9 It Begins

[Lian Yu, 6:03am]

In the general vicinity of the underground chamber, David stood close to a tree, wearing dark pants and boots, leaving his upper body at the mercy of the chilly dawn. In his hands, he held and examined a katana, noting the few parts still covered in rust despite the work he put in to restore it.

Connor's knowledge pack did not center on only the art of fighting and killing. Skills such as stealth, weapon maintenance, and even cooking were also included. Being in possession of these skills, David applied the necessary ones to the pitiful katana in hopes of returning it to a state worthy of its station.

However, due to the lack of proper equipment and materials, he only managed to resharpen the blade, leaving the flat of it still mottled by the decades-long rust. Thankfully, the rust had no effect on the blade's effectiveness… at least, none that he could detect.

He had tested it on himself and the skeletons in the chamber, slicing through the brittle bones of the latter with no issue. Today though, he hoped to cut through something thicker and tougher.

Holding the blade horizontally, he laid the flat end of it in his left palm and maintained a loose grip on the hilt with his right hand. 'Here goes nothing,' he thought and roused his radiant energy, observing the blade with single pointed focus as his peak human vision made any details on it apparent.

With the intent of using [Reinforcement], he guided the energy to his right hand and into the sword. Upon contact with the radiant energy, the katana blade manifested glowing red lines that creeped all over its length and joined to form complicated patterns similar to the ones on his body.

In just a few seconds, the katana looked like a circuit board of gray and red. Curious about the formation of these circuits, he retracted the energy, returning the blade's appearance to normal before starting the process all over again. He did it at a slower pace this time, but that still showed him nothing different.

Seeing as that wasn't important nor his goal for today, he ignored his unsatisfied curiosity and got back to the test.

Right hand forward and left hand behind, he gripped the tsuka (katana sword hilt) with both hands and raised it above his head. He then spread his legs and bent his knees, digging his boots into the earth.

With an ease that suggested that this was not his first attempt, he assumed the Jodan No Kamae stance, one of the basic techniques he acquired after [God of War]'s second effect triggered with the katana.

Upon waking up to his new abilities the day prior, he wasted no time and put them to the test. [God of War]'s second effect worked on both the katana and the guns, giving him a nice surprise.

With what he knew of the Isu, he assumed the ability wouldn't work with firearms. But this world seemed well intent on crushing his assumptions with good stuff like this so he didn't complain.

Knowledge on proper assembly, compatible bullet grains, firing mechanisms, safety practices, right postures, you name it. If there was something to know about a Beretta M9 pistol and an AKM rifle, he knew it.

The same went for the katana, which he now knew was a Guntō, a standard issue sword assigned to Japanese military officers during WW2.

Before he even gained [God of War], he didn't practice shooting due to lack of proper knowledge and fear of being found. He only took the guns apart and reassembled them to satisfy his curiosity. With the katana however, he practiced Connor's one handed sword techniques with it, making great progress.

He only began training with the two handed techniques two days ago, indulging in his fantasies for the majority of the time. And in these two days alone, he made progress equal to what he made during the 28 days of practicing Connor's techniques.

His talent as a god..or… demigod of war did not disappoint.

Having gained basic proficiency in the two handed techniques and today being the last day of his self imposed training, he wanted to try [Reinforcement]'s effects on the katana. He had already tested its effects on his body, and the results were marvelous.

Shifting his raised arms to the right side of his head, he held the blade at a slanted angle and dumped every point of radiant energy into it. The circuits on the blade flared up as a result, turning it into something reminiscent of a large red glow stick.

He then activated [Limiter Removal] for good measure, not trusting the katana to go through the 12 inch wide tree completely. His irides took on the same red glow as radiant energy and his muscles tensed and gained a noticeable bulge. His blood vessels also became prominent, looking as if they would pop with the slightest touch.

With all the preparations done, he swung down in one swift motion, creating a sharp streak of red that sliced through the tree.

CHOP!

CREAK! CREAK!

'I can't believe it worked!'

Unable to believe his success, he deactivated [Limiter Removal], much to the relief of his aching body and stared at the falling tree ruffling the branches of its brothers on its way down. The sight gave him an idea, one he executed at once. Moving a bit higher up the tree from the position of his previous cut, he slashed again with every ounce of strength, creating a bucket-sized chunk of wood he caught with one hand.

BANG!

Ignoring the commotion of the falling tree, he held the small log up and moved to an open space to try his idea. Tossing the piece of wood up as though it were an empty plastic bucket, he readied the sword and swung it at the right moment, turning into a blur of pale skin and red light as he danced and diced.

Once nothing remained for him to cut, he changed from a blur back to normal and exhaled a puff of steam. He then approached the results of his handiwork and rolled one onto his foot, kicking it up like a soccer ball and catching it with his free hand.

'I used every drop of radiant energy, making the katana sharper and harder by five times. Factor in my strength and weapon curse, and you get this…' he evaluated while running his thumb over the wood chunk's clean cut edges.

He smiled in delight and threw it, raising the sword and slicing it in half before it reached the ground. This continuous success egged him on.

'Why stop at one?' he wondered, eyeing the numerous scattered wood chunks. 'This is also a form of training.'

Still with a smile, he picked up as many pieces as could fit his hand before tossing them high. He then assumed another basic stance and pushed his focus to the absolute limit, bringing the world to a crawl. And then for the third time today, his sword flared up and whistled through the air, obscuring him in a storm of red lines akin to a laser trap.

"Whew!"

"Damn it, I missed one." He muttered after coming to a stop. Picking up the culprit and its counterparts, he tossed them and assumed another basic posture, intent on making it second nature.

"I can do this all day…"

...

[Lian Yu, midnight….]

'Portable Air Traffic Control Tower…. that's what Slade called it….'

Gazing at the tower overlooking the airstrip perpendicular to it, David marveled at his peak human mind. An endless stream of information from a show he'd watched years ago, poured in like he'd binged it before coming here.

Hiding in the darkness at the edge of the camp, he breathed in a mysterious pattern that kept him centered and focused, a prime state for the task at hand. Over the training period, he persevered and forced himself to breathe according to this technique 24/7, and the results made him glad.

Due to this sharpened focus, the outpour of memories could not distract him. He sifted through them with ease and selected the ones relevant to this situation. 'If this is right, there are eleven mercenaries. Ten on the ground and one in the tower. I doubt anything has changed, but as Slade said, "assumption is the mother of all failures."'

With a simple mental command, he sent out an invisible and undetectable pulse with him as the focus. It engulfed the majority of the camp and gave its inhabitants and some of the objects in it a splash of color. Unlike before when [Eagle Vision] coated people or items of interest in a specific color, [Eagle Pulse] made it seem like they were masses of color.

Take the tower and power generator for example. Instead of gaining gold wispy auras, they appeared as though they were made from bright solid gold. The same went for the grunts patrolling the perimeter. They had become solid red humans, and their presences stood out as a result. Even the ones behind obstructions.

Satisfied with the successful reconnaissance, he took a minute or two to formulate his next move and repositioned himself afterward. Though closer to the camp than his former position, the new spot was still dark enough to obscure him. However, he didn't choose this position just to draw closer to the camp.

Down on the ground, red lines visible to only him crisscrossed the camp like the scribbles of a child. At a first glance they seemed haphazard, but a closer and more patient look would reveal that there was a line for each soldier, betraying where they came from, and where they would go.

His interest was in the latter, as his goal of a silent infiltration hinged on it.

Even though the soldiers looked relaxed, they stuck to their patrols with robotic fervor, never once straying from it. Because of this, every one of them was in view of another at any point in time. Unless he could get them out of sight, a sneak attack on any of them was impossible.

Crouching at his position, David waited for his target to reach the point of his patrol that placed him closest to the forest and himself. Once the man arrived at the designated position, he started to ruffle the bushes beside him, stopping the soldier in his tracks.

The silence of the night accentuated the noise, but David didn't stop and rather intensified his actions upon seeing the soldier's unresponsiveness. The soldier's initial decision was to ignore the disturbance since something like this happened from time to time. There were animals on the island after all.

However, after the disturbance persisted for more than five seconds, the soldier decided to investigate. He turned on his flashlight and approached the dark forest, oblivious of the red line that broke off from his original path and extended towards David. When the latter saw this happen, he grinned under his mask.

'Bingo!'