Perseverance
"...huff.....huff..." My lungs burned as sweat dripped off my skin onto the floor below.
It's been almost 6 years since I first returned here. I spend most of my days with Scáthach, and when she has to go out and fight off the hoards of undead, I use the time for training.
My body has grown to almost 18 years in age and my excessive and relentless training has caused me to finally unlock Touki for this body. Touki is essential if you are a human who wants to fight in the big leagues among the supernatural.
Touki is usually used by practitioners of Senjutsu, but through extremely excessive training anyone can unlock Touki. Touki is translated as, Fighting Spirit, and it surrounds the body in a pale gray aura which increases the user's strength, speed and durability by massive amounts.
Humans are the weakest race, this kind of upgrade is a blessing for us.
My body is tightly compacted with a multitude of muscles made of steel. My build is similar to that of a gymnast, sacrificing strength for speed and agility.
I choose to do so because my fighting style is one of speed, precision and unpredictability, years of swordplay and countless battles have honed my skills to the peak.
Another way to increase my strength was one I only just recently learned about in my last life. A stunning example of human perseverance. Towards the latter years of my last life, I decided to settle down in a rather remote village on the countryside.
There I witnessed a young boy dedicate his entire life to the pursuit of a single technique. Every morning he would get up and train for all hours of the day before finally resting at sunset.
He did it on and on, continuously pursing his singleminded passion. I finally decided to teach him some of my own techniques and soon he began to study under me. His talent was prodigious but unfortunately my time soon came to pass on.
A few days before my death, he finally finished his technique and showed it to me. The technique he showed could only be described as impossible. But in that technique I was able to sense something I had never seen before. The farm boy's relentless dedication gave birth to a slither of something never before witnessed.
Sword Intent.
Throughout all my years of mastery with the sword, I had never witnessed sword intent. I quickly asked him how he achieved it, and he could only respond by saying it was by becoming one with his sword.
I, of course, didn't believe him. I inspected and replicated the sword he would constantly use, an almost 5 foot long katana. Scanning and replicating the technique from the sword, I attempted the same, only to fail.
This had never happened before, no matter the technique or sword I could always perfectly replicate it.
Except this.
Sword Intent was necessary for this technique, a technique which bended the laws of physics itself.
Unfortunately, my death soon came and I was unable to replicate my student's technique.
But, for this life I have relentlessly pursued this training. The only thoughts in my head were if I could perform or create even more techniques like that one.
But my only hint towards it was the words of my disciple, 'to become one with the sword.' It just didn't make any sense! I thought I had been doing that my whole life!
So, I ignored my doubts and did just as my student did before me, persevered.
Since then, everyday I took time out of my training to hone his technique. Day after day after day, attempt after attempt.
Until finally...one day I felt it.
My eyes steeled with absolute focus, my hand melded with the blade, become no longer a weapon, but an extension of my body instead. My eyes began to glass over as tunnel vision took over. But soon, enlightenment hit as the fog in my brain was finally penetrated.
I felt the sword in my hand resonate as if we became connected. I realized then and there, I am the sword and the sword is me, our intents were no different, we were the same.
At that moment I felt it. All my movement came to a halt as my eyes darted to the edge of my blade, barely witnessing a sliver of red aura dissipate from the edge.
"I DID IT!"
Finally, I achieved my goal. The reward of the relentless determination I was shown to by my disciple, the ability to achieve the unachievable, perseverance.
The joy never dissipated as I got into a stance, a copy of my student's old 5 foot long katana appeared and was firmly grasped in between both my hands with the blade pointed outwards in front of me. The sword was aimed at a ghoul in front of me, one of countless that roam the Land of Shadows
And at that moment I thrusted outwards.
"𝐓𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐢!"
The laws of space bended to the Sword Intent I projected as the one thrust turned and twisted, into three. The three blades arched towards the ghoul making an inescapable prison from all sides. The blade closed in so quickly that it bent the laws of physics to multiply its existence, using Sword Intent to transcend speed, dexterity, feints, and many other elements.
It is the greatest technique I had ever bare witness to, the result of endless perseverance from a farm boy who dedicated his life to cutting down a swallow mid-flight with his sword.
The three blades coalesced back into one as the ghoul was trisected from all sides, fading to dust.
I couldn't help to think of the possibilities Sword Intent would allow me to do, because unlike my student who could only use it on his sword,
.
.
.
M̶̧̖̯͔̺͍̺̙̏̊̾̆́̾̈́͗̏̒ỳ̷̡̻̓̀̒͋͗̓̓ ̵̨̘̤̭͇̗̦̙̀̄͂̑̾͐́͝b̷͍̤̫̐̚ŏ̷̯̈́͋̚d̶̗̟͔̝͙͈̙̥̺̅͗̈́͋̈́̋͠͝y̴̧͙̦̬̩̰̻̽ ̴̤̟̗͕̘̩͚͂̏̄͜͠ì̴͇̳̙͓̉̈́̓̔͜͜s̶̨̢̧͚̟̣͗̉̀͜ ̷̹͓̜̯̮͉̤̱̈̋m̷̛͙̳͔̤͘͝a̸̹̟̘͚̯̦̗̱̅̊̑̄͊͛̽̌́̑ͅͅd̷̡̛̜͚͔͖͎̈͒̃̀̕̚͠͠e̶̘̫͙̫̗̯͚͖͑̕͝͠ ̸̧̢͕͍̼̜͍͇̀͆ô̶̡̼̪͒f̴̭́̒̋̄͠ ̵̢̭͈̻̩̇̋̓͛̽̌̅̌͠b̶̧̭̓͑̾͋͛͊͘͘͠l̶͕͚̣̆́͛̈́͐̋͘a̴̞̗̓̅̔d̸̢̡̳͙͙̻͎̣̖͎̿͐̃͆́̈́͐̑͑ë̴̢͕͓͙͈͓́̋̇ͅŝ̴͖͍͈̺͚͇̀̈́́̑̕̚͜͠ͅ
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3 extra chapters are available on p*a*t*r*e*o*n.com/RISE10
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ) next chapter is lemon if you want to see
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