The Sound Of Despair

{We told you, we get naturally stronger over time. There is no need for this, please! I am so hungry...} A feline voice begged.

"There is no escape! There are still nine hundred left paw strikes left. No food before you finish your set." A cold voice responded.

A week had passed, and the young human with the pair consisting of a wolf pup and a tiger cub was still inside the giant cavern. Branchless trees were placed inside the cracks in the ground, hundreds of claw marks left their barks shredded.

The tiger cub stood in front of one of them, swiping at the tree, leaving additional marks with every strike. Its paws were bruised, and it panted heavily. Initially, it tried to refuse to train, but it had already given up its resistance after only a day due to hunger and thirst. Raitigers were proud protectors with a sacred mission. They received tributes for their service and never lacked food nor water.

When it still had its platinum strength, such basic necessities were trivial, as it could survive for years without having to eat, but now, it had the body of a newborn cub. So instead of keeping its arrogance and hungering, it chose to follow the training regiment.

At first, the wolf pup made fun of the tiger, ridiculing its weak mental strength. As a born warrior, hardship was nothing new to it, but to its despair, that only made the young human push it even more.

{Sturm, as much as I hate to say it, but Licht is right. Instead of training our bodies, we should fight other beasts. Consuming their flesh would increase our growth, and thereby our strength as well.}

Unlike Licht, Schatten had to run through a makeshift obstacle course instead. Compared to the tiger, he was a lot stronger but lacked its agility and finesse. The wolf had to jump from log to log, keep its balance while walking over a long, thin stick, and dodge stones Sturm would throw at it.

"No excuses, apart from the fact that you won't be able to beat any of the beasts around here; both of you are severely lacking in your foundation. What use is strength if you waste most of it? Humans develop techniques to make up for our lack of power. Now, what would happen if you beasts combine your bestial prowess with our techniques? The result is bound to be terrifying." Sturm explained.

As long as his concentration allowed him to, Sturm kept his [Black Room] up. His Art of the Nine Pillars concentrated mainly on the human mind, body, natural movement, and techniques, and all chapters were severely lacking in information about magic beasts. Beasts already had superior senses and instincts, so Sturm chose to skip the first chapter and concentrated on the second and the third. The fourth chapter required techniques, which was precisely what magic beasts lacked.

The second chapter was called the Development of Body, but to develop something, you had to first learn about it. All the information Sturm received by analyzing the beasts' bodies with the [Black Room] was stored in his mind and used to create specific training regiments.

The third chapter, the Origin of Movement, aimed to make any movement as efficient as possible, and techniques were the easiest tool with which to achieve that.

A jab was not just a regular punch but a technique to deliver a quick strike, which measured distance and set up additional attacks. In the same way, Sturm tried to come up with ways the two quadrupeds could make the best use of their claws, fangs, and even their tails.

Experimentation was the most essential, and after pushing Schatten and Licht through their daily routines, Sturm had them spar until collapse. As an incentive, the winner would receive extra food, and to the boy's surprise, the two beasts were evenly matched.

The black pup displayed superior combat instincts and raw power, but the white cub used its excellent mobility to successfully employ a hit and dodge tactic. In the end, it all came down to a test of patience and timing. Could the wolf keep its calm and wait for the exact moment the tiger engaged, or could the tiger wait until the wolf got distracted for even the tiniest window and successfully take advantage of the opening?

The pace was brutal, and while Sturm found out that the beasts did indeed need rest, he also discovered that they would recover almost thrice as fast inside the lightning space. In consequence, their rest time was reduced to one third. Instead of sleeping nine hours like they were used to, three was enough to keep them energized. One would question if hunger was truly enough to keep the two once-powerful beings in check, and while that was more true towards the tiger, what really kept them enduring was their pride.

Not a single moment did Sturm waste his time, even without being able to take shorter breaks like they did. The young human slept for only three hours every day, and whenever he was not training his body, Sturm would use [Black Room] to further understand them better and further optimize their training.

If they let a mere human outdo themselves, they would bring shame upon their races. At some point, they thought, the boy would give in. There was a limit to discipline and motivation, but while Sturm's emotional instability was easily discernible, they did not know the pain and loss he went through.

The training was a way to process his emotions, and even the three hours Sturm slept, nightmares haunted his dreams. Only when his muscles burned, his will was depleted, and his mind too tired to keep up any semblance of coherent thoughts did the pain lighten.

Three months. Three whole months of continuous training led to Schatten and Licht's pride being ground to dust. It was insanity, pure madness, and if this kept up for even one more day, they would throw their noble natures out of the window and beg for mercy. In one last, desperate attempt, the two rivals united to convince Sturm to give them a vacation.

{S… Sturm, you have earned our respect, and your dedication to improvement is astounding, to say the least. We do not know what drives you through this torture but understand that we need to rest. If we break, then we will be of no use to you. We merely have the strength of bronze beasts right now, and there is a limit to our endurance. Just let us advance to the silver tier, and we will be many times more useful to you!} Licht pleaded. He almost called Sturm a servant out of habit but managed to hold himself back at the last moment.

Sturm was in the middle of training his mana control. At this point in time, he could already isolate, expel and convert 21 mana cells. The next step was building a mana construct, and instead of relying on the lightning bolt spell from Edgar's tome, Sturm tried to create the construction without the aid of speech. Licht's pleading interrupted the last crucial moment before the shape could take form, causing the lightning matter to turn volatile and explode in Sturm's face.

To no surprise, the young human who just lost his eyebrows to the explosion was less than amused, and Schatten holding back a chuckle proved to be of no help.

After throwing a menacing glance at the wolf, which made it shut up, Sturm crossed his arms in front of his chest and let out a laugh while shaking his head.

"Merely the strength of bronze beasts? Are you mocking me? I am a slave, a human who is not allowed to take any celestial steps. Even the weakest bronze beasts have superior physiques compared to me. Does that stop me from wiping the floor with them? No, it does not. In the beginning, I was not even a match for grassfoxes. Only technique and efficiency allowed me to endure their onslaught. Not long after, I managed to deflect the hit of an ironmaw bear and survived, albeit with shattered arms. Just a week ago, I converted my mana cells into lightning cells, causing me to change into an [Avatar of Thunder]."

As to prove his point, Sturm took on the lightning form, and electricity danced around his body, scorching the stone beneath him.

"The [Avatar of Thunder] form increases my abilities but places a heavy burden on my body, mind, and even my will. Does it make me as strong as a fifth-step commoner? Not even close, but it still allowed me to defeat dozens of them without them ever being able to truly threaten my life. Once again, it was the combination of training, technique, and skill that made this feat possible. If I had the strength of a mid-tier bronze beast, then I am confident I could thrash all but tenth-step nobles. You two are no less talented than me."

The two beasts were evenly matched, and while both improved leaps and bounds, their sparring results remained even, resulting in them not realizing the progress they were making. Both of them perfectly adopted the newly developed techniques to their fighting styles, proving their talent in combat.

Schatten moved nimbly, utilizing left and right swabs, what Sturm had named the animal equivalent to a jab, to cover the area 180 degrees in front of him. Along with precise stabs of his strong tail, called stings in memory of scorpions, and quick short shuffles, all of his openings were eliminated, providing an adequate response to attacks from any angle.

Licht found it increasingly difficult to find an opening to pounce on the wolf, its usual tactics slowly being countered. In response, it learned to feint, deflect, and create distractions to open holes in its opponent's defense. One of its new techniques was the tail grab. It would stand on its hind legs, exposing its stomach towards Schatten. Its front paws would cover its upper body, so the enemy would be baited into striking the lower body. The moment the attack approached, it would jump and bring its body into a horizontal position, dodging the strike while simultaneously winding its tail around the wolf's paw.

With one of his limbs immobilized, Schatten could hardly defend himself against the tiger dropping on it. Ever since he suffered a terrible defeat due to this technique, Schatten would retreat every time Licht stood up.

Both of them additionally started using their tails to pick up loose rocks and throw them at the opponent at opportune times. Be it for offense or defense, a strong enough throw could either momentarily blind or even unbalance an opponent.

Sturm kept explaining their progress, highlighting their use of the techniques he developed for them and even showing their ingenious variants even he had never thought about. Schatten and Licht were dumbfounded. They were simply too tired, dragging themselves from one training session to another, to realize the change they were going through. Instead of complaining, they should be thanking Sturm for opening a new world for them.

If they kept improving, innovating, and one day combined the physical techniques with their innate lightning abilities, then they too would be able to fight well above their tiers, something unimaginable for most magic beasts. It would break the natural order.

A new beginning as a pup and a cub, and a future with endless possibilities. Maybe their situation was a blessing and not the curse they had thought it to be.