"Then you shall be the one," Alex muttered and pressed the buy option.
His student account had 200,000 credits, and instantly 100,000 were deducted.
It would take two hours for the delivery. Alex sat cross-legged on his bed.
"Give me the details of monsters from Grade 0 to Emperor level. Their locations and talents are the main priority. And only the monsters with elemental ability." he ordered his AI to search for information.
The AI analyzed for a while and then provided him with a file.
Alex opened it. There were thousands of pages inside. Each page contained a monster's photo along with detailed data.
There were also links attached to videos showing their real combat styles.
Alex began reading. His brain was extremely powerful, so with just a glance, he could memorize everything.
In two hours, he had gone through information on more than 5,000 monster species.
And he was still only at Beast Master level monsters.
In the 500 years of the apocalyptic era, humanity had discovered over 100 million different species of monsters.
However, Alex had instructed the AI to only bring information about monsters that possessed elemental talents.
Even then, the number exceeded 500,000.
It would take a long time to finish reviewing all of them.
Soon, he received a notification that his parcel had arrived.
Alex asked the delivery person to bring it directly to his room.
A short while later, a Martial Grandmaster appeared carrying the parcel.
.....
Alex opened the package. Inside was a book.
He opened it, and the first page contained details about its creator.
"The Sword Emperor Tian Jian."
Alex knew of him. He was the third strongest Emperor of the Alliance. He had authored many sword techniques, including an S-rank sword technique that was considered his greatest creation.
Alex began reading the technique.
The method allowed the user to stimulate their nervous system using energy, greatly increasing movement speed for a short period of time.
With each level of mastery, the stimulation would intensify.
Using this technique, Tian Jian himself could only stimulate it up to seven times, and even that was effective only up to Emperor level. As he had created this technque when he was a saint.
That was why it was classified as an A-rank technique.
A technique would only enter S-rank if it could be fully utilized by Emperors.
"All right, not bad. Let's begin."
Alex appeared inside his private training room.
Just as he was about to start, William appeared inside the room.
"What are you practicing today?" William asked curiously.
"I bought an A-rank sword technique from the Academy intranet," Alex replied.
"Which one is it? Blink?" William asked again.
"Yes," Alex nodded.
"Well, I use it too. It's one of my strongest combat techniques. Let me demonstrate it for you."
"Thank you, sir. I would be honored," Alex replied excitedly.
Reading a technique and seeing it performed in real combat were completely different experiences.
William prepared himself and drew his sword.
Slash!
Alex suddenly heard the sound of air being cut, but he saw nothing.
William had used level five of the technique, and with his Saint-level speed, there was no way Alex could perceive it.
Alex immediately asked his AI to replay it in slow motion.
Only then did he see the full sequence. William drew his sword, completed a perfect slash, and returned it to the scabbard in an instant.
Alex realized that the technique itself was actually very simple.
The true complexity lay in how energy was induced into the nerves to amplify speed.
Watching another demonstration would not be of much help.
Alex memorized the entire technique and adjusted his stance.
According to the method, he had to use energy to reduce the travel time of nervous signals by assisting neurotransmitters to move faster from one junction to another.
The moment he tried, his Eternal Sword Talent activated.
He comprehended the technique instantly. An A-rank technique was nothing to him.
Slash!
He swung his sword.
Instantly, he executed level three.
Four times speed.
William's eyes widened.
He saw the sword clearly, and that was why he was shocked.
The speed Alex displayed had already entered high Grandmaster level.
"What is his base speed? Damn monster," William muttered.
Alex, however, was not satisfied.
"What a bummer. Only level three."
"What did you just say?" William shouted. "You performed level three on your first attempt? And why is your speed so monstrous even at level three?"
William completely lost his Saint-level composure.
That bastard was complaining. It had taken William six months to reach level three.
The execution of the technique was extremely delicate. Any reckless attempt could damage the body.
Alex scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly.
Then he continued practicing.
In two hours, Alex comprehended level five.
Still, he was far from satisfied. Thousands of ideas were racing through his mind on how to improve the technique.
Among them, one idea stood out.
Using space manipulation on his neurotransmitters.
Yes, he decided to teleport his neurotransmitters from one junction to another instantly.
However, to do that, he would need to see every active neurotransmitter in his body.
There was also a major flaw in the theory.
His body was not strong enough to handle such extreme speed.
He needed to improve his reflexes first.
He had no idea how fast he would become if he succeeded, but that could wait.
He needed to grow stronger before attempting something so dangerous.
At the very least, he would need to reach Martial King realm.
While Alex was lost in thought, William's jaw nearly hit the ground.
"You mastered level five?" William asked in disbelief.
"Yes. It's unfortunate that I don't have enough credits to buy higher-grade techniques yet. By the way, Mr. William, do you know any Spirit Masters who could guide me?" Alex asked.
"There aren't many Spirit Masters, but they aren't that rare either. If you want guidance from the best Spirit Master on Earth, His Majesty Elyndros Celestus, the ancestor of the Celestus family, you would need a recommendation from the Vice President," William replied.
Alex nodded. He wanted guidance from the best.
But he knew someone from that family.
Perhaps he should ask her first about the ancestor's temperament.
"Okay, thank you," Alex said as he left the room.
He then contacted Anna.
....
Anna was currently staying at her family's hotel. She had just finished bathing and was wrapped in a white towel.
Suddenly, her communicator rang.
She glanced at the caller ID, ready to reject it if it was not from her family.
No one else contacted her directly. Others went through her maid.
The moment she saw the name, her heart began to race.
Her towel loosened and slipped from her body, but she did not notice.
Alex was calling her.
She never expected Alex to call her on his own.
She calmed herself and answered.
"Hello, Alex."
"Hey, Anna. Did I disturb you?" Alex asked apologetically.
"No, no. Not at all. Please tell me why you called so suddenly. I'm not busy," Anna replied quickly.
"Then can we meet this afternoon? I want to discuss something with you," Alex said directly.
Anna instantly drifted into her fantasy world.
Her inner self was cheering wildly.
Her cheeks flushed red as countless thoughts rushed through her mind. That Alex would propose here,then they would get married and also what the children's names should be.
"Hello, Anna? Hello?" Alex called from the other side after receiving no response.
Anna snapped back to reality and cursed herself internally.
"What a dummy I am."
"Yes, we can meet. Where would you like to go?" she asked, regaining her composure.
"That coffee shop was nice. Shall we go there again?" Alex suggested.
"Sure. When?" Anna replied.
"At 4 p.m."