Upgrading Her Arsenal [Ability Training]

or once, Jingyi was all on her lonesome as she practiced in her uncle's dojo, her only company being Windcutter. Zhihao had claimed that he was much too busy to "babysit" her and that she was strong enough on her one that she didn't even need him for their basic training. It was rather uncomfortable to be left all alone since she had gotten used to the presence of her mentor. But, she was a grown woman now, ready to head off to war. Jingyi could train by herself any day of the week!

That isn't to say that she hadn't drug out a mirror into the dojo so she could watch her reflection's form. And that's how the redhead found herself, her heels digging down as she raised Windcutter. The blade was held in front of her in order to perform Iron Guard. Glancing at the mirror, Jingyi eyed her form before staring back at a rotating dummy Zhihao gave her before he left.

Hitting one of the arms of her "foe", Jingyi then held up her blade and guarded against its "attack". It bounced off rather weakly and Jingyi then lowered her blade. Looking back at the mirror, the redhead had a sinking feeling. All of her abilities were dynamic, flowing. She weaved and bobbed. Always on her little twinkle toes with a moving weapon. The more her body moved, the harder it was for an opponent to strike her. But with Iron Guard, she stood there like a statue.

Looking down at Windcutter, Jingyi's eyes narrowed before the girl smiled to herself. She was going to improve the move, revamp it and make it better! Jingyi shifted into the Mamushi-Stance, her feet moving shoulder-width apart as she eyed the now still dummy. She knocked it again with the tip of her blade, sending its arm whirling around. But this time, after allowing the arm to make contact with Windcutter, Jingyi pushed against it and knocked the attack away.

Jingyi would practice these motions, getting into the Mamushi Stance, sending an arm rotating around to meet her, and then redirect it with Windcutter. Once she felt that she was comfortable enough with the ability, Jingyi went on to practice her other skills. But that was after she gave her newly revamped ability a name, Mamushi: Gladiolus.

ingyi was out in the courtyard of the dojo, the stifling silence of the indoors getting to the girl. Taking a deep breath, the redhead lifted her head and smiled softly as she concentrated on the song of nearby birds. She stood there for a moment before raising her blade and walking to the middle of the area. She had to train her body if she wished to become a legendary soldier. She didn't have the time to just stand around.

Lowering her head, the redhead glanced at the dirt of the floor. She scuffed it with the toe of her boot before her attention diverted to her sword. Looking up, Jingyi stood there as she thought for a moment. Distracts were valuable during a battle. Visuals of an enemy were vital to hit them, especially if they were long-ranged fighters. And an important skill in any soldier's arsenal was to disable something of their foe to keep them at a disadvantage. Cut their arm off, stab their knee, gut their innards, blind them, deafen them. The list could go on!

A smirk spread across Jingyi face as she nodded to herself. She gracefully fell into the form of the Mamushi Stance, the both of her hands gripping Windcutter's handle tightly. Instead of holding her weapon in front of her, Jingyi kept it to her side. With a lick of her lips and a deep inhale, Jingyi whirled on her heel, dragging her sword through the dirt. Just as she finished her spin, the redhead threw forwards her sword, releasing the dirt that she had kicked up from her prior movements. Sand flew into the sky, causing her to cough as a respectable cloud formed.

After her initial discovery of the technique, Jingyi continued to practice it. She made sure that the way she held her sword was perfect, that it was tilted just so for the best results. Her spin was practiced till it was effortless, and Jingyi didn't stop training until she had learned the precise moment to throw the dirt forwards. By the time she was finished with her work, Mamushi: Sandy Days, as it would be called, had filled the entire outdoor courtyard with sand clouds.

ingyi was coughing up sand and waving her free arm through the clouds of sand that she had kicked up when another brilliant idea flashed into her mind. She was definitely not the only warrior with this ability, and there could be all kinds of harmful clouds or gasses that her opponents would be capable of using against her, no?

Lowering Windcutter, her red eyes squinted as she thought silently to herself. She needed a way to combat another enemy's gas or cloud, and she needed something to use in case someone used her own Sandy Day technique against her. So that meant she needed to figure out a way to clear such clouds out before she went onto the battle field.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead off, Jingyi grabbed the hilt of her blade with both hands once more. The girl stood there for a good moment before starting to twirl around. But instead of causing any sort of updraft as she had planned to, Jingyi just cut straight through the sand clouds.

Jingyi made the mistake of inhaling sand when she huffed in annoyance. It caused the redhead to cough for a good moment, spitting out the annoying dirt before readjusting her grip on Windcutter. Turning the sword flat, Jingyi tried spinning around. Unlike the last time, however, it worked! She managed to blow away some of the dust that she had kicked up!

Lifting her sword again, Jingyi continued to spin around and develop the technique. After a while, she got too dizzy that she needed to stop for a breather, but the redhead quickly got back to work. After figuring out just the right way to hold her sword, the girl managed to blow away the sand cloud. She continued to work with the ability and later named it Mamushi: Windy Day.

ext, Jingyi dragged Dullahan out to train with her. Of course, due to him being a "farm-animal", her beast wasn't allowed to train with her at the dojo, so they just stuck to the outdoor courtyards. The goat wasn't too pleased with being drug out of his nap, but there wasn't much of a choice. He had to train if he wanted to improve, and his master wasn't going to let him go anywhere anyway.

That's how Jingyi found herself being chased around by the business end of Dullahan's horns, her feet racing to keep ahead of the goat. It was both a test of endurance and speed for Jingyi, but to also help Dullahan perfect his technique in painfully ramming someone. While his lightning was beyond useful, the redhead didn't want his other strengths stagnant due to lack of use.

After they had run about for an hour, Jingyi had them stop and then work on Dullahan's aim. Setting up some targets Zhihao had left for her, the girl had her beast stand a couple meters away and practice shooting off electricity at his targets. Jingyi stood by, inspecting Dullahan's "form" and the way that he shot off the different static strikes. Once they had efficiently practiced that, Jingyi allowed for a water break, considering how bad it would be if the either of them got dehydrated out in the heat.

After they had enough water, Jingyi pulled out a larger dummy for Dullahan. He looked a bit peeved that they were continuing to train, but the girl ignored it in favor of explaining their next training exercise. Dullahan was to charge forwards and ram into the dummy repeatedly. His goal was to knock it as far ahead as he could.

Dullahan didn't seem too excited about the idea but with her command of "go", he charged forwards. The goat kept his head ducked as he rammed straight into the dummy, though he continued to run. Seconds passed and then Dullahan "bucked" his head, sending the dummy flying forwards. After retrieving the mannequin and setting it up in its original spot, Jingyi shouted for him to repeat. Digging his hooves into the ground, the beast charged again and sent the dummy flying.

Over and over they repeated the motions, each time Dullahan perfecting his technique against the poor dummy. The sun was already high over head when Jingyi called for another break, allowing Dullahan to wander away and get some water from a trough.

But the moment he returned, their practice continued. This time, Jingyi had something very specific in mind. She wanted Dullahan to have abilities he could use to cripple an enemy, and what's better than a vigorous charge? After explaining the concept of Lightning Ram to Dullahan, all she received was a dull stare of "really?" Brushing it off, Jingyi just grinned at her beast before setting up the hated mannequin again.

This time, Dullahan charged up his horns with static electricity before he charged at the dummy. The moment he made contact with the dummy, lightning coursed through its "body" and it shot far ahead of Dullahan. Despite their success with the ability, Jingyi continued to have Dullahan practice it.

ingyi held the Skeleton Key close to her breast as she took a deep breath. Her ruby eyes fluttered closed as she concentrated on the weapon, feeling her Magoi pour into its tiny form. Extending her hand clasped around the key, she imagined it transforming into Fujin. In her mind, she could hear the clatter of its rings and see the indentions along the blade. The redhead could practically feel the handle in her grasp, with its long tassel.

Opening her eyes, the soldier watched as the Skeleton Key shimmered with golden magoi, the magic function on the tooth of the weapon shining. It rapidly took the very shape of her weapon, rings lining down one side of the blade as the bamboo-like guard formed. Jingyi swung the illusionary weapon from one side to another, adjusting to the weight. She could feel the grinning face of the Skeleton carve into her palm from its place in the handler. Thoughts of Dylan flashed in her mind as the red-haired woman lifted the Magic Weapon. Brushing the Magician out of her head, Jingyi began to perform simple slash and jab combos, running through them almost effortlessly.

Pouring more Magoi into the weapon, it began to take the form of a naginata. The blade was curved and sharp, inscribed with the emblem of the Hou Clan. Near the base of the blade was a hole with a scarlet tassel strung through it. Jingyi shifted her grip on the weapon, grabbing the shaft with both hands. The Skeleton Key smiled menacingly from its spot between her hands. With nimble fingers, Jingyi spun the Naginata, always keeping a finger on the wooden handle. Moving with twirl-like steps, Jingyi spun the weapon around her form and once more executed sweeping blows and jabs. It almost felt as if she was using Natures Scorn, but the key differences were the weight. Being an illusionary weapon, the Skeleton Key held no extra mass that a regular weapon would hold. It was certainly jarring to get used to, but it certainly made it easier to wield the weapon.

Next, Jingyi transformed the Skeleton Key into an axe. It was double sided, with a long handle and a crescent butt cap that reminded her of a pickaxe. Despite the fact that this form of weapon was usually much heavier than both a sword or a spear, like always it just had the weight of a key. Turning on her heel, Jingyi swung it as if it weighed like a regular axe did. The blade sang as it cut through the air, Jingyi continuing to swing as the motion followed. Once she felt as if enough time passed for it to be considered near overkill, Jingyi dug the back of her heel into the dirt. She stopped the swing, careful to not hit her own legs in the process. It may have been an illusionary weapon, but it was all too possible to slice off a limb.

The last weapon she transformed the Skeleton Key was that of a hammer. The head of the weapon was large and bulky, similar to the smithing hammers that her brother used. It was a beautiful black color with orange accents through the metal. There was a single spot in the handle, however, where a lone, white skull grinned. Lifting the hammer over her shoulder was an easy deed for Jingyi. It was even easier to swing it downwards as if she was striking an anvil. Her following movement was to turn on her heel and allow the hammer to follow her moments. It swung through the air with the power to demolish a mountain.

Jingyi continued to practice as such, switching between the different weapons and utilize their attack forms. It was during the elegant and slashing motions of the sword against a dummy did Jingyi have a sudden idea. Feint attacks were a well-used technique in the art of swordplay. But what if she paired it up with an illusionary weapon? Not only that, the almost weightless form of the Skeleton Key would allow her to use traditionally heavy weapons such as hammers and axes. Even Naginatas with their long form could be used with such a Magic Weapon!

Jingyi lifted the Skeleton Key up as she smiled slyly to herself, her eyes downcast as she looked down at the Skeleton Key. If Dylan was there, she could have kissed his cheek in gratitude for the infinitely useful weapon.

Lowering her blade, the redhead looked at the dummy. She had to concentrate to keep the Skeleton Key tangible, but what if she lost it for a brief second? Just long enough to allow it to pass through an enemy. They would be prepared for an attack, either guarding or evading. But if she was fighting against someone who never seen the attack, they would have no clue of the feint. They wouldn't realize that the weapon would pass harmlessly through them. She could take their moment to guard against her attack, passing through them and then weave around them. Her concentration would return, turning the Skeleton Key tangible and allowing her to stab them in the back.

Jingyi almost laughed to herself as her grip on the handle of the Skeleton Key tightened. Lifting the weapon, ruby eyes narrowed as Jingyi stopped the Magoi of the weapon. The blade's form shimmered, turning an almost invisible shade of gold as the Magic Function begun to fail. Jingyi then returned her full concentration to the weapon, allowing it to resume back to its fully tangible form.

The redhead would continue to practice switching the Skeleton Key from a state of tangibility to illusionary. Jingyi could feel the effects of it hunger her as her Magoi depleted, but she needed to get the technique down.

Thirty minutes passed before the girl deemed herself ready to apply the movements to an actual attack. Moving into stance, Jingyi raised her blade and lunged forwards. The Fujin form of the Skeleton Key wavered, passing through the dummy without a hitch. Jingyi focused more Magoi into her weapon, returning it to its full weapon form as she swiftly moved behind the dummy and stabbed downwards.

The sound of sword ripping through fabric was a loud one, and Jingyi kept the hilt of the Skeleton Key deep into the dummy. Red eyes narrowed with approval as Jingyi smiled.