Chương 256: Chapter 253 - Ascending with a sword

Ryan casually walked away after throwing a molotov cocktail into the beating heart of Valmere. He did not look at the aftermath for he knew what would happen next. A ripple would spread throughout the kingdom, increasing support for the Radicalists, the ones that wanted change. The Fundamentalists would have to defend their way of life and discredit Ryan's words or make them sound more palatable. If it was just that then it would eventually settle down.

Sure, the seeds of doubt had been sown, but that was all it was. A seed. Not something guaranteed or even likely to grow into a great burning tree. The people of Valmere were too comfortable, too stable for a real, radical change. Ryan had seen it before in his own home nation. Too much comfort bred complacency and Valmere was just… too full of comfort. That was why this was only the start. You had to maintain the threat, the challenge if you wanted real change.

That's why the next reminder would come in three days. Enough time for it to spread, but not enough time to settle. So how will your kingdom deal with this Agrinth? That was likely to be the biggest challenge with all of this. Agrinth was like the Tyrants in The Realm. A proper declaration from the Son of Valmere could sway everyone's minds and potentially ruin everything. But if you do that, you lose Agrinth.

That was the trap you see, if the Kingdom of Valmere needed one man to fix everything, to protect against mere ideas and words, then his argument of a hero worshipping kingdom of servants failed. It would be no better than any other civilization that had an almighty power controlling everything. At the very minimum, Ryan would be able to walk away from their argument with a tie. A much better position than he was back at the roof. Ryan grinned as he started planning out the debate in his mind.

He was also making plans for what would happen if Agrinth decided to be subtler. Now that would be a little more difficult, though not impossible, not even close. Subtlety would lose to his overt statements that he'd spread throughout his time in Valmere. Especially when he could just call Agrinth a coward in public. Ryan grinned. He was having more fun than he expected. You wanted to play a game with me Agrinth? I've had to deal with the Manager and the Witch Tyrant. What have you had to deal with?

Some seventh realm threats? Ryan shook his head and changed the [Arcane Saboteur] with the [Conceptual Neophyte] class. They'd found that he could just have all of the crystals taped to his right arm and he could change classes easily. It was just a little uncomfortable so they taped four crystals instead of all of them. Though he was getting the feeling that maybe taping the [Arcane Saboteur] was a waste. The [Class Change] didn't feel that radically different compared to the others.

Ryan was technically always an [Arcane Saboteur] with his left arm, it was sort of like putting on a bigger jacket even though the smaller one was plenty fine. A little warmer, that was all. Maybe a little too radical? While he was analyzing the change with his [Neophyte] class he had returned to Fetterue's tower. When he swaggered back up to the workshop he was not met with the bustling researchers that he expected. They were all just staring at him like he was an alien. They'd probably seen the video.

Fetterue's angry steps broke the staring as she blocked everyone's view. She clicked her fingers and a privacy bubble went up around them." What the hell was that?" Ryan was realizing that he hadn't told anyone what he was planning on doing.

"A test on the Kingdom of Valmere's cultural stability? I got permission from Agrinth."" I very much doubt you got permission from him to do that! What am I supposed to tell to our cohorts?" She turned from the privacy bubble to look at the researchers that were still staring at the bubble with an uneasy look. That was despite the fact that they couldn't look back in. Ryan hadn't seen them stop like this unless it was to listen or ask him questions.

"Just tell them it's a uh, a test on the Kingdom's cultural stability." Fetterue's eye twitched as her fingers started to curl into a fist.

"All of them grew up believing in that culture. This is not something I can just wave away." Ryan crossed his arms.

"Well then, it's a good time to teach them not to believe in childish ideals that's clearly propaganda and doesn't hold up to scrut…" He frowned as he trailed off. Ryan lightly smacked his teeth and his tongue felt at the back of his teeth. The words felt wrong in his mouth. Like they didn't belong there. It felt… like he'd heard the words before. But where? Fetterue broke his train of thought before he could figure it out." Get out."

"Wait, what?"

"I was planning on keeping you from the others until you understood the importance of building up your fundamentals. I no longer care. You can come back when he's finished with you and you're ready to apologize. Hopefully, I'll be able to convince my cohorts by then. If not, then we're done here." Before Ryan could respond, Fetterue's hand flashed and a gust of wind caught him off-guard and threw him down the stairs. She'd hidden a spell circle behind her hand and he hadn't seen it form.

Fetterue promptly turned around and the workshop doors slammed shut behind her. Ryan patted down his sleek robes and shook his head.

"Man, just when I was getting comfortable with taking it slow as well." Then he remembered the other thing she said. Wait, what did she mean by 'when he's finished with you?' This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. As if drawn to that thought, a firm hand landed on his shoulder.

"It's okay, there's more than just one person here to teach you the things you lack." Ryan turned around and saw a middle aged man with slightly unkempt graying hair and a goatee. The other hand was loosely held on the pommel of a sheathed sword. Ryan smiled widely at the familiar face like he would at an old friend.

"Oh hey Vedit, long time no see. By the way, did you know that holding a grudge for a very long time is considered unhealthy and a detriment to your growth?" As a response, Vedit just chuckled.

"It's also been said that unfinished business is terrible for growth as well." A joke? Ryan frowned then took a step back and looked at Vedit properly. The Marshal of Valmere used to be someone that walked around like they had an enormous stick up their ass. This Vedit had a loose calmness that made Ryan feel like he was staring at a calm endless lake. No, more like a sheathed sword that you didn't know the length of. A [Swordsman] without a class, or rather, the class was there, just not the Trial System.

The concepts swirled around him, sharper than any other non system Trialist he had ever seen.

"Well, it looks like you've had no trouble with growth yourself."

"Time changes a lot in a person. Come, you and I should have a drink." Ryan blinked. … He had put on a cloak and they'd been running in the capital for about an hour. At their speeds it meant that they'd crossed well past the two hundred mile mark. Ryan stopped, a grassy plains surrounding them with a few scattered trees about.

"You aren't, you know… planning on killing me in the wilderness right?" Vedit chuckled.

"It'd be a little late for a question like that, don't you think?"

"Nah, you're a Swordsman, if you wanted to kill me, you'd have done it at Fetterue's place." Vedit raised an amused eyebrow.

"I heard about that from her. These classes, do they really define people in their entirety like that?"

"It's uh, probably not a good idea to lean on them for how people will behave, no. But I haven't gotten this far without being able to judge who I can and can't mouth off to, you know?" Vedit chuckled and shook his head at the cheeky [Rogue]. As if to prove Ryan wrong, he unsheathed a plain steel sword and stared him in the eyes.

"You have met a few ascendants, correct?"

"Yup."

"Good." The Swordsman without the class started to swing his one-handed sword. Ryan sucked in a breath as he watched a routine that must have been repeated over a million times. A perfect horizontal swing from left to right. A half-step back to adjust to the uneven ground, a light cut diagonally upwards. An endless sword on a perfectly unrippled lake, a silent meditation upon form and seeking perfection. Everything had been thrown away to reach that pinnacle and beyond. Vedit was moving faster and faster.

At a fourth realm speed now. Ryan had seen something like it before in the Obsidian Sect but this was different. The routine was different at each realm grade. A hop took Vedit several feet forward and the routine had to shift to adjust. He was mid-thrust while in mid-air and Ryan could see the logic in that. Fifth realm now, breaking the speed-barrier—except Vedit learned a way to cut through it. To not disturb the world that was the lake. He did not cause a disturbance despite the speed.

Vedit's entire body was the sword that slipped through the air. And that was as far as Ryan could follow. No, the truth was that he hadn't been able to follow the true subtlety of each movement from the very start. One look at Vedit's face and it showed that the swordsman had his full focus on every single swing. Not a flow state, but one that strained every single bit to make sure each movement was the very best he could pull off. It was impossible for Ryan not to be entranced.

Vedit went faster, ninety-seven years of mastery crystallized into these movements that Ryan wished he could follow. All of it building up to a single movement. Vedit stomped on the ground, disturbing the ground as he —slashed. It cut through the air, it cut through space, a skill without the Trial System. After a mile in the air, Ryan lost track of it. Vedit turned around and stared at him, intent.

"Do you know how I can make that last step into ascendancy?" Ryan was still staring at the path the slash had gone through. He tried to recall as much as he could about every single of Vedit's movement. Then Ryan closed his eyes.

"I don't know many natural ascendants. The path with the System we use is different from yours… But I do have anecdotes from people that have done it in other worlds." Or rather other Trials. Beyond the tenth Trial and sometimes even the ninth adventurers would start to cross other ascendants in their Trials. Some of them had told their stories and those dragonslayers had passed it on to the Realmnet.

"Every path is different and every person on that path is different again. Becoming an ascendant can mean anything, though every Swordsman that has hit ascendancy generally agrees on two things. The first is mastery of the basics. Stance, handling, positioning, the swing, all of it adapted to your body." The ninth realm thought about that for a moment.

"How can one truly master any of that?" Ryan shook his head ruefully.

"I think the fact that you're asking that means you're in the next step."

"How so?" This was something he had seen debates of. He was parroting the answer that Zahiru, the Settler Swordfront gave. He had once lamented giving his answer to the rest of the world.

"I don't really understand it myself but it's supposed to be a trick. If you've truly mastered it, then you would automatically be beyond an ascendant. When you realize it then you're at the second step. That's where mastery turns into art, where it's less about how you cut and more about when and where to cut to deliver the results you want." Vedit considered the words.

"Are you saying that to become an ascendant as a swordsman I must have wisdom guide my blade?"

"Hm, I don't know. I've heard of an ascendant swordsman that had to go the other way round. Where they used to fight based on instinct and had to forget everything and relearn the fundamentals to ascend." Vedit shook his head.

"I don't think something like that would work for me."

"Probably not. I'll ask around and see if I can get you a better answer." Vedit shook his head.

"No. I think I have what I need. Hm, too much perhaps."

"You really have changed."

"A lifetime of service and contemplation will do that to a man. Now, for that wisdom, shall I impart lessons of swordcraft to you as well?" Ryan blinked as the tip of a sword was pointed right at his face, faster than he could react.

"Uh, sure?" … A swing came up to his face as Ryan barely blocked with his shattersword. His soulweapon powered by his aura trembled against the simple shortsword that Vedit was using.

"You spoke of wise teachers yet I see none of that in your sword." Ryan gritted his teeth as he flicked a knife, it was contemptuously parried with the steel sword. Now… Ryan could throw a knife at speeds far exceeding the speed of sound, a plain steel sword should not have been able to parry that. Yet Vedit's sword still did.

"A shame! I can tell you walked this path but have thrown it away."

"I didn't throw it away!" Ryan kicked back as he expanded the blade, trying to use overwhelming force crush the steel sword. It wasn't the lesson that he was supposed to be learning but Ryan had to make a point here. He might not have mastery but he did have more power than mastery could give. Vedit simply leaned back and parried his blade as it passed. The parry somehow ruined Ryan's footing despite him being flat on the ground without swinging his body. That was like a [Trip Parry] skill.

He's using skills perfectly without the system. Or maybe, it was simply that the Trial System was built to emulate masters such as this. The sword was at his throat. Ryan acquiesced.

"I just haven't had the time to focus on it because of… everything." Vedit considered the answer then parried it.

"Is that the wisdom of your sword teacher?" Ryan bit back a retort, he could see where this was going.

"The only teacher I've had for the sword was through videos and he was a master of the katana, a long two-handed sword. I have not had any teacher for one handed swords and I have not truly adapted to this new one." Ryan took a stance, sword pointed up to tap the steel sword at his throat.

"I will gladly be your student." Vedit scoffed at the arrogance as he knocked away Ryan's sword. Then the Swordsman threw a wine bottle at him.

"We drink for our apprenticeships."

"Ah, a drunk Swordsman. Classic."

"Hopefully, I'll be able to do something about that mouth of yours." Ryan grinned as he sniffed the bottle. It was so potent that it alerted his [Lesser Dangersense]. He heard that some of the incredibly expensive higher realm alcohol could do that. Ryan took a big gulp. It was strong… and a little fruity and… The world started to spin.

"What the… oh shit." Ryan stumbled back. Vedit sneered at him." Really? All I had to do was act like a pure swordsman and you fell for it."

"Not… not fair." If Ryan was in a proper state of mind, he would have said that it was an unfair statement since Vedit was a stupidly strong ninth realm that could have done whatever he wanted. He also was a Swordsman. Vedit picked up the bottle and took a large swig and smacked his lips.

"Lesson one, brat. Never let your guard down. You should always know what you're drinking." Barry is going to give me so much shit later. That was the last thought Ryan had as he passed out in the plains.