DAWN OF THE COSMOS

Chapter 6 - Training

"Huff. Huff."

"You're almost there..." Victor was holding a stopwatch to keep a record of how long Tyson could keep his astral skin on.

"This is annoying!" Tyson was getting tired and angry. Keeping the black astral skin on took a lot of mental focus which placed a strain on him.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to deal with it, snow-white."

The first lesson for Tyson was to learn how to properly use his astral skin.

"You wouldn't want a repeat of what happened the other time now, would you?"

Tyson clicked his tongue. As much as he'd hate to admit it, Victor was right. There was no point in being stubborn.

The black astral skin is one of the rarest Spectrums that a person can harness. It provides an incredible buff in strength and speed as shown by Tyson when he easily took care of over a dozen B-Grade bounty hunters. He would have beaten the A-Grade Mistique too had he not exhausted his astral.

"I appreciate you going through the trouble to help me but... Do I have to do it in this position?" 

Tyson was squatting with his hands stretched forward.

Xing laughed, earning her a murderous glare from the former hunter.

"What's so funny?"

She ignored him and looked elsewhere.

"Don't turn around like you didn't hear me!" He snapped.

"There!" Victor exclaimed, pressing the switch on the stopwatch.

"You've lasted 4 hours channeling your astral."

Tyson sighed in relief as his astral skin vanished. His muscles felt like they would fall off at any point.

He stretched his limbs to loosen the strain on them. 

"So," Victor handed him a bottle of water which he gulped down almost instantly. "How do you feel?"

Tyson took a deep breath. "I feel good actually... I feel stronger!"

"Great!" Victor grinned.

"On to the next lesson. Now that you've gotten a feel for how to generate your astral skin, I'll teach you how to conceal it."

"Eh?" Tyson tilted his head.

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Are you really that dumb?" Xing retorted.

"Tck, I don't recall asking you, stupid robot."

Tyson turned his attention back to his benefactor. "Explain," he uttered.

"To conceal your astral skin is to make it transparent. That is, to make it look as if you didn't have a skin on during combat."

"Like I said, why would I want to do that?"

Xing coughed, which Tyson simply ignored to avoid any further distractions.

"I can think of several reasons. But the main one is to hide your astral types."

"Astral types?"

"Yep, the colors of your astral skin are a reflection of the type of astral you can use. White astral is considered the most basic as it doesn't have any unique traits. Red astral is mostly tied with Hexes and Magic. Blue astral is tied to Aura. And so forth. Black astral, being the rarest, is mostly tied to the physical capabilities of the user."

Tyson absorbed Victor's words like a sponge absorbs water.

"However, all Astral Spectrums can allow a user to use the abilities of the other Spectrum. But it would not be as efficient as that of its Spectrum. And in most cases, it would appear to be a dud. 

An example would be a Blue astral user using a hex. That hex would be relatively weaker than that of a Red astral user's hex. Of course, Spectrum schemes have ties as well. Purple astral users would have a better chance at using hexes than blue astral users."

"I'm starting to get what you're saying. But how does that have anything to do with me concealing my skin?"

"Your skin depicts the type of astral you possess and thus makes it easier for your opponent to determine a way to counteract your abilities. Of course, it's not as important as it sounds, as it'd only be effective for the first time. Afterward, the same opponent will know of your abilities. Also, people that are skilled in astral control or possess the mind's eye can see through the concealment. "

"Ohh." Tyson was amazed by how much Victor knew. He had always questioned whether such a goofy and carefree man was truly the Universe's most wanted man.

'His title isn't for show... This man is strong beyond anything I can comprehend at the moment. I made the right choice by taking him up on his offer.'

Tyson wanted to ask Victor what he knew about the astral plane and the Etherian race but decided that it'd be best to hold on to that for a while longer.

'I still can't fully trust them.'

It was understandable that he would be skeptical to blindly trust anyone ever again after what the association did to him. Even if these people have saved his life twice now, it'll take time before they can earn his trust.

'It's not like they fully trust me as well. Heck, that stupid robot has it out for me since I got here.' He takes a glance at Xing.

"Shall we proceed with the training then?"

Victor placed his hand on the former hunter's shoulder.

"Sure, teach me as much as you can. I want to be strong enough to stand against my enemies."

Tyson became even more determined to gain power.

The lessons continued for a few more hours before they decided to call it a day. 

This became their routine for days as the Ebon Phantom transverses the Red Wine galaxy. 

LOCATION: BOUNTY HUNTERS ASSOCIATION, MISTY TRAIL GALAXY HQ.

A man wearing a monocle in his right eye was seated in his office. This man was none other than the head of the Misty Trail's bounty hunter association division, Flagmaster Harold. 

He raised his head upon hearing a knock on the door.

"Come in."

A tall man with a firm muscular structure wearing a long black coat.

"Ahh, Commander Kane. Just the man I was looking for."

The man named Kane saluted his superior. "You called for me sir?"

"Yes, have you heard any word from A-Grade hunter Mistique?"

Kane paused for a moment. Harold realized that whatever it was he was hesitant to say was far from being good news.

"I believe you know me too well to hide anything from me, especially something that has to do with that traitor." Harold darted at the Commander a look that made him feel as if his skin was being peeled.

"My apologies' sir. I wanted to wait for another day before giving you the report. An A-Grade Hunter, Mistique, a warship, and 11 out of 12 mini-cruisers did not return from the mission. The only cruiser that returned contained a single hunter."

Harold clenched his fist. The Commander noticed his superior's rage and paused.

"Continue." The Flagmaster uttered in a calm voice.

"Gulp." Kane sweatdropped. "The hunter reported that they were all defeated by a single individual and that Mistique was held captive." 

"Victor," Argus muttered with spite. It had to be him. Who else could single-handedly defeat one of their best A-Grade hunters and nearly 2 dozen B-Grades? 

"Well sir, that's the puzzling part," Kane stated. "He reported that the cruiser they intercepted in the Red Wine galaxy was in fact the Ebon Phantom and that they had seen Victor Knight in it along with an android." 

'The Android must be Xing.' 

"I am still looking into the information he gave me. But he said that a man was accompanying Victor. That man bested them all." 

"What?" Harold jolted from his seat. "That's preposterous!" He snapped. "The only people that powerful that have associated themselves with Victor are MIA."

Kane hesitated to give the last information. 

"Spill it!" Harold gave Kane a dominating glare. Red astral energy flashed over his skin several times. 

"Yes sir!" Kane saluted in fright. "The man who defeated the hunters was said to be a C-Grade hunter under our jurisdiction." 

"Eh?" The Flag Master widened his eyes. If the last statement was preposterous, this one was completely impossible. It denied all the laws of common sense. 

Harold walked up to Kane. 

'Gulp. I knew I shouldn't have said that. When the Flag Master is this pissed, he might place a hex on me.'

Kane trembled in fear because of the pressure Harold was exerting right now. 

"What did you just say?" 

"Sir, please. Calm do-" 

Bam! 

Harold's fist flashed before his eyes and the next thing he knew, he was sent flying through the door, breaking it in the process. 

The hunters that were placed in the area quickly rushed to check up on Kane. 

"He's dead." One of them said. 

"It's the hex of the Flag Master, Death Fist." 

They looked at Harold who was coated in red astral skin. 

"You," he pointed at one of them. They quickly jolted to their feet and saluted him. 

"Get me the Vice-Commander. Tell him that he's been promoted." 

"Yes sir!" they said in unison. 

"Also, do something about that." He looked over at Kane's dead body. 

He returned to his desk and sat on it. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his drawer and moved to light one up in his mouth. 

"Ahh... That's better." He wore a sly smile. "Get me the hunter who returned from Red Wine." 

... 

LOCATION: RED WINE GALAXY, PLANET DARTH. 

"Remind me again what we're doing here?" 

Tyson found himself on a planet with a cyberpunk-style setting. 

'The air reaks around here.' He thought to himself as he and Victor walked through a market. 

They were both wearing cloaks with hoods that covered their faces. 

"Also, why do I have to hide my identity?" 

"Because snow-white. You're a wanted man like me now." 

"Eh?" 

"I let one of the hunters you defeated return to Skrull with a message for Harold." Tyson clenched his fist at the mere mention of the Flag Master. 

"Why in the freaking cosmos would you do that?!" He snapped. 

Victor simply laughed, making Tyson facepalm. 

"You're a space pirate now. It's best to crank up your reputation, I can picture it now." He wrapped his arm around Tyson's neck. 

"Wanted - Tyson Bronze." 

"That's terrible!" He snarled at Victor. "I don't want the fame, you could've talked it out with me first!" 

"If I did that, I'd miss out on the priceless reactions you've been making." He said nonchalantly, walking past the former hunter. 

"One of these days... You'll get what's coming for you."