"Status Window"
Ding!
[Name:] Theo Valtor
[Species:] Human
[Rank:] D
[Experience Value:] 3500 / 5000
[Strength:] 700
[Agility:] 650
[Mana:] 600
[Endurance:] 550
[Status:] Normal
[Intelligence:] 550
[Luck:] 450
[Attribute:] Lightning
[Skill Tree: Innate Skill]
1 - [Lightning Strike] [A]
2 - [Shock Bolt]
3 - [Targeted Thunder]
[Title:]
[Profession / Class:] Sword Warrior
[Acquired Skill]
1 - Electrolocation
After his training, Theo was checking his stats when something caught his attention.
It was nothing other than a fire spirit, shaped like a bat, coming in his direction.
"A fire spirit?"
Théo was intrigued.
It wasn't possible for a class like his to see a spirit unless the summoner wanted it. He was a little on guard and wondered who had summoned this fire spirit. He only knew one person in the village who could do such a thing, but he didn't see the point.
"Hmmm, maybe this is some kind of training…" he murmured when the spirit, once in front of him, stopped moving.
"What is this…"
He didn't finish his sentence before the bat-shaped fire spirit began to deliver a message.
...
"Haa… Haa…"
"Already tired? If you feel like you can't keep going, just let me know and I'll stop."
"Haa… Haa… I can still hold on for a few more minutes," Deon replied, out of breath.
Deon was training with his father for the first time. At first, even though he expected it to be tough, he couldn't imagine it would be worse than what he had envisioned.
Clang, clang…
Swords were clashing. Unlike most, they were using real swords to fight.
"No, not like that. Your guard and parries are bad. A swordsman must master these basic techniques if he wants to become strong. Try to imitate me," Nox said, correcting Déon's wrong movements.
"Yes, that's good. Keep going. Oh! That was a good attack," he continued as they kept exchanging sword strikes.
"What was that? A feint? How many times do I have to tell you to be unpredictable? Your feint was so obvious anyone could see it coming…"
Nox, who was usually very gentle, had completely changed; he was unrecognizable. His remarks toward Déon were harsh, and he showed no mercy. Even if it pained him, he had to train him as seriously as possible.
The training Nox gave was actually very simple. The first part of it consisted of giving a few lessons to improve Déon's swordsmanship. Despite his skill with a sword, Déon's basic techniques had flaws.
"Every swordsman must master the basics perfectly, or their swordsmanship will be ruined," he said while easily deflecting Déon's blows.
"Haa… And what would happen if someone who learned a sword technique fought another who only mastered the basics? Who would win?" Deon asked while taking a break to catch his breath.
"That depends. If that person has perfected the basics—guard, attack, parry, counterattack, and possibly feint—they have more than a 50% chance of winning. You need to understand that almost all sword techniques rely on the basics. And by mastering them, you could even copy sword techniques that aren't too complex," Nox explained, understanding his son's concern.
"Copy techniques…" Déon murmured, preparing to attack his father again.
"When you become strong, you'll understand the essence of what I'm saying. The strongest swordsmen no longer need a specific sword technique because it becomes useless. It's already late, let's take it up a notch," Nox said with a mischievous smile.
Deon, who was already preparing to attack, wanted to step toward his father, but froze.
It was the same sense of danger he felt when his father arrived. But this time, it was stronger and more oppressive. His senses screamed at him to run, and he even thought about doing so, but he was paralyzed by fear.
His legs refused to move no matter how hard he tried, and his brain struggled to figure out how to get out of this situation, but no answer came to mind. Deon saw his father in a new light. He was undoubtedly a monster in human form.
" Deon, try to counter my killing intent. Don't try to move without thinking."
Déon could see Nox talking to him, but he couldn't hear anything. In fact, what he saw from his perspective didn't look like his father at all. He saw a bloodthirsty monster whispering inaudible words, waiting to devour its prey.
Seeing that Déon was in bad shape, Nox quickly ended the training.
" Deon, are you okay?" he asked, a little worried.
"Yes…"
"The only way to counter killing intent is to emit it yourself or cover yourself with aura for protection. Don't forget that."
"Understood. Father, I need some healing potions."
After hearing his son's request, Nox stopped for two seconds to glance at him. He already knew what he was going to do with those potions.
"Potions? Hmm, you'll have them tomorrow," he replied, sighing before walking away.
"But what am I forgetting… I also need to allocate my stat points before tomorrow."
The next day, early in the morning after sunrise, at the edge of the forest, two people arrived almost at the same time, separately but converging toward the same spot.
Alexia wore an all-black outfit and gloves, leaving behind her usual leather armor for today. The relaxed expression on her face combined with the glow of her scarlet eyes gave her an air of complete confidence.
"Oh! What a coincidence, we arrived at the same time. I wasn't sure you'd accept the invitation," Alexia said when she saw the young man in front of her, before greeting him.
Standing before her was Theo—a young man of average height, with short dark blue hair and sharp facial features. On his back, one could see a large sword that radiated a sinister feeling.
"Hahaha, that's because what you suggested works for me," Theo replied, sitting on a rock with a half-smile on his face when he saw Alexia.