Chapter3: painful training
The predawn chill bit into Shinji's raw hands as he stood in the courtyard, his bokken held in what Fox Mask called the "dragon's grip." Three days of relentless training had turned his palms into a mess of torn calluses and half-healed scabs. Every movement sent sharp jolts of pain up his arms.
[HP: 58%]
[STATUS: SEVERE HAND TRAUMA]
[DURABILITY: OAK BOKKEN - 42/50]
Fox Mask appeared silently, tossing an apple into the air. With a flash of steel, he bisected it mid-fall. The two perfect halves landed at Shinji's feet.
Fox Mask: "Your turn."
Shinji's first swing missed completely. The second grazed the fruit, sending it spinning away intact. On the third attempt, his bokken connected - but only smashed the apple into pulp.
Fox Mask: "Control. Not strength."
He produced three more apples. "Again."
By noon, Shinji's arms felt like lead weights. The courtyard was littered with destroyed fruit, only two clean cuts among the carnage. His latest swing sent a fresh wave of pain through his damaged hands.
[HP: 49%]
[STATUS: MUSCLE STRAIN DETECTED]
Fox Mask observed silently before suddenly drawing his sword. Shinji barely raised his bokken in time to block the unexpected strike.
CLACK!
The wooden practice sword vibrated violently in his grip. Fox Mask's blade came again - high, low, then a thrust that stopped a hair's breadth from Shinji's throat.
Fox Mask: "You're thinking too much."
He sheathed his sword and walked away, leaving Shinji standing in the ruins of his training.
That night, as Shinji soaked his hands in bitter medicinal water, he noticed the samurai from his first day - Takeda - leaning against the doorway.
Takeda: "He's being kind to you."
The warrior tossed a small bundle of cloth onto the floor. Inside were fingerless training gloves, the leather worn but sturdy.
Takeda: "Wear these tomorrow. And stop trying to win. Start trying to survive."
[ITEM ACQUIRED: TRAINING GLOVES]
[EFFECT: REDUCES HAND DAMAGE BY 30%]
As dawn broke on the fourth day, Shinji stood waiting in the courtyard, gloved hands gripping his bokken with newfound determination. Fox Mask took one look at the gloves and nodded approvingly before drawing his sword.
Fox Mask: "Today, you learn to bleed properly."
The lesson began with a flurry of strikes that Shinji somehow managed to partially deflect, each blocked hit sending jolts through his entire body. Then came the pain - a perfectly controlled slash that opened a thin red line across Shinji's forearm.
[HP: 67%]
[STATUS: SUPERFICIAL LACERATION]
Fox Mask: "First blood goes to the teacher. Now..." He reset his stance. "...try to make me bleed."
Shinji attacked with everything he had. Fox Mask parried effortlessly, countering with another precise cut - this time across Shinji's shoulder.
[HP: 61%]
The cycle repeated throughout the morning - Shinji attacking wildly, Fox Mask responding with surgical cuts that accumulated across Shinji's arms and torso. The training gloves helped, but couldn't prevent the inevitable.
At sunset, Shinji collapsed to his knees, his gi stained with sweat and blood. Fox Mask stood over him, his own robes immaculate.
Fox Mask: "Tomorrow, we begin teaching your body to remember what your mind cannot."
As Shinji passed out from exhaustion, his final notification flickered in his fading vision:
[SKILL LEARNED: BASIC SWORD GRIP MASTERED]
[NEW OBJECTIVE: LAND A CLEAN HIT ON FOX MASK]
[ESTIMATED SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 27%]
The fifth morning dawned with a thunderstorm raging over the dojo. Shinji stood in the downpour, his bandages soaking through as rainwater mixed with blood dripped from his fingertips. The bokken felt heavier today, the wood swollen from moisture.
Fox Mask emerged from the sheets of rain like a specter, this time carrying two swords - his usual katana and a shorter wakizashi. Without warning, he tossed the wakizashi at Shinji's feet.
[ITEM ACQUIRED: TRAINING WAKIZASHI]
[DMG: 6-9]
[DUR: 30/30]
[SPECIAL: +5% ATTACK SPEED]
Fox Mask: "You've learned to take hits. Now learn to give them."
Shinji bent to retrieve the practice blade, his muscles screaming in protest. The moment his fingers touched the hilt, Fox Mask attacked.
The first cut came high - Shinji barely got his wakizashi up in time. The second came low, slicing through his gi to open a shallow wound across his thigh.
[HP: 59%]
Rainwater stung the fresh cut as Shinji stumbled back. Fox Mask advanced relentlessly, his katana moving like liquid silver through the storm.
Then something changed.
The pattern of Fox Mask's strikes suddenly made sense - the slight shift of his shoulders before each attack, the way his right foot always moved first when striking left. Shinji didn't think; he reacted.
His wakizashi flashed out in a counter-cut that actually forced Fox Mask to parry. The wooden blades clashed with a sharp CRACK that echoed through the courtyard.
For the briefest moment, Fox Mask paused.
Shinji seized the opportunity, twisting his wrist to slide the wakizashi along Fox Mask's blade in a move he'd seen Takeda use days before. The practice sword grazed Fox Mask's sleeve - the first time Shinji had touched his teacher.
The wooden mask tilted slightly. Then Shinji was on the ground, his nose gushing blood from a perfectly placed hilt strike.
[HP: 52%]
[STATUS: NOSE FRACTURE]
Fox Mask: "Better."
He sheathed his katana and tossed a small vial to Shinji. "For the bleeding. We continue tomorrow."
As Shinji lay in the mud, pressing the vial to his broken nose, he noticed Takeda watching from the covered walkway. The samurai made no move to help, but gave an almost imperceptible nod before disappearing into the rain.
That night, the pain kept Shinji awake. Every breath through his swollen nose sounded thunderous in the silent dojo. He reached for the wakizashi, running his fingers along its edge in the moonlight.
The blade felt different now - not just a tool, but an extension of his own battered body. The realization came with another notification:
[SKILL UNLOCKED: BASIC SWORD INTUITION]
[EFFECT: +10% PARRY CHANCE]
[NEW OBJECTIVE: DRAW BLOOD FROM FOX MASK]
Outside, the storm continued to rage, matching the turmoil in Shinji's mind. Somewhere between the pain and the rain, he'd begun to change. And tomorrow, he would prove it.
Shinji's nose had set crooked.
He tested the tender bridge with his fingers as dawn light filtered through the dojo's paper screens. The vial's medicine had stopped the bleeding, but left him breathing through his mouth like a dog. His gi stuck to half-healed wounds as he dressed.
[HP: 68%]
[STATUS: NASAL FRACTURE (HEALING)]
[DURABILITY: WAKIZASHI - 28/30]
The courtyard stones were still damp from the storm. Fox Mask waited at its center, today armed with only a single tanto dagger. He gestured to the weapon rack where six wooden practice blades stood.
Fox Mask: "Choose."
Shinji ran his fingers along the weapons before selecting a katana-length bokken weighted with lead.
[ITEM EQUIPPED: LEAD-CORE BOKKEN]
[DMG: 7-10]
[SPD: -15%]
[SPECIAL: STAGGER CHANCE ON HIT]
Fox Mask nodded approval at the choice. Without warning, he lunged.
The tanto flashed toward Shinji's throat. Months of drilled reflexes took over - his heavy bokken came up in a sweeping parry that actually knocked Fox Mask's blade aside. For the first time, Shinji pressed the attack.
Three brutal overhead chops forced Fox Mask back toward the courtyard's edge. On the fourth strike, Shinji suddenly reversed direction, using the bokken's weight to whip a horizontal slash at waist level.
CRACK!
The wooden blade connected solidly with Fox Mask's ribs. Air rushed from the teacher's lungs in a gratifying whoosh. Shinji didn't hesitate - he stepped in close and drove his forehead into Fox Mask's masked face.
SPLINTER!
The wooden mask cracked down the middle as Fox Mask staggered back. Blood welled from a cut above his eyebrow, dripping onto the broken mask.
Silence.
Then Fox Mask reached up and removed the shattered mask, revealing a face both younger and more scarred than Shinji expected. A fresh trickle of blood ran down from his hairline.
Fox Mask (smiling): "First blood."
He touched the wound, then examined his reddened fingertips. With sudden violence, he smashed the broken mask against the stone well.
Fox Mask: "Training is over."
From his robes he produced a real katana, its saya wrapped in black silk. He tossed it at Shinji's feet.
Fox Mask: "Now we see if you can kill."
The tanto in his hand suddenly looked much deadlier. Shinji swallowed hard as he picked up the katana. The blade whispered as he drew it - a sound like wind through bamboo.
[ITEM EQUIPPED: SHINTO KATANA]
[DMG: 15-25]
[SPECIAL: +5% CRITICAL HIT CHANCE]
Across the courtyard, Fox Mask settled into a stance Shinji had never seen before - blade held low and parallel to the ground, body turned sideways. Every instinct screamed danger.
Fox Mask: "Come, student. Let me show you the difference between sparring..."
His eyes turned hard as flint.
Fox Mask: "...and survival."
The notification that appeared in Shinji's vision was simpler than usual:
[FINAL TEST: LIVE.]
The katana felt alien in Shinji's hands - alive in a way the practice swords never had. Its edge caught the morning light as he fell into stance, the blade's slight curve thrumming with potential energy. Across from him, Fox Mask's tanto looked insignificant until you noticed how it never stopped moving, circling like a hungry predator.
Fox Mask: "Breathe."
Shinji hadn't realized he was holding his breath. The exhale came out ragged through his broken nose.
The first attack came like lightning - Fox Mask crossing the distance before Shinji's eyes could fully register the movement. The tanto flashed upward in a diagonal slash that would have opened him from hip to shoulder had instinct not taken over.
CLANG!
Steel met steel with a shower of sparks. Shinji's counter-slash met only air as Fox Mask pivoted away, the tanto already coming back around in a reverse grip stab.
[HP: 91%]
The blade grazed Shinji's side before he could twist away, parting fabric and skin with equal ease. Warm blood trickled down his ribs.
Fox Mask: "Too slow."
Shinji adjusted his grip, the katana's silk wrappings absorbing sweat from his palms. He remembered Takeda's words - stop trying to win, start trying to survive - and let his body relax into the pain.
The next exchange lasted three heartbeats:
1. Fox Mask's thrust toward Shinji's throat
2. A last-second parry that sent the tanto skittering off the katana's curved guard
3. Shinji's counterattack - not at Fox Mask's body, but at his weapon
SHINK!
The katana's razor edge sheared through the tanto's guard, sending the blade spinning away to embed itself in a wooden pillar. Fox Mask stared at his now-empty hand, then at Shinji.
Something like pride flickered in his eyes.
Then his foot connected with Shinji's sternum.
[HP: 83%]
[STATUS: TEMPORARY BREATHING IMPAIRMENT]
Shinji hit the ground hard, the katana clattering from his grip. Fox Mask loomed over him, the broken tanto hilt still in his hand.
Fox Mask: "Smart. But never drop your-"
Shinji's kick took him in the knee. As Fox Mask staggered, Shinji rolled and came up with the katana already swinging.
The blade stopped a hair's breadth from Fox Mask's throat.
For three heartbeats, the world held its breath.
Then Fox Mask smiled.
He reached up and pushed the blade aside with two fingers before retrieving his ruined tanto.
Fox Mask: "You pass."
The words hung in the air between them. Shinji's arms trembled as he lowered the katana, his body suddenly aware of every cut, bruise and broken bone accumulated over weeks of training.
Fox Mask: "From this moment, you are no longer prey." He gestured to the katana. "That is yours now. But remember - a sword is just a tool. The real weapon..." He tapped Shinji's forehead. "...lives here."
As if summoned by some unspoken signal, Takeda emerged from the dojo's shadows carrying a wooden chest. He set it at Shinji's feet with a grunt.
Takeda: "For surviving."
Inside lay a set of armor - not the ancient samurai gear they trained in, but modern combat wear reinforced with ballistic fibers. A red kanji was stitched into the inner lining:
忍
*Note from writer(ax):忍 means Perseverance.*
[ITEM ACQUIRED: SHINOBI COMBAT GEAR]
[ARMOR VALUE: +20 DAMAGE REDUCTION]
[SPECIAL: +5% EVASION IN LOW LIGHT]
As Shinji ran his fingers over the armor's textured surface, Fox Mask produced one final item - a black lacquered mask shaped like a snarling wolf.
Fox Mask: "The world outside this dojo doesn't play by our rules. When you wear this, you become something else entirely."
Shinji took the mask, feeling its weight. The moment his fingers made contact, a new notification seared itself across his vision:
[QUEST COMPLETE: MASTER THE BLADE]
[NEW PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: ESCAPE THE DIGITAL WORLD]
Wait.
Digital world?
Shinji looked up sharply, but Fox Mask and Takeda were already walking away toward the dojo's gates, which now shimmered strangely at the edges like a poorly rendered image.
Fox Mask (without turning): "Oh, and Shinji?"
He gestured to the katana.
Fox Mask: "Try not to die out there. That blade was expensive."
Then the gates opened, revealing not the bamboo forest Shinji expected, but a sprawling cyberpunk cityscape under a glitching red sky. Towering neon kanji flickered in the distance:
東京 - ERROR 2250
The katana's grip felt suddenly sure in his hands as he stepped forward into the digital storm.
[CHAPTER 3 END]
[NEXT: TOKYO DIGITAL WARZONE]
-Ax (to be continued—------->)
25/4/22