“According to the report,” Anton explained, “The most common beasts are merely larger versions of normal counterparts. Wolves, boars, snakes, great cats, and the like. Some bears, maybe. I won’t assume everyone has experience hunting them, so we’ll go over some of the basics.”

As the oldest in the group, the connecting point between disparate people, and just the highest cultivation Anton took the role of leader for the training. He could also guarantee he had the most experience fighting wild animals, because even if the others had started the day they were born he still had several times their experience. Unless one of them had fought wild beasts every day for that same time, but the stories of cultivators raised by wolves or growing up in the wild were… generally exaggerated.

“Mostly, these creatures aren’t threats alone. Even a large bear should be easily defeatable by…” Anton checked the information he had, “A single fourth star cultivator. Though I would suggest not trying to directly let them hit you, since you’ll waste energy… you should still be alright. There are four of us, so even if one would have difficulty, together we can defeat whatever we encounter.” Anton avoided calling out Timothy. It wasn’t like he chose to have lower cultivation. He just wasn’t there yet. “The same cannot be said of magical beasts. Even alone, they can be a threat. They have more muscle and bodily power than normal animals, and the ability to use energy for attacks and defense. We will be staying out of the deeper areas where they will be common. Disciples with higher cultivations will be facing them.”

Everyone nodded, and the training began. Three of the four had preferences for melee weapons, so the simplest arrangement was for them to stand in a line in front of Anton. Perfectly functional, but nothing special. However, if he stood in the line with them he would have less worries about hitting one of them, and could more quickly kill approaching enemies as he would be closer. They would still be able to intercept enemies as they approached, and he could quickly fall back- if necessary. Anton was still capable of defending himself up close, it simply wasn’t his preferred method.

Lacking actual beasts to fight against- and with the forest being too dangerous to enter at the moment, leading to the call for The Hunt- they sparred with each other to get some experience fighting. Training techniques on your own just wasn’t the same. Anton had a huge advantage if they started further apart, and even at a dozen paces which would only take a few moments to cover he could shoot several times before anyone got close. Though the training arena kept people from getting seriously hurt, everyone had to admit they would probably be dead if they actually took a direct hit. So people practiced dodging, and then Anton’s time to have difficulty came. In melee he wasn’t exactly helpless, but he only had a standard one handed axe that cost only a handful of contribution points to use along with a small but sturdy shield. He could have used something heavier, but he needed speed more than power. He didn’t have the proper techniques to use his cultivation to his advantage, and his body held him back still, since the younger cultivators were starting from a better place and had likewise tempered their bodies.

Catarina and Hoyt were mostly matched… but Timothy struggled with any combat. It wasn’t that he was unskilled, but the difference of several levels of cultivation was hard to make up for. Battles were most balanced with Timothy and Anton versus the remaining two, though it mostly came down to whether they started at range… or whether Catarina had time to set up. Her ability to fight was really just average, as far as cultivators went. But as she had simply stated, her specialty was formations. Not the sort where people were arranged in particular ways- though that was sometimes part of it- but the sort where energy was arranged in a particular way.

It was a difficult subject to learn, and Catarina admitted she was still a novice… but a novice formation user was still a powerful force to reckon with. Given time, she could modify an area either through carving runes into surfaces or making them out of energy. Sometimes rearranging the area on a larger scale to affect the energy flow was involved as well, which was technically the case with the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars. Their land was a large natural formation with some modifications that gathered natural energy and protected the borders, though it wasn’t exactly pulling it from elsewhere. It more encouraged energy to form.

Catarina explained some specific things she could do. “Here is a simple barrier. It uses energy more efficiently than most attackers can, so breaking through can exhaust people.” It took her some time to set up every formation, but Anton could tell she wanted to actually have them visible… even if they were temporary. “Here, attuned people… allies… move more easily. Energy for others is sluggish.” Catarina’s movements made sense on the surface, tracing the outline of the area… but the runes sometimes were placed in geometric patterns and sometimes in ways that Anton couldn’t wrap his head around. Catarina’s third and final formation finished and… she disappeared. Except Anton could still feel her there, with his energy. She was just not visible. A few moments later, he felt the formation waver and break. “This one… is difficult. Maybe not useful.” Catarina was sweating, despite the relatively slow movements she had been making. Controlling energy so precisely could be quite difficult, and the mental effort wasn’t small either. “It’s supposed to hide energy too… but I can’t yet.”

“That’s okay, Catarina! It’s still great.” Timothy was very encouraging of her. They were childhood friends, after all.

“It is quite impressive,” Anton said, “It requires special talent and hard work.” Anton thought he saw Catarina smile slightly at that.

Hoyt nodded, “I tried learning it once. Then I realized I should stick to swinging heavy things around!” Despite his attitude, Anton knew he didn’t just swing wildly. He had actual skill, and a body that was intentionally tempered in specific ways.

-----

Despite working hard throughout the day, Anton noticed that Timothy still cultivated late into the night. Anton himself was an old man who didn’t sleep much, and since he wasn’t getting up early for farming when they trained, he found himself spending more time awake later. From what he remembered, while Timothy had been diligent in his cultivation, he hadn’t generally been up so late. It wasn’t polite to spy on others cultivating, but Anton was old enough he felt he’d earned a bit of nosiness.

Anton’s senses told him that Timothy’s cultivation was… fine. It was progressing forward towards the next star, the refinement of his tendons going smoothly. But it certainly wasn’t fast. Anton found his way around to Timothy’s courtyard. With nothing particularly challenging happening in his cultivation, interrupting him wouldn’t be a problem. When Timothy opened the gate to Anton’s knock, he invited himself inside. “You’re up quite late, aren’t you? How is the cultivation going?”

Timothy shrugged, “I’m hoping to reach the fourth star before the end of the month… and The Hunt.”

Anton nodded, “Refining the tendons to support your muscles for quick movements or power, quite useful. I noticed you closely follow the prescribed tempering methods laid out in the Ninety-Nine Stars.”

“Of course,” Timothy said, “Precision is important.”

Anton smiled, “I agree. However, there is more to it than that. You were not raised as a cultivator, right? Did you work at a farm?”

“My father was a woodcutter,” Timothy answered, “Though I was often called to help out nearby farms as well.”

“Then you are aware of how working your muscles makes them grow stronger. That doesn’t stop being the case when cultivation is involved. There is merely another avenue to do so. However, the first doesn’t become useless.” Anton stretched out his arm, displaying his wrist front and back. Pressing his hands together, he stretched his fingers and wrist in various ways. “Some physical exertion lets the body absorb more natural energy. Let’s try some exercises.”

Timothy didn’t say anything, merely following along with Anton. Anton hoped he hadn’t overstepped his bounds, but the young man didn’t seem to have the right insights to focus his training properly. Some gentle stretching and then more rapid movements for every part of the body left Anton feeling sore… and aching more than usual. However, cultivation with energy would ease the pain.

“Follow along with my technique,” Anton said, “There are some ways to make your energy flow more smoothly.” Anton knew that Timothy hadn’t refined his meridians yet, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t exert greater control. His power would be lower, but the way Anton folded energy into his tendons could be replicated. It wasn’t something that could be taken from a cultivation manual, because mere words explaining would never be sufficient. In truth, Anton hadn’t quite perfected the technique himself as he was currently in the middle of cultivating his tendons, but it shared the same principles as the rest. Timothy didn’t quite have it down by the end of the night, but Anton planned to return to guide him in the future. It wasn’t just so he would be stronger to help the team, but Anton just wanted to leave the world somewhat better once he expired. Though that might not happen so naturally anymore… there was a good chance of him getting himself killed within the next year. He couldn’t just train forever and never avenge his family… or look for any survivors who were taken as slaves.