chapter 55- The art of mastery

Weaving my body like a carp in a river dodging rocks and pebbles, I did the same. I didn't need to be fancy, but that didn't mean I couldn't still be graceful and nimble. My attacks didn't need to be full of strength but control. I could be gentle, but I could also be rough. My force control was improving, my balance was improving.

No more stumbling and falling on my feet. This was no longer a dance, as I switched to poking and stabbing motions, my techniques relying on timing, speed, and precision.

Changing, I went from swinging randomly, not so graceful this time. I was aggressive. This stance was used to kill, to harm my opponent, aiming at the body, striking the heart if given the chance.

My last stance, changing to a dodge and weaving, striking at my imaginary opponent that I had envisioned a few moments ago. I wasn't striking at the illusion's body but avoiding the sword slashes swinging at me. This image of an illusion was the one I envisioned of the dark knight. I wasn't technically fighting but more of a duel of skill, striking at the invisible blade, and dodging at the last second.

I didn't know what had come over me. I was fighting my own mind, yet I was losing. Now that I think of it, it would only be logical since I reached my teenage years. My thoughts were not my own. I became impulsive, immature, and reckless. I was constantly fighting my own ego, my own demons, a voice in my head telling me negative things. I was in a dark place back then, joking and using destructive ways to ignore those thoughts, only to realize I was actually listening to those thoughts since the first day, my past was full of hate for my own actions.

For once, I allowed my heart to become my thoughts, my voice. I allowed myself to scream once more, to shout, "I need help."

I stopped overthinking and having mind wars with myself. 

Like what I was doing right now, I took the phantom duel to the edges of the arena.

The thought of me not being a fighter was wrong. I was thinking in the wrong way. That shouldn't be the way I view life. I have been fighting all my life. Using daggers, and my fists and feet were no different than using my will and heart.

Emotion fueled my actions, as I kept attacking and not dodging, my arms over my arms as the continuous strikes kept striking and retracting over each other.

Aim at the blind spot, strike where they can't see. That is my way, my style, to them it seems invisible, but in a magician's terms, it would be called sleight of hand, gathering their attention to one spot, then delivering your final act with your other hand, simple on paper but hard in practice.

My fighting wasn't flawless. My leadership wasn't flawless. I wasn't flawless. I would know. I probably was the most flawed person I would know, maybe that was my strength. I knew when to spot a flaw and use it. In my eyes, I would notice the smallest detail, seeing them as imperfect, but over the course of many years of my life, I started seeing the beauty in imperfections, its essence.

I dodged the blade in the middle of my thoughts, with speed outmatching the dark knight. I struck at its vacant eye sockets as it disappeared. My mind dismissed that illusion, but my actions destroyed that illusion.

My sweat rolled down the tip of the daggers, dropping to the ground as it made a sound echoing in the chambers.

My body sweating and puffing out mist, I really let myself go, but I also let my worries go.

I stood in a normal stance now, my daggers now dispersing, my hands no longer in a fist motion.

I wasn't free just yet. I still had many things worrying me, but it would no longer affect me right now.

[You have grasped the nature of not only your blade but also your heart. Break that barrier for you have just reached a threshold next step to open the gate.]

Was that the gate to the next level, the gate to transcendence? I felt a profound shift within me, as if I had unlocked some hidden potential.

"I felt like I had just practiced a quarter of my life with those daggers. No, stop, I might even outmatch a seasoned weapons master now," I said, marveling at my newfound skills.

"Sorry, I got carried away, but I promise I won't be playing dancing bears any longer. Rest is what we need."

"No, no wait, how did you do that? What was that?" Max asked, eyes wide with disbelief.

I chuckled. "I'm starting to see things differently now, so you could call it enlightening myself, or whatever you want."

"You're a Kungfu expert now? You gonna teach us?" Tommy suggested with a grin.

"I'll try if you want, but I'm not good at coaching," I warned them.

What ensued was an endless stream of hurtful comments and laughter as the two kept falling over their own legs, trying and failing to mimic my fluid movements and stances. But if they learned anything, it was the fundamentals - dodge, retreat, strike.

As the laughter died down, I leveled them with a serious look. "Look, we don't have long until the next trial. Be on your top game. I don't want a repeat of last time. We'll first analyze the room, then we'll strategize on what's best. We won't split up this time. Tommy, you'll tank. I'll be offense, the warrior. And Max, you're on support. We all need to be on the same page?"

"Question, big boss," Max piped up. "Should we prep any items beforehand?"

I nodded at the wise query. "Good question. Tommy, you're with your usual setup. Max, this time use your main weapon. I need that spear ready to defend us if needed."

Max hadn't used his signature spear in a long time, since brute force hadn't been necessary until now. The spear was the same legendary rank as my daggers, with an ominous description about being a replica of a holy relic that once cured blindness - but this failed copy inflicted it instead. A deadly weapon, if used right.

It could have turned the tide against that beholder, but it was too heavy and awkward for Tommy or me to quickly trigger the effect, which required skin contact. No use against the dark knight either. But that didn't diminish the spear's strength - the more powerful the enemy, the shorter the blindness lasted.

"Look, be ready," I told them firmly. "Don't lose hope just yet, because just know I believe in you two, whether you like it or not."

Once we were prepared, the timer in the air hit zero, and the gate before us shimmered open, ready to reveal what new challenges awaited.