"And... I’m done!" Leone said as he lay at the entrance of the cave, panting for breath.
There was still plenty of ti before sunset, but he managed to complete the task given to him by Gundar. All thanks to his kingdom building powers!
The old man couldn’t say anything because the young man didn’t break the rules he set. Although he was surprised, he had no intention of prying into Leone’s secrets.
"Well done." Gundar took off the bracelets from the young man’s hand, freeing him from the pressure that had made his life difficult today.
"As promised, I will teach you bone reading, as well as a shamanic ability that fits you perfectly. But before that, take a bath and have dinner first. You’re covered in sweat and dirt."
Leone might have cheated on the last leg of the trial, but his body was still sore from his descent down the mountain.
"H-Help , Jason." Leone reached out to his vassal, who didn’t hesitate to pull him up.
"I’ll take you to the underground river, Master," Jason said while carrying Leone in a princess carry.
Yuni watched them go before talking to Gundar in a solemn tone.
"Great Uncle, I hope you keep what you saw today a secret," Yuni said. "I don’t know why Leone decided to show you his ability. Despite what he seems like, he’s actually a very cautious person, so I was surprised by what he did earlier. He must trust you to a certain extent. Trust that you will keep his secret."
"Don’t worry, Yuni," Gundar replied. "My lips are sealed. I won’t tell anyone about your Great Chieftain’s unique abilities."
Truth be told, Leone’s powers had surprised Gundar. From what he knew, creating sothing was the specialty of magicians. But after careful observation, he could tell that Leone was not a magician.
It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t curious if Leone had other tricks up his sleeve. Still, he wouldn’t ask. If Gundar wanted to form a good connection with Leone, he must not forcibly pry his secrets.
Two hours later, a clean, well-fed Leone lay on the bed. The challenge had tired him, and he needed to rest.
He fell asleep right away. Perhaps he was too exhausted, for when he woke up the next day, it was already close to sunrise.
After realizing he had fallen asleep instead of just napping, he imdiately panicked. He was supposed to learn sothing from Gundar.
Fortunately, Daedalus placated him right away. It told Leone that Yuni had checked on him last night. Since he was deep asleep, Yuni asked the shaman if he could let Leone rest first. Just like that, their business was moved to the next day.
When Leone headed to the dining area inside the cave, Gundar was already there, eating alongside the early workers of the Aslan Tribe.
"Good morning, Great Uncle!" Leone shalessly called the old man Great Uncle without permission.
At this, Gundar only smiled faintly. He invited the young man to join him to eat.
Since he wasn’t reprimanded, Leone understood that the old shaman had decided to let him do as he pleased.
"First off, congratulations for passing the trial," Gundar said. "However, Bone Reading is a very difficult skill to master, and I don’t have enough ti to teach you everything.
"I have to return to the Grimhowl Tribe in five days. In other words, I can only teach you as much as you can learn within that ti. Are you fine with this arrangent?"
"Yes," Leone replied. "That is more than enough. Thank you, Great Uncle!"
Gundar nodded. "I will also teach you a shamanic skill as promised, but this one is a bit tricky. It’s a skill used for self preservation."
"Self preservation?" Leone tilted his head. "How does that work?"
Gundar smirked. "I can tell that you are not a fighter, but you have these abilities that might beco useful in saving your life. The skill that I wish to teach you is a type of self hypnosis. If your life is in any danger, you can use this self hypnosis to fall into a trance.
"You must first imprint an order inside your subconscious mind before you use this ability. Once your mind, body, and spirit have a clear goal of what they will do, they will move in unison to make it happen.
"For example, you self hypnotized yourself to prioritize escaping as fast as you can to safety. Your body will only focus on escaping and disregard everything else. This ans that if you were fighting alongside your comrades, you would prioritize saving only yourself, even if it ans leaving them."
Leone nodded in understanding. He didn’t like the old shaman’s example, but he brushed it off since it was purely hypothetical. Moreover, he was also curious if this skill could really preserve his life when he’s in a pinch.
"Well, since bone reading takes a lot of ti, I will teach you self hypnosis first," Gundar stated. "We’ll start when you’re done eating."
"Yes, Great Uncle!" Leone nodded and started to eat.
Half an hour later, they moved to the barracks. The training area was very spacious, so Leone and Gundar didn’t have a hard ti looking for a training spot.
"Very well. First, sit down and calm your mind," Gundar said. "I will directly relay the ability’s information inside your brain, allowing you to instantly understand how it works."
The old man pressed his finger on the young man’s forehead, making Leone shudder as sothing similar to an electric current passed over his body.
A mont later, he heard a familiar notification inside his head.
————
[Congratulations!]
[You have learned the Unique Skill, Limit Break [EX].]
< Limit Break [EX] >
"Limits exist only until you give yourself permission to break them."
— By giving an order to your subconscious mind, your body will enter a temporary state of absolute focus, where mind, body, and spirit act in perfect unison to fulfill the implanted directive.
— During this state, all unrelated thoughts, emotions, and distractions are suppressed, allowing the user to perform beyond their normal limits for a short period of ti.
— The effectiveness of this skill depends on the clarity and simplicity of the command. Conflicting or vague orders may result in reduced efficiency or complete failure.
— While under its effects, the user will prioritize the given directive above all else, even at the cost of personal relationships, morality, or situational awareness.
— Once activated, the trance cannot be interrupted unless the objective is fulfilled, the user’s body has reached its limit, or the effect duration expires.
Note: Overuse of this skill may result in ntal fatigue, delayed physical strain, mory loss, or temporary loss of emotional responsiveness after the trance ends.
————
While Leone was reading the contents of his new skill, Gundar was explaining the difficulty of mastering the self hypnosis skill.
"Mastering this skill usually takes people a long ti. I can’t give you an estimate either since it ranges from eight months to a few years," Gundar said in a serious tone. "So don’t feel down if you can’t use it right away. Even geniuses and the so-called Chosen Ones take at least a few weeks to fall into a self hypnotized state."
Leone blinked once, then twice. He wondered whether he should tell his Great Uncle that he had already learned the skill.
Truth be told, he was a bit surprised when the old shaman told him that even geniuses and the Chosen Ones would take that long to learn the skill. Then, he felt awkward. How could he say he learned it instantly?
"Alright, you try. Self hypnotize yourself first," Gundar stated. "Clear your mind and give your subconscious mind an absolute command.
"You can do this by repeating a command over and over again. The simpler an order is, the better your subconscious mind will perform. Have you thought about what kind of command you wish to imprint in your subconscious mind?"
"Yes," Leone answered. "I wish to fight until my body can no longer move."
"You’re more hot-blooded than I thought," Gundar smirked. "Very well. Let’s go with that. As I said earlier, don’t worry if you can’t activate the skill right away. Now repeat those words three tis inside your head and try to activate the skill the way it is instructed inside your head."
Leone obeyed and repeated the words ’fight until my body can no longer move’ with his eyes closed.
Gundar observed Leone without expectation. To his surprise, he suddenly felt a faint ripple of power expanding outward from the young man’s body.
At this, the old man’s eyes widened in shock. This was a clear sign that the skill had actually activated!
’I-Impossible!’ Gundar thought. ’How did he learn it so fast?!’
But before Gundar could find an answer to his question, Leone opened his eyes.
His gaze was vacant, like he had fallen into a trance. The skill was ant to work just like this.
A mont later, the young man unleashed a punch at the old shaman, who didn’t hesitate to block his attack with his palms.
But just as he did that, a stone pillar erupted from the ground, ant to hit the old man’s chin at point-blank range.
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