Helix Flow
In this world, the quality of an army's training had always depended on the temperament and values of its commanders or the nobles who led it. Standards varied wildly from place to place.
At best, most drills amounted to little more than swinging weapons and sparring.
Once the nobles learned systematic training methods from the Earthlings, however, they adapted those methods to suit themselves—even if they still found the Earthlings distasteful. The techniques for hardening an army, at least, proved useful.
They never adopted the methods one hundred percent. In this world, military discipline grew lax the moment war ended. Trying to manage and control soldiers the way a twenty-first-century Earth army would only made the men complain bitterly or desert entirely.
It was an irony that commoners from a world with far lower human rights than Earth would recoil and flee from Earth-style military life.
Anyway, after a light morning run to wake their bodies, the mercenaries split into two groups.
Those who had already awakened mana trained with magic rifles or practiced martial techniques for close combat. Those who had never touched mana were given the recruit-grade Prana crystals stored in the Akina County armory and set to training their mana.
Lillian and Priscilla, both already at the Master realm, watched for any irregularities while learning how the soldiers were being drilled and tempered.
Arty was ignored—anyone could see she wasn't human.
Lilith casually pierced dozens of targets in under three seconds and then leisurely dominated the knights in close-quarters combat, so no one dared force training on her.
While the work of turning mercenaries into soldiers continued, Kaisent moved somewhere with Akina.
"Did you sleep well? Did you eat a solid breakfast?"
"Yes."
The knights escorting Akina could scarcely believe their eyes.
Their lord, who was always cold and spoke only in curt replies except when official business demanded it, was now wearing such a warm expression and asking after Kaisent's well-being in that soft voice. It was simply unacceptable.
"But where are we going?"
"A good question. The moment I saw your talent, I understood the first direction in which you needed to be tempered."
"The direction I need to be tempered?"
"The body. Genius or ordinary talent, it's the one place that can only be forged through equal effort."
That's correct. Inner energy alone can generate great force, but when outer body training supports it, the power becomes even more formidable.
Artemis agreed with Akina's assessment.
"Our family accepted the knowledge of the Earthlings and built various exercise machines. I believe the Earthlings call it a gym?"
She opened the door of a building, and a wave of heat rolled out along with the sight of knights tempering their bodies.
The problem was that every machine they used far exceeded ordinary standards.
On Earth, a five-hundred-kilogram deadlift was world-record territory.
Here, the knights routinely used seven to eight hundred kilograms, and those of higher realms lifted by the ton.
Mana could only be strengthened through Prana, but the body could be trained separately, so Akina encouraged physical conditioning among her knights.
Simply packing on muscle would only hinder movement, so the training balanced various muscle groups and flexibility.
"I know that excessive muscle at a young age can interfere with growth. So we'll temper the whole body moderately."
Pfft.
Artemis?
My apologies. That woman Akina knows so little about Master that I couldn't help laughing.
Artemis, who rarely laughed, had burst out at Akina's words.
That woman has no idea how monstrous Master's bloodline truly is.
Kaisent was no mere genius.
He was a monster whose talent was enough to make even his parents—beings who picked fights with other divine entities—feel fear.
If Master wished, far superior facilities could be installed from the dimensional warehouse. The reason it was never done is that Master's talent made such equipment meaningless.
Akina would soon understand why Artemis had never bothered equipping exercise facilities.
"First, warm-up exercises."
"Yes."
Akina removed the armor she wore like everyday clothing, hung it on a rack, and demonstrated a moderate warm-up that loaded the body just enough, as if teaching Kaisent.
Is that the half-breed the Countess is so concerned about?
That scrawny kid?
I heard he was young, but that's too young, isn't it?
Naturally the knights' attention snapped to Akina's arrival. Then they found themselves staring at Kaisent—pretty enough that a little dressing-up would make it hard to tell boy from girl, with limbs so thin they looked ready to snap at a touch—and wondering.
"I'll push mana into you to check your physical condition and muscle density. It will feel a little strange."
"It's fine. I've experienced it before."
Especially his older sisters, who had once checked him with mana at least once a day to make sure nothing was wrong.
When Akina placed her hand on Kaisent's chest and poured mana in, she was stunned.
What? His mana pathways are this wide?!
The channels through which mana traveled were astonishingly broad and clean. Then she checked his physical state and was even more shocked.
His muscles… this… is impossible…….
As one's Prana realm rose, muscle density increased and natural strength followed.
Yet Kaisent's muscle density already rivaled her own Origin realm, and on closer inspection the myofibrils were twisted together, creating an environment capable of both elasticity and tremendous power.
Inside that delicate frame that showed nothing but faint residual muscle, a monstrous strength capable of casually overpowering a trained adult was hidden.
His muscles are already developed to the absolute peak. Yet looking from the outside, aside from residual muscle you can't see any muscle at all. Does this make any sense?
She had assumed the nearly muscle-less limbs meant an undeveloped state. Now her common sense was crumbling.
"Countess Akina?"
"Hm? Ah, s-sorry."
When Kaisent spoke, puzzled by her dazed expression, she startled and answered.
Heh heh heh. Just as expected—she's shocked.
Do you know why Countess Akina is so surprised?
Yes. Master Kaisent's body has undergone bone-marrow cleansing and body transformation. On top of that, you have steadily practiced a mind method that maintains and grows the body in peak condition. It seems she doesn't know that even if Master stops exercising for a long time, the muscles always remain at their best.
If gym rats heard that—no muscle loss even without training—they would charge over with bloodshot eyes at the magical tale.
That was the martial arts of the Jin family.
But Akina had only glimpsed a fragment of how outstanding the martial arts of a family that ruled a galaxy truly were.
To temper Master's muscles, you need martial arts that use inner energy. Ordinary muscle training like this has little effect on Master.
Why are you only telling me this now?
I was curious. I also wanted to see just how outstanding a training method she had that she was acting so superior.
I've thought this before, but you have a surprisingly nasty personality.
Thank you for the compliment.
The very fact that someone Kaisent's age could already produce power comparable to experts who had reached the Expert realm was absurd.
And if that child continued to grow with age?
With every year that passed, Kaisent's physical specs would grow beyond ordinary common sense.
"Kaisent. Do you happen to know some technique or magic that maintains the condition of your muscles?"
"There's a technique our family uses."
"…It seems I underestimated your talent far too much."
She had thought Kaisent was a genius with superhuman talent, but what she had confirmed was apparently only a fragment.
"For you, physical training is a waste of time—nothing more, nothing less. Let's get straight to the main point."
Akina put her armor back on and left the gym with Kaisent.
She headed for the training grounds where knights were sparring fiercely.
The knights polishing their techniques all focused their gazes the instant Countess Akina appeared.
"No need for greetings. Continue."
"Yes!"
The knights answered vigorously and resumed tempering their techniques with their sparring partners.
Yet their concentration inevitably dropped because of Kaisent.
"I know you can draw sword and shield from those gloves, but that would be hard to use for sparring, wouldn't it?"
"Yes. No matter how weakly I set it, the sharp form can't be helped."
"Bring a training weapon you like."
"I… I've never learned spear techniques……."
"I may have talent with the spear, but that doesn't mean I don't know other martial techniques."
"Then I'll take this……."
Kaisent picked up a wooden training sword that looked reasonably solid.
It wasn't ordinary wood, however—it was black wood, hard as iron.
Ordinary wooden swords simply couldn't withstand a knight's strength.
"It's rather long for your build, but with your muscles it should be fine."
Akina herself took an appropriate wooden sword, then explained Kaisent's problem.
"Kaisent. Your problem is that you have no powerful techniques outside of magic. So from now on I'll focus on teaching you techniques with special power."
"Yes!"
Kaisent shared the same thought, so he focused every nerve on Akina.
"First I'll teach you a technique that forms the foundation of offense and defense, and that can be used in various situations and with various weapons."
With those words finished, Akina instantly released mana and wrapped her entire body in it.
"This is Helix Flow—wrapping mana around yourself so you can block enemy attacks or deliver powerful strikes of your own. The important part is not discarding the mana once released, but continuously maintaining it. Attack me."
"Yes. Hiyah!"
Kaisent let out a battle cry that, no matter how many times you heard it, could only be called cute, and thrust his sword toward Akina's body.
But the mana storm swirling around her body made the blade shake this way and that despite the strong grip he held, unable to focus on a single point.
"As you can see, to pierce this current and attack, you either need an attack wrapped in mana, or you have to strike with something so massive and heavy that the current can't stop it."
"Then I'll try it too."
"Good. Show me all of your talent."
"Yes. I will, Countess. Thank you."
"Ngh……."
"What's wrong?"
"Ah, no… it's nothing. Anyway, the other knights are watching, so show them a few failures."
I thought that upon reaching the Origin realm I could control my own heart……! The moment I let my guard down even a little, I want to hug him tight!
He was a young boy, and he used no cosmetics, yet he had skin like white jade and a pleasant scent that drifted gently from him.
On top of that, every time those pink-tinged lips—made even more vivid by the pure white hair and skin—chattered, the desire to hug him rose because he was simply too cute.
After settling his stance, regulating his breathing, and activating his concentration—
"Haaat!"
Whoooooosh——
With another battle cry that remained cute no matter how many times one heard it, he completed Helix Flow, and the eyes of the knights who had been casually watching from the surroundings went round.
"He succeeds at Helix Flow on the first try?"
"It's not something you can succeed at just because your mana is strong!"
Because you had to keep the once-released mana continuously swirling around the body, the technique required outstanding control regardless of whether one's mana was weak or strong.
Those lacking mana control ability gave up entirely, and even talented knights needed several weeks.
Moreover, you had to maintain concentration so the mana kept flowing even while fighting. Once properly learned it was clearly a great help in any situation, but the difficulty of maintaining focus even in life-or-death chaotic combat meant it wasn't a particularly preferred technique.
"So Countess Akina has reason to covet that ability herself."
"At that age, and to that degree……."
The knights who had been pretending to spar while watching Kaisent found their gazes gradually changing as he displayed exactly the talent Akina had spoken of.
"Helix Flow only has meaning when maintained together with combat. Among the knights who have learned Helix Flow, those who want to spar—raise your hands!"
"I'll do it!"
"No, me!"
Knights who met the conditions Akina stated raised their hands and answered vigorously. She pointed at the knight who had raised his hand first by a difference of 0.01 seconds.
"Prepare yourself."
"Yes!"
"Kaisent."
"I'm ready too."
Kaisent and the knight entered the lined training ground and leveled their weapons at each other from a suitable distance.
"I am Zain Neckverum."
"I am Jin Resili Caisent."
Following the knight's self-introduction, Kaisent introduced himself and looked forward to how much stronger this technique would make him.
If it had been the him who first arrived in this world, he would have trembled in fear—but the present Kaisent, who had overcome all manner of hardships and gained the confidence that he could become anything, suppressed his fear and raised his fighting spirit.
"Ready— begin!"
When Akina herself gave the signal, the two charged toward each other while using Helix Flow.
"Haaat!"
Naturally, as an adult with relatively longer reach, Zain thrust his wooden sword wrapped in swirling mana currents.
The moment their Helix Flows collided, Kaisent could feel his own current clashing with the opponent's.
I have to stabilize the current colliding because of the opponent while counterattacking. Or else!
KRAAAAAASH!
"Ugh! Uwaaaah!?"
Kaisent released his inner energy and strengthened the power of Helix Flow.
He created a storm strong enough to devour the opponent's current.
The knight whose own current had vanished was at the limit just trying to keep his balance against Kaisent's current—
Thwack!
"Guh!"
Seizing that opening, Kaisent lightly struck the knight's waist.
The problem was that the knight struck by a sword wrapped in the current tumbled roughly as if he had been knocked over by a storm.
Amazing! Just learning one technique and my combat power is completely different!
For Kaisent, the fact that offense and defense had grown several times stronger after learning Helix Flow was far more satisfying than the pleasure of victory.
"Zain went flying?"
"Against a kid who just learned the technique!?"
The knights wore expressions of disbelief that Zain, who could use Helix Flow at a considerable level, had exchanged one attack and lost.
Akina looked at that Zain as if it were only natural and pointed to nearby knights, ordering them to check his condition.
With talent like that, he's immediate combat power right now.
So there was a reason Countess Akina took notice of him.
It had been only a single spar, but it was more than enough for the perception to shift from "some half-breed of unknown origin" to "a talent worthy of Akina's recognition."