Velgrin looked down at the items he’d assembled.  It was mostly just debris from the construction sites that they said he could use, and that was enough for him.  Personal training meant a great deal to the Nord, and he wanted to push himself beyond the limits that he’d reached before.  He needed to grasp this…Chakra.

The materials were gathered, organized in a pile of different types.  His muscles were the first thing he’d train, and he’d do so with the chakra thing that they’d tried to get him to work in the brief stint in the academy.

He exhaled low as he felt the power cycling in his abdomen, as that’s where he was told that it was located, and he knelt down, lifting the makeshift weight.  Standing, he pushed the chakra from his abdomen out to his limbs, forcing them to use the chakra to lift the weights, rather than his own musculature.  From what he’d been told, a human’s limit was only so much without this…Chakra.

As he moved, he realized that this was a great deal more difficult than he had figured.  He lifted his weapon daily, but this put it beyond his normal area, and he struggled as his body adapted.  The chakra, he could feel burning, surging in his veins as he forced it into his muscles, struggling to lift the makeshift weight without use of his normal strength.

Slowly, inch by inch, the barbell was lifted from the ground.  As it reached his abdomen, he gave a small grunt as he exhaled slowly.  Well, he was part of the way.  Forcing himself not to rely on the power in his muscles, he forced the chakra in his veins to push his arms upward, lifting the barbell from his abdomen to his chest as it slowly curled upward.   Just as he was coming close, the hold on his chakra slipped, and the weight began to fall.  He struggled to keep his hold but it was no use as it tumbled from his fingers and struck the ground, thudding hard against the ground.

“Tch,” he grunted as he stood back up to his full height, shaking out his arms.  “That wasn’t fun at all.”  The Nord gave a small noise as he stretched his limbs, bringing his arms high up over his head as he let the muscles in his back tense for several seconds before releasing them.  “Okay.  Round two.”  

He moved, once more keeping his legs spread shoulder-width apart before he leaned down, grasping the makeshift barbell.  With a hiss, he let his chakra flow out into his body, easier this time than it was before as he forced the weight up to his abdomen once more, the deadlift coming to a steady pause at his waist.  “Okay.  Easier this time than last.”  

With a grunt, he began to follow that same method as last time, locking his shoulders as he let the power in his forearms and upper arms lift the weight upward, curling it up to his chest.  This was the point where he’d failed just a moment ago, and he wasn’t allowing himself to fail again.  He gave a low grunt as his muscles started to lock as he drew closer, holding the bar steady.  The process was slow, but he did not falter, not stopping until he reached the final step, the bar pressed against his collarbone.

“Almost there.  Feels like this should be easier than it is.  That whole…Chakra thing; this better pay off.”  He gave another low breath, before he began to lift the bar upward.  Normally, if he were relying solely on his muscles to lift this, he’d have no problem in lifting the weight up over his head.  But forcing his body to draw in the Chakra changed things, forcing him to use parts of his body that he wasn’t used to.  The softer muscles that didn’t see much use were being forced, and he gave a small noise as he lifted the bar upward.

It felt as if he were lifting the entire world, and though he knew it shouldn’t be this difficult, his body was not handling this as well as he thought it would.  But it was with a final grunt that he pushed the weight up over his head, his muscles and joints locking as he kept it aloft, before giving a small grunt, letting the weight shudder for a moment before he dropped it to the ground, the makeshift bar and weights making a sizeable dent in the earth.

“Well that was fun.  Next,” he grunted, cracking his neck.

WC: 788 / 750
Training Strength E-0 to D-0

==========

The man gave a low grunt then, as he looked down at his body.  The materials that he’d borrowed were systematically stuck to his body in a number of different areas, forming a sort of added weight to his entire body.  “Time to see how well this will work,” he spoke, rolling his shoulder a few times before he cast his eyes down the alleyway before him.  He moved, his body kneeling down like a track sprinter as he arched his back, taking only a small moment before he began to dart forward down the pathway.

Much like with the muscle-building, he didn’t let his body’s normal processes handle the changes but instead he tried to let the chakra-infused parts of him do so.  In that, he could feel his own power being much weaker than he normally was, but this was the only way that he knew to build on that strength, to make himself better, stronger, and more powerful.  He supposed there probably was a better way to work on his chakra…but he’d ask about that later.  He was already too deep into it now to stop.

His feet thudded on the cobblestone as he sprinted forward, his legs not powered by his muscle, but by his Chakra, earning a low, burning feeling in his limbs as he moved.  It was an interesting feeling, one that he wasn’t particularly used to, but each movement, he knew, was going to bring him that much closer to his idealized strength.  And on top of that…he’d be able to catch some of those damn thieves if they came into his line of sight again.

As he reached the end of the alleyway, the white-haired male gave a low grunt before he turned, pivoting on the ball of his foot as his body slid backward now, following his momentum before he lunged forward again, the consistent thudding of his feet on the ground filling the air.  He gave a low sound, struggling to keep moving as the flames of exhaustion started to lick at his limbs, wondering just what kind of training these shinobi did to make it so their chakra didn’t seem like it was going to burn out their insides at a lack of use.

Coming back to where he’d started, Velgrin’s footsteps slowed, and he gave a low grunt, exhaling.  His body wasn’t tired- he wasn’t sweating, he was barely even breathing more than normal, but it felt like his limbs were about to erupt into flames at any moment.  “Tch…this chakra stuff has got to be more trouble than its worth,” he grunted to himself, lifting his legs a few times in a practiced effort to get the muscle to stop writhing…but he knew it wasn’t the muscle that was the problem.

He closed his eyes then, recalling earlier that day where the thief that he’d chased had, quite effortlessly, hopped up onto the stone wall, skipping across the ground as if it were a feather, and not a bag of iron, as Velgrin felt he was.  He’d been forced to climb it the old-fashioned way, which had given the thief enough time to prepare a smoke bomb and flee before the Viking could even reach him.  He knew that’s what practiced chakra looked like- the fellow had danced on the wind.  

Velgrin gave a small grunt as he opened his eyes, but gave a small start as he noted the instructor who’d delegated the mission standing a short distance away now, watching him.  “What the hell do you want?” he asked, not really meaning to sound abrasive, but his mood had been soured by the memories of what he hadn’t been able to accomplish.  

Credit to him, the male didn’t balk at Velgrin’s rude manner, and merely shook his head.  “I thought that you might try to do something foolhardy like train your body in a rudimentary way to get a better handle on your chakra.”  Velgrin’s  expression didn’t change, but inwardly, he did appreciate the man’s candor.  “So I thought I might stop in and help you before you ended up hurting yourself.   Just a way to really help solidify the growth of chakra within you.  If you’re interested of course.”

Velgrin wanted to say no.  The stubborn streak in him wanted to simply handle this himself, and everyone else could just deal with that.  But he knew that these people understood this force far better than he did.  “Yeah.  All right.  I’m willing to learn if it means getting stronger.”

The instructor nodded then.  “All right.  We start now.”

WC: 794 / 750
Training Speed E-0 to D-0

===========

Velgrin heaved a sigh as he looked over at the man, grunting.  “I thought you were going to teach me how to control my chakra stuff or whatever better.  Not climbing the side of a building,” he demanded, his tone seeming less angry and more simply just… confused.  “I can do that on my own time.”

The man watched Velgrin, unblinking, before he began to move toward the wall of the building and paused just a step before, placing his foot on the wall before he continued, and began to simply walk up the side of the building.  The nord blinked, taking a step back in full confusion as he watched- he’d never seen anything like that happen, not in all the time he had been here.  As the instructor reached the top, he paused, before vaulting backward, landing easily on his feet a few steps from Velgrin.  “That is how I want you to climb the wall.”

The white-haired male blinked, looking back to the wall, and frowned, scratching at his jawline.  “I uh.  I’m not really sure how to do that.  Or how to even get started on trying to do that.”  He lifted a leg, setting the flat of his foot against the wall for a few seconds and then tried to follow what the other man had done, but his foot simply slid down the wall, leaving him looking at it with a mixture of anger and confusion.  “How the hell do you do that?”

“It’s using your chakra.  We went over the basics when you learned them, right?” the man asked, and Velgrin nodded.  He could mold chakra, but hell if it wasn’t difficult.  It didn’t come naturally to him at all.  “The basics are the same, but rather than utilizing it internally into an element, instead you’ll want to push it to the external parts of your body.  Like so,” he spoke, and extended his hand.  From his palm came a soft, blue-white shimmer as the chakra resonated there.  “You’ll want to use a little bit, to keep yourself adhered to the wall.  But too much and you’ll break it.”

Velgrin frowned, looking down at his own tanned hands, not entirely certain he was going to be able to follow along with this lesson.  He narrowed his eyes, any expression falling from his face as he focused on his palms, trying to bring something, anything, to happen there.  There was nothing for several seconds, and then, right when he was about to give up, there was a small shimmer there, which was gone nearly as soon as he’d seen it.  “Okay, okay,” he spoke, mostly to himself, as he began to work on trying again, forcing that glow back up to his palms.  

After practicing this for several minutes, he was able to get it to appear almost instantly, and he nodded to himself, before he moved to place a hand on the wall.  As soon as he did so, a crack appeared in the building and he pulled his hand away, frowning.  “Okay.  Too much then.”  

The instructor merely watched as Velgrin began to teach himself how to limit the chakra and to make certain that he only had a limited amount coming out of his hands before he finally reached a point where he could place his hands on the building and not cause it to crack, but at the same time, it held and supported his weight on the way up.  

“I know this isn’t how you suggested I do it,” Velgrin grunted out loud as he pulled himself up the side of the building using nothing but the strength in his arms, his back flexing powerfully with each movement.  “But I gotta start where I can,” he grunted, slowly pulling himself up the side.  Each movement wasn’t all that difficult, at least on his body, but most of it was the constant need to keep that chakra regulated.  He nearly slipped several times, having to grasp a window ledge with his free hand while he got his chakra back under control.

After nearly an hour of trial-and-error, Velgrin managed to make his way up the side of the building, before he simply let himself drop, panting slightly before he wiped a bit of sweat away from his brow.  “Well.  Now what?” he asked, before the instructor moved his hands before his body, making several seals before plumes of smoke appeared around him, forming into copies.

“Let us focus your senses.”

WC: 765 / 750
Training Endurance E-0 to D-0

===========

Velgrin gave a small grunt as he readied himself into a sparring stance, before he noted a long, metal pipe from when he had borrowed the leftover construction implements and spun it once over his hand.  It wasn’t the best weapon in the world, but to him, having some sort of weapon felt immensely better than trying to go at it with just his bare hands.  He had no idea what the purpose of this training was going to be, but he wasn’t going to simply let things go without giving it his all.

A small sound came from behind, and the warrior whirled, in time for one of the clones on his sides to take a jab at his stomach, causing him to grunt, but he didn’t fall- he was made of tougher stuff than that.  He swung the weapon out at the offender, which initiated an attack from the one that was now behind him, striking him in the back.  The attacks weren’t meant to hurt, really, but they packed enough force to throw him off balance, if he let them.

Still, he was starting to see already the unique training style that this was going to train him.  His gaze was quick, and he was used to having to deal with opponents coming from multiple directions, but this was also something where he hadn’t quite dealt with multiple quiet opponents.  Usually they were raging warriors who screamed and roared as they attacked, allowing you ample time to really sense where they were coming from.  But this was something completely different.

He spun again, lashing out with his weapon before he reversed the pivot to face behind him, only for the one at his side to be the one to attack this time, striking again at his exposed ribs.  He gave a grunt before he aimed his weapon in its direction, the clone darting away for a moment to avoid getting destroyed.  He paused then, before he darted after it, deciding to use the battlefield to his advantage instead of the other way around as his eyes began to pick up on what he might be able to use as he lunged once more at the other.

The clone leapt upward, flipping backward before it set its feet on the wall, hovering there for a moment before it pushed itself off, landing a few feet in front of Velgrin.  However, the warrior now had his back to the wall, leaving him to have a much easier time fending these clones off now that there were only  half as many ways for them to attack from.  

“Not bad.  Utilizing your battlefield to your own advantage…that’s one aspect of a Shinobi that is hard to teach, but you seem to do it without thought.  I imagine it comes due to your…unique upbringing,” the instructor called out, and Velgrin responded only with a wide smile and a nod, not wanting to waste his breath on talking when there was battle to be done.  

He doubted that he’d be able to defeat them, though a single hit would take them out.  The problem was, he couldn’t quite go on the offensive without sacrificing his position.  The iron pipe felt light in his hands, though, and he wondered if he might be able to swing it faster than he could the great sword he was used to.  His gaze noted that the clone on the right was about to attack, either that or feint.  If it was the former, he’d take it out right now.  And if it were the latter, well, he’d deal with that when he got to it.  

Thankfully, there was not feint, and as the fist connected with Velgrin’s ribs, the iron pipe came down on the crown of its head, turning it into a burst of smoke.  He felt the others beginning to move then, and it seemed that the brakes had been taken off the pain train.  The three moved forward simultaneously, with several now having weapons drawn.  “I guess this is the part where the training gets real?” Velgrin called out, still with his back to the wall, his eyes flickering between the three.

“Indeed.  Let us see how long you can last.  I’m curious what your powers are, Velgrin.  Use everything that you’ve learned so far, and let us see if you can defeat three genin shinobi at the same time.  Of course, you have the advantage that you won’t disappear after a single strike.  Or so I would assume.”

Velgrin couldn’t help a chuckle then, and his fingers tightened on the metal pipe.  “Bring it on.”

WC: 789 / 750
Training Perception E-0 to D-0

===========

There were three remaining clones, and for ease’s sake, Velgrin picked them out as One, Two and Three, based on some very obvious differences between them, which were their chosen weapon.  One simply held a kunai, while Two had some sort of short blade, which he vaguely remembered started with a W.  It was like their Katana, but shorter.  He’d have to ask about the name later.  And then Three held a number of shuriken, meaning he was going to be attacking from range.

Velgrin didn’t pay much attention to that one, figuring that while the shuriken would hurt, they weren’t going to be a damaging factor like the other two might be.  A kunai could reach his heart, and so too could that other weapon.  And as such, his focus was on those two in the forefront.  “Let’s go!” he roared out as he charged forward towards the other two, always the aggressor.  Velgrin wasn’t one that would let them come to him when he felt he had the advantage…and despite the fact that it was now three-on-one, he felt he would have the upper hand.

His legs tensed for just a moment before he leapt forward, crossing the distance between himself and the others in a speed that he wasn’t quite familiar with.  And in that event, he wasn’t nearly ready to swing his weapon before the two others he was aimed at simply danced away, his body sliding to a slow stop as he paused, blinking as he looked down at himself.  “What the-“ he began, before he noticed One coming towards him, the weapon drawn and at the ready.

Giving a muted curse, he stumbled to the side, trying to regain his bearings as he frantically defended against the attacks from One, before Two launched himself forward as well, the two beginning to simply go on an all-out offensive as they noticed that Velgrin was off-balance.  One dealt with more feinting, forcing Velgrin to open his guard as Two attacked more viciously, the weapon aiming at slicing his exposed flesh.

He gave a small curse then, and one of the times that One attacked, or rather, feinted, he knew that he was setting up something for Two, and the nord, who had just gotten his balance back, rushed forward toward Two, swinging his weapon at a vertical, upward angle as he slashed through the shinobi’s body, causing it to vanish in a plume of smoke, before he spun slightly, now only having to worry about one made this whole thing much easier.

It was as that thought was going through his brain that pain suddenly exploded in his right shoulder.  He looked down, seeing several shuriken buried to the middle in his flesh.  “Tch.  Forgot about you,” he grunted, as he shifted the metal pipe to his left hand, and changed his stance a bit, using his right to guard, and the left to attack with.

One seemed less certain now, and Velgrin needed to press that advantage before Three could riddle him with more shuriken from afar.  He darted inward, aiming a slash with his weapon, before he instead slammed a fist into the shinobi’s stomach, as it attempted to parry the attack from above, causing One to disperse in a cloud of smoke, leaving just the ranged one left.  He glanced to the side, before he noticed that the other had made its way up onto a short building.  

“Well isn’t that just shitty,” he grunted before he began to sprint forward, still not quite in control of this new speed that he found himself with, but moreso than he had been earlier.  He reached the building and gave a small grunt before he tried to focus the chakra into his hands, to climb as he had earlier, but there were two problems.  One, his right arm wasn’t at full strength, and two, he needed to carry his weapon.  

He exhaled and began to force that chakra into his feet, trying to follow through with what the instructor had shown him earlier, but a single step caused the building to crack beneath his feet, and he gave a low curse, stepping backward.  He heard the sound of weapons whistling through the air, and without looking, darted forward, pressing himself against the wall as the shuriken struck the ground before him.

He darted away then, and simply leveled the pipe like a javelin, heaving it with his left hand.  He was no less-skilled with his left than his right, and the weapon flew true, piercing through the clone, leaving the empty, echoing sound of an empty pipe as it crashed to the ground some distance away.

“Not bad,” the instructor spoke.  “Not exactly the shinobi way of handling it, but still, you do show some skill.  Now…let’s go get those wounds looked at…”

WC: 828 / 750
Training Reaction Time E-0 to D-0

===========

Summary: