Transcendent Gene
Chapter 88: Guided Training [4]

Chapter 88: Guided Training [4]

Now, what could Ulver teach Gio?

He asked himself the same question when the man first started randomly attacking him. As he refused to speak further, it was hard to tell if he actually had any intention of teaching Gio anything.

But as the days went by, that question disappeared entirely.

Feeling it with his own body, Gio started to understand more about what Ulver’s ability truly was.

When those purple snakes wrapped around him and melted into his skin, he heard a voice in his head that told him to stop moving.

He tried to resist it, thinking that it was purely a mental attack, but there was nothing he could do.

His mind was by far his strongest trait with the combination of [Memory Book]’s enhancement and his life before regression. He knew that even the strongest Sequencers couldn’t invade it carelessly.

Yet, no matter what he tried, it was impossible for him to move.

He struggled and struggled. When the effect of one snake was about to wear off, Ulver threw another one at him, keeping him in a perpetual state of paralysis.

Gio felt his entire body shaking and shivering according to the energy of those snakes.

He questioned it, wondering why it felt like a million ants were crawling across his skin. Instead of combatting the mental suggestion, Gio looked into his own body.

’My muscles...’

His muscles were moving?

Every muscle in his body was subtly vibrating, activated to be worked beyond their limits. The dull ache in his body wasn’t from being paralyzed, but from this.

’Did he do this?’

Was the command he gave not to paralyze him at all?

That was the clue that sent Gio on a hunt through his own body. He realized that his muscles were being subtly reinforced and strengthened as they were essentially trained at a standstill and wondered how it was possible.

That was how he arrived at that conclusion.

It wasn’t merely a mental suggestion, but an attack directly on the body’s nervous system. The mental suggestion was present to both distract the enemy and further influence them.

As long as they didn’t realize the ability striking them was physical instead of mental, it would be their downfall.

Gio needed a calm training environment and the freedom to experiment as he pleased to realize it. He didn’t think it would be so easy in real combat.

’I think I can fight this...’

The mental suggestion was one thing, but Ulver’s control over his nervous system...

’If I can learn how to fight this, I’ll gain much more control over my body.’

He started to understand what Ulver wanted to show him.

’It’s because I told Raymond I want to build a foundation.’

Ulver didn’t have any plans to teach Gio combat skills. In the first place, that was impossible since they fought from completely different positions.

But that didn’t mean there was nothing for Gio to learn.

He never once questioned Ulver’s teachings and always tried to find the learning experiences within them.

In that way, he grew.

Ulver slowly increased the amount of power he put into his snakes as Gio started to fight back against the control.

Gio’s muscles started to grow and harden due to the constant stimulation.

After a week, Ulver switched things up, forcing Gio to move according to certain patterns. Instead of fighting, Gio followed the flow that was being shown to him, imagining a blade in his hand.

He followed those movements with a sword and slowly familiarized his current body with its movements. He traveled the path with a spear, rediscovering the soft and hard principles he’d mastered in the past.

He imagined weapon after weapon, using those movements to streamline the long process of training he originally planned to undergo to achieve the same thing.

There was only a single day in that whole month that Gio had free. Ulver came back with an even worse expression the next day and upped the training level, but Gio didn’t complain.

He focused only on improving because this was something he asked for himself.

And when the month ended, the zephyr took off again.

It took off, leaving Gio behind with Jax and the Service Crew.

"Yo! Guess it’s just the two of us, huh?" Jax said with a grin.

"I thought I would be training you after a couple of the others, but I guess I’m not needed on this mission, so we’re stuck here. You ready to get started?"

Gio nodded. His body hadn’t been able to rest properly after Ulver’s training ended, but he was fine with continuing.

Jax looked him up and down with the same smile before shaking his head.

"We’ll start tomorrow. The medical bay in the hauler isn’t anywhere near as good as the zephyr’s, but it should be enough to help you relax a little."

"But–"

Before Gio could argue, Jax gave him a strong pat on the back.

"Keugh..."

Gio’s entire body immediately shivered. The muscles in his entire back started to ache at the same time, and the feeling soon spread around his entire body.

"Aaagh..."

It was a sound that came out involuntarily as Gio keeled over.

"I may not know you that well, but I know my teammates. Ulver, that guy, isn’t someone who’d take it easy on you."

He must’ve used his own abilities to help Gio cope with the pain and soreness while they were training. That didn’t mean he’d care enough to warn Gio when they separated, though.

Gio had no choice but to follow Jax’s advice and find the med bay.

It was a great choice.

The moment he hooked himself up to the machines, he felt a wave of pleasure course through his body.

He could practically hear his muscles thanking him in earnest for finally letting them rest.

’Well...’

He tried to entertain thought, but his mind also fell numb. There was a fog clouding everything and making the act of thinking feel like too much work.

’But this is good...’

He sunk deeper into the hospital chair. It felt incredibly comfortable for some reason.

’Has it been half a year?’

He thought back to his experiences with the Blue Steel Squadron. He didn’t necessarily achieve much towards his main goal yet, but he’d learned a lot.

It was still a valuable experience.

Gio didn’t think he’d become a part of this world properly until he started acting with them. He was slowly getting involved in the current era, making a mark of his existence.

He’d never experienced this world. In the past, he wasn’t in any position to be involved in any of the conflicts going on at this time.

He only knew vaguely of the most important ones, but as he got closer to understanding the various small problems in the world, he also started to comprehend more about how to combat humanity’s overall situation.

The Blue Steel Squadron was also filled with good people. The six months he spent with them helped him grow more respect for the forces of humanity who truly were fighting for the greater good even when things looked mostly peaceful.

’There’s only six more months left.’

Six months until the end of his internship...

...and six months until he left the 6th Stratum.