Strengthening Senses

"boy..." a voice whispered

"Boy... Boy!.... BOY!" the voice grew louder and louder.

Jax sat up quickly, trying to allow his brain to catch up to being suddenly woken up.

Ivo stood above him, arms crossed and with an eyebrow raised.

Jax rubbed his eyes, making sure that he was properly awake before addressing the old man.

"Ivo.... *yawn* what's going on? Why are you awake so early?" Jax asked sleepily.

"Boy, the sun has already risen. I told you that today we would start your training, yet here you are sleeping in!" Ivo said shaking his head. "Get up already, we'll have some breakfast then go down by the lake. Oh, and don't forget, you are to call me master during training."

Jax rose off the couch, slowly coming to life before following Ivo outside the cave. The two ate a small breakfast, again of only the red fruits. Jax was beginning to grow sick of the same food every day, wishing for some meat soon.

Walking down to the lake, Jax tried many times to pry information out of his master regarding how he would be trained. It couldn't be in magic, since he had no ability for it, but Ivo seemed to have other ideas.

The two reached the lake's shore, which was still covered in small stones. Ivo led Jax to a rock jutting out of the ground. The rock was large enough for both to sit on, with a large flat surface on top.

"Sit down, facing the lake," Ivo instructed.

Jax did so, looking out on the lake. Ivo stood behind him explaining what they would try today.

"You might not have the ability to use magic, but we can at least strengthen your natural body and senses. The best place to start is your actual senses. Sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. Average people have incredibly weak senses, but that can be fixed fairly easily." Ivo explained.

Jax raised an eyebrow while still facing away from his master.

"I will supply energy to assist you. We are going to section each sense into parts. The other thing is that I will be sealing your senses that we are not training, just to make this easier. Don't worry if you cannot see or hear anything." Ivo said. "Now, let's start with touch. Place both your palms on the rock below you."

Jax placed his hands down on the rock. It felt smooth as he wiped his hand across it. Soon a strange feeling began to warm his back, spreading throughout his body, from every vein, pore, and nerve. This must be the energy that Ivo was providing.

Soon the energy began to focus around Jax's skin, specifically, the places where his nerves attached, giving him both a shocking and chilling feeling as they were flooded with energy.

At this moment, Jax began to notice a change. The rock below him no longer felt smooth, but rather there were hundreds of thousands of grooves, bumps, chips, and striations on the surface. Moving his hands around, Jax could feel the lines cause by erosion after countless years worth of rain. He could feel the impurities on the surface, small crystals scattered around, and parts were petrified clay.

Jax could then hear Ivo's voice, not from his ears, but rather permeating inside his head.

"Don't freak out. This is a form of telepathy, it will allow me to guide you without unsealing your hearing. Boy, don't just feel the rock, feel everything around you. Your clothes, your skin, your hair, the wind on your face."

Jax did as instructed, rubbing his hands over his clothes. His pants, a brown canvas material, were heavy and stained in various areas by dirt and sweat. Jax could feel the areas where dirt had seeped into the material, he could even feel the difference in dryness, almost to every thread. The feeling persisted to his harness, which was close to being unusable. The frayed areas where excessive work had weakened the material felt soft and weak, compared to the undamaged spots that Jax felt. His wool shirt was in similar shape, with the gray covered in areas of dirt, fruit juices, and sweat. Jax's hair was in no better condition, featuring caked mud near his scalp, sweat dampening a good part of it, and a few hairs that had been singed off when he made fires.

Jax felt suddenly repulsed. He knew that the clothes were grimy, but he attempted to wash them frequently. Now he could feel the areas of dirt and mud, of sweat and juices. His entire body shuddered from the gross feeling, and as such, he began taking off his clothes.

Ivo spoke again.

"I'll help you to the water, wash up boy."

Jax hurried to the lake, not caring about appearances, and began scrubbing his whole body down. The water was freezing. Standing in a shallow area, Jax could feel the currents in the water all around his body, and how they flowed. The rocks below his feet had a slight bit of algae and sludge, giving a slippery feeling below him.

Washing in the water, Jax felt as though this was the first time he had truly bathed. Compared to the past, Jax could now feel every instance of grime and filth, making cleaning himself much more thorough.

Walking out of the water, the wind chilled Jax's skin, just as it had done many times before. But this time Jax could feel the air currents flow around him, much like the water before.

"Feel that wind boy? Focus a bit harder on it" Ivo said telepathically.

Jax tried to focus on the wind, only to find that he could feel small particles of dust and sands brush against his body. At one point, he could feel a leave blow against his arm, with each of its veins and ventricles clear to Jax.

"See how different the world feels now? Totally different than how you had experienced it before. But heightened senses also have their downsides. For example." Ivo said.

Jax felt the air above his head begin to part, as a hand slapped down onto him. This slap was very weak, normally just enough to sting for a few seconds. However, with Jax's improved sense of touch and feeling, each nerve increased the pain received from the hit exponentially. The pain made Jax feel lightheaded, despite how weak it was.

Jax crouched down, holding his head while he recovered from the blow.

"Pain is not excluded from your senses. Many negative or detrimental things are only worsened by strong senses, including smells, stun devices, and concussive weapons. The trick isn't just to have strong senses but to be able to strengthen and weaken each at a moment's notice. It very well could save your life." Ivo said. "I will guide the energy to show you how to dull your pain. Sit here again"

Jax did so and began to feel the energy perform the opposite of the prior strengthening. This time Jax found that it was difficult to feel the rock below him and that the wind had completely vanished, despite blowing strongly earlier. Touching his skin, Jax only felt a numb sensation, as if he was under anesthesia.

This time the blow came quickly without Jax noticing, right down onto his head just the same as before. However, Jax could barely feel a tap against his head, despite the strength of the slap staying the same.

"This is the benefit of dulling your senses." Ivo's voice spoke in Jax's head. "But do not be mistaken, it is not that you took less damage, but rather that you feel it less. The damage can still add up and destroy you, even if you barely felt anything. Only use this if you need to ignore the pain from attacks in order to keep fighting."

Jax nodded, acknowledging his master's advice. While being able to feel such a difference in his surroundings was amazing, if it meant feeling more pain then Jax would like to know how to strengthen and weaken his sense on his own.

"Now then, we can practice with control later, let us improve your other senses for now, get you a real look at the world." Ivo said.