The Trauma of the Flesh

  Kai’s recovery days drifted by slowly, but eventually, they came to an end. Fortunately, he had no further altercations with monsters during this time, and the respite allowed him to heal completely—physically at least, though mentally he was only halfway there. Still, Kai was ready for battle. Kai felt like he was going insane without a fight. It was as if combat had been rewritten into his very DNA; despite the few battles he had experienced, he had grown to depend on them. Without monsters to hunt or missions to complete, he simply didn't feel like himself anymore.

  Kai sat at his desk, hunched over in his chair, writing. He wasn't doing homework; he was keeping a journal. Within its pages, he recorded every mission he had undertaken so far—analyzing where he had stumbled, what mistakes he had made, and how he could improve. He was constantly strategizing, making plans for a future that no longer felt like a game. For Kai, this was now 100% real. As he sat there, lost in thought, a swirling portal of black and purple suddenly erupted beneath him. He plummeted into the Void, chair and all, only to find Mara standing before him.

  Kai immediately bowed before her, the weight of her rank pressing down on him. "Leader Mara," he began, "you mentioned you would train me. May I address you as Master?"

  Mara exhaled, looking slightly annoyed. "Kai, I’ll be training you for a while, though not forever. While we are training, I’d prefer you call me whatever you like and stop acting so formal. I may be a Leader, but your training—you yourself—are far too important for us to waste time on formalities."

  She paused, looking for the best way to explain their path forward. "Kai, you know Supreme leader Vaelin is dead. Kaelen will heal, and when he does, no one will be able to stop him. That burden now falls to you. That is why I am going to teach you the basics."

  To think the world will be in my hands one day, Kai thought bitterly. That one day, I’ll have to face that man or we all die. This isn't what I wanted...

  But he had no more time for reflection. Mara continued, "I assume Kaelen at least taught you that the more you are cut and beaten, the faster your body learns to heal. But this is where you can fail very easily. What he trained you to do is fine for a start, but there is a risk that your cells will regenerate too much. When that happens, it can result in diseases or conditions that the human world has no clue even exist. Kaelen and I were the only ones who could heal at a high level because we don't just 'heal' cells. It’s incredibly difficult, but you have to choose which cells you heal, rather than just accelerating the whole process. That is advanced, however, so your first lesson will be to strengthen your physical vessel. We will train your body so that you won't need to heal yourself so often. That’s why today, you will train without Jonk. Jonk only amplifies your body; the stronger the base, the stronger the reinforcement. To test both your body and your technique, we’ll start with a small sparring match."

  Kai looked visibly disappointed. I waited all this time to use my Jonk again, just to get beaten down without it, he thought.

  Mara threw a practice sword at him to snap him back to reality. "You can start, Kai. Attack whenever you’re ready."

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  Kai launched himself at her, moving at his maximum physical speed. However, Mara simply sidestepped and drove the hilt of her sword into his chest. Kai was dropped to his knees instantly. As he struggled to get back up, Mara spoke. "What you’re doing is predictable. You’re just propelling yourself forward at max speed. That might work if you're faster than your enemy, but against me, it's useless."

  I know it's predictable, Kai thought, gritting his teeth. But if I try to change direction at this speed, my joints will just tear themselves apart again.

  He decided to slow down slightly, trying to zigzag toward her to break her line of sight. Suddenly, his instincts flared. Something told him to move back. He took a single step back, and it was just enough to dodge Mara’s counter-strike. If that had hit me, this training would already be over with me face-down on the ground. Zigzagging is too predictable. Going straight is predictable. I have to close the distance, but how...

  Then, Mara attacked. It was a slow strike—Kai could see it coming and raised his sword to block it seconds in advance. But in that instant, Mara drove her sword into the ground and kicked Kai squarely in the head.

  Kai was sent reeling back, spitting blood. What was that? Who does that in a fight? he thought. It was bizarre. Kai had never seen anyone use a tactic like that in a duel. But Mara continued, her voice stern: "In a fight, monsters have no honor. They will attack with tentacles, with spears forged from their own existence—they will destroy themselves just to kill you. Remember that, Kai."

  Kai kept his guard up, and Mara pulled her sword from the earth. She attacked slowly again. Kai raised his guard, bracing himself for a punch or a kick. Is she going for a strike or a kick? I have to be careful, he thought. Kai was wrong. He had focused so much on her limbs that he completely forgot to watch the sword itself.

  As Kai was lost in strategy, Mara struck again. She hit him with the pommel of her sword, precisely where his scar was located. It wasn't a heavy blow, and it didn't cause massive pain, but that area was hyper-sensitive. Suddenly, Kai’s world froze.

  Why can't I move? No matter how much I force it, my body is completely paralyzed... What is happening? Kai thought frantically.

  Mara had the chance to end it right there, but this was a lesson. She was limiting herself to show him the path forward. "From what I’ve noticed, Kai, your body is terrified of that scar. Any attack that touches you there paralyzes you with fear. Unfortunately, I don't think that's going to go away easily. That’s why, Kai, you can no longer throw yourself into battle with your old style. You will have to completely readjust your defense to protect that spot."

  Kai forced himself, exerting every ounce of mental will, until he finally regained control of his limbs. He lunged forward to strike her, but the moment his practice sword made contact with Mara’s body, it shattered into pieces.

  "That’s enough for today," Mara said, looking at the broken wood. "You’ve just returned from a long break. We don't want to overwork your body... however, from now on, you will be doing this training daily."

  Kai was at a loss. He wondered if he was simply supposed to go home now that the training session was over. Would there be a mission? He opened his mouth to ask Mara, but before he could speak or even collect his thoughts, she spoke first.

  "Kai, I am a Leader," she said flatly. "At the moment, I have two or three missions remaining that were established a long time ago. Because of that, I won't be able to train you personally for the next few days. Therefore, since I am your superior and I am in charge of your development, starting tomorrow, you will be the one training the new recruits."

  Kai blinked, stunned. Mara continued, "You are not allowed to injure them seriously. Try to play purely defensively; this will force you to strengthen the defense around your scar and sharpen your reflexes back to their peak form. Now, go home, Kai. Good work today."

  Mara opened a portal and unceremoniously shoved the chair that had come with Kai back through it, followed by Kai himself.