___3 weeks later___
*DUN DUNNN DUNNNNNN!!!!*
Ray stood in a massive crater, facing three advanced-level training dummies. Ever since he had managed to get a hang of using Battle Instinct, his combat prowess had soared.
After careful testing and research, he found that the skill increased his cognitive, neural, optical, auditory, and sensory capabilities by +50%.
This, in turn, decreased his reflex arc response time by half — in other words, a massive and overpowered buff.
Not only that, but it also used reishi to create a grid on whatever Ray was looking at, allowing him to accurately calculate the distance between them, the time an opponent would take to reach him based on previously recorded top speed, and finally, it let him keep track of large numbers of enemies.
Right now, Ray was undergoing his final test before Minos started his real training. His final test was to beat three training dummies set at advanced level together — i.e., a 3v1.
Minos stood in the air, gazing at the crater and the four figures standing there.
He nodded at them once. The battle began.
*WHOOSH!*
Immediately, Ray kicked off the ground and propelled himself backwards. Two dummies followed while the third provided cover. The dummies were working as a team: one archer and two close-combatants.
*TWANG! TWANG! TWANG!*
Ray equipped his Kojaku and fired at the approaching combat dummies as he kept dodging the arrows. He'd have to defeat the ranged dummy first.
*WHOOOSH!*
Using Hirenkyaku, Ray stepped on air, somersaulted over the two attacking dummies, and rushed toward the archer standing at a distance.
*TWANG!*
*WHOOSH!*
The archer took three quick shots and retreated — but Ray had anticipated it. He drew and fired a Heilig Pfeil: Slowing Shot. The arrow connected, and an immense amount of reishi gathered at the dummy's ankles; for a brief moment, it faltered.
*TWANG!*
*THWCK!!*
Ray took the chance and shoved an arrow through its head. One down. Two more to go.
For the close-combatants, Ray dispelled the Kojaku and summoned the Seele Schneider.
*SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!*
The brawler-type and the swordsman-type close-combat dummies closed the distance at once — the swordsman swinging to cut off Ray's escape routes while the brawler charged straight in.
*DUANG! DUANG! DUANG!*
Ray quickly covered himself in a layer of reishi and absorbed most of the punches sent by the brawler. This was not expected.
*WHOOSH!*
*BOOM!*
Ray grabbed the brawler's shoulder and vaulted over it, simultaneously kicking the swordsman dummy away.
*TWANG!*
*WHOOSH!*
Once a safe distance was established, Ray launched a Heilig Pfeil: Volley directly into the sky.
*DUN! DUN! DUN!*
The Heilig Pfeil ascended to a great height before losing its kinetic energy. The moment it reached zero, the Pfeil split into countless reishi arrows, and they all descended onto the battlefield.
The dummies scrambled for cover. And Ray? He stood in the dead center of the rain of arrows, at the same position from where he had shot the Heilig Pfeil. He had intentionally prevented any arrows from falling on him by recalling all the arrows that would hit him.
{A/N: They are made of his reishi, so he can recall the reishi, and hence by CPCT, basically recall the arrows.}
*VMMMM...*
Ray notched a Heilig Pfeil: Focused Shot — and aimed at the back of the swordsman. The arrow hummed with an absurd amount of reishi. He smiled as he remembered one of his favourite quotes:
"The scars on the back are a swordsman's shame," he said, his lips forming a small smile.
Minos, who heard it, smiled too and whispered to himself:
"Magnificent."
*TWANG!*
*WHOOSH!*
*THWCK!!*
Ray launched the Pfeil, which pierced through the dummy without a hitch.
*Wssshhh—THUK! THUK! THUK! THUK! THUK! THUK!*
The next moment, the hail descended.
Ray turned toward the brawler dummy. It had reached the edge of the crater and was safely out of the range of the volley.
*WHOOSH!*
*RUSH! RUSH!*
They both rushed toward each other — one eager to finish this fight and move on to the next stage, and the other calculating that close-combat was the only way to win.
*TWANG! TWANG! TWANG!*
*WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!*
Ray fired arrow after arrow at the brawler as he closed the distance, a Seele Schneider already in hand.
The brawler weaved through it all with slippery footwork. He moved like a snake, dodging every attack. Although Ray's accuracy was good, it wasn't as good as Yhrael's.
In system language, if Ray was at Lv. 3 Accuracy, then Yhrael's normal accuracy was Lv. 5, and with Scope Sight it jumped to Lv. 7. Every level was a massive power jump — i.e., Yhrael's accuracy was cheat-level.
The brawler closed the distance, and the moment it entered Seele Schneider range, it took a classic boxer's stance and weaved like Muhammad Ali.
Ray blinked, caught off guard. The dummy capitalized and closed in, nearly face-to-face with him. Then it began — the pummeling. The dummy first sent a straight punch toward Ray's face. Ray dropped the Seele Schneider and, using Hirenkyaku, tried to retreat.
But the dummy anticipated it, grabbed Ray's collar, and flipped him onto the ground. Ray's vision slowed down. No — the world slowed down. A spiderweb-like design appeared in Ray's eyes. However, Ray himself wasn't aware of this.
*DUN DUNN DUNNNN!*
There it is. Battle Instinct. It only activates when I'm at a disadvantage, or when I'm fully immersed in the fight, Ray thought, a grin slowly forming.
*WHIRRRR!!!*
*VMMMMM...!*
A faint bluish grid-like structure came into view. His brain's processing speed spiked. He scanned the area, formulating a plan and predicting the dummy's next moves — all through pure instinct.
At this point, he was just above the dummy, locked in a hold by the collar. The dummy was performing a textbook shoulder throw. Ray's instincts took over, and he let go of control over his body.
The body moved on its own. Using Hirenkyaku, he stepped on air and powerfully propelled himself forward while smashing his elbow at the dummy's hand gripping him.
He was free. He twisted mid-air and landed on his feet. The dummy had already closed the distance — approximately three meters between them. Ray's body moved on instinct again.
*SMASH!*
He struck first, using a perfect Brazilian kick that would make even Gun Park proud. The dummy fell for the feint and tried to protect its lower body — but Ray changed directions mid-way and struck the neck, pulling it and making the dummy stumble forward.
*BANG!*
*BANG!*
Ray hit the dummy's face, snapping it backward, then grabbed its face and smashed it into his knee, causing a momentary stun. Ray capitalized, cocked his fist back, and forcefully trapped reishi into it.
*BANG!*
The dummy saw it coming but couldn't react. Ray smashed his fist into the dummy's chest, releasing the trapped reishi.
*VMMM...*
*BOOM!*
The dummy staggered back around five meters before being hit again at the exact same spot. It looked down at its chest, vision swimming.
*BANG!*
Ray smiled and punched its face again, releasing more trapped reishi. It stumbled backward before being hit at the same spot again.
*VMMM....*
*BOOM!*
Then Ray went ballistic — using Divergent Fist left, right, and centre, leaving the dummy no openings.
*BANG! BANG!! BANG!!! BANG!!!! BANG!!!!!*
*VVVVMMMMMM....!!!!!*
*BOOM! BOOM!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!!! BOOM!!!!!!*
*THUD*
Finally, once it couldn't take anymore, the dummy fell backward, disabled and riddled with fist-sized craters across its body.
*WHOOSH...*
*DUN DUN DUNNN*
A complete win for Ray. He looked up and saw Minos descending.
"A spectacular fight, Ray. I must say, you completely surpassed my expectations there," Minos said as he landed in front of Ray.
Ray smiled lightly.
"That just means I'm getting stronger. However, this is still not enough. I need to get stronger."
Minos blinked, not expecting this. He smiled.
"Of course it's not enough," he scoffed. "You still need to get stronger. This isn't your peak. I can see it in your eyes. Anyway, I'll be giving you your next stage of training. The advanced-level dummies directly correspond to intermediate-rank Grimm Reapers without their Soul Brands. In other words, by efficiently defeating three of such dummies, it means you'll be able to defeat a fully prepared intermediate-rank Reaper." Minos said, as he started walking toward his mansion.
Ray followed, listening intently.
"What rank were Rensuke and Kyosuke?" he asked.
"Those two are special. Rensuke, Kyosuke, and their third brother, Ryusuke, together are as strong as — if not stronger than — an intermediate rank. However, individually they are no stronger than a beginner rank," Minos said.
Ray blinked. "They have a third brother?"
"Yes. However, he is on injury leave. He got hurt during a mission against a Nullian," Minos said.
"Nullian? What are those?"
"Nullians are an evolved version of Vacuans. They have one of their stats extremely higher when compared to their other stats. For example, there may be speed-type Nullians, strength-type Nullians, defense-type Nullians, etc. We have records of meeting a Nullian who could wield a sword like a true swordmaster," Minos added.
'Nullians huh... They sound eerily like Gillians. Could they really be the same? But the Gillians in Bleach were tall as hell and hopelessly ugly with a Pinocchio-ass nose,' Ray mused internally.
They had reached the mansion.
"Your next stage of training will be to learn Reaper techniques. Maybe, by learning our techniques, you'll be able to mutate and evolve them to suit you," Minos said as he came to a stop at the entrance and turned around.
"Go in. There will be a Reaper inside. She is the captain of the 4th Combat Company, positioned in the northern section of the city — the Black Tortoise. You'll be learning there for however much time you're staying here," Minos said.
"I'll go now. I've been away from the judging platform for a while. We still have a total of 824 thousand souls to judge. See you later, boy." Saying this, Minos vanished from his spot, probably using Shunpo to rush toward the colosseum.
Ray entered the mansion.
It was a massive 4-story building sprawled over an area of 25,000 sq. ft. And this was just the mansion building's area. The area within the estate itself was around 80,000–100,000 sq. ft.
Ray entered the mansion and headed straight for the Guest Hall on the right. Inside was a classic Grimm Reaper: wearing full gear — a black cloak, a white mask, and a scythe-type Soul Brand. But her mask was different. Usually, the masks are blank with only eye holes left to allow for viewing. But this one had a design on it.
In the centre of the forehead was an elegant raised, inked emblem, while the upper edge of the mask carried a thin line design positioned like a symbolic crown without any three-dimensional structure. Around the eyes, thin, sharp flame-stroke patterns swept outward, and on each cheek sat a mirrored marking in the form of a stylized triskelion-like swirl. A faint trim of curving lotus petals and swirling cloud-like darkness was being exuded from the edges of the mask.
{A/N: IMAGE HERE!}
"Hello there... I'm Ray. Mister Minos told me to meet you," Ray said, a bit intimidated by the mask.
The Reaper didn't speak. Just stared at him without a single movement.
Ray was about to speak up when a cold feminine voice rang out.
"Your reishi is too low. I don't get how you caught Lord Minos's eye," she said.
Ray blinked. "What does reishi have anything to do with gaining someone's approval?" he asked.
She scoffed, the roll of her eyes visible through the mask. "Why is reishi important, you ask? Because almost everything we learn — every attack, every defensive technique, every movement technique — all use reishi and reiryoku to work. If you have a low amount of reishi in you, your reiatsu will be weak, meaning you won't be able to fight as freely as those with higher reiatsu than you when facing an opponent with even higher reishi and reiatsu."
"Wait, wait, pause. Can you first explain what in the damnation is Reiatsu and Reiryoku?" Ray said, momentarily overwhelmed. His head practically steaming.
"Hmmm.... At least you're willing to learn. That's a good mindset. Maybe you really aren't as worthless as I thought," she said. Ray's face darkened. And the fact that he could feel her smirk from under the mask didn't help.
"Sit down. This'll take a while," she said, as she turned with a flourish and sat on the couch, propping her legs on the coffee table, one leg over the other.
Ray sat across from her. Once he was seated, she began.
"Let's start from reishi. What is reishi?" she asked.
"It's basically the particles that a soul exudes and is naturally available in the environment," Ray answered.
"Hmmm.... I'll give that a 34 out of 100. You missed the important parts. Reishi is like magic and matter that you humans have in the World of the Living. Like how magic is made up of magical particles, and matter is made of atoms, in the Soul World, the things made here are made of pure reishi," she said, picking up a plate from the coffee table.
"Watch," she said as she shattered the plate. The pieces of the plate fell to the floor. She picked one up and brought it to her finger, which was coated in reishi.
"This is what happens when someone with extremely high reishi value meets someone with extremely low reishi value," she said as she flicked the piece. The piece didn't get hit though — it rapidly disintegrated, turning into reishi particles that Ray had seen before. It was similar to the reishi particles released from the Vacuans he defeated, but the only difference was that these particles were white while the reishi released by the Vacuans was light purple.
The Grimm Reaper sat back again after waving her hand and disintegrating the remaining pieces of the broken plate.
"Next is Reiryoku. Now, everyone is born with a fixed amount of reiryoku. Although the amount for each individual varies, it is always there. Reiryoku is like the molecules that atoms come together to form — or it is the mana that magical particles come together to form. Here, Reiryoku is formed by reishi coming together. I.e., you either use reishi as a method of evaluating someone with weak reishi value, or you can use Reiryoku as a method of evaluating someone with extremely high reishi value."
Ray nodded his head.
"Reiatsu is the reishi pressure difference between two individuals. It's like air pressure in simple words. Like I said before, an individual with weak reiatsu won't be able to fight as freely as someone with higher reiatsu when facing an opponent with even higher reiatsu. This is because the opponent's reiatsu overwhelms the individual's reiatsu, making it difficult to control their reishi techniques. Get it? If you don't..." She leaned forward and suddenly an immense pressure released from her.
Ray felt the shivers again — the same as when Vacuans were in his vicinity. He knew what that meant. A threat to his life.
'This woman... She'll really kill me with that pressure!!!' Ray thought.
It was as if the air itself had turned to stone. Every breath burned, his chest compressed, and the ground groaned beneath him. Movements were slow and deliberate, muscles straining against invisible hands squeezing him from all sides. Sounds dulled, and even the light seemed warped under the immense weight.
"This is what happens when you face an opponent with higher Reiatsu than you," she said, walking toward him.
The pressure increased. The plates nearby shattered, slowly disintegrating into reishi. She stood in front of him, staring holes into him through that damn scary mask.
Gritting his teeth, Ray forced himself to stand. The Reiatsu pressure she was exuding was being slowly but steadily absorbed by his passive reishi absorption.
He saw her blink as he stood up. She tilted her head, her mask catching the light at unnatural angles.
"Not bad. Looks like you're not a wimp either. Kneeling in front of someone with immense pressure... that's not the type of person I'd want in my company." Saying so, she stopped releasing the pressure.
Ray stumbled backwards as everything returned to normal at once. Breathing heavily, he looked up to see her extend a hand.
"Welcome to the Black Tortoise. From today onwards I'll be your teacher. Call me whatever you want. My code name's Vaisravana. Nice to meet you," she said, her voice carrying a hint of approval and a smirk.
Ray stabilized his breathing and then grasped her hand, shaking it.
"My pleasure, Vaisravana-sensei."
*_*_*_*_AUTHOR'S NOTES_*_*_*_*
Guys I'd like to know if you all are Ok with the Sound effects I'm putting in.
I mean like, is it actually putting value to the chapter your reading? or is it just taking up word count? I'd like to know, whether I should continue doing so or not...
If you want me to keep adding Sound effects, Vote here
If you want me remove them and instead add more story building, Vote here.
If You want sound effects only for combat scenes, Vote here!
I will try to change things within the next few chapters.
Thank you so much for reading! Have a great day!