24 Nick's Arts

Nick's examination felt more like experimentation. As if he found a new toy to play with. "How long will you creep around me like that?", I asked at some point. "Ahem... This is rather unusual, or should I say, this is something I've witnessed for the first time in my life. Your body has virtually no fat whatsoever. Because of that... Your body burned your muscles instead. I'm not saying like fire, I'm saying that your body feeds off of muscles due to lack of fat", he explained.

"Normally, you should become weaker and weaker. Ultimately, death would await you, if you stayed in that condition for long enough. You somehow managed to balance that out. I suppose the food was just enough to prevent permanent damage, and at the same time transform your muscles. They became compact, able to exert much more strength", he added.

"Does that mean it's a good thing?", I asked a bit worried. "How long were you like this for?", Nick asked instead. "A few months for sure. Just before Rand dragged me into this village", "Then let me put it like this. Your body received enough stress to be worth a few years of rigorous training. Once your body recovers, you'll see the difference", he said.

"Once my body recovers? That will be when? I'm not exactly on a great diet here", I said. "You should be the one to deal with it, but let's make an exception. If this continues for too long, there really might be irreversible consequences. I'll provide food for you, so you can recover your body to at least certain degree", Nick said.

That was a great news to me. Once my body recovered, there would be one less problem for me to deal with. "Alright, this should be enough for now. Go back to your house, I'll meet you there at night", Nick added.

Back at my house, I took the bloodied duvet and pillow, then headed to the well. Since it was still summer, there was no better time to wash my bedding. People passing by stared at the red stain on my duvet, but didn't interact with me in any way. Water alone wasn't enough to get rid of the stain, but that was all I had. With my bedding sort of washed, I returned to the house.

While the bedding was drying, I sat on my bed and wondered what sort of skills Nick would teach me. The night arrived at some point, and Nick's voice startled me a bit. "How did you get here?", I asked. The doors never opened, and the windows seemed intact. "That's something you'll learn in the future. Tonight, I'll explain a few things", he said while walking out of the shadows in the corner of my house.

"Before anything else. Tell me, why did you chose the dagger for a weapon?", he asked me. "That seemed to be the only choice. A sword was too big, and it would be impossible for me to smuggle that from the smithy. Moreover, a dagger requires less material, which meant I'd be able to have more daggers, instead of one sword", I explained.

"Then, why did you learn to throw it and hide it?", he asked next. "Shouldn't that be obvious? You are aware they could search me at any time. Though they stopped that after a while, I couldn't simply walk around with a dagger. I learned how to hide it in my sleeve. As for the throwing? I had some previous experience with throwing stuff. It seemed like a good idea to practice with the daggers as well", I replied.

"You might not be aware, but you already began taking steps towards the skill I'll teach you. Namely, I'll be teaching you the Art of Hidden Weapons. Though the steps you took would be considered baby steps, there's always a start to something", he said. "Art of Hidden Weapons? You want to teach me how to juggle, or something? Are you magician?", I asked doubtfully.

Nick wasn't pleased with my attitude, but at least he didn't throw knives at me. "... I shouldn't be mad at someone who came from a rural village. When I say 'art', I'm not implying some sort of performance or sculpting and painting. I'm saying the skill is like an art when mastered. You know what else is this skill? Deadly. Arts are the ultimate killing techniques, so don't belittle them".

"Okay, though what extraordinary skill is that? I mean, going by the name, it's about hiding your weapons, and most probably throwing them as you mentioned. I'm not belittling it, I'm aware you are strong, but it just doesn't seem that difficult to understand", I replied. "That's the problem with kids these days, they think everything is simple. Yes, hiding your weapon in a sleeve and throwing it is simple. That doesn't make it an Art... Once you start, you'll change your mind", he assured me.

"How about you guess who created the Art of Hidden Weapons? I'll give you a hint, it's a rather known historic figure. Even villagers should know", Nick asked all of a sudden. I gave it some thought, but no such figure came to my mind. There was nothing in history books about anyone throwing anything or such. "I've no idea. There were no such figures in the history books", I replied.

"That figure is in history books, but of course they wouldn't write about Arts in those books. Since you can't seem to figure it out, let me tell you. The founder of the Art of Hidden Weapons, was none other than Endros, the first emperor of this Empire", he said. I looked at him as if looking at a mad person, 'I think he's just old... Yea, just old age'. "You just thought I'm crazy, didn't you? I suppose that would be considered a normal reaction. Everything you heard is the truth. Tell me what reason would there be for me to lie?", Nick asked.

He wasn't wrong. He didn't really have any reason to lie to me. Besides, who developed the Art wouldn't change much, or so I thought at the time. "I guess you are right, but it just sounds... well stupid, and why wasn't that mentioned anywhere? Shouldn't there be loads of people who'd carry his legacy, and learn that art?", I asked.

"That's why every new student will hear the story of this art first. You are no exception. I'll tell you the story, and you'll understand why your situation was a factor for you trying to learn that art", Nick explained, then began his story.

"Endros was a young child, when he became a slave. The slavery back then was much stricter, and much worse than you'd see today. He was especially unlucky, as his new master liked young boys and girls. He especially liked Endros. The child garnered hate every day, but due to his young age and the rules for slaves, he didn't have a way to enact revenge. That's when he began developing the Art of Hidden Weapons".

"The art was created out of necessity, and by a child who sought revenge but had nothing to his name. He'd learn how to throw stones or sticks, and hide them around his clothes. Once he grew up, his control was so good, he could hide a small weapon around his body, and no one would find it even when he was searched. Endros bid his time, even though he suffered there".

"At the age of sixteen, he was ready to enact his revenge. He slowly killed every slave and guard, before making his way to his master. Without any guards, the well fed master fell to his knees. What greeted him was a man drenched in blood, with no emotions in his eyes. No pleas or promises would change the outcome. Endros threw his weapon at his master's head, killing him instantly. He then disappeared while burning the mansion to the ground".

Once Nick finished, I was simply stunned. "Are you serious?", the question barely left my mouth. "That's the history. Whether you believe me or not, that's up to you. I only told you how the Art of Hidden Weapons sprouted to existence", he replied while shrugging his shoulders. "Have you master this art? Does that mean, I'll be able to throw knives and whatnot without anyone even noticing?", I inquired with great expectations.

"No, I wasn't talented enough to master this art. I'm proficient to some degree, but you'll be surprised to know that even Endros didn't master his own art", "He didn't? But he was the one who invented it, you just said that", I replied confused. "Hahaha, just because you invent something, doesn't make a master of that. The Art of Hidden Weapons is much deeper than what Endros discovered. He taught a few students of his, then they taught people as well, but neither of them mastered the art. That's because of one simple reason. Arts shouldn't be taught. That's something a person should comprehend by themselves, that's why there were people who mastered the art, yet had nothing to do with Endros", Nick explained.

"Then that means I'll never master it... I suppose this is better than nothing", I said a bit dejected. "Heh, not necessarily. I'll teach you some methods, but the rest will be up to you. After all, you had the mindset to start by yourself. Endros never mastered the art for one reason. He abandoned it, instead of developing it further. He became a public figure at some point, and didn't reveal his past to others. Why do you think the books you had access to, never mentioned such things?", Nick said.

'That makes sense... Then where did he learn that from?', I decided to ask that question, and Nick had an answer. "Remember his students? They had their students and so on. That's how the records were kept. Today, if people catch you practicing this Art, they'll kill you", he dropped a huge disadvantage all of a sudden.

"Wait a minute, doesn't that make it pointless?", "No, you'll just have to make sure no one's there to see, or silence those who witness. Moreover, if you master this art, not many people will be there to threaten you. Do you know why arts are prohibited?", he asked. "I don't know... Because it would reveal the emperor's past?", I guessed. "Pah, that would be such a weak reason. No, they are afraid of us. How do you think Endros became an emperor? By walking around, and talking to people? He killed his way to the throne. The royal family has records of that. Hence they search, and destroy anyone trying to learn the arts such as the Art of Hidden Weapons", he explained.

"Wait, you said 'arts'. Does that mean there's more arts that people would kill me for?", "Of course, you will learn three of them. Though two of them were taught to me, which you can't really show in public. The third one is my own, and it's not like the others", Nick replied proudly. "Wh... What? So let me get this right. You are not talented enough, but you learned three of these arts?", I asked confused. "Nex, I'm over seventy years old. I've lived almost four of your entire lifetimes. There are many people who'd kill me instantly. I'm not that strong. You could say I only learned the Art of Hidden Weapons, and Art of Stealth to a certain degree thanks to my master. The last one is my own, the Art of Medicine", he replied.

"...Art of Stealth sounds fine, but the Art of Medicine? I'm a bit confused. So you can like fix broken bones, and treat ill people? Didn't you say the arts were the ultimate killing techniques?", I asked. Nick got livid upon hearing that. "What do you know, you idiot? Fix broken bones? I could re-attach your arm if I wanted to! Moreover, my poisons could wipe out such villages no problem. Fix broken bones...", he said.

"Alright, I get it. You can calm down now. I'm not saying it's useless, I'm saying it's different to what I expected, considering the other two", I calmed him down. "... Right. Anyway, these are the arts you'll learn. Before we start any proper training though, you will need to fix that body of yours. I'll get you more food, but that's the only help you get. Once your body gets a bit better, we'll do some training. During this time, you can memorize this", Nick said while handing me a book.

I checked the content and to my surprise, the book had detailed description and drawing of plants. "This is great. I'm sure this will be useful to me in the future... Wait, did you say memorize?", I asked. "Yes, memorize. I'll ask you questions after a week. If you slack off, don't even think about learning proper stuff", he affirmed his words. "That's that for the explanation. Once we get to proper training, you'll get to know more. Make sure not to lose, or show this book to anyone. I suppose hiding it under that floorboard, isn't a bad idea", Nick added before leaving.