*BANG! *
Hiro crashed into another training dummy, the wooden frame splintering beneath his weight. He lay there for a moment, staring up at the sky, his chest heaving.
"What the hell?" He pushed himself up, wincing. "I haven't even transformed yet!"
"You need to get used to using your awakened human form as much as your beast form." Winston's voice came from somewhere to his left—but when Hiro turned, he saw the black leopard padding toward him, muscles rippling beneath fur as dark as night. "Only with enough practice can you advance to the next stage of your beast form."
Hiro blinked. He could understand Winston. Clearly. Perfectly. Even though they weren't connected through a bond, even though Yurei wasn't anywhere near them.
Seemingly, with enough practice, a beast slave could communicate with others even if they weren't their mistress.
"And what's the next stage?"
"The hybrid form." Winston sat down, wrapping his tail around his paws. "A half-beast, half-human form. Only the most advanced slaves can use it."
"So you guys can use it?"
Winston's whiskers twitched. "Nope. Not a single one of us."
"Then how do you know this will help me?"
A massive paw cuffed him upside the head.
Not hard enough to hurt—hard enough to get his attention.
"There's a link between your human form and your beast form." Winston's golden eyes locked onto his. "Your beast form will never exceed the parameters of your human form. The human body is the vessel. The beast form is the power."
Hiro's mind raced back to his first transformation—the way he'd collapsed immediately after, his body unable to handle the strain.
"So that's why I fainted when I first transformed."
"Pretty much happens the first time." Winston stood, stretching. "So you have to strengthen your human form as much as your beast form. That's why I'm going to train you on your agility."
He paused.
"Also—due to the delicate link between a male's human form and their beast form. If the power somehow exceeds the vessel, the vessel will be destroyed. So the human body naturally limits the parameters of the beast form up to a certain point."
Hiro's blood ran cold. "Destroyed?"
"Torn apart from the inside." Winston's voice was matter-of-fact. "It's happened before. Not pretty."
At his current level, Hiro could only access about twenty percent of his possible strength. He wasn't even tapping into his full potential.
"Through enough training," Winston continued, "a male can temporarily combine the two aspects into a hybrid form."
A fist came rushing toward Hiro's face.
He blocked—barely—his forearms taking the brunt of the impact. The force still sent him skidding backward, his boots leaving trails in the dirt.
*CRACK. *
"Damn." Hiro shook out his arms. "I think I broke a few bones."
A giant bull-person stood in front of him—broad, muscular, with curved horns and hooves that cracked the ground beneath them.
"And I'm going to train you on your endurance and defense." Stanley's voice rumbled from the beast's chest.
"How are am I supposed to compete with transformed beast slaves?"
"Your mistress said you could handle it." A massive serpent crept up behind Hiro, scales gleaming in the afternoon light. Marcus's voice was dry, almost amused. "Mr. S-Class Spirit Type."
Hiro swallowed.
"Us lower-class beasts couldn't possibly kill you, right?" Marcus coiled around his position, cutting off any escape. "Right?"
"So it's going to be three on one—"
"Four on one."
Scott's massive gorilla form dropped from the rooftop above, landing with a ground-shaking *THUD. * His purple mohawk caught the light. His metal-infused fur gleamed.
Hiro's eyes widened. "At least let me transform before you clubber me to death—"
"No can do." Scott cracked his knuckles—a sound like rocks grinding together. "And this is a little payback for the tail bite."
"Oh crap."
*BOOM. *
Hiro's body flew across the courtyard like a ragdoll, tumbling end over end before crashing into a pile of broken crates.
---
Five hours later, Hiro's body was covered in small bruises.
But something strange had happened.
Every time he got injured, his Aether would naturally flow throughout his body, repairing any major damage. The cuts closed. The bruises faded. The broken bones knitted themselves back together.
The healing wasn't pleasant—it felt like his bones were grinding back into place, his muscles knitting themselves together with threads of fire. But it worked. And each time, the pain faded a little faster.
But after every healing, his body started to become tougher. Stronger.
He was still getting thrown around. Still getting knocked down. But now, he could handle some of the guys' hits. Could even dodge some of them—mostly because the beasts were only using physical attacks held back by ninety percent.
Otherwise, Hiro would have died a long time ago.
He lay on his back, staring up at the sky. His chest rose and fell in ragged gasps. Blood dripped from a cut above his eye. His left arm throbbed.
A shadow fell over him.
Yurei stood above him, her expression unreadable.
"Help me," Hiro croaked.
"No can do." Yurei crossed her arms. "While Marian and I train these ladies, their slaves will be training you."
"Am going to die."
"Probably not." She knelt beside him, her voice softening. "But you're going to wish you had."
She stood and walked away.
Hiro stared at the sky.
"Great," he muttered.
Scott's shadow fell over him again.
"Break's over."
*BOOM. *