Combat techniques were divided into different schools.
Within each school, the individual moves and methods were completely distinct.
A warrior could train in several schools simultaneously—or dedicate themselves entirely to mastering a single one.
It was much like how a mage studied spells.
However, there was a fundamental prerequisite for learning a combat technique school…
One needed to possess a warrior-type class, such as Warrior or Assassin.
A Mage could not normally master combat techniques.
Just like a Level 1 Mage could not learn Second-Tier spells, it was simply a rule of the world.
And yet the other party had just said he would teach him a combat technique.
The corner of Rei's mouth twitched ever so slightly.
But then—
Move after move surged dominantly into his mind.
Punches.Kicks.Elbow strikes.Knee blows.
Wait—
This was actually a combat technique school driven by magic power?
Rei had never heard of such a school before.
Warriors and mages were both combat classes, yet their fighting styles were practically polar opposites.
"Refine mana. Temper the body. Use magic as the foundation…"
This school even possessed the effect of tempering the body.
Compared to the Invincible Flow Akase had once taught him, the school bestowed by the War God should be far more effective.
Not that the two could be directly compared.
Because without a Warrior class, even though Akase had taught him the Invincible Flow, Rei had only learned the basic physical relaxation and conditioning stances.
A complete combat technique school contained far more than simple moves.
It involved blood circulation patterns, physical tempering methods, bone and muscle coordination, and the unity of will and body.
Otherwise, even if someone memorized the moves, they would merely imitate the outward form—barely achieving even one percent of the true effect.
It was similar to the martial arts novels from his previous life.
Learning techniques also required the proper internal method.
Rei had never truly experienced that world.
Only after becoming a Level 1 Warrior would someone truly step onto the path of combat technique training.
"Mana-Tempering Martial Flow."
Rei repeatedly simulated the techniques of this school within his mind.
He had already committed them completely to memory.
And he could even feel it—
His body itself had learned the techniques.
Then, at that exact moment—
Rei sensed that within this combat technique school…
Another hidden secret existed.
[Secret Discovered: Combat Technique — Mana-Tempering Martial Flow]
[Hidden Element: True Meaning of Battle Arts]
[Unlock Condition 1: All techniques in the Mana-Tempering Martial Flow reach Proficiency LV:100 → Comprehend the True Meaning of Battle Arts]
"Kaiga."
Rei couldn't help asking curiously.
"Why do you possess a combat technique suited for mages?"
Kaiga burst into loud laughter.
"HAHA!! If you want to grow stronger, you naturally have to study different opponents!!"
"But! This combat technique was inspired by an old friend of mine!"
"This whole school should be the one most suited for you!!"
You… actually have friends?
Rei couldn't help thinking that.
With Kaiga's battle-crazed personality, he had assumed the man simply treated everyone as enemies and chopped them apart.
"Can only I know this technique?"
"HAHA!! Teach it to whoever you want!!"
"Anyway, not everyone can learn it!"
Then Kaiga's tone shifted.
For once, he did not shout.
"But."
"Regarding the existence of this place…"
"You must never tell anyone who hasn't received my inheritance."
His voice lowered, and he spoke to Rei with rare seriousness.
Rei's Adam's apple bobbed as he nodded solemnly.
"HAHAHAHA!! Good!! Then grow stronger properly!!"
"I look forward to the day you come stand before me in person and fight me seriously!!"
"Kaiga," Rei asked, "is this your real body… or a clone?"
"The one here is only a trace of my will! But it carries my consciousness!"
"Work hard, kid!! I'll be waiting for you!"
Rei still wanted to ask several more questions while he had the chance.
But just as he opened his mouth—
Kaiga's figure had already vanished before him.
And together with his disappearance—
A departure portal appeared.
Rei glanced at the Void Pillar Guardian still standing stupidly to the side.
"Mana-Tempering Martial Flow — Piercing Mana Sweep."
Mana gathered into the bones of his leg.
Rei kicked sharply at the guardian's ankle.
THUD!
The Void Pillar Guardian didn't move at all.
Rei felt pain shoot up his leg bone.
No… not just a little pain.
It felt like his leg might actually be broken.
After fighting the War God for an entire battle…
The greatest injury he'd suffered was from kicking something himself.
Rei hugged his calf and crouched down.
Tears almost welled up in the corners of his eyes as he swallowed the pill he had already prepared in his mouth.
Warm energy flowed through his limbs and bones.
Finally gathering at the injured leg.
[Mana-Tempering Martial Flow — Piercing Mana Sweep Proficiency EXP +10000]
[Piercing Mana Sweep (LV:3)]
Oh…
So Proficiency Evolution also worked on combat techniques.
That talent really might be the most broadly applicable ability he possessed.
As for Multi-Casting and Ascension…
Neither had any effect on the Mana-Tempering Martial Flow.
Because the scope of those two talents applied only to spells.
Combat techniques were naturally not spells.
What a pity.
Still, combat techniques requiring warrior-type talents was only natural.
Rei glanced around again.
At the center of the field now stood the portal.
But he did not leave immediately.
Instead, using the portal as the center point, Rei flew several circles around it.
Only after confirming there were no additional hidden objects…
Did he finally step through the portal.
Peek Into Secrets was indeed useful.
But it still required him to see or sense something first before a hidden element could be detected.
When Rei left the War God Tower, it was already deep into the night.
Before entering the hidden gate earlier, he had spent a long time digesting the tower's rewards.
And fortunately—
That digestion had accelerated his comprehension of Origin.
Otherwise, during the battle with the War God, he might not have truly comprehended his Third-Tier Origin Magic.
And if he hadn't…
The final battle might have required hundreds of millions of souls for a Soul Explosion to secure victory.
Rei pulled out his pocket watch.
It was already past nine at night.
He had been fighting all day without eating anything.
His stomach had begun to protest.
So he simply entered a nearby restaurant to satisfy his hunger.
As expected of the two great wonders of the War God.
The harvest had been immense.
Both instances of Origin Magic comprehension had occurred inside these wonders.
Though his own contemplation played a role, there was no denying that combat itself had provided tremendous inspiration.
Without those battles, comprehending Origin might have taken far longer.
And beyond Origin—
His Void Magic had also been learned through debate and combat inside the Combat Arena.
Xuzhou's magic might not have been impressive when used by Xuzhou himself.
But in Rei's hands, it flowed like water—flexible and endlessly useful.
Xuzhou, my good brother from another race… your magic is truly amazing.
He wondered if that good brother had managed to learn Void Summoning yet.
The rule of the Deciphering Scholar was simple:
Discover mysteries.Solve mysteries.
In just these few days, Rei had unraveled quite a number of secrets.
He wondered how much progress that counted toward his rule.
Speaking of which—
The book "Guide for Deciphering Scholars" that Pally had given him mentioned something interesting.
The advancement progress of a Deciphering Scholar was itself…
A mystery.
And then there was another matter.
Now that he had accepted the War God's inheritance…
Should he consider changing class to Warrior?
After all, he had learned a powerful-looking combat technique school.
It would be a waste not to use it.
And also—
Now that he had comprehended Third-Tier Origin Magic, could he advance to a Level 4 Mage?
Though he had only just become Level 3 a few days ago.
But he had heard the biggest obstacle from Level 3 → Level 4 was creating original spells.
He had already created over seventy spells.
He had also comprehended Origin.
Did that mean all conditions were fulfilled?
A string of questions flooded Rei's mind.
Plenty of matters awaited resolution.
But…
He had truly fought for an entire day.
He was exhausted.
And his brain felt like it could barely keep turning anymore.
Was this the aftereffect of fighting at full concentration?
The War God's ability to fight tirelessly for so long was honestly admirable.
Rei staggered back to the hotel.
The moment he touched the bed—
He fell asleep instantly.
Night deepened.
His sleep grew heavy.
Then—
RUMBLE—
The ground suddenly trembled.
Rei woke instantly.
He didn't know what had happened.
But the shield around his body activated immediately.
Then he rushed out of the room.
He was worried the room's privacy barriers might block Obades' perception and prevent immediate protection.
The World Center Hotel valued privacy heavily.
Outside the room door, the hallway extended left and right—but other guest rooms were completely hidden from sight.
However, that also meant Rei couldn't see how others were reacting.
He glanced at the elevator.
It wasn't on his floor.
He then looked toward the staircase.
The staircase was a massive spiral structure, winding upward like a helix.
From the railing, one could see all the way down to the first floor.
Rei simply vaulted over the railing and jumped.
WHOOSH!
Wind gathered under his control.
At the same time, part of his body transformed into flowing wind.
He cast his body like magic itself.
When he landed—
He descended like a gentle breeze, suffering no impact at all.
Landing in the hotel lobby.
Rei turned toward the main entrance.
The enormous doors—nearly ten meters tall—were always open.
Even though it was late night, the sky still glowed faintly with streams of fire across the heavens.
His extremely high spiritual perception allowed Rei to see things ordinary people could not.
In the sky—
Black clouds were gathering.
Dense.
Heavy.
Rolling like waves.
From those clouds, Rei could feel an enormous aura of death.
That feeling…
It was the aura of a Death Priest.
Rei sensed familiarity.
It was the same type of aura as his own class.
Then—
Suddenly—
Brilliant emerald-green light shot into the sky!
The green radiance illuminated the dark night.
A massive translucent emerald tree projected across the heavens.
When the dense black clouds touched that green light—
They melted like ice cream dropped into boiling water.
BOOM!
A crimson slash tore through the sky!
The strike split the heavens open!
The earth trembled violently.
In the distance, entire mountain ranges were sliced apart—cleanly severed.
Another crimson flash followed.
The blazing red arc swept across half the sky.
Rei saw countless black souls rising upward in agony.
Then—
Everything fell silent.
The black clouds had been scattered by the crimson light.
The oppressive pressure vanished.
Rei didn't know what exactly had happened.
But he didn't feel the need to investigate too deeply.
He could roughly guess.
It was probably something involving the Church of Life and the Church of Death.
Perhaps Akase was involved as well.
As for the finer details, Rei had no way of knowing.
The sky had returned to calm.
Perhaps the matter had already been resolved.
Still—
Rei did not lower his guard simply because of speculation.
A guess was only a guess.
After thinking for a moment—
He drank a bottle of Awakening Potion.
Then left the hotel.
Heading straight for the Grand Library of the City of Circles.
On a night like this—when danger might exist—
There was no way he was going back to sleep.
Obades should still be protecting him.
And the World Center Hotel was located in an excellent position.
It wasn't far from the Combat Arena, War God Tower, or Library.
If something truly happened—
Obades would be able to arrive quickly.