15
In order to develop a technique, one must first have a rudimentary understanding of the Essence type they are working with. Once that is accomplished, you must then visualize what you would like the technique to do. If it behaves according to the nature of your chosen Path, the essence will comply with your wishes. If it does not, the results can be disastrous or even outright deadly.
Roy took another slow sip from his steaming cup. He was sitting cross-legged with his back against a tree, its wide, leafy branches keeping the harsh sunlight at bay. He’d finished eating lunch about half an hour before and was now studying the book on cultivation. Surprisingly enough, there were some sections that didn’t primarily focus on Water Essence, and this was one of them.
If the book was to be believed, Roy first had to understand the nature of his chosen Path. That meant that he needed to understand what role Power Essence played in the world, and how it would affect the surroundings as a result.
He was confused, because with any of the elemental Essence types, it was clear and easy, even with Light and Darkness. But with Power and Weakness, he was having a much harder time.
If he equated Power Essence to force, did that mean that it affected gravity itself? He could just as easily make the same argument for Weakness Essence. The same was said if he thought of Power as momentum, strength, force, or any other aspect that might fall under that category. The truth was, that in any given situation, Weakness fit just as well as Power.
Roy sat bolt upright at that, his mind whirling with possibilities. All the other Paths were tangible there and had a noticeable effect on the world around them. Perhaps he’d been thinking too literally. Power and Weakness were all in the eyes of the beholder. What one person thought of as Power, another might view as Weakness, so maybe, the Essence of Power was what he thought of as Power.
Excited by the prospect, Roy shot to his feet, leaving the book lying on the ground. Ferry lifted her head as he rose, her tail thumping excitedly on the ground.
“Sorry, girl, but I’m heading back into the Dungeon. You’ll have to wait out here.”
Geon had been very adamant about that. Since Ferry had been created by him, the Dungeon would view her as a rival, sent in to destroy it. It would then send its full might against them in an attempt to eradicate the invader. Since that was something which Roy was trying to avoid, he had to make sure she didn’t follow him in.
Ferry’s tail stopped thumping, and she put her head down with a sad sigh. Roy felt guilty leaving her out here but consoled himself with the fact that once he got this down, he would have a much easier time handling himself. That would mean being able to move on all the more quickly.
“Oh, back to the Dungeon for some more training?” Geon asked as Roy got to his feet on the other side of the portal.
“Yes. I think I’ve finally got a handle on things. I’m going to try an develop a technique.”
“Ooohh, how exciting!” Geon answered as Roy headed back to the shaded area. “I think I’d better pay attention to this. I don’t want you to lose a hand or anything.”
Roy let out a snort at that, but otherwise ignored the Dungeon core. Inwardly, he was glad that Geon would be watching. He wasn’t sure if his theory was correct, so it would help to have someone experienced to have his back. There was something that was bothering him about the Dungeon, and he decided to ask Geon about it.
“I haven’t run into a single Beast today. Do you have any idea as to why?”
“Yes, actually. As you may have noticed, this isn’t exactly a large Dungeon. And, as I mentioned before, the strongest Beasts you’ll be fighting will be at the White level. This means that the core controlling this place is just as weak. Creating Beasts like the ones you killed takes a whole lot of Essence, more than a Dungeon of this level can recover in a single day. You’ll be lucky if we see another one by the end of the week!”
“Then what was all that about Ferry not being able to come in here then?”
“Well…The truth is that I just don’t want her coming in here. If she died, this Dungeon would gain her blueprint and be able to make more of her. Can you imagine having to face a Ferry that doesn’t like you?”
Roy shivered at that, deciding that Geon was probably right. He also didn’t mind the fact that no Beasts would be showing up for a couple of days. Despite his resolve not to shy away from death, he still didn’t relish the idea of killing again. He knew he would do it when the time came, but that didn’t mean he was looking forward to it. This also meant that he would have another two days of uninterrupted training and cycling. Perhaps he’d even be able to push to 1st Dan by then.
He shook himself from his thoughts, instead focusing in on his core. Now was not the time to think about that. Now was the time to focus on developing his first Physical technique. He fell easily into the breathing pattern shown by the parchment and focused inward on his core, then concentrated on what he wanted to happen.
To him, Power Essence personified many things, but one thing above all. Overwhelming strength. Power, in a word, was power; the power to overwhelm your opponents, the power to defend oneself, and the power to take revenge. For his Physical technique, Roy pictured himself throwing a punch with the strength of ten.
The glowing Essence around his fists would solidify and form tightly around them, lending him the extra power he needed for the attack. It would deliver all the force and momentum of someone ten times as strong as him.
Sweat beaded his brow as he began cycling Essence to his hands, clenching them into fists and concentrating on getting them to hold the shape he desired. Instead of following his wishes, however, the Essence that coated his fists began to destabilize immediately.
“Um, Geon, what’s happening?” Roy asked, beginning to panic as he was unable to cut off the flow of Essence from his core.
The attack just kept growing and growing, the Essence beginning to lash out at his surroundings.
“How should I know? What exactly were you trying to do?” Geon replied.
Roy was beginning to feel faint as the tingling in his hands intensified. His core had nearly been drained dry, and his attack was still charging.
“I visualized an attack that would make me ten times stronger.”
“Well, of course, this was going to happen, you idiot!” Geon berated him as arcs of Power Essence began lashing out violently at his surroundings. “No White-Belt can hold that type of technique together. You don’t have the Essence or control to handle it!”
“Well, what do I do?” he asked, now panicking as a stray bolt of Essence hit the tree and sheered right through it.
“I don’t know…Point it away from yourself and hope you don’t die?” Geon responded unhelpfully.
Roy’s core was completely dry at this point, and the attack had thankfully stopped building in strength. The problem he had now was that he was holding enough destructive force to obliterate himself, and he had no idea what to do with it.
It was already extremely unstable, and he wasn’t even sure that he could control it enough to send it away from himself. There had to be something he could do, some way of stopping this from ending with his early demise…
He began running towards the ocean. Some Power Essence had managed to regenerate, and if he could somehow take control of that, he would have a chance, albeit a slim one. Essence arced from his palms as he ran, some scorching lines in the sand, while others sent up small explosions. Other still compressed the sand into balls, and some forced the sand away.
Roy watched in fascination as he saw all the different ways the Essence was effecting his surroundings. He would have to store that information away for later use. For now, though, he had to save himself from certain death.