The forest used as the Runei Family’s training ground.
Mitchell stood there motionless with a sword in his hand.
SCREEEEEE!
Along with the soul’s wail, his Aura Hole filled.
Following the circulation method for the First Form of the Heaven-Breaking Sword, Heaven-Breaking Annihilation, that Grant had taught him, Mitchell circulated the energy through his body. The energy traveling along his Aura Road gradually settled into his sword.
‘Compression is the key, right?’
As Grant had instructed, Mitchell visualized the energy being condensed.
Grant had said that until it became as natural as breathing, it was better to use a mental image.
So just as he had been doing until now, Mitchell formed the image in his mind and circulated the energy according to Heaven-Breaking Annihilation’s circulation method.
‘Just a little more!’
It had to pass a certain threshold before it would stabilize.
This was the point where he failed every time.
Determined to succeed this time, Mitchell continued forcing more energy into it.
BANG!
The compressed energy burst apart.
The powerful impact left his hands trembling. Mitchell collapsed onto the ground and rubbed his tingling body.
“Phew, this is still better than before.”
The first time he had failed, he had even suffered internal injuries.
The fact that it ended with nothing more than numbness throughout his body was thanks to becoming accustomed to dealing with the compressed energy when it exploded.
Either way, it was another failure.
Still, Mitchell was not particularly disappointed.
Whenever he remembered the energy Grant had unleashed at his enemies, his determination to succeed burned hotter than any disappointment.
“Shall I try again?”
Mitchell rose, gripped his sword, and recalled what Grant had told him.
Focus your mind and compress the energy, then compress it again. That is the First Form of the Heaven-Breaking Sword, Heaven-Breaking Annihilation. If I had to give you a tip, imagine applying intense pressure as though you were forging metal.
During the month since he had arrived at the Runei Family, Mitchell had tried that method countless times.
But he had not succeeded even once.
He could more or less guess why.
He had not spent the past month training only Heaven-Breaking Annihilation. He had also trained in basic swordsmanship and practiced controlling his energy.
Through that, he had realized that he was not very good at handling his energy.
‘Though that’s because the damn stuff is so unruly.’
Mitchell smiled bitterly and looked inward.
The energy inside his Aura Hole was extremely violent. Since it possessed the characteristics of both Aura and mana, precise control was difficult.
That was why every technique he had used in battle until now had simply relied on explosively unleashing power.
‘I can’t use Heaven-Breaking Annihilation like this.’
Perhaps he had been thinking about it too simply.
Every task had a method suited to it.
‘Hmm…… If I can’t control the converted energy, maybe I should try something else.’
As Mitchell remained deep in thought, Grant approached him.
Grant smiled when he saw Mitchell standing motionless with his sword.
“Looks like you were training. Not easy, is it?”
“Yeah. I know I need to compress it, but the energy just won’t move the way I want.”
“Even for you, it won’t be easy. The most important ability needed to use Heaven-Breaking Annihilation is Aura control.”
Grant sounded strangely pleased.
And with good reason.
While training together, Mitchell’s astonishing ability to learn had left Grant dumbfounded more than once.
Mitchell’s sword stance was now more refined than that of people who had held swords for years, and his handling of Aura had reached a level appropriate for his current realm.
All of that had happened in just one month.
Unless it was something Mitchell had to practice himself, such as improving his control, Grant no longer had anything left to tell him.
That was why he had been worried when he taught Mitchell Heaven-Breaking Annihilation.
‘I thought he was going to learn the whole thing in an instant.’
It was not that Grant begrudged him the technique.
But if Mitchell mastered in an instant the Heaven-Breaking Annihilation that Grant himself had spent years learning through hellish effort, Grant felt that he might fall into despair.
Fortunately, Mitchell did not seem capable of mastering it immediately, so Grant decided this was a good time to reassure him and teach him other techniques first.
Secret techniques were important, but there were other things that mattered just as much.
Grant was just about to suggest that they begin with sensory training when—
“Anyway, you came at a good time. I’m going to try using Heaven-Breaking Annihilation’s circulation method in a different way. Watch this.”
“What?!”
Grant hurried to stop him, but Mitchell was already concentrating and circulating his energy.
‘Damn it! Why would you try modifying an already unstable martial art?!’
Every form of the Heaven-Breaking Sword was unstable.
Naturally, the Runei Family had also worked to restore its secret techniques.
But countless people had suffered serious injuries while experimenting with different methods, such as modifying the circulation methods in hopes of restoring them.
And now Mitchell was trying exactly that.
Grant bit his lip.
Since Mitchell had already started, it was better to watch and intervene if necessary than to forcibly stop him now.
So Grant stood still and watched.
SHIVER—
Suddenly, goosebumps rose across his entire body.
He could not describe it exactly, but he had felt this sensation before.
That eerie feeling whenever Mitchell used his energy.
The problem was that this time, it was on an entirely different level.
‘Crazy bastard! What the hell are you doing?’
Mitchell had no idea what Grant was thinking and remained focused solely on his sword.
The new method he had come up with was simple.
‘I should use what I’m good at.’
The one thing in which he surpassed others.
His ability to control souls.
The circulation method of Heaven-Breaking Annihilation specialized in drawing Aura into a single point.
Mitchell’s problem was simply that his control over his energy was insufficient.
If he gradually improved his control, perhaps he would eventually succeed.
But Mitchell had thought of a better idea, and it was not in his nature to refuse even to try it.
‘Instead of using the energy in my Aura Hole, what if I put a soul directly into the sword?’
If there was one thing Mitchell was confident in, it was moving souls.
His innate control over souls, the principles of Soul Drain, and Heaven-Breaking Annihilation’s circulation method combined, causing the energy to compress far more easily than he had expected.
SCREEEEEEEEEE!
The soul inside the sword screamed as the pressure around it tightened further and further.
‘If I convert it in this state!’
The soul inside the sword was compressed.
Compressed again.
Until it transformed into Sword Energy.
Space rippled around the Sword Energy, which visibly overflowed with sinister energy.
It was a phenomenon caused by the immense pressure.
It looked just like the Heaven-Breaking Annihilation Grant had demonstrated earlier.
But the similarities ended there.
When Mitchell swung his sword, what flew out was not sharp Sword Energy, but something resembling pale smoke that spread in the shape of a crescent moon.
“What the hell is that……?”
Grant and Mitchell were at different levels, so naturally their techniques could look different.
But Grant knew perfectly well that what he was seeing was not simply a lower-level version of Heaven-Breaking Annihilation.
Grant himself had first learned Heaven-Breaking Annihilation when he was a Grade 3 Aura User.
He had been around Mitchell’s current level, which was precisely why he knew.
Gulp.
Grant swallowed and stared at the Sword Energy Mitchell had unleashed.
Just what was going to happen……?
The pale Sword Energy finally struck a tree.
“……?”
Nothing happened.
Grant frowned and hurried over to Mitchell first.
“You okay?”
“I-I feel like I’m going to die…….”
“Your realm still isn’t that high, so the backlash should be weak.”
“And…… this is weak……?”
Mitchell could no longer endure it and collapsed flat on his back.
Grant clicked his tongue at the sight, took out a potion he carried with him, and poured it into Mitchell’s mouth.
“You should be glad it’s only this bad. You used a martial art however you pleased. Normally…….”
Grant trailed off and shifted his eyes.
Now that he thought about it, what he had just seen was something that should only have been possible after successfully executing Heaven-Breaking Annihilation.
‘What was that? The tree looked completely fine.’
Grant turned and looked at the tree behind him.
Just when he thought nothing had happened after all—
RUSTLE—
The leaves suddenly began pouring from the branches.
Every single one of them was completely withered.
Grant hurried closer and found that the trunk itself was not unharmed either.
He grabbed a thick branch and pulled.
It snapped easily, exposing rotten wood within.
“What the hell did you do……?”
“I didn’t know it would have this kind of effect either. Anyway, does this count as a success?”
Grant did not know whether they could call this Heaven-Breaking Annihilation, but Mitchell certainly seemed to have learned some kind of technique.
“You annoying bastard.”
“Heh heh heh, what was that? Say it again.”
“Forget it. More importantly, you should be careful. The Holy Empire and black-mage families will probably hunt you relentlessly if they see this.”
The Holy Empire would undoubtedly come carrying maces, while the black-mage families would come carrying scalpels.
Grant stared at Mitchell with a displeased expression.
“But seriously, what family are you from that you use some bizarre energy nobody’s ever heard of?”
“That’s still a secret. I’ll tell you when the time comes.”
“Urgh. Judging by the energy itself, it seems like it belongs to dark swordsmanship…….”
“Dark swordsmanship?”
Mitchell looked puzzled at the unfamiliar term.
“You’ve never heard of it? Well, I’ve only heard about it myself. It’s died out now, so that makes sense. Our family was the one that kept using it until the very end, but that ended after the war with the Holy Empire too.”
During the war, the Holy Empire had devoted considerable effort to eradicating dark swordsmanship and black magic, achieving substantial results.
However, black magic often benefited nations in its own right, so after the war, the Empire gave it its full support.
Thanks to that, newly risen families began appearing, and the Kellion Family was one of them.
Dark swordsmanship, on the other hand, produced great power but had already been dying out even before the war because of side effects such as reducing practitioners to cripples.
Naturally, the Empire saw no reason to support it.
“Then do people shun you if you learn dark swordsmanship?”
“They’d probably be surprised, but it shouldn’t go that far. There are even rumors that units within the Imperial Family still secretly practice dark swordsmanship. More importantly, the greatest weakness of dark swordsmanship is how difficult it is to produce even a single expert. And it’s not as though they’re overwhelmingly stronger than people who learn ordinary Aura.”
“Then there’s no reason to learn it.”
“That’s true, but research continued because it could break through a person’s limits. Though they say genuine dark swordsmanship is different…….”
Mitchell showed interest at the word genuine, but Grant shook his head.
“There are techniques in dark swordsmanship that draw out a person’s potential. They use those to forcibly raise their realm, but genuine dark swordsmanship is instead dictated by talent, so forget it.”
Forget it? What nonsense!
Mitchell was delighted by the thought that he had finally found a clue about the energy inside his body.
“You said your family practiced dark swordsmanship until the very end. Teach me some of it too—”
“There’s none left. Our family’s secret techniques are already in this state. Do you really think the dark swordsmanship survived?”
Grant pointed at Mitchell’s pale face.
Even after drinking a potion, the aftereffects of using Heaven-Breaking Annihilation still remained.
“Anyway, if you don’t know anything about dark swordsmanship, then I guess your power doesn’t come from that. Apparently, it isn’t something you can learn alone in the first place.”
“Tch. I wanted to look into it…… By the way, why did you come here?”
“Ah! Right!”
He had completely forgotten after witnessing something so bizarre.
Only then did Grant speak to Mitchell.
“I came to tell you that we’re ready.”
Grant had located Chief Steward Hail three weeks ago.
After spending all that time making preparations for the operation, everything was finally ready.
Hearing that, Mitchell looked at the sword lying on the ground and smiled.
“Perfect timing.”
It was a good opportunity to test his new technique.