Seth had went with the only available session, called "rudimentary combat instruction," and now it was time for that instruction. The instructor looked promising enough. He was a bear of a man, standing over seven feet tall. His bright blue skin and neon yellow hair brought to mind a few cartoon characters from Seth's childhood. The only sign of the trouble to come was the scowl carved on the instructor's face.

  "Defend yourself," said the instructor, his tone deadpan. Seth didn't have a chance to react before a palm to his solar plexus sent him flying across the room, and tumbling along the floor. Seth struggled to breathe, let alone get back on his feet.

  "Get up, or I will pick you up and smash your face into a wall," said the man standing a little ways away from Seth. The additional encouragement seemed to work, as Seth somehow stood back up. Thankfully, the instructor allowed him to catch his breath before continuing.

  Over the next hour, Seth spent most of it wondering if he had made a mistake. It had almost been too good to be true; a bunch of training slots had opened up when Seth checked the job hall three days prior. He hadn't noticed that they were all with the same instructor. Then again, even if he had noticed, he probably would still be here, getting the shit beat out of him.

  Seth picked himself up off the ground and took up a fighting stance. Not that he had expected it to make a difference. A blink, and his instructor was in front of him again, having crossed the distance in a literal blink of an eye. Seth tried to defend himself, but it was all he could do to get his qi set to absorb the force of the blow before a palm drove into his solar plexus. A heartbeat later, his back slammed into a wall, and the air rushed out of his lungs. He somehow managed to stay on his feet, though his instructor was already back in his starting position.

  "Too slow!" yelled the instructor. "Look at me properly!"

  Seth took the cue to activate his qi sight, and what he saw once again amazed him. The instructor's body was full to bursting with qi. Even his skin radiated bright green qi. What entranced Seth, though, was the smoothness with which he transitioned his qi. He had thought he was getting decent. Looking at the instructor made him feel like a toddler being proud of walking comparing themselves to an elite gymnast. The flow of qi perfectly supported the body's muscle mechanics, enhancing it to degrees Seth could only envy.

  Seth saw the qi twitch just before his sight ended, and he began a block to intercept a kick that arrived an instant later. Somehow, he got his arm between his side and the instructor's foot. The snapping sound in his arm, however, reminded him that he had failed to properly reinforce his arm. As he tumbled across the floor, he felt the pain from his arm radiate, making him feel nauseous.

  The pain was gone as quickly as it came. Regaining his bearings, he saw his instructor standing over him, the instructor's hand extended over Seth's broken arm, glowing with a green light. The nausea faded a second later, and Seth prepared himself to struggle to his feet as soon as the instructor started yelling.

  "You're strange," the instructor said, speaking normally for the first time this session.

  Seth didn't reply, just trying to catch his breath. He was sure whatever response he gave would make the man angry again. As much as he liked training hard, he had no desire to keep going this hard.

  "Your qi moves like a child's," continued the instructor, "but your body itself moves great."

  "Apologies instructor..." Seth started, before the instructor cut him off with a bout of laughter. Laughter that didn't stop for a couple minutes.

  "This is interesting! Most who need teaching need the same boring thing, but you...I think I can have fun with this," the instructor said with a grin that told Seth that the instructor would be the only one having fun.

  The instructor launched another attack, and Seth scrambled to stop it. However, the attack stopped just shy of making actual contact. The instructor jumped back, and launched the same attack at the same speed. This time, Seth managed to block it, though he needed to infuse his qi to keep his bones from breaking.

  "Faster!" the instructor yelled, before increasing his attack speed. Seth couldn't block the first one, but he managed to catch the second one. The attack didn't break his arm, but it did launch him into the back wall, knocking the wind out of him. It took him a couple more tries before he managed to avoid getting thrown back. A grin crept onto Seth's face.

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  "Harder!" the instructor yelled, immediately knocking the grin off of Seth's face with a kick that sent him slamming into the back wall. Seth didn't manage to shift his qi to protect his ribs in time, and he heard them crack. After a quick bout of healing, they got back to it.

  The next hour was more of the same. The instructor would launch an attack until Seth got the hang of it, then increase the intensity until Seth got the hang of that one as well. Occasionally, he needed healing, which the instructor was happy to provide. In fact, the instructor seemed happy overall, like a child who had found a new toy to play with. Seth wasn't sure how happy he should be about the development.

  As their second hour together wrapped up, the instructor said, "Training you is interesting. I'll give you a contribution discount, so please train with me again," the instructor said with a grin.

  Seth was feeling apprehensive about another training session with the man, but he just said, "I'll see you in a couple weeks, then."

  "A couple weeks? Why?" the instructor asked, the wide smile slipping into a lost look.

  "Because you've been booked solid for the next couple weeks. I was lucky to get another session in at all," Seth said. His less polite thoughts about the instructor stayed in his head.

  "Show me," said the instructor, the friendly, happy tone gone. His lost expression was replaced with a steely expression. Seth led him to the job hall where they could reserve instruction slots, and the instructor flipped through the pages. His steely expression deepened into a scowl as he saw the same name on the reservation slots over and over again. Seth looked at the name, and knew that Charles was one of Johan's henchmen, though he wasn't one of the blockers.

  "So this Charles guy is booking all the slots? I should pay him a visit..."

  "Instructor, I don't think Charles is completely at fault here. I believe he was put up to this," said Seth, hoping he wasn't speaking out of turn.

  "...then who exactly is responsible?! I'm not getting any contribution for any of these because they get cancelled."

  "Most likely Johan, instructor," Seth said.

  "Johan. You mean Johan Thrisbane?"

  "Yes."

  The instructor thought deeply for a second before saying, "Come to the job hall you were at today two hours after dinner service in two days. We'll discuss more," the instructor said, then seemed like he was waiting for something. That something didn't come, so Seth was dismissed from his first day of training.

  Two days later, Seth showed up at the job hall. The instructor was sitting in a meditative pose, his closed eyes opening at Seth's approach. Unlike their first meeting, the instructor had neither a scowl or a manic grin. Instead, he radiated calm and serenity, making Seth wonder if the lesson two days ago was a bad dream.

  "What is your name, initiate?" asked the instructor before Seth had a chance to say anything.

  "Seth, instructor," answered Seth.

  "Sit, Seth. We have some matters to discuss."

  Seth took a seat, and his instructor had a thoughtful expression on his face. He stayed silent for a minute.

  "Anyway, Seth, I'm instructor Zerek. I've gotten permission to accept you as an experiment of sorts," said Zerek. The thought of being an experiment filled Seth with dread, but he kept his feelings off his face. Zerek didn't seem to notice Seth's struggle.

  "Until the next testing, I will be training you four times a week for three hours each. It will cost half your monthly contribution. Before you get too nervous about my experiment, it's simply testing methods to help people caught in the desolation learn to use their qi again,"

  "Desolation?" asked Seth, the word slipping out before he could clamp down on the impulse. Thankfully, Zerek seemed to perk up instead of get annoyed.

  "Yes, the desolation. The phenomenon that has swallowed entire galaxies over the last several eons. Nobody is entirely sure what causes it, but the area is left completely devoid of free qi. People who are not at least foundation establishment cultivators will have all their qi drained in a matter of minutes, and regaining it is impossible. Rumor says..." Zerek said rapidly, before coming to a sudden stop, sweat forming on his brow.

  "Damn karmic seal. First person willing to listen in ages, and...never mind. Suffice it to say, you will help me with my area of interest, and you will get training you desperately need," finished Zerek, the manic smile back on his face. Seth had a distinct feeling that the training session a couple days ago might not have been a bad dream after all.

  Three hours later proved Seth right. Zerek had put him through three hours of difficult exercises. Sometimes, he instructed Seth to activate his qi sight to watch as he demonstrated something. Then he spent the next while trying to force Seth to repeat that movement with an escalating series of attacks. As they were wrapping up training for the day, Seth decided to try asking some questions.

  "Instructor Zerek. May I ask you something?"

  "Go ahead," Zerek said, a smile still on his face.

  "Are healing abilities like yours common here?"

  Zerek started laughing before answering, "No, they're not. I'm a healer for the sect, though I'm more interested in...exotic illnesses, so to speak."

  "That makes sense, instructor. Thank you."

  As they parted ways, Seth felt sore and unsure how effective this training would be. At least he would have an instructor, as unconventional as they might be. Then again, as someone who came from a world without qi, maybe what he needs is a bit of unconventional training.