Master of Martial Arts (3)
Phillips was a member of the Reagan family, one of the Prode Kingdom's most renowned knight houses.
As befitting a prestigious martial household, the Reagans produced many outstanding warriors. Among them, Phillips possessed a talent that drew particular attention.
He was kind to everyone and approached others with genuine warmth. In the martial arts he treated all as equals, without regard for rank or seniority. But what set him apart was something else entirely.
It was his passion. His interest in martial arts bordered on the unnatural. That very quality was what had earned him the title of Fist King.
Having mastered everything from bare-handed combat to swordsmanship, spear techniques, and archery, he extracted the strengths of each and forged them into a fighting style all his own.
So while it was called Phillips Fist Arts, it was in truth closer to a comprehensive martial system.
He also left a major mark on the mana cultivation methods used by knights.
His mana cultivation technique was far more efficient than the Reagan family's orthodox method.
It was that very cultivation method that brought Phillips's reputation crashing down.
Despite surpassing the family's traditional technique, Phillips's mana cultivation method was never recognized as the official family art.
The runaway during mana cultivation.
One ordinary day, while circulating mana in the training grounds, he lost control.
Stripped of reason, he attacked everything in sight. Almost no one in the Reagan family could stop the rampaging Phillips.
Only after a prolonged rampage was he finally subdued by the family head and the house's knights.
But the aftermath was devastating. Half the estate lay in ruins, and casualties numbered in the dozens.
They still don't know it wasn't Phillips's cultivation method that caused it.
The runaway had been a scheme by a rival within the family. He had been fed a drug that flooded him with excessive mana, deliberately triggering the loss of control.
That truth would come out later.
When Phillips came to his senses, guilt over what he had done drove him to leave the family.
Even as a wandering mercenary, he remained haunted by the knowledge that he had killed people he loved with his own hands.
The deep shadows under his eyes were the product of sleepless nights born of that guilt.
"How much do you know?"
Phillips didn't like how this kid he'd never met before was rattling on as if he knew everything about him.
"I know nothing, sir. I merely made a guess from the deep shadows under your eyes."
At Ellen's reply, Phillips absently touched the skin around his eyes. It felt dry and rough.
"I can help you, Master Phillips."
Phillips seemed to consider this for a moment, then spoke.
"Fine. Come with me to where I'm staying."
Phillips's room was best described as barren.
Just space, and nothing more?
Following him inside, Ellen took in the empty room.
"I can't tell you why, but it's been a very long time since I last slept properly—just as you said."
Phillips sat on the edge of the bed.
"And you're going to fix that?"
"Yes."
Ellen answered with confidence. Phillips found his attitude suspicious.
"If you're planning to cast Sleep magic, give up now. I've already asked Magic Assistants and even proper mages."
"Ordinary Sleep magic wouldn't have worked."
Ellen wore a meaningful smile.
In the era before his regression, medical magic had been hugely popular. Magic Assistants especially preferred medical work over mercenary jobs that risked their lives.
Ellen had learned medical magic to treat those injured during dungeon exploration.
He had always excelled at theory. Mastering the relevant medical magic theory hadn't taken him long.
That's how I got to learn martial techniques from Master Phillips.
Ellen had met Phillips on a previous visit to Tonton.
Back then, Phillips had been in even worse shape.
Suffering from severe sleep deprivation, he had been falling apart both mentally and physically.
He had been searching for someone who could heal him when he found Ellen.
Back then it was still experimental. Even now I can't guarantee success…
There was a sleep spell devised by Agos of the Gods, a pioneer of medical magic.
The circle requirement wasn't particularly high, but the theory was so complex that almost no mages could use it.
Ellen had used that very spell to grant Phillips restful sleep.
The result was a success. Finally able to find peace after so long, Phillips had been deeply grateful.
In return, he taught Ellen the body reinforcement technique Ellen had learned. Ellen's stay in Tonton had ended before he could learn everything, but even that much had proven highly effective.
"So you're saying you have a different spell?"
Hope flickered in Phillips's eyes.
"Yes. It should work for you, Master Phillips."
"Good. If you can just let me sleep soundly, I'll grant you whatever you want. Please."
He bowed his head deeply. Ellen knew full well how desperate he was.
"I'll need a little time to prepare. Please wait a moment."
"Alright."
Ellen took out a pen that could hold mana and approached Phillips's bed.
Scratch, scratch.
He began drawing a complex magic circle around the bed.
What is he trying to do with a circle that complicated?
Phillips didn't know much about magic.
But he had never seen a magic circle this intricate.
Meanwhile, Ellen finished the circle and dusted off his hands.
"Done?"
"Yes. All that's left is to activate it. Would you lie down on the bed?"
Dense blue letters and diagrams covered the area around the bed.
Phillips sank into the mattress.
A strange tension settled over him.
"I'll begin."
Phillips nodded.
Slumber.
Normally the spell required a longer incantation in addition to the circle. But with the ability he'd gained in this life, Ellen skipped the chant entirely.
A low hum filled the air.
The magic circle responded to Ellen's mana, glowing with a deeper blue light.
Is it working?
A gentle warmth enveloped him. An inexplicable comfort filled his chest. His entire body seemed to grow languid.
"Yaaawn."
A yawn escaped before he could stop it. All the fatigue that had piled up came crashing down at once. He couldn't keep his heavy eyelids open. No—he didn't want to.
Success.
Watching Phillips fall completely unconscious, Ellen allowed himself a faint smile.
He had used the spell once in the past, but never again since.
Yet the result was just as successful as before.
"I've never seen this magic before."
Proveng reacted to Ellen's spell.
I read about it in a book once. I wasn't certain, but it seems to have worked.
"The more I see of you, the more impressive you become. A circle like that would have taken me quite some time to figure out myself."
Proveng looked at Ellen and wondered if he, too, might one day experience the extremes of the magical path.
"If you have more like that, tell me. These are spells well worth studying."
Understood.
Ellen turned his gaze back to Phillips. The man's face looked utterly at peace.
That settles our deal, Master Phillips.
Chirp, chirp.
Birdsong tickled his ears.
How long was I out?
Phillips cracked his eyes open. He had no sense of how much time had passed.
It was afternoon when I lay down.
Judging by the sun's position, it was past noon. Yet his mind felt sharper than ever. Every sense seemed to thrum with life.
"You're awake?"
At the voice beside him, Phillips turned his head.
Ellen sat in a chair, reading a book.
A pleasant smile touched Phillips's lips.
"I can't remember the last time I slept so well. All thanks to you."
"I'm glad you rested comfortably, Master Phillips."
Phillips slipped out of bed.
Standing, he could feel it clearly. His body was far lighter than before.
"Now it's my turn to pay the price, right? You want to learn my fist arts?"
"Yes. For a combat mage, hand-to-hand skill is essential. And among everything I've seen, your fist arts are the finest."
Phillips scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed. Middle-aged though he was, the gesture didn't seem out of place given his presence.
"Then let's go."
"Yes."
Ellen followed Phillips out of the building.
The room where Phillips was staying was in a rundown inn.
Behind it rose a large mountain. The path wasn't well traveled; there was barely a trail.
Phillips climbed without the slightest hesitation.
After about thirty minutes, they came to a wide clearing.
"This is the perfect place to train."
The clearing wasn't especially large, but it was a good size for practice.
"Shall we start with the basics?"
Phillips recalled the incident at the restaurant.
His movement was definitely good.
"No magic, if you can help it."
Whoosh.
Phillips's body vanished in an instant.
Rapid Step.
Ellen circulated his mana and twisted his body at high speed.
The sound of displaced air whipped past his ear.
He had dodged Phillips's fist. Phillips didn't stop.
Pivoting on his ankle, he changed direction and drove his left fist forward.
Thud.
Ellen blocked the strike with his right arm.
Ugh, that fist is like a rock.
His right arm tingled as if he'd taken an electric shock. But Phillips gave him no time to recover.
A fist came flying at his throat. There wasn't enough room to dodge sideways. Ellen had no choice but to lean his upper body back.
Got him.
A low thrum.
Phillips's fist vanished from view—and in its place came an elbow. Phillips drove the elbow down toward Ellen's thigh.
Damn.
Leaning back had thrown his center of gravity rearward. There was no way to guard his fully exposed thigh.
Head-on, then.
Ellen leaned back even further. With his weight already shifted, his whole body toppled. At the same time, he brought up his knee.
Crack.
Phillips's elbow and Ellen's knee collided.
The one rolling across the ground was Ellen.
"I can't even last a few exchanges in pure hand-to-hand, it seems."
"Still rough, but your fundamentals aren't bad. That last bit of improvisation was especially good. Most fighters freeze up when they see that attack."
Phillips held out a hand to Ellen.
"That's enough for now. Let's get started for real."
Ellen took the offered hand and stood.
"Maybe it's because you're a mage, but you already seem to know how to move mana well enough. Your basic fighting technique itself, though—that's lacking."
Which made sense. Ellen had been a Magic Assistant. For someone who used magic, hand-to-hand combat was secondary.
The Phillips of the past had known that, and in the short time available had only taught him body reinforcement through mana circulation.
This time, though, there was plenty of time.
"Starting today: one thousand punches, one thousand kicks. Fundamentals are about repetition, so don't try to cut corners."