chapter 35-- When Willpower Fails
The majestic man looked at unknown,
who was staring at the majestic scene before him, his eyes full of questions.
Both the rock and the large mountain had been split into two halves.
How is that possible?!!
This was what unknown was currently thinking.
Unknown began to remember what had happened.
The majestic man had used the same technique he did, with the same strength and speed, but the results were very different.
Unknown started trying to deduce what had happened, but he could not.
Then the majestic man said to unknown:
"What do you think? This is a state, or more precisely, one of my special state abilities."
When unknown heard that, his eyes widened, then he asked:
"One of your special state abilities?!! Can I see other abilities of this state?"
When the majestic man heard that,
he smiled and said, "That's exactly what I wanted to do."
The majestic man pointed to the path they came from, then said:
"Let's race."
Unknown asked in surprise, "Race? Why?"
The majestic man said:
"You will know the reason after we race. I will reduce my strength and agility below yours. Why? Because I'm taller, and that will give me an advantage in the race, but with these reductions, if we race without the state, we will be on equal footing. Let's try at first to race without using the state; I won't use it the first time, but I will use it the second time. Agreed?"
Unknown nodded, but his thoughts started drifting again toward the strike of that majestic man and the difference between them.
When the majestic man saw unknown's thoughts drifting far away,
he raised his hand...
Boom!!
Unknown's body slammed against the rock with tremendous force.
Unknown felt his body being crushed and began to choke.
Unknown noticed a shadow in front of him,
but he couldn't even focus,
because he could feel every detail of his body.
He knew his lungs had been crushed.
Unknown could not endure...
...
Unknown drowned in that horrible feeling, the feeling of complete helplessness.
This time... unknown surrendered.
His last thought was:
"Why don't I make it easier on myself? Why should I suffer? All I have to do is surrender, and everything will become easier..."
Unknown was indeed starting to give up.
But...
Don't stop here
Be stronger
This was a phrase he heard often in his dreams, and many times before in situations he faced, these words would ignite his determination not to give up.
It wasn't just a feeling of hatred for losing, or a desire to become stronger.
No...
It was as if a wild will was awakening inside him.
Raaaarrrr (a terrifying roar)
A terrifying sound was heard throughout the area.
The majestic man looked at unknown,
smiled,
then...
Boom!!
A strike stronger than the first.
Unknown's scream was cut off.
The majestic man said arrogantly:
"Friendship power or willpower or whatever... doesn't work on me."
Then the man woke up from the dream, looking at unknown in front of him.
Unknown was staring at the majestic man, his eyes full of fear and astonishment.
Unknown started looking around.
He was in the same place.
He looked behind him; there were the rock and the large mountain, both split in half.
He looked ahead; there was the path they came from.
Then the majestic man looked at him and said coldly:
"When I tell you something, do it exactly as I say. Don't think about anything not related to what I tell you. Do you understand? If you don't understand, it will be your end.
I can't always control myself; my hand might slip, and you will really die."
Then the majestic man stopped talking.
Unknown nodded fearfully and thought to himself with fear:
"Did I do something wrong?"
But he started to feel as if someone was staring at him with a cold gaze,
so he stopped thinking immediately.
The majestic man said to unknown:
"Now let's run back to where we were, that is 200 meters."
Unknown nodded.
Then the majestic man said:
"Remember, run at your full speed."
Unknown nodded again,
and they began to prepare to run.
1
2
3
Go!
Dust began to rise and spread from their speed.
They were covering 13 meters per second.
When unknown began running with all his strength, he began to relax.
He knew there were many feelings, thoughts, and questions in his mind, but he pushed them away for now.
He was really afraid of the majestic man.
The feeling of the flowing air was literally wonderful.
Unknown forgot everything for moments and started enjoying that feeling.
After a few seconds, he noticed he was actually getting close to the finish.
He looked to his side, and the majestic man was exactly equal with him.
He was neither ahead nor behind, neither faster nor slower...
He was exactly equal to him.
They reached the finish at the same time.
Unknown began catching his breath, while the majestic man didn't seem to have done anything at all.
After a minute...
The majestic man said to unknown:
"Now we will race using the state.
By the way, just to clarify, I won't use any special movement technique. I will run as I ran just now."
Unknown was surprised at the existence of what's called a "special movement technique,"
but he didn't pay much attention, since there were many strange things here and there,
and these movement techniques seemed simple compared to the other strange events.
It seemed the majestic man knew what unknown was thinking, so he nodded,
then said to unknown: "Ready?"
Unknown nodded.
1
2
3
A cloud of dust began to spread around.
Unknown began running.
He looked around to try to see where the majestic man was.
He looked to his right... no one was there.
He looked to his left... no one was there.
He looked forward...
He was shocked.
The majestic man was lying on the rock he had split in half, eating an apple.
When the majestic man saw unknown,
he waved his hand and said:
"Come on, why haven't you arrived yet? Should I sleep until you get here, or what?"
When unknown heard that, he couldn't help but feel his lip trembling.
Then...
Unknown lost his concentration.
His foot hit a stone on the ground,
which caused him to fall and roll on the ground.
After moments, unknown's rolling stopped.
His body was full of bruises, but he didn't care.
He was looking at the majestic man, who had already started snoring.
Then a desire sparkled in his eyes:
I want this power, or what's called the state.
The difference between them was huge.
He and the majestic man had used the same technique, with the same strength and skill,
but the difference in the effect of the strike between them was enormous.
And now, this difference in speed as well.
Unknown strongly suspected the majestic man had cheated,
and since his senses and body had improved greatly,
he knew the man had literally copied everything he did at the square stone, or what the majestic man called the "skill stone."
As for speed, he couldn't determine it.
But man... that strike really proved the power of the state.
And it seemed the speed achievement the man showed was less than that strike.
And basically, why is the majestic man lying to him?
If all this was true...
The desire began to engulf unknown.
He wanted it.
The majestic man stood near unknown, at a time no one knew.
When he looked into the desire in unknown's eyes,
he could only sigh,
then...
Boom (explosion sound)