Chapter 6-164: Looking at the World (1/2)
“Wolverine Style is Anything Goes. It is pure brutal mastery of unarmed combat in all styles and forms. It is the art of fighting unarmed, as opposed to the art of using the Phoenix Claw, you understand? Hands, feet, fists, kicks, head, elbows, knees; wrench, bite, gouge, rip, tear... you use it all. It has no form because it uses whatever needs to be used. It is pure unbridled ferocity!
“You apply that to a Sword, and you have to be able to use a Sword in whatever way is needed to win. Adhering to one Style just means that your enemy knows your strength and can play against it. Parrying instead of trying to dodge, or wearing armor and not trying to dodge much at all,” she pointed out.
His lips pursed as he realized that some of the opponents he’d sparred with had done that completely deliberately, not just because it worked better. Fire Dancing was designed to catch the fast and elusive, but those who defended themselves or just relied on protection it had no advantage against whatsoever...
“So, you use multiple styles at one time in your Sword?” That hurt his brain. If she was smart enough to do that... what sort of genius was he dealing with?
“Seven Dragons Swordplay, yes. Way Masteries in Sun, Shadow, Moon, Fire, Ocean, Storm, and Crystal.”
His mouth went dry. He was sure that wasn’t possible. All sorts of Masters had attempted to use all the different types of chi, but it was impossible...
“Styles, not chi. I’m not Powered. Ki is both weaker and more flexible than chi in that regard.” She’d seen his confusion, and corrected it. “Seven Dragons of chi is not something any Powered can do, let alone someone with no chi.”
He breathed deeply in relief, for a moment wondering if he was dealing with some sort of monster. “No wonder your swordplay is so good!”
Sama said nothing. Double Ways in all Seven Dragons meant she was indeed terrifying to face. Armor, agility, mystical protections... she could cut through it all. A Powered trying to do the same would likely blow out their dantian from the imbalance of energies moving through them, but ki didn’t have any elemental bias to be imbalanced. She just used the style, not the Techniques, but separating that from chi bias was impossible once you started a dantian.
“So, what are you suggesting I do?” he finally asked after they continued walking along the lovely lake, realizing that he had no idea on where to go and how to progress. He wasn’t smart enough to be a good Caster... and his best Stat in that area was the same 13 Charisma tying him down here.
“You need to go back to your foundation. You aren’t going to get anywhere without playing to your true strengths... which is the fact you are naturally tough and strong. Powered tend to ignore their basic physicals in their rush to use magic or chi. It’s time for you to take a step back and do what humans have been doing throughout history. Just because they are simple and don’t toss Fire about doesn’t mean they were wrong.”
He didn’t say anything to that. He loved wielding chi, loved using Fire, and would love to learn the higher forms, being able to project fire, cut swathes of it, bring up an Elemental helper, and the like. But that seemed like a pipe dream...
“So, a Primos Class?”
She nodded. “Melee Levels will take you to Five with no problem, just on Stats. You can build on them to make it all the way to Eight or Nine if you like... and you can still pick up Dragon techniques as you go. As a matter of fact, Crystal Dragon Techniques are ideal.”
“Crystal? With Fire?” He was kind of agog. Crystal Dragon guys sat there and took the punishment doled out at them, and then retaliated with devastating blows. Fighting them was a dangerous dance of finding a weakness in their armor before one of their massive blows laid you out.
“They work amazingly well together. Crystal Dragons get stronger in their armor, Melees learn to use armor better, and the combination makes the armor almost weightless.”
She let that hang, and his eyes widened. “I could Fire Dance in armor?!” he blurted out.
“It looks very strange, but yes,” she confirmed. “It’s called the Volcano style.”
He’d seen vids of some Fire/Crystal stylists, but that was a case of switching back and forth between the styles, not really using them together seamlessly. The focus of Heavyfoot vs Hotfoot was hard to reconcile.
But Fire Dancing in armor... wouldn’t that be something...
“Furthermore, you’re ignoring the other side of your heritage. Pursue the path of a Melee, and you’re going to open some doors on the magical side of the equation. Minor magic is all you need to really make a difference at times.”
“Magic...” Magic required absolute mental ability, and he winced despite himself. It was his weak point. “What kind of magic?”
“Artificing.” He blinked. “You’re going to need it. Go to your dad, and tell him you need his direct help, not his money. You need to learn about steel.” He stared at her. “A Crystal Dragon has to make their own set of armor. There’s no way you’re going to Fire Dance in even something a dwarf makes for you. You’re going to have to learn to put magic and chi into the metal, and make it live.
“You are going to have to know steel. How to shape it, mold it, hammer it, carve it. How to put it together, and how to take it apart.
“It will change how you look at the world.
“Go to your dad. Ask him for his direct help, not his money. He’s a tool and die guy, he makes stuff out of metal. Moreover, he does it for Gritworks, so it’s done old school, by hand. He knows what you need to know. Moreover, he knows where you have to go to find out what you need to know that he doesn’t know.
“Learn the steel, and make the steel dance.”
Edward found himself looking at the sky, picturing his father’s face, so full of hope, willing to support him, drive him to be something special.
The path he was on was going nowhere. He needed his dad’s help to get there... and his dad’s help at what his dad was good at, not something the Powered did.
Not just his money!