Chapter 660

- Heavy Strike Style has them too. A Near-Pinnacle and a Pinnacle.

“......What?”

- It’s true.

Su-ho blinked both eyes.

“No, but just a moment ago, you clearly said.......”

- I was just teasing you a little. You could call it a small act of spite for forgetting about me all this time.

“Ah.......”

This man, seriously.......

Still, Su-ho had to admit that much.

He really had forgotten about him, and if Spear Venerable had not called him, Su-ho might have skipped over him again this time too.

So it was truly fortunate.

Just as he had told Spear Venerable earlier, he really had felt somewhat disappointed.

When Su-ho’s expression immediately brightened, Spear Venerable chuckled.

- Look at how bright your face became. Are you that happy?

“Yes, I’m extremely happy.”

- Of course you should be happy. Don’t forget about me next time. I was terribly lonely.

Good grief.

Su-ho had thought he was simply easygoing, but apparently, he had this side to him as well.

Spear Venerable continued his explanation.

- Heavy Strike Style consists of a total of seven forms. And you have currently learned up to the fifth form, Ten Thousand Strikes.

“Then the sixth form must be the Near-Pinnacle?”

- Correct. In that case, what do you think the sixth form is?

“I’m not sure. You said Heavy Strike Style is a spear art that pursues extreme efficiency, so I imagine it is related to efficient attacks again.”

- Correct. It is related to attacking. But the principle itself is absurdly simple. Try to guess.

“A simple principle.......”

What could be a simple principle in a martial art that pursued powerful attacks?

If Spear Venerable called it simple, it was probably truly simple.

“You aren’t playing another trick on me this time, are you?”

- I’m not. Once you hear it, it will seem so simple that it feels almost anticlimactic.

“Hmm.”

Su-ho crossed his arms and thought for a while.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he could not come up with anything that seemed like the correct answer.

“I can’t think of anything that seems right. Since you said it is an attack so simple that it feels anticlimactic, all I can think of is hitting twice or hitting the same place again.”

- That’s it.

“What?”

- Hitting twice and hitting the same place again. That is correct.

“What?”

His head tilted, and his brows narrowed.

That really was it?

But Spear Venerable was serious.

- I told you it was a simple principle. Heavy Strike Style consists entirely of thrusting with a spear, so up to the fifth form, in a way, it is little more than thrusting with greater force. One thrust is One Strike, putting the force of ten thrusts into a single blow is Ten Strikes, putting the force of a hundred thrusts into one blow is Hundred Strikes...... But are you truly thrusting several times?

“No.”

- Correct, you aren’t. Literally speaking, you are only putting that much force into it. But what would happen if you truly thrust consecutively with such spear strikes instead of merely calling them that?

“......It would hurt tremendously?”

- Since you have comprehended the fifth form, Ten Thousand Strikes, you will probably use Ten Thousand Strikes as your primary form. But what if you thrust twice in succession with Ten Thousand Strikes? You would be able to inflict the damage of twenty thousand thrusts, wouldn’t you?

“In theory, yes...... But is that principle difficult enough to be called a form?”

- A principle is still a principle. If you want to maximize the damage of a thrust, thrusting powerfully is important, but how important do you think it is to strike the same place again and thrust rapidly in succession? And you’re a Player, aren’t you?

“Yes?”

- Then why are you asking such a foolish question? You should know better than anyone the difference between consciously performing an action and having it automatically activate after becoming a skill.

“Ah, that is true. But after reaching a certain level, things that have become ingrained in my body move on their own even without using a skill.”

- Even so, there is no harm in having a safeguard. And the Consecutive Strikes you are about to learn will probably be somewhat different from the consecutive strikes you originally imagined.

“What difference is there?”

- Do you really think Consecutive Strikes, the sixth form and Near-Pinnacle, ends with only two thrusts?

“......!”

Su-ho’s eyes widened.

Ah, why had he not thought of that?

He had simply thought of it as thrusting twice, so he had assumed that was the end of it.

But Consecutive Strikes literally meant striking consecutively.

That meant that as long as the conditions were met, he could continue attacking as many times as he wished.

- Combine Ten Thousand Strikes, which is unleashed with a single concentrated thrust, with Consecutive Strikes that has become ingrained in your body. Then, if your proficiency in the Near-Pinnacle rises greatly and the conditions are right, the number of consecutive thrusts you can unleash will become unimaginable.

Su-ho imagined it.

Ten Thousand Strikes used under perfect conditions, and the damage that would result if he used that Ten Thousand Strikes endlessly.

As expected of Heavy Strike Style.

It truly was a martial art created for destruction.

- To brag a little here, this can be called an advantage unique to spear arts. Of course, swords can also perform consecutive slashes, but compared to a spear that only needs to pull back a very short distance before thrusting again, the movement and time required would be greater, wouldn’t they?

He was right.

No matter how fast the movement was, with a spear thrust, if one wished, it was enough to pull it back only a very short distance before thrusting again.

Therefore, among consecutive attacks, the spear probably had the highest efficiency.

Su-ho asked with shining eyes.

“It really is a simple principle, but I never imagined it. Then what about the Pinnacle?”

- Curious?

“I am. You aren’t going to say you’ll only tell me after I learn the Near-Pinnacle again, are you?”

- Why? Am I not allowed to?

“Can’t you just tell me? I’m very curious. Ah, I’ll buy the drinks too.”

- What do you mean, you’ll buy the drinks...... Do you even have any currency from this world?

Ah?

He had not thought of that.

This was Spear Realm, Spear Venerable’s world.

Come to think of it, Su-ho did not even know what currency Spear Realm used.

Spear Venerable chuckled and ordered two more drinks.

Soon, two cups of alcohol arrived, and after Spear Venerable emptied about half of his fresh drink, he spoke.

- Thrusting powerfully, thrusting consecutively. Then what comes next?

“Uh...... I’m not sure. Give me a moment.”

Su-ho did not want to disappoint him.

What came next?

“The first things that come to mind are slashing, throwing, swinging...... something like that.”

His voice gradually grew quieter.

Because he lacked confidence.

Spear Venerable snorted. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

- All wrong. Heavy Strike Style has nothing but thrusting. And what would be the point of teaching a swordsman how to slash with a spear? The only difference between slashing with a spear and slashing with a sword is the distance. And throwing? Are you joking?

“R-Right?”

He had been scolded.

But he deserved to be scolded.

If a disciple of swordsmanship had answered like that, Su-ho thought he would have said something too.

He thought further, but no answer came to him.

Spear Venerable, who had been watching, spoke.

- In truth, all the techniques that could appear have already appeared. That is why the Pinnacle of Heavy Strike Style lies somewhere other than the hand and spear.

“Somewhere else?”

- Yes. The eyes.

“The eyes?”

- More precisely, eyes that see weaknesses. There is a saying that technique is useless before overwhelming power, but why must you abandon one instead of catching both rabbits?

It was idealistic.

If one could take both, it was better to take both.

If one could take three, then take all three.

But usually, that was difficult, so one had to abandon one.

That was also where the phrase choice and concentration came from.

However, if one had the capacity, it was better to take everything.

Spear Venerable continued.

- Heavy Strike Style pursues efficient attacks. Using Ten Thousand Consecutive Strikes, which combines Ten Thousand Strikes and Consecutive Strikes, in several places is fine, but if possible, it would be best to aim only for the opponent’s weakest point and finish it in a single blow, wouldn’t it?

“That’s right.”

- That is why the final Pinnacle of Heavy Strike Style is the Strike Eye, which finds the opponent’s weakness. You can only comprehend the Pinnacle after opening the Strike Eye.

“Strike Eye...... Then if I have the Strike Eye, will I be able to see the opponent’s weakest area?”

- You will instinctively know the best place to thrust. Even if that place is not on the surface but inside the enemy’s body, the optimal path will become visible.

“Strike Eye.......”

Su-ho rolled the name Strike Eye around in his mouth.

He was satisfied.

Yes, this was what a Pinnacle should be.

It was beyond what he had expected.

Su-ho asked.

“Then I’ll learn Consecutive Strikes first. What is the theory behind Consecutive Strikes?”

- What do you mean, what is it? Didn’t you hear anything I’ve been saying? You just thrust several times.

“Really?”

- That really is everything you heard. That is why I said it was so easy that it felt anticlimactic. Hit the same place again and thrust continuously. That is Consecutive Strikes. For reference, I will only teach you the Strike Eye after you learn Consecutive Strikes, so give up any thought of asking me to explain it in advance.

“Understood.”

- Ah, and one more thing!

“Yes?”

- The residents say it’s too noisy, so go practice at Black Rocky Mountain behind Rocky Mountain. There are black boulders at the summit, and unless you use Consecutive Strikes, you will not even scratch them. Ah, and one more tip. The time gap between each strike in Consecutive Strikes must be extremely brief.

“How brief?”

- I’m not sure. I’ve never measured it, but one thing is certain. One second is far too slow. You have to strike again in the literal blink of an eye. Otherwise, Consecutive Strikes would have no meaning.

“So, to summarize, because it’s noisy, I should go to Black Rocky Mountain behind Rocky Mountain and successfully perform Consecutive Strikes with the wooden staff at intervals shorter than one second?”

- Correct. You’re clever.

“Understood.”

- Ah, right. And give me the wooden staff.

Su-ho handed it over.

Then Spear Venerable snapped the wooden staff cleanly in half.

Spear Venerable returned the now two wooden staffs and said.

- If you are going to hold it like a sword anyway, just use it like this from the beginning. The length is perfect too, isn’t it?

Su-ho smiled at Spear Venerable’s consideration.

“Thank you. It was uncomfortable anyway, so thank you for being considerate.”

- All right. Good luck, then.

He really was a good person.

Su-ho bowed and was about to leave the tavern.

Then he suddenly stopped, thought for a moment, and called Spear Venerable again.

“Spear Venerable?”

- What?

“Instead of that, why don’t you come with me?”

- Where?

“To Black Rocky Mountain.”

- Why?

“I think I can comprehend Consecutive Strikes quickly.”

At that moment, the corner of Spear Venerable’s mouth rose.

- You know that is an extremely arrogant statement, don’t you?

“Yes, I know. But since you turned the wooden staff into wooden swords, I think I can comprehend Consecutive Strikes quickly.”

- What if you can’t?

“Is there anything you want?”

- There is nothing I want. I do not want to tell you to abandon swordsmanship over a trivial wager like this either. But there should be some risk, shouldn’t there?

“I will accept whatever risk you name.”

Spear Venerable’s smile deepened.

Was this arrogance or confidence?

Normally, one would call it arrogance, but Su-ho seemed to possess tremendous confidence.

Was that why?

Spear Venerable suddenly wanted to test him.

- Then if you fail to comprehend it quickly, abandon Heavy Strike Style itself. We will act as though the succession never happened, and I will reclaim everything. What do you think?

Spear Venerable asked.

And then.

“Understood.”

Without the slightest hesitation, Su-ho answered immediately.