Chapter Seventeen[XVII]: Training, That’s the Plan (VIII)

Xenos Waters bends his knees slightly along with his elbows, bringing his knuckles up to his neck but no higher, after all, there's no need to protect his face. Mr. Balanius also stood in his stance, the tension building up in Xenos' body as his muscles tense. Then, Mr. Balanius attacks. Xenos can see the movement clearly, everything sharpening as adrenaline courses through him.

Mr. Balanius throws a quick punch at Xenos' right rib, Xenos simultaneously blocking with his right elbow as he throws a punch of his own. Mr. Balanius lightly steps to the side to avoid the punch. He can hear the swish of wind coming from behind him and he turns, letting the punch hit his left rib instead of his back.

There's hardly any pain from the punch, most of it cancelled out from the scales. Mr. Balanius is in Xenos' sights again but Xenos decides to jump back, trying to put some distance between them so he can think. Mr. Balanius doesn't let him do that, however, as Xenos can suddenly see a thick golden shimmer surrounding Mr. Balanius hands, connecting with two strings of gold. There's a quiet popping sound from behind his head and Xenos ducks, one of Mr. Balanius fists just brushing over his head.

Xenos gulps, mouth going dry. That was much too close for his liking. He can see Mr. Balanius' smile and alarm bells begin ringing in his head. Xenos' eyes widen a dozen strings of golden light connect to Mr. Balanius' hands, he can only bring his arm to cover his chest before fists begin to fly at him from all directions. He grunts and winces at each hit, the power behind each fist immense.

There's a final punch from above that makes Xenos fall to his knees harshly as he wheezes, the air leaving his lungs from the impact. It takes a moment for him to regain his breath, but at that point, it's already too late. Mr. Balanius steps into a portal that Xenos can't see, appearing behind Xenos in an instant and shoving his heel into Xenos's spine, pushing him into the ground.

Xenos groans into the earth, slapping the ground twice to signal his surrender. The pressure on his spine immediately disappears and Xenos takes a minute or so to collect himself, grimacing as the adrenaline wears off and a throbbing pain makes itself known. Truthfully, the pain isn't much compared to slowly getting consumed by the dhabeho, but that's a very high bar that almost nothing can top.

Slowly, Xenos stands up, wobbling a little but soon regaining his balance. He takes a deep breath, raising his arms and bending his knees as Xenos prepares for another round. Mr. Balanius retracts his mana, the golden threads disappearing briefly before shooting out into a single spot behind Xenos.

He whips around as he sees Mr. Balanius' leg steps into an invisible portal, throwing a punch with his left hand while his right blocks a jab aimed at his chest. Mr. Balanius crouches low, swiping Xenos' legs out from under him in an instant and making him fall onto his ass. Xenos' eyes widen as the golden threads spread out, creating a dozen or so portals around him.

Grimacing, Xenos decides to roll to the side, narrowly avoiding being punched as he scrambles to his feet, getting far away from the portals. The strings go away and Mr. Balanius continues his assault, closing the gap between them quickly. Xenos blocks a punch, stepping back to avoid another swipe. Not falling for that again.

Xenos crouches, leg muscles coiling up like a spring before he launches himself at Mr. Balanius. He leans to the right to avoid a jab, raising his leg to throw a kick at Mr. Balanius. Unfortunately for him, Mr. Balanius simply redirects Xenos' kick, putting him off balance. "Shit," is all Xenos can say as Mr. Balanius kicks Xenos' only leg on the ground, making him fall right onto his back.

He wheezes as, once more, all the air exits his lungs, Mr. Balanius stepping on his chest lightly. Mr. Balanius smiles. "Do you surrender?"

"Yes," Xenos says, voice a little strained. Once Mr. Balanius removes his foot, Xenos sighs softly, pressing the back of his head into the ground. "Any tips?"

"Well, I'd like to hear what you noticed first."

Xenos thinks for a moment. "I know where your attacks are coming from, I can see and hear them coming, but I never know how to properly dodge or defend them. And I sure as hell don't know how to properly counter-attack."

Mr. Balanius nods. "Correct. Right now, you have the opposite problem as Felix, since he knows how to dodge, defend, and attack decently, but he doesn't know where my attacks are coming from. You both are also too stiff, you more so than Felix. You don't use your body, sure, you use your fists, but have you ever thought about where you're going to place your feet before, during, and after the punch to make it more powerful and your body stable?"

"No," Xenos says truthfully, "the only things I think off is where I'm going to punch and how not to get hit myself."

"You also have scales that could rip my hand open within milliseconds, if I'm going to punch, turn so I'll punch your scales instead. If I'm going to kick, swipe with your claws. If I'm going to create a portal, place your hand in front of it! You don't think enough about how you can use your advantages, so far, all you've been doing is making me change the way I attack. Which is good, but it's nowhere near good enough."

If Xenos didn't know what was at stake, namely his life, he would have taken offence to Mr. Balanius' blunt observations. But Xenos does, and he knows that everything Mr. Balanius said is true. These are things that he needs to improve on drastically if he even wants a shot at keeping his life.

He stands back up, not bothering to dust off his clothes before getting back into his stance, focused more than ever before. Xenos glances at his feet, moving his left foot a bit upwards while he moves his right one to the side. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦, Xenos thinks to himself as Mr. Balanius throws a punch at his chest.

Xenos turns so Mr. Balanius' fist is going to punch his arm instead, pushing off with his right foot as he punches Mr. Balanius' chest with the weight of his entire body. He can see Mr. Balanius grin, letting the punch graze his arm as he steps to the side. Xenos slams his foot down, twisting his torso to avoid a jab and retaliating with one of his own.

Only, Xenos uses his momentum to turn on his heel, looking straight-on at the punch aimed at his face. Golden threads connect to an unseen portal behind Xenos and Mr. Balanius fist disappears from sight, reappearing behind Xenos and hitting him square in the spin despite his last-minute attempt to lunge away from the attack.

Just as Xenos attempts to regain his balance, a searing pain shoots out from his face and chest. He falls to his knees, yelling loudly from both shock and agony as the scales spread on his body. It takes a few seconds for the pain to dissipate, the hot coals lingering for longer, a gentle reminder of what is to come.

Xenos stays on his knees for a couple of minutes, trying to shake off the pain and feeling out just how much the scales have spread. Thankfully, they don't seem to have moved much on his torso and thigh. Unfortunately, however, they seem to have covered his nose completely, and the previous little bump on his head is now larger. He now has a nub poking out from his skull, a few centimetres above his forehead.

He brings his hand over his nose, the scents assaulting his newly enhanced sense far too sharp for him to handle. Xenos opens his eyes, relaxing as he sees Inari looking up at him, worry permeating from both her gaze and the bond. "I'm alright, Inari," he says softly, petting her gently.

He glances up, seeing the small frown on Mr. Balanius' face. "Do you want to continue or take a break?"

"Give me a few minutes, I need to get used to my new nose," Xenos says, voice a little nasally.

Mr. Balanius nods, stepping away. Xenos sits down properly, taking his hand away and grimacing at all the new pungent smells his nose is now capable of picking up.

The adjustment period is always the worst.