33 Final Spar
*BOOM! *
A loud collision sound resounded in the task force's building as Adam and James began their routine spar.
"You've become much more adept at controlling your mana! " James praised Adam with a smile before covering his body with lightning.
A week has passed since they started their training, and tonight was their last session before Adam's task force acceptance test.
"I have a great training dummy, so it's only natural! " Adam spoke sarcastically as he parried James's ferocious attack and readied himself for the next one.
His growth over the last week surpassed his wildest imaginations.
[Name: Adam King]
[Sex: Male]
[Age: 17]
[Height: 190 cm]
[Class: Void Master]
[Akashic connection: Low (medium)]
[Level: 15]
Stats:
[HP: 300/300] [MP: 420/420] (UP)
[STR: 44] [AGI: 39]
[INT: 42] (UP) [VIT: 30]
[END: 25] [DEX: 33]
[ASP: 0]
Skills:
[Intermediate Sword Mastery] Lv.1 (UP)
[Mana Vision] Lv.3
Class Skills:
[Ayin] Lv.1
[Gravity Manipulation] Lv.1
His MP increased because of his repetitive mana vessel's training over the last week, however, the speed at which it increased decreased every time the MP got higher. His skills also leveled up.
[Basic Sword Mastery] developed into [Intermediate Sword Mastery] after reaching level 5, which came as quite a surprise for Adam.
Its effects were now:
[Intermediate Sword Mastery
Level: 1
Effects:
[Enhancement]
-Increase attack effectiveness by 40% when using a sword.
[Aura Slash]
-Deliver a single devastating slash using Aura.
MP cost: 50.]
The attack effectiveness when using the sword increased by leaps, and because of his new training regimen, a new feature unlocked itself within the skill.
Over the last week, Adam also learned to coat his sword in mana, increasing its sharpness and weight. [Aura Slash] was a feature that allowed Adam to use MP to deliver a terrifyingly powerful slash to his opponent. Of course, because of his low MP, he had to be careful with the way he uses it.
His other normal skill [Mana Vision], also leveled up to level 3, opening up a plethora of possibilities in which Adam could use it in combat.
[Mana Vision
Level: 3
Effects:
-Uncovers the natural flow of mana.
-Uncovers the internal flow of mana inside a living creature.
-Specify the type of Magic Element.]
Along with the ability to see the natural mana in the air, Adam could now see the internal mana flow of his enemy, besides detecting what type of Magic Element they could use.
This ability allowed him to predict his opponent's next move, depending on their internal mana flow. Also, knowing the type of Magic Element they can use allowed him to think of countermeasures to that specific element beforehand.
*BOOM! *
Adam's sword collided with James's gauntlets once more.
They both stepped back after the hefty impact and looked at each other.
"You've become strong enough to fight me when I am 75 percent serious. " James spoke as his eyes flashed with yellow lightning.
"It's always the ones who are about to lose that spout this type of bullshit. " Adam held his sword in a reverse grip before dashing towards James. "Just admit that I'm already stronger than you. "
*Swish! *
Adam's incredible dash caused a strong wind to blow in his wake.
*Crackle! *
Lightning crackled around James's body as he ran towards Adam as well.
The two approached each other at incredible speeds with amused smiles on their faces.
*Slash! *
*CLANG! *
*BOOM! *
Adam's sword met James's gauntlets once more, sending fiery sparks across the room with a loud boom.
*Fwip! *
But this time, Adam endured the shock of the impact and, with a swift display of elegant footwork, he moved to James's side.
'Aura Slash... ' He chanted in his head before attacking James.
[MP: 370/420]
His sword shimmered with an ominous red hue.
*SLASH! *
'Shit... ' James cursed inwardly as he noticed Adam's swift attack.
*CLANG! *
He parried it using his silver gauntlets.
*Crack! *
But the slash was too powerful, destroying James's right-hand gauntlet and exposing his bare hand.
'This guy... ' James's astonished gaze alternated between his destroyed gauntlet and Adam, who was approaching him once more. 'Seems like I need to go full-power on him... '
*Crackle! *
Thick streaks of lightning started circling James's body as he increased his circulation speed.
*BOOM! *
The ground shook at the immense amount of mana he was exuding.
'Overpowered bastard... ' Droplets of nervous, cold sweat trickled down Adam's back as he watched James run towards him while emitting a terrifyingly outrageous amount of mana. 'But strength is not everything... '
Adam started circulating his mana as well. At his current circulating speed, he could recover 30 MP per minute, which wasn't an exuberant increase, but it was just enough for Adam's current consumption.
'Gravity Manipulation... ' Adam chanted as he held his sword with both hands.
[MP: 270/420]
His target, however, wasn't the sword.
"WOAH! " James exclaimed as he missed a step and struggled to regain his posture.
Adam sneakily decreased his gravity for a split second before returning it to normal. He then used James' momentary disorientation to slip behind his back and raise his sword.
"SHIT! " James noticed Adam's movement and tried to rotate his body to block the incoming attack.
'Ayin. ' Adam, however, was much smarter.
[MP: 180/420]
He used the skill to erase James's sense of balance, making him fall to his knees before pointing the tip of the pitch-black sword at his neck.
*Pant *
*Pant *
"I win... " Adam spoke before retracting his sword while panting.
"I guess you did... " James said with a bitter expression as he stood up. He didn't understand what caused him to lose his balance like that, but he wasn't the type to blame his defeat on luck. 'I need more training... '
*Clap! *
*Clap! *
Just as the two young men were ready to wrap up their training and go home, the sound of clapping resounded in the building.
They both turned their heads to the source of the sound, which was the stairs at the back of the room.
"That was an incredible spar! " The voice belonged to none other than Darius.
"Darius? " James asked in a puzzled tone. "What are you doing here? "
