Chapter 43 : Chapter 43
Chapter 43: Swordsmanship, Boxing, and Footwork
In the castle of the Jurgen Family, there was a grassy training square with neatly trimmed short grass underfoot, vivid green in color, with a ring of white stone bricks around the edge.
On the eastern side of the square stood several wooden training dummies, while on the western side there were two rows of practice mannequins dressed in Leather Armor and holding wooden swords.
Bang!
Ryan was sent flying backward and crashed heavily onto the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
At that moment, Ryan’s face was already bruised and swollen.
The one standing before him was none other than Alfred.
Last night, Ryan had asked Alfred to find him a martial arts instructor.
Alfred had readily agreed.
The result was that Alfred personally became Ryan’s teacher.
Ryan knew that firearms could make him powerful.
But if he relied too heavily on firearms, then his weaknesses would also become glaringly obvious.
So having at least some ability to protect himself without guns was absolutely necessary.
Fortunately, there were many people in this world who had no magic talent.
And among them, there were also many geniuses.
Over the years, those geniuses had developed the art of martial arts.
Martial arts covered an extremely broad range.
Swordsmanship, blade techniques, bowsmanship, fist techniques, and more.
As long as it was a method of becoming stronger that did not rely on magic, it could be called martial arts.
That was why Ryan had wanted Alfred to hire him a teacher.
But he had never expected Alfred to step in personally.
After all, Alfred was the head of the Jurgen Family. Not only was his magic talent A-rank, but he was also highly accomplished in martial arts.
Without using magic, no number of ordinary people could even get close to him.
And thus, Ryan’s journey of being mercilessly battered began.
“Get up!” Alfred barked. “You call yourself a man, and you can’t handle even this much?”
Can’t handle it?
Damn it!
Ryan had memories from his previous life.
And according to those memories, no man would ever admit that he could not do it, no matter the situation!
That was dignity carved straight into the blood!
Whoosh!
Ryan sprang back to his feet, enduring the intense pain.
Alfred looked at Ryan with admiration.
He knew Ryan had no magic talent.
The reason Ryan wanted to learn martial arts was simply for self-preservation.
In this world, if you lacked a certain amount of strength, you could not even protect yourself.
Alfred was deeply grateful to Ryan.
So after learning that Ryan wanted a martial arts instructor, he had personally stepped in to teach him.
It might have looked as though Alfred was being exceptionally harsh while teaching him.
But that was exactly what it meant for Alfred to take this seriously.
If Alfred did not care about Ryan, he could have casually taught him a few sword forms and been done with it.
It was precisely because he valued Ryan so highly
that he was simulating the most realistic situations possible during training, so Ryan could learn more quickly.
The more sweat in training, the less blood in battle.
Ryan naturally understood this principle, so no matter how heavily Alfred struck him, he never uttered a complaint.
That, in turn, made Alfred even more satisfied.
Alfred wore black Leather Armor, with a wide belt around his waist, and held a wooden sword in his hand. The blade was long and narrow, and the hilt was wrapped in black leather.
Ryan wore a gray linen training outfit and held a wooden sword of the same style. He stood opposite Alfred with his feet shoulder-width apart and his body straight.
What Alfred was teaching Ryan were the Jurgen Family’s swordsmanship, fist techniques, and footwork.
Compared to the common martial arts found on the market, the Jurgen Family’s martial arts were superior by far more than a single level.
These were precious legacies left behind by generations of powerful figures from the Jurgen Family.
Of course, for any family, the most important thing was still magic.
So teaching the family’s martial arts to an outsider did not violate family rules.
Or rather, when outsiders learned a family’s martial arts, it actually served as recognition of that family.
It played an important role in enhancing the family’s reputation.
“The foundation of swordsmanship begins with stance.”
Alfred separated his feet front and back, bent his front leg slightly, straightened the rear leg, and turned his body sideways toward Ryan.
“Keep your weight on your back leg. Relax your shoulders. Hold the sword on the right side of your body, with the tip pointed forward.”
Ryan copied the posture and adjusted his stance, but the distance between his legs was too wide, and his body leaned forward.
Alfred tapped the back of Ryan’s leg with the scabbard.
“Straighten that rear leg more. Your weight is too far forward. If an enemy gives you a shove, you’ll fall.”
Ryan bared his teeth in pain.
He had never undergone this kind of training before.
Even back on Blue Star in his previous life, when he got into fights, it had always been nothing more than wild flailing with no technique whatsoever.
This was the first time he had ever received such systematic instruction.
After Ryan adjusted his stance, Alfred began demonstrating the basic moves.
“A horizontal slash. From right to left. Use your wrist to generate the force. Let the tip trace an arc. The target is the enemy’s waist.”
His wrist turned, and the wooden sword cut through the air with a whistle before stopping at his side.
Ryan followed the motion, but his arm was stiff and the movement far too large.
“Don’t keep your arm locked like a board.”
Alfred frowned.
“Lead with the wrist and let the arm follow. Don’t just swing with your whole arm. Again.”
Ryan tried once more, but the movement was still stiff.
Alfred stepped forward, took hold of his wrist, and guided him.
“Like this. Rotate the wrist, let the arm move with it. Right. Keep the motion smaller.”
After an hour of practice, Alfred moved on to thrusting.
“Aim the tip at the enemy’s chest. Extend your arm straight. Drive your body forward with your footwork and send the sword out with force.”
He stepped forward, and the wooden sword shot out in a straight thrust, stopping just in front of the mannequin’s chest.
When Ryan thrust, his footwork failed to follow, and the tip veered off course.
“What good is just moving your hand if your feet don’t move?”
Alfred scolded him.
“When the step arrives, the sword arrives. You don’t even understand something that basic? Again.”
Ten minutes... half an hour... one hour later.
After practicing the basics of swordsmanship for two hours, Ryan finally became proficient in every basic sword movement.
After resting for twenty minutes, he began practicing fist techniques.
Alfred set his sword aside, clenched both fists, and held them facing each other.
“Fist techniques are not about flashy moves. Strike the vital points directly. Punch with the power of your waist, not just your arm.”
He threw a fast right punch and struck the mannequin in the abdomen with a dull thud.
Ryan’s punch came out limp and weak, with his arm swinging too widely.
“Your waist! Rotate your waist!”
Alfred grabbed his shoulder.
“Use your waist to drive your arm. That’s how you get speed, and that’s how you get power. Again.”
Ryan tried punching with a twist of his waist. The force increased a little, but it was still not enough.
“Did you even eat breakfast? That much strength isn’t even as good as a ten-year-old’s.”
Alfred frowned.
“Put more force into it.”
Two hours later, Ryan finally memorized every movement in the fist techniques.
After resting for another ten minutes, he began practicing footwork.
Alfred demonstrated a sliding step.
“Move your feet alternately. Keep your center of gravity steady. Don’t lift your feet too high. Slide left, slide right, slide forward, slide back. Fifty repetitions of each.”
When Ryan practiced the sliding steps, he lifted his feet too high and his body wobbled.
“If you move like that, the enemy will cut off your feet with one slash.”
Alfred rebuked him.
“Stay close to the ground. Be more stable.”
Midway through the practice, Ryan’s steps became disordered, and he nearly fell.
Alfred stopped him.
“Focus! Footwork is the foundation. If your footwork is a mess, then your swordsmanship and fist techniques are useless no matter how good they are.”
“Yes, Teacher.”
Ryan panted as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Alfred’s tone remained stern.
“Practice footwork for another twenty minutes, then rest.”
During the break, Ryan sat on the grass drinking water.
Alfred stood beside him and looked at him.
“Your foundation is far too poor. You need to practice at least six hours a day, otherwise don’t even think about improving.”
“I understand.”
Ryan nodded.
“It’s not enough to understand. You have to do it.”
Alfred said, “We continue this afternoon. I’ll teach you blocking and counterattacking.”
“Yes, Teacher.”
Ryan knew Alfred was being this strict for his own good.
Only a strict teacher produces outstanding students!
Ryan gritted his teeth and endured it.
Time passed slowly.
The sun gradually climbed overhead.
Isabella and Nila also came to the square.
Nika accompanied the two of them.
The three of them watched Ryan learning martial arts.
Still, the place where they were sitting had much better conditions.
Not only was there a sunshade, but there were also sweets and fruit.
Ryan paid them no attention.
At that moment, all of his focus was on the martial arts Alfred was teaching him.
Isabella was somewhat puzzled.
Why was Ryan working so hard?
She had heard from Nila that Mr. Ryan had no magic talent.
That was why he was learning martial arts from her father.
But no matter how strong martial arts became, they still could not defeat a Mage!
If he knew he could not win, then why was he still working so hard?
Isabella’s little head could not make sense of it.
Her own magic talent was only D-rank.
With the same amount of training time, those geniuses with B-rank, A-rank, or even S-rank talent advanced far faster than she ever could.
She had worked hard once as well.
But no matter how hard she tried, the gap between her and the others had only grown wider and wider.
Gradually, she gave up.
But after seeing Ryan today, she could not help becoming confused.
With that thought in mind, she voiced the question in her heart to the twin sisters beside her.
“Nika, Nila, tell me, why is Mr. Ryan working so hard at martial arts? Even if he masters it completely, he still won’t be able to beat a Mage!”
Nila said nothing, because deep down, she thought the same thing.
“That’s not true.”
Nika refuted Isabella’s words.
Isabella turned to look at Nika, waiting for her explanation.
“Mmm...”
Nika did not know how to explain it to Isabella.
Without Ryan’s permission,
she would never reveal anything about firearms to Isabella.
She had not even told her younger sister Nila.
“Lady Isabella, how should I put this? My master Ryan is very powerful. He can defeat Mages. That is all I can tell you. If you want to know more, please ask my master yourself.”
Isabella: ???
What had she just heard?
An ordinary person could actually defeat a Mage?
Ryan was learning martial arts right now!
In other words, Ryan had not known martial arts before this.
And yet an ordinary person who did not even know martial arts had still been able to defeat a Mage!!?
Isabella felt as though her entire worldview had been crushed to pieces.
“What you said is true? Mr. Ryan could defeat a Mage even before learning martial arts?”
“That’s right.”
Nika nodded.
“Master was able to defeat Mages before learning martial arts. He’s only learning martial arts now to become even stronger.”