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This was the first time they had encountered someone like this.

They had heard he was from a prestigious academy, but looking at him now, he didn’t give off the impression of a teacher from such an institution at all.

Rather, he seemed like a veteran with over 10 years of experience on the front lines, causing the new inquisitors to become extremely tense.

They had thought they would at least have the upper hand in terms of experience.

“From basics to advanced, one week. I’ll complete your training in just one week. And I’ll make sure you can be deployed on the mission you’ve been longing for.”

At Ethan’s words, the eyes of the new inquisitors sparkled.

What they desired was to be deployed on a mission.

“Where to, sir?”

“The Misty Forest.”

At Ethan’s words, the expressions of the new inquisitors, including Alendre, changed.

They knew that operations were taking place in the Misty Forest.

If they went there, there would surely be many things they could do.

“I heard the Followers of the Moon are holed up there. It’s been quite some time, but the Inquisition hasn’t been able to push through. What do you think that means?”

“That we have a chance to make a difference, sir.”

Ethan nodded.

“It’s an opportunity for you newcomers to achieve merit. Moreover, you might be able to fulfill your individual goals there.”

The new inquisitors looked excited.

Ethan calmed them down.

“But as I said just now, I will teach you how to never die. If that doesn’t become second nature to you, you will never be able to go on a mission.”

Ethan stared at them intently, as if to say he wasn’t lying.

“Ever.”

***

Ethan’s training was conducted in a way they had never experienced before.

“Focus.”

Sixteen people move simultaneously and receive corrections from Ethan.

Ethan’s eyes, which were considered monstrous even within the academy, shone in the Inquisition as well.

At first, they naturally doubted him.

It’s not easy to observe even one person at a time, let alone sixteen simultaneously?

The first thing the new inquisitors had to discard was the habits ingrained in them until now.

To turn them into proper inquisitors, they needed to be thoroughly trained according to the manual.

However, correcting previously ingrained habits before learning was a difficult task that would take a long time even on a one-on-one basis.

In this situation, when the new inquisitors heard Ethan say he would observe sixteen people at once, they inwardly scoffed.

They knew Ethan was a great teacher.

But no matter how great, this seemed impossible.

“Ugh!”

“Focus.”

But that impossible thing was happening.

Thwack-! Thwack-!

Ethan used a wooden sword to accurately poke the spots that needed correction.

And for the newcomers who needed major corrections to their habits, he used his hands directly.

Of course, while it looked like he was using his hands, there were needles at the tips.

With a single gesture from Ethan, their postures were instantly corrected.

The new inquisitors, who naturally assumed postures identical to the manual, felt awkward with Ethan’s training method at first but soon adapted to it.

Ethan’s eyes moved ceaselessly.

He should have been fatigued from constantly using his eyes, but Ethan didn’t stop.

-Eye of Horus proficiency increases!

This was the perfect opportunity to build proficiency.

He could endure any amount of pain. Ethan knew well that this level of pain wouldn’t kill him.

‘This kind of pain definitely won’t kill me. I know because I’ve experienced it a lot.’

He was a self-proclaimed expert on death, after all.

Having felt and overcome numerous near-death experiences, he couldn’t help but know that boundary.

-Eye of Horus proficiency increases!

As the proficiency of Eye of Horus increased, he could see more things.

Thwack-!

“Gasp!”

Now that he could clearly see the habits of the new inquisitors that were invisible before, precise corrections were possible.

‘Basically, they all have skill. So the corrections aren’t that difficult.’

Of course, that was “not difficult” by Ethan’s standards.

-Eye of Horus proficiency increases!

-Eye of Horus has reached a certain level of proficiency.

-The goods have fully adapted to your body!

Ethan’s eyes shone, and a golden light settled in his pupils.

It was a sign that he had perfectly adapted to the Eye of Horus, the goods purchased from Horus.

It was similar to the color of his original eyes, but when he focused momentarily, a golden light settled in those eyes.

‘The pain has decreased.’

As the pain in his eyes decreased, what he wanted to see became much clearer.

Ethan slightly strained his eyes.

‘I can see much further than before.’

And things nearby could be seen in more detail.

-A special ability of Eye of Horus has been imbued.

-Special Skill: Bullet Time acquired.

‘Bullet Time?’

Ethan strained his eyes even more.

‘This is insane.’

The effect of Bullet Time was so excellent that it made him swear involuntarily.

‘It’s slowing down.’

The movements of the new inquisitors in front of him appeared slow. It wasn’t that they were moving slowly.

The Eye of Horus was breaking down their movements to make them appear slow.

‘It’s a kind of time acceleration ability.’

“Whew…”

But Bullet Time didn’t last long.

Moreover, as much as the pain from using Eye of Horus had decreased, using this Bullet Time brought stronger pain.

‘But if I can use this properly…’

Then this could become an incredible power.

For Ethan, who was trying to secure defensive means along with offensive aspects, this ability was nothing short of the best for avoiding enemy attacks.

“Take a short break.”

“Huff… huff…”

“Uuuugh…!”

Ethan ordered a break for the exhausted new inquisitors.

He, too, needed a break after using Eye of Horus for a long time. Moreover, he needed to check Eye of Horus again.

‘I gained a better ability than I thought.’

As expected, the gods of New World never give useless abilities.

***

The new inquisitors gulped down the water placed on one side. They were all drenched in sweat from the short but intense training.

If they were to weigh themselves now, they would probably have lost about 5 kilos.

“Damn it…”

In fact, Alendre was overflowing with confidence.

The other inquisitors probably felt the same. Although they were a bit flustered on the first day, not a single one of them lacked combat experience.

They thought they could endure any harsh training Ethan might put them through.

Moreover, they were confident that they could fully digest any education, given their sufficient base.

Alendre, the youngest and most enthusiastic, was overconfident.

However, all expectations were off the mark.

Ethan’s education was completely different from what they had anticipated. It was an education they had never heard of or experienced before.

It was enough to confuse the new inquisitors who had been so confident they could handle any kind of education.

Alendre, breathing heavily, complained to another inquisitor.

“…Can it really be done like this?”

Dividing 32 people into two teams of 16 each.

Ethan observed the movements of 16 people in one team simultaneously and corrected their problems. The same was true for the second team.

It should have been impossible to see them all at once, but Ethan did this impossible task effortlessly.

As if this was a natural method for him.

“I can’t understand it either, Alendre. To be honest, I thought he might just be pretending to watch. Watching 16 people at once, it’s nonsense. It would be difficult to see perfectly even if focusing on individual movements.”

“That’s right. It’s not easy to focus on and correct just one person’s movements. Ah, I really don’t know what kind of skill this is.”

Even the inquisitor with the most combat experience among the newcomers was perplexed by Ethan’s teaching method.

In his common sense, such education was impossible.

“But it’s also the first time I’ve learned so easily. By correcting directly with the body, I can immediately understand which parts are wrong. It feels like he’s moving my body for me.”

“It’s not just controlling, it feels like he’s imprinting it on us.”

How to take a stance, how to use the mace, how to form formations – all of these are accurately injected with a single poke.

For those experiencing this unprecedented education method firsthand, it felt as if they were possessed by a ghost.

“Huff… huff…”

Five hours like that.

After continuous training, all 32 were completely exhausted. Today’s training could essentially be considered over at this point.

That’s when Ethan grinned.

“Good work, everyone.”

Alendre naturally thought today’s training was over.

However, Ethan clapped his hands once.

“We’ll start the next training right away.”

“…What!?”

A startled Alendre made a strange sound.

“I know what you want to say. You’re exhausted and can’t train anymore. You think there’s nothing to gain by training in this state, right?”

Ethan raised all 32 people.

“That means you can do it again once you recover.”

Ethan said with a grin.

“Don’t we need to rest to recover?”

“You can recover without rest.”

Normally, you couldn’t train people all day like this.

People have limits.

However, Ethan had the power to break through those limits.

Ethan lined up the 32 people and immediately used Heo’s Acupuncture.

Heo’s Acupuncture instantly cleared away the fatigue of the inquisitors.

‘It’s not a perfect recovery, but.’

“Huh?”

“Why is my body…”

“Why has the fatigue disappeared?”

He could eliminate enough fatigue to repeat the training a few more times.

“Well then, let’s start again.”

Ethan intended to dramatically increase efficiency.

Rather than rushing the training in a week, the goal was to fill that time efficiently with intense training.

The confused new inquisitors started training again.

They had been too tired to continue just a moment ago, but that fatigue had completely disappeared.

“Why are we fine?”

“Why can we do this?”

Just a moment ago, various parts of their bodies were so stiff and tired that moving any further would have injured their muscles.

As Ethan said, their bodies were fine now, so they had no choice but to train again.

***

And so, one week passed.

In reality, this was a very short time to train new inquisitors, and if following the curriculum of the manual, they would have just reached the beginning.

However, the new inquisitors who received Ethan’s education had completely changed.

“Who are these people?”

“They’re the new inquisitors. Now, many of their amateurish aspects have disappeared.”

“No, this is more than just disappearing…”

It felt like seeing a small puppy from your hometown greeting you as a formidable adult dog after a few months.

While this was certainly a good thing from the Inquisition director’s perspective, he couldn’t help but feel dazed at this result.

“We greet the director!”

They shouted in resounding voices.

“You even instilled manners in them…”

Jeryd looked at Ethan with a surprised expression. One week. It truly was more than enough time, just as Ethan had said.

Author's Thoughts

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