Still...
We were trying to comprehend what energy came our way...
Shouldn't we be safe within school grounds?
Behold, it was a man who approached the us at the training field, to be precise, our practical weapon control teacher - - Aleksander Kazamir.
Did the inconspicuous, ominous energy come from him? It had to have.
While the students may have refrained from making assumptions, it was without a doubt that the dark force emanated from him.
The amount of power surrounding this man was clearly visible to me.
It was as if he was bathed in mana, surpassing even the Grand Mage Gertrude Hornet in imposing presence.
As I gazed upon him, I couldn't help but feel threatened by his sheer presence.
Kazamir was a young and well-built man of average height. Fair-skinned with neck-long, wavy, black hair that partially covered the front of his face. His right pupil was blocked by his hair bangs, making it less visible and his left eye was of a gray iris. He wore his usual, gloomy facial expression.
I was observing him, as were the others.
Belitha wondered, 'Who is this man?' She had never felt so intimidated by someone's presence before.
Many gazed at him with the next thought being to remain cautious, but my thoughts were entirely different. I believed that something needed to be done.
"What are you looking at, young man?" he finally inquired, while smoking his cigarette.
"N-Nothing," I regretfully stammered in between one word.
He didn't express much interest in pursuing my glaring at him.
The man's casual exhalation of smoke after inhaling from his cigarette gave the impression of a carefree attitude, which was quite contrary to our initial expectations. "Shall we proceed with the class, boys and girls?" he asked, but they remained motionless.
Could it be fear that held them back? He misconstrued their hesitation as disappointment in his tardiness, as esteemed institutions take pride in punctuality.
"I had to take a dump, is that fine with you guys?" he said with a hint of sarcasm and humor, which helped to ease the tension.
Suddenly, Mister Sinister no longer appeared so sinister, and we were able to breathe a sigh of relief.
We didn't find it necessary to inform him of our apprehension towards his immense magical prowess, as he must have been apprised of it at some point in his life.
Consequently, I opted to retreat and rejoin Belitha and Alaric. Despite having just witnessed things that were beyond the realm of possibility, my eagerness to learn overshadowed that realization.
Alaric inquired about my expectations regarding Kazamir's teachings, but I simply shrugged to convey my impartiality. There were countless topics that Kazamir could choose to impart upon us, and it was entirely at his discretion to decide which one to teach.
Rest assured, I wasn't so confident that we would benefit greatly from his tutelage.
The training field, aside from the lush vegetation covering most of it, an extremely thick forest is also present on the island, crowded with large, gnarled and twisted trees with large roots, which are covered in moss, and whose branches almost create a natural roof preventing sunlight from lighting up the place, which as a result is darker than other parts of the forest.
The walls and portions of the ground were overrun with magicube dust and crystals, the mineral was abundant even making the water itself sparkle without end.
We wore dark blue jumpsuits which had hoodies, this was our special training attire, said attire we had to change into prior to first period.
"Okay, let's begin."
Upon Kazamir's extension of his hand, with his palm facing upwards, he was able to conjure magical swords before us.
The swords themselves were quite striking, with jagged blades, spiky guards, and skulls for pommels. They had an overall demonic appearance, and emanated a slightly dark, palpable energy that seemed as though it could be cut with a butter knife.
Initially, we were perplexed as to what we were expected to do with the swords that hovered before us, as no one dared touch something so ominous.
However, Kazamir explained that these were Boneswords; low-tier demonic swords utilized by the troops of the dark army.
"Weapon control is no easy feat. But before we even attempt to handle any weapon, we've got to get a grip on ourselves. I mean, seriously, have you seen some of those people out there waving swords around like they're in some kind of medieval rave? Not a good look.." he spoke so casually we were surprised.
Nonetheless, everyone listened "And speaking of swords, the dark army troops used some kind of dark energy to steal away their opponents' mana. Yeah, apparently that's a thing. But don't worry, there's a way to neutralize that siphoning effect... Simply, focus your mana on one spot and bam, You're good to go." he made it sound so one-dimensional.
After taking another smoke, he finalized, "So, moral of the story: control yourself before you wreck yourself. And if you're gonna wield a weapon, make sure you know how to use it properly. Don't be that guy.." he looked exhausted, just that little teaching stressed him out. Talk about ambitious.
What exactly was the phenomenon called? "Isolated mana control," the ability to focus mana on one spot with the likelihood of leaving all other parts unprotected.
A skill that'd most definitely kill me, being "magicless" doesn't mean I don't have mana within me.
I do that's what makes me a living creature - - made from the source which the building blocks of magic and life spawn. But mine was so infinitesimal it's barely recognized as mana, if I tried to utilize a portion of it, I'm unsure if it'd replenish or kill me.
Hmm, maybe I'm being a little too pessimistic. I wouldn't back out, it was an intriguing challenge. I just had to constrain my mana enough that it doesn't result in my death.
[ Few minutes later... ]
Some students were on the ground breathing laboriously, completely exhausted from trying to wield the Bonesword.
No one had held it more than 4 seconds, Belitha and Rosemarie were close in terms of the number of seconds held, which had increased from 2 to 4, now 7.4 seconds for Belitha.
Rosemarie had held it for a whopping 9 seconds.
Kazamir should've been impressed, but he was too care free to express his thoughts on her feat.
In essence, it was imperative for us to guarantee that our hands were fortified with an ample amount of mana, potent enough to overpower the Bonesword.
This, in itself, was an exceedingly arduous task, as it necessitated a precise focus of precisely 50% of one's mana into the hands, while the remaining 50% functioned as an independent entity, capable of shielding the body once more.
Maintaining balance. I could do that, "In theory."
"I think that's enough girls, every other person is exhausted.."
Kazamir took a less than enthusiastic approach to minimize unnecessary competition among the students.
Dilbert, in particular, showed remarkable progress by holding his position for five seconds, better than most.
Alaric, despite not being proficient in magic, demonstrated his unique ability to use mana in its pure form and held his position for an impressive ten seconds.
It inspired Rose and Belitha to strive for excellence and surpass their current standing.
"It's not a competition guys, no one gets candy after this, take a break alright?" Kazamir sighed shortly after.
They politely declined his offer, their sights set on achieving a remarkable feat of holding their position for twenty seconds, which was quite rare for even Silver Mages. Quite ridiculous.
"Well... go nuts I guess." he puffed smoke once more.
I expected this to happen. Kazamir wasn't pleased to see that I was the only one who hadn't done anything.
The other students were either in pains on the ground from very low magical power, or struggling to push past their limit.
"Are you gonna stand there all day and just watch others win? Magicless freak.." I was surprised he'd even call me that. He was a teacher after all.
Honestly, I was infuriated, something had to be done, it was frustrating to only watch and have myself get laughed at.
Yes, the students were too exhausted to mock me or rather, too focused, but Kazamir had just singled me out as a "magicless bum".
It was imperative I proved him wrong. Touching the Bonesword would potentially kill me but it's a risk worth taking.
Hence, I did it. I touched the sword.
Would it kill me...?
Was I being stupid...?
Was this the end for me...?
"No, we must save the vessel, we must save the Revenant. If we do not, we cannot reach the Creator."
[ Unique Skill ---> Oracle Engine ]
Activating...
[ Desired Action ---> Analysis ]
Activating...
[ Support Function ---> Parallel Operation ]
Activating...
• Skill Creation [Activated]
• Skill Duplication [Activated]
• Skill Storage [Activated]
Mana Warning: Very Low
Increasing Mana Output to 100%…
Upon belief of my own demise, I was suddenly imbued with an unprecedented level of power.
Despite this, my physical appearance remained unchanged.
In my current state, I made contact with the sword, resulting in its complete annihilation by means of a destructive energy wave.
An occurrence that far exceeded the commonality of what others had achieved, and in fact, transcended ordinary reasoning.
Kazamir was left in a state of shock, though not for long. His expression of surprise changed to a conceited smile. 'This kid didn't just fortify his hand enough to survive the magical power siphoning of the Bonesword, he was completely able to overpower it and vaporize the sword...' what is he? He thought.
A question I also asked myself.
A mixture of pride and discomfort at the same time. Why, you may ask? Yes, I finally utilized magic, albeit a type of magic that I have no prior knowledge of.
The reactions of those around me were quite interesting, to say the least. They looked at me as if I were an extraterrestrial being, completely in disbelief of what they had just witnessed.
Prior, all they saw was a bright light and the Bonesword being reduced to dust.
However, Kazamir had a different perspective. He had recognized that what I used was not exactly magic, but rather the Duality Factor.
What exactly am I...?