As Adam was regretting his decision, Sebastian continued to chant.
" Force all before me to bow down to my whims. Be it mortals or gods, they shall submit. Break the chains that bind you, Imperium!" [Sebastian]
A dark portal appeared before him. Moments later, a black handle surrounded by golden chains slowly came out.
"I-is it alive?" [Adam]
The handle was quivering as it slowly came out. It seemed like it was struggling against the chains that bound it.
"It houses a part of my soul, so I guess it is." [Sebastian]
He grabbed the handle, shattering the chains that sealed it. Drawing it out of the darkness that is the portal, he revealed a curved blade about 1-2 feet long. The entire sword was black, with red outlines. The edge was jagged, as if sharpened with a rock.
"That… gives me creepy vibes…" [Adam]
"Looks like you're not the only one." [Sebastian]
He pointed down at Adam's hand. Looking downwards, he noticed that Krino was shivering.
"What the..?" [Adam]
"I told you didn't I? They have a conscience too. Treat them like people." [Sebastian]
"Okay, but why is it shaking? I know your soul weapon is creepy, but it doesn't scare me that much." [Adam]
"That's because soul weapons can sense one another. It can probably feel the power coming from my sword." [Sebastian]
"Is your sword really that powerful?!" [Adam]
"Let me teach you a little something. Your soul weapon's strength comes from will power. Depending on how much will power their user has, the stronger it becomes. That also includes the effectiveness of it's abilities. That means, my will power is just strong enough to scare your soul weapon" [Sebastian]
"And how can I train something like that?" [Adam]
"Simple." [Sebastian]
Suddenly, He swung Imperium at Adam.
"!" [Adam]
Barely reacting in time, he managed to bring Krino up to block the attack.
"Ugh!" [Adam]
He staggered backwards, leaving his arms trembling.
("My arm's gone numb! How can someone possibly hit that hard!") [Adam]
"You can train willpower by using your soul weapon in combat." [Sebastian]
He took a stance with his left hand in front, keeping Imperium above his head. The edge of the blade was directed at Adam, keeping the top of Sebastian's head well protected.
"This is my fighting stance. It is meant for one handed swords. Do your best to break through my guard." [Sebastian]
No longer affected by the numbness, Adam readied himself.
"Am I supposed to copy your stance?" [Adam]
Sebastian shook his head.
"No, no. Your sword is a two handed one. I want you to fight me for a multitude of reasons. One of them is to find your own stance." [Sebastian]
"And the others?" [Adam]
"For you to unlock Krino's abilities." [Sebastian]
"Will it be unlocked through combat?" [Adam]
"Feeling unmotivated?" [Sebastian]
"To tell you the truth, I don't want to do this anymore considering that you made my arms numb from a single swing." [Adam]
"Hm... How about this? If you manage to land a blow on me, I'll show you what my eyes look like." [Sebastian]
"...Are you serious?" [Adam]
"Absolutely." [Sebastian]
"..." [Adam]
Adam stood there weighing his options.
"If you're still not convinced, then how about I only defend as well?" [Sebastian]
With an offer like that, Adam couldn't resist accepting the challenge.
"I'll do it." [Adam]
"That's the spirit." [Sebastian]
Adam rushed at Sebastian with Krino held high.
"Take this!" [Adam]
He swung down with all his might, only to be sidestepped before landing.
"You should've feinted that." [Sebastian]
With Krino near the ground, he tilted the blade and swung upwards at Sebastian.
"That's it, follow the momentum with your blade." [Sebastian]
Sebastian parried the blade upwards sending Adam off balance.
("I'm not fast enough! I need more speed!") [Adam]
He sent a flurry of slashes at Sebastian, only to be parried flawlessly.
("It's not enough!") [Adam]
All of a sudden, images and words flowed into his head.
"Oh, I know what I need to do now." [Adam]
He stepped back, distancing himself away from Sebastian.
"Giving up already?" [Sebastian]
Adam pointed the tip of his blade at Sebastian.
"Hm?" [Sebastian]
"Scales of Libra." [Adam]
Upon saying those words, swords of the same shape as Krino materialized above Adam.
("They're black and white?") [Sebastian]
The blades propelled themselves at Sebastian.
("I think I have to take this one a little more seriously.") [Sebastian]
He sped up, deflecting all the blades away from him.
"I'm impressed, you managed to unlock your first ability in a few minutes." [Sebastian]
"What's more impressive is that you deflected my attack." [Adam]
"You can do that too if you improve your swordsmanship." [Sebastian]
"...That's a bit of a stretch. But now I stand a chance against you." [Adam]
"Do you now?" [Sebastian]
("...I don't like the way he said that...") [Adam]
"Scales of Libra!" [Adam]
Adam rushed at Sebastian while firing off copies of Krino at him.
"This is a bit troublesome." [Sebastian]
Trying his best to hold off the onslaught of blades, he also did his best to block all of Adam's slashes.
"No time to parry now do you!" [Adam]
Sending in more swords at a constant rate was consuming Adam's mana supply rapidly, but it was working. Sebastian was starting to lose ground.
("I'm going to have to use it!") [Sebastian]
"Absorb!" [Sebastian]
He started ignoring the flying swords and only concentrated on Adam.
"You're mine!" [Adam]
The copies of Krino managed to reach Sebastian, but they vanished.
"What?!" [Adam]
Sebastian's mouth widened into a grin.
"It turns out those blades are made of pure mana. That means I can absorb it." [Sebastian]
"That's dirty!" [Adam]
"All adults play dirty!" [Sebastian]
He added a little more force into his parry, causing Adam's sword to go flying.
"Damn it… I give up." [Adam]
With his loss, he allowed Krino to dissipate into thin air.
"All right, but the training isn't over yet." [Sebastian]
"What?" [Adam]
"Come back here everyday, so I can prepare you." [Sebastian]
"Prepare me for what?" [Adam]
"The dungeon." [Sebastian]
Color drained from Adam's face.
"I don't think I want to go to another one again…" [Adam]
"Well… I need you to." [Sebastian]
"Why?" [Adam]
"So Felix can get a soul weapon." [Sebastian]
"Oh…" [Adam]
("I guess Felix would feel left out if he didn't have one.") [Adam]
"Alright, I'm in. But I want to know more about dungeons before we go." [Adam]
"Why are you talking like I'm sending you two in already?" [Sebastian]
"Are we not?" [Adam]
With the training session put on hold, Sebastian returned Imperium back into a portal.
"No way. Each dungeon has a dungeon master like that one I killed. Unlike me, you two are clearly not ready for that." [Sebastian]
"I thought that guy was a special case.." [Adam]
"So I want you to come here everyday so we can get to training." [Sebastian]
"...I'm just going to head home now then…" [Adam]
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
For the next couple of days, Adam went over to Felix's house to train swordsmanship with Sebastian. He was showing progress each time, getting closer and closer to landing a blow on Sebastian. But today, something unprecedented happened to him in the middle of class.
"And today for class we will do mental image training." [Mr. Frank]
Adam had his head resting in the palm of his hand, the lecture was going in one ear and out the other.
"Adam." [???]
"Huh?" [Adam]
He looked around in confusion.
("Was I imagining things?") [Adam]
Thinking he was hallucinating, He went back to daydreaming the day away.
"Adam." [???]
("Oh my god, am I getting pranked?") [Adam]
Not knowing what was happening, Adam decided to ask Felix.
"Felix, did you call my name?" [Adam]
"Hm? No, why?" [Felix]
"I feel like someone keeps calling my name." [Adam]
"Well, it's not me." [Felix]
"Then... could it be Tiffany?" [Adam]
"Was it a girl's voice?" [Felix]
"Uhm… No?" [Adam]
"Then why did you even ask?" [Felix]
Adam's face turned red in embarrassment.
"Adam." [???]
"There it is again!" [Adam]
"What is?" [Felix]
"Someone called my name!" [Adam]
"...I think you're hallucinating." [Felix]
"...Maybe I am." [Adam]
He faced the board and rested his chin on his hand again.
"Adam!" [???]
("Oh my god, when will it shut up?! Am I hallucinating from lack of sleep? Did I eat something weird?") [Adam]
"No, you didn't." [???]
("Huh?! It heard me?") [Adam]
"It's me, Krino." [Krino]
("...I'm speechless.") [Adam]
"Do you know how long I've been trying to get you to hear my voice?" [Krino]
("Not at all.") [Adam]
"I spent all day, everyday calling your name." [Krino]
("Wouldn't that be really tiring?") [Adam]
"That's how I'm supposed to work." [Krino]
("Wait a minute… How are you talking to me when I haven't summoned you?") [Adam]
"I'm linked to your soul. I can talk to you without even being out. Now that we can communicate, I can actually give you some tips on how to use me." [Krino]
("Oh really? Can you tell me how to beat Sebastian?") [Adam]
"He's… a special case. I don't think we can beat him." [Krino]
("What do you mean?") [Adam]
"Soul weapons are also equivalent to our users actual power, and Imperium is much MUCH stronger than me." [Krino]
("...Can I at least land a blow?") [Adam]
"Maybe? If we try hard enough." [Krino]
("Then tell me how.") [Adam]
"It's kind of complicated to explain, I'll tell you when you're fighting him." [Krino]
Believing that he could win, a subtle smile appeared on Adam's face.
("Can't wait.") [Adam]