Future Knight

Chapter 16

“It is the mount that was on the battleship, Master.”

Elradian, who had been waiting for over an hour, raised his voice.

“Are you telling me you were riding that thing and thus delayed our appointment? Do you know, or do you not know, that breaking a promise is something unforgettable and very bad for us Elves?”

“In fact, I spent the whole night cleaning.”

“I don’t want to hear it! You went to that far place on your own accord, so you must take responsibility for your words instead of making such poor excuses! I might need to reconsider teaching you swordsmanship.”

“I am sorry! Master, such a disgraceful thing will never happen again.”

Kang Chan knelt before Elradian and deeply apologized.

“Today is the first day and the first time, so I will forgive you. But know that if this happens again, I will not forgive you.”

“Thank you, Master.”

“Good. Now follow me.”

“Yes, Master!”

After parking his air bike, Kang Chan followed Elradian out of the village. They walked for a while until they reached a waterfall that, though not very wide, was incredibly tall with a significant drop.

“What is this place?”

“I have looked around our Elves’ forest, but there are few places where the mana of nature is as condensed as here.”

He had once come here to catch fish with Jaina.

However, he couldn’t understand why Elradian had brought him here.

“From today, this waterfall will be the place where you train.”

“What? Training swordsmanship at a waterfall?”

“Why, do you dislike it? Do you perhaps hate water?”

“It’s not that, but… why must I learn swordsmanship at a waterfall?”

A waterfall for swordsmanship training? Kang Chan couldn’t understand.

It was truly a training method he had neither heard of nor seen before.

However, Kang Chan’s doubts turned into foreboding with Elradian’s next words.

“That’s because you have a mysterious healing ability.”

“What does that have to do with this?”

Whack!

Sparks flew before Kang Chan’s eyes.

Elradian had struck Kang Chan on the head with his fist.

“Does it hurt?”

“It hurts.”

“Then, have you thought about how strong the water pressure from that falling waterfall would be? It would probably be stronger, if not just as strong, as the hit I just gave you.”

Thump!

“Then, surely you don’t mean to put me there?”

“Why not? Beneath that waterfall, due to the drop, the pure mana of nature is heavily condensed. It would be several times more than the mana floating in the air. If you stand under the falling waterfall and receive the energy of nature with your whole body, you will be able to feel mana several times faster than others. Moreover, the waterfall’s impact on your body will make all your senses and mana lines more sensitive, making it extremely effective. How does that sound? Isn’t it amazing?”

“Then why don’t you make other Elves do it, and only me?”

“Do you think I want to catch perfectly fine Elves?”

“Oh…”

Kang Chan’s face turned pale.

“Ughhh!”

Kang Chan felt like his whole body was being beaten.

The power of the water falling from such a great height was truly enough to make his head spin from the shock.

In the midst of it, Kang Chan gritted his teeth and endured the waterfall.

“Ughhhh!”

“Hey! Are you not maintaining your posture?”

“Haaaaa!”

“Master Elradian, why is that guy doing that?”

“He is training.”

“What? What kind of training is that brutal?”

“Hmm… he is receiving the mana of nature with his whole body.”

Elradian nodded with a solemn expression.

“But, Master Elradian, that guy seems to be having a nosebleed. Is he alright?”

Jaina asked, concerned, as blood flowed steadily from Kang Chan’s nose while he steadfastly withstood the waterfall.

But Elradian wasn’t worried at all.

“There is nothing to worry about. Jaina, you know about his beast-like healing power.”

“Oh, right! Mister, hang in there! Fighting!”

Even in a state of fading consciousness, Kang Chan gritted his teeth as he watched Jaina, comfortably cheering him on from a shady spot under the trees.

“Ughhhh…”

After two long hours of enduring the waterfall in a horseback stance, Kang Chan returned in an almost exhausted state.

Due to the icy cold waterfall, he couldn’t feel any sensation in his body.

“Sit down.”

“Yes.”

When Kang Chan sat down weakly, Elradian placed his hand on Kang Chan’s back and infused mana into him.

Then, the warm mana spread throughout Kang Chan’s exhausted body, and his blue lips regained their color.

“Well done. Enduring that powerful waterfall for two hours, which would make an ordinary person faint in just a few minutes, is impressive. This is something only you could do.”

Elradian’s eyes were filled with pride as he patted Kang Chan’s head.

And within his gaze was also a strong disbelief, as if thinking, ‘I can’t believe he actually did it…’

As Kang Chan regained his breath and vitality, Elradian began a detailed explanation of the theory.

“Do you not understand why I make you face the waterfall instead of teaching you swordsmanship?”

Still partially numb, Kang Chan spoke with difficulty.

“Yes, a little…”

“There are two reasons. First, you are too old to learn swordsmanship. To learn the advanced swordsmanship of our Elves, not just simple moves, it’s very difficult if your body and mana lines are blocked. That’s why we need to make your stiff body and mana lines a bit more flexible.”

“Flexible?”

Hearing the word “flexible” and seeing his master’s slightly squinted eyes and wicked smile made Kang Chan’s hair stand on end.

“The second reason is the most important. Our Elves’ swordsmanship is not about simply swinging a sword like human swordsmanship. It emphasizes the harmony between swordsmanship and mana. Well, the downside is that it takes a very long time to master, but once you do, anyone can become what humans call a Sword Expert. However, depending on your talent and effort, it could take 10 years or 100 years.”

At those words, Kang Chan swallowed hard.

“It might sound complicated, but simply put, it’s the difference between learning swordsmanship while sensing mana and learning it without knowing mana. If you’re not in an urgent situation where you have to go to war immediately, I think it’s much better to sense mana first and then learn advanced swordsmanship. Of course, the basics must be solid.”

When the word “basics” came with strong emphasis, Kang Chan’s face turned gloomy.

“And take this.”

“What is it, Master?”

“What else? It’s a wooden sword for you to use.”

“A wooden sword?”

“Yes.”

What Elradian handed over was a crude wooden stick, less than 50 centimeters long, resembling a short laundry paddle. The only difference was that it had a heavy-looking piece of metal wrapped around the blade portion. In appearance, it was no different from a crude club that monsters might wield.

“This is the weapon you will use for your training. I made it with special care.”

Holding the club… no, the wooden dagger in both hands, Kang Chan estimated its extraordinary weight and gave a wry smile.

“I think you didn’t need to put so much effort into it…”

“No. It needs to be like this to develop enough strength to master the Thunderbolt Dual Swords.”

“I think I already have enough strength…”

“Silence! Don’t be ridiculous! Swordsmanship must start with the basics! The stronger the foundation, the deeper the swordsmanship, that’s my belief! Do you not want to do it? Then quit.”

“No, I’ll do it!”

“Really? Good. Then, you will perform the basic thrusts and slashes of the Thunderbolt Dual Swords 1,000 times each day. Understand?”

‘A thousand times a day? There are twelve basic thrusts and slashes in the Thunderbolt Dual Swords, which means…’

Having earned this opportunity with difficulty, Kang Chan couldn’t afford to complain and had to obey Elradian’s orders without a word. He couldn’t be choosy between cold and hot water.

“Yes, Master.”

“Hmm, your tone. Do you not want to do it?”

“No, I can do it!”

Elradian, pleased with Kang Chan’s loud shout, softened by his long military service, gently patted his shoulder and whispered in his ear.

“The sun is already high. If you want to meet today’s quota, you should start swinging diligently. Begin now.”

“…”

Gulp.

Kang Chan swallowed involuntarily.

—

Three days passed like that.

During that time, after finishing the mana-sensing training under the waterfall, Kang Chan had to drag his exhausted body and wield two terribly heavy wooden daggers, each tied with metal lumps, performing the twelve basic thrusts and slashes of the Thunderbolt Dual Swords 1,000 times each.

Although Kang Chan had several times more strength than ordinary humans, it didn’t help in this situation where he had to swing all day long.

Thinking of swinging those outrageously heavy daggers again today, after three days of swinging them like mad, made Kang Chan’s heart pound.

After completing his daily quota, Kang Chan was utterly exhausted, but his day didn’t end there.

Elradian made him sit down and began theoretical education.

“Master, what exactly is this mana that I need to feel?”

“Mana is an invisible force that makes up this world, and it maintains the life force necessary for us to live. That’s why it’s often called the second air. Like air, we cannot sustain life without mana. Mana is beneficial and inseparable from our lives. However, most people cannot feel this beneficial mana being transmitted to their bodies through breathing, like you now.”

‘Is the mana Master is talking about similar to the qi mentioned in the East of the old Earth? I think I read something similar somewhere.’

“The stage of understanding and utilizing this beneficial mana to incorporate it into swordsmanship is what we call a Sword Expert.”

“Yes, Master.”

“What you are doing now is feeling the mana latent in your body and training to gather the mana of nature into the mana hole within your body, using the unique breathing method passed down in our Elves’ swordsmanship, so you can handle it freely.”

When Elradian finally touched on the part Kang Chan had been eager to learn, he perked up and listened intently, his eyes shining.

“This has never been passed on to any race other than Elves, so you must promise me again before learning this. You must swear to keep this breathing method secret from anyone who is not an Elf. Can you swear on your life?”

“Yes, I swear on my life.”

“If this is leaked to the outside world, we Elves will hunt down the one who leaked it and anyone who learned it until the last one. Remember this.”

Elradian’s serious expression made a cold sweat run down Kang Chan’s back.

“I will absolutely remember, Master.”

“Then I will trust you and teach you the breathing method.”

Kang Chan swallowed involuntarily.

‘I’m finally going to learn how to control that mysterious power.’

“Now, I will explain, so listen well. Mana breathing is divided into the inhalation process of absorbing mana and the exhalation process of releasing it. Specifically, it is divided into three types: thoracic breathing, costal breathing, and the most important, abdominal breathing.”

“Yes, Master.”

“After thousands of years of experimenting in various ways, we found that the most ideal posture for practicing mana breathing is to sit like this, straighten your back, and wrap your hands around your abdomen. Try it.”

This was a posture Kang Chan was familiar with. It was called the ‘cross-legged’ position in his homeland, South Korea, which disappeared with Earth 500 years ago.

This posture was more comfortable for someone with an East Asian physique like Kang Chan’s than for someone with a Western build.