Chapter 29 – Optic Gymnastics
This park right now…
“Say Aah~, Darling, Please~”
“Aaaah, Hmm.”
“Is it delicious?”
“Ish sho good!”
Even though there are people on a carefree date like this, what am I doing in the park?
“But to train your eyes… Is it something that can be trained?”
『My goodness… it cannot be helped, I shall teach you a little bit about the eye.』
Once I stopped reading, I sat facing the Great Demon King in the shade of a tree.
And then, like Tre’ainar’s class, the explanation began.
『First of all, it is possible to train the eyes. To begin with, both humans and demons have muscles around their eyes. You can use the muscles to move your eyes up, down, left, and right. This is called ‘eye movement’. In other words, if you train the muscles around your eye, your eyeballs will move faster and better perceive moving objects, which improves your dynamic vision.』
Dynamic visual acuity. I only had a vague image that a person with eyes that had good vision and quick reactions would be said to possess [excellent dynamic vision]. Is that what it meant?
And, to perceive moving objects.
『Improving dynamic vision makes it easier to perceive an opponent’s movements and attacks. Under such circumstances, if you add breakthroughs to improve your physical abilities, reactions and agility trained in ladder training, will anyone be able to catch you anymore? An exaggeration perhaps, yet…』
I see. Eye movement… I had never thought of that before.
『And one more thing to train is the ‘peripheral vision’. Out of the center your viewpoint. Perceive the entire scene from a broader perspective, not just the center. For example, look at a couple enjoying their lover’s lunch on that bench.』
“Ah. I hope you end up miserable.”
『…… That aside, you only have the two lovers in your sight at the moment, right?』
“Wha? After all, you just now, had me to look at them …”
『Then, what is the color of the bench they are sitting on? How many people are behind those two benches? How many children are playing with playground equipment? How many men and women are there? Do you know how many trees are growing?』
“No, no, not that far…”
『However… supposing as an example, instead of that couple, I were to say ‘Remember all the scenery in sight’, would you have noticed more of the surroundings?』
“Ah…”
That said, I thought so.
If I were told to burn the entire scenery that was in sight, I might have realized.
But when I was asked to look at that couple, I only saw that couple.
『In battle, tis important to pay attention not only to the opponent but also the environment, the scenery, and the picture as a whole. Just because you fight a swordsman does not mean you only consider the sword your opponent wields, right? You examine their face, gaze, foot position, and various other things as well, right?』
“Sure…”
『The more information you get from your sight, the greater your visual field and reaction during combat. In addition, training of dynamic vision and peripheral vision leads to brain activation and concentration improvement, and it leads to a more improvisational response to the situation based on the information obtained from the vision.』
That’s what Tre’ainar says. He exercises his eyes.
Dynamic visual acuity and peripheral vision. I had never trained such a thing.
『As you cannot use breakthroughs yet…… to focus your magic on one part of your body…. techniques such as concentrating the magic only on the eye cannot be done yet. As such, we shall train your eyes in earnest until you can properly implement the breakthrough.』
At first, I thought, ‘Why did I come to the park?’, but listening to the story made me want to learn by all means.
As Tre’ainar says, if you train your eyes, it will be easier to foresee your opponent’s attack.
That’s something I have to learn from now on because I’m going to fight with martial arts.
“All right. I wanted to train my eyes, too. So…What shall I do now?”
『Hmm. First of all, begin with ‘eye stretching’.』
“…… Stretch?”
When he said ‘stretching’, I thought of the flexibility I’m doing all the time..
Do it with my eyes.
『When people are trying to get small letters or detailed information, they focus their eyes on one point. The muscle of the eyes then hardens. First, we shall loosen it.』
“Huh…”
Saying that, Tre’ainar faced me with his eyes wide open.
『First, wink one eye!』
“Heh!?”
『Ten times or so, but at a constant rhythm. Blink, blink, blink, blink, blink, blink, blink, blink.』
Since I was little Sadiz often tease me or play a prank, but in the end she would wink at me and say, ‘Fufu♪’, and ‘Oh, I got you’.
Why did I remember that now?
『Well, after ten repetitions, do the same with the opposite eye, wink, wink , wink , wink , wink , wink , wink .』
Come to think of it, the legendary Magic Eye of the Great Demon King, Rikudo Eye.
My father once fought against this eye.
Eyes that have created all kinds of tragedy for my father, for the heroes, and for mankind.
『Next, close both eyes at the same time and open them. It closes tightly and opens wide. Do this ten times as well. Yes, blink, blink, blink, blink, blink, blink, blink, blink.』
No, no, no, I’ve got to bear it. Tre’ainar is serious about training me, and this is the way he teaches me …
『And next, round and round with my eyes this way-』
“…… O-Osu.”
『This time, going round and round the other way.』
Come to think of it, what am I doing in the park on my holiday? In a park with kids who are dating, enjoying picnics with their families, and playing innocently, they literally turn their eyes together with the Great Demon King.
『Going round and round and round』
“Bufufufufu!?”
Indeed, the Great Demon King winks, blinks, and turns his eyes! Like that…
『What are you laughing at?』
“Well of course I would laugh!”
This is how it turned out.
No, I know. It’s my bad.
Tre’ainar is serious, so I’m sorry I couldn’t take it seriously, but I’ll still laugh!
Hah, even if you said I’ll die if I laugh, I’ll still laugh.
『Good grief… Anyway, tis important to loosen the muscles of the eye. Perform these exercises as regularly as you do the ladder training. If you do… This may also possible! 』
“Wha-What!? T-The left and right eyes are moving apart!?”
『Hmm, tis a technique to eliminate blind spots by looking over all directions by freely moving the left and right, this is the secret technique of ancient martial arts –』
“Wow~, so weird!?”
『Gah… Child!』
“…… I’m sorry….”
I unintentionally opened my mouth.
No, I really regret it.
『Well, good. You will perform these stretches in the future.』
“Osu…”
Tch, I have more and more things to do every day… but. Well, I think this is also a compulsory subject, so I have to do it seriously.
『Now, anyway, once the eye muscles have been loosened like this, your dynamic vision and peripheral vision by speed reading.』
“Osu… I mean, I’m really speed reading. I thought it would be better to train with sparring or something like that.”
Speed reading. I’ve never cared that much except when I read a question on a test.
I understand the dynamic vision and peripheral vision, but I wonder if such a thing improves by speed reading?
Will it become stronger by being able to read faster?
However, Tre’ainar affirms without any hesitation.
『Do not underestimate speed reading? First of all, because you only see ‘speed reading’ as ‘reading fast’, tis the only way to go, and if you want to apply the power you gained there elsewhere, the path will expand as much as possible.』
“Oh, is that so?”
『As you are now, can you get stronger by reading faster? The idea is a typical example of ‘taking things at the center and not more broadly’. In addition, speed reading is not just to read. By not only reading but also understanding the content, you can develop your overall grasping and understanding skills. and by further increasing the speed you improve your concentration and judgment.』
“I see…”
『For example, reading a book. I read one character at a time, but if I increase the number of characters to see more at once instead of just one? What if I speed up reading rows? It can improve the function of the eye, leading to the ability to move viewpoint and see a wider field of view.』
“Ma, yes, but…”
『What happens if after speeding up you can comprehend what has been read? What happens when you remember? The memory of the brain, and the instruction from the brain to the body is faster.』
“Certainly… “
『In other words, you have trained your reaction speed with a magical ladder. It starts with the command from the brain, which improves the nerve, muscle transmission response speed. Then, if the brain’s understanding and judgment, and even the instructions become faster…… what will happen?』
That being said, I finally ‘understood’.
That everything is connected.
“The faster you make decisions about how to move next, the faster your reflexes will be.”
『That is so. That is why if you train your eyes, no one can catch you anymore.』
The theoretical explanation was convincing.
Until now, information from the eyes and ears was processed with the head, from which the brain gave commands to the body, passed through the nerves, transmitted to the muscles, and moved the body.
I improve that ability with ladder training.
In other words, this time, the ability to process the information entered from the eye with the brain is also trained.
If it is indeed desired, it will be useful enough in battle.
『Well, tis speed reading for that, but… As I said earlier, there are many ways to train speed reading even in situations where breakthroughs are not yet available. There is a trick that improves this even more quickly and dramatically.』
A trick. I don’t think that’s the kind of word I’d get from Tre’ainar’s mouth.
The words of the Great Demon King seemed to me heavy.
『That is “Instant Memory Magic, 【Canonicon】.』
It was a magic that I had never heard of.
Well, I can somehow imagine ‘Instant Memory’ from the name, but….
『The basis of speed reading is not to read sentences with the eye, but to capture the text reflected in the eye as shapes and pictures. There is an ancient magic that can be learned which engraves what is in sight into the memory of the brain. That’s the magic of 【Canonicon】. Do it while using this magic.』
Is it such a system after all? He said it was instant memory.
『To use this spell means to recall everything that moves into sight. Therefore, if you continue to use it, the view of things naturally will be ingrained in your body, so that you can perceive ‘the whole rather than just one point’ even without the use of magic.』
“Eee~, naturally… Instant Memory… it sure sounds convenient to memorize.”
『Tis not memorization. Everything in the field of vision is stored in the brain as a picture. So long as you remember this spell … Even if the maid were to find your erotica and dispose of it, if the contents are already engraved in the brain as a picture…』
“I don’t know, but I’ll learn it right now, that magic! I’m sure I need it now!”
But recently, I’ve learned magic that I use for training, not for actual fighting…