Chapter 24
"This is your training schedule."
The next morning, an Executioner handed Theron a piece of paper.
"Memorize it and burn it."
His face was expressionless.
But ever since the rocky-area battle...
Something had remained in the way he looked at Theron.
Not admiration.
Not simple caution.
More like constant evaluation mixed with suspicion.
"Understood."
Theron calmly accepted the paper.
From that day...
His life as a Special Trainee split into three parts.
Morning...
Section Five's regular schedule.
Afternoon...
The underground training hall.
After the evening bell...
His time was technically free.
But Theron always entered the Advanced Martial Arts Library.
After only a few days...
The schedule became as natural as eating.
Naturally...
More eyes started watching him.
"That's him. The Special Trainee."
"I heard he goes in and out of the main building like it's his house."
"Tch. What makes him so special?"
Trainees stared from every direction.
Envy.
Jealousy.
Wariness.
Theron ignored them all.
Talk as much as you want.
Those gazes and growing rumors were useful camouflage.
The trainee chosen by Berton.
The clearer that label became...
The less anyone would question Theron's movements and rapid growth.
The same logic applied to the instructors.
When the sun went down...
Theron naturally headed toward the Advanced Library.
Even the guards had started treating him like air.
Orders had already come from above to let him pass.
Under the library lamps...
Theron closed the final page of the old book.
[A Wanderer's Notes on Walking]
He had read it three times over three days.
...As expected.
Eighty percent of the book was nonsense.
Comments about weather during travel.
Complaints about worn-out shoe soles.
Descriptions of dances seen during village festivals.
But bones were hidden inside that nonsense.
How to place body weight on the outer edge of the foot rather than the toes.
How to extend one's stride without straightening the knee.
How to move as though sliding away from the earth instead of kicking against it.
When the scattered sentences were compared against the completed technique from Theron's memories...
The fragments became one picture.
Ancient footwork... Wandering Wind.
More than ten years later...
This footwork would elevate an ordinary warrior into the ranks of elite masters.
And this technique...
Can fill something I lacked in my previous life.
Theron knew exactly what he had been good and bad at.
Understanding oneself was the first requirement for growth.
In his previous life...
As commander of the Shadow Knights and a Seven-Star warrior...
Theron's own footwork had already been excellent.
But if he could properly merge it with Wandering Wind...
And take it even further...
He might create a completely new footwork style.
Something that had never existed in the continent's history.
"Haaaah..."
Wandering Wind.
Later also known as Ghost Footwork.
Theron packed its knowledge into his mind and slowly stood.
Now...
"I need to pack it into my body."
"Lower your stance! Shield beneath your chin!"
Section Five's morning training ground.
Perka's shout rang across the defensive training group.
After the overwhelming victory in the second test...
The entire atmosphere of Section Five had changed.
Eyes once filled with resignation now looked alive.
Training intensity had visibly increased.
"Theron! You're here!"
Perka raised a hand.
"How's training in the main building?"
"I heard the Head Instructor teaches you personally."
"There's a lot to learn."
"Greedy bastard. Keeping it all to yourself."
Perka complained.
But there was no jealousy on his face.
Theron watched the defensive group for a moment.
Then spoke casually.
"Perka."
"You're doing something wrong when receiving attacks with the shield."
"...Something wrong?"
"Don't absorb the attack with your arm."
Theron stepped closer.
"Put the strength into your back foot."
"...Back foot?"
"If you block using only your arm, you can't properly transfer strength."
"Support your body through your back leg."
"Then receive the impact with your whole body."
He demonstrated.
"Like this."
The front foot light.
The rear foot rooted into the ground.
Perka copied him.
Renil swung a wooden staff against his shield.
The impact dispersed smoothly.
"...Huh?"
Perka blinked.
"My arm doesn't hurt."
"Oh! What was that?"
Other defensive trainees crowded around them.
Tioren, who had been fixing a bowstring in the corner, quietly moved closer too.
Theron shrugged.
"I picked it up in the main building."
It was a lie.
He had learned these things through blood and battle in his previous life.
But Theron now wrapped small pieces of that knowledge in the excuse of "learning it from the main building."
"You picked it up just by listening?"
"Listening is also a skill."
Perka laughed.
"Listen to this bastard."
Still...
His hands repeatedly practiced the stance Theron had shown him.
Theron watched.
You all need to become stronger.
He swallowed the words before they left his mouth.
Perka.
Renil.
Tioren.
When the truth of this island was finally exposed...
They needed enough strength to stand on their own feet and walk out with him.
That was one part of the future Theron wanted.
Alongside them...
I also need to become stronger.
Early dawn.
