Among the Six Powers of the Navy, Wood decided to start by training the technique known as "Soru"!
Soru is a high-speed movement technique within the Six Powers. By instantly stomping the ground dozens of times with incredible speed, it creates explosive reactive force that propels the user in a rapid movement, making them appear to vanish from the enemy's sight.
This instant can be measured as precisely as 0.36 seconds.
Soru is the most fundamental move among the Six Powers. Once mastered, one can learn another application technique of Soru, known as "Geppo" or "Moonwalk."
Wood chose to train in Soru first because it is relatively simple compared to the other Six Powers and because of its immense practicality.
For someone skilled in close combat or swordsmanship, this high-speed movement technique is undeniably a game-changer.
Of course, "simple" here is only relative to the other Six Powers. In truth, even though Soru is the most commonly mastered technique among the Six Powers, it is still beyond the reach of ordinary Navy soldiers.
To be able to stomp the ground over ten times within 0.36 seconds requires tremendous leg strength and speed.
In Tokikake's Six Powers training notes, he mentioned that the fastest way to master this technique is by strengthening the legs.
He even thoughtfully provided several feasible training methods, such as adding weights to the ankles or running in marshy terrain…
The forest's marshlands were scarce but not entirely absent; however, these places were often teeming with wild boars.
It's well-known that wild boars love wallowing in mud, so when Wood found a suitable training spot in the forest, he also ended up attracting these troublesome creatures.
Swinging his wooden sword, Wood swiftly killed the first wild boar that couldn't hold back and charged at him.
However, the rest of the boars, seeing their fallen comrade, didn't back down. Instead, they became enraged and began surrounding Wood in a tightening formation.
"Snort snort——!"
The leader of the boars was enormous, standing on all fours nearly as tall as a person, with a clear scar near its eye, likely the leader of the herd.
In his previous world, such a gigantic wild boar wouldn't exist, but in this world, massive creatures like this were not uncommon.
The boar leader eyed Wood, who was holding a wooden sword, and seemed to sense that he wasn't easy to deal with. It maintained a combat stance, snorting to intimidate Wood into leaving their territory.
"All living things have a spirit. You sense danger and won't approach, huh? Then how about this?"
Looking at the boar leader, Wood could clearly see that the creature possessed considerable intelligence.
Even though Wood was much smaller than the boar, the aura he emitted as a "swordsman" made the boar uneasy.
When Wood tossed his wooden sword aside, the boar leader's gaze changed noticeably.
"Snort snort——!"
At the boar leader's next snort, the other boars retreated, and the massive boar leader stepped forward, its huge tusks appearing incredibly menacing.
"Interesting, I didn't expect you to have a sense of honor. So, you want a fair duel, huh?"
With growing interest, Wood strapped on his prepared weights and assumed a fighting stance against the boar leader.
Man and beast stood facing each other, and in the next moment, both moved simultaneously.
The boar charged with incredible speed, especially impressive given its massive size. Despite being a mere beast, it unleashed a surprising level of combat power.
Meanwhile, over the past few years, whether on Red Leaf Island or at Navy Headquarters, Wood had been undergoing grueling physical training daily.
Compared to the swordsmanship he gained from the system, the physical fitness Wood achieved through his own efforts was equally substantial.
With a powerful push-off from the ground, Wood leaped forward, aiming a punch directly at the boar leader's huge tusks!
In the clash between fist and tusk, Wood barely managed to hold his ground before being overwhelmed by the boar's immense force, sending him flying into a tree trunk.
Seeing that its opponent seemed to be struggling, the boar leader revealed a human-like expression of triumph and charged at Wood once more.
Although wild boars are known for their straightforward charging attacks, the weights Wood was wearing greatly hindered his speed, making it difficult to dodge.
Normally, he could leap several meters high from a standing jump, but now he could barely clear the boar's head.
Barely evading the boar's charge with an awkward jump, Wood still suffered a deep gash across his waist from the tusks.
But as they passed each other, Wood mustered all his strength and landed a punch on the boar leader's temple...
—————— Scene Transition Line
Navy Academy tests were held once a week, and a week had passed since the last shooting test.
As soon as Wood entered the formation, he felt a gaze filled with intense battle intent.
Following the trajectory of the gaze, Wood spotted a tall and valiant female Marine.
Gion had spent the past week practicing her marksmanship relentlessly to take revenge today and restore her honor!
Like Wood, Gion preferred cold weapons like swords over firearms.
Originally, she didn't care much about her marksmanship scores, but the instructor's remarks about her needing to learn from Wood had sparked her intense competitive spirit.
As one of the few women in the Navy, Gion never wanted to be looked down upon because of her gender. She wanted to prove that even a woman, despite lacking the inherent physical advantages of men, could become an outstanding Marine!
"Today's training course is about how to correctly use cannons to attack the enemy.
Unlike rifles, it's difficult to operate a cannon single-handedly during combat. A synchronized team effort between loading and firing is necessary to maximize a cannon's effectiveness."
"Now, when I call your name, pair up: one person will load, and the other will adjust the angle and fire.
Ulu and Ark, pair up.
Wood and Gion, pair up.
..."
Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 43 at patreon.com/Betek.