a genuine mana organ in your chest like that, your mana capacity and sensitivity are top-tier for sure. Hmm? Why the sour face? Keep sulking and next time it's the fist."
"...Isn't it a bit rich for you to lecture me about talent when you rose to your position precisely because of it?"
The Fist King, a powerhouse capable of punching a tunnel clean through a mountain, blaming talent!
Come on, that's just cruel!
I protested with all the indignation I could muster, but Kaya, unexpectedly, denied it.
"I think you've got a misunderstanding somewhere. Mana control was something I struggled with quite a bit. Maybe that's because all my talent pooled into my body instead."
"Oh... really?"
"How many decades do you think I've trained? If I'd had talent like yours, I'd have forged this body a long time ago, all on my own."
"Forgive my rudeness, but exactly how old are you...?"
"Fifteen at heart."
"Your conscience..."
KABOOOOM!
"GUHAAAK!"
I'd delivered a hollow (?) but honest rebuke to her shameless lie... and the price came flying back at me in the form of a fist laden with a full measure of mana.
Even at a speed that showed barely a trace of seriousness, the punch slammed into my abdomen and sent me skidding all the way to the far edge of the training grounds.
Off in the shade, I could see Lena — taking a break after being run ragged in her own sparring earlier — clutching her stomach and cackling.
Kaya looked down at me where I lay sprawled and declared once more, with utter confidence:
"Fifteen at heart!"
"Yes, ma'am..."
'By that logic, shouldn't you be calling me oppa, then?'
I forced the surging retort back down below my throat.
You can't argue logic with a madwoman.
"Enough chit-chat. This is all your fault, you know."
"..."
"Anyway, let's pick up where we left off. Why does talent hold you back? Because talent interferes with desperation."
"Desperation..."
I had a vague sense of what Kaya was getting at.
It was probably something related to Will.
Come to think of it, I could hardly remember a time when training had ever been excruciatingly difficult for me.
Well, no — it hadn't even been that long since I'd come up to the surface in the first place.
"Ordinary people can barely manage just to refine their sword aura. For some, that's the end of the road — and by the time they can produce it at all, they've usually been through hell and back and become hardened veterans. It's typically the ones who can push one step beyond that point who break through the wall of the Master realm."
"...That doesn't apply to me, does it."
"Right. You're different. Your mana is never lacking, and it obeys your every command — how convenient must that be? Your skill shoots up like a rocket. But... a tower built too easily is hard to build high."
Kaya thrust her fist out toward me.
A colossal fist that filled my entire field of vision.
And on it, I could see the countless scars carved into her skin.
If her fist alone bore this many, what on earth did the rest of her body look like...
"You probably feel reasonably confident about your Will, but as far as I can tell, it's nothing but soft, fluffy cotton candy. To put it harshly — it's weaker than Lena's. That girl's been through so much hardship as a kid that her Will is actually pretty solid."
"...!"
A devastating verdict.
Deep down, a large scratch raked across the pride of a man who had always been confident in his own abilities.
Weaker Will than a child? Really?
But a powerhouse like Kaya had no reason to lie to me.
...
I took a few deep breaths and steadied myself.
There was no point getting angry at being called weaker than Lena.
If something was lacking, you simply filled it in.
Wasn't that the whole reason I'd requested lessons from Kaya in the first place — to get exactly this kind of advice?
I asked her openly and honestly for guidance.
"This Will — what exactly is it?"
"It's a concept that's hard to pin down in a single phrase. If I had to put it into words... let's call it the trajectory of everything you've built up over the course of your life."
"I'm... not sure I follow."
"Well, seeing it once beats hearing about it a hundred times. I'll show you specially, so watch closely."
CRUUUUNCH!
Kaya clenched the fist she'd been holding in front of my eyes even harder.
From that alone, the air trapped inside came rushing out, producing a sound like bones snapping.
The calluses and muscle embedded in her rough hands rippled, asserting their presence.
But none of that physical spectacle was the important part.
Fsshhh—
In that instant, my keen, exquisitely precise senses went on strike.
The everyday scenery of the training grounds with its ochre dirt vanished from sight.
Kaya's face, wearing its smug expression, disappeared too.
The pleasant breeze, and the scent of flowers carried on it, faded from memory.
The only things left in this world were me... and Kaya's fist.
'...I can FEEL it! The Will!'
I knew better than anyone how absurd that sounded.
But the fist before my eyes was no longer just a fist.
It was something — something that held Kaya's life... the entire life of the Fist King.
I could feel it: a destructive conviction that would smash through anything that dared to stand in its way!
Zzzzzrrr...
A chill that began at the base of my spine spread goosebumps across my whole body.
Awe. Kaya's fist was brimming with something that could move the human heart.
So this was Will... As if possessed, I reached out to touch Kaya's fist.
Even knowing full well how dangerous that would be.
SMACK!
"Whoops — touching it is dangerous, you know."
But at that one wry remark from Kaya, the entire world snapped back to normal.
What in the world had just happened?
I stood there awkwardly, my hand still extended.
...
Kaya gave me a moment to collect myself.
I shook my head from side to side, pinched every inch of my body, and — when that wasn't enough — dumped the cold water Lena had rushed over onto my head before I finally managed to think rationally again.
That floating, unmoored feeling gave way to reality, anchoring me back in the present.
The sensation of Lena's worried fingers tracing my palm came back to me all over again.
"Unni, what did you do to Mister?"
"I showed her the destination she'll reach someday. So? What did you think?"
"...It was amazing."
I answered Kaya — who was asking with an utterly satisfied look on her face — in a clumsy, halting voice.
'"It was amazing"? Seriously? My brain's still not working right, spitting out pathetic little words like that — I could curse it.'
What Kaya had shown me was something far greater than that... something beyond the reach of language...
SNAP!
"Snap out of it. What you saw was nothing special."
Ugh, it seemed my mind had briefly gone on another trip.
The sound of Kaya snapping her fingers pulled me back into reality.
Pressing down on my muddled head, I spoke.
"Nothing special? That?"
"To put a coat of varnish on my own reputation — all you did was taste a higher dimension of perception for a moment. This isn't some divine ability. It's simply Will, nothing more."
"All this time, I thought Will was something rather abstract..."
At best, I'd treated it as an accessory — something that could reinforce the movement of mana. A secondary component required for casting intricate mana-based techniques like sword aura.
I had been wrong.
"A lot of people make that mistake. Where in everyday life would a Master kindly demonstrate his power for you? That's the kind of thing only possible within a master-disciple relationship. Consider it an honor."
"Truly, it is... I feel like the way I see the world has changed. Thank you."
"Hmm. What a boring reaction."
I bowed my head in respect to Kaya, who had shown me the utmost kindness despite refusing to be called my teacher.
Perhaps embarrassed, she scratched her head for no particular reason.
Reflecting on myself, I said to her:
"I understand now what you meant about my Will being lacking. I suppose it's because I never faced enough hardship on my way to my current level."
"Right. I never had kind healer comrades, or obedient, cooperative mana. I even got swindled a few times and lost all my money. The only thing I could rely on was this serviceable body of mine. Ah — granted, my circumstances were still far better than most people's."
"...So in the end, you're saying I need hardship to advance further than I am now?"
"No, no. That's far too ignorant a way to think."
Tsk tsk. Kaya clicked her tongue and wagged her finger side to side.
It felt a little strange hearing that from a person who seemed to be the most unlearned soul on the planet.
Keeping that thought to myself, I continued to listen attentively.
"If sheer suffering alone made people's Will strong, then every powerhouse in the world would have to have come out of the slums, wouldn't they?"
"Ah... now that you mention it, that's true."
"Will isn't so simplistic. It's a far more composite thing, shaped by many different factors. But... there are proven training methods. The nobles make liberal use of them."
"Oho, and what would that be?"
"This."
FWIPFWIPFWIPFWIP-SHHK!
"Guhk!"
Just how many times was she going to repeat the exact same routine?
Once again, without a word of explanation, Kaya swung her hand, jabbing needles of mana into various points across my body.
There wasn't much pain, but... because the attack (?) was bizarrely concentrated around my chest, I found it hard to breathe.
"Haa... huu... now what is...?"
"I've temporarily sealed your mana. It's going to feel strange."
"...I'm sorry, what?"
My aura, which had always moved as one with my body, was dead quiet.
No — beyond quiet. It felt like a lake that had endured a years-long drought, parched to the point of cracking dry.
Even my Inner Heart had gone completely silent.
My body itself was perfectly fine... but with the constant, around-the-clock reinforcement of my aura gone, I felt like I'd been reduced to a helpless civilian again.
"...Point-Strike? Acupoint sealing?"
"Oh? That's a good name. You've got decent taste for naming things."
"Never mind the name! When does this come OFF? It's not permanent, right??"
Half-panicking, I pressed Kaya for answers.
Considering my entire previous life, the overwhelming majority of my time had been spent living without aura... but now that it was gone, I felt anxious, like a fish suddenly tossed out of water.
Kaya replied with an easy smile.
"Weren't you listening a minute ago? I said it was temporary. Even if we just leave it alone, it should come undone in about a month."
"A month is way too long — AH! I have a commission to take in two days!!"
"You have a commission?"
"Yes! And a very important one, at that—"
"Perfect. All the more desperate for you, then."
"...I'm sorry, what?"
She's joking, right?
I stared at Kaya, pleading with everything I had.
But she only flashed me a wide grin, baring her pearly white teeth.