Kane, his mind eager to begin, wasted no time. "When shall we start?" he asked, his voice betraying a hint of impatience. Nephis, without a moment's hesitation, replied, "Now." Sunny, hearing this, visibly faltered, his expression clouded with doubt. It was already dark, and the idea of commencing combat training under such conditions seemed reckless, even to him. Kane, however, felt a surge of anticipation. 'Starting early, huh?' he thought, a grim satisfaction settling within him. This was precisely the kind of immediate, no-nonsense approach he appreciated. Nephis, observing their reactions, then spoke, her voice calm and instructional, "We will begin with some words. That will be enough for today." After a brief hesitation, she added, her gaze briefly sweeping over Cassie, "Cassie, you listen too. This applies to all of us."
All three of them, despite their varied personalities and previous experiences, settled down and began to listen intently, like obedient students before a seasoned teacher. Nephis paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts, before she began to speak, her voice clear and resonant in the quiet night. "Mastery of combat can be fundamentally divided into two distinct aspects. One is the body, and the other is the mind. Training the body, while certainly not easy, is comparatively simple in its methodology. All you truly need is relentless repetition and extensive experience. In the heat of a fight, things happen too fast, decisions must be made in fractions of a second, and there is no time to consciously consider every minute detail in the moment. That is precisely why your technique, your very movements, must be ingrained deeply within your muscles and bones, so profoundly that it almost becomes an instinct, an automatic response that requires no conscious thought."
She paused for a moment, allowing her words to sink in, her gaze piercing. "You can achieve initial results, a foundational proficiency, through sheer repetition. You practice a movement a thousand times, ten thousand times, until it flows effortlessly. But that initial understanding must then be cemented through real, tangible experience. The more battle experience you accumulate, the deeper a technique will be assimilated into your body, becoming a part of your very being. There is no other way to achieve true mastery. A thousand hours spent in simulated training, in a controlled environment, will never be as impactful, as transformative, as one real fight, one desperate struggle for survival. Only those who survive countless battles, who face death again and again and emerge victorious, can truly be in command of their body, their movements flowing with an almost supernatural grace and efficiency." Kane listened, his mind absorbing every word. 'So, we need to fight, and we need to train, constantly, relentlessly,' he thought, the truth of her words resonating deeply within him.
Nephis continued, her voice now taking on a more complex tone, "Training the mind, however, is not simple at all. In fact, it is arguably the most challenging aspect of combat mastery. That is because, once you reach a certain level of physical skill, once your body has been honed to its peak, the true combat, the decisive struggle, takes place within the mind. The outcome of a fight is often decided long before your body even begins to move, before a single blow is struck. It is a battle of wills, of strategy, of perception. And to truly master the mind, the first, most crucial step is to understand the very essence of combat. However, very few people truly do." She looked at them, her gaze sharp and expectant, and asked, "What do you think that essence is?"
Kane's mind immediately began to sift through the collection of combat experiences he had accumulated, particularly those from his harrowing First Nightmare trial. He recalled the desperate struggles, the moments of fear, the surge of adrenaline. He considered the various motivations that drove individuals in battle. After a minute or so of thoughtful silence, Cassie, her voice soft but clear, finally answered, "Victory." Almost at the exact same moment, Sunny, ever pragmatic, offered his own answer, "Survival." Changing Star, Nephis, listened to both answers, her expression unreadable, and then, with a shake of her head, replied, "No." Her gaze then settled on Kane, a silent invitation for him to offer his perspective.
After a moment of deep thought, Kane spoke, his voice low and deliberate, "Protection." He thought of his parents, of his desperate desire to protect them, a desire that had ultimately failed. Nephis, however, once again replied, "No." She rubbed her neck, a small gesture of discomfort, and then her gaze hardened, becoming cold and fierce. "The essence of combat," she stated, her voice devoid of emotion, "is murder."
Kane frowned for a moment, a flicker of discomfort crossing his features. Her words were stark, brutal, and uncompromising. In the same calm, almost detached tone, she continued: "At the core of it, there is only this: you are trying to kill your opponent, and they are trying to kill you. In the end, one of you will be killed, and the other one will be the killer. Everything else is just noise, a distraction from that fundamental truth." Her words, stark and unyielding, etched themselves deep into Kane's heart and reverberated there, causing something inside of him to resonate and awaken. It was a new perspective, one that challenged his preconceived notions, and it brought with it a wave of doubts, unsettling his carefully constructed worldview.
"Style doesn't matter," Nephis continued, her voice unwavering. "Weapons don't matter. Reason and intent do not matter. The only thing that truly matters is to be the last one standing, to be the one who walks away from the fight. In this way, anything you do in combat must be viewed as only serving one of two purposes: either to kill your enemy, to eliminate the threat, or to prevent the enemy from killing you, to ensure your own survival." Nephis lowered her eyes, her gaze sweeping over them once more. "If you can truly understand that, if you can internalize that brutal truth, you will have enough clarity to master the mind, to make the right decisions in the heat of battle." Kane's mind was filled with a swirling vortex of doubts, his previous understanding of combat challenged and shattered. Sunny and Cassie, seemingly overwhelmed by the starkness of Nephis's philosophy, eventually drifted off to sleep, leaving Kane and Nephis alone in the quiet night.
Nephis was looking at him, her expression unreadable, almost as if she was trying to tell him something, but she seemed to get stuck, unable to vocalize her thoughts. Kane, observing her unspoken struggle, looked at her and asked, "Hey, I have a question for you. Can I ask it now?" Nephis replied, her expression plain and unrevealing, "Sure." Kane continued, "You told us that the essence of combat is murder. What if you're trying to protect someone, instead of simply trying to kill your opponent? How does that fit into your philosophy?" Nephis looked at him with a hint of surprise, a rare flicker of emotion crossing her face. "Still, you will aim to kill, right?" she countered, her voice calm. Kane replied, "What if it was at the expense of losing the very thing you sought to protect? What if, in your pursuit of murder, you inadvertently sacrificed what you held dear?" Nephis thought for a moment, her brow furrowed in contemplation. "I haven't experienced it," she finally admitted, her voice low. Kane thought, 'She seems to have had a hard life, much like me. Should I give her the benefit of the doubt? Let's wait and see how she acts in the future.'
Immediately, Nephis, as if to reciprocate, asked, "Can I ask you a question in return?" Kane, now looking at her intently, replied, "Sure." Nephis then asked, "How did you self-learn swordsmanship? And why did you choose to do so, rather than seeking formal training?" Kane replied, "I had to learn it on my own because I'm from the outskirts too, remember? We don't have the luxury of private tutors or formal academies. And I spent my time preparing for survival, learning the basics of wilderness living. As for how I learned to fight, I took a reference from a soldier I encountered during my First Nightmare trial. I simply mimicked him, his movements, his techniques." Nephis looked at him in shock, a newfound respect dawning in her eyes. "Interesting," she murmured, clearly impressed.
Immediately, Kane, sensing the shift in the conversation, said, "It's time. I'll take the watch now." Nephis was about to retort, to argue with him, and stared at him, her expression a mixture of annoyance and defiance. But finally, after a moment of silent contemplation, Nephis went to sleep, leaving Kane to his solitary vigil. Kane thought, 'I've got a lead on how to improve my fighting skills. Now, I need to work on it, to integrate this knowledge into my own style.' Kane began his watch, and throughout the night, he meditated repeatedly, whenever the ravings of his flaw became uncontrollable, seeking to calm his mind and maintain his sanity. And then, in the early hours of the morning, a piercing scream shattered the silence, signaling a new and terrifying development.
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The female lead for our MC,Here some contenders.Kindly Vote
1.Cassie
2.Effie
3.An Original Character
4.Crossover character from other fiction(Like LOTM)
5.Seishan
6.Morgan
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