It was only once the old man was certain that I was thoroughly intoxicated that elder Kaoshin decided I was worth engaging in conversation.
For that alone, I could’ve hated him.
“So, this little empire of yours. You’re going to need warriors. Warriors who know how to make the hard decisions.” The words were hard to make out, his accent stressing his ‘R’s to the point they sounded more like ‘L’s. Or maybe that was just our shared drunkenness.
Holding up a mug that looked like it’d been carved out of a random rock, I blinked, struggling to process the fact he’d said something of relevance. When I did, the haze of drink was easily pierced by my absurd neural dynamics working its magic. “And you think you’re the right warriors to make those sorts of decisions?”
“Obviously your people aren’t. Giving out food and clothes to any wandering stranger, no matter how useless.” Kaoshin made sure to smash his own stone mug into the uneven table we were leaning against to emphasize the word useless. Then he pushed to his feet, though with how bent his back was, that wasn’t saying much. Clear of the table, he staggered across the room. At first it looked like he was headed for the fireplace, his long beard nearly dipping into the flames before he corrected course. He was almost out the door before he twisted in place to glare at me. “You coming or not, boy-emperor?”
“Not is kinda tempting,” I muttered under my breath, sure he’d be able to hear me even in his drunken state. During a drunken rant complaining about his grandson’s ineptitude, he’d revealed that he’d once been equal to a tier-three Kinya user in physical capability, including perception. Most of that had been lost with the curve in his spine, but his mind and hearing remained sharp.
None of this was what I wanted. Why had I allowed myself to be convinced to partake in their ritual?
My gaze shifted to a nearby table where refugees from a nearby valley were sitting under blankets, eating the food the train had brought. The mother was silently crying, while hugging her daughter to her chest. Safe.
Yeah… that was why.
Because these bastards had dozens of strongholds built atop existing mana-wells, and every one of them we could connect meant more families getting refuge. And getting them to agree meant participating in their stupid rituals.
Instead of wasting the last several hours, I pushed to my feet. Which was when I discovered I was even more intoxicated than I’d realized.
The floor did a solid impersonation of the wall for a second as I found myself leaning against it. A couple seconds later I righted myself, neural dynamics working to compensate with each step. Hazards of not testing my body’s new tolerances. The alcohol made me feel disgusted with myself. Only the fact I could purge it at any moment kept me from doing so. That and the family.
Kaoshin was waiting for me in the hall, one hand on the wall, the other on his knee. As soon as I cleared the doorway, he hobbled further into the stone fortress. The stairs downward were poorly lit, with only a single rune-lamp at every third or fourth landing. Despite their infrequency, it was more than enough to see by, especially with the ever active Eagle Eyes assisting.
Neither of us was moving particularly quickly, so what should have been a five minute descent ended up taking us the better part of twenty. Kaoshin kept grumbling under his breath the entire time, something about a hammer, a bell and a tortoise.
Never did find out what that was about.
Eventually we emerged into a room with a statue dominating the space. A shrine. This one was to a dragon-souled I recognized. It was Valos, the champion of sanctuary and strife. The jagged-edged two-handed shield was nearly the same as the one held by the statue outside my father’s library. A lot more spikes though. In place of the stoic facade that made Valos seem noble, a sadistic grin was plastered across their face. Guessed the Seven Celestial Chains venerated the strife aspect more than the sanctuary.
As if to prove the point, Kaoshin slapped his bare spot in the center of his forehead, the sound echoing despite the small size of the room. “Hit me.”
“I’m not gonna hit you, old man,” I said, huffing out a sigh.
“Why? You afraid I’ll break you in two?” he cackled, jabbing a finger at me.
“Considering how you’ve nearly done it to yourself? Yeah, I’ve got proof you can,” I confirmed, crossing my arms and leaning against the doorframe to keep myself steady.
“Kids these days, no respect for their elders.” Kaoshin waved me closer before raising his hands in what looked like a well practiced stance. “You want to seal this deal of yours? Well, you need to go three rounds with me.”
Sighing, I pushed off the wall. It was tempting to purge the alcohol. Despite his bent frame, I didn’t want to fight him. And not because he was old. There was a good chance that even with his bowed back, he’d be able to toss me around the room. And that was assuming I was sober.
Well, at least if I had to use Restore Form to heal an injury I wouldn’t have to feel bad about any alcohol purged with it.
Hopping in place, I was still feeling myself out when Kaoshin moved. For a quarter of a second, I could barely follow him. Then I adapted and it was like he’d stepped into molasses. It was enough for me to follow his movements. More than enough. Much as I didn’t want to fight him, he’d pretty much chosen the worst type of close quarters fighting he could’ve. If we’d used swords or staffs, I would’ve been lost.
Even if he had a lifetime of fighting bare-knuckled, it was obvious that he hadn’t fought in the pits. Breaking his blow’s momentum barely took a jab to the inside of his elbow, my mental speed making it easy to land now that I’d acclimatized to the drunken haze. His arm folded so quickly he slapped his own cheek. Hadn’t intended that part, but I wasn’t going to tell him.
Kaoshin stared for a solid three seconds at his own offending hand before barking out a laugh. “Ha, seems the boy-emperor isn’t a total daisy afterall.”
“Wait, is daisy supposed to be an insult?” I asked as he moved back into his stance. He didn’t answer, grinning as he went on the attack. This time he was more cautious as he approached.
It didn’t help him.
This time he went for a kick, one I managed to assist, causing him to knee himself in the chin. Less of an accomplishment than it would’ve been on most people, given his chin’s proximity.
“Boy, are you seriously making a game of this?” The words might’ve seemed harsh, but his cackling laughter took any bite out of them.
“Worst game ever. I prefer Tetris,” I said, once more countering his combo. This time I wasn’t able to get him to hit himself, since he’d been watching for it. Instead, he managed to catch my attempt and nearly had me slap myself. I only narrowly slipped his grip before reseting.
“Almost had you, boy! Not so fast now, are you?”
“You do know I’m a mage by trade, not a fighter, right?” I asked as he came at me with another exchange. Not trying anything fancy, I let him miss several shots as I got a better measure of his speed.
“Everyone’s a fighter. Man or woman, child or elder. Survival doesn’t allow for anything else. Sanctuary through strife,” Kaoshin said with the sort of conviction only a fool could muster as he came at me again.
“Not the kind of fighter I meant.” It was surprisingly easy to keep up banter during our exchange. Back in the pit, I never would’ve spared even a sliver of attention for the sort of exchange we were having. Not unless I knew it would give me an immediate advantage. Dodging his attacks again, I wondered if we were still on the first round or if me getting him to strike himself had counted.
Either way, I knew the round wouldn’t last much longer.
When Kaoshin came at me again, I tripped him, letting his momentum do most of the work for me. He recovered easily enough, turning the trip into a roll. Didn’t even have to tuck much to do it, considering the bend of his spine. Unfortunately for him, I figured he’d do something like that, so I booted him while he was still tucked in, sending him straight into the wall.
The stone wall cracked, and from the sound of it, so did Kaoshin’s back. It was hard to tell which had been louder.
“Rags and oil,” I muttered, drawing a hand over my face. I hadn’t expected to hit him that hard. That had been the first time I’d thrown a proper kick since my strength had increased. Not to mention while inebriated. Of course I’d gotten it wrong. Should’ve thrown out some feints to get a better measure.
Just because I could think faster didn’t mean I couldn’t think stupid.
I was already channeling Restore Form as I approached Kaoshin. Before I could reach him, he stood up. And up. And… up.
He was probably a solid seven and a half feet tall, now that he wasn’t stooped over. As I watched, he pressed both hands against his spine and leaned back, more cracks echoing around the small room. A grin nearly as large as the man stretched across his wrinkled face. “Ha. Well, I’ll be a turtle’s uncle. I’ve been trying to get one of my brats to do that for two decades. Never figured it’d be a mage of all things who’d do it proper. That’s your win, boy.”
Despite his words, I didn’t relax. There was a readiness to him, one that spoke of imminent violence. He was easier to read, now that he wasn’t bent over.
“Course, that’s only the… boy, how the hell are you so fast?” Kaoshin’s fist grazed my cheek, sending the skin wobbling. His words felt like they were arriving in slow motion. The Restore Form I’d been channeling for him I’d ended up dumping into myself instead of canceling, which I was glad for now, as it’d purged the worst of the drunkenness.
The next few exchanges were a lot faster than those that had come before. He managed to clip me and send me into a spiraling pirouette. All my practice with the storm dance had me landing it with only a couple extra steps to bleed off momentum. My habits almost had me send out a lightning bolt at the end as well, though I held off, simply hitting his arm with a snap kick.
That sent him into the shield of Valos. The shield did more damage than I had, tearing up his arm, spilling the first blood of the fight.
“That’s two,” I said before he could dive back in.
He chuckled, but nodded.
The third hit followed so closely after, he didn’t have much time to process it.
Still using the steps drilled into me by Calbern during the dance, I stepped aside and booted him back out into the stairs, now having a better understanding of my new strength. I also had a good idea of how durable the old man was, which meant the only thing that cracked was the stone wall. “And that’s three. Can we end this farce now?”
Kaoshin pushed himself off the wall, staring at the cracks for several seconds before shaking his head and facing me. “Boy, I’ve been teaching kids how to fight for more than three centuries now. The way you move, I’ve only seen twice before. One was a kid so feral he ended up chewing off another kid’s arm to escape a chokehold.”
“Charming.” Poor kid. I couldn’t imagine what he must’ve gone through to end up that desperate. Could relate though. There’d been a time or two when I’d had to do similar to keep from being choked out.
“He was the better one. Once he felt safe, he wasn’t so bad. Just took a while to figure that out. It was the girl who was dangerous.” Kaoshin stepped past me, moving to stand in front of the statue to Valos, hand running along the spike that drew his blood before joining his hands in some sort of religious sign. “Never got her story. But the place we pulled her from… I’ve seen a lot of dark things in this world. Valos might ask us to fight, but he’s ultimately a good sort. What happened to her…”
Kaoshin turned away from the statue, intense gaze meeting my own. I didn’t flinch. After all, he was just an old man. He wasn’t my old man.
“Well, I think you might know her story better than I ever will.”