Basic technique

When morning came, Sigma was still meditating while the others were sleeping. He got up to stretch his body and then decided to move his body a bit by training with his spear and sword. Soon enough, he noticed Lucius approaching.

"Good morning," Lucius said as he watched Sigma training, who just nodded in response. "You are quite diligent… do you practice Unarmed combat as well?"

"Can't say that I do," Sigma replied while furrowing his eyebrows, imagining himself fighting by punching and kicking monsters. "Endurance isn't my forte, so I would rather not risk fighting like that. Better get rid of the enemies before they have the chance to make things get too personal."

"I agree, but one needs to be prepared for all kinds of situations if one wants to survive in this world," Lucius said. "I can see that you are someone who has enough talent and diligence to master a lot of arts, so I am willing to help you with that."

"I am in a hurry, so I am going to have to refuse," Sigma said and then resumed his training. "If you teach martial arts that are that easy, then why don't you have any students?"

"They are all beyond the northern wall, I once taught most people of this city how to fight using their bodies alone, and thanks to that, things ended up like this," Lucius said.

"Like this… what?" Sigma furrowed his eyebrows.

"You didn't ask your friends?" Lucius asked. "You don't seem to be a bad youngster, but you were pretty self-centered… years ago, we suffered an attack at the hands of bandits and demons that cost half of our population. Thanks to that, my students assumed that just defending wasn't the answer, and they left to get rid of the enemies. You will find some of them north of here."

"Some, huh," Sigma asked after looking down.

"The Martial art that I teach focuses on defense, to make use of the enemy's strength against them. That is why going on the offense isn't the answer for me," Lucius explained. "That is also why more than half of the survivors died fighting demons, monsters, and bandits beyond the wall."

That would explain why Sigma and the others didn't find them near the city… they paid a dear price, but they accomplished a lot… still, the people of the city didn't look that happy about it, though. It is fine if people have things that are worth fighting and dying for, but things are pretty harsh for those who stay behind.

"I will teach you one basic technique that will help you create your foundation for Martial Arts. You can add to your fighting style from that point onward," Lucius said. "I would rather hope that you would use it for close combat only, but it can be used in many ways, including long-ranged combats when you use bows. Still, it will be more efficient if you use it with your fists and feet for obvious reasons that you will soon understand. Also…"

Sigma felt like sighing… Lucius sure liked the sound of his own voice, or he liked to preach a lot. Nevertheless, before Sigma could run out of patience, he decided to teach him.

"The basis of my martial art is to use your vital energy and control it completely. To do that, you need to learn how to feel it first," Lucius said. "Run around the building as fast as possible until you can barely move your legs, and then sit down and breathe deeply until you can feel your vital energy being restored."

Sigma furrowed his eyebrows… that seemed really vague. Asking for a demonstration would be a better idea, but he needed the skill points for the Mana Regeneration.

Lucius - Lv 125

HP: 1450/1450

MP: 650/650

SP: 1475/1475

Strength: 155

Speed: 140

Magic: 35

Endurance: 175

Dexterity: 155

Resistance: 95

Status Points: 00

Skills: Vital Aura Lv 70, Fire Armor Lv 50, Cold Armor Lv 50, Wind Armor Lv 50, Stamina Manipulation Lv 133

Spells:

Passive: Martial Arts Lv 97, Meditation Lv 44, Pain Resistance Lv 111, Wind Resistance Lv 67, Cold Resistance Lv 67,

Skill Points: 00

Lucius was a lot stronger than Sigma expected, and he also had some unexpected skills… he imagined that he wanted to reach him stamina manipulation, and that would probably help Sigma, even though he already had Power Shot that consumed stamina over time. Regardless, Sigma wanted to move his body that morning, so he didn't find a problem in trying that.

Since Sigma used Dash, it didn't take long for him to use all of his stamina, but he still was forced to keep going while he felt like his legs were burning. He knew the reason why he still could move. It was because he could recover a bit of stamina every second, no matter what.

In the end, Sigma's legs gave up after almost ten minutes… he had to use double of the total of his stamina for that to happen, though.

"Close your eyes, and if you ignore the discomfort and focus on the energy, you need to feel it with perfection before you can control it," Lucius said. "Once you do that, you will be able to control it a bit, and then you will be able to decide which parts of your body need to be rested or enhanced first."