Chapitre 2: The Hunt | Reiatsu Training
"So that's how portals feel." Rio looks around to find himself in an odd white, desolate desert area. It looked like, for miles upon miles, that there was nothing but desert, and maybe even a couple of rocks! How exciting. "So this is Hueco Mundo?"
We have saved ourselves. Now feed.
"With what? I don't think there's any humans here to eat." Rio asks his instincts. He did sense other reiatsu signatures but... They don't feel quite human and he does not want to find out what those are. Probably other hollow, but the Spirit Wikipedia did say that hollows could evolve... What if those signatures were evolved hollows? He'd die in a second! He didn't even know how to fight!
His hunger feels a bit less prevalent in this area. His instincts are much less aggressive about needing too feed. If nothing else though, Hueco Mundo feels very... refreshing. "Why is that?"
<Q. Why do I feel better in Hueco Mundo?>
<A. Hueco Mundo has a unique atmosphere compared to other worlds, as it has an abundance of Reishi, which Hollows may absorb to sustain themselves.>
First, reiryoku. Then reiatsu, now reishi? Rei, Rei, Rei, they really wanted to emphasize the spirit part of this whole thing, huh? Well, now that he was a bit more stable (That was a lie. His recent murder is still fresh on his mind, haunting him.) he could actually interpret what these words mean.
First, Reiryoku. Spirit Strength? Though it's more appropriate to say it was Spirit Power. In layman's terms, potential energy.
Then, Reiatsu. Spiritual Pressure. Is that what he sensed in that human he mercilessly slaughtered? He thought it was reiryoku, but he thinks it's more accurate to say that he sensed their reiatsu instead. Other than that. It's akin to kinetic energy since it's the physical manifestation of reiryoku.
Finally, Reishi. Translates to Spirit Particle. The building blocks of spirits? It's a safe guess. Was his body made of reishi then? Did that mean he was basically breathing in the decay of souls in Hueco Mundo? That's fucked up.
"Well... Now what do I do?"
<Q. What next?>
<A. It is recommended that you absorb more Reiryoku and get stronger.>
"Why? Can't I just hide from everything? I don't wanna fight anything if I don't have to."
<Q. Why?>
<A. It is recommended.>
How helpful. Also really foreboding. Even if it was just a text box, it felt... Aggressive. Cold. Well, it's just a recommendation, right? It's not like he has to follow it.
Feed on your fellows.
"My fellows?"
Other Hollows.
"What? Are you asking me to find and fight them?"
Yes.
"But- I don't know how to fight! Didn't I just say that?!"
Then allow me.
"I-"
You do not know battle. So allow your instincts battle for you.
Well... He guesses it did make some sense. It was his instincts, right? Surely it would know something about at least self defense. And admittedly, he WAS getting hungry again. And so, with apprehension and a sigh of defeat, he gives in. "Fine. Let's try to find a weak hollow to sate our hunger."
That way.
...
A few minutes of walking later, he finally encountered the weak hollow his instincts guided him too. "Is this guy a newborn like I am?"
Indeed.
This guy was even weaker than he is! Now that's an achievement.
Engage.
"Alright." He says, approaching the quadrupedal hollow. It seems like it noticed him seeing as it turned its neck 180 degrees and screeched. He'd say that his ears were bleeding, but well, he didn't have ears.
The quadrupedal hollow lunged at him, claw fast approaching his face!
Block.
His body moved on its own, his arm catching the claw. "Jesus!"
Counter.
Once again, his body moved on its own. His pincer arm fit the limb of the enemy hollow and he tightens his grip as much as he could. It was not enough. The enemy hollow planted its feet down on the ground and threw Rio over its shoulder, knocking him to the ground.
The quadruped wasted no time pouncing on Rio once more. It bares its razor sharp teeth and gets on top of Rio. "Gah, damn it!" He catches it by its ., his arms are barely able to hold out against its gaping jaw.
Use your Reiatsu.
Oh. Right.
"Trust your instincts...!" Rio says to himself just before gathering energy in his mouth. A saliva-like substance starts to materialize in his maw. He opens up the enemy hollow's jaw as much as he can before spitting out the substance.
The substance starts to melt through its hollow flesh and it lets out a pained shriek, pulling back from Rio.
Strike now!
Didn't need to tell him twice. He kicks the enemy hollow away-
Mask!
"What?"
Strike the mask!
He didn't have time to question his instincts. If that's what he's gotta do, that's what he's gonna do. He follows up his previous kick by pinning down the enemy hollow, stomping on its face.
Now kill.
He does not stop at just one stomp. He strikes the hollow with the sole of his feet again and again and again. The enemy hollow's mask could only take so much punishment. More and more cracks formed under the pressure.
Struggled as it might, clawing against his thigh, shrieking in desperation, it was no use. With one final stomp, its mask shatters. Leaving the body lifeless.
Nearly instantly, the body starts to... smoke? Disintegrate. "So do I just... eat it?" Rio was rightfully apprehensive of this.
Yes.
"Well... Here goes nothing I guess." With a sign of the cross and regretful mumbling, Rio picks up the body and dines in.
...
Tastes like nothing. "Well that's better than it tasting like ass, at least." However, it DID sate his hunger more than eating a... human... "No, Rio, stop that." Maybe he'll just have to eat hollows from now on. At least the really weak ones he can pick on.
Satisfactory.
Other than that though, every time he took a bite, he felt himself get stronger in a way. His supply of reiryoku became greater. It felt kind of intoxicating in a way. Is this what taking drugs feels like? Might as well finish this carcass if it's going to make him more powerful.
More strength = Better chances of survival, right?
...
"Now THAT was a meal!" Rio lets out a happy sigh. His reiatsu has mostly regenerated back to full. Just one reiatsu attack almost completely drained his supply! Was he really that weak? What if he encounters one of those evolved hollows? He'd be fucked.
Speaking of reiatsu though— "Is that how I can use reiatsu?" He asks himself. He got the general theory of reiatsu usage. He closes his eyes to focus. He wanted to make sure that he really got the process of reiatsu usage right. And to do that, he had to repeat the process of that reiatsu attack he did earlier. Acidic Spit? Yes, that's a proper name.
First, he gathers his reiatsu in his mouth. Next, the concept of 'acid' must be established. A dissolvent of material. Ideally, it would be most effective against reishi constructs while minimizing physical damage. He could feel the gathered reiatsu in his mouth begin to convert and transform to his concept of acid.
"Gah!" Rio coughs out in pain, spitting out the acid ball. "Hrrg! Cough!" It stung like absolute hell. What happened? What went wrong? He was sure he did everything right!
After a few more minutes of pained coughing, his throat recovered. "How did that go so wrong?"
<Q. How did that go wrong?>
<A. Lack of proper Reiatsu control.>
"And how do I get proper Reiatsu control?"
<Q. How do I control Reiatsu better?>
<A. Devour more Hollows. Combat experience.>
Rio sighs in disappointment. Well, maybe there IS other ways? Well, reiatsu's SPRITUAL pressure... So maybe meditation could work? Meditation's whole basis is quite spiritual, after all. So maybe it'd work.
He crosses his legs and closed his eyes, beginning to focus once more. At first, nothing. Just simple darkness.
Think of sensing Reiatsu. Trust your instinct.
Well, how the hell does he do that?! He just— He can't control when and how he senses reiatsu! It just happens!
Fool. Not the action. The feeling.
"The feeling?" Think back. How did reiatsu feel? His first contact was with that human. His second was with that strong reiatsu signature. And his third contact was with that recently consumed hollow. Now what was the common thread with all of them? The common feeling? Reiatsu...
"Reiatsu... Spiritual Pressure... Spirtual Pre- Oh wait!" Rio facepalms himself. How could he be so stupid? It was pressure. That's what it is! It's literally in the fucking name!
Sigh... How hopeless.
"Yeah, shut up! I got it now!" He focuses on the meditation for real this time. His thoughts now much more focused rather than the emptiness from his first attempt at meditation. 'Think of that feeling. That pressure!' One second passes. Then two. Then ten. Then...
There it was.
A slight pressure originating from far away. He could even tell how far away. The signature was about two kilometers from his location. Looks like there's another there too- and that signature's gone. Was that a fight between two hollows? They seem to be really strong too. Two kilometers is not a short distance by any means. Another signature, closer to him. about 500 meters approximately. Then another. And another.
Yes... Very good.
His instincts sounded proud.
But you are focusing on the wrong aspect of this exercise.
And there it was. Back to disappointment it is! "What do you mean?"
Yourself.
"My... Self?" Now that he thought about it, he really didn't notice his own pressure, huh? Was it hidden, or was he simply too weak? He focuses further and empties his mind further. Among the sea of spiritual pressure, it was difficult to find his own.
Eventually, he did find it.
Good.
He thinks he knows the next step of the process. He manipulates his own reiatsu. Well 'manipulate'. It was more like wild flailing than anything else. He thought of it like riding a horse for the first time. The reiatsu was unwieldy and he was overconfident. "Grr..." He growls. It felt like his own reiatsu was hitting him, but he did not let up. The goal was simple. Form his reiatsu into a ball and maintain it for as long as possible.
Every time he made a mistake, he took note of it. The first time, he was too rough with it. He damaged himself more than anything. The second, he was too gentle. It slipped from his grasp constantly, leading to more of a leak of reiatsu rather than a proper exertion of his reiatsu. Then he messed up a third time. Then a fourth. Fifth. Tenth. He was going to be here for a while.
...
"God... How long did that take?"
It has been 12 hours.
"Seriously?! Damn." It definitely felt way longer than just 12 hours to him. Maybe that's just the immense pain his body was experiencing right now.
But with pain, there was certainly gain. He holds up his palm to form a ball of pure reiatsu. It was basically worthless in the midst of battle, but it showed his improvement in his control. It wasn't effortless by any means, but it was fine. The fact that he could even do it consistently was enough for him.
Now for a test drive.
He focuses on the ball of reiatsu, slowly, the light blue ball turns into a bubbling, but stable ball of lime green liquid. "I think this move deserves a new name..." He spots a random boulder sticking out of the ground. A perfect test dummy.
He chucks the acidic ball to the wall, splattering it all over. With a violent hissing, it starts to slowly eat through the reishi construct, moving through the rock until it has all but dried up.
By the end of it, it looked like some monster had just taken a bite. Looks like he had the perfect name for it.
"Let's call that... Piranha Solution."
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Hi! Thanks for Reading. As per usual, I don't got much to say here :P
If I got something wrong, or made any writing mistakes, please don't hesitate to call it out.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
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