Chapter 17: The Returning Tide Sword

For the next several days, Kael devoted almost every spare moment to the Returning Tide Sword Manual. Morning training was no longer limited to Body Refinement and the 4-2-6 Breathing Technique.

After completing his physical conditioning, he would draw his wooden sword and begin practicing the seven forms of the Returning Tide Sword.

Step. Redirect. Turn. Return.

He did it repeatedly.

At first, the technique felt completely unnatural.

The Returning Tide Sword wasn’t designed around overwhelming an opponent with strength. Its movements were subtle, relying on precise footwork, controlled angles, and the ability to redirect incoming force.

For someone accustomed to conventional swordsmanship, it was easy to misunderstand. The practitioner wasn’t supposed to stop an attack directly. They were supposed to let it pass. Then guide it. Then use the opponent’s own momentum against them.

It sounded simple. But in reality, it wasn’t.

Kael spent hours correcting tiny mistakes. His foot landed several centimeters too far forward. He corrected it. His wrist turned too early. He corrected it. His shoulders became tense during the third movement. He corrected that as well.

The manual contained only seven forms, but each form was composed of countless small movements.

The more Kael practiced, the more he understood that games knowledge couldn’t help him this time.

Back when he was playing Eclipse Hearts, learning a skill had been ridiculously convenient. Obtain the skill, activate it, and the character would perform the technique perfectly according to the game’s mechanics.

No sore muscles.

No repeated mistakes.

No hours spent correcting the position of a single foot.

Kael almost laughed whenever he thought about it.

"Games really did make everything look easy."

The Returning Tide Sword was truly inconvenient. It required patience. And it didn’t produce immediate results.

No wonder even in the game it was considered as one of lowest rank techniques.

But...

Kael, however, wasn’t playing the game anymore. He was living inside it. And that changed the value of the technique.

"Again."

Kael raised his wooden sword. He performed the first movement. An imaginary sword came toward him. Kael shifted his front foot. His wooden sword moved diagonally.

Instead of meeting the imaginary attack head-on, he guided it away. Then he rotated his waist and returned the blade toward the imaginary opponent.

The movement was smoother than before, not perfect but better. Kael stopped. He stared at his sword.

"I think it’s better."

He repeated it again.

By the fourth day, the first three forms had become considerably more natural. By the fifth, he could perform all seven forms without constantly referring to the manual. By the sixth, he could execute the sequence while maintaining his 4-2-6 breathing rhythm.

That was when Kael realized something. He had reached the limit of what stationary training could teach him. At this point, what he was doing was just merely memorizing the steps rather than fully understanding the technique.

Kael stood in the eastern training grounds with his wooden sword lowered. A training dummy stood several meters in front of him. It had suffered enough abuse to make its condition obvious. There were countless marks across its wooden body.

Kael had spent the last hour practicing the Returning Tide Sword against it. He raised his sword. The dummy remained motionless.

Kael attacked.

His sword struck its shoulder. He stepped back. Then he imagined a counterattack. His body moved through the first form.

Step. Redirect. Turn. Return.

He repeated the sequence. But something was missing.

Kael frowned.

"The timing."

He understood the problem. A stationary target couldn’t attack him. It couldn’t change its angle. It couldn’t suddenly accelerate, and it couldn’t hesitate before striking. Couldn’t even fake an attack.

The Returning Tide Sword was built around reacting to movement. Without movement, Kael was only memorizing choreography like learning how to dance.

He already memorized the steps. Now what he needed next was how to apply it in real combat.

Kael glanced at the battered dummy.

"You’re starting to feel less like an opponent and more like a piece of furniture."

Elias, who had been practicing archery nearby, lowered his bow.

"What’s wrong?"

"I need something that can actually attack me."

Elias glanced at the wooden dummy.

"Can’t you ask someone to spar with you?"

Kael considered it.

"That is the question. I don’t know someone who will willingly spar with me. Also, I think a real sparring partner can’t perfectly control the conditions. If I wanted to isolate specific weaknesses, I needed an opponent who could repeatedly perform the same type of attack. I needed something predictable enough to train against, but unpredictable enough to force me to react."

"That sounds complicated."

Elias felt like he just heard something that would drain his brain cells dry.

Then suddenly, he remembered something.

Elias’ eyes widened slightly.

"The special training room."

Kael blinked.

"What training room?"

Elias turned toward him.

"Doesn’t the academy have a combat simulation facility?"

"Really?"

Elias looked confused.

"You didn’t know about it?"

"No," Kael shook his head.

Kael had no idea it existed. When he was playing Eclipse Hearts, the protagonist was absurdly talented that he didn’t need the help of those special facilities.

On top of that, the original Kael had rarely trained seriously enough to make use of the facility. So no mention in the previous host’s memory either.

Elias explained, "The academy has a special training facility called the Combat Simulation Chamber. Students with the appropriate privileges can use it to practice against simulated opponents."

Kael’s eyes lit up.

"Simulated opponents?"

"Yes. You can select different types of opponents and adjust their strength. Some of the training settings can even create moving combat dummies."

Kael immediately understood the value.

"That’s exactly what I need."

Instead of fighting the same wooden dummy until he memorized every possible angle, he could repeatedly train against moving opponents.

That was much closer to actual combat.

"So how do we get access to those privileges?"

"By getting good grades in tests and exams."

"Exam and test..."

"Hm..."

Kael searched his memories to see whether the previous Kael got those good grades before he transmigrated. His expression immediately darkened.

’Sh*t. I truly underestimated the previous Kael. He really got all the NPC quirks all by himself. Not only was he talentless but also bottom-tier in all other aspects.’

The original Kael. The guy had apparently treated studying and training like optional side quests.

Kael sighed internally.

’Seriously? You couldn’t have done even the bare minimum?’

Then he remembered something.

"Wait." His expression brightened. "Didn’t we get fairly good results in the last simulation test?"

Elias nodded.

"Yes."

Kael smiled.

"Then we’re fine."

A moment later, Kael looked toward the academy buildings.

"Let’s go."

Elias raised an eyebrow.

"You’re going now?"

"Yes."

"Don’t you want to rest first?"

"No."

"You’ve been training for hours."

"Exactly."

Kael tightened his grip around the wooden sword.

"I want to see how much this technique actually works."

Elias sighed.

"I knew you were going to say that."

Kael laughed.

"You don’t have to come."

"I know."

Elias picked up his bow.

"I’m coming anyway."

The two left the eastern training grounds.

The Combat Simulation Chamber was located beneath the academy’s western training complex. Unlike the ordinary training grounds, the facility was heavily regulated. Students needed proper identification and authorization before entering.

As they approached the entrance, Elias explained the procedure.

"We’ll need an approval letter from a professor before we can use our student privileges."

"Then let’s get one."

"From whom?"

Kael thought for a moment.

"Professor Magnus."

Elias nodded.

"All right."

...

Professor Magnus was sitting in his office, sorting through a stack of documents and putting them into different drawers.

Professor Helena had also stopped by before his scheduled departure for the Royal Capital.

She watched him organize the papers.

"You’re really going to do all that before leaving?"

"I don’t want to return to a mountain of paperwork."

"You’ll return to one anyway."

Magnus paused.

"...Don’t remind me."

Suddenly.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

The two professors looked toward the door.

"Should I tell them to come back later?" Helena asked.

Magnus shook his head.

"No. Let them in."

"All right."

Helena opened the door.

Two familiar faces immediately appeared on the other side.

Kael and Elias both looked slightly surprised when they saw Professor Helena.

They quickly straightened themselves.

"Good morning, Professor."

Helena smiled.

"Good morning to both of you. Do you need something from Professor Magnus?"

They nodded.

"Come in."

Kael and Elias entered.

Professor Magnus glanced at Kael. The boy had been spending an increasing amount of time training lately. That alone was unusual enough.

Magnus leaned back in his chair.

"You again. What do you want?"

Kael hesitated for a moment.

"Uh... we came to ask for an approval letter for student privileges, Professor."

Magnus narrowed his eyes slightly. Professor Helena also looked curious. There were only a few ways students could use those privileges. One was a free meal. Another was a day off. The final option was access to facilities such as the Combat Simulation Chamber.

For someone like Kael, the free meal was hardly worth mentioning. As the son of a noble family, he had little reason to rely on academy provisions.

That left two possibilities.

Magnus folded his arms.

"So which privilege are you planning to use?"

"The Combat Simulation Chamber."

Kael answered without hesitation.

Magnus raised an eyebrow.

"The Combat Simulation Chamber?"

"Yes."

Magnus studied him for a moment.

The boy had been training almost every day at the eastern training grounds. Why suddenly seek access to the simulation chamber?

"Why?"

Kael answered honestly.

"I’ve been practicing a new sword technique, but I’ve reached the point where training against stationary targets isn’t enough."

Magnus’s expression changed slightly.

"A new sword technique?"

Kael nodded.

"I need to practice against moving opponents."

That answer made considerably more sense. Magnus had seen Kael’s recent training. The boy was clearly taking his development seriously.

"All right."

Magnus took a sheet of paper and began writing the approval. After receiving the signed recommendation, Kael bowed slightly.

"Thank you, Professor."

He and Elias turned toward the door. As they left, Magnus watched Kael’s back for a few seconds.

Then he stood.

"I’ll be going out for a while."

Helena looked at him.

"Where?"

"I want to see what that boy is planning to do with the simulation chamber." Magnus picked up his coat. "Besides, I need to leave for the Royal Capital soon anyway."

Helena smiled and glanced at her wristwatch. Her expression immediately changed.

"It’s almost time for your departure. You’ll be late if you go out now."

Magnus gave her a sideways glance.

"A slight delay doesn’t make a difference."

He walked out of the office, leaving Professor Helena sighing.