Quasi-Flickering Stage

[+1 Endurance]

"Solomon! Create skill, Limit breaker!"

[Affirmative]

[Limit breaker is being analyzed]

[Creating skill]

[Skill created]

[Skill: Limit breaker]

[3x stat multiplier that lasts for 1 minute]

[After that, enter into a weakened state for 1 minute]

....

Lumiel took a day off and he focused on training. He was in the middle of the forest and has many target dummies scattered all around. Also has target circular planks that were hung on the branches of trees.

The wind was rushing and the leaves fell. Lumiel gripped the hilt and then with a single breath, he then drew his sword to slash them.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The leaf sounded as it was cut apart and then he saw the unrefined slit on the leaves. Lumiel then clicked his tongue. A sour taste was in his mouth as he felt dissatisfied with his speed.

He then stabbed the sword on the ground and cracked his neck throughout the other parts of his joints. Having the energy to exert for his exercise was making him hasty on what he would do next.

"There is still time for the entrance exam. I need to be prepared. Though I think I need to rest too when the time comes. Oh well, I'll just let fate decide," he cracked his fist then stood up straight.

He bent his knees and then punched the air. Kicking and rotating then a sidekick. His attacks were able to release a snapping sound that was satisfying to hear.

He attacked the target dummy and gritted his teeth to punch. With the stomping kick on the ground first, then the force was transported to the fist. With the motion that came from his center of gravity, he blasted right through its face.

Boom!

The dummy's face was obliterated.

He immediately shakes his hands as he feels the pain right after his attack. He can only inwardly curse his endurance at the moment. As for his physique, it was still weak compared to actual martial artists in this world.

He immediately trained with other weapons like blunts while he had time. He first tried the one-handers then the pole weapons and last were two-handers.

The one-handers were of course heavier than the blades and they relied on the strength of the user to inflict damage. While blades were devastating, it was only useful on light armor.

For the full-plated armor and heavy armor, the blunts would come into play. And so, Lumiel practiced his handling of the said weapons.

The pole weapons were also very tricky to use. With its reach at its highest, its reach was also its weakness. After the enemy passed through the tip of the spear or lance, it would be a checkmate. Nonetheless, if the user was agile enough to make certain adjustments and evade in due time. Also, it was one of the fanciest fighting styles as you can rotate it like a dancer and smack it to enemies like a staff.

And the last one was the two-handers. Lumiel was a fan of hammers and two-handed clubs. Some even have spikes like a morning star and others were a flail. Such weapons were considered an art when attacking enemies. Breaking their bones and making them limp even though there's no wound. Such monstrosity and savagery were indeed a rewarding experience for Lumiel to have!

After playing with his weapons, Lumiel grabbed his throwing knives and closed his eyes. Focusing on what's next to do was his priority. He then threw them to the circular planks and they hit the mark. Now to make things harder, he then flipped and then threw another three daggers toward his left and his right.

After many years of doing the same thing, he finally was on the stage of mastering it to near perfection.

But the thing that was hard for him up until now was the backflip rotation. He backflipped and rotated then threw them in a near-blurry state. Making him throw either too early or too late. He only made three out of ten planks at the moment.

As for his progress, it was at a stalemate. It was many years that he was stagnant on this level.

All he needed to do was to improve his senses and it was under the realm of his Focus stat. He has to train it harder but there's still a bottleneck to it. He needed a Focus stat crystal for that to be solved more easily.

After that, he proceeded to the bladed weapons. First were the swords then the axe and then last were the daggers. As for the said weapons, he slashed and slashed until he was panting. The weapons were mastered at such an early age and it was worth mentioning that he was getting used to them. Almost to the point of getting tired of it.

But still, he was not stopping. He knew that there were boundaries to the weapon masteries. And that was the Flickering stage. The point where the attacks and movements of the user were intuned to the weapon. The boundary between being a weapon user and a master.

The process was to master the weapon over many years and achieving the Flickering stage was like the pinnacle of weapon mastery. Though the higher realm to it was still unknown.

Having the flickering stage was making your attacks and movements blurry to the eyes and there were instances when the onlookers would only see a fragment of your blur. And it was the goal of Lumiel. To achieve it was to have the tides of time against him. Making him fight for his fate and there was no stopping him. No turning back!

After resting for a while, he then prepared for more serious practice. Although he was still a kid now, he knew what it felt like to be in the flickering stage as he experienced it too in the past.

He then focused and prepared to draw his blade. Feeling the leaves that fell, he dashed and slashed them. Seven leaves were cut mid-air and then fell on the ground. He immediately clicked his tongue and then sat on the ground.

After contemplating for a bit, he would need more time for his growth. There's no rush but being prepared was also not a bad thing. He then rested and finally stood up after sitting for a while.

"Not enough, I need more stats and practice for this," he wiped his sweat and then put his sword on the scabbard.

...

"Status!"

[Name: Lumiel Cryhearth]

[Level: 3]

[Growth: +1 Strength + 1 Dexterity + 2 Endurance +2 Focus per level up]

[Class: Arcane Emperor]

[Stats: 13 Strength, 13 Dexterity, 20 Endurance, 20 Focus]

[Innate skills: Skill Maker, Skill Bestowal, Skill Developer, Support]

[Exclusive skill: Wisdom King Solomon, Class Mimicry, Damage Immunity, Martial Arts Creator, Muscle refinement, Weapon Mastery, Limit Breaker]