Chapter 72 - 72. Points
His motivation skyrocketed as he looked at all the details of the luxury cabin. The outside seemed like any other large wood cabin. However, as he looked through the window he noticed more and more modern amenities that he could take advantage of.
"That cabin looks awesome...I want to go and take a shower now. I'm going to find that golden egg." Jackson was hyping himself up for the search.
"Well I can't say I have seen it yet, and I already looked at the whole camp." laura showed up next to asher snacking on a protein bar this time.
"As I said, we are good at hiding it. Over that way is the mountain trails. You can hike as far as possible and gain different amounts of points. The farther you make it the more points you get, especially if you manage to climb Onyx's rock wall to the peak."
The three could already tell the trails were going to be tough to climb. There were massive roots covering the ground and the world trail did not seem to ring true in the least. Turning their head from the so called trail they followed Garnet to a larger more open field. "Here you will be able to learn basic combat and train against myself and brother Quartz. If you manage to learn a move to an acceptable degree you can earn points. The main practice though, is to earn them through sparring matches with other campers. We have trained many martial arts champions I will,l have you know." The pride in Garnet's voice spoke volumes.
She continued through the training field and in to the trees yet again. They found themselves in a small clearing. "This is the start of the obstacle course. My sisters Diamond and Lapis take pride in the challenge level of this. If you manage to complete a certain number of obstacles you can gain points. Other than these three major point builders there are also classes taught on survival and other life skills. Our parents take care of those and when my son is old enough he will be teaching too. For now, though he is off at a tournament."
The surprise that Garnet had a son was enough to stun the three. Even Laura was stunned about this and had stopped snacking on the cookies she had somehow obtained out of nowhere. "He came to see me at my last martial arts tournament and saw me go head to head with my rival. It inspired him to join one across the country and do the same. I raised him right." this sounded like the entire family was all about fighting.
"Other than those means, is there any other way to get points?" Asher was wondering if he could do different tasks to get ahead in points to lead a relaxed life when camp started. He couldn't go without a meal after all.
"I am glad you asked. If one of the counselors tasks you to perform a task for them then you may be rewarded. If you would like to start now I can give you one that will earn you four points." Garbnest smiled as she had just found the perfect target.
"Make it six points and I will start right this second." Asher thought that getting a full day's worth of meals from his first task was a golden opportunity.
"Smart boy, then from this second you are banned from sleeping in a cabin unless you pay with points. You may not eat unless you spend points, and you will need to buy things at the general store. Is that understood?"
Asher's nod was all Garnet needed to continue speaking. "I will give you six points to spar with me and show me all the things that thick headed coach Winters taught you." Garnet flexed and fell in to a stance. There was just enough room in the clearing for them to have a sparring match.
"Should I guess that you are the rival coach Winters went against? It wasn't you that made her unhappy at the tournament was it?' Asher's questin caught Garnet off guard.
"Who cares about that, the one that outdid us will be crushed next time. What matters is I get to see what foolish training she is preaching."
"Well, how about I use a game that my friends and I convinced her to make as our warm up. Let's play foot work tag!" Asher thought this was the best thing he could show off that had come as a result o his combat classes. Without the learning of the basic foot work then they would have never thought to make it a game. On top of that if they didn't have the basic moves to mix in then they would still be trying to figure a lot of other things out.
Garnet stayed in her stance ready for whatever the game he had decided to play would bring her way. When Asher started using the basic foot work she had learned years ago she relaxed. However, as he started to change his level and approach her she saw that there was a lot of muscle memory in his footsteps. The first kick that Asher let out was the deciding factor for Garnet.
She was taking it more seriously than she had planned to. Se expected a complete novice without any muscle memory due to their beginning status. Instead, she found that she was facing a diligent student on another path to becoming an intermediate martial artist. Asher may still have been some distance from such a title but he was definitely not a beginner any longer.
The two danced around with only Garbet defending, Asher was using his moves and level changed to try and make any real hits, however, he found that every attempt left him with no success and a feeling that none of his attacks could do a single bit of damage. "Is that all you have learned so far? If not then show me what you can do in the defense." Garnet took her first step forward as she went in for her own attacks.