Ancient Inscription Blade Artes: Majestic Lachrymose Edge

Hokuto quickly returned to the dojo where Astraea stayed. However, the great dojo hall did not have anyone inside despite the door to it being left wide open. Was the teacher not afraid someone would burst into her place and steal something? Hokuto shook her head and stepped into the hall, her feet making loud echoing sounds. She looked around and saw a doorway leading to the back garden of the dojo.

Walking to the garden, Hokuto saw Astraea doing some gardening - she was trimming the hedges around a moderately sized shrine altar. Next to the hedges were numerous gravestones. Hokuto had the decency not to mention it, only politely greeting her teacher. The [Rose Sword Saint] immediately stopped what she was doing and nodded approvingly at Hokuto. Hokuto had a frown on her face when she realized what Astraea was doing.

"What is this place?" Hokuto asked with a small hint of reverence in her voice.

Astraea did not turn her gaze towards the kid. "This is the mausoleum of my teacher, the [Sword Magus], and his circle of Magic Knights. Engraved on their tombs are the names of the techniques that made them famous in the martial world," Astraea sighed as if she held regret. "He... he said that as the caretaker of this mausoleum, I held the right to pass down their techniques to anyone who had the fortune of becoming my disciple. It has been over ten years since then."

"Ten years...?! Then how old were you when you became the [Sword Magus]' student?!"

"I was seven."

"Are you for real?! You're absolutely heaven-defying!" Hokuto gasped.

"This dojo was actually his," Astraea frowned. She was remembering the more peaceful times when she was studying under the [Sword Magus], who had a deep interest for the Eastern way of thinking. It showed in his innovative magical techniques and when Astraea developed an innate talent for inner energy despite having basically no magical circuits (though sadly, she did have more than Hokuto, who had pretty much zero), had been biased towards her.

"I volunteered to be the mausoleum's caretaker after his passing. Though he passed away earlier than his peers, they soon followed due to old age." Astraea explained. "At some point in my life, I had sparred with each of them at least once."

"Amazing..."

"The series of techniques mentioned on these tombstones are collectively noted as the Ancient Inscription Blade Artes, and put together make up the most difficult sword techniques to have ever been conceived by mankind. Even I cannot complete the entire set, as my entire childhood, I have only learned from the [Sword Magus]. Your potential is perhaps even higher than mine due to your constitution." Astraea explained.

Hokuto looked at the gravestones with reverence.

"You're still young, so you need to grab this opportunity to comprehend as much as you can. Don't bite off more than you can chew though. Start with the center one." Astraea advised her student before resuming her caretaking duties.

Hokuto sat in front of the grave in the very center. Inscribed on it were the words <Majestic Lachrymose Edge>. There was a small epithet beneath it. [The perfect fusion of beauty, flair and deadliness makes even the genius at the summit of the tallest mountain cry.] As Hokuto peered at the tombstone intently, attempting to comprehend the meaning behind the epithet, Hokuto began to see some images in her mind, as if the grave was magical.

What she saw shocked her. She saw a tall, slim young man with flowing long locks of black hair standing aloof on the edge of a cliff side. In his right hand he held a long sword and his left hand was relaxed behind his back. Hokuto got the sense of loneliness from this mysterious figure. Soon, the man started to go through the motions - every one of his sword strokes were simple, yet incredibly profound and full of meaning. Downwards, side to side, upwards...

The young girl felt that this fella wasn't simple at all, despite the fact this young man was probably the person who had come up with the <Majestic Lachrymose Edge>. The more Hokuto watched this beautiful man lash out with his sword, the more Hokuto felt the urge to try and mimic his beautiful and simple movements. Yet, concealed within those same movements were the hints of ferociously concentrated Nature energy.

It was due to Hokuto's Dust of Gaea body that she could sense this. "How terrifying," Hokuto thought. "What Teacher said was not a lie. This guy was able to merge his Nature energy intent with the movements of his sword so easily. He must be a top-tier magical prodigy to be able to do that." Hokuto had some knowledge about how magicians were able to channel the energy of Heralldia to create 'magic.'

Yet this fella had taken it one step to the next level, fusing the worldly energy into a ferocious thing that couldn't be comprehended by the general public. It was very similar to the Nature energy used by Hokuto, except not as pure. Hokuto was able to see faint threads of the energy coursing through his body.

Hokuto had a faint understanding by now. Astraea had advised Hokuto to learn the <Majestic Lachrymose Edge> because it would give her a very much improved understanding of how to channel the Nature energy and would greatly boost her foundation when it came to practicing the Internal martial arts. Before Hokuto could enjoy the sensation of this vision further, she was snapped back into the real world by Astraea, who tapped her on the shoulder rather rudely.

"Haven't you been sitting there a bit too long?"

"How long has it been?"

"A few hours."

"You're joking." Hokuto gasped in disbelief as she looked up at the sky. It was already dark and about the time when she should return to her dorm. "You interrupted..."

Astraea shook her head. "You need to put that comprehension into practice. Go back home and get some rest."

Hokuto nodded but after experiencing the vision of the man who created the <Majestic Lachrymose Edge>, she couldn't help but want to practice it right away. She quietly returned to her dorm and sat cross-legged in the middle of her room, shutting her eyes and attempting to cycle through her memories, trying to arrange what she saw in that vision into a set of moves.

After another two hours of silent meditation and comprehension, her eyes jolted open.

"I will sharpen my blade tomorrow." Hokuto grinned.