How Was It Done?

Cifer wanted to find out what in the world had gotten into Momo. That outburst was more than simply out of character. It was ridiculous! Even if Oji had some private motivations in addition to seeking justice, it ended up with justice being served. Then again, Cifer wasn't one to put all that much stock in loyalty to the Clan. To family, which meant Auntie Azumi and Momo mainly, to them he was extremely loyal. But the Clan didn't matter to him one lick.

But when he went to talk sense into her, he found his arm grabbed as Oji stopped him. "Now's not the damn time. She'd just fucking explode again if you pressed her, which would be bad for me and much, much worse for her. Besides, as much as I hate it she's not wrong. I did tell her I wouldn't let things go too far, and there are two bodies."

Cifer turned towards the young man, looking up at him. "I guess we should keep moving then?"

"Yeah."

The pair walked through the crowd in silence as they headed for a more private location that Oji could wall off like he'd done with the lecture hall. Soon they were in Cifer's room. It was tiny, barely enough to fit them both. The prejudice against the Cifer and Auntie Azumi's terrible cultivation meant that they were doing good to even have separate rooms at all. Oji was easily able to wall off the area with his Evil Essence. "Alright kid, let's hear it."

Cifer had been thinking about the shocking sight the entire time. It had basically been branded in his mind, cementing Oji as an object of near idol worship for his unbelievable prowess. But Cifer thought he had a good idea how it had happened. "The single most important part is how you managed to put Elder Naoki under the illusion that you had gone right while you went left. Without that the other points at best would lead to an ugly mismatch that you might come out on top of."

Oji nodded, looking disappointed.

Cifer mentally cursed. He'd assumed Oji had an illusion Technique that had been used there since he couldn't think of another reason that Elder Naoki would make that kind of mistake. Apparently he'd been wrong and had already failed part of the test. He focused on the rest, hoping that avoiding any more errors would still be good enough. "That being said, if you hadn't been able to capitalize on the opening you created then it would have also led to an ugly mismatch. And there were several facets to how you were able to get the most out of that single moment. To start with the obvious, your Palm Technique had a second level that you'd mastered and never shown. Using that hidden card at the perfect moment boosted your damage tremendously. But that alone wasn't enough to knock Elder Naoki out in one shot. Your confidence also played a vital role."

Oji was looking bored as Cifer talked about the Palm Technique, starting to zone out. But when Cifer brought up the factor of Oji's confidence he perked up. "Explain."

"When Elder Naoki came in for his attack, not only did you dodge him perfectly but you assumed you would dodge him perfectly. Otherwise it would be impossible to push forward with such aggression. The strike you hit him with was a textbook example of a full power blow, from lowered weight to forward center of gravity and the rotation of your waist and shoulders. If you had been wrong in predicting Elder Naoki's missed attack, the result would likely have flipped since there wouldn't be a single way to mitigate such extreme damage."

Oji chuckled. "Sure there are, but they take even more guts. You could dive in even deeper and mess up his strike, taking it before he can put any power in it. Another choice is to time your strike to hit just before his. Or take the wimp's option, and just shoulder block it. Plenty of options, but all involve much higher chances of taking a shot with some ugly force behind it. You're not wrong though, without enough courage to commit to my attack it would have been much weaker."

Cifer smiled, calming. "Your timing was also vital. A second later and Elder Naoki would have started another attack, this one aimed properly. A second earlier and it wouldn't have been too late to cancel his attack to attempt some sort of block. Instead he was hit with maximum recoil as his charge, his attack, your attack and your Technique all crashed into him at a weak point in the same instant."

Oji nodded. "A fight is all about timing. The right move at the wrong time gets more fighters screwed than any other mistake. And the wrong move at the right time saves more rookie's asses than anything else does." He rolls his eyes, deep annoyance apparent.

Cifer wasn't sure what else to point out. He could tell there were other secrets that were hidden in that instant, but the big one was why Elder Naoki attacked thin air a good two feet to Oji's right. "I know I'm missing at least a few things, but that's what I was able to understand just from watching. But the real key, the irreplaceable part, was how you somehow tricked Elder Naoki into missing you by such a wide margin. I just don't know how you did it if you didn't have some sort of illusion Technique or something."

Oji nods. "7 out of 10. For just watching from the outside and only having maybe a few play fights under your belt you did very well already."

Cifer winced. He'd hoped to do better than that. There was no way that was good enough for the place that trained a man like Oji. "Not good enough." He said despondently.

A smile answered him. Oji explained the last part for Cifer. "The key to him missing me was all in the groundwork beforehand. Including taking a hit. I gave him an extremely simple pattern to expect and let him injure me slightly to give him confidence in it. Then insured he was too angry to realize that things were too easy."

"Nobody would willingly take a hit like that. Elder Naoki was three Stages above you and was using his strongest Technique." Cifer began to object, then realized. "Which is exactly what he thought. It's why such a simple method worked." Cifer shivered. "That's just crazy. But it works exactly because it's so crazy."

Oji laughed. "Make that a 8 out of 10. Which makes your Comprehension is a borderline pass by my estimation. So, let's test your Potential. Dive into the Essence Sea for me."