NOVEL WEB Chapter 3 – Training Days
Jayr POV - Greece - 1976
The sound of grandpa training coming from the window woke me up, it is still a little dark outside, so I think it is about the 5,30am, today is the day I start my journey towards a greater power, and I have a hell lot of things to do, from acquiring knowledge, to train my body, to learn to sense and burn my cosmo, so I get up from my bed and went to the bathroom to wash myself, then we I go out of the bathroom the sight of my sister Shaina in her training gear a simple violet t-shirt and beige long pants and greek boots, appeared in front of me and offering some clothes of the same type and said said "Good you woke up in time, now change in this training gear"
(Image Here, Shaina)
I looked at the absolutely normal clothes and said "I though that they would give us some ancient training clothes with some armor in it like I saw some others wear" and Shaina replied "That is the Trainee outfit its only for the ones that can already feel and burn their Cosmos, now move!", and so I quickly changed and went outside were Grandpa and Shaina were already waiting, and grandpa too was wearing training clothes, a green sleeveless long shirt and long pants with brow greek boots, arm guard, shoulder guard and belt, showing his crazy muscled body.
'That is the body of a 75 years old man? Good God I have never seen such muscles even in my previous life, well to tell the truth, I have... but not on a 75 years old man!' even if I was lost in thought I was still able to greet my grandpa, then he replied "Good morning kiddo, are you ready for your training?" and I replied "Yes, grandpa, where do the others students train?" and he replies "The others starts training at the 8am, the combat training that I told you about before include some physical exercise as you learn to fight, the physical one is just for you and your sister, personally devised by your only" then with a devilish grin he says "Oh and I forgot to tell you this yesterday... I... am... from... SPARTA!".
After a few hours of tort... Training, I am now laying on the ground trying to catch a breath and not vomit at the same time while thinking 'Goddamit! Grandpa is really a spartan, who the hell makes a 5 year old kid run uphill for 10km barefooted with a 20 kg weight on our backs as he throws rocks bigger than us to make us run zig-zag, and sister did it without problem, and seems ready for more' I thought as I looked at Shaina who was punching a huge rock bare-fisted.
As I was looking at Shaina, a shadow cover my body then I hear Grandpa voice "Good job not fainting and even not vomiting on the first day, you have exceeded my expectations, the spartan blood is strong in you... Like in your sister, now let go back and have breakfast, then I'll take you to the trainee's training grounds, then we will see each other again when it's time to learn about Cosmo" then he turns to Shaina and yell "Shaina, do just another set! Then come back and have breakfast!" then he walked back home to prepare our breakfast.
As I was slowly getting up, I felt an incredible energy originating from Shaina, I'm sure that this is her Cosmo, it feels almost like electricity, like pins and needles all over my skin, and soon I see her punching a hole into the rock, then I hear her yell in joy "Yes! I did it again!!" but as she tries to pull out her fist from the rock I notice that she is having some difficulties, and the next moment she yells "Help me brother, I'm stuck..." with a sigh I got up and help Shaina get out while saying "Why does this setting seems strangely familiar...".
Then after that we went back home and had breakfast, and then grandpa led me into the apprendice's training ground,the training ground was a huge open space surrounded by rocks and training gears, where about 100 kids from 5 to 13 year old were waiting for their trainers, then grandpa said "Well this is it, good luck", and after a few minutes the trainers came there are 7 of them all wearing the same attire as grandpa, but with different colors and each one spoke in different language but said the same things "Who can understand me, come here!" this was said in greek, russian, spanish, english, french, german and turkish, some of the most common language in europe, where most of the kids comes from.
I choose the greek speaking one, even if he is one of the trainers with most apprendices, once I was close together with the others the trainder started "Hello everyone, today we will teach you one of the first form of martial art known to humanity, the Pankration, this art has two basic forms, kato (literally, down) pankration and ano (up) pankration, ano pankration is a less severe form of the art, in which the pankrationists had to remain standing, in which blows from both the hands and feet were permitted, all types of hand strikes were permitted, not just those with the closed fist, and a pankrationist is allowed to hold his opponent and hit him with the other hand, strikes to the groin and elbow and knee strikes are also permitted"
'So it is basically a no rules ancient MMA, and should I buy some groin protector?' As I was thinking about an important topic, the trainer continued explaining "Kato pankration is the all-out form of fighting, practitioners begin the match standing, but as the fight progresses, falling to the ground and grappling techniques are used"
Then he starts a demostration while still explaining "Techniques are divided into four basic categories: arm techniques, leg techniques, throws and takedowns, and grappling. Arm techniques included all types of punches with the hands and elbows, open-hand strikes were also permitted" showing different kind of arm techinques, some seem like boxing, other like kickboxig, and the open-hand was a mix of karate and chinese kenpo.
Then he started using leg techniques "At close range, a pankra-tionist grab his opponent and attempt to apply knee strikes in rapid succession in much the same way as a modern Thai boxer, pankrationists also employ powerful kicks against the legs of opponents in attempts to either sweep the feet or strike the upper portion of the leg with enough force to cause the limb to collapse, once again, a modern application of this technique is found in Thai boxing, when an opponent is doubled over or on the floor, pankrationists would then likely attempt kicks to the head." here some movement were different from the know MMA, most kick are aimed at the stomach and legs, there were few high kick, and the most of the kick strike with the ball of the foot.
Then the trainer called an older student and started showing the takedown techniques while explaining "Pankrationists are free to employ the takedowns that are commonly seen in modern wrestling systems, in which practitioners attempt to seize one or both of the opponent's legs and unbalance the opponent, however, pankrationists also employ throws that are seen in modern judo or jujutsu, in which the practitioner attempts to either throw the opponent over the shoulder or hip to the ground or sweep the leg out from under the opponent by use of the feet"
Then he also showed us the grappling techniques like choke holds and joint locks "One of the unique aspects of the art is the fact that pankrationists are able to employ unusual holds against the fingers or toes of opponents, even breaking them when necessary, there were even standing grappling holds that are employed by pankrationists, in which one practitioner would literally climb on top of another, while the opponent was still standing, and attempt to get the opponent into a choke hold or use body mass to force him to the ground. These unusual techniques are rarely found in other combat systems." then he turns to the student and say "Thanks for helping, you can now join the others".
After that he showed us the practice exercise and told us to start, and so I began with the striking techniques so I moved closer to the korykos (sandbags) then after an hour I was taught wrestling techniques in sequence, that is, to master each move in a progressive order.
After another hour the trainers called us once again and told us to stop and wait for the one who will teach us about Cosmo, but they will remain here to translate for those who do not understand Greek, and after waiting for a few minutes the huge figure of grandpa Jayr is seen coming.
Soon he stops infront of us and start speaking "Hello kids my name is Jayr and I'm the one that will teach you about Cosmo and how to awaken this power" then he waited for the others to translate and continued "Let's start, the origins of Cosmo can be traced back to the Big Bang, which from the entirety of the universe was born, all living beings possess Cosmo deep within them, while normally unaware of it, over the millennia, beings such as humans developed the means to manipulate and harness it by means of "burning", it explodes, recreating micro-scale reproduction of the original Big Bang".
Then he move towards a big boulder and tap it with his finger, and a few seconds later the boulder craks and break down in many pieces "Burning one's Cosmo produces the energy needed to enable a being to perform extraordinary feats including pulverizing rocks with their bare hands, striking faster than the speed of sound, throwing hundreds of blows in a second, beings such as Saints are humans who have been trained to awaken and attune to their Cosmo, using their innate 6th sense."
Then he countinued "Just like this Universe was born with the Big Bang when you all were born, a Cosmo was born with its own explosion, so when you try to awaken your Cosmo, you have to feel this energy, burning it and let it explode inside you" then he pointed at the various pieces of the boulder he broke and said "Now as exercise, take a piece and try to break it with your hands, of course using your Cosmo"
And as I and the others kid went to pick up a piece grandpa came closer and whispered "Remember kid I do not expect you to succeed on the first or second try, your sister took a year to feel her Cosmo and break a stone barehanded" then in a loud voice he said to all "Now, start and remember to focus!"
I close my eyes and grip the stone in one hand and try to feel my own Cosmo, I focus and try to feel some kind of energy in me, but no matter what I try, I can't feel anything for more than an hour even if I was focusing to the point that the sound around me disappered, and as I was getting frustrated 'I problably have no talent in this, I'm not like the others reincarnator that have super cheat concept as a blessing or crazy easy backgrounds like the Saiyan or Kryptonian one...shit do not think about that....like this I'll never feel my Cosmo... Wait! I have felt Cosmo before even if it wasn't mine and was only for a moment...I felt Athena and Shaina's one, I just have to focus and search for something similar in me'.
Jayr Sr. POV - Greece - 1976
As I finished explaining the Cosmo and gave the kids their task, I started walking around checking on them, most of the kids that started this year won't be able to do it, so I directly skipped them and checked on those 2nd years and 3rd years, some of the 2nd years were able to feel they Cosmo but they still can't burn it, while after an hour most the 3rd year and some 2nd years were able to both feel and briefly burn their Cosmo, and were able to crush their stone, so I congratulated them and told them that they were free for the day until it's time to go to the Academia (School).
Then I checked on the small Jayr, he is a cute boy with fair skin, messy dark blue hair down to just above the nape of his neck like his father and green eyes like me, and looking at his cute frowing face 'He is starting to get fustrated, I think he is too impatient, but it is also normal for his age, this morning he already surprised me when he completed the warm up, no normal 5 years old would be able to persist like that....oh! He was able to calm himself again... Good... if he can persist like this he would be able to do it in half year' I thought while nodding and once again checked on the others kids.
The 1st years have almost all given up and only Jayr and a few others still persist, while the rest of the 3rd year and another batch of 2nd year were finally able to do it and went to rest, just as half an hour remains, I felt a big Cosmo surging and in hurry looked in the direction it was coming from.
I am shocked to see my grandson enveloped in a clear blue aura, that keeps getting bigger and bigger while the vague image of a galaxy appeared behind him, at the same time the rock in his hand was instantly pulverized 'For the love of Athena, he did it! On his first try he not only is able to feel his Cosmo but he is also able to consistentily burn it, this sensitivity and attunement is already at the level of a Bronze Saint, he is only very rought in manipulating the energy... Wait! Better stop him before he'll exhaust himself!'.
Jayr POV - Greece - 1976
I am immersing myself in this amazing feeling of power coursing all over me 'Now I understand why they always say, burn and explode, I feel like the Big Bang happened in every cell of my body and created an entire universe, and that universe is generating even more energy, and now all that energy is coursing all over my body searching for a place to vent it, I feel like I could destroy a mountain barehanded'
I am still enjoying this feeling when I feel a heavy hand on my shoulder, and a small and calm energy from it enters my body, guiding and dispersing the energy safely outside, woking me up from my trance, then I hear grandpa's voice "Good job Jayr, I'm very proud of you, but you have to be careful if all that energy remains uncontrolled you could have hurt yourself and the others!"
"Yes, grandpa!" I said now feeling really weak and tired, then grandpa says "Good, now go rest with the others that have succeded, if you keep going at this pace, next year you can start training in Cosmo on your own, If you want you can already go home and have lunch then go to the Academia, the first class will be the general knowledge about Saints"
After saying that I went out of the training ground and back home where Shaina was already cooking lunch for everyone, something that shocked me "Since when are you able to cook sis?" then she turn with her mask still on and says "I had to learn last year...trust me you do not want to eat grandpa cooking".
Now I'm confused "But yesterday the dinner was good and so was today breakfast!?" and Shaina still cooking "Yes but they were pre-made ones, he only had to warm it, by the way how did the training go?"
And with a grin I reply "Great, I still have a lot to learn about Pankration, but on the Cosmo side, I was able to feel it and burn it, it felt amazing" then Shaina closed the fire and then hugged me while saying "That's my bro, maybe you be able to become a Gold Saint like grandpa, but now that I think about it the only aviable Cloth is the Sagittarious one, and the Sagittarious went lost when Aiolos betrayed the Sancturay..."
As we were chatting the door opened and Grandpa came inside, then we had lunch, and after that Shaina led me to the Academia, which was a series of small amphitheater, each one was a different class, then I notice that the class are divided by age and in my class there was no one I recognized from the anime, I didn't find anyone else except my sister and Marin, then I thought about all the Silver Saint shown in the anime 'All those Saints, Saga sent after Seiya and company, and of course the result of fighting the main cast is death...the only one that survive are my sister and Marim...what a shame... Can I do something about that? No, it is still too soon to plan to do something against those monsters, hell the main antagonist of this world are literally Gods, in every sense of the word...'.
Still thinking about the future unlucky Silver Saints group and the challenges ahead, I went inside my class, and sat in a random place waiting for the teacher, this time the teacher was a masked woman with purple hair wearing a red training outfit with brow guards, boots and belt.
And soon she started the lesson "Today I'll teach you about one of the goal of everyone who came here... Saints, now I'll start my lesson, be quite!" then she looked at the class, or at least I think so with that mask is hard to tell, and then started the lesson "The Saints are the 88 Warriors of Athena. They fight wearing armors called "Cloths" of different power and endurance according to the rank of the specific Saint, the design of which derive from the constellations the characters are born under. Athena's Saints are divided into three different classes, the lowest Bronze Saint with Bronze Cloth, the middle Silver Saint with Silver Cloth and the elite Gold Saint with the mythical Gold Cloth."
Sensing the unrest of the class, she yells "QUIET!" and once the others calm down she continues "Despite this categories, it's not impossible to have a lower rank Saint that is indeed as strong as a Gold Saint or even stronger, that's because one of the main rules of Saints is: The power of a Saint is not related to the Cloth he wears but to his Cosmo".
Then she waits for a few seconds to make her words sink and continues "Using the power of Cosmo, they are said to be able to cut the skies with a punch and crack the earth with a kick and they are entered into legend because they are said to appear in the eras of crisis, when the humanity is in danger, at Athena's side to protect the world at the cost of their life, rejecting all the conquest ambitions of the other deities. To achieve the status of Saint they must afford a very harsh training period that can last some years, and training so hard that many candidates that want to become Saints lose their lives without ever obtaining the Saint rank, and it's widely known that even some peoples are somehow destined or chosen by the stars to become a Saint and wear one of the 88 Cloths, could die during their training, so be careful and know your limits...".
After that warning, she returns to the main topic "Their strength is not only from their powers though, because they usually form a sort of mutual synergy with their Cloths so that a Cloth is worn by a Saint with the right Cosmo to control it, gains an increase in his offensive and defensive capacity, as well as the Cloth itself, shines with the Cosmo of the Saint getting more powerful. When a Saint doesn't burn his Cosmo accordingly with the Cloth, it can become a burden more than a defense, are there some questions?".
And one of the girl ask "Teacher how do we know that we are destined or chosen by a Cloth?" and the teacher replies "There is no sure way to know if you are destined for any specific Cloth, the only exception are the Gold Cloths that represent the 12 constellation of the zodiac, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces, that can be wielded by any Saint born under one of those, but becoming a Gold Saint is the hardest because you need a certain level of strength and talent but you also have to be acknowledged by Cloth itself. The Silver Cloths are the ones that most of the time chose their own wielder and call for him when they sense they are ready to wield them, and the Bronze ones are the easiest to get as they are all placed in one of the many training grounds of Athena, they only need that the prospective Saint with a compatible Cosmo to pass some kind of trial to earn the right to wield them, it can be anything, from a fight to mastering a technique, to learn more about yourself, to kill a monster/animal, or survive a deadly test. But in some rare cases someone is born with an unprecedented compatibility with a Cloth, to such a level that when he awakens his Cosmo for the first time, you can already feel his connection with a specific Constellation and its Cloth!".
Then the teacher said "Now on the next topic, the Cloth, as said before there are 88 the same number as constellations, there are 48 Bronze Cloths, 24 Silver Cloths, 12 Gold Cloths, 4 Cloths of unknown material the same number of Saints, it's an usual trait that the stronger the Cloth is, the more it covers the wearer's body, with a few exceptions. While Bronze Cloths cover a small part of the body, usually the most important vital points and not much more, the Gold Cloths leaves very small parts of the body uncovered, like the upper part of the legs and arms. The Cloths are of extreme importance to Saints both defensively and offensively."
And continues " While Saints have surpassed normal humans and have super human capabilities, they are not invincible by any means and are still susceptible to physical harm. Saints also have great offensive prowess not only because their arms and legs are covered by the Cloth, but most importantly because it creates a sort of synergy with the Saint and his/her constellation, helping to burn his/her Cosmo at a much greater extent than normal. However, Cloths are not weapons and do not contain their own source of power. Cloths can only reach their potential when the wearer burns their own Cosmos. If a wearer has no Cosmos, then the Cloth is useless."
Then her expression and tone turns serious and grave "You must remember that Cloths are known to be living beings, because they are filled with Cosmos, the source of all life and in extreme situations have shown to be able to take decisions on their own, they can also respond to the will of their previous owners".
Then she looked at the Fire Clock and says "And that is all for today, you can go now hope that you won't forget what I taught you today".
Then once I got outside of the class I search for Shaina and after a few seconds I found her arguing with another masked girl with light maroon, almost red, hair, wearing a black training outfit.
So I go near her and ask "Sis what is going on?" and Shaine replies "Oh Jayr, do not worry it is just that, she thinks that a technique with many weak punches is better that using one lethal blow, and we can't agree on who is right" and the girl in a awkward greek "But one blow easy to avoid, many punches more chance".
Shaina then says "Do not mind her, she is japanese it is already a miracle that she speak greek so well in only a year, instead tell us who do you think is right?" and I replie "You both are right and wrong, I think it is better to know both and use the right one when the need arise, by the way, I'm going to the library, so do not worry I'll come for dinner" then I turn to the girl "I still didn't introduce myself, konnichiwa, watashi wa Jayr desu, yoroshiku onegaishimasu, please be patient with my sister she is a rash person who speak in a mean tone, but under that she has a heart of gold" and the girl "Marin desu kochira koso, yoroshiku onegaishimasu, do not worry I understand".
Then I went away but could still hear my sister say "Since when does he know Japanese?", soon I reached the Library and started searching for every book about medicine, healing, biology, etc.
Among the many medicine books, there is book one, in particular, that caught my attention it is old and thick with a black worn cover but its name can be clearly seen, its name is "Asklepios Imerológio (Diary of Asclepius)" what caught my attention was the fact that from this book I could feel a vague presence of Cosmo 'Asclepius the mythical god of healing... If this is really written by him then I hit the jackpot, I could learn a lot from this'
And so I choose to temporarily discard all the other book and focus on this one, it is written in ancient Greek, but luckily I already learned it, and so after skimming some page 'Dear Athena this seems real!! Not only it talk about basic medical theories and techniques, but also advanced one like this surgery, it is similar to the Neifer's Approach in heart surgery, but I studied that one in my previous world and it is a rather new technique of the 2017 but we right now are in the 1976 and this book was written more than thousands of years ago... God, how much did he know!? In this book there is shit I didn't even know was possible like the cure for diseases like dementia and Alzheimer...'
And now that I'm holding it and started reading I can feel a really powerful Cosmo protecting every page of this book, probably a nuke won't be able to destroy this book, and as I was skimming the page the knowledge became more crazy 'Those are acupuncture techniques...this old Chinese remedies' then looking at the last few pages 'For these you need the use of Cosmo... And what in the holy Elysion is this!!? A medical technique, that can completely regenerate one own body from nothing through the use of Cosmo alone!!!'
Without wasting anymore time I choose to study from this book and so once again from page one, I started once again my journey in the world of medicine.
