Chapter 24 – Training (2)
One of the biggest crossroads in Soul World and an episode that determines the overall difficulty is the destruction of the Academy.
The demons have been planning to overthrow the Academy for quite some time and one of their methods is the colorless magic circle.
The colorless magic circle appears to be just a fancy pattern on the surface. It’s easy to overlook even if discovered by chance.
Only one person the protagonist Luna can identify the colorless magic circle instantly.
‘It was a setup that she received special eyes from the gods.’
Through this she can foresee the grade and effect of an item.
But it doesn’t always reveal everything a certain amount of information must be known to understand it accurately.
By now even if Luna discovers the colorless magic circle she only knows that it’s the demon’s deed it would be hard to figure out its purpose.
‘The primary purposes are communication disruption and magic manifestation.’
Normally the monument blocks all such magic. The main reason for erecting the monument is this.
Therefore the demons first neutralize the monument. Then a wild party ensues.
To prevent it as much as possible Luna must destroy the magical circles installed throughout the Academy.
‘I wonder if she noticed?’
Looking at her stiff face when she looked at the clock it was half certain.
From now on Luna will also hustle around to find the colorless magic circles. However it will be hard for her to find them.
Especially one of the magic circles is installed in an unimagined location. This had caused quite a bit of noise.
“Fighting techniques including boxing and wrestling are not only about skills but also about optimizing ‘movement.’ Even in a street fight having these two skills is a great advantage.”
Anyway moving on from the topic of magic circles.
Kara decided to teach me the basics of fighting and wrestling starting with the theory.
Meanwhile Luna is completely immersed in sword fighting next to us. As mentioned before she refused my instruction.
However she occasionally glanced at us as if she couldn’t help being curious.
“It may be difficult to understand even after explaining. I will give you an example. Suppose someone punches at you like this.”
Kara slowly swung her fist towards me. Without thinking I backed away.
Even when hunting in the wild I dodged attacks by creating a distance. This is the safest.
Eventually Kara’s fist stopped right in front of my nose.
Having hunted various beasts and monsters I’ve mastered the calculation of distance.
Kara satisfied with my response nodded with a grin.
“You can avoid like you did by keeping the distance. That’s one of the ways. But you can’t just keep avoiding right? Now throw a punch at me. Oh do it slowly like me?”
It seemed she was deeply impressed with my sword-throwing skills. It’s certain from her cautious wording.
I went along with her request and slowly threw a punch.
Instead of backing away like me Kara dodged it by only slightly moving her head.
“And then immediately bam!”
She then placed her fist slowly next to my ribs and yelled.
A counterattack in conjunction with evasion also known as a counter.
“How’s that? Do you get it?”
“Shibal.”
“You just need to nod for this. Shake your head if you don’t understand.”
I nodded signifying that I understood. I did understand completely.
Kara satisfied with my response continued her explanation with an excited voice.
“Combine this with the movement of your feet that is footwork or the walking method. As simple as it looks it’ll be challenging to master.”
As she said those things are not even classified as ‘techniques’ in Soul World.
It’s the most basic of basics and depending on a player’s skills the measures could vary.
Fighting is something that supports those basics extensively but the basics themselves can vary from person to person.
“You need consistent practice to do this instinctively. You might be able to pick it up quickly. You were good during the duel.”
“Shibal.”
“You’re grateful right? Now that we roughly know the principle let’s delve deeper.”
Kara earnestly taught me to fight even though I was her dueling partner.
However the focus was on defense and evasion not attack techniques like punches kicks or grappling.
Since she was only going to teach me the basics she emphasized that defense was more important than offense.
Moreover my physical ability is already perfected so it’s possible to teach techniques without the need for separate training.
“You should use weapons whenever possible. Don’t insist on using your bare hands like a pervert. Why would humans use weapons for no reason?”
She didn’t forget to worry in case I was entrenched with weird common sense.
According to her unless I aim to become a fighter it’s better to use weapons.
‘After all fighting is nothing more than a tool when a fight breaks out.’
In Soul World the player’s abilities are the most important due to the uncomfortable control.
Even if you acquire various skills it is most efficient to know when and where to use them properly.
The reason why I’m trying to acquire skills is to broaden my choices. That would make things more comfortable.
This place is a reality so not only the abilities but also individual skills are more important.
“Use your waist… That’s right. You’re doing well. I emphasize repeatedly that the waist and legs are the most important. Shall we move on to more advanced stages?”
As I seemed to understand to some extent Kara brought a training sword.
Whoosh!
She thrust at my face swiftly.
It was an attack without any precursor but my quick reflexes easily avoided it.
If it were before I would have moved back to avoid it. Now I just moved my face.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Boom!
Whenever Kara swung the sword wildly or stabbed I smoothly dodged her attacks.
As I learned I used my waist as much as possible and moved my feet lightly.
With the addition of my wilderness instinct I could avoid everything without redundancy.
“Wow! You’re good at this. Is it because you lived in the wild?”
Kara sincerely admired it after swinging the sword for ten minutes. Her deep green eyes shone brightly.
As I applied what she taught me outright she had no choice but to admire her teaching perspective.
Honestly it wasn’t that difficult. Living in the wild I was already used to evasion.
What Kara taught me was a kind of ‘efficiency.’ Not just for evasion it also made immediate retaliation possible.
This alone is a great advantage for me. I should repay in the future.
“There are still gaps but this is the advanced stage so let’s move on. Now the remaining thing is attack techniques…”
Kara interrupting her words for a moment looked at Luna.
Luna as if she didn’t care about us was completely absorbed in her private training.
Repeatedly striking with the training sword in her hand. Judging from the beads of sweat rolling down she’s been at it for quite a while.
“It’s a bit awkward to ask her for help. Hmm…”
Kara seemed unwilling to break her focus wandering elsewhere.
Then as if she had discovered an admirable target she hailed out.
“Hey there blonde!”
Her shout resounded like an echo.
Because of the gym-like structure of the training facility her cry sounded exceptionally loud.
“Blonde? That’s not you is it?”
“Who knows?”
“Why would she be calling me? I’ve got no reason to be summoned.”
Kara’s yell drew the attention of the blondes in the vicinity including Luna. There should only be one or two of them in the area.
Kara realized her mistake a bit late a look of surprise crossing her face.
She had a somewhat naive side. Yet it could also be seen as a kind of charm.
Kara feeling a tinge of embarrassment corrected her shout.
“The Protector of Sivar!”
“··· ···”
At her words the expression of the blonde she had singled out stiffened slightly.
It was Elvin who had entered the training hall at the perfect moment. He seemed to have caught Kara’s eye as he passed by.
Elvin feeling the weight of everyone’s stare reluctantly walked towards us.
His expression screamed dissatisfaction but he chose not to ignore the call.
“So what do you need?”
Approaching us Elvin gave me a once-over before asking about the task.
I had no idea why Kara had called him over. She said she was teaching me martial arts but why was Elvin needed?
“Well I was hoping you could lend us a hand. I was helping him learn how to fight.”
“Martial arts?”
The revelation that she was teaching martial arts seemed to leave Elvin disconcerted.
The look he gave me seemed to convey feelings he couldn’t express in words.
“Normally you need two veterans for such things right? You’re a noble so you’d know basic martial arts?”
“Well I do but can’t we ask Luna?”
“I don’t know. She hasn’t even learned basic grappling.”
At that Elvin’s eyes widened as he glanced at Luna who was busy pretending as if she didn’t hear the conversation.
Looking surprised Elvin muttered to himself.
“That’s unexpected. A top-ranked entrant who doesn’t know basic martial arts…”
“She must have other skills to compensate. So will you help us?”
“Well as a Protector I suppose I should help.”
Reluctantly Elvin agreed. It would surely be hard to skip out on this than a quiet lunch.
Regardless Kara had roped in an excellent assistant and handed Elvin some meat she had procured from somewhere.
Looming at the absurdity of the current situation Elvin chuckled to himself while clutching the meat. The proceedings had truly become bizarre.
“Let’s start with the most basic punch. Clench your fist like this.”
Kara demonstrated by tightly clenching her fist.
Despite simply making a fist I could feel the solidity like that of steel.
I began by studying Kara’s trained fist before slowly making one myself.
My hand was quite large and looked huge just by clenching it into a fist.
“Wow. If I got hit by that properly I’d have been knocked out. It definitely looks different from your face.”
“It’s a good thing you didn’t get hit.”
Kara seemed impressed too and Elvin who had sparred with me looked relieved.
‘Come to think of it I’ve hardly ever clenched my fist.’
When I was living in the forest I usually used a stone axe or spear and even when I fought with my bare hands I didn’t clench my fists.
Using magic was more effective than clenching my fists. Maybe I’ll show it to Kara the next time we spar.
“Watch carefully. When you throw a punch the rotation of your waist and shoulders is crucial like this.”
Thunk!
Kara launched a powerful punch smoothly rotating her waist and shoulders.
Simultaneously Elvin’s arm which had been holding the meat near his face was swept backward.
He seemed to have tried to absorb the shock but judging by his grimace it wasn’t entirely successful.
“You can deliver a powerful punch like that or you can give a light tap. Watch carefully.”
“Could you be a little gentler?”
“Alright.”
Kara complied with Elvin’s request and gently hit the meat at a slower pace than before.
Although she seemed to lightly tap it she twisted her waist and delivered a powerful punch.
As a professional in this field it looked incredibly easy.
“Fist attacks are roughly like this. Though the fighting methods differ according to the style the usage of the waist and shoulders remains the same.”
“What style of martial arts do the Tatars teach?”
“It’s not much different from your empire right? It’s more focused on practical combat.”
The words weren’t untrue just a slight diversion.
Tatars is a fairly rugged country so martial arts are more focused on actual combat.
Every warrior is a combat specialist and knows how to use his techniques properly.
‘It’s no wonder it’s classified as a high-level area.’
In addition to the level the patterns are chaotic making it extremely challenging to fight against monsters let alone people.
Especially Kara’s father the king of the Tatars… let’s just not go there. It’s better to run away.
“Now try hitting it like I did earlier.”
“Do I have to hold the meat?”
“Don’t bother removing it and putting it back on. Just do it. You’re a protector too.”
“Um…”
Elvin reluctantly complied with her request though he looked dissatisfied.
Judging by his face he was still somewhat incredulous.
After all multiple events had to transpire to reincarnate in the game so perhaps it was right to struggle now.
‘Twisting one’s waist and shoulders…’
I imitated the movements Kara had shown me before hitting the meat.
It felt awkward to move with conscious thought after fighting instinctively for so long.
It seemed easy enough when Kara did it but it was tough when I tried to emulate it.
‘I swing my fist forward.’
After all I was an unpolished novice. It would be okay to make a mistake.
I looked at the meat slanted near Elvin’s head and pulled my arm back.
Next gently rotating my waist and shoulders I struck the meat with my fist as if I were smacking it with force.
“Ah. Wait a minute. I told you to be gentle·····”
Kara belatedly cautioned from behind but it was already too late.
But since I had attempted to temper my strength there shouldn’t be any problem.
Bang!
From the meat hit by my swung fist an explosion-like sound was heard.
Thud!
It was just before Elvin’s arm was jerked away making an ominous sound.
Since it happened so instantly even Elvin hadn’t realized what had transpired.
Thud- thud-
“·····Huh?”
Elvin blinked looking at his right arm.
His arm was swinging like a pendulum demonstrating the simple harmonic motion.
Just one attack had dislocated Elvin’s arm. Even though I controlled my strength.
“··· ···”
Was it because it happened so suddenly that he didn’t feel the pain? Or was it because it was dislocated too cleanly that he couldn’t feel the pain?
Elvin made a stupid face with his handsome looks and blinked.
One of his weaknesses situation awareness was fully exposed.
“·····Elvin?”
“·····Yeah?”
“Well····· your arm is dislocated·····.”
Luna who had momentarily stopped training after hearing the loud sound quietly pointed it out.
Elvin looked blankly at his swinging arm in response to her remark.
“·····Is that so?”
“··· ···”
“Why is it dislocated?”
He still didn’t seem to understand the situation.
*****
Elvin whose shoulder was dislocated by Sivar’s punch was immediately transferred to the hospital.
He looked so absurd that throughout the transfer he maintained a stunned expression.
But thanks to the arm being dislocated so cleanly (?) it seemed like it wouldn’t be too difficult to fix.
However depending on his condition it’s possible he might not be able to attend the upcoming tournament. This could be a bit of a critical issue.
“Sigh.”
Luna let out a deep sigh. Sivar had caused two accidents in just one day.
The first and second incidents occurred because there was no prior warning.
It was a moment when she realized that having some degree of communication was different from understanding one another.
‘But he seems to be aware of his wrongdoing.’
She looked at Sivar who was standing upright.
Although he maintained an expressionless face his bright red eyes were roving around. He was observing the situation.
It seemed like he understood what he had done wrong. This alone was a great improvement.
“Don’t be too sensitive. Things like these are usually considered accidents. You understand right?”
At that time Kara patted Sivar’s shoulder who was being overly considerate and reassured him.
Luna narrowed her beautiful eyebrows at the sight. What would happen if he accepted this misunderstanding?
Measures should be taken to prevent Sivar from using his power recklessly.
If not handled properly he might swing it under the pretext of ‘an accident’.
“Kara. Before anything else you should apologize. You caused someone to get hurt even before it became an accident.”
“Ah. That’s true. You heard that?”
“··· ···”
Sivar didn’t respond and just stood blankly. He looked as though he didn’t understand.
Looking at his expression Kara made a strange expression and asked in a doubtful tone.
“You don’t happen to not know what an apology is do you?”
Sivar shook his head from side to side. Thankfully it seemed he did.
“Then you can apologize later. You do realize what mistake you’ve made right?”
Sivar nodded. Luna smiled in satisfaction at his response.
It seemed that Ellie had done a good job teaching him. The journey still has a long way to go but this alone was a great achievement.
“That’s good. It seems like you have trouble controlling your strength so I’ll help you from now on.”
“······?”
Something was strange. Luna blinked her eyes and glanced at Kara.
That statement roughly translated to ‘they’ll be together in the future as well’.
“Hey. Admission num…no Luna.”
Just as Luna was getting confused Kara shifted her gaze from Sivar to Luna.
And then revealing her snow-white teeth with a smile she made a request.
“Can I also become his guardian?”
“··· ···”
“It would be a win-win situation don’t you think? We’ll be spending a lot of time together?”
At her words Luna’s mind raced.
A combination of a savage and a wild one. It’s a truly harmonious combination if they get along.
But the problem was with Kara’s behavior. The moment she feels insulted she resorts to violence.
If Sivar mimicked Kara’s behavior…
“That can’t ever happen!”
It would be a disaster. After witnessing Sivar’s strength just now she couldn’t help but think that.
The moment Sivar resorts to violence just because someone insulted him it wouldn’t be violence it would be murder.
As she consistently pointed out they couldn’t accept violence too easily.
After all this place was a ‘civilization’ not a wilderness where the law of the jungle applied.
“You can’t.”
“Ah. Why?”
“Because Kara uses violence too easily. Imagine if Sivar follows that.”
“… …”
At Luna’s reasonable words Kara picked at her cheeks.
However unwilling to admit to being at fault she launched a defensive argument.
“I don’t like using my strength either. They started it by insulting me in the first place.”
“Responding to an insult with a fist is a wrong act.”
“You’re so picky. But come to think of it…”
Kara seemed to accept the criticism and then suddenly giggled. Naturally it made her uneasy.
In the meantime Kara asked a key question that left Luna at a loss.
“Why do I have to get permission from you?”
“Huh?”
“If I get permission from the Principal that’s all that matters.”
“··· ···”
Luna opened her mouth wide. It wasn’t just a penetrating comment it had nailed the crux of the matter.
The person who designated the guardian for Sivar was the Principal Rod. If he gave his permission Kara could also become a guardian.
Moreover if she uses training as an excuse like today there’s a high chance that Rod would willingly give his permission.
“Take me to the Principal over the weekend. Alright? In the meantime I’ll gladly teach him.”
“··· ···”
Kara patted Luna’s frozen shoulder and walked back towards Sivar.
There had been a brief disturbance but the training was not over. Kara began to guide Sivar again.
Luna who was watching this scene in a daze had another concerning matter added to her already complicated mind.
‘…Damn it.’
She was someone who usually stayed far away from cursing.
‘There’s nothing that’s going right.’
This time though she couldn’t help but curse internally.
