Chapter 419

"Where did you find this place?" Arthur asked, many hours - and one lunch of nasi lemak ayam later. That had been the highlight of the day so far, the coconut rice, the sambal, the ikan bilis and yes, even the fried chicken that had come with it all consumed within moments of arrival. He had ended up having four portions, surprised at how much his enhanced body could pack in. Even more, at the fact that he could sense a minor decrease in the on-going drain as he fileld up.

He would need to keep eating well, it seemed. Not a problem in Malaysia at least.

“After a bit of looking and asking around.” Elsa waved a hand at the empty room which stretched about twenty feet lengthwise and another twelve in width. “I think it was meant to be a meeting space; but no one ever put anything it it. Too far from the offices.”

I nodded, eyeing the room. Unfortunately the actual building itself had no gym or training rooms, what with the exit building meant to be a temporary holding area. Lots of cells and security in that sense, with a second floor further back to include offices and a few resting areas and places for guards to change their clothing and gear up. However, shifts were rotated often enough that there was no need for them to conduct training, since  this was a post.

So I was rather lucky to find a place that I could train at all. Of course, as I took the spear I carried off my shoulder and swung it upwards, I noted how the tip tapped the ceiling easily. A slight shift and the spear went sideways, sweeping inside the constraints of the room. Barely.

A step to either side or even an extension of the arm would see the spear smack into the wall. Not too bad if it was the butt – the entire building was built using bricks and mortar on the inside with a smoothened and painted outer wall – but if I hit it with the hardened spear tip, it would definitely tear a hole. At 17 Body; I was much stronger than a normal human; never mind the kind of force I could generate swinging my weapon around.

“Oh, it’s not big enough. I’m sorry, I…” Elsa looked distressed, wringing her hands together. “I can look again; but I really don’t think there is anything else.”

“It’s fine. Do you think we always get to choose where we fight?” Arthur said with a small smile. He brought the spear back towards his center line as he strolled into the center. “Training like this is actually good.” Then, he paused and added. “Just don’t charge me for any damages, eh?”

“I… boleh lah.” Her eyes crinkled. “I won’t tell.”

“Good.” Then dismissing her from his mind, knowing that asking her to leave was a bad idea and content with the knowledge she was being good and staying at the door itself, he began his routines.

He had not been lying, he really did need to train techniques to handle smaller distances. There were a couple of forms – and variations of forms – that he could practice and he did not do that often enough. So this was a good enough reason to practice.

A lot of these techniques fought from the center of the spear - utilizing it as much as a staff and the backhalf of the spear as the point. You could shift to single-handed techniques for quick stabs or spins around the body and utilizing the rotation speed of the spear around arms and shoulders to strike. At one point, they had even watched a few videos of people recreating techniques from the Middle East where they utilized shorter spears with shields, borrowing portions of the idea for their own styles or just to improve their own techniques.

Kow Sifu did not mind such mix and match, especially since many of his students studied these various techniques in an attempt to show him up - and land a blow. Mostly, though, they failed because as enthusiatic as they were, their Sifu still had decades of experience and wiliness behind him.

Though, Arthur could not help but wonder how he would fare now.

Spear singing through the air, the whip and hiss of the blade filling the room, accompanying the stamp and explosion of cloth with each punch, thrust and twist. These forms were not exclusive to the use of the spear itself - sometimes, the forms were just training techniques to teach him how to keep hold of his spear while he utilized his knees or elbows. One particular technique involved a short stop-thrust, a quick snap rotation to bring the back of the spear upwards, a dipping pull back of the same end of the spear to catch an extended foot and then, positioning the butt of the spear against his foot, letting it drop to the ground even as he stepped forward.

Timed correctly, it would drop the spear head forwards, both a distraction and a potential attack, even as he utilized his now free hands to snap out a series of strikes - or, depending on body positioning, to grab and yank body forward onto the falling tip. Of course, with no body involved, in this case, the spear fell forwards, to be caught on his left foot and then kicked back upwards.

It required a degree of precision and understanding of the body that was hard to acquire, and was one of the trickier techniques that Arthur had learnt. It was also, frankly, probably useless ninety nine percent of the time. So much of fighting - especially against monsters - involved the most basic of forms and strikes. There was very little need for complexity against creatures that had no guile in their own forms.

If not for their Tower enhanced reflexes, strength and the occassional strange variation or mutation; most of them would not be considered a threat at all. At least, once you understood how to do battle with them.

Babi ngepit - a giant boar? Set the spear when it charged, shuffle to the side if you could and put it into it's body at an angle. Be ready to jump outo f the way.

Monkeys? They jumped, screamed and otherwise tried to distract you, but their main mode of offense was throwing items or leaping at you to grapple, crush and beat with their hands. Much stronger than you would expect, they were, also prone to being in the air. Big, sweeping attacks striking them out of the air or as they began to set-up for a jump and keep cutting. 

Oh, and try to avoid the poo.

Moving plants with dangling ivy threads? Remember they didn't feel pain, take no chances and trim them down slowly. The spear was less useful than a machete at those points. Just cut and cut again till you got to the center - unless you could lodge an attack in there beforehand.

And that, of all the things he could train he would not. Not outside of the Tower. He could not cultivate, he could not - would not - use any of his techniques that utilized Tower or refined energy. After all, he was losing it every moment.

A small, noticeable drain; one that threatened to take his attention as he moved through his forms, as he sweated and panted, as he blurred through the air conditioned room, the hum of distant fans a background noise like the fluorescent lights above. Persistent, annoying, everyday urban life.

How noisy it had become, after months without it.

Was it a surprise to me then, when a voice cut through as I finished my latest routine, breaking my concentration? Not really. I was, however, curious what they had to say.

After all, the training had not entirely been for my own benefit alone.

“Well done, but do you intend to carry your spear with you in Malaysia? Because that would require a different kind of agreement.” A slight pause, and then Manager Kong added. “One we can help with, of course.”