Stages of Learning

"Riku! Come and fight!" Herman's voice in the morning was the next thing Riku heard.

[Willow Kicks Technique Observed; 80%...] System added belatedly.

Riku groaned. His body was aching all over. "Ow. What happened?"

[You were knocked out with a flying kick to the face.] System supplied helpfully. [By a Stage 2 Adept.]

[You don't say.] Riku grunted, feeling his face which had a very uncharacteristic soreness to it.

[I do say.] System insisted. [That all took place yesterday. You've been unconscious until now.]

"Riku!" Herman yelled.

"Just a minute!" Riku barked. Then, with more groans, he painfully got dressed and went out to fight again.

At least Herman wasn't Thyme. He was also a Stage 2 Adept, but for some reason, Herman was nowhere near as dangerous, as fast, or as deadly as Thyme. In fact, he hardly moved, and when he did, it was so much slower in comparison. Herman seemed incredibly reliant on the Stone Skin technique…

[Just like me.] Riku realized. [Herman's combat style is just like mine. It's exactly the kind of style that Ruyi would love to fight. In short… he's a walking punching bag.]

Just because his cultivation level was the same as Thyme's, it didn't mean he was anywhere near as good a fighter. The gap between them was so big, there was room for both Jin and Riku in between.

[Rock Fist Technique Observed; 3%... 6%... 9%... 12%... 15%...]

[Ground Shaker Kicks Technique Observed; 2%... 4%... 6%... 8%...]

[Stone Heart Transmutation Technique Observed; 2%... 3%...]

[Iron Bull Tackle Technique Observed; 3%... 4%...]

Standing there in full body Granite Stone Skin, Riku let him flail at him until he was frustrated, but Herman didn't pull out any new stunning technique for Riku to observe.

"Done already?" Riku asked.

"Not yet!" Herman rallied and went on trying to punch his way through Riku's defense.

That suited Riku just fine. Herman had the most earth-elemental techniques, and that was precisely what Riku wanted to Observe.

[Rock Fist Technique Observed; 18%... 21%... 24%... 27%...]

Herman started to look too bored and frustrated. Wanting to drag out the fight, Riku countered with a punch, then a kick, which even Herman easily avoided. Oddly enough, he began to look even more frustrated.

Riku went all out. He really, really needed those earth-elemental attack techniques. [Earth! Come here!]

Herman stared, jaw dropping as dirt gathered around Riku as an inch of thick armor. Two inches. Three…

"I give up." Herman said, at last. "I'm never going to break through that defense. The position of earth among the Five Elements Formation is yours."

"Oh, come on!" Riku pleaded. "At least try! I promise, it won't hurt much! It's soil, not stone!"

Herman eyed the Earth Armor and saw that for all its thickness it was indeed, just soil. Bracing himself, he threw a quick one-two punch combination at Riku. Soft thuds sounded in the Earth Armor.

[Rock Fist Technique Observed; 30%... 33%]

"You're kinda slow, aren't you?" Riku taunted.

Herman's eyes narrowed, then he burst out with a flurry of blows.

Perfect! Riku's Observation went all the way up to 60% in seconds.

Panting, Herman stopped.

"Is that the best you can do?" Riku complained.

Herman hammered down at him, then started to kick. At last, he sprung back and charged forward in a tackle. BANG!

"Urg…" Herman stood still for a moment, then slowly crumpled downwards in a heap.

Riku almost groaned as Herman did. Rock Fist Observation was at 72%. It was close… yet so far…

But his teacher, Herman, was already done for, at least for today.

"Don't give up! Herman! Not yet!" Riku shook him, but Herman didn't even respond.

[Need more input.] System told him helpfully.

[Herman's already down.] Riku grumbled.

[Observation is only one source of input data.] System reminded him.

Right. There were other ways to learn.

Jin popped up. "Hey, Riku! Go easy on poor old Herman! I know it's frustrating that you lost the first battle against the Ji, but don't take it out on that guy!"

"Jin!" Riku leapt at him. "Teach me the Rock Fist Technique!"

"Rock Fist?" Jin paused. "Well, I actually do know it, kind-of. But I hardly ever practiced it, since it's an earth-elemental type…"

"Can you teach me?" Riku brought him back to the point.

"Well… yes, actually. I can."

***Note: The following information has been censored to protect the secrecy of the Widon Style Rock Fist Technique***

[Rock Fist Technique Observation Complete. Now Analyzing and Adapting…] System supplied.

"Thank you!" Riku crowed jubilantly.

"Err… that's it? Just a simple explanation and a demonstration and you think you've mastered it?" Jin shook his head. "I'm telling you, Riku, you need to really practice it properly…"

"Yes, yes, of course!" Riku nodded eagerly. "I'm off to the dojo! Bye!"

The Rock Fist technique, for all appearances, was just normal punching; jabs, straights, hooks, and the occasional uppercut. The trick had to do with Life Force usage, not the physical extension of arms. The point was to use it to create a hard impact, thus disrupting the other person's inner energy flow, like a rock splashing into a stream.

[Theory completed. Early Stage of Learning Rock Fist Technique accomplished. Now checking Prerequisites. All prerequisites fulfilled. Now beginning late stage Practical processes; Experimentation Stage initiated.]

[What was that all about?] Riku asked System.

[Learning Techniques is divided into Early, Intermediate and Late stages. The Early Stage is Theoretical; it is done via Observation (data input), Analysis, and Adaptation. The Intermediate Stage is fulfilling the prerequisites to actually perform these techniques. The Late Stage is Practical; it is done via Experimentation, Utilization (done effectively) and Control (reliable success). Each stage is represented by a single decimal point on the Techniques list before reaching basic accomplishment, i.e. level 1 of the Technique.]

[Techniques list… you mean that status page thing?]

System showed him. Out came a huge chunk of words and numbers.

[Goodness, that's a lot of hardly-learned techniques. Twenty-seven techniques, and I really only learned five…] Riku shook his head. [System, only show the completed techniques, and summarize the rest by stages in sub-lists.]

****************************************

[Status update]

Name: Huang Riku

Titles: Master Huang's Closer Disciple. Miss Ruyi's No:5 Servant. Summer Courtyard Gardener. Uncontested Earth Element position of the Huang Five Elements.

Skills: Gardening 0.05

Techniques: Five Elements Cultivation 1, Firm Mountain Stance Footwork 1, Feather-light Footwork 1, Stone Skin Defense 4, Earth Armor Mod 1. Awaiting Practical Application - Rock Fist. Lacking Prerequisites - Bronze Bell Defense. Under Observation - 20.

Assets: Herman's Unpaid Debt 100 Lir

**************************************

Much better. Riku grinned to see that he was now the Uncontested Earth Element position of the Huang Five Elements. Then he frowned at the skills list. Apparently 'gardening' was a skill, but he hadn't even managed to reach level 1 yet.

Still. Techniques were one thing. Actual combat skill was something else, and the status sheet couldn't reflect that. Thyme had some real skill and experience. Learning techniques from Jin was all very well, but for actual fights…

Riku sighed to himself, a long, deep sigh. "I'll need to go find Ruyi."

But to be honest, he really didn't want to. Seeking Ruyi out meant asking for a beating, and that meant pain. Pain was precisely the thing which Riku wanted to avoid in this lifetime.

It didn't meant he'd give up fighting for his land. He wouldn't have survived for so long in the 21st century if he had lacked the determination to live and struggle for what he could get. Nobody in his condition could survive very long if he didn't have the tenacity to hang on to life tooth and nail when the hard times came.

Even so. He wasn't keen on looking for pain when he could avoid it, if there were better ways to get what he wanted.

Anyway. First things first. It was time for breakfast. Riku was starving.

At breakfast time, however, Master Huang cordially invited all his Closer Disciples to join him at the Magistrate's Court.

"What's going on?" Riku asked.

"It's Sunday. The court will be open to Petitioners. Often, Master Huang would offer missions to us and the regular disciples. He's usually quite generous with mission rewards. And if there are few or no Petitions…" Shui grinned.

"What happens if there are few or no Petitions?" Riku had to ask.

"Then we hold a Ranking Tournament."