Chapter 5.5 - Techniques
Adam's heart pounded in his throat—he hadn't expected that thing to move.
Meanwhile, Calder was laughing his ass out at the boy's reaction. It was so sudden and over-the-top even Adam chuckled at himself.
"Bro, what the fuck is that?" The Playboy said while still sitting on the floor. His heart was beating too fast for him to stand.
On top of scaring Adam almost to a second death, the dummy had turned to face him. Haunted by the faceless creature, the Playboy unconsciously backed up, dragging his ass on the rugged floor.
Unaffected by the God's fearful attitude, the dummy walked in his direction in a soulless manner, much like a mannequin.
"OE! Get a hold of your thing!" Reaching a degree, Adam stopped.
With nowhere else to go, he raised his foot to create a barrier between him and the creepy monster.
Walking without any sign of consciousness, the creature approached Adam, stopped right in front of him, and extended its hand.
From all the movies he had watched, the human knew better than to trust a faceless being, it was always bad news for the plot.
Wary, Adam kicked the creature's hand to check its reaction, not minding Calder's exaggerated laughter.
As soon as he did it, he regretted it, fervently. His foot plunged straight through the liquid being, soaking his boot. As for the dummy, it just grew another hand.
"Fuck this." He took the dummy's hand and it pulled him up with no effort. "Wow, do you work out man?"
The Playboy examined the figure. It didn't look big nor strong, it was transparent and slim, with long limbs. But the most incredible part was the water moving in waves inside of it.
Suddenly, without any heads up from Calder, the dummy moved. Adam flinched, protecting his face while watching the creature step back a few meters.
Throwing a fiery gaze at Calder the Younger God closed his eyes and took a deep breath. That old man really tested his limits.
Facing ahead, the dummy waved at them, before leaping into the air with a perfect back flip.
Adam held his breath, watching the figure land on their hands, chaining one backflip after the other until it completed a circle around them.
Amazed with the agility and flexibility of the dummy, Adam grabbed Calder's arms and shook it in excitement.
"This is insane!"
Smirking beyond the boy's sight, the old God continued his tricks without moving one muscle or even looking at the water creature.
After completing the turn it stopped and a water sword emerged from the dummy's hand.
It held it exactly how Hikari showed Adam, before swinging it so quickly the young God almost missed it. From then on the faceless being performed several stunts using the same fighting style as the Fire Goddess.
"You are copying her moves!"
Adam felt personally attacked. Hikari's style was exciting to watch, the fast dodging, the precise attacks in vital points, the short range counter attacks after deflecting a long range attack. It was a vibrant dance.
"Hikari is the only close range fighter among us, of course I'm copying her."
Both watched the dummy launch it self up and begin to spin on its own axle with the sword piercing the air ahead. From afar they looked like one, the weapon was an extension of the warrior, just like Hikari and her daggers.
"That's the attack she used to beat you up the other day." Adam pull from his memory the replay from the actual fight. She was so fast for a second Adam missed her, just the way it happens when they fly at the speed of light.
"That is a very powerful technique she developed." Calder dropped his head, reflecting on something Adam was curious to know but wouldn't ask. "But it's unique to her, you have to find your own fighting style."
The Playboy puffed while watching the dummy descend slowly. Earth hated him apparently, he wouldn't be about to fight shit if he didn't change that.
When the dummy touched the floor, Adam -not scared at all- approached the thing. Curious of how it worked so well independently, he touched the creature's face. His finger dipped inside the water.
"Wow…" Amazed watching his fingers move inside the dummy's face, he whispered to himself.
Used to the sensation of being next to a leaving thing that was not alive, the Playboy punched the dummy in the stomach while watching its face for reactions.
No expression. His arm crossed the liquid torso and came out on the outside but the creature remained intact.
Since the dummy didn't react to the strike, Adam watched as he pulled his hand from its body. The water began to close the hole as he retreaded his hand.
"This is op." He said turning to Calder.
"What?" The old God detested Adam's human vocabulary.
"Overpowered. It can regenerate and it doesn't feel pain." Giving the creature one last look before turning to goat beard. "I wanna make one. Teach me!"
"We should wait until you connect with your Element properly…"
In an instant after Calder turned away, the dummy splashed itself on the ground, leaving a pool of water.
"Just tell me how you do it. I know you're not controlling it completely." The Water God stopped and Adam walked around him to meet his eyes. "It's something different than what Shu taught me. What is it?"
What Adam lacked in restrain he compensated with a strong will, Calder could see the determination in his eyes. For once the boy was eager to learn and be a part of their culture.
"What's the point of telling you if you can't do it."
That hurt but Adam was too curious to back down. If it was what he was imagining, that dummy was more powerful than it looked.
"Just tell me."