Tinder Warlord

[Take it slow, sugar crush. I am heading nowhere. Why don't you gain other skills? Each skill has its own value. You can never tell when such skills will turn a difficult situation around.]

[I prefer you start with Aikijujitsu training. You requested whip training. Aikijujitsu is a perfect foundation for whip training.]

Ariel Sebastian replied, "Okay, I will do just that." She left and approached the spot where the Aikijujitsu tutor was resting. She slightly tapped on his shoulder, waking him up from his deep slumber.

"Hello?" She established a conversation.

[I have been waiting for you for an extended period. So, it is finally my shift to training a martial genius.]

"Uhm! Dunno if I am one."

[You are the one and I planned to bring out the best in you.]

[Okay, let's practice. Time waits for no man.]

[Em! By the way, I am Isamu Keitaro. You can call me Keitaro.]

"Uh! It sounds like an ancient Asian name."

[You are conversant with your history. Indeed, it is an ancient Japanese name. It means blessed warrior.]

[Okay, where should I begin? Em! A little debriefing of Aikijujitsu]

[Aikijujitsu is a Japanese martial art that first became widely known in the early 20th century under the headmastership of Takeda Sōkaku.]

[Aikijujutsu is a good martial art for self-defense. I just watched your fight with the spirit baby Yali Beast. I can tell at a glance that you are terrific at defense. You opted to blend with the environment. Nice thinking there, but it is not the best option in a critical scenario.

Aikijujutsu is typically recognized as unique to Aikido. It's more aggressive, less passive nature, includes a wider array of techniques that incorporate striking, choking, and ne-waza (ground) techniques.

Aiki-jūjutsu can be broken into three styles: jujutsu (hard); aiki-no-jutsu (soft); and the combined aiki-jujutsu (hard/soft). Modern Japanese jujutsu and aikido both originated in aikijujutsu, which emphasizes "an early neutralization of an attack." You can observe while I practice once.. Follow my process after this example.]

[Good, you are a fast learner.]

At this moment, Ariel Sebastian was sweating heavily. She picked up a cup of water handed to her by Avery Bryn, her LINE tutor. Isamu Keitaro waited for her to catch a little breath before continuing his training.

[Like other forms of jujutsu, it emphasizes throwing techniques and joint manipulations to effectively subdue or injure an attacker. Of particular importance is the timing of a defensive technique, either to blend or to neutralize an attack's effectiveness and to use the force of the attacker's movement against him or her. Aiki-jūjutsu is characterized by the ample use of atemi, or the striking of vital areas, to set up joint locking or throwing tactics.

Some of the art's striking methods employ the swinging of the outstretched arms to create power and to hit with the fists at deceptive angles, as observed in techniques such as the atemi that sets up gyaku ude-dori (reverse elbow lock).]

[Practice with me on fist with deceptive angles.]

Following the teachings of her tutor. Ariel Sebastian understands the logic behind the fists with deceptive angles. A notification rang.

[You have achieved the initial stage of Aiki-jūjutsu skill]

An unexplainable joy surged through Ariel Sebastian. Isamu Keitaro nodded in appreciation and continued with his training.

[Tokimune Takeda, an ancient and famous instructor of Aiki-jūjutsu, regarded one of the unique characteristics of the art as its preference for controlling a downed attacker's joints with one's knee to leave one's hands free to access weapons or to deal with the threat of other attackers. Watch me while I practice. You can tag along once you understand the logic.

The techniques are broken up into specific lists that are trained sequentially; a student will not progress to the next "catalog" of techniques until he or she has mastered the previous one.

The first category of techniques in the system is the shoden waza. It is not devoid of Aiki elements. Though it emphasizes the more direct jujutsu joint manipulation techniques. The second group of techniques, aiki-no-jutsu, emphasizes the utilization of one's opponent's movement or intention to subdue him or her, usually with a throwing or pinning technique. Watch closely and learn carefully.]

Isamu Keitaro displayed illustrations of what he said earlier. Ariel Sebastian was like a sponge, absorbing all pieces of knowledge.

Seconds turn to minutes. Minutes turn into hours. Ariel Sebastian's learning speed was alarming. Isamu Keitaro loved his students' speed of learning. He has the zeal to teach more martial knowledge to his brilliant student.

[Officially, the Aiki-jūjutsu system is said to comprise thousands of techniques, divided into omote and ura (literally, 'front' and 'back' versions), but many of these could be seen as variations upon the core techniques. Practicing these variations will help you understand the core techniques. You should know by now that practice makes perfect.]

Taking the advice of her tutor, Ariel Sebastian practiced the different variations and techniques for hours. Almost spending a full day of V01D time.

The notification she waited for finally rang.

[You have achieved the intermediate stage of Aiki-jūjutsu skill]

Rejoicing for the good news. Another notification pops out. This time around, It was from SkyNET.

[According to your instructions. Ten million qualified humans have been sent invitations.

V01D crystals are being distributed and embedded on their foreheads. The process will take a while. V01D World would have been upgraded before the processes were done.

Arvina is drafting and assigning each human to their specialties. Your authorization is needed to confirm such positions.]

"There is no need to wait for my authorization. I give the full authority to Arvina."

[Instruction fully received]

Time flies quickly; days were spent in V01D space. Ariel Sebastian had almost completed bringing all her skills up to the intermediate stages.

----

Outside world...

It was getting late. Working-class citizens had almost returned from work. Except for the late workers who needed to complete their projects. Or the evening shift workers.

Lisa Maya had passed the news of Ariel Sebastian's whereabouts to her parents. Their worries were lessened. The Sebastians were getting ready for a good night's rest after having a palatable and lovely dinner.

…

Somewhere, in a rich district - Altos Avenue.

In a reserved section of Echo World. A district for insanely rich humans was embracing a cool sunset. Echo, a world filled with greener pasture opportunities. The legacies of past heroes continue to motivate future generations to stand firm and move forward. Echo World has a trading hub ranked 6th in this dimension. One of the core planets of mankind. Rank third among all human planets.

A mansion well designed and built. Both the architects and engineers deserved unending praise. An excellent job was done. The mansion has all the amenities a human can ever dream of. A dream home for many lazy and hardworking humans.

The ushering in of the sunset, together with the lightening of the mansion, made it a perfect drawing and photographic reference.

A pity, the house has got an owner. The owner was none other than Miss April Angela. The class teacher of fifth-grade student from Starlight College. An elite evolver. Ha? How can the universe be so biased? A goddess's beauty with a mansion sent from heaven.

There she is, a beauty in a bathtub. Hey! No lewd thoughts here. No-no, pure thoughts ONLY. Miss April Angela was gently scrubbing and washing her body. The day's stresses had made her body stink with sweat. She, being the clean freak, will not entertain residual sweats.

Her Cosmic wrist pad was neatly placed in a safe place. Free from water splashes. Close to her left side and within arm's reach. Together with the new brand of Spring Moon rejuvenation tea, which just arrived. She was savoring the brilliant and refreshing taste. When her Cosmic wrist pad rang.

Tingling

{You have received a notification.}

Lazily and sluggishly, she raised her almost immersed head, which was ninety percent inside the bathtub. Fill with warm, scented water. She spoke to Brain.

"Brain, read my notification."

{You have caught the attention of V01D. You have been kept under strict observation for the V01D recruitment. You qualified for the initial screenings. You are officially invited to the V01D special screenings. You cannot refuse. The transfer to screenings will take place in no less than 24 hours. Whether you can be recruited depends on your hard work and skills. A V01D crystal will be embedded in your glabella. It is proof of membership and access to the V01D world and facilities. Preserved the V01D key. It is your ticket to V01D World. Knowledge of this message should remain a secret. If you are found to be defunct, your life will be forfeited at the third warning. Only the eligible chosen can read this message. All evidence of this message will be wiped off in twenty-four hours.

Regards V01D]