by L. M. Kerr
“Make wiser choices in your next life.” Micheal looked at Prime.
Prime looked back.
For the second time, time seemed to stand still between the two enemies as they each sized each other up.
That moment passed.
And then…
Micheal’s right hand flickered.
A flash of yellow light appeared, light that dawned around Micheal’s sword, imbued with a cutting edge so fierce it split the air itself. This light had an odd gravitas around it, one that inherently formed a sense of fear in any who looked upon it.
Light that flickered in a manner similar to Micheal’s Advanced Tier Sword Energy… but stronger.
Much, much stronger.
Micheal’s right hand flickered.
Moments later…
Micheal cut the skyscraper in half.
.
Chapter 83
The concept of Sword Mastery was a very mystical thing. Before the apocalypse began, Micheal would’ve found such an idea unfathomable, impossible to comprehend.
That incomprehension became truly notable once a warrior crossed from the Advanced Tier to the Master Tier.
The gap between these two Tiers was considered a ‘wall’ of sorts. A wall that was impassable to the vast majority of humans, one that separated the common sword-users from the elite Swordmasters, especially beyond the First Layer, where Weapon Mastery Abilities gained a large amount of prestige.
Micheal’s Soul stat currently wasn’t high enough to bear using Master Tier Sword Energy for any notable amount of time. Bracken Enhancement Fluid mainly boosted one’s physical stats, meaning its effect on the Soul would be minimal at best.
In fact, using Master Tier Sword Energy at all was impossible for Micheal right now.
Impossible if he wanted to use it safely, that was to say.
If he ignored the pressure and injuries it would bring to his Soul, however…
Well, that was another story.
The yellow light that appeared on Micheal’s sword was none other than Master Tier Sword Energy. It was pale and light colored, indicating it was the lowest level of Master Tier, but Master Tier Sword Energy nevertheless.
From Basic to Advanced, the Sword Mastery Ability didn’t change too much. Merely, the potency and power of one’s Sword Energy increased to higher and higher levels.
However, once one reached the Master Tier, they gained a new power through their Sword Mastery, a power Swordmasters were famous for.
The power to manipulate Sword Energy… outside of one’s body or weapon.
For a fraction of a second, Micheal drew upon Master Tier Sword Energy to power his attack.
The moment his sword left his sheath, the pale, yellow energy that had swarmed it began to stretch outward. Because this type of energy was the lowest state of Master Tier Sword Energy, it could only expand outward or inward in a straight line.
Typically, someone with this level of energy would have a very basic understanding of the Master Tier. As a result, they would only be able to lengthen their blade, and the attacks from it, by a few meters.
Micheal’s understanding, however, was already at the Grandmaster level.
A thin, yellow line of energy stretched out from Micheal’s blade the moment he drew it. This line shot outward rapidly, far quicker than Micheal could track. In just a tiny moment, it had already stretched more than 10 meters till it reached the back of the theatre.
The instant it touched the back wall of the theatre…
It pierced through it.
Not all Sword Energy users had identical powers. In the Master Tier and below, there was a large focus on the type of combat and using one type of weapon one would become. For example, a Swordmaster that wielded a rapier would often have Sword Energy that was specialized in fast, piercing damage.
Micheal was used to wielding longswords, katanas, and longer weapons with a sharp edge. Before he broke through to the Grandmaster Tier, his understanding of Sword Energy was geared towards wide, cutting power and slashing attacks. He wouldn’t normally use his Sword Energy to expand and pierce through things.
His breakthrough to the Grandmaster Tier, however, had required him to fully understand how to use Master Tier Sword Energy, regardless of sword-type or specialization.
As a result, despite using the weakest level of Master Tier Sword Energy, he was able to fully utilize its ability to pierce through obstacles.
And still… Master Tier Sword Energy was Master Tier Sword Energy.
No matter how thin a line that Sword Energy was, no matter how small, pale, and weak looking it might be… it was still Master Tier Sword Energy.
And here on the First Layer… there was almost nothing in existence that could stop it.
It cut through the wall like it was butter.
The energy then continued its expansion all the way till it was around 24 meters long, just long enough to cut through the edge of the skyscraper.
This rapid expansion took place in around 0.2 seconds from the time Micheal took to draw his weapon.
Micheal’s right arm then transformed into a blur as he put all of the strength that remained in his body into a single, sweeping attack. The yellow energy coated his blade with a magical light as he whipped it forward, performing a precise, twisting maneuver.
This attack had a special name and was one he had learned a long time ago, the ‘Rotating Slash’ technique. It was a strike designed to take on large numbers of enemies, one that gradually built up in power as it wrapped around in a circle, leaving an incredibly potent finishing strike.
And… just like that, Micheal began to cut the skyscraper in half.
Across from him…
Prime had initially just sat still, observing Micheal’s technique as he prepared to work against it.
In pursuit of that, Prime had frozen time to observe what Micheal was doing. Micheal was a man that Prime, even after constant observation and study, could not understand.
In a slightly ethereal looking copy of the world, Prime currently leaned against one of the theatre seats, observing the yellow energy that stood frozen in the air, pierced towards the back of the theatre.
A long, smooth cut could be seen at the end of the yellow line of energy, slashing through the back wall like it didn’t even exist.
‘This… this is possible too?’ The thought flashed into Prime’s mind as he stayed in his frozen world, looking at what Micheal was capable of.
Prime gazed at the devastatingly powerful attack, and then over towards Micheal.
A cool smile had appeared on Micheal’s face, his eyes lacking even a hint of mercy. His expression, if it could be described in a single word, was cold.
Prime studied that, as he studied Micheal’s posture, the way Micheal’s arms were flexed, how he was gripping his sword. He then traced the trajectory of the attack and the expected angle it would take, sighing slightly.
Without a doubt, this attack was going to hit him.
Prime spent roughly ten minutes calculating everything as he went over possible ways he could dodge. Unfortunately for him, the speed that Micheal was attacking with, added to the distance Micheal was from him, left Prime with very few options.
“Arrgh!” Out loud, Prime winced as he touched his head and grimaced.
Right now, a searing headache was piercing through his body in waves of pain. Even now, in frozen time, this agonizing pain refused to leave, making his calculations and plans take much longer. Every thought was painful.
He frowned in an annoyed manner as he continued trying to focus, irritation lacing his thoughts.
“It’s possible I might be able to dodge if I duck and twist down at the right angle here… hmm…” His words echoed softly in the still air as he studied where a copy of his own body stood still.
If he had been in perfect condition, it would’ve been easy to avoid the attack. Right now, though, while his body was mostly fine, he was suffering from some type of devious
spiritual injury. The damage he’d taken was making it extremely difficult to control his movements. His body was constantly trying to pass out, something he had to force away every second he spent back in the real world.
He had been able to seize control when he dueled Heron for a few seconds. But if he stayed for any type of extended battle, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to hold out. There was only so much abuse his body and Soul could take, even if his willpower overwhelmed everything.
“But even if I dodge, I’ll be much more vulnerable to a continuation attack. And…” Prime paused, looking over at Micheal with a sigh,
“I don’t think he should be able to pull off another strike like this. But I can’t prove that he can’t. And if I let myself die here…” Prime folded his hands together as he pondered various things. He sat down in one of the theatre seats, scowling as he thought things over.
No one knew how long Prime sat there, lost in his own thoughts.
Eventually, however, he got up, wincing again as he rubbed at his head. He slowly walked back over till he was facing Micheal’s body. He sent Micheal a decidedly annoyed glare.
“I can’t believe you actually forced me to use this and are still going to live.” Prime tapped on a small, white ring that he wore. A small, black sigil was imprinted on the bottom half of this ring, one that glowed very faintly.
If Micheal was able to look at it, he would’ve recognized it instantly.
It was a Returning Ring. A special Limited Artifact that cost around 200,000 Points, another thing Prime must’ve gained from an Irregular. This Artifact was reusable, but very rare.
It allowed one to set a ‘Home’ that they could teleport to, as long as they were within a certain distance of it. With Prime’s Soul stat, he needed to be within 60 miles of his ‘Home.’
The Artifact could only be used roughly every 30 to 40 days, requiring at least that long to repair itself from the damage it took for forcefully ripping a person through space. If used again before it could fully recover, it would work, but would also shatter, and make obtaining another one extremely difficult.
“I really did underestimate you, Heron. The next time we meet… I won’t.” Prime sighed again as he rubbed at his forehead.
“As for the words you shared with me about this hidden enemy…” Prime’s eyes began to glow as he prepared to let time return to its normal flow, a hint of dark promise appearing within his voice,
“I will look into it.”
Light flashed out from his eyes.
Time went back to normal.
Micheal finished his Rotating Slash technique in around half a second.
The full technique required him to rotate roughly 180 degrees, pulling his arm forward till it moved all the way around, behind his back. Like this, the attack would move in a full, and complete circle, building up power as it cut through the air.
As Micheal finished his attack, a flurry of Points notifications popped up.
.
—-Points Obtained—-
Points: 427
.
—-Points Obtained—-
Points: 182
.
—-Points Obtained—-
Points: 13
.
—-Points Obtaine…
.
Micheal ignored all of them as he accidentally wiped out more than 30 random Morenkai, some that were climbing the outside wall, while others that were moving in stairwells or clambered down to their floor after their fight began.
The skyscraper shook slightly as a result of this attack, but didn’t collapse or fall over. Despite the damage Micheal had dealt, his cut had been so even and perfect that it would need a hefty blow to make the skyscraper fully separate.
Instead of that, though, Micheal’s focus was split onto two other things.
The first, of course, was Prime.
Micheal’s attack cut through the air into exactly where Prime had been standing. Micheal was half convinced Prime would dodge the attack and still fight, the worst-case scenario.
To his delight, however…
Prime’s body vanished before Micheal’s eyes in a familiar flash of black light. A small, glowing symbol, shaped like a triangle with two horizontal lines piercing it, appeared in the air where Prime had been standing, dissipating into smoke.
‘He had a Returning Ring!’ Micheal didn’t feel surprised that Prime managed to escape, but was still surprised that Prime had such a rare Limited Artifact. There were only 500 of these in all of existence, and many of them were likely owned by people in the Second Layer or higher.
He couldn’t help but grin, however, as he realized what that meant.
Prime had retreated. He had won.
Before he could revel in his victory, though, agony swept across Micheal’s mind as he finished his attack, temporarily stunning him.
He had just performed an amazingly powerful attack, one that was beyond the capabilities of his Soul to produce.
As a result… he had overdrawn himself and injured his Soul.
Apart from pain, a feeling of sickness and unwellness formed in the pit of Micheal’s stomach, the tell-tale sign of a Soul injury. Micheal grit his teeth when he felt it, knowing it was inevitable. He couldn’t quite tell the full scale of the injury he’d suffered, but he knew from experience that it wasn’t a tiny wound.
Injuries to the Soul were very serious. If left untreated, it was possible a person might fall into a coma as their Soul focused on reknitting itself, leaving the wounded person vulnerable to attacks from anything or anyone.
Overdrawing his Soul to funnel such an attack was certainly a risky maneuver.
As he blinked his way past the pain in a split second, he forced himself to focus on the positive, beating back the sick feeling as best he could.
The injury he had gained wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, however.
The differences between the Advanced Tier and the Master Tier of Sword Mastery were there for a reason.
Manipulating Master Tier Sword Energy was extremely difficult, even for someone with a much higher Soul stat. Every time you used the devastating energy, the power would attempt to ravage your Soul and escape beyond your control.
Even if you had an iron grip and perfect control, your Soul would still need to bear the use of Master Tier Sword Energy. For humanity, achieving such a thing without injury was impossible. It wasn’t like Advanced Tier Sword Energy, which could be used relatively freely.
Like it or not, Micheal had come to understand that human ‘Souls’ were not as tough as the Souls of many other species. Much like how a squirrel is naturally weaker than a Tyrannosaurus Rex, the human race falls far behind other species in terms of ‘Physique’ or ‘Soul Quality.’
The way the human race had dealt with this, in his first life, was to temper one’s Soul repeatedly with Master Tier Sword Energy. Gradually, a warrior’s Soul would adapt to using the energy, becoming sharper and more concentrated, like training a muscle.
While such a process never managed to officially raise a human’s Soul Quality to 1 Star, it was capable of making a human capable of freely using Master Tier Sword Energy, a type of ‘side-grade.’
This was how all humans, as far as Micheal knew, initially trained in the Master Tier, a process that typically took years to master. Even he had taken several years to fully conquer the Master Tier, building his mastery up over time.
However… Micheal was no longer the same person he had been before.
In terms of Soul Quality, Micheal’s Soul was already rated at 1 Star, and liable to increase to higher levels if he had his way. His Physique was rated at 1 Star as well, both above the normally starless rating for the human race.
Further, he knew exactly how to manipulate Master Tier Sword Energy, he knew how his Soul would interact with it, the best ways to train using it, essentially every secret or training technique that wasn’t a darkly held secret.
If there was nothing else he was thankf
ul for from his past life, it was his obsessive nature when it came to Sword Mastery.
And with all of this knowledge and these changes in mind, Micheal’s training regimen would be like no other.
By introducing his Soul to Master Class Sword Energy early, he would be able to force it to adapt far faster than it had before. Instead of taking things carefully and cautiously, step by step to avoid unexpected disaster, Micheal could rush through both his Ki Cultivation and his Sword Mastery growth.
After all… he had already done all of this before. He knew exactly how to master each concept. While his Physique and Soul Quality had improved and he was no longer limited by his past Type, the ideas and ideals of both Abilities would remain identical.
Under his careful guidance, he would be able to rise to power at a speed unmatched by any warrior in existence.
He had started a little bit too early, but it wasn’t altogether a bad idea, as long as he could keep this injury under control. And given that one of the best ways to heal an injury to the Soul was to make a breakthrough in Ki Cultivation, Micheal was confident he would be back to full health in no time.
All of this flashed through his head in an instant, taking only a couple of seconds to process as he recovered from the shock of the injury to his Soul.
Right after that, he assessed the situation around him.
Prime had escaped, vanished from this room, and away at a safe point, many miles in the distance. With the injury the man had suffered to his Soul, there was no chance the genius tactician would risk attacking again, not today.
And given that Micheal was planning on leaving the First Layer within 24 hours, that meant he no longer needed to worry about Prime.
He hadn’t managed to kill his enemy, and Prime was certainly someone that would never forgive Micheal for what he had done.
But that was fine.
After all… that was the plan all along.
Director Prime was a very, very dangerous man. Obsessive, a genius tactician, and an extremely powerful warrior with a huge amount of potential. Killing him in one go, even with all of Micheal's preparation and future knowledge, was never very likely.