PERSONAL SPACE.

Shuu approached his cauldron but was halted by Bob. 

"I was told you have already started weighted training before you got here. Are those fancy bracelets your weights?" Bob asked as he palmed the bracelets on Shuu's wrists.

'I am not going to lie, this lad has a talent for getting on my nerves.' Shuu remained silent as Bob invaded his personal space so easily and was just touching whatever he wanted to touch. 

"Hmm… This won't do. How much does each weigh? No, don't answer that! You are still at the level of these wimps anyway, don't get cocky because the disciples say you managed to trip over senior Cheryl! Why don't you pair yourself with that giant of a failure over there, he should at least know the principles by now of how to go up and down the mountains without spilling a drop of water from your cauldrons." Bob chuckled then leaped away from his position and landed gracefully on a tree that overlooked the descent of the mountain where he could easily spot every student. 

Shuu saw him move in front of him but it still felt as if he didn't even make any effort at all to do that, it looked as if the wind lifted him! Shuu gained a little insight just from Bob's gesture alone.

'He may be annoying, but he has earned his salt to be called a senior in the clan. It's like as if he let the wind carry him but it still feels years behind the master's technique.' Shuu replayed what he had just seen in his mind a few times before meeting up with the tall blonde who was already getting impatient.

[New trait unlocked!]

[Passive learning (35%^)]

Shuu paid no heed to the recent notification on his system and hurried to meet blondie.

"Took your sweet time watching Bob's ass float away. What did he send you here for?" The blonde asked with a bored expression but his eyes remained sharp and glowed with a meaning only known to him.

"He wanted you to explain the principle behind carrying the cauldron and how not to spill a single drop during the exercise." Shuu asked as he a five-foot-eleven boy looked up to a hulking six-foot-six teenage giant in front of him with short blonde hair and a body filled with hardened muscles. He looked like he was flexing them but was in a state of calm. He wasn't too big but had enough muscle mass on him to make him look like the biggest outer disciple if not the biggest disciple in the clan. Most of the disciples were incredibly lean but healthy-maybe that was the physique that was required to learn the Emperor Wind techniques. But Shuu remembered Sachi having a lean bulk physique. 

"Alright, let's be quick. I'll watch you for one round-which is going up and down the mountain. Now, when you lift the cauldron, you feel the water in it sways from left to right aye? Well, it's up to you to be the calm in the storm. You dictate the flow of the water in the cauldron, not the other way around. Tch, you'd think this method of teaching is preferable for people learning water-related techniques but what do I know?" The blond sighed and spat on the ground but continued nonetheless.

"Anyway, you basically go with the flow but at the same time dictate the flow. Don't look at me like that, it's the same bull I was served here that I am dishing back to you!" The blond scowled at Shuu and then picked up his cauldron. His own in particular is bigger than the other outer disciples.

"Thank you. I am Tsukiyama Shuu." Shuu said awaiting a reply. 

The blonde normally snubs introductions and greetings like this but sensed that the one in front of him was filled with ambition, dreams, purpose, and clear goals to achieve. Almost everyone he knows has dreams and ambitions but he only ever felt purpose and goals from two people in his life.

The first was the master who picked him up from the streets, he was abandoned at birth and had to face the harsh realities of being a ghoul early on as a child. In fact, more than half of the disciples in the Emperor Wind Clan are children who were abandoned or ghouls constantly on the run from bounty hunters. 

The master saw him and offered him a place where he could be a better version of himself and never need to fear anybody again if he worked his hardest. His parents were foreigners on the run who happened to leave him behind before they were killed by bounty hunters. His life has been a tragic story so far. He has always been too tall for his age hence, making people believe that he was older than he actually was and was treated accordingly. He was forced to survive in such conditions and grew up mentally much faster than his peers.

Anyway, when the master made his offer to him, he didn't feel any pride coming from the master but felt a need, a want for someone to eventually reach his level and possibly surpass him. The master had been making efforts toward that goal so it wasn't just some dream but a purpose that gave his existence meaning and a goal he had to achieve.

Now, this newbie in front of him was exuding the same aura. 

'Could it be that he is that clueless on what to do now or what? I can't actually perceive the reason for his drive, but I know there is a lot of strong emotion there.' The blond paused while carrying his cauldron.

"Torvald." Torvald said and gave a quick glance to Shuu, to Bob up in a distant tree on the plateau that overlooked the descent of the mountain and then moved forward.

Shuu nodded, picked up his cauldron, and took walking steps. The terrain of the plateau is horizontal and flat but the journey starts when the plateau begins to slope downwards. The slope had deep potholes, some parts were slippery, and some paths could only be passed by disciples who had mastered the training technique, but most importantly, the wind in the mountain range was not normal. The winds sometimes blew like they wanted to move the mountains which made all the disciples stop their descent or risk falling from a great height to their deaths since they hadn't even been taught a single wind technique.

But it has to be said that each disciple who had survived until now had strong mental and physical fortitude. Each night they had to sleep in caves with no blankets and experience the harsh cold night winds that would normally land a human in the hospital for a severe case of pneumonia if they made it back on time. The mountain range was not only labelled a dangerous zone because some criminals or ghouls were rumoured to reside there but also because of the paranormal wind currents in the area.

And concerning the graduation, if anyone didn't make it to the next discipleship level, they were sold out. They would make exceptional guards who had a hard time finding an equal out there. The clan is usually paid with living humans who were debtors to powerful mafias and families to help feed the clansmen and women since they were ghouls and also money needed for training equipment and maintenance of the clan.

Shuu took a deep breath and began walking slowly down the mountain and began to appreciate the disciples who could run freely with their cauldrons on their backs, it was needless to say the disciples in that category were seen as graduating disciples already.

Noon eventually came, and the weight of the bracelets and anklets on Shuu was beginning to take a toll on his body. He managed not to spill a drop since he was basically tip-toeing. Torvald on the other hand was just making leaps like Bob did earlier to land on a tree and catch up with the top outer disciples. Shuu wasn't alone anyway but was encouraged by tens of disciples who were walking at a snail's pace too. 

Shuu was also indirectly encouraged by Bob who would suddenly appear behind a disciple who spilt some water and would slap that disciple so hard that said disciple could be seen flying down the mountain. It was usually a loud smack followed by an echoing cry signalling the forced descent of the disciple.

"Ho ho, miscreant! Are you sure you don't need me to warm you up a little, even your failure of a friend isn't as bad as you are? I read the profile you gave Cheryl, so you are sixteen. That's a lie, you are probably seventeen on the verge of turning eighteen." Bob chuckled to himself and left to discipline any disciple that spilt water from their cauldrons.

Evening eventually came and the outer disciples made it back to their plateaus with steam escaping their bodies. Three disciples who appeared to be seniors came to the plateau and went to an area that had long tables and benches made of concrete and left arranged plates in an orderly fashion with respect to the number of seats at the table.

One of the seniors opened a big cauldron that had meat inside and served a helping the size of a fist for each late. 

'So that's how the outer disciples eat. I wondered how they survived. But to be able to feed a hundred and even more ghouls in a clan, just how?' Shuu thought. The outer disciples began sprinting towards the table to get some nourishment after a long day. Some of the top outer disciples came to Shuu with folded arms and a smirk on their faces.

There were three that invaded Shuu's personal space. He sat on the cold rocky terrain rested his back against his cauldron and looked up at the three who were smirking at him.

'What is it with everyone trying to get on my nerves.'

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"One personal space, two personal space, three personal space..." said someone as they continued counting.

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