Chapter 138

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 138

Chapter Title: Different Footwork

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The Water King hummed a cheerful tune as he embedded electrodes all over my body.

I'd already given up on resisting. The moment I saw the electric chair, I'd tried to bolt from the room, but he'd grabbed me right away.

Still, I had to ask about this one thing.

"...Isn't this dangerous?"

"It's not dangerous! I'm speaking from personal experience—I've tried it on myself."

That somehow sounded even more dangerous. A guy who could withstand a mana-infused sword slash with his bare body probably wouldn't find this risky.

And the fact that he'd "experienced it himself"... Had he tortured himself with electricity until his mind snapped?

"You said you'd teach me martial arts in the first place, so why this...?"

"The foundation of martial arts is physical conditioning! And training resistance skills counts as physical conditioning too!"

"What does that even... Never mind."

No point pressing further—he wouldn't listen anyway. It'd probably be fine. It'd hurt, but I had [Sensory Block]... And [Elemental Resistance], too. The Water King was the most famous owner of resistance skills out there, so maybe this really was a legit way to train them.

Plus, I'd instinctively tried to run, but after all my "resistance training" lately, I was pretty numb to pain anyway. Nothing to fear.

"Ready?"

"What if I'm not...?"

"Then we start anyway!"

"Fuck."

Was he maybe the most bullheaded guy on the committee?

Whew... But he was the Water King, so I could trust him, right? [Sensory Block] activated... Alright, good to go.

"Your heart might stop, but that's fine! Just thump your chest a bit and it'll restart!"

"You son of a...!"

-BZZZZZZT!

"GYAAAAAHHH YOU FUCKIIIING BASTAAAAARD!!"

"Ooh! You're holding up well!"

This crazy bastard.

The "electric chair"... was horrific. Well, not really—with [Elemental Resistance] and [Sensory Block] blocking the pain, it didn't hurt. But my whole body went out of my control, shaking uncontrollably, my tongue went numb, and...

"Fuck..."

Getting shocked against my will made my bladder... I'll stop there. Fuck, don't think about it.

The Water King's "training"—or torture, really—continued.

It reminded me of Alensia recommending "resistance training" back then. At least she'd given me a choice. The Water King just forced it on me without any veto power. Way more sadistic.

Weightlifting in a pit of fire... My hair all burned off. If [Regeneration] hadn't regrown it, I'd have gone after him heart and soul, Water King or not.

Squats buried in ice... Ice shards embedded in my muscles melted inside me, and the water was all poison...

Dunking my face in water over and over... That was just waterboarding. I puked up a ton from swallowing too much.

Of course, I endured it all. With [Sensory Block], as long as I willed it, pain was irrelevant. Honestly, I'd done similar stuff myself. It was just a bit...

"Woooh! Nice! You survived that too! Then..."

The more I endured, the more the Water King snorted with excitement and hauled out even riskier torture—er, training—tools. That was the problem.

After finally wrapping up the torture—no, training—I was shocked to see a skill level up.

"........."

[Mental Reinforcement] skill's level...

...The system recognized it as torture too? No change in my resistance skills at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all. Who'd have thought my first level 7 skill would be [Mental Reinforcement]?

Not a bad skill, though.

"Next up, more training."

Released at last from the torture devices, we moved to a spacious training hall. The Water King faced me with a serious expression.

"First, before we start, let me ask: seriously. Want to become my disciple?"

Shedding his earlier barking, playful demeanor, the Water King asked earnestly.

'...Disciple, huh.'

His training had seemed like torture or a joke at first glance, but it was the real deal. With all kinds of resistance skills and [Regeneration], he felt oddly similar to me.

Becoming his disciple might let me learn a ton.

"Sorry."

Still, I refused. My strengths weren't just physical. Becoming his disciple would mean ditching my current training style.

...Plus, in this sausage fest, I couldn't even use [Lust Absorption]. Rumor had it muscle loss made dick use forbidden.

"I see..."

I refused seriously, and he looked a bit downcast.

"Fine. You turned down discipleship, but since I dragged you here anyway, I owe you one lesson."

"You're taking me on?"

After kidnapping me to teach anyway, I'd figured he'd push it. But...

"I won't force lessons on someone who says no."

"...After kidnapping me..."

"Ahem! That was just because it seemed such a waste..."

I glared at him incredulously, but he coughed and averted his eyes.

He shook it off, regained his energy, and struck a serious stance.

"I won't teach you punches or kicks. You're already top-tier with swordsmanship—waste of time."

Well, I wouldn't have minded learning... But yeah, I'd probably just use my sword anyway.

"So what I'll teach you is 'footwork'."

"Footwork?"

"Yeah. Footwork. Steps. Your swordsmanship is solid, but your footwork's crap. Jump high using mana."

"?"

At his words, I did my usual: infused mana into my feet with [Mana Manipulation] and kicked off the ground.

-BOOM!

The training hall floor cratered with sand flying, and I shot up high. I was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pretty satisfied, but he shook his head.

"That's just brute-forcing leg strength with mana. Like this."

-Tap.

Using far less mana than I'd put in my legs, he made a light step and leaped high.

-FWOOOSH!

'Whoa?'

Amazingly, the ground didn't crater at all. He soared into the air maintaining perfect posture.

Landing softly, he kept a tiny amount of mana in his soles and dashed across the sand like it was smooth ice.

'The sand isn't cratering at all!'

Not a single grain stirred. No footprints, minimal mana use, yet speed you couldn't ignore.

After a quick demo, he came back to me.

"Impressed? Wanna learn?"

"...Yes."

Honestly...

'It's fucking cool.'

The goofball Water King looked cool for the first time.

"Alright, then..."

What next? Mana control? Posture correction?

"We'll spar and learn."

".........Pardon?"

-BOOM!

Deep inside the training hall, sand cratered as a massive shockwave erupted.

"I told you! Don't dodge like that! Condense mana in your soles! Thin layer—feel it! Accelerate the flow!"

"Can you put your fist down first?"

"Don't wanna get hit? Learn!"

"Fuck."

Why was the teaching method the same old brutal style even for proper techniques?

To dodge his incoming fist, I focused mana in my feet and leaped, but it just boosted my physicals—no real change.

-THUD!

"Guh!"

I didn't dodge fully and took the punch square. Blood and a pristine white tooth flew from my mouth.

-CRUNCH!

[Regeneration] kicked in with agonizing pain as a new white tooth tore through my gums.

'Losing teeth counts as bodily loss, huh...'

Lucky I didn't have wisdom teeth. Realizing teeth regrew with [Regeneration], I tumbled pathetically across the floor.

"Hahaha! Next one's... Hm?"

Mid-laugh as he pressed me, the bracelet on his wrist jingled faintly. He halted his fist.

"...Hm? Incoming message. Take a break."

He left me in the hall. I spat bloody saliva and chewed the protein bar he'd left, lost in thought.

'It's tough.'

My mana use so far was simple: enhance body, straight-line burst, or amp skills.

This was different. Delicate control, accelerating the flow itself, matched footwork...

"Argh!"

Frustrated at failing, I flopped onto the floor. I knew expecting results in one day was unreasonable, but the stagnation was suffocating. My [Mana Manipulation] was level 6—high enough that it felt just out of reach, making it worse.

'If I just had a trigger...'

"Tsk tsk... And you're supposed to be my rival?!"

"...What?"

Lying there, a creepy chuunibyou voice echoed from the entrance.

"Master said he'd found my rival, so I came... and it's this pathetic?"

Looking up, the tiger beastkin from the tournament glared at me, burning with rivalry.

"Whatever! Demon! No, I heard your name from Master. Ian! Let's fight again!"

'......'

Makes sense—he was in the Martial Guild. Fight again?

"Sure."

"...! Right, you were waiting for a rematch too..."

Perfect timing—I was stressed.

"Drop that cringy talk in front of me, Mira."

"Y-Yes... Bro."

Leo knelt before me, face swollen like a steamed bun.

Back then, I hadn't known his trait of growing stronger with blood loss, so I'd panicked. Now? Easy to beat him without drawing blood. Easier without a sword, too—just fists...

"...H-How in such a short time...?"

Above all, my growth had been insane. I'd [Lust Absorbed] standouts like Vivian, Gloria, and Alensia in that span.

Leo had trained too—sharper than in the tournament—but I'd won then, and with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my explosive growth, no contest. I went easy, then drilled manners into him.

"Anyway. Question."

"...What?"

"That footwork. From the Water King?"

"Yes!"

"Casual speech?"

"Yes, sir..."

Surprisingly, Leo used the exact footwork. Inferior to the Water King's—slower, clumsier mana—but same principle.

'I handle mana better than this guy...'

My [Mana Manipulation] was 6. From sparring, his was lower. So I should pull it off...

'Hm? Wait.'

A thought flashed. I stood Leo up.

"Hey, show me that footwork again."

"Pardon? 'Hunter's Stride'?"

"...What name? Never mind. Yeah, that."

He tilted his head but stood, focused mana at his feet, and dashed around the hall.

'Will it work?'

If my idea panned out, jackpot... No one else around. Let's try.

Skill activated. Target: Leo.

Senses blocked: feet—no, lower body and mana sense. Just hold it briefly. My [Stealth] is level 6 now—grown a lot. [Stealth Block] matches it, even if I don't think about it usually.

"Hm? Something feels off..."

He doesn't notice right away. Good. Just a split second. Before he stops.

Transfer the blocked senses. To whom? Me.

-KIIIIN...!

'Ugh!'

Unlike with familiars, alien sensations flooded my brain. Someone else's senses forcibly jammed into my body—worse than imagined.

Taking five people's pain as sensation like this... No wonder that ogre died...

Simultaneously, level 5 [High-Speed Thinking] activates. Thoughts accelerate, struggling to control the alien sensations inside me.

'Mana like this.'

Not mine—Leo's sensations. The exact mana feel for 'Hunter's Stride'.

'Just like this.'

Merge it into my senses, move mana. It spreads underfoot, thinly coating my soles like a layer.

'Legs like this.'

Memorize muscles, bones, nerves moving. Not perfect—just once is enough.

Step forward. Plant foot. Kicked off shoes to avoid interference.

Big toe touches ground—mana flow at contact accelerates. Match stride to the flow, yielding.

-SHHHH!

"...Huh? Bro... Just now... What?"

Release [Sensory Block] and [Sensory Transfer]. Leo's confused voice as he stares. His sensations vanish, but...

-SWISH! WHOOSH!

I dash freely through the hall. Way faster than before. Smoothly.

"Nice."