Sirius Chapter 18: Chapter 17: First Movement

Read chapter 18 of Sirius by Dealer on NovelPedia.

"Alright, if we're doing this, we need to set some ground rules," said Amelie. After agreeing to be Jihan's instructor, the director wanted to establish the terms of the training; her pupil was still a novice, after all. "First, we set a goal." Amelie extended her hand and held up two fingers. "You're going to learn the first movement of the Black Warrior in two weeks." "That's not much time," Li said. "In case you weren't aware, your 12 mana points will be unlocked in a month. That means things are really going to start moving around here from that point on." Amelie sighed and paused for a second. "Honestly, boy, you may not have noticed, but the empty corridors aren't just from a lack of people; it's entirely strategic." "Come to think of it, Michael said there were hundreds of people here, but I haven't seen nearly that many..." "There are plenty of monsters far stronger than you hiding in their rooms, people who want to stay below the radar for now; once the first month ends, they'll start coming out. Do you know what that means?" "That I'm the weakest one?" "Not exactly, but close enough... the main point is that you're far too exposed. Right now you're a target." She explained. "You might be a diamond, but at this moment your shine is buried under tons of coal." "So what's the plan? Dig through the coal until we reach it?" "No. That would take too long." Amelie smiled with a particular edge to it. "We're going to drill a small hole; just wide and deep enough for a beam of light to reach the gem." Opening the book to one of the pages and pointing to an illustration, she said: "We're going to make this strike your supreme weapon." The drawing depicted a faceless man shattering a turtle's shell. "Shell Crusher?" "The Shijin stances are complete martial arts that would take a lifetime to master." Amelie shrugged. "Unfortunately we don't have that time, but if we sharpen even one technique to a real edge, that'll give you genuine chances in what's coming." "But how exactly do we train this technique? I don't have access to mana." "That's where you're wrong, Li. Everyone in Erebus has mana in their body from the moment they arrive." Amelie pointed to the meridian at his solar plexus. "It's been seeping into your body at an extremely slow rate since you got here, and a few people can even use it effectively. The issue is that the pathways through which that mana travels are blocked, so you can't intentionally absorb it from the environment or circulate it through your body. Besides, haven't I told you already? When it comes to Shijin, mana is just a support." "You're saying I can use what's already in my body to replicate Shell Crusher?" He asked, looking at his own hands. "Well, I wouldn't use the word replicate. Counterfeit might be more accurate." "So I can do it?" "Easy, boy. It's not as simple as you think. If you slip up and push more than you can handle, you'll cause yourself a massive problem." "What do you mean?" "To put it bluntly, the first problem is that because Shijin doesn't lean heavily on mana, it puts enormous strain on your body; if your body isn't built to withstand the techniques, you'll collapse." Amelie warned. "The second problem is energy. Think of the mana living in your body as a vital force. It's used by your meridians to keep them 'lit,' so to speak. If you burn through all of it, without being able to transfer from the rest of your body or draw from the environment, you could permanently lose one of your meridians." Li's excitement faded instantly; a shadow crossed his face. But it didn't stay long. "It's fine. I already knew it wouldn't be easy." He concluded. "Teach me. I want to try." "Looks like I made the right call." Amelie said, letting out a quiet breath of relief. "In that case, let me explain exactly what we'll do. There's a way to transfer mana from one person to another; it doesn't increase your capacity and it's far slower than cultivation itself, but it'll be enough to keep you safe t