Lesson from the dead

He was cooking two large slices of meat from the sound bear; he had made a small fire and camped a few meters away from the bears' bodies as the smell made him nauseous. 

His gaze was locked onto the fire; he had been strangely melancholy the whole time; he couldn't help but keep recalling the fight with the bear. He was beating himself over his mistakes; he couldn't help but feel like he made every wrong choice. He had to improve, or he would end up like the bear.

He took a deep breath, grabbed onto one of the pieces of meat he was cooking, and began eating it like a wild animal. He almost immediately regretted his decision since he burned his tongue, but Charlotte didn't stop until he finished it.

He instantly felt a surge of energy inside him as he focused all of it on his heart. This time, his control was much better as he quickly managed to guide it towards his storage. There was some loss, but it was inevitable he couldn't be perfect. 

By the time he finished, his storage had grown once more. It was the size of a peach; he had to wait a few more minutes until his Chi filled due to the increased storage. He still had meat; it was sad he couldn't eat the whole bear. He didn't want to either, but he would take the claws since they might have some use. 

He could feel his tongue healing without the help of Chi, so he tested his flexibility. It wasn't much yet, but he couldn't stretch as far as he could before. 

Before he could worry too much about it, he ate the last piece of meat he was cooking and increased the storage size. It grew a bit bigger once more, almost growing to the size of an apple. He didn't feel close to his limit, which was good.

His happiness was interrupted by a voice coming from the trees; he turned to see a man looking at him, holding a sword.

He had a very tall and muscular build with tanned skin, almost dwarfing him. His eyes were locked onto the sound bear from which he had carved a few slices of meat. He was wearing a complete set of iron armor; the only thing he was missing was the helmet; he had short, wavy black hair and brown eyes.

"Step away from the bear. Shouldn't kids like you be at home? Your parents must be worried-...weren't you that kid hanging from a tree?" 

His voice sounded amused as a smirk spread across his face. Charlotte took a second to register what he meant; then he realized that he might have been the one who had taken the wolf he had killed before.

"Did you take the wolf?" 

He spoke calmly, but his body language and glare showed evident anger. The man seemed to find it amusing to point the sword toward him.

"Better wipe that glare off your face before I decide you might be a threat. Now step away from that bear; a kid like you shouldn't touch what isn't yours." 

Charlotte could easily overpower and defeat the man, but he decided against it. The man would make a perfect dummy to test his fighting capabilities on.

"Sorry, that's taken. If you want any of it, you must take it." 

Charlotte walked closer to the man as he raised his fists. He kept just enough distance that the man would have to step in to reach him with the sword, though.

The man seemed almost happy to hear those words as he stretched his neck and shoulders. The two remained still, waiting for the other to move. Charlotte was holding back on using Chi, trying to see how well they could fight normally.

The man looked past him, and Charlotte almost turned around, thinking another person was behind him. As he thrusts his sword towards his neck, Charlotte pivoted their foot and body and struck the side of the blade with his palm, the sword missing him by a few inches. The man didn't waste any time and followed up, changing his attack into a downward slash towards him. Charlotte brought their hand down to guard using the forearm of the gauntlet.

Although he managed to stop the blade, it still cut his arm slightly. Charlotte pushed the blade away and tried moving in to go for a blow to his stomach. The man quickly grabbed his hand, lifted his sword, and brought it downwards, aiming to stab him in the back.

Charlotte had gotten cocky and forgotten that if he fought without Chi, he was no stronger than anyone else. He spread Chi through his arms, quickly pulling his hand out of his grip. 

He caught the blade with one hand and used the other to punch the side of the blade, easily breaking it; the man's eyes went wide as he broke the blade, attempting to take a step back. Charlotte didn't let him, spreading Chi through his whole body, and practically appeared before him. He would kill the man if he struck with his entire body. So he threw a simple jab.

The armor of the man caved in slightly as he was launched off the ground and a few meters back; he screamed in pain but would most likely live. Charlotte didn't lower their guard but did slowly begin recalling his Chi. 

The man slowly rose to his feet, looking at him like a freak before returning to the forest. His screaming was the only thing he could hear; Charlotte prayed for him to get back to town safely. He had been planning to kill him, but only after he provoked him.

He walked back to the sound bear, once he couldn't hear the man's screams, he hadn't grown. He would start slowly removing the bear's claws as he realized how similar the two were. He had been cocky like the bear and assumed the man was an easy target; he had nearly forgotten where he started and where he still was. He was nothing but a human, not a god or superhuman. If he had been weakened or out of Chi, the mean could have easily overpowered or killed him. He had to be more careful and fight with his full power. He wasn't at the level where he could fight with any less effort. He might never reach that level, which was something he was realizing.

"When did I get like this? This mentality might get me killed. I can't be too careful, or I wouldn't have fought and chased that bear, and I can't be too careless... I need just the right amount of stupid bravery and cleverness."

He looked at the scar on his arm left over from the wolves; he needed a similar reminder. His gaze wandered to the claws, and he smiled.

 "I always wanted a necklace; what better way to remember?"