Black String of Fate

Continue your journey with m|v-l'e m,p y r

Xavier held out his sword which was sheathed the whole time in his scabbard. He wasn't sure that it was the correct thing to do, but he had a gut feeling in this matter.

Like Lafia, he trusted his gut feelings immensely. They rarely ever disappoint him.

'I now possess both qi and mana… To truly awaken, I have to use this power at least once. Only then I can truly see the fruits of my efforts… and Lafia's gift.'

He raised his sword in an extremely familiar and practiced manner and imagined the qi running through his body. He tried the motion of using aura, but he soon found out that he wasn't able to. Even his qi was moving extremely roughly compared to him in the trials.

'Well, as expected. I'm not using the Supreme Demonic Arts anymore, the enlightenment of using aura was sealed along with that sword. I should not depend on it in the first place, since it is something that I may get dependent on in such early stages of my growth…'

He sighed and put away all the distractive thoughts. He had to focus, it wasn't something he could mess up.

*Swoosh*

The sword simply struck downward in a slow manner, but the consequences of his actions were anything but small. It was a simple swing, but the surroundings darkened, and Xavier began emitting a white-gold aura. He used both mana and qi together in his body, somehow combining both of them together inside him.

The result was not something he expected, he felt a form of energy far unlike both mana and qi. He could not call it any form of qi or mana, because while it possessed the vital qualities of qi, he felt the mystic qualities of mana too.

'Wow… is this what all magic swordsmen have? But… even the hero did not use such energy.'

While he was lost in his thoughts, he could not help but notice that blood was dripping from his mouth. He was shocked, because he knew exactly what caused him, but never did he imagine that he'll ever face such a problem.

'Even my gifted physique can't handle this power? Just what sort of monstrous power have I unlocked.'

With his body unable to handle the load, the energy quickly dissipated, leaving Xavier with separated mana and qi once again. This was the state he was expecting from the start, with him having the ability to use both mana and qi at the same time, not that weird state of using a completely brand new energy.

'Well, this is still enough to beat that fucker.'

Xavier then sharply turned around and faced Reno once more, who looked tense and prepared for anything to come.

Xavier stared at him for a few moments before devilishly smiling and saying,

"You're so dead, Reno, you don't stand a chance even with that rank 4 base. I'll make your death as painful as I can. This new power that I hold… You can't even begin to comprehend it."

Reno nervously smiled as he replied back,

"Haha, it's usually those who spout lines like you who die."

"I've been spouting these my entire life, and I've only died once. I think I'll take my chances."

Without wasting another moment, Xavier rushed towards Reno and swung his sword downwards. Reno could barely react before the strike reached him, and he had to fall back to minimize damage.

*Booom*

A loud booming sound resonated across the room as Xavier's strike missed and almost hit the ground. Reno had cold sweat behind his neck as he saw the destruction his strike was capable of.

'W-What the fuck?! He was already absurdly strong, just what exactly happened?'

Xavier himself was surprised at the strength he was able to exert just now. If he had to compare, what he did just now being a fresh rank one, it was a strength comparable to when he was a rank 3. His past life was already an impossibly high standard, but Xavier had surpassed even that by a large margin.

Reno, who had backed off, decided to seize the initiative once again. He concentrated on his shadows, manifesting multiple tentacles from his back. He knew Xavier was a swordsman, so the best way to counter him was from a distance.

He summoned 8 sharp tentacles and thrust them towards Xavier, who idly stood there without making any efforts to dodge and defend.

'Whew, this is gonna be my first time, so I hope it works.'

Xavier closed his eyes and sensed the mana heart inside of him. He could sense the absurd quantity and quality of the mana he had, thanks to Salazar's Perfect Foundation and Lafia's Pure Nature Spirit mana core and blessing.

He drew out the excited mana, ready to form his first ever spell. In spite of being in the middle of such a fight, Xavier was relaxed and eager to use his first ever spell. He put his hand forward towards the approaching black tentacles, gathering the mana in his hand.

He wanted to cast some cool magic for his first spell, but in the path of the mage, he was just a novice, like the others of his rank.

So, he knew he could only cast basic novice spells, but… That did not undermine his strength as a mage at all. In fact, the spell he was going to cast, it was the basics of the basics, and one that was used most commonly throughout the world.

"Barrier."

*Woooosh*

A crystal-like mana shield appeared on his hands, spreading outward on thin air like paint. Xavier could see the utter lack of fog or haziness in that mana, something that even Lafia lacked.

'Wait, if I remember correctly, my physique enhances the traits I obtain, so, have I obtained a quality of mana even purer than the Pure Nature Spirits?'

The shadow tentacles crashed into the shield, not even being able to move even an inch. Xavier could see that the barrier was definitely slightly damaged, but it was still an incredible result, considering that it was the Innate Gift of a rank 4 facing against a newly initiated rank 1 basic magic.