Depthless Hunger

Chapter 165: A Conversation of Fists

At first Kai thought about it like any other fight: dodging and striking and maneuvering. It would have been a challenging one, because the old man was as tough as his Physique suggested and the dark pit was a dangerous environmental threat. But, after Kai fought enough to realize that he wouldn't be overwhelmed, he realized that he was thinking about this wrong.

His goal wasn't to win, he needed to convince the old man, and that made the fight a conversation. It was an extension of what he'd just told Nirka about viewing combat analytically, except this time he was the one who needed to be more strategic.

When his opponent fought like a brawler, Kai responded like a brawler, trading blow for blow. The old man grew frustrated that Kai could keep up with him and shifted his stance, using tight, focused strikes like a crystallier. As soon as he did, Kai shifted to match. Realizing that he was being played, the old man gritted his teeth and tried something else, a flowing style Kai hadn't seen before.

Whatever it was, Kai could adjust to it. For all that his monstrous powers felt independent at times, they were truly a part of him, so they cooperated. Behemoth's Heart stopped restoring his strength and instead added its full power to the battle. It didn't just make him stronger and tougher, he was faster and more agile, blocking the flowing strikes at each step.

Using Tyrant's Claw or Isulfr's Bite, Kai could have ended the battle then. But he didn't want to hurt the old man, and without those techniques, he couldn't get the upper hand. So instead he kept neutralizing his opponent, making his movements into an argument.

Kai had said that different abilities could be leveraged against each other, while the old man had argued that it all came down to power in the end. But all the old man really had was his massive Physique and experience, while Kai could draw from multiple sources. So he flagrantly used all of those, refusing to match strength to strength and proving his point by keeping his opponent off balance.

Eventually the old man charged at him, trying to tackle him across the chest. Kai met him dead on, their arms grappling as they quickly reached a deadlock. Both strained against one another, teeth gritted, feet scrabbling to maintain purchase, sweat rolling down their faces.

Could he win a direct confrontation? Kai was confident in his monstrous abilities, but the amount of strength that came with a Physique of D-0 was impressive. He never got to find out the answer, because abruptly the old man laughed and let go.

As soon as he did, Kai stopped pushing. The final punctuation on his argument.

"Alright, you've made your point." The old man rubbed a sore spot on his arm where Kai had struck him. "My name is Kraetius, formerly of Yulthens. You're the first person coming to find me who I'm actually going to listen to, so you'd better make this worth my while."

Kai glanced over at Nirka, who had been watching raptly but now nodded for him to go on. This was what they had been working for, after all. Still, he pretended to catch his breath in order to consider his next strategy: the conversation could be viewed as a fight, after all.

With a name like "Kraetius" the old man was likely from the upper classes, as that definitely wasn't the sort of name they gave in the mines. His crystal cultivation being nullified suggested that this was a punishment, and the level of Physique he'd obtained made it a sure bet that he had been highly trained before. That all led to the conclusion that he was a former crystallier, or at least something similar.

"Why are you down here?" Kai asked.

"That's my business," Kraetius answered. "Why are you?"

"I got on the wrong side of the wrong merchant. I don't plan to stay... but I'm wondering why someone as strong as you is still here. With your strength, you could easily fight your way through the guards. Why not?"

"Because that would get me nowhere. Like I told you, what matters in the end is power, and I just don't have enough." The old man gestured to his body. "Oh, I've trained. I learned their Physique tricks and got tougher, looks like you have too. But it took me two decades to break from E-9 to D-0. Now look at me... strongest man in the mines, but do you think I could fight even one Diamond Crystallier? Do they still have ranks like that?"

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"They do." Kai had guessed it might be something like this and didn't suggest any easy way forward. "So I'm guessing your story is something like mine."

"You could say that. For years I thought I could break out and get revenge. Now that I see how futile it is... I don't know. I keep moving on because I don't know how to do anything else."

Convincing him to help could be difficult. Before Kai could figure out his next move, Nirka stepped forward. "Kraetius, you have to help us! We're all training, but we're blocked by the 99 Power barrier. If you help us past it, we'll give you anything we have."

"You think that's all it takes, huh?" Kratius's lip curled in a sneer. "You have no idea what you're up against, child. Even if every worker in the mine broke through, they aren't going to be able to fight Diamond Crystalliers."

"That's their business, isn't it?" Kai asked. "Look, think about it this way: if you don't help us, we'll keep following you. You've seen that you can't just beat me. No matter what you try to do, no matter where you travel in the mines, I'll be bothering you. Now, would you prefer that, or would you prefer to spend a little time helping the workers?"

Kraetius stared at him a moment, barked a laugh, then raised his hands in surrender. "You win, I'll go with you. It would be less boring than wandering these same tunnels. Where are we headed?"

"One thing first." Kai gestured down at the dark pit still yawning beside him. "If you've been down here for this long, where does that go?"

"Right to the bottom." Kraetius stared at it somberly. "I suggest you stay away from it, kid. There's a monster down there... even I couldn't beat it. We're lucky that it doesn't usually go higher, or they'd probably have shut down the entire mine."

That was an essential detail, but Kai knew this wasn't the time to press. All three of them turned away and headed back toward the upper levels. Along the way, Nirka shifted closer to the old man and watched him skeptically.

"You're really going to help us? Not just mock us?"

"I think you're fools," Kraetius said, "but I respect your gumption. I'll train you and see if you're worth anything."

"Then you can help us past the barrier?" Nirka's eyes danced and the old man groaned.

"Don't get ahead of yourself now. I don't give out secrets like that so easily. Listen, you scout while I talk to your friend and we'll work out an exact deal."

Nirka moved ahead with new energy, keeping her hands on her daggers. Something about the exchange struck Kai as off, so he lingered back and waited for the old man to match pace. They spoke in voices low enough that she couldn't hear, without resorting to suspicious whispers.

"I hate to disappoint you," Kraetius said, "but there's no trick. It took me twenty long years to break through to D rank and I don't know another way."

"I met a woman from Rosemount at D rank," Kai objected.

"No, that just proves my point. You thinking I'm all arrogant about Krysali nobles being the best? Seen too much of the world for that. Just like we're stronger than the worker class, Rosemount is just plain stronger than us. There's no point trying to overturn that order. Learn that lesson faster than I did."

"That isn't the deal. What they want is just to get past 99 Power."

"Yeah, well, I'm afraid the news there is even worse." Kraetius scratched at his chin, where some stubble was just beginning to form. "Hate to disappoint you, but there's no trick. I broke that limit while I was a crystallier."

It wasn't good news, but Kai was always braced for bad news these days. "How did you do it, though?"

"Oh, almost everybody uses this substance called moonmelt. They derive it from the crystal refinement process, in the acid mines. There aren't a lot of ways to get through the barrier, so I'd guess that's still the least expensive. And it might as well be on the actual moon, for all the good it does us."

"Not necessarily. If someone got out, they could bring this moonmelt stuff back to the workers."

"If I was younger, I'd be worried about you." Kraetius regarded him with narrow eyes. "Well, it's your funeral."

"Would it be all that difficult? If I can get past the soldiers here, I can get past the soldiers guarding the acid mines."

"Eh? Maybe things have changed since my day, but they never had soldiers doing the work out there. The acid fumes are too toxic, it's even worse for you than the crystal mines. Used to be they said getting sent to the mines was hell, getting sent to the acid pits was double hell."

Maybe the system had changed in recent years, but Kai's mind immediately leapt to a different solution. Despite the old man's words, he thought their search had uncovered exactly what he needed. There was a solution, a path beyond not just a power barrier but the entire system. He just needed to find his way back to it.

As they walked back toward the upper levels, Kai glanced at his own soul.

Name: Kai Clanless

Total Power: 235 (172)

Cultivation: Body Refinement 3% (101)

Physique Level: E-6 (98)

Soul Level: 6 (36)

Monstrous Hunger - VIII (theta)

Behemoth's Heart - IV (delta)

Direboar's Strength - VI (zeta)

Isulfr's Bite - V (epsilon)

Tyrant's Claw - IV (delta)

Infernotoad's Burst - IV (delta)

-

Wallcrawler's Feet - I (alpha)

Beastbat's Wing - I (alpha)

Crystal Slime - I (alpha)

>

He had been more focused on strengthening himself than simple recovery, aiming toward his final potential. Now that he had a new goal, the timelines might need to shift again.

The old man thought that fighting back was completely futile. This time, it wasn't going to be so easy to convince him.