Coming out of his meditation the next day Jason checks his progress. His cultivation had reached Initiate level 2 over the night. Happy with his progress he packs up and heads back toward the wasteland. Taking a day to get used to how the changes affected him would work, battle experience at this point should provide a better foundation for later.

Once out of the plains it doesn’t take long for a couple wasp-like emus to find him. They both charge at him. Not being ready to take both head on Jason dashes to the left putting a spire between them. Seeing this the emus split up to take him on. After a short stop though Jason continues moving to keep the sheltering spire between the right emu and himself. In moments the left emu is able to reach him with its charge. Ready for it Jason braces himself against the spire then brings both feet up for a powerful double kick. Not expecting this the emu easily falls prey to the kick and gets knocked out by the headshot.

Now facing a single enemy Jason prepares to drag out the battle. The remaining emu comes around the side of the spire just to be met by a normal punch to the gut. While its carapace protects it from the blow both Jason and the bird take a couple of steps back. Not letting this stop him though Jason steadies himself and punches at the emu again. This time instead of trying to get a solid shot or even make sure he hits instead Jason is focuses on his own body. The blow collides with the emu once again though this time the bird gets a kick in.

-4

Ignoring the pain Jason continues to observe his body while fighting. Unlike his past battles, this one quickly devolves into a in your face back-and-forth match. Two sides clashing with each other over and over.

-2 -3 -2 -4 -2 -3

While not getting hit with every exchange the damage soon builds up on Jason. However, even with a lower level and stats each of his punches packs a lot of power. Not liking how hurt it is the bird bugs out leaving not only Jason but its fallen comrade. Surprised at this Jason stays ready for a few more moments before accepting it really did just run away. After quickly finishing the downed emu Jason sits down with his back to the spire. Taking his time he reviews the fight.

“While it lacked tactics, this was the first straight up brawl I have gotten into. My equipment, even with my odd leveling should put me on even grounds with most normal enemies up to maybe level 12. HP doesn’t exactly skyrocket to extreme numbers too quickly but that emu still should have only been down a third at most. If my team was here, the fight would be easy even with how stupid I fought it. However the emu should have stayed. It was going to win with how the battle was going. I might even be wrong about its health as I don’t know how much protection the exoskeleton provides. Meh, doesn’t matter. What is important is that even without using any Energy or Skills I could feel a difference. I can’t really put it into words but the movement and attacks themselves felt more free. It was like before now I was wearing a tight suit. The strength would travel in small spurts and now it is like my whole body is carrying it. I need more battles before I finalize my thoughts on this but I have a theory.”

Satisfied with his introspection Jason quickly leaves the area. That emu might have gone for help. He doesn’t even stop to fight a few lone enemies as he continues onward. Choosing instead to sneak past them for the moment. Eventually though he feels that he has gone far enough away and looks for another fight.

This doesn’t take long and soon a lone emu is within his sights. He had wanted to try fighting one of those long-legged dogs but there have been none around. Shrugging away these stray thoughts Jason silently approached the bird. As the emu strutted around almost at random, he is able to get behind a spire in its path. Just short of a minute later everything is in place. The emu comes around the spire only to be met with a blast punch to the neck. While the area seems more armored than elsewhere that just proves it is a vulnerable spot. At least it is if you have an armor piercing attack. Unable to even react the emu drops to the ground dead.

Jason shakes his head at this. While it will be good for some XP grinding, he was hoping for more of a fight to get a feel for his attack. With a sigh, he moves onto the next target. Only a short walk away another emu is resting below a spire. Tucked up under the slight overhang to get out of the sun it seems to be sleeping. This doesn’t fool Jason as he had already scouted the area and knew what was up. The ‘sleeping’ emu was bait. If anything tried to get the drop on it, miraculously the bird would be wide awake and attacking back. All the while the emu Jason killed would have either joined the fight or if too much then run off for help. With the sneaky guard taken out though Jason walks towards it announcing his presence. The bird takes his slow approach to squawk for help but the call is only met with silence. Freaked out the emu prepares to fight. Jason on the other hand prepares to grind his skill against it. The only worry he has is the enemy might not be a tough enough grindstone to sharpen his attack against.

His worries are proven out soon enough as the emu only survives 5 attacks. It wasn’t even much of a fight as the first hit threw the emu’s mind into chaos and the second crippled a leg. Jason can only shake his head at this before sitting by the now free spire to go over how his skill felt now.