Arthur watched as Ethan's expression twisted into sothing between confusion and disbelief before he finally spoke.
"Well... I think I already learned it."
Arthur blinked. "What?"
Ethan nodded, confirming his own words. "Yeah, turns out I'm a genius."
Arthur gave him a skeptical look, his erald eyes narrowing slightly. "You really learned it?"
Ethan pushed himself up from the ground, dusting off the dirt clinging to his clothes. "Yeah, I did. I think."
Arthur folded his arms. "Okay then, show ."
Ethan took a breath, adjusting his stance. He focused, ntally commanding Flash Steps to activate, just like he did when using OmniMark. Almost instantly, his mind sharpened, his thoughts crystal clear. But this ti, sothing felt different. Unlike before, his perception of ti didn't slow down; instead, his body and mind seed to be in sync.
And then, in the blink of an eye, Ethan vanished—only to reappear a few feet ahead, tumbling uncontrollably across the ground.
Arthur flinched, watching Ethan roll head over heels before finally skidding to a stop in a heap of dust and tangled limbs.
"Are you okay?" Arthur called, jogging over.
A pained groan was the only response. "Ouuu…"
Arthur crouched beside him, taking in Ethan's battered state. His silver-white hair was dust-covered and disheveled, and a few fresh bruises decorated his face.
"Ohh, you don't look good," Arthur observed, trying—and failing—not to sound amused.
Ethan glared up at him, his crimson eyes filled with exhaustion and irritation. "Uhh, thanks, genius. I had no idea…"
Arthur chuckled as Ethan groaned again, rolling onto his back. "Uhh… I think I broke my arm."
Arthur glanced at Ethan's arm and shook his head. "No, you didn't."
"How do you know?" Ethan protested, his expression twisting in pain. "I can't move it. Ahh—it hurts!"
Arthur sighed, reaching for Ethan's arm. "Yeah, that's because it's dislocated. I can fix it. Give your arm."
Ethan stared at him, his expression skeptical. "Fix it? How do you know how to fix a broken arm? Wait… are you secretly a doctor? Am I taking swordsmanship lessons from so hidden master-swordsman-turned-doctor? What kind of plot is that? This isn't even a Chinese novel!"
Arthur shot him an odd look. "I think you might've hit your head too. What are you even mumbling about?" Without further ado, he grasped Ethan's arm. "This might hurt a little."
"It's already hurting a lot!" Ethan whined.
"Right… I'm going to put it back in place on the count of three."
Ethan exhaled sharply and nodded. "Okay."
Arthur gave him a reassuring smile. "Say it with … One… two—" He yanked the arm back into place.
"OUUU!" Ethan practically howled, his crimson eyes widening in betrayal as he clutched his shoulder. "You—! How could you do this to ?!"
Arthur chuckled. "What?"
Ethan gasped dramatically. "You devil! Where was the three?!"
Arthur smirked. "Well, this way, you were surprised, and it hurt less."
"You're wrong!" Ethan shot back. "I was expecting it on two! Everyone does it on two! But if you'd done it on three, I would've been actually surprised, and it would've hurt less!"
Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Oh. Didn't know about that. My bad. But hey, your arm's back to normal, right?"
Ethan flexed his fingers, testing the movent. "Yeah, of course, it's back to normal—it was just a little dislocated shoulder."
Arthur gave him a deadpan look. "You literally said it was a broken arm a minute ago."
Ethan ignored the remark and continued flexing his fingers. "It still hurts. Like a little tingle. Also, my whole body aches."
Arthur nodded. "Yeah, well, you did take a nasty fall. But the good news is—you did learn it."
Ethan scowled. "No, I didn't."
Arthur frowned. "What do you an? I literally saw you do it. Sure, you fell, but that's normal. You just have to get used to it and learn to control your movents. You'll be fine."
Ethan shook his head. "No, you don't get it. It wasn't the sa as when you and I were doing it together."
Arthur tilted his head. "What do you an?"
Ethan sat up, his expression serious. "When we were moving together, my mind was working much faster than my body. But just now, when I did it alone, my body and mind moved at the sa speed."
Arthur's expression shifted to understanding. "Ohh, that. Yeah, that's normal."
Ethan looked at him, waiting for an explanation.
Arthur leaned back against his heels and shrugged. "I was the one making your mind work faster than your body—so you could understand what was happening and learn it faster. And hey, it worked. You learned it way quicker than most people do."
Ethan stared at him, processing the revelation. "Wait… so you're saying you were affecting my perception of ti?"
Arthur smirked. "Exactly. It's a little trick my master used on back when I was learning. Helps with comprehension."
Ethan let out a deep sigh, rubbing his temples. "So, I still have to learn how to control it properly on my own."
Arthur grinned. "Yep. But don't worry, I'll make sure you don't break anything while you do."
Ethan groaned, flopping back onto the grass. "Great… more training. My favorite."
Arthur clapped his hands together. "That's the spirit! Now get up. We're doing it again."
Ethan let out a long-suffering sigh. "I hate you."
Arthur laughed. "You'll thank later."
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