Alvin hit the dirt again, hard. He laid there for a brief moment, and considered feigning unconsciousness, before discarding that thought and hauling himself back onto his feet. Edosa, Master, he corrected himself, would know he was faking, and would most likely increase the intensity of her already insane training. Alvin felt like more bruise than man at that point, and was barely holding on, spitefully, because Edosa said that he wouldn’t be able to last the entire day of training. He’d accepted her challenge, and was paying for it dearly in the now.

He glared at his opponent and Master, who only quirked the left side of her mouth, and otherwise stood motionlessly with her hands behind her back. Alvin took a shuddering breath, and inched forwards, wary of another rapid charge from Edosa that resulted in him on the ground. The lizard woman in question stepped up to meet him, snapping a kick at his left hip. Alvin took a small step back, narrowly avoiding the kick, and then sharply stepped in, throwing a punch. Edosa moved with her previous kick, and pivoted into another one that caught him in the gut, and launched him back 2 meters and onto his back.

Alvin hit the dirt. That last fall was the one that broke the proverbial camel’s back, and he just laid on the ground and looked at the sky. It was a mostly clear day, with some wispy cirrus clouds stretching across the sky like strands of cotton peeled from a cotton ball. He only laid there for a few short moments, before Edosa leaned over him and blocked the sky with her head. She nudged him in the ribs, just hard enough to cause him to hiss, and looked down on him with….. Vague acceptance?

“You held up better than I thought you would. Most would have given up about halfway through. The rest are mostly monsters that you have no hope against,” Edosa paused, looked into the distance a moment, before locking eyes with Alvin again. “Yet.”

Alvin didn’t like the look in her eyes when she said that. He couldn’t quite read her facial expressions, and the ones he could seemed to be manufactured to facilitate easier communication. Regardless, he recognized intensity in a gaze. It was rarer to find his mother without it than with it, and from what he’d seen of Oriana, she was much the same. It was not pleasant to realize his Master, which seemed to be a position that was a strange amalgamation of teacher, personal trainer, parent, and torturer, was another person with an overabundance of intensity. Edosa nudged him again, this time more of a gentle kick, just enough to scoot Alvin over a few centimeters.

“Quit spacing out. You’re done for today, go eat, clean yourself up, and rest. Tomorrow will focus on your spiritual strength, not your physical strength. Come to the Hall instead of going to the training field.” And with those succinct orders, Alvin’s Master strode away, the only signs that she had dismantled him repeatedly were his own bruises, and the dirt clinging to the bottom of her boots.

Alvin continued to lay on his back and watch clouds for a few minutes, before he decided that he really should get something to eat, and a hot shower. Especially a hot shower. Maybe he should clean himself up before going to get food, as he was caked in sweat and dirt, with a few streaks of blood from some minor scrapes. He chose to shower before eating, and the hot water that was waiting for him in his room was bliss made manifest. He was loathe to leave once the shower really started to get hot, but eventually could hold out no longer against the insistence of his stomach, and so went to the dining hall for dinner.

He ran into Oriana and Sasha while getting his dinner, and he ended up spending a good chunk of time talking to the two of them, mostly answering Oriana’s questions about Jebsa, and why the World Serpent had taken him away from training. Sasha occasionally piped up with more general questions, which Alvin was more than happy to answer. She seemed to be opening up some, but still quite obviously preferred to avoid large crowds, which was near impossible for the poor girl because she had gotten herself attached to Oriana, who dragged her everywhere and commanded attention everywhere.

After a long conversation, where Alvin answered Sasha’s questions instead of Oriana’s at every opportunity, all three were exhausted, and returned to the apartment building, and their respective rooms. Alvin laid in his bed, and simply stared at the ceiling for a bit. He wondered what the world at large was like, what strange, fantastic, and probably deadly things there were to see and do. He slowly fell asleep, drifting off imagining a forest of magical beasts, rare plants, and impossible made real. His smile only faded after his consciousness had.

When Alvin rolled out of bed the next morning, everything hurt. If the training when he first arrived was brutal, then Edosa’s training was downright hellish, almost torture. He sighed in relief when he remembered that he wouldn’t be training his body today, but he was still apprehensive about what this “spiritual strength” training had in store for him. Knowing his Master, a lot of pain and exhaustion.

Alvin got dressed, and made his way towards the Hall of Guardians. He left early to avoid any questioning from Oriana, but he knew he would have to answer her sooner or later. Preferably later, but that depends on how busy he can pretend to be.

The Hall of Guardians was in the opposite direction of the training field used by the recruits, closer to the center of the Sect. Alvin had to stop and ask for directions a few times, but luckily had left early, and so would not be late. He figured Edosa would not be lenient if he were.

The Hall of Guardians looked like a modern bank would have before the System. Tall, lots of carved marble, columns, large wood doors, the whole nine yards. It was ornate bordering on tasteless, but Alvin could hardly fault them for showing off to some degree. Especially if their main business was selling protection to rich people, one doesn’t scam the upper class in a hovel. The final piece of the puzzle were the armed guards standing on either side of the doors. Each easily reached 3 meters tall, and wielded proportionate halberds. No details about the guards could be seen through their full plate armor and helmets, but their presence was palpable, not to the level of an elder of Hall Master, but certainly not too far behind.

Alvin approached the doors nervously, fiddling with his hands. The guards made him nervous, and it didn’t help when they suddenly denied him entry by crossing their weapons in front of the door. Alvin jumped at the sudden clang, and then again at the rumbling voice of one of the guards.

“What is your business here?” The voice could have come from either guard, as neither moved in a way to indicate that they were the one who spoke. Alvin wrung his hands and looked back at the guards, taking a second to formulate a response.

“I’m supposed to-supposed to see-I’m supposed,” Alvin stuttered for a moment, before taking a breath and talking slower. “I’m supposed to see Master Edosa for training today. Would you be able to point me in her direction?”

“Ah, her new disciple? Head down the stairs on the right, and turn right. Follow the hallway all the way to the end. She’s expecting you.” The guard delivered the directions, then removed his polearm and went back to being a statue that glared threateningly at passerby.

Alvin went through the doors, and into the Hall. The interior decor was much the same as the exterior, all stylized marble, wood, and gold, and as grandiose as possible with being ridiculous. He quickly spotted the stairwell on the right, and took it to the lower level. The building was much more functional on the lower level, but still retained some of the omnipresent ostentatiousness of the main Hall. There weren’t too many doors, but none of them were labelled, and the general lack of different scenery was starting to grate on his nerves when he finally reached the last door, which was labelled: Deprivation Chamber. Sounds absolutely delightful. Alvin hesitated, hand outstretched for the handle, when he heard Edosa’s voice from inside.

“Just come in already, I have things to do other than beat you into something somewhat presentable.” Now that was reassuring! Regardless, Alvin opened the door, and found his Master sitting cross legged on the floor. She gestured to a small mat in front of her, which he quickly sat down in. She nodded, before she began her explanation.

“This will be easier for you than most disciples, as you grew up without Qi, but the purpose of this chamber is to empty out ambient Qi, to force you to gain greater control of Qi, and also make your techniques more efficient. Efficiency is key! You can use a higher level of power, longer, and that will keep you, and your clients, alive. So, I’m going to activate the formation, and you’re going to try to feel your Qi, and then move it. Annnnnndddd, go!” Before Alvin really had time to process what was going on, glowing lines crawled across the room like psychotic snakes, and suddenly the air felt… stale, empty, like it was simply less than it had been mere moments before.

Alvin focused on the feeling of something missing in the air, and tried to find the matching abundance of energy in himself, his Qi. He sat, and meditated, and sometimes his mind wandered off, but he always recentered himself and began anew. Eventually, Alvin couldn’t tell if it had been minutes or hours, he felt something. It was like seeing shapes out of the corner of your eye, but in thought form, like missing a color. He slowly brought that feeling into focus, after losing it a few times due to his own eagerness, and felt the well of power that was starting to form inside of him. It was barely anything yet, but still held a palpable charge akin to static electricity. He mentally prodded the energy, which caused it all to rush out into the environment and disappear. The sudden emptiness left him woozy, and his vision started to fade. Before he fell completely unconscious, the last thing Alvin felt was irritation at how often he had been unconscious lately.