Ray Crouch low as he took two steps forward that somehow managed to keep his balance centered
.With two quick flicks of his wrist, he slashed out in front of him.
Then with no hesitation, he transitioned it into a vertical/upwards. Before twisting and bringing down the force of his practice sword behind him.
For nearly three seconds, he stood still before. He began to do the same series of movements, but faster and faster with each repetition.
Before adding new moves in, He slowly began to integrate spins, thrust, and hilt strikes into his technique and.
finally when he had reached the fastest speed he Could. He ended it With a circular motion made with the point of his practice sword , before stopping completely.
Sweat dripped from his body and he shook from the exertion.
"Too slow. I'm still too fucking slow." He said, taking deep breath, breaths with his eyes, blinking to get the sweat out of them.
Pushing his unruly brown hair back off of his forehead he set his practice sword in the corner before going to collapse on the floor.
Laying on the floor, where he had fallen Ray began to review the mistakes he had made.
"One I am too slow. Two I don't transition between strikes fast enough. Three I'm too fucking weak, and four even after so much training this body feels as stiff as a board."
With each mistake, he found Ray raised a finger, and when he was done, he glared at the nearly whole hand of mistakes.
A idea flash through his mind. Something that would fix all of these problems at once.
For a second he frowned as if he was considering. Before shaking his Head. "No it wasn't Time yet Ray thought, his jaw clenching at the thought of staying weak for any longer.." I still had to wait until my father's return." The thing that he had been thinking about was awakening.
While you could see someone's elements at nine it did not mean said elements were awakened. There were different processes for the awakening of different elements, but they all gave the same result.
They allowed a person to start storing ether in their souls and advancing in cultivation.
While Ray would have liked to breakthrough and slaughter all of his family members.
There were two small problems with that. One a first ring cultivator would never be able to beat a for ring, and two his father wasn't even in the estate. Not to mention the other reason, Ray was delaying his awakening.
It was Because of something he had learned in his past life. As someone grew older, the king guy, a energy that allowed one to create their ether rings. Would increase with age.
While Ray would have liked to wait a few years and let the king guy grow in density inside of his soul. He had plans, plans that didn't involve staying in this family for any longer than need be.
"I need to have this place in ruins soon. I've already wasted two years here, that means the Iron tyrant bloodline has probably just entered that wasteland."
Ray thought, as his eyes became as cold and sharp as steel.
"He should be weekend after the rupturing of one of his ether veins, which is when I will strike." Ray thought, a vicious grin suddenly curling his lips.
He was about to continue his inner monologue when allowed rumbling rudely interrupted him.
Turning his eyes down, Ray glared at his stomach. Before pushing to his feet and walking over to a chest at the foot of his bed to change clothes and go and find something to eat.
After pulling out what had to be six different outfits, Ray finally came to the realization he needed more clothes.
"This should work for now." Ray said to himself as he pulled on pants that were nearly short enough to qualify as shorts and nearly tight enough to make walking a of its own.
Before while walking stiff enough to put boards to shame, he made his way to the kitchens.
"We're all out. Sorry, kid." The strangely skinny head chef said to Ray with a very unapologetic smile on his face.
Hearing his words, Ray nodded calmly, as if he didn't smell bacon being cooked, even as they spoke.
Turning around, he went back to his room before closing the door and pulling out a black mask and cloak.
"I didn't wanna make this a common occurrence, but it seems the only way I'll ever eat is if I'm the one paying for it."
Ray said as he slipped the mask that only covered everything below the eyes onto his face.
"Gambling den here I come."
Ray said, his voice flat as he pulled the black cloak, which was obviously two sizes too big for him over his head.
Quietly opening his window, Ray looked out and over the wall surrounding the iron blood manner
Seeing no one around, he tried to slip out of his window with a effortless grace, but the keyword here is tried.
He had started by sitting on his windowsill before slowly, scooting himself outward, but as soon as his ass left the windowsill, he began to fall.
He didn't scream in fear or roar out in rage. He just side to himself and muttered."This is the fourth fucking time."
When he finally fell in the bushes below, Ray quickly stood up before scaling the wall and jumping down the other side.
When he landed, his knees been to absorb the brunt of the impact from jumping 3 m to the ground he frowned at the pain in his legs
"Weak" Ray thought in ridicule at himself as he staggered. "Still two weak."
It only took him a few moments to recover before he was back to walking. Since the iron blood Manor was in the middle of the city, he didn't have to go far before finding a casino.
As soon as he saw one, a place with two poorly painted Dice outlined in a shade of yellow, that was probably supposed to be gold, he walked in. When the door was pushed open, the sound of both angry and excited screams, along with the smell of cheap liquor, tobacco smoke, and desperation leaked out of the casino.
"Here we go." Ray said under his breath as he swiped, a knife off a drunk man walking past him.
The blade look like it had been made from scrap metal, but it was surprisingly sharp considering it's origins.
"You'll be just perfect for the job." Ray said to the knife in his hands.
Ray didn't move directly for the gambling tables. He first made his way around the casino to presumably see all the games they were offering.
When he thought he had waited long enough, he stepped towards a dice game, currently coming to its end. "That's 3 four 3 Royce. Handover what you owe." One of the men currently sitting at the dice table said.
His dark red hair seemed almost black with grime, and his 5 o'clock shadow seemed to be more from a lack of hygiene, then anything.
"All right I'll pay you. Even though you were cheating you bastard. I should have known, Old Barney was right. don't trust them, northern people he said. If a man has more coins, then he has fingers he ain't right he always said. I should have known they called you cheating Chuck for a reason."
The other man sitting at the dice table slurred in response his volume rising and falling throughout his great speech. Almost s if he couldn't decide if he was talking to himself or the whole gambling den.
The spit that flew with each remark, didn't encourage the people around to listen either.
His hair was just as greasy as the other guys except for it was black, and his beard was a few inches longer. "And he's drunk."
Ray thought as he looked at the man's slightly swaying frame and the nearly empty mug of something at the men's elbow.
"Oh my dear friendRoyce I never get tired of your charming habit to spout utter bullshit" The other man responded with a smile on his face as he pulled all the coins on Royce's side of the table over to him.
The guy named Royce took a swipe for his mug and somehow ended up, knocking it down. Seemingly ignoring the growing puddle on the table, he stood before staggering away while grumbling something that sounded suspiciously like.
"He cheated I just know he did. I can feel it in my bones."
"Anyone else up for a game?" The man asked looking around with a bravado only someone who was on the winning streak of their life could have.
With no hesitation, Ray step forward, and deliberately making his voice more raspy he responded.
"I suppose I can play a game just maybe."
Is smile never dropping the man looked him up and down. All the man saw was a dwarf of a man engulfed by a two big cloak.
"Who The fuck are You?"
The man spoke the question with a smile still plastered on his face, but Ray could see the man running calculations behind his BD eyes.
"Oh no one important." Ray responded his voice deliberately casual as he dropped five silver coins onto The table. "Just a distant traveler."
The man nodded, but his smile had stiffened.
He and Royce had been bedding coppers all night, but. The man lick his lips the coins sitting in front of him were silvers.
"I can't offer as much as you, but I can try." The man said his smile growing more ingratiating.
But inside he had already decided. "This bastard isn't leaving alive."
He just kept wondering, if he could casually pull out five silvers into the open. Just how many were he keeping hidden?