Giliath demands your power stones! Let's try to get over 500 stones this week!
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It didn't take long for our group to enter the Vander Dojo - Main Hall. I could see some seated areas off to the opposite corner of the elevated platform that allowed one to either train or spar with others, which was quite big by the way. It was more than double or triple in size to both the Vander Dojo in Parm and to the one in the Arseid School. We stayed silent as we entered, but as we walked inside, I saw both the Thunder God and Roselia walk across the training platform, reaching the other side to seat themselves down.
"Your friends can sit off to the side to the left, Your Highness. I have already notified the students to part ways from the platform. You will be fighting the first disciple of The Immovable, so I do have hopes for a good display of sportsmanship. I must admit, even I am looking forward to what you can display, little girl. It isn't easy to come out victorious during one of Her Majesty's martial arts competitions.", The Thunder God replied, causing Sherryl to stare at him across the platform.
"Hehe, I'll try to live up to your expectations, Lord Vander. Thank you for letting us use this place to have a spar. If anything does happen though, you'll fix it, right, Big Brother?", Sherryl replied, revealing a playful grin as she looked my way.
"Haha, money doesn't grow on trees, but we are intruding, so I'll see what I can do.", I retorted, causing Sherryl to roll her eyes.
"Good luck you two!", Princess Alfin happily chirped, clapping her hands together before wandering over to the left side where it was clear more seats could be seen.
"Yes, I am quite curious to see how this will turn out.", Prince Cedric also uttered to himself as he proceeded alongside Princess Alfin to take a seat. Aurelia and Kurt soon followed them and the four could now be seen seated at a safe distance. I could also see some Vander School students together with them, and it seemed they wanted to see the match as well.
As they took the time to sit down, Sherryl and I parted ways from them, only to start walking up onto the training platform. As the two of us did, I saw Sherry glance her eyes my way, appearing having something else to say. Once I heard Sherryl start to speak, my interest started to grow.
"Say Big Brother, I have a favor to ask of you before we begin.", Sherryl suddenly said, drawing my interest.
"Sure. Just name it.", I replied with growing interest.
"Would it be possible for you to display those powers you showed back on that resort island together with those Jaegers?", Sherryl asked, showing a serious look in her eyes. Hearing Sherryl suddenly ask that did catch me off guard, causing me to halt my steps.
"Are you sure? That power isn't something to be trifled with.", I responded with a serious look in my eyes. Just take it for example in my battle I had against Ace. I must admit, I have been practising Blood Magic since my fight with him, but it also went to show the duel I had against Rutger that Blood Magic is no joke. Still, even after saying that, I saw Sherryl nod her head.
"Uh-uh. Even I don't fully understand what that power of yours can do, Big Brother, but I want to see if I can stand against it. Plus even I have something to show you. Not even Teacher has seen this yet. After all, it is related to THAT. You know, how we spent our time down in those caves." Sherryl uttered softly, trying to keep a soft voice as if she had whispered into my ears.
"Sherryl...Are you suggesting that you...?", I uttered back, causing Sherryl's eyes to stare into mine. I could see the seriousness in her eyes, as well as her determination.
"Hehe, why ruin the fun if I spoil it now? Though this technique does drain my stamina rather quickly. I can use it for at most five to ten minutes. But don't you worry, it doesn't impact my health in any way. After all, it's what I was "blessed" with, much like how Renne has her Enhanced Cognition, Tio her Enhanced Senses, Ennea her Enhanced Sight and yours Enhanced Endurance, Big Brother. At first I thought mine was Enhanced Reflexes, but it turned out to be more than just that.", Sherryl responded with a soft utter, making sure no one else heard that.
"I see...Well I may have been developing a skill or two myself. Magic is perceived as unknown to most, but you've been exposed to it before. Plus Master will be witnessing it, so I don't want to disappoint her either. Heh.", I replied, revealing a grin. As Sherryl heard that, she rolled her eyes.
"Yeah yeah, just be sure to show me, alright, Big Brother?", Sherryl said, causing me to nod my head at her. We continued our walking, and parted ways once we were on the training platform. Sherryl walked toward the left. Seeing her take the stage on the left side, I knew to walk to the right. We now had a pretty considerable gap compared to how normal spars went. If one dueled with swords, the gap would be considerably shorter, seeing as one would have to strike blades with each other.
But Sherryl was different, she was a martial artist who likely used her own body to launch an attack. And with wanting to see my magic, I figured keeping a distance like this would be good at the start.
It wasn't a lie to say that I did practice a new skill or two since the fight I had with Ace. My Endurance Skill had gone up quite considerably. as well. It was pretty much [Max] like my other skills were. I had yet to see a skill evolve, but considering it was the Gamer System, it likely had some method to evolve or combine my skills to a higher degree. My True Dhampir class did level up during that trip as well. It powered up Blood Magic, as well as giving me Regeneration, and Wings to use as skills. I had no intention to use the latter since we were in a closed space. It would depend on what technique Sherryl has to show to see if she can put me in a corner to where I'm forced to use it.
And to go along with my Gamer System, my stats were different now, on top of gaining five levels from the previous two quests, which marked my present Lv, 110. I no longer had my Phoenix Armor equipped. Instead, what I presently had on was my Phoenix Robe, which was passed down through the long-lost Phoenix family, courtesy of my late mother. Phoenix Armor boosted a flat rate of my defenses by 1000 each, but to my surprise, Phoenix Robe was a growth item, much like how my Radiant Starlight was, also an heirloom courtesy of my late mother. I presently had Radiant Starlight equipped at my waist.
Imagine an equipment screen one would commonly see in any fashion of RPG game, it basically worked like that. It showed that I could put a weapon in my left hand and right hand, but it didn't limit its class size. That meant I could keep Radiant Starlight at my waist, counting it as "Equipped", while being able to enjoy another weapon.
Since I hadn't seen my Phoenix Robe's stats since it had reached my current level, I decided to have a look at it. To be honest, its effects left me quite speechless.
[Phoenix Robe (Growth) Lv 110/250]
Def: 1250 ADF: 1250. AGI 125.
Special Effect 1: Grants a boosted 100% ATS during the day.
Special Effect 2: Grants 20% reduced damage during the night.
Grants Unique Skill: Rising Ashes.
[Rising Ashes]
Upon receiving a deathblow, receives the burning cinders of the Phoenix, allowing Player to rise up from the ashes once more. Revives with full HP once.
Time limit: Once per month.
"...", Even seeing its effect multiple times left me speechless. This wasn't a game you know. I was reincarnated here into the Trailsverse. And yet, just like the Gamer System does its thing, it's treating this like a game, eh? Such a classic concept, but one that I will gladly accept. In the games, there were many forms of resurrection, whether it was through blessings, skills, or the use of items. Even Master has a spell to secure a soul once it has been departed from the body. But True Resurrection like this is a rarity of itself.
Though there were other known methods not known to many, it was a popular theme during the cold steel saga.
Becoming an Immortal.
If one became an Immortal, they could resurrect their body during the time they spend as an Immortal, as long as the Great Twilight was still being enacted. One wouldn't escape that destiny until the Rivalries were complete.
I, on the other hand, was a Reincarnator. Even if I am to possess Testa-Rossa, I would not share the same fate as the Jaeger King and the Steel Maiden will. It was different for Father too, he basically sold his soul out to Ishmelga. So once he was defeated, Father's time was up.
Perhaps during that fleeting moment, there is a chance to retrieve Father's soul, much like how Master retrieved Mother's and Emma's mother's soul?
Who knows. But seeing such a skill description leaves me dumbfounded.
I hope there never comes a day where I have to use it, but here in Zemuria, there's many unknowns to which even I don't know. I don't know what happens much in Calvard and to the East.
Apart from that, both the Phoenix Robe and Radiant Starlight were considered Growth weapons. They were basically their own category. And the only other Growth weapon I had was the divergent weapon the Grandmaster bestowed on me. Knowing that caused me to grin. But wait, that's wrong, isn't it...?
Through sheer luck of rolling those boxes back at Grancel Castle, I happened to get lucky.
I no longer just have three Growth Items, but four now. Perhaps it was influenced by me being in Liberl of all places, but I couldn't help but grin knowing what it was.
And seeing me behave like this, Sherryl tilted her head as she stood across the platform, confused at my current behavior.
"Big Brother?", Sherryl's voice reached out to me, causing me to regain my clarity from my thoughts. I quickly shook my head at her.
"It's nothing, Sherryl. We'll go at this until one of us faints or gives up. But before I show you what you want to see, let me show you a new toy I recently acquired.", I said, revealing a playful smile.
I'm used to it by now, but everyone on the left side grew wide-eyed seeing my hand suddenly vanish into an empty void, seeing me activate my Inventory. Even the Thunder God raised his eyes, not expecting to see such a thing. I knew Sherryl and Roselia were used to seeing it, so I disregarded everyone else.
What I pulled out was a rather intricate and fancy designed pole. Much like how a certain Power Pole belonging to a certain person from another universe had. Except this one was pure azure. If one had a close look from one end, a coiling snake could be seen wrapping around the entire pole, with its head eventually reaching the other end of it, only to chomp it down.
And well, considering this was a spar, I didn't want to be too equipped to where my stats would get inflated. Moreover, one of my goals here was to complete getting the [Dual-Weapon Style] of the Vander School. Until then, I didn't have much plans to wield two weapons, so I put Radiant Starlight back into my Inventory for now, which prompted me to close it.
"...Is that an azure pole?", Prince Cedric couldn't help but exclaim, still in shock at seeing me pull it out from seemingly nowhere.
"Since when did you learn to attack with poles, Big Brother?", Sherryl also raised her eyebrows, seeing me effortlessly twirl the pole around. As I did, I shifted my right leg backwards, entering an attack stance. I gripped my left hand at the tip of the pole, with my right hand at the bottom end. My grin remained on my lips as I heard Sherryl ask that.
"It's not like I spent these few months doing nothing, Sherryl. And it's not like I'm solely focusing on the way of the sword either. You can thank Father for that.", I responded with a playful smile.
"I see. Well, either way, the situation doesn't change. It doesn't look like you'll use those skills I wish to see at the start, so I'm guessing you'll be testing the waters then. Still, I'm no longer the little girl you knew either, Big Brother.", Sherryl said as a glint streaked across her eyes. Unlike from the morning, I could see her fists were currently wrapped around in a tight white cloth. After putting her two fists together, I unexpectedly saw Sherryl crouching down, bending her knees downward, almost at a forty-five degree angle.
I knew she had unlocked her Battle Aura since she showed it off at the fight with Rixia during the tournament, but perhaps she was starting with that technique that she wanted to show me? And for some reason, this stance seems very similar too...
It didn't take long before we could see visible changes start to happen over Sherryl's body. Despite not appearing to do anything on the outside, parts of her skin started to become rosy-red. Seeing this, Aurelia raised her eyebrows.
'Just what is going on inside this girl's body...?', Aurelia wondered to herself, seeing the visible pink spots appearing over Sherryl's skin. It definitely reminded me of a certain technique.
Don't tell me, did the Gnosis drug give Sherryl the ability to manipulate her blood in some way?
Yet as I thought that, we all started to hear a hissing sound start to escape from Sherryl's mouth. At the same time, I saw bits of white smoke escape from her lips.
"Hmm...", Matteus Vander uttered to himself, seeing Sherryl suddenly do this. I saw that his eyes were currently on her, as were the rest of those present.
"Like I said, I can only use this five to ten minutes at most, Big Brother. I do hope this will make you bring out that magic of yours.", Sherryl said, letting more smoke escape from her mouth. Seeing this happen, seriousness appeared in my eyes as I gripped my azure pole, ready to receive any sort of attack Sherryl would launch at me.
She did not activate her earthen battle aura, and instead she used this technique of hers, one that she hadn't revealed to anyone until now.
Yet the moment I blinked my eyes, everyone raised their eyebrows, me included. Sherryl's body suddenly vanished from her spot, almost as if she was never there to begin with...
"Shit.", I uttered, realizing what had just happened.
"Too late.", I heard Sherryl's voice reach my ears, coming from behind me. I tried to react quickly, twisting my body along with my azure pole. In a mere moment, I saw Sherryl suddenly appear behind me. She struck out one of her fists at an insane pace, causing a loud bang to land a direct blow onto my azure pole. I felt a very strong force struck against my body, causing me to get flown to the opposite side...
Not expecting such an increase in speed and power, Sherryl had already initiated the first strike. With that, the spar had begun as I twisted my body around again to regain my footing...
***
[World Eater (Growth) Lv 110/250]
Weapon Type: Pole
STR: 1500 DEF: 500
Grants 50% Bonus Efficacy to Time/Space/Mirage Elements
Grants bonus 50% damage to Demon-type monsters.
Grants bonus 50% damage to Angel-type monsters.
Grants Unique Skill:
Eater of Chaos
[Eater of Chaos]
SSS-class skill. Blunt damage: S.
Has a 25% Pierce effect. Upon landing Pierce, delivers a bonus 20% damage to enemy.
After landing a blow, grants Lifesteal earning 30% HP as damage dealt.
100% to impede an enemy's art.
Upon impeding enemy's art, [Eater of Chaos] has a 1% chance to reflect that art back at the enemy during Player's next attack.
Uses: 3 times per day.