The sun was already high in the sky when Hex finished reading the scroll.
'It seems pretty straightforward,' Hex concluded, sitting in the shadow of a large tree. 'It boils down to using muscles and energy to use my body and the air around me like a spring.'
Although Hex found the technique simple to understand, he knew it would be difficult to master it.
'There is no rush to master it. It will happen eventually if I keep applying it.'
Hex put the scroll aside and walked into the empty field. He stood for a while, sensing the muscles in his feet.
'According to the scroll, the first target should be taking three steps in the air.'
Hex controlled his muscles and applied pressure downward.
Crack.
Hex flew up a few meters but he wasn't happy. He looked down as he fell back.
'This isn't the Flex Step. It's more like Earth Shaterrer.'
Hex kept trying. But no matter how many times he tried, he couldn't implement it. He felt frustrated by it.
'I can envision it. But how do I use my muscles as a spring?'
It wasn't about control now. He had enough control over his muscles, energy, and his strength.
The ground around him was filled with cracks of all shapes and sizes.
"For fuck sake!"
Frustrated, he cursed out loud, holding his hands up in the air and looking up to the sky.
"Oh my. What is stressing the young master so much?"
Hestia looked from the side and asked with a chuckle.
Hex had noticed her watching for a while but he didn't ask her for help.
He didn't understand it at first but after experiencing so many things he started to see a pattern.
Hestia arrived to help and instruct him whenever he needed it. It couldn't be a simple coincidence.
'Either Wallen or the baron is ordering her to do so. Or Wallen is doing it on the baron's order.'
Hex felt a bit warm on the inside. It felt nice that his master wasn't ignoring him completely.
'What is his real intent? He fucks me over, making me spend years in the slums, and then takes me in and starts to take care of me?'
By now Hestia was already in front of him. She looked amused at his irritated face.
"Why are you so frustrated? You are already doing great," she said with a raised brow.
"How? I am just pushing myself off the ground," Hex said, his voice filled with frustration.
"So? You are vexing too much on the first step. You seem to have forgotten what the true purpose of this technique is."
Hestia gave him a 'think about it' look. Hex scrunched his eyes and looked pensive.
"The technique is to keep my movement…ongoing!" As soon as he changed his way of thinking he understood what Hestia meant.
He wasn't learning the skill to simply move. He was learning to move without halting or losing control over the flow.
"You mean, the technique starts at the second step?" He asked excitedly.
"Kind of. For now, at least, you should focus on the steps after you have already begun your movement. The first step is actually the hardest. You should focus on it in the end."
Hex nodded, having reached a similar conclusion. Having found the missing piece, Hex tried again.
Crack.
The ground beneath his feet shattered as he climbed into the sky.
Right when he reached the maximum and his movement slowed, he controlled the muscles of his body and flexed them in a wave-like manner.
Right when the wave traveled halfway through the muscles, he contracted them.
Snap.
The muscles straightened, transferring the wave energy downward to the air.
Peng.
The air beneath him created a shock, causing an explosive sound.
Hex felt his body accelerating once again. The distance his second step covered was but ten percent of his first step, but still it made Hex happy. He repeated it, stepping a third time. The distance was even less, but Hex was content.
"Nicely done," Hestia praised him when he landed.
"Once you understand how to do it, it becomes a piece of cake," Hex boasted proudly.
"Tsk," Hestia snorted, seeing him act so full of himself. "You think it's easy? You only did the basic part of the basics."
She pointed at Hex and continued to lecture in a teacher-like voice.
"You just flew a bit higher. Anyone can cover that distance. You still have to use it in every direction you could possibly imagine."
Hex agreed with her. He even added the target he just set for himself.
"I also want to control the distance of each step. If the first step remains the biggest step, it will become predictable. So, I strive to control each step according to what I want it to be."
Hestia nearly choked when she heard Hex's target. 'I thought I was being unreasonable with my targets for him. Who would have thought this guy has even more ridiculous ambitions.'
Noticing the strange look Hestia gave him, he waved his hand in front of her face. He asked with his hand motion what she was thinking.
"Nothing. I am happy to know you have at least a basic goal set to strive toward with this technique. Good." Hestia said, patting Hex on his shoulders.
Happy to have achieved the first stage, Hex spent the rest of the day training the technique.
The advantages of having immense reserves of stamina became apparent. Compared to others who could train only one or two hours in one sitting, Hex continued for six hours.
At some point, even Hestia looked slack-jawed at him. 'Truly a monster. Even a Knight specialized in recovery such as myself, can't barely train for so long. No wonder the baron has chosen him.'
Unaware of her thoughts, Hex went over each try in his mind. He had a habit of evaluating and coming up with a follow-up plan.
'Tomorrow I will ask Althea again to spar with me. I want to see how much I can apply in combat.'
The thought of sparring again with her filled him with happiness.
When the sun almost set, he, accompanied by Hestia, made it back to the castle.
He hadn't forgotten his decision to pay the slums a visit.
At twilight he left the castle, alone. He had also taken the morphuse box with him.
'The second round starts next week. I will try to enter the town later and see if I can find some leads.'