Limits

After my break, I started running the routes again. I noticed that it was much harder now, due to increase in my strength. I had to slow down to stay hidden and sometimes even that didn't work. I tried being very fast but that also didn't work. The more strength I used, the greater disturbance I created. 'This is not the way to practice that skill. I need to control my strength properly. This sudden increase in strength is a blessing but also a curse in a way' I thought.

I didn't train my new skill that day. Instead, I spent the rest of it trying to control my strength output. When my strength was increasing in small increments, I had no issue adjusting to it but now, I was either very strong or too weak for a specific task. I could control how much strength I used to punch something, to some extend. What I couldn't control was the exact amount of my strength, for a certain task at a specific time.

For that purpose, I came up with an idea. I had to figure out how much strength I needed to use, in order to lift a stone for example. It could be a small stone but it could also be something bigger. I opted to start small first and train my lower range of strength output. I lifted a stone that could possibly weight 1-2 kilograms, I then applied less and less strength in order to find the balance, just enough strength that would allow me to lift the stone in my hand only.

I didn't search for long and quickly found the right amount. To test it, I found a larger stone and tried to pick it up but I wasn't able to do so. 'This means, I just need to find many objects that are heavier than that rock and test my strength. With time, my muscles will naturally remember what amount of strength I need for a specific weight' I thought.

This was just one part of my training to control the new strength I had. The weight was not the only way to learn how to control my body properly. I also had to train my running, jumping, throwing and whatnot in order to get back the control I used to have.

The day passed like this. I noticed that it was already dark and the moon in all of its glory, floated in the sky. I stopped my practice for that day and had my dinner first before going to sleep. I made some progress. The more things I found that could test my strength, the better I got with my control. The problem was with the top range power control. I could release 100% of my strength but for example 90% was much harder to achieve. Releasing 50 or a 100% of my strength was simple. 100% was my all and 50%? half of that, so it was simple to adjust that power. 'I need to find something very heavy. The bag I have is not going to be useful for that' I thought.

I decided to worry about that the next day, right now, I had my dreams to take care of. I fell asleep and when I opened my eyes again, I was already in my dream. The problem was that throughout the day, I mostly focused on controlling my strength and testing my strength. The dream I had that night was not about Ancient Language but the one with a lone dark figure training.

I was about to start the training alongside the dark figure, when I noticed that something was wrong. The dark figure didn't practice the same set of exercises anymore. It would always start the same as usual but now, the exercise was different. Not only was the exercise different, there were other things that were different as well. New objects appeared when the dark figure started new exercise.

I was baffled by this and thought 'What the hell is this? Why did it change?'. I wrecked my brain about that question and could only think of one thing. 'My guess is that due to my strength, the dream changed. It is possible that the dream changed due to the lack of effectiveness of the previous exercises. The previous exercises would have no effect anymore… probably. Instead, they were replaced by this set of exercises' I thought. This was the best theory, I could come up with.

The set of exercises looked a lot different compared to the past. Instead of imitating animals, the dark figure was doing some solid sets of exercises. It started by... walking. It wasn't simple walking though, the dark figure walked on some sort of illusionary path. When the dark figure stepped on a piece of ground, it would shine under its legs, as if it was walking on some sort of glass. This "floor" was not visible otherwise, only when the dark figure stepped on the ground I could catch a glimpse of that path. Later on, the dark figure was not longer stepping on the ground, it was walking on air. Well, the path was in the air but it looked confusing and magical. 'What the hell is this exercise supposed to be?' I thought.

The exercise ended soon after the "walking in the air" part and the dark figure started doing something else. The next exercise was even more shocking. It seemed like a description from a fist skill book, that I used to have in the past. The dark figure stood in front of large basin of sort. It was perfectly smooth and with no handles. The basin was suspended by means I was unable to understand. The basin basically levitated in front of the dark figure. It was silver in colour and looked like metal. There was something inside, it didn't look hot or cold. It looked like some sort of gravel.

The dark figure shoved what I could only assume its hands into the basin and then out. One at a time, in a continuous motion. This lasted for a long while before the dark figure started next exercise. The next exercise the dark figure did was also shocking to behold. Wooden poles or at least what looked like wooden poles, sprouted upwards from the ground. The poles were varying in sizes, some were as tall if not taller than a grown man, while some were as short as half a metre.

The shocking part was not that those poles just sprouted up, from the ground. What shocked me was the next thing the dark figure did with those poles. The dark figure kicked at one pole breaking it. I wasn't impressed... until I saw what happened next. Instead of landing and running to the next pole, the dark figure flew to the next one with another kick, then another and so on. All the poles that the dark figure kicked were broken. It never used its hands, only its legs were used to achieve this feat.

The dark figure never touched the ground when traveling between the poles. 'There must've been about 50-60 poles in there. This thing could do this not once or twice but at least 50 times in a row! How is that even possible?' I thought. The exercise finished when all the poles were broken. I watched with anticipation, 'What type of miracle will this thing pull of now?' I wondered.

The next exercise the dark figure did was… different. The dark figure sat down on the ground while images of random objects appeared in front of it. The objects would range from fruits to some wooden logs, weapons like swords and even everyday use items. At the beginning there were only few objects but with time, more and more objects started to appear. Then the objects started to change positions. I was confused 'What is this supposed to be?' I asked myself. I had no clue about the purpose of that exercise. Then it hit me 'Is it memory?'. It could be memory training. There were loads of objects appearing, the appearances were completely random as well. The objects also started to change positions later, adding in the complexity. I wasn't able to count the exact amount of objects that appeared, as for their positions? I would wish to achieve that. When all the objects disappeared, the dark figure started from the 1st exercise again. I was so engrossed watching the dark figure train, that I myself forgot about the time and soon, I woke up.

I was focused on watching and trying to figure out what those exercises represented. I wanted to know their purpose. From what I figured out, the 1st exercise trained vision or at least vision. It might be possible that it trained other sense as well. The 2nd exercise trained hands. I didn't know if the objective of the exercise was to build up toughness in hands or perhaps resistance. Either way, the exercise would train arms. The 3rd exercise trained legs. This was easy to figure out, the dark figure only used legs for that exercise. My instincts were telling me there was more to it than simple kicking. The 4th and last exercise trained mind. It trained memory but also the ability to cope with changes.

I thought some more about the 4th exercise. I knew it would help me greatly with my new stealth skill. If I trained my memory and ability to see through changes, I would be better able to predict the behaviour of nature. 'Next time I'm in that dream, I should try those exercises. Especially the last one, it seems the most useful to me at the moment' I thought and started my day.