I blinked once, then twice. I was so lost in that empowering feeling that I zoned out for a bit. For a moment, I couldn't even tell what I'd done.
It was no masterful strike, that's for sure. When Galen moved to cut me down, I sidestepped his blade and retaliated with a blow of my own.
I understand now.
Galen... is incredibly weak. At least, when it comes to using a sword.
Even without that strangely familiar feeling, I didn't have much trouble fighting against him. I know that the sword is not his field of expertise, but for the difference to be this big is surprising.
This is probably how Callen felt yesterday.
I pointed my blade at his neck, waiting for Professor Alfred to call the match.
"The duel is over. The winner is-"
"No!" yelled Galen. He pushed aside my blade and climbed to his feet. "I haven't surrendered yet!"
I didn't wait. I lunged forward and whipped my sword across his chest, sending him reeling.
"Let's not make this any more embarrassing than it already is," I spoke.
There was a fierce rage in his eyes that indicated his unwillingness to surrender.
"You heretical izaan... You have no place here. You, who have been abandoned by the Lords, are not worthy of standing in our presence. Your ineptitude is the devil's mark."
I don't know whether or not I should tell him I'm an adherent. On one hand, it'd be funny, but on the other, he'd just say I serve some demon or whatever.
I glanced at Professor Alfred, who simply shrugged. I guess the duel is still going.
A sudden alarm went off in my head as I felt the air around me sharply distort. I returned my attention to Galen, who was in the process of casting an arcane art. Wind gathered into an orb above his hand, further coalescing into sharp blades shrouded by green mana. In the next instant, he let loose the spell.
I haven't had any experience going against external arcane arts, but now is a good time to learn. I raised my blade as the wind blades came towards me. I deflected with the first few with my sword, but the attacks caused the mana blade to ripple. Galen's magic output is higher than the mana blade, and if I keep trying to defend like this, the practice device will quickly run out of power.
I went for an evasive maneuver as I closed the gap between me and him. He continuously bombarded me with attacks, trying his best to keep me away. His arts weren't fast enough to keep up with my agile movements, however, and I quickly entered melee range. However, just before I could cut him, a powerful barrier of wind pushed back against my strike, sending me flying backwards.
Shit! I didn't expect that his arcane arts were this good.
Before his next attack could land, I rolled out of the way and got back to my feet. My arms felt a little numb from the recoil. I don't know how much mana this guy has, but if he can keep putting up barriers like that, I won't be able to deal any damage. To make things worse, trying to brute force that shield is going to drain my device's battery.
I frantically tried to think up a solution, but in the face of such defense, there's little I can do with strategy alone. If I had ranged attacks of my own, I could work something out.
Galen continued to send blades of wind towards me, giving me no time to think. I could tank a few before going down, but the problem is that he has more than just a few.
My instincts had gone dull at some point. They weren't gone, just... muffled. It felt like there was an itch that I couldn't scratch. I didn't know how to scratch it. The only thing left of them was a voice I knew was speaking to me but couldn't hear.
As I endured Galen's onslaught, I tried my best to listen to that voice. I could feel the desire to cut, to swing my blade with all my might, but at what?
Frustration and impatience heightened my senses. As I focused on my instincts more and more, I felt something gnawing at me. The restrained desire of wanting to see more, but being unable to. I can't tell if this desire is mine or from elsewhere, but...
[The arbiter is attempting to activate '%$@#^!'.]
[The arbiter has insufficient privileges to activate %$@#^!.]
I could tell that there's something terribly wrong with what I'm about to do, something dangerous. But I can't stop now, not with all this anticipation in my heart. I felt like I was about to uncover some fundamental part of myself I've been missing.
[The arbiter is attempting to activate '%$@#^!'.]
[The arbiter has insufficient privileges to activate %$@#^!.]
Just... a little... more!
[The arbiter is forcefully attempting to activate '%$@#^!'.]
[Warning: The arbiter will be subject to severe backlash if the skill is used.]
The world in my eyes has never felt so vibrant before. I can see everything so clearly, even the individual wisps of mana stringing together Galen's wind.
But I still can't see everything.
[Forcefully activating %$@#^!.]
[Skill 'Eyes of Heaven' is now activated.]
[Synchronization rate: 16%]
The world before my eyes became exruciatingly clear, to the point of momentarily disorienting me and causing me to stumble. I recovered just in time to avoid Galen's attack, which harmlessly bounced off the barrier. I forced myself to get used to the sudden clarity, which was accompanied by a painful headache.
...What is this?
Emotions that felt almost foreign exploded forth, as if suddenly unchained. A mix of anger and sadness took me by surprise, relentlessly twisting my thoughts and disrupting my focus.
Something's wrong. The Voice is gone. Dormant, rather.
Is it because of this skill?
[Eyes of Heaven] ▲
A derivation of the 'Divine Eyes' skill, modified by the use of 'Truth'. When activated, the user's sight is explosively enhanced, allowing them to see even the finest grains of mana from a far distance. Can be used to identify weak points in mana-based constructs or entities. In addition, this skill passively rejects low-level corruption and bestows minor divinity.
Additional Note: Don't trust her, Ilyin.
—
[Synchronization rate: 17%]
There's something real ominous about that last part, but there's no time to think about that right now. I turned my attention back to Galen, whose every detail became clear to me. I could see the tiniest folds in his clothes, the individual pores on his skin, and the nigh invisible contortions of mana around him. As I observed his magic, I could make out distinct, glowing lines that seemed to act as a center for the surrounding mana.
From what I understand about arcane arts, both internal and external arts are initially formed around a concentrated stream of mana known as a leyline, which contain an art's "esoteria"—essentially the instructions that are processed with mana to produce supernatural phenomenon. The important takeaway from leylines is that, if damaged, the contained esoteria will weaken and the arcane art will lose its form.
However, there are three main issues with trying to destroy a leyline:
First, leylines are invisible to the naked eye, and perceiving them requires highly-advanced technology that is too unwieldy for general use.
Second, different effects occur when you damage the leyline that depend on two main factors: where the leyline was damaged and the nature of the art. Carelessly splitting a bolt of flame might cause it to explode if you don't cut along the leyline. In Galen's case, his blades of wind retain their effectiveness even if their leylines are cut. Every time I deflected his arts, they split into two smaller blades that flew past me at their original speed.
Third, you still need an attack strong enough to pierce through the mana surrounding the leyline. This is especially problematic against defensive arts, such as barriers.
With that said, perfectly destroying the leyline by using an attack that follows its path will cause the art to completely disintegrate.
That is the kind of thing I'm seeing right now.
Isn't this skill a little too ridiculous?
Blood began to drip from my nose as my headache worsened. Everything I'm seeing through these eyes is far too much for my brain to handle, and I don't have the slightest clue on how to deal with it.
Even though it's only been a few seconds, the backlash of the skill is hitting me hard. I doubt that this is the extent of it too.
I have to defeat Galen before it gets any worse.
There's no strategy, no complicated plan. With these eyes, I can break through Galen's offense. Before, blocking his attacks with my practice device significantly drained its power, but if I can trace the leylines of each attack, the cost won't be as high. As I cut along the leyline, the overall power of the spell weakens, and it becomes easier and easier to destroy it completely.
That is also the same logic that'll help me break through his barrier. However, because of its strength, I only have one shot at this. If I fail to cut the leyline in one go, my blade will meet heavy resistance from his shield and run out of power.
For some reason, I feel... excited. I haven't felt this way ever since I awoke the Voice of Nihility. Even though I should be anxious or scared, I feel nothing but curious anticipation for what happens next. Right now, I want to know if I am capable of overcoming this obstacle.
I pushed every other emotion to the back of my mind, focusing only on this excitement. My body was eager for action.
I readied my blade, and after a brief moment, I dashed forward.
Galen continued to bombard me with his arts, but I had already grown used to the speed of his blades. I cut them along their leylines, which varied slightly in size and direction from blade to blade. I was fortunate that he was complacent and didn't use anything else to attack, because I don't know if I'd be able to react to a new pattern at this range.
The wind blades dissipated as my sword cut through them, harmlessly fading into nothingness. I could see the leyline's mana gradually disperse into near invisible particles.
As I approached, I could see the panic on Galen's face, but he quickly recovered his composure.
I prepared to split his barrier's leyline until I saw a sudden shift in its shape and position. Galen was focusing his power into the barrier, temporarily giving up on offense. Now, there was not only one leyline, but two, and they were much longer than before.
A multi-layered barrier?
One ran diagonally left around the circumference of the barrier, while the other ran diagonally right. This barrier is essentially two times stronger than before, and if I carelessly go after one leyline, I might not even be able to cut it completely.
My mind raced for a solution. Before a second could pass, I saw it: the point where both leylines intersected. I had no time to think about it or to doubt my aim.
There is one chance and no time.
In the next moment, I jabbed forward with my blade, praying it would strike true. I pierced the point of intersection, and as I did so, I felt the barrier weaken. It wasn't as significant as I hoped, but there's no turning back.
Please don't run out on me, I prayed.
I cut along the left leyline, successfully splitting it and destroying one layer of the barrier. Before Galen could react, I pivoted and cut through the other. The mana blade was beginning to sputter, but I didn't care. I pushed all the way through, hoping that it would completely split the leyline.
The barrier completely vanished, leaving few traces behind. My practice device spit out its last bits of mana before completely dying.
You did well.
I tossed aside the device and immediately went for Galen, channeling physical enhancement arts as I threw out a punch. He tried to block it, but was a moment too late. My fist connected with his face, knocking him over.
He won't give up with just this. I quickly got down and struck him again, this time bruising his left cheek. Before I could dish out another blow, Professor Alfred's voice stopped me.
"That's enough. I'm calling it here."
"No, I-!"
"Could you cut it out already?"
The words that interrupted him weren't from the professor, but from Sera. Looking over at her, she seemed incredibly exasperated.
"The professor said it's over, so it's over. Or do you plan on taking a beating in front of everyone around? Your magic or his fists, which do you think is faster?"
I was surprised. I didn't expect her to be so invested in our fight.
"Thank you, Sera," spoke Professor Alfred. "Mr. ash'Mursa, I am officially declaring this match over. While I believe your arcane arts should be able to outmatch Ilyin, your poor decision-making and arrogance rendered you unable to use them properly. Your simple-minded attack patterns resulted in your complete loss, putting aside the fact that Ilyin had a secret up his sleeve the whole time."
He gave me an intrigued wink, as if silently asking me to explain my skill to him later. Also, he's calling me "Ilyin" now instead of "Mr. Gray". Is this his way of acknowledging me?
I felt a sense of pride well up in me, but before long, it began to fade. I could feel 'Eyes of Heaven' wearing off, causing the Voice of Nihility to awaken, once again numbing most of my strong emotions. I tried to stand, but I immediately stumbled over. Fortunately, Sera caught me just in time and dragged me to the side, while Galen's lackeys helped carry him out of the enclosure, avoiding eye contact with us.
"You're just full of surprises, aren't you? A unique art that can detect all kinds of weaknesses, and a skill that lets you see leylines. Never heard of either, yet someone with mana reversion has both." Slowly, she helped me walk out of the barrier, with Professor Alfred in tow.
I wiped the blood from my nose with my thumb as I spoke. "Surprised myself too, to be honest."
She raised her eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
Before I could respond, Professor Alfred interrupted us.
"You doin' alright, Ilyin?"
I nodded. "Fine enough..."
My voice trailed off as I noticed my vision begin to blur. Like, really blur. I blinked a few times and even tried to rub them with my left hand, but to no avail. In seconds, I could barely make out Sera's face even though she was only a few feet away from me.
The professor somehow noticed my distress. "I don't know what you were thinking, but a powerful skill like that is bound to have serious consequences. Eyes that can see leylines—the only beings I know that have something like that are..."
He lost himself in thought for a moment. "Sorry, ignore that. Well, I won't harp on you for doing something so dangerous, since I'm sure you'll be suffering from the drawback already."
I was hardly listening. I was too busy panicking over losing my eyesight, which was almost a perfect 20/20 before. Now, I can't even identify the people around me.
"Glad to see you've got drive in you," he continued. "You always seem oddly empty whenever I look at ya, but that changed a bit during the fight. Keep that up."
I let out a forced laugh. I don't know how to respond to that, especially since the only reason I started to act differently was because of my skill forcing the Voice to sleep. I don't even think that's something I can do on command, especially when the skill comes with such significant drawbacks.
Am I going to get my eyesight back? I worried.
The professor went silent for a moment. I couldn't tell what expression he was making, but I could feel his scrutinizing eyes on me. I was trying to hide my distress, but under his gaze, it felt like I was being laid bare.
"I don't think the medical facilities here can fix your eyes, but we've got some pretty good optometrists. Looks like you'll need glasses for a while, based on all that squinting you've got going on. Can you even see me?"
I sighed, shaking my head. I didn't say anything because I was afraid that speaking it aloud would somehow make my eyesight worse.
"Sera, could you go and take him to see Aria? She's got better connections among the Confessors than I do."
"Huh? Can't you do it yourself?" she asked in an annoyed voice.
"I would, but unfortunately, I just remembered I was supposed to report to the director almost half an hour ago."
This guy is a professor?
Sera groaned, but she didn't oppose it further. I felt her hand grab my wrist, almost a little too tightly. I had to resist pushing her away on reflex.
"Come on. Let's go."
She started to pull me away, but Professor Alfred's voice interrupted us.
"Oh, and before I forget, I owe you a favor, Ilyin. You can use it now, or hold onto it during your time here at Nineheart. Opportunities like this are hard to come by, so think wisely about how you want to use it."
I watched the professor (who was nothing more than a blob of color) slowly walk off. Sera fiercely tugged my arm, as if trying to tear it off. I couldn't be upset with her though, because she just gave me an idea for the favor I want from Professor Alfred.
"Wait!" I yelled.
I saw the blob of the professor turn around.
"Make me one of your disciples."
Sera sharply gasped. "You-"
"Hahaha!" laughed Professor Alfred. "You're an interesting one, you know that?"
A brief pause followed, leaving me tense from the anticipation.
"Go get those eyes checked out. Then we'll discuss."
And just like that, I've gotten myself a mentor.