Practicing Combat

Fedre had found Odys an experienced sparring partner with superb fighting skills, someone who usually traded moves with the club's veteran members.

When they had spoken earlier, he had also been somewhat surprised that Fedre had asked him to spar with a novice.

But the moment the sparring partner shouted, "Start," Odys stepped forward sharply while extending his right hand. His open palm struck the man's chest and sent him "flying."

The sparring partner got up clutching his chest. If that had been a punch, he would definitely have been injured.

Odys hurried over to help him up. "Are you all right?"

This was his first time using combat techniques against someone else, and he had no sense of restraint. He had not expected to send someone flying so easily.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." The sparring partner was a little embarrassed. "I just wasn't ready. I wasn't ready. Again!"

He must have been careless just now.

The two faced each other again, each assuming a ready stance.

The sparring partner found Odys's stance somewhat strange. His body was slightly bent, with both fists held forward, one ahead of the other.

"That's a strange stance," the sparring partner said. "Which school does it belong to?"

Odys paused slightly before replying, "The Emperor Roselle school!"

This was actually the opening stance of Eight Extremes Fist as he remembered it. After becoming a Melee Scholar, Odys, who had only watched films and related videos about Eight Extremes Fist, discovered that he was unexpectedly proficient in the art.

But this was the Lord of Mysteries World. No one would know what Eight Extremes Fist was, so he simply used Roselle as a shield.

The sparring partner froze for a moment. "Emperor Roselle knew how to fight?"

Fortunately, he did not pursue the matter. Instead, he took a deep breath and prepared himself. "Start!"

This time, the sparring partner attacked first, sweeping his leg at Odys's seemingly unsteady legs.

Odys crouched slightly, his entire body curling like a boiled shrimp. He first blocked the attack with both arms, then suddenly exerted force and rammed the sparring partner away with his shoulder.

Odys had held back. He had rammed him with his whole shoulder instead of striking with the hard point of it.

If he had used the shoulder point, he could easily have injured the sparring partner's internal organs.

The sparring partner's face was full of shock as he flew through the air. That blow had sent him out of the springy practice area, and he was probably going to land hard on his backside.

But just as he was about to hit the ground, a force suddenly caught him, and he landed steadily on his feet.

The sparring partner turned around. "Mr. Fred."

At some point, the tall, thin Fred had already appeared behind him. "Go rest for a while. I'll practice with him."

The sparring partner was slightly stunned before backing away step by step.

Odys smiled at Fred across from him. "Sorry, it seems I didn't control my strength very well."

"I know." Fred assumed a ready stance. "I could tell you had no intention of hurting anyone.

"Come on. Ready, start!"

Fred suddenly threw a right punch. Odys lowered himself again and dodged it. Since Fred had punched, his right arm was raised, leaving the entire right side beneath his armpit completely exposed to Odys.

Before the other man's left fist could come in, Odys launched a fierce attack.

But to Odys's surprise, Fred's right leg kicked out at that moment, capable of striking Odys's chest first.

Odys immediately crossed his arms in front of himself.

Thud~

The kick struck Odys's arms. Following the tremendous force of Fred's kick, Odys's feet left the ground as though he had been sent flying, but he quickly landed lightly on the floor.

Everything had happened very quickly. In the blink of an eye, their exchange was over.

Only then did Odys have time to think: the opening Fred had created with that punch had been a trap!

Fred said, "I understand what kind of practice you need. Today, I'll teach you the first thing: your eyes must be faster than your fists!"

He attacked again, exactly as before. Although Odys defended against Fred's attacks, he had no opportunity to counterattack at all.

Before long, their practice gradually drew the attention of the club members around them, who came over to watch.

Although Odys had been at a disadvantage the entire time, their exchanges were still extremely exciting, displaying combat techniques to their fullest!

They practiced like this for about an hour before Fred suddenly stopped. "That's enough for today."

"Thank you," Odys said sincerely.

He did not leave the fighting club immediately. Instead, he began reviewing each exchange from earlier. Whenever he gained some insight, he immediately practiced it to better understand the feeling.

After his advancement, Odys's memory had become exceptional. He could basically remember every exchange from earlier, so he spent more than three hours reviewing an hour of practice.

During the review, Odys suspected that Fred was also a Beyonder skilled in combat.

During his practice with the sparring partner just now, Odys had already sensed that even though he had never encountered combat before, the potion had given him fighting skills far beyond those of an ordinary person.

Only a Beyonder could possibly be his opponent.

By the time he left the club, it was already evening. Thick fog had blanketed the streets and alleys, and only the swaying horse lamps in the distance could be seen.

When he arrived at the public carriage stop, Odys waited for a carriage alongside some people getting off work.

He glanced back toward the club and noticed a somewhat unkempt middle-aged man in his forties.

Odys had noticed earlier that the middle-aged man had been watching him all along.

Sensing Odys's gaze, the middle-aged man smiled openly, then looked back toward the club.

Odys did not sense any danger, so he did not pay much attention to him.

At that moment, a newsboy passed by, hawking evening papers at the station. "New news from the Loen Evening News: Mrs. Mary, the wealthy female owner of the Anthracite Factory, has received threats from an unknown source... Warships from the Loen Kingdom and the Feysac Empire briefly confronted each other south of Sonia Island...

"And the Daily Observer's report on the current situation in the East District..."

Odys recalled the reporter named Mike. He remembered that Klein had once protected that reporter while he interviewed people in the East District. "One copy of the Daily Observer."

He took out a coin from his pocket and handed it to the newsboy in exchange for a newspaper.

Sure enough, there was a detailed report on the East District on the front page of the Daily Observer.

After reading for a while, the carriage arrived. Odys got on and continued reading. Then he saw a report about Miss Mandy "recruiting newcomers" in the East District.

Although it did not say that it was Miss Mandy, Odys knew that she was the person described in the report.

Anyone who had been to the Nanmu Ballroom would probably know that it was referring to Miss Mandy.

Odys could not help frowning. It was, after all, a gray industry that could not stand the light. There was a need to have a talk with that reporter.