Unlike previous times, the weapons master didn't say much, just a few empty words of praise, and after handing me a metal plaque, he dismissed me from the place.
Looking at the gray hair and dark circles under his eyes on his already unkempt face, I thought the situation must be taking its toll on him right now, and with the morning rush, things seemed to be getting out of control.
Looking at the plate in my hand, it looked more like some kind of medallion, with this plate I could use any combat technique of mortal grade and below for free.
As for what technique I should choose, any technique that involves using fists is fine, at this point I'd feel weird if I tried to use a different fighting style.
The martial arts hall, a place where all kinds of mysterious techniques and practice methods are stored.
According to some rumors, the martial arts hall is said to possess half of a king-rank combat technique, said techniques are said to be enough to shape the world itself.
But these are just rumors, and if they aren't, then whether it's Baron Andrés or whoever is practicing this technique, they shouldn't have been able to fully understand it. If so, Baron Andrés shouldn't be going through so much trouble just to take over the city of a viscount who barely possesses the power of someone at the third rank in spiritual practice.
It might sound like he was very strong, but according to various sources, Viscount Azure only managed to advance to the third spiritual rank through spiritual treasures and considering that both Baron Andres and the weapons master are powerhouses at the same level, he shouldn't be giving him that much trouble.
Although it is difficult to say, fights between nobles are like playing a game of chess.
As I approached the martial arts hall, two guards dressed in intimidating-looking black armor stopped me. "Report your intentions, practitioner."
I showed the badge the weapons master had given me and gave it to the guard who had just spoken.
Seeing the metal plate, the guard nodded and put the plate inside one of his pockets. "You can go in and take any technique or practice manual from the first floor, going further is prohibited and you will be severely punished if you are caught making a fuss or breaking the rules."
I nodded at his warning and entered the martial arts hall, inside there were several shelves with a lot of books as if it were a library, at the end of the hall there was a spiral staircase that limited the end of the first floor.
"Young man, can I help you with something?" Turning toward the unfamiliar voice, I saw an old man rocking comfortably in a handsome wooden chair.
Paying my respects to the old man, I stated my reasons for being in the martial arts hall. "That's right, old man. I wonder if there are hand-to-hand combat techniques? It would be much better if they are fist techniques."
The old man scratched his gray beard, as if he were thinking about something. "Come with me, young man," he said after thinking for a while.
The old man got up from his seat, following in his footsteps. We both walked between different shelves until we reached a section that looked somewhat neglected; it also seemed to be the section with the fewest books on the entire floor.
—It's a bit unusual for someone to practice fist or palm techniques, you're very exposed to being hurt by the enemy, people prefer to trust a piece of metal more than their own body —
The old man spoke with good reason, even the fist and palm techniques of spiritual practice are usually weaker than others of the same rank that use weapons, but that was only in the early stages, things may not be the same at higher levels.
— I know, old man, but I'm used to fighting with my fists. I don't think I can adapt to another fighting style at the moment. —
The old man nodded, "Then let this old man help you a little."
The old man walked around the shelves a bit and grabbed three books off the shelves, not even looking at them before handing them to me.
—The techniques I have given you are the strongest of their kind, whether for their speed, strength or resistance, they are also the most balanced, although their learning is equally difficult —
As I shifted my gaze between the books and the old man, I bowed my body. "Thank you very much for your help, old man."
—Just take your time, I have things to do so I'll go for now, just show the guards the technique you've learned when you leave —
The old man left, leaving me alone with the three manuals. Looking for a place where I could sit, I put the books aside, taking only one at first.
The title of the first one, "Swallow Strikes," consisted of agile and elegant attacks; once mastered, one became capable of fighting on any terrain and moving as if performing acrobatics.
His strong suit was evasiveness, although being boxed in could put one in trouble, although in reality that was only considering other techniques whose strong suit is closed spaces.
Taking the following book "Terrain of the Robust Monkey" Same as the previous one, although different at the same time, because, although this technique allows you to fight in difficult terrain and move like an acrobat, the essence of the technique consisted of overwhelming the opponent with a succession of blows that did not allow your opponent to counterattack.
His strength lies in close quarters and powerful strikes, however, the technique requires a lot of stamina, so finishing off the opponent quickly is vital.
Taking the latest book "Flowing River Rock", This technique was a little strange, the concept was that each hit should flow as if it were a moving river, each hit should be like the water of the flowing river wearing down even the largest rocks and destroying them in the process.
Unlike the other two combat techniques, this technique didn't seem to have a strong point, but likewise it didn't have an obvious weakness either, it could be said that it was the most balanced technique of the three.
After thinking about it for a moment, I decided on the third manual "Flowing River Rock"
Although the other techniques were quite strong in their respective fields, their weaknesses were quite obvious against specialized techniques, the safest option was still a technique without weaknesses.
"Do you want to learn the Flowing River Rock body technique? Yes/No"
Faced with the question about the transparent window, I refused to learn the technique for the time being. I still remembered what happened when I learned the breathing technique: the manual turned to ashes along with the letter.
I wasn't sure if it was something with the transparent window or the manual and the letter itself.
However, it doesn't hurt to be cautious; it wasn't worth the risk.
As I left the martial arts hall, I showed the guard the fist technique. He didn't say anything as he had his partner check me in case I was hiding a manual.
Once the inspection was over, the guard said in a stern voice, "You may keep the manual, however, you are absolutely prohibited from selling the manual or teaching it to a third party without the school's permission. Breaking either of these rules may be punished with death."
Seeing that I understood the severity of the punishment, the guard signaled me to leave the area.
. . . .
Once I returned to my room, I summoned the transparent window and instantly learned the "Flowing River Rock" technique, spending a skill point in the process.
Flowing River Rock (Beginner 15/50) (Mortal)
Skill Points: 3
"Hmm?" Looking at the technique, I couldn't help but notice the number of mastery points I have on the technique. If I recall correctly, when I learned the breathing technique it was only ten points.
Trying to figure out what was going on, I decided to invest another skill point into the technique and another into the copper body manual, to see if the effect was the same.
Flowing River Rock (Beginner 30/50) (Mortal)
Copper Body/Physical (Advanced 52/100) (Mortal)
It didn't seem to be the case, the fist technique increased by another fifteen points of mastery, but the copper body manual only increased by ten points.
Wondering what the cause could be, my eyes fell elsewhere.
Boxing Methods (Perfection)
What if the reason for the increase in Mastery Points is because of this? The inexplicable feeling from before could be the reason.
My question is whether this only affects the amount of mastery points or is it also capable of affecting my innate talent in fist techniques.
If I remembered correctly, it took me at least two days to acquire a single mastery point in boxing methods, I practiced three hours a day because my leather could barely keep up, however, with my current strength I could train almost all day without a break.
"Okay, I'll try it." My body began to practice the deadly range combat techniques.
If I could acquire a mastery point in the same time or less, it meant that my innate talent increased.