Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 314 - The Second Class (2)

Ethan raised his wooden sword.

“We must concentrate no matter what situation we’re in. But that’s not an easy task. Situations are always different.”

That’s why it’s necessary to find a way to concentrate in any situation.

“The method is to create a routine. It’s about developing your own way to focus mentally in any situation. It stimulates the subconscious to reach a state of concentration at will. As we just saw, Roanna Prochet instinctively understood and utilized this method. She used her own routine to achieve instant immersion. Thanks to that, she was able to focus mentally even while I was interfering.”

Ethan explained briefly.

“That’s Roanna’s talent. An innate talent that no one else can imitate.”

Roanna wore a triumphant expression.

“But if you ask whether that’s purely in the realm of talent, I can answer with certainty. It’s not. It’s a level that can be reached through training. With training, you can focus mentally in any situation.”

“Can we… do it too? Can we learn it?”

“You can do it, and you can learn it. I’ll make sure of that. And this isn’t just applicable to mages, so everyone pay close attention.”

Ethan began his explanation.

“I call this extreme immersion ‘dive’. It means complete mental focus.”

The students perked up their ears and concentrated on Ethan’s words.

“You’ve probably heard of it before. Stories of famous swordsmen or mages entering the unconscious of the unconscious to achieve complete concentration. This is truly a sensory thing, so it’s quite tricky to learn. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to learn. To master this dive, you need a routine.”

At that moment, Max raised his hand high.

“Max Jurod, go ahead with your question.”

“What exactly is this routine you’re talking about?”

“It’s simple. It’s about creating a specific action you take to enter your unconscious. Whether the opponent is attacking you, you’ve fallen into water, or your body’s on fire, if you do the same action, it eventually becomes the same ordinary situation.”

Routine is something often used by athletes to maintain their condition, but it can be used in various ways.

For example, a tennis player has a routine they perform every time they serve.

They set up a water bottle, hit the tennis racket once on the left and once on the right, then serve.

‘By repeating the same action, you ingrain in your mind that it’s an ordinary situation.’

Even Ethan was able to maintain high concentration through his own routine when he was playing MePan.

‘If done wrongly, it could become a jinx, but this too can be overcome with training. Routine can be positively utilized for mental focus.’

Maintaining peace of mind through a series of actions.

Adding mental focus to that is how this routine is formed.

“First, engrave this routine in your head, body, and heart. That’s how you dive. In my case, I do it like this.”

Ethan didn’t make this routine complicated.

‘The routine I created is deep breathing.’

Three short breaths. Huk huk huk.

As Ethan took deep breaths, the atmosphere changed instantly.

It was much denser and stronger than the aura Ethan usually emitted.

The students were surprised to see Ethan enter a perfect state of mental focus and dive state with just three deep breaths.

Ethan swung his wooden sword in a state of complete concentration.

Although he swung it lightly, the light hand movement exuded tremendous pressure.

Only then did the students clearly understand.

The meaning behind Ethan’s words that the real thing is different. And how much of an advantage it is to have complete concentration in those real situations.

Ethan, having left the dive state, continued his explanation.

“When I’m in a dive state, it doesn’t matter what the opponent does. Mages won’t have their magic interrupted, and swordsmen will be able to perfectly execute their swordsmanship. This is the most necessary skill in real situations.”

Max kept blinking his eyes.

Having only attended Claudie’s classes for quite a long time, Ethan’s teaching method seemed extremely radical.

“In my case, I enter the dive through deep breathing. But you don’t necessarily have to follow me. For 150 students, there will be 150 routines. Just create an action that can stabilize your mind and body. Now, from this point on, everyone will create their own routine.”

Ethan said.

Ethan paused for a moment before continuing.

“Once you create a routine, I’ll help you dive based on that. All subsequent classes will involve experiencing various real situations based on the dive state.”

Ethan said that and then clapped his hands to quickly change the atmosphere.

“Now, everyone come forward.”

At Ethan’s words, all the students taking the class came forward.

Indeed, as they were using a large hall as a classroom, there was plenty of space even with all 150 people standing.

Ethan took one deep breath.

“Try to think of an action that will become your routine. You don’t have to decide this right now. It just needs to be able to stabilize your mind and body. Enough to swing your sword and use magic as usual. A short action that can stabilize your mind is enough.”

‘The total number in the previous class was 75, and the number of students I could see at once was even less than that.’

It was intentional.

Because he was confident he could do it.

But this time is different. Now Ethan had to prepare for some risk.

‘It’s time to take on a challenge.’

It’s a time when stable actions alone are not enough.

Ethan put strength into his eyes.

The Eye of Horus and Sleeping Dragon’s Sight activated simultaneously, illuminating Ethan’s field of vision. At the same time, Ethan gestured to the students.

He intended to grasp all the movements of the students and feel all their breaths.

“Breathe slowly, and create your own routine.”

150 people each took actions that would become their routine.

It was still clumsy, but those actions would become the most important factor in dramatically raising their level going forward.

“And focus your mind, and display your main skill. Don’t ever break it.”

Students of swordsmanship began to display swordsmanship, and students of magic began to display magic.

Ethan, in between, emitted an aura with the intention of breaking their mental focus, just as he did earlier.

In an instant, as Ethan stomped his foot strongly, the shock spread among the students.

“Lumit, Balto, Raif…”

Ethan called out the names of those far away to get their attention, and corrected the postures of those nearby using his wooden sword.

Especially for those whose breathing was wrong or who were too focused on their routine, he poked them with the wooden sword to change their breathing.

“Maintain your composure. Don’t get consumed by the routine. There’s no point if using the routine is uncomfortable.”

At Ethan’s words, several students flinched.

He calls names and corrects postures.

Right now, Ethan was teaching and correcting 150 students in real-time.

Everything about the students was clearly visible to Ethan’s eyes.

1 person, 5 people, 10 people, and further to dozens of people, and even further.

Flash.

The blood vessels in Ethan’s eyes bulged as if they were about to burst.

150 people.

He captured every movement of everyone without exception.

He could see their movements. He could feel their breathing and see their mana.

Beyond grasping, even predicting.

-Sleeping Dragon’s Sight is reaching its limit.

Ethan began to push his abilities to the limit.

“Rendan! To the right until Hanot! Steady your breathing. The mana transmitted to the magic circle is inconsistent. The routine doesn’t mean you have to take a specific action. It means finding peace of mind through a specific action. It’s about taking a posture that allows you to find your usual composure in any situation.”

Is he really seeing all this?

Just as they were thinking and doubting this, Ethan’s voice was heard.

Ethan’s wooden sword swung.

Ethan was moving smoothly among the 150 people, making corrections.

Is it possible? Is it impossible?

Ethan was showing the answer to that question through his actions.

Even while enduring pain that seemed to burn him, he showed his will.

When a teaching instructor shows such will, how could the students not be influenced?

The students’ passion ignited.

Their strong will to not miss a single word of Ethan’s was palpable.

Ethan slowly closed his eyes. Although it was for a very brief moment, he could recover during the time his eyes were closed.

That was enough.

‘It works.’

Ethan was feeling as much satisfaction with this task as the students’ passion.

‘I succeeded. Even if it’s not perfect.’

It can’t be perfect from the start.

It can be fixed little by little.

For now, the most important thing is that he succeeded.

“Breathe once more, establish your routine, and reach a state of composure.”

Within the limited class time, Ethan pounded his knowledge into the students.

***

Strange things began to happen again at the academy.

“Hey, what’s wrong with these kids?”

“Tell me about Teacher Ethan’s class! Usually, the first class is just a taste, so this class must have been the real deal, right? I failed to get into this class, but I was really looking forward to it! Why aren’t you guys saying anything?”

As soon as Ethan’s first class ended, students who failed to get into the class came and bombarded the students who attended with questions.

For any class, the first lesson is just a taste.

The real deal starts from the next class.

Especially for Ethan’s Introduction to Practical Studies class, it had formed tremendous expectations starting with the disciplining of Oz Lazarus on the first day.

Because of that, even students who didn’t attend the class were very curious about how Ethan would conduct his classes in the future.

“Hey, and what happened to Oz? Did he show up for class?”

“Say something! What’s wrong with this guy?”

“No, all of these guys are in a weird state?”

“Did Teacher Ethan hypnotize them or something?”

“Or did Oz cause trouble? What happened?”

Even when they bombarded them with questions with question marks on their faces, they didn’t even pretend to listen and just kept walking their own way.

“Hey!”

“It was an amazing class. We don’t have time for this now. We have homework to do before the next class!”

“Got to do homework!”

“Don’t hold us back! We have to do homework! No time!”

“Homework? What homework?”

“Did he give homework right away?”

“Yeah! Teacher Ethan gave us homework. It’s not homework that can be solved in a week. No, we can do it. We have to do it, right!”

The remaining students tilted their heads as they looked at those with bloodshot eyes but overflowing with enthusiasm.

“Huh? Isn’t that Oz over there?”

“His eyes…”

It wasn’t the same look in his eyes as before.

That was enough to grasp the situation. Oz, who was disciplined in the first class, had changed greatly.

“What kind of… class is he teaching…?”

Not only did he subdue the troublemaker Oz and make 150 students look exhausted, but he also made them obsess over homework that everyone usually hates.

“…This is crazy. I want to attend so badly.”

The students who couldn’t attend had no choice but to regret it for a long time.