No Mercy

The Reischneid that stood in front of him had no qualms with harming him.

Reischneid watched from the side as Nova was beaten up relentlessly.

「...When I had to fight that copy of myself, I didn't know anything about martial arts nor hand to hand yet… So it's not even comparable to my martial arts mastery...」[Reischneid]

Nova could barely get a grasp on his stance with how fast he was being pummeled around.

「...Maybe it's too early for Nova to perceive it...」[Reischneid]

Nova was forced to practice all at once- Torrential Rain Fist, his Starflash spell, and…

『Raiment! Limitless Cosmic Revolution Robe!』[Nova]

Each time he had used his Raiment, he managed to get a little bit better at using it.

He could take 2 or 3 steps without it vanishing now, only after an hour or so.

Each and every time he did it, he managed to get a little bit of footing on fighting Reischneid.

Reischneid's doppelganger would phase through him and give Nova the opportunity to fight back.

「...He's getting there, but simply put...」[Reischneid]

The doppelganger quickly caught himself by putting his hands on the floor before quickly rotating and launching his legs at Nova.

『Gugh?!』[Nova]

The doppelganger kicked Nova in the back.

「...He's not perceiving the "Flow" of battle.」[Reischneid]

Suddenly, right as the doppelganger was about to hit Nova, Reischneid saw a glint in Nova's eyes.

「...Hm?!」[Reischneid]

Nova suddenly pushed the fist to the side as he formed his signature flat hand.

『Impact Form: True Gale!』[Nova]

Unfortunately, the doppelganger dodged and cleanly got away.

Nova prepared to chase after him when Reischneid started to shout.

『Stop! Stop, stop, stooooop!』[Reischneid]

The doppelganger stood still.

『..Haah...Hah… What is it, Reischneid?』[Nova]

He kept an astounded face before changing back to a less serious one.

『...You forgot to use Starflash.』[Reischneid]

Nova's face paled.

『...Aw, crud.』[Nova]

He suddenly had a look of realization.

『Wait. Reischneid.』[Nova]

『Yes?』[Reischneid]

『Starflash is something called a "Macro" spell, right?』[Nova]

Reischneid nodded.

『It's a variant and a macro spell, because you cast it quickly, as well as it having an entirely different effect.』[Reischneid]

Nova nodded as he took a breath.

He concentrated on himself and tried to cast it on himself.

『Macro Spell: Starflash!』[Nova]

A blue flash revealed itself, causing Nova to break out into a huge smile.

『I did it!』[Nova]

『...Good job. Now, you need to shorten that down to Starflash!』[Reischneid]

Nova's excitement drained from his face.

『...』[Nova]

...…..

After some time, Reischneid completely gave up on Nova being able to learn the style in battle.

『...Alright. Let's do some basics for some of the basic forms and we'll try to get it to a proficient level before you try anything else.』[Reischneid]

Nova laid down on the floor, panting heavily.

『Haah...Hah… Do you… have a Raiment, Reischneid?』[Nova]

Reischneid had a confused face.

『No? Yes? I can't really use it at this stage. I need to recover more of my memories before I do anything like that. I have no idea what even the name is.』[Reischneid]

『Huh..? What spells can you use, then?』[Nova]

Reischneid grinned.

『Any of them.』[Reischneid]

Nova got up, completely forgetting about his worn out body.

『Huh?! How?!』[Nova]

『Watch this.』[Reischneid]

He put his hand out, letting out a white mist into the air.

He suddenly clenched his fist shut.

The white mist formed into floating orbs of fire before forming javelins and launching themselves into the distance.

Afterward, they made an explosion that made Inferno Purgatory pale in comparison.

『Hu...Huh?』[Nova]

『It's an advanced technique that probably was lost to the ages. It's another thing that I have to teach you.』[Reischneid]

『Why didn't we start with that?! There wasn't even a magical circle!』[Nova]

『Well, frankly… you don't have enough mana to practice it.』[Reischneid]

『Huh…? How much do I need?』[Nova]

Reischneid scratched the back of his head with an awkward look.

『...Maybe if you had enough… uh… 100 thousand units of mana? And you gotta practice controlling each tiny bit of that.』[Reischneid]

『...I haven't been able to check my units, how much more would you say I have to go?』[Nova]

『Oh. You're actually not TOO far off. The recent things you have been doing are causing your mana to grow extremely fast.』[Reischneid]

『I was a little under 1000 units of mana last time, how much is it now?』[Nova]

『Hmm… Maybe when we fought the chick, you were… at 1900?』[Reischneid]

『1900?! How the hell?!』[Nova]

『Raiment increases most of your abilities as a person overall. The biggest boost is to your capacity of mana. Although it varies and can change, when you use it, you can be looking to at least a 1000 times capacity increase, which explains why its so hard to withstand the burden of having that mana on you.』[Reischneid]

『But, that doesn't explain how that made my mana grow!』[Nova]

He waved his finger back and forth as if scolding Nova.

『Tch. Tch. As you adapt to your Raiment, your body will get stronger, of course. Did you think mastering Raiment was a mental thing?』[Reischneid]

『Mastering Raiment isn't just me figuring it out?』[Nova]

『It's you getting strong enough to withstand it. There is no form or footwork to get past that. Not to mention, since we've gotten here, you've only been getting stronger.』[Reischneid]

『No way. It's been… a day.』[Nova]

『Do you remember how they said "In a life or death situation, you will reach Raiment faster"?』[Reischneid]

『...Yes?』[Nova]

『Well, that means you'll get stronger faster. There are stories that humans do not use their full potential for risk of harming themselves.』[Reischneid]

Nova took this in, before sighing.

『...How did you do any of this when you were alive?』[Nova]

He shrugged.

『Well, I had a lot of help. In my early years I had a teacher that taught me swordsmanship and martial arts.』[Reischneid]

『Woah! Then, they must have been pretty amazing, right?!』[Nova]

『Of course. They were like my older sister! Except we weren't related by blood or anything. She just taught me all the concepts, then I made my own styles.』[Reischneid]

Just then, he realized Reischneid said something else.

『Wait… you said swordsmanship?』[Nova]

Reischneid's eyes seemed to glow for a moment.

『Ohoho… We'll get to that in due time...』[Reischneid]

『...Mercy, please.』[Nova]