Chapter 94: Combat Epiphany

’This is new.’

Adam was shocked to see Aurelius’ change. The boy was giving off a predatory feel, like he was standing before a beast ready to pounce.

When Aurelius appeared behind him, his instincts flared. Adam did not hesitate to roll out of the way, dodging the claw that had been aimed at his back.

He spun, turning around to take in Aurelius’ new look.

Dark eyes replaced calm green ones, the feeling the boy gave off akin to that of a beast. The fingers on his hands had elongated into dark, menacing claws, ready to tear him apart.

Adam gulped, looking at those claws.

The Spencer boy did not wait around and closed in, his speed faster than before. His clawed hands flashed, tearing through the air with deadly intent.

Adam veered his head to the side, evading the claws and taking a step back. Another followed from the gut up, prompting him to flash backwards.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" Adam bellowed, his heart racing.

The Spencer boy crouched like a predator, gripping the floor with one hand. With a menacing grin, he said, "Don’t cry on me, Adam. You can handle it!"

With a swift takeoff, he lunged at Adam, claws flashing.

’Shit!’

Adam bent backwards and spun to the side, evading the deadly claws. But the beast boy would not relent, unleashing a combination of vicious clawing attacks.

Unwilling to take the claws head-on, Adam was forced to retreat, employing a combination of leg and body movements to dodge, not daring to parry any of the claws.

The two became a blur of movements as one backed away, constantly evading while the other unleashed a flurry of attacks.

Aurelius’ style had taken a complete turn, his agility and manoeuvrability akin to the wind. Some of the moves the boy dished out forced Adam to utilise martial arts tricking just to create distance.

Adam’s eyes moved rapidly, reading Aurelius’ movements and techniques, recognising and cataloguing the repeating patterns.

"Don’t just run, Adam! Fight back!" Aurelius bellowed with a wide grin, his demeanour completely different from what he usually portrayed.

Suddenly then, he leapt and descended with a claw sweep from above, the sound of his claws cutting through the air sharp and distinct.

Adam swallowed and sidestepped the attack, finally retaliating. He threw a punch forward, aiming for Aurelius’ side. He had seen enough to manoeuvre around the claws without exposing himself too much.

"Now we’re talking!"

Aurelius dodged the punch and closed in. His claws aimed at Adam’s face yet again.

This time, however, Adam parried with a fast combination of hand movements, redirecting the flow of the claws and creating an opening he seized with a Spartan kick.

"Got you."

Aurelius caught the kick, making Adam’s eyes widen ever so slowly. With a grin on his face, he pulled and then jumped, driving a drop-kick into Adam.

"Ugh!"

The force behind the drop kick sent Adam skidding across the floor. Aurelius did not stop, charging in to capitalise on the attack. He swept a claw forward, but Adam rolled out of the way.

’He’s holding back for my sake.’ Adam realised, a soft smile tugging at his lips.

Aurelius could have taken a few swipes at him when he caught his ankle. But the beast boy had chosen to drop-kick him instead.

Adam spun to his feet, in time to dodge a couple more attacks. The moment he readjusted to the flow, the rapid exchange of attacks continued.

Claws met skilful redirection. Kicks clashed with kicks in a dance for dominance. No one landed any clean blows afterwards, as a subtle agreement had come into play.

Rather than fight in an attempt to defeat the other, the two boys chose to continue their dance, learning about the other through the power of the fists and claws.

Adam and Aurelius had broad grins on their faces as they moved around the combat space in a blur. They would blur from one point to the next, exchange attacks and then blur out of focus once more.

’This is fun.’ Adam thought to himself, momentarily separating from his opponent.

A moment passed, then the two moved again, both clashing with a powerful high kick. The air rippled out from the contact, the muffled boom echoing loudly.

As time flashed by, a moment of inspiration struck Adam. Watching the way Aurelius moved made him think about the kind of martial arts he wanted to create.

Aurelius style of combat channelled the essence of his tamed beast. That meant he moved with the instincts and skills of one, his moves graceful and seamless.

’Force manipulation...’ The thought struck him out of nowhere. ’Manipulating forces allows me to move and generate a lot more power than normal.’

Adam could see it play in his head. And the more the images played in his mind, the more mesmerising and plausible it looked. Imagine moving like a flowing river, seamless and effortless.

He could increase and decrease air resistance, manipulate friction, exponentially increase or decrease momentum and inertia at will. What would happen to his opponents if he manipulated the forces acting on their bodies?

Almost as if Aurelius could tell Adam was having a moment of inspiration, he disengaged and jumped back, watching as Adam slowly came to a stop, his gaze distant.

"He’s actually having a combat epiphany." Aurelius could not believe his eyes.

He stopped channelling the essence of his beast and stood aside, calmly watching Adam’s expression change from time to time. A soft smile tugged at his lips.

Adam was already good enough to go toe to toe with most instructors. With this epiphany, his skills would be rising to a new level. Aurelius could not imagine what that would look like.

The spar had already opened his eyes to the truth.

Adam was far stronger than he was. Even the secret technique he used barely closed the gap. How much more powerful would Adam be when he used his abilities as well?

Several minutes later, Adam snapped out of his epiphany. He turned to Aurelius and said, "Thank you."

"It was no trouble," Aurelius replied as he approached. "How was it? Did you learn something?"

"I did, actually. It’s all thanks to your style." Adam acknowledged. "The way you moved made me realise I can achieve something similar with my abilities."

Aurelius did not doubt Adam’s words. Lowering himself to the ground, he invited Adam to join him. "I’m glad you made this spar happen, Adam."

"Me too... But I realised you still held back."

"That’s a ’you’ problem." Aurelius chuckled. "You seem to dislike getting hurt, so I held back. While that in itself isn’t a problem, it limits your reach in a fight."

Adam knew the boy was right. But it wasn’t as if he hadn’t gotten hurt before. He had been severely hurt. Twice. Both times had been excruciating, to say the least.

’With my Cellular Regeneration skill, I should have nothing to fear.’ He silently thought. ’I’ll have to get rid of this fear.’

"Thanks for the advice," Adam said, looking at the boy beside him. "I’ll try to change my mindset."

"Don’t mention it." Aurelius looked back at him and added. "As for the proposal I wanted to ru—"

"You want to go on a mission together, right?" Adam cut in with a knowing smile. "I’m in."

"Excellent." Aurelius grinned.