"NO, NO, NO, everything was going so perfectly! Why does this body not have an affinity to any mana" Aldrich was enraged.
He tried to use elemental spells he remembered from his past life, but nothing happened.
"System, ugh, never mind" Aldrich rushed down to meet his father.
"Father, father!" Aldrich paced towards the mansion, searching for him. He found him by the garden, practising his sword.
"What happened, son? Is something the matter" Erik stopped his training to look at Aldrich, who was rushing towards him.
"Oh! You have gained your first Mana Star! Congratulations, son, we should celebrate" Erik happily hugged Aldrich, stopping him in his tracks.
"Father, do you have the artefact to check if I have any mana attribute," Aldrich asked.
The joy over Erik's face vanished as he spoke solemnly, "It is about that. I thought you got over it and started training again. You know that your body cannot support any attributes. I tried to find cures for this condition. Still, it is so rare that no one has been able to develop cures for it."
"I am sorry ", Erik hugged Aldrich.
Aldrich could sense the sadness in Erik's eyes. But he didn't know how to react.
He didn't know what to do. He didn't reply to Erik, rushing back to his room.
"Remi, leave me alone for some time", He shouted as a sleek shadow moved behind his back.
Aldrich knew that Mana Attributes were essential for a warrior, as raw mana took too much energy, especially when faced against a dragon, as the battle was long and arduous.
"Even if I use some method to increase my reserves, I won't be able to deal any elemental damage apart from the ones from Noct and Luna". Most of the high-level spells utilized elemental magic that could quickly deal a lot of damage.
"How do I defeat the higher Dragons if I cannot utilize any attribute?"
[Outer God wouldn't have put you in this body In the first place if only utilizing attribute was the answer]
It was the first time the system had spoken without Aldrich prompting it.
"What do you mean?"
[Who is your true enemy?]
"Dragons?"
[Remember the Outer's words]
"Dragons, demons, and .. Gods"
[Then find out a way to achieve the goal]
Aldrich thought that the system sounded human-like. But he had understood what the system was trying to convey.
"Why would I need a body without any attribute". The answer must lie there. Aldrich tried to remember any possible advantages this body could provide, but he hadn't known many warriors with this condition.
Aldrich spent some time thinking about the situation. He knew that rushing it would bring no advantage and had calmed down, but he still did not know what path to take. He lay down on the bed, thinking of potential solutions.
Meanwhile, somewhere far from Aldrich, a young girl was sitting in a wheelchair, looking out the window.
"Do you think he will get it?" the girl asked the old man beside him.
"He must. I will take revenge for what those bastards did to my daughter.
If he gives up now, he cannot reach his goals. Plus, He is about to unlock "That" soon. Everything will become clear then, Lyra". The old man said, looking at Aldrich through a screen.
Aldrich woke up the next day as he called Remi to his room. "My lack of affinity to any attribute was the reason I stopped training, right?",
"Yeah. You gave up on training, thinking you could never stand up to others' expectations. You gave up, believing that life away from battle and training is better." Remi sat beside Aldrich, "will you do the same again?"
Aldrich stood up; he thought of all the times he had felt helpless. When he had lost the woman he loved, all his companions started to die, and he could do nothing when facing a higher dragon for the first time. A massive feeling of helplessness had always loomed over him. But he never gave up trying to find a solution.
He looked towards Remi and said, "Never", before exiting the room.
Remi was left alone in the room; she got up and slowly put the knife back in her gloves, "I hope so, Aldrich."
"I cannot stop my training. I will come up with a solution to this hurdle" Aldrich walked towards the garden, where his father was training.
"Father, can you teach me the sword technique of the family?" he requested his father.
This was the solution he had come to. The Founder's sword techniques were famous for slaying dragons. "This better be the right path", Aldrich thought.
Erik looked towards Aldrich with a happy expression. "Sure, son".
"He must be thinking it's his fault that I don't have an affinity" Aldrich shook his head.
"Aldrich, I will teach you the successor's sword techniques" Erik and Aldrich stood against each other, ready to spar.
"Twin swords? Interesting choice", Erik said, looking at the two wooden swords Aldrich was holding.
With a swift motion, Erik initiated the attack, unleashing a barrage of thrusts at Aldrich's limbs. Aldrich countered by parrying the thrusts with his twin swords. He leapt into the air, slashing his swords towards Erik's eyes. He slashed the sword, only to realize it was an illusion. But it was too late, as Erik had already appeared above Aldrich, thrashing his sword on his son's head.
"you have to realize the difference in physical prowess between you and your opponent. Get up", Erik commanded as he retook his stance.
Aldrich stood up, ready for round two. The two crossed their swords again, with Aldrich absorbing Erik's sword art while the latter pointed out improvement in Aldrich's attacks.
"Let me show you one special technique of mine. Having a mana attribute is not everything; controlling raw mana is just as important. Watch and Learn", Erik said with a grin.
Erik raised his sword, and his figure split into multiple ethereal images mirroring his movements.
Aldrich's eyes widened as he tried to focus on the real one. He knew that most of these were illusions, as he leapt towards his father, aiming to end it in one attack.
Erik looked towards Aldrich as if a predator had caught the prey. He grinned and said
"When did I say they are illusions?",
But it was too late; before Aldrich could react, the images circled around him and leapt towards him, each executing a different sword style. Aldrich tried to parry these attacks but to no effect. The images were too many for Aldrich to handle.
"He is controlling all of them separately through raw mana. What a monster", Aldrich thought, as he knew he had no chance to defend himself. Aldrich furiously circulated mana throughout his body as he punched the ground with all his might, disrupting the illusions attacks.
Aldrich suddenly sensed a figure behind him; he parried the sword with his fist. Erik quickly dropped the sword as a lightning-fast punch landed on Aldrich's head, who tried to defend it with his leg.
Aldrich aimed to take advantage of this opportunity as he used the sword in his other hand and landed a barrage of thrusts towards his father. Erik smiled as he dodged the incoming thrusts with extreme precision. He swept his leg in a low kick, aiming to trip Aldrich off balance. But Aldrich anticipates the move, leaping into the air with a graceful flip.
As he descends, Aldrich unleashes a barrage of quick strikes with the wooden swords, aiming at Erik's defences from multiple angles.
With a sudden burst of speed and precision, Erik shifts his stance and seems to blur from one spot to another. In a breathtaking display of martial prowess, he dodges each of Aldrich's strikes with effortless grace, his body flowing like water around the incoming attacks.
In the blink of an eye, Erik closes the distance between them. Aldrich is momentarily caught off guard by his father's astonishing speed. Before he can react, Erik delivers a masterful counterstrike, a devastating blow with his open palm directed at Aldrich's chest.
"You did well, son" Erik picked up the unconscious body of Aldrich, taking it to his room.