In this world, cultivation is divided into magic and martial arts. Martial arts use mana to enhance the body and the killing power of weapons, and then use them to face the enemies. Magic, on the other hand, accumulates mana inside a mana core formed on the brain. This magic core is then used to control the elements in the surroundings and create various magical effects.
Because magic allows for more diverse and destructive attacks, and only a few people are born with the talent to use it, it's considered superior to martial arts. Of course, it's just a general opinion. Actually, both paths have their advantages and disadvantages.
Louise is a magic practitioner and a very talented one. She successfully broke through the fifth layer and attained the sixth layer of mana at just twenty years of age, and is considered one of the greatest geniuses of this generation. Besides my sister Dina, who attained the sixth layer at nineteen, a whole year before Louise, not many can compare to her.
And now, she was using all her power to face me.
I grabbed the handle of my sword and took a stance. My mana moved quickly around my body, but I made sure of suppressing it to only show mana equivalent to the fourth layer. That is supposed to be my current strength after all.
Louise smirked disdainfully when she felt my mana. Although she heard I beat the captain of the imperial guards when he was using sixth layer mana, she did not take my threat seriously. For her, I just landed a lucky blow.
Moreover, she was a mage. She did not believe that a talented mage as she could lose against a fourth layer swordsman as me.
"Aunt, get back." I said to my aunt with a serious expression. She looked at me with a gaze of worry but did nothing to stop me. I don't know if it was because she was confident about me or because she did not know the difference between our cultivations.
"Claus, be careful." Aunt Dayana gave me a last concerned look and entered the house.
When she saw that aunt Dayana left, Louise finally made her move.
Instantly, the magic circle above her head activated.
Tens of arrows made of pure mana exited the magic circle. The arrows were shining with a frightening glow while the arrowheads were aiming to me. I narrowed my eyes and increased the strength of the hand holding my sword. Then, I took a step forward.
In the next instant, I charged towards Louise at a frightening speed. My body leaned dangerously close to the ground, and I made use of the mana on my legs to accelerate as fast as possible.
But Louise simply looked at me with a smirk. "[Force Arrows]!" She waved her hand, and tens of arrows descended towards me.
I did not pay attention to them, though. My eyes were completely focused on Loise's figure while I continued advancing, completely ignoring the threat of the arrows.
However, in the instant when the arrows were about to touch my body, I stopped abruptly.