The Close Combat Scholar is the most unusual eighth step among the paths of knowledge, and it is explained by a single phrase of the canon.
Physically, the bearer simply becomes sturdier. But the second ability — Peeking in Battle — is arranged curiously: the Close Combat Scholar seeks the secret standing behind things, and battle is one such thing for him.
That is, a fight here is not a retreat from the scholarly path, but its continuation by other means. Where the path of the Disciple at the eighth step went into reasoning and rituals, the path of the Hermit sends the bearer to test the world's structure with his fists — and this too is a way of knowing.
In practice, this makes the Hermit branch noticeably more tenacious than its neighbors. A mystic who can fight reaches the steps where real sorcery begins far more often than one who can only read.
The formula, besides parts of an iron-armed beastman and a four-eyed green turtle, includes nine sharp nails.
