The Art of Prediction

"Haah... haah... Stop, I'm done!"

Malone panted heavily as he stood in front of Kaldara.

Kaldara's actions had genuinely stunned Malone.

When he had sparred with Teron Gorefiend earlier, Teron could occasionally dodge Malone's attacks, but Malone knew that was different from the technique Kaldara had just demonstrated.

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

The Blademaster was right. Before Malone attacked, he already knew where the blow would land.

"How did you do that?"

Malone asked curiously.

He had to admit it: ever since yesterday, Teron Gorefiend and Kaldara had been constantly teaching him lessons.

Earlier, Malone hadn't believed Teron Gorefiend could take the sword from his hands, and he'd been taught a harsh lesson.

Now Kaldara had proven through his actions that he was right, too.

"This is what I want to teach you as well. Observation. You just need to observe."

Kaldara said.

"Is it really that simple?"

Doubt showed on Malone's face.

"Of course it's not that simple."

Kaldara shook his head.

"Only warriors who are proficient in combat and have a talent for fighting can do this. But Teron says you learn quickly, so I think you can manage it."

Kaldara encouraged Malone.

"I'm incredibly dumb... All right, tell me, then. How exactly do you do it?"

Malone didn't have much confidence in himself.

"I'll demonstrate."

Kaldara came to stand in front of Malone and planted his feet firmly.

"Next, I'm going to attack your left side. I won't hit you, of course. Watch my movements carefully."

Kaldara said.

"Okay!"

Malone watched Kaldara nervously, keeping his eyes fixed on every movement.

With a soft whoosh, before Malone could react at all, Kaldara's fist was already in front of him, right beside the left side of his face.

"This... this is..."

By the time Malone managed to speak, Kaldara had already pulled his fist back.

Too fast!

That was the only thing Malone could think.

"Did you see it clearly?"

Kaldara asked.

"No... I hardly... saw anything."

Malone replied awkwardly.

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

He also realized that Kaldara probably hadn't used all his strength when they fought yesterday.

Otherwise, at this speed, Malone—who hadn't yet spent a day sparring with Teron Gorefiend—would have been completely unable to fight back.

"I'll slow down a little. Watch carefully."

As he spoke, Kaldara clenched his right fist.

"Okay, I understand!"

Malone stared intently at Kaldara's fist again and answered seriously.

"Whoosh!"

Another soft sound.

"How about this time?"

Kaldara asked.

"Still... didn't..."

Malone said dejectedly. He still hadn't managed to see Kaldara's movements, even though Kaldara said he'd slowed down.

It was like... to a tiny ant, a tree and a building were equally impossible to scale. That was how it felt.

"I'll slow down even more. Watch carefully."

Kaldara reassured Malone, then repeated the same movement once again.

"No..."

"I didn't see it..."

"Too fast..."

After answering the same question countless times, Malone finally felt discouraged.

"Maybe... we should just give up. How could I possibly see it clearly? Maybe I'm not like Teron said. Maybe I'm just one of those people with no talent."

Malone said dejectedly.

"That doesn't make sense... It shouldn't be like this... Where are you looking when you watch me?"

Kaldara felt that Malone should have noticed something by now.

"Your fist!"

Malone answered.

"No, why are you looking at the fist?"

Kaldara seemed to have found the crux of the problem.

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

Malone asked in surprise.

"Hmm... Although my fist is what I hit you with, it isn't the fist itself that makes it move. It's the shoulder, or the waist, or the back, and all these other places... Do you understand what I mean?"

Kaldara struggled to explain it to Malone.

"Yeah, I get it now."

Only then did Malone realize he'd been looking at it the wrong way.

Kaldara was hitting him with his fist, but aside from tensing up, what else would the fist do?

In contrast, the muscles in Kaldara's arm would definitely shift before he struck.

"You understand? This is really... really complicated stuff!"

Kaldara asked in surprise.

"Huh? Is it complicated?"

Malone didn't think so at all.

Orcs didn't know that their bodies were made up of muscles and bones controlled by nerves.

But Malone was an Earthling, and he knew all that, so what Kaldara was telling him wasn't that hard to understand.

"All right, I'll demonstrate again."

Kaldara resumed his stance.

"Okay!"

Malone felt a little more confident this time. He thought he might have found the trick to it.

As before, a soft whoosh sounded as Kaldara's fist cut through the air and stopped beside the left side of Malone's face.

"How about this time?"

Kaldara asked, full of hope.

"Yeah, I saw it clearly. Before you threw the punch, the muscles here in your right shoulder—and here—were noticeably more swollen than usual. And your elbow was bent just a little."

Malone said excitedly. So he did have the talent to become an excellent warrior after all!

"That's about right. Anything else?"

To Malone's surprise, Kaldara didn't seem nearly as excited as he was.

The Blademaster merely nodded, then continued asking.

"Anything else? That's all!"

Malone asked, puzzled.

"That's all? That can't be right!"

Kaldara sighed.

"Look, besides the change in my shoulder, there's also my waist. Before I throw a punch, I shift it forward just a little."

"And my feet. Before I throw a right punch, my left foot takes a small step forward, and my left leg pushes harder than my right. That also means the muscles swell more..."

As he pointed out each spot on his body, Kaldara explained it to Malone.

"What? That much? There are... that many places I need to watch?"

Malone exclaimed.

"That's right. Once you notice all those changes, and add a little experience, you can judge what kind of attack your opponent is going to use."

Kaldara nodded as he spoke.

"How could anyone possibly do that?"

Malone exclaimed again.

Was he supposed to carefully observe his enemy before every punch? How could he possibly have time for that?

And if he was only focused on observing, what about his own attacks? What about his spells? How could he possibly have the attention to spare?