The next morning, the sun broke over Korvan's eastern ridge like a blade of molten gold.
Mist still clung to the trees when Hunnt, Kael, and Alder left the village behind, heading toward the vast forest plains beyond the cliffs. The air there was clean and open — the kind of place only monsters claimed as home.
Hunnt stopped at the edge of the clearing. He closed his eyes and let his senses unfold.
A faint hum pulsed through the air — the quiet reach of Observation Haki. Every breath of wind, every heartbeat, every stirring creature within a mile filled his awareness.
When he opened his eyes, he said calmly, "No one else around. It's just us and the wild."
Kael cracked his neck. "Good. No one to witness how badly Alder's going to eat dirt."
Alder smirked. "You first, old man."
Hunnt grinned slightly. "Both of you will be eating dirt soon enough. Let's start."
---
He drew a mark across the ground with his boot.
"Soru," he said, "is speed born from pressure. It's not running — it's forcing your body to move faster than thought."
He stomped the ground once, vanishing from sight, and reappeared behind them with a faint gust.
The air rippled from the displacement.
Kael's eyes narrowed. "That wasn't natural."
Hunnt shook his head. "It's not supposed to be. Now — ten stomps, minimal hesitation. Feel the rhythm, not the steps."
He motioned for them to try.
Alder drove his boots into the dirt — the ground cracked beneath him, but he barely moved an inch. Kael tried next, light on his feet but inconsistent, his form slipping sideways with each burst.
Hunnt watched, arms crossed. "You're moving too much with your head. Forget where your feet are. Focus on where you want to be."
By noon, the clearing looked like a battlefield — shallow craters scattered everywhere, both men covered in dust and sweat.
Still, Hunnt pressed them. Again. Again. Again.
By dusk, their legs ached, but their movements started to blur — Alder heavy and forceful, Kael sharp and fluid.
Hunnt smirked. "Good. You've learned the steps. Now it's time to earn them."
Alder frowned. "Earn them how?"
Hunnt pointed to the forest. "You'll each find a monster faster than you. Let it chase you until you stop thinking about fear — until you move on instinct."
Kael blinked. "That's your teaching method? Get chased by death?"
Hunnt shrugged. "Fear makes a better instructor than I do."
---
Alder's Trial
Alder didn't need long.
He found his trial waiting — a tusked raptor-beast prowling near the ridge, its hide dark as molten stone.
The moment it caught his scent, it shrieked and charged.
Alder barely had time to brace before he stomped — once, twice, three times. The world blurred.
Wind ripped past his face, claws sliced through the space where he had stood.
Too close.
He stumbled, nearly losing balance, but a grin spread across his face. "Alright… let's dance!"
The raptor lunged again, cutting through trees in pursuit. Alder's boots struck the ground in rhythm — bursts of wind propelling him from rock to root to ridge. Each motion sharpened.
He could feel the timing now — the recoil, the push, the breath before movement.
A claw grazed his shoulder; the sting only fueled him. He stomped again, vanishing for an instant and reappearing behind a boulder.
He laughed breathlessly. "You're fast, but I'm getting there."
By sunset, his legs were trembling, his chest burning.
But his steps were no longer thought — only motion.
When he finally returned to camp, bruised and muddy, Hunnt simply nodded.
"You learned," he said.
Alder grinned, too tired to answer.
---
Kael's Trial
Kael's turn took him deeper into the misty parts of the woods — where the air grew colder and quiet.
A flicker of movement caught his eye: a lean, wolf-like creature with silver fur and crimson eyes. It stalked him from the treeline, breath silent, steps light.
He smirked. "Good. A runner."
The moment the beast leapt, Kael vanished — his body propelled forward in a rush of air.
The monster missed him by inches, crashing through underbrush.
Kael landed rough, boots skidding. He turned mid-motion and saw the blur of silver lunging again.
Stomp. Vanish. Reappear.
The rhythm pulsed in his muscles now, the ground cracking under each burst.
But unlike Alder, Kael didn't run in a straight line. He weaved — darting left, right, vanishing between trees, using Soru like a shadow skipping through the forest.
The creature adapted fast, twisting with each movement, fangs snapping at where Kael reappeared.
He grit his teeth. "Not bad."
A final stomp — a flash of air — and he reappeared atop a fallen log, the monster circling below, confused and snarling. Kael's breath came steady. "Guess that's lesson one."
He stepped down lightly, the faintest smirk tugging at his lips. "Thanks for the chase."
---
By the time both men regrouped, night had fallen over the plains.
Hunnt was sitting by a small fire, calmly sharpening his gauntlets when they returned.
Alder collapsed into the dirt beside him. "You're insane."
Kael leaned against a tree, catching his breath. "He's not wrong."
Hunnt chuckled. "If you can still talk, you didn't train hard enough."
---
The third day, Hunnt gathered them again.
"Now that you've learned to move, it's time to learn to endure. Alder — Tekkai. Kael — Kami-e."
He cracked his knuckles. "And I'll be your test."
Alder blinked. "Wait—what?"
Before he could move, Hunnt was already there. His fist slammed into Alder's chest, sending him sliding backward.
Alder coughed. "That's your lesson?!"
"Tekkai is about hardening the body," Hunnt said simply. "You can't learn to withstand pain without feeling it. Tighten your stance. Don't resist — root."
Kael groaned. "Glad I got the dodging one."
Hunnt turned toward him. "Don't get too comfortable."
He vanished again, a blur of movement. Kael dodged by a hair, the strike tearing through air.
"That's Kami-e," Hunnt said calmly. "Move like a feather, not a wall. If you think, you're already hit."
For the rest of the day, Hunnt attacked from every direction, his speed unrelenting.
Alder braced against each hit, learning to absorb the shock through muscle and stance.
Kael flowed around strikes like smoke, his movements light and instinctive.
By dawn of the fourth day, Kael could dodge a branch before it hit the ground.
Alder's body, bruised and sore, stood unshaken through every blow.
---
The fifth day, Hunnt pressed harder.
Half strength now.
Alder blocked, his skin vibrating from impact but holding firm. Kael dodged faster, each sway cleaner than the last.
Hunnt stepped back, breathing lightly. "Good. You've both reached the basics."
---
The sixth and seventh days were for flight.
"Geppo," Hunnt said, "is Soru's twin. But instead of stomping the ground, you strike the air. Each kick pushes you upward. Miss the timing, and you drop like a stone."
Alder's eyes brightened. "Finally. Something fun."
He jumped, kicked — and immediately hit the dirt.
Kael chuckled. "That looked painful."
"Shut up," Alder muttered.
Hunnt grinned. "You'll get it. Everyone falls a hundred times before their first step."
For two days, the sound of Alder's stomps echoed through the clearing. Each attempt ended in dust, bruises, and laughter.
By sunset of the seventh day, Alder finally hovered — a brief, weightless moment before landing hard but smiling wide.
"I flew!"
Hunnt nodded, pleased. "Almost."
Kael smirked from where he sat cross-legged. "You'll be flying circles around us soon."
"Not yet," Hunnt said. "Rest. Tomorrow, the real test begins."
The sky burned orange as the sun sank.
Beyond the cliffs, the deep rumble of the volcano stirred once more — low, heavy, and alive.
The Vulcarion Basal was waking.