"I figured it out just before I lost consciousness," Jabari said, his voice filled with certainty. "Although the needle shocks every muscle in the body, the intensity of the shocks isn't the same for all of them."
Aziz's lips curled into a faint smile. "Go on…"
"If I'm right, the muscles that shouldn't be used receive the strongest shocks, while the intensity decreases for the muscles that should be engaged."
During his shower, Jabari had used his spirit to perfectly recall the moments before he blacked out. He remembered how, subconsciously, he had enhanced his sense of touch, allowing him to feel the exact variations in the shocks – how his body had instinctively adjusted, activating only the necessary muscles until the shocks ceased entirely.
That was when he had finally fallen into a deep sleep.
Aziz nodded, clearly pleased. "Exactly! The trick isn't just about high-level muscle control – it's about extreme sensitivity to your own body. Once you reach a certain level, you'll be able to instinctively sense which muscles should be used, and with precisely how much force."
Aziz leaned forward slightly. "The human mind is a wondrous thing, kid. When faced with extreme stress, the body will often find a way to protect itself. Your survival instincts forced your mind to discover the solution – only after it had been pushed to its absolute limits."
Jabari took a slow breath, absorbing his mentor's words. It was hard to believe, but after reliving his own memories, he knew Aziz was right.
But before he could ask anything else, his entire body tensed.
Jabari's gaze snapped up, and there it was. An all too familiar needle glinting in Aziz's hand.
Jabari's body twitched on pure instinct.
His mentor's smile was utterly devilish.
"Let's see exactly how much progress you've made, shall we?"
"Wait-!"
Jabari didn't even get a chance to react before-
Flick!
The needle stabbed into his brain. And then-
BZZT!
"You could've given…
Me a chance to…
Prepare!" Jabari gritted out between shocks, his muscles spasming all over again.
Aziz grinned, clearly enjoying his torment. "Now, where's the fun in that?"
Jabari gritted his teeth and refused to waste another breath arguing. His mentor was a lost cause.
Instead, he focused.
Using his spirit to enhance his brain activity, he replayed the memory of his success, searching for the exact feeling of stillness he had achieved before passing out.
The first two hours were spent adjusting – testing different muscle activations, tweaking each movement, endlessly failing. But then-
He found it.
For a brief moment, the shocks stopped, and excitement surged through him. But then-
BZZT!
The moment of excitement had ruined it, causing Jabari to curse under his breath and refocus.
This time, it only took fifteen minutes before-
Stillness. Perfect stillness.
Jabari held his position for over a minute, his body completely at ease.
At the same time, he couldn't help but marvel over how comfortable it was. Considering the fact that he was lying on the cold, hard floor of his mentor's training room, he had no business feeling so comfortable.
'I guess this is what it feels like to lie down without using any wasted energy.' Jabari mused. 'I guess those sixty-plus hours weren't completely wasted.'
As his thoughts churned, he couldn't help but wonder how long it would've taken to reach this point without his bloodline helping him.
First, it allowed him to perfectly recall his previous success, reliving it as if he were experiencing it in real-time. That let him feel exactly how his body should be moving.
Then, with his inner sight and enhanced sense of touch, he was able to detect which muscles needed to be engaged and which needed to relax.
The real challenge was actively controlling those muscles, but having a blueprint of success made the process exponentially faster.
Aziz, watching closely, narrowed his eyes.
'Damn brat…'
Even though he had expected Jabari to improve quickly, this speed was still ridiculous.
It was only thanks to his bloodline ability, of course. Still, despite knowing that, Aziz couldn't help but feel a little jealous.
Seeing that Jabari had remained still for over a minute, Aziz rolled his eyes. With a wave of his hand, the needle vanished.
"Can you please give me some warning before you go piercing my brain?!" Jabari grumbled.
Aziz's lips curled into an innocent smile. "I'm going to pierce your brain with my needle tomorrow."
Jabari rolled his eyes. "You know that's not what I meant."
Aziz simply grinned.
Jabari sighed, deciding not to waste any more breath. "What's next?"
"Nothing."
"…Nothing?"
"Nothing!" Aziz nodded, arms crossed.
Seeing the lack of understanding on Jabari's face, his sadistic mentor elaborated.
"Over the last four days, your body's been pushed to its absolute limits – physically and mentally. It needs time to recover."
Jabari frowned. "So, no training at all for the rest of today?"
Aziz smirked. "Sometimes, relaxation is a form of training as well."
Jabari wasn't convinced. "So what am I supposed to do for the rest of the day?"
Aziz shrugged. "I don't know. What would you normally do if you had free time and wanted to relax?"
Jabari's blank stare said it all.
Aziz sighed.
'This brat really doesn't know how to relax, huh?'
"Alright," Aziz said, changing tactics. "What about learning to cook?"
Jabari's expression immediately turned sceptical. "You want me to learn how to cook… to relax?"
"More or less." Aziz chuckled.
"Why would I need to learn how to cook?!" Jabari scoffed. "I'm here to get stronger, not for cookery lessons!"
Aziz smirked. "What did I just say about relaxation being a form of training?"
Jabari crossed his arms. "I still don't understand how relaxing can be training."
Aziz didn't answer. Instead, he flipped his hand.
Suddenly, a scroll tied with a crimson ribbon appeared out of thin air.
Jabari's eyes widened.
"Wait-
What-
Where-
How in the name of Ulo did you just do that?!"
Aziz smirked, making the scroll disappear – then reappear – then disappear again, as if showing off.
Jabari stared in disbelief.
"This?" Aziz said nonchalantly, holding up his hand. "The ring on my finger is called a storage device. It contains a separate spatial dimension, allowing the owner to store and retrieve items at will."
Jabari's jaw dropped.
"So you can just carry anything inside there?"
Aziz nodded. "Within its capacity, yes."
"That's incredible!" Jabari practically drooled, admiring the flawless silver ring on Aziz's finger. It was engraved with runic characters he didn't understand, but it radiated an air of mystery.
Then, a thought hit him.
"…Does it cost more than one gold coin?" he asked, thinking of the money Heba had given him before his departure.
Aziz burst out laughing.
"One gold coin?!" he mocked. "The cheapest storage device costs at least several million times that."
Jabari gawked. "Several million times that?! Just for a ring?"
Aziz smirked. "And that would only get you one with a tiny capacity – maybe one cubic meter." He demonstrated the size with his hands.
Jabari shook his head in amazement. "Why is it so expensive?"
"This is cutting-edge equipment," Aziz explained. "Something like this is priceless in the right hands."
Jabari was fascinated and wanted to ask more, but before he could, Aziz proceeded to unfurl the scroll.
The moment Jabari laid eyes on what was inside, his breath caught in his throat. His mind going completely blank.
Never in his life had he seen anything so…
Enchanting!
On the scroll was a painting of an old man with tanned skin and long white hair tied in a bun, dressed in a simple white kimono.
His face was only partially visible as he gazed out into a starry sky, bathed in the soft glow of the moonlight.
He stood before a crystalline lake, a katana sheathed at his side, while he leaned against a majestic Sakura tree, its pink petals gently drifting through the air.
The more Jabari stared at the painting, the deeper he fell into it.
There was something about it – something that pulled at his very soul.
A strange sensation swelled in his chest, raw and unexplainable.
By the time he realised it, a single tear had already formed at the corner of his eye.
"Who is that?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"My Master," Aziz replied, his tone calm – but Jabari heard it.
That faint, almost imperceptible trace of longing.
Jabari hesitated before asking, "Did you paint this yourself?"
Aziz nodded. "I painted this the day I last saw my Master." He glanced at Jabari. "What do you think?"
Jabari didn't hesitate. "It's beautiful."
And it was.
Even though it was just a painting, it felt alive – as though the old man might step out of the scroll at any moment.
Every brushstroke radiated emotion.
Longing. Awe. Heroism. Helplessness. Loneliness. Resentment.
It was unbelievable that a single piece of art could evoke so many conflicting feelings at once.
"To many," Aziz began, "painting is just a menial activity. But to me, painting allows me to relax – to clear my mind, relax my body, and free my soul."
He rolled up the scroll.
"Whenever I've hit an insurmountable bottleneck in my training, painting has always been the key to my breakthroughs. Without it, I wouldn't be the man I am today."
Jabari was intrigued by the idea.
"…Then why don't you teach me to paint instead of cooking?" he asked, genuinely interested in learning how to create something that incredible.
Aziz smirked. "Because I'm me, and you're you."
Jabari frowned. "What does that mean?"
Aziz leaned back, arms crossed.
"Have you ever looked at a scene – a sunset, a mountain, a battlefield – and thought it was so breathtaking that you wished you could capture it forever?"
Jabari thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No."
Aziz raised an eyebrow. "Alright. What about food? What do you think when you eat a meal that you really enjoy?"
Jabari's mind immediately flashed back to the first meal Heba had given him.
That warm, life-changing sensation that had almost brought him to tears.
"I wished…" Jabari muttered, voice softer now, "…I could enjoy that taste forever."
Aziz grinned. "Exactly."
He leaned forward slightly.
"The love you feel for a good meal is the same love I feel when I see a beautiful scene.
And so I learned to paint, because that was my passion."
Jabari had to admit – it made sense.
But he still felt hesitant.
Painting? Cooking? None of this had anything to do with getting stronger. And right now, that was all he cared about.
Aziz saw the conflict in his apprentice's face and smirked.
"Tell you what," he said, "just try it for a month. If, after that, you still don't see the value in it, then I won't bring up relaxation again."
Jabari studied his mentor's expression.
"…Just one month?"
Aziz nodded. "One month."
"Fine. I'll give it a go." Jabari sighed. "So, where do we start?"
"At the beginning," Aziz said, leading him toward the kitchen. "Let's start with breakfast."
As they entered, Aziz flipped his hand, and-
Whoosh!
A variety of ingredients suddenly appeared on the counter.
Jabari scowled. "Show-off."
Aziz smirked. "Forget the ring and focus." He handed Jabari an egg and a bowl.
Jabari took them, still sceptical. "Why do you even have so much cooking stuff in your storage ring?"
Aziz shrugged. "I like being prepared. You never know when you'll need to cook for yourself."
Jabari wasn't convinced, but he didn't argue.
Aziz cracked an egg effortlessly. "Watch closely."
For the rest of the day, Jabari learned how to make a basic omelette, experimented with different ingredients, and discovered which combinations worked – and which didn't.
He hadn't realised it at the time, but, this was one of the very few days in his life where he could genuinely say-
He had fun.
And as he left Aziz's accommodation, something strange settled over him.
For the first time in a long time, Jabari felt well and truly relaxed.
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