On the Body Strengthening techniques.
It is a martial art that focuses on strengthening the body of the user, allowing him to break his own limits and do things no normal person should be able to do.
This martial art has four different "Bodies" one can train.
Earth Body, focused on toughening the skin and body. It is divided into nine different tiers, each one stronger than the last. It is the only Body that is divided into tiers.
Fire Body allows the martial artist to change aspects of his body in order to provide better offense. Grey has demonstrated the "Leg Muscles—Burst" and "Sharp Claws" techniques from this Body.
Air Body relies on improving physical capabilities, giving practitioners of this martial art the dexterity, speed, and reflexes to be better than even the best regular Olympic athletes. Grey has used the "Heightened Senses" and "Light Feet" techniques.
Water Body is the hardest type of technique to learn, as it allows the user to modify their own body to weird extremes, like rearranging organs or closing shallow wounds. Grey only knows the "Lung Expansion" technique.
---
After a couple more hours, Titiana finally improved in her condition and didn't feel like she was on the edge of dying at any second. She could actually get up and drink tea, so that was definitely something that calmed me.
"I've gotta go work, Manjaro," I commented to the man sitting lazily on the couch while Titiana and I sat at the table eating some instant noodles, the most I could cook by myself.
Manjaro kept the joke that he was actually nine years old, so I had to be the one to cook since Titiana wasn't in condition to do much.
"You got a job, my saviour? Where?" He asked with enthusiasm, his wolf ears twitching.
"At some construction site. It's in a nice spot for me to overlook most of the city and see anything related to that mafia."
"You're really reliable, my saviour!"
"I'm sorry I can't be of much help right now, Grey," Titiana expressed, lowering her head and sounding defeated.
"I'd rather you help me once you can hold your own. Until then, rely on me," I confidently answered.
"I can't even get to sell the stuff I brought because of this training~!" She complained, elongating her last words with an irritated groan as she rested her face inside her arms.
With her face on the table, her arms covering her features, the red-colored feathers on top of her head poked out.
"You can sell them once you're healed up."
"I'll make sure to search for a place you can temporarily set up, my saviour!" Manjaro chimed in enthusiastically while raising his hand.
"You call us both 'my saviour.' Wouldn't it be better to call us different things? Sometimes I struggle to know who you're referring to," I asked before taking a forkful of noodles into my mouth.
"You're both my saviours. There's no other way I could refer to you both! Especially since you're helping me on a dangerous quest."
I would've liked to keep spending my time like this with them, but a sudden knock on the door alerted all of us.
Three rapid and impatient knocks.
Without saying a word, I stood up and cautiously made my way to the door.
More impatient knocks followed, stopping once I grabbed the handle of the door.
"Who is it?" I asked.
"If you're in there, then open this door now!" The same irritated and annoyed voice of the magic teacher answered.
I opened the door.
"Finally! I've come to take the girl to proceed to the next step of her training," he spoke in a high tone while keeping his head lifted and eyes closed.
His horns shone with the morning light, and an adornment resembling a pendant was wrapped around his right horn.
"What are you looking at me with those hateful eyes for?" He asked in an irritated tone.
"For your interest, I also despise you, horned Reptilia, for what you did to me!" He held up his right arm, which had bruises and cuts from the stones I threw at him last night.
"Manjaro told me he trusts you fully, so I'll make an effort to believe in you. I may hate you and your kind, but if you can promise me that what you're doing will work, then I'll trust you."
I hate mages. They're the worst kind of people. While thinking they are morally right, that the whole world owes them everything because they exist, they have a record of abusing their power over regular people, of using living people to farm them for their mana. They don't care about those unworthy who can't even wield mana.
"What do you take me for?" He said, offended. "I guess… since you're helping Manjaro over there…" He pointed past me, inside the house, to Manjaro looking at us. "I will also attempt to put our differences aside."
"Treypak is a good guy, my saviour. He's just distrustful of strangers. That guy has always been bad at making new friends!" Manjaro slid in between us.
"This is not the time for you to butt in!" The Aries man snapped at Manjaro from behind.
"Anyways! Right now Grey has to go work and prepare. I'll fill you in on the details while we wait for my other saviour to get ready to train!" He impatiently pushed me aside to give the man with goat horns enough space to enter the house.
---
After being pushed aside, I headed toward the construction site.
On my way there, I witnessed a Kitsune kid pickpocketing some easy prey—an unaware tourist who didn't know any better. Of course, this wasn't the kid's first time stealing, swiftly slipping his fingers into people's pockets to rob them.
It would've been the perfect robbery in plain daylight, without getting caught.
"Hey, kiddo…"
It would've been, if it weren't for that guy.
"You better willingly return what you stole if you don't want to end up losing that arm of yours."
A man who looked to be in his early-to-mid thirties stood there, scales on the side of his face and covering his whole arm. His long, dark hair flowed past his hips. His eyes had the characteristic snake pupils that every Nagmia displayed, and he had a clear mutation around his mouth, hiding the lower half of his face under wrapped bandages.
He was already eye-catching enough for people to turn and look at him. However, the huge wooden object he carried made him even more noticeable. It was as big as a closet, displaying several symbols and writings carved into it and accentuated with gold.
Anyone with the slightest knowledge of both martial arts and magic could tell that he was someone you shouldn't mess with.
He held the kid's wrist while looking down.
The kid's fox ears twitched backward, and his hair stood on end. He was clearly afraid of what that Nagmia man could do.
At such close distances, even a normal person could feel how troublesome someone of his caliber could be.
I obviously wasn't going to get myself involved in this, and I definitely didn't have the time to stay and watch.
After all, there were only two outcomes to this situation.
Either the kid understood the position he was in and returned the stolen item, or he foolishly fought back and ended up dead in the worst case—or lost an arm in the best case.
Whatever the kid chose, it was clear that someone like that Nagmia man was someone to be feared and respected.