Chapter 38

The new year had dawned.

Raon's life at 14 can be summed up in one word: training. He continued to live the life of a training demon, arriving first at the training ground and leaving last.

Lunan's eyes were still blind, but the sharpness of his swordsmanship and the chilling aura of his water elemental aura had deepened immeasurably.

Balen, who had grown significantly mentally, had firmly won the hearts of many trainees and swung his sword day and night to reclaim his position as the top trainee.

Marta, determined to avenge her first defeat, swung her sword and practiced her aura without even taking a break. However, her already foul personality had become even more violent, and no one wanted to come near her.

But there was one exception. In front of Raon, she was different.

Marta, who didn't even listen to the instructors, would close her mouth and follow Raon's words obediently, looking like a loyal servant.

The trainees thought this attitude would last only a few days, but they were wrong.

Even as the new year dawned, Marta faithfully followed Raon's words.

Everyone was taken aback.

They never thought that the foul-tempered Marta would keep her promise with Raon.

Thus, Raon subdued the last obstacle and earned the recognition of all the trainees in the 5th training ground.

* * *

"Gather."

At Raon's call, the trainees, who were warming up in various parts of the training ground, looked at him simultaneously.

"Tsk."

"Okay."

Balen clicked his tongue and stood in front of Raon, while Lunan ran over like a dog seeing its owner.

"..."

Marta's eyes flashed with a fierce look, but she stood silently beside the two without a word.

With the most influential Lunan, Balen, and Marta following Raon's instructions, the other trainees had no choice but to follow.

"Why did you call us to gather?"

Balen turned his head to look at the empty platform.

"Isn't it personal training this morning?"

"No. Today is regular training."

"I haven't heard anything about that."

"The head instructor said he forgot to pass on the message."

Raon sighed. Rimer had suddenly visited the night before and instructed that the trainees be gathered in the morning to prevent them from dispersing.

"Still, that guy..."

Balen gritted his teeth. He still didn't like Rimer.

"Anyway, since it's regular training today, wait here and just warm up a bit."

"Hey."

"Did you eat crow meat? Why do you always complain?"

"Probably because he was drinking and playing around. I heard he was at a bar yesterday."

"Is that so? Just get ready."

The trainees grumbled quietly but followed Raon's instructions, warming up lightly in the center of the training ground.

After a few minutes, when the training time had passed by about five minutes, the door of the training ground creaked open, and the instructors entered.

"Yawn."

Rimer, who was at the back, yawned loudly, covering his mouth incompletely, and climbed onto the platform.

"I'm late, Instructor."

Balen raised his hand and shouted.

"Ah, today was supposed to be self-training, but our instructor was preparing for you and got a bit late, so it's not really being late."

"That's not related..."

"Let's start the training right away since we're late!"

Rimer ignored Balen's words and waved his hand.

From behind, the sound of Balen grinding his teeth could be heard. The relationship between the two hadn't changed over time.

"Today, I'm taking away your personal training time to teach you the most important thing for a swordsman."

"The most important thing for a swordsman?"

"What is it?"

"A new sword technique?"

"A secret sword technique?"

"A training method?"

The trainees' eyes sparkled with anticipation.

"Hmm!"

Rimer enjoyed the look in their eyes for a while before slowly speaking when their voices had quieted down.

"It's footwork."

"Eh?"

"Footwork?"

"Why is that the most important for a swordsman...?"

"Ah, I knew you'd react like this."

The trainees shuffled their feet with disappointed expressions at the mention of footwork.

'As expected, it's footwork.'

But Raon nodded calmly.

Footwork is the method of walking.

It's a systematic way of moving to be more offensive, defensive, or faster when performing sword techniques or martial arts.

'The time has come.'

He had become familiar with martial arts and sword techniques and had created a suitable aura, so he thought it was time to learn footwork.

"Many of you have already learned intermediate-level sword techniques before coming here, but few have properly learned footwork."

"Hmm..."

"That's true."

The trainees nodded slowly, unable to argue. Balen, Lunan, and Marta also remained silent.

"Your goal is to become a swordsman, so sword techniques are important. But!"

Rimer chuckled and leaped off the platform, disappearing like a candle being blown out.

"The footwork that makes your sword techniques sharper and faster, and will save your life in the future, is footwork, or foot movement."

His voice came from behind. Turning around, they saw Rimer standing at the back with his arms crossed.

"Wow!"

"Ah, when did you...?"

"What?"

The trainees gaped. Rimer had appeared behind them without making a sound, leaving them speechless.

"You must have realized that the situation is different when you practice alone and when you swing your sword at an opponent during sparring."

"That's..."

"You're right. Your body didn't move properly."

"Your sword didn't follow its intended path."

The trainees nodded. They had all realized the difference between practice and actual combat through sparring.

"To perform at your best in actual combat, you need to train your footwork more than your sword techniques. I believe the most important martial art in one-on-one sparring is not sword techniques or aura, but footwork. The head of the house also agreed with this opinion."

"The head of the house?"

"Wow!"

"If he said so..."

The trainees gaped. When they heard that the respected Glen had said footwork was important, it carried more weight than when Rimer said it.

"Footwork..."

Balen straightened his spine.

'Yes. If I had footwork then...'

His strengths were sharpness, accuracy, and speed. If he had used proper footwork instead of basic movements during sparring with Raon, he wouldn't have lost so easily.

"Indeed..."

Balen turned his head at the growling voice.

Marta was clenching her fists and her eyes were shining. She seemed to be thinking the same thing.

'Same as always.'

He thought she had calmed down, but that wasn't the case. Marta was burning with the desire to defeat Raon, not just on the surface but deep in her heart.

"Footwork starts with the Garambow, which embodies the flow of a river."

Rimer lightly bounced his legs as if walking on a pebble beach, and his body leaped onto the platform.

"Hmm..."

He took a stance as if to demonstrate the footwork but then lay down, muttering that it was too troublesome.

"Follow the experienced instructor."

Rimer clapped his hands, and an instructor from the back came forward to demonstrate the Garambow stance.

Thud.

Balen clenched his fists. He was determined to master the footwork and one day humble that lazy instructor, and he carefully memorized the Garambow stance.

* * *

The Garambow form consisted of only 12 movements, and the stance was simple, so it didn't take long to demonstrate.

'This is truly the basics.'

Raon, who was rotating a ring of fire, could instantly grasp the form, stance, and flow of the Garambow.

It was a new footwork, but it was based on basic stances and had a smooth flow, making it adaptable to any situation.

"The instructors will go around to help you with your stances, so try to perform the footwork as you saw and felt it."

"Yes!"

The trainees spread out in the training ground and began to perform the Garambow.

Only Raon didn't move.

He closed his eyes and rotated the ring of fire, replaying the Garambow stance in his mind.

'60% defense, 40% offense.'

The Garambow, being a basic footwork, had a similar ratio of offense to defense, with a slight bias towards defense but not a significant difference.

'The strength of this footwork is its fluidity.'

The characteristic of the Garambow is its smooth, flowing movement, like a river. It's more important to maintain a continuous flow, even if it's a bit messy, rather than a rigid, perfectly aligned movement.

"Huff..."

Raon exhaled excitedly and opened his eyes. He could see the entire Garambow in his field of vision.

Thud.

He extended his right foot first.

Enjoying the sensation of pressing down on the well-trodden training ground, he followed with his left foot.

The two feet crossed smoothly, and the first form of the Garambow, Yuhwa, unfolded.

Swish!

He lightly brushed the ground and rotated his body to the right. The second form, Gaeryu, which evaded an enemy's attack and delivered a sword strike, echoed through the training ground sand.

A more complete form than what the instructor had shown.

Swoosh!

Raon smiled, enjoying the sensation flowing over his shoulder. His feet moved as if they had known the Garambow since birth, perfectly recreating its fluid motion.

* * *

"Yawn!"

Rimer yawned widely and blinked his eyes.

"I'm so sleepy."

He had been sleepless for days, finding and refining suitable footwork for the trainees, leaving his body feeling sluggish.

'Maybe I'm getting old.'

He chuckled and looked down from the platform.

In the center, Raon stood still with his eyes closed, seemingly visualizing the instructor's footwork in his mind.

'It's a good method...'

Visualizing martial arts in one's mind is indeed a good training method, but it's only effective after a certain level of skill has been achieved.

Since they had just learned the footwork, it was better to practice it physically rather than just visualizing it.

'I'll have to tell him not to get too cocky later.'

Rimer muttered, looking at Balen.

'He's doing quite well.'

Balen, who seemed to have prior experience with footwork, almost perfectly replicated the Garambow form. While he lacked the essence, his stance was likely to be perfected soon.

'The same goes for her.'

Marta also moved her feet and rotated her body with ease, as if she had practiced footwork for a long time. Her stance was even better than Balen's.

"Hmm."

Rimer chuckled, watching Balen and Marta's footwork.

'They're thinking about Raon.'

Both were recalling their sparring sessions with Raon while learning the footwork.

The point about footwork being the most important in one-on-one combat seemed to have hit home.

'And...'

He looked at Lunan, who was practicing the Garambow on the right side. Her movements were different from the previous two.

Her movements seemed more supportive than confrontational. It was obvious who Lunan wanted to help.

Rimer observed all the trainees, noting their strengths and weaknesses to address later.

'It's interesting.'

Perhaps because they were still young and pure, he could tell what each trainee was thinking just by watching them train.

"Ugh."

Rimer stretched like a bear waking from hibernation and stood up.

Flash.

As he was about to point out the strengths and weaknesses he had noted, Raon, who had been standing like a statue, opened his eyes and stepped back.

'Ah...'

The vivid red eyes and the crane-like extension of his foot sent a chill down his spine.

Raon's feet moved forward slowly. The first form of the Garambow, Yuhwa, flowed like a river across the training ground floor.

Thud!

He took the second stance. The forward movement, like a flame, seemed to reflect a sharp blade.

"Huh!"

Rimer chuckled.

'That kid...'

Raon's Yuhwa was closer to perfection than the instructor who had taught him the footwork.

Following that, Raon fluidly performed the twelve forms of the Garambow, with no mistakes or shortcomings, almost perfectly.

"Uh..."

"What, what is this?"

The trainees and instructors stopped and stared at Raon's footwork in amazement.

"He learned the footwork through visualization?"

Rimer's eyes trembled. A chill ran down his spine.

'Just where does this monster's limits lie...?'