Chapter 57: The Secret Training Place

[You have discovered a Player's legacy.]

[Your achievement increases.]

"…!"

Eurius was speechless with astonishment.

'It must be the White Tiger Protection Technique?'

[Help – Four Gods Martial Arts]

[Four Gods Martial Arts: Azure Dragon's Breath (not acquired), ???, White Tiger Protection Technique (not acquired), ???]

He was happy to find a legacy, but he was also confused.

'Why is a legacy that should be in the faraway Eastern Continent buried in this northern mountain?'

[White Tiger Protection Technique – A secret technique of Yi Qingwen that enhances defense and perception with force.]

Eurius checked the information and looked at Nuada, who was standing blankly.

"Did someone teach you the martial arts in this booklet?"

"You can read those strange characters? Even the people in the nearby tribes who know foreign languages can't read that book…"

Nuada asked with a curious expression.

Of course, Eurius didn't know the Eastern language very well. He could only read the contents by using the Help function.

Nuada started to explain.

"This place was actually a secret training place that I found when I was young."

When he was a child, Nuada was a troublemaker who ran around everywhere without fear.

He wanted to see the ruler of Needle Mountain, whom the elders and senior warriors of his tribe warned him to stay away from.

'He sleeps most of the time in winter, so it won't matter if I just watch him from afar?'

He went out with a childish whim, but even then, Nuada was a smart kid.

He searched around the mountain to find a place where he could observe the snake from a safe distance, and finally found a small hole that led to a cave.

"Huh?"

But when he crawled into the cave, a question arose on his young face.

'Why is there a skeleton here?'

He wasn't scared by the human bones. The northern mountains were so barren that even children were familiar with death.

But it was strange that there was a skeleton wearing weird clothes in a place that his tribe, who had lived on this land for hundreds of years, had almost forbidden.

But judging by the clothes that were well preserved, it didn't seem like a very old corpse.

'Was he killed by that snake? He was unlucky to die in such a place.'

Nuada tried to take care of the corpse, but then he became curious about the inside of the cave.

'But I came here to see the ruler, so I should at least observe him once?'

As he expected, there was a hole on the other side of the cave that allowed him to watch the snake from a safe distance.

'He's really big. Will I be able to catch him someday?'

He observed the sleeping snake for a while, then decided to take care of the skeleton again.

Crack!

Suddenly, something fell from the skeleton's arms. It was a booklet with White Tiger Protection Technique written on it.

"I couldn't read the book, but there were some parts that were explained with pictures, so I managed to follow them somehow."

Back to reality, Eurius nodded as he listened to Nuada's story while flipping through the booklet.

'Indeed, this is how they explain how to move force systematically with pictures.'

But Eurius couldn't help but admire Nuada.

'Even so, I wouldn't be able to learn it from these pictures alone. He's truly a verified genius.'

The immigrants didn't have a systematic knight training system, but they had some knowledge about how to train force through oral tradition.

At that time, Nuada had already been recognized for his talent and received intensive training from the warriors. That's why he could understand the contents of the booklet roughly.

'And now I understand why his trait wasn't shown.'

No matter how genius he was, it was impossible for him to master the White Tiger Protection Technique perfectly from these pictures alone.

It wasn't called a secret technique of martial arts for nothing. If it were Eurius himself, he would need a lot of time to interpret and learn the basics without the player's system.

"Nuada, I have a proposal for you."

"…?"

He could just learn it by acquiring it as a player's legacy, but it wasn't a bad choice to strengthen Nuada's faction, who would become his ally in the future.

"This language is used by people who live very far away."

He briefly explained about the Eastern Continent to Nuada.

"I see. If they are foreigners from such a distant place, it makes sense that no one knows their language."

"I'm lucky enough to be able to read this language. If I translate it for you, all the warriors of your tribe can learn this."

"…!"

Eurius earnestly asked.

"In return, can I learn this secret technique? I'll do anything else you want."

But Nuada's reaction was unexpected.

"Why do you talk like it's a very difficult favor? I don't mind."

"…?"

"Rather, I'm more grateful to you for letting all the warriors of my tribe learn this."

Normally, asking a martial artist to teach his secret technique is very rude. But Nuada, who had the mindset of a northern immigrant, was different.

'It's just something I picked up by chance, and he's a great benefactor to me. It's not even a favor.'

Nuada said honestly.

"Actually, just helping me catch that snake was a huge favor to our tribe. It's like I owe you one more!"

Nuada knew that his strength, which reached the level of a superhuman, was not only due to his talent, but also to the influence of that booklet.

But could he expect the same from the other warriors, who didn't have his once-in-a-century talent?

It was difficult for him to teach the White Tiger Protection Technique to his tribe with his ability.

"It's only right to repay a favor with a favor. I don't mind such a request!"

'He's really a generous man.'

He had been impressed by him in the past because of this aspect. He was a cool-headed chief who thought about the future of his tribe, but also a bold warrior.

"Thank you very much."

There was no reason to hesitate once he got permission.

Eurius reached for the booklet again.

'Acquire'

[You have acquired the White Tiger Protection Technique.]

[Your initial proficiency will increase depending on your current force aptitude and rank. White Tiger Protection Technique proficiency: 10%]

'So this is how it works.'

A player could achieve some results without training, depending on his understanding of force.

'The effect is good. It's like this with just one, but if I get all four, it might be comparable to the core.'

He wasn't fully proficient yet, but Eurius could feel that his perception had become slightly sharper.

There was another advantage.

"Nuada, please attack me once."

"…?"

Eurius smiled bitterly and explained.

"I think I have a rough idea of how this technique works. I want to test it."

"Oh!"

Nuada didn't hesitate and took a stance.

A normal martial artist would think he was crazy if he said he learned a technique by just looking at a booklet, but he didn't think too much.

'He's a warrior who can beat me, so maybe he can get the hang of it in one try.'

Bang!

Nuada unleashed his technique and threw a punch at Eurius. It wasn't a full-strength blow, but it was enough to shake the small cave with its aftermath!

"Ugh!"

Eurius groaned and was pushed back to the wall.

"Huh, you really got it."

But Nuada exclaimed. He knew the feeling of resistance that his fist felt when he hit Eurius because he was learning it himself.

'His defense has increased considerably even though he's not proficient yet?'

The characteristic of the White Tiger Protection Technique was to enhance perception and apply resistance to the force field, which was called protection technique in the East.

Eurius had activated his Distortion, which was an evolved form of his force field, and then increased his resistance with the White Tiger Protection Technique to receive Nuada's attack.

The result was satisfactory. He couldn't defend perfectly, but the layered defense absorbed a lot of shock. If he increased his proficiency later, he wouldn't be harmed by any ordinary surprise attack.

'I came here for an alliance, but I got an unexpected harvest!'

"Congratulations on becoming stronger! It seems like our gap has widened even more? You have to teach me the exact secret technique first?"

Nuada looked regretful at their widened gap, but patted his back.

'It's more troublesome for me if the gap widens.'

He misunderstood him, and Eurius smiled silently.

"Of course. Let's go out first. We have to think about how to deal with that snake's corpse too."

Nuada led him to the exit outside.

The entrance that Nuada said he had found first was a place that Eurius had seen several times in his previous life.

'It's an area where Dite ore veins are distributed. That's why that snake grew so big, and why Nuada became a superhuman at such a young age.'

In fact, as he had mentioned before, Eurius didn't think that a martial artist's achievement was simply due to talent.

As you can see from the stats, someone with high aptitude could accumulate force faster and gain enlightenment sooner, but that also required a solid foundation.

'Beatrix was the same case.'

He knew that she had become a superhuman in her mid-twenties in her previous life. But would she have been able to do that so quickly if she wasn't one of the three great martial artists of the continent, but just a normal martial artist or a noble lady?

'No way!'

A martial artist's growth required two conditions: talent and environment. 

This was Eurius's theory.

That's why he also tried to use the system, which corresponded to the environment, to become stronger.

Nuada was also in the same situation.

'Dite ore is so abundant in this area, and he found half of a player's legacy and trained repeatedly. Then it makes sense that he became a Superhuman at the age of thirty!'

Dite ore was an ore that emitted heat when force was injected. 

This meant that it contained a small amount of force, and the spirits were also instinctively drawn to it and came deep into the mountains

Therefore, it was natural that there were many spirits that had evolved more powerfully than normal monsters by absorbing force in the northern mountains where Dite ore veins were spread, and that there were more tribes with outstanding warriors as they went deeper into the mountains.

Force, which was also called Qi in the East, existed everywhere in the world, but if a martial artist trained in a place where force was abundant, it was much more efficient than training normally.

'I'm glad I tried to develop the north early. It was a good move in this life.'

If he had come to the north at the same time as his previous life, it would have been very difficult for him to get the White Tiger Protection Technique or to build such a trust relationship with Nuada.

"What are you thinking about so hard? Let's go!"

'Oops!'

Eurius hurriedly moved his body when he heard Nuada's voice. The booklet of the White Tiger Protection Technique that he was holding shook violently.

Swish

"Huh?"

A piece of yellowed paper fell from the booklet.

Eurius picked it up carefully, wondering if the book was torn.

[To the one who has a connection with me…]