Ranking Tournament: Shaa!
A thick, herbal scent that tickled the nose wafted from the wooden box.
Inside lay a marble-sized pill with a faint brownish hue.
Jinurhwan!
I recognized the pill before my eyes and let surprise show on my face.
"You seem to know what this is."
Norton grinned at my reaction.
Of course I did. How could I not?
Jinurhwan was the upgraded version of the red Urhwan pill that Monahan had shown me last time—one of the three pills.
It's not just a bit stronger; it's an entirely different elixir.
While Urhwan temporarily boosted muscle generation speed just a little,
Jinurhwan lasted at least three months and accelerated muscle growth at least twice as fast.
I have to get this, no matter what.
My eyes gleamed like fireflies.
To think he'd put something this precious up as a prize!
"Heh, what do you say? Feeling motivated to aim for first place?"
I nodded without taking my eyes off the Jinurhwan.
Gulp.
A swallowing sound came from beside me. Turning, I saw many trainees who recognized it drooling as they stared at the box, their eyes filled with greed.
Damn.
Lots of competition.
Sorry, little sprouts, but I can't yield that one.
If I took Jinurhwan and trained steadily for three months, I'd reach the end of the Infant Stage in no time.
That was an absurdly fast growth rate. It normally took at least a year, even for the quickest.
Of course, I knew it was possible because I'd walked this path before.
Anyway. That one's mine.
I stared at the Jinurhwan again, mentally slathering it with saliva.
"Those who don't know what it is, look it up after training. Now, prepare for training."
Norton clapped, and Bardwin, waiting in the back, came rushing over sweating buckets with various tools.
"Whoa... what's all that?"
Kind gaped at the setup in the training ground.
"Tightrope training, looks like."
"Tightrope?"
"Yeah."
I quickly figured out the purpose of the massive pillars rising in the center of the training ground.
"N-No way! You expect us to tightrope with these iron weights on?"
Kind screamed, his face draining of color.
No wonder. Without exceptional nerve and balance, even thinking about tightroping with those weights was impossible.
He's dead serious.
I eyed Norton with a strange expression.
I'd thought he was just cozying up to me at first.
But now, I could feel his genuine intent to properly raise these blood clots.
This was a golden opportunity for this warrior class generation.
Just basic training from the clan's top warrior, Norton, would give them a solid foundation far superior to other classes.
Whatever stirred the old man's heart, it doesn't hurt me.
Rolling in the dirt with them through this grueling training would stimulate me too, knowingly or not.
And with my current body, this intensity was perfect.
But that was just me. The blood clots didn't agree.
"If we fall from there, something's gonna break for sure..."
"That's like 10 meters high..."
"And with these weights? Isn't it too dangerous?"
A few already voiced their fears.
Norton silently scanned the terrified trainees.
I thought he'd blow up, but not quite.
He seemed to know the basics of education.
Yelling at them in this state would just backfire.
So he explained personally that the training wasn't that dangerous.
"No need to fear. As you know, even falling from 10 meters won't hurt much if you use proper falling techniques. At worst, a single break."
Huh?
I tilted my head at Norton's words.
That'd just scare them more.
Sure enough, Kind's face stayed ghostly pale, nowhere near recovering.
He might stop breathing at this rate.
But Norton's words weren't over.
"You can do it. Even if you fall off that tightrope, we won't let you suffer major injuries. Trust yourselves—and trust your instructors."
Norton's voice carried a strange resonance, the aura of a powerhouse at the Absolute Realm.
His words instilled confidence in the trainees.
Kind, who had been pale, and the others began to relax a bit.
This was possible because Norton had opened his ki and resonated with the trainees.
He's skilled at handling ki.
Not just anyone who reached Ultimate Body could embrace and soothe others with ki like that.
Norton seemed like a master at wielding ki.
"Now, the sub-instructor will demonstrate first."
At Norton's words, Bardwin appeared with a slumped expression, strapping on weights three or four times thicker than the trainees'.
Thud, thud.
The training ground floor shook with each step.
He climbed the ladder to the tightrope's start.
"Ugh..."
Some trainees winced as if they were up there themselves.
It did look dizzying.
"Sub-instructor, demonstrate when ready!"
At Norton's command, Bardwin spread his arms wide and began wobbling across the tightrope.
The rope swayed wildly with each step.
"Whoa—."
Everyone tensed, but Bardwin kept his balance on the rocking rope and reached the other side.
"Woooah!"
Cheers and applause erupted like thunder.
"See? No need to fear the sway. How did the sub-instructor stay stable?"
"The rotational inertia from the arm weights?"
"Oh! Robed, correct."
Norton let out a low admiration toward Robed.
"Well answered. Excellent."
Uncharacteristically, he praised her at length.
Indeed, Norton treated Robed with a different caution than me.
So he knows Robed's identity.
Makes sense. The higher-ups in Mantis Hall would mostly know.
That's why she got assassinated by the four lords before becoming lord.
Anyway, Norton was the mantis clan's top warrior. He'd know Robed's secret.
Having Norton around will make protecting Robed easier later.
Drawing his attention turned into an unexpected gain.
"As Robed said, the weights give rotational inertia, making balance easier than bare-handed."
I nodded inwardly at Norton's explanation.
On Earth, tightrope walkers held long poles or fans for the same reason—inertia.
"Repeat this, and you'll gain balance far superior to before. That'll widen your attack and defense range in any situation."
Spot on.
Balance was crucial in combat.
Mantis clans naturally had superior balance, making them top predators skilled in assassination and direct fights.
"Now, begin the training proper!"
With Norton's shout, training started.
"Ughhh."
Some groaned but made it across.
"Aaaah!"
Others fell midway.
Of course, no major injuries. Unlike Norton's scare tactic, safety nets were up until falling techniques were taught.
Fallers bounced safely to the ground.
"Ruslan, success!"
"Ooooh!"
"Kind, fail."
"So close!"
"Robed, success!"
"Woooah!"
Successes and failures alternated, cheers following winners.
Robed was already the trainees' favorite, drawing bigger cheers than even Ruslan.
Lookism everywhere, hilarious.
Deep-rooted on Earth too.
Even in strength-focused Abian Continent, looks mattered.
Beauty was a universal truth.
Soon, it was my turn.
"Aleck, ready!"
I climbed per Bardwin's order, stood on the platform, and looked down.
Trainees below looked thumb-sized.
Stepping to the rope's edge, a sudden gust blew.
Whoooosh.
The rope swayed slightly.
Hm.
Sudden wind. Worried murmurs rose below.
But no issue for me.
I stepped onto the rope.
Sway.
It rocked immediately. I focused on the vibrations through my feet,
syncing my breath to the waves.
Matching breath to waves is the first step to perfect balance.
Norton hadn't taught it because no one could yet.
Hoo.
As the wave swept through me and back, I exhaled lightly.
Breath and rope synced perfectly.
"...!"
Only Norton noticed, eyes bulging in disbelief, mouth agape.
Then—
Vroooom—.
"Wha—?"
"What?!"
A fierce gust hit. Trainees screamed, eyes shut.
When it passed, they looked up fast.
Such wind must've shaken the rope hard. Was Aleck off?
"Wooah—!"
But they gasped at me standing casually on the wildly swaying rope, feet glued.
How? No magnets. Amazement all around.
But I wasn't pleased.
Tch. Best I could do was stick through that sway.
This should've been nothing.
I should've walked casually despite it.
But this wretched body lagged, senses failing.
Muscles too weak to advance, just cling.
Thought about ether, but... can't rely on it before basics.
Ether would've let me advance through the gust.
But no bonus for speed. Backlash would've hurt later training.
So, no ether.
Bridging body-mind gap is priority.
Anyway, I walked to the end.
"Aleck, pass!"
Bardwin's call brought thunderous cheers again.
Insane.
Norton's gaze stuck to Aleck.
A mere Infant Stage newbie perfectly melding breath with waves?
Chills like lightning struck his body.
Not clumsy syncing. Perfect, beyond critique—even for him.
Hah.
Aleck had heaven-sent talent, confirmed by sticking unshaken in the sudden gust.
He grasped the essence of Breath Absorption Technique.
A subtlety usually realized in Maturity Stage.
Aleck had it now.
Is Heinz's art that great, or is Aleck a once-in-millennia genius beyond it... Hah.
Undeniable: not for any Infant Stage, even him back then.
My eyes didn't lie.
Norton grinned, baring white teeth.
Aleck was the priceless treasure he'd sought.
Tightrope done, next was agility training.
"Know what this is?"
"Corn?"
"Right. Corn."
Norton bit into the corn in his hand.
"Mmm, delicious. Perfectly ripe."
"..."
"Ah, eating corn isn't the training—don't misunderstand."
"...Yes."
"Hmm? Voices too quiet? Corn issues?"
"No sir—!"
"Good, corn's innocent. Kahaha."
Norton laughed at his own joke, then awkwardly shifted.
"Next, Bardwin demonstrates."
Norton flicked a corn kernel at Bardwin, 3 meters away.
Ping, ziiiing—.
It rocketed toward his forehead. Bardwin dodged nimbly.
Splat.
It embedded in a wood pillar behind.
"Whoa."
Trainees gulped at the horror.
But not over. First was warm-up; Norton flicked more rapidly.
Bardwin danced insanely, dodging all.
Splat-splat-splat-splat!
The poor pillar pocked with kernels.
"Saw that? Dodge the kernels. Improves dynamic vision, flexibility, agility."
Norton explained, training began.
10 kernels per trainee.
Luckily, Norton went slower and weaker for rookies.
Still, most got hit.
Splat-splat-splat!
"Gaaah!"
"Guh—."
"Urk."
Screams nonstop. Bruises swelled everywhere.
Even Ruslan took one to the shoulder.
Ruslan's strength and stamina type.
Broad build, lower agility—makes sense.
Robed aced it effortlessly, top flexibility and agility here.
Kind dodged more than expected: 7 out of 10, not the 5 I'd guessed.
Kind's got hidden talent, good balance.
My turn.
Shoooosh—!
I dodged all with minimal moves.
Looked close to others, but Norton and Bardwin saw through, murmuring awe.
"Ooooh!"
Trainees cheered my full dodge.
To them, Robed and I seemed freakishly flexible.
For me, it's Intuition Rune.
Robed used pure vision and agility.
I predicted trajectories via intuition, minimal effort.
Anyway, second training cleared.
Short break, then final third training.
"Third: 1,000 push-ups, like yesterday."
Seemed easy, but
Problem hit soon.
Kind's ragged breaths reached my ears early on.
"Huff, huff."