Chapter 55: The Difference

“Hit me,” Jorg said, his voice commanding.

“What?” Makun was flabbergasted.

Where did this come from? Why now, all of a sudden? And could he even hit someone like Jorg to begin with?

Makun stood, his knees buckling under the pressure emitted by Jorg, confused by the series of events. He had no idea where he was, no idea who those three were, no idea who this giant was.

For all he knew, they could be from the Hollow Court mentioned by Zuri.

“You’re a Warrior now. Hit me,” Jorg pressed.

The weight of the pressure in the room increased. Makun felt like if he did not do what the giant told him, he was going to end up falling unconscious.

Makun slowly closed his eyes, recalling the set of images that appeared in his head earlier during meditation. Then.

Fwooosh.

He rushed forward, flexing his leg muscles with maximum efficiency. He was fast, faster than a normal human.

His spiritual energy, Ashe churned in his body enhancing his speed.

He had thought his actions out and knew he was going to shoot for the liver once in range.

However.

Tmp. Tmp. Tm… T… th…

Three meters away from Jorg, his body slowed. It did not stop, it just became heavy.

He struggled to move and.

Tap.

His punch landed on Jorg’s chest. Weak. Like pushing through water.

Jorg stood there, unaffected. He slowly raised his hand and pushed.

Makun’s body flew backward, fast, too fast. The air ripped past his face. His back slammed into the stone wall with a sickening crunch. The impact rattled his ribs, drove the breath from his lungs. Pain exploded across his spine. Blood filled his mouth, hot and metallic, and he spat it out, red streaking across the floor as he collapsed to his knees.

“Again,” Jorg said.

Makun stood slowly, wiping the blood off his mouth. He did not understand what happened just then.

Why did I suddenly slow down? he thought. If I cannot reach him at full speed, how can I hit him?

He shook his head and decided to try again. This time, however, Makun circled. He tried a different angle.

Flash, then he lunged, hoping to connect his raised fist.

However.

Tmp. Tmp. Tm… T… th…

Same thing. Three meters. Weight pressed down on him. His legs dragged and his punch lost power.

Before Jorg could push him, Makun stumbled back, breathing hard.

He could now connect the pieces together. It was obvious Jorg was a warrior, and his sub-route seemed to be related to gravity.

“What are you doing?” Makun asked.

“Teaching you,” Jorg said.

Teaching me? Teaching me?

Once again Makun was flabbergasted. He had not said anything constructive ever since they entered here. The only thing he said was drink this, follow me, hit me, again.

Is that how you are teaching me? Makuns fustration from everything that happened to him till now was bubbling up. Yet again someone who did whatever they wanted with him

“How am I learning?” Makun raised his doubts.

Jorg looked at him deeply, then asked a question. “Tell me how you could not hit me at full power?”

Why I could not hit you? Maybe because I goddamn slowed down, he thought sarcastically in his head.

“Because you affected the environment in such a way that made me lose my power,” Makun concluded.

“You… just became a warrior, so when I asked you to hit me, what happened?” Jorg continued. “You probably made use of your new set of memories. You moved well, however there is a difference between you and me.”

“The difference? I made use of my body, while you controlled the environment, right?” Makun asked, expecting it to be correct.

“Exactly.” Jorg nodded, approving the answer. “After awakening as a first-grade Initiate Warrior, your first set of memories is usually what everyone else has. Movements. Use of muscles. Momentum. How to enhance your body with Ashe.”

“That is the foundation. Every warrior in the universe understands their body. If you don’t know your body, how can you be a warrior?”

“Attack me again,” Jorg said.

Makun, who now understood Jorg really wanted to teach him, decided to give it his all.

He closed his eyes, sensing his Route Core pulsing in total asynchrony to his heart. He tried controlling it. Maybe if he made it pulse faster, his movements were going to be faster.

Makun inhaled slowly, focused on the Route Core. He tried to will it to speed up.

Churn. Churn. Churn.

It first resisted. It was like trying to speed up your heartbeat by thinking about it. It was possible, but you could only achieve that indirectly. The body has its own rhythm.

Makun pushed harder. He visualized the Route Core spinning faster, pulsing quicker, flooding his body with more Ashe.

Churn. Churn. Churn. Chur… churn.

It worked.

The pulse quickened. Ashe surged through the spiritual veins faster, hotter, thicker.

Makun opened his eyes, locked on the target. Then darted, at a speed no normal first-grade Initiate should.

Jorg’s eyes narrowed. Yime’s assessment was definitely not for nothing.

Jorg raised one hand. Palm up.

Makun could see in real time the air in the room changing. Even before entering the zone of three meters, he felt like a mountain was crushing down.

The weight multiplied, Doubled, Tripled.

His legs buckled beneath him, knees slamming into the stone floor. The pressure bore down on his shoulders, his spine, his skull.

The Ashe circulating through his body snuffed out, its flow strangled by the crushing force. His chest collapsed forward. His face hit the ground.

Splurt!

Blood surged up his throat and burst from his mouth, splattering across the stone.

“But me, after advancing, when I extend my will into the space around me, I do not just push Ashe outward. I densify the atoms in that space. Made them heavier. Closer together. The air itself became thicker.”

“How did I achieve that?” Jorg pointed at his body. “Because I surpassed those basic comprehensions. Because I understood something deeper. Reality is not solid. It is not fixed. At the fundamental level, everything is made of atoms, particles, and vibrations. Afterwards, I integrated those comprehensions into my sub-route.” He continued. “Now I can influence reality.”

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