Chapter 4: For True Strength To Bloom, Bones Must Break

“You’re going to learn how to stabilize your resonance state.”

The meat hung loosely from Aden’s mouth as he heard those words.

“How did you know I awakened?” he asked skeptically.

The man’s expression remained unreadable as he sharpened a piece of wood. “I watched you.”

Aden’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “For how long?”

“Catch.”

Aden’s eyes widened to the limit as a sharpened branch, coated in a pale blue hue, flew towards him with a speed that could crack his skull.

He belatedly ducked and, luckily, the branch only tore out a handful of his silver hair.

“Ouch!” Aden protested. “You could’ve killed me!”

The man’s expression didn’t change, but his eyes had that searching look that made Aden’s heart drop.

“Your body and mind are like a river that flows in two paths. Merge the two into one again, and you shall achieve great things.”

“What?” Aden asked with his head cocked in confusion.

“Stand,” he instructed. “Follow me.”

Aden silently followed him to a wide expanse of land just behind the cabin.

The cool wind blew the man’s long hair sideways as he watched Aden closely.

The calming rustle of the leaves and distant roars of beasts prevented the silence from being too deafening, and Aden grew discomforted at the stripping gaze of the man.

“If there’s something you want to know, you can ask,” Aden spoke, his thumb unconsciously rubbing the ring that rested on his index.

The man fixed his eyes on the ring for a split second before speaking.

“I’m having a bit of trouble determining your affinity.”

Aden shifted slightly from his position. “How can you determine my affinity just by staring?”

Something flickered in the man’s eyes. “I’m not just staring. I’m following your neural pathways and cross-referencing them against the known patterns for each affinity.”

Aden nodded understandingly.

’God, I wish this body studied a bit before dying. I’m tired of pretending I understand what’s going on.’

“But your pathways are too… formless,” he added, his face finally showing confusion. “They’re like water. We’ll need to test them the old-fashioned way.”

Aden suddenly had a bad feeling.

The man took a crouching stance, but it barely looked like he was bending due to his massive frame.

“We’re going to have a little sparring session.”

Aden’s heart fell to his stomach.

Him? Fight against that mountain of a man? He’d rather take his chances against the beasts in the jungle.

“I don’t think—”

“Don’t worry. You won’t be hurt… badly.”

Aden gulped when he heard the last part, but he knew he couldn’t refuse, so he took an awkward stance he recalled from the previous owner’s memories.

The man didn’t seem to mind his poor form as he gestured for him to attack.

Aden took a deep breath and tuned out any unnecessary thoughts.

’The first step to winning a battle is to first conquer your mind,’ he recalled.

With an exhale, he moved from his position and appeared before the man with his fist outstretched.

There was no sign of surprise on his face as he easily dodged the attack, his large palm pressing softly against Aden’s back as he did so.

Aden stumbled forward, a little breathless, but his eyes were firm.

“Do not trust what you see. Fill your mind with only anticipations of what could be, and act accordingly.”

With his hands behind his back, the man began his lecture whilst maneuvering and softly counter-attacking.

An hour passed, and Aden hadn’t gotten one hit in.

“Urgh!” he groaned in frustration as he was pushed to his knees for the umpteenth time.

The man’s face remained expressionless.

“Get up.”

Aden clenched his teeth. “I don’t see why. I can barely touch you, talk less of having control over my resonance state, or even knowing my affinity.”

The man’s face didn’t change as he slowly walked towards him.

Apprehension washing over him, Aden scurried back a little, only to be held in place by the man’s large arm as he knelt before him.

Aden looked squarely at his mentor’s obsidian eyes, his handsome features clearly reflected in them.

“You give up too easily. As expected from a noble.”

Aden’s stomach twisted at his mentor’s brutal honesty, and he turned his head away with a wronged expression.

“I’m not delusional enough to think I can touch you,” he muttered quietly.

“The goal wasn’t to touch me,” he stood up as he spoke. “It was to push the limits on your adaptability.”

Aden’s mind went blank.

“What? I thought we wanted to know my affinity?”

“Initially, yes. That was the plan, but I noticed something while you charged at me blindly.”

Ignoring the remark, Aden asked eagerly, “What did you notice?”

“Your movements grew a little faster with every miss. Your attacks had more direction with every swipe. Your body reacted a millisecond faster to my taps, and your eyes followed and anticipated my moves better with every minute.”

His expression neutral, he pointed his callused finger at the bewildered Aden.

“If my assumptions are correct, your affinity would most likely be the same as your physical state—malleable.”

Aden’s heart rate increased, and his lips curved upwards imperceptibly.

“But I didn’t notice any of this,” he reasoned, though his mind subconsciously savored the compliments his mentor had given him.

“You were too focused on what was before you. You ignored what was happening within.”

Aden grew quiet at this realization.

“Be versatile. Be malleable. Be… water,” he continued.

Aden stood up and took his awkward stance once more, but this time there was no hesitance—only determination.

The man nodded in approval and waved him forward.

Aden dashed forward, his expression sharp.

His fist stretched towards his master’s chest with a new ferocity.

’He can’t possibly dodge this. He’s too big—!’

What happened next shocked Aden to his core.

His mentor’s massive body actually bent backwards with almost no difficulty, and as if that wasn’t enough, he still managed to land a kick behind his back, thrusting Aden into the soil.

“Khaak!” Aden gasped, the soil nearly infiltrating his nostrils.

“Get up,” he ordered.

Aden groaned in pain and peeled himself from the ground with great difficulty.

With a quiet whimper, Aden cracked the displaced bones and reassumed his stance.

Once again, Aden charged forward, but this time he didn’t go straight at him and instead moved in a zigzag manner.

’I might not get a hit in, but I should be able to master his muscle patterning and predict his movements better,’ Aden reasoned.

Aden could feel his mentor’s eyes follow him with every movement he made, but he wasn’t shaken.

A kick whizzed past his face with such force that it made his hair fly backwards.

His legs shifted—another kick aimed for his mentor’s chest—but this time a punch was already on the way to his face.

“Oh no…”

*Boom*

Aden’s body flew wildly and crashed into the back end of the cabin, the equipment that rested there scattered in different directions.

“I thought he said it wasn’t going to hurt…”

Aden complained with a wronged expression as he moved the butt of an axe off his groin with exaggerated care.

“Get up.”

Those words were akin to the devil’s whisper of damnation to Aden’s ears, and he found himself shivering uncontrollably.

“Gods of this world, hear my plea,” Aden whispered as he staggered to his feet.

His mentor stood ramrod straight as he awaited his return.

“Take your stance. We have a long way to go.”

Shivers ran up Aden’s spine with renewed intensity, and he involuntarily let out a gulp.

“I might lose my life before I master this power.”

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