◉◉◉◉◉
Under Pancham's reluctant guidance, Kael soon reached the dojo's southeastern edge a place known as Blazing Peak.
The moment he saw it, Kael stopped in his tracks.
The mountain loomed over the training grounds like a blade thrust from the earth steep, jagged, and dark as forged steel.
It wasn't tall by normal standards, but its shape was so sharp and deliberate it looked ready to pierce the clouds.
A faint shimmer of heat distorted the air near its slopes, and even from a distance, Kael could feel a strange pressure radiating outward.
He smirked. "So this is where my next teacher is, huh? Looks fun already."
---
His morning at the Verdant Bamboo Grove had taught him to respect the dojo's methods.
Sawk's lessons had focused purely on physical mastery, strength, precision, and balance, rather than energy attacks or flashy moves.
So if there were three mentors… that meant each would teach something different.
Technique, power, and discipline are all pieces of a larger whole.
And whatever awaited him on Blazing Peak, Kael could already tell it wasn't going to be easy.
He glanced back at Pancham only to find the little panda standing perfectly still at the trail's entrance, staring nervously at the mountain.
"You're not coming?" Kael asked, tilting his head.
Pancham shook slightly. Its wide eyes flickered between Kael and the towering summit.
"I-I'm not allowed… The master's waiting for you up there."
Kael frowned but didn't press the matter. "Got it. Stay safe then."
He turned back toward the mountain and took his first step onto the dark stone.
---
The moment his foot touched the surface, Kael felt it.
A strange heaviness, faint but undeniable, pressed down on his shoulders.
Not enough to hurt him, but enough to notice.
"Hmm?"
He crouched slightly, testing the sensation.
It wasn't wind or heat. It was gravity.
His eyes narrowed. "A gravity field… just like a weighted chamber."
Suddenly, Pancham's nervous behavior made a lot more sense.
But Kael only grinned.
"So the test starts the moment I step in. Fine by me."
---
He began to climb.
Each step made the pressure a little stronger.
The air itself seemed heavier, wrapping around his limbs and chest like invisible chains.
To most Pokémon, this would've been exhausting.
But Kael's body wasn't normal.
The experimental modifications coursing through his muscles, combined with the system's enhancement, made him far tougher than any Machop his size.
He adjusted his stance, rolled his shoulders, and pushed forward.
"Not bad," he muttered. "Feels like home training back in Zeraora's canyon… except calmer."
---
As he climbed higher, Kael noticed other Pokémon training across the slope.
A Meditite practiced steady breathing while maintaining a levitating stance just a few meters off the ground, beads of sweat rolling down its head.
Further up, a Makuhita was hammering at a boulder, each strike shaking dust loose from the cliffside.
And just ahead, a Mienfoo was practicing its forms fluid yet powerful strikes, fists cutting through the thickened air with audible snaps.
When it noticed Kael passing by, Mienfoo paused and nodded politely.
Kael returned the gesture with a friendly nod.
Inwardly, Mienfoo tilted its head in mild surprise.
"A new face? Haven't seen this Machop before."
It is usually recognized that everyone who has trained on the lower ridges of Blazing Peak. The heavy gravity made it an unpopular spot for beginners.
Watching Kael continue climbing, Mienfoo blinked.
"…He's going higher?"
Even seasoned trainees rarely ventured far beyond the lower levels; the gravity became dangerously oppressive near the summit.
Mienfoo frowned slightly, tempted to call out a warning.
But then it stopped.
It remembered its own first climb how older Pokémon had tried to talk it down, and how it had stubbornly ignored them.
It hadn't truly understood the weight of Blazing Peak until it was crushed flat on the ground, unable to move for hours.
The memory drew a faint, nostalgic smile to its lips.
"Let him go," Mienfoo murmured softly. "He'll learn soon enough."
Still, a part of it couldn't help but watch.
Minutes passed.
By now, Kael should've been slowing down, struggling under the mounting pressure.
Instead—
Mienfoo blinked again, disbelief washing over its face.
There he was the black-skinned Machop still walking steadily, his movements smooth and controlled, as if the crushing weight around him was nothing at all.
"…He's still going?"
The young fighter could only stare, dumbfounded.
The realization dawned slowlycand with it, a sense of awe.
"Unbelievable… that gravity would flatten most of us… Yet he's climbing like it's a morning jog."
For a moment, Mienfoo just stood there, gazing up at the slope where Kael's silhouette marched higher and higher toward the summit toward his next mentor.
◉◉◉◉◉
~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◉◉◉◉◉
For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access Patreon normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!