Ball of Nothing

"Welcome back," Mitchnew greeted and Zero groaned. The sun was simply too bright.

Wait, sun?

Zero bolted up quickly and took a quick glance at his surrounding. he was tucked into his straw mattress with a moth-eaten blanket draped over him. It didn't take long for the apprentice know where he was.

"Wait, what? How?" Zero blurted out, confused as a fish.

The dark elf smiled. Hua Tuo did say that desperate times called for desperate measures and while she was happy that the village head wasn't holding a grudge against his teacher, she didn't feel happy about the methods Hua Tuo employed.

"It's alright, Zero. You're safe now."

The young doctor blinked. Safe? He didn't exactly feel like he was in any danger even though Hua Tuo did shove him into the lake. Still, the apprentice felt as if he'd slept for a very long time. The dream was so vivid that Zero had difficulty telling when it all started. Strangely, after the dream, Zero's heart felt lighter. It was as if the dream was pointing him towards a clearer direction in life. Perhaps this was what the blessing in disguise was. Hua Tuo might be secretly trying to help him grow just like how lions push their cubs off the cliff*.

Mitchnew raised a brow when Zero made a thoughtful expression. She wasn't sure what Zero was thinking about but she was still angry at Hua Tuo's decision. The doctor shouldn't butt into the combat lessons without asking them for their opinions. Who knows what sort of impact the doctor's interference would have on Zero's progress now?

Ruth was on the roof of the hut, listening in to Zero's side of the conversation. He was relieved when the brunet seemed normal. Hua Tuo's 'experiment' didn't seem to have any lasting side effects apart from that horrible episode of Zero's constant crying and screaming from his nightmares that nobody could wake him from.

The vampire wasn't too pleased to know that Hua Tuo took Zero to Sleepy Cave to 'breakthrough his barriers' without consulting Mitchnew or himself beforehand. If something had gone wrong in that breakthrough, Ruth had no doubts that Zero would be mentally scarred forever in a bad way. Forget about combat, he might even stray from the medical path. Where Hua Tuo gained the confidence that Zero would win against the odds, the vampire didn't know. However, as Zero's combat teacher, he was terrified for the kind-hearted teenager.

Zero's stomach protested loudly and Mitchnew rushed to prepare something for him quickly. Ruth wasn't very surprised that Zero's stomach was the first thing to make itself known. The teenager had been sleeping for two full days. Hua Tuo didn't worry too much and told them that Zero would return to them soon as he overcame himself. The vampire just couldn't believe that the weak-willed brat would be able to conquer his inner demons. Neither Ruth or Mitchnew had the confidence to look into the mirror of their inner minds and fight them head-on. In fact, few could overcome the trials set by Gods to walk the righteous path. Often, only heroes did that to prove themselves worthy of God's blessings.

Zero could still feel the humming of excitement for change in his blood even after the dream had ended. Although his body was slightly weakened from hunger, the teenager couldn't wait to test out his new knowledge. He knew some basic moves that Ruth and Mitchnew had pounded into his brain. For close-ranged combat, there were techniques to restraining a person that often became too complicated for Zero. However, if there was one thing Zero was a master at, it was the ability to flow with the movements.

The teenager knew he had been scolded countless of times for ignoring the threats lingering behind an attack and was always down with his guard. However, Zero countered this logic by thinking of a way to quickly put distance between him and the attacker when he sensed something amiss. For a close-range combatant to design a trap, the trap had to be either close-ranged or mid-ranged where the attacker could still control the situation. However, that gave Zero who had the advantage of instant distance travelling to run away outside of the radius of control.

Zero didn't know Hua Tuo's philosophy of being like water. Tai Ji was a fighting style that proved to be very flexible in movements as it was able to overcome just about any situation that would normally prove disadvantageous to even veteran fighters. However, they were often complicated and Zero didn't know how to apply those moves fast enough in a given scenario.

Mitchnew has a personal fighting style that involves a hit and run technique. Often she would hit the target with a good accurate shot that culled their numbers or weaken them before she went into hiding again. The element of surprise played a big part in Mitchnew's strategy. Zero just never did have patience or judgement as good as Mitchnew's to put her fighting style to good use. The dark elf had years of experience on the battlefield that Zero lacked and the teenager decided that he would use the hit and run technique on his enemies as a preemptive strike, not for an actual confrontation.

Zero also became familiar with Ruth's personal combat style. While the vampire did his best to use Tai Ji when he fought, Zero could still see a pattern. The Roth vampire has a relentless attack pattern which was true to the art of using offence as a defence. Zero never had time to think or catch his breath went Ruth closed in on him. His moves were sharp and precise, always aiming to incapacitate and following up with another move to maim something. There was never a wasted move and each strike had a follow-up move that backed it up in a never-ending loop combination.

Zero had the most trouble with Ruth's style of fighting as the vampire slowly worn out Zero's stamina, motivation and focus. The Tai Ji philosophy of being flexible like water really was suited for the vampire. Zero thought that instead of learning it, he should let Ruth learn it instead.

Still, Zero knew that he couldn't back down from the challenges after making a promise to himself to stay true to who he was. Identity wasn't easily forged and to lose something so precious would be a shame. So what if Zero wasn't good at combat, reactions and Math? being bad at them simply made up part of who Zero was. In fact, when the young doctor weighed his strength and weaknesses, he realised that there were many things he was good at that could help to cover his weaknesses.

While Zero was bad at Math, he had a good judge of character and could use the Intuition gift to predict a result. Zero knew that his reactions towards unfamiliar situations can often land him into greater trouble. However, the teenager believed that so far, all his meetings had been nothing but blessings in disguise. Zero made many friends and thought that it was a talent in itself. He had naturally powerful charisma even if half of that came from the passive Blessing from Freya. As for Zero's lack of innate talent for combat, the brunet knew that he was a very resourceful individual brimming with creativity. As long as there was a will, there would be a path.

Mitchnew came back with fifteen sandwiches that made Zero drool. It didn't take the growing teen long to wolf down all fifteen sandwiches and Zero let out a loud burp at the end of it, blushing when he caught Mitchnew staring at him. The young doctor apologised and asked if the dark elf knew where Ruth was.

"I would like to arrange a sparring session to try again. This time, I will not hold back and will use all the tricks in my bag to win. I might not be able to correct all the mistakes that you mentioned but I will try not to get myself into any potentially dangerous situation."

His combat instructors were surprised by Zero's declaration but they were happy. It looks like all their worries were unfounded. Zero still had the fire left in him, he wasn't broken. Hua Tuo who overheard it smiled to himself. Perhaps it was time to consider expanding his medical knowledge into the psychology field too. mental health was still health-related after all.

Ruth offered to be Zero's sparring partner first. The vampire studied Zero and was satisfied that there was nothing wrong with Zero. He didn't want to push Zero too hard this time although he wanted to know what kind of tricks Zero had up his sleeves that he has yet to see.

"Remember, this is a pure combat fight. No funny magic tricks and spells. Only buffs, defensive barriers and heals allowed."

Zero nodded and focused. He wasn't going to cheat and use spells. He would only use defensive barriers, heals and buffs. However, he wasn't going to do as he was taught. Strength and speed buffs were useful but they were limited. Zero needed better buffs if he wanted to overcome this obstacle. The marsupial demons had tails and powerful hind legs to help them with their stunts. Zero might not be a marsupial demon with those traits. However, he could make up for some of the differences with different buffs.

"Start!" Mitchnew called out and the vampire dashed in, closing the distance between him and Zero almost immediately.

Zero wasn't fazed by the speed of Ruth's charge. After being knocked down a few hundred times by the same starting, Zero learnt his lesson. Whenever he dodged it, Ruth would follow up with a swift twist and kick to his back. When Zero caught Ruth in a stalemate of power, the vampire would find ways to twist out of it to launch a close-range counter-attack. If Zero met him head-on with speed-enhanced charge, he would only be tripped or flipped over as Ruth used the gravity against him. This time, Zero was going to do something out of everyone's expectations.

If Mitchnew had been in the battle, she wouldn't have seen where Zero went. he moved so quickly that he might have been teleporting but the dark elf didn't call out foul because she knew what Zero had done while Ruth was still trying to get over his initial shock.

Fifty metres above the vampire, Zero timed his dive and accelerated the gravity. Ruth was caught unprepared for an attack from above even though he put up a last-minute defensive barrier against Zero's mighty axe heel from fifty metres above.

Unable to withstand the pressure of that kick, the barrier shattered and pummeled Ruth into the dirt. the vampire coughed out blood and promptly passed out from the impact. Mitchnew rushed in to stop Zero from attacking further. Ruth had been knocked out cold and probably severely injured. She was not worried about the vampire dying just yet because vampires had high-speed regeneration. He would be up again in a few minutes but if Zero did another one of those fifty-metre axe heel dropkicks, the ex-assassin wasn't so sure that Ruth would survive.

Zero blinked as Mitchnew pulled him away. A knock-out just after one attack? The young doctor could hardly believe it. Perhaps... perhaps this was his true strength after all. he might not be untalented in combat, he was simply doing it the wrong way the whole time.

Hope was an infectious thing because once it started, Zero couldn't get it to stop. he wanted to try more of the new ideas that kept popping up in his head. If gravity manipulation buffs were this powerful, imagine what the other buffs would do. Friction, sticking to surfaces, courage enhancement, sense heightening, night vision etc... the possibilities were going to be endless!

Ruth groaned as his body stitched itself back together. Mitchnew looked at him with concern and the vampire was still disoriented.

"What just happened?" he croaked and Zero smiled.

"I used a gravity buff back then. Just as you were closing in I reduced the gravity and jumped then timed it to when you were within range to accelerate the gravity pull and land a basic axe heel dropkick as you taught me."

Ruth paled. That was a dropkick? That axe heel dropkick almost killed him!

"I don't think that's how normal dropkicks are applied," Mitchnew gently told Zero on seeing the horror on Ruth's face.

"Really?"

Mitchnew shook her head. "Dropkicks don't come down from fifty metres with accelerated gravity magic. With that kind of axe heel dropkick, even dragons won't escape unscathed."

Zero clapped, feeling amazed that he managed to create a high-level secret art from just his first experiment. "Can I write this down? I need to include this in my secret martial manual. I'm going to call this 'Dragon Slaying Dropkick from the Heavens'. Does it sound cool?"

Mitchnew nodded to amuse the boy who dashed off to bother Hua Tuo for an extra notebook and paintbrush set. Ruth looked horribly pale and Mitchnew was glad that she wasn't the first one going up against new and improved Zero. Unlike the vampire, she didn't have high-speed regenerative abilities.

"Don't mind if I stand as a referee and observer for the rest of Zero's combat training," she told the Roth survivor who felt as if he'd barely survived anything at all.

"Yes, it might be better for you to sit out. I only hope that Zero can exercise moderation from now on. I was not prepared for that..."

Mitchnew helped Ruth get on his feet and agreed. "Neither was I, neither was I..."

Hua Tuo's gamble paid off and now there was a whole new deck of trouble waiting for the combat teachers. When Zero was inspired, he was often followed by a trainwreck of troubles. Teaching this teenager wasn't going to be easy for anyone. Who knows what other ridiculous basic moves Zero would modify to become god-killing signature moves? Ruth had a feeling that the Dragon Slaying Dropkick from the Heavens wouldn't be the last of it.

On the bright side, if there was one, Ruth was happy that Zero managed to find a way to overcome the barrier between theory and develop his personal style built upon his natural talent. Still, was it too much to hope that Zero understood what moderation was? The Roth vampire was beginning to wonder why nobody in his clan taught him what holding back and going easy on his enemies meant. If he learnt what mercy was when he was younger and instilled it in Zero, would he have to suffer this much now?

Mitchnew could only comfort the vampire by placing an arm around him as they returned to the hut. At least she could let her mind rest at ease knowing that Zero was such a versatile fighter. It didn't matter what kind of situation he encountered in the future, his creativity would save him from any tight spot. Zero was resourceful and unlike Ruth, she never once doubted Zero's ability to create miracles when the situation called for it.

*Author's Note: I did some research and found out that this saying isn't literal. Lions do not push their cubs off the cliff because they're protective of their young although they will push them off slopes and hills to make them climb back again and again. also, interestingly enough, birds are not pushed off high places to learn how to fly. They jump voluntarily. Yes, I'm as mind blown as you are because I'm so uneducated. My school taught me the wrong things, my life is a lie.