Chapter 9: Two Questions, One Decision

Don waved her hand, repealing the bits of blood and dusty remnants of her former teacher from the sleeve of her neat suit.

"Allow me to explain", seeing the petrified expression on Binjo's face and the restrained expression on Dureil's face, Don calmly said. "It came to my attention that a longtime teacher of my school has been takings bribes from students and their families to alter students' records in his class. He was also selling sensitive information about our cultivation techniques and Martial techniques. Indeed, Mr. Slaverin was that teacher". Her tone was indifferent. She walked past the duo of father and son, back to her tall backrest seat.

"Well then, the two of us will take our leave. Come, Binjo". Dureil said. He grabbed his son's hand and dragged him out of the principal office.

Closing the door behind them, vice principal Mizuri turned to Don and sighed. "Taking bribes and selling our techniques ... Who'll dare?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Should I have said that I killed him because someone in the Derneldar family influenced him to disobey my orders and lie to me?" Don was certain. Binjo alone could not persuade the deceased Slaverin. She suspected that it was the brother who helped him to apprehend Anet.

"Did the conversation go well?" Mizuri decided that arguing for the dead was pointless. Besides, he, too, was resentful toward the unethical teacher. It interested him more if Don managed to achieve her goals with Dureil Derneldar.

"Have the matter of Mr. Slaverin's dismissal taken care of. Make something about him departing to Valgarel due to imminent breakthrough and inform his family". Don instructed. She knew that neither Dureil nor Binjo would dare say otherwise if they learn of this cover up of teacher Slaverin's death. "I'll tell you everything afterwards".

...

Valgarel. The entrance to the first Savage Cave.

It took Zax several days, but he made it to the first Savage Cave without resting once to eat, sleep or meditate to renew his powers.

"Finally!" Zax let aloud and sped through the long tunnel.

Entering the first Savage Cave, it was the same for Zax as being in any other cave. After the event with the man from the second Savage Cave, the imperceptible dark attribute in his soul made some changes that nullified completely the effect of the savage force on him.

WHOOSH!

Zax kicked the ground and swiftly vanished.

Short time later Zax stopped in front of familiar foliage of trees, the grove he found shelter when he first entered the Savage Cave, and the place he buried Carl.

CRUNCH!

Zax finished the unripe Blood Red Grape he plucked on his way. He had everything planned in his mind, but when he was about to enter the grove, an overwhelming sense of longing to visit Carl's grave manifested in his heart.

'No. After I'll kill Binjo and his brother and help Anet I'll come see how you are'. He could tell.

He wanted a moment to alleviate the contempt he felt toward himself for not being able to keep his word to Anet and for being brazen toward Don. In both times he allowed self confidence to cloud his judgment. He overestimated himself and the blow to his self esteem was massive.

To deal with the shame he could seek consolation by reminiscing his time with the big brother that he made when he trained in the Savage Cave. Of course, Carl was not the only one with the power to absolve Zax. His big sister and Master also had this power on him. However, Zax knew that whether it was Carl, Zetsa or Kartius, turning to any of them or even reflecting on how they may or might have console him was merely a form of dependency, a remnant of his receding child mind that considered all three as his rescuers in one form or another.

Eating a couple more unripe Blood Red Grapes until he felt his body about to burst with vitality, Zax relocated a suitable place inside the grove where in time it would be spacious enough to train in the bodily maneuvers, sat down and began to meditate.

'With this much energy, in about a week my arm will grow back', he made the assessment with moderate accuracy. It was why he chose to train in the first Savage Cave. To regrow his arm as fast as possible and to recover instantly the energy he will expend by practicing the bodily maneuvers, he needed external supplements and the unripe Blood Red Grapes were the only that came to mind.

'The Kinetic Force' Zax started to ponder and gradually recalled his last experience with it that obliterated his left arm and destroyed Don's defensive battle suit formation.

How it came to be and why it was so hard to control were the two questions that occupied him. Zax felt that by finding the answers, he would be able enrich his insight of the Kinetic Force so much that besides a workable utilization of is, he would also, possibly, be closer to a breakthrough in the overall bodily maneuvers.

'No ... first is the kinetic energy. At first I thought that the bodily maneuvers were the source of it, like how an Earth's Core is the source of mist energy. But when I read the definition of "Omnipresent" and later figured out what the energy is and tried to forcibly converge it into Kinetic Force, I realized. Kinetic energy was not created from the bodily maneuvers nor was the Kinetic Force. Additionally, the purpose of the bodily maneuvers is not just to allow me to feel kinetic energy and then use the Kinetic Force, at least the purpose of the of the Intermediate phase of the bodily maneuvers was not that. Its purpose is to limit the convergent of kinetic energy to Kinetic Force and the flow of the Kinetic Force'.

' ... A definitive answer is too hard to find with my current level of perception, but if I'll have to guess, I think that once a person is intuitive toward his body, like how I became after surpassing the Beginner phase of the bodily maneuvers, the kinetic energy that a person produce can become Kinetic Force by simply paying some attention to it and directing its convergent'.