“Weave the energy this way. Yes.. Power!! And then burst forward, triple thrust! And then weave the energy that way, and.. Huh? Why isn’t it working?” Elliot frowned. “I followed your instructions to the letter!”

“Again.” Gilgamar simply said. “This time, less thinking, and more feeling.”

“The first three movements are extremely basic, and you were able to blunder through them even without grasping the essence of nature.” Gilgamar said. “From the fourth movement onwards, it will get progressively harder. Sense the presence of nature, and weave your energy in accordance with its rhythm.”

Elliot closed his eyes and allowed Gilgamar’s voice to wash over him. Slowly, he cast his senses outward.

Nature.

What is nature?

The very air itself is part of nature. Air which turns into wind.

What is wind? The movement of air.

Why did the air move? Difference in atmospheric pressure.

What causes the difference? Heat and temperature.

How could heat and temperature cause differences in atmospheric pressure?

“LESS THINKING.” Gilgamar reminded him.

“Oh, right.” Elliot muttered. Without him realizing it, he had gotten lost in his thoughts once more!

“Feel nature. Feel it. Feeel it.” Elliot thought and spread his arms wide.

“I feel the wind. I smell the earth and the trees.” Elliot began. Gently, a strange but distant feeling began to appear in his mind. Elliot pressed on.

“I hear the voices of the birds.. and of men. Bunker? Did they say bunker? They got a bunker! Yes!” Instantly, the strange feeling disappeared without a trace.

“Ooops.” Elliot muttered as he caught himself too late. “But it’s good. I made progress! Let’s try again.”

“The universe is filled with energy. You were too weak to sense them before, and you had no idea what you were looking for. But now.. You’re in the optimal condition to sense the energy of nature. It is right here..” Gilgamar intoned softly.

“It is right here.” Elliot repeated Gilgamar’s words to himself. “It is right here.”

Elliot closed his eyes once more and emptied his mind of all abstract thoughts.

He breathed in deeply and merely dwelled on the information his senses brought him.

Once more, he sank into his sense of smell, touch and hearing. He could even faintly taste the slightly rancid taste of the Belcher explosion’s aftermath.

Faintly, the strange feeling returned. A vitality that was forceful and gentle at the same time.

Gilgamar was right.

Elliot could feel that the power was indeed right where he was.

And then suddenly, like a boy enjoying the smell of the ocean atop a little boat and then falling headfirst into the water, Elliot gasped in shock and opened his eyes wide.

WHOOSH!!

Elliot went from distantly sensing the energies of nature, to realizing that he was FULLY immersed in it!

“This.. This is the energy of nature??” Elliot couldn’t help but cry out in surprise!

“Good. You opened your senses to the energies of nature much faster than I thought you would. Now, execute the fourth movement once more.” Gilgamar didn’t waste any time and immediately instructed Elliot to continue his practice!

Elliot eagerly got into the opening stance and began weaving his Fire Dragon Energy in the prescribed manner.

The moment he stabbed out for his first thrust, Elliot was instantly overwhelmed by the influx of the energy of nature into his right hand!

“Whoa! They are so responsive!” Elliot said in pleasant surprise.

He completed the first triple-thrust and immediately realized his previous mistakes. There was an ebb and flow to the energies of nature. Previously, he was blindly powering through the movements in sequence, and had released his weaved energy during the ebb, thus losing its support completely.

But at that moment, Elliot simply paused for a very tiny split second before releasing his energy along with the flow of the energies of nature.

Quick horizontal slash. Success!

Transition into overhead swing. Far too slow to be effective in battle, but.. Success!

“Good. You got the basics done. Now chain the movements faster.” Gilgamar instructed.

Elliot threw himself into training, absolutely mesmerized by the sensation of wielding the power of nature.

An hour soon passed by.

Then two.

“Yes!! Fourth movement mastered! How’s that, Gilgamar?” Elliot exulted.

Another two hours passed by.

“Fifth movement! I must be the best you’ve ever seen!!” Elliot boasted to Gilgamar.

However, as always, Gilgamar simply plowed on with his instructions.

“This is the sixth movement. Make sure you control the power of the opening thrust.”

An hour and a half later.

“Sixth movement. MASTERED!! Mwa ha ha! You must be speechless in awesome wonder, Gilgamar!”

“This is the seventh movement. Take note of the stutter steps, and release only half of your power during the double thrust.”

“Why half?”

“Do as I say and follow the rules strictly. They are there to quide you to master the movements as fast as possible. Once you’ve mastered the first stage using the restrictions I have put in place for you, you will be allowed to experiment and use different variations of the power levels.”

“Fine. Seventh movement. Let’s go!”

..

..

A full eighteen hours after he began his fourth movement, Elliot finally mastered the seventeenth movement.

“There.. Seven-teenth. Done.” Elliot panted. The movements got harder and harder as it progressed, and began to influence more and more nature energy.

At first, the nature energy seemed responsive and light. But as he got to the later movements, the nature energy seemed to become heavier and heavier.

By the time he reached the seventeenth movement, he felt as though he was carrying hundred-kilogram weights all over his body and on his sword!historical

“This is the eighteenth movement. Do not stop at all during the entire sequence!” Gilgamar began.

“Wait. I need to rest. And ask questions.” Elliot stabbed Gilgamar down onto the ground and leaned heavily on him.

Puchi.

Gilgamar pierced the ground easily and caused Elliot to fall onto the ground!

Bam.

“Oooof.” Elliot collapsed and merely righted his body, choosing to remain on the ground to rest.

After a short moment, Elliot got a little bit of his energy back.

“Gilgamar. Why does the energy of nature get heavier and heavier as I progress through the movements?” Elliot asked.

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