Sliding the doors open to the dojo I was once again hit with the scent of sweat and warmth.
Taking off my shoes and entering into the main hall, I was greeted with a session in practice. Quickly joining the students kneeling before a demonstration I attempted to catch myself up to speed.
It didn't take long for that same baldy who I fought with to notice my presence.
"For those joining us, we are now demonstrating the five movements of our River Ryu Style. We will repeat these movements once more for your own benefit before going off into supervised practice."
Fitting in with the other students, I watched again the movements the teacher flowed through. It was pretty sick seeing the effortless transitioning between five very different stances to redirect and empower strikes.
Reminded me of tai chi.
One of the other main reasons for going to this place to train in martial arts besides my own inclination for it, was the fact it hid a hidden dragon in it's courts. In Samuel's antagonist plotline, while he committed himself nightly in illegal fighting rings he always caught the eye of a certain 'wandering martial artist'.
This guy who always showed up to every one of Samuel's fights, consistently praised his martial arts for being top notch and questioned who his mentor was. It was strange.
As a reader this mysterious figure was never truly unveiled, or at least never clearly made transparent. When the author by the end of the novel seemed to suddenly improve drastically with his writing, he often would sprinkle bits and pieces of world-building and mystery into his work.
Side stories essentially.
But it was hard differentiating whether or not these niche subplots were vital for the main plot or only served to enrich its world. Such was the case with this 'wandering martial artist'.
It made me not only want to learn more about this martial artist, but also more about the dojo master. Was there some lore in this now realised world that could influence the main plot, or at least give me some cool power-up?
I pushed those thoughts out of my head as the demonstration finished and the students were free to practice solo. Reciting the movements shown, I straightened my spine and began controlling my hands and feet.
Perhaps it was due to my new incredible innate ability, but my body now moved exactly how I wanted it to. Incredibly helpful in battle, it also felt like in did wonders when I was moving through the River Ryu Style movements.
Sinking into this cycle of movements, a voice interrupted my concentration.
"Control your breath evenly. By controlling even that whilst moving, the power of your strikes will not be dispersed." It was the Baldy that passed by me.
I couldn't be bothered giving him some appreciation in the middle of my movements, but I nevertheless accepted his advice and watched my own breathing. It made moving somewhat harder and uncomfortable, but I guess that's because I haven't conditioned myself yet.
An hour passed like this, me conditioning my body with the River Ryu Style as an instructor occasionally wandered close and told me some correction. My form got better as I melded the style and the capabilities of my body together which was only bolstered with my ability.
Soon enough, the effort paid off.
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Successfully learned River Ryu Style (F Rank)!
Skill : River Ryu Style [NEW!] (F Rank) - (Bronze)
A marital skill derived from the legendary Dragon's Dance martial art created by the Practitioner Lee. This style focuses on basic movements and flow.
To embody a dragon, one must learn to swim against the current.
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Eyeing the system notification, a smile grew on my face. It seemed like my hypothesis was correct in selecting the 'Dragon Gate Dojo' to train under. Attaining a bronze tiered skill was crazy as a beginner skill for a dojo.
Unlike innate abilities which were unranked since in a shounen world, no ability was considered useless and therefore gradable, skills could be grouped into certain categories.
Going from ungraded like my Desert Drifter Arts, to bronze, silver, gold and then platinum. Each subsequent grade allowed for a higher rank limit.
For ungraded it was D rank, bronze allowed for a C rank, silver B rank, a gold would have a limit of A rank and the mythical platinum grade had a peak of S rank.
But regardless of their limits, just on a common sense basis, graded skills were incredibly hard to come by for regular people. Markets sold bronze skills for millions and were highly sought after since most higher graded skills were heavily gatekept.
The academy truly did have the best resources in the country. No where else would one get their hands on a skill as easily as this.
I couldn't help but nod sagely to my own wisdom of staying at the academy despite despising my return of school. This was making up for it for now.
It was getting dark by now and some students were already calling quits. Seeing no point to continuing after attaining the skill, it was time for me to go as well. I was dead tired by now.
Leaving the place, a coarse hand patted my shoulder. Coupled with his bushy eyebrows, I wondered what this guy was thinking.
"Well done today, you seem to have a lot of untapped potential in you. Consistent effort will grow you into a powerhouse in no time." The bald instructor spoke.
I nodded in appreciation.
"Thanks...." What was this guy's name? "Yeah..... thank you for today, and for accepting me as well."
My bow caused him to flinch backwards awkwardly, but I promptly evacuated and hurried back to the dorms. All I really wanted to do is have some rest now and get this day over with.
A dinner was due though.
...
...
The kitchen area in the boys dormitory was fairly empty. A group of male students were lounging in the eating hall having some snacks and playing on their devices.
As for the actual kitchen, not a soul could be found. I could make the assumption that delivery food must be a favourite here.
Settling my ingredients that I had bought from a grocer, along the bench and familiarising myself with the space, a certain presence quickly dampened my cooking mood. Why was she even here? Wasn't there a curfew?
"Are you cooking again?" A dewy voice chimed from behind me.
"No I'm going to bed right now." My face turned, devoid of any emotion.
Our gazes met and for once it seemed like she wasn't wearing her ninja outfit. Perhaps I would've applauded her if not for the fact I knew she was here to steal my food.
"Then don't mind me and continue what you were doing." Her eyes looked to the roof as her lips pursed. "I was just in the area and you caught my eye, so... go on then."
I sighed.
"Are you going to pay me for this?"
"No!"
I deadpanned at the hasty response.
"What about Arthur? Won't your boyfriend be mad at you for constantly bugging me?"
"He'll be mad at you, not me. Also, how would he know if we both don't say a thing?"
I sighed again. It seemed like reason wasn't getting to her.
"What are you cooking?"
"...Steak."
"Can I have some?"
"Just this once."