---*(2 Days Ago)*----
Blobby stuck its head out from the window in the bathroom, staring at the situation, and trying to understand the reason why a sudden ripple formed through its body.
Silence.
A pause.
A shiver.
A bead of sweat.
Master Gap stepped back, his breath heavy. Those eyes not Valtor—not even for a second.
"DO YOU WANT TO OPEN A SHADOW GATE? OR KILL US ALL?!"
Valtor didn't understand. How would he? He never knew how using Gi felt like. He had never once done it. Until now.
"I—"
"You need to bind that darkness of a power!" Gap said, finding his seat on the floor.
Blobby hearing what he said, spoke up, "High GrandMaster Gap, won't binding Gi, cause him so much pain? Remember the Monarch would—"
An unexpected slam of a shoe silenced the Blob, sending it backwards, straight to the bathtub.
Gap pulled the other pair, placing it beside him, leaving Valtor with a gulp.
The old Man could actually make him unconscious with a shoe.
"W-w—"
"Valtor," The air became cold when Gap spoke. He raised his head to stare at him, "Valtor you are definitely a threat to existence! You could have opened a shadow gate!"
'I am sure he definitely hates me now!' Valtor asked, against his thoughts, "What's a Shadow gate?"
Gap responded almost immediately, "About fifty years ago, at the mark of a new King. Gates suddenly appeared simultaneously around the kingdoms. The Southern kingdom, is one which holds the record for simultaneous Gate opening. At any time, any where, these portals would open up."
He looked at the sky, "It's a revelation of how torn the Universe is leading to. Pure desolation."
Valtor frowned turning towards the uprooted earth, slowly getting filled with a pile of snow, "What are in these Portals?"
"Those portals lead to the Shattered realms of various dimensions devoured by Chaos," Gap replied, closing his eyes for a moment, "Shattered realms with no balance."
"How does those Gates Close?"
"Destroy the core, and its closed, never opening again!"
Valtor clenched his jaw, trying to control the rapid thoughts racing through his mind. "Who are those capable of destroying the core?"
"High Ranks of course!" Gap exhaled slowly, "immediately the core is destroyed, there's just approximately five minutes before the Gate is closed."
Valtor pupils dilated. he asked the worst, "What would happen if you get trapped without leaving the Gate?"
"You perish, and shatter alongside the destroyed dimension!" Gap eyes darkened. A memory flashed in his head, when he tried reaching for a boy through the Gate, when it suddenly closed, shattering everything within, including the lost soul. This memory led him shaking his head. "It's a terrible experience—"
"Then, why destroy the core?" Valtor asked a reasonable question in his point of view, but to Gap, it sounded more like the gibberish of a young child.
"Don't you hear it's a Shadow Gate?"
"Y—"
"When Chaos devoured the Dimensions, leaving the realms shattered, it infected anything which dwells in there, leaving nothing but its Creator key as the core, and the darkness from the devouring, turned into beasts, creatures known as Shadows, lurking around without rest, some are easy to destroy, others are Boss level. If the Gate's core isn't destroyed, these shadows have a high percentage of trying to escape the Gate, causing havoc or worse."
Valtor lowered his head, "That's terrible... The Shadow Gate..."
"Yes!" Gap nodded, finally gaining his balance to stand up, "The Gates however open in populated areas, and not randomly in the forest or wastelands, and theories were definitely brewing alongside confusion.. But, all the same, that isn't our focus today, but, the training!."
Here, Gap introduced Endo and Ecto training.
He said, "Endo-training is involved with binding your Gi.
"Ecto-training, would reflect Ni, and make it possible for you to go to the Academy without bringing attention from energy readers to you."
Gap left Valtor standing, lost in confusion, and he came back with a large pot, large enough with a depth, for a grown man's arm to fit in.
He said, "I want you to boil me a rice."
Valtor nodded, "Sure!." He had watched his grandfather boils some rice back in the village. He wasn't going to be a failure.
Gap sudden smile left Valtor with shivers. It was a smile which spread ear to ear, then he said, "There're four main Endo-training to bind the Gi within. You are doing the Initial Binding, which means, about 5-10% of the Gi within would be binded."
Valtor response was another nod. He however didn't know why the old man had a mischievous smile, Until, he raised the pot, about 5 inch from the ground, after filling it up with enough water, getting to the brim.
Then, he dropped a grain of rice in it.
And placed a candle underneath.
"Watch and Make sure the Rice is softened before 3 hrs, after which, serve it to me."
That was all.
Gap went back into the house to take a nap, dropping a whole sack of candles beside a stunned Valtor.
Of course, Valtor wasn't stupid.
He knew standing and watching a rice boil with just one candle would be a waste of time, especially with the 'Sea of Water' in the pot.
So, he digged in a lot of candles underneath the pot. He counted two hundred, after which, these were lighted up.
It added the flames, but yet again, the candles quickly melted, with the water only having a temperature of lukewarm.
Blobby again stuck its head out of the window, "MaMa!" It called to Valtor who turned seeing a large swollen bump on its head. Large enough to form another Blobby.
"Yes? Do you know how I can get the water boiling and the rice softened!" His voice sounded more desperate than any other could hear.
"This training exercise is known as The Fire and The Rice, it was actually known to be the combination of Ni-Gi training. More or less," Blobby said with a jiggle, "And you can get the rice boiling with just a candle."