It’s not clear why you need a bridge language. Why don't you start working with C directly? C is a very simple language. I think the hardest part for the C student is pointers and everything else related to memory management. In addition, C lang is focused on structured programming, so you will need to learn how to implement data structures and algorithms without OOP. Actually, your question is rather difficult, usually people move from a low level to a high level, and I can understand the disappointment of those who are going in another direction.