The introduction to Nold’s secret technique had told Ackster a lot about what had gone through Nold’s mind as he decided to create it and what it had taken. But it hadn’t told him what to expect, what the technique actually was, or what the tools could possibly be for. Ackster didn’t know what to expect as he opened the second bundle of papers.

However, he was pretty sure that he would find out why Nold was known as a crazy scientist. For some reason, Ackster didn’t think it was simply because of Nold’s extreme fixation with the human skeleton. If he had to bet, he would do so on Nold’s reputation stemming from the process of practicing the secret technique rather than his relatively straightforward motivations and goals.

The first few words were pretty much a continuation of the introduction, and they explained the main purpose of the first stage again. It was to prepare the skeleton for the future reinforcement of the later stages. The first stage would still strengthen the skeleton, but its primary purpose was to put it in a state where it would be ready to accept the refinements of the later stages.

Ackster understood that far.

He also understood when Nold began writing about destroying the skeleton to achieve that purpose.

However, he began needing to reread the instructions when they started talking about essentially pulverizing the skeleton.

According to Nold, the skeleton needed a complete and all-encompassing breakdown and reconstruction to achieve the necessary tensile strength, rigidity, and overall durability to endure what was next.

He had taken the same understanding as Ackster of breaking down the skeleton and letting it regrow stronger to a whole new level. It was the same foundational principle as what Ackster used when he came up with his training regimen. But Ackster couldn’t even understand how Nold had come up with such an extreme method.

That wasn’t even the worst of it.

Ackster skimmed through the rest of the instructions, where he found the purpose of the tools. Since it would be impossible to break the skeleton as finely and in the way Nold wanted with any existing method that he had access to and that would be accessible to anyone who wanted to practice the secret technique, he came up with a new set of tools.

The hammer was just an ordinary hammer, at least in design. The metal alloy in its head was something Nold had developed especially to suit his purpose. He called it Gattel Steel. It wasn’t any stronger or more flexible than ordinary steel, nor did it hold a sharp edge as well.

What made Gattel Steel special was its uncanny ability to guide, direct, and let vibrations travel through it.

The Gattel Steel head on the hammer, the core of the chisel’s handle, and the round tip would resonate with each other and create and send vibrations of the perfect frequency and strength to splinter and shatter bone but leave any other tissue untouched. The tools would help the practitioner break apart their skeleton into the required state for the secret technique.

Ackster almost couldn’t believe what he was reading. But he was in a world of swords and magic after transmigrating, so he put his disbelief on hold and continued reading while admiring the brilliance of Nold.

One of the side effects, however, was the fact that the vibrations caused unbearable pain. The way they destroyed the skeleton triggered the pain nerves to the absolute maximum of what they could report to the brain.

Nold had jotted it down as an uncomfortable but unnecessary process since it would also train the practitioner to endure the pain that would follow in the ensuing stages.

‘Okay, I get it now.’

Ackster started to see why people weren’t even questioning Nold’s sanity. Only a madman could come up with something like this secret technique. He also understood why people didn’t get very far.

Even if they could get through the first stage, or at least begin it, knowing that the pain would only get worse was utterly demoralizing. It would be like climbing a mountain while carrying a boulder the size of a car and knowing that even after reaching the top, there was another mountain right behind, taller, and one would have to strap on shoes filled with glass shards and another boulder before climbing it. And then, at the third mountain, it would be a third boulder and a vest with spikes pointed inwards. And so on.

And that was only if one took the shortest route.

If one wanted to strengthen one’s skeleton enough to reach the later stages, one would have to lay a solid enough foundation, which meant making sure one’s skeleton was broken and rebuilt to perfection, or at least as close to perfection as possible.

Before one could start climbing the second and third mountains, one would have to climb the first one over and over until one had climbed every possible route. The more times one repeated the process of the first stage, the more times one shattered every single piece of bone in one’s body, the greater the skeleton would become.

Not many would have the resolve and capability to endure that kind of pain for a hypothetical result, especially when other ways of training could strengthen their bodies and skeletons. It would also be reasonable to doubt the veracity of the secret technique and its promise to bring out an unearthly strength from the human skeleton, considering Nold’s mental state, which had devised such a sadistic method.

However, Ackster wasn’t one of many, and he wasn’t in a position to doubt anyone else’s sanity.

He might not have done anything as extreme as break all the bones in his body once, let alone multiple times. But he had willingly put himself through painful and arduous situations, which he was pretty confident wasn’t something everyone could endure. He had leaned more toward killing himself rather than merely abusing himself on most occasions, but he had still bumped his Pain Tolerance up to C-rank in a matter of weeks.

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Even if the pain were unbearable, he would simply have to grit his teeth and bear it anyways.

And if he felt it wasn’t worth it, even after completing the first stage once or twice, he would cut his losses and start looking for things he knew could help him reach his goals.

Once he had made up his mind, Ackster saw no reason to hesitate. He gathered his belongings. He put the skeleton refinement tools and the bundles of paper in the box, and then he put the box, along with the instructions for the other skills, inside his bag, where Mio was.

“Are you ready for another training montage, Mio?”

Mio gave a slimy thumbs up before hiding at the bottom of the bag. Ackster wanted to leave the city right away and hole up in the middle of nowhere to focus on his training. But he had obligations to the Guild now that he had decided to accept Wilma’s offer.

Since the Guild was probably surveilling him, it wouldn’t matter if he told Wilma that he was leaving or not. But they wouldn’t know how long he would be away. It would be polite to inform her, and he wasn’t only going to the Guild to inform Wilma about his departure. He was also going to ask for another favor.

Unfortunately, Wilma wasn’t working at this hour. But, after asking another receptionist for her whereabouts, he found out that she had expected him and was waiting in a meeting room.

Ackster wasn’t even surprised.

‘Does it count as expecting my arrival if someone else informed her?’

It wouldn’t even be far-fetched to assume that the one, or the ones, in charge of watching him had told Wilma that he was headed toward the Guild. Maybe they had even noticed how he had read the secret technique.

‘Whatever.’

Ackster couldn’t be bothered to care about it. Although he very much disliked the feeling of constantly being watched and having his every move and action be read and analyzed, there was nothing he could do about it. And if it was the price he had to pay to save his life from being one of the many losses in the world’s destruction in just shy of ten years’ time, he was more than willing to pay it. Hopefully, he would be strong enough to make sure no one dared tail him by then.

But at the moment, it wasn’t only a loss to have someone aware of his location at all times, at least if Wilma was willing to humor his request.

He was a little worried that she would ask questions or begin to suspect him to the point where he was no longer a viable candidate for the above S-rank secret special forces. But now that he had access to the Guild’s resources – to some degree – he couldn’t just let go of this opportunity.

Instead of looking all over the western side of Lill all on his own, he could ask the Adventurer’s Guild, the organization with the best information network in the world, for help.

“You’re a restless one, aren’t you, Dean?”

Wilma greeted Ackster with a smile as she put down the files in her hand as he entered and closed the door behind him.

“I’m not good at wasting time.”

“Alright. Good to know. What brings you here today?”

Wilma rested her head on her hands and her elbows on the table as she watched Ackster, her eyes gleaming through her glasses.

“Aside from coming to admire my looks, I mean.”

She winked.

“I’m heading out for a while to focus on my training.”

“And you came all the way here to tell me that? What an honor.”

Wilma didn’t even bother pretending to be upset by how Ackster ignored her flirting. They had managed to mend part of the bridge between them, but it wasn’t entirely fixed.

“No. I’m here to ask you to tell me if something happens when I’m gone.”

“Geez, Dean. Things happen all the time, without break, around the clock. They even overlap. You’re going to have to be specific.”

“You’ll know what I mean when it happens.”

“Oho?”

Wilma narrowed her eyes.

“That sounds intriguing. You won’t tell me, even if I ask, right?”

“No.”

“Shucks.”

“I would also appreciate it if the Guild doesn’t interfere.”

Wilma leaned back and waved a hand to dismiss Ackster’s worry.

“An awful lot to ask of an organization you don’t trust, no? But it’s okay. The Guild has a non-interference policy in place. It’s only occasionally that we officially step in. Oh, and the special forces you’re up to join are more of a precaution than active troops. But you’ll learn all about that in the future.”

Ackster wasn’t sure what the Guild would think or do with their non-interference policy if an angel came crashing down, but considering Karandiel’s fate in the original story, at least what the readers could gleam from it, maybe the Guild hadn’t done anything and just let things play out. It did make him wonder what got the Guild involved since they hadn’t done much to assist The Hero, either.

“So, my wishes are fulfilled, then?”

Wilma shrugged.

“Some of them, at least. We’ll keep you informed, granted you know what you’re talking about. And you’ll be free to do what you want with the information we give you.”

Ackster wanted to accept Wilma’s decision with joy. But he couldn’t help but be suspicious yet again. He couldn’t understand why she so easily acquiesced to his requests.

“Why?”

Since they had been working on their relationship, he decided it might be worth asking about it.

“Why what?”

Wilma smiled mischievously.

Ackster sighed.

“Why did you accept my request so easily?”

“I want to.”

“...”

Ackster stared at her with a deadpan face.

“Alright, alright. No need to give me such a sour look. You’re making me crave lemons. The short answer is that you’ve decided to try Nold’s secret technique. Because you have, haven’t you?”

“Yeah. But is that enough?”

“Well yeah. That’s just how important the Guild finds that technique and its potential. In the first place, you aren’t asking for that much.”

Wilma didn’t say anything concrete about the secret technique, but what she said once again helped Ackster confirm that it was a good decision to at least try and learn it, regardless of how scary it was.

“See you later then.”

“See ya.”

Since he had gotten what he came for, and he was itching to get started, Ackster left the Guild and the city after bidding farewell to Wilma, who waved him away with a pleasant smile.