The group of 6 gradually made their way through the residence and arrived at an elevator that was large enough to fit all of them.
Osho calmly pressed the third button which was the last one, and the thing descended with all of them inside.
Calm music played as they descended, but only Osho and Peter seemed calm while the others were certainly nervous as they kept glancing between Osho and the boy who seemed far too cheerful for what was about to happen.
Anyway, it didn't take long for them to reach their destination, and when the doors opened, they found themselves in a massive room.
It was as large as a football field with a high ceiling overhead, high enough for some pretty large beasts to stay. Osho guessed that Mrs Jane's wyvern could stretch his wings without brushing the top, that's how large it was. The walls were lined with smooth, reinforced panels that glowed at the seams faintly. The floor was made of the same stuff, with each panel capable of not only withstanding heavy blows from high-level beast tamers, but were also able repair themselves if the need arose.
On the left side near the elevator, there was a long rack that held training weapons and armor. Swords, shields, spears, hammers, and so on. All were neatly arranged by size and type. Some of the armor looked like they were from some sci-fi film as clear channels of Mana flowed through them.
Directly across the rack was a control panel embedded in the wall. Osho could, with a few presses, change the terrain of the room, the gravity, or even the temperature, turning the entire place into a customizable training ground.
Several observation platforms were stacked along both sides of the room, forming layers were spectators could watch from higher vantage points without obstructing each other.
Peter let out a low whistle, impressed.
"Wow, they really hooked you up huh? Not bad." Peter said with appreciation and turned to face Osho who just stood there, unbothered.
"So, ready to get this over with or what?" He asked, and Peter cracked a smile.
"Wow. And I thought I was the impatient one. Alright, let's not waste any more time." Peter said and started to take off his sweater.
Osho followed suit and had Gale and Bedrock enter his beast space before he removed his shirt, revealing his sleeveless undershirt.
The others just sort of stood there, not too sure what to do, but Ellie's eyes immediately zeroed in on Osho as soon as he took off his shirt, revealing his lean yet toned upper body.
Ellie unconsciously licked her lips, an action that didn't go unnoticed by the others as they gave her strange looks, but she ignored them.
Weirdly enough, Peter, despite his size was similarly shredded, with lean muscles one would not expect to find in a 13-year-old.
Kurt looked at his own muscles–or lack of–and sighed.
That wasn't all, though. His arms were also... quite long. None of them noticed it before due to his oversized sweater, but now they could see it clearly, oddly long arms that were at least a hand longer than normal. Moreover, the muscles in them were VERY defined, even more than Osho, like steel cables under his skin.
'How is that possible?' Ellie frowned. It looked almost unnatural how defined his arm muscles were.
"Alright. Rules are simple. No magic, no beasts, no weapons. Just straight hands. Okay?" He said as he waved his hands experimentally while Osho just nodded and put his hands up while entering a stance.
Peter leaned forward slightly, his arms swaying slightly.
"He isn't putting up his guard?" Irene mumbled with a frown, something the others shared.
However, Osho didn't seem to care as he took a step forward and sent forth a jab that moved way too fast for something not enhanced by Mana.
"What the-?!" Ellie exclaimed as his fist was a blur to her. Despite staring intently, she barely saw it move.
However, Peter simply leaned his head out of the way at the last moment, reading the attack with ease. Osho didn't let up and sent forth another quick jab, but instead of dodging, Peter leaned his body to the side before twisting it slightly, making it so that Osho's fist grazed past his arm, and...
Blood spilled as a bit of flayed skin fell to the ground.
Ellie paled while everyone else gasped. Osho narrowed his eyes as he took a step back while pulling back his arm, and just behind his wrist on the side, a sizeable amount of skin had been shaved off as blood leaked out.
Still grinning, Peter swung one of his arms. Not in a punch or jab, but full on swung it like a whip straight at Osho's face.
Osho took another step back and blocked. His guard was perfect, and yet.
Like he was cut by a blade, Peter's arm whipped across his arms, more blood spilling as more skin was flayed.
This time, Osho retreated properly, putting some distance between them, and Peter didn't chase. He then swung his arms out like they were aching a bit, and not like they'd just had entire layers of skin shaved off like nothing.
"Is that Flare Style?" Osho asked, though, it seemed more rhetorical than anything else.
"That's right," Peter confirmed, his smile never leaving his face. "It suited me pretty well, so I decided to adopt it. Pretty good, right?" He spread his arms, and Osho just shrugged.
"What... What was that?" Sam mumbled with disbelief. The display just now, no matter how brief, was screwing over their perception of how a fight was meant to be.
"He has to be cheating, right? Maybe he has some sort of item? Or he's using Mana somehow?" Kurt frowned, not quite believing what he was seeing.
"And that last attack. I couldn't even see it until after Osho blocked. He has to be augmenting himself somehow." Irene added.
"He isn't." Ellie suddenly said, her words making her other three look at her with surprise.
"Bullshit. Did we just watch the same thing? Osho is getting sliced like he's using a sword!" Kurt exclaimed with disbelief, but Ellie shook her head.
"It took me a moment to see it too, but I can assure you that he's fighting with nothing but his bare body." They fell silent, waiting for her to explain.
"I thought his arm muscles were strange. They looked for too developed. But now I know. You know how people often describe muscles to look like cables, or something similar when writing? It's for him, but more literal." Ellie narrowed her eyes.
"I don't know what sort of training that cult put him through, but the muscles in his arms are quite literally as strong as steel cables. Maybe stronger. And when Osho's fist grazed past it that first time, it was like throwing a punch and letting your arm grazed past a cable, which key to the flaying of skin." She explained with certainty, surprising everyone.
"Huh... that sounds... insane." Kurt scratched his head.
"But what about that last attack?" Sam asked, still not buying that Peter wasn't using any Mana.
"That's a bit more interesting." Ellie tilted her head. "His arms are completely relaxed, so instead of punches, he's swinging them like whips, and when he does, the centrifugal force allows him to build far more force, and therefore speed, in his swings, essentially turning his arms into sharp whips that can remove skin." She analyzed, surprising the others even more.
"How do you know all of this?" Irene gave Ellie a look, and she just flashed her a humorless smile.
"I'm pretty observant."
Meanwhile, Peter hopped from foot to foot, clearly fired up.
"How is it? It's fast, right? I spent a lot of time adapting the style to suit me even better. You won't find someone using it better than me anywhere in the cult, you know?" Peter said with obvious pride, and Osho nodded slightly.
The boy was not lying.
"Good for you." He said simply, and Peter frowned.
"You're being weirdly unrealized. Did I break your spirits already? Or are you trying to stall?" Peter asked as he started walking forward again. Osho didn't reply as he simply put his guard up again, his gaze fixed on his 'brother'. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel·fire·net
Peter's grin returned, and when he got close, he swung his arm again, the limb moving like a whip as it cracked through the air at impossible speeds.
Osho didn't try to block this time as he read the movement and dodged just in time, but just as he did so, his other arm came from below, forcing Osho to lean back.
What followed was an unholy barrage of attacks that had Osho on the back foot, having to dodge constantly as blocking would do him more harm than good.
'Haha! Even with my speed, you're still dodging so cleanly. You're exciting me more and more, Isaac!' Peter's grin widened.