Chapter 441 Progress (Part 2): Intuition And Focal Points

...…

"Looks like you are finally getting a hold of using the Mentalism Runes in battle," said David as he walked towards Shin was currently regulating his breathing.

Hearing those words, Shin couldn't help but smile bitterly before saying. "But that is still not enough to fight you. You didn't even use your own Mentalism Runes during the entire battle."

The corner of David's mouth suddenly twitched when he heard that. 'Even that monster inside you can't force me to use such techniques either. If I really end up using them in our battle, then you can already consider yourself as one of the Junior Monsters of this country.'

While the two of them were still in the middle of talking, Grandmaster Benn suddenly walked towards them and said. "Not that bad, kid. You are starting to get hold of it."

Shin nodded his head and was about to bow to thank Old Benn after hearing those complements, but he suddenly paused his actions when he heard the next words said by the old men. "But you are still relying too much on the basic runes too much. You already mastered all of the Mentalism Runes, so try using them properly."

"Moreover, you are starting to be too dependent on the runes and forgot about your other Mentalism Techniques. Using the 'Auxiliary Runes' as an opening move to distract your opponent is quite good – especially when you mixed it up with Illusion Technique to catch your opponent off-guard."

"But if you use an Offensive Technique instead of directly attacking your opponent, is still going to be much better. You already got a good opening earlier, so at least be confident at yourself when you are linking your skills."

"I know I told you not to fight like a Martial-Artist, but I didn't say that fighting like that is wrong either. You can still at least benefit when using your Martial-Artist's Instincts during the battle."

Grandmaster Benn took a brief pause after saying all of those before adding. "And another thing, you also need to properly learn how to use your Mentalism Enhancement Techniques too. Combining them with the applications of Auxiliary Runes that you already know, will increase your overall strength during battle."

Shin nodded his head repeated after hearing all of that before falling into a deep thought. He was trying to digest every word that Old Benn had said.

Grandmaster Benn waited for Shin to contemplate before saying. "That's all for today. You can do whatever you want for the rest of the day."

"As for your training tomorrow, you can just do some control training and a little meditation after. You can also continue your Martial-Art Training during that if you want too."

Shin nodded his head after hearing the instructions before bowing. "Thanks for guiding me today!"

...…

The next day, Shin immediately resumed his Martial-Art training as per usual.

After fetching some water from the river down the mountain, Shin immediately went at the back of the cottage to do his usual reflex training. And since he was not pressed in time today, he didn't need to feel any kind of pressure when he was doing this training.

At this point of time, Shin could stand inside the circle for an hour at the very least. It could be considered as an amazing feat already. But since Old Plum and him had quite high standards, such results were still not satisfactory.

Shin was still in the middle of doing the reflex training when Professor Plum suddenly arrived and said. "That should be enough for now, kiddo. Follow me for a moment."

Hearing that, Shin immediately stopped what he was doing before looking at Old Plum's back with a confused look on his face. Regardless, he still followed the old man not long after.

They walked down the mountain and arrived at an open field after a few moments of walking. And right after arriving, Shin immediately turned his head left and right to observe his surroundings as a form of habit.

But he just knitted his eyebrows when he couldn't find anything that was worth noting. And due to that, he couldn't help but look at Old Plum with an even more confused look on his face.

Naturally, the Professor Plum was able to sense his gaze. So, he turned around to face Shin before asking. "How do you feel about the training routine that I gave to you?"

Hearing that, Shin pursed his lips for a moment before giving his reply. "After doing that special training, I can see a lot of improvements on my movements. I can also feel that my 'Immediate Response' talent is improving day by day every time I do it."

Old Plum waited for Shin to finish, before asking. "Is that all?"

Shin looked at Old Plum a little confusedly after hearing that before nodding his head.

But right after he did that, Professor Plum suddenly flicked his wrist and sent a stone flying towards Shin.

Regardless how fast that stone was, Shin was able to sense the incoming stone and quickly moved his body to respond to it. But while he was still in the middle of moving, the flying stone suddenly split into three and flew towards him with different trajectories and speed.

But there was no panic on Shin's eyes despite seeing that sudden change. Instead, he calmly looked at the incoming stones for a brief moment and unconsciously thought how he was going to deal with them before moving his body accordingly.

First, he waved his right hand and used its back to deflect the first stone to arrive while leaning his body backwards to dodge the second one which was coming from the opposite side of the other stone.

After that, he suddenly swung his right hand forward, punching the third stone flying towards his face and smashing it into dust.

Seeing that, Professor Plum suddenly asked. "So, what about now? Feeling the same?"

Shin still completely grasped what Old Plum was talking about but he knew a single thing – and that was his mind could now keep up with his reflexes. "It is still faint but I feel like my mind and body are starting to link with each other."

"My mind is starting to keep up with my instincts now while my body is able to respond with my thoughts. Or maybe, it is more like my body is telling my mind what are the incoming threats while my mind is telling it how to respond to it properly. I am still not sure."

Professor Plum nodded his head before commenting. "It is called, Intuition."

"It is another form of a personal trait where you can immediately understand something without needing a conscious reasoning. It is similar to instincts – but unlike that innate talent, intuition can be gained by continuous and repeated training."

He paused for a moment before continuing. "But there are also different kinds of 'Intuition'. And for someone like you, who possessed an innate instinctive talent, Intuition is a higher form of battle instincts where your mind and body are starting to become one."

"If before, your body is only moving according to your instincts alone, then it is now moving after your mind instantly finds the best course of action – which will lead to the best result possible. This way, you can avoid being baited by your opponents' 'Focal Point'."

Hearing the last words that Professor Plum had said, Shin couldn't help but open his mouth asked with a confused tone. "Focal Point?"

Old Plum nodded his head when he heard that and explained. "Having an instinctive talent can also be considered as a weakness since your opponent can also use it against you. They can bait your instincts and lead your movements while centering their own moves according to it. And we call it 'the Focal Point'."

"But countering such things is also quite simple. And that is by sensing your opponent's Focal Points with the use of your 'Intuition'. But knowing about it is completely different from actually doing it."

"So, the best thing that you can do is to continue training 'Intuition' and familiarize yourself at using it."

Shin fell into a deep thought after hearing that. It was because he could now see why he kept having a bad feeling whenever he was using his instincts during his battles. Especially when he was doing a sparring match with David. 'So, that is why I am always getting countered by Senior Brother during our previous battles.'

While he was having those thoughts, Old Plum suddenly opened his mouth and said with a mystifying tone. "But that is not the only thing that your special training gave you."

Hearing those words, Shin suddenly raised his head and looked at the old man with a stunned expression on his face. And due to that, he suddenly turned quiet as his stunned face became full with anticipation while waiting for Professor Plum to continue what he was saying.

...…