"Alright, alright! Letâs start, Senior," Razeal said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation, eyes gleaming as if he was about to open a treasure chest.
The old man took a few steps closer but then as if thinking of something, without a word turned around and placed his sword gently on a nearby rock, as if declaring he wouldnât be needing it.
Razeal blinked, watching the sword being left behind like it held no importance.
He put the sword down... That tiny action somehow stung more than it should have. He knew he was weak but the old man didnât even consider using a weapon to teach. It felt dismissive. Humbling. Bitter, even.
Sighh. He just sighed.
"I donât know, boy... if youâll ever be able to master it," the old man muttered, hands behind his back as he walked with slow, deliberate steps toward Razeal again. In that moment, his entire aura shifted. Gone was the perverted old coot; now he moved like a sage, an expert who had lived through centuries. "But since youâve come here, I suppose Iâll teach you."
"What is this skill, though?" Razeal asked eagerly, unable to hold back the thrill rising in his chest. His eyes gleamed like he was about to be handed another SSS-ranked ability.
But the old man didnât answer. Instead, he examined Razeal silently, eyes narrowing with a quiet, unnerving intensity.
"I have to say," the old man finally spoke, stroking his long beard, "you have some of the shittiest talent Iâve ever seen. In all my life, Iâve rarely seen someone your age with so little."
Razeal almost spat out blood, but he held it in.
"But... you do have something. Something interesting."
"A sharp perception far beyond what most could dream of. Most likely tied to your hearing, which is unusually sensitive. And your physique... itâs healthy. More than that. You heal faster than normal if i am not wrong. Even the sound of your steps tells me your body is light like umm If I had to guess... itâs like one fifth of your body weight is missing weirdly enough."
He said it so casually, as if heâd run a full physical analysis in the time it took to blink.
Razeal blinked anyway, stunned. This old manâs crazy...
He was impressed, though. As expected of an SSS-ranked monster even the smallest things didnât escape his attention.
Tho how did he found this out? Razeal thought but let it go, its not important.
Then the old man asked, "So. Since you came here, you must know what kind of expertise I possess, right?"
Razeal froze.
Shit. Fuck my system. he cursed
He couldnât just say no, could he?
"Of course, Senior! Iâve heard youâre renowned for your unparalleled dodging and evasion techniques as also swordsmanship," Razeal replied quickly, trying to sound as respectful as possible.
The old manâs face instantly contorted.
"Wrong!" he snapped, the word echoing through the bamboo forest. His voice thundered like a lightning strike. "You came to learn from me without even knowing what I truly teach?!"
Razeal instinctively raised both hands, like a student caught copying during an exam. Apologizing instantly.
"Iâm sorry, Senior! Forgive this ignorant junior! No one ever truly speaks of your art... itâs hidden, legendary! Please enlighten me!"
He poured every drop of regret and pleading into his voice. If this crusty old geezer refused to teach him now, after everything heâd done to get here Razeal swore heâd spit fire from his mouth and roast this ancient raisin alive.
Thankfully, the old man just shook his head, sighing at the younger generationâs ignorance.
"If it werenât for the sacred beauty you brought as tribute... if you hadnât paid proper homage to the eternal art..." he his eyes fell back to the book he put on stone farr away his eyes still held some reverence, and his expression softened.
"...Then I wouldnât be wasting my time."
He exhaled deeply, then fixed Razeal with a stern gaze.
"Listen closely, brat. First what I know is not swordsmanship. I donât even like swords. But dodging? Movement? Evasion? That... I own."
He straightened as much as his bent back would allow, and his voice, despite the age it carried, was sharp as steel.
"I donât think thereâs anyone not in this world, or across the entire cosmos who understands it better than me."
The words struck like thunder.
Razeal swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry.
"What is it then, Senior?" he asked carefully, almost afraid of the answer.
The old man grinned.
Slowly, he raised a single finger into the air, one hand still behind his arched back.
"...Flow," he said, voice hushed like it carried a sacred truth.
"I know how to use flow."
Flow?
Razeal blinked, staring at the old man with a blank face. The word had dropped like a stone into his mind, causing only ripples of confusion.
"Flow?" he repeated slowly, almost suspiciously. It didnât sound cool. Not like some fancy named move Void Edge Slash, Demon Kingâs Laceration, or even Dragon Fang Pierce. No, it was just... "Flow." Sounded like something youâd learn in a yoga class.
Still, this was an SSS-ranked villain. Maybe weird, boring names came with that territory? He didnât know.
But something made him pause.
The old man hadnât said, "I mastered Flow." He said, "I know how to use Flow." That subtle difference scratched the back of Razealâs mind. Did that mean the old man hadnât mastered it? That he was only using it half-baked? Was Razeal going to receive an incomplete teaching? That thought alone gave him an uncomfortable itch in the back of his mind a vague anxiety like ofcourse it feel empty when you goes to someone who is obiosly supposed to be all might but using words he should.
The old man, however, stood calmly.
"Itâs not a technique or skill, if youâre asking," he said, his voice as steady as the wind brushing the bamboo leaves around them. "I donât have any techniques. I donât have any named moves. I donât wield anything flashy. I simply go with the flow. And I know how to use it."
Razeal blinked harder.
Flow?
More question marks started flying above his head.
[Ohhh this old guy is a genius,] the system suddenly chimed in.
"Huh?!" Razeal nearly jumped. That made things worse. Even the system understood this nonsense?
"Can you explain what the hell is going on then?!"
[Let him explain, host. Focus.]
Razeal swore under his breath. "You never help..."
But decided to keep listening.
The old man, unfazed by Razealâs confused aura, began walking slowly across the training field, each step gentle and deliberate.
"Flow," the old man continued, "is everything. In the simplest of terms itâs movement."
Razeal squinted. Not helpful
He paused, watching Razealâs blank expression.
"Think of wind. Think of water. That is flow. Movement is flow. Breathing is flow. Even your heartbeat itâs all flow."
He stopped and raised a hand, letting a bamboo leaf fall into his palm as it drifted from the air.
"Your muscles move in a flow. Your breath moves in a flow. Even your thoughts and reactions are part of your inner flow. I simply know how to use that."
As the old man smiled softly, the aura around him subtly shifted. He wasnât glowing, wasnât flaring with power. He just stood there, quiet as a breeze, and yet the confidence in his body made him feel larger than the sky. As if just talking about his strongest smills making him feels like he is the god.
Still, Razeal asked, carefully, "So... does that mean youâve mastered flow? You can make water or wind move? Like summon a tsunami or something?"
Razeal got the muscle-and-movement part now. It sounded like some advanced martial arts technique. But this was supposed to be an SSS ranked villain, not a street performer doing Tai Chi.
If it were just body control, he couldâve learned that from any monk like A ranked villains or something?. Right, there had to be more to it.
But the old man scoffed loudly, almost offended.
"No, brat. Canât you hear me?" the old man snapped, clearly frustrated. I said I know how to use the flow not control it. Youâve twisted the entire concept. Are you dumb or what? I wasnât talking about the wind or the damn water. Iâm talking about flow the movement of everything. I know how to use that."
His voice grew sharper with each word, hands gesturing as if pulling invisible threads from the air.
"I can go with the flow," he continued. "Use it. Ride it. Let it shape my fighting rhythm, shift my momentum, let it carry me through the tide of battle. I donât fight the wave I ride it. Thatâs what I mean."
Razeal blinked, still not fully grasping it. His blank face said it all.
The old man took a long breath, gathering his patience. Then, slowly, as if explaining to a toddler, he continued, "The energy or momentum that exists around anything in motion, which can be tapped into by someone who can "feel" or "ride" it like a surfer riding a wave."
The silence that followed was heavy.
But Razealâs expression slowly dropped. He tried to hide it, tried to keep a respectful face, but his disappointment showed through. His lips twitched. His shoulders slumped. His eyes were flat.
âSystem, youâre seriously telling me... this dudeâs so called legendary skill is this... bullshit?â Razeal asked in his head, utterly unconvinced.
Heâd read too many martial arts novels to fall for that. He knew this kind of "philosophical martial crap." Water steps? Flow like water? Some poetic babble about erosion or the gentleness of streams breaking stone? At the end of the day, it was just slow circular punching that looked flashy and did absolutely nothing in real life.
People wasted time practicing that shit when they couldâve just... you know, punched?
âIf this is his ultimate ability the one that got him to SSS rank then I swear heâs either conning me, or the worldâs gone mad,â Razeal thought. He couldnât help but feel cheated. SSS-rank villain? Master of flow? This?
Itâs just overly romanticized garbage, Razeal thought bitterly. If this thing had been an A-rank or even B-rank skill, sure, maybe Iâd nod along. But an SSS-ranked ability?
He controlled himself, trying to suppress the rising frustration. His faith in this whole lesson wavered hard.
[Host... are you a complete idiot?] the systemâs voice suddenly cut in, sharp and unimpressed.
[That ability from all angles is well deserving of its SSS-rank classification. In fact, if not for certain flaws, it couldâve easily surpassed most other normal SSS ranked abilities.]
Razeal blinked.
âHuh? Wait. What?â
[Youâre seriously underestimating it just because you donât understand it. Thatâs why I told you to shut up and focus.] the system snapped. [This isnât some flashy magic skill or dramatic attack. Itâs one of the foundational law.]
Razeal fell silent, the annoyance melting into confusion and then curiosity.
"Huh? Wait... you mean like the killing concept you explained to me before?" he asked, blinking, trying to connect the pieces.
[Yes. Itâs on the same level as the Killing Intent SSS skill you received.] The system replied with a slower, more grounded tone. [Even if this old man doesnât grasp the full concept, what heâs trying to walk upon... is fluidity one of the supreme primordial concept. Just like the killing flow has no true reverse, flow itself has no beginning or end either. Everything in this world, Host... nothing is ever still and never will be.]
Razeal blinked again, the dots slowly starting to connect in his mind but not fully. The thoughts were swirling, ideas clashing. He could feel there was something big here. But it was still too vague.
And before he could fully gather his thoughts, the old manâs voice cut in, dragging him back to reality.
"Letâs leave the core concept aside. Not like youâre going to understand it anyway," the old man muttered with a sigh, shaking his head as if exhausted. "Iâve given up. Iâve tried everything to help you understand this, but itâs pointless. All you really want is to learn how to use it, right? You donât give a damn how it works or what it means anyways."
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