Chapter 181: Enlightenment

Chapter 181: Enlightenment



Three days later, in the morning, as Rain emerged from the sea, the crowd practicing swordsmanship on the beach had varied expressions.

Basque, witnessing Rain staying underwater for at least fifteen minutes, muttered to himself, "Damn, I feel like a retard compared to Rain's learning progress."

"It's really demoralizing!"

The young men nearby exchanged glances, feeling the same way but refrained from speaking due to their pride.

Taught by the same teacher, Rain seemed like an accelerated elite class apprentice, while they were regular class apprentices. Rain completed in a week what took them a month to learn.

No, it was even faster than that, which was unbearable!

Rain quickly recalled Master Gunther's parting words: 'You can take some time to practice your original specialty, swordsmanship.'

[Your Skill Inner Breath Technique has improved. Experience +2]



Although Master Gunther didn't teach him anything else during these three days, Rain was already busy around the clock with the dynamic 'Inner Breath Technique' and the static 'Cutting Seagrass'.

In fact, Master Gunther's second training task was for Rain to master the Inner Breath Technique within three days. In Rain's profession panel system, this meant reaching the entry level of Inner Breath Technique at lv1 (1/100), which was considered meeting the standard.

"Bang!"

So, when it was lively and jumping around, swimming quickly in the sea, the difficulty of killing it was imaginable.

Before Rain could find him, Master Gunther took the initiative and walked over, saying, "That's enough, Rain. You can now proceed with the third training. Follow me."

Its vitality was exceptionally strong! Rain seemed to understand something when he recalled Basque's earlier warning about the 'Ironhead Fish'.

After killing a Coastal Fury with a cheat-like 'Power Surge', Rain carried it ashore.

Just as Rain thought he might have alerted it, the Coastal Fury, which had been suddenly attacked, quickly turned around and charged towards Rain, intending to counterattack.

Its appearance was also unique, resembling the diving suits from his previous life.

A sensation of chopping through layers of thick cowhide transmitted from the greatsword's blade to Rain's hands.

This was very different from the usual behavior of animals.

"Now, Rain, I'm going to release the Tube Worms. Pay attention to the sea surface. Soon, the Coastal Fury will come, and there's a high probability that it won't be just one!"

Additionally, when Rain was slashing the Resilient Seagrass, he discovered that to achieve the best effect with each swing, he needed to observe and understand the rhythm of the seagrass swaying in the seawater.

Damn it. Basque was at a loss for words for a moment.

This forced Rain to focus his attention on the Coastal Fury's swimming trajectory, striving to find its weaknesses or patterns.

The reason for the rapid improvement was mainly due to the insight-enhancing effect of Resilient Seagrass Juice and the fact that the training took place in the sea.

In his opinion, the most important thing was to concentrate on the tasks he should be doing at his current stage and maximize progress and efficiency.

However, this also brought Rain joy, as he had initially worried that his sword swing might not kill the Coastal Fury, and it would escape.

Although he had the extraordinary trait 'Iron Skin lv3' protecting him, he didn't think his defense was better than this Dark Reef Shark-made armor. Still, there was no need to draw unnecessary attention.

[Your Skill Bear Claw Sword Technique has improved. Experience +15]



"Half a day was created by Miss Klaya," Basque said with an expression of admiration and reminiscence. Rain glanced at Basque, shook his head slightly, and sighed inwardly, thinking, 'You're hopeless, young man. Women will only affect your sword-swinging speed.'

Generally speaking, animals that are suddenly attacked will first flee, then observe the attacker, and finally decide whether to counterattack.

At the same time, Rain's expression changed slightly!

Soon, Rain arrived at a steep cliff at the northern end of the island, led by Master Gunther. The previous practice area was at the southern end of the island, in a completely different direction.

According to the profession panel system, Rain was now at lv3 (14/500) instead of lv1 (1/100). At lv1 of Inner Breath Technique, he could fight underwater for about fifteen minutes, and at lv3, he could last for half an hour.

A 30% increase in "Power Surge!"

Don't underestimate this time frame; it's important to note that during this period, Rain was continuously slashing Resilient Seagrass, a highly oxygen-consuming activity, rather than simply holding his breath underwater.

"This is made from Dark Reef Shark skin, offering excellent defense against Coastal Fury attacks. Even when facing multiple Coastal Furies, wearing this armor ensures safety."

Rain's eyebrows rose slightly, as he hadn't known this before.

While Basque curiously examined it, Rain quickly dissected the Coastal Fury.

Over these three days, Rain had been practicing Inner Breath Technique underwater and harvesting Resilient Seagrass, gaining numerous insights.

Within just a few moments, the tube worm was torn apart by the creature and devoured.

Especially during the process of cutting the seagrass underwater, he simultaneously practiced the 'Bear Claw Sword Technique' and 'Inner Breath Technique', and the effects were far superior to those on land.

Contrary to Rain's expectations, the Coastal Fury didn't get sliced in half; instead, its hard skull clamped onto the greatsword, and it continued to struggle fiercely.

Rain's muscles swelled, and he aimed at the approaching Coastal Fury's head, delivering a fierce downward slash!

This was akin to progressing from practicing on a stationary target to a moving one!

Otherwise, with human intelligence and wit, even ordinary people would have some methods to kill the Coastal Fury, such as using bait or poisoning.

Upon seeing this, Basque immediately threw the small snake-like tube worm into the seawater about four to five meters ahead.

As these fish approached, Rain observed that the Coastal Fury had a light blue body with brown circular spots, a row of finned spines on its back, a large mouth, and a row of sharp teeth.

The crowd fell silent.

"Oh? How long did it take you to master the Inner Breath Technique for the second training task?" Rain couldn't help but ask.

Gondor didn't mention what would happen if Rain didn't succeed, but at this point, there was no need to elaborate further. Aside from returning home, there was no other choice.

The onlookers on the shore watched this scene, each with their own thoughts.

"Also, for the first training task, 'Cutting Seagrass,' it's best to set aside time daily to continue practicing. This will help improve your Inner Breath Technique."

"Powerful!"

[You have trained in the Inner Breath Technique and gained relevant insights!]



Seeing Rain's intention to enter the water, Basque reminded him, "Rain, we locals call this fish the Ironhead Fish because its head is as hard as iron. Be careful of its charges and bites."

"Ten of them! If you can kill ten Coastal Furies within an hour, you should be able to proceed to the next training task." Master Gunther looked at Rain and smiled.

Rain was slightly surprised but accepted the task without hesitation. The feel of the object in his hand was like thick, resilient cowhide soaked in oil, only much thicker.

As soon as the tube worm entered the seawater, it began to struggle violently.

Master Gunther gave Rain the impression of a somewhat rigid master, not the type to easily inspire a sense of closeness.

Rain was surprised that his strike didn't instantly kill the tube worm.

From the perspective of an onlooker, Rain could be described in four words: 'A Training Maniac'! Rain hardly chatted or rested, and he was either smearing resilient seagrass juice in the stone house, meditating on the Inner Breath Technique, or cutting seagrass in the sea.

Meanwhile, Basque began to pull out a brown worm about a meter long and as thick as a thumb, constantly wriggling, from a wooden bucket he had prepared earlier.

Seemingly sensing the scent of the tube worm, Rain's keen senses detected several ripples forming on the sea surface dozens of meters away.

Compared to this, what else matters? The most important thing is to truly learn something.

The biggest difference between this and the resilient seagrass was that while the latter swayed unpredictably in the seawater due to the influence of the currents, it still had a certain degree of regularity.

"Even Master Gunther looks at you differently now."

The short-haired man sighed, "It seems he's mastered it. He took only three days to master the Inner Breath Technique. I took a whole five days."

"Okay, Master Gunther," Rain agreed.

Even after Gunther left, Basque looked at Rain with envy, "Impressive! Rain, your progress is so fast!"

Half a day.

Whenever Rain cut seagrass in the sea, system notifications kept appearing:

But Rain considered that since he had three days, it would be better to improve his Inner Breath Technique as much as possible. He felt that this Inner Breath Technique had great potential and would be very useful.

"Rain, you're probably the fastest to complete the first training task and the second fastest for the second task. I wonder how long it will take you for the third task?"

Of course, on the other hand, the difficulty stemmed from Master Gunther's training task requirement – 'Kill it with your sword in the water' – rather than using other methods.

However, for now, it seemed that a bottleneck had been reached. After the Inner Breath Technique's cultivation level reached Lv3, the progress slowed down.

If Rain's sword swings were even slightly off-angle, adjusting in the seawater would be much more challenging and slower than in the air.

Moreover, what amazed Basque was that the Coastal Fury's head, the hardest part of its body, had been split open.

This caused Rain's immense strength to be neutralized by the seawater's 'softness overcomes hardness,' significantly reducing the power of his slashes on the Coastal Fury.

This was a significant test of the coordination between a swordsman's hands, eyes, and mind.

If Rain didn't hold back, it would probably take about half an hour.

As Coastal Fury approached Rain, it suddenly accelerated with a powerful flick of its tail, narrowly missing Rain's second sword and body.

In other words, Rain had far exceeded the requirements of his task.

"Now, we have one more person in our group."

Over the past three days, Rain had observed the young people practicing swordsmanship on the island, occasionally disappearing for half a day at a time, presumably for the next stage of their training.

This was highly addictive.

Rain took a deep breath, activating his Inner Breath Technique, and began to wade into the seawater.

Hmm? Rain noticed that the Sharkhide, which seemed a bit bulky on land, didn't seem to hinder his movements much in the water. It seemed that the unique structure of the Sharkhide's surface helped reduce water resistance.

No wonder those seven or eight young people, despite starting earlier than Rain, seemed to be stuck at this level.

If Rain's memory served him right, the water resistance was over 800 times that of the air.

"Oh? How did you figure that out? I didn't feel anything," Rain asked involuntarily.

These were two completely different concepts!

Gondor Master explained, tilting his head.

"Okay, Master Gondor."

The rest of the details, of course, would be explained by Master Gondor.

"This is a Tube Worm, the favorite food of Coastal Fury. Your training task for this stage is to kill as many Coastal Fury as possible within an hour," Master Gondor said, pointing to the brown long worm.

It was as if the Inner Breath Technique was gradually enhancing his internal organs and overall physical functions, and this change became more apparent as Rain's Inner Breath Technique level increased.

"If you find it challenging to kill Coastal Fury at first, you can take some time to practice your original swordsmanship. Like those others, you might gain new insights," Master Gondor suggested.

Rain had just witnessed the incredible speed of Coastal Fury in the water, which even his horse couldn't match.

This time, when Master Gondor saw Rain emerge from the seawater, dragging a long bundle of Resilient Seagrass behind him, still not out of breath after fifteen minutes of intense exercise, he knew that Rain still had energy to spare.

"Thank you," Rain nodded in gratitude.

"He's not just catching up, he's about to surpass us," said a young man named Doug in a low voice.

The reason was simple: the water resistance was hundreds of times greater than that of the air, and the resistance in seawater was even higher.

At Rain's current level 7 in Bear Claw Sword Technique, if he were to practice the technique on land, he would gain experience points at a rate of +5 and +6 more frequently. However, when cutting seagrass in the sea, the experience points were more than doubled.

"From initially being able to stay in the sea cutting seagrass for only seven or eight minutes to now being able to last over fifteen minutes, the progress in Inner Breath Technique is evident," Basque said with a smile.

"As many as possible? Master Gondor, what's your standard for that?" Rain asked after some thought.

However, Coastal Fury was different. Its streamlined, torpedo-like body allowed it to move extremely fast in the water.

Therefore, Rain had been hiding his true abilities until the third day, when he finally revealed them.

Rain found that using a two-handed greatsword underwater required much higher precision for each move and technique compared to using it on land.

Although they had known from the first day that Rain was very strong, they were even more impressed by his incredible perseverance. He practiced almost non-stop, like an iron man.

Rain had a feeling that even if Master Gondor didn't teach him the rest of the content, he would still be able to figure it out.

Rain thought for a moment and then shook his head again.

Currently, Rain's control over the Inner Breath Technique was at level 3 (14/500).

This was the real Scale Armor!

"You have to compare it to how Master Gondor treats others. He usually just gives the next task requirement and leaves," Basque explained.

If one could grasp the moment when the pendulum swung to its highest point and then swung their sword to cut the Resilient Seagrass, it would be easier to sever it.

Master Gondor paused before adding, "The time limit for this training task is one month."

The correct version is at 69 Book Bar! 6=9+Book_Bar First Release of this Novel.

On the other hand, Basque had mentioned that the standard for determining whether one had mastered the Inner Breath Technique was whether they could continuously cut the Resilient Seagrass underwater for fifteen minutes.

"Basque, give the Sharkhide to Rain, and prepare a Tube Worm!"

The defense of the Coastal Fury was incredibly strong!

So, over the past three days, they had witnessed Rain's progress with their own eyes, improving at a visible rate.

With Rain's current level of control, he should be able to maintain a combat state underwater for about half an hour.

After several consecutive confrontations, Rain had returned empty-handed each time.

"Their favorite food is the Tube Worm," Basque reminded him.

After dissecting the Coastal Fury, Rain gazed into the distance at the vast sea, deep in thought.

However, the Coastal Fury lived up to its name, immediately counterattacking after being attacked, regardless of the attacker's strength.

"Rain, you've succeeded so quickly?" Basque stared at Rain in shock, pointing at the Coastal Fury in Rain's hand.

"You've already started the third training task? Your progress is catching up to us!" Arturo exclaimed in surprise.

Comparing it to the Tri-State, which boosts Rain's combat power by 100% on land, in the sea, it only provides a 20% boost.

Rain estimated that if this fish died on the coast, even a small knife in the hands of an ordinary person wouldn't be able to cut through its tough skin.

[You have trained in the Underwater Bear Claw Sword Technique and gained related insights!]



Three to four fish, about thirty centimeters to half a meter in length, darted towards the Tube Worm like high-speed torpedoes.

Rain nodded and began to focus intently on the sea, preparing himself.

Basque took out a set of dark gray leather armor with fine scales on the surface and handed it to Rain.

Gondor turned and slowly walked away.

Even without entering the water to kill the fish, Rain could tell from mere seconds of observation that this third training task, 'Kill the Coastal Fury,' was more than twice as difficult as the first task, 'Cut the Seagrass.'

The movement of the Resilient Seagrass was like a swinging pendulum.

Rain had just realized that the combat boost he received from the Tri-State in the water was far less than on land.

Rain, wearing Sharkhide, drew his two-handed greatsword and entered the water.

The efficiency was evident! Additionally, Rain made another important discovery.

Rain discovered that beneath the fish's scaly exterior, most of its body had a layer of white exoskeleton, further enhancing its defense. The skull region, in particular, had an exaggerated density and thickness.

The Coastal Fury, seeing the Tube Worm twisting in the water, pounced ferociously.

Rain likely wouldn't have any issues with the Coastal Fury biting him, as his Level 3 Iron Skin provided better defense than the Sharkhide.

However, this pattern seemed challenging to grasp, so Rain decided to 'cheat' a little by studying the Coastal Fury's anatomy, hoping for some insights.

After the 'Cut the Seagrass' training, Rain had gained initial insights into exerting force underwater.

No wonder Rain hadn't noticed this area before.

He could explore these two aspects and significantly improve his swordsmanship.

If one could observe this area of the sea from mid-air, they would see a clear patch of baldness in the dense Resilient Seagrass. But it wasn't entirely Rain's fault.

What was the solution?

This characteristic was somewhat similar to the cleaner fish Rain had seen in his past life, whose scale structure was also like this.

This was a double defense!

Of course, the specifics would only be known after killing one.

But he didn't ask.

Hmm? Such a hard head?

After all, having a clear boundary or standard would be more motivating.

When Rain practiced the Inner Breath Technique, he could clearly feel it subtly affecting his cultivation of the Bear Claw Breathing Technique, causing slight changes.

As he was submerged in the cold water, it pressed in from all directions.

Rain approached the Coastal Fury, which was still hovering around the remains of the Tube Worm. He raised his dimly glowing greatsword and used 'Limit Break' to strike a Coastal Fury with a swift downward slash!

However, Rain quickly identified the problem. The water flow created by the fish's high-speed movement significantly interfered with the precision of his greatsword slashes.

Additionally, it seemed that Klaya was Basque's 'White Moonlight'!

Rain nodded and began to put on the Sharkhide.

First, its scales were extremely tough, each one curved like a half-arc, tightly clasped to the fish's body. Layer upon layer of scales formed a fish scale armor akin to metal plates.

The Coastal Fury's body was instantly torn open, and dark red blood oozed out.

Rain's sword slashed firmly into the Coastal Fury's body.

The Coastal Fury took the opportunity to bite Rain fiercely, but the Sharkhide's protection only caused a tugging sensation without any harm.

Rain also recalled the young men practicing swordsmanship on the shore.

Clearly, the key to solving this problem lay here.

So, facing the sea, Rain began to swing his greatsword on the reef, practicing the Bear Claw Sword Technique!

Gradually, the vastly different sensations of swinging his sword in the water and on land began to intertwine. Suddenly, a flash of insight surged through Rain's mind!

At that moment, a system notification sounded.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end