Chương 158: The Breath

Truth has always been an enigma to Will. He still didn't quite understand what is was.

He could do it, much better than before, but he felt like a beginner firing a pistol at point blank range yet always missing. Like he was always failing. He had even managed to input Truth into spells. This was one of his proudest feats.

It meant he understood the spell matrix perfectly and executed it to its calculated limit. Special runes and characters branded by mana are the language of magic referred to as a Spell Matrix.

These usually show themselves in the form of magic circles and the like. Sometimes they are substituted or used in tandem with other methods like wands mudras and seals.

When Will fought Mein he had done something he had thought he wouldn't be able to do until he was at least level 150. He had created a True Strike through a Spell. It had happened during meditation. He was going over how he had learned the True Strike. He had thought it was a Martial Skill from harmonizing movement, qi and intent. That's when it hit him

'Movement? Is casting a spell a movement?'

Wills mind began churning at high speed at what he knew regarding spells. Will only had one source for spells. The Solitary sword Sovereign Manual. Some of the skills in there were actually created by Mages, often referred to as Magic Swordsmen.

This was Will's first meeting with a Spell Matrix. Thanks to his constant analysis and decoding, Will understood and could apply a lot of the SSS Matrix. Allowing him to learn the spells. Now it was up to his talent in the field.

Will slowly trained himself on how to inscribe a Spell Matrix on a surface. Then he learned how to inscribe a 3 dimensional Matrix in the air, became able to apply it. Will was barely able to use a few SSS spells, but he was able to decode them and break the complex spells into smaller spells he made himself. Thanks to ingenuity and some reverse engineering, Will was able to derive and create spells using the SSS matrix.

Most of them were useless that resulted in random phenomenon, some were very useful. It was only when Will raided a normal dungeon that gave him drops and learned multiple spells from multiple skill books was he now well versed.

This plus the knowledge he had researched online and received through Alice had given Will incredible knowledge. Allowing him to fuse the following skills:

By fusing these four into a Custom Spell, then infusing that Matrix of the Spell, Will was able to cast a True Spell. He had no doubt that he had achieved something incredible. And truthfully he had. Adelda was now numb to his feats and merely added this to the others, but she half expected what he had shown in the dungeon.

It was only after casting both a True Strike and a True Spell that Will noticed something. When executing either, a foreign power would generate itself from the environment, enter him and then come out.

At first Will thought that it was some sort of World Energy but it only appeared when True Strikes and True Spells occurred. This caused Will to have a bold idea.

'Perhaps Truth is a type of power. Like Intent, Modus did say there were a lot of senses...'

Will was not sure why they had to be called 'True'.

'Is it because it has reached its most orthodox form? Or maybe it has something to do with its origin?

"Haaaaaaaaaaah."

Will gave out an elongated breath and stepped up toward the pillar. It was time to take action. Resolve showed itself in the young man's eyes.

'I can't use Radiant Energy and Bloodlust, but I can use the next best things.'

Will created a katana made out of ice and started to channel his life force into it. Adelda's heart started to palpitate as she had a rough idea of what Will was about to do.

'He can't use Radiant Energy and Bloodlust directly, but his lifeforce has an energy signature from these two after being refined by them!'

Radiant Energy and Bloodlust were extremely rare. But objects that contained these two intents were not as rare, as nature often produced items with magical properties. Creating intent being one of them.

There were some Elite Body Cultivators who used objects that contained either of the two intents. Resulting in their bodies having the signatures of these two.

'This has resulted in there being quite a few cultivators who have these signatures. So Will can just pass off as someone who has a magical item that contains these energies!'

Adelda's deduction was spot on. Will wanted an opponent who had refined his body in a similar way without catching attention. Now he did.

Adelda then frowned, 'But that means he now has to use an attack that is fueled with life force. So he is going to use that move...'

Adelda was frowning, but if one looked closely, one would be able to see a spark of curiosity and wonder.

'He did say he was familiar with Number 7. If he uses that skill with Intent and Truth...'

Adelda's mind began to race. Not only was she anticipating what Will was about to do, she also anticipated his opponent.

'This is going to be good.'

...

A few minutes earlier.

In a dark room filled with staff and floating blue screens, people were busy at work. The screens showed users facing pillars. The giant Weightlifting Hercules pointed at one of the screens, "Simulate the environment there now."

One of the operators seated under the keyboard replied dryly, "Yes, your Highness."

The screens disappeared and Will appeared beside everyone in the room. In the middle of the room was a table with a group of people whose disposition clearly indicated that they were different. Hercules sat at the head of the table and looked to his right, because a hologram of Will had appeared there.

Narcissus looked Will up and down and said, "I can't believe I have to baby sit this brat. He doesn't even have ha tenth of my charm. Why him? It's not like he is the only Truth Seeker you can get. I'm sure you can find a better one right?

Odysseus, a bald caramel skinned man with thick black headed, palmed his face in disappointment. He adjusted his glasses and said, "Your highness, please observe, Prince Hercules is not one to make useless judgements." Odysseus was a muscular warrior, yet he somehow still gave of a scholarly disposition.

Narcissus frowned; he was arrogant, not dull. Hercules had an eye for talent that approached Zeus' and Athena's level. Especially when it came to the art of war. Rumor had it that Ares was about to lose his seat as the God of War to Hercules, causing there to be friction between the two camps. So now, more than ever, they needed talents.

It was at this time that Will started walking toward the Pillar.

"Silence!"

Hercules' shout caused the noise and hubbub of the room to completely shut down; everyone stood still and focused on Will. Hercules had clearly noticed something, and they wanted to know what.

...

As Will walked, Sword Intent blew out of his body, but what was truly impressive was how controlled it was. Sharp Water and Sword Intent intertwined with the ice katana in Will's right hand.

This was the greatest output of Intent he had ever produced. Will's mind was focused. He raised the ice katana in preparation for stepping forward and slashing.

'Breathe in.'

"Hooo."

'Breathe out'

"Haaa."

Will started to breathe in and out at specific intervals. Each time he did, he took in large amounts of air.

At first, all the breaths did was make wind that could rustle leaves a few meters away. But with each second, with each breathe, the winds got more turbulent. And the breaths became more violent.

After having performed dozens of breaths, with focused his concentration to the max and moved forward. All 2097152 minds moved into overdrive and focused on the task at hand.

The technique Will wanted to use was one he had little familiarity with. But it was the only weapon in his arsenal that could use life energy as a weapon. He would have preferred to have had a chance to properly practice it multiple times before having to utilize it in an important matter like this but he had no choice. This was the only way he could use all these powers together in one attack.

Will simply had too many abilities but too little to no mastery of none. This was a dangerous spot to be in. Hence when Will had found this skill in the SSS manual, he was thrilled, because he knew that one day he would need such a skill.