Location: Lil. Red Storm, Seed World, Devil Merchant Code, Inter-Realm City, Sector WS9909, Infinity Library, Study Room
Having become a mere mortal, Wyatt and his primordial spirit began their combat training with the basics, such as stretching exercises and running. The key was to push himself until he could go no further-and then push even more. Within the spiritual city, the spiritual body functioned the same as a physical body in a regular city. The strain and pain were just as real, but they had no effect on or benefit to his true physical body back on the physical plane-not that he needed them to be.
He had already gained everything one could from such training, except for the understanding necessary to apply it. Thus, he couldn't help but feel as though he was paying interest for taking the shortcut of cultivating his body through artificial means rather than honest training. Exhausted, Wyatt nevertheless pressed on, following Martial Sage Lorn's drills.
At times, he wanted to stop and yell, questioning what doing basic exercises and running had to do with learning to apply his strength, control, and power. However, he held his tongue. He trusted the Field Marshal and wanted to see the training through with unwavering determination. Even at his weakest, when his resolve was tested, he never gave in.
"Dear Disciple, you're slacking. Pick up the pace," the card intent would remind him. It called him "Dear Disciple" so many times that he was beginning to think it was his name. Grumbling under his breath at the card intent, he continued at his own pace. After all, as long as his will didn't give up, his spiritual body wouldn't collapse from exhaustion. This was another reason why demon and devil merchants favored training their martial and fine arts in the Sector WS9909.
"Dear Disciple, I'm not trying to be hard on you. Look at your perfect clone. Its spiritual body has the same parameters and attributes as yours, yet it's outperforming you at every turn. This shows you're capable of more-you're just not giving it your all. Discard all distracting thoughts and focus. Come on, if your clone can do it, so can you," the card intent said, using Wyatt's clone as a benchmark. It was right to do so. After all, they were identical, with the key difference being that Wyatt was the main primordial spirit with the soul gem, while the clones were slave primordial spirits with daughter gems.
Hearing the card intent's comments, Wyatt, who was utterly exhausted and running on sheer willpower, couldn't help but regret involving his primordial spirit in the combat training. After all, slave primordial spirits were meant to follow orders despite their individuality. unlike him. who was meant to stand above them all. Still, unwilling to be outdone by his own clone, Wyatt picked up the pace. Viewing it as his rival, his competitive spirit reignited, giving his will a much-needed boost.
"That's more like it, Dear Disciple. You can do it."
Listening to the card intent, which sometimes sounded like a drill master and other times like a supportive mother, Wyatt wanted to yell, "Choose a role and stick to it, damn it!" However, he ignored the urge, set his sights on his clone, and tried not only to match its pace but to outdo it.
Unaware of how long the card intent had kept them running and doing basic exercises, Wyatt's primordial spirit finally collapsed to the ground upon hearing the words, "Alright, let's take a break." Wyatt managed to catch up and flopped down a foot in front of it to rest. Seeing this, the primordial spirit crawled forward on all fours. Noticing this, Wyatt also crawled forward to maintain his lead. However, just as the spirit was about to overtake him, he leapt onto it, yelling, "Stop, I won, accept it!" "Stop, fucker, I said stop!"
When the primoridal spirit finally halted, Wyatt crawled a foot ahead of it and rested with a satisfied smile on his face. Meanwhile, the primordial spirit glared at its childish and unfair master before turning away, grumbling to itself. It went silent, though, when Wyatt shouted, "What the fuck did you say, asshole?"
Wyatt turned to look at his primordial spirit. This was one of his newest spirits, and it hadn't yet developed individuality like the older ones. However, through the brutal basic training, it had begun to develop a competitive and unyielding personality. Curious, Wyatt kicked it lightly to see how it would react, only to find it glaring at him before swallowing its anger. Its emotions could never surpass the bond between master and slave primordial spirits-a relief but also a pity. This bond ensured it remained a mere slave, never able to act independently. Not that Wyatt was complaining, but it was still a pity.
"Dear Disciple, you have a lot to learn about sportsmanship before you can even take the first step on the martial path," the card intent remarked, observing Wyatt's pettiness toward his own clone. If it had been the Field Marshal herself, she might have had a hard time suppressing her laughter at seeing the high-and-mighty Wyatt in such a state.
Ignoring the comment, Wyatt heard the card intent instruct, "Please take the pill for exhaustion so we can continue with the next round of practice."
"Can't we just take a pill for concentration and focus too? It would make it so much easier to train with a one-track mind," Wyatt suggested, thinking of using the pills to make up the difficulties he faced during the training so he could train longer, "No. Though you can train longer by doing that would be counterproductive- especially since you are training to cultivate the mindset and focus that come from regular physical training. Dear Disciple, stop thinking about shortcuts. Dedicate yourself to training vigorously with a one-track mind for the best results," the card intent advised. It recognized that Wyatt's endlessly mindset-always trying to fix or improve things-was likely to be the greatest hurdle he would face on his journey along the martial path.