Above the mage!

Chapter 329 Techniques and Breathing Methods
Da da da.

Gao De's steady footsteps echoed in the art hall and quickly spread in the silence.

The interior of the Collingwood Art Gallery is extremely spacious, like an indoor training hall, with a shiny floor that reflects the mottled light coming in from the tall, narrow windows.

The fact that the Vanzolen District, where every inch of land is valuable, has such a large art museum is due to some historical reasons, in addition to the profound heritage of the Sea Sentinel itself.

——Before the Fanzhuolun District became the current Mage District, when the land price was still relatively cheap, the Sea Sentinel had already established the Collingwood Art Museum here.

Because it was still early, there was no one else in Collingwood Art Gallery.

Gao De looked around and confirmed that his guiding mage had not arrived yet, but he was not in a hurry, after all, he arrived early.

Just wait a moment.

He didn't have to wait too long. About five minutes later, footsteps were heard again in the gym.

Gao De looked in the direction of the voice and what caught his eye was an old man wearing a dark black robe, with white hair and beard, and looking a little tired.

"Are you Gao De?" The old man seemed to be walking slowly, but in fact he was moving very fast. He came to Gao De in a blink of an eye, looked at him with a sharp gaze, and spoke.

Without waiting for God to answer, the old man further introduced himself: "The three wizards you selected are unwilling to be your guiding wizard, so Captain Merrick appointed me to take over this task, Nassi Frank. You can call me Master Nassi, or Warrant Officer Nassi."

Gao De's heart was moved. He was somewhat surprised that all three of his "wishes" were rejected. However, he naturally did not show his emotions on his face. Instead, he bowed slightly to show his respect, "Hello, Master Naxi."

The Naxi Mage had a calm expression and said calmly, "From today on, I will guide you in the battle mage training."

After that, he paused for a moment before continuing, "Before I give you any advice, let me ask you a question. What do you think determines the outcome of a battle between mages?"

This is a good question. Gao De thought about it carefully and organized his thoughts before answering: "Strength, method, technique, specialty, and weapon?"

"Oh? Tell me more about it." His answer was somewhat unexpected to Master Naxi and also successfully aroused his interest.

Gao De was not nervous and explained according to his own understanding.

Strength, that is, power, of course, does not refer to physical strength, but rather to one's own strength in a broader sense, that is, the level of the mage.

This is the basis of everything.

Just like a second-ring mage, no matter how bad his other abilities are, it is basically impossible for him to lose against a first-ring mage due to the absolute advantage of the mage level.

Magic refers to magical power, which is the mage's "blue bar". The more magical power there is, the more spells can be cast in battle, allowing the mage to have more options in battle and deal with the opponent more persistently.

Just like a soldier with sufficient ammunition, his chances of winning on the battlefield will naturally be higher.

Spells are the magics mastered by a wizard. The more spells a wizard masters, the more powerful the spells are. He or she will be more at ease in battle and will be able to counter the opponent's moves, take advantage of the opponent's moves, and change strategies.

Specialization means expertise. The blessing and uniqueness of expertise to a mage are incomparable to all other points.

The skills can be the same, the spells can be the same, and the wizard levels can be the same, but expertise cannot be replicated, just like each person's unique genes.

Therefore, when the two mages are the same in other aspects, the final victory or defeat is often determined by their expertise.

Equipment refers to all extraordinary equipment including rune constructs. Needless to say, its importance is obvious.

After listening to what Gao De said, Master Naxi was a little surprised, and then he said: "You have summarized it very well, but there is more to it."

"There is another very important point that can determine the outcome of a battle, and its weight is no less than the five points you mentioned."

He said slowly: "This sixth point, according to your statement, I will call it 'skill'."

"What is skill?" asked Master Naxi.

Still without waiting for Gao De to answer, he continued on his own:

"In a battle between mages, victory is not determined by who has more mana, more spells, or more powerful spells. It also depends on the grasp of timing and the use of spells during the battle."

"From a practical perspective, spells need to be cast through spell models, but this process is invisible. You can't tell from the surface whether the opponent is mobilizing the spell model. In addition, spells are often cast in the blink of an eye, so the mage's experience and judgment are very much tested during combat."

"If we can accurately determine whether the opponent is casting a spell and what spell it is, we can interrupt it in time, predict and dodge in advance, etc."

"Of course, this is only a small part of 'skill'. 'Skill' involves a wide range of aspects."

"It also includes how to quickly adjust tactics in a complex combat environment, how to deal with various enemies, how to combine your own spells, and even how to use the surrounding environment to enhance the effect of spells, etc."

"The purpose of initial training is to improve your skills."

"For this first lesson, I will teach you the most basic and most important point about battle magic."

Having said this, Master Naxi finally stopped, looked at Gaode, and stopped talking.

Gao De hesitated for a moment, then hesitantly said: "Nasifa"

Before the word "Master" was uttered in his throat, Master Naxi raised his right arm instantly, clenched his right hand into a fist, and with a dull "bang" and a fierce gust of wind, he smashed it directly towards Gao De's face.

Caught off guard, Gao De's pupils suddenly shrank, and he blinked subconsciously, while dodging backwards.

But Master Naxi's fist stopped straight.

Then he shook his hands and put his palms down.

"When you see the fist coming, you subconsciously close your eyes. This is a human instinctive reaction and it's not surprising." Master Naxi's voice was steady and low.

"It's nothing if it's just a fist, but what if it's a spell? With the power and speed of the spell, it could put you in an irretrievable situation in the blink of an eye."

"To become a qualified combat mage, you must first ensure that you do not blink when facing attacks during combat. You must be able to look directly at any spells cast by the opponent."

"The second is to have the courage to face any enemy in any environment."

"Of course, having said that, it is actually impossible to achieve this completely. We are just trying our best to move in this direction."

"The first lesson of the battle mage training is to train your courage. It requires you to overcome the instinctive fears and obstacles in your heart and subdue distracting thoughts. Only in this way can you exert your full combat power in battle, or even perform beyond your normal capabilities."

"Have you mastered the [Feather Fall Technique]?" Master Naxi suddenly asked, changing the subject.

"Not yet." Gao De was slightly stunned and told the truth. He didn't understand why the other party suddenly asked this.

"That's good." Master Naxi nodded, and then said, "Come with me."

After saying that, he turned around and led Gao De up a narrow staircase on the side.

The walls on both sides of the steps were slightly mottled and the light was dim, stretching their shadows long and swaying on the walls.

Walk up the stairs to the end, and you will see a long, dark corridor.

Walking to the end, the Naxi master pushed open the iron gate. With a creaky sound, the sunlight rushed in like a tide, making people's eyes sting.

This is actually a small rooftop.

Master Naxi walked to the edge of the rooftop.

For some reason, there are no guardrails here.

"Do as I do." The Naxi Master said calmly. He raised his right leg and stood on one leg like a "Golden Rooster Standing on One Leg". His body was like a tall pine tree, standing firmly on one leg.

Gao De came to the edge of the rooftop and looked down. It was about seven stories high, and below was a busy street with people coming and going.

He was not afraid of heights. Compared with the 40-50-story buildings in his previous life, this height was nothing.

But the problem is, this thing doesn't have any guardrails.

However, Gao De finally gritted his teeth and began to stand on one leg, imitating the Naxi master.

It was a little shaky at first, but after swaying a few times, I finally found my balance and managed to stand firmly.

I just don’t know how long I can last.

"Don't you think it's difficult?" After seeing Gode stabilize his body, Naxi said in a steady tone: "Now, close your eyes."

Gao De closed his eyes silently.

The moment he closed his eyes, his body, which had been stable, began to shake violently.

The next moment, Gao De opened his eyes again, put down his feet, and took a deep breath.

“Do you need to try again?”

Gao De gritted his teeth and nodded slightly.

Then he closed his eyes again, but this time was even worse than the last time. Before he even lifted his feet, his body began to sway slightly.

Gao De opened his eyes helplessly.

"How does it feel?" Nashi asked.

"I feel nervous." Gao De told the truth.

“Is it hard to stand on one leg?”

"It's not difficult."

"Why can't you do such a simple thing well in a different environment?" Nashi pointed to his head and explained, "It's because you know you are in an extreme and dangerous environment, and your brain reacts instinctively."

His eyes became deep. "If this is the case with something as simple as standing on one leg, then imagine if you were in a dangerous situation, would you still be able to make the right choices and think, and cast spells as quickly as usual?"

"I'm afraid it's difficult." If it was before, Gao De might have thought it was nothing, as he had experienced battles before.

But now that he thought about it carefully, the main reason was probably that the battles he had fought before were not really dangerous, and he was confident in his heart, so he was able to act in an orderly manner.

Just now, before he mastered the [Feather Fall Technique], if he fell from the rooftop, he had no way to avoid getting hurt. In this situation, he inevitably began to panic.

"This is instinct. What we need to do is to overcome this instinct through certain training so that no matter how the enemy and the external environment change, it will not affect our own performance."

"Of course, you have to understand that what we are pursuing is to overcome instincts, not to eliminate instincts. The difference between the two is also very large."

"Because instinct is very important to us, the benefits of eliminating it are far less than the disadvantages." Master Naxi folded his hands, clasped them in front of his chest, and said in a deep voice.

He looked at the handsome boy in front of him and said slowly: "Today, what you have to do is to try to stand on one foot at the edge of the rooftop with your eyes closed for more than one minute."

"Okay." Gao De nodded seriously.

"Then let's get started."

Gao De took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

He raised his foot again and stood on one leg on the edge of the roof. Gao De tried hard to dispel the distracting thoughts and fear in his mind and tried to close his eyes.

But the feeling of panic followed me like a shadow, and my body began to shake uncontrollably again.

Every second seems to be so long.

After gritting his teeth and holding on for ten seconds, his body began to shake violently involuntarily. Feeling a sense of crisis, Gao De subconsciously opened his eyes.

"Try again." He gritted his teeth and tried again.

"Thirty-nine, forty-forty-fifteen." Gao De closed his eyes and counted silently in his mind.

Suddenly, a gust of wind whistled up from below, making his clothes rustle, instantly breaking the composure he had maintained with great difficulty, and causing him to open his eyes again.

However, Gao De was very excited: "It's almost there. If it weren't for this gust of wind, it would have been done."

"Okay, let's stop here for now. For the future training courses, you have to come half an hour earlier every day. Practice this first, and don't stop until you are comfortable on flat ground." Instructor Naxi, who had been observing silently for a long time, spoke slowly.

"Okay." Gao De breathed a sigh of relief and left the edge of the rooftop.

"In addition to training your courage, this first lesson will also teach you a method of using your strength."

"The method of transporting power?" Gao De heard this term for the first time and couldn't help but be curious.

"It's normal that you haven't heard of it. This is an advanced skill that is only passed down among battle mages and is generally not passed on to others. Only a force with a deep foundation like the Sea Sentinels will have a systematic method of transporting power to teach."

"The essence of it is the method of using power, which is usually called the breathing method."

"If you want to cast a spell, you first need to move the magic power here," Naxi pointed to his abdomen, where the magic power started to gather, and then pointed to his head, "to the magic star sea, activate the spell model, and then release the spell from the magic star sea."

"During this entire process, mana has a set path and consumption."

"First of all, you have to understand that the predetermined route of magic power is actually the main magic vein in your body."

In fact, it is the meridian. But in this world, it is called magic vein.

Gao De thought silently in his heart.

"Everyone's main magic veins have different routes, but the same thing is that they are all winding, not straight lines. This detour not only prolongs the casting time, but also increases the mana loss."

"In fact, magic veins are everywhere in our bodies, but most of them are too small and fragile to serve as paths for magic power to pass through."

"The function of breathing method is to open up the tiny magic veins in your body through the rhythm of breathing, then guide the magic power to penetrate into it, and continuously strengthen it, so that it becomes a new route for your magic power to flow." Master Naxi explained.

This is equivalent to building a shortcut because the original road is too long. Amap transforms complex concepts into easy-to-understand explanations.

At this time, Master Naxi took out a small medicine bottle from his arms and handed it to Gaode with his magician's hand.

"What is this?" Gao De took the medicine bottle.

The liquid in the bottle was dark green and glowing, somewhat like some kind of poison.

"Pulse-opening tincture."

"The mastery of the breathing method requires drinking the Meridian-Opening Tincture. First, use the Meridian-Opening Tincture to stimulate your body. Only then will you be able to feel those tiny, imperceptible magic veins. Then, use the breathing method to open them up, and then continue to strengthen and grow them, gradually transforming them into new, usable main magic veins."

"However, Kaimai Tincture is very irritating to the body, and it is strong and toxic, so you can only take 20 bottles a month at most. Any more will cause harm to your body."

(End of this chapter)