"Young master, that was a great display of the Iorn Stance. I would like to be your sparing partner. Of coursei will not use any Prana, what do you say?"
[It's best to agree, you can test out the new techniques you acquired.]
"Okay, you're Jarak, correct? I'll take you on. I'll be in your care."
Jarak took out a wooden sword and placed his next to the other wooden ones.
"I Jarak Styles, Knight captain of the Golden Rose estate. A flight scale warrior, hereby challenge you, Young master Ignas Drachmere to a duel. Do you accept my challenge?"
Igans responded with words of his own.
"I, Ignas Drachmere. 8th son of the 14th Patriarch, Aegon Drachmere, hereby accept your challenge to a duel."
Jerek Styles, a knight Captain of the Golden Rose estate. Although he was a Rank six warrior, the second to lowest in the Drachmere Monarchy, he was still a force to be racon with due to his 24 years worth of experience of battle.
"The rules are simple, Young Master. First to be disarmed, or first to yield will be the loser. And I won't be using any Prana, of course.Are they to your liking?"
Igans nodded before responding.
"Yeah. They sound right. I'm gussing Kylen will be our referee? We can't have a duel without one."
kylen walked to the center of the field.
"As you wish, Young master....begin"
Jack moved first. He didn't rush, but strode forward with the confidence of a predator, he launched a deceptive, low feint toward Ignas's knee, then immediately snapping the blade up into a blinding fast high vertical strike. It was a classic opening, designed to test tge target's nerves and reveal their weaknesses.
However, ignas seemed to anticipate the move. His feet shuffled once, a quick, yet perfect step out of the attacks path. His sword met Jerek's strike with a smooth parry, catching the wooden blade and redirecting its momentum before it could even fully connect.
*CLACK*
The sound of wood striking wood was crisp and loud. Kylen, watching from the wall couldn't help but gasp. The parry was not just successful, it was executed with the minimal possible movement.
"impressive, I wasn't expecting that. "
Jerek said, as he narrowed his eyes, the boredom vanishing.
"That was a good parry, young master. Now,let's see if you can keep up."
He roared, pressing voice his attack with a flurry of three rapid strikes. The fundamental Low Horizontal, high Diagonal and Reverse cut . Ignas was overwhelmed, his human mind couldn't track the speed of the assault, but Swarm could.
[The first threat is aimed at the low hip on right side. Block with a lower guard....The second threat is aimed at the head, commence transition to tge Iorn Guard stance. ....The third is aimed at the left shoulder, pivot and use his momentum for a Counter-Thrust. ]
Igans followed Swarms instructions to the core and his body became a blur of defensive perfection. He wasn't thinking about the parries, he just executed them. The wooden swords struck and slid, the furious exchange echoing the clanging of real steel. On the third block, Ignas pivoted, leveraging the force of Jerek's final cut to create a perfect opening. He thrusted his wooden blade forward,aiming for the solar plexus. Jereke hand only a split second to react, he was forced to abandon his attack and slap his own blade down defensively.
*WHACK!*
The two blades collided fiercely, stopping the thrust barely an inch from Jereks chest. He stumbled backward two steps, breathing heavily, his face tight with disbelief.
"What is Lysanders name..? That was the Lindwym Four-Step Counter!! That's not a move anyone can just pull off, it takes months or even years of practice. How did you learn it?
Ignas lowered his sword, panting genuinely from thr sheer physical exchange he had just been a part of.
"I read the manual."
Was the answer he gave.
Jerek got lost in his thoughts for a brief second.
(To think a boy who hasnt held a sword before madtred a trick that even some of my rank have yet to master, and by simply reading it off of a book at that....If it was anyone else,I'd actually say his lying. But, I watched him grow all his life....this kid, I think he might be a hidden diamond within the Drachmere Household. I think I should start building a connection with him now.)
Jerek gave a hesitating, slow and deep bow.
"I yeid, Young master. But in return, I'll like to sumbit s formalrequest. I beg the honorof being your training instructorfor the next three months. That was no beginner'sluck. That was skill, and i wa t to witness how dar you can take it."
"Wait..what?"
[You should accept the offer, it'll benefit you in your growth.]
"All right, I accept your request, Captain Styles. We can go another round too, if you like."
"Splendid news, but this time I won't let my guard down so easily, Young master."
Ignas and Jerek launched at each other yet again, this time with Jerek showing off more seriousness and focus. He saw what Ignas was capable off, so as a show off respect he went all out.
(What the hell am I looking at? There's no way this is the skills of someone who just read the swordsmanship manual...if that's true, am I witnessing the birth of a monster?)
Kylen thought to himself as he wintnessed the action unfold infront of him.
Later.
Ignas had grown more and more curious about Swarms function. As a result he wanted to test how far it can take him. He had stacked up books on Swordsmanship, bowmanship and Spearmanship.
The three main Swordsmanship manuals he had were all for basic warriors. This three were the Aethelgardia Longsword Style, the lightning-fast Azurean Duel sword style, and the Heavy Volkov Crusher form.
"Hey, Swarm. Before I read these books, is it possible to combine all these sword techniques and create my very own sword art?"
[Yes, I am confident that I can do that. All you have to do is let me read all of them and I will take out every flaw I find in all of them and try to combine them for you.]
"Really? Man you the best."
Ignas said, hearing the news that had just brought him joy. He did as he was instructed earlier and let Swarm scan all the books, after that he went to lay down on his bed and prepare for the worst.
"So, how long do you think this will take?"
He asked feeling a dangerous excitement building up in his chest.
[ Ten minutes. The nanites must thoroughly analyze every stance, transition, strike, and recovery from the five swordsmanship styles, cross-reference them against maximum structural integrity limits of the Host's body, and discard every flaw. ]
"Ten minutes to create the perfect Swordsmanship? Okay...let's do it, Swarm. "
He murmured the words, feeling like a Prophecy. He sat on his bed, prepared for the return of the searing pain, but this time, the process was different. It was a deep, systemic reorganization, not a brute force down like last time. The nanites worked like millions of microscopic editors, flowing through his nerves, tendons, and muscles.
The first part they worked on was the flaw elimination. Every stable weakness, every predictable pause, and every Wastes ounce of momentum within the Lindwym, Volkov, Azurean, Aethelgardia and Drachmere serpent strike was identified and removed.
The second was the Optimal Transition. Swarm connect the styles, ensuring the Transition from the low, evasive footing of the Azurean style instantly flowed into the rooted, crushing impact of the Voljov style, all balanced by the perfect center of gravity found in the Aethelgardia style.
The last was the Kinetic loop, the ultimate goal was to create a style with no recovery phase. Every block automatically set up the next counter, and every strike returned the user's momentum to the next strike, forming a relentless, perfect kinetic loop.
For ten minutes, ignas felt his body slowly change. Muscles twitched precisely, bones aligned, and his hands felt the ghost of a thousand perfected movements. Those weren't the only new things he noticed. As he could feel the Prana prism in his chest also react. When the process finally concluded, ignas opened his eyes. He didn't feel pain or exhaustion, he felt utter stillness.
Ignas slowly stood, picked up his wooden sword, and performed a single, slow, complex cut that began with a Volkov shield-strike posture, flowed into an Azurean thrust, and finished with a Lindwym defensive circle. It was one continuous, seamless movement. It felt like breathing.
He slowly stood up, picked up his wooden sword, and performed a single, slow, complex cut that begun with a Volkov Shueld strike posture, flowed into an Azurean thrust, and finished with a Lindwym defensive circle. It was one continuous, seamless movement, and it felt as easy as breathing for him.
[Congratulations, the process was a success. I've also taken the liberty of creating a 'Prana Prism' for you. Would you like name the new Sword art you developed?]
"Wait.....Prana Prism? What's that?"
He asked with a confused look on his face. He knew about Prana, but he has never heard of a Prana Prisim before.
[Well, after I opened your Prana paths, I developed a new method I created for you to store your Prana. Unlike any normal person who stores their prana on the lower dangling, you will be the only one who can store his Prana in the middle dantain, the heart.]
For a brief second ignas was intrigued about what he just heard. That was until he recalled the words "opened prana paths."
Igans: (scared)
"Wait, are you telling me that my prana paths are opened right now? You know that's against the family law? Ohh God, a Prana user will be able to detect that opened by paths, and I'll be executed."
[That's highly impossible, I studied the basic knowledge of prana through you're memories and I was able to identify the fact that they can only detect energy from your lower dantain. The Prism on the ither hand, acts as a signature dampener. By storing and refining the energy in the Heart Dantian. It also helps mask the flow of Prana, so to the eyes of a Prana user, you're still unawakened.]
"Wait, really?"
[Yes. If that was nit the case, Sir James, Jerek and Kylen would've already noticed that you're a awakened by now.]
"Wait, why arr you making it sound like I was an awaken for a long time?"
[Well, it was one of the first things I did after healing your body. So, you can say you've been an awakened for 4 days now.]
"What?....them i guess it's really undetectable. Man, talk about luck.....anything else I should know about this Prana Prism?"
[Yes, unlike the normal dantain. The middle one. The heart Dantain is the body's natural circulatory hub. The Prana stored there can be dispersed instanesouly to all four limbs with maximum efficiency. Furthermore, the Prism structure refines the raw energy, focusing it like a lens, allowing for a cleaner, faster amd more powerful application into your sword.]
Ingas let out a slow and heavy sigh, absorbing the information given to him. He knew that this wasn't just a cheat code that put him steps ahead of the rest, it was also revolutionary. This was tier informa
tion that can be sold at a high price.
"Man, I think I used up all my past, and future lives good luck. You truly are something else. Thank you."
He Saud to Swarm.
The next morning
A month had passed with Ignas and Jereks continuing their duels, Ignas was playing it smart and only using the old Lindwym techniques. He wanted to keep his Swordsmanship a secret, at least for now.
Jerek:
"Man, to think you've improved this much in a week. You're something else, my lord."
Ignas:
"It's all because of your teachings, Ser Jerek... Shall we go another round?"
Jerek:
"Nah, I'm beat. I think Kylen can be your next opponent. What do you say, Kylen?"
Jerek said, looking over in Keylens direction, who was lost in thought.
(I just don't get the young master. This is beyond simple talent, but ut won't change that the others view him as a bastard child . And Ser Jerek, somewhere down the line, he git drawn in hy the young master and started calling him 'my lord'. For us knights, that's basically saying you serve under him. What is this fool thinking? If he had just wanted three more years, he would've chosen who to properly serve under.)
Kylen blinked, snapping back to reality as Jereks words finally registered. He shook his head slightly , trying to shake out the whirlwind of confused loyalty and skepticism that had filled his mind over the last few weeks.
"My apologies, Captain. I'd be be honored to step In, Young master."
He said, stepping away from the wall. As he picked up a training sword wuth a practiced, but weary motion.
"Ready when you are, Ser Kylen."
Said Igans. Kylen didn't waste the opportunity to strike. His attack was faster than Jereks. He wanted to find the flaw, the moment Ignas's 'talent' broke down. He forced Ignas to execute a sequence of five defensive parries in a rapid succession.
"So this is your fighting style, Kylen the 'Swift blade' Mayers?
Ignas said as his body moved flawlessly, every defensive block from the Lindwym style was executed with a minimal degree if movement, an economy of force that baffled Kylen.
Kylen, driven by frustration saw his opening and attacked with a wide, powerful high Diagonal cut, exposing his left flank for a fraction of a second. Ignas responded by executing a fainted low cut to draw kylens guard down, followed by a high horizontal strike, for the final blow.
*WHAACK!*
The wooden blade connected sharply with Kylen's shoulder, causing him to stumble back, dropping his sword. The shock radiating through his arm. He stared at Ignas , who had lowered his blade.
(No way....how did he? Don't tell me his already on par with a 3rd rate cadet. But, this quick? He only began training a month ago. Just what is this kid?)
Kylen thought to himself as he looked at Igans.
(Now I get it, the reason why Jerek patented calling him his lord. This is beyond talent. It wont be long until he catches up to Jerek and I if he continues to grow at this fast pace, if that's the case, maybe it wouldn't be too bad to get on his good books right now while he is still in need of support.)
"I yield, Young master. That was impressive. You looked like a veteran fighter."
"Thank you. I learned a lot from this exchange of ours."