Chapter 80

Chapter 80. A Tiger Crouched with Bated Breath

For roughly a week, Balun received instruction from Aldric on the basics of Stealth.

Just as every field had its fundamentals, Stealth also had its foundations, and Aldric said that only by firmly building those foundations could one use Stealth better.

What surprised Balun was that these foundations were truly varied and vast.

Breath control, gaze control, body odor control, reading the wind, using noise, footwork, and more. There were more than ten different kinds of basic training alone. Since one had to build all of those foundations solidly before finally reaching the level of an initiate, Balun was realizing that the world of Rogues was far deeper than he had expected.

Balun realized that this was absolutely not something to take lightly, so he received the instruction with a truly serious attitude. After listening to lectures for about two hours a day, he spent the rest of his time practicing alone.

Like that, a week passed.

Aldric could not hide his surprise when he saw Balun’s progress.

“This truly makes no sense. This is the result of learning for one week?”

“Am I doing well?”

“You are at an insane level.”

From the basic breathing method to posture and using the terrain and surroundings, not a single part of it was at the level of a beginner who had only been learning for one week. At the very least, it was at the level of a Rogue who had trained in the basics for several years.

How could this be possible?

“Be honest. You learned this somewhere before, did you not?”

“I did not.”

“And yet you are at this level?”

“It is not exactly my first time doing this kind of thing. I trained like this a lot when I was young.”

“You trained a lot? In this?”

“Yes. Erasing my presence, deflecting others’ gazes, using the terrain and surroundings, hiding my breathing as much as possible, using my center of gravity. I trained in such things. To survive.”

“To survive? What does that mean?”

“Unlike you people, we lived in the wild. If we did not learn, we died. We died to monsters, to wild beasts, and in war. If we did not want to die, we had no choice but to learn and master it.”

At Balun’s words, Aldric became as silent as if he had eaten honey. Only belatedly did he remind himself that Balun was a Barbarian.

Warriors raised not in the embrace of civilization, but in the embrace of the wild. That was why they resembled beasts of prey more than anyone else.

Once Aldric recalled that, he understood how Balun’s rapid mastery was possible.

“Now that I see it, this was not the work of a genius. It was a desperate struggle for survival.”

“Well, something like that.”

Of course, Balun’s progress was not due to that alone.

Stealth or whatever it was called, it was ultimately a technique that used the body.

Since Balun had been born with a natural talent for using his body, it was inevitable that his progress would be fast.

“There is no need to continue with the basics. I can teach you a technique right away.”

“A technique?”

“Yes.”

“Oh!”

And so, in just one week, he completed the absolute basics.

“The first technique I will teach you is footwork.”

“Oh! Footwork!”

“It is called Silent Steps. As the name suggests, it is a method of walking without making noise. It is the cornerstone that forms the foundation of all Rogue techniques, so you must learn it well.”

The second thing he learned was a footwork technique called Silent Steps, and Balun learned this quickly as well.

Aldric was left speechless when he saw Balun follow along well even though he had only just started teaching him.

“It is easier than I thought. Is it because it is a basic technique after all?”

“Do you realize you just drove a dagger into the hearts of countless Rogues?”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Aldric’s mouth itched. He had a mountain of things he wanted to pour out.

This was something one had to learn for months to become accustomed to, and train in for three or four years before finally reaching true mastery. Yet Balun had learned it in a single day, and what? It was easy because it was basic?

“That is not something one can learn so quickly… No. Forget it.”

Seeing Aldric shake his head, Balun chuckled and said, “It was a joke. In truth, I am used to it because I have done it often. Erasing the sound of footsteps is basic in the wild. That is how you hunt prey. If you cannot hunt prey, you starve to death.”

“…Your life must have been quite exhausting too.”

“It was very exhausting.”

However, it was not exactly the same. There was a fundamental difference between the instinctive movements Balun had mastered in order to survive and Silent Steps. Aldric quickly caught that subtle difference.

“Originally, Silent Steps was created by imitating the movements of a snake. A snake makes almost no sound when it moves. A sinister assassin who moves with utmost secrecy and cuts off the opponent’s breath. That is the direction a Rogue aims for. But your Silent Steps feels completely different.”

“What does mine feel like?”

“Your Silent Steps is, how should I put it, like a tiger crouched with bated breath while watching its prey from behind.”

Aldric continued.

“If a crawling snake is a secretive and sinister assassin, then a crouching tiger is the storm before it arrives. It is quiet and peaceful, as though nothing will happen, but in truth, it is compressing an enormous power. Your Silent Steps is exactly like that.”

“…”

“You have clearly erased your presence and killed your sound, but pressure can still be felt. There is also a killing intent that feels as if it will cut and tear the entire body apart. By the time the enemy recognizes it, it is already too late. They cannot escape from the tiger’s embrace.”

Balun nodded. It could not be helped. He had lived that way his entire life. How could a habit be changed easily?

Although Balun’s natural personality was soft, he had been forced to learn the ways of a predator. Whether when killing an enemy, waging war, or hunting, he could not survive unless he acted like a predator.

Only seventeen years. But seventeen years packed with an incredibly dense life.

After living like that, it had now become a part of him that could not be separated.

Of course, it was ironic that, despite all of that, he was still very cowardly.

“I see. Then what should I do? Do I need to fix it? Stealth should be secretive.”

“If it were someone else, I would have told them to fix it. But you… I do not think you need to. That method suits you.”

“But I want to be secretive and sinister too.”

At Balun’s words, Aldric chuckled. To him, Balun’s words sounded utterly absurd. Was this not like a rich man coveting the wealth of the poor?

The reason Rogues sought secrecy and sinister methods was because they lacked strength. In other words, if one possessed strength, there was no need to be particularly secretive or sinister.

And yet Balun possessed strength, but still said he wanted secrecy and sinister methods.

How ridiculous was that?

“I do not understand you. What is a tiger trying to do by imitating a snake?”

“Well, would a tiger with a snake’s abilities not be even more impressive?”

“You certainly are greedy.”

“Greed is an excellent driving force in life.”

“Stop thinking unnecessary thoughts and practice. Even if you learned Silent Steps in a day, mastering it is another matter.”

“I should.”

“Besides, you need to become accustomed to Silent Steps before you can move on to the next stage.”

“The next stage?”

“The secret technique I mentioned before.”

“Oh, the secret technique! Am I finally going to learn that?”

“Yes.”

“Then I will practice hard!”

Watching Balun stop speaking and run around the clearing diligently, Aldric chuckled and thought, ‘No matter how talented he is, becoming accustomed to it will not be easy. He will have to train until he bleeds every day for two or three months.’

***

It took less than five days for Aldric’s thought to be shattered.

In just four days, Balun’s Silent Steps had improved noticeably.

Watching Balun run vigorously without making even the sound of footsteps, Aldric was at a loss for words.

‘He was born wrong. He should have become a Rogue, not a Warrior.’

“How is it? Have I improved a lot?”

“You have improved a lot.”

“Heh heh.”

“But this feels a little… hmm.”

However, there was something that bothered him.

Four days ago, the form of Silent Steps had at least still been visible. Now, the original form of Silent Steps had almost disappeared.

The sinister quality unique to Silent Steps that had barely remained was now gone.

Rather than the footwork of Rogues, it felt much closer to the footwork of Knights.

No, it was not exactly the kind of footwork he could definitively call a Knight’s footwork either…

He did not know.

Even for Aldric, who had experienced all sorts of hardships, this situation was difficult to judge.

Should this be called a good change, or not?

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“A problem… No. Now that I think about it, it is not a problem. A technique is originally meant to transform to fit its user.”

Aldric realized it. In only four days, Balun had recreated Silent Steps into something of his own.

Since the foundation itself had changed, Aldric could no longer say this or that about Balun’s Silent Steps. From now on, it was something Balun had to handle himself.

‘There is no need to explain… I suppose.’

Was there any need to give a dull, old-fashioned explanation to someone who would do well on his own even if left alone?

“Stop moving and come here. We will move on to the next stage.”

“Good.”

“The next technique I will teach you is a Stealth technique called Shadow Step. It is the Stealth technique I practice.”

“Is this the secret technique?”

“That is right.”

“Oh!”

Balun’s heart began to pound.

He was finally learning a proper Stealth technique!

“Just as Magic has many schools, Rogues also have various schools of their own. Among them, I belong to the Shadow School, which mainly deals with shadows. Doras, the legendary Rogue Master I mentioned earlier, was its founder, and Shadow Step is the core technique that made Doras who he was.”

“The world of Rogues is quite complicated too. I did not know such things existed.”

“That is because it has a long history.”

“But is it all right to teach me something so valuable? If it is such a secret art, it must be extremely precious.”

“It is precious, but it does not really matter if I teach it. There are hardly any people who can learn it properly anyway.”

He seemed more easygoing than Balun had expected.

Even if Aldric said that, a secret art was still a secret art.

And it was not just any secret art, but a technique belonging to some legendary figure.

“I will first teach you the mana operation method. You said you can handle mana, did you not?”

“Of course. I also practice Mana Cultivation every day.”

“Then that is enough. Come here. Sit in this chair.”

When Balun did as instructed, Aldric placed his palm on Balun’s back.

“I will push in a small amount of my Aura. I do not intend to harm you, so stay still.”

“If you harm me, I will punch you in the face immediately.”

“Do as you like.”

“No, I will split you with an axe. I will split you vertically.”

“Do whatever you want, and stay still. Please.”

“Understood.”

“Remember the sensation well. The feeling transmitted through the Mana Circuits will be different.”

Once Balun entrusted his body to him, he felt a familiar sensation.

It was the sensation he had felt from the Gray Sage Calrent and Grand Smith Seria as well.

Something like a wriggling worm entered his body and squirmed through every part of him.

“How does it feel?”

“It feels faint. As if it is about to be erased.”

“That is right. That is the sensation. You must guide mana in that way. Only then can you use Shadow Step.”

“How do I do that?”

“That is what you will learn from now on. A secret technique is not called a secret technique for nothing. Naturally, it takes a long time. Even I, a Special-Class Rogue in name and reality, have not mastered it yet.”

“I see.”

Balun decided not to rush. After all, once he learned it, he could train in it whenever he wanted.

“Fortunately, you know Mana Cultivation and can move mana, so you should be faster than others. However, I do not know what kind of result will come out. You say your constitution is different… Tsk.”

At those words, Balun abruptly became aware of reality.

Now that he thought about it, he had a constitution that could not accumulate mana, did he not?

He had learned well so far, but would he be able to keep learning well from this point on?

“Now, I will teach you the basics.”

In that way, Balun learned the mana operation method of Shadow Step.

It was a method of guiding Aura and imprinting the sensation into the Mana Circuits inside the body.

He had to move mana in the same way as the sensation he felt, and according to Aldric, this was supposed to take several months.

Balun did it in only half a day.

“Aldric. Come here quickly and look at this. Is this working?”

“No, how long have you even been practicing for you to bother me already… Gasp.”

Aldric, who had been doing something else, came over at Balun’s call.

After examining Balun’s body, he widened his eyes and muttered,

“Impossible. How can you infuse secrecy into mana in only half a day…”

He was dumbfounded. It felt as though common sense had been overturned.

Did this make any sense?

Just how high did one’s Mana Affinity have to be for this to be possible?

And yet, what? He could not handle mana?

Had this insane Barbarian lied to him?

“I kept practicing while I was at it, and I found that I could use something like this too.”

“Something like this?”

“Yes, this.”

No sooner had Balun spoken than an extraordinary force could be felt from his body.

From his two legs touching the earth up to his upper body, the muscles throughout Balun’s entire body wriggled, and an overwhelming presence began to radiate from him.

Then Balun opened his eyes wide, and that compressed presence spread in every direction as if exploding.

PAAAAANG!

At the same time, a tremendous wind burst out in a circle centered on Balun and swept over everything.

Seeing that, Aldric’s eyes grew as round as saucers.

Had he just seen that wrong? Balun had created wind pressure with his bare body, without anything at all.

Aldric realized what had happened.

‘This lunatic. Instead of infusing secrecy into his mana and hiding in the shadows, he expressed that secrecy by compressing his presence and then exploding it?’

Aldric soon shook his head. He was so dumbfounded that words would not come out.

He had taught the same thing, and Balun had used the same technique. So how could the result turn out to be this complete opposite?