The next moment, Geralt stepped forward, trying to leave the isolated area.
BANG! A muffled sound rang out! His forehead slammed hard into a completely invisible "wall."
Geralt covered his face with his hand, his forehead gradually reddening, and he gasped. The impact blurred his vision.
"Pfft..." Ciri, who had been crying sadly, couldn't help but laugh at the pitiful and confused look on Geralt's face.
She quickly covered her mouth with her little hand, but her large eyes, still moist with tears, were full of laughter.
The subsequent scene inside the bio-field was quite interesting.
At first, Geralt managed to stay calm and tried to shout: "Karl! Enough! Let me out!"
"I promise I won't run away. Ciri and I will find a quiet place to talk!"
However, Karl completely ignored him, as if he hadn't heard.
His intention was to keep Geralt and Ciri "locked" together until they had said what they needed to say.
After several attempts, finding his shouts and pleas ineffective, Geralt finally gave up on the idea of "escaping."
He sighed helplessly and looked at the "unexpected woman" beside him, who was looking at him with a sly and expectant gaze.
He resignedly sat back down. Escape was useless; he had no choice but to face everything head-on and begin this long-overdue, fate-determined conversation with Ciri.
Karl glanced sideways at the two people who had finally started communicating normally inside the bio-field, a satisfied smile appearing on his lips.
He looked away from that area and focused his attention on helping Roche master the breathing techniques.
Geralt's eccentric nature means he can always find a million reasons to avoid certain people and things he doesn't want to face.
Sometimes the best way to help him is like this,
forcing him to confront the problem face-to-face, compelling him to look it in the eye and solve it.
He had used a similar method with Yennefer, and the results seemed quite good.
When Yennefer left Terra, a happy smile shone on her face; it was clear she was in a good mood.
At that moment, Roche was sitting on the ground with his eyes closed, breathing in a unique rhythm.
A faint, warm golden halo surrounded him.
Karl assessed Roche's condition and, confirming he was improving, turned his attention to Dalton and Phillip, who were waiting calmly nearby.
He recalled the previous trial, in which the two of them had worked together and killed the dragon lizard in one clash, and asked quietly.
"Dalton, Phillip, what specific form does the sun you visualize take?"
"If you had to use all your breathing techniques in battle, how long could you maintain them in your current state?"
Karl's question made both Dalton and Phillip think seriously.
Dalton stepped forward, his right hand unconsciously touching his chest, as if feeling the visualized "sun."
He respectfully replied: "Lord Karl, the breathing technique you taught me now manifests in my consciousness as a 'sun'."
"It has condensed into a blurry outline, radiating light and warmth, no longer the diffuse halo it was at the beginning."
"Based on current progress and the established situation, within the next year, it may be possible to fully clarify and stabilize the situation."
"As for using the breathing techniques in battle... when applying full force, it places a great strain on the body."
"With my current level of endurance, I can last at most twenty minutes while maintaining maximum combat strength."
Phillip, standing aside, nodded slightly and added: "Yes, Lord Karl, my situation is basically the same as Dalton's."
"The visualized sun is also in the initial stage of rising, and the duration of full-scale battle is about the same."
Karl listened to their reports and fell into deep thought. Can they fight at full strength for twenty minutes?
This was within his expectations, and could even be considered quite good.
It should be understood that for ordinary people, a life-or-death fight where they exert all their strength can last at most three to five minutes.
Afterwards, they will quickly weaken due to the double exhaustion of physical and mental strength.
If Dalton and his colleagues could maintain their breathing techniques at a constant level that was less stressful on the body but above normal, they would achieve even better results.
Thus, their continuous combat time could be increased several times, starting from twenty minutes, which is enough for the vast majority of ordinary battles.
Moreover, and most importantly, the time they have spent learning the Sun Breathing technique has been very short.
This system was created by him based on his own understanding of energy and the nature of life.
One of its core principles is to follow the evolution of life itself to achieve sustainable and stable growth.
If they train diligently and continuously refine their spirit and body, their physical abilities, strength, speed, and ability to use solar energy will all improve.
Over time, they will only become stronger until they reach a certain limit of their personal potential, after which their growth will gradually cease.
Of course, theory is one thing, but practice is the only criterion for testing truth.
To avoid overly idealistic judgments or acknowledging unforeseen individual differences in the breathing technique, he decided to double-check.
He looked up, his gaze sweeping over Dalton and the other man, and asked again: "Since you started learning this breathing technique and practicing visualization and energy manipulation…"
"Regarding physical fitness, strength, and endurance recovery, have you observed significant and sustained improvement compared to the period before you started training?"
Dalton and his companion nodded almost without hesitation.
"Yes, Lord Karl, that is indeed the case," Phillip said happily.
"I clearly feel that my endurance has greatly improved, and swinging my sword has become easier. My strength is definitely growing."
"Sir, I feel the same way. Previously, after intense training, my body took longer to recover from fatigue."
"Recovery is now much faster, and there is a noticeable increase in strength, albeit slow but steady improvement." Dalton's report contained more specific details.
After their affirmative answers, Karl's doubts were dispelled, proving the breathing technique is reliable and effective.
By this point, the initially relatively quiet training ground, with only the occasional sound of clashing weapons, had gradually become lively and even somewhat noisy.
Some of the men were dressed in archipelago style: thick woolen robes over animal skin garments, cow horns or eagle-winged helmets, and most carried one-handed axes at their belts.
And several knights in clothing bearing the lion pattern of Cintra, anxiously led by several maids, led a whole procession.
They quickly walked around the training ground and the surrounding area, searching every corner, as if urgently looking for something.
Although they lowered their voices, anxiety could still be felt in their words.
"Hurry! Search carefully! We must find the princess!"