Limits

Time slowly passed, while I practiced my new Defensive Forms. With time, I realised that my attack was also basic, and I could improve that. This resulted in a completely new technique being formed. Stringed Hidden Weapons was still the basis of all those Forms, but I now had a fully developed technique, at least speaking of different Forms.

I already created the three Defensive Forms, each with its own name. Ring Form, Shield Form and Mind Form. These were the three Defensive Forms of my newly upgraded Stringed Hidden Weapons Technique. The new additions, were the three Offensive Forms, I figured out later. The First Form, Aura Carnage Form. A full frontal attack with my Aura fully attached to the daggers. The Form aimed to cover a group of people or a single individual with a barrage of attacks. In addition, all of them would be targeting my opponent's pressure points. A deadly skill, but abandons all defence. Of course, it still lacked the stealth part, which I had to figure out in the future.

The Second Form, Wind Form. I would use the unpredictability of wind, to attack at tricky angles in mid range combat. My daggers could change directions naturally with the use of wind, which meant I could use some of them in order to defend myself. This was kind of Support Form and Offensive Form in one technique. The difficulty was much greater than the First Offensive Form, because I had to master wind prediction first.

The third and Final Form, was called Darkness Element Form. This Form could only be used at night, when I absorbed the Black Orbs from my surroundings. The most deadly defensive and attacking Form, I could come up with. Not only would this Form destroy my opponents attacks, it would destroy my opponent as well. It required a constant spin of all my daggers around my whole body. Like a domain or zone that encircled me. Anything that would come in contact with that domain, would perish.

There was a price to pay for this. Not only could I use this Form during the night alone, I could only use it for a very short amount of time. The strain this placed on my body was immense. I also couldn't support it for a long time. The rate at which the Darkness Element would be consumed? Quick, very quick. I decided to categorise those Orbs, and assign properties to them.

As far as I found, there were six Elements. The Darkness, Earth, Wind, Fire, Water and Nature Elements. Not only that, my right hand was able to absorb small quantities of the Water Element. I found out that Water Element allowed for a faster regeneration, but it was restricted to my right arm only. My ice power as well as durability of the scales increased a bit, when the Water Element was absorbed. The benefits of that were obvious. I could use this at any time of the day, but there was a downside too. I had to be near a water source, in order to absorb the Water Element.

Although these were the Forms, I wasn't able to execute most of them. For now, they were concepts, and something for me to work towards. The Second and the Final Forms of my Stringed Hidden Weapons Technique, were very difficult to accomplish. Coming up with them, took a lot of time too. 'It's been a few months since I started my training in the Art of Hidden Weapons. I think it's time for the next step' I thought, and headed to the peak of the mountain.

I haven't visited the peak for those past few months. The three masters secretly checked up on me. I never discovered Yater, but if the other two spied on me, Yater must've done it too. When I climbed the peak and entered the house, I saw all three of them inside. Yater and Nathan were sitting on chairs, while Irwin sat on the floor.

When Irwin saw me, he said "Nex! Make me a chair and a bed!". This guy seemed desperate. I asked "Can't you do it yourself?". He replied "I don't know how. Besides, I don't have the tools. That old bastard wouldn't share". Yater butted in "It's your fault for not having the tools. Fess up to it". I shook my head, and replied "Alright, I will make them for you. Now you owe me though".

He asked "What? For a bed and a chair?". I replied "You can sleep on the floor then". He quickly changed his mind, and said "Fine, I owe you!". I nodded, and went outside to gather some wood. It didn't take long for me to make a bed and a chair for Irwin. He sat down on the chair, then tested the bed. Irwin said "Not bad, they are usable". I said to all three "I need your help guys. Irwin, do you have any skills that use elements?". Irwin nodded his head, and said "My sword has fire element, why do you ask?". I replied "I need you to attack me with that".

He asked, "Is it for that thing you were practicing?". I replied by nodding, and turned to the other two. Yater asked "I don't use any elemental skills though, so how can I help you?". I replied "I don't need that from you, I need you to use Illusions on me". He was surprised, and asked "Why?". I replied "I need to test my new defensive skills on illusions. Would it look good, if a master in the Art of Stealth was subdued by illusions? Remember that there are Eterians roaming the world". Yater nodded, and said "Right, I will help you out then".

The last one was Nathan. He said "You want my skills as well. If my guess is correct, you want me to use my bolt knives, right?". I nodded, and said "That is right. I created three different Forms of defence. Each Form is for something else. One against projectiles, such as arrows or thrown weapons. Second that specialises in blocking elemental attacks, or frontal attacks. And third, which deals with illusions. I'm not sure how well they will work, but I need strong people to practice. There is no one else besides you guys. You also have the necessary skills for me to practice".

Irwin stood up, and said "Then what are we waiting for? Let's practice!". We all went outside. I asked Nathan to be the first person. After all, the Ring Form was the First Form. I said "Just go easier in the beginning. You are much stronger than me, and this is only practice". He smiled, and said "Don't worry boy, I will not kill you".

I released my daggers, and positioned them in a Ring Form. A ring of daggers floated around me, rotating all the time. Nathan smiled, and said "I already saw it, but not bad. Let us start then". Nathan threw one dagger after the other. I wasn't able to block most of them, even though he wasn't serious. We practiced like this for hours, before I stopped him. "I need some rest, and treat my injuries. This is much harder than I thought".

Nathan cheered me up "Boy, you have something good on your hands. As long as you practice that well, your defence against such attacks, will be very good. This Form also covers your back, I'm not sure how you will cover that, but who knows". I was already prepared, and took out some meat. I had to use my energy, in order to regenerate my body. This required loads of food.

A while later, I stood up with my injuries mostly healed, and said to Irwin. "It's your turn now. Don't go overboard though. Just start slow, and if need be, you can increase the power". Irwin nodded, and took out his sword. He said "I will use the weakest attack, I learned. It should be alright". I released my daggers again, but this time assuming the Second Form.

A shield of ten daggers, closely packed together in a circular pattern, appeared in front of me. I had to constantly control them, to keep the Shield Form intact. Irwin's blade suddenly lit with fire, and a Fire Element air slash sped towards me. As the attack was about to arrive, I pulled and released all the strings, with a motion akin to a wave on the sea. I was too quick though, and my Shield Form broke apart. I quickly covered myself with my right arm. I managed to block it, while the damage I sustained was minimal.

We tried that for a while, until my right hand was unable to move. I was also spent. I had to use my energy, in order to regenerate my right arm faster. After I rested some more, and ate even more food, I said to Yater "Let's try with illusions now". Yater nodded, and said "I will do some simple ones, let's see if you can break them". I nodded, and again released my daggers.

This time, all of the daggers pointed at me. My daggers were placed at specific locations around my body. This was to hit my own pressure points, and wake me up from the illusion. I also attached my Aura to them, just to give myself higher chances. Yater just stood there, and did nothing. He didn't swipe his hand in any gesture, or made any weird moves. He simply looked at me.

After a while, I saw two Yaters, then three, four and finally five of them. All had different weapons, and all of them walked towards me. I first tried my usual method, but it didn't work. 'Time to test it out, I guess' I thought, and pulled all the strings towards me. I didn't pull too hard, as I didn't want to kill myself. Just enough for my daggers to penetrate my skin.

"Pak!", "Pak!", "Pak!", "Pak!", "Pak!", "Pak!", "Pak!", "Pak!", "Pak!", "Pak!".

Ten daggers stabbed into different parts of my body, while I released an audible groan. Soon all five Yaters disappeared, while the real one stood in his original spot. I exclaimed "It worked! This actually worked!". Yater said "I know, I can feel when the illusion is broken. This was the easiest one I could do. Wanna try harder one now?". I nodded, and said "Yes, but wait a minute. I need to regenerate myself a bit".

After a while, we resumed our practice. I could break through the simple illusion, but the harder ones were still too difficult. I said "If this was able to wake me up even from the weakest of your illusions, it means that the Form works. I just have to adjust it, and figure out how to break stronger illusions". Yater nodded, and said "I'm still impressed that you achieved it. Not bad kid".