16 Part 2
“Yes, that’s indeed the case.”
Jin explained verbally that through the radio warm-up preparatory exercise, one is able to focus on stretching the muscles in the body. The lady has probably experienced that herself so she nodded in agreement.
“Our body moves through the expansion and contraction of muscles. They are slightly stiff when we are in our normal condition. By lightly moving around like we did earlier, we will be able to relax them and this makes it easier to move our body. We might end up straining our muscles if we suddenly make exaggerated movements when they are still stiff. We may not be able to prevent that from happening completely, but we can diminish much of the chances by loosening our muscles beforehand.”
“Hmmm. Indeed, my uncle in my hometown also hurt his muscles as he’s active for his age. I guess that was what happened to him.”
“That could be the case. The muscles and joints become stiffer as we ages. That’s why we often hear people saying that the elderly have stiff bodies. I think it is possible to relieve some of that stiffness by doing this exercise every morning, even if it is not for a preparation for some intense exercise.”
Jin spoke from his own experience. He could not perform intensive exercises in the past as he was physically unwell, but he managed to reach this state by doing the radio warm-up preparatory exercise every morning.
”I see. I think that is probably the case.”
Jin thought that she was really straightforward and smiled once again.
“Hehehe. It’s good that you understand now. However, like I mentioned before, this exercise is light. It is insufficient if one intends to loosen the body completely. I was planning to do another preparatory exercise right now, so would you like to do it with me?”
It should be enough now that he managed to convey what radio warm-up preparatory exercise mean, but her earnest replies has made Jin so fond of her that he has decided to invite her for the next preparatory exercise that he planned to do.
In this case, his fondness for her was not really a feeling of liking towards the lady, but rather like an old man who was looking fondly at a young promising person.
“Yes, I’d love to, please.”
The lady nodded with excitement and requested for his help. Of course, this is also what Jin wished for.
Both of them continued the preparatory exercise with smiles.
They stretched their Achilles tendons by bending and flexing their knees, and rotated their ankles and wrists. He explained about the effects of each stretching exercise and continued to loosen the body, muscles and joints.
Jin was not really knowledgeable about these exercises but he tried his best to explain with the knowledge he picked up from television shows and personal experience.
“I see. My body has indeed become warm. I look forward to the training later.”
Even though it was just preparatory exercises, Jin took considerable care to perform them correctly and this warmed up his body which was drenched in sweat.
“Yes. Let’s both do our best.”
Jin felt a sense of accomplishment as he has somehow managed to convey the importance of preparatory exercises.
“I’m really thankful that you shared such a precious piece of knowledge. Ah… I’m sorry but I have not asked you for your name yet. I am Eruza. Sorry for introducing myself so late.”
She was about to call his name after thanking him but it was then that she finally realized she does not know his name. Eruza hurriedly apologized and bowed.
Looking at how her ears drooped down sadly, Jin thought that she was indeed someone who can convey her earnest emotions in times like this, and felt touched instead.
“No, no. Me too. I’m Jin. While I do think that it is important, I don’t think it is that precious, so don’t mind about that.”
In this world where fights could occur anytime soon, Jin thought that it was strange that nobody realized about the importance of preparatory exercises. He began thinking that it could be a hidden knowledge kept within some secretive tribe.
If that was the case, then this could really be a precious piece of knowledge, but to Jin that was not the case. To Jin, there was no reason to keep the knowledge, which reduces the risk of injuries and improves the health, a secret. It is not something that he would actively try to spread around but he will gladly teach someone if asked.
“I see. Thank you again, Jin.”
“No, you are welcome, Ms. Eruza.”
Of course they were facing each other with smiles. However, right then Eruza frowned slightly and continued talking.
“However, can’t you do something about your tone? I’m eighteen-year-old and you are probably of similar age as me? Just speak to me normally.”
Eruza’s words might be a little brash but she seemed to be pouting.
The initial impression Jin has of Eruza – a refreshing, earnest and cute person, has further deepened in his mind.
“Ah, yes I got it. I am also eighteen-year-old so we are the same. Let’s be friends, Eruza.”
Jin usually speaks in a polite tone, but there were some exceptions. In the case where the opposite party requests for it, Jin will gladly abide to it.
“Yes. Let’s be friends, Jin.”
Eruza replied with a happy smile.
Eruza then said that she has to train her archery skills today and bade farewell. Jin started his self-training by using a steel Bastard Sword. He will sword with one hand and then both hands. He thought about his training with Greg and imagined swinging his sword against an opponent.
For a while, he continued swinging his sword like this and it has become nine in the morning. However, there was only one instructor in the exercise corner – the person who was teaching Eruza archery.
Jin judged that instructor Greg will probably not here today, and continued swinging his steel sword. Another hour has passed and his self-training ended.
Right when Jin was doing his last exercise, he realized that he has yet to teach that to Eruza. However, Eruza is in the middle of training now, so he decided that there’s no choice but to teach her that some other day. Jin then continued his light stretching and finished his last exercise.
Using the towel he has prepared, Jin wiped off his sweat thoroughly and headed towards the guild library on the second floor. He then searched for books on skills and magical power.
Unfortunately he was unable to find any books on magical power; he did however found a book on skills and started reading it.
For skills, there are three main categories – normal, rare and unique skill. The latter skills are difficult to acquire and are possessed by strong people. It seems like the only difference between normal and rare skills is the number of people who managed to acquire them. To put it in the strictest term, there are perhaps only two categories. Pertaining to unique skill, only the existence of one was made known to the people and the rest were passed down as legends.
Also, to acquire the skill, it seems like that particular action is required.
While there are a few people who manage to acquire the skill within a short span of time, there are a lot of people who failed to acquire those skills despite putting years of effort into it. Generally, it will take a lot of time for people to acquire the skills. Also, he learned that there are varying difficulties depending on the skills.
Jin believed that he was able to acquire the [Swordsmanship] skill within a short span of time because he possesses the [Talent of Martial Arts].
He was thankful that Instructor Greg and Ms. Aria let him pass. However, unfortunately, not everyone in the world was like the two, so Jin decided to take care not to reveal his skill.
There was also a list of currently acknowledged skills in the book. However, as most people hide their skills, most of the skills written on the book were normal skills, and there were not even many of them to begin with. However, it’d still be a good reference so Jin noted them down.
With this, Jin has finished his search in the library before noon and descended to the first floor to confirm the request document on the message board. Like yesterday, he selected Cyrillic Grass and Mell Grass and headed towards the receptionist Aria.