Wildness and Masks

"Water combined with lightning can actually create fire."

This discovery truly left Ogre feeling a bit unsettled.

In his mind, water and fire were always incompatible.

"Could it be related to those bubbles from before? Did the electricity turn the water into gas? And then the gas burned?" Ogre keenly sensed the key point.

He withdrew his hand and began to ponder.

"Wood burns and leaves ash, fire doesn't appear out of nowhere, but after this fire burned, it seemed to leave nothing behind..."

Ogre turned his gaze back to the basin of water, muttering to himself, "Perhaps, water is the 'ash' produced after this gas burns."

Unfortunately, Ogre couldn't immediately think of any practical use for this discovery.

He vaguely felt he had grasped something, but he wasn't sure what that feeling was worth.

"And about the burning sensation just now... why does it feel like my sense of pain has increased?"

If Ogre had the ability to look inside himself, he would have discovered that the nerves in his body had multiplied several times.

It was precisely these special nerves interwoven throughout his muscles that allowed him to control his muscles to generate electricity.

This was also the true source of his intense pain earlier.

"Ah, how annoying... These things should be left to the sorcerers of the Church of Truth to study, or maybe I should wait until I'm stronger and find a truth sorcerer to help develop it."

Ogre shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it further.

He forced himself to ignore the discovery he had just made.

However, since water could cause an explosion, he decided to try a different conductor.

Ogre crouched down and pulled a box from under his bed—inside was part of his savings.

He casually pulled out a Gold Coin, but after thinking it over, he put it back and chose two Silver Coins and ten Copper Coins instead.

He planned to test these materials.

Picking up a Silver Coin, Ogre began to channel electricity into it.

Sizzle—

As the electricity flowed, sparks suddenly appeared on the Silver Coin, causing Ogre to stop the current transmission again.

He held the Silver Coin up to his eyes and noticed that the spot where his two fingers had pinched it was slightly blackened by the electricity.

"Silver resists electricity?"

Ogre felt a slight sense of dissonance; he distinctly remembered reading somewhere that metals were the best conductors of electricity.

The Silver Coins in Engodo were refined by Control Type Mages, and their purity depended entirely on the mage's skill.

"No, that's not right, it seems like something in the silver is blocking the electricity, turning the energy into something like fire damage..."

Ogre scratched his head.

He felt as if something was drilling into his brain, as if he had discovered something, yet it seemed like he hadn't discovered anything at all.

"Does this mean that when people get hurt, it's because something is clashing with the electricity and canceling it out?"

Ogre put down the Silver Coin and picked up a Copper Coin, but after some thought, he put the coins back and went to his bag to retrieve his personal small hammer.

Ogre felt that Silver Coins weren't suitable, and guessed that Copper Coins would be similar.

So he decided to switch to a larger experimental tool.

Ogre's small hammer was entirely pitch black.

Its design was somewhat unique.

At first glance, it looked more like a small mallet used by craftsmen and stonemasons rather than a hammer.

One end of the hammer was pointed, while the other was a square round hammer.

The hammer's shaft wasn't long, just slightly longer than Ogre's forearm.

The only standout feature was the large loop at the end of the handle, which could accommodate two fingers and was quite eye-catching.

Overall, it seemed quite ordinary, but it was the weapon Ogre was most adept at using, far surpassing others in his skill with it—thanks to Yard, who taught him the techniques.

Paladins, after all, were skilled with hammers and greatswords.

As for Ogre's spear and staff technique, he practiced it specifically for the arena.

In that environment, a staff was easier to wield.

But in the Demon Beast Forest, a not-so-long hammer was the most practical weapon, and the loop at the end was perfect for attaching a rope for throwing attacks.

"Let me try again..." With his weapon in hand, Ogre immediately grasped the end of the hammer and began to discharge electricity.

Blue lightning leaped from Ogre's palm, climbing up the hammer's shaft.

In an instant, the ordinary small hammer in Ogre's hand transformed into a dazzling lightning weapon.

"It really can conduct electricity..."

Ogre's hammer was custom-made by a blacksmith affiliated with the Arena, crafted entirely from tough refined iron.

It only appeared dull and unremarkable because it was mixed with black steel powder.

But that was exactly what Ogre wanted; inconspicuousness was good, as long as the weapon was strong enough.

"As long as it can extend my lightning, but why does a small Silver Coin spark while such a long hammer doesn't have any issues?

Could it be that... the nature of electric current is actually similar to water flow?

The larger the object, the easier it is to conduct, like the width of a river channel?"

Ogre summarized the pattern he had discovered.

He wasn't sure if his findings were entirely accurate, but he vaguely felt that his hypothesis was missing something.

However, lacking knowledge in this area, it was difficult for him to reason further.

Most of the books Ogre read were actually about demon beast encyclopedias, which he liked to treat as recipe books.

"Forget it, I'll just consider it a close-combat trump card."

Ogre thought it over carefully but couldn't think of any particularly significant use for his ability to discharge electricity; it seemed to have little practical use outside of water combat.

Ogre could sense that his ability to discharge electricity had potential for development.

But with his sixteen-year-old mind, he truly couldn't think of how to develop and utilize it effectively—his wisdom and talents were mostly focused on combat.

Expecting Ogre to be a researcher was indeed asking too much of him.

"The main issue is that I can't use mental power like a mage to shape the lightning into a specific form for attack..."

Ogre concluded that the difficulty in using his lightning power lay in his inability to attack from a distance.

Being limited to close-range discharge was indeed a significant drawback; the only useful aspect was that he could imbue his weapon with a cool-looking pseudo-magic effect.

"However... if this material can conduct electricity, maybe I could make an iron chain?"

Ogre imagined the scene of attacking with an iron chain.

But in the end, he temporarily set aside this idea.

Using an iron chain as a weapon required practice, and if not used properly, it could end up hitting himself.

Ogre thought... there probably wasn't anyone who would consider using an iron chain as their main weapon.

"It seems like this ability isn't as useful as having high-speed vision."

Ogre felt he had miscalculated this time, wasting a feeding opportunity wasn't the worst part.

The worst part was that his muscle strength had decreased somewhat.

"It feels like my muscles are a bit sore..."

Ogre stretched his muscles, feeling a bit fatigued from the continuous discharge earlier.

Discharging electricity required physical strength.

Ogre could maintain a low-level continuous current for a long time, but the kind of discharge that involved 'activating' half of his muscle groups for damage could only be sustained for five minutes at most.

If it was the kind of full-force discharge that could knock himself out, he could only manage it for a minute at most.

Of course, that's only if he could sustain it for a minute; without being submerged in water, Ogre couldn't use his full power.

Perhaps once his physique adapted, he could discharge electricity without restraint.

Both humans and ogres develop resistance to frequent attacks, and Ogre's physique was somewhere between the two.

Adapting to this level of full-force current shouldn't take too long, provided his lightning ability didn't continue to grow stronger.

"Wait... why does this soreness feel so much like the sensation after a workout?"

Ogre massaged his neck, suddenly connecting it to the symptoms he experienced after regular training.

For martial artists, training involved more than just balancing the Three Qis and practicing martial skills; it also included constant training, eating, resting, and repeating the cycle.

As long as you ate enough and well, gradually increased the intensity of training, and recovered well, you could improve your physique.

Meditation was categorized as part of rest, as focused meditation could better restore physical strength and train the mind.

Without the physique of a Knight, martial artists' training usually had to follow the body's golden period. If you missed it and hadn't become a Professional, your physical strength would likely plateau.

The golden period for the body varied by gender and individual talent, but it was quite clear for ordinary people.

Taking human males as an example:

With adequate nutrition, the golden period for flexibility training was usually between ages five to eight and twelve to fourteen. After this period, the flexibility of bones and ligaments would reach its limit.

The golden period for speed training was between ages seven to nine and thirteen to sixteen, a time well-suited for improving speed.

As for strength training, it could be done between ages twelve to twenty-five, though the intensity should be lower at a younger age.

Finally, endurance training was most effective between ages twelve to fourteen and seventeen to twenty-two.

Missing these periods meant training wouldn't be as effective, and the hope of becoming a professional martial artist would be slim.

(Note: Scientific training and reasonable recovery are the keys to becoming strong; avoid reckless training.)

Ogre missed part of the so-called golden period.

But Ogre had far superior digestive and recovery abilities.

He could eat, recover, and naturally endure more intense training.

With this extraordinary training intensity and Yard's guidance, Ogre became the strongest martial artist apprentice in this small borderland town within just two years.

However, no matter how intense the training, there were limits. Ogre had already reached the physical bottleneck a month ago.

Increasing weights and extending training time only resulted in diminishing returns.

That's why Ogre, as a hexagonal warrior, considered using a forbidden potion.

His physical improvement had truly reached its limit.

Meanwhile, the cultivation of vitality showed no progress.

For Ogre to see training feedback, he had to spend more than half a day to achieve results—his endurance was just too strong.

If not for his body still being in its growth phase, Ogre would hardly feel any slight improvement.

If he couldn't successfully unify the Three Qis into vitality and rage energy, Ogre's path as a martial artist would indeed be at its end.

But now, he actually felt tired in such a short time—this meant there was still room for improvement and hope!

"Is it the damage caused by this exertion method, or the effect of lightning stimulation, or perhaps both?"

Yard had told Ogre the essence of training—

Training was the process of breaking the bottle and gluing it back together, of carving out a larger cave, a cycle that almost all professions couldn't escape.

Break, repair, and then grow.

As long as it didn't harm the foundation and could recover in a short time, it would result in training effects.

This was why, once you got older, it was easy to hit a bottleneck because both the mind and body had a decline period.

If you couldn't recover, you naturally couldn't improve.

This was true not just for humans but for demon beasts as well.

"No matter the reason, if it can result in training effects, then it's a good ability!"

Ogre no longer cared about the principles behind it; as long as it was useful, that was enough.

He had already stopped physical training and shifted to martial skill training.

But the discharge ability brought by the Lightning Eel had reopened a window for Ogre.

If his physique could infinitely improve in this positive cycle, then Ogre believed that even without becoming a Professional, he could, with the support of his innate abilities, possess power comparable to a Professional!

It's important to know that the strength of the discharge ability was linked to Ogre's physical strength.

For Ogre, lightning body training was far more practical than gaining an additional ranged skill.

Although he didn't know the limits of this method, as long as there was room for improvement, it was always a good thing.

"I am indeed a bit hungry..." Ogre turned his gaze to the remaining honey.

Alright, it seemed he would have to eat sugar again.

Picking up his water pouch, Ogre was ready to wrestle with the sugar.

"Next time, I should go out and buy more meat..."

...

After two and a half hours of experimental 'training.'

Ogre could feel that his body seemed to have improved in various aspects.

However, Ogre wasn't sure if this feeling was real; he had felt this way every time he trained to the brink of exhaustion.

But in reality, even with the Breathing Technique, the improvement was almost negligible.

The only purpose of training seemed to be maintaining the status quo.

"If the body had no limit to improvement, that would be great. Without becoming a Professional, I'll always just be an ordinary mortal..."

Professionals in Engodo were treated almost like nobility, enjoying respect and status far above ordinary civilians, even without land grants.

They were transcendent in every sense.

This also showed that, in any race, power was always the fundamental determinant of authority, and knowledge and power were just other forms of strength.

"However, the efficiency is indeed impressive."

Even on his first attempt, Ogre achieved significant gains in these two and a half hours.

During the training, Ogre also discovered another way to use his ability.

This was far more enjoyable than his previous weight training.

Train well, eat well, rest well—these were Yard's words to Ogre.

Ogre had completed the first two steps and now needed to rest well.

The sky was not yet dark, so Ogre tidied up his room and sat on the bed.

He opened today's other gain—the Withered Tree Revival Meditation.

"Hopefully, this can bring me some help," Ogre muttered to himself.

Three Qi Unity was something Ogre no longer had the desire to attempt, but he still held a sliver of hope for planting the seed of imagination.

This hope stemmed from the Knight of Discipline badge Yard had given him.

Ogre eagerly anticipated the day he would meet that mysterious Priest.

After reading the entire thin meditation book.

Ogre habitually used the Breathing Technique to adjust his mindset and rhythm.

Finally, Ogre officially closed his eyes and began to explore this meditation technique...