Chapter 4: Sword and Breathing Techniques

Auren and the other students quickly devour their lunch of rice, fish, and vegetables, accompanied by a soup Auren can’t quite identify.Satisfied with the simple but decent—and more importantly, healthy—meal, Auren finishes quickly and heads for seconds. The lunch lady, now used to his appetite, silently refills his bowl without a word.

At 12:30, everyone gathers in the training hall. Elder Lidor stands at the center, with 24 bokken—wooden training swords—already laid out.

“Grab one!” he barks.

The students move fast, each grabbing a wooden sword.

“Your job is to observe my movements and copy them. Every day, we’ll repeat these motions, and I’ll gradually add more. This is as simple as it gets. I won’t waste time teaching fools who can’t even handle the basics. I’ll correct you only if I consider you worthy. If you’re hopeless, you’ll need to prove your will to me. Watch me. Watch each other. Practice—even if your hands and feet start to bleed!”

I like this guy... straight and to the point. No nonsense philosophy. Just the fundamentals, right from the start. I feel motivated already… I didn’t think it would be possible, but could this elder actually be a very competent master?!

Lidor begins his instruction by demonstrating several techniques. He starts with a single stance, featuring a neutral middle guard.

“This is a neutral stance with a middle guard. I’ll teach more advanced ones later,” he says.

He then shows a series of basic cuts, blocks, and footwork. Finally, he strings them together into a smooth sequence of movements. Auren smiles as he mimics them, repeating them a few times until they sink into muscle memory.

This is child’s play! Who can’t do something this easy?

Auren and the others follow along carefully. To his surprise, Lidor walks over and comments on his form.

“Tighten your stance! And loosen your grip a little—you’re holding it too tightly.”

“Yes, Master!” Auren replies immediately.

I thought I was doing okay. I need to try harder. No getting smug, or I’ll pay the price for my arrogance. Just knowing things doesn’t give me talent. I have to make smart choices. Even without special gifts, if I always choose wisely, I can still win this contest and become his successor.

He notices Lidor doesn’t correct some of the others—even when their movements are clearly wrong.

I see... he doesn’t even waste time on the hopeless ones. That’s cold—but effective. If he corrects you, you’re at least worth his time. But those doing it all wrong? If they don’t fix themselves, they’ll build a broken foundation. And that’ll cripple them later down their line. They're as good as eliminated already, if they don’t learn quickly.

Two hours pass before Lidor announces, “Five-minute rest! And if you aren’t complete morons, you should realize I’ve already taught you enough for a basic spar! This is not a fight! You’ll spar to master the correct movements. If you strike your opponent, I’ll strike you—and believe me, it won’t be worth it!”

Auren sees No. 4 and No. 6 already pairing up with each other, seemingly having developed some form of camaraderie.

Shit! I don’t want to deal with someone dragging me down.

He looks around quickly for the next best option—No. 24. He approaches her decisively.

Better her than someone useless. At least she can follow the movements properly.

“Want to team up, 24?” he asks casually.

She nods, apparently understanding the need for a competent partner. “Okay.”

As they begin sparring, Auren notices her movements—delicate, precise, and strangely graceful. But instead of admiring them, he grits his teeth.

I can’t underestimate her. I have to win this competition!

They continue training in pairs until Lidor finally calls it off at 4 PM.

“We’ll meet again in the meditation chamber in the back of the school at 6:30 PM. Don’t be late—I’ll lock the door!”

Still unsatisfied, Auren heads back to the classroom, grabs his book from the desk, and walks into the yard. He picks up a few of the lighter weights from the shed and rotates between exercises and reading his language textbook.

Dinner comes quickly, and he devours it as usual—then gets seconds.

At 6:30 PM, Auren and the others enter the so-called meditation chamber. The room is nearly empty, lit only by a few dim candles scattered around. Lidor steps inside and locks the door behind them.

“What is said in this room stays here. If anyone leaks it… it may be the last thing you will ever say.”

The room falls dead silent. Some of the kids look genuinely frightened.

Of course. Smart move. He can’t risk anyone leaking Nen—or even the preparatory training that leads to it. Even his sword technique is worthy of being stolen. This is it. My chance! This is the most important part, I can’t mess up!

“I’ll demonstrate a simple breathing exercise today, it will serve as your foundation,” Lidor says. “You’ll observe in silence. Listen to my breathing—I’ll exaggerate it at first to guide you. If you can’t learn it with that help, you are hopeless. Sit around me in a circle and match my rhythm. If you disrupt anyone or annoy me—”

He doesn’t even finish the sentence.

The students quietly sit around him. Auren chooses a spot next to No. 24 and another girl, assuming they’ll at least stay quiet.

And they don’t smell like some of the street rats who are too dumb or lazy to wash properly.

Auren closes his eyes and listens carefully. He counts the time between each breath—one inhale every twenty seconds.

He tries to match the rhythm, focusing deeply as he breathes in and out.

Auren gets pulled back out of his trance-like state as Lidor’s face suddenly darkens, his voice turning angry. “That’s enough for today! Only five of you managed to fall into the correct rhythm! You’d better not sleep tonight—practice until you get it right! If you can’t even master breathing, you’re worthless to me! Train like your life depends on it—because it does!”

Satisfied with today’s result, Auren leaves the meditation chamber and sits down in a quiet corner of the yard, practicing the breathing exercise for a while longer. The air is crisp, and the gentle stillness helps him find his rhythm again. He stays there until just before 10 PM—the unofficial curfew time—before heading to their shared bedroom.

As he lies down, Auren can’t help but smile.

This is the best! This is the perfect environment to learn. I don’t know why, but I’m so incredibly excited! I don’t know what games Elder Lidor has planned, but I’ll take him for all he’s got and become stronger! I will not fall for his schemes, and once he is no longer useful to me…

The following days continue in nearly the same rhythm.

Auren continues to exercise every morning, and Lidor steadily increases the difficulty day by day. Some students are already dreading each new sunrise, dragging their feet or groaning before they even start.

He keeps studying in class, focusing on math, writing, reading, and several other subjects like basic biology and history. But Lidor’s influence shows. The students are also taught specialized topics—proper dieting, how to take care of their bodies in different conditions, and even some first-aid basics. Mrs. Mu doesn’t follow any standard schedule. Instead, she drifts between subjects depending on her mood, sometimes switching mid-lesson.

Lidor dutifully teaches new moves, stances, and techniques to the students, slowly expanding the combinations and forms they have to learn. He always makes sure to point out any mistakes from students he deems worthy of correction—ignoring the ones he considers hopeless. Auren continues sparring with 24, growing to appreciate her effort and precision.

She is slower and weaker than me, but her technique is great and already feels mature. In fact, I don’t think I am any better. Since we’re not practicing real battles, but merely learning the movements, she is the best partner I could have asked for!

During the evening meditations, Lidor steadily increases the complexity of the exercises. The once simple long breath now shifts into a carefully timed rhythm—exactly seven minor breaths in staggered intervals, mixed with longer phases of deep breathing and short periods of breath-holding.

Auren notices that some students are hopelessly lost. They can’t even grasp the foundation of what their master is trying to teach them. They fidget, miscount, or fall out of sync.

A month passes, and Auren feels deeply satisfied with this new rhythm. He’s getting stronger, smarter, and more skilled. And finally, he’s beginning to develop a basic understanding of the breathing technique.

One night, as the students sit in the large, dark meditation chamber, breathing in silence, Lidor claps his hands loudly, disrupting the flow.

“I’ll have to provide more guidance—I didn’t think you would be this incompetent. I have to teach you incompetent students one by one. At this rate, most of you won’t even be able to learn what I want to teach you. 4, 6, 23, and 24—you four, follow me! You are ready for the next step! I won’t hold back anyone who is ready, just because the unskilled masses can’t keep up! Starting tomorrow, I’ll punish you for your mistakes. Tonight, do your best, as I’ll be busy teaching those who are at least a little bit capable.”

Auren notices the other students staring at him and the three others who were praised by Elder Lidor. Some look at them with admiration. Others glare with jealousy and hatred. But most have only a single emotion written on their faces: fear. As if they’ve already been left behind.

In a quiet corner of the meditation hall, Lidor lowers his voice and begins:

“Why are we focusing on breathing? Even you must realize that it isn’t directly useful for combat. First, these exercises train your mind and awareness. Use them when you need to think about important things, when focus becomes the difference between survival and failure. In battle a single stupid decision can cost you your lives. However, the true reason behind them is what I’ll demonstrate to you now.” Latest content publıshed on N0velFire.ɴet

Suddenly, Auren feels an incredible presence erupt from Lidor. His skin tingles and his muscles instinctively tense up.

He has activated Ren! That must be it! That pressure… it’s completely different from anything I have felt before! Despite him acting friendly, my body is shivering.

“There is a secret more important than physical or mental ability. Even more important than my prized swordsmanship,” Lidor continues. “It’s called Nen. In short, Nen allows you to control your life Aura. Every human has Aura, but very few can control it. I will explain it all to you in detail later. However, to learn this ability, it is important to open your Aura nodes. This may take a few weeks, months or even years. It depends entirely on your ability and talent. I’d say you four are very talented—and could probably do it in a month. However, I expect you to do it within two weeks.”

How? He just said we might need a month… this is unreasonable!

“Unreasonable, huh?” Lidor narrows his eyes, clearly amused by his students' expressions. “You see, you have a certain advantage over others. The marks on your chests. I want you to really focus while performing the breathing technique we just practiced. While doing it, focus on your chest and imagine endless pores all over your body. Not hundreds. Not thousands. Imagine an infinite amount. At the moment, they are all closed, blocking most of your Aura.”

He pauses to let the information sink in.

“Then slowly try to force your inner strength outward. Imagine opening these pores—like allowing water to escape from tiny holes. Imagine pressure pushing against your nodes, forcefully pushing your Aura outside. Keep up your breathing technique, and focus on the left side of your chest. You should be able to learn it a little easier that way. If you manage to do it in under two weeks, I’ll reward you.”

I see! This is good—but bad at the same time. It means there is already Nen inside us, maybe only a small amount, but still. Maybe it's part of a Conjuration technique. It could still be dangerous, however, as there is surely some amount of Manipulation involved. Still… it can’t be helped—I need to focus on getting stronger. As far as I know, Nen is always fair and equal. This shouldn’t be deadly to me… there must be some rules or conditions tied to this mark.

“Don’t stare at me! Begin!” Lidor hisses, his voice sharp and cold.