"Doing so increases the weapon's utility--the damage it can do plus defend against--and raises its efficiency, the consumption and manipulation of energy channeled through the blade."
Boying holds out a hand and a shining diamond appears in it. He floats it over to Tara who cups her hand. Then Tara's vision shifts as he walks around behind her to place two fingers on the base of her neck. Tara, somehow now, can see the inner workings on an atomic level. The atoms are neatly arranged and interconnected, forming a latticed network.
"I've never shared my vision technique with someone before. It's a good thing you're Support, otherwise you'd be feeling this headache," Boying gives a tired sigh as what he did seemed to take more energy than dismantling a gun in the blink of an eye or blocking all those bullets with a Retention Technique, "You would think basing the lattice off a diamond would be easier considering how straight it is, but it is the hardest of the gemstone because of that reason."
"But how did you even think of this? And how do you even change something at that level?" Tara asks, her mind trying to figure out how he conceived such an idea.
"Oh, well in the first virtual reality game Elemency, the final Boss called the Elemental Empress unleashed an army of Elemental Titans. Each one was the strongest form of their respective elements, Lava was Fire's for example." He pulls up a projection of that recorded era. While certainly not as clear as modern time, Tara watches 100 to 200 feet tall humanoids in armor with various weapons fighting against the players.
"The Stone Titans used these crystal Equipments that made them more formidable than the other Titans. I along with your great uncles and aunts were able to nab one for some experiments. I didn't figure it out completely until the final battle." He reminisces as he watches the playback from his arrival from the perspective of others. "What you need is a powerful eye technique--"
Tara's eyes glow from using Inspect.
"A light based eye Skill? That's very cute and rare. That will certainly help reach at least the molecular level, but the second requirement is harder to do!" His left arm suddenly goes ablaze with white Fire energy. Tara tilts her head slightly, eyes still aglow, before raising her own left arm. It has turned into Light energy.
Her grandpa can't help but narrow his eyes slightly at this. Her current abilities aligning just right to even make an attempt on what took him weeks to figure out was a little uncanny. Boying then brushes the suspicion aside. Stranger, more random things happen in both worlds after all.
"What else have you learned in your Story, I wonder? Summon some weapons and show me what you can do." Boying says.
Tara summons her daggers not a moment too soon as she is rushed by a featureless sword wielder. Quickly, Tara attempts to form her aura on instinct. However, she recalls what happened last time and so she goes forth with only the Light element as she's sure that it is accessible in this chamber.
Tara cycles through the Hufang Sword Style, the Riversword Blade Play, Light exclusive versions of her fusion techniques, her Equipment Skills, and finally uses Illusionary Circle Step. It's in her display slowly got more acquainted with her natural body's new strength. It is harder for her to gauge how much strength she uses subconsciously when she strikes.
Alternately, Tara finds that Support's mental processing makes shifting between abilities smoother and quicker. She even finds herself predicting several moves of the sword wielder. In these moments she was able to cancel their Skills while countering in the same fluid movement.
"That movement technique of yours is pretty good! Do you think you could turn it into a Retention Technique?" Boying asks, genuinely impressed with what was shown. The sword wielder was a program he sparred with himself every now and again without holding back. For Tara to be able to last the past hour showed her natural talent and ability.
Tara thinks for a moment. Using a Technique in game took Stamina and Focus to use but what needed to be done for it to be used in the natural world? She has some ideas but her aunt will be teaching her some basic Retention Techniques, so she'll test them out then. Tara nods to his question.
"That will be helpful in the future! I'm certain Guotin should have arrived by now, come along." He snaps his fingers causing the figure to disappear. The chamber powers down, dispelling their gear and returning them to their normal clothes.
"Gong Gong, why is only one of your swords made with the armature lattice?" Tara asks as they enter a different elevator that will take them to the HQ's main floor.
Boying explains that his Story's virtual body was extremely average in all regards. So he couldn't use his physical Expertise as he wished, only his Sensory Expertise had not been impeded. Furthermore energy manipulation is harsher on the user in his world so he had only been limited to using one of his elements. His Phosphorus Flame allowed him to manifest a pure white flame while his Onyx Wave was sealed due to environmental restrictions. He admitted to barely being able to make the glistening white sword.
"Oh, you're a dual element user too! Neat!" Tara says as they exit off the elevator.
Hua pauses as the door closes behind him, watching Tara run to her childhood friends and girlfriend. Stranger, random things in both worlds.
Tara checks in with the rest of her class, all of whom are eager to get lessons from a member of Blueriver. Even Kingdom Lock and Crafty Goliath, while they had physical replica practice in the natural world along with other frontliner children, that wasn't the same as getting guidance in a virtual simulation. That was only a privilege for kids like Tara who came from an Elder or core member's family. Her Artisan buddies have already been picked up by some former high rank Master Artisans, with their Scribe Verdant Wheel asking for Runemasters and Inscribing Masters instead.
"Lapis Tome was it? I will guide you to the transference room. Once you enter, you'll be inside a special simulation that mirrors the Adventure server's timeline. An hour outside will be 6 hours inside, as you'll be under the guidance of one of our best combatants. I promise you that!" Boying says as he steps up. Only Qisma and Renee don't seem stunned by his presence, as he's Grandpa Boying before a legendary figure.
The 17 teens follow him as Guotin leads Tara back to the holofield arena. Unlike last time, there are many core members training together. Each one was a member Tara was personally familiar with, either as a direct subordinate of her Uncle or disciple of her grandpa. Each one was an Expert with a few being Apex like herself. She thinks nothing of it as they pause their sparring sessions to greet her, but each one had been asked to protect her during her visit.
"Any problems moving your body?" Guotin asks without hesitation, knowing well that Boying tested her with that damn virtual figure. His bones remember an endless week-long fight.
Tara admits she was worried about her body not being able to follow her mind, but in fact things are more responsive than before. Thanks to the regular practice of her body in the virtuality and the warm up earlier, she doesn't feel that discomfort and stalled feeling anymore. Despite this affirmation, Guotin leads her through some perfunctory stretches.
"Being a Strength Expert basically means directing your physical and kinetic energy to a single point. When timed correctly, it can multiply the damage of an attack." Guotin explains, approaching a wooden board.
He chops down casually with his hand, cutting it in half. He then moves to stone tile, repeats the action, it also splits neatly down the middle. "What did you notice?"
Tara replays what she just witnessed in her head. "The air was different when you cut the stone. Like you were applying more pressure to it?"
Guotin grins. "Correct! Most folks when striving for a breakthrough only think about the internal factors. Muscle direction, blood flow, force concentration, things like that. They often neglect the external factors such as air pressure and resistance or even the tensile strength of an object. Everything needs a different but exact amount of force if you wish to mimic what I did."
"But what happens when you use more than required?"
He doesn't answer her, instead walks over to a metal construction beam. He places one hand on it before lifting it up as if it were a football. Tara's eyes widen as he whistles and catches everyone's attention.
His gaze lands on a petite woman with short cut blonde hair and green eyes, who immediately braces herself once they lock sights. Guotin hurls the beam like a javelin before it is effortlessly caught by the woman. Furthermore, she didn't even take a step backwards to do so.
"As I and your auntie Emira have displayed, the more force and energy used, the stronger you can become. Once you become accustomed to focusing on a single point, then you can work on dividing it in equal measure. While most Strength Experts take an offensive approach in order to deal devastating destruction, Emira is called the Unshakeable Tree and my generation's best tank for a reason."
Tara thought for a moment before throwing out her guess: Emira, also known as Hyperion Hut, instead of upping her physical strength increased her weight and density.
This allowed her to hold her position and balance, meaning she'd be harder to move while she pinned down an enemy. Maximum damage and defense, coupled with an unnaturally high regeneration rate, Strength Experts could be a one person army if trained right.
"We'll start first with focusing your energy into your dominant hand till you figure out the frequency to cleanly cut this block of wood. Then we'll work our way up to brick and then through metals. Afterwards, I will focus on physical strength enhancement and then the hardest part is density shifting. Once you've mastered all three applications, I'll teach you how to divide it in your body."
It's harder than it looks even though her body is physically stronger now. There's only a knock on wood as Tara chops down. It's not enough force to crack it let alone cleanly split through the material. She attempts several more times but Tara simply can't adjust correctly. Guotin sees that she is struggling and calls over some of the other Strength Experts. He has them spar with to help her get more comfortable, instructing her on the side.
By the fifth fight Tara is feeling much more comfortable with her body. Crossing fists and kicks allows her to see how the energy should be applied. It's just as she starts the sixth round with Emira who displays how to use the basic force direction defensively, that Tanisha appears silently beside Guotin.
He grimaces as he looks over the report she just handed him.
"Request all Elders' grandchildren to relocate to our location under the guise of a training camp. Even if they are currently abroad, have them travel with at least one Expert and Apex to guard them. Seal this information until we know more. After Emira's finished, go get started on your part of the training."
Guotin grips the file as he begins to walk away. When Tanisha asks him where he's headed, he can only sigh. To the older generation, he will always be a kid and therefore only Acting Guild Leader. This information will get to them somehow, with only one person who can stop them from immediately taking action once they see the report.