“Good. Let us begin.” The world was swallowed by the blinding golden light. And the warehouse, replaced with a dark brick building structure. There were man-made rivers flowing through the centre of the paths before Yugai. This was a sewer, and now he was underground, in a foreign place. The water, however, was not filled with filth, nor had a ghastly colour. Instead, it was pure, and fresh. He could see fish swimming through the currents without a care in the world. Despite the fact that there were no torches, or even any sources of light around him, there was a dim brightness that allowed him to make out the details of the world around him without much hassle.

“Welcome to The Peak. Or rather, the basement floor - Industria et Acedia. Though, many started to call it The Rock. Izumi Yugai, before we can sign the contract, there is something you must do. Since I will be giving you life, you must pay for it in whichever way you can. Since you’re just starting out… let’s say you must kill an F-Rank Monster. That should be good as your first payment. It shouldn’t be too difficult. Let me lend you back your body.” Hakuro whistles. Yugai’s body is then reconstructed into this foreign place, and his soul flung into it.

“You won’t stand a chance if you don’t know how to defend yourself, and simple martial arts or even a weapon on their own will do nothing. I shall teach you to wield magic. So, please pick it up quickly. I do hate slow learners. Now, imagine how a knife is made. Close your eyes if it helps. Molten metal is poured into a cast, it was heated at immense temperatures, and now quenched down in some water, only to be tempered once more. The process is repeated, until the blade is formed. and it is only then that it's given a hilt out of wood, or something similar. Repeat those images in your mind, reroll them in perfect sequence, and focus all of that warmth wrapping your body into your right hand. Give it form. The metal can come from the minerals in these rock walls. The flames can be harvested from the heat in the air. The water can be taken from the river. The hilt, from the plants or trash nearby. Bring it to life. A knife made from your heart. That’s good. It seems you are not a moron. Now open your fucking eyes.”

A shining, silver blade, about five inches in length and embellished with a pure white handle now rested in Yugai’s right hand. He gripped it with all his might. It felt as if it was a part of him. It was unexpectedly heavy, and emitted a white aura that shone with some sort of ethereal property. A low growl resonated across the walls of the room, and echoed into his ears. Something was coming.

“Listen to me and you will have nothing to fear. The creature approaching you should be of little to no threat. That is, if you can properly harness your power. Project a second knife in your left hand. It should be simple now that you’ve done it once. Simply expedite the process you performed a moment before. It should have become to you as easy as breathing.”

Yugai continues to do just what he is told. Hakuro is correct, he is able to replicate the weapon with no difficulty whatsoever. He wields a blade in each hand, both having an otherworldly quality to them.

The source of the growl emerges from around the corner. An unnatural creature meets Yugai’s gaze. The monster was about a few feet smaller than Yugai himself, its body, vaguely shaped like a human being, but brown fur spread across every single spot of his skin, from head to toe. Its eyes were bloody red and its nose a fleshy pink. It opened its large mouth to reveal a wide array of teeth, some jagged and rotten, others, square-shaped and larger than the rest. This thing was a rat, with the shape of a person. In its left hand it held a makeshift hammer, a rock attached to a stick via some thin rope, and on its other arm was a shield, made out of wooden planks wrapped together with vines. The beast suddenly scurried forth, lifting its left arm up to the sky, and raising the shield to conceal and protect its face. Growling could be heard the whole time, as it charged to close the gap between itself and its prey.

“Defeat it in whichever way you like.”

Yugai slowly began panicking. The slight wave of unrest started cracking into his passive personality. He'd always taken the blows of life and stayed mostly unaffected by whatever was thrown at him, be it something he'd seen or experienced, positive or negative. But this was the first time where he was aware that his life was on the line, and that the dread of this foreign place and the threatening circumstances slowly but surely sunk its claws into his heart. Sweat began sliding down his front, and time seemed to slow down, as danger charged towards him.

The rat-man leaps, and swings his left arm while raising the hammer high up and towards the right side of Yugai’s head. And as it approaches. the world starts moving in slow motion for the young man. He could tell it would still be a couple more seconds before the actual impact. Fight or flight suddenly triggers. And he, right there and then, chose to flee. Yugai jumped backwards, to narrowly dodge the blow, and without missing a single beat, began running as fast as he could through the sewer-like tunnels. The monster chases, hot on his heels.

“If you do not fight, you won't survive. Your life will only come back to you when you slay this creature. Otherwise, you’ll be trapped in here. Forever.” Hakuro’s words are clear, as if he was standing next to Yugai’s ears. And unexpectedly, the man suddenly stops his retreat, turning around. “Wow. Usually, they end up running and screaming for quite a bit longer.” Hakuro was used to seeing people run in this situation, or even fight when exposed to extreme danger. They'd usually commit to one strategy or the other though, the expected fight or flight mechanism, and it generally takes quite a while before there are any changes in such instinctive behaviour. It felt extremely odd to him that Yugai shifted gears with just one line. Yugai turns around, throwing the knife in his right hand aiming at the head of his pursuer, with no hesitation. The rat raises its shield to cover its head and block the incoming projectile, but as it does so, Yugai throws the blade in his left towards the knees of the beast. The first attack is repelled by the shield, but the second lands on the enemy's right leg with near pinpoint accuracy. However, it bounces off as if it was made of rubber. There’s a momentary look of shock on both the creature and Yugai, but it only lasts for a moment; Yugai starts running again down the corridors, while repeating the manufacturing method he'd been taught. A fresh knife was in each hand to replace the ones he just threw away.

“That’s odd. Even a total beginner should be doing damage with a low-level projection. You’re compatible with me, so metalwork is one of your innate traits. Something is off. Please, do give me a moment to find out why. Just stay alive for now.” The cat begins to hum to itself as its eyes glow and shimmer with a holy white light. “Oh.” Yugai heard something escape the lips of the talking cat he'd grown quite familiar with. Disappointment. Another switch is flipped in his heart. He turns around again, and stares down at the enemy, and charges while roaring. “You fool! Stop! What is wrong with you? … I mean!” The composure Hakuro had shown cracks, witnessing the recklessness of the boy who, just a moment ago, also seemed to be quite stoic, yet suddenly choose to do something stupid, rash, and emotional. Yugai’s sudden counterattack was a shock to the monster as well, who slows down its own attack in response, creating a window. Yugai takes this opportunity, as he stabs the left knife into the slightly exposed gap, uncovered by the shield, and thrusts against the neck of the beast. The blade snaps in half on contact. This comes as a shock to both the rat and to Yugai, but the rat is quicker to recover and react. The shield smacks against his body, and despite the difference in weight between the two, Yugai is sent flying into a nearby wall. There’s a very mild groan, but no scream of pain. He holds it in, as he always has done. He stands again, quickly, ignoring his injury as he starts to run again, with no hesitation at all. Almost as if he was a program, being given a line of code to execute immediately. Hakuro sighs as he starts sending a message directly to Yugai’s brain.

“Listen, before you do something thoughtless like that again. Normally, even a novice Disciple like yourself should be able to damage and defeat an F-Rank Monster with only light to mild difficulty. I could go into scrutinous detail about why this is, and why you are an exception to this rule, but we do not have the time right now. So, allow me to be as brief as I can, and explain in a manner that even a person lacking knowledge of pop culture of this modern era can understand. People have statistics, strength, intellect, and a wide variety of things. These are obvious traits that everyone uses in their daily lives, but now that you’ve signed a contract with me, a Mystic, these things have become even more important than they were before. Some of the designers of the Peak decided to rework the way things work in regards to magic, to reflect some things they found entertaining. Mainly games you, humans, invented. So, some characters you can play in such games use Charisma as the stat that is used to cast magic, and thus, this stat also correlates to your magical power, and output. You are... severely lacking Charisma. You have less Charisma than the deadbeat hobos who hopelessly roam the streets homeless for all the wrong reasons. You have like, three points in the stat. A newborn child has more… See, you are neither charming nor intimidating. You seem to lack the ability to make people do… rather, even think anything at all about you. Perhaps due to your upbringing, or your biology, but whatever the case may be, you simply do not have the required ability to create any sort of magic that can do damage to the creature after you, especially now after your life.”

Despite the dismaying news, Yugai continues running without slowing down for even a second, almost unfettered by the disappointing information. It is as if it was a punch he'd taken time and time again, and had built a tolerance to it. His sprinting form is actually not that bad, he was used to moving at fast paces for extended durations of time. This does not escape the watchful eyes of the guardian that is supporting him. “...The fight is not completely hopeless, it seems. You can still try to attempt to defeat it physically. Though, with your malnourished body, and lack of combat experience, not to mention that your Strength is not much better than your Charisma, I highly doubt this. So, there is only one method left that I can think of, that you can use to triumph. All biological life forms have Ki within them. It’s a source of energy your body produces to perform physical feats. Mystics, such as myself, have Mana flowing within us instead. Since we have established a contract, I am pouring Mana into your system. Using Ki, you can strike with enhanced strength. And using Mana you can wield magic… Or could, rather."

“If you can successfully mix these two forces within you, together as one, you will convert these sources of energy into Mystic Power, or if you’d prefer, we can refer to it as MP. If you can create MP, you’ll be able to do a more advanced type of techniques, known as Mystic Arts. A Mystic Art is far more powerful than basic magic, or martial force. More importantly, even with your low Charisma, I’m confident that one of these can deal significant damage to this F-Rank. It is not an easy process, and honestly not something I teach to a Disciple who literally knows next to nothing, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Beggars can't be choosers, or so they say. If you die your final death, it may take me ages to find myself a suitable replacement. The last time I had a Disciple was, perhaps, around thirty years ago...? Before that, almost a hundred years. So, please, do not die. It’ll be very annoying.”

Despite the long explanation, Yugai did not halt or slow down in his attempt at escaping. He accepted the information he was presented with, and acknowledged it as fact without questioning the source in any way shape or form. In his mind, such an endeavour is nothing but a pointless attempt that wastes precious time. He learned as a child, arguing is very pointless. A very bad way to use what little energy you can spare. So, he continues on, taking the instructions from Hakuro to heart, without any doubts. “Unfortunately, to generate MP, a Disciple needs to feel two contradictory emotions in their heart, and blend them together as one, like hot and cool air working together to form a tornado.

“For someone like you, with weak emotional responses… well... try your best.” A small crack formed in Yugai’s face as these words reached him. The cat was right. Such a thing is nigh impossible for him. He’s never had such an outburst since childhood… yet, he must reach deep within now, to search for something he discarded long ago, or else... today is the day he dies. He turns around, to stare at danger and death in the face, hoping his soul can scream something worthy in response. Nothing. Nothing happens, beyond a trickle of fear.

The snarling half beast, half man whacks his stone axe against the right side of Yugai’s head again. A cracking sound echoes through the tunnel as the man collapses from the impact, and a splash, when his body falls into the stream below. This section of the river is somewhat shallow, enough that a person can swim with their head above the water if they try. The rat jumps on him, before he can do anything else. It slams its whole weight behind its next movement, because it is well aware that it has a disadvantage when it comes to stature. The hastily constructed wooden shield is enough to make up for the disparity. Yugai is pressed under the armament with incredible pressure and might, and he flails in response, trying to get his opponent off of him, but it’s of no use, he can’t muster the strength needed from this position. His head is forced under the waves, and he is forced to hold his breath in an attempt to keep his lungs free of water. He is just barely able to use his strength to bring his head back above the surface, to take a deep breath, but in response, the creature pushing above him starts swinging with its left arm, sending the head of the stone hammer against Yugai’s head. The shock sends him back down into the shallow but very real depths. This repeats, because he needs to breathe or else he’ll drown, but each time he comes up for air the same action occurs in response. The hammer slams with wild and reckless force, from a rabid creature that attacks without any rest. The weapon smacks into his right temple each and every time without fail, over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over.

Blood spills, and swims away like a bottle ink, cracked open into a sink. The rat starts swinging even when Yugai’s head is underwater. The force of the attacks are drastically reduced by the drag of the water, but it’s still more than enough to intensify and escalate the wounds it has already inflicted, and deal even damage with the new ones it leaves behind. Finally, something explodes with a splatter, it snaps as Yugai gurgles for air and his chest fills up with water. His right eye is taken away by the current of the stream he is drowning within. His heart begins to pound so loudly that when submerged he can feel it pulsating throughout every nerve of his body. He’s dying. He will die. If he can’t stop this assault one way or another, he’ll drown, or have his head caved in, whichever happens first. Panic begins whispering into his ears and down his neck. Death. Again. The reaper lifts its scythe, ready to harvest his life for the second time within the span of just a few minutes. He struggles, but for naught. His vision blurs and starts going dark. He cannot breathe. His throat only makes gurgling noises when his head is buried in blue, and wheezing coughs when he has a nibble of air...and meets damage for his trouble.

The pressure becomes heavier. Everything is turning dark and silent. A dim haze like static.

Flailing wildly, he tries to fight in any way he can, to find some way to resist. If magic cannot harm the creature, and Yugai cannot generate the MP needs to have a breakthrough, then his only tool left is sheer brute force, and hoping that it works His right arm finds some amount of desperate strength, and mounts resistance. His right hand clenches into a fist, a punch is thrown with that remnant of power, against the lower jaw of the rat-man, but it warrants nothing more than a momentaneous discomfort. A glare from blood-red eyes filled with malice. As if to say “How dare you even try and fight back!” Swift and brutal retaliation ensues. The hammer falls on the fist that tried to harm its user. The middle and ring fingers are crunched and snapped with a single hit. Yugai tries to scream in pain, but nothing comes out and water, of course, flows into his lungs yet again as punishment for his failure. The hammer rises and falls, again and again. This time, aiming for the crippled hand, and continues to inflict further injury unto injury, until Yugai cannot feel anything from it at all. It has all become numb now. Not even a hint of pain. The world is tiny to him now. Just a vague shadow hovering above him, that goes back to trying to break the right side of his skull…

“Yo! Don’t die! You can’t die! We cannot die! You can beat him! He’s just a big bully! There’s so much to see and do! We can’t let him take us out! Kick his ass, hard!”

The naive and spirited voice of a child, a young boy. Familiar. Then a second male voice interjects. He’s older, he’s clearly very tired, and sounds quite done with the world. As if taking long drags of a cigarette in the dusk before dawn in the middle of winter, when the snow begins to fall. Before it becomes a blizzard; before it swallows the world in pale deathly white; But even if it started in the next few minutes, the owner of this voice wouldn’t care. He’d just keep on smoking, At most, he’d cover the thin ember with his hands, but there would be no shivering, or annoyance.

If a tornado came, and he was dragged into its rotary force, he’d just accept it, because that’s just nature. That would simply be a whim of fate, and who would he be to defy it? Facing death with a shrug. “Nah, man. Don’t fight this. There’s no point. Nothing good ever comes out of fighting. You just get hurt. Look what happened to your hand for even trying. Well, you probably can’t see it right now. It’s mangled, man. Like string cheese. Let it go. You don’t have much to live for anyway. Nothing to lose. So, it’d be easier, less painful, just…” Yugai cannot see the source of the voices, but he feels them. He knows the second voice too. He can’t remember who it is, but he knows it, and its eating of his sanity. He knows these two voices very well. The two voices are glaring at each other. Sparks fly, born of rage and anger. They begin to yell, at and over each other. Telling the other not to get involved. To shut their traps. The young one is too naive, and doesn’t know what he is talking about. The older one is jaded and a dick, so his words ain’t worth shit.

“Listen to me!” They yell in unison to Yugai. Time seems to stand still as they bicker...