"We have arrived at the lake." Evelyn turned to Nathan. "Are you ready for the test?"
"Yes." Nathan nodded furiously. "I'm going to do it."
Evelyn raised a finger. "In that case, what do you think about your current attack, specifically your Dragon Fist? You have learned it, right?"
"Yes." Nathan fell into deep thought. "The Dragon Fist is powerful, and I do use it from time to time, but it's not my main fighting style."
"I'm not talking about that." Evelyn shook her head and pointed at the boulder on her right. "How about punching this one with your Dragon Fist?"
Nathan frowned. He followed her instruction and carefully charged the ena into his fist before releasing that attack.
The dragon let out a roar before the punch shattered the boulder.
"Do you think there is something different from the original Dragon Fist?"
"Ehm…" Nathan lowered his head, recalling the first time the Dragon King demonstrated the Dragon Fist. Back then, he punched the air and created a massive impact. "Yes? I'm not strong enough to do it. If I have more ena, I might be able to do it?"
"No." Evelyn shook her head helplessly. "Even if you have more ena, you won't be able to do it. The reason is simple. You're lacking one fundamental technique."
"A fundamental technique?"
"Yes." Evelyn snapped her finger, teleporting another boulder to her side. Then she gathered the same amount of ena as Nathan in her fist before punching the boulder.
This time, the boulder didn't just shatter, but it also blasted everything behind it.
"Hmm?" Nathan blinked his eyes a few times.
"Do you notice the difference in the amount of ena?"
Nathan shook his head.
"Then do you see the difference in its power?"
Nathan nodded. "In fact, your punch earlier imitates the real Dragon Fist more than mine."
"What do you think of the reason?"
Nathan frowned. He contemplated for two minutes, but nothing came to his mind. "Sorry, I don't know. I probably haven't learned it."
"No. You have learned it. It's just that you have never thought about using it."
Evelyn pointed to the lake. "How about punching the air toward the lake with your Dragon Fist?"
Nathan acknowledged her instruction and carefully did it, but when he punched the air, nothing happened. The burst of ena didn't produce the dragon roar, leaving no impact as the ena remained inside his fist.
"Then look at me." Evelyn gathered the same amount of energy and punched forward.
To Nathan's surprise, there was a sudden explosion on the water's surface.
The explosion kicked the water up, creating a small rain in the area.
"!!!" Nathan gasped as if he realized the difference.
"It seems you have noticed what's going on…"
Nathan nodded. "From the looks of it, the ena in your fist has disappeared. No, more like it has been discharged."
"Yes," Evelyn confirmed, before raising one finger. "In that case, have you learned how to discharge your ena?"
"In that case, on what principle do you have to discharge your ena to produce that kind of power?"
Nathan fell silent for a moment. If it were Selena, she would probably find the answer right away. However, Nathan recalled what Evelyn said previously about one fundamental technique. What kind of fundamental technique was she talking about? What was the discharge process that was similar to what she used?
His body shook when he thought about one answer. Gasped, he asked, "Is it… sensory discharge?"
"Correct. How do you sense everything around you? The answer is simple. Your body is a concentrated chunk of ena. Then you disperse your ena to your surroundings, letting them interact with everything around you, allowing you to sense everything around you.
"However, to disperse your ena, you still have to discharge your ena from where your ena is concentrated to the outside.
"The higher the amount you plan to discharge in one go, the harder it will be.
"Still, if you manage to actually do it…" Evelyn moved closer to the lake while imitating Nathan's gun sign. "Even I can imitate what you use."
From her fingertip, a beam expanded, its size reaching five times that of a human. The power alone was comparable to Selena's attack. It was even stronger than when he used his pistol.
"This is…" Nathan gasped.
"Your weapon is using the same principle. Maybe because of that, you have neglected this one fundamental technique. It's just a technique to sense the area in your surroundings, but you can improve it to become a lethal technique.
"In the end, ena holds an infinite potential… or so what the famous sage has once said."
She must be talking about Leyfon, considering Nathan heard the same thing when Leyfon taught them the 32-Form Ena Manipulation, Nathan thought.
"In fact, you can even improvise it however you want. For example, I can even do something ." The ena from her right foot was discharged, propelling her up. She repeated the process with her left foot and returned to the right foot in succession, making her look like she was climbing an invisible stair.
"Gepp—! I mean, walking in the air?" Nathan gasped.
"The principle is simple. I concentrate a small amount of ena on my foot and discharge it to push me up.
"The Dragon Fist is just concentrating your ena into your fist before discharging it. The only unique thing is how the energy flows, which produces that roar and amplifies that power.
"So, this will be your task for the next 5 days. You are going to practice how to discharge your ena to a level where you can use it in a fight. It doesn't have to be perfect like your bullet controls. As long as it's useful in a fight, that's enough.
"Are you going to take the challenge?"
Nathan thought for a moment. "You say it's a challenge. Surely, you're trying to get something from me, right?"
Evelyn shrugged. "Just say you're afraid. It doesn't matter to me. It's not like I'm the only one who knows about the Bloody Banquet."
Nathan's eyebrows twitched. "Fine, fine. I will accept the challenge. It doesn't really matter to me whether I win or lose."