Chapter 54: The Second Skin

The second tempering was not simply the first one repeated. Joe understood that clearly by the time spring warmed Blackwood.

During the first complete Skin Tempering, he had learned to bring the entire outer layer of his body into the process.

Broad regions had come first.

Torso. Back. Upper arms. Thighs.

Then smaller areas.

Forearms. Calves. Shoulders. Joints and transitions.

The troublesome regions came last.

Hands. Feet. Neck. Scalp. Face.

Areas around the eyes and lips where skin had to remain thin and flexible rather than become crudely tough.

The first pass had established the transformation. The second revealed how uneven that transformation still was.

Joe could feel differences that ordinary practitioners probably ignored once they were good enough to call themselves complete.

Blood energy moved smoothly across his chest but hesitated slightly near one shoulder.

The backs of his hands had tempered well, while the webbing between fingers remained comparatively delicate. His soles were durable but less responsive. Skin near the knees handled bending differently from skin across the thigh.

Perfect Body did not make every part identical. That would have been disastrous. Eyelid skin should not become as thick as heel.

Instead, each region seemed capable of approaching an unusually good version of what that tissue was supposed to be.

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That became Joe's goal.

The second pass was therefore less about opening new territory and more about correction.

Uniformity. Efficiency.

Removing weak transitions.

Summer had begun by the time he approached completion.

One morning, Joe trained alone in the courtyard while sunlight slowly reached over the eastern wall. He guided blood energy through the skin around his left ankle. That region had lagged the calf and feet for weeks.

He spread the energy thinly.

Held it. Let the tissue respond.

Stopped before irritation became damaged.

The final resistance gradually disappeared.

Joe remained still.

Cold water dripped from laundry Simon had hung badly the night before. A drop landed on Joe's forearm. He felt the point of contact instantly.

Not merely wet. Cool first.

Then spreading moisture. Then the faint pull of a single hair as the drop moved.

Joe opened his eyes. Finished.

Skin Tempering II.

There was no dramatic surge.

His punching strength did not double. His muscles did not swell. Instead, his body felt more complete.

He tested it over the following days.

During staff drills, repeated strikes against the forearms produced less surface soreness. Rough rope dragged across his palms without abrading them easily. Long runs still tired his lungs and legs, but his feet remained comfortable longer.

The largest change was sensory. A loose sleeve brushing his arm produced more information.

Warm air from the kitchen felt distinct from cool courtyard shade.

When Daren practiced with him using padded sticks, Joe sometimes sensed the movement of air against exposed skin a fraction before contact.

Not enough to dodge something he could not otherwise perceive.

Enough to matter when combined with sight and hearing.

The skin was becoming a distributed sensory surface.

Joe liked that more than raw toughness. He checked the panel later.

The second Skin Tempering no longer required active attention.

When Joe deliberately considered beginning again, a new line appeared.

Skin Tempering III — Lv.1 1/100

Joe stared for several seconds. Then smiled. There was still more.

Simon found him starting the next cycle three days later. "You just finished."

"Yes."

"So why are you doing it again?"

"Because it worked."

Simon frowned. "You know Muscle Tempering exists."

"I've heard rumors."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

Simon watched him.

"Hall said repeating Skin was possible, not that you should spend your life doing it."

Joe nodded. That was a reasonable criticism. He simply wasn't ready to stop yet.