Only Wisdom Awakened - Chapter 174

Chapter 174: Restrains
‘For now, let’s focus on the sword’

“Come on up here, show me your skill”

Said the old man.

“I will see if we can improve anything about your movements”

Following instructions, Hans removed his shoes and got up on the mattress, holding a wooden sword in his right hand.

In front of him stood the old man, who was instead wielding a wooden longsword, similar in shape to a Tachi.

“Come on, I’ll give you the first hit”

“Old man, how much of my stats should I use? Why don’t we set a limit for both of us so we don’t just use brute force?”

“Uh? If you know how to do it…

It’s difficult to contain your stats, especially if you’re losing, so it’s okay if you can’t manage, but I’ll set all my stats to a limit of one hundred, how about it?”

“Alright, I will try to do so as well”

Replied Hans.

He had seen that the old man had this peculiar skill when analyzing him with {mystic insight} and had immediately recognized its worth.

It could be used not only to teach his students but also to limit himself when training in new spells, kind of like how professionals try to run with additional weight.

He didn’t intend to get it to such a high level as the one Master Henry possessed, but he wanted to obtain it at least.

{skill name: restriction (B-rank)

Description: a skill obtained through countless spars against weaker people, in order to make it worthwhile for both the fighters.

Effect: you can restrict your stats to how much you want, the range of error, and the situation in which this skill can be applied can vary depending on the rank

Note: this does not work on endurance}

“How about aura?”

“Don’t use it”

“Alright…

Here I come”

Hans stepped forward while slashing vertically, but the old man simply rotated his upper body, evading the strike before pushing down on Hans’ sword with his own.

Feeling his body losing balance, Hans broke the limit of the agility he had set for himself and used it to move his feet quickly enough to stop the fall.

“You broke the limits”

Said the old man, clearly noticing his feet moving faster than they would with one hundred dexterity stat.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, it was spontaneous”

“Yes, I know, but control over your body is also one of the things you need to learn if you want to wield a weapon well.

For example, do you think all the swings can be unleashed with the same power, or with the same speed?

No, you have to know when to go all out and when to stay on the defensive.

Now, for example, the limit was one hundred strength and one hundred dexterity, but that didn’t mean you should’ve used them all from the start.

Had you used less strength you might’ve been able to make me dodge without risking losing balance.

Understood?”

“Yes”

“Then… come on let’s try once more….

….

“Pant… pant…”

“That’s enough for today”

Said the old man.

“To think your control would get so much better in just four hours…

You are quite talented at this”

“Really?… pant… pant..”

“Yeah”

‘Also… I can tell now that I’ve sparred with him so many times… his stats are absurdly high, to the point where they might be on par with an A-rank awakened, and yet his moves, even if executed at the right time, are unrefined, implying that his battle sense is sharp, but he has never received any guidance or training of any sorts.

To reach that level without even learning how to fight… how far could he go if he was to be properly taught?

S-rank? No, maybe he could even surpass that.

It’s such a pity, but I don’t have the ability to take him to such a level, if he wants to reach greater heights, he must find someone else to do that.”

“Will you be coming here again?”

Asked the old man to Hans, who had already gotten back on his feet”

“Yes, I will stay here for another two days”

“Good, make sure to come early tomorrow”

“Yes, thank you for today”

“It’s nothing, go to sleep now, it helps with muscle regeneration”

…

With the sun now set, Hans had to find somewhere to sleep.

He was initially thinking of reserving a room, but he had gotten lost in the teachings of Master Henry and had completely forgotten about that.

“Where do I go now?l

Thought Hans.

But thankfully, a bit of luck seemed to aid him, as he encountered a familiar man passing by.

“Oh! It’s you, Mr. Hans, what are you doing here at this hour?”

Asked Preston.

“I was going around to test the association’s facilities, but I lost track of time in the training hall”

“Oh, I see, you must be quite hard-working, you almost resemble the branch leader”

“I hope not, his body is monstrous”

“Haha, I guess that’s also true”

“And you? What are you doing here?”

Asked Hans.

“I just got off my shift.”

“Mh? It’s Sunday though”

“So?”

“And it’s almost midnight”

“So?”

“Ugh… it must be such a difficult life to work as Caleb’s assistant”

“Yeah… it is”

Said the man, overwhelmed by the regret of having chosen this career.

“By the way, I heard Caleb wasn’t the branch leader anymore, so how come he still needs to do the work? And the same goes for you, why are you doing the work if you’re Caleb’s assistant?”

“Well, I’m sure you know since you were a branch leader, but in order to retire from the position, a branch leader must find a successor”

“Yes”

“Well, the person he appointed as his successor…”

“What… you’re kidding right?”

Said Hans incredulous.

“No… unfortunately I’m telling the truth”

“That madman… he passed it on to you?!”

“Yeah…”

“But… you’re not even awakened”

“That’s right, that is the reason why even though everyone knows I’m doing all the work and knows that I’m the branch leader, he still officially holds that position”

“So… if I didn’t get anything wrong:

You do all the work but he is the one publicly recognized as the branch leader”

“That’s right”

“Then… doesn’t that mean it’s the same as it was before he even passed on the position to you?

I mean, I doubt he would ever do anything as the branch leader anyway.”

‘Fuck… he’s right’

“Cough cough”

Preston coughed to clear the conversation and started anew by changing the subject.

“By the way you… do you have somewhere to sleep?”

“I-I don’t”

Replied Hans ashamed.

“It’s okay, if you want you can come to my house for this night and tomorrow, it’s partially my fault that you’re here waiting for Caleb to get everything done.”

“Thank you, but don’t worry, I’m staying here because I want to, there is no need to feel bad”

“Sigh, alright”

Hans got in Preston’s car, and he was then driven to the man’s house.

It was a nice villa on a little hill, the sea was completely dark at that time, but during the day a beautiful view could be enjoyed from the house’s transparent glass wall.

“Wow”

Exclaimed Hans.

even if his house was pretty big and beautiful, but it couldn’t compare to this one.”

“It’s ironic right? I have such a beautiful house, yet I only use it to sleep.”

“Do you live alone?”

“Yeah, you know it right? This job doesn’t let me breathe even for a single second, where would I find the time to develop a relationship?”

The man’s brown eyes looked exhausted.

“Do you just work? How about a bit of life?”

“Of course not, there is still something even I enjoy”

“Being?”

“Meow…”

“Taking care of this little pest”

The man’s smile when caressing the cat’s fur was warm, like that of a family member.

“Here here, have you missed me? Sorry I had a few things to do so I stayed a bit overtime”

‘What kind… of life is this’

Thought Hans to himself.

‘Are there really some people living like this? Without any dreams, or without anything to look forward to?

Just what meaning could one find in such a life?’

He was thinking all of this, but he obviously avoided asking anything to Preston.

He spent the night in a secondary empty room, that only hosted one bed.

Preston said he had never thought it would be of any use in his lifetime.

The next morning, he woke up as the first rays of light penetrated through the window.

The beautiful view of the morning sea was pleasant to his eyes, and he found comfort in the noises and the smell of the sea.

As Caleb said, it was truly a paradise for surfers.

Many had already grabbed their surfboard and thrown themselves into the sea.

Preston, on the contrary, was already getting ready to go to work.

‘There truly are two different kinds of people in this world.’

Thought Hans.