Chapter 86 - Birth of the Dragon Sword (1)
1
Another two months pa.s.sed after rescuing the Dragon Demon Prince Segiar from an attempted kidnapping carried out by the Dragon Demon King worshippers.
The estate in the Lance Mountain was occupied by Azell. The mountain was in the midst of a cold winter, and the whole mountain was starting to become painted white by snow and ice.
Kairen had kept his promise he made around half a year ago. He had completed the Dragon Sword. When he heard the news, Azell left the estate in the Lance mountain, and he came down to the Tarantos castle.
“This is a bit abrupt, but…….”
Havanz spoke.
“Your body can"t be compared to the state you were in when you first got here.”
“I wanted a body like this one.”
Azell took off his shirt, and he stood in front of the mirror. He spoke as took poses that showed off his rippling muscles.
His body had completely changed from the body he had half a year ago. He had a lot of scars on his body as he endure a harsh training regiment. However, he didn"t have a single ounce of fat now. His body was perfect as it was balanced out by flexible muscles.
His outer appearance wasn"t the only change that had occurred. His Energy Pulse couldn"t be compared the before. As his Energy Pulse became revitalized, his capacity for storing magic had increased. One"s increase in physical ability could be seen outwardly, but the changes occurring inside was far outstripping his physical improvement.
Moreover, he now had 6 Rings of Life encasing his heart. All of them had gone through the process of Dual Banding.
He had been able to drastically recover his power, because he had the perfect environment and support. Azell had taken advantage of what was made available to him to achieve this result. Moreover, there was the Thunder Dragon"s power he had absorbed from the Dragon Slayer"s Ritual. It allowed him to grow past the point he had originally targeted.
‘Still, I"m falling short of making the Dragon Demon Qi.’
He had gone through his second Dragon Slayer"s ritual, so Azell"s magical energy had a stronger flavor of Dragon Demon Qi. However, he was short of being able to forge it into Dragon Demon Qi.
‘But maybe....’
There was one thing that was bothering him. He became aware of a faint difference in his Energy Pulse.
He became aware of this difference after the second Dragon Slayer"s Ritual. His magical energy took on a stronger flavor of Dragon Demon Magic, and he sensed some unknown particles floating around inside his Energy Pulse.
Basically, he wouldn"t have been able to sense it at all until his Dragon Demon magic had risen to a certain level. It meant something was reacting the the Dragon Demon Magic.…….
It wasn"t as if he didn"t have a hunch on what was going on. However, Azell wasn"t going to speculate. He decided to calmly observe it.
“I guess I have to head out now.”
Azell put on his clothes, and he gave a farewell to the Lance mountain estate, which he had occupied for the past half a year. Then he descended to travel to the Tarantos castle.
During his stay, Winter had come. Snow had piled up on the mountain roads, and various places were frozen solid. The going was slow as they traveled down the road.
Azell and Havanz could have easily descended the mountain in short order, but there were other people in their group. They couldn"t just leave them behind.
When they reached the Tarantos castle, the sun was starting to set, and Kairen"s patience had reached its limit.
“You are late! What took you so long!”
“The winter roads are dangerous. Moreover, there are delicate women in our party. How could I just leave them behind and come here by myself?”
“You could have left everything to Havanz. You could have just come by yourself!”
“These people have looked over me for the past half year. I"m not boorish enough to leave them behind.”
“Ughh. The fact that you don"t like to lose any verbal exchanges is still the same.”
Kairen grumbled.
Azell grinned.
“I really want to give thanks to you, duke. I was able to train to my heart"s content thanks to you.”
“Your thanks can come in the form of sparring matches.”
“That I can do as much as you like.”
Azell gave an exaggerated bow. Kairen snorted as he took Azell underground. It was a secret room that had been prepared for the magic ritual.
Beorein was sitting in a chair, and he was asleep. He opened his eyes when he felt the presence of two others in the room.
“Mmmm? You are finally here. You made an old man wait. What an inconsiderate fellow.”
“It seems the duke didn"t think at all about the time it would take us to come down the mountain.”
“That fellow is always like that. He believes the world revolves around him.”
Beorein got up as he ma.s.saged his back, then he went to the corner of the room.
The Dragon Sword was there.
“So this is…….”
The Dragon Sword was floating atop the magic circle, and one couldn"t call its appearance as being sword-like. A sword was manufactured with utmost care, yet the blade of this sword didn"t hold an edge. The surface was roughly carved. It looked like a club that had been carved into the shape of a sword.
Azell approached the sword that didn"t look like a sword.
Beorein spoke.
“Do you remember the explanation I gave you last time? The final step has to be done through your hands.”
“Yes.”
Azell gave his answer as he grabbed the sword. At the same time, the Dragon Sword resonated.
Ba-dump.
Azell"s heart beat loudly alongside the sword. At the same time, the magical energy that arose from the Rings of Life responded to the Dragon Demon magic seeped inside the Dragon Sword. It resonated with each other.
Ooooooooooohng!
The ripple of light started to spread outwards. Azell could feel a powerful Dragon Demon magic within the Dragon Sword, so he couldn"t hide his excitement. This reaction was as strong as the time he grasped the Kairen"s Dragon Sword, which had been loaned out to him. He had felt this electrifying feeling only when he had held his Dragon Maken, and this feeling dominated his whole body.
‘I already have a shape in mind.’
The last step in the production of the Dragon Sword had to be done by the owner. First, one had to cause a resonance. Then one used the powerful Image Making skill to decide on the final shape of the Dragon Sword.
Azell had already decided on the shape of the Dragon Sword early on. It was the shape of the Dragon Maken, which had been preserved for the past 220 years by Carlos" powerful magic.
Woooooooooooo!
The powerful Dragon Demon magic raged inside the room like a storm. It was so intense that the magical circle couldn"t handle the power, and the room shook.
Beorein was taken aback.
“Isn"t this much more fierce than the time you made your sword? Is this going to be ok?”
“His magical energy has expanded so much that it can"t be compared to before. In such a short amount of time, he…….”
It was weird to call half a year"s time as being short. However, for a Spirit Order pract.i.tioner, it was extremely short when considering how much Azell had increased his magical energy.
Kairen watched Azell, who was emitting magical energy that couldn"t be compared to his former self. At this level, he might be the strongest human alive!
Kwah-ja-jahk... Kwah-jahk!
Numerous cracks started to form on the surface of the Dragon Sword, and pieces started to fall away. From within this item, a snow white blade made out of the Dragon Bone emerged. The Dragon Sword made its appearance.
“Ha ha ha…….”
Azell couldn"t hold back his laughter.
“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
Dragon Demon magic.
It allowed one to coerce nature through Imagery.
A human could only gain this through the Dragon Slayer"s Ritual, yet this power was erupting out of Azell"s hand. Powerful Dragon Demon magic was exploding forth from Azell, and he stored it inside the Dragon Sword.
A sharp sword strike was executed at the empty air.
Shweeeeeng!
The sound was so clear that it almost gave one gooseb.u.mps. The sound rang out as something surprising occurred. A normal person wouldn"t be able to recognize it, but Kairen and Beorein was astounded.
“The magical wave...”
“He cut through it?”
The powerful magical wave had been swirling around him, and Azell had just sliced through it with a sword strike. The energy was cut so cleanly that it was hard to believe there had been a magical wave present before. There was a stillness in the room.
It was a hair-raising strike. Was it really possible to cut off the flow of magical energy so abruptly? The magical energy was instantly put into dormancy.
Azell face was glowing with excitement as he spoke to the two frozen men.
“This is the greatest gift of all. I really... Thank you duke and count.”
“Then it is time for you to show me your grat.i.tude. You won"t act like a goody two shoes that insists on proper sleeping time?”
“Of course not. I am willing to spar with you until the crack of dawn.”
Azell answered Kairen"s request with a smile.
2
Kairen also hadn"t been taking it easy for the past half year. Kairen had visited the Lance mountain estate early on, and they had made a promise to each other. Kairen had kept this promise.
“Did you completely master the Gaze Detection technique?”
“Hmm. In truth, it’s a very tiring technique.”
Kairen grumbled.
Gaze Detection. It was more useful than any detection ability out there, so Azell had taught it to Kairen. There was a lot of overlap between Spirit Order and Dragon Arts, so Kairen had an easier time understanding the technique"s secrets.
Kairen followed the know-how given by Azell to learn the technique, and in the beginning, it had been a time full of torment.
When someone laid their eyes on him, he would become aware of it.
On the surface, it looked like a very useful skill, but there were downsides to the technique. Normally, he hadn"t been aware that a numerous number of gazes were always on him. The information regarding these gazes started pouring in, and his mind turned chaotic. In this process, he had to go through the painful experience of processing the slew of information. Azell had warned Kairen that if this process wasn"t done properly one might develop a psychosis. His mind would trick him into thinking that someone was staring at him even though no one was staring at him. Kairen had felt the weight of this warning in his bones.
Azell spoke.
“As with all techniques dealing with the mind, the learning process is painful. It is much more troublesome than learning a technique that deals with the body.”
“I agree. Still, it was too useful of a technique to pa.s.s up on it.”
After he fought and overcame this process, he earned the ability to detect danger, which far outstripped his previous capabilities. As a test, he performed a guerilla warfare with his subordinates. He even allowed them to employ snipers. His subordinates were allowed to use magic and arrows. However, he was able to a.s.sess and react to everything that was thrown at him.
Azell spoke.
“Now you have to learn the second lesson."
“What?”
“I"ll tell you about what happens when a fight occurs between people, who mastered the Gaze Detection technique.”
At the same time, Kairen felt a cold gaze behind him. It was a gaze filled with killing intent. Moreover, he could tell something was rapidly coming up behind him.
‘Is it a clone?’
Kairen already knew that Azell used the Cloning technique, "Dance of the Shadow", which gave substance to his clones. This was why he didn"t hesitate to turn his body as he swung his left sword. Then he readied himself for a frontal attack with his right sword.
‘Uh?’
However, there was nothing in the place where he had attacked. There wasn"t a clone where he had attacked, and Azell used Instantaneous Movement to quickly attack Kairen"s side. Kairen"s attack had created an opening.
Kwahng!
Accompanying a sound of explosion, Kairen was pushed backwards. He was taken aback.
‘He became really strong!’
He wasn"t talking about combat ability. When their swords clash, Kairen had felt a brute force. Azell"s physical ability was much higher than what Kairen had estimated it to be.
‘He defeated a Dragon in a one on one battle, so I knew he wasn"t normal. Still....’
However, he didn"t have the luxury to ruminate over this thoughts. He started feeling gazes from all over the place. Front, back, left, right.... Numerous gazes stimulated his senses before disappearing. It started messing with his senses.
However, it was impossible to ignore the gazes. The Gaze Detection technique was a focused ability that alerted the user whenever a hostile gaze was on him. Moreover…….
Kwah-chahng!
In reality, Azell"s clones appeared to attack, and they disappeared afterwards.
“Ooh-oohk!”
Che-che-che-che-che-cheng!
Azell used terrifying speed to continue his attack. Kairen could tell with his eyes that Azell was barely using his magical energy, yet his speed couldn"t be compared to before. Kairen would no longer be able to suppress him with brute strength.
“s.h.i.t!”
Kairen"s stance crumbled, and he was sent flying. Kairen was barely able to right himself when Beorein spoke.
“Oh. This is a new experience for you. I never imagined a day would come when you would get embarra.s.sed by a young man. This is a treat for my eyes today.”
“I was an exploratory skirmish. An exploratory skirmish! Just shut up and watch.”
Kairen threw a fit. Azell spoke.
“Of course, it was an exploratory skirmish. I gave you a taste, so shall we get to the main course? Now you know how this will go.”
“I"ll act in kind.”
Kairen belatedly activated his Dragon Demon magic. The effects of the Dragon Arts was to drastically increase one"s physical abilities.
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh!
When he sparred about half a year ago, he had to considerably restrict his ability. They had to fight in terms of techniques. Azell displayed surprising level of skill, but the difference in physical and magical capacity was too large.
However, it was different now. Azell"s physical ability had risen to the level of a Dragon Demon. Kairen, who had trained to his utmost limit, couldn"t take Azell lightly!
Kairen asked a question.
“What method did you use? How can a human"s body reach such a level?”
He didn"t know how this was possible. If Azell was really the descendent of the hero Azell Karzark, were all human heroes this strong in the Dragon Demon war? Were humans able to distinguish themselves through bravery against the Dragon Demon race?
Azell spoke.
“You just have to train the Tributaries to the Energy Pulse.”
“Tributaries?”
This was the first time Kairen had heard of this word.
Azell gave an explanation.
“Blood vessels have capillaries, and muscles have fibers, right? It is a similar concept. Basically, a Spirit Order pract.i.tioner forms an Energy Pulse with the magical energy that naturally follows a route in a human"s body. This flow of energy is strengthened.”
The basic framework was similar in a macro view, but slight differences appeared when one looked at the details.
To be precise, Azell had followed Liglan"s teachings. He had branched small Tributaries from his main branch of Energy Pulse, and he had expanded the reach of his Energy Pulse to every corner of his body. Every part of his body was flowing with magic. This meant his capacity to hold magical energy was expanded to an incomprehensible level, and the magical energy that reinforced his physical body was strengthened.
After hearing Azell"s explanation up to this point, Kairen was amazed.
“That is… Isn"t that quite similar to how the Dragon Demon"s body is structured?”
“Yes. It is a way to copy the body of the Dragon Demon race, which is filled with the grace of the Dragon Demon magic. This is the extreme form of body reinforcement.”
The Dragon Demon race was an amalgamation of wisdom-seeking Dragons and life-seeking Demonic race.
From the moment of their birth, the Dragon Demons possessed a body blessed with magical energy and Dragon Demon magic. The st.u.r.diness of their bodies couldn"t even be compared to the humans.
Kairen spoke.
“Basically, you aren"t using Spirit Order to temporarily boost your physical ability. Your body has actually reached the level of a Dragon Demon... So that"s how it is.”
“However, it isn"t foolproof. I haven"t finalized it yet.”
“Do you have more to do?”
“As one partakes from the Dragon"s power from the Dragon Slayer"s Ritual.... A human may exceed those from the Dragon Demon race.”
In Azell"s prime, his strength and speed had exceeded that of the Dragon Demons. In terms of pure physical ability, the only ones that could rival him was the Dragon Demon King Atein, Atein"s direct descendants and the 4 Great Dragon Demon Generals.
Azell spoke.
“Well, shall we continue this?”
“You really are an impertinent b.a.s.t.a.r.d.”
“Excuse me?”
“Doesn"t this mean that you hid your true skill in our previous spar sessions?”
“Technically, I wasn"t. I didn"t have the means to use these techniques.”
“Now you are able to?”
“Yes. However, I can"t use them all yet.”
A faint blue light started to flow over Azell"s Dragon Sword like running water. Azell spoke as he took in what was happening in front of him.
“However, I won"t hold back in showing it all to the duke.”
Then… Kairen suffered a complete defeat. He hadn’t lost like this, since his parents had pa.s.sed away. He experienced it on that day.