The old instructor continued his endless practice.
Swing.
Step.
Swing.
Step.
He never looked at Aster again.
It was as if he had already said everything worth saying.
Aster, however, remained rooted to the spot.
Inside his consciousness, the newly acquired skill glowed faintly.
Twin Flash Step
Rank: Uncommon
Time Remaining: 29:42
Comprehension: 0%
He smiled bitterly.
"Another race against time..."
The Primal Codex was unforgiving.
Every copied skill came with the same condition.
Understand its Truth...
Or lose it forever.
He drew his wooden sword and walked toward an empty section of the training hall.
Closing his eyes, he recalled the skill.
One step.
Acceleration.
First slash.
Second slash.
He executed the movement exactly as the copied memory instructed.
Whoosh!
His body lunged forward.
The two slashes landed cleanly against the practice dummy.
Comprehension: 3%
"...Only three?"
He repeated the sequence.
Again.
Again.
Again.
The percentage barely moved.
Comprehension: 7%
Comprehension: 11%
Comprehension: 15%
Aster frowned.
"I'm only memorizing..."
"I'm not understanding."
He stopped swinging.
The old instructor's words echoed in his mind.
"Don't watch with your eyes."
"Watch with your feet."
Aster lowered his gaze.
His feet.
Not the sword.
He slowly crouched and examined his stance.
When he accelerated, his rear foot pushed against the ground.
His front foot didn't merely receive his weight.
It guided it.
The sword wasn't pulling his body.
His body was carrying the sword.
He tried again.
This time, he ignored the blade completely.
Instead...
He concentrated on every movement beneath his waist.
How his ankles rotated.
How his knees bent.
How his hips transferred momentum.
How each muscle worked together to propel him forward.
Only after the movement was complete did the sword naturally follow.
Slash.
Slash.
The technique suddenly felt smoother.
Far smoother.
Comprehension: 31%
His eyes widened.
"So that's it..."
He wasn't learning an attack.
He was learning movement.
Minutes passed.
Sweat formed across his forehead.
Although this world wasn't real, fatigue still accumulated through repeated actions.
He continued practicing.
Each repetition refined his understanding.
His feet no longer stumbled.
His center of gravity remained balanced.
Every burst of speed became cleaner.
Every slash became lighter.
The sword was no longer forcing the motion.
It merely completed it.
Comprehension: 52%
The timer quietly continued counting down.
Twenty minutes.
Fifteen.
Ten.
Aster's breathing grew heavier.
Yet the final half refused to move.
No matter how perfectly he executed the technique...
The percentage remained unchanged.
"Why...?"
He replayed every word the instructor had spoken.
"The technique isn't about swinging twice."
"It isn't even about moving quickly."
"It's about arriving before your opponent realizes you've already moved."
Arriving...
Before they realized...
Aster's eyes slowly widened.
"It isn't speed..."
"It's initiative."
Twin Flash Step wasn't meant to be the fastest movement.
It was meant to erase the opponent's opportunity to react.
The first slash wasn't intended to wound.
It occupied the enemy's attention.
While they focused on defending...
The second strike had already begun.
The attack had been decided the moment the first step was taken.
The sword merely revealed the outcome.
At that instant, the Primal Codex opened by itself.
Ancient words engraved themselves upon the page.
Truth of Twin Flash Step
The blade does not create the opening.
The first step does.
Movement determines victory before steel ever meets steel.
Those who understand distance control the battle.
A brilliant light erupted around Aster.
Comprehension Complete!
100%
Twin Flash Step has been permanently recorded within the Primal Codex.
A wave of warmth spread throughout his body.
Unlike the temporary copy, the knowledge no longer felt borrowed.
It belonged to him.
Every movement.
Every transition.
Every subtle shift in balance.
The technique had become instinct.
The Primal Codex updated once more.
Chapter I — The First Truth
Recorded Skills:
* Iron Body Foundation (Uncommon)
* Twin Flash Step (Uncommon)
Progress: 2 / 20
Aster smiled.
"Two."
"Eighteen more."
He sheathed his wooden sword and bowed respectfully toward the elderly instructor.
The old man never turned around.
Yet he spoke quietly.
"You've learned the technique."
Aster blinked.
"But remember this..."
"The day you stop improving your footwork..."
"...is the day your sword stops improving as well."
"I'll remember."
Without another word, Aster left the training grounds.
This time, he didn't head toward Greenwood Expanse.
He wanted stronger opponents.
Stronger skills.
Stronger Truths.
Outside Mistvale's northern gate, a new road branched toward the eastern cliffs.
A weathered stone monument marked the entrance.
Stonefang Ravine
Recommended Level: 5–10
Primary Monsters:
* Stonefang Wolves (Lv. 5)
* Razor Boars (Lv. 6)
* Ironhide Lizards (Lv. 7)
* Ravine Panthers (Lv. 8)
* Granite Apes (Lv. 9)
* Stonefang Alpha (Lv. 10)
Aster looked at the valley stretching before him.
Rocky cliffs towered overhead, while the distant howls of wolves echoed through the ravine.
He tightened his grip on his sword.
Level Four.
Two permanently recorded Uncommon skills.
A hidden quest.
An impossible future.
He took one confident step into Stonefang Ravine.
The real grind...
Was about to begin.