Bread, Butter and a glimpse of the Truth.
With the goal to see my skills I call the class panel in my mind.
================
Name: [Zatu Rainfall]
Age: [18]
Class: [Magic Swordsman] -- (Tier 1 - Level 1/100)
Resources:
(Tier 1)
[Mana] -- (1/1) / [Sword Intent] -- (2/3)
Skills:
(Tier 1)
[Basic Mana control] -- (level 1/100)
[Basic Sword intent control] -- (level 1/100)
[Imbue Lightning] -- (level 1/100)
============
The panel itself wasn't too surprising.
Aside from having two resources it looked exactly like the drawings in books.
Though seeing my name and age on the top felt even better than I imagined it would.
"Skill descriptions."
================
[Basic Mana Control]:
Call forth the mana you've converted, from inside you and bend it to your will, crudely.
[Basic Sword Intent Control]:
Call forth the intent you've forged and command it, crudely.
[Imbue lighting]:
Imbue a sword with a mix of your mana and sword intent, permanently increasing its sharpness minimally and storing a miniscule amount of lightning intent on its body.
================
As soon as I finish reading I activate the focus on my sword and activate the skill.
In instants I feel both my mana and the sword Intent mesh together inside my body, in a weird fusion that feels at the same time both in my control and out of it.
It was as if I had always known how to do it and was just moving instinctually.
The next instant the mix of energies slides down my arm and into my sword.
A few small purple arcs appear on its body and a small purple glow flashes over its edge.
Before it stops just as suddenly as it started.
No more mana and intent mixing, no more cracklings or glowing edges.
Just me holding out my sword.
'What happened? why did it stop?'
I wonder for a second before looking at the resources part of my panel.
[Mana] -- (0/1) / [Sword Intent] -- (1/3)
'Damn! This thing uses both resources so fast!'
I look at the sword closer, staring at its edge but failing to notice any difference.
But then again, the description did say it had a permanent enhancement so the fact the effect was small wasn't surprising.
"Pretty skill you got there, what does it do?" Grandpa asks and I go on to describe this and the other two skills I got.
"You really lucked out boy! Rare to see one of these in a combat class."
"Really? Doesn't feel very useful." I say skeptically, showing him my sword.
"Of course it doesn't, cause right now, it ain't." Grandpa Arbo chuckled. "For one you haven't started to level things up yet."
"And that skill is an accumulation type, on your first fight it will be useless, but think about a week from now, or a year, or a decade."
"Trust me kid, take some time off to fully focus on leveling your skills and gain some levels and you'll be ready to start hunting beasts in the outer city in a week at most."
At that a bit of excitement churns in my stomach.
Though the beasts that roamed the outer city weren't very dangerous, I could still vividly remember missing every single strike on a sewer rat a few months ago.
"Any tips on how I can level faster?"
"Nothing much really, just remember to meditate to recover sword intent and mana." He pauses for a second in thought. "My class doesn't use mana, but shifting your focus from the sword to the mana around you while meditating should do the trick."
He pauses again thinking for a bit before shaking his head.
"You don't need more tips, I taught you the essential already and you can figure out the details on your own."
"BUT before you start grinding your skills, how about we go one little round of sparring boy?"
He says with a smile, not even waiting for a response before stepping back and raising his short sword.
"I'm always ready. Are you ready?" I answer while raising my sword.
"It wasn't me that just lost my blade kid." he refuted with a smug little smile.
"Not a kid anymore old man! Now, I have awakened!"
I yell with a smile, before my foot stomps hard on the ground and I launch towards grandpa Arbo.
Instantly my eyes go wide as both my feet leave the ground and my body rushes through the air at a speed I never traveled through.
Before I can process what happened Grandpa parries away my sword and hugs me with his other arm, taking a few steps back to ease the impact.
"Woaah, slow down there son, hahaha." He laughs helping me stand up.
Squatting a bit I freeze myself in place worried I might fly again.
"You good there Zatu?"
"Yeah, just... give me a moment." I respond as I step back with slow and deliberate steps.
"Take a deep breath and relax. " He pats my back." you were walking just fine earlier, just remember to lean a bit more forward instead of upwards when dashing and you'll get the hang of it."
With that grandpa Arbo steps back again.
"I'm ready, you ready?" He chuckles, raising up his sword.
I take a deep breath, steadying my footing and raising my sword back up.
"Always ready." I respond quietly, before stepping forward once more, this time not only leaning forward but also putting in the lowest amount of power I can.
Even then I still fly fast towards Grandpa Arbo, my arm whipping my sword towards him.
Metal clashes and separate as my momentum slows and my feet scramble to get footing.
Arbo's sword though doesn't take rest, pulling back for a moment before changing direction and striking at me.
More than that it was fast, so fast I could barely register, so fast in fact that though I knew how to parry my experience screamed I wouldn't have time to do it.
And then my body moves according to the decade of practice, our swords clash once more, their edges biting against each other this time and my eyes going wide in surprise.
'I can do this.' Flashes in my mind, not even in words, but in the form of a feeling.
I jump a step back slightly, our swords parting and my feet planting solidly on the ground.
'A bit too far.'
I step forward, my arm moves lightly for a tentative strike.
Arbo parries my strike, bouncing my sword away slightly, before sending a counter to my side.
I pull my sword back, I parry his strike, I send a counter to his head, he steps back adn dodges.
A smile appears on his lips.
He steps back in with a strike.
I dodge, I re-engage, he parries, he counters.
We loop again and again, trading strikes and dancing in the backyard as time flows out of my mind.
At some point he parries my strike, I fall ass first to the ground.
Panting, tired and barely even able to lift my sword.
"Well done young man, our little spar took quite the while this time. any guesses?" Grandpa Arbo says while squatting in front of me.
A kind smile appears on his lips and not a drop of sweat has formed on his forehead.
"ha... I..." I try to answer, panting before giving up the idea of speaking for now and just shaking my head.
Grandpa Arbo sits on the ground beside me giving me a side hug, which I try to reciprocate only for my arm to even move.
"10 whole minutes! And better yet, give a look at your panel and I guarantee you'll see something different."
I raise and eyebrow at that, curiosity peaking the back of my mind.
I've been training for decades for what I have, what difference could there be in ten minutes?
But then again, Grandpa Arbo was telling me that, and though he is old he is not senile.
Taking deep breaths I open the panel scanning it down searching for changes recouping my breath.
My eyes go wide as I see the two changes.
==
[Magic Swordsman] -- (Tier 1 - Level 3/100)
[Sword Intent] -- (0/4)
==
"What the... I leveled up twice! Is this normal?" I look at grandpa with shock, only to see a proud smile on his face.
"Hell no! Of course it isn't, but I have a guess concerning what that was, tell me how did you feel in the spar just now?"
I tilt my head confused not quite getting where he is going with this, but comparing my performance with my older self anyway anyway.
"I don't know, I mean, I think I did pretty good, no?"
"Not the point boy. I'm not asking how you DID, I'm asking how you FELT during it."
At that I close my eyes, recalling the feeling of our spar today.
"It was... different, like I knew what I was doing and knew how you would react to it."
Slowly I feel the memory get closer in my mind.
"Almost as if I was both a puppet, a puppeteer and a viewer, all moving according to a script I just knew, taking movements that just felt right."
As I speak each word and remember each movement clearly, I feel myself get deeper into the memory.
The smell of dirt, the sweat dripping from my brows, the recoil of the swords bouncing, it all felt so real.
I had never seen such a weird memory, as if it was carved in the deepest corners of my mind.
And as I sink deeper in it I suddenly feel something shift deep inside my body.
It was neither mana, nor sword intent, in fact it didn't feel like any sort of energy at all.
For a moment I frown in confusion, searching my body for what shifted before another feeling appears.
The air I breathe gets a bit colder.
The sun on my skin gets a bit hotter.
And as I open my eyes all colors have this vibrant tone.
More than that, the shape of things seems at the same time the same and yet something is different.
As if the world itself has changed around me.
'What's happening?'
I question in my mind as I double my efforts to find what has shifted inside my body.
But no matter how I try, I find nothing.
I continue my efforts and keep failing.
Confusion grows stronger.
'Why is this happening?'
'Why can't I stop it?'
'Have I fucked things up?'
'Am I even in control of myself?'
'Is something fucking with me?'
'Is some creature trying to take something from me?'
At that fear and worry rear their heads up and panic starts to brew in the pit of my stomach.
'What the fuck shifted inside my body?'
'Why the fuck the world changed around me?'
'What kind of CREATURE could even be so powerful to mess with me like this?'
'What did I DO for such a creature to take away something from me, AGAIN?!'
Then I feel a bony hand touch my back and my heart skips a beat, before an old and excited voice enters my ears.
"Deep breaths Zatu, what's happening right now is a good thing, focus on the changes happening within yourself."
'Within myself?'
A sudden understanding dawns on me.
It wasn't something that shifted inside my body.
Or that the world changed around me.
The answer was much simpler.
'I changed.'
Taking a deep breath I open my eyes and a clearer world appears before me.
"What was that grandpa?" I ask quietly.
But I can hear my own voice still trembling with lingering an emotion I can't quite pinpoint.
"You just got a glimpse at the Truth my boy, a state most won't feel their entire lives and my grandson has touched it twice! In less than half an hour!" Grandpa Arbo says with a mix of disbelief and pride and pride, laughing dumbly to himself.
A smile blooms on my lips.
I'm not quite sure what that means, but from his tone it sounds like a great thing.
And at least one of its benefits I can see concretely on my class panel.
===
[Magic Swordsman] -- (Tier 1 - Level 5/100)
===