However, despite readily agreeing, Karyan’s subsequent words made Khan frown.
『But the method to become stronger varies for each person. Some can grasp the seed of growth by simply meditating, while others may never comprehend it in a lifetime. Meanwhile, some can learn ten things from just one practical experience. If one truly has talent, they may achieve growth through both ways. As I see it, you are not that kind.』
“…Are you saying I have no talent?”
While these words might have offended someone else’s pride, Khan asked nonchalantly.
‘It’s not exactly news to me.’
A tubby office worker in his thirties falling into another world wouldn’t suddenly awaken as a martial arts genius or a sorcery prodigy like in stories. Certainly, in modern life, someone with such gifts might go unnoticed.
But that did not apply to Khan.
‘I have grown strong solely because of the game system.’
Simply hunting monsters repeatedly allowed for continuous growth. While leveling up made the experience bar lengthier and progress slower, defeating powerful monsters resulted in rapid leveling.
The downside was the life-threatening risks, and Khan had faced those risks head-on.
‘Talent isn’t necessary. As long as I keep moving forward.’
This wasn’t mere self-consolation; his rise to the realm of the superhuman was proof enough.
Most importantly─
“Talent doesn’t matter to me.”
With the system of ‘Midland Quest,’ he could master techniques, talent or not.
Just as he had made the Antares Swordsmanship his own, constantly triggering the skill acquisition mechanism during battles with strong opponents,
He could not only acquire these skills but could also evolve them further using the racial bonuses of a Barbarian.
“So, just teach me already, Karyan.”
『Ha, you insolent brat!』
With a scoff, Karyan completely seized control of the Great Warrior’s body.
『Alright, I’ll show you. Take what you can.』
***
God of Warriors Karyan is the ancestor of the Hoarfrost Gorge clan. Naturally, most of the techniques used by Hoarfrost Gorge warriors originated from him.
『The essence is to feel the flow of battle.』
Using the Great Warrior’s body, Karyan extended a punch. Khan’s sword strike was drawn into it as if sucked in, resulting in a collision between bare flesh and the magic sword, producing a deafening roar.
Of course, the one getting pushed back was Khan.
『If you can sense the flow like this, you don’t even need any special techniques. You just need to channel your strength in response to your opponent’s next move. That’s why you struggled so much against my apostle.』
“Sensing… the flow?”
Khan grimaced at the abstract concept and charged again. For him, continuous action was the key to acquiring new skills. Yet, like the Great Warrior before, Karyan was an insurmountable wall. A wall that reached all the way to the sky, with no end in sight.
“What does that even mean!”
He clashed against the wall with all his might. In a flash, he unleashed five strikes that could crush boulders. From the opponent’s perspective, it must have felt like five formidable sword strikes converging at once.
『Simply wielding your sword is not enough. It doesn’t end there.』
Karyan deflected the five seemingly illusory sword strikes with his fist and stamped his foot, sending a loud thud through the ground.
『Your opponent has three main choices: defend, evade, or counterattack. Of course, the possibilities multiply endlessly if we break it down further. Let’s assume a defense followed by a counterattack.』
Following his explanation, he demonstrated each move, deliberately slow to make his point clear. A forward step, and then a counterattack.
Boom──!
His punch, striking the empty air, generated a massive shockwave. As if by magic, the shockwave traveled across a distance and Khan, blocking it with Draupnir, was pushed back a few steps.
『Your opponent has defended the counterattack. This presents another set of choices. Realizing that I have the means to strike from a distance, you’re left with two options: closing the gap or retreating from the battlefield. In this sanctuary, the remaining option is ultimately…』
Bang!
Karyan, who had closed the gap in an instant, caught Khan’s extended punch with his palm and grinned.
『To charge in again. So, do you get the gist of it?』
“Gist, my ass…!”
Claaaang─!
Khan countered by kicking up from the ground, using Draupnir as an anchor. Karyan blocked it with a slight shift of his arm that was gripping Khan’s fist, then continued his resounding instruction.
『You’re truly a slow learner. Most would have started to grasp it by now.』
‘Man, you talk a lot.’
Using Karyan’s forearm as a platform, Khan leaped back to gain distance. Normally, such an impact would have shattered an arm, but that abnormal body was unscathed.
Khan wondered if this was how those who had died by his hands felt. The physical disparity was so vast, there seemed to be no viable countermeasure.
Moreover, Karyan anticipated every attack. Even if Khan tried to clear his mind and attack randomly, Karyan read his every move.
‘What the hell is this flow?’
Khan was certain that the ‘flow’ Karyan spoke of held the key. Even amidst battle, his mind raced constantly.
He couldn’t get too absorbed in the abstract notion of sensing the flow of battle. What mattered in skill acquisition was how often the related actions were performed against a particular target.
‘Combat Foresight’ developed from a repeatedly triggered gut instinct for detecting incoming attacks.
‘Leap’ was naturally acquired by persistently performing jumping motions, and ‘Throw’ was similarly learned.
‘Telling me to sense the flow of battle just sounds vague. It’s better to focus on the phenomena shown by that enigmatic skill.’
After nearly ten fights with the Great Warrior, receiving brief but guided sparring with Karyan, and having a proper match with Hoarfrost Gorge’s first warrior, Tarak,
It was clear that all three, despite varying degrees, could predict Khan’s movements.
‘So, is this skill about predicting the opponent’s actions?’
Khan doubted that was the full extent of it. That level of prediction was already within his capabilities. In fact, predicting the opponent’s movements was something he had been doing for a long time.
Understanding the opponent’s personality was fundamental. Analyzing the usual attack patterns, the unexpected variable patterns, and even the trump card used in dire scenarios.
He used to meticulously study every algorithm, exploiting them to devise perfect strategies, back when this world was still a game. And that method worked, even against foes he faced in the game.
‘Just like when I faced Leniyar.’
Khan knew her personality well and crafted a spontaneous plan accordingly. First, Ludmilla’s magic immobilized the Dwarf pirate ship to create distance.
Naturally, Leniyar couldn’t close the gap by running across the sea, so her only option was to perform a reckless maneuver using spirit magic to launch herself.
-And knowing from the game that Leniyar was a lunatic capable of such a stunt,
He devised the plan to blast her away with an indestructible magic sword while she was airborne, making her defenseless. That, in a way, was a demonstration of ‘battle flow’ as Karyan described, wasn’t it?
Specifically, he had taken the lead in guiding the flow of battle.
“…Let’s go again. One more time.”
『Ho. Have you grasped something? Your eyes have changed.』
Asked if he had grasped it, Khan shook his head. To be honest, he still didn’t fully understand what Karyan was talking about.
Yet.
‘I’ve definitely caught a clue for skill acquisition.’
And to materialize that clue, ultimately, “Let’s fight until we’re sick of it.”
***
‘Ah, look at this guy.’
As Karyan, who had personally possessed his apostle’s body to teach Khan, watched, he couldn’t help but let out a mental chuckle. It wasn’t a reaction born of negativity.
On the contrary, it was close to expressing surprise at what Khan had shown.
‘He still hasn’t grasped the sense….’
If Khan had truly awakened the sense of reading the flow of battle, he would have picked up on Karyan’s signals and adjusted his movements accordingly. However, something did change.
Specifically, there was now a trace of intent in Khan’s attacks that wasn’t there initially.
‘Interesting.’
Though the ‘Proof of Valor’ test appeared, on the surface, to be about demonstrating one’s martial prowess and bravery before the God of Warriors, it was not truly the case. The valor of these cursed descendants didn’t require testing.
The true purpose was to help a descendant with potential awaken their ‘sense’.
‘I don’t usually intervene directly… but a promise is a promise.’
Even in his contemplation, Karyan effortlessly blocked all of Khan’s attacks, interspersing swift counterattacks. The gap between warriors with and without the ‘sense’ was that vast.
Despite adjusting his level to match Khan’s, Knowing the opponent’s movements in advance created an insurmountable disparity.
‘This time, I’ll just make sure he passes out for an hour or two… Hm?’
Puzzlement flashed across Karyan’s face as he batted aside the oddly shaped greatsword with a punch.
‘It’s changing?’
Khan’s subsequent movements were dynamically altering in real-time before Karyan’s eyes. As Karyan adjusted to these new movements, Khan adapted again. And so it continued, changing and re-changing…
Before they knew it, the two had momentarily stopped their clash, staring at each other from their respective positions.
『It seemed you’d grasped the sense, but that’s not it. Ha…!』
Karyan’s first words broke the peculiar silence, a combination of astonishment from comprehending what Khan had achieved. It was also genuine admiration for Khan’s inexplicable technique, even to a God who had observed countless warriors.
『Instead of feeling the flow of battle, you forcibly engrain the entire flow of the upcoming battle into your mind?』
“When there are no fangs, you bite with your gums.”
『Hahaha…! You don’t realize how extraordinary what you’ve done is. Reading the entire flow of a battle from start to finish and controlling it… That too is a form of foresight! Even the immortals who have ascended to the divine thrones haven’t achieved this. And yet, you’ve done it in a mere mortal body!』
In fact, it was an even more incomprehensible feat. To achieve such an overwhelming feat with the body and mind of a mortal would be enough to cause one’s head to overload and burst.
It would be more believable if this were the result of a centuries-old accumulation of combat experience, finally blossoming into awakened talent.
But the young warrior before him hadn’t even lived thirty years, and no matter how fiercely he lived, there were limits to the experience he could gather. So, it must be talent.
Karyan admitted that his judgment had been wrong. The young warrior wasn’t lacking in talent; he possessed a kind that Karyan had never encountered.
『Excellent!』
“Not yet, it’s not over.”
Khan swiftly interrupted Karyan, who seemed ready to declare the trial passed, gripping his sword with a grin that hinted at excitement.
“I feel like I can push further. Please, spar with me a bit longer.”