Chapter 615

Raon wiped away the sweat flowing from his forehead and looked at Ogram. His nonchalant expression suggested that he was serious about that offer.

‘Does he really intend to teach me about that martial art called Tidebreaker?’

He couldn’t understand why he would teach the Beast King’s extremely advanced martial art to an outsider like himself.

‘I’m still a stranger to them, even if I helped the Suran tribe.’

Even inside a house of warriors, an advanced technique was only passed down to the direct lines and the collateral with a large number of achievements, and only the worst techniques were taught to the rest.

Zieghart wasn’t much different. They sometimes bestowed outsiders with an advanced technique for their achievements, but they never taught them the martial arts learned by the head or the successor.

‘Is he seriously teaching me such an advanced technique?’

The Tidebreaker must’ve been one of the ultimate techniques, even for Ogram. Raon couldn’t believe that he was teaching such a special technique from the Beast Union to an outsider.

“What you said just now…” Raon calmed his violently pounding heart and raised his gaze. “Are you serious?”

“Do I look like the type of person who would say it without meaning it?”

“That’s not the case, but…”

“I know what you are thinking.” Ogram curled his lips into a bright smile. “The warriors on this continent try to avoid showing their martial arts. It’s because people will figure out a way to counter them and endanger them as a result.”

Raon had been feeling it recently. Many people didn’t know about Frost Pond before, allowing him to easily finish off his opponent with the ice blade, but more warriors were defending against the second strike because they were aware that Frost Pond had two blades total.

As Ogram had said, the more the martial art was known, the more people figured out how to defend and counter it.

“But what’s the problem with that?” Ogram raised his chin sharply and shook his head. “A technique that becomes weaker just because it was shown isn’t a powerful technique to begin with. The truly powerful technique can unleash its full power even if the opponent manages to read the flow.”

“Hmm…”

“There are no second chances on the battlefield.”

The pressure bursting from his serious eyes was powerful enough to crush the heart.

“You only have a single chance. You need to finish off your opponent in that single chance in order to survive. The Tidebreaker Strike was created for that purpose. It won’t become any weaker just because I taught it to you or because I showed it to others.”

Ogram declared while pounding his chest, “Such a weak technique or weak warriors don’t exist in the Beast Union.”

“Ah…”

Raon grasped his trembling wrist. A chill ran down his spine upon hearing that, his hair standing on end.

“He’s right. Ultimate power doesn’t weaken just because the others have seen it.”

Garona nodded without being surprised at all, showing his agreement.

That’s a nice thing to say for a muscle pig.

Wrath nodded his head.

The true power shouldn’t be weakened in any situation. The King of Essence always froze his enemies whether he was amid flames or lava fields.

He was talking too much, but he basically agreed with Ogram.

‘Now that I think about it… Our head of house is also similar to Wrath.’

His goal, Glenn’s swordsmanship, didn’t become any weaker just because other people knew about it. It was literally the sky. Since it consisted of creating that sky with a sword, it was impossible for anyone to deal with it.

Wrath was the same. He had always overwhelmed his opponents with the sheer power of frost without using any petty tricks. It looked like no one would be able to win against that tremendous amount of power.

Ogram had suggested teaching Raon his martial art because he was as confident as Glenn and Wrath.

‘In that case…’

Raon made up his mind since he realized Ogram’s thoughts and stood in front of him.

“Please teach me.”

Raon straightened his posture and lowered his head at Ogram.

“Alright!” Ogram gave a big nod of approval, showing that he was expecting that answer. “I thought you might refuse because you were contemplating for a long time, but you accepted it in the end.”

“It took some time to understand what you meant.”

“Understand what?”

“I understand what you meant when you said that there are no second chances on a battlefield, and also what I need to do.”

“Wahahaha!” He clutched his head and burst out in laughter.

“Nice, I like it.”

Ogram lowered his head and touched the hem of Raon’s Black Dragon Coat.

“I thought it was an excessive gift for you back then, but it was the Black Dragon Coat that has gained an owner that is too good for it instead.”

“Not at all.”

“Let’s stop with the chatter and get started.”

He shook his hand, saying that they should stop wasting time.

“Tidebreaker means that you break through the ocean.”

“Ocean?”

“Yes. It means that you are smashing your opponent with your fist, breaking through the ocean of their aura.”

Ogram clenched his fist. His hard fist looked like a single punch would be enough to make an opponent faint.

“The precept is simple. You should be able to memorize it as quickly as having a meal.”

“Hmm.”

Raon widened his eyes. He couldn’t believe that the precept of such an advanced martial art could be so simple.

[The raging storm over the great ocean and the gentle breeze over the calm coastal waves are both aspects of the same ocean.

The ocean, where the sun blazes and the moon waxes, is like a mirror reflecting yourself.

You have to cleanse your soul for the small ocean inside yourself to open the path for you.]

* * *

The precept was short indeed, but profound wisdom was dwelling inside. It was easy to understand, but Raon couldn’t be sure that he understood it correctly.

“Did you memorize it?”

“Yes…”

Raon nodded faintly.

“Then I’ll teach you how to use it.”

Ogram clenched his fist again. An achromatic light flashed from between his thick fingers.

“Why are you clenching your fist to teach me how to use it…?”

Raon swallowed nervously while looking at Ogram’s fist.

“I told you, you have to break through the oceans of the opponent and yourself. Every ocean has a different flow and size. That’s why you need countless experiences in order to break through the ocean of aura. And the fastest way to achieve that is…”

Raon could tell what was going to follow without even hearing it.

“Hands-on experience!”

Ogram thrust his clenched fist. The fist rushing toward his abdomen was at least twice as fast as before.

“Kuh!”

Raon created an aura shield with the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s flame to block Ogram’s fist.

“Wrong!”

Ogram furrowed his brow and thrust his fist all the way, implying that his response wasn’t the correct answer.

Smack!

His fist broke through the shield of fire as if it didn’t exist at all and smashed into Raon’s abdomen.

“Cough!”

Raon groaned in pain and slammed onto the ground.

‘What the hell…?’

He’d almost fainted. He couldn’t budge a finger because of the tremendous pain he felt.

“I didn’t teach you the precept for no reason. You’ll have to feel that pain every single time if you don’t manage to use Tidebreaker for defense.”

Ogram shook his finger, urging him to stand up.

“So when you said you would teach me how to use it…”

“Yes, this is what I meant.”

Ogram dashed at him with a clenched fist and smiled while showing his teeth.

“Because your body will learn it on its own if you keep getting beaten up!”

Ogram’s fist rushed even faster and more powerfully as he spoke.

‘I knew it…’

Raon bit his lip to the point of bleeding while memorizing Tidebreaker’s precept.

‘Nothing is easy in the world.’

Did you finally realize it? This is nothing in Devildom. When the King of Essence became the monarch of Devildom, he went through even more hardships…

‘Please shut up!’

* * *

The swordsmen’s passions were heating the sand in the fifth training ground.

“Runaan!”

Rimmer walked towards Runaan, who was nodding off at the center of the training ground.

“Don’t close your eyes! You are going to fall asleep again, aren’t you?”

“Nyat really.”

Runaan shook her head, blinking her vacant eyes.

“What does ‘nyat’ even mean?”

“I was practicing swordsmanship in my dream.”

“Dream! You just said in your dream!”

“It’s true, though.”

She closed her eyes again, showing that she didn’t care about Rimmer’s scolding.

“You can leave her alone. She becomes stronger for some reason after she sleeps.”

Burren chuckled while watching Runaan doze off.

“It’s so annoying. Is she one of those ‘I get stronger by sleeping’ types or what?”

Martha clicked her tongue in displeasure and started her own training.

Rimmer listened to them and looked at Runaan again. The way she was nodding off looked like she was dozing, but the aura in her body was diligently moving around, just like during a battle.

‘Could it be… that she is at the border?’

Runaan’s realm was intermediate Master. Those who progressed quickly could grasp the image of their mental world at that point and that seemed to be the case with Runaan.

‘It was worth teaching her since her childhood.’

He’d been emphasizing the importance of visualization and imagination to the Light Wind division ever since they were trainees, and his advice seemed to finally be bearing fruit, which filled him with deep emotions.

‘And Runaan isn’t the only one.’

Burren and Martha had also improved significantly. Not only their might but also their mental fortitude had drastically improved, and they looked like they would reach the intermediate realm soon enough.

‘The others have also grown a lot.’

Everyone in the Light Wind division had reached the highest level of Expert.

Since Dorian and the vice team leaders already had their hands on the wall, they could become Masters at any moment as long as they had an opportunity.

Rimmer curled his lips into a smile while observing the Light Wind swordsmen one after the other.

‘Aren’t we going to become the strongest group at this rate?’

He could imagine the Light Wind division becoming even more powerful than a palace despite being a division if they kept getting stronger at the same rate.

‘They’ve really grown a lot.’

He could remember the first time he’d seen them as children. He was simply trying to realize the dream that was entrusted to him, but his dream had become his own.

“Hmm…”

Martha furrowed her brow while watching the warm smile on Rimmer’s face.

“What’s wrong with our division leader? What’s wrong with that ominous smile?”

“I don’t even know.” Burren shook his head while scratching his cheek. “He kinda looks like he is trying to borrow money.”

“That’s it! He must’ve gambled and lost his money!”

Martha clicked her tongue, saying that she was going to tell the swordsmen to never lend him the money.

“Sir Rimmer!”

While Rimmer was innocently watching the Light Wind division despite their thoughts, the training ground’s door opened up and Encia entered.

“It’s complete!”

She ran up to Rimmer holding a gray prosthetic arm that seemed to be made of steel.

“Is that…?”

“What else would it be? It’s obviously your right arm, Sir Rimmer.”

“Is it already complete?”

“I already started to prepare before you left for Seipia, after all.”

Encia smiled, saying that she managed to quickly craft it because she had already finished measuring and making the blueprints when she obtained the world tree’s branch and leaf.

“I thought you weren’t too motivated to make it, though…”

“I was just kidding.” Encia shook her head while tapping on his shoulder. "I’m a crafter. I never do anything halfway, and I don’t joke around when it comes to my work."

She handed him the prosthetic arm, her gaze brimming with confidence.

“Take off your shirt. I’ll put it on for you.”

“Hmm…”

Rimmer licked his lips and looked around. Everyone in the Light Wind division had stopped training and was surrounding them.

“It can’t be helped.”

He sighed and took off his shirt. He pushed his shoulder forward, which still looked gruesome even though the wounds were healed.

Encia calmly examined Rimmer’s shoulder without being concerned at all about the wound.

“This prosthetic arm will be connected to your aura and nerves. You will probably feel like your real arm is back.”

She immediately brought the prosthetic arm to his shoulder, showing her confidence in the artifact that she’d crafted.

Some kind of thin cloth attached to the prosthetic arm stuck to Rimmer’s shoulder like rubber and turned the same color as his skin.

Whir!

The prosthetic arm radiated faintly, and the gray parts of the arm gradually changed to match the color of Rimmer’s skin. It seemed to be a function designed for the user’s comfort.

Rimmer narrowed his eyes while looking at his tingling shoulder.

‘This is…’

The moment that cloth-looking thing attached to the prosthetic arm touched his skin, he felt like his arm had grown back along with the small pain of a needle stitching his arm.

It was a strange sensation, giving the impression that the nerves inside his shoulder were touching the prosthetic arm’s nerves.

‘Let’s see…’

He thought about moving his fingers, and the prosthetic arm’s fingers started to move. He applied more strength than he thought, but the hand was clearly moving according to his intentions.

“Hah…” Rimmer gasped while watching his hand move as he wanted.

‘Did she really craft this?’

He couldn’t believe how realistic it was. He could guess that he could recover his strength from before he lost his arm, even if it wouldn’t be as good as when he was in his prime.

“Wow…”

“It looks like a real arm, doesn’t it?”

“The prosthetic arm’s color changed into the division leader’s skin color.”

“Th-the fingers are moving!”

The Light Wind swordsmen also widened their eyes while watching Rimmer’s arm.

“But you still have to be careful. It’s not a real arm. You also have to practice controlling your aura.” Encia told him about what he needed to be careful about while adjusting the prosthetic arm. “It can withstand an aura blade without infusing any aura into it, but an astral sphere should be too much.”

“That’s even better than my original arm. It couldn’t withstand an aura blade if I didn’t use any aura.”

Rimmer chuckled and shook his hand.

“Ah, that’s true.” Encia smiled. “It’s done. How does that feel? Any discomfort?”

“It’s perfect. It feels like my arm has returned.”

Rimmer was so surprised by his arm’s return that he couldn’t even afford to joke about it. He smiled in satisfaction.

“Thank you very much.”

“You should thank Sir Raon instead. It’s all thanks to the world tree branch and leaf that he brought that the side effects could be decreased and the stability was drastically increased.”

She smiled, saying that it was all thanks to Raon.

“I’ll do that.”

“Then keep taking good care of him in the future.”

Encia shook her hand, saying that it was enough for her.

“Of course.”

Rimmer nodded while clenching his prosthetic hand into a fist.

“That’s exactly what I intend to do.” He nodded, feeling the warmth from his heart instead of his skin. “Because I’ve made up my mind now.”

“You made up your mind?” Encia widened her eyes.

“About what?” Runaan blinked while looking at Rimmer.

“It might be a new resolution to gamble again,” Burren said as he smiled while pretending to throw a dice.

“It would be funny if he ended up losing that arm at a casino,” Martha giggled while responding to Burren.

Everyone in the Light Wind division burst out into loud laughter while looking at Rimmer and the team leaders.

“......”

Rimmer watched them with a small smile, a mixture of joy, sadness, and anticipation crossing his face.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

* * *

Wham!

Raon was unable to keep his balance and sank to the ground.

“Ack…”

‘It hurts so damn much.’

Collapsing didn’t cause that much pain, but his hand felt like it was tearing off after it was hit by Ogram’s fist.

His hand would’ve exploded if Ogram had applied a bit more strength to his punch.

“Kueeh!”

Raon looked around upon hearing a scream from the side. Garona was also beaten by Ogram’s fist and was greeting the ground with his face.

“Haa…”

Raon exhaled in exhaustion and stood back up.

‘It’s not easy.’

The Tidebreaker’s flow demonstrated by Ogram was fundamentally different from any martial art he has learned so far, making it difficult to reenact even with the Ring of Fire.

He’d been training for a week, and it felt like he wouldn’t be able to get a grasp on it even in a hundred days.

“I like your tenacity, at least.” Ogram’s lips curled into a smile, satisfied by how Raon stood back up right away. “I can understand how you managed to reach that realm at your age.”

He shifted his gaze towards Garona and furrowed his brow, asking, “Aren’t you going to stand up?”

“Ugh…”

Garona stood up while clutching his chest where he was punched earlier.

“I’ve already taught you everything that needs to be taught.” Ogram lifted a glass that he had placed in between the branches. “The Tidebreaker Strike is a flash of inspiration rather than a martial art. Even a three-year-old could use it if they got it right, but even thirty years of training might be in vain otherwise.”

He twisted his lips after he finished his glass.

“But those who learned it from me shouldn’t have a result like that.”

Ogram extended his left fist. Colorless radiance flickered violently from the gap in his fist.

He smashed Garona with his fist even more powerfully than when he’d hit Karoon.

Smaack!

Garona was smashed in his face before he could defend himself and slammed onto the ground. His eyes were rolled back, and his breathing came in broken gasps. One could’ve thought he died in that single strike if it weren’t for the intense trembling of his body.

“You’re next.”

Ogram clenched his right fist and moved in front of Raon.

Gulp.

Raon swallowed nervously while looking at Ogram’s fist, which was radiating more and more intensely.

‘Should I give up now?’

He had a feeling that the punch wasn’t simply going to break his bones but even burst open his flesh. He was contemplating what kind of excuse he should give to stop it when he saw the look in Ogram’s eyes.

His eyes were full of trust in him. Raon swallowed the words that he was about to say and regained his posture upon seeing the trust in his eyes.

‘The Beast King is sharing his precious time with me right now.’

Ogram was teaching him to the best of his ability. A half-hearted attitude or any attempt to waste time would be so rude that he wouldn’t even be able to beg for forgiveness.

Wham!

Raon stomped the ground and clenched his fists. He increased the Ring of Fire’s output to the maximum and even activated the Perception of the Snow Flower.

“I’m ready!”

“I really like this guy!”

Ogram gave a big nod of approval and thrust his fist forward.

Rumble!

The current of air sparkling around the fist was suffocating. The pressure filling his vision was powerful enough to blow his soul away even if he wasn’t using the Tidebreaker Strike.

‘Don’t step back. Watch until the end.’

Raon focused on Ogram’s fist so much that even his eyes became bloodshot, and the flow of time started to slow down.

Tidebreaker’s flow very slowly entered his grasp.

[The raging storm over the great ocean and the gentle breeze over the calm coastal waves are both aspects of the same ocean.]

Raon clenched his right fist while reciting Tidebreaker’s precept. He added Tidebreaker’s flow on the fist and thrust it towards Ogram’s punch.

Whaaam!

It was a clash between fists, but Ogram’s Tidebreaker broke through his wall of Tidebreaker and reached his skin in no time.

[The ocean, where the sun blazes and the moon waxes, is like a mirror reflecting yourself.]

‘I have to break it!’

He had to break Ogram’s flow in order to survive, even though it wouldn’t allow him to win.

Raon clenched his teeth and gathered his aura again, as it had started to dissipate in vain. The rotation of the rings around the heart accelerated even further.

The world was turning red because too much blood had rushed to his heart, but he forced himself to focus and recited the final line of the precept.

[You have to cleanse your soul for the small ocean inside yourself to open the path for you.]

He felt like Ogram and himself were the only ones existing in the world, and he started to see the flow of energy in his fist.

‘I understand it now. The small ocean inside me is my mental world.’

Tidebreaker was a martial art that required him to know himself first in order to break through his opponent.

Raon clenched his shaking fist while embedding a new sword called Tidebreaker Strike into his mental world.

“Huh?”

Ogram’s eyes widened, and Raon thrust his small yet tightly clenched fist towards him.

Whaam!

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Writing Ant, 글개미]

[Translator – Kyangi]

[Proofreader – Harley]