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Chapter 212: The Sword Saint Knew

Swoosh-!

Ethan’s wooden sword pierced straight into Regia’s shoulder.

It was an incredibly fierce attack, but Regia didn’t avoid it. This was because he sensed no hostility from Ethan’s wooden sword.

Thump-.

Ethan then maneuvered the wooden sword, pressing on Regia’s waist and thighs. In an instant, he moved Regia’s body, making him take the first stance of swordsmanship written on the parchment.

“…..”

Regia frowned. It was a perfect stance.

As Regia had taught this swordsmanship countless times, he knew well how perfect a stance he was taking.

It was truly identical to his own method.

He had written quite a high-level swordsmanship on the parchment. It was a swordsmanship theorized by Regia himself, which could be learned from intermediate level, but to execute it this perfectly, one had to be at an advanced level.

He made him take the first stance of such a difficult swordsmanship just by moving the wooden sword a few times. And perfectly at that.

This meant that in that short time, he had understood this difficult level of swordsmanship.

Since one couldn’t teach without understanding, it truly meant that Ethan was a genius surpassing the advanced level.

But this wasn’t the end. There was something even more amazing that made Regia uncomfortable.

Pain.

The fact that there was no pain at all, which was the biggest drawback of this teaching method.

It was when Regia first came up with this teaching method.

He tried various methods to forcibly correct the other person’s posture, but that correction always required strong force.

Strong force inevitably accompanied strong pain.

During the correction process, the trainees felt great pain, and in fact, to endure that process, they had to surround themselves with mana like armor.

But doing so made the correction itself difficult.

With the body tensed up, it became impossible to forcibly correct the posture.

It could be seen as a failed teaching method.

But Regia had confidence in his teaching method.

That’s why he had been researching for a long time to improve the teaching method, and he had found his own breakthrough.

By completely eliminating pain, he could even suppress the other person’s unconscious reactions, enabling an even more perfect correction.

Regia had tried various methods to reach this method, which he named painless correction.

Artifacts in the form of bamboo sticks engraved with magic.

And the stick technique and breathing method devised for this.

Regia’s teaching method was completed by combining numerous things.

From the side, it might look like he’s easily teaching the trainee just by lightly poking with a bamboo stick, but the more easy something looks, the higher its difficulty.

That’s how much trial and error went into completing this teaching method.

It was natural to feel uncomfortable.

Ethan’s correction, like his own, didn’t cause any pain.

This meant that he too was using painless correction, but Ethan’s method was completely different from Regia’s.

It wasn’t magic.

It wasn’t artifacts.

It was something else that Regia didn’t know.

Regia unknowingly clenched his fist.

This was a teaching method he had pursued all his life.

How much effort had he put in to reach painless correction?

How much had he refined it to fix the biggest drawback of his teaching method?

And yet this young man was reducing pain as well as his own method with some unknown technique?

“Fascinating. Truly a fascinating method.”

Regia’s expression suddenly changed. Seeing this expression, Ethan swung his wooden sword again.

Having made him take the first stance, he now intended to make him take the second stance.

Swoosh-!

With a crisp wind sound, Ethan’s wooden sword danced. Regia had now completely entrusted his body to Ethan’s wooden sword.

Eventually, Regia’s eyes widened as he perfectly took the second stance.

“So that’s it. That’s the method.”

Lost in thought, Regia muttered something and then started writing various things on the parchment.

Then, as if he had found the answer, he stood up.

“You stabbed the mana roads. Huh, to think pain could be reduced this way too.”

More accurately, it was using Heo’s Acupuncture to stab acupoints.

Of course, considering that Regia didn’t know its identity, it was a very accurate answer.

But doubt still remained in Regia’s eyes. To eliminate even that last bit of doubt, Ethan swung his wooden sword again.

‘I can see it better now.’

As if moving while looking at the answer sheet, Ethan swung his wooden sword without hesitation.

The speed of the wooden sword gradually increased, and Regia’s posture continued to change.

Starting from the first stance, 1st form, it progressed to 2nd form, 3rd form, 4th form, and by the time it reached the final stance, 5th form, the speed of the wooden sword had become too fast to follow with the eyes.

Thump-.

Yet there was no pain. It was a perfect painless correction.

“Phew.”

Ethan let out a rough breath. Even for Ethan, this wasn’t an easy task.

Regia, who had been standing in the 5th form, slowly returned to his original posture and nodded.

“Now I understand. Not just the mana roads, but you also stabbed the paths where blood flows. That’s how you eliminated the pain.”

With just a slight hint, he came close to the correct answer. Seeing this, Ethan thought he had chosen his master well.

“Your teaching method is different from mine. It looks the same, but… it’s different.”

Regia could now admit it.

That Ethan’s teaching method and his own were similar but definitely different.

“You really did come up with this on your own.”

If they were the same, the painless correction method would have been the same too.

But Regia’s method and Ethan’s method were completely different. Ethan was correcting in a way Regia had never thought of.

Moreover, that genius.

In that short time, he understood the high-level swordsmanship Regia had handed over just by looking at it. He even perfectly reproduced it through his own body.

How could he doubt any further?

Regia had considered various possibilities while coming to this Ramsdale estate.

Among those possibilities, the least likely one was that Ethan had come up with a new method on his own.

Having taught countless individuals called geniuses since childhood, Regia knew well how big the gap was even among those called geniuses.

“It’s unbelievable, but…”

It was because he thought it was unbelievable that he came this far.

But now that this unbelievable thing turned out to be true, Regia couldn’t help but be flustered.

‘It’s fortunate that I learned the Sleeping Dragon’s Sight. It’s also fortunate that I over-prepared.’

Not only was that amazing intellect a problem, but Regia’s aura and physique couldn’t be moved with mediocre power.

‘Thanks to the Sleeping Dragon’s Sight, the effect of True Heo’s Acupuncture was strengthened. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to correct Regia this perfectly.’

This teaching method was very difficult to attempt if one’s level was lower than the other person’s, so if he hadn’t mastered the Sleeping Dragon’s Sight, correcting Regia’s posture would have been extremely difficult.

‘It wouldn’t have been impossible. But it would have been shaky, and I wouldn’t have been able to clear his doubts this decisively.’

Now that it was confirmed that Ethan’s teaching method was a method he came up with on his own, unlike his own teaching method, Regia’s expression softened much more than before.

Especially, what changed was his eyes.

As if he had seen a new direction in Ethan, Regia’s eyes were now much clearer than before.

-The survival probability that had temporarily decreased has returned to its original state.

-The survival probability is increasing!

The decreased survival probability not only returned to normal but even increased further.

‘Phew.’

Only then did Ethan relax.

This was Regia who had been strongly doubting him. Now that he had cleared Regia’s doubts, those doubts would now turn into trust.

But Ethan didn’t simply intend to receive an apology here.

To Regia who was about to apologize, Ethan instead bowed his head.

“This junior far beneath you has committed a discourtesy. I had been thinking hard about this method in my head while I was bedridden, and after regaining my health, I realized it, so I had a strong attachment to it. I also thought this teaching method was my original, so I seem to have acted rudely in front of you, senior. Please forgive my impoliteness.”

Ethan proved that he had created his own teaching method by demonstrating it personally.

If so, the fault lies entirely with Regia. Nevertheless, Ethan apologized first.

Despite his young age, he achieved results with overwhelming talent. One might have been intoxicated by such talent.

Yet he even considered Regia’s face.

Regia couldn’t help but laugh heartily at Ethan’s apology.

-The survival probability increases slightly again.

“No, no. It’s not you who should apologize, but me. I’m truly sorry. I’ve been very sensitive lately, you see. That’s why I had to react that way. I’m sorry.”

Regia bowed his head in apology. This was the first time Ethan had seen Regia bow his head like this.

‘What a strange sight. I’d like to take a picture if I could, it’s that rare.’

Regia is an extremely meticulous person. He doesn’t create situations where he needs to apologize in the first place.

Ethan suppressed his rising corners of his mouth and waved his hand.

“Not at all. It’s natural for you to be suspicious since my teaching method is so similar. In fact, when I came up with this teaching method, although it’s an arrogant thought, I thought I was the only one on the continent who could use it.”

“Hahaha! Are you saying I’m arrogant too? Good spirit. To be honest, you’re right. I was the same. I prided myself that there couldn’t be a more perfect teaching method than this. I thought only I could think of and perfect it.”

Regia looked at Ethan.

He could well understand how much pain and despair Ethan must have gone through to make that teaching method his own.

Of course, Ethan didn’t particularly feel any despair. After all, the base was Regia’s teaching method.

“I’ll definitely apologize for this one. I’m truly sorry. Instead, if there’s anything you want from me, I’ll grant you one wish, whatever it may be.”

‘To think things would go this well.’

Ethan grinned.

When he met Regia at this timing, he didn’t think things would go this well.

‘If things are going well, I should ride that flow.’

The words that he would grant one wish.

Just like the Sword Saint, when these strong individuals bestow favors, one shouldn’t give an obvious answer.

Of course, they would grant even an obvious request, but these strong individuals evaluate others even by such things, so one had to gain the maximum benefit.

‘Regia receives countless requests. So no matter what request I make, it can only be something obvious. Because he’s heard them all before.’

So he had to show clearly. That the reward Regia was giving as if bestowing wasn’t as great as he thought.

“I’d like to learn from you, Sir Regia.”

“Hmm, you want to learn from me? Then are you thinking of quitting Ivecar?”

Regia showed signs of disappointment even as he answered. For him, it was an answer within the expected range.

But Ethan’s step wasn’t over yet.

“No.”

Ethan said.

“I’d like to learn for just one month. Until the vacation ends. That’s enough.”

“One month?”

Regia’s disciple.

Perhaps it’s a position that everyone on the continent would want.

Yet after asking for that position, he says he’ll learn for just one month?

And that’s enough?

Regia blinked his eyes, wondering where on earth such a person came from.

For a moment, his conversation with the Sword Saint flashed through his mind.

The Sword Saint had said he didn’t know if Regia would really come even after inviting him to the new teacher training seminar.

So when asked what change of heart made him come, Regia had said he came to find Ethan Whiskers.

Then the Sword Saint had blinked his eyes.

At that time, he didn’t know why he made such an expression, but now he seemed to understand its meaning.

The Sword Saint thought that Regia had come to recruit Ethan.

“He knew. The Sword Saint already knew your skills. That’s why he made that expression.”

“Pardon?”

“No, it’s nothing. Alright, one month it is. Let’s add my teaching method to your teaching method once. Come to the imperial palace when this training is over.”

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