Chapter 10: Capricious and Unpredictable
Thrust.
Mercenary Tao's fingers pierced the rain-soaked mountain rock with a soft sound. It looked no more difficult than stabbing a block of tofu.
"Your physique is passable, but your training is nonexistent. Your application of force is a complete mess. You lose ninety percent of your power before the strike even lands…"
Tao didn't turn around, his tone filled with disdain. He was ultimately unimpressed by the ground-stomp Kaito had managed to imitate.
It had the form, but not the spirit.
When Tao stomped, all the force was focused, traveling undiminished through the ground for dozens of meters before finally erupting beneath his target's feet. Kaito's stomp, while it looked explosive and shattered the ground, had dissipated all its force on impact. To a true martial artist, it was the mark of an amateur. He was just wildly throwing his raw physical strength around.
Mercenary Tao glanced at Kaito, feeling that this new student was ultimately inferior to the disciple his brother had found. A pang of regret for accepting him surfaced. At the end of the day, he had no desire to be a teacher. He had only made an exception because Kaito's ruthless mindset had appealed to him.
Kaito remained quiet with his head lowered, seemingly oblivious to Tao's displeasure. Inwardly, however, his mind was racing, trying to figure out how to stop Squad #64323 from killing Mercenary Tao.
Tao was incredibly powerful. For a mission like this to even be generated, the squad assigned to it must be terrifyingly strong as well. At the very least, they were judged by the [Dimensional Game] to be capable of killing him.
Should I just tell Tao directly?
No. Kaito immediately dismissed the idea. Mercenary Tao was arrogant, cruel, and cunning. If he were to suddenly announce that a powerful group was coming to hunt him, the first thing Tao would do is attack him and torture him for the source of his information.
Kaito saw it clearly. Tao was not Master Roshi; there were no genuine feelings of mentorship between them. In that regard, he was probably even worse than Master Shen. Tao was a thorough villain. To him, Kaito was just a tool. If Kaito learned a few tricks and made a name for himself, Tao's own fame would grow. If Kaito died, it was no loss to him.
So, telling him was not an option…
As his mind churned through various plans, Kaito's body meticulously followed Tao's instructions, moving through various martial arts stances. This was perhaps the greatest benefit of this cruel trial: being personally instructed in the ways of martial arts by an expert with a power level well over one hundred. It was an unimaginable reward in any other world.
Kaito formed his fingers into a crane's beak and thrust forward sharply.
Thwack!
His fingers struck a tree stump. Blood immediately welled up from his fingertips, but at the same time, Kaito felt a strange, profound sensation of channeling his jinli—his focused power—deep into the stump's interior. It was a completely different feeling from simply using brute force to smash the surface.
[Under the guidance of the plot character Mercenary Tao, your special proficiency has improved. Current Level: Martial Arts Aptitude Lv2.]
[Martial Arts Aptitude Lv2: You have mastered various stances for generating force and can now channel that force into a target's interior, allowing your attacks to ignore a portion of their defense.]
Of course, Kaito was still far from being able to generate this kind of power in any form he wished. For now, he could only achieve it with this specific crane-style hand strike.
Seeing this, Tao's expression softened slightly.
Overall, while this disciple had no martial arts foundation, he possessed an abnormal degree of control over his muscles, which allowed him to easily imitate any movement. He could learn the basic stances of any technique after seeing it just once. From that perspective, he was undeniably a martial arts genius.
Unfortunately, when it came to ki, the boy was a complete dunce. Tao had demonstrated its use several times, but Kaito couldn't even begin to sense it. For the Crane School and for Tao's personal style, ki was the most crucial element. This was why Tao couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment when comparing Kaito to Tien. Tien was a true genius at manipulating ki, a level of talent that even Tao himself envied.
Tao's own body wasn't indestructible. While he could use ki to reinforce a piece of cloth enough to block a sniper bullet, his body couldn't withstand a grenade blast once his ki was depleted. Without the ability to flexibly control ki, one could, at best, only ever be a master fighter in the eyes of ordinary mortals.
Tao snorted and turned to leave. He had always held himself in the highest regard, looking down on even his own brother, Master Shen, and that old turtle, Master Roshi. How could he tolerate having a disciple who was inferior to Tien? (At this point in time, Mercenary Tao was likely the strongest fighter on Earth.)
[Mercenary Tao's impression of you has decreased.]
[Current Standing: Friendly (5/100)]
Kaito's eyebrow twitched. Even with his stoic temperament, he was beginning to feel unnerved by Tao's capricious and unpredictable nature. There was absolutely no sense of security around a person like this.
The "realism" of this dimensional game was also giving Kaito a new perspective. Unlike the one-dimensional caricatures in an anime, every character in this world had their own desires and logic. A Reincarnator's actions would lead to different consequences.
He watched Tao's back retreat into the rain and mist. The English words "I KILL YOU" were printed on the back of his pink robe. His long braid swayed slightly, like a venomous snake.
Kaito suspected that even if he did everything right, the moment he failed to meet Tao's expectations or embarrassed him in some way, Tao would kill him without a second thought.
Suddenly, a thought struck him. The answer to the problem that had been plaguing him for days appeared in his mind.
[Trial Mission 2: Prevent Squad #64323 from assassinating Mercenary Tao.]
[Optional Objective: Eliminate at least one member of Squad #64323.]
Kaito's eyes fixed on the words "prevent the assassination." He pulled his hand back from the tree stump. The tips of three of his fingers were bloody, his nails broken, and his knuckles bruised.
But Kaito seemed to feel no pain. He used his bloody fingers to trace Mercenary Tao's name in the air, a slow smile spreading across his face.
"Prevent the assassination…"
"Heh. The wording in this dimensional game is more precise than I thought," he mused. "It's practically telling me that a certain… other method… exists."
At that moment, walking through the mist, Mercenary Tao felt a sudden, inexplicable chill run down his spine. He snorted, wrapping his braid around his neck like a scarf, and decided to head down to Toguro Hachidan's inn for a hot bath.
He hated the weather on this mountain. If it weren't for the secluded environment suiting his austere image, he wouldn't bother staying here at all.
"Whatever," he thought. "I'll give the kid two more days. If he's truly useless, then so be it."
Tao had no patience for nurturing talent. In truth, he didn't even consider Kaito a real disciple. If the boy could learn a few of his tricks, he could spread Tao's name in the assassin world. But if he learned nothing, killing him would be of no consequence.
Mercenary Tao leaped from the cliff's edge. With his hands clasped behind his back, he tapped his toes lightly on the slick rock face, descending like a great bird. Within moments, he had arrived in the town below.
Toguro Hachidan, who had been watching the dojo on the mountain, immediately snapped to attention when he saw the familiar pink robe. He ordered his staff to prepare food and hot water. The ability to read his master's moods was precisely how Hachidan had earned Mercenary Tao's trust.