Chapter 9

Waking up, I got used to seeing this same roof over and over. It's only been about 5 days since I had became an adventurer and in retrospect, it's actually really good that I got into a party that quickly. It makes up for the lost time I had sitting around, waiting for a party to recruit me when I could've been levelling up and gaining skill levels.

My party state and levelling states are above average, that's for sure. Since that night, I've grown about 6 levels which is outstandingly amazing. But not only did I not do much, I was also gifted a strength boosting ring, but I also recieved a level 20 grade weapon. I did a bit of research and came to find out that this is not just a level 20 grade weapon- but weapon's also of the Epic tier.

There are five different rarities that a weapon can come in. Common would be the most basic one- found and sold in different shops and while they can provide the same attack as legendary tier weapons- they ultimately only give a bonus to attack.

After that comes Rare, a tier that would suggest that a weapon is rare. They are normally obtained from monsters and tend to be harder to obtain as their drops are low. But they provide stats to Agility, Strength, Vitality, Wisdom, Luck and Hit Points.

The tier above that is Epic, that'd be the one Sniper gave me. An Epic graded weapon has the same positives of the previous weapons- but also grants conditional effects. This one happens to be a luck multiplier.

The penultimate tier is known as Mythril. It's the highest tier almost all players go for when it comes to gaining these weapons as to achieve this grade of weapon- we must take down bosses that are stronger than normal bosses. I'm not sure what they're called, but I'm sure we'll encounter one someday.

The final tier is Legendary. It may as well be Ancient- the last person to use a Legendary Weapon was an ancient Hero King of old. I say that, but there have been a few players capable of gaining their hands on these bad boys. But the way to acquire this one requires an unbareable amount of fighting- firstly finding the proper Rare tier equip which would then have to be upgraded to Epic- to Mythril and then to Legendary. Though the ridiculousness comes from the fact that the Legendary isn't at its full potential. The requirements are crazy is all I've heard, but I have my eyes set on one. Getting a legendary grade tier of my own will definitely get me known out there.

Lost in thoughts, I suddenly heard a knocking on my door. Walking over to it- I saw the two main characters of this party, Hyouketsu and Effie. What do they want this early?

Hyou:

"Hey, Keshin. Got a minute?"

Effie:

"We're having a talk-to-talk session with every member."

Keshin:

"Oh, please, come on in."

Welcoming them in to my room, they immediately sat down on the table to which I then prepared myself coffee.

Keshin:

"Would you two care for a drink?"

Hyou:

"Nino already provided us coffee and Santos gave us tea. I think we've had enough haha."

I'm guessing I'm the last member to be spoken to then from the sounds of it. It would make sense afterall. After finishing the preparations for my own coffee, I sat down- ready to listen to whatever they have to say.

Effie:

"We've noticed some underlying issues when it comes to your combat capabilities, so we'll be having you undergo heavy training with me."

Hyou:

"Couldn't have been more blunt."

Effie was clearly shaken by that comment, but even more so- I was shaken by her comment. How bad have I been doing if I need 'heavy training'?

Keshin:

"That's fine and all, but shouldn't a direct evaluation be necessary for this?"

Effie:

"Precisely which is why we'll be sparring with training swords at the nearest gym."

Keshin:

"Wait- you can swing a sword?"

Effie:

"I'm a knight, aiming to become a Crusader. Learning to use both swords and lances is extremely necessary for such a class."

Ah, that makes sense. Seems like everyone has their future class decided except me. Effie wants to become a Crusader, Hyou wants to become a Swordmaster, Nino wants to become an Arch Wizard, Santos wants to become an Arch Priest and Hajikeru wants to become a Hunter. Then there's me, an adventurer who hasn't changed classes because I've been indecisive about what I want to become. Nino has been suggesting Assassin- but I can't move like one at all.

Keshin:

"Then we should definitely get to it as soon as we can. I don't want to hinder the team."

Hyouketsu:

"Hold your horses- there's another topic we want to talk about."

Effie:

"You're going to do it again?"

Keshin:

"Do what?"

I could feel how tense Hyou's stare was to Effie. But it was clear something was going to happen.

Hyou:

"I want to see if you can tap into Secret Arts."

Keshin:

"Oh. Oh... Why me?"

Effie:

"He's already doubting himself. The answer is clear Hyou. None of us except you can tap into it."

Keshin:

"Huh..."

Hyou:

"It's something I must see Keshin. I saw promising potential within you so I have to."

Keshin:

"Well it can be apart of the evaluation then. I'll be ready in a moment."

The two then decided to leave, which I had to get them to so I could wash myself. Training for three days in a row has been quite hefty on my body but nothing I can't handle- compared to the days at my academy.

If I recall correctly, Hyou sees it as a power we can tap into with the assistance of the human will. Is that really how it works though? Or perhaps what Hyou demonstrated was just an amplification provided from the strength of a sword and the mana that the sword provides. It would make sense as mana swords take from both the user's mana and strength. It only does magic damage, but the user can imbue their own strength to dish out magical attacks without the cost of mana- to which it then consumed less mana to use magic. It's an excellent type of sword, but physical damage dealers are what we are lacking.

Anyway, from what I've been told about the creation story- mana swords are pretty close to the full triangle of infinites, possessing powers from humanity's 'strength' and 'wisdom'. Hyou must have figured out how to use even the smallest bit of his 'courage' which is then amplified by the other infinites. He thinks outside the box, something I would've never considered. But could something so simple start producing such massive results like that?

I won't get anywhere by questioning myself. I have to get moving and to start experimenting. I feel that Nino is an essential support to this. She knows a lot about the world- so maybe if I learn more, I can decipher how to use Secret Arts.

It didn't take too long before we were out in the plains to get the testing of Secret Arts done. But how would one produce one first try? How would I go about making one?

Hyouketsu:

"Keshin, believe in yourself. Don't think, act."

How does that help? The human soul isn't something I can comprehend so easily. Simply believing that I can do it won't help at all. I know my limits... But maybe it's this mindset that doesn't allow me to produce better results. Sigh. I know what I can and can't do. Don't think. Just act. Just act... Just act...

Keshin prepared himself, getting into his typical pose as to when he's about to use the Sword Art, Arc. Though something seems to be different. The air around the blade seemed to grow warmer, the heat waves were visible to the eye. Just what did he plan?

His eyes shot open, the blade carrying him forward in an arc that discharged flames- but more than that, the Arc didn't end- instead, it continued with another slash to the air- clearly his Sword Art, Vertical, the flames still discharging in waves in front of him from both swings which traced as two lines.

Hyou:

"Wha..."

Effie:

"That... I can't tell."

Hyou:

"It's very different to mine, where mine is mostly magic..."

Don't think... Did it work? I'm not so sure. But I didn't have to state any commands in order to use this. Did I really properly cancel the lag from each Sword Art? Not only that, the lag after the second Sword Art was shorter than usual. But it wasn't a Secret Art that's for sure.

Effie:

"What was that?"

Hyou:

"I couldn't tell Keshin."

Keshin:

"It wasn't a Secret Art. I know that much. I tried not to think. But what do I call this new Art?"

Effie:

"I've never seen such an Art before..."

Keshin:

"I've done my fair share of research in my academic days. Remember when I told you that I was trying to figure out how I was going to cancel lag?"

Hyou:

"Wait... I recall it- don't tell me..."

Keshin:

"It's hard to pull off. But I connected each Sword Art with Sacred Arts."

Hyou:

"That must've drained your mana..."

Keshin:

"Yeah. It definitely did. I can only use about 3 more Arts. But I chained Arc with the Sacred Arts Fire. The hard part was figuring out how I was going to launch the flames, but I didn't think."

Effie:

"You mean you improvised?"

Keshin:

"Precisely. I discharged the flames- but instead of the usual fire ball, I instead distributed the mana into my blade. Since the end lag of a Sacred Art is much shorter than a Sword Art- I guess the system processed it as me using a Sacred Art instead of a Sword Art- which allowed me to use a second Sword Art while the Sacred Art was active."

Effie:

"You mean you just happened to find a way to mitigate the system balance?"

Keshin:

"Yeah. A way to bypass the system hinderance from using powerful skills."

Hyou:

"Hah! That may not have been a Secret Art, but it sure as hell was impressive. I definitely can't do that."

Keshin:

"It took me years of studying and practicing at the academy. I wish I could've pulled this off back then though."

My desires were solely based on the fact that I wanted to be recognised at the academy. I want to be seen as someone who could make a change in this world. But now I can do just that. The issue is, I need to find a way to connect Vertical to Arc once again- to make another connect. Connect...

Keshin:

"I'll call it Connecting Arts."

Effie:

"A basic name, but what it's very obvious as to what it is."

Hyou:

"Well, you two should get going to the gym. I'll be sure to see you all soon, I have to check on Nino and Santos as well as start my training with Sniper."

Keshin:

"I understand. See you Hyou."

Hyou then took off towards the plains. It was then that I realised that Nino and Santos were in a clear duel off in the distance as Nino's offensive magic was quite massive, and the the dissipation of magic was clearly visible due to Santos' just as massive magic wall.

Effie:

"I hope that Nino doesn't go too aggressive."

Keshin:

"Santos seems to be negating her magic like it's nothing though."

Effie:

"How odd. I last recalled her magic being able to break it without an issue. Santos must have worked extremely hard."

Nino's magic isn't doing nearly enough to compare to what Effie just said. I wonder how Santos became so powerful? But...

'I'm not sure haha. Secret Arts are really hard to understand. I know they're the manifestation of our will, but I don't know how to access it. Perhaps it will come to me eventually.'

Nino said something like that, but perhaps Secret Arts have more to them than just being a separate third entity. Nino told me that everyone believes there to be only 20 existing Sword Arts for each weapon as well as 20 different Sacred Arts for each type of magic. The fact thst everyone believes that in the first place- it just means that it isn't confirmed. Secret Arts a manifestation of one's will. Does that mean Secret Arts also affect the strength of our Sword Arts and Sacred Arts?

When I pulled off Connecting Arts, I didn't think. I acted and improvised. Rather than believing I could do it, I instead acknowledged what strength I had and knew I could do it. Could that be a Secret Art?

There's so much I don't know, but remembering the triangle of the infinites, Wisdom and Strength were on the left and right sides of the pages. While Courage was at the bottom of the page, it was also at the center. No. There's more to it than it just being in the center. The very fact that it's a 'triangle' means they are all connected. Just thinking about it is giving me a headache though.

Effie:

"Keshin, let's make our way to the gym. Don't want to waste time now."

Keshin:

"Ah, sorry about that."

Effie:

"It's alright, I've come to learn that you have serious episodes of thinking to yourself. You just stand there with your hands on your chin thinking to yourself for a minute or so."

Keshin:

"A-ah..! Haha... Right."

Effie:

"There's more to you than what meets the eye. You may be the class of Adventurer, but I think the role of a One-Hit Wonder is more suited for you."

Keshin:

"Hah, you make me sound like some kind of trump card."

Effie:

"Well let's go back. I won't go easy on you- especially that excellent display of technique, control, power and magic."

Technique, control, power and magic huh... Guess I'm more impressive than I originally thought myself out to be.

We headed back, and it was time to show how much I've excelled the ways of the sword.