Leo Kurogami

"Now, I won't claim to be an expert of every weapon in existence," Leo shrugged. "In fact some of you might even be able to use your main weapon better than me.

"But where I excel is in fighting solely with weapons. My fighting style is forged around the various weapon arts I've studied and mastered over the years.

"From Mount Hua to Southern Edge to even some lesser-known dojos, I've learned in countless martial arts sects and schools and honed the craft of wielding weapons to its near perfection…."

The more Leo continued to babble about his accomplishments, the more the cadets listening to him felt enthralled by him.

Even Lucas had to agree that Leo had a certain charm to him that attracted others.

The girls present here were already bewitched by him, but even the boys couldn't help and admire him.

On top of that, it looks like he concentrated on getting strong through effort rather than on those ranks. 

Unlike other cadets, Lucas could feel that Leo had put in real effort to get strong instead of being confined to the mana ranks like everyone else. The way he carried himself was proof that he had reached a level much higher than others.

Even Liz was nowhere near Leo's level in Lucas's eyes.

Lucas now held genuine respect towards Leo Kurogami for his strength combined with the fact that he was Japanese.

 After the age of the revival of martial arts began due to the use of mana like Qi, sects, and schools were established to spread the knowledge of martial arts by veteran practitioners.

Even the people who were incapable of using mana– started taking a keen interest in it.

As such, martial arts regained the fame it once held in the ancient past.

Although many known sects of the past were reestablished, only three of them came out on top.

These three sects were hailed as the Three Great Sects— Mount Hua of the North, Wudang of the East, and Shaolin of the South.

In fact, some retired soldiers go on to teach martial arts to make a living.

Martial arts can be broadly classified into two categories: Combat Arts and Weapon Arts.

Combat Arts involve techniques that are designed to help you engage in hand-to-hand combat with your enemy by making you use your body as a weapon.

Movement Arts and Breathing Techniques are subdivisions of Combat Arts.

Weapon Arts, on the other hand, focus on the use of various weapons, such as swords, staffs, nunchucks etc. to defeat an enemy.

Techniques in martial arts are ranked from Lvl. 1 to Lvl. 5, with Lvl. 5 being the strongest.

Each Level is then further divided into three grades: Low, Mid, and High.

Mastery over one's professions, such as Spearman, Archer, Swordsman, Tanker, Assassin, is also divided from Lvl. 1 to Lvl. 5 with the latter being the highest point one can reach in their profession.

It is believed that the more you practice your profession, the higher your profession will level up and the stronger you'll become.

And the best way to do it is by learning some weapon arts related to your profession.

But the level of difficulty in mastering different weapons can vary.

Some weapons may be easier to learn and use effectively, while others may require more training and practice to become proficient.

For example, mastering to use a gun would be much easier than mastering to wield a sword.

Not to mention, there are not so many weapon arts for guns while there exist thousands for swords.

And because of that, even if someone has a profession of Lvl. 5 Gunman, they could still be weaker than a Lvl. 3 Swordsman.

Of course, weapons are just tools and the ferocity of their use can vary greatly depending on their wielders.

Anyway, it is also worth noting that talent can also play an important role in how easily someone is able to master their main weapon.

And yes, there are other professions such as Crafter, Alchemist, or Rune Master but they are not considered to be the main professions since they are no help in combat.

The way to level up those professions is essentially the same—work hard, improve, and master your proficiency in them.

And in that aspect, Leo Kurogami is a complete monster.

In the entire world, there are only a handful of people who were able to fight him head-on. He was called 'The Second Coming of Sword Saint' and 'God of War.'

And there was a definite reason for his title.

It's because there was not a single weapon in existence that he had not at least used once.

He had learned over 500 different weapon arts in over 65 martial arts schools and sects over the world.

He was Lvl. 3-4 in over fifty while Lvl. 5 in twenty different professions. And he was only 32 years old!

With that age, he couldn't be considered young, but he wasn't very old either.

To achieve what he did in his life would be near impossible for most people. 

Even Lucas couldn't confidently say that he had mastered all the weapons in his previous life. Of course, if the circumstances in his previous life were the same as now then he might have been able to surpass Leo's record but that is a matter for another time.

And out of all the weapons he had mastered, his weapon of choice was either a ninjato or a katana.

Heavy emphasis was put on the fact that if he were to use his secret weapon art against you, you are as good as dead.

He was a person no one wanted to have as their enemy.

Unfortunately, the Central Government had just that. They had him as their enemy.

There will be a civil war in 3 years' time, which would later be called the 'War Of Union,' and in that war, this man will be the United Military's enemy.

"...So, is that understood?" Leo finally ended his super long speech about weapons this and weapons that and asked his students if everything was clear.

"Yes, sensei!" everyone replied in unison.

"Excellent," Leo nodded and surveyed the crowd of cadets before speaking in a firm voice. "Now, I will assign each of you a weapon art based on your academy ranking and the primary weapon of choice.

"However, if you are already practicing a different weapon art or wish to continue doing so in the future, that is completely fine. But please be aware that this does not excuse you from learning the weapon art that I am assigning to you."

As soon as Leo was done speaking, he stepped down from the stage and started walking up to a cadet one by one.

After walking up to a cadet, he would ask them their rank and main weapon. And after getting the answer, he would take out a thin technique cultivation manual from his dimensional ring and hand it over to them.

"Name, ranking, and primary weapon?"

"Lucas Morningstar. 116969. Bow."

Swoosh—

"Here you go."

It didn't take long before he reached me and handed me an archery art too.

Following that, in around twenty minutes or so, Leo was done providing manuals to all the 200 cadets present here.

With a nonchalant attitude, he walked up to the training hall exit before turning around and shouting, "Follow me. We're going out in the field."

*****

The desolate land was filled with blood, human parts, and corpses all over the area. There was no vegetation due to the extensive use of firearms and chemicals rendering the land destroyed for many years to come.

The brilliant rays of the moon shone upon this land as the few alive could be seen looking from place to place while holding guns in their hands.

One man, however, stood alone in the middle of the gore with a single sword in his right hand dripped with blood.

He was a dashing young man with pale skin and dark hair. His refined looks were not downgraded in the least even though his body was covered with blood but instead gave a dangerous vibe to him which only accentuated his looks.

His face was completely devoid of any emotion as his lifeless eyes surveyed the surroundings before sheathing his sword.

"Ah, There you are."

Right then, a woman called out to him from behind. 

He turned around to face the person calling him as she approached with fast steps. She was a beautiful purple-haired woman who had her hair tied in a bun and wore armor for fighting. She wore a distressed look on her face as she looked at the man covered in blood.

"How many times have we told you to stay at the headquarters and not fight on the battlefield? Uhh seriously, when will you ever listen to us?"

The woman complained but the man replied with silence. She gave him a helpless expression as if she had already predicted his reaction and stopped complaining.

They stood facing each other in complete silence. The woman looked into the man's eyes which were completely vacant and lifeless. 

If only we were able to save her then he wouldn't be suffering this much. The woman thought as she recalled the face of a young teenage girl.

She knew just how much this man had cherished the girl only to be left suffering alone in the world. No words could ever console this man for what he had gone through but the woman couldn't just say nothing.

"Hey Vincent, Why are you doing all of this? Is it because of her that you are fighting this war?" She asked carefully so as to not upset him.

"No, this has nothing to do with her. Everything was a part of my plan from the beginning." The man replied without changing his expression. He showed no reaction even at the mention of the girl he loved.

The woman was irked by his words at the mention of the plan.

He had always said that all the actions he took were according to a plan but never disclosed the details to his companions including her.

In the past, they didn't force him to explain his plans even if it had brought all of them to death's door since no third party was ever harmed but now, the situation was completely different.

The entire world is plunged into a World War, all because of this man.

She knew that he had a good reason to do this as his actions had always helped others but her frustration was still present due to being kept dark about it even after all these years. 

She looked at Vincent and couldn't help but ask the question that not only she, but all the other teammates had been interested in since long ago.

"What exactly is your end goal, Vincent? Can't you at least say it now?" 

She asked while looking with sad eyes. Of course, she wasn't really sad and was just acting but Vincent didn't fall for her tricks.

"My end goal, huh. Well, now might be a good time to tell."

The woman perked up her ears as she was finally able to hear his end goal.

"My end goal is to surpass The Gods."