Show of Strength

"May I know where you're off to at this hour?" Asked Leah as she crossed her arms against her chest.

"Good Leah." Nervously responded Jadelere. "We're on our way outside the city to teach young Jack about some of the herbs of the region and their properties."

"You're teaching the boy alchemy?" She raised an eyebrow, completely unconvinced at the man's explanation.

"Well, it's a beautiful day, and it seemed like something the boy might find fascinating." Added the accountant. "Whatever the case, who are you to question us on how we choose to educate the boy?"

After Jack had defeated Erik at chess, he stated that he needed both of his teachers to take him outside of the confines of the city to show them something before explaining what he wanted from them. Despite Erik still being incredulously in a daze, he ultimately kept his word and agreed to Jack's terms. Jadelere took some convincing, but decided it wasn't worth arguing.

They left the Hare manor and were proceeding through the streets of Groamburk when they had accidentally bumped into Leah, who must have been out and about running errands. She had spotted them and questioned their intentions, which is what had led to this small argument taking place between her and Jadelere.

"I won't question how you teach him, but I will question your obvious lack of security." She said raising her eyebrow. "It's not safe."

"I assure you we know how to take care of our-"

"Auntie Leah, join us!" Chided in Jack. Since Leah had turned up at exactly this moment, only a fool would believe she wouldn't trail them even if she agreed to let them pass without giving them further trouble.

In fact, Jack suspected that their encounter hadn't been an accident at all. He'd noticed Leah become increasingly more observant of his comings and goings with Jadelere. For what reason, he didn't know.

Whatever the case, he needed to find a way to rope her in and the opportunity had just presented itself. With his plan, he could kill two birds with one stone and get both Leah and Erik to support his future endeavours. Furthermore, with both of them added to Jadelere, the trio would proceed to keep each other in check.

Although both Erik and Jadelere were surprised to see Jack extend an invitation to Leah, they decided it was best not to say anything.

Together, they all continued on with their way and soon left Groamburk's walls behind them. Jack was leading the way because he wanted to find a place where he could perform a few feats of strength far from any accidental witnesses.

Despite the oddness of the three adults being led by Jack to an unknown place, nobody voiced their concerns; Jadelere was already used to Jack's antics, Leah was a quiet type of person who seldom spoke except when spoken to or when she genuinely had something important to say, and Erik was still pondering over Jack's almost magical chess moves.

After a while of walking, Jack saw a set of trees far enough from the city and well obscured by a nearby mound for his plans and led the group there.

Once they arrived, Jack spent a short while examining for any signs of people having passed by that place and was contented to see that the most recent of small set human tracks were, at the very least, a few days old; meaning there was little to no chance of being suddenly disturbed by an unwanted impromptu visitor.

To his observation skills, Leah couldn't help but raise her eyebrows in wonder and turn to look at Jadelere with a questioning look. Jadelere noticed this and didn't know whether he should laugh or cry because he had never taught Jack any of this.

"This place is good enough." Said Jack as he nodded complacently.

"Good enough for what?" The one to respond was Erik, whom had emerged from his reverie a short while back. "I confess that I'm completely lost as to your intentions, young master Hare."

Albeit unconsciously, Erik had started changing the way he referred to Jack; from young Jack Hare, to young master Hare. In truth, although he'd been humiliated at the game he felt the proudest of, his teacher's heart wished to witness the potential of his newest pupil first-hand.

"Before that, I'd like to ask you a question." Jack folded his arms behind his back and began pacing around.

"Pray tell, young master Hare, if I can answer you, I shall do so earnestly."

"Thank you." Jack had a good impression of Erik from the way he handled defeat and so he acted and spoke respectfully towards him. "Where do martial arts come from?"

"That's not an easy question to answer." Pondered Erik seriously. "Religious folk attribute it to the Divines. That being said, there's archaeological evidence that suggests otherwise. Natural philosophers have researched this question in depth and have come out blank and, as such, the publicly agreed hypothesis in the scholarly community is that martial arts are as natural and pervasive as the cycle of life itself. There is no origin; there is simply being." He narrated.

"A good answer." The way Jack spoke made it seem that the tables had turned and he himself had become the teacher whereas Erik was the eager pupil. "Why, then, can we practice them?"

"That's simple. We absorb the qi within the environment and channel it through the meridians into manifesting itself into what we call martial arts." Erik smiled as if it were a simple enough notion. "There's not much more to it."

"You're wrong." Stated Jack, making Erik grimace. "What you've described is similar to the process of breathing. You've explained the method how it's done, but not the purpose." Jack's explanation made Erik, Jadelere, and Leah open their eyes with realisation. "The answer, much like breathing, is to live, to thrive, to challenge the heavens. Only by constant tempering, and perpetually challenging our limits can we test the limits of all matters martial and stand at the true peak of all creation. Without martial arts, we are doomed to an ignoble existence always at the mercy of others. Do you agree?"

"Aye, we agree." Said Erik as he awkwardly glanced the other two. After all, Jack was supposed to have crippled meridians and was thus wholly incapable of practicing martial arts.

"Therefore, since I have, in theory, crippled meridians, I'm destined to an ignoble existence. Is this correct?"

"There are other avenues someone of your intellectual abilities can explore instead of becoming a martial arti- Wait!" Leah was the one to begin trying to console Jack before she interrupted herself. "Did you say in theory?"

Jack stopped pacing and turned to flash the three of them with a grin. "Aye, I did."

"He never did have crippled meridians." Explained Jadelere with a sigh. "It was all a ruse."

"I refuse to believe this." Said Leah as she narrowed her eyes dangerously. "I was there on the day he was diagnosed; there was no lie in Brant's eyes."

"I fooled him." Explained Jack. "In order to protect myself."

Suddenly, Jack took a step forward and leapt up into the air and struck out with his leg three consecutive times before spinning backwards once and landing on the same spot. In the entire movement, he hadn't unfolded his arms from behind his back.

Although this was a relatively simple set of motions for anyone with a small degree of accomplishment in martial arts to perform, it completely eradicated any notion that Jack had crippled meridians. Erik, and Leah especially, stared at the boy with their mouths agape.

"I have been training." Said Jack nonchalantly. "Enough to protect myself. But if you don't believe me, auntie Leah, I'm happy to oblige and have a sparring session."

"Little one, you're not my match." Snorted Leah. She was the head of Ichabod's security forces and her cultivation was on par with the biggest powerhouses of Groamburk; to do battle, even if a mock one, with a five-year-old child was beneath her. However, after a moment of thought, she decided to play along. "Alright. I agree to your match, if that is what it'll take for you to understand the true difference between one who can practice martial arts and one who can only perform a few tricks." She said as she moved to a distance of six steps away from Jack.

Neither Erik nor Jadelere moved to stop her. Both of them wanted to see just how far Jack, an infant, could take things and thus watched the two unlikely opponents very carefully. It was evident that Leah was unhappy with Jack's overt arrogance. Truth be told, both Erik and Jadelere desired Leah to teach Jack a lesson in humility.

Leah glanced at Jack curiously. She'd suspected something was amiss with the boy for the last few months, but she'd never expected this. However, she was a proud warrior, and it infuriated her to know that Jack had been looking down on her to the point of casually asking for a match. Hence, she wanted to knock the boy down a few pegs.

"You're too young to have cultivated anything seriously." Said Leah almost disdainfully. "Even if you have a small amount of success, in my eyes this means nothing. But don't worry, I shall limit my cultivation to the fifth level of the martial realm. Forgive me, but it's physically impossible for me to lower it more."

"That might not be enough." Cautioned Jack.

"Don't worry. I'll be gentle."

"You misunderstand." Jack lowered his centre of gravity, raised his right arm in front of his chest and his left fist hidden behind his hip, and poised himself to lunge forward. "you will need to go higher."

Before Leah could even smile and retort, Jack pushed himself forward and prepared to strike at Leah's chest with his right hand. He pounced with astonishing speed. Leah, however, was well-experienced and reacted quickly by driving her fist forward an instant before Jack reached her. Given their difference in arm length, she was confident she could strike him before he struck her.

What Leah hadn't considered, though, was Jack's ability to adapt swiftly to any circumstance. He placed his right wrist against Leah's and used it as a lever to pirouette beneath her extended arm. In doing so, he positioned himself in Leah's blind spot.

Leah was taken by surprise, but she didn't allow herself to panic. She raised her leg and sent out a heel kick to where she judged Jack to be. Jack saw the kick coming and crouched low, allowing the kick to fly over his head; he then spun around on the balls of his feet and pushed himself upwards as he struck out with an elbow.

His strike connected against Leah's gut and she was sent flying a few feet back as she summoned more strength to keep her footing. Had she been someone in the Foundation realm, that strike would have been enough to break a rib or two and force her to cough up blood. Leah raised her head and looked at Jack with astonishment, and a bit of fear, in her eyes.

"Impossible…" She murmured. "The fourth level of the Martial realm!"