“Dillon, when you’re trying to defeat a monster, you can’t just fight without putting thought into it. You always have to use their characteristics against them. Observe their every feature and use your imagination. What features could you exploit to give yourself an upper hand?” I asked.
“An upper hand...”
“I’ll give you a hint. Let’s see...it’s similar to the Monoceros Deer.”
Monoceros Deer relied on their antlers and always charged at their opponents, leaving them wide open to counterattacks. All you had to do against one was evade its charge and watch out for its back kicks. So how could this apply to a Block Arm?
“Its right arm is heavy, so it’s slow to take left turns. It also attacks mainly with its right arm,” said Dillon. “Which means...I should circle around its left side as much as possible?”
“That’s right. Since it has trouble turning to the left, you can find openings circling around its left side. And when you attack, you should aim for the gaps in its joints, especially from the back,” I said.
“Got it!”
He now knew what to do, but I had one more piece of advice for him. “Also, you should try using that water gun I gave you. It’s surprisingly effective against Block Arms.”
“Do I aim for its eyes?”
“Yep.”
Despite looking like a giant hunk of minerals, it had eyelike organs vulnerable to irritants. This was called being strategic, not cheap. Monsters were responsible for protecting their own weak points.
The Block Arm eventually reappeared, and Dillon circled around its left side as we’d discussed. The monster turned sluggishly, but it was too slow to keep up. Dillon then found an opening and squirted the water gun at the creature’s eyes.
“Gaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!” roared the Block Arm.
It reminded me of the time I rubbed my eyes after touching red peppers, so I felt a bit sorry for it; but it was a monster, so it had to die.
The Block Arm lost sight of Dillon and started thrashing about. This meant Dillon didn’t have a chance to follow up with an attack right away, but to his credit, he stayed calm and patiently kept his distance. Dillon stepped forward when the Block Arm finally buried its right arm into the ground, leaving itself immobilized.
“Ha ha! He won. Time to count my chickens!” I said.
“What chickens? What are you? A farmer?” asked the instructor.
“That was supposed to be a joke. Normally, I’d say ‘It’s time to take a bath’ as we say back home, but I figured I’d switch it up a bit.”
“Can you not make jokes that are so hard to understand? I don’t know how I’m supposed to respond.”
Jokes aside, I asked the instructor, “What did you think of my advice?”
“I think you did well,” he said. “You should always seek to strike an opponent where they’re most vulnerable. You even directed him to his own conclusion without giving away the answer; you handled it perfectly. You really should become a guide.”
“I don’t want to,” I said.
“Don’t be lazy,” said Instructor Seeker.
“Whaaat! I’m surprised to hear that from you, of all people!”
“Hey, I do my job as a guide just fine!” he shot back.
Anyway, back to Dillon. He slammed his sword deep into one of the Block Arm’s joints. Realizing his attack was effective, he followed up by sinking his weapon again all the way into the creature’s neck joint around where the medulla oblongata would be in a human. Then, the Block Arm suddenly crumpled like a puppet that had its strings cut.
“Whoa!” I yelled, impressed.
He’d taken the monster down with ease once he figured out what he was supposed to do. It was no wonder he had a protagonist type of name.
“Yes! I did it, Kudo!” he cheered.
“Congratulations, Dillon!” I said, and we rejoiced in celebration. He’d succeeded in getting a part of his revenge.
Suddenly, I sensed another monster as if it’d appeared to ruin the joyous moment. The newcomer was approaching with surprising speed, and I had a feeling it’d be a bit of a handful for Dillon to handle right now. And so, I decided to take this one on myself.
The silhouette that appeared from the fog was that of a Cyclops Head, a single-eyed blue-skinned humanoid monster without defining characteristics to speak of. Yeah, I confused myself too whenever I tried to explain this creature. Most monsters had some sort of special ability that defined them. This one had a single eye, so you’d think it’d shoot beams out of its eye or something, but it didn’t have any such powers at all. It was kind of sad, really. In other words, I just had to fight it as if I were facing any humanoid opponent.
I’d decided to use the Efflux Wave technique Scrae had taught me. This time, I was gonna try a different approach than the original version I’d used last time. To be honest, techniques like the float step, which Scrae had used, were too advanced for me. Not to mention, I could easily picture Dillon losing faith in me if I used some half-assed move and failed terribly. He respected me now, so I obviously wanted to keep it that way. That was why I’d thought about what I was capable of and adjusted my movements accordingly.
My point of reference was Chinese martial arts. I’d studied books and videos over and over, and I’d practiced the movements in my yard at home every morning.
Good job, me. You did great.
First, I stepped forward with my right foot, turning it sideways to the left. Naturally my lower body rotated counterclockwise, then my upper half soon followed, opening up my stance to the side. With this motion, I concentrated momentum onto my extended right arm; I twisted, and I drove my palm up and forward with a thrust. Every part of this move, from the step forward to the arm extension, was all connected in a singular motion. Finally, I delivered a palm strike using the fundamentals of Efflux Wave, unleashing jinchi with the impact, and the rotation embedded in the strike I’d landed on the blue monster’s abdomen left its skin twisted in a spiral. Instead of traveling through the monster and hitting its back, the impact spread all around it as if I were rocking a water bag. The step forward I’d performed near the potion exhibition venue had shaken the ground hard, but this time, it was more like the power of the stomp had been absorbed into the ground. I might have struggled if the monster and I were around the same level, but I was able to land my attack on the low-level enemy with ease. A single hit was all it took, and the Cyclops Head crumpled awkwardly and sprayed blood out of its eyes, ears, nose, and mouth before perishing.
“Whoa, it really sprayed out blood and died,” I said, surprised.
I hadn’t even hit it with a Mouko Kohazan from Chinese martial arts, but it’d spurted blood like a fountain. It only had one eye, so it only bled from six holes instead of seven, like victims traditionally did.
“Wow,” breathed Dillon.
I looked over to find him staring at me with wonder. I knew how he felt. Growing up, I’d admired anime characters who could use mysterious martial arts moves, like Ryo-shihan. Scrae? She was supercool too. I hoped she’d eventually learn how to shoot energy waves named after a Hawaiian word that means “the lonely one,” then teach me how to do it too.
Instructor Seeker, who’d been watching the whole time, stared at me with wide eyes. “Hey, was that an Efflux Wave just now?”
“Yes, it was. You know it?” I asked.
“I have connections with Long-Ears too, so I know a thing or two about their martial arts,” he explained.
“I see.”
Maybe it was rude of me to think otherwise, but Instructor Seeker seemed to know quite a lot of people. Hearing that he knew Long-Ears was especially surprising considering that they were known for hating humans. But on second thought, he was a good person, so maybe it wasn’t all that shocking.
“That move of yours was very different from the original Efflux Wave though,” he pointed out.
“Can you tell? The last time I tried it, I got made fun of for my awful form, so I did a lot of research and practice,” I said proudly.
Instructor Seeker furrowed his brow in confusion. “Research? How? I don’t know of any written records of their martial arts...”
“I have my ways where I come from,” I said.
For some reason, that seemed to be enough of an explanation for him. I had a feeling that he, like Lion-Maru, had a hunch about where I’d come from.
“My efforts have paid off, right?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’d say so. A normal Efflux Wave drives its force through the target, but yours... It seems to have reverberated inside the opponent’s organs.”
“Heh heh. With mine, the impact sinks into the target,” I said.
“‘Sinks into the target,’ huh? I see,” nodded the instructor.
I’m sorry. I was just being a know-it-all. Please don’t take it seriously. It’s embarrassing.
“That was amazing. Dealing with the monsters on this floor must be a piece of cake for you,” said Dillon with admiration in his eyes.
“Yeah, pretty much,” I said.
“That reminds me, is that childhood friend you mentioned also a Diver?” said Dillon.
“Nope, Hiro is a hero,” I said.
“He-ro?” he repeated.
“Yep. It’s like the middle point between a rider and sentai member.”
“I’m not sure what those are, but she must be strong, right?”
“Sure is. Her Burning Smash, especially, is just ridiculous. It can blow up a kaijin with just one hit.”
“Um...huh?”
Understandably, this topic was too difficult for a Do-Meltan to grasp.
“Anyway, let’s get going,” I said. “It’s time for you to get more revenge! Yeah!”
“I don’t think that’s something you should say so cheerfully,” said Dillon hesitantly.
“Don’t sweat the small stuff!”
And so, we said our goodbyes to Instructor Seeker and Balrog, then I accompanied Dillon as he got payback against the monsters that had chased him around last time. Now, he’d surely overcome the trauma of his past (from about two weeks ago). Everything turned out just fine. Hooray!