Rogue Villain-Chapter 221: Eye Of The Storm

One thing Ackster realized when trying to recreate the rippling punch was that he wasn’t sure how it had happened. It just had. He hadn’t been actively trying to do anything different. He was just striking out with his fist like he had done a million times before.

However, after thinking some more and trying to remember the sensation, Ackster realized that that was exactly it. He didn’t need to do anything special since he was just using his martial art. He hadn’t been trying to do something special because there was nothing special to do. He just had to follow the moves and let his body dictate the flow of his mana.

That couldn’t happen if he were obsessed with his thoughts and trying to do something that counteracted what he was trying to do.

So, after completing an entire round of nolding, Ackster prepared himself to risk his life. Merely clearing his head wouldn’t do.

Ackster needed to lose himself in battle and let his body and instincts take the lead in using the Unimportant Whatever Arts to fend off the onslaught of sea creatures swarming his boat.

Fully unleashing his vitality was the same as giving the entire ocean a sign that there was a delicious buffet available. With how much life force Ackster had and that leaked out, it was even enough to attract beasts and monsters as strong as the ant queen and stronger.

Of course, since they were driven by greed and untamed, there was no cooperation between the sea creatures. They threw themselves over each other and Ackster in reckless abandon.

But Ackster couldn’t care less about his opponents. He couldn’t care less about anything.

After unleashing his vitality, he closed his eyes, raised his arm, and took a defensive stance that gave him balance and ensured he wouldn’t fall over even if a whale rammed his boat.

Ackster spread his senses and let the tumult caused by the sea creatures drown out the sound of his thoughts. The smell of blood rose even before the creatures could touch his boat. But it was a quick moment before his boat rocked as a fish the size of a car with razor-sharp teeth flew out of the water with his jaws spread wide apart.

The oversized fish flew at an angle that would have pincered Ackster’s sides if he hadn’t defended himself by turning toward the fish and throwing an uppercut to the side of its skull.

In the same motion, he leaned to the side, pushed the fish upward, changed his grip from a fist to a grab, and slung the fish over his shoulder. He slammed it into the water’s surface right as some kind of eel was about to crawl out of the water and onto the boat. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

The fish lost consciousness from the punch, and the eel turned to paste from the shoulder-thrown fish.

Before Ackster could take a moment to breathe, a school of fish the size of his hand broke through the water and targeted him like a bunch of mosquitos.

Ackster’s hand moved like lightning as he swatted the centermost fish, creating a gap in the group and letting the rest pass right by him.

The next creature to brave the land beyond the depths of the ocean was a large turtle with a diamond-shaped shell piece on its forehead. It reached its plank-like flappers over the railing and almost tipped the boat over with its weight as it started crawling onto Ackster’s skiffy.

Ackster, already following his instincts and not bothering to waste any time about his opponents, struck down with his heel right on the turtle’s diamond, cracking it and the skull beneath. The turtle slumped and hung limply on the boat before being dragged down by the other sea creatures fighting for a go at Ackster, driven mad by his tantalizing aura.

Each time something targeted Ackster, he felt the hostility like someone was poking him. His body reacted on instinct as the source of killing intent neared and struck out in whatever way his body deemed the most efficient at the moment based on his training.

Ackster gradually sank deeper and deeper into thoughtlessness. His body grew freer and freer of his mind’s restraints, bringing out all the experiences locked in his peerless muscle memory.

He felt like he was in the eye of the storm at sea, trapped on a small rowboat as his body and mana raged. But he was as far from panicked or terrified as possible. He leaned back and watched the waves fight for dominance of the sea while checking to see if he got a bite on his fishing rod.

Occasionally, Ackster did get something when fishing. He picked up tidbits of understanding about his mana and his martial arts.

’I knew it. Risking my life is the best way for me to improve.’

Picking a fight against the entire ocean was one of Ackster’s riskier undertakings, especially considering the scale. But his mind and body had grown accustomed to adapting and improving during pressure and by facing threats to his life. He needed to be constantly honed, sharpened, and prepared for the final battle in less than nine years.

Taking it easy now and then to let his body rest was excellent.

But it was only through putting his body to the test, pushing past his limits, and exploring what was possible that he could redefine what was impossible. Only by crashing into a wall could he break through it most quickly and efficiently.

Only by fighting non-stop until the tiniest of his blood-soaked muscles trembled like a leaf in a storm could he rocket his stalled martial arts improvement.

So, when Ackster’s body started getting used to the explosive power of body reinforcement using the Sea God Manual’s mana, he was not the least bit surprised when the sea creatures started exploding every now and then. Of course, that could also be because his mind had temporarily transcended feelings related to worldly affairs and desires. His mind and state of emotion were blank and still as water in a pond.

Ackster acknowledged his improvement and deepened understanding of the Unimportant Whatever Arts in conjunction with the Sea God Manual’s mana, just like he acknowledged his life-threatening injuries and mind-breaking fatigue. But he didn’t celebrate or worry.

Both those things were merely facts, and any reaction was unnecessary for his continued improvement or fighting.

Unfortunately, that critically emotionless state also removed feelings of caution from Ackster. So, he decided the best course of events toward his final goal of preventing certain death was to continue fighting until his vitality plummeted down beyond what the sea creatures could sense and were attracted to.