Chương 11

As he went up to the training bot, his mind felt strangely still. Unlike with his first try, he didn't feel a hint of nervousness. Maybe it was because his starting point was what it was— at worst I'd just get my ass virtually beat again, right? I can handle that. And at least this time I have an idea of what I can expect. His flexed his hand and re-gripped the handle of his sword. That entire first try went wrong from the start, he'd realized.

All these preconceptions I have about like—things to keep in mind, how the fight might go, tips and tricks—it's not actually helpful. Just keep it simple, and I'll try to be a little more present. He leveled his sword at the simulation Warrior.

'Start.' A second passed. He saw the moment it activated, the tension in its body loosening. It completed its last sword-swing, the blade carving cleanly through the space where his neck would've been if he hadn't willed it to freeze. Its head swiveled; it refocused on his new position. In the next second it was in the air, sword swinging—his sword flew up in that beautiful arc, catching the steel again, and this time he put his entire body behind his shoulder, grip tight.

The steel-on-steel clash still felt like a shock to his system; it was unlike pretty much anything he felt in his day-to-day life, but this time he'd braced for it. He consciously absorbed it, teeth clenched. He was already moving when the next sword swing came. He was expecting it to follow-up in quick succession, like it'd done the first time, and when their steels touched again he managed to catch its blade early, redirecting its force sideways.

It felt like significantly less of a shock—he'd redirected all the force that would've been taken by his bones. Still, teeth clenched— god, I can't stand that feeling. Then, almost at the same time— it's open, he realized. He'd wasted a precious fraction of a second in surprise before he went for it. His blade went straight for its neck, and he was sure he had it; he could see very vividly, in that fraction of a second, his sword slicing through its graph-paper material, striking true— It leaned forward slightly.

His blade went clean overhead. Then it lunged into a thrust. Mana shield! A shield materialized almost instantly, and his Mana Shield Skill actualized it faster than his standard Mana Manipulation ever could've. CRACK! The sword deflected sideways and his Shield now sported a spiderweb of cracks, but it held. Freeze, he willed—decidedly more measured than the last time he'd willed it. Then he stepped back, letting his sword hand fall. Remembered my Mana Shield this time.

And I lasted an extra exchange, and I'm not on the ground. I maybe could've even landed a strike if I'd seized the chance… Which is already a little better than I was expecting. He glanced at the simulation Warrior again, considering. What did I actually do better? I was more aware, for one, he reflected. I also tried my own offense. After a little more thinking— actually, I think it's more meta than that. I led this time, the fight was on my terms—some of it, at least.

It wasn't like I was on the backfoot, reacting, getting totally overwhelmed. This time I felt like I could think. The first time it was—I don't know—just a series of fragmented sensations, almost. My body really does know how to fight, he marveled. Like, I feel like I'm moving well, fluidly. That felt like a pretty decent try at its neck. Or rather—my body knows how to duel, like a swordsman. I clearly didn't know how to fight. I still don't really.

With a slight smile he dabbed a little sweat with the non-bloodstained corners of his towel. But maybe a little more than ten seconds ago. His eyes flickered over to the girls diagonally across from him, but their backs were to him; they were doing their own thing, trying Skills against two giant poles. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. I... don't know why I just did that. I'm going to need a new towel. His shield drew his attention.

He was fascinated by the way Pure mana glinted in the light, especially shattered Pure mana—he drew his sword and gave it a light slash. Then a slightly heftier slash, and his Shield finally collapsed. Mana Shield was a significant investment in mana, as evidenced by the 1/3 of his mana pool it'd taken he'd cast just six in a row. But he couldn't say it wasn't a worthwhile investment—it sent that bot-sword skittering hard sideways.

It probably takes a few hours for my natural mana regen to recover my mana pool from 0 to 100, he reflected. I'll have to be a bit judicious about casting them. He wished he hadn't actually tipped that last Shield over the edge now. The cracks weren't just pretty in the light—he'd also had an idea just now, after reflecting. You can improve Skills in a ton of ways, pretty much any way I can think of, supposedly. Surely increasing the un-shatter-ability of a Skill—shatter resistance? —is a standard shield support.

Mana Shield. A fresh shield appeared in front of him and he walked around it, ignoring the dueling bot for now—he was too intrigued. He drew his blade, coated its edge with Force mana, and slashed decently hard. A spiderweb of cracks appeared, but not as wide-reaching as the spiderweb the bot had made. He placed a hand on the floating shield, which he didn't need to maintain— I think it'll last indefinitely in this state?

He'd realized pretty early he had a sixth sense, a sense that felt clearer when he closed his eyes and tried to understand the world. He was pretty sure it was a soul-sense. It had to do with sensing mana. It was relatively weak, compared to his other senses— is this something you can train? I'll have to look into that, he decided. For now— He brushed the shatterings with his fingers, and the patterns surfaced bright-blue in his mind—incredibly vivid.

He was sure it was very similar to the way glass shattered; it had its distinct, Pure mana characteristics, but the structural similarities were unmistakable. I wonder, if I was the guy designing an iPhone, if I'd just be really good at what I'm going to try to do. It felt almost nonsensical, but— Like—if I understand 'glass shatter resistance' very deeply, and I have some affinity to the mana, will this just be trivial? Is there some transferability there?

Actually, what happens, if, say I was already a master swordsman pre-Awakening, and I got Swords Proficiency, does that understanding transfer at all? It feels like it has to, right? He paused. He didn't think he had ADHD—was pretty sure he didn't—but there were times Bella would joke about it. Around him the Hall was close to three quarters occupancy, with new faces streaming in and out all the time; at a few stations shimmering translucent barriers had been put up, but they only hid sight, not mana or sound.

Back to the shattering… let's see. His fingers brushed against the tips of the shatterings, and he felt a fuller picture. He couldn't sense very far with his mind, but what he could sense was very, very clear, and in detail—an incredibly complex plane of shining patterns. It's hardened pure mana. At a tiny level it felt like little islands of mana, with 'rivers' of empty space flowing between them. It's these 'empty rivers' that the force is shattering down, he instantly realized. How do I…?

He could try to fill in the rivers, but he quickly realized it was futile; what he sensed was only where his fingertips touched, and even there— there's, what, thousands? Tens of thousands, maybe, of these empty lines to fill in? If it was possible, his Mana Manipulation was nowhere near the level it'd require. Something a little more simple, something I can work with.

'Squeeze.' What he was trying was to will a blanket instruction. His Mana Shield complied, and he felt the 'rivers' narrow very slightly under his fingertips. He willed it across the rest of the Shield, and in the next few seconds he felt his Pure mana accept his changes. Sword in hand, he gave the material a slash. It shattered, but— a little better, for sure. Is this what tempering is? Mana Shield. This time, he willed it exactly like his slightly altered material.

I'll try to narrow these fault lines a little more, he decided. A few cycles passed like this, with tiny improvements every time. He spaced out his tries to let his mana pool regenerate, which also meant he had to be very intentional with every try, rehearsing and visualizing again and again. Almost two hours later— the Shield's maybe ten percent stronger than it was? But there's still plenty more improvements to be made.

The slight downside was, it seemed its mana cost was also slightly higher, which made sense—the shield was structurally slightly denser. If only there was a way I could reuse these shields, he thought wistfully. Wait. Mana Shield is just pure mana. Which means… He glanced back at the training bot, frowning, and then his newly made Mana Shield.

'Start.' It charged him, as per usual—he'd noticed it always seemed very direct in its fighting style. A second before it swung, he 'grabbed' his Shield with his mind and willed it in front of him. It was lucky he'd anticipated it, because his Shield almost didn't make it in time; he hadn't accounted for how awkward it'd feel to manipulate. But the sword still bounced off with a shower of sparks. I can just move it. He felt very silly, which seemed something of a theme today.

Three more exchanges passed, one of which he parried, one of which he sidestepped, and one he let his shield take, before he willed,'Freeze.' The shield shattered after a fight's worth of stalwart service. He was starting to feel kind of comfortable with a sword in his hand; he would've continued, but he'd just felt a ping. He checked his soulspace. Skill evolved! Mana Shield [Common] (0/3 -> 1/3) Constructs a circular shield out of Pure-affinity mana at the user's desired location.

This Skill has achieved basic proficiency (1). I'd expected a different ping, actually. It was two hours, six shields, and a few more quick exchanges with the simulation Warrior—his shield seemed to improve more when he took its blows, than when he took his own, for whatever reason, and he saw the blue box he'd been waiting for. Skill evolved! Mana Shield [Common] (1/3 -> 2/3) Constructs a circular shield out of Pure-affinity mana at the user's desired location.

This Skill has achieved basic proficiency (1), including a slight degree of shatter resistance (1). It was shatter resistance after all. He summoned a gleaming, beautiful Mana Shield, and gave it a full-powered slash. CRACK! The spiderwebs went almost 25% less deep into the shield—and the shield appeared with just a flicker of will. He hadn't even needed to focus on the specific structural changes; it was like Skill had simply accepted them as its new default. That's four supports in… I've been here six hours?

That went by fast. Four supports in six hours. That can't be bad at all. He was starting to feel a little mentally drained, which followed given he'd been exercising his soul, on-and-off, for six hours. But he still felt energized. I can get five. Surely I can. There's still the Force support, right? Also my Class level, which… He couldn't see an experience bar, but he was 100% sure he could achieve that today. And he couldn't forget one final objective. He turned back to the Tier 1 simulation Warrior.

Before I leave here today, he decided. I'm going to absolutely wreck you. Full fight, no freezes. He drew his sword, light gleaming off its blade.' Start.' This time, he slashed first.