[ Preserver's Offering ]
This was the sword art of the de Nuantra family. My eyes thus shone with interest. If I had a chance to learn something that I wasn't supposed to, I would gladly take the opportunity.
Though, it was I who crafted the sword art. Even the inventor of the art was my creation. This sword art... It was mine.
Therefore, I had all the rights in the world to watch it be performed so that I may learn of its realities.
'Well, even without these rights, I would still have fun watching what I'm not allowed to see,' I chuckled to myself as I relished in my thoughts.
I thus hid within a bush silenced by Silent Being. Decrease Presence kept people from noticing that I was actually there while Camouflage eventually draped my body in colours of green and brown.
I became a fly on the wall. Layers of stealth techniques veiled me from the eyes of the people around me.
Like this, I watched what was now transpiring from atop my small incline. I sat around as if I was in an amphitheatre enjoying a show.
Three minutes swiftly passed. The sword mentor had the students watch him from a set distance for their safety. They all formed a loose semicircle around him.
I blinked, and Sight-Sent Senses allowed me to situate myself in front of the sword mentor. Mana Vision allowed me to observe the flow of mana in the air.
It allowed me to see the moment the sword mentor's mana surged. Like a raging fire, mana erupted from the sword that he slowly unsheathed.
'He's at least D rank,' I noted down the sword mentor's power.
In my eyes, the fully unsheathed sword blazed with a bonfire of mana. The sword mentor held his weapon horizontally.
"The first offering! Ring of Riches!" He roared, brandishing his blade to slash across the horizon.
Fwhooom—!
Through Mana Vision, I watched as a blue circle erupted with him at the centre. The mana that was reflected in my eyes acted like liquid flames, pushing all the students back several steps and ruffling their clothes.
The air in the area was torn apart as the sword travelled, and I heard the screech half a second later, like lightning and thunder.
The sword mentor then shifted his body and slashed out like a maniac once again.
"The second offering! Arc of Blood!"
Swaaaah—!
A vertical arc was born, slicing apart the sky above the sword mentor's head. From where I sat, it looked as if a blue rainbow had appeared over him, shining with fierce lethality.
"—And finally! The third offering, Golden Heart!"
The sword mentor bellowed before lunging forward and flying like an arrow with his sword outstretched.
A single point was pierced through. Human doughnuts could surely be created when one had mastery over this move.
Then, after flying a few metres forward, he slammed on the brakes. After twirling his sword twice in a display of dexterity, he sheathed his blood-scented blade. The mana in the area instantly calmed down as if a disturbance had never occurred.
Like the ocean replacing a scoop of water, mana poured back into the area and all became blue in my eyes once more.
The students all had grim expressions on their faces after experiencing the bloodlust that the sword mentor had displayed. The aura of a person who had killed many had a mentally toxic effect on those with insufficient mindsets and willpower.
I almost allowed myself to chuckle. Thankfully, I stopped before I did. I could not risk movement at this moment.
A few guards had appeared nearby, attracted by the display of the sword mentor. They too were students of the truths of swordsmanship.
Nonetheless, I engraved those moves into my memory. I could use those three moves if I ever wielded a sword in the future.
Too bad it wasn't complete—
"Have you taken note of the final three moves?" The sword mentor scanned his students who all shrank back instinctively.
He waited for a moment just in case there were any questions. He had to make sure these young ones understood. Otherwise, he wouldn't be doing his job well enough to keep living in the de Nuantra castle.
"Yes, Sword Mentor Fahal!" The students answered with a courageous roar.
"Good! I will now demonstrate the completed sword art, so all of you, watch carefully." Fahal smiled before placing his hand on the pommel of his blade.
He then got into a stance, and I couldn't help but hold my breath.
Mana coursed through his body and surged out of his pores. Fahal was a human torch of fiery mana.
Then, what came next was the Preserver's Offering sword art I could vividly remember writing. In Fahal, I could see the inventor of the technique.
My Hyperfocus was triggered and the world moved in slow motion. Another beautiful creation of mine was baring its fangs before me.
I recalled a scene where this sword art was used in the war of the Great Plains.
It had been used by the de Nuantra family's patriarch, Thallajin Ayaki de Nuantra. And his sword at that moment had matched Eve's blade.
His rebellion had almost been successful.
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Jin, who had stolen a tsunami of mana from Aelthrie's generators, rose to the air with the aura of Rank A. He had finally broken through.
Another Rank A of humanity had emerged, basking in the glory of being powerful beyond the comprehension of the masses.
In his hand was a single sword. A sword he had used to fight his way into the core of the city, slaying the Valorous Guard, one combatant at a time.
Blood still dripped from his blade, and the corpses lying beneath his hovering form were numerous.
"Eve!" Jin boomed, "Your city is finally... finally, finally mine!"
A joyous cackle sprouted from Jin's lips.
He was overjoyed. The energy he controlled as an A ranker was even greater than he thought. The realm of A which had now been dubbed, [ Divine-Grasping ], turned his sword into a mountain-splitting weapon.
This feeling of absolute dominance couldn't be replicated through any other means.
"This city will never be yours, Thallajin." A woman's voice cut through the air.
Boom—!
A figure crashed into Jin at speeds that were dozens of times the speed of sound.
Screech—!
A single-edged blade clashed with a double-edged sword, creating a shockwave that spread for miles. A battle between two A rankers, a bladeswoman and a swordsman, thus began.
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