Right now, at another large open field, present after the small lake on the Belmont's Family's land, a massively large twister tornado was churning violently while creating a menacing dark funnel cloud that stretched into the sky, pulling everything in from its surrounding and threatening to leave destruction in its wake.
Aiden and Flynn who were protected by Flynn's [Force Field] spell, watched this phenomenon happen before them, completely unsure of how to even react to it.
Suddenly, the massive twister tornado slowly began to weaken and gradually dissipate, the ominous funnel cloud it had created gradually shrinking along with it into the air and completely disappearing to reveal a black-haired man in his late thirties with emerald green eyes, standing in the middle of a small but fairly deep crater, the greenery and trees around completely uprooted and mangled in such a messy yet destructive manner.
He had been the source of the violent tornado and he seemed completely unfazed by the destruction he had just caused.
The disappearance of the once fierce tornado left behind a calming and relieving atmosphere and Flynn and Aiden kept looking with bewildered looks on their faces.
"What the actual fuck…" Aiden said after a while, a rare curse subconsciously escaping his lips as his mind tried to process the utterly perplexing phenomenon he had just experienced.
Flynn however had been too stunned to speak and he just kept looking, still deeply confused by the same phenomenon he had experienced along with his brother.
'That was definitely a tornado right?!' he inwardly asked himself, the aquamarine shield surrounding him and Aiden dissipating into dust like particles.
Leopold who had seemingly committed a brutal act of deforestation on their lands, jumped out of the small crater with his greatsword and casually walked towards his sons while making a mental note to inform Tim, their occasional gardener, to bring a bunch of growth potions when next he would be coming.
"And that Aiden, is the first form of the {Berserker Art}" Leopold said, stopping just a few inches from his sons and taking in their bewildered gazes.
"So? What do you both think?" he asked with a slight smile.
"What do I think?! That was a friggin' tornado!!! And not just a small one, a massive one!" Aiden exclaimed vibrantly while pointing to the spot where the now non-existing tornado had previously taken form, the confusion on his face morphing into that of immense excitement.
"It's absolutely insane…" Flynn muttered audibly in amazement as he slowly recovered from his bewilderment.
This morning, after both of them were done with their usual training sessions with Frank, Leopold had asked for both of them to come along with him.
When they had asked why he had suddenly wanted to take them somewhere, he had responded that he wanted to show them a few things and also answer some of Aiden's question regarding their family's weapon art.
Ivar whom Leopold had also invited along, respectfully refused his offer by explaining that he needed to help his sister with the healing potion and that it might take a while for them to leave the lab today because they were planning to break past 98%.
The duke who understood the magnitude of the progress they were planning to make, gave an understanding nod in response to Ivar's reasoning while imploring him to tell him if they needed anything at all that would make their research easier before leaving with his two sons.
As they finally began to leave, Anna had popped out of the back door to the mansion while telling Leopold to be careful.
Leopold had then explained to her that he would be taking them far beyond the lake so she did not need to worry.
Aiden and Flynn had wondered why their mum had asked their dad to be careful but they just brushed the thoughts aside without reading too much into it.
When they had gotten to the lake, Aiden and Flynn had been contemplating if they were going to need to jump across because although the lake was small in width, it was actually quite long.
However, without even a single warning, Leopold had grabbed onto both of their hands and in an instant, Aiden and Flynn watched as they disappeared from their spot and appeared almost immediately at the far end of the lake, a sense of weightlessness overcoming them as they landed.
Both of them had immediately asked what spell it was their dad had used as they had definitely felt the use of mana using mana sense and a somewhat invisible force propelling them forward and disappearing almost instantaneously the moment he held onto their hands.
"[Gravity Series: Grav Boost]" Leopold had explained.
"It's my original spell" he had concluded but Aiden who had been really curious about how it worked asked his dad for more details to which he obliged.
"Hmmm… How do I break it down to a level that would be easy for you to understand?" Leopold had first said with a thoughtful look on his face for a few seconds before he then began to explain.
"You know that initial boost of speed you get from moving either upwards or downwards in an elevator?" Leopold had asked to which Aiden replied.
"Yes?"
"That's the phenomenon I use. However, instead of gradually stabilizing like an elevator would, I calculate a certain trajectory and unleash a compressed burst of gravity behind myself to launch myself or any other thing else for that matter at ridiculous breakneck speeds in that direction" Leopold had concluded.
"So it's almost like you're using an amp that's boosting an audio signal but instead of sound waves being increased, you're substituting it for gravitational waves. You're using gravity as an amp to boost yourself at ridiculously immense speeds!!! That's crazy!" Flynn had also come to his own conclusion with widened and excited eyes, indicating that he just had an epiphany.
"That's actually a way better explanation than I could've come up with. Excellent elucidation son!" Leopold had said with a smile, his hands slightly ruffling Flynn's hair who was sporting a charming grin.
"Hmmm… I think I understand how it works too…" Aiden had remarked after which he had then immediately declared shamelessly.
"Yeah, I'm definitely looting this spell and adding it to my arsenal!"
Leopold and Flynn just looked at themselves for a split second after which they both then burst into laughter. Aiden just chuckled to himself at this sight.
Eventually they had all made their way to the open field and Aiden upon curiously asking his dad how the complete version of {Whirlwind Slash} actually looked like, had been treated to seeing an actual tornado along with Flynn.
Leopold had also ensured to tell Flynn to cast his [Force Field] spell to prevent any possible tree from smacking into them while he was demonstrating the first form of the {Berserker Art}.
Flynn and Aiden had now also understood why their mother had warned their father to be careful.
She had definitely been worried about him destroying something by accident if he was going to be demonstrating {Whirlwind Slash}. That was also why Leopold had taken them far, far away from their mansion.
As Aiden and Flynn expressed their varying reactions to the weapon art's first form, Leopold spoke up again.
"Well, you'll probably only be able to do something akin to this when you reach SS-rank and above but nevertheless, the weapon art will fit itself to your core rank so just work on mastering it and it'll eventually pay off in the long run"
"SS-rank and above huh…" Aiden muttered to himself but almost immediately, he and Flynn's eyes widened in realization.
"Dad! You reached SS-rank!!" they both exclaimed with excitement.
Leopold just smiled at this and responded with a huge smile mirroring their excited ones.
"I sure did. Just a month ago too"
"Woohoo!" Aiden exclaimed, his pumped fists raised to the air.
"Congratulations dad" Flynn said, a genuine smile present on his face.
"Thanks son" Leopold replied with a fatherly smile after which he then spoke again.
"I'd actually wanted to join in on your training sessions a month ago but the moment I broke through, I knew I'd need quite a bit of time to adjust to my newfound strength. Hence my late arrival" Leopold concluded.
"Dad, I love you, but for the love of God, don't! Flynn and I already have enough of our asses been handed to us every day by master. Let's not add more pain to our suffering alright. I beg of you" Aiden said, one of his palm raised up and his previously excited expression instantly changing into a serious one while Flynn nodded vigorously in agreement.
Leopold however just tilted his head slightly while leaning onto his own greatsword and sporting an amused smile without responding to his sons' plea.
"We're screwed aren't we?" Flynn asked with a blank expression.
"Yep!" Aiden replied with a similarly blank expression.
"Now that that's resolved, what else would you like to know or see?" Leopold asked as he watched his sons' moods take a severe hit due to his willingness to join their training sessions.
-Sigh…
"Fine... how about {Counterstance}? The second form of the {Berserker Art}" Aiden sighed in resignation and asked his dad.
"Ah that… I'll need someone to attack me to be able to demonstrate it" Leopold responded casually.
The moment Flynn heard this, he immediately jumped backwards, leaving Aiden in the spotlight.
Aiden who had immediately noticed Flynn's sudden movement turned around to see him giving him a thumbs up with another blank expression.
'This punk!' Aiden inwardly complained.
"Well then, come at me son!" Leopold commanded almost immediately, his own greatsword etched into the ground as he stood over it and placed both of his palms on it's hilt in a knight's stance.
Aiden just sighed and took a deep breath, immediately retrieving his own greatsword from his spatial ring.
He then launched himself almost instantaneously at breakneck speed towards Leopold but upon reaching his father, he watched as his field of view instantly turned upside down without his father even moving a single inch from where he was standing, a slight smile present on his face.
He was literally a few meters above the ground and in the air right now but he had not a single clue or idea as to how he had gotten up there in the first place.
-Thud!
Aiden watched as he landed on the ground from the air without even being able to make heads or tails about what had just happened.
Flynn who was also watching the entire thing could not help but furrow his brows. Even with mana sense, he had not been able to sense what their father had just done.
"What the hell…" he remarked, confusion evident in his voice.
Although the novel had explained how {Counterstance} worked, the actual way it was just presented to them now, right before their eyes, made them question if what they had read was even correct.
"So, how did it feel?" Leopold asked, a slight smile still adorning his face.
"I don't even know what to say…" Aiden commented, while sitting on the grass with a very perplexed look on his face.
"It's natural that you feel that way. I also felt the same way back when my father had shown me too back then" Leopold remarked, a nostalgic look present on his face as he reminisced about Aiden and Flynn's dead grandfather.
"I will tell you this though…" Leopold began.
"It's by far the easiest to master out of all the forms" Leopold concluded.
Aiden let out a deep breath of air after his dad told him this and stood up from the ground.
If he was telling him this, then it meant that he'd learn it in due time so there was no need to rush towards mastering it just yet.
"Thanks dad" he said, his voice carrying genuine gratitude.
"Anytime son" Leopold responded with a fatherly smile.
Flynn who was also watching all these had a faint smile playing on his lips as he rested his back on the bark of a nearby tree.
A comfortable and brief silence passed between all three of them.
Flynn was about to ask something but Leopold immediately raised one of his palms up from the hilt of the greatsword as if he had anticipated what his son was about to ask.
"I most definitely will not perform the third and final form of the weapon art" he immediately said.
"Why?" Aiden and Flynn asked even though they knew just how destructive it was but Leopold's reply immediately made them realize once again that what they had read and what could actually happen in reality were two very different things.
"If I did, I'd probably destroy everything within a one-kilometer radius…" the duke casually replied, his gaze slowly raised to face the late morning sky.