CHAPTER 70

The basics of the 'Isolation Technique' lay in repetition.

It involved enhancing one's physical abilities by repeatedly performing movements while holding heavy weights.

This training was not just about increasing muscle strength.

"Shall we begin?"

A month had passed, and the corner of the training ground was still cold.

Encrid suggested a sparring match. Audin nodded with a smile.

"Do you prefer your arms or your legs, brother?"

It was a signal that he intended to twist one of them.

"Your tongue is too long, Audin."

Both were barehanded.

They hadn't spent the entire month just learning the Isolation Technique.

They stared at each other. To meet Audin's eyes, Encrid had to tilt his head slightly. The difference in their physiques was evident.

Despite that, Audin moved first.

As he kicked off the ground and lowered his body, he charged forward so quickly that it left an afterimage.

Not fitting his nickname, the Praying Bear.

In the past, the best Encrid could do was raise his knee in response.

But now it was different.

He similarly lowered his stance, clenched his fist, and aimed his thumb forward as if to pierce. If Audin charged, he could burst his eyeball.

Then, Audin stopped his charge and leapt to the side.

With quick steps, his large frame changed positions as swiftly as Esther.

He was like a nimble panther.

A combination of agility and reflexes not fitting his size.

If Encrid let him get behind, the fight would be over, so he turned his body repeatedly.

At some point, Audin extended his fist.

They were now within arm's reach. When the distance closed was unknown.

It was a state of Focus Point.

Encrid judged and acted in a split second. He aimed to block the impact point with his forehead before the punch landed.

One of the wrestling techniques to take a hit without pain.

As Audin extended his fist, he opened his palm and grabbed Encrid's hair.

Then he pulled the hair downwards, pressing his left elbow onto Encrid's back with his weight.

For a moment, Encrid withstood Audin's strength and weight.

He didn't just endure, he attempted to throw Audin over his back.

But Audin didn't comply. He shifted his weight and pulled Encrid's hair forward.

The perfectly timed pull disrupted Encrid's balance. He couldn't move his body as he intended. He lost his balance.

There was no way out now.

Thud.

Encrid shielded his face with his hands as Audin pinned him down.

"Instead of your arms or legs, you've given up your body, Squad Leader brother."

Audin laughed heartily. It was a boisterous laugh.

"If this were a battlefield, I would have had a helmet."

He was referring to the hair grab. Speaking while pinned, Audin responded with a laugh.

"Then I would have used other means."

It was true. Encrid wasn't complaining, he was curious about the other means.

"If there had been a helmet, I would have grabbed your nape with my palm or pressed down on the back of your head in one swift motion instead."

"I see."

Encrid was still pinned. The weight of the Praying Bear felt like it could crush his insides at any moment, but what Encrid had just learned was more important.

As Encrid focused, Audin got up and dusted himself off.

A month had passed, and while some might have gone mad from the monotonous routine, for Encrid, it became a calm daily practice.

In the mornings, he practiced the Isolation Technique, after lunch, he learned wrestling.

He trained with the sword again until evening.

After dinner, he reviewed everything he had learned.

The Heart of the Beast, the Sense of the Blade, the Focus Point.

All of them had room for improvement.

If there was room for progress, why stop?

Yet, the pace of learning was slow. Even with the support of the Focus Point, the Sense of the Blade, and the Heart of the Beast, it was slow.

So Encrid crawled.

He was a slow snail and a turtle that had come ashore.

"You improve very slowly."

Audin, having stood up, adjusted his clothes as he spoke.

The cold had not yet subsided, and white steam rose from his shoulders.

It was the same for Encrid's shoulders.

Both the Isolation Technique and wrestling were activities that made them sweat profusely.

Encrid repeatedly reflected on Audin's teachings. They were worth it.

'The way to gauge skill.'

The body contained all the information.

For example, a right-handed swordsman often had more developed muscles in the right arm.

It was the insight to read an opponent's experience and level of training by looking at their physique and muscle development.

After starting training with the Isolation Technique, he realized something new.

What he learned afterward was valuable too. After establishing the basics of his body with the Isolation Technique, he learned wrestling.

Audin divided wrestling into three main techniques: striking, joint locks, and throws.

He said that if the opponent was smaller in physique, simply throwing and slamming them would make the fight easier.

"What if I am the smaller one?"

Encrid was a good listener but had just as many questions.

He never let anything pass easily when it came to learning.

Audin often thought this was exactly what made a good Squad Leader.

"If you are smaller, there's a way to fight accordingly. Those skilled in joint locks, striking, and grappling use the opponent's strength against them. Counters are a type of this technique."

What the Fairy Company Commander had done was likely one of these techniques. The move that toppled him with a single gesture came to mind.

Audin had even demonstrated such methods.

Audin was kind. While he was like a demon during the Isolation Technique training, he was rather gentle when teaching wrestling.

"If you apply more force here, the arm will break, and the joint will be damaged. Without divine healing, it won't recover, and you'll be left with a crippled arm."

Even the slightest mistake could leave Encrid's body disassembled. Naturally, wrestling became a gentler lesson.

"Strength and speed are essential, of course. You must also learn to identify vital points, how to bring down an opponent, how to break bones, and how to destroy joints. None of this can be learned half-heartedly.So you must repeat what you've already learned rather than seeking new lessons.Yet, do you still wish to learn something new?"

He occasionally scolded him, and rightfully so.

Encrid preferred to learn as much as possible and internalize it rather than mastering a single technique to perfection.

'This is right.'

Encrid had today's repetitions.

He couldn't expect to master techniques with just what he was learning now.

To Audin, it seemed like he was greedy and that his body couldn't keep up, but to Encrid, this was the right path.

His reflections on what he had learned were interrupted by Audin's voice.

"Why do you think your hair was grabbed in that situation earlier?"

"Distance."

Encrid replied plainly. It wasn't because he didn't know.

"That's right. Distance. I've said it countless times, yet you, Squad Leader brother, are truly slow and dull."

Encrid remained unchanged. Such words didn't hurt him. He didn't have time for that.

He was busy reviewing what he had learned today.

There were dozens of types of joint locks alone.

Just memorizing them and roughly integrating them into his body was already a challenge.

On top of that, he had to learn throws and striking techniques and internalize the basic principles.

"I've told you many times. Physical strength is essential. Reading the distance is the same as in swordsmanship. Lastly, without agility, nothing else matters."

Audin was a good teacher. Not because of his excellent teaching methods.

'He doesn't know how to give up.'

Despite the slow and sluggish progress, he taught with unwavering dedication.

For Encrid, such a teacher was the perfect fit.

Stubborn teaching methods, even if they left only a small impression on the body and mind, would eventually lead to mastery. Encrid, too, learned and practiced with determination, leaving the full mastery and proficiency for later.

"Strength, distance, physical ability."

Encrid repeated Audin's words to himself.

Whether it was with a sword, spear, blunt weapon, or wrestling, strength and speed were essential.

Although he had become quite familiar with measuring distance, Audin was still more skilled than Encrid. That's why he lost.

"Did you roll on the ground again today?"

After finishing wrestling and returning, Rem was waiting for him.

"Are you going to rest today?"

It was the same question every time.

"No."

This time it was the sword. While he sometimes used a wooden sword, he now felt more comfortable with a real sword.

The longsword, familiar in his hand, targeted Rem's entire body. He didn't face only Rem every day.

Some days it was Ragna.

"Watching you makes me want to have a go, Squad Leader."

On other days, it was Jaxon.

"I have some spare time. Grab your sword and come out."

None of them ever refused Encrid's request.

They all had similar thoughts, though.

For instance, Rem thought:

"What kind of talent is this? Does he need real combat experience?"

On the battlefield, it seemed his skills improved daily, but returning to the city, it felt like he was back to square one.

Of course, he was better than before.

There was no dramatic growth. At least that's how Rem saw it.

The improvement he had was thanks to the Heart of the Beast, the Focus Point, the Sense of the Blade, and the Isolation Technique.

The Isolation Technique was changing the quality of his muscles.

Of course, dramatic changes couldn't happen in just a month.

He progressed slowly, half a step at a time.

Like a slow snail crawling forward.

Ragna had similar thoughts.

"The basics are solid, but why is the application so slow to improve?"

Did his talent peak at thirty? Why has he become a fool again?

It's impossible to know.

Yet, Ragna showed enthusiasm.

Encrid was someone who naturally inspired motivation in others.

Every day, regardless of his duties or other circumstances, he relentlessly repeated the same rigorous training.

If he had morning duty, he would still lift rocks and assume strange postures late into the evening.

The same applied to wrestling and swordsmanship.

If he had duties during those times, he would start training after his shift.

He would cut into his sleeping and eating time.

During group infantry training, Rem, Ragna, Jaxon, Audin, and Krais would often slack off or just go through the motions, but Encrid put his all into the training.

After returning to the barracks, he would head out to the training grounds and repeat his exercises.

He was consistently dedicated to a frightening degree.

Because of this, Ragna felt motivated watching the Squad Leader.

Jaxon felt the same.

'The senses.'

His hearing was almost like having eyes in the back of his head.

Yet the sensitivity of his senses didn't seem to improve further.

'Why?'

Was it his fault as the teacher?

Or was it Encrid, the learner, who was the problem?

'It's the learner's fault.'

With his experience of teaching many times before, he knew. It was intriguing, to say the least.

How slowly and gradually his skills improved.

'And yet, he never gives up. It's unique.'

Jaxon almost smiled but returned to his usual expressionless face.

'Why does it matter if he's the Squad Leader?'

Despite thinking this way, he always gave his best.

They had established a rotating teaching schedule, and among them, Jaxon was the most diligent.

Esther watched the man she had chosen.

In the blue eyes of the black panther, his image was captured.

How could he be like that?

She, too, had once lived consumed by the world of magic.

There was a time when she immersed herself in the world of magic all day, needing nothing else.

She neither desired food nor sleep nor anything else.

'And that's how I ended up like this.'

Esther reminisced about the past, then focused her eyes back on Encrid.

'He's different from me.'

His routine was simple and repetitive. Eating, sleeping, and even resting seemed to be part of his regimen.

He was someone who truly knew how to rest with dedication.

Watching him made her think,

'If there's anything I can do to help...'

She wanted to help. She was that kind of person.

Encrid, however, had no time to look around him.

He was literally too busy engraving various things into his body.

He was always a training fanatic, but recently, it has intensified.

Thanks to the Isolation Technique.

'The quality of my muscles is changing.'

He almost wanted to strip off his clothes and look at himself in the mirror.

Who would feel this the most?

Encrid himself.

When movements that were once difficult became smooth, it wasn't just pleasing—it was exhilarating to the point of madness.

From thrusting to the basics of the Heavy Sword Style.

With his transformed body, everything felt different. Smoother and more fluid.

He had even become quite proficient with the flowing techniques of the Fluid Sword Style.

Clang.

As the swords clashed, he deflected his opponent's weapon. He had just deflected Rem's axe to the side.

"That's an improvement."

It was a deflection that Rem acknowledged. It wasn't perfect, but

'It's better than before.'

Even Encrid himself could feel the improvement in the completion of his techniques.

At the core of all this was the body-building technique.

In other words, the Isolation Technique.

"Do you regret not learning it earlier?"

Audin had asked him once, wondering if he felt it was too late to start building his body.

"No."

Encrid shook his head.

He had no regrets about the days that had passed.

If he had such regrets,he would have been trapped in 'today.'

What he learned in the past was important at that time.

So being dedicated to the present,that was the right approach.

He had a dream of the ferryman just once during the month.

"You're living no different from being trapped in today."

The ferryman, exuding boredom and resting his chin on his hand, had said before disappearing.

The one who had once mocked him so harshly was nowhere to be seen.

The ferryman was right.

Encrid had spent a month no different from a repetition of today.

The only changes were the duty hours and the weather.

"If you had learned it earlier, your body wouldn't have been able to handle it."

Audin had said. Encrid didn't pay much mind to it.

What mattered was today, the present.

Before he knew it, the end of the four seasons, the middle of winter—the harshest of them all—had arrived.

"Come see me for a moment."

One day, amid these routine days, the Fairy Company Commander came to see Encrid.

When he went outside the barracks, the Company Commander , standing with her back to the cold, looked at him with green eyes and said,

"It's a mission."

The Border Guard reserve troops were drafted as needed. Fighting on the battlefield wasn't their only duty.

"Yes."

"It's to escort the successor of the merchant guild. Select one person from your squad to accompany you."

The Company Commander conveyed the order. It was a directive from the higher-ups. Encrid had to comply.

Assignments and missions.

He wasn't particularly fond of them.

But now, he was interested in building his merit.

Equipping himself with skills and accumulating merit. It was the path to knighthood.

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