Capítulo 27: First Time Practicing
According to the demon, Lightning Body Refinement Technique was very easy to learn. It only required the user to possess a way to channel lightning through the body. If you could satisfy that requirement, you could learn it.
I possessed the Lightning Seed skill that the demon taught me, so I could practice Lightning Body Refinement Technique easily. In fact, this technique seemed tailor-made for me.
Well, the demon modified it to match my circumstances, so I think that is normal.
Taking off my t-shirt, I sat cross-legged on the bed and closed my eyes.
Then, I started to practice the technique following the instructions in my mind.
But although the demon said that the skill was easy to learn, he also said that it was not easy to practice.
And I soon understood the reason.
It was painful.
Hellishly painful.
"Ugh…" I grunted in pain and gritted my teeth, trying my best to not let out a painful groan.
Every second, I could feel as though my flesh and blood were being cut and burn once and again. Every cell of my body was going through hellish torture.
Before long, my body started to twitch and spasm in pain, and my consciousness became blurry. Even so, I did my best to persevere.
Even when blood was leaking out of my pores, and burns appeared on my skin, I endured.
I was not an idiot, and I knew that practicing this kind of technique required a lot of determination. Most likely, the demon was using it to test me as well.
Even so, I found it very hard to hold on to my resolve. I had never endured so much pain in my life. I felt like I was going to die.
Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, or perhaps a few seconds, I was unable to continue.
With a grunt of pain, my body trembled and the technique was canceled as I collapsed on the bed, panting in exhaustion.
[… Not too bad. You lasted a bit more than one minute.]
"… J-Just a minute…?" I asked in disbelief. I felt as though years had passed.
[Don't be disappointed, boy. I did not think you could last more than thirty seconds. One minute is already twice as long as I expected.]
"Really?" I sighed in relief. At least, I did not do too bad.
[But you should not get complacent either.] The demon suddenly said. [Just so you know, some people can endure for hours the first time they practice this kind of technique.]
I froze.
Hours!?
Doesn't it mean that I'm not even one-hundredth as good as them?
[You are not. The world is full of geniuses, boy. They are so talented that one day of their hard work is as good as one hundred days of a normal person. They are born with amazing advantages that even an Immortal would envy.]
I fell silent. Actually, I never considered myself a genius. But even so, it did not feel nice to learn that there were people with hundreds of times more talent than me.
But as though he knew my thoughts, the demon spoke again.
[Abundant talent is not as good as you think. Perhaps, it helps them at the start, but it can also become a stumbling block that stops them from advancing once they reach a bottleneck. In fact, around half of the Immortals I know were called talentless once. And less than a tenth of the Immortals I have met were considered 'geniuses' when they were young.]
I was stunned.
"Is talent not so important then?"
[Hahahaha, it's important. But talent is a very ambiguous concept. Plus, you need more than talent to reach the top. Not all the people that become Immortals were considered geniuses before attaining Immortality, but all of them had perseverance and grit that made them stand above others. Even the Immortals that became Immortals by luck eventually show tenacity and perseverance way above any normal person.]
I nodded deep in thought.
I don't know if the demon was only saying that to make me feel better, but it's true his words made sense.
Maybe talent can help someone to have a smooth start in a marathon, but without hard work, it is extremely difficult to reach the end.
[Okay, stop thinking about that. You should go to take a bath. You are very dirty.]
I was confused. But then, I felt something sticky and slightly stinky on my body.
When I looked down, I saw that several parts of my skin were filled with disgusting blackish blood.
"Fuck." I cursed and stood up quickly from my bed. Unfortunately, it was already dirty.
I cursed in my mind and took off the bedsheets before throwing them aside. Then, I looked at my sticky body with a disgusted expression and rushed towards the bathroom.
But when I was about to open the shower, I remembered that my shower had stopped working the day I was trapped in the dungeon, so I cursed in my mind again and ran off to the bathroom on the first floor.
On the way, I saw Mrs. Kim washing the dishes in the kitchen. She was a bit surprised when she saw me rushing shirtless towards the bathroom. Fortunately, she did not notice the blood, or I would have a lot of trouble explaining the situation to her.
The warm shower water soon washed off the sticky blood from my skin. But to my surprise, it was not the only thing that the water washed off.
Burn skin was washed off from my body, leaving behind a milky white and delicate skin.
At the same time, I felt a refreshing sensation in my entire body, as though it was full of energy.
I could not help but let out a satisfied sigh.
But just at that moment, the demon spoke up in my mind.
[Hurry up and practice the second technique! Your body and mind are very relaxed now, so it's a good opportunity to learn it!]
I was startled, but I did not hesitate to follow the demon's instructions.
Closing my eyes, I followed the steps of the second technique and activated it.
[Confidence].
Immediately, I felt my mind becoming clear. At the same time, a sense of omnipotence filled me.
And although it disappeared almost instantly, I could not help but feel that I had become… stronger?
It was a very strange feeling, but it was not bad. Quite the opposite, it felt great.
A few seconds later, I opened my eyes and exhaled.
[How do you feel?] The demon asked.
"I felt great. My mind is very clear, and I feel as though I can control every inch on my body freely."
[Mm. It's a good result. Although you have not become much stronger, you successfully took the first step. Furthermore, the effects of [Confidence] were much better than I thought. However, you have to continue practicing both techniques every day to see noticeable results.]
I nodded and fell silent, feeling the changes in my body.
Finally, after a pair of minutes like that, I exhaled with a smile.
I closed the shower happily, satisfied with the results of the two techniques. But then, I noticed something.
… I had rushed towards the bathroom in disgust when I saw the blood in my body.
However, I had forgotten to bring a towel with me.
Estado de energía semanal
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