Cybernetic Beast Taming In A Game-like World

HR he jro. Hko Jethro followed through.

With every swing of his fist, he drew aether through his channels, sending it down his streams into his clenched palm. And then, he administered the punch.

As hard as he could.

What made this even more successful was that he had not only learnt how to usher in the perfect amount of force necessary to create the needed impact, he had also learnt how to measure the exact amount of aether needed to strengthen the blow.

This only meant one thing.

His aether manipulation stat was increasing.

If it hadn't yet, it surely was going to after he was done with this training.

After teaching him some combos, fast recovery and positioning, Kaden moved along, deciding that Jethro had learnt enough on punching.

Next was kicks.

He began by teaching him straight from the start. First, the stance, which was the most important as it supported him as a base for attacks.

Then, the robot leg—his main attacking leg—would be raised. Then the leg strike, the actual kick which involved pushing the leg forward to connect with the target. After that, the knee was bent, returning the leg to a resting state, before it was then lowered to the ground.

Kaden had decided to teach Jethro these basics because although there was power behind his kicks, there was barely shy technicality, any strategy.

It was clear that he was used to fighting just to survive. He'd never actually faced a trained combatant.

Because of this, Kaden wanted to refine Jethro's basic combat instincts, making him more strategic. Hence, more creative.

Jethro followed his lead, kicking the thin air over and over with his base leg planted on the floor, and his robot leg hanging in the air.

After the basic front kick was mastered, which took a lot of sweat and resilience from Jethro, Kaden taught him the roundhouse kick.

"Telegraphed!" he barked as Jethro's roundhouse was easily caught. "Your eyes, your shoulder, your breathing. You're letting it rat you out. You scream your intentions."

He walked close, arms folded. "If you do that, your opponent will read you like a book and they'll take you out before you even have the chance to make the attack."

His eyes narrowed, showing how serious he was. "Now, stop thinking about the kick. Think about the target. Your leg is just the delivery system. Channel through the shin, the instep, the heel. The amount of damage you do depends on the strike, and your strike depends on focus and intent."

Jethro gazed at him, panting slowly.

Kaden stepped back. "Now, with feeling!"

The roundhouse kick was a little more complex. Kaden wasn't the best teacher, he wasn't even a teacher at all, but he had known to use a different approach, breaking it down into a "swivel" and a "snap."

Nevertheless, Jethro failed.

His movement was either too forceful, too fast, or too uncoordinated.

He was swept off his feet repeatedly, and after multiple attempts, his legs started to turn to lead.

Still, he kept getting up.

If there was one thing Jethro had decided on it was that he wasn't going to let himself be a doormat for the nobles and high ranking tamers in this school.

And getting stronger didn't only mean gaining Skills, even though that was helpful.

It also meant learning to fight.

So, even though his legs were as heavy as lead, he lifted them. He swiveled and he snapped, just like Kaden had just taught him.

He used the proportionate amount of force with each kick, and as he controlled his physical strength, he started unclogging the channels that led to his feet.

Not long after, Jethro felt it. Aether. It wasn't plenty, it was merely a sluggish current he could barely direct. But he made himself direct it.

He sent it straight to his feet, increasing his physical strength with magic. At the same time, he swiveled and he… snapped.

The kick was aimed at the poor hologram which had been directed not to even defend itself against Jethro's advent super kick.

It connected with a sharp crack, and a small blast of reddish magic burst on the hologram's face.

Since it was merely in Level 2 difficulty, the hologram shattered to bits instantly.

Jethro's leg stayed that way for moments as he just stared, panting. "I can't… I can't believe I did that."

Kaden's brow raised at him. "You can't believe it?"

Jethro shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "I mean… I can. I just…" He thought of the word to summarize his emotions. "That was awesome."

"Awesome for your level of course," Kaden said. "It will barely impress anyone out there in the world of tamers."

Jethro frowned, lowering his feet and slumping his shoulders. "Come on, Master Kade. Did you really have to poop on my excitement?"

"Why are we talking about excrements? Get back to training. Do ten more of those, after two, the difficulty level on the hologram increases." Kaden's announcement left no room for argument.

Jethro sighed, taking a stance and lifting his feet for another kick as the hologram materialized once again in front of him.

Jethro's kicks came slower now. Each strike thundered out with conviction, but his thighs burned with fire and his calves screamed at him for mercy. Every time his foot swung out, he felt like someone had tied weights around his legs.

Still, beneath the ache, there was something else— something subtle. The sluggish current of aether he had pushed into his legs was pooling stronger now, firming his balance and granting him just enough to keep going.

It was faint, but it was growing, like a drumbeat under the pain.

He gritted his teeth, forced out another roundhouse, and muttered through shallow breaths, "So this… is what leg day feels like."

A weak laugh bubbled up, half-delirious, half-proud of himself for joking when his legs wanted to collapse like wet wood.

With narrowed eyes, he lined up for the last attack. Swivel. Snap. His shin raced toward the hologram, except this time, instead of standing still like ordered, the image raised its arm.

His kick thudded against a solid block.

"What—?!"

Before he could recover, the hologram's other fist shot forward, faster than any of its previous movements.

The punch slammed into his chest like a hammer. Air ripped out of his lungs as he flew backward, smacking the ground with enough force to rattle his teeth.

Dazed, clutching his chest, he wheezed, "What the hell—?!" He scrambled to his elbows, blinking at the smirking projection. "I thought it was set to no response!"

Kaden's footsteps cut across the floor as he strode up, hands tucked in his pockets, casual as though nothing insane had just happened.

"You notice attacks quickly," Kaden said. "But your response time is awful. That being said…" His lips curled into the faintest grin. "That said, welcome to the next lesson, Kid."

"Defense."

Jethro groaned and let his head fall back against the floor. "Great. So… after leg day comes pain day."

Defense was more about blocks than aversions. Aversions needed the highest level of accuracy, to be able to move to an area that is completely out of harm's way.

Aversions usually assisted the following attack which was why they were more strategic than anything.

Blocks. They were the hardest. Not just the hardest type of defense, but the hardest part of his training today.

It also required accuracy. And even more, it required instantaneous focus, to not just stop a blow, but to reinforce his limb in the split second before impact.

After Kaden had displayed his example, it was Jethro's turn.

He was right about it being 'pain day.'

The training drones hit hard. Jethro's forearms were a mess of bruises within minutes after the training began.

"Soften the impact!" Kaden instructed, blocking a drone's strike with his own forearm with a sound like a bell chime. "Accept the force, channel it through your stance into the floor, and reinforce at the point of contact. Your aether is a reactive armor. Don't make a wall; make a spring."

He was telling Jethro that despite the pain, aether would always react to more aether. Somehow, there was a way to channel the aether he had been attacked with, spread it through his body while reducing the pain.

Or the negative impacts.

This was unbelievably difficult.

It was hours of relentless, painful repetition. There were moments Jethro wanted to quit, to tell the stoic Year Five where he could stick his aether channeling.

But he saw the results.

The faint shimmer around his fists was becoming less faint. The impacts were harder, cleaner. His blocks hurt less. He was learning to feel the energy inside him, meager as it was, and use it.

But that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

When it came to combos, applying blows, kicks and blocks together, that was when the dam started to break.