Two hours had already passed, and Xane just lay there, trying to collect himself.
Xane slowly stood up and began dusting himself off.
What was interesting was that Zayn, who had been screaming the whole time, was suddenly quiet.
Xane asked with a smile, < Haha, Zayn, what happened? Don't tell me you passed out from the pain. >
After a moment of silence, Zayn said in awe, [ Fck, that was crazy. ]
Xane was taken aback by this response.
He raised an eyebrow with interest. < Oh? I wasn't expecting that kind of reply. >
Zayn continued in awe, [The way you rolled, then that jump from the top of the branch with the mid-air swing to a safe area. Heck, even the side-turn between those two trees in the first run... ]
[ Oh my God, I never knew something like that was even possible. ]
Xane was genuinely surprised.
He started to doubt whether it was still Zayn he was talking to.
Just to be sure, he tapped the arm with a fresh wound.
In the next instant, [ Ah! You bitch! That hurts! ]
< Oh, so you are Zayn. >
[ What are you talking about? Forget it, Xane. Let me ask, do you think I'll be able to do the same thing? ]
< Well, this is an interesting development. I never expected you to accept the training so quickly. >
[ Oh, come on! I'm not an idiot. I finally understand what you meant by unlocking the full body. Damn, the way you twisted your upper body to avoid falling, and then the way you turned on your toes... Fck, how the hell did you do those things? ]
Xane began walking out. < Well, it's good that you understand the purpose of this training. But yeah, to answer your first question—nope. >
Zayn asked in a disappointed tone, [ Oh? Why? ]
Xane pointed to his body. < Let me explain in simple terms. Just imagine everybody's body as a machine. >
Zayn mentally rolled his eyes. [ Geez, here you go with another of your weird comparisons. Okay, so our body is a machine, then? ]
Xane ignored Zayn's comment and said, < You see, the output of every machine is decided by two components. First is the quality of the machine, and second is the ability of the operator. >
And just like before, Zayn kind of understood what Xane was trying to say. Just to be sure, he asked, [ Quality of the machine is how fit we are? ]
Xane continued, < Yup. And you see, this is something that's going to take time. We can't just catch up to others who trained their bodies from childhood that fast. >
Zayn asked in confusion, [ But I thought we made a lot of progress in the past few days. Xane, keep in mind this is not Earth. ]
Xane sighed.
Zayn said in a serious tone, [ And we lack time. ]
Xane nodded. < Yup. That's where the ability of the operator comes in. To give you an analogy, it's like comparing a bodybuilder with someone who trains in martial arts like judo. >
< Now obviously, if the difference in machines is too big, even the top operator won't be able to achieve much. In our case, if we have to compete with others, we must increase our ability and control over the body. >
Zayn asked, [ So running in the forest is related to that? ]
Xane nodded his head. < Yup. Even though it's a physical activity, you need to develop a good understanding of how your body works. >
Xane pointed to his head and eyes. < This also trains your mind-eye coordination, balance, and even increases your ability to think quickly. >
Zayn was just flabbergasted.
If he had control over the body, his jaw would've hit the floor by now.
Zayn wanted to grab his head, but too bad he had no control over his body.
He asked hesitantly, [Okay, so running in the forest helps with so many things. But one thing, Xane, don't we share the same body? I mean, if you train that stuff, shouldn't I also benefit? ]
Xane shook his head. < For physical stuff, yeah. But we both have our thought processes, so you have to train the mental side yourself. >
[And what are these mental methods? ]
Xane stopped walking and pointed to a random tree ahead.
Zayn focused ahead.
All he saw was a simple tree with nothing in between, but he knew Xane wouldn't ask a simple question.
Then he looked at the ground and noticed a few roots coming out of it.
It wasn't as crazy as the place Xane had just run through, but those roots could still trip him.
He also noticed patches of green algae. From his recent running experience, he now knew those could cause trouble, too.
Not wasting more time, Zayn said with full confidence. [ Well, I'd just focus on the ground while avoiding stepping on the algae. As for the roots, I'd either jump over them or move to the side. ]
Xane clapped his hands.
[2 seconds?! Dude, what's wrong with what I said? ]
Xane shook his head.
Zayn thought for a bit while Xane continued walking out of the forest.
As they reached the track, Zayn said in realization, [Wait, so I'm going to fail because I didn't look beyond the tree? ]
Zayn didn't think too much and mumbled, [Is it the speed or my observation? I mean, since you're standing, I had time to look at everything. But if I were running, I'd definitely miss a few things. ]
As Xane walked on the track, he received weird glances from the students who were already jogging.
Not caring about any of them, he corrected Zayn, < Not wrong. But you see, Zayn, your approach is flawed. Right now, you're trying to absorb too much of the surroundings. >
< This method might work if you run the same path again and again. But it'll lead you nowhere when running randomly through the woods. >
[ Ah, I see what you're saying. But then what should I do? ]
Xane unraveled his shirt sleeves and said, < Well, Zayn, this is the part of mind-eye coordination I mentioned. You need to learn how to focus on just the bare minimum. >
< Running in the forest is the perfect exercise to develop that. Forget about all the other stuff. For starters, you need to just focus on where the best place to land your foot is and then try to place your foot there while running. >
[ Just focus on the landing spots? ]
< Yup. Once you get the hang of selecting the best landing spots and doing it quickly, you should be able to run for 30 to 40 seconds without a problem. >
[ Wahh… just 30 seconds? What about you then? Don't you think about where to step? ]
Xane moved his hand in a line. < Nope. Right now, I'm at the second stage—where I think in terms of a line. >
[ Line? Stages? ]
Xane moved down the track and walked toward his building. < Yeah. I kind of developed this 5-stage method. By stage five… let's just say, no one in this academy will want to fight us on pure physical combat.>
Zayn said in awe. [ Dude, I never thought physical training could have so much stuff in it. ]
< Well, enough of that. I believe it's time to meet our mentor. >
[Oh, before that, we have to visit the white hospital, you know.]
Xane nodded his head as he pushed open the door to his room, only to see others in the room frozen in their positions.