Chapter 28: Initial Growth
“The hundred and eighty-fifth time!”
Muen stared at the clock on the wall with red eyes, a hint of joy appearing on his exhausted face.
“I finally managed to last more than thirty seconds in front of the assassin!”
Regardless, that was a warrior realm of at least the third tier, while Muen was merely a first-tier late-stage newbie who relied on in-game purchases to progress. The disparity in their realms was immense, and being able to endure back and forth for thirty seconds was already a feat that demanded an unimaginable amount of effort from Muen.
At least those nearly two hundred experiences of death were all too real.
“It seems I can’t continue training like this without limits in the future.”
Muen rubbed his temples, alleviating the brain pains brought on by extreme mental exhaustion.
“Otherwise, I’ll collapse before getting stronger.”
“Using the Black Book indeed comes with a price, although it won’t lead to actual death, the mental toll is too great.”
“Fortunately, it’s all worth it!”
Muen flipped through the Black Book with some excitement.
He noticed two entries that didn’t exist before in the section recording his personal information.
【Dagger Combat Technique LV2】
【Shadow Step LV1】
“I’ve finally made some progress.”
Nearly two hundred deaths enabled Muen to overcome the barrier between realms, grasp the assassin’s attacking techniques, and, amidst the great fear of life and death, turn them into his own.
“Though it’s just a start, I’m still far from matching that assassin. But once I’ve grasped the basics, it’ll be much easier from here on.”
With enough time, Muen was fully confident he could turn all of the assassin’s moves into his own strengths!
“Hehe, can’t wait any longer, let’s see how it works.”
Muen got off the bed, moved the furniture to create enough space, then nervously rubbed his hands together.
Although he had used it many times in battles with the assassin, it was still within the confines of the Black Book’s construct. He couldn’t be sure if he could still use it as smoothly under real-world conditions.
“Whatever, whether it works or not, I’ll only know once I try.”
Muen took a deep breath.
Then, following the insights gained from two hundred real battles, he focused all his attention on his soles, heels, and ankles.
A surge of heat gathered at the soles of his feet, as if something was about to erupt in the next moment.
Now was the moment!
A gleam flashed in Muen’s eyes as all the power concentrated in his feet erupted like a volcano in that instant.
In the blink of an eye.
Everything in Muen’s line of sight changed rapidly. The table, which had been a good seven or eight meters away from him, appeared right in front of him in an instant.
He had succeeded!
“I did it…”
Muen first murmured in disbelief, then the excitement in his eyes erupted like a volcano, overwhelming him.
“I did it!”
He was so ecstatic he could hardly contain himself.
To inexplicably transmigrate to this dangerous fantasy world, and to top it off, transmigrate into the body of this potential loser, it was unnerving for Muen.
Especially when the plot veered completely off from the original book, and his transmigrator status became irrelevant, he would sometimes feel an inexplicable anxiety bordering on fear.
But thankfully, nothing was set in stone yet. With the Black Book, even this useless wastrel could become strong through his own efforts! This was just the beginning!
Muen couldn’t help but clench his fists in excitement.
“As long as I work hard, even fate can be changed!”
…
…
“But the foot pain…”
“So painful… Damn it, nobody told me this move would hurt my feet.”
Just moments after making his bold declaration, Muen collapsed on the ground, tears streaming down his face.
He hadn’t expected that using Shadow Step would have such a severe side effect, causing his feet to ache as if they were broken after just one use.
“No, it can’t be a side effect.”
“It hurts so much. I refuse to believe even the assassin who has killed countless people could remain expressionless and unaffected.”
Muen immediately realized:
“My realm is too low. This isn’t something a first-tier should learn. It must be a martial technique that can be used freely only when combined with Qi!”
The first tier of a warrior is also known as the Body Refining stage, as described. It involves continuously training one’s physical body to become stronger. Therefore, the threshold for this stage is extremely low, one might even say there is no threshold at all.
Wealthy nobles can easily advance to the peak of this stage through the use of precious herbs combined with appropriate training.
Ordinary people can also become stronger at this stage by simply doing some weightlifting, push-ups, and eating meat.
The real turning point comes at the second tier.
Once Body Refining reaches its peak, a form of energy called Qi will be derived from within the body. Learning how to refine, temper, and utilize Qi marks the second tier of a warrior’s training, known as Qi Cultivation.
Qi can wrap around weapons to increase their power, and when infused within the body, it greatly enhances physical strength. Whether one possesses Qi or not makes a world of difference for a warrior.
“In simple terms, Shadow Step is about instantly gathering all your strength in your footsteps and then exploding it. Therefore, it’s not surprising that it imposes a great burden on the feet at that moment.”
“You must rely on Qi to strengthen your body in order to withstand this burden.”
“Previously, in the dark space, it was just consciousness, so it didn’t matter. But once in reality, physical strength becomes crucial.”
“Indeed, I’m still too weak.”
Muen sighed with a hint of dejection.
However, this time, he didn’t stay down for long. Though he once again confirmed his own weakness, it was still a good start.
At least he confirmed that what he had learned through the Black Book could indeed be applied in reality.
“Time to reset my goals!”
Feeling that his feet weren’t as painful anymore, Muen staggered to his feet and made his way to the desk.
He rummaged through the drawer and pulled out the “Overall Outline” he had recently drafted, then paused and directly burned it over the candle flame.
“There’s no point in dwelling on things that are too distant. It only adds unnecessary worries. For now, I need to focus on the present.”
Muen took out a new piece of paper and began to formulate a new plan based on the current situation.
“Firstly, I must find a teacher.”
Muen picked up the quill and wrote on the paper:
- Teacher.
The nearly two hundred battles with the assassin not only made Muen realize his own weakness but also highlighted the limitations of this kind of purely masochistic training.
While such real combat accelerated his progress in other aspects, the skill he most wanted to learn, Shadow Step, showed no improvement until he could discern the assassin’s movements clearly.
If there were a teacher to guide him step by step, perhaps he wouldn’t have to endure so much pain.
“Come to think of it, St. Marika Academy is about to start soon.”
Muen suddenly remembered this important matter. St. Marika Academy was never short of excellent teachers.
But within moments, he kicked that thought out of his mind.
“Why bother going to school? Isn’t being a shut-in at home better?”
“I don’t want to meet the protagonist now!”
“Let alone, Selicia is there too.”
And when it comes to martial arts teachers, isn’t there a better choice right here?
Muen smirked devilishly and added a name after the word “teacher.”
Ronan Campbell.
His dear adoptive father.
He think he can become a shut in . but what about the Fate ? he will have to become a villain ?
I don’t think fate is all that strong in this novel, since there was a prime opportunity for Eleanor do some classic chinese face-slapping on MC, and it didn’t happen