Bora was set to train Valya and I. His looks and his abilities were all that was on the list of good things about Bora. Riza was hard to read, what with her constant smiling and the fact I couldn't even see her eyes, but I felt a slight indifference from her towards me and Valya. On the other hand, Bora had an air of haughtiness despite his constant, neutral expression. He took us down to the basement of Kandelika to train us.
"Kodeko, and Human and a Dibalyan. Valya, The Tsar's half-Human spawn," Bora stood in front of us, looking us both up and down.
Valya seemed to flinch at his words.
"I'll have to get you to the point where it's worth it for The Tsar would take you back," he continued, his eyes lingering on Valya. "As for Kodeko, the fact you are Dibalyan is already a blessing in itself. Or perhaps it's fate."
"I've heard the word a few times already, but what is a Dibalyan?" Valya asked.
Bora seemed to consider his next words before looking back at Valya.
"Dibalyan refers to a group of polytheistic worshippers of all seven gods of the Pantheon. They believe in concepts such as Chi and a Primordial being who granted every living creature their own Chi. Many of them were the greatest Human Awakened in the history of mankind. However their numbers have dwindled with time. The Tsar was quite fond of them at one point," Bora explained.
"Why?" I asked, surprised.
Bora smiled humorlessly.
"Your people defied the Pantheon, so of course The Tsar supported them. Now — let us begin with training," Bora said quickly.
I looked at Valya with an incredulous expression and she looked back at me with an equally dubious look. I decided not to press it and listened to Bora as he began our training.
Bora went into an in-depth explanation on the Elements and Energies Myrcella had briefly discussed to Valya and I.
"Awakeneds' abilities are all unique, however they are all explainable within the bounds of Elements and Energies. As beginners, you're using your abilities instinctively, but once you recognize how your unique ability is linked to the Elements and Energies you have an affinity to, you should be able to reach greater heights.
Abilities tend to be a reflection of their user, either by coincidence or fate. As such, reaching greater heights in Ase manipulation and climbing the ranks will usually go hand in hand with understanding of self," Bora explained.
After his explanation, he had Valya and I display our abilities. I went first. I shook off my nerves and recalled one of the many forms my father had me learn as a child. With each transition it felt easy to direct the explosive energy I'd felt ever since coming back to life in that alleyway. When I wanted to, I could make that energy explode out from each strike making it feel as if the air was shaking.
"Kalimgba, correct?" Bora said after a minute.
"Right. You know that too," I stopped and turned to him.
"Indeed. It's good that you already know a martial art. The Dibalyan martial art of Kalimgba was inspired by a tribe of Taochiwa that have since gone extinct. It's beneficial for beginners in Ase manipulation to learn how to circulate their Ase."
He motioned for me to come back and had Valya demonstrate. Valya stood without looking at us for a moment before she looked back at Bora.
"Can I just show you what I can do? I don't know any choreography," she said.
"Fine," Bora said flatly.
Even after seeing Myrcella remove her head from her body without any consequence and witnessing my own powers, seeing soft yellow light emit from Valya's hands still filled me with awe. The light was gentle and warm; it fit Valya's demeanor. The light grew in brightness and size until it took a shape: a sword. Valya held the sword by its shining hilt like a hero from fable and then, she swung it. The sword left a brilliant arc of lingering light where it sliced through the air. Then, some of the sword's light seemed to envelop her body giving her a soft glow. She swung the sword again and her movements seemed swifter and stronger than her previous swing.
"An affinity to Light… makes sense," Bora murmured. "Can you use Dark as well?"
"Yes, but not the same way. I can make a room darker, but I really don't know what it does," Valya answered.
"Go on then, show me."
Valya's expression didn't change, nor did she move, but the room did grow darker somehow, as if the lighting didn't matter. I covered my mouth with a fist to hide a yawn. Bora glanced at me sharply, then looked back at Valya.
"Enough. It seems you have the ability to induce sleep. That power may evolve as you grow. Is there anything else you can do?" Bora said.
The room quickly became brighter as Valya pondered.
"I think that I can see other peoples' dreams. I always thought it was my imagination but if I can induce sleep then maybe it wasn't," Valya answered.
Bora nodded.
"An affinity to the Natural Elements of Light and Dark and the Neutral Energy of Thought. Perhaps your ability to induce sleep is part of an affinity to Foundational Life and Death?" Bora remarked.
"Actually, I can heal others with my light, but it's weak so I forgot."
"It'll be interesting how this power of yours will grow. Well! I'm quite surprised but I can't say I'm not pleased. You two have useful abilities. Well then, let's get to business, shall we?"
***
The coming weeks were filled with all manners of exhausting training. My training prior to this was within Human standards no matter how challenging, but Bora's training was not simply challenging. His daily exercises were tailored for awakened individuals, so even my reforged body was put to the test. But no matter how much of an upgrade my awakened body was compared to my regular Human body, it could still grow much stronger. Paired with Ase manipulation training my stamina, agility and strength were improving exponentially. Bora tested our growth and trained us in combat every other day.
At first, it was easy to overpower Valya in spars — she seemed to have not trained at all past childhood — but eventually Valya's physical strength overtook mine.
"Her constitution is simply superior to your Human body," Bora had explained.
And thus, Bora took special care to train me to handle the natural strength of Monsters. After taking his hits as well as Valya's, I realized I could absorb some of the force and convert it into power for my explosive strikes. However getting hit still hurt, and there was a limit to how much accumulated damage I could take at once. I learned that the hard way during a spar with Bora that left Valya on healing duty for a whole hour with breaks between.
Valya and I took turns sparring with Bora thrice a week. Bora was most definitely pulling his punches, but it meant little when our power difference was so vast. Bora would spar with us until we "died," after which he would restart his sequence of attacks. Not all his attacks were killing moves, but some were painfully incapacitating, forcing Valya to perform what Bora referred to as "healing training." With time, Valya's speed and efficacy in healing improved.
There was also one more thing.
"Kodeko. Ask that informant of yours to teach you etiquette," Bora suddenly said to me after training for the day.
"Uh, alright," I paused. "Do you think I'm rude or something?"
"Very. But it's more than that. You'll need to know etiquette for where you're going."
So I began etiquette lessons with Myrcella a week into the training with Bora. They began when I got home and continued until I went to bed. Valya had moved in as well for convenience's sake since she had no attachment to her "shoddy apartment" in "ghetto Sklep." Thus, she joined in on my etiquette lessons, although she already knew it all. I think she did it to make me feel better.
Days turned into weeks and weeks into a month. Valya and I were spent.
"You think Bora'll do anything special to mark the occasion?" I asked as I waited by the door.
"Surely. He seems pleased with our progress," Valya responded as she approached.
"You mean he's berating us less in the past week," I scoffed.
Valya laughed, "Yes, exactly."
With our daily commute to Vecherinka, Valya and I had grown closer, although that wouldn't have been the case if I didn't initiate conversation. Valya was really awkward when she spoke: Tripping over words, letting her sentences trail off, using the wrong words or tone. But her face was always honest. The glimpse of a regal and untouchable Monster girl I'd seen in Kadelika the night I died was an illusion. It seemed like that was simply a persona she put on for work. During one on one interactions, it was easy to break Valya's straight face. Myrcella took enjoyment in teasing Valya as well, and although Valya took it quite well her pouting afterward was quite cute.
When we arrived at Kandelika for our thirtieth day, Bora was meditating as usual. He heard us and stood up to greet us.
"Today we'll have another person join us to test your progress," he said immediately.
All business, as usual.
"He'll be arriving any moment now," Bora went on.
Valya and I spoke quietly amongst ourselves until we heard someone approaching. The door to the room swung open but all that was visible was a giant body, the head out of view. Only when the owner of the giant body lowered his head to pass through did we see his face.
The giant individual was a Monster with four horns. His skin was a pink lavender and his eyes were a dark, spring green. He was muscular — as if being tall as shit wasn't enough.
"I hope I'm not late," he said with a smile.
His voice was fittingly deep and his smile was near perfect. He was actually quite attractive.
"Not at all," Bora said. "Kodeko, Valya, this is Hubris. I'll be using him to test you today."
"Hello! My name is Hubris Hadzhiev! Bora's been teaching me how to fight since I was a kid! It's nice to meet you!" Hubris said.
He spoke like he was responding to a drill sergeant. I glanced at Bora, but he seemed completely accustomed to Hubris's booming voice.
"I'm Kodeko. Bora's been teaching me since a month ago," I responded and held out my hand.
Hubris looked down at me curiously then took my hand to shake it.
Gods, his hands are huge.
Then, he squeezed. Luckily, I expected this and didn't let his strength dwarf mine. It seemed satisfactory to Hubris who soon smiled.
"You're a Human, right? You're quite strong for a Human," Hubris remarked.
"Yeah, I am. And you're real fucking huge," I responded.
Hubris laughed again. He disengaged with me and turned to Valya who nodded at him but kept her arms crossed.
"Valentina. You can call me Valya," she said.
"Nice to meet you," Hubris said with a smile, but Valya looked away.
"Alright. Now that introductions are over, you two will be sparring with Hubris until either side 'dies,'" Bora said, clapping his hands.