Chapter 233: Shoryuken!

"That’s enough! Stop!" Melisandre finally shouted, calling an end to the test.

By then, it hardly looked like a test for Magna anymore.

If anyone was being tested, it was the Shadows, though even that was starting to look more like a training session.

Magna stood half-naked with his fists raised in guard, sending anyone who came close enough flying with a punch.

He had lowered the strength of his blows both to let them get back up and to avoid putting too much strain on his still-broken arm. His high regeneration had healed most of the damage, but not enough for him to ignore the injury.

As for the Shadows, after rolling on the ground in pain for a while, each would join the others for another attempt, only to get close and be knocked away again.

At some point, they had stopped keeping their formation entirely.

Their team effort had turned into a contest of individual pride, as though the first person to reach Magna would win.

Instead of testing his physical limits, they were now testing whether they could get past his fists.

They were so caught up in the challenge that they didn’t even hear Melisandre’s order. Each time they were sent flying, they got back to their feet and rushed him again without a pause.

"What are they even doing?" she sighed, finding the whole thing almost painful to watch.

Beside her, Renna chuckled. "They look like they’re enjoying themselves."

She understood why they kept trying. Watching Magna move made her want to join them and give it a try herself.

It wasn’t his punches that interested her, but the footwork that kept him out of reach whenever someone tried to catch him.

He bounced lightly on the balls of his feet, moving his waist and hips in a rhythm that looked almost like a dance. Renna followed those movements closely, trying to understand how they worked together.

Melisandre had little interest in martial arts compared to Renna, but even she could tell there was a proper technique behind what he was doing.

It reminded her of her first visit to Winterborne, when she had found him in the outdoor training ground, practicing something he called Fruit Ninja with the ordinary maids.

That method had impressed her enough to report it to the Tower when she returned. Even 12 years later, Shadows were still using a similar exercise to train their reflexes.

He had shown a talent for fighting even as a child. Judging by the scene before her, that hadn’t changed.

Melisandre finally left them to it, returning to her report. They would surely stop once they got tired.

She had already filled 3 pages and was working on the 4th. In all her years assessing people for the Tower, she had never needed to write so much about one person.

Even after writing all that, she still had to end her report with one final admission.

’His true limits remain beyond my ability to judge. I must leave any further assessment to the Grand Witches.’

—

"Anselm, you’re still hesitating too much. You need to trust yourself more," Magna called after the red-armored Shadow he had just sent flying.

He then bent slightly beneath a blue-armored fist. "Savaric, you’re too impatient," he said, punching the man in the stomach and sending him after Anselm.

By now, Magna and the 45 Shadows had been training long enough to start chatting between exchanges, allowing him to learn most of their names.

What had begun as a way to test his body and keep his ego in check had become a chance to practice his social skills too.

Somehow, he was making friends by punching them. It was definitely a new experience for him.

He hadn’t even noticed when he started giving them advice, turning their attempts to catch him into lessons on what they needed to improve.

They were good fighters, each trained in many strategies and techniques, but as Magna watched them, he began noticing what their training lacked.

Their techniques were missing some of the finer details that would make them more effective and complete.

Some of their punches and footwork resembled boxing, for example, but they lacked moves such as the uppercut or the pivot, a turn that could take them out of an attack’s path and leave them ready to strike back.

Magna knew those techniques thanks to the many games he had played. He had never stuck to one genre, trying everything from sports games to farming simulators, so his experience covered a wide range of fighting styles, especially boxing.

When a green-armored Shadow rushed him again with clumsy footwork, Magna chuckled. "Isbrand, I have something special for you."

This Shadow was especially hardworking, having already been sent flying around 10 times only to get up and come back each time, earning himself a special place in Magna’s eyes.

Isbrand wasn’t startled by Magna suddenly calling his name, nor did he feel mocked. Instead, he grew excited, since Magna calling someone by name usually meant he was about to show them something they could learn.

Eager to see what it was, he kept moving, drawing back his fist and throwing a punch without slowing down.

Magna ducked beneath it easily. Instead of retreating, he stepped closer with his knees bent and his right fist low beside his waist.

Isbrand watched with wide eyes, trying to remember every movement despite how quickly it was happening.

Even that dodge was something he wanted to learn and add to his own fighting style, but Magna wasn’t finished.

Pushing upward through his bent legs, he turned his hips and shoulder into a rising punch beneath Isbrand’s chin.

He was so excited to finally try the move he had wanted to use for so long that he even shouted its name.

"Shoryuken!"

His fist struck Isbrand’s chin as he jumped, lifting the armored Shadow off the ground with him.

Magna rose with his right arm extended overhead and one knee drawn up, following through with the punch until they both began to fall.

He landed on his feet while Isbrand hit the ground in front of him with a thud. It was an instant K.O.

"Wow, that was a clean one." Magna laughed, surprised by how well he had pulled it off.

It was one of his favorite moves from one of his favorite fighting games, so getting to use it in real life was more exciting than he had expected.

The other Shadows seemed to enjoy the sight too, stopping where they stood to watch the move in surprise.

Now they were all trying to remember exactly how he had done it, fixing each movement of that punch in their minds.

Though even Magna wasn’t sure when or how they would actually use it in a real fight.

Still, seeing them try to learn a move from a game was very amusing.

If he could, he would also try a Hadouken, even a Kamehame, and plenty of other moves with cool effects. Unfortunately, he had to avoid using spells, both to save mana and because he had no intention of accidentally killing someone just for fun.