Chapter 11

I was around 5 years old. I wanted to see what the world is like, so I decided to go outside the boundaries placed by my mom and dad. I was a kid, so I acted without much of a care. On top of that, I was practicing Sacred Arts back then. So I knew how to use Fire and Cure. Despite that, I wanted to see outside my own village.

I then saw a hurt boar. I wanted to heal it, to which I did. Upon healing it though, it turned on me. Rampant, it jabbed its horn into my hip and penetrated my skin. I yelled, cried out for help but nothing came. So I resorted to burning this boar. I was desperate, but it was back then that I learnt that I could activate arts without the need of saying them. That boar ran away, probably scared of suffering another injury- but I had to get home. I cured myself, but it didn't stop the bleeding. My mana was running low, so getting home to my family was the only option...

I slumped on the porch, crying in pain. The bleeding wouldn't stop and the thoughts I had in my head were 'Am I going to die here..? I want to see mom and dad. I want to see my sister.' As those thoughs recurred in my head, I was able to see her. My sister. That look on her face, it was one of a horrifying shock. She was speechless, scared- yet she remained calm and acted.

Sister:

"Keshin! Keshin please hold on! Mom! Dad! Please! He's hurt!"

She cried desperately, and had she not done that, my mother wouldn't have arrived in time. She looked frightened, but she knew she could heal me. Afterall, she was the one who taught me Sacred Arts in the first place. My father wasn't home, but he was probably training in Sword Arts once again.

After healing me, my sister hugged me in relief. Those tears were real, and I felt connected with my family. But I know I'm not related by blood. I'm not their child, I'm not her brother...

Sister:

"Keshin... I'm so glad you're safe..!"

She hugged me, calling me Keshin.

Keshin:

"Saino... I was so scared.."

Saino was her name. She was better than I could have ever been with Sacred Arts. I took from my father's side and she took from my mother's side. But we were both equals in fighting terms. But that's what made us so close in the first place. I never viewed her as my sister, but how else do I refer to her? I always viewed her more as a friend. A friend who hid the truth from me.

But regardless, her emotions were real. That shocked look, Nino had the same look after I pulled off Connecting Arts. No, it felt more than that. She was defeated. Her evaluation must not have went well. I should probably talk to her later...

Hajikeru:

"That was some amazing moves Keshin. I have to teach Nino a few things, so you can head back if you want to."

Effie:

"Or maybe you could stick around for some real combat training with real weaponry!"

Keshin:

"If I got clobbered by a training sword, I will get killed by a real steel lance."

Effie:

"Haha, suit yourself."

I smiled waved to Santos and Hyou as I walked over to them. Hyou seemed to have finished the evaluation.

Santos:

"Is something wrong Keshin?"

Hyou:

"I hope Effie didn't go too rough on ya."

Keshin:

"Nothing of the sort. I just wanted to ask Santos for a favour."

Santos:

"You need MY help?"

Keshin:

"Yeah. You see, I sustained an injury a while ago but I kept quiet about it. I was hoping maybe you could heal up my right shoulder."

Santos:

"Ah, I see. What's wrong with it?"

Keshin:

"Well I did heal the wounds, but I don't think my bones were repaired at all."

Hyou:

"You fought with an injury like that? Man nothing is stopping you from pulling off some crazy things."

Santos:

"I agree... Here, I know just the spell."

I sat down, to which he then placed his hand on my shoulder.

Keshin:

"Please... be gentle."

Hyou:

"So erotic."

Santos:

"It's not like that!"

After recollecting himself after the joke I made, he steadied his hand just over my shoulder. It hurt, badly. I don't think much force has been applied to it since then, so having him holding it down while trying to heal it is painful.

Santos:

"Sacred Art, Reconstruct."

He spoke those soft words into my ear, to which I could feel my bones snapping apart. The pain was extruciating, but it all seemed to go when it felt like my bones replenished and refined themselves. Rather, it felt stronger than before.

Santos:

"There you go. That was one of my more advanced spells which should keep that shoulder much stronger than before."

Keshin:

"I feel great, it was painful at first though. But hey, maybe you could reconstruct my entire body and make me super strong!"

Santos:

"The pain will become so much to handle that your brain may possibly burst due to an overloading surge of inputs from your nerves."

Keshin:

"Forget I said anything. Anyway- I'll be heading back. I have a few things I need to do."

With that, I decided to head back to town. I had the idea shot up in my head. It may be impossible to pull off, but with Connecting Arts- I think it could very well may be possible. I also need to think of how to approach Nino. I don't want to jump to conclusions here, but I do want to make sure she's okay.

Sniper:

"Alright, are you ready for the few tips?"

Nino:

"Yeah. How do I improve?"

Anything goes at this point. I'm becoming desperate, I just have to improve fast.

Sniper:

"Alright, well first of all, you have to know your affinities and what attributes they hold. You know them right?"

Nino:

"Yes. There are a lot of elements to go over so we could be here all day."

Sniper:

"Have you tried experimenting with those principals?"

Nino:

"Well of course I have. I've only been able to create flame spears and swords."

Sniper:

"That isn't what I meant. You're aware of how ice can freeze opponents?"

Nino:

"Ofcourse."

What's she getting at?

Sniper:

"Then why not apply those perks to other magic? Like fire for example."

Nino:

"But that's just impossible. Fire is the opposite to ice."

Sniper:

"That's not what I mean. See that boar over there?"

Sniper pointed over towards a boar that was simply roaming about in the direction of the forest way past here. She grabbed her bow, to which I could tell she was using divine magic.

Sniper:

"Divine magic's perks are that they are able to vanquish demons and undead at an exceptional pace. However, it can also freeze my opponents. Sacred Art, Lance."

She commanded, shooting her arrows high into the sky. I looked intensely at the boar- and all of a sudden, it was penetrated by each arrow- specifically its limbs were pinned to the ground.

Sniper:

"Think outside the box Nino. Ice doesn't just freeze opponents, it traps them. You can do the same with fire magic, trap them in a wall of fire or whatever your creative mind can come up with."

I never thought about it like that before... I took everything literal, I never let my imagination run wild. Maybe that's what holding me back. I'm no good like this.

Sniper:

"Don't get so defeated Nino, we're here for you if you do need help. We're not growing on our own. We're growing together."

Nino:

"Right. As a team."

I feel like I forget that basic principal every so often. It was then that I noticed Keshin heading towards town by himself. What's he up to this time? Maybe I could learn where he gets this power from.

Hyou:

"Hey, Sniper, come on over! We need you as bait!"

Sniper:

"Wh- for what?!"

Effie:

"Hyou, shouldn't I be the bait?"

Hyou:

"Santos can't improve his healing if he's healing next to no HP!"

Effie:

"L-learn some manners. I'm not the bulky..."

Hyou:

"When did I say that?!"

Sniper:

"Anyway, please give what I suggested some though Nino. I'll be back later. You should rest up back in town."

Just like that, Sniper ran over to the rest along with Effie who had haulted her own training. Of all time we had to do an evaluation... Though it should come as no surprise. Hyou does this every month.

I made my way towards town, catching up to Keshin. However, he made no signs of noticing me. Knowing him, he's probably caught up in his own thoughts again. Afterall, I know his detection skill is around the same level as Sniper's which is crazy.

Entering a smithy, it was clear he was looking to refine his own sword. But even someone like me can tell that his strength comes from skill and precision, not numbers. Afterall, there is just no way someone could easily pull off a Sword Art... Connecting Arts as he called it. Right? That's what I overheard.

Could I perform that? Maybe if I really tried... No, it's impossible. He linked both Sword Arts with a Sacred Art to cancel the lag if I recall. I can only dream of using Sword Arts- not that I even want to in the first place. I'd rather just nuke my opponents with my magic.

Perhaps I should start thinking of new ways to use my magic like Sniper showed me. She used tactics I never could've came up with had I not been shown the idea. I'll become stronger so I can be of use to everyone. I'm tired of being the one in the back who's barely doing anything.

Hyou's demonstration of power is ridiculous, that 'Secret Art' he possesses makes him unique. He learnt such a technique so early... 'Think of Secret Arts as the entrance to what we're really capable of.' That man seemed to know exactly what Secret Arts were. Though I recall him telling us that he won't explain it to us. That it's something we need to figure out. Though, I'm not sure if I can figure it out. From what I've seen, everyone has a unique art. Hyou's is his ability to wield potent ice. He referred to the Secret Art as 'Absolute Zero', and with it, he was able to create a new Sword Art from it.

The more I think about it, the more it becomes unclear... If Keshin had one... what would it be..? 'Wh-what? Is that what Hyou was trying to teach us?' Sniper was talking about Secret Arts back then. Though Keshin seemed to have done something different.

'Not quite. More like he simply combined Sword Arts with Sacred Arts- cancelling the delay of the first Sword Art through the casting of magic and then unleashing the second Sword Art which he then releases the magic. The way he activates it should make it so that his enemies stagger- so he kept it as one skill that consumes a lot of mana. He called it, Connecting Arts.'

Connecting Arts is what Keshin calls it. Absolute Zero and Connecting Arts... What do they have in common..? They're both unique skills they created... creation... Is that a Secret Art..? Creating something new using Sword Arts or Sacred Arts, but with a hint of a Secret Art...

If Hyou's Absolute Zero passively boosts the strength of his ice to the point where he can implement those attacks into Sword Arts and Sacred Arts, then are Secret Arts just permanent boosts that can only be accessed when acknowledged?

In that case, the reason why Keshin is able to Connect Arts together is because his Secret Art relates to the use of one or more Arts... But the way he explained it makes it seem like anyone could pull it off with enough effort.

Standing around here and thinking about it won't help at all. I need to find someone else who can use Secret Arts, I can't make the conclusions yet. But it feels like that's exactly what Secret Arts are.