Beaten into Friendship

Since he was traveling on his own, Blink had learned to pay attention to the smallest details and to never take anything for granted.

It was from this habit of thoroughly observing his surroundings that led him to discover he actually possessed the ability to detect beings within an eighty-meter range. He could perceive them though they may be hidden behind a bush or even a clump of trees. It's not really their form that he could detect but their life force, which allowed him to figure out what they were since a creature's life force would naturally resemble its owner's shape.

Blink actually had it for some time now, but he only really took notice of it during this journey. The few times he saw the silhouette of Boomer, who had the room next to him, he dismissed it as nothing more than the effect of fatigue or mental exhaustion. His last few months at the academy had been a tremendous test to his concentration that he always felt mentally drained after a sparring bout with Boomer and the other top ten disciples. It was simply too much to be fighting guys who had over thrice his strength.

At Kasgar, there was really no need nor any opportunity for him to "see" behind the walls or line of trees.

When he tried racked his brain to recall when he started "seeing through" walls, everything went back to his sixteenth birthday. After he had that "glowing arm" incident, he recalled that he saw the outlines of the other boys passing through the corridor to check on him.

At first this ability could only work on bushes and a single tree. He could not perceive anything behind a clump of trees or a rock. During the first few bandit fights along the way, he tried it on rocks where he saw a bandit or two move around hoping to surprise him. It didn't work then. But it did over the next few days. As long as the rock was no thicker than two meters.

When he perceived the silhouettes of the incoming group of men behind the tree line, Blink was reminded of the last group of bandit he had encountered. That group had a very interesting leader. He wondered if this new group would be as interesting as the last one.

The last bandit troop Blink waylaid was only three days ago. However, ten of them had good equipment. Too good for an ordinary bandit. They also carried two to five gold coins each. He looted a total of thirty-seven gold coins from those ten.

Another surprise was that their leader had really superb fighting techniques with a sword and shield. Better than Arsianovix whom Blink defeated at Calandra. The other nine were also good, but they could only last no more eight strikes from Qaatemaharash, the beastmaster's taming rod which was Blink's ancient family heirloom. This bandit leader lasted for over fifty strikes.

Blink needed to weave left to avoid a sword thrust. At the same time he stepped across to the bandit's right side, where his sword arm was. Before the other guy could do a back swing towards him, Blink had already thrust Qaatemaharash to his rib.

The bandit's sword hand went limp.

Blink followed up by bashing the guy through his helmet. The bandit was able to roll away, but he felt a little groggy afterwards. It was only a matter of time before Blink finally laid the bandit leader flat on the ground.

After dealing with the rest of the bandits, Blink interrogated the nine well-equipped bandits while their leader was still out cold. He learned that they were soldiers of Tarask Kingdom, Ragha's northern neighbor. It appeared that King Lopondil wanted to make a move on Ragha using rogues as the backbone of the invasion.

When the bandit leader came to, he confirmed everything his nine soldiers said. He even added that his king had sent several other groups under the leadership of Taraskan and Layivjan soldiers. He only knew the initial part of the plan, which was to gather together a troop of a thousand soldiers and thousands of bandits, thieves and all other manners of ruffians for a lightning strike at a certain town close to the central region of Ragha.

"Is the town's name Calandra?" Blink asked.

The bandit leader who introduced himself as Tovric was surprised at first, but nodded his head. When Blink told him that he had defeated and captured Arsianovix at Calandra, he laughed while shaking his head.

"I knew that Arsianovix was trash!" he spat out his disdain. "To see him strutting about like some mighty cockerel before our king like he had real skills."

"How many strikes before you took him down?" Tovric had to ask.

"Not more than ten."

"Not more than ten! Ha ha ha! He is trash alright!"

"He didn't bother to use a shield."

"His mistake! That means he is also stupid. He couldn't tell a genuine warrior from a poser."

"You mean you actually thought I was a real warrior? Almost everyone I met so far thought they could just play with me."

"Did any of my swings and thrusts tell you I treated you any less than a match for me?"

"No. If anything you were rather too careful."

"I doubt it would have mattered. I'd been a soldier my whole life, fought for three kingdoms. Seen my share of monsters like you. Some of them don't look the part. Just like you. Heck, at least two of them might be prettier than you! But just one look into your eyes and I could tell I'd be lucky to keep my life."

"You could tell, huh? Perhaps you'd like to share the secret with me?" Blink was speaking in a slightly sarcastic tone but, with his voice, it would take a godly talent for recognition to be able to tell it.

"It's not a secret. You get that kind of instinct when you have reconciled yourself with the idea that every battle could be your last."

As they talked, Blink realized that Tovric was a good man in a bad situation. The old soldier didn't really like to be part of the invasion. However, the Minister of Military Affairs of their kingdom had promised him his choice of land and even a title if the invasion succeeded. He wasn't greedy. But he had a family to think of. And having been a soldier of fortune his whole life, the offer was something to look forward to.

"I knew it was too good to be true," he sighed. "Land, title and all that…" He laughed bitterly at himself.

Blink felt guilty about stripping Tovric of his gears. He brought them all out to return them to Tovric when the latter suddenly reprimanded him.

"What are you doing? You shouldn't flaunt a treasured item just like that in front of strangers!"

Blink at first didn't know what Tovric was referring to and furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Your ring," the older man said in a grave tone.

"Oh, that! Yes, you're right. I'll keep it in mind."

Blink looked at the old man with even more respect. How many would feel concerned for someone he just met? Least of all, someone who just gave him a beating.

"These are yours," Blink said handing over the man's sword, armor and shield to him.

Tovric was stunned by the gesture but accepted his sword and armor with gratitude. However, he decided to let Blink have the shield.

"Keep the shield," he said. "It will serve you well and remind you of my friendship which I am offering right at this moment."

As it was impossible for him to reject the offer since it would mean rejecting the offer of friendship that went along with it, Blink accepted it. In return, he gave Tovric a copy of the First Movement of his Returning Palm Style.

"This is a martial arts manual, and you're giving it to me!" Tovric looked totally stunned by Blink's gift. "My shield isn't worth the value of your gift."

It must be understood that martial arts manuals were regarded as a treasure. Knowledge in martial arts was something that could serve a man for life and even be passed on to his descendants. A shield could only last so long as its durability could hold itself together. It was not a fair trade at all.

"It's an incomplete version," Blink assured his new friend. "Besides, you'd be right if that were made by a master.

"Since it was made by me, you don't need to feel like you've robbed me."

Tovric's eyes grew even larger. Blink didn't realize it, but martial artists as young as he was didn't go about creating their own martial arts style. He quickly scanned the manual with a bit of suspicion only to be shocked some more.

"This Returning Palm…" Tovric found it hard to breath. "It's a deeply profound way of understanding hand-to-hand combat." He had read the general introduction and understood the fighting system through the illustration and side notes.

"Is it?" Blink retorted with a question. "I saw this illustration of a palm technique from a torn page of a manual and was inspired to come up with my own."

Tovric smiled after hearing Blink's explanation. "Thank you," he said bowing in gratitude. "I shall treasure this gift. I might even learn it and pass the knowledge on to my children."

Blink did not return the equipment of the nine other soldiers. He explained that he needed them for an experiment. Instead he gave some of the gears of their bandit companions. He gave Tovric's second-in-command, a barrel-chested man named Corvil, one of the daggers he had enchanted.

Before they parted ways, Tovric revealed that he and his subordinates would be branded as traitors should they return to Tarask without completing their mission first. He intimated that he would seek asylum in Velagros, a city state five kingdoms west of Tarask.

Tovric addressed his men: "We have to cross the river. We can't walk the way we came lest we met other soldiers from Tarask. Remember, as of today, you are no longer soldiers of Tarask."

With that Tovric bade Blink goodbye. He invited him to come and visit him at Velagros if he ever ventured near the place. Blink promised that he would.

Meanwhile Corvil had something he wanted to tell Blink before they left.

"Are you headed to Tarask?" Corvil asked.

"Yes," Blink replied. "I may have to confront your king."

"He's not our king anymore. Listen, the champion of Tarask is a vicious killer named Genthril. He is large but fast for his size and tough as a bull. He'd kill you without hesitation, and in the most horrible manner you couldn't have thought possible."

Corvil stopped to ascertain whether Blink wanted to listen some more.

"What has this Genthril got to do with confronting the king of Tarask?" Blink asked. "Do you mean I have to kill him to get the king's attention?"

"Yes. But not just the king. Killing Genthril would embolden the envoys of the other kingdoms who sit in the king's court. Those guys are wary of the expansionist ambitions of Tarask and Layivja. You kill Genthril and the kingdoms of Wolentza and Janga would march its troops into Tarask the moment the Taraskan army moves out."

"That would stop the invasion of Ragha. I understand. But why are you telling me this?"

Corvil looked Blink in the eye.

"Because I still have friends and family in Tarask, and I don't want them to be fed into the slaughter just to serve one man's greed." Corvil didn't hide his disdain for the invasion plan. Blink remembered that the man joined the invading troop because he owed Tovric his life.

"You must know something I could use to beat the man since you are telling me all these." Blink wanted to go straight to the point.

"He has a problem on his left ankle. When he turns to his left without rotating his left foot first, he would feel an intense amount of pain on that ankle."

Blink knew that the information was very valuable. So he brought out an extra pair of bracers made out of the skin of the winged monster beast. His Namgan Magra had thoughtfully a dozen extra pairs in case Blink might need to offer a very valuable gift to someone.

"This pair of bracers has some resistance to fire. It can't also be cut by ordinary blades. I'm giving it to you in exchange for the very valuable information you just gave me." Blink handed Corvil the pair of bracers.

Corvil was reluctant to accept such an obviously precious gift. He argued that his motives in giving the information weren't exactly unselfish. However, Blink would hear none of it.

"A valuable information that might save my life deserves a valuable compensation that might also save yours," Blink said.

Corvil expressed his gratitude for the eye-catching armor piece and bade Blink goodbye as well.

As they were leaving, the youngest-looking bandit kept looking back at him. He seemed to want to tell him something but was too embarrassed to say it. But as soon as he tried to open his mouth, one of his companions nudged him with an elbow to the rib.

At the same time, Blink had a weird feeling that there was something else that he had forgotten but couldn't tell what it was. When Tovric and the rest had crossed the river and waved at him, Blink still couldn't wrap his head around it. Meanwhile, the youngest of Tovric's men kept gazing back at him.

By the time they had reached over a kilometer, Blink peered inside his dimensional ring and remembered that he took the men's gold coins.