Black String of Fate

Xavier rushed in by using the barriers as a platform. He had understood that trying to defend against this behemoth of a man was a foolish decision, so he had to stay fast and hit hard. It was easy to say, but against a grandmaster, it was a suicidal task.

They clashed again and again, but Xavier never committed to a single strike. He tried to get a hit in and chip away some damage, and then backed off immediately. After that, when it was time to strike, he would perform extreme footwork with his barrier platforms to confuse his opponent and get a decent hit in.

During that whole time, Xavier kept occasionally casting mana bullets and attempted to distract Arkham. It somewhat worked, because true to his words, Arkham had kept his power at the expert level. He had to stay alert because Xavier varied the strength of the spell each time, keeping him on his toes.

But, despite all these efforts, Xavier could not gain any significant advantage. He only had mana bullets and barriers to keep him going, and he was already using qi to boost the strength of his body. In between the moment of exchange, he would trigger the Aether Strike, but in a reduced form to conserve his energy.

'Warriors have definitely gotten stronger since ancient times. That king from the trial, even though he faced my demonic arts, would be weaker than this Arkham.

I need to do more than what I can right now. It's a rare opportunity that I face someone overwhelmingly stronger than me and I do not have to worry about being killed. I need to surpass myself right here to improve.

This Aether I created, it is from the union of both the Limitless Ascension Battle Qi and the Primal Mana, so it must be able to perform magic too.'
Stay tuned to m-v l|e'm,p y r

Xavier distanced himself from Arkham and halted the non-stop barrage he was unleashing on him. Arkham looked on with curiosity as to what Xavier was about to pull off.

'He's enlightened once again… Oh, what an enviable talent.'

Xavier closed his eyes as he focused on merging qi and mana once more, to the full extent. He had practiced this a lot, to the point of being able to use the reduced version consistently without exhausting himself. But this time, he went all out.

'It's hard to manipulate. It moves neither like mana nor like qi. It has a balance of both, a balance that is ever changing. I need to grasp that elusive balance and change the structure of the spell itself.

But, now that I think about it, why am I forcing a pure mana spell onto an energy that contains the properties of both? My Aether Strike is also like that, it uses a move of swordsmanship with an energy not meant for pure swordsmanship.

I need something more. Something better than both. What I need… is a spell with my sword.'

Xavier's eyes opened with a golden glow in them, seeing the world in a different spectrum. He could see the mountain of energy that was Arkham, he could also see the perfectly crafted energy of his own. But what intrigued him the most was that his sword had a golden energy surrounding it that seemed connected to both his mana heart and his dantian.

'So this is how Aether is made. How foolish was I, using it solely as an energy of a sword art? It is a gift, a compliment to my combat power as a whole. Now behold, I shall unleash the first true attack of a magic swordsman.'

He dashed towards Arkham, who made no attempts to dodge but rather put up a solid defense. He knew that not letting Xavier successfully execute his move now would forever hamper his development, so he stood steadfast.'

Not even realizing this gesture of goodwill right now, Xavier unleashed his move. He formed the shell of the mana bullet around his sword, giving it the appearance of a Lance. It looked like a very ordinary move any aura user could make, but Xavier, who was still in the Novice rank, pulled it off with a new energy.

*CLASH*

The move did not disappoint. Xavier's 'Lance' pushed hard at a single spot of the sword, almost nicking it. Arkham, despite his rather solid stance, was pushed back a few centimeters. He was shocked, as he couldn't believe the amount of power executed by him right now.

'That's incredible. It went to the level of an Advanced Expert. If he continues to grow like this, I'm sure-'

Arkham's thoughts were interrupted as Xavier pulled back and delivered another strike with the full force of his body. Arkham noticed that the shape, size, and weight distribution of the energy changed every second.

When Xavier pulled back, the energy surrounding the sword elongated and the weight went to the back of the energy blade, and when he swung forward, a huge chunk of energy concentrated on the edge of the blade, maintaining its size.

Xavier's energy alone had made it possible to use a fragile and offensive sword such as a katana for such heavy-duty work.

The attack landed with a force stronger than the last one, pushing Arkham back by a whole foot. It was strong to the point of him feeling his arms tingle and such a fact made him nervously smile.

"...Although it's negligible damage, he managed to hurt a Grandmaster. This kid, he is stronger than her."

**********

[Mastery Updated]

Limitless Ascension Battle Art:-

Mastery: Novice → Adept

Sub-Skill: Aether Strike (Adept → Expert)

************

"...Ahaha, so that was it. What I created was a battle art, not a sword art. How… utterly…"

*thump*

"...foolish."

And just like that, Xavier fainted from exhaustion. Arkham also took a deep breath, relaxing his nerves. He then sheathed his sword, picked up the fallen child, and addressed the caretakers to nurse him to full health, all costs lying on him.