Again

At the top of a certain field, there are masters who have reached the pinnacle.

They obsessively cling to their superiority and always try to prove it.

It’s not so much about pride as it is about a kind of self-esteem. It’s a privilege that only the skilled can possess.

And a few steps further up, there are very few skilled individuals.

They don’t just boast arrogantly, but often set limits for themselves.

And that was exactly the situation with Aisha right now. Rather than admitting defeat, why cling to such petty pride?

It was not victory that Aisha truly desired.

Achievement and progress. That was the reason she had worked so hard, the purpose she wanted to achieve with her sword.

That’s why, despite not wanting to, she asked Evan for guidance.

It was humiliating, but just this once…

“Do you not want to?”

“…Huh?”

“Why. I don’t have time to spare either.”

Aisha’s mouth fell open in surprise.

A sound like “uh” escaped from her slightly parted lips.

After regaining her composure, she hesitantly spoke.

“But… I also taught you.”

“What are you talking about? Recall all our previous duels. Strictly speaking, I was the one teaching you.”

“That, that’s true but…”

“And you keep saying just one more round, but hasn’t that one more round turned into twenty times? I think I’ve spent enough time on this.”

“Uh, yeah…”

Thinking about it, Evan had no reason to teach her, and he had already spent enough time for her sake.

It was naturally appreciated, but it felt too uncomfortable to end it like this.

‘What should I say?’

Aisha, whose interpersonal relationships were strained, was at her most critical moment.

Already lacking in words, she couldn’t think of the right thing to say.

How should she persuade him?

“You.”

After countless deliberations, she finally came up with a comment.

“Why are you speaking informally? I’m your older sister, after all.”

“?”

“So you should call me sister. With respect.”

Caught off guard by her sudden remark, Evan furrowed his brow.

Even as he spoke, his furrowed face remained unchanged.

“We’re the same age anyway, and if we’re twins, there’s no hierarchy. Why bother with formalities?”

“But you used to call me sister…”

“That was when I was naive. I have no intention of calling you that in the future, so wake up.”

“But still…”

A glimmer of hope appeared in her consistently dry eyes. A desperate glimmer of hope.

Somehow, her eyes seemed pitiful. How could he turn away when she was bending over backwards and asking for help?

Evan scratched his head and clicked his tongue.

“Ugh. I’m not confident in being a teacher.”

All six of his former colleagues had trained their successors.

They had diligently taught talented individuals below them, who had shown promise early on.

But Evan, or rather Mayer, had never taken on a disciple.

Firstly, because he was going back to Earth anyway.

Secondly, because he had no talent for teaching others. All his colleagues had unanimously agreed on that.

“…”

“…”

But it should be fine for a short while. If it gets too difficult or strange, he’ll naturally drop out.

Evan reluctantly spoke up.

“I’ll let you know in advance, but I can’t guarantee anything. Teaching others is new to me.”

Aisha blinked and nodded repeatedly. She then poured out a stream of words.

“It’s okay. I won’t blame you. It depends on my ability to learn.”

“That’s true. Anyway, um…”

Evan lightly bit his lip and let out a sigh.

Where should he start? Everything is difficult at the beginning, and it’s just overwhelming.

Fortunately, Aisha shed light on the path ahead.

“I have a few questions I want to ask. In that last sparring session, I had a clear advantage, right? Both in terms of acceleration and reaching the target.”

“Is that so?”

“But how did you manage to successfully parry in that intense moment?”

Parrying, a counteraction that starts solely with timing and ends with timing.

To achieve this, two prerequisites are necessary.

One must know where the opponent’s sword will fly and have the agility and visual acuity to react immediately to the unfolding situation.

This requires a high level of concentration and visual acuity.

“Hmm.”

Of course, Evan’s body was not as agile.

He had to rely solely on prediction and intuition to react in the moment.

“Huh?”

When Aisha asked again, Evan was lost in deep thought.

How long had the silence lasted? Evan’s tightly sealed lips finally parted.

“You just have to do it, right?”

“?”

“There’s no need for an explanation. I just saw your sword and countered it. That’s it.”

“?”

Aisha briefly doubted her own ears.

With the straightforward tone and even a hint of arrogance, she wondered if she was being underestimated.

After belatedly regaining her composure, she changed her approach and asked a different question.

“I-I mean, I’m asking about the principles. How were you able to predict the opponent’s movements with certainty? Or did you notice a certain habit of the opponent and targeted that? Like this, for example.”

“If you’re asking about that… well…”

Evan easily interpreted various theories floating in his mind.

After summarizing these theories, Evan explained in a clear and concise manner.

Of course, Aisha still had her doubts.

‘What is he talking about?’

Dodging and striking? If it were that simple, he wouldn’t have put in so much effort.

“Tell me straight.”

“I am being straightforward.”

“If that’s not working, that’s why I’m asking… How do you dodge and strike…”

Seeing that Evan was not understanding, Aisha narrowed her eyes.

Finally, he reluctantly provided additional explanation.

“You should focus on the movement of the opponent’s arm muscles. When you stab or slash with a sword, you inevitably exert your strength. As a result, the muscles in your arm will twitch. That’s a signal.”

Aisha is quite intelligent.

However, intelligence alone may not be enough to grasp this theory.

Evan looked at Aisha, who remained blank-faced. He then muttered briefly, narrowing his eyes.

“The theory is indeed difficult…”

“…”

“Then you have to see it for yourself. There’s no easier way than that.”

Confident in his words, Aisha felt a sense of trust.

Swallowing her dry saliva, she cautiously asked, “What method?”

With a menacing tone, Evan threw a cryptic remark at the fidgety Aisha.

“You learn by getting hit.”

“…What?”

“If you don’t know, you have to get hit. Until you understand.”

A proverb applicable to everyone: Seeing is believing.

Literally, experiencing something firsthand is better than hearing about it a hundred times.

And this slightly modified version, with a touch of brutality added, emphasizes the importance of direct experience.

“If you don’t know, you have to get hit.”

Even young novices can grasp the multiplication table after a few hits with a stick in a day.

And even stubborn puppies eventually learn to behave after a few smacks.

The so-called no pain, no gain. You’ll only realize it when you get hit enough.

Depending on the magnitude of growth, an equal amount of growing pains is often required, which may be considered common sense.

“Hey, wait…!”

“Get your stance right. Keep getting hit until you succeed.”

Genius cannot understand mediocrity, and mediocrity cannot understand genius.

Genius and mediocrity.

Among these two categories, those who are far from the standard of normalcy are likely geniuses.

Regardless of how geniuses perceive themselves, the overall ratio is what truly matters.

However, most geniuses tend to label those who do not understand them as strange, and those who struggle with what comes easy to them as fools.

‘Why doesn’t this work?’

‘Isn’t it supposed to be like that?’

‘No, it’s not supposed to be like that?’

‘Just do this and that, why is it so difficult?’

Asserting one’s normalcy while making the other appear abnormal through speech.

This unique way of speaking even feels somewhat deceitful, evoking feelings of helplessness and anger in the other person.

“So, it’s like swoosh-thud-bang? Swoosh, then thud, and finally bang! Got it?!”

“Wha-what…?”

“No, you still don’t get it? It’s swoosh-thud-bang, understand?”

“S-Sorry….”

Asha was keenly feeling it at that moment.

“So, after swoosh, then thud… is that how you say it…?”

“Thud goes away and swoosh-thud comes out. It’s not thud-bang, it should start with swoosh! Again!”

“Uh….”

The conversation was so chaotic that the topic was almost completely forgotten.

There were no advice to build a foundation of knowledge or logic to improve understanding. Nothing at all.

It was simply an egocentric education centered around subjective feelings.

“That was like swoosh-thud-bang just now. R-right?”

“Was the rhythm correct? It was swoosh-thud-bang. Again!”

“N-No, it wasn’t….”

“What do you mean it wasn’t? It was correct. Let’s do it again!”

“I-I really swooshed and thudded this time. And the finish was good. Right?”

“No, it should have been swoosh-thud, not swoosh-swoosh.”

“…? Oh, earlier you said it wasn’t swoosh-swoosh….”

“That’s right. The proper way is swoosh, but there was a variable in the situation. You have to adjust the rhythm according to that.”

“…Do you hate me by any chance?”

“Out of the blue?”

“If I make a mistake, please tell me…. I’ll apologize….”

“You’ve been saying weird things since earlier. Again!”

“….”

“Look at that just now. Why are you just standing there and taking the hits?”

“My arm won’t move because of the recoil, what am I supposed to do….”

“Hah. At that moment before the recoil, you have to predict momentarily! Huh? Instead of parrying, huh? Like this, like this! Dodge with movement.”

“…Does that work?”

“Then it doesn’t?”

“?”

“?”

Time passed like flowing water once again. I can’t even remember how many times this has been repeated.

“It hurts….”

Asha, experiencing a period of intense growing pains, agonized.

In order to break free from this endless suffering, she repeated her agony with even more agony.

And that yearning, bordering on obsession, became the foundation of enlightenment.

“!”

The eyes that had never been able to follow anything before were now able to witness it.

The tip of the sword heading towards her shoulder at a speed close to teleportation.

Asha, who caught that moment with her eyes, quickly swung her hand.

-Thunk!

A resounding impact that couldn’t be more satisfying.

The sound somehow felt like a congratulatory applause.

“I did it….”

“See? You’ll understand when you get hit.”

As Evan’s words suggested, you only truly understand when you get hit.

It’s like learning to walk for a newborn baby. You can’t explain it, but you instinctively learn it.

“Ugh….”

Although she couldn’t apply it at will, she was still satisfied.

Anyway, she was very satisfied to finally step out of her place and take the first step.

Asha felt a surge of emotions for a moment.

“Again.”

She doubted her ears at the sound of the voice.

“Why, why…?”

“Everything was fine, but the last part was a miss, not a hit. Again.”

“….”

Sigh.