Demon Wolf

“Senior Apprentice Brother Hillman!” one of Earth Pavilion’s countless female disciples called after Wolf.

Again? You’re the seventy-eighth since I came here two days ago. Don’t you guys have something better to do?

“Thank you for your interest. I decided to keep only three retainers for the time being.” He waved away yet another forgettable sycophant before the woman got to explain how she would protect his honor and chastity, and how her clan taught her to respect men ever since she was a little girl.

Instead of stopping to see one more imploring face, Wolf hurried towards the underground gymnasium Elder Dread had requisitioned for his private training sessions.

He entered the spacious cavern ten minutes early, yet the middle-aged woman already sat there, waiting for him in a meditative position.

“How was your Qi circulation exercise?” Eleanor asked without opening her eyes.

“Forcing Qi through my skeleton instead of freely circulating it through my body felt weird.” Wolf stretched, the spar he looked forward to the entire night was about to start.

I wonder how strong she really is? Outwardly, he revealed no sign of his disrespectful thoughts and continued explaining his difficulty. “Since bones don’t form a closed circuit, each has to have two opposite flows, and setting them up properly took a while.”

Eleanor cracked her eyes open and stood. “There’s no need to hide your true comprehension speed from me. If Ten will it, you will leave for another Earth Pavilion once Corpsewood closes. In the future, when you’re trying to conceal your power, be less uniform; everyone has preferences towards certain abilities and attributes. Meaning, do not take the same arbitrary amount of time to learn all techniques, vary it a bit.”

Eleanor paused, shooting Wolf a piercing glance, and unexpectedly, the young man lowered his gaze.

Satisfied with his demeanor, Eleanor continued, “I would suggest you fabricate an imaginary person with strengths and weaknesses; whenever you have to display your skill before people you distrust, mimic that persona. Consistency is the key to concealing your power. That’s all I have to say on the topic. Are you ready for the spar?”

“Yes.” Wolf hesitated, still looking at the ground before speaking. “And, thank you for the advice.”

“Don’t mention it. Now, I will use one to three percent of my Qi for strikes; however, I will move and evade with all my strength. Let me know when you’re ready.”

“I’m ready.” Wolf awakened his senses before finishing the sentence, and the relaxed woman pounced towards him.

As expected. She charged immediately. Most likely she wants to shock and awe. Wolf examined Elder Dread’s movement art in the dilated time-flow. I thought her dash would be candid, straight towards the target, yet her steps are full of feints so you can’t estimate where she would go. It doesn’t contain a whit of earth. Rather, it’s puffy and soft like the clouds.

Eleanor appeared before Wolf in a split second. Her fists moved in a maelstrom of punches, smeared into a blurred image to an untrained eye.

If her movement had the nature of air, then this wild, sharp flurry is like fire. Wolf dodged by retreating and keeping outside Eleanor’s reach. This reckless attack is full of openings. If the enemy is observant and competent, they can easily use those gaps to counterattack.

“Elemental Initiate’s Strikes fourth form; Fire.” Eleanor confirmed Wolf’s guess. “This attack forfeits precision and forethought, focusing on overwhelming the opponent—”

Wolf snapped his leg at Eleanor’s hip in a roundhouse kick, exploiting the wide opening. Suddenly, the elder’s furious conflagration became a tranquil lake. She gave up on attacking and raised her Qi-reinforced leg to block the kick. The overbearing physical might of Wolf’s blow disappeared, fluidly dispersed by Elder Dread’s flowing move.

Using the attacker’s power, she spun. Her slow, languid defense turned into a forceful blow surging towards Wolf like a tsunami.

Wolf blocked with crossed arms while Eleanor’s foot whipped towards him. Despite his overwhelming weight, the strike staggered him two steps back.

The blow rattled Eleanor as much as it did Wolf. She was certain she would floor the youth with her counterstrike, but his prodigious weight and resilience were terrifying. Enough for her to fumble for words.

A split second later, the Earth Pavilion’s chief elder gathered her bearings. “Elemental Initiate’s Strikes first form, Water.”

Like Eleanor, Wolf could not believe his opponent’s prowess. Her Qi is much richer than mine. By coating her arm with it, she nullified the advantage Star Body grants me. If she used her full power, she could probably kill that Lindworm with a slap or two.

“Let’s continue.” Eleanor advanced with the heavy finality of a rockslide. On her second step, she punched forth. The fist approaching Wolf’s chest lacked in speed compared to the furious onslaught of Eleanor’s first attack, however, the oppressive weight behind it matched that of mountain roots.

Deep, brown Qi coated the chief elder’s arm from fist to shoulder, obviously better resonating with this overbearing direct assault than it did with fire or water.

Even though it appears slower, this controlled strike is more difficult to dodge. Back home, I would’ve taken the hit and let her pulverize my body to deliver a mortal blow in a riposte. 

After a split second, Wolf chose not to clash head-on with Eleanor. He sprang sideways, relying on the attack’s rigid nature to get out of the way.

Unexpectedly, Eleanor twisted her hip, landing a solid strike on Wolf’s guard. Wolf lurched back a dozen steps, struggling to regain his balance. His arms went numb, then began throbbing as if a boulder had smashed into him.

“Elemental Initiate’s Strikes second form, Earth.” Eleanor explained, this time without losing her focus. “I’m much more proficient with it because I practiced it more, and my Qi is better suited for it.”

Yeah, I figured. If I didn’t have Unbreakable Bones, you would’ve fractured my ulna and radius. But even like this, my shoulders creaked.

Wolf nodded, signaling Eleanor he could continue with the spar, which had deteriorated into a demonstration. I’m not her match, and she knew it already. That’s why she turned what she expected would be a pummeling into a demo session.

“I apologize, earth and air are conflicting attributes, so my air techniques are lacking.” With those words, Eleanor charged towards Wolf once more.

Huh? Wolf stared in confusion for a split moment. The preparation he expected for the blow was nowhere to be found. Eleanor’s arms were relaxed, held in a flimsy guard as she closed the distance.

What is she doing? He found himself in an unfamiliar situation, and like in most foreign situations, Wolf instinctively took to offense.

He punched towards Eleanor’s chest, coating his fist with Qi. The expected block from Elder Dread’s flimsy guard never happened. Instead, her arms twisted and flowed around Wolf’s blow like smoke.

Eleanor pivoted her body sideways, grasping his wrist with one hand and placing the other beneath his armpit. She stepped into Wolf and the world suddenly spun around him.

What the hells? Wolf observed her upside-down face in slow motion, struggling to figure out what had happened. She used my force against me. She lifted me off the ground a bit and then my forward momentum did the rest.

As Wolf’s back neared the cavern floor, Eleanor followed his motion, still locking his arm. A weird smile marred her face before disappearing with a twitch.

What the hells? Ah, that’s it, Wolf thought before smashing against the floor with enough force to shake it. While he kept his consciousness, his vision blackened and his entire skeleton squeaked, bearing the sudden load of his near eight hundred kilos.

He gasped for breath, his mind rattled. A moment later, Wolf regained his eyesight, seeing Eleanor’s awkward face an arm’s length above him.

He drew a breath and scanned his body, confirming he had suffered no permanent damage.

“You cheated,” he said, recalling how Eleanor jerked, trying to lift him off ground until she finally succeeded a split second later.

“I did. I apologize, this counts as my loss.” Elder Dread admitted, then continued to the important point. “Are you injured?”

“I’m more or less fine. I’ll suffer some bruises, but that should be the worst of it.”

“No concussions? You’re not feeling nausea?”

“Relax. I’m guessing that was Elemental Initiate’s Strikes third form, Air?”

“Fifth form,” Eleanor corrected and helped Wolf stand before continuing. “And you don’t have to worry about others using grappling arts against you. For someone in your realm to succeed, it’s as likely as regular people plucking trees.”

Wolf gave her a dubious look. If Eleanor followed through with a lethal attack after knocking him out, she could have killed him.

I should train against grabs and holding techniques. I’ve never fought enemies who grappled rather than slashed and stabbed.

“Let’s continue. I’ll demonstrate the three remaining Elemental Initiate’s Strikes.” Eleanor paused for a moment, her face regaining that haughty, impassive note.

sleepydad88 Random Roll -

Spoiler

Well, the number of supplicants is thrice what I planned (78 on d100)

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