Reduced Earth

Reduced Earth (縮地, Shukuchi) is a basic high-speed movement technique, developed long before magic became commonplace; effectively, through the user slamming their foot upon earth ten times in a split second, they are capable of kicking off the ground in the blink of an eye and live up to the technique's name of "reduced earth" as the technique shrinks the distance between the user and their target in a split second.

Description
When performing Reduced Earth, the user focuses the majority of their body weight to one of their legs of the briefest of moments, before stomping the foot where most of their weight is focused upon the solid surface of where the user is standing at a rapid velocity before shifting the weight back to the rest of their frame, generating enough thrust to propel the user forward at incredible speeds, at least akin to a master of High Speed and defying the abilities of Slowing Magic; accelerating at velocities that are almost untraceable to reach short or long distances near instantaneously- it should be taken into consideration that in order to perform the technique at all, the user requires a solid surface to kick into and thus produce enough thrust. According to the untrained eyes of those watching on while the user performs this technique, more often than not it appears as if the user has effectively teleported using sheer power and speed alone, moving faster than anyone is capable of following as they seem to reduce the earth between the themselves and the opponent in the blink of an eye.

As the Reduced Earth technique is focused entirely on speed, it can be best characterized by 'the velocity at which the user gets from the starting point to the finishing point in the least amount of movements', attempting to waste no unnecessary motions while attempting to achieve its goal. Generally, in regards to how much any user is capable of getting out of the Reduced Earth technique, things like racial traits such as perhaps elves being faster than humans do not factor into the end result- rather, it relies solely on the user's training and skill to determine how fast they can actually move, and it is mentioned that if the user neglects the skill and rarely harnesses it or practices with it, they would move at a slightly slower pace as the body would have to be accustomed to undergoing the motions of the technique regularly- this is something that could quite possibly lead to a theoretically weaker user of Reduced Earth accelerating towards their point of choice at a swifter pace than somebody who was previously deemed stronger.

However, despite being heavily compared to "true" Teleportation Magic, a user of Reduced Earth is capable of being stopped in their tracks if anyone who is in the vicinity of the distance between the user and their destination calculates the miles-per-hour as well as the ending phase of the technique that the user is accelerating at and takes steps to intercept the movement accordingly, and as such it can be quite predictable in comparison to actual movement-type magics, as it doesn't use supernatural energies to prevent any sort of interruption- indeed, with Reduced Earth, an opponent with swift enough reflexes can properly counterattack the burst of speed simply by blasting them with a higher-speed projectile no matter its origin, as in the case of most users, it is near impossible to stop and turn on a dime, requiring great effort of simply stop before reaching the destination, meaning that while in motion, a user can be seen as almost powerless against an opponent's attacks- however, commonly, it is shown that due to the speeds that they move at, this generally isn't a serious concern.

Customization
Something interesting to note is that similar to "basic"-type techniques such as Magic Ray, Defenser, and Magic Ball, Reduced Earth, despite possessing no real supernatural properties, is capable of being merged with other supernatural powers such as Magic, Curses, and good ol' fighting spirit of any type, resulting in almost infinite cross-up options, allowing the user to augment their movements with different powers and the like; something of note is that Reduced Earth can be seen as a "stone" from which numerous results can be carefully carved and perfected. Because of its faster speed and almost unmatched adaptability for what's effectively moving with a short burst of speed, it is well-known that Reduced Earth is effectively a superior high-speed movement ability to the likes of High Speed, Slowing Magic, and many more; this is one of the major reasons why many choose to use it over those magics; as not only is having an entire magic that is suited to increasing one's movements a complete waste of a magic slot, it is well-known that some regular fighters are capable of moving faster than said magics without a speed boost.

Another interesting point to consider is that skilled users are capable of simply taking on the trait of "speed boost" granted by the usage of Reduced Earth and applying it to almost any other aspect of their being- for example, it can be harnessed in order to drastically enhance their reflexes, minutely to evade attacks in a split second; making a utilization of Reduced Earth akin to precognition with a technique known as Flash Perception Reduced Earth (閃勘縮地, Senkan Shukuchi). In addition to enhancing their reflexes, a user can increase the release speed of their strikes, allowing them to land blows rapidly- this is referred to as Flash Attack Reduced Earth (閃撃縮地, Sengeki Shukuchi). Not only this, any user is able to induce Reduced Earth on a wall once they make contact with it, allowing them to kick off of it and bounce to another location in an action known as a Wall Kick (壁蹴り, Kabegeri). Of course, obviously, with all the customization going around, one can naturally assume that Reduced Earth has been adapted for usage on all sorts of environments, such as the air and water; these two are known as Air Waltz Reduced Earth (空円舞縮地, Kūenbu Shukuchi) and Water Walk Reduced Earth (水歩縮地, Suipo Shukuchi) respectively.

Because of its sheer adaptability and compatibility with all sorts of powers and abilities, Reduced Earth has many variations as a result of the high-speed movement technique being personalized by those who are skilled enough to integrate the mechanics of one power into another- indeed, in conjunction with elemental magic, it can be seen as a variation or precursor to the Elemental Body spell. One of the more popular iterations of Reduced Earth with magicians is known as Lightning-Fast Reduced Earth (雷迅縮地, Raijin Shukuchi); where the user merges their Lightning Magic with Reduced Earth, allowing them to effectively generate an aura of lightning around themselves, increasing their velocities to the point that they move at the speed of lightning, which is approximately one hundred and fifty kilometers per second, giving off the visage of a lightning bolt that appears and disappears from the vicinity; another popular version is combining Fire Magic with Reduced Earth, causing an aura of sweltering flame to shroud the user's body, leaving trails of fire in the wake of their movements.

Masters of the Reduced Earth technique are able to apply it minutely to enable high-speed movements while effectively remaining able to perform all sorts of actions as if they hadn't induced the technique, making it appear as if they were still on the ground- this version is known as Wavejet Step (, Uēbujetto Suteppu lit. Professional-Usage Instant Movement Technique: Jet-Propelled High-Speed Crouching Sprint). All of the variants of Reduced Earth are capable of being branched out into numerous extensions as well; more than living up to the saying that the ability has infinite possibilities.

Variants

 * Air Waltz Reduced Earth (空円舞縮地, Kūenbu Shukuchi): A variant of the regular Reduced Earth high-speed movement technique- unlike the other variations which require a solid surface to kick off of in order to produce astounding velocities, Air Waltz Reduced Earth enables the user to harness the technique on the air by bouncing off of it, effectively allowing the user to induce pseudo-levitation by first inducing Reduced Earth to launch themselves into the air, enabling users to perform all sorts of tasks that would normally be impossible or impractical. When performing Air Waltz Reduced Earth, the user performs the bog-standard Reduced Earth activation motions by kicking off ten times upon a solid surface in the blink of an eye- however, in this case, the user, instead of using the technique to get them from point A to point B on the ground, the kickoff and the resultant thrust that is produced launches them high into the skies when they harness the power gathered within their being in order to perform a jump, elevating the user from their current position in the blink of an eye to heights never imagined; leaping high enough to effectively pierce the heavens albeit without a drill; to onlookers, it appears as if the user was a rocket shooting into the skies. Once they have become airborne, the user is capable of using keen eyesight to search out for "pockets" of air, which are essentially masses of air condensed in a single point that can be considered a "solid" that are scattered throughout the atmosphere which the user is able to kick off of the empty air instead of the ground like the normal Reduced Earth, effectively performing a double jump and staying in the air for much longer than usual- Air Waltz Reduced Earth enables the user to cross vast distances without ever touching the ground or be utilized as a starting point for a powerful aerial assault. By itself, without altering the technique a bit, the Air Waltz Reduced Earth technique does not have a direct combat application, but it is an extremely useful ability as numerous areas cannot be unfairly accessed without a flight-type technique. And, of course, the Air Waltz Reduced Earth technique greatly assists the user with evasion in combat, particularly against ground-based opponents, as by bouncing off the air multiple times, the user is capable of slightly increasing the amount of time spent within the air; this also has the effect of enabling the user to gain access to areas that would be normally out-of-reach otherwise, simply by elevating themselves up to the desired location. When performing Air Waltz Reduced Earth, the user can also enhance their already swift flight speed by riding on strong gusts of wind, and can slow or deflect falls by creating cushions of air.
 * Water Walk Reduced Earth (水歩縮地, Suipo Shukuchi): Water Walk Reduced Earth is a variant of the normal Reduced Earth technique, which, as the name would ever-so-subtly suggest, enables the user to apply the Reduced Earth ability upon the surface of water, effectively allowing them walk, or rather, dash, on water just like some other guy used to do. When performing Water Walk Reduced Earth, the user, upon any body of water that appears as if it could support a person, allowing them to shift the majority of their bodily weight to one of their feet and kick down ten times in the blink of an eye before their body becomes submerged within the water, inducing a high-speed dash that propels themselves forward in the blink of an eye. When Water Walk Reduced Earth is activated, it effectively simulates the experience of simply performing the regular Reduced Earth on a surface, with the user's motions treating the watery body beneath their feet as if it were a solid instead of the actual liquid state that it is, calmly and swiftly moving across the water- while Water Walk Reduced Earth is engaged, anything across and below the water's surface is instantly repelled, as droplets and waves does not splash across the user's body as their motions step on the water, and any threatening animal such as a goddamn shark is knocked back down to the depths if it attempts to take a chunk out of an unsuspecting user; however, once the technique is disengaged, water physics return to normal and the user can be left vulnerable.
 * Afterimage Reduced Earth (残像縮地, Zanzō Shukuchi): A variant of the bog-standard Reduced Earth high-speed movement technique- Afterimage Reduced Earth, as the name would suggest, it allows the user to produce various afterimages while in motion. When performing Afterimage Reduced Earth, the user increases the amount of times they slam their foot down upon a solid surface from ten times in a row to fifteen- this produces much more thrust, which, while it doesn't increase the user's speed when inducing the technique as it logically should, it does have an arguably more useful function-the sheer thrust produced results in the user's swift physical movements instead form an intangible and transparent distorted decoy-like doppelganger of the user that follows their movements in accordance, remaining behind them at varying distances for the duration of the Reduced Earth technique. By themselves, the afterimages produced by this iteration of the high-speed movement are incapable of acting out of their own "will" autonomously, but rather, are an indication of the velocity that the user is moving at despite no real change in movement speed- however, that's where its true utility lies at. The afterimages produced by Afterimage Reduced Earth are capable of confounding opponents who are unable to follow the user's movements; often, it is common for an opponent to attack an afterimage in the belief that the decoy is the real deal and they are about to land a killing blow, only for it to vanish and scatter harmlessly to the winds, whereas the actual user appears somewhere else, commonly flanking the enemy's side while giving no indication of their movements, allowing the user to counterattack instantly with very little opportunity for the opponent to evade the incoming strike. Like the regular Reduced Earth technique, Afterimage Reduced Earth is capable of having all sorts of supernatural powers infused within it, granting the afterimages tangibility which the user can remove at any time and allowing the user to harness the afterimages to pull of various attacks and tasks from all angles, giving the doppelgangers further believability in that they are the actual user to keep the opponent fooled; for example, if an enemy strikes an afterimage infused with Lightning Magic, the decoy will erupt in a discharge of static and paralyze the enemy momentarily.
 * Wavejet Step (, Uēbujetto Suteppu lit. Professional-Usage Instant Movement Technique: Jet-Propelled High-Speed Crouching Sprint): The Wavejet Step is a hideously overpowered very useful high-speed movement technique that is classified as a martial arts-based ability revolving around the user's steps that can be performed as long as the user has some sort of supernatural energy fuelling their movements, whether it be magical power, curse power, or even good ol' fighting spirit- but what Wavejet Step is, is a jump that is canceled by descending instantly so that the user never leaves the ground, resulting in a sliding motion that produces smoke at the user's feet and a freakishly swift burst of brief acceleration for three seconds. It is regarded as a high-level advanced technique that only those deeply engrossed with close-range combat that is superior to all 'traditional' forms of speed-enhancing powers such as High Speed and Slowing Magic because it allows the user to perform any ground action while moving horizontally on the ground. In any case, the Wavejet Step is performed by the user ascending to the skies in an extremely short hop that ideally shouldn't have them raise more than ten centimeters above the ground- from here, the user gathers and condenses their supernatural energies of choice upon the soles of their shoes/feet, before they shift a majority of their weight to their legs, descending upon the ground as swiftly as they entered the air, giving off the appearance of never having left the ground- but indeed, upon contact with the ground, the shock of the impact releases an airhorn-like sound as it transfers the momentum that the user had accumulated via briefly hopping into the air into a swift strafing movement of ground-based movement, sliding long the ground without walking or running; resulting in a sliding motion that produces smoke of varying colours at the character's feet. The length of time that a user slides by harnessing Wavejet Step is determined by a number of factors: by the angle at which they charged energies into their feet -with low angles yielding longer Wavejet Steps- how close to the ground they were before charging -the closer the user, the longer their Wavejet Step- and finally, the character's traction -low traction yields long streams of movements, while high traction yields shorter slides. One use of Wavejet Step by itself is not particularly useful; it is when the move is repeated rapidly that it becomes both impressive and supremely practical, and it is capable of being harnessed for a near immeasurable amount of purposes- it is useful for quickly escaping from close combat with an opponent, and it can get a user to the end of an area to the other faster than any other type of movement; the Wavejet Step can also be harnessed in order to avoid anything in the user's way that would impede their movements, enabling each and every one of their actions and movements while under the effect of the Wavejet Step being precise as humanly possible. It can lead into many combos and techniques; and because by harnessing the Wavejet Step, the user is technically standing as they slide, they can perform any ground attacks that could normally be performed from a standing position while retaining all of their standing defensive maneuvers- a skilled user can use another high-speed movement while under the effects of the Wavejet Step as well. A skilled user can take the concept of maneuverability derived from the Wavejet Step a step further, harnessing the techniques to dodge enemy attacks and set up a counterattack; after a while, it becomes instrumental in characters' combos and their defense. Those who are slow can rely on the Wavejet Step in order to extricate themselves from difficult situations. Additionally, the concept of hopping into the air before descending instantly towards the ground provides a useful segue from a character's aerial combat to their basic ground combat. However, Wavejet Step can be interrupted, but mind-games and mix-ups can trick the opponent. All of this combined to make harnessing the Wavejet Step a very rapid mind-game aspect that is difficult to counter; generally, a fighter harnessing the Wavejet Step in rapid succession means that they possess above-average skills.
 * Boundless Speed-of-Sound Reduced Earth (无疆音速縮地, Mukyōonsoku Shukuchi): Boundless Speed-of-Sound Reduced Earth is a variant of Reduced Earth- no, it is the highest point of progression for the Reduced Earth technique, being touted as the "supreme form of ultimate speed" without any drastic modifications to the technique; and can only be used by a true master of the ability of "Reduced Earth"; effectively, it enables the user to move at the speed of sound, leaving a sonic boom in their wake. When performing Boundless Speed-of-Sound Reduced Earth, the user assumes the position of crouching their knees, leaning forward before they induce the usual Reduced Earth motions by transferring a majority of their weight into one of the feet, before kicking down on a solid surface- only in the case of this version, the user only kicks down nine times rapidly; after this point, the user performs a small hop up and down, dragging out the noise released by their foot slamming against the surface so that the sound of their feet smashing upon the ground isn't heard until after their feet have left the surface once more. Once the sound lag has reached the pinnacle of its existence, the user leaps forward with what appears to be the normal Reduced Earth motions, producing a powerful sonic boom that results in a shockwave resonating throughout the area, destroying anything that the sonic boom comes into contact with, uprooting trees and demolishing everything that its area-of-effect touches, effectively destroying anything in-front and behind the user with a powerful echo. The motion itself propels the user at five times boosted the regular speed of Reduced Earth, almost invisible to the naked eye at a velocity that gives the user the appearance of a supersonic bullet shooting towards the enemy at the speed of sound as the name would suggest; propelling themselves towards their target at inconceivable speeds, dashing across the battlefield while gliding over the ground. Because when inducing Boundless Speed-of-Sound Reduced Earth, the user moves faster than the eye can see, the opponent won't be able to react until after the user has already hit them. Unlike other iterations of Reduced Earth, the velocity gained by utilizing the Boundless Speed-of-Sound Reduced Earth technique also increases the user's strength considerably for the duration of the movement; allowing a user to defeat an opponent in one blow depending on the foe's strength level. This speed produced by this version of Reduced Earth is noted to be something completely different than mere speed-enhancing techniques; in fact, a "teleportation beyond teleportation".

Trivia

 * Note that "Reduced Earth" is simply a catch-all term for the "high-speed movement"-type technique displayed by various users.