[Training/Private] Past Meets Present

The Jade Dragon Mountains, A sight to truly behold. For such a strict empire, this was quite a beautiful piece of land. Not only was it filled with beautiful animals, It also had the most desirable plants in the world in Ren’s eyes. Last time Ren truly had a direct contact with such a beautiful piece of nature was back when he had first met Yuurei in the Yambala Forest and faced his fears. That was truly a day to remember and nothing could possibly take that away from him no matter what. It was a memory which outweighed the others, It was what had set him on this path, On this marvelous journey.
 
Making his way through the valley he sighed and wondered why he dragged himself all the way out into these mountains outside the city instead of staying in and getting more rest. Just then he was reminded of his reasons. He sucked his teeth and continued to make his way through the valley which was at the center of the multiple mountains. It seemed to be an easier route instead of going up and over the mountains. Encountering animals on the mountain would be too risky, Ren would much rather just relax by the nearest lake.
 
Following the rocky path he sniffed the air to see if he could smell for something familiar but the only scent that hit his nose was pretty much the normal scent you would get from nature, The scent of trees, dirt and lots of feces. He wasn’t shocked as he continued to walk, He could feel the bare rocky earth beneath him as he continued on his walk. Birds could be heard chirping throughout the valley along with other animal sounds. Things seemed to be quite peaceful which made Ren worry far less. His mind was fixated on the idea of not only getting stronger, but improving his connection with nature far more. It’s been so long since he had last relaxed and enjoyed the tranquility of nature and what It brings.
 

He honestly missed having animals alongside him and being able to relax and join in on their fun. 

Word Count: 363/2000

After about Thirty Minutes of traveling through the Valley, He felt as though it would be best to simply take a seat and relax a bit. He noticed a few trees a few steps away and decided it would be best to take a rest underneath some shade. Dropping to the ground he sighed and let his head rest upon the trunk of the tree. The shade covered him from head to toe as he let his mind wander. He couldn’t believe how long it had been since the last time he had relaxed below a tree, It truly has been far too long. He chuckled as he remembered how connected he used to be with nature. He cared so much for the life of other creatures but as he progressed through this journey he had begun to see them less like living beings and more as hurdles that blocked his future. Mainly when they were the enemy or being used by an enemy. He needed to regain his faith in these creatures or else things would go bad for him in the long run.
 
His father would have shook his head upon how he looked at the animals that he had encountered. Shaking off the thought he sighed and focused on his surroundings, He chuckled as he noticed a small squirrel monkey standing before him. Cradling a nut in its hand, it looked at Ren in an observing manner. Ren smiled at the small woodland creature and held out his hand. The woodland creature approached slowly, it seemed to be hesitating which made Ren chuckle a bit. Slowly climbing onto Ren’s palm it rolled up into a ball as he moved his hand onto his lap. It had been ages since he had seen such a small squirrel monkey, this one was quite small compared to the last one he had encountered back in Yambala forest.
 

His body shook as memories flooded through his mind regarding the past squirrel monkey. The way it was killed off by his old master simply filled Ren with rage but he was able to control it now. Turning his attention back towards the smaller creature, he petted the top of its head and spoke softly. ”I promise young one, I won’t allow anyone to harm you. This valley will be my home for the next few weeks and I will make sure to keep you safe young one.” The monkey had no reply, instead it cradled itself onto his chest and fell silently to sleep. As time passed underneath the tree Ren could simply wonder what’s next for his life. As time went on, more and more woodland creatures crowded around Ren and rested alongside him underneath the tree.

Word Count: 826/2000

As the night went on, figures could be seen hidden within the top of the trees. Two specifically, they watched as Ren slept surrounded by wolves, monkeys and birds. The figure simply chuckled at the sight in a low tone so as to not attract any attention. ”The Boy has not changed at all these past few months, Still in love with nature like always. I wonder what more he has gained since his days back in Imuchakk.”             The Other figure turned away and placed a hand on the shoulder of the other figure. ”Come, It’s best for us to show up later on, He has much to learn before I can show myself. He is no longer mind to baby around.” The other figure nodded and within seconds, they disappeared.
 
As time passed the sun slowly began to peak over the mountains, lighting up the valley with its powerful sun rays. Opening his eyes slowly, he yawned as the bright light peaked through the tree branches and landed right onto his eyes. He squinted as the sun rays hit his face. It felt as though he was trying to get a sun tan which in all honesty was something he did not want at all. He was perfectly content with his current skin tone. Looking down he noticed that not only the squirrel monkey was still perched on his hand but so was a bunch of other animals. They were crowding his body completely. He never noticed how warm he truly was. Taking a whiff of the air he grinned, just as he sniffed the air, a small animal hair was sucked into his nostrils. Pulling his face back he tried to hold it back as to not wake the animals. Unable to hold back any longer he sneezed a rather loud sneeze. ACHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
 

Birds fluttered away due to the sound as the animals all jumped onto their legs in a defensive motion. Ren couldn’t help but laugh as he got up onto his feet and wiped his nose. ”My apologies, I did not mean to disturb your sleep.” The animals simply sniffed and made their way back into the forest. Scratching the back of his head he sighed seeing as how he was rather confused. ”Did I really do something wrong?” 

Word Count: 1223/2000

Time Progressed as Ren became much more in tune with nature than he expected. Within a week he had found an easier way to live and trekked deeper into the mountain valley than expected. He had slowly become used to the way of forest living. Making his way into the valley he stopped as he noticed a small pond. Fish could be seen trying their best to escape a crocodile which could be seen in the water swimming swiftly towards the fishes. Pulling out a pear from his pocket he rubbed it on his clothing lightly. Bringing it towards his mouth he closes his eyes and opens his mouth, Just as he goes for the bite, He simply tastes nothing but air. Opening his eyes he peers at his right palm and is surprised to find absolutely nothing there.
 
Within a second, the Pear is slid onto his palm as the squirrel monkey can be seen hanging from his wrist. Ren shook his head as the monkey continues to chew. Turning his attention back to the bitten pear he simply throws the rest of it in his mouth. The monkey couldn’t help but feel betrayed by what just occurred. Jumping onto the ground, it folded its small arms and made an angry face towards Ren. Ren swallowed the pear and stuck out his tongue playfully at the monkey. The monkey raised an eyebrow and pointed towards the pond and then back at itself. Ren turned to the pond and caught sight of the crocodile. He had a feeling he knew what his mischievous friend was plotting. So far he didn’t like it.
 
”You wouldn’t dare.” The monkey held it’s stomach and faked a laugh then turned towards the lake and dived right in. The crocodiles eyes lit up at the sight of an extra meal choice. It began to swim towards the small monkey immediately. The monkey laughed as it began floating in the water.  As the crocodile got closer, It stood up in the water with the bottom of its belly waiting for the monkey to run into it. Ren raced towards the pond and just as he reached the edge, He jumped high into the air. The monkeys head bumped right into the Crocodiles stomach. Looking up at the crocodile it froze. The crocodile grinned in a cartoonish way as it opened its jaws in a grinning fashion right at the monkey. Before it had a chance to make another move, Ren shadow engulfed the Crocodile following Ren’s fist which impacted the top of the beasts cranium. Making a huge splash as he entered the water, the Monkey was thrown out almost immediately followed by an unconscious crocodile which was thrown out by Ren himself.
 

Swimming back to land he caught sight of the monkey who looked half frozen by being near deaths jaws. He chuckled as he stepped out of the water and turned his attention towards the crocodile. It was slowly regaining its senses. He punched the crocodile at the top of its cranium and sighed. ”You eat fishes, Nothing more and nothing less, Next time I find you trying to eat something besides fish, I’ll make sure the fish are eating you. Is that understood!” The Crocodiles eyes widened as it nodded intensely.  The crocodile made for the pond quickly as it made sure to swim far away from Ren. 

Word count: 1800/2000

Ren couldn’t help but find it comical how the crocodile completely understood him after using force. But it wasn’t that shocking seeing as how he used to speak to animals as a kid whenever he felt alone, It was his way of escaping the world that he currently resided in. Turning his attention towards the monkey who was currently faking death he chuckled and picked up the monkey by the tail. Putting the monkey towards his face, he straightened his face and bared his fangs. His voice tone was as serious as ever. ”Next time you do something like that, I’ll make sure to have you for breakfast the next morning.”
 

The monkey gulped in reply and made a dying noise. Ren couldn’t help but laugh at the Monkeys sense of humor, it was truly an interesting thing, not many animals had the same sense of humor. Making his way deeper into the forest he could simply sigh as he wondered what else was in store for him in this journey throughout the mountains. He didn’t expect a lot of interesting things to occur seeing as how it was simply a mountain but he did expect to run into far more people. Hopefully a beast-tamer of sorts but something else was definitely waiting for him. 

2024 words!!!!!!! 

Secondary Specialization Acquired! DOMINANCE - D-Tier: Can own 1 D-Tier beast. Beasts can register C-Tier and below techniques.

Weeks had gone by since his on the spot decision to venture off into the forest and so far it was successful. He had grown to become one with nature and not only that, He also gained another companion which had grown since their first meeting. Something was different about this monkey, he was growing faster than others of his race. But that was besides the point, Ren had adapted to his surroundings and had begun his official training. But something had caused him to start it a few weeks after entering the valley. It all began Four weeks after journeying into the valley.

Ren was relaxing alongside a tree trunk deep into the valley. With his monkey keeping watch, He couldn’t help but feel somewhat safe. Just as he drifted off to sleep, His companion made a rather loud noise which caused him to open his eyes immediately. Just as he opened his eyes he slid to the right of the tree trunk as a spear clashed a few inches away from where he previously had his head. Rolling to the side he got on his two feet and unsheathed his katana with his right hand. He wanted to observe the spear but something told him to focus incase another one appeared.

A voice boomed through the trees the moment that Ren unsheathed his blade. ”Glad to see that your reaction timing hasn’t gotten any slower. If anything, it’s gotten quicker.” The voice sounded so incredibly familiar to him but he couldn’t pinpoint the voice to it’s location. He grinned at what the voice had said. His reaction timing had gotten quicker but he still wondered who in the right mind could it be. He grinned and gripped the handle of his blade tightly. ”Can You use that Katana or is that just for show?” The question sounded sarcastic but he could already tell who was hiding away.

”Jenshi is that you???” The valley was quiet for a second till out from a tree came the bulky blue haired man himself. With a grin he made his way slowly towards Ren ”Glad to see you’re still doing well. Have you been training?” Ren gave the man a rather strong hug as he lifted him up off the ground. As he let the man down he couldn’t help but to continue grinning. Before the blue haired man had a chance to say anything more, a Red haired flash came running from above. Ren Jumped back as Jenshi dodged to the side. A crater was created beneath where the man had landed. Ren couldn’t get a good look at the assailant as dirt covered the air around him. The monkey shuffled out of the way of the fight in order to prevent itself from getting hurt.

Just as the dirt cleared up a bit the man charged forward at an incredible speed and punched Ren right in the gut. His body was sent flying right into a tree trunk as the tree broke above him but fell in the exact opposite direction from him. He coughed up a bit of blood as he clutched his torso with both his hands. He squinted as he tried to make sense of what was going on. As the dust cleared, he could see the assailant. But he was left dumbfounded.

Word Count: 578/1000

Ren's Father:

”It’s been quite some time kiddo, But you have to do better than that to escape me.” There, Right in the afternoon sunlight surrounded by floating dirt was a rather bulky Fanalis with incredibly long shaggy red hair and wore nothing but thick clothing that looked a bit like older armor as flexed his right arm and grinned. He looked to be in his late thirties but seemed to have the charisma of a teenage boy. Ren simply stood on the ground with his back lying against the broken tree trunk as a tear rolled down his left cheek. His voice was soft as he spoke. ”Dad..” The man couldn’t help but grin at that word.

”Save the tears for later boy, Show me what You’ve got!” With in a second the man charged straight towards Ren as he unsheathed his blade and raised it high into the air as he going for a downward slice. Ren was quick to roll to the side and grab hold of his own katana. Getting on both feet he was quick to clash with his father’s blade. He wouldn’t be defeated. His mind reminded him of all that had occurred since he had left the village. He was reminded about how much he could’ve avoided slavery if his father would have simply stopped him from leaving. He pushed harder against his father’s blade as he took a step forward. His father took a step backward and rolled to the side as he dropped his blade and Rens Katana came crashing down towards the ground.

The man spun counter clockwise with his leg out as it clocked Ren right in the nose. Ren rolled back from the pain and force. His nose started bleeding but he knew he couldn’t stop now. Running forward at full power he ducked as his father punched the spot where his head resided a second ago. Jumping off the ground with his left fist aimed underneath his father’s chin he went in for a full power uppercut. The man was caught off guard and was sent flying backwards quite a bit but he wasn’t done just yet. Performing a back flip he caught his balance and picked up his blade as Ren simply stood in his spot calmly observing his father’s movements.

Sheathing his blade he sighed and rubbed his chin with his left hand. ”You’ve become something else kiddo, Let’s end our battle for now because I’m sure you’d love to hear more about my reasoning for being here. We’ll start our official training in the morning and will continue till the end of the month. I have much to teach you and Jenshi will be joining me in showing you the way of the world.”

Jenshi simply chuckled as he sat next to Ren’s monkey companion. He was intrigued by the fight but found it rather funny how Ren still couldn’t compare to his father. But he was slowly and surely getting there. Now it was time to test one more thing.

Strength B-Tier Acquired - Can use B-Tier melee weapons and A-Tier and below techniques. At this tier users can begin using Magoi Manipulation to enhance their attacks. A single Magoi Manipulation technique can be learned. Weapons of B-Tier and higher can be upgraded into Magic Tools with single element attributes.

Word count: 1113/1500

Ren’s father took a seat on the small crater that he had created earlier. Stretching his arms he yawned a bit and turned his attention towards the rather large squirrel monkey. ”So I’ll take it that this is your travel companion.” Ren felt confused by the question but was quick enough to realize what he had meant. ”No not at all, I met him when I entered the valley and he’s been with me ever since I started my training, I’ve been taking care of him somewhat too.” Raidon simply laughed at his sons response. ”Your gift with animals still has yet to wear off, that’s incredible, You are a natural born beast tamer my son.” Ren was confused by what he had meant, he wasn’t a beast tamer and there was no way his companion was here because Ren forced him to.

Turning his attention towards the monkey he sighed and whistled for him to come over. It perched up right behind Ren than made its way slowly to his left leg as it leaned its head on his leg. He couldn’t help but grin a bit as he petted the top of its head. His father looked him in the eyes and grinned. ”That monkey is here for a reason, That may just be your beast. Look, Try and give him a command and watch how he follows you and listens. ” Ren sighed and couldn’t think of a correct way to respond so he shrugged his head and pointed towards an apple on the tree. ”Do me a favor and hand me that apple.”

Without any other sort of response, the monkey got off of Ren’s leg and made its way towards the tree. Grabbing onto the trunk of the tree it began to climb as soon as it reached a few meters in the air, it threw itself off the trunk and grabbed onto a tree branch. Using both hands, it climbed to the edge and grabbed hold of the apple only to back flip off of the tree branch and onto Rens lap. Raidon couldn’t help but laugh as a smug grin covered his face. ”Told You! Anyways rest up, we have much more to discuss.” With that said, Ren sighed and made his way towards the trunk of the tree. He couldn’t believe how this day had gone, he was confused at most but it was truly a learning experience, both mental and physical.

Word Count: 1551/1500

Overall word count for whole topic 3600+

DOMINANCE C-Tier ACQUIRED - Can own 1 C-Tier beast. Beasts can register B-Tier and below techniques.

END