Chapter 243: Mixed Martial Arts
When Eleanor entered the Mixed Martial Arts School, she found the sshade of darkness and the same
absence of life. But this time, she knew Instructor Arrichion would be waiting in the dark room.
"Instructor, | am here for training," she said aloud, her voice carrying into the silence.
As expected, Arrichion emerged from the shadows. "You are here. Good. Follow me."
He led her into another room, which was a lot larger and bare in the middle. The walls were lined with shelves,
each holding rows of neatly ordered weapons. In the centre of that immense space stood Instructor Arrichion, a
mountain of a man whose stillness was more intimidating than any combat stance.
Eleanor followed and stood before him in her green robe and uniform. Her heart beat steadily, firmly, with
determination. She had trained Martial Arts before... under Oswyn Elizabeth Raynor, the former clan head of the
Raynor Clan. But this was different. This was under a conqueror, a true legend of Mixed Martial Arts.
"The foundation you possess is a scaffold," Arrichion’s voice boomed... not with sheer volume, but with a density
that seemed to vibrate in her bones. "We will not tear it down. We will use it to build a fortress. Your mind is your
greatest asset and your greatest liability. It records everything. But your body must feel it. Your bloodline gives
you sadvantage in learning, but not much in the reality of life and death. Today, you will learn to make your
body remember."
He began to circle her like a predator weighing its prey. "I do not believe in styles. | believe in efficiency. In the
singular, perfect motion to end a conflict. Not only a conflict... a true warrior can end a war if they can
overwhelm their opponents completely. We will start with the three pillars... Structure, Breaching, and Finishing."
He paused, then commanded, "Structure is the most unbreakable form of a martial artist. All power flows from
the ground... it is the root of the fighter. A tree without roots will topple at the slightest breeze. Now, assume
your basic horse stance."
Eleanor slid into the stance she had first learned as a child in Teresa's family dojo, later refined under Oswyn’s
guidance. Feet spread wide. Knees pressed outward. Hips lowered into a controlled squat. Back upright, chest
proud, spine slightly curved, but balanced.
"Adequate for a rookie. Useless for a master."
In a blur, Arrichion was behind her. His foot tapped the inside of her ankle. "Your root is narrow. A push here," his
hand pressed against her shoulder, "and you fall."
She stumbled, catching herself just in time.
But he did not allow her to reset. For the next hour, it was a relentless assault on her concept of stance. He
shoved her, kicked at her feet, yanked at her arms... all while barking corrections. He called it Dynamic Rooting.
At last, after thirty minutes of brutal adjustment, he seemed somewhat satisfied. "Now... widen your intent! Feel
the energy from the floor! The academy’s nanobots in your body will respond once you command them. Tell
them what you need... stability under extrpressure!"
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtEleanor felt it... a light stinging in her dominant muscles, spreading across her frame. Her body was shifting, ever
so slightly, as though tuning itself.
"Now, move to a forward stance. No... not a lunge. A falling step. Catch yourself with your structure. Again!
Followin your own way. Do not copy me."
Fortunately, Eleanor’s eidetic memory caught every micro-adjustment of Arrichion’s body... the precise tilt of his
spine, the subtle shift of weight. But knowing was not the sas being. Her muscles screamed, unaccustomed
to such exacting calibrations.
Then she felt it... a strange, warm humming deep within her bones and muscles. The nanobots were rewriting
her... mapping optimal firing patterns of neurons, adjusting tendon tension, refining muscle memory from the
inside. It was alien, invasive, but undeniable.
Her next stance was not perfect, but it was different. Stronger. Firmer. More rooted than before.
When Arrichion shoved her this time, she swayed... but she held.
A grunt that might have been approval was her only reward. "The scaffold holds. Now we add the walls."
"What we will do is Breaching," Arrichion continued. "The Art of the Opening. You cannot break a fortress by
pounding its walls. You find the flaw... the crack, the single loose stone... and apply precise, overwhelming force."
The next hour was a brutal lesson in anatomy and physics. Arrichion drew a practice dummy woven from
enchanted straw out of his storage ring. It perfectly mimicked the density of muscle and bone.
"The body is a structure. A chain of weak links... the ankle, the knee, the hip. Break one link... and it will be
over." He didn’t strike the dummy’s legs. Instead, he tapped the side of its knee with the toe of his foot. There
was a sharp crack as the enchantment broke, and the leg buckled inward.
Eleanor replayed the scene in her mind. She didn’t just see the strike... she understood the principle... leverage,
angle of attack, and the exact force required. A cold, clinical knowledge of how to break a living thing.
"Your turn," Arrichion said, stepping into the dummy’s role. He adopted a guarded stance. "Find the flaw. My
weight is on my back foot. What does that make my front leg?"
"A lever," Eleanor answered instantly, memory rising from childhood lessons.
"Then use it."
She attempted the kick.
"Too high. Too slow. Your opponent is not a mindless dummy. They move and retaliate. Calculate motion,
probability, battle awareness." He caught her foot and with a gentle twist sent her crashing to the floor.
"Knowledge is not action. The thought must be the deed. No space between."
Again and again she tried. She saw openings with crystal clarity... dozens at once, an overwhelming flood of
data. But her body was too slow. By the tshe chose one, it was already gone. Arrichion was like an
unbreakable wall, casually deflecting her each attack.
Frustration burned in her chest. Each tshe failed, Arrichion demonstrated... his gentle taps to her legs
precise and merciless reminders. If he had truly struck, her bones would already be shattered.
Then, something shifted. Not in her muscles, but in her nerves. Her perception sharpened... the world slowing by
a fraction. Her body moved before the thought had fully formed. She saw his weight shift, the micro-opening of a
stance... and her shin snapped upward in a savage arc, targeting not the knee, but the nerve cluster just above
i)
He blocked it, but his block was no longer casual. He pushed her leg down. "Good. You are beginning to not
think."
A few minutes later, he accepted her progress and moved on. "A fight should be one move. Your first move
should be your last. We call it the Cessation. No defence. A simultaneous breach and finish."
Arrichion demonstrated brutally
efficient motions... a palm strike to
shatter the nose gi ¢riye panelinto
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opponent's charge to snap the neck
on the floor; a finger-strike to the
throat that was less an attack and
more a sentence of death. The
content is on novelenglish.net! Read
the latest chapter there!
Each technique seared itself into Eleanor’s mind. Her thoughts thrummed with a dark, unsettling pleasure at
cataloguing endings.
Then they sparred. They did not attack to kill, did not even strike with full force... but both knew what every
movement meant.
For half an hour it was relentless exchange. She always ended on the floor, his hand or foot poised at a lethal
point. Yet each ther response grew faster. The gap between mind and body narrowed.
When he finally stopped, Eleanor stood trembling in the centre of the room. Her chest heaved, her body
screamed, but her spirit blazed with exhilarating overload.
o q f q q
Arrichion’s expression remained
[1
unreadable. "Your body has learned
much today. Your spirit has learned
more. It is alreagly Ask unEhtitme. |
oRdtedd linchbox for you
u f
beforehand." He pointed to a box on
"
the floor. "Go to your dorm. Eat. Rest.
Recover. And do not forget to play
basketball this afternoon. Tomorrow
fH fH 1
we will begin the next module." The
content is on novelenglish.net! Read
the latest chapter there!
Eleanor took the box, her arms heavy as lead. She placed the box inside her robe. She did not trust herself to
speak. She bowed, then walked out.
In her room she bathed quickly, then devoured every scrap of food in the large box... and still felt she could have
eaten more.
Finally, she collapsed onto her bed. Her mind replayed the Cessation techniques. Deep inside, she felt the
strange hum of the nanobots, ceaselessly rebuilding her. Stronger. Sharper. Deadlier.
It felt as if she were being remade. "Nora, what is happening inside my body?" she asked.
I"
Master, the academy nanobots are
programmed to adjust your body to
each fighting style you learn. | did not
alter their programming) asthey hte
I =! ;
apiqnoinofss an have no connection
to the outside world. Right now, they
: ’
are adapting your body to today’s
highest strain points. Once the
process is complete, it will be easier
for you to perform the smoves
] " q
in the future," Nora explained. The
content is on novelenglish.net! Read
the latest chapter there!
Eleanor smiled. "Becoming powerful is important. Nora, | need a short nap. Wakeup for outdoor play."
"Of course, Master. You can rest assured," Nora replied, and Eleanor drifted away.