Now it was my turn to get excited. I loved watching a good fight. Not that I'd ever been in one, or even exercised all that much, but still… Cultivation, systems, combat.
I had to get stronger in a world like this, right? "We get to fight?"
Thea gave me a curious look, like she hadn't expected me to be so eager. "Yeah…" Then her gaze drifted down, taking in my frame. "Actually… maybe we should start with some light exercise instea—"
I shot up a hand, cutting her off. "You said this was the most effective way. Let's start."
I squared my shoulders and adjusted my stance, doing my best to look like someone who actually knew what they were doing.
She giggled. "Alright. Since you asked."
With effortless ease, she settled into a stance, her weight shifting lightly from foot to foot. No tension, no second-guessing. Just smooth, practiced movements.
"We'll start light," she said, flexing her fingers. "I don't feel like grabbing any wrappings right now."
I suddenly started to feel a bit regretful. "Uhhh, ha—have you done this before?"
She shot me a deadpan look. "Of course. I trained plenty before coming here."
Meanwhile, I just stood there like an idiot, trying to figure out what to do with my hands.
She tilted her head, her lips quirking in amusement. "How about we start with some basic drills?"
If we do that, shouldn't we just join the others? I glanced over at the group of "defenders" already hard at work. The massive guys built like brick walls were already throwing each other to the ground without hesitation.
Yeah. Definitely not joining that group.
My face warmed slightly as I exhaled. "Yeah… I don't really know any though."
Thea stepped closer, her smirk widening. "That's fine. Let's just get used to movement first." With a glint in her eye, she added, "And after that… sparring."
I gulped.
"Alright," she continued, taking a small step back. "Let's start simple. Just a jab and a block." She raised her hands in front of her. "Hold your guard up, move away to absorb the force. Mirror me after."
She threw a slow jab, her fist cutting through the air with precision.
I followed her instructions, stepping back as her knuckles grazed my forearm.
Her face lit up. "Nice!"
She really does have a nice smile.
"Now you."
I mirrored Thea's movements, though even at this slow pace, I definitely looked and felt a lot more awkward than she did.
But hey, I was doing it. And before long, we were throwing short jabs at a respectable speed. We even started adding in some other movements. Hooks, uppercuts, even kicks.
Well, she did.
I, on the other hand, preferred to stick to the arms. Her fluid movements already outshined mine by miles, but when it came to kicks? Yeah… the less said about mine, the better.
Even after several minutes of what I considered to be a pretty intense workout, Thea barely looked affected.
I… well, I don't think I've ever sweat this much in my life.
"Alright, Peter, just try to react to this, okay?"
I gasped. "Wha—?"
Then, in a single smooth motion, Thea closed the distance between us.
Her shoulder-length hazel hair bounced lightly as she shifted. Before I could process what was happening, I felt her foot hook behind my ankle and her palm pressing lightly against my chest.
A shove.
*Oof.*
Well, the floor was padded at least.
Flat on my back, I stared up at the ceiling, still processing. "That was insane!" I gawked, pushing myself up. "How'd you move so fast?!"
She puffed out her chest proudly. "That—" she placed a hand on her hip "—is just what the smallest amount of Internal Force diffusion can do."
I blinked. "Wow. Sooo… everyone here is that powerful?"
She offered her hand, and I took it and stood, only to see her expression shift into something between disbelief and mild offense.
"I—well…" She hesitated, nearly dropping me. "Most people learn it after they officially join the military I think."
The what?
I dusted myself off. "But why would people focus on this instead of, you know… the linear and smooth progression of systems?"
She opened her mouth to respond, but was unable to continue.
"Gather up, everyone!"
Our instructor's voice cut through the room, snapping everyone's attention toward him. He turned to Thea and me.
"You two as well."
I noticed Thea's expression shift, her confidence fading into hesitation.
I frowned. "What do you think he wants?"
She sighed, shoulders sagging slightly. "I have an idea." But she didn't elaborate. Instead, she walked toward the center, her usual energy dampened.
I followed, standing beside her.
The instructor surveyed the group before nodding. "Alright. You've all warmed up a bit, so… let's have an initiation."
I did not like the sound of that.
Given what I'd pieced together so far. Military? Recruits? This was starting to look more like an army training facility or camp.
"We're not here to maim each other on the first day, so don't be too brutal." The instructor's voice carried, commanding attention.
Not exactly the most comforting warning.
"Thea?"
"Hm?"
"We're not gonna ha—"
Before I could even finish my question, someone else answered it for me.
"Let's start the tournament!"
"One quick thing," Thea said, turning toward me. "You have to circulate your energy while fighting. It'll diffuse into your body. It requires you to split your attention."
Not super useful advice, considering I didn't have any Internal Force to work with.
Before I could even think about asking more questions, I felt a set of massive eyes land on me. Oh no. No, no, no, no, no.
"You're up, kid. Everyone, make some room."
The crowd parted, and a mountain of a person stepped forward. My stomach sank as he scanned the remaining fighters before pointing again.
"You. Come forward too."
Apparently, weight classes weren't a thing here. I had to crane my neck just to see the arrogant grin plastered on this guy's massive face.
How were we even close to the same age? We all had to be, right?! Even if we weren't, I was already eighteen, so I wasn't exactly growing any taller.
I hesitated, then slowly raised my hand.
Odd stares.
Right. Maybe I should just say it instead. "I forfeit?"
It came out more like a question than a declaration.
More odd stares followed by whispers. I turned my most desperate, pleading gaze toward the instructor.
He shook his head. "No."
"No?"
He nodded. "No."
From the corner of my eye, I was pretty sure I saw Thea facepalm.
The guy in front of me chuckled. "Maybe I should give you a handicap. How about this? I won't use my arms?"
Bully.
Though, honestly? I was really tempted to accept. But then I caught the snickers from behind me. The exact kind of laughter you'd hear from a group of smug jerks enjoying someone else's humiliation.
Fine, pride it is.
"Begin!"
I snapped into a stance, trying to recall any of what Thea had taught me. I had a little time. The guy was at least a meter aw—
*WHAM.*
"Ugh—AH!"
With a single blink, a foot that belonged to some overgrown beast slammed into my chest, stealing my breath and sending me flying.
I hit the ground hard, curling into a ball as I gasped for air. Every inhale burned horribly. Like someone was sitting on my ribs.
Through the ringing in my ears, I barely made out the words:
"See? No hands."
Laughter erupted loud, braying, obnoxious.
"Enough!" One word, one sharp command from the instructor was all it took. The room fell silent.
A pair of soft hands wrapped around my arm. "Come on, Peter." Thea's voice was a quiet whisper as she crouched beside me, apparently here to drag me away from my disaster zone.
I summoned all my strength, pushing myself up with exaggerated effort, just to make it clear how much suffering I was enduring.
Then I shot a glare at the overgrown beast who had nearly kicked me into the next life only to realize he wasn't even paying attention to me anymore.
He was just chatting with his friends, completely unbothered.
Rude.
Thea sighed, shaking her head. "Welcome to cultivation. Our only way to compete against that."
That? Overweight muscle-bound clowns? No. I sighed. Obviously she meant the systems.
I let out a weak gasp, still catching my breath. "I don't remember signing up to have my organs rearranged."
But despite my near-death experience, I smiled, genuinely grateful for the support.
She chuckled lightly as we made our way to the outer edge of the circle. "We'll have to get used to it until our systems come."
"I'm looking forward to that day." Though… a nagging thought crept in. Would I even get one?
I wasn't from this place. It seemed like everyone here had a blessing. They looked human at least, but would the same rules apply to me?
"Hey. Look inside your Nexus now," Thea instructed.
I nodded, remembering that she had been about to explain something before I got launched into the heat of battle.
A new match had already started while we talked, but I forced myself to drown out the noise. Focusing inward, I let my senses drift toward the strange world inside me.
Now, two distinct currents swirled around each other, mixing like oil and water. One was my Internal Force, circling my Nexus in a slow, steady motion.
The other was the World Force from before except… something was wrong.
A significant amount of it had vanished. The conversion wasn't perfect.
Far more World Force had disappeared than Internal Force had appeared. Where did the rest go? Maybe this was just part of the process.
I opened my eyes, about to ask Thea about it but she wasn't next to me anymore.
Instead, she was walking toward the center of the circle, stepping up to face her own opponent.
One of the bully's buddies.
I hated to sa—actually, no, I didn't. I was eagerly looking on, remembering Thea's ridiculous speed, waiting for this smug idiot to get absolutely demolished.
"BEGIN!"