( Leo's POV )
"Alright, starting from today, I'll be making a slight change in your training routine.
You can drop the stretching training from now and reduce the time for practicing vanish, as from today you shall focus more on learning my second core technique" Ben said, as he brought Leo to a completely new training ground where several targets made of thick 16 inch plates of steel were made in the form of humanoid boundaries.
"My second core technique is called 'The Kill Strike' it's the main attack move that I use to kill any enemy I target and it's one of the most powerful one shot moves I've ever seen in my life" Ben said as he put some hype behind his own stock, as he was clearly extremely proud of the techniques he possessed.
"For an assassin, mastering the art of the kill isn't just about eliminating targets. It's about doing so efficiently, without error. This technique... it's the pinnacle of what we do." He said as he took a dagger in his hand and pointed towards one of the targets in the training range.
"First you go and try making a dent in the target dummies, assume they're wearing a thick plate of armor and you wish to pierce their heart.
Give it your all" Ben said, as he let Leo try and fail first.
Gripping his dagger, Leo tried to plunge it deep inside the dummies heart, however, in front of the 16 inch thick plate that seemed to be impenetrable all his efforts were pointless.
He tried everything from stabbing, to throwing to plunging with all his might, yet except a few scratches on the surface he wasn't able to make a dent as he simply did not have the necessary strength to penetrate 16 inches of armor.
"It's impossible for me" he eventually said, as Ben nodded, acknowledging the fact that at his current strength it was indeed impossible for him to plunge the dagger through 16 inch thick plates.
"Alright, allow me then" he said as he walked towards the dummy with a dagger in hand, appearing to prepare to stab it, just like Leo did.
Then, in a move that shocked Leo, he dropped the dagger in his hand and stabbed with only two fingers as the second his finger came into contact with the plate a clean bullet wound like hole appeared in the 16 inch thick plate, as a loud *SCRUNCH* sound could be heard.
"Sheesh, I'm rusty" said Ben, as Leo could not help but feel amazed by his strength as whatever that was, he definitely wished to learn doing the same.
"Whoa…" Leo said honestly as Ben burst out into laughter.
He was very proud of his techniques and seeing Leo being blown away by them gave him immense satisfaction.
It was no secret for Ben that Leo viewed him as a father figure, as the longer the two lived together, the more he seemed to become like him as Ben was not oblivious to the changes in him.
His affection for Leo became deeper with each passing day and he was very proud of him as a student.
His old lifeless eyes and body that seemed to be rotting for years was rejuvenated in just a few months spent with Leo, as Ben knew that if it was for him, Ben would probably even assassinate the emperor if he really needed to.
"How did you do it?" Leo asked, looking at the gaping hole in the plate, as Ben once again picked up his dagger and started to explain the fundamentals of how it worked to Leo.
"So basically, you have to channel the mana in your body to the tip of your dagger and then compress it to a single point.
The tinier the point, the better.
Then you thrust it into the object you wish to penetrate and release the condensed mana upon impact.
Essentially what this will do is that it will clear the path ahead of you like a mini explosion, allowing you to ignore armor effects and penetrate much deeper than normally possible.
It can literally penetrate through dragon scales and at higher levels of mastery you don't even need a dagger to do it" Ben explained crudely as just like 'Vanish' while he could explain the premise of the move, the specifics were something that Leo had to comprehend himself.
" Compressing mana to explode it?" Leo murmured in confusion as he did not understand how to achieve this effect, however, the theory was clear in his mind regarding what the move was supposed to achieve and how.
" Well, you have 120 targets here. The goal is to puncture their skull, neck and heart.
So I want 3 precise punctures on each.
Get on it-" he said as he left Leo to practice on his own.
Compared to vanish, this move was going to be much harder to master, however, Ben wasn't too worried that Leo might not be able to learn it.
Leo was definitely talented enough to pick this move in a month or two, however, the initial progress was bound to be difficult for him until he grasped the concept of compression and explosion of mana.
*********
( Meanwhile Cervantez )
"Finally I'm level 67!" he exclaimed, as he looked at the global ranking leaderboards and grit his teeth to see that his forever opponent, the enigma 'TheBoss' still remained number one at level 77.
"Does that guy even train his skills? Why is he constantly leveling up?" Cervantez wondered as he shook his head and resolved to beat him to level 100.
" I need to work harder, I need to catch up, seems like I wasted too much time on recruitment and doing useless quests to earn fame" he murmured to himself as he decided to not be distracted anymore and reach to level 100 before anyone else to get that extra skill-slot given by the system.
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/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the GT Target, thankyou for all your support///