Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Tether
Locked in what could also be described as a battle of attrition, neither I nor my opponent simply allowed to be pushed back.
My blade might have been blocked, but the action wasn't entirely certain either. I hadn't given up. It was simply a battle of strength now, and I was going to force Mr. Ridge to move.
At least this time around,I was certain I would.
"Commendable!" Mr. Ridge boastfully declared aloud.
He lowered his stance just slightly, giving me the impression I succeeded in pushing his blade back just a little, accompanying the illusion that I could actually win this. I could actually beat him.
But it was all just wishful thinking.
Iwas simply overwhelming, the next second, like a surge of power, Mr. Ridge switched gears and pushed his blade forward and in that simple action, completely dominated me.
My arms were pushed back and flailed like ragdolls. The overwhelming force of action raised me off my feet, and as if weightless, I was blown away with out a single form of opposition.
I flew across, and landed in a tumbling defensive roll into the group of kids spectating from the sidelines all this while. It was only then, in the embrace of Don and the others, my momentum finally stopped and awareness started to slowly slip in.
My whole world was spinning, my gaze unfixed and hazy. My insides were churned as I managed to suppress the urge to double over and hurl right there. My body felt sore, sustained a few scratches and a sprained wrists
"Reo, are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" Lia enquired helping me up
"Bro, that was some sick air. Pretty solid landing too." Kyle commented, his eyes glittering in awe.
"You idiot!" Trise followed up with a rebuttal. Sha smacked the head of Kyle and pulled him by the ear —"what the hell are you saying?!"
"Father, what was that? Weren't you supposed to go easy on him?' I heard Leon query.
"No...Leon, it's fine." With the help of the others around me, I eventually managemed to regain my balance and stood on my own.
I turned to the others.
"Guys, thanks, but I'm okay. Just a few light scratches." I added with half a smile.
I sighed with a helpless smile at Mr. Ridge.
"I guess that means it's my loss." — I said. My gaze shifted towards the smal diameter circle drawn underneath Mr. Ridge. The whole thing remained intact, and Mr. Ridge remained unmoved inside of it, despite all of my attempts.
"For a moment there, I was actually certain I could get you to move too." I heaved a sigh of resignation and raised both my trembling arms up to my shoulder length.
"I give." I declared.
It couldn't be helped. Even with all that handicaps and restrictions placed on him, I couldn't land a single hit or force Mr. Ridge to move a single step out of the circle.
'I can't protect anything like this!' Deep down inside I felt frustrated. The 'light' exchange with Mr. Ridge led me to realize further how much work was install for me. How much trivial and weak I was. Even despite all of his handicaps, I couldn't do anything against him. Especially that final blow, my last attempt, I was confident in that one blow,if any other wouldn't work.
It was perhaps a bit unfair of me to beat myself up. No matter how you one looked at it, I couldn't compare to someone like Mr. Ridge. A master veteran in battle and with the sword.
Did I seriously think I could win?
From his position, Mr. Ridge shook his head mildly and sighed. He said:
"No, young Reo. It is I who lost in the end."
This statement left each and everyone of us confused about that that meant.
"What?" I muttered
"Hey," a voice off to one side beckoned all of our attention.
It was Don and he stood a little away from the group staring blankly towards the direction of Mr. Ridge and tilted his head to the side slightly.
He blinked emptily then his expression scrunched up as if struggling to process something. He scratched the back of his head and turned to face the group.
Raising one finger towards Mr. Ridge, Don posed a question.
"Uhm. Which hand was he meant to have behind his back again?"
The first one to react to this question was Trise, with a surefire rebuttal.
"Huh, you dumbo, it's his right hand. But what does that have to do with—" she hung prematurely then so slowly, turned her head towards the person in question.
Alas, we all did.
"A-ahem." Mr. Ridge coughed awkwardly and turned to avert our gazes. "Well this is embarrassing."
To eash of our greatest surprise, Mr. Ridge held his wooden sword in his dominant right hand. Not his left.
"Reo, you son of a gun! You actually managed to push my dad for enough to go back on his handicap!" Leon exclaimed almost widely. The excitement abuzz in his ocean blue eyes.
"...I did?"
"Even I failed to realize that." The one who said this was Mr. Ridge, as he walked out of the circle and right up to the group and I.
He gazed at me silently for a few seconds, then an amused smile played on the edges of his lips, underneath his neatly styled stub.
"You're last attempt forced me, instinctively, to raise my right hand. Perhaps, somewhere inside, I subconsciously realized I wouldn't be able to effectively block your blade without getting pushed out of the circle. Even to the point I switched my hands without realizing." He commented.
"Right? Reo's pretty awesome, isn't he?" Don boasted, pumping his chest.
All of this flew right over my head. Regardless of how it all played out in the end, I still wasn't able to push forward a hit, and basically won by some kind of default.
But I had already accepted that, swallowing down my discontent and thoughts.
"We're you able to find what you were looking for?" Pushing aside everything else, I asked based on a separate matter.
"I noticed you never really directly answered my earlier question. And I'm more than certain you asked me of this duel to prove a point." I gazed up at the stoic old man with a well measured expression.
"I'm guessing you don't entirely agree with my strongest mentality?"
Mr. Ridge remained silent with a thoughtful hum.
"I believe when one has something to fight for or protect, they can surmount to something much greater than a person could realize. In the end, true strength and capabilities all come back down to desire. Without desire, one can only remain stagnant and unporposeful. Desires, much like ambitions, fuel strength. But when one is mindlessly driven by desire, the person might as well be unporposeful." Mr. Ridge suddenly began, causing a few confusing questions to arise in side of my head.
Where exactly was he going with this?
As if reading my dilemma off my expression, Mr. Ridge continued further, to sort out the true meaning behind his words.
"I don't not agree with your mentality." He simply said.
"But that is not to say it is entirely wrong either." He added shortly, and before I could ask, the man continued.
"The mentality of 'if you want to get stronger, then just become the strongest. If you want to be good at something, then just become the best'...if one doesn't tread carefully along such path, the person may be consumed by this line of thought." The time in the latter half of his sentence reminded heavy, carrying a certain weight and urgent meaning, something unsettling.
"I also feel it's something a young child like you shouldn't wield. The desire for strength can be a double edged sword. A poison that slowly infects you, and by the time you look back, you realize you have nothing left. You might tell yourself you desire to be the strongest to protect and fight for those and what you treasure, but would it all matter when there's none of it left at the end of it all?"
I could feel the muscles in my face stiffen up as I heard this. I clenched my fist tightly as my hands trebled. And noticing this, Mr. Ridge gave a meaningful gaze.
"In my opinion, for everything in this life, you need a tether. An origin and a place to return to. That tether, can be anything you want it to be. Something that reminds of why you have walked down the path, why you did, and purpose to not lose sight of the original goal." He reached an hand out for me and carefully placed it on my shoulder. His hold was firm and still.
"Have a tether and you'll never lose yourself to the desire which instead should work for you and not consume you. And in this case , you're tether..." he paused and squared a glance at each ad every one of us. —" No, all you're tether should be to fight and protect. Not to be number one."
The next second, Mr. Ridge broke into rolling laughter, leaving each if us bewildered in our spots.
"Look at me, rambling on and on like this to a bunch of kids. I never realized I was this old!" He joked, which, from my impression of him, was kind of bizarre.
"The reason I had the spar with you is to show you a small tip of strength attained with the mentality to protect, rather than be number one can do. From your words, I've judged you've had your own fair share of time to conclude the number one mentality is the most effective, and it might be a little hard for you to change your mind despite all I've said to you already. So, that's why I have a proposition to you...to all of you."
This words garnered our attention and lifted our heads.
The usual detached charisma returned to Mr. Ridge's demeanor, the cold light of enlightenment glazed over his dull still eyes, his words demanding reverence from this who heard it.
Then he said.
"Give me a few years to change your mind. I will make you stronger."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone