Chapter 236: Chapter 235: Discovering a Muscle Hunk! Chapter 236: Chapter 235: Discovering a Muscle Hunk! In the clearing of the woods, when everyone watched Moke split the tree in midair with a single sword strike, they were all stunned into silence.
Richard, watching from the side, had a flash in his eyes, and thoughts raced through his mind: Moke’s attack method seemed to be a burst of Sword Qi, but it was more like a Wind Blade—controlling the flow of air at high speed to produce extreme cutting force. In this way, it seemed less like swordsmanship and more like a special application of a spell.
At that moment, Moke spoke indifferently, “What you have seen is my swordsmanship, which is different from the swordsmanship I intend to teach you—it is an enhanced swordsmanship combined with Wind Magic, highly aggressive, and that’s why it can defeat a genuine Wizard.”
“Then, Teacher Moke, can I learn this spell-enhanced swordsmanship from you?” the blond youth spoke up, revealing his true purpose.
Upon hearing this, Moke directed his gaze to the blond youth, then swept his eyes over all of those present and asked, “Do all of you wish to learn this spell-enhanced swordsmanship?”
Synchronously, everyone nodded.
“Heh,” Moke laughed, revealing a smile for the first time, then his expression turned cold again, “I can teach you, but I don’t teach fools. If you truly want to learn, then show me your worth. First master the simplest two moves I have taught you, then we can talk.
After the course is over, those who perform well can come to me. I will offer special tutoring, and at that point, how much you can learn will be up to you.
Oh, and don’t forget to bring your fees—100 Lower-grade Crystal Coins each—remember, I am not some benevolent man; I am just an ordinary teacher at this academy. Understand?”
Again, they nodded in unison.
“Very well,” said Moke, then pointed to the chest in front of the tree, “Inside are wooden swords for your practice. You may use them to practice the attacks and blocks I’ve taught you. Choose your sparring partners, and continue until the end of the class. When we meet for the next class, I will check how much you’ve learned. Begin.”
After Moke finished speaking, he walked away, and the people standing in the clearing immediately rushed toward the chest, each taking out a wooden sword.
Richard picked one up and found it to be noticeably heavy, heavier than an ordinary Iron Sword. The grain seemed like some kind of hickory; it was extremely hard, more like stone than Wood.
As Richard was considering this, Gro approached, holding a sword of his own, and said, “Lord Richard, let’s spar.”
“All right,” Richard nodded without refusing.
They chose a suitable spot and stood ready.
Gro assumed his stance, ready to attack, when suddenly a voice rang out, “Move!” followed by a thud, and Gro was shoved to the side.
Gro was stunned and looked at the newcomer.
Richard frowned as well, turning to see who had pushed Gro and stood in front of him.
It was a burly student, nearly two meters tall, weighing over 250 kilograms, with a broad waist and sturdy limbs, resembling a live bear. His body was nearly twice the size of a normal person’s, but he didn’t appear bloated; instead, his body was taut with solid muscles, more exaggerated than most bodybuilders on modern Earth.
With the slightest movement, the muscles would bulge under the skin like chunks of iron, forming a continuous mass. Calling him a muscular man was almost an insult; he was more aptly described as… a Muscle Tyrant!
A hulking Muscle Tyrant!
Gro only glanced once and immediately chickened out.
Comparing his body size to the other’s, he felt that his thigh was probably no thicker than the man’s arm. With such a drastic difference in strength, if he dared to express discontent, he might have been smashed with a single punch.
Even if the other party didn’t use his fists and instead sparred with swords, it was very likely that a single strike could shatter his skull. Given the opponent’s build, unless he could learn Moke’s spell-enhanced swordsmanship and manage to split the other in two with one sword strike, there was no chance of winning.
Thinking this over, Gro looked at Richard.
At that moment, Richard was pondering the intentions of the Muscle Tyrant facing him.
The Muscle Tyrant suddenly spoke, buzzing at Richard, “Hey, kid, my name is Baki. You look pretty good. What do you say we spar, no problem, right?”
Of course, there was a problem.
Richard noticed the weird glint in Baki’s eyes as he spoke, clearly having an ulterior motive.
But Richard didn’t refuse, responding softly, “Sure.” Richard was ready to find out what the other’s real purpose was.
“Good,” Baki responded after hearing this, grinning from ear to ear, showing off his pearly white teeth, and then nodding, “Very good.”
“I’ll attack first, that okay?” After the laugh, Baki was not the least bit courteous as he immediately requested the first move, “I’ll attack, and you block. Block it, then you attack me. We’ll keep alternating like that, how does it sound?”
“Alright,” Richard agreed, wanting to see what the other party intended to do.
“I’m starting then,” Baki said, clutching the hardwood sword in his hand so tightly it creaked, muscles on his arms bulging rapidly.
“Take this!” Baki shouted, swinging the wooden sword down with all his might.
Two brief sounds rang out before silence prevailed.
In the quiet, Baki blinked, looking at his wooden sword stopped mid-air, then at Richard’s sword resting on his neck, slightly stunned and puzzled.
“What… what happened?”
“Quite simple,” Richard spoke, “As you suggested, we sparred. You attacked, I blocked, then I counterattacked, and you didn’t block in time.”
“How… how is that possible?” Baki said, disbelieving. “How could your sword be so fast?”
“It’s not that I’m too fast, it’s that you’re too slow.”
“I… I don’t accept that. Let’s go again,” Baki said through gritted teeth.
“Alright,” Richard agreed.
“I’ll attack first again,” Baki declared.
Baki exerted all his strength, eyes bulging, temples throbbing, his arm muscles seeming like they were about to burst through the skin.
The hardwood sword came down with the sound of wind and thunder, and then…
Short sounds arose, and the same scene replayed.
Baki looked at the sword in his hand, then at Richard’s sword at his neck, and back at his own sword again, his face revealing a secretive expression, feeling there must be something wrong, that it shouldn’t be this way, completely different from what he expected.
However, there was one thing he had to admit—if the wooden swords had been real swords, and the sparring a real battle, he would have been killed by Richard—twice now.
The muscular giant Baki looked toward Richard.
Richard looked back at him, speaking slowly, “Alright, the sparring you requested is satisfied. Now, can you satisfy one of my requests?”
“Tell me, why did you come to trouble me?”