The Art of Prediction

"Hoo... hoo... stop, no more fighting!"

Malone panted heavily, standing before Kaldara as he spoke.

Malone was truly shocked by Kaldara's actions.

Previously, when sparring with Teron Gorefiend, although Teron Gorefiend could occasionally dodge Malone's attacks, Malone knew it was different from the technique Kaldara was displaying now.

Teron Gorefiend relied on experience to judge, but Kaldara...

The Blademaster was right; before Malone even attacked, he already knew the direction of Malone's strike.

"How did you do that?"

Malone asked curiously.

He had to admit he was impressed—it had been like this since yesterday, with Teron Gorefiend and Kaldara constantly giving him lessons.

Before, Malone hadn't believed Teron Gorefiend could disarm him, only to be taught a harsh lesson.

It was the same now; Kaldara had also used his actions to tell Malone that his words were true.

"This is also what I want to teach you: observation. You just need to observe."

Kaldara said.

"It's that simple?"

A look of doubt appeared on Malone's face.

"Of course, it's not that simple."

Kaldara shook his head.

"Only warriors who have mastered combat and possess a talent for fighting can achieve this. However, Teron said you learn things quickly, so I think you should be able to."

Kaldara encouraged Malone.

"I'm actually incredibly dense... alright, then tell me, how exactly do you do it?"

Malone didn't have much confidence in himself.

"I will demonstrate it for you."

Kaldara came before Malone and planted his feet firmly.

"Next, I am going to attack your left side. Of course, I won't hit you; just pay attention to my movements."

Kaldara said.

"Mm!"

Malone watched Kaldara nervously, focusing on his every move.

With a soft swish, before Malone could make any reaction, Kaldara's fist had already appeared in front of him, right at his left cheek.

"This... this is..."

The moment Malone spoke, Kaldara had already retracted his fist.

Too fast!

—This was the only feeling in Malone's heart.

"Did you see it clearly?"

Kaldara asked.

"No... I almost... saw nothing at all."

Malone answered awkwardly.

Only now did Malone realize the gap between himself and Kaldara.

Malone also understood that when fighting him yesterday, Kaldara must not have used his full strength.

Otherwise, at this speed, he would have had absolutely no power to fight back, especially before having spent a day sparring with Teron Gorefiend.

"Then I will slow it down a bit; pay attention."

As Kaldara spoke, he clenched his right fist.

"Mm, I understand!"

Malone stared tightly at Kaldara's fist once more, answering earnestly.

"Swish!"

There was another soft sound.

"How about this time?"

Kaldara asked.

"Still... nothing..."

Malone said dejectedly; he still hadn't been able to see Kaldara's movement clearly, even though he said he had slowed down.

It was as if... a tree and a building were both equally unreachable to a tiny ant—that was the feeling.

"Then I will go even slower, pay close attention."

Kaldara comforted Malone, then repeated the previous movement once more.

"No..."

"I didn't see it..."

"It's too fast..."

After answering the same question more times than he could count, Malone finally felt discouraged.

"This... let's just forget it, how could anyone see that clearly? Perhaps I am not like what Talon said, just the type of guy who lacks talent."

Malone said, his head hanging low.

"That's not right, it shouldn't be... where exactly have you been staring at?"

Kaldara felt that Malone should have discovered something by now, at the very least.

"Your fist!"

Malone replied.

"Wrong, why would you look at the fist?"

Kaldara seemed to have found the crux of the problem.

"If I don't look at the fist, where should I look?"

Malone asked in surprise.

"Hmm... although it is my fist that strikes out, in reality, what drives the fist forward is not the fist itself, but the shoulder, or the waist, and the spine, and these other areas... do you understand what I am saying?"

Kaldara explained to Malone with great effort.

"Yes, I understand."

Only now did Malone realize he had fallen into a misconception.

Although Kaldara was using his fist to strike, other than tensing up, what other changes could a fist possibly have?

On the contrary, Kaldara's arm—the muscles there must undergo changes before the strike.

"You understand? This is a very... very complex thing!"

Kaldara asked in astonishment.

"Hm? Is it complex?"

Malone did not think so at all.

For an Orc, they did not clearly understand that their bodies were composed of muscles and bones, controlled by nerves.

But Malone was an Earthling; he knew these things, so what Kaldara said was not that difficult for him to grasp.

"Alright, then I will demonstrate it one more time."

Kaldara assumed his stance again.

"Yes!"

Malone had some confidence this time; he felt he might have found a trick to it.

With the usual soft sound of a fist cutting through the air, Kaldara's fist stopped just to the left of Malone's face.

"How about this time?"

Kaldara asked, full of hope.

"Yes, I saw it clearly. Before the punch, your right shoulder, here, and the muscles here were significantly more swollen than usual; and your elbow also had a slight bend."

Malone said excitedly—it turned out he also had the talent to become an excellent warrior!

"That's about right, what else?"

To Malone's surprise, Kaldara did not seem as excited as he was.

The Blademaster just nodded and continued to ask.

"What else? That's it!"

Malone asked, puzzled.

"That's it? That's not right!"

Kaldara sighed and said.

"Look, besides the changes in my shoulder, there is also my waist; before the punch, it leans forward just a tiny bit."

"And my feet. Before throwing a right punch, my left foot takes a small step forward, and my left leg exerts more force than the right, which also means greater muscle expansion..."

Kaldara pointed to the various parts of his body while explaining to Malone.

"What? So many? The places I need to pay attention to... there are actually this many?"

Malone exclaimed.

"That's right. As long as you notice these changes and add a little bit of experience, you can judge what kind of attack method your opponent will use."

Kaldara nodded and said.

"How is that even possible?"

Malone exclaimed once again.

Does this mean that before every punch the enemy throws, he has to observe them this carefully? But where would he find the time for that?

Besides, if he spent all his focus on observation, what about his own strikes? What about his spells? How could he possibly have the energy to spare for anything else!