"Pointless walks don’t really exist; what do exist are necessary walks. The label ’pointless’ is just an attempt by ’distractions’ to divert your attention from what your mind needs at that moment," he said, and after a moment of silence, he continued.
"Your mind knows exactly what it needs to do to feel better—to win, to avoid losing. But distractions, like the idea of wanting everything right away, lead you to make questionable decisions."
He turned to look at him. "Just like a little while ago, your Senses—that is, your mind—knew exactly where a pitch was going that not even Frankie could have anticipated. That’s because your mind knows exactly what to do, and when you let it take over, you’re more precise. On the other hand, if you try to interfere with its decision, not only do you slow down, but you also lose your focus."
Losing your focus in a battle, for example, is one of the worst mistakes anyone can make. Not only do you lose all your momentum, but you also make mistakes with every move. You become an easy target.
Zaid hadn’t seen it that way. He never thought that such a simple question actually had a deeper meaning. Why go to such lengths to try to find meaning in something so simple? Zaid couldn’t understand it.
Perhaps that was his biggest mistake.
"Draw your dagger and strike me as hard and as precisely as you can. Use everything at your disposal—whether it’s your talents or that keen intuition of yours." Anhur turned around and pointed a dry tree branch at him, intending to use it to fight him.
Zaid nodded. After all, he’d been sent here to learn and train. And, for now, he had nothing else to do because Alice had gone to check on a few things after registering. Maybe he’d take on his first mission, and after that they could form a group.
He drew his dagger. He didn’t underestimate the fact that the elderly Anhur was holding a dry tree branch, because he understood that the difference between them was so great that he would win even without moving. He focused on trying to do his best.
However, when he leaped forward to confront him, he felt a sense of danger settle on his shoulders right in front of him. Even though he was staring intently at the old man Anhur’s body and was certain he hadn’t moved, his mere presence was enough to overwhelm him.
Even so, Anhur tried to appear as weak as possible, concealing his aura. That was the difference between a Top-tier Hunter and a lowly Rank F...
Zaid swallowed hard, but he struck again and again. His dagger was constantly deflected by that dry branch, but he kept striking.
At one point, he activated his talent, "Mastery of Daggers," and his body became more agile, faster, and more powerful. The union between his body and the dagger reached its peak, allowing him to be more precise with every attack.
That precision even took Anhur by surprise.
That was, truly, a top-tier talent.
"It’s Dagger Mastery, isn’t it?" Anhur asked just as he used his dry branch to strike the metal dagger repeatedly, forcing its wielder to retreat.
The force that traveled through the metal to his arm and then shook him to his core was unprecedented. Zaid had never felt anything like it. Not even when he took Rank D attacks head-on.
His body staggered backward, and he fell backward onto the ground. However, it wasn’t painful. It was simply as if a high-voltage current had struck him without causing harm, stunning him for a moment.
The man’s accuracy had been terrifying—to the point that it put to shame even the best accuracy that a top-tier Rank F talent could muster.
Zaid looked at Anhur in amazement, but nodded in response to his question. "It is. Do you know anything about her?"
"Well..." Anhur shook the dry branch and tossed it on the ground. "There’s another bearer of this Talent very close to us. Do you know him? His name is Robinson Shawn, from the Shawn family."
Zaid smiled slightly. ’If only you knew...’
But even if he said that this Talent was the same as Robinson’s—only "copied"—no one would believe him. He simply nodded.
"I know him. He’s my teacher at the academy," Zaid replied.
Anhur nodded. "Right, you’re a student."
"Do you already know who I am?"
"Well... I can guess." Anhur shrugged. Not that he cared. "It’s rare for two people with similar talent to appear so close together. But what I don’t understand is the disparity between your talents... One is of a higher rank than anyone else’s, and the other is the lowest rank."
Anhur thought about it for a moment. That really was even less likely... to the point that, until now, he’d thought it was impossible.
He let his mind wander for quite a while...
A little while later, he shook his hands and turned around. He immediately began to speak and wouldn’t stop until some time later.
"You’ve probably noticed that the precision of an attack is more important than its force, but that the two go hand in hand to achieve maximum power. When you attacked using the Talent, your Sense activated, and you managed to land some good blows. However, you weren’t able to keep the Talent active for very long because you immediately, consciously, interfered with the process."
"That means you need to understand yourself and your dagger. The dagger isn’t just fast and deadly. Its main characteristic is precision."
"Since you have such a highly developed Sense, there should be no reason for you to lack precision. So what we need to work on is your understanding of the dagger."
"Don’t think of the dagger as just another weapon. Its blade—don’t think of it as just sharp metal..." At this point, Anhur paused and shook his head. "Well, you’ll understand later. First, I want you to understand one thing."
Zaid needed some time to process it all. Finally, after trying to understand and memorize everything, he asked, "What is it?"
"Your dagger has no edge."
"Huh?"
Anhur smiled. "Just as I said. Your dagger has no edge."
Zaid couldn’t make sense of what he meant, but he looked at the dagger... it did have an edge, and a very sharp one at that. Although he’d been thinking about buying another one now that he had money, this one still had a sharp edge.
Anhur knew he was going to do that, so he laughed. "A dagger’s edge isn’t determined by the sharpened metal. I just told you—don’t think of the edge as mere sharpened metal. The edge of a dagger, just like that of all weapons, depends on your philosophy."
"Philosophy?" Zaid frowned.
"Believe it or not, a fighter’s philosophy matters more than strength in battle. A fighter whose philosophy is not to kill can use a sharp dagger to neutralize you without leaving a single scratch," he said, glancing at the dry branch on the ground.
"A fighter whose philosophy allows it can use anything as a weapon. It may not have the inherent properties of a weapon, but it will cause damage and can lead to victory. Strength is determined by leveling up and gaining stats. Versatility comes from acquiring talents. However, power is determined by your mind."
"Strength and versatility are determined by the inherent characteristics of the video game this world has become, but power is determined by the mind..." Zaid repeated.
It sounded like the cheap talk of failed martial artists trying to sell their half-baked skills. However, the one saying it was no failed martial artist.
He didn’t know the man’s name, but his mere presence commanded respect. He didn’t know the man’s status or strength, but he used a dry branch to neutralize him with effortless ease.
In fact... the man had just shown him a part of his philosophy.
Zaid couldn’t help but think of the Three Legendary Groups... it was likely that they had similar thoughts, since in ancient times, philosophy was the greatest thing a man could possess.
Although many things have changed with the arrival of the modern era—and even more so with the changes brought about by the system—perhaps some of those practices continue... though right now it was just a supposition in the mind of Zaid, an inexperienced young man.
"So you’ll have to think about it, but don’t worry—you don’t need to do it right now. Right now, I just want you to do something."
"What is it?"
"A mission."
"A mission?"
"Yes, you’re going outside. To nearby towns."
"Outside?" Zaid’s eyes widened. "Elder Anhur, I’m Rank F..."
"That’s fine." Anhur looked at him. "The first mission I did outside, I did when I was at Level 6."
Zaid blinked a couple of times, in shock. Going on a mission outside the city isn’t an easy task, even in the capital.
There were so many beasts on the outskirts that legends sprang up every day among the villagers, based on sightings of something gigantic.
Zaid swallowed hard. "Just out of curiosity, where do I have to go to do that?"
Anhur noticed how scared he’d become and chuckled a little. "You won’t have to do it alone. I just want you to deliver a message to an old friend. You’ll be going with a strong group."
"Where to?" Zaid frowned.
"The Three Villages of the Ancient Temple. You’ve surely heard of them."
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