Way of the Knights

Chapter 171 - Hammer Training

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The first chapter to the [Book of Chaos] is focused on transformation.

Since the [Book of Chaos] don't follow any of the three known paths, it means that in order to cultivate this, Raven have to experience a metamorphosis. This change will get transform him from inside out, the book gave details to the cultivation path he's going to take and so far, he had seen two stage written in the first chapter: Metamorphosis and Gathering.

'Metamorphosis Stages' is pretty straightforward. It transforms the individual's body to become a proper vessel for Chaos Energy in the future. It has a total of nine stages, which means that he has to go under nine transformations as well. What makes this harder is that the resources he needed to cultivate is going to be a pain in rear to find. Reaching the peak of this stage would be roughly equivalent to reaching the Knight Stage in the Energy Path.

'Gathering Stages' is pretty straightforward too. Since his body would be a proper vessel for Chaos Energy, then it would make sense for him to start gathering them right? This stage also has nine stages and reaching the peak of this stage would be roughly equivalent to Golden Knight Stage.

So far, these are the only two that he knows of, he figured that in order to know more, he had to acquire the rest of the chapters. His best guess is that he would find it by clearing out the pocket dimensions inside the Palace Grounds.

"I'll cultivate this but not for now. I don't have the necessary resources to do so just yet. What I am worried though, is about the requirements in class. Director said that we have to reach 100% conversion rate of Energy Essence, if I started cultivating this then I'll divert from the norm and there might some complications. So what do I do about that?" Raven muttered…

He was truly faced with a dilemma, the requirements had to be followed in order for him to stay at the Genius Class, but if he started now, he will fail meeting this requirement and he might lose qualifications to stay at the Genius Class.

Raven was in such a deep thought that he didn't even noticed that he was kicked out of the Palace Grounds and returned to the real world. He only became aware of it when he felt the atmosphere around him change. This made him smile wryly, but at the same time, an idea which could possibly work struck his mind. He wasn't a hundred percent sure if it would truly work but it's better than nothing, plus with how he carried himself in class, it's quite possible that he might convince everyone.

Raven did the usual and took off all his clothes. He then jumped at the pond nearby his cave and soaked on it to nurse his injury. While he was recovering, he touched the imprint inside his psyche, the one that he shared with Richard and Jacob. He instructed them to search for some resources for him, later on he received a confirmation from the two that they already sent men to search for the materials.

After he nursed back his exhaustion and hidden injuries, he stepped away from the pool and placed some pants. Not bothering to cover his upper body, he looked at the mark at the back of his right hand that depicted a hammer. He touched his connection with the mark and suddenly, a two handed black hammer materialized in his hands.

The Archaic Thousand Arms Hammer's handle was roughly a meter long. It's very heavy, more or less three tons. He could barely do three swings without exhausting himself. He knew because he just tried it.

If he plans on wielding this thing, then he had to start with a training hammer first. It just so happen that he was actually keeping one on his storage ring. Come to think of it, when he first asked his friends as to what kind of weapon they want to train with, he remembered buying training versions of each virtually possible weapons he could find. This hammer is one of those, who would've known that he would have to use it now.

Strangely enough, the hammer that he bought was also a two handed hammer. What even crazier is that it looks almost identical to his archaic hammer, but it weighs lighter, about a hundred kilograms according to his estimations.

"Is it Fate or no?" Raven muttered, "Whatever, at least I have something to use."

Without any more hesitation, he held the hammer using both of his hands and performed a couple of swings, familiarizing himself first before he actually use it to train.

When the Archaic Thousand Arms Hammer connected with him, it also passed him some scenes of its previous owners' training, which gave him more insights about hammer wielding. At anytime, he could access some insights about their training and gain inspirations on it.

As for battle arts, he didn't have to many with him. He almost never paid attention to hammer techniques during his past life, so either he find a good one or he make his own. Either way, it won't be too much of problem for him.

'Wielding a hammer is risky. A hammer as weapon only has offensive qualities, which means that unless you have a shield, your pretty much abandoning your defense. Well, if one has enough training with it, then maybe the hammer could function defensively as well but it's true edge flourish in pure offense. No retreats and full commitment. Under the weight of a hammer, defenses should crumble. Hammer takes advantage of a raw strength, and depending on how one forges it, the results might turn into something devastating.'

'In order to unleash the true potential of the hammer, the secret is not how you hold it. Yes, making sure that you won't accidentally lose grip of the hammer is important but the real secret is on your legs. Under no circumstances that you are allowed to fall while holding your hammer, anchor yourself to the ground, never lose your footing. The force behind your strikes must come from your legs all the way towards your arms.'

This is one of the insights he recalled just now. It is from one of the owners of the hammer and for someone who have no experience in wielding a hammer, this is a great help.

First, Raven wanted to test it out. He raised the hammer and struck the ground using the strength of his arms. The hammer left a decent mark at the ground but the rebounding force almost made Raven lose grip on the hammer, it even reverberated in his body which gave him a numbing feeling.

Then he started paying attention on his footing. He lowered his stance, almost like a squat. Then with a loud grunt he took a step forward, feeling the 'pump' of force on his legs all the way up to his arms, borrowing that momentum he struck the ground and immediately a huge cloud of dust kicked in.

When the dust cloud was gone, Raven was surprised to see that there is a bunch of web-like cracks on the ground and the hammer left an indentation of at least seven inches.

"Whoa…" Raven exclaimed, "The force behind that strike could pummel a human flat."

It is arguable if his full force strike is equivalent to that strike, but considering that this is his first time wielding a hammer, this result was very pleasant for him.

So for the next hours until sunrise, Raven never stopped training. His arms were slightly aching but he didn't mind, this feeling was actually somewhat pleasurable for him.

Raven was absorbed in training that he wasn't aware that his hammer wielding was improving by leaps and bounds. Of course, there are still some areas where it needs polishing but it has just been a couple of hours since he started training. He was fully immersed that he didn't notice how much time had passed already.

The hammer danced around his body, the ground beneath him was cracked all over but Raven never tripped not lost his footing as trained. Each time he swung, the air would whistle harshly, it was like the force behind his swings were ripping the air apart.

In his immerse state, Raven found out that the swings of hammer was very similar on his fist blows. So without knowing it, he started integrating some insights on his fist techniques behind his swings, resulting in a unique way of hammer wielding. At some point, his swings was powerful and controlled enough to compress little amount of air, which will act as a projectile once he decided to release it. Wasn't this similar to his fist technique?

It might be a little too rough and not practical for now but eventually, he will be able to get better at it and who knows, maybe he himself would be surprised on just how powerful his strikes could be.

And remember, all of this was done by a training hammer. Just imagine what kind of devastation the Archaic Thousand Arms Hammer could release…