[SP-F2] Breaking The Unbreakable [Complete]

[Saix 0]

The last thing she needed was cries of “Kawaii†to follow her everywhere she went. Frowning slightly at the thought, she made her way to the rock, and took a moment to set herself into a Horse Stance. She remembered this from her Karate, and the familiar motion made her smile. Taking a deep breath, and bringing her fists to rest palm up on her hips, she focused on the rock, imagining the motion, before releasing a hard punch with her right hand, simultaneously drawing her left hand back, as though her hands were connected by a pulley.

[Saix 0]

Her fist struck the rock with a thud, and she blinked. When in the world of SAO, pain wasn’t quite like the real world, it was more of a vague feeling of discomfort, like a pins and needles feeling when your foot falls asleep. She had unconsciously held back, for fear of hurting her hand, and yet she felt completely fine. In the real world she might have worried that she would break her hand, but here in the world of SAO she felt no pain at all.

[Saix 0]

That thought brought a smile to her face as she launched another punch, this time with her left hand, smoothly drawing her right hand back as though she were cocking it for another punch. She struck much more forcefully this time, even if that reflex to try and avoid hurting herself still dulled her blow. Again, she felt no pain, and a delighted smile crossed her face, the most joyful smile she had expressed since starting the game.

[Saix 0]

This was actually fun! For the next few minutes, she punched the rock faster and faster, steadily increasing the power of her blows, delighted in the fact that she was able to punch with all her strength and not have to worry about breaking her hands. Several hours later, when the sun began to set, she was finally putting her everything into each blow, not having to worry about fragile bones and torn flesh. That night she slept on a bedroll in the Martial Arts Master’s hut, and was back to training first thing in the morning.

[Saix 0]

By noon she was noticing cracks in the stone, and a few hours later those cracks were starting to penetrate deep into the stone itself. She had long since stopped simply battering away at the rock, and was now focusing her blows on the weak areas that the cracks showed her. The Sun beating down upon her form warmed her, and she felt a sensation that was remarkably similar to being slick with sweat, even if the exhaustion was all mental. By the time the sun had begun to set, she felt her virtual muscles aching.

[Saix 0]

On the morning of the third day, she ate the last of her food, and contemplated what she would do if she could not finish her task today. She did not relish the thought of ignoring the strange virtual hunger until she finished, but neither did she want to go into town marked up like a cat clown. Heaving a sigh of frustration, she simply decided that she would have to break the rock today, or else she would have no choice but to go into town looking like a fool with cat face paint on.

[Saix 0]

It wasn’t until afternoon that the task seemed possible to complete, for that was when she heard the grinding crack from deep within the stone after launching a punch into the face of her obstacle. She paused at the sound, the sudden crack having been nearly deafening after hours of nothing but her fist battering stone. With a smile, she redoubled her efforts, striking again and again, as though the crack had reinvigorated her.

[Saix 0]

Almost 3 hours later, the stone finally succumbed to her assault, and with a earsplitting crack, it collapsed, broken clean through the middle. As the rock pieces burst into prismatic light, Ayane felt a surge of accomplishment, a large smile breaking across her face as she pumped her fist and all but jumped for joy. The wizened old Martial Arts Master stood nearby, nodding his approval as a info box appeared before her, notifying her that she had just unlocked the <> Martial Arts.

[Saix 0]

Slowly reaching out, Ayane manipulated the window, and spent only a moment deliberating before she equipped the hard won skill. Looking back to the NPC, she slowly bowed, feeling a surge of accomplishment. But she wasn’t done just yet. She spent the next two hours learning the basic <> skills that her Martial Arts <> allowed her to use. Mimicking the movements that would initiate her Martial Arts Sword Skills as the Martial Arts Master demonstrated them.

[Saix 0]

Satisfied that she had learned what she needed to know, she bid her impromptu teacher goodbye, and began making her way back to Urbus. The young woman who walked back through those gates had only been away for near 3 days, but it was clear to those who had watched her set out that something was different. Ayane walked with a new sense of confidence, her hard won Martial Arts skill having awakened some dormant self confidence that she had thought she had lost.

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Free to use the skill as she wished in the game, and very happy to not have to worry about her painted whiskers, Ayane stepped onto the Teleport Gate, and whispered <>. She had been away from her shop for too long, and even if she had not managed to get any customers, she needed to get back to work. She wouldn’t become the finest tailor in all of SAO by just sitting around after all. Obstacles had to be crushed, whether they were impeding her from her goals or just big rocks, and now she was certain that with her Martial Arts Skill, she would defeat any obstacle in her way.

[Saix 0]

Completed