Master Wang has a classroom on his property, and I'm sitting in it. Ironically, I'm in class even though I've been skipping school consistently so far. Master Wang stands in front of a whiteboard, gesticulating at various anatomical models.

"... and here is where most of the mana congregates on an orc. Initially, I thought the mana liked to nest in the liver, but it was actually the gallbladder. You can stop an orc from using mana for a brief period if you paralyze this organ with a precise enough blow."

Before any training could start, Master Wang wanted to cement “combat knowledge” into me. I'm enamored by all this information.

"Master Wang, where did you learn most of this stuff?"

"On the battlefield, disciple. To create my martial arts, I needed to hone my understanding of anatomy. I wanted it to be open to all races, so I needed to perform multiple battlefield autopsies since I don't have a medical license."

I nod in understanding.

"Master Wang..."

"I know what you are going to say. I didn't carry a knife, so I used my teeth."

"... never mind."

"That's enough teaching for today. I read in the newspaper that you are going to the capital soon? Great! That means those stuck-up chumps in the Mixed Martial Society will get to revel in regret when they see you!'

"What do you mean by that?"

"Let's just say the [Broken Body] martial arts was not appreciated and may have gotten me kicked out of a club I helped start."

"How?"

"It turns out that the city boys in the capital have weak bones and something about 'we are not using corporal punishment anymore' and 'this is cruel and unusual."

Master Wang probably crippled many youths.

"Let me explain a few key details that will help you progress. The [Path of the Broken Body] was created to reach what I call the [Broken Body], a state I believe is perfection. I crafted many iterations of my art to accommodate the different preferences that disciples may have. [Martyrdom], [Pugilist], and [Reverse Defender] are examples that you aren't familiar with."

"What about the style you gave me, [Broken Body: Insanity]?"

"First, let me reinforce the main point. My art is to create the [Broken Body]. Any extra word tacked on to the end is purely there to showcase the type of skills found in the manual, regardless of whether they help craft the [Broken Body].

[Insanity] is a unique case. It is the brainchild of my friend and me that was purely hypothetical. This art is about breaking down your body just to rebuild it. It's the purest form of my martial arts that even I couldn't take on."

"What path did you take."

"The one that dealt the most damage, [Ravager]. The main staple of this art is [Broken Fist]. That's where my namesake came from. I want to spend our time showing you how to complete the main staple of [Insanity]. [Traumatism].

~

Master Wang also explained that [Broken Body: Insanity] lacked combat moves, so he wanged in some from the other paths. The skill [Martyr] was the main staple for [Martyrdom], but it's only a supplemental move on this path.

He also revealed that learning all the moves in the manual is a bad idea. I need a balance and not to overdose my body with needless abilities. The body may be broken, but it should be “stable.”

In the dictionary, [Traumatism] is the occurrence of trauma. Medically it specifically means trauma to living tissue. To even conceptualize how to gain [Traumatism], I need to understand my body's condition down to the enzyme.

Master Wang told me that gaining skills that target different body parts can help with my conceptualization. It'll also help me achieve the [Broken Body], so it's a win-win.

Two skills I have my eyes on need resources to learn. They might not be the best skills to acquire right now, but they are ones I am interested in, and I should capitalize on the help Master Wang is giving me.

The first one is called [Broken Liver], and the brief description of the skill describes it as a toggleable passive technique that weakens the body's function to resist toxins. At first glance, it seems useless, but what I realized after reading further into the skill, it doesn't give me liver failure but changes the liver altogether.

The liver does five things in the human body, including filtering blood and detoxification. Although it's worded in a way that makes it undermine my resistance, what it really does is amplify the effect everything would have on my body.

If I drink alcohol, I'll get drunk faster. If I take medicine, it'll work quicker. Drink a potion, and the effects might even be enhanced.

It doesn't make sense for these martial arts to have a skill that weakens the body without building it back up. My hypothesis was this was a crutch created so higher leveled people could still be affected by weaker poisons/medications for training purposes. Or Master Wang really wanted to still be able to get drunk.

The second ability is called [Corrosive Metabolism], and the only description was 'gives the ability to eat inorganic matter.' I thought it would be neat to be able to sustain myself in any situation.

I should focus on some more combat-orientated skills, but the requirements for these skills bank of money, and I'm poor. Fuck, I need to meet up with Nelson and get paid.

To 'train' my liver, I need to overdose on as many types of toxins at once, then rebuild my liver while it's still struggling to filter. The time it takes to do this depends on the quality of the toxins.

That's why I am strapped to a chair next to Rain, who has a metric shit ton of needles. When asked Master Wang for help regarding the skill, he referred me to Rain, who was more than happy to inject me with venoms and pollutants.

Isn't she suppose to be working on my arm?

It doesn't matter, I guess. As long as I finally get that damn thing sooner than later.

I'm also working on the [Corrosive Metabolism] skill which requires me to eat inedible matter and drink acids to destroy my digestive system before fixing it manually.

Rain plays chemist on me, mixing chemicals in my blood while I eat dirt and metal. I'm disappointed that her needles could even pierce my skin. Alcohol is crucial to breaking my liver, so I alternate drinking from a bottle and taking a bite from a fork.

I have never felt so sick in my life.

I have to play chicken with my health bar because If I constantly heal the damage, there's no point. I only heal when necessary and in big bursts. I stop my gorging and start focusing on my liver. I feel like I'm reaching a tipping point, and I need to put my focus inwards.

I still can't "see" inside my body, but it's reminiscent of when I rewired my circulatory system, so I'm familiar with alterations. The process takes a few grueling hours and a few dozen needles, and now I am the proud owner of a defective liver.

[Broken Liver

Filtration, metabolism, detoxification, digestion. The user's body now will metabolize medicines better and detoxify worse. This skill is togglable.]

Hmm, I expected stats, but It seems that the manual was accurate in its description. It's surprising seeing the word "digestion" and “metabolism” in the skill description since there was no mention of nutrients or the like in the directions. Livers have a role in the digestive process, but I wonder how it changed.

More importantly, I should focus on finishing [Corrosive Metabolism] or the human garbage disposal. I start munching on empty needles and glass bottles I already emptied before beginning the next few steps.

This skill couldn't form if my appendix was removed, and luckily it wasn’t. What's debatable is what it does, but it's theorized that it stores the bacteria needed for the gut to function in case the good bacteria vacates the premises.

The second step is to reinforce my stomach lining and intestines. I could've skipped the whole eating glass thing if I only wanted to be able to digest inorganic matter, but apparently, this is a necessary step.

I can almost feel my liver working overtime to support my tattered stomach, and before long, the awaited system window appears.

[Corrosive Metabolism

Your stomach becomes a melting pot for all. The user can digest inorganic materials like glass and metal. The user is not immune to the ramifications of eating certain harmful materials. They just get the ability to eat them.]

"..."

So everything isn't edible like I expected but just indigestible? I could die if I eat a car, but at least I'll be high in iron. Fuck.

Wait a minute. I munch on some glass and feel my entire digestive system, liver included, try to extract the most nutritional value. It's a strange feeling, my liver taking an active part in my digestion since usually all it should do is create bile. It's even weirder that I can tell what's going on in my digestive system.

Too bad I'm pretty sure that glass has little to no nutritional value, but it's not like I was going to switch my diet to lightbulbs and cookware.

After my lessons in anatomy and my skill acquisitions, it's almost midnight. I check my resistance before finding a place to sleep.

[Resistance: Poison 149 > 347]

[Resistance: Peircing 147 > 167]

Now the real training begins. Well, it begins tomorrow.