The introduction to Nold's secret technique had told Ackster a lot about what had gone through Nold's mind as he decided to create it and what it had taken. But it hadn't told him what to expect, what the technique actually was, or what the tools could possibly be for. Ackster didn't know what to expect as he opened the second bundle of papers.
However, he was pretty sure that he would find out why Nold was known as a crazy scientist. For some reason, Ackster didn't think it was simply because of Nold's extreme fixation with the human skeleton. If he had to bet, he would do so on Nold's reputation stemming from the process of practicing the secret technique rather than his relatively straightforward motivations and goals.
The first few words were pretty much a continuation of the introduction, and they explained the main purpose of the first stage again. It was to prepare the skeleton for the future reinforcement of the later stages. The first stage would still strengthen the skeleton, but its primary purpose was to put it in a state where it would be ready to accept the refinements of the later stages.
Ackster understood that far.
He also understood when Nold began writing about destroying the skeleton to achieve that purpose.
However, he began needing to reread the instructions when they started talking about essentially pulverizing the skeleton.
According to Nold, the skeleton needed a complete and all-encompassing breakdown and reconstruction to achieve the necessary tensile strength, rigidity, and overall durability to endure what was next.
He had taken the same understanding as Ackster of breaking down the skeleton and letting it regrow stronger to a whole new level. It was the same foundational principle as what Ackster used when he came up with his training regimen. But Ackster couldn't even understand how Nold had come up with such an extreme method.
That wasn't even the worst of it.
Ackster skimmed through the rest of the instructions, where he found the purpose of the tools. Since it would be impossible to break the skeleton as finely and in the way Nold wanted with any existing method that he had access to and that would be accessible to anyone who wanted to practice the secret technique, he came up with a new set of tools.
The hammer was just an ordinary hammer, at least in design. The metal alloy in its head was something Nold had developed especially to suit his purpose. He called it Gattel Steel. It wasn't any stronger or more flexible than ordinary steel, nor did it hold a sharp edge as well.
What made Gattel Steel special was its uncanny ability to guide, direct, and let vibrations travel through it.
The Gattel Steel head on the hammer, the core of the chisel's handle, and the round tip would resonate with each other and create and send vibrations of the perfect frequency and strength to splinter and shatter bone but leave any other tissue untouched. The tools would help the practitioner break apart their skeleton into the required state for the secret technique.
Ackster almost couldn't believe what he was reading. But he was in a world of swords and magic after transmigrating, so he put his disbelief on hold and continued reading while admiring the brilliance of Nold.
One of the side effects, however, was the fact that the vibrations caused unbearable pain. The way they destroyed the skeleton triggered the pain nerves to the absolute maximum of what they could report to the brain.
Nold had jotted it down as an uncomfortable but unnecessary process since it would also train the practitioner to endure the pain that would follow in the ensuing stages.
'Okay, I get it now.'
Ackster started to see why people weren't even questioning Nold's sanity. Only a madman could come up with something like this secret technique. He also understood why people didn't get very far.
Even if they could get through the first stage, or at least begin it, knowing that the pain would only get worse was utterly demoralizing. It would be like climbing a mountain while carrying a boulder the size of a car and knowing that even after reaching the top, there was another mountain right behind, taller, and one would have to strap on shoes filled with glass shards and another boulder before climbing it. And then, at the third mountain, it would be a third boulder and a vest with spikes pointed inwards. And so on.
And that was only if one took the shortest route.
If one wanted to strengthen one's skeleton enough to reach the later stages, one would have to lay a solid enough foundation, which meant making sure one's skeleton was broken and rebuilt to perfection, or at least as close to perfection as possible.
Before one could start climbing the second and third mountains, one would have to climb the first one over and over until one had climbed every possible route. The more times one repeated the process of the first stage, the more times one shattered every single piece of bone in one's body, the greater the skeleton would become.
Not many would have the resolve and capability to endure that kind of pain for a hypothetical result, especially when other ways of training could strengthen their bodies and skeletons. It would also be reasonable to doubt the veracity of the secret technique and its promise to bring out an unearthly strength from the human skeleton, considering Nold's mental state, which had devised such a sadistic method.
However, Ackster wasn't one of many, and he wasn't in a position to doubt anyone else's sanity.
He might not have done anything as extreme as break all the bones in his body once, let alone multiple times. But he had willingly put himself through painful and arduous situations, which he was pretty confident wasn't something everyone could endure. He had leaned more toward killing himself rather than merely abusing himself on most occasions, but he had still bumped his Pain Tolerance up to C-rank in a matter of weeks.
Even if the pain were unbearable, he would simply have to grit his teeth and bear it anyways.
And if he felt it wasn't worth it, even after completing the first stage once or twice, he would cut his losses and start looking for things he knew could help him reach his goals.