Chapter 12: The Unexpected Teacher.
He was now close to the flower. Its roots clung tightly to the cliff face. Takeshi reached out, pulling the flower out with great force. Takeshi was overjoyed, but his arms were trembling from the strain.
Airi, watching from above, knew this. Airi was extremely worried, a sense of dread enveloping her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about Takeshi falling. Airi shouted loudly.
"Hurry up, Takeshi, you're going to fall!"
He tucked the flower inside his shirt collar, which he had tucked into his trousers. His shirt now acted like a large pouch. Although the roots still had dirt, small pebbles had fallen against his skin. But Takeshi didn't care. He needed to climb up quickly, but his body was responding in the opposite way.
His muscles were aching badly. But his will was not. He climbed slowly with his exhausted body. A small wind blew, pushing him to one side. It was as if nature wanted him to die here. The wind grew stronger. Airi immediately grabbed the rope, trying to pull it up.
Finally, Takeshi climbed back up. He collapsed onto the ground, panting continuously, unable to open his eyes. Taking the flower out from inside his shirt, Takeshi slowly opened his eyes, gazed intently at the flower, and smiled.
Airi quickly ran over, her face and eyes filled with worry. "It's good that you're safe. I thought you wouldn't make it up."
Takeshi laughed loudly. "Haha, how could I die? I still want to live a lot."
SCENE CHANGE.
Kazuka was sitting with Aiko, eating buns in the yard, shaded by a very large tree. He was looking forward to someone. He kept looking towards the door of a small house. Suddenly, Kuroha walked out in a different, more practical outfit, like that of an adventurer.
Kuroha, in her black and red outfit, also exuded a certain aura. Kazuka's face lit up with joy, and he ran closer, still holding his bun.
"Are you ready, Sis? Let's go train!"
Kuroha smiled. "Alright, let's go to the training ground. Aiko, may we borrow the training yard for a bit?"
Aiko was drinking tea with a sense of enjoyment. She set her teacup down and looked at the two of them with her usual gentle gaze.
"Huh? You don't need to ask? Kazuka trains there every day anyway. Feel free."
Kuroha's grateful expression was evident. "Then, goodbye, Aiko."
Kazuka was sitting cross-legged on the ground, looking at Kuroha. "So, shall we begin, Sis?"
"Alright."
"Then, I'll briefly explain Energy to make it easier for you to understand."
"Energy exists all around us. It is the primordial source of all power in this world. It exists in the sky, the earth, humans, other living creatures, and various forms of matter."
"Energy exists within our bodies. It resides in every part, and each organ is like a large container of energy. Besides the organs, it's still inside us but in smaller quantities. Notably, even the bones contain energy. In general, you just need to understand that the organs of the body are places that hold a lot of energy."
"You can control energy outside your body to protect yourself or project it outward as a long-range attack."
Saying that, Kuroha demonstrated by creating a green source of energy to surround her body.
"This is for defense. If an opponent launches a powerful energy attack, we can reduce the damage from that blow."
Then, Kuroha gathered several orbs of energy and launched them toward the straw dummies on the right, causing them to explode.
"This is for attack. If you use more energy, the force will be greater."
Kazuka became excited. "Woahh, that's great! Explain quickly, and then we'll start learning right away!"
Kuroha nodded. "Alright, but you need to listen to everything I say first."
"Yes."
"You can also transmit energy into a weapon to make it harder and less likely to break."
"And you need to pay special attention to this."
"The amount of energy you can release outside your body is called the Energy Gate (Cửa năng lượng), and the amount of energy you accumulate inside your body is called the Energy Well (Giếng năng lượng)."
"You can use various types of crystal stones or certain flowers and medicines to enhance your body's energy capacity."
"The size of the Energy Gate varies from person to person, but you can train to expand your Energy Gate. This will help you launch attacks with a large amount of energy, enough to threaten an opponent."
"You need to know that in all battles, people protect their bodies with energy. Therefore, if the opponent is too weak, even if they strike the enemy, it might be as if nothing happened, with not even a scratch on the body."
"There are two ways to attack an opponent."
"The first way is to launch attacks accompanied by a large source of energy, causing physical damage to the opponent. This is the most common method."
"The second way is, if you are confident in your Energy Gate, you can launch an attack with an extremely large source of energy. If the attack hits, your energy will penetrate the opponent's body and then blast their energy outwards."
"And when you run out of energy, you can no longer fight. But this is the least used method, as it is like a game of chance."
"However, you can also allow a small amount of your energy to penetrate the opponent's body to disrupt the energy within them. This creates an opportunity for a counterattack, as the opponent will be busy pushing the invading energy out."
"Woahh, that's amazing, Sis! But I have one question: why do you know so much, but you didn't fight back against the slave catchers?"
Kuroha forced a smile, her face clearly showing sadness. "Well, of course, they had people who were stronger. Not to mention they also had those chains that disrupt energy. So I was helpless."
"Oh, I see. So, are you done explaining? Please teach me now!"
A scene appeared in Kuroha's mind. It was a forest, seemingly an Elf forest. This was a small group of Elves. However, they were still under the control of the Elf King.
Kuroha was running far away from the base of this Elf group. Her face held excitement, her eyes curious about what was ahead.
"Woahh, here it is, mushrooms! I haven't eaten this kind of mushroom in a long time."
While picking mushrooms, Kuroha heard a strange noise behind a bush. Moving closer, she saw a group of over 20 people walking together. Many of One man walked right behind a tall, muscular man who also had scars all over his body. His head was bald.
"Haha, Boss, this time I must catch an Elf to be my servant!"
The whole group laughed loudly. A man walking behind teased him. "Don't use too much force, or that Elf girl will faint, haha!"
The whole group laughed even louder.
After hearing the conversation, Kuroha's face was horrified. She quickly turned and ran into the distance. "Damn it, they are slave traders. I need to go back and warn everyone."
One of the slave traders showed a sly smile. "Boss, we have prey already."
The Boss also smiled and waved his hand. Four men immediately ran off to chase Kuroha. Feeling someone chasing her, she looked back. The four men were close behind.
Sensing that continuing to run would lead them to where the whole village was, Kuroha stopped. The four slave traders surrounded her.
One of them laughed loudly. "Oh, this girl is pretty. She'll fetch a high price."
Kuroha immediately used energy to shoot orbs at the four slave traders. They drew their swords and blocked the attack. The orbs collided with the swords, causing them to explode and emit smoke.
She seized the opportunity, using her energy to form a long, sword-like point around her hand. She attacked one of them, but he backed away and managed to dodge.
"You're quite aggressive, girl!"
Two others rushed in and tried to slash her from above, but she reinforced her legs with energy and dodged quickly to the right of the remaining man. She launched a stab, but his sword blocked it. A kick was unleashed, sending him flying far away.
Two energy slashes from another man flew towards her, separated by a distance. Kuroha dodged the first blow and blocked the second with her energy sword. But the two other men had circled behind her and were attempting a surprise attack. However, Kuroha placed both hands on the ground and kicked her feet backward. The kick hit the stomachs of the two men, sending them flying away.
The first man she had sent flying returned, bringing a more powerful energy slash. Kuroha managed to block it but was exhausted, then tossed him away. Fighting four men at once, Kuroha was slowly running out of energy.
Another man lunged forward, but Kuroha dodged and sliced off his right arm, which was holding the sword. He fell to the ground, screaming loudly. "Aaaa... my arm!"
But suddenly, an extremely powerful horizontal slash flew in from a distance. Trees in its path were easily cut down. Kuroha did not realize it was flying right behind her. The slash struck her back. Her eyes widened in shock, blood spurted from her mouth, and she was sent flying a distance.
Lying on the ground, her vision blurred. She only saw tall figures surrounding her. A loud voice among them struck fear into everyone. The Boss stepped forward, holding a large saber in his hand. He was the one who had delivered the last slash.
"Are you all idiots? You couldn't even handle one Elf!"
Kazuka was holding Kuroha's hand, his face worried. "Hey, Sis? What's wrong with you? You look spaced out."
Kuroha's mind returned to the present. She looked down at Kazuka and gave him a bright smile. "Oh, I'm fine. So, I'll teach you now, okay?"
Kazuka was sitting cross-legged, eyes closed with great concentration. Kuroha walked around to observe.
"First, you need to maintain a high level of concentration. Then, feel your surroundings, and use the pores on your body to absorb energy inward, then regulate it."
"This is your first time, so you'll feel uncomfortable absorbing energy into your body, but maintain your focus."