Martial Arts Encyclopedia - Chapter 10

Goals for the future (6)

I move through the Dungeon using a more subtle technique from the Flame Kata, the Underground Flames that focus on maintaining a fast pace through long distances while conserving energy with the intention of fighting through multiple engagements. With careful breathing techniques I manage to jog through the entirety of the first floor until I find my first target for the day, the Jack Bird.

I rush after the monster with Raging Fire, getting closer and closer to it with brief bursts of extreme speed as the path is suspiciously clear of monsters, however as soon as I’m close to the bird the creature flies away with a renewed burst of speed. I consult my mental map and realize what the Dungeon intends for me.

“Alright,” I say aloud, “I will take that bait.”

The Jack Bird sounded offended by my words, turning once to crow back at me. I smirk back at it and come dangerously close to brush my fingers on its neck, making the walking money bag run away in panic. After a few minutes of this chase, we reached a four-way intersection, to which the Jack Bird made a dramatic pause to choose which direction to run off to. This time I catch the running monster, the creature’s neck dancing under my fingers before I snap it with a satisfying crunch. With quick, practiced motions I dug into the creature’s flesh using my Iron Fingers and extracted the magic stone, the Jack Bird corpse dissipating in shadows while leaving a golden egg in its place.

The very moment the monster dies the walls around me start to crack. Not just the walls nearby, but far away enough that I can hear them as echoes in the distance. The first few goblins drop on the ground and leer maliciously at me instead of rushing ahead like usual.

The monsters on the upper floors fight like crazed berserkers, until they don’t.

“Perfect,” I say in this brief respite, “you can’t escape me now.”

Their response was a multitude of battle cries followed by rushing after me like a wave of green flesh from all directions, ready to tear me apart with their claws and needle-like teeth, only for several of the enemies from the north side to fall back as several of their fellow monsters’ impact on that group.

The goblins coming from the east arrive right afterwards, however I pivot on my feet and grab the stretched arm of one goblin and change the charge direction to make it fly past me into the western group, while one goblin from the south tries to bite my tight but hold their head with my other hand and twist it violently while redirecting the monster towards the northern group.

The more cautious goblins become fast projectiles with my Weeping Willow technique, while the stupider or slower enemies also get taken down with the advanced Entanglement.

Soon the smaller enemies find themselves being thrown around against the walls, each other, unwillingly aiding in my efforts to thin down the horde. When the momentum of the monsters slows down, I retake the initiative with multiple Flashing Steel – Pierce, stabbing my enemies in their vital spots to slow their movements, sometimes deliberately targeting the magic stones to dust a few of the small terrors. A group of goblins try to jump at me from all directions, however I anticipate their ploy and use one of their numbers as an improvised weapon, the sounds of bone crunching and cries of pain echoing around the crossroad.

With methodical precision and relentless attacks, the enemies’ numbers are thinned, the nearby bodies quickly turned into projectiles by kicking them at enemies or swung around as a flail. Eventually, the enemies stopped coming after me, all the bodies remained on the ground, and the walls in this part of the Dungeon were full of angry red cracks from the ambush.

Goblins are such convenient creatures even after death: the goblins' anatomy makes it perfect for me to train Iron Fingers by stabbing at their bodies to extract the magic stones. The Kobolds fur interferes with the aim, the Shooter Frogs skin is too slimy for me yet, and the War Shadow’ skin is too rubbery for my current level of expertise.

Though I would love to have some kind of auto-looter. Maybe I should focus on killing them by extracting the magic stones from their bodies while they’re still alive? It’s an interesting proposition.

Clack clack

I turn towards the sound, but don’t find anything. The walls are still regenerating and the paths ahead don't show any hint of movement. I strain my senses to its limits and count to five, but the nearby area remains silent.

I better clean up the bodies faster to avoid scavengers.

…

With one last turn, I finish the last area of the fourth floor, completing my mental map. Thanks to my Falna blessing and the meditation techniques from the Hercules Method to sharpen the mind, I can bring up the complete map of the previous floor and can easily find a path towards any two points of the floor.

Normally I would slaughter the monsters of this floor for a while before pressing forward towards the fifth floor, however the trick I found to continuous growth is to always press forward every day. I had already explored the initial area of the fifth floor, so I think it’s time to progress further towards –

Clack clack

I throw a stone towards the direction of the sound, hitting an empty wall. With my guard up I search for any enemies in the area, however the place remains empty.

I will need to ask my advisor about this strange phenomenon when I return to the surface, but for now I walk towards the stairs for the fifth floor, unmolested for the entire length of the trip. After surviving the ambush set up by the Jack Bird the Dungeon got calmer for me, which means it is waiting for the perfect opportunity to act.

Much like the fourth floor, the fifth floor has a similar architecture that mimics the common image of an underground labyrinth with ghostly lights at the walls and ceiling distributed under a mysterious pattern that illuminates the area. Sometimes the corridor is almost as bright as a modern-day street at night, while other times a long stretch of shadow allows monsters to hide against the incoming adventurers. A constant creaking noise echoes through the corridors, making it difficult to distinguish by sound if the walls are spawning monsters nearby, or somewhere far away to attack other adventurers or to set up an ambush in advance. Despite the new danger, I continue forward, this time to earnestly explore the fifth floor.

…

I turn another corner and I’m greeted by a pair of Frog Shooter that attack simultaneously, and I dodge the attack by side stepping to the left and drawing my sword to cut off one of the monsters’ tongues, earning a shriek of pain from the monsters, as its partner uses its own tongue to charge forward with incredible speed. I jump over the incoming projectile and stab it behind its skull; however, the monster's massive frame traps the sword while its corpse tumbles on the walls like a massive pinball. Taking the impacts on the wall as an invitation, more monsters appear: goblins, kobolds, and the odd dungeon lizard.

I don’t wait for the monsters to fully manifest themselves, throwing knives I acquired for this expedition with perfect accuracy as they lay dead on the ground as they exit the dungeon walls. Once again, the Frog threw its tongue after me, this time using it as a whip, but I avoided the strike with another backstep before rushing after the creature. Its tongue returns faster and once more throws its weapon after me, only to completely miss my body as I used the Ghost Steps to feint and dodge, counter attacking with a Flashing Steel – Axe Heel on the monster skull, the impact strong enough to damage the creature magic crystal and dust it on the spot.

After dealing with the latest group sent by the Dungeon, I rip off the magic stones from the monsters’ corpses using my hands, with only the slimy body of the remaining frog making it more difficult as I got used to the procedure. I mentally review the path I took and realize that the Dungeon is corralling me deeper into a new path. Could the Dungeon be aware that I memorized the upper floors, despite not mentioning it out loud? How smart is this place?

rumble rumble rumble

I look around as I feel the ground lightly shaking and without hesitation, I turn back towards an already mapped area to prevent being caught up in unknown territory.

Unfortunately, the Dungeon felt the sudden change in my decision and started to interfere. The Dungeon started to spawn small groups of monsters, between two to three, in front of my path to try and stop my retreat. Even a few seconds of delay could prove fatal, but if my suspicions are correct, ignoring the spawning monsters will be worse in the long run.

I take a deep breath before letting it out, taking the position of the monsters appearing in front of me, and then I rush ahead with Flashing Steel –Barrage, successively landing crushing elbows on the skull of the creatures, powerful punches that snap their necks, and ripping finger stabs that takes out their magic stones. I try to kill as many as I can without stopping, leaving only the slower Dungeon Lizards alive when they appear. A few monsters passing through my path are dealt with swiftly in a single strike, their twitching bodies left behind as I desperately rush towards a known area.

While I’m running, the rumbling on the ground continues to follow me, growing louder with each passing minute. Eventually I reached the part of the Dungeon I was looking for, and at the edge of my sight I saw several shadows running in parallel with me. Revising my mental map, I realize that I’m caught inside a cage as I turn one hundred eighty degrees and hope that my choice was correct.

The shadows were likely the pass parading bastards setting up the mother of all ambushes: they brought monsters from the four cardinal points at a far enough distance that only their rumbling noises could be felt, somehow following me from beyond my senses, and they successfully closed all areas of retreat. How they plan to avoid being caught up in their own trap is beyond me, but if I want to survive this ambush, I need to start strong!

Very quickly the rumbling turns louder, and the monsters scream reach my ears as more than a distant white noise. I catch a glimpse of a man being followed before he disappears behind a corner, with the bulk of the monsters continuing straight at me.

“A sea of monsters” is an apt description as the creatures come running towards me in waves, with smaller creatures being sometimes trampled while other times they jump over their larger allies.

Thankfully my bet paid off, and I timed my next move carefully.

A pair of War Shadows run after me to try and catch me on a pincer maneuver with surprising teamwork.

I almost thank them on the spot.

I catch both creatures from their wrists, twisting and redirecting their momentum as they both crash on the ground with a loud impact, but I don’t stop the technique and continue slamming them on the ground in multiple directions until they’re properly stunned. With an easy flick, I grab of their ankles and resume spinning them around, as the combination of Redirection Kata and Water Kata forms my new technique, Disturbance – Haran, uses principles of Weeping Willow to throw my opponents using their strength and Water Kata to smoothly swing them around. When the enemies come closer to me, I use the pair of War Shadows as nunchakus, either delivering powerful impacts on the approaching enemies or cutting and piercing the incoming wave of monsters with the chaotically spinning claws of the War Shadows.

As I meet the incoming flow of monsters, I ignore the scratches, bruises and cuts I inevitably take to further sow confusion on their ranks as the sheer number they bring becomes a liability as I stop over the dead and living monster bodies to create an improvised barrier with the resulting carcasses of the carnage.

“Ora ora ora ora!”

By combining the Redirection Kata, Water Kata, and Adamantine Kata I perform the Swimming Bird – Falcon, an alteration on the original Swimming Swallow, as I unleash a barrage of blows with my arms snapping like whips due to the looseness of my shoulders while maintaining a steel sharp point with Iron Fingers. Necks, eyes, lungs, knees, spines, and skulls are viciously assaulted while I pile up the corpses behind me.

I grab an incoming goblin and throw it upwards, hitting the Blue Papillon that was trying to camouflage in the ceiling. I jump on the shoulders of a Kobold and then on top of a Frog Shooter, and I spot several other aerial monsters. Stabbing both eyes of the Frog the creature starts to panic and attack everywhere, and by twisting the creature’s optic nerves I could aim at the various airborne enemies and force the amphibian monster to swallow them whole. Eventually I felt the monster getting rebellious, and I finished cracking its skull open with an elbow smash.

As the fight continued my movements became more fluid and precise as my stamina slowly dropped. I instinctively made smaller motions and applied the Redirection Kata with less energy, fully grasping the principle of Flowing Edge, diverting the trajectory of attacks and movements of the monsters towards their fellows.

Eventually I was forced to take Health potions to regain my vitality and heal my wounds, going through all my stock as I traveled through the Dungeon in a spiral pattern while leaving several stacks of bodies behind.

When no more enemies appeared, I started going through the process of recovery immediately as I knew this was far from over. Strangely, when I killed the last monster, I didn’t feel relief at seeing my gruesome task completed, but instead I felt dissatisfied, as if I was on the cusp of a revelation and was robbed of the opportunity by the lack of something.

I didn’t need to wait long, as I heard someone approach while clapping in a familiar way.

“Ha ha, I can’t believe it! You’re amazing, really! You must have a skill if you manage to survive those monsters, newbie. Unfortunately for you, there’s no escape this time.”

On cue, several other presences revealed themselves from the other entrances of the intersection. Five people in total, and like before they all look remarkably similar: a trio wears the “bandana style” with a bandana over their foreheads that obscures their eyes, similar upturned noses, and wide, mocking grins on their faces; and the other two are bald with pale skin, no eyebrows, and square jaws.

“Leave. If you turn around and walk away, I won’t chase after you. I won’t even report you to the Guild today.”

“Excuse me,” he starts, sounding offended by my offer, “do you know who we are?”

He starts a long-winded rant I barely pay attention to, focusing instead of recovering, and on testing my theory. The practitioners of the Hercules Method are said to develop murderous urges as they progress in their training, according to the comics, but the knowledge of the method didn’t give that impression so far. You’re supposed to focus yourself on a single goal to eventually achieve total Body Supremacy, which includes meditation and mental disciplines, but if you fall to random murderous urges how can you say you achieved supremacy? It's one thing to act like “every problem is a nail when all you have is a hammer”, it is another to “swing a hammer indiscriminately like a psychopath.”

So, I give them an out. They saw me survive their ambush; I looked unconcerned in front of multiple “peers” threatening me and had the audacity to tell them to leave. Do they take the offer and leave, or will they try to call my “bluff”? Does their pride and bloodlust override their sense of caution?

More importantly, how do I feel about the prospect of letting go of the people that tried to kill me twice in a row? Am I angry, fuming with hatred towards them? Maybe at first, when I ran away from them the first time we met, but that anger was more directed at myself for not being strong enough and having to run away. Now? I’m more annoyed by their theatrics if anything.

“- we are feeling generous. If you join our Familia and keep quiet about this unpleasant business, we can allow you to live.” Bandana guy 1 finally finishes his long rant.

“What’s the name of your god, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Ah, ah, ah~ You have to join first~”

So much for fishing for information. “Is this all you have to say?”

“Listen here, you brat –”

He doesn’t get to finish, as I nail his mouth with a Flashing Steel, the quick charge and hard blow taking him by surprise as I cover several meters in an instant, and while my opponent is still reeling from the impact, I grab his neck in a headlock and violently pull until I hear a visceral cracking sound, completing the Jellyfish Clutch. He drops on the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, and I turn just in time to see a pair rushing after me, their swords brandishing in the air.

““You bastard! He was my brother!””

They both slash at me with incredible speed and power but their technique is sloppy as they rely on their upper body strength to attack while forgetting the proper footwork. I divert the attack from the one on my left to interfere his partner’s attack, sending him to the ground with a foot sweep, while the second attacker is caught off guard by my hand grabbing his neck and before he’s thrown on the hard ground violently, his skull cracked on the ground by my punch with the Ironbreaker – Revolution maneuver.

The first sword attacker rises to his feet during this time to try and kill me, and I sense another of his accomplices’ sneak behind me to try and backstab me with his knife. Without looking back, I hammer the wrist of the would-be backstabber with my free hand while the other grabs my frontal assaulter sword-arm. I hit the backstabber with a hardened thumb on his Adam’s apple which opens a hole on his larynx before I can wrestle the blade from the swordsman, however he’s surprisingly strong and won’t let go of his weapon, so instead of contesting his strength I redirect his power into a throw that ends with him on his back as I stab him with his own weapon.

My developed instincts say that four out of five threats are taken down, and I look back at the last standing man who is rooted in place, frightened by what he just witnessed. After all, the whole exchange lasted only a few seconds as the strikes and throws were performed far faster than a fighter in my previous world could accomplish, and for all that the monsters of the dungeon so far were human-like, the Niko style and the Hercules Method are perfect against humans. 

The man slowly backs away, turning away to run, when a hand grabs his head and mercilessly smashes it into the ground into a bloody pulp. 

The newcomer looks like a goblin, but it is as tall as a human, has a more defined pair of horns and its skin is pitch black. Once our eyes meet the creature gives a monstrous grin, with double rows of needle like teeth shining in the dim light of the Dungeon.

Even if I weren’t out of potions after having just fought off a pass parade, I know that this new enemy will be a tough fight.

Because something tells me I won’t be able to run away from it.