Capítulo 299: Sharing pointers
"They seem to be enjoying themselves," Elizabeth murmured.
Freon nearly jumped in fright. Everyone, including himself, was too engrossed in the sparring match to realize Elizabeth had quietly snuck up. She made a mischievous smirk and hushed the boy. Since she was wearing a warm cloak for the cold autumn weather, the hood conveniently hid her face. None would be the wiser unless Freon made a commotion. The boy groaned in disbelief and peeked behind the girl. As expected, several paces behind Elizabeth, Sir Winstin was standing there. The Protector glared at him in response, but nothing else. Although it looked like he was doing nothing, the man was continuously projecting his senses outwards, keeping a fixed area around Elizabeth under constant surveillance. At the slightest hint of malice, he could step in!
Faced with that stern gaze, Freon's neck shrunk. It was not like he was planning to do anything, so why the gaze? Snorting, he whispered to Elizabeth, "Why are you here? I thought you were busy."
"Even I can get bored," she rolled her eyes.
"What about the empire?" he said, quiet as a mouse.
"They haven't made a move yet."
"I don't like the sound of that."
"Neither do I, but that's what our informants are telling us. There has been minimal activity from the Yunyun Stronghold or the imperial forces."
"They wouldn't let us sit on their territory for free. They must be planning something," Freon frowned.
"Yes… that's what General Dennis and the officers believe too. While it doesn't look like there's any large-scale mobilization, there is still a tiny problem."
"You mean the Featherwind Sect, right?"
"That's right."
"They are… a problem."
Elizabeth sighed. "The Ten Dawns are busy planning countermeasures, but it doesn't look too optimistic." It was not condescension, but simple facts. The Featherwind Sect were on another level! It would be more productive roping them to the negotiating table than fighting them again. Still, it was smart to prepare for every possibility.
On the field, Benedict and Shirley disengaged for the tenth time. The two were covered in sweat and panted heavily. Around them was a dust cloud and dirt trails from their intense battle. Although neither were seriously injured, the high intensity sparring brought their wooden weapons to the limit. They cracked under the pressure and shattered! Everyone reflexively shuddered. Made from a hard wood, the power required to break them was no laughing matter! Any normal person would struggle, but with Benedict's powerful Martial Energy and Shirley's unorthodox attack patterns, it proved too great a strain for the wasters. After ten rounds, the results were ultimately a tie! The audience began clapping, embarrassing Benedict while Shirley relished in it.
Walking back, they shared pointers and caught sight of Elizabeth. Shirley was about to shout her name when Benedict clasped her mouth and hushed her. From a glance at her hooded figure, it was obvious that Elizabeth wanted to remain unannounced. The girl returned a grateful look. Being the heir apparent came with its perks as well as its drawbacks since she easily became the center of attention wherever she went. Due to her unique circumstances on New Havens, she became used to the quiet. Parading around loudly might be one of her roles now, but she deeply disliked it. It was better to go low-profile instead!
"That was a fantastic fight, you two!" Elizabeth said.
"Thanks," Benedict smiled. "It was really close. At first, I had the advantage with my Martial Energy, but Shirley began pulling ahead towards the end. Her Mock Perception is something else!"
Shirley said smugly. "I didn't train like crazy for nothing! Don't you think I'm as strong as those Perception Realms now?"
Benedict coughed. "Well, let's not get too ahead of ourselves." There was still a big difference between a genuine Perception Realm like his father, Sir Roland, and a pseudo-one like Shirley. It was not something that could be bridged with a trick or two.
"Your Martial Energy is also pretty handy," Shirley thought aloud. "Speed, power, mobility, you can manipulate everything so easily. It's really hard to predict!" Taking their first round as an example, Benedict was able to create a flying strike, hitting Shirley when he was out of range with his sword. He could no longer be judged by normal human standards. Martial Energy was that powerful!
"So, did you learn anything from our fight?"
"I think I did," Shirley said before grunting, trying to summon the latent energy in her body. Benedict's eyes bulged out. If she could figure out how to use Martial Energy like that, then he might really have to bash his head in. He would be too embarrassed to continue living! Fortunately, it was for naught. Shirley was not that heaven-defying, learning Martial Energy in a matter of minutes.
Wiping off his invisible sweat, Benedict laughed, "It won't be that easy to learn Martial Energy."
"Hmph, there must be a trick that you're not telling me. If you don't tell me, then I won't tell you anything about Mock Perception."
"Can anyone learn Martial Energy, Benedict?" Elizabeth wondered from the side.
"I think so, yes. It's like Magic Energy."
"That's interesting, because I haven't seen nor heard of Martial Energy before you showed it to me," Freon added. "I wonder why no one else knows about it."
"Not sure…"
"Why don't you two try sparring?" Shirley looked at Elizabeth and Freon. "It's pretty fun!"
"Sparring, huh?" Elizabeth started. "I don't…"
"That's not a good idea," Freon finished. "Unlike your fight with wasters, we don't have a similar concept in magic. Arcanists can't hold back, so we might kill each other."
"Boo… That's not fun," Shirley pouted.
"You don't have to fight," Benedict interjected. "You could show your skills in other ways."
"That's true… We could do that."
After chasing away the crowds, they arrived at an archery range where wooden dummies and targets were set up on the other end. Technically, it was not an 'archery' range, but a 'long-distance' range, since both archers and Arcanists could use it to practice their skills. And one could immediately see groups of archers, practicing their aim, and groups of Arcanists, practicing their spells. The training field was filled with shouting and explosions, making it as lively as any other place! Freon took out his wand and pointed it down range. A simple fireball spell was conjured, and he launched it at a training dummy, causing it to burst into flames.
"This is a normal fireball spell that any Arcanist can learn. As you can see, it's nothing special."
The three nodded, but they wondered where Freon was going with this. Freon grinned and began concentrating. He tightened his fists and gritted his teeth, while his veins bulged, and his heart raced. No matter how many times he did it, it was still really painful… the act of forcefully rearranging his Channels. In the first place, it was not something that a High Gaseous Fog Arcanist, like himself, could perform. The consequence was a ridiculous level of pain that took months of training to withstand. However, the benefits were truly worth the effort. Bloodline Ability: Thousand Core Resonance activated! Instantly, barely visible rainbow tendrils began swarming around his body. It was pure World Energy! Accompanying it was a powerful Magic Aura that pulsated with immense strength.
"This…" Elizabeth said with some surprise. This was her first time seeing it up close. Her Magic Perception was on the verge of extending outwards, so her surprise was greater than Benedict or Shirley. She could sense the incredible power swelling inside Freon!
"This is my Arcellius Family's Bloodline Ability: Thousand Core Resonance! I won't go into the details, but this is what it can do."
Saying so, he repointed his wand down range. A Magic Circle formed considerably faster than before, and the fireball was many times larger! Previously, it was a mix of red and orange, but now it radiated a bright yellow white. The temperature was far greater! It was enough to singe his friends, causing them to take a step back. Without any dramatic pauses, he immediately hurled the fireball at a new target. When the two collided, there was a big explosion, directly vaporizing the training dummies nearby. The power compared to before was on another level! Freon's wide smiled exposed how proud he was. His efforts were not wasted after all!
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder