After the incredible speech from Junyu, everyone parted ways to head off and become stronger. Mil took a vehicle and went to Spatir Frill (one of the 11 major areas). He arrived there to learn from the best.
Day 1 done.
The next morning, he woke up and met a person called Flablous Teacher.
Mil asked, "Hey, I want to learn some things for fighting."
The teacher said, "How much time do you have?"
"Five days."
"That's not enough, but if we train elsewhere, then it might be."
"What is elsewhere?"
"It's called the Realm of Training. One day here equals two months there, so you will have ten months to train. But it comes at a cost: if you go in there, you might never come back."
"What?"
"Ninety-nine percent of people die there. That's why it is a very remote place."
"I want to join the one percent."
"Okay then. Take this ring. Touch here to go, and touch here to come back."
"But how will I learn?"
"I am giving you this ancient Kenjutsu martial arts book, which will help you learn. Once you go in, you might not return, but who knows."
"What's the price of this?"
"The price is nothing. Nobody goes in there, so I have many rings."
"Why do people not return?"
"I don't know. I never went in."
"See you in ten months."
Mil touched the ring, and he was teleported into Elsewhere.
"WHOA!! THIS PLACE IS HUGE! THERE IS EVERYTHING HERE—SWORDS, WEIGHTS, BOWS, MEDICAL KITS, FOOD, HOMES. WHY ARE PEOPLE EVEN DYING? I CAN EAT WHATEVER I WANT AND TRAIN."
"THIS IS A JACKPOT!"
But the atmosphere and gravity were different. It felt very heavy and dark there.
"I don't care. I have to start working out."
KENJUTSU BOOKLesson 1 — The Empty Stance
Mil opened the ancient book.
The first page read:
"A sword is heaviest in the hands of a man who fears death."
Training:
Stand motionless for 6 hours.
Do not attack.
Do not defend.
Only breathe.
Purpose: Remove fear and impatience.
Mil thought, "How can standing still make me stronger?"
Mil kept doing it for days, but he felt it was terrible training. As he continued, after one month he began wasting fewer movements, which improved his stamina greatly. Mil became faster and learned to conserve his energy. After that, he looked at the second lesson.
Lesson 2 — Ten Thousand Cuts
Instruction:
Swing the sword 10,000 times every day.
Every swing must stop at the exact same point.
If one swing is imperfect, restart the count.
Purpose: Build absolute precision.
Mil swung the sword thousands of times and failed hundreds of times. His hands bled so badly that he thought about returning to the normal world. Then he remembered Junyu's words, and they motivated him. He continued swinging the sword through countless days and nights. After training for so long, he realized the sword no longer shook in his hands, and he had improved greatly.
He had been there for 1 month and 15 days, which was only 18 hours in real time.
Mil rested, then read the third lesson.
Lesson 3 — Listen to the Wind
Mil was blindfolded.
Wooden swords were thrown at him from random directions.
He had to dodge without seeing.
The book said:
"Eyes can be deceived. The wind never lies."
Purpose: Develop battlefield awareness.
For this training, he found a machine that threw 100 swords per minute, but it had to be refilled afterward.
Mil was hit by all of them and had to restart the machine repeatedly, leaving him exhausted. After ten days, he was nowhere close to mastering it. Bruises covered his entire body, and his skin had turned deep red.
Still, he said, "I will not lose hope. I have to become strong for my friends and for my captain."
Eventually, Mil was able to dodge all 100 swords, but it took him 25 days to master this lesson.
He was now 2 months and 15 days into the training.
Lesson 4 — The Silent Step
Mil walked across a hall covered with dry leaves.
Goal: Reach the end without making a sound.
If a leaf cracked, he had to start over.
Purpose: Assassination movement and balance.
Mil thought this would be easy, but he failed every time. However, after 15 days, he mastered the technique because he had learned something similar from people in his village.
At this point, he had completed 4 lessons in 3 months, which was only 36 hours in normal time.
Mil was exhausted and tired, but he was improving every single day.
From the dark atmosphere a glowing eyes animal was watching mil.