The Word

Special Type Battlesoul Masters. They were a highly sort for type of people within the world of Maest. These were people with Battlesouls which didn't follow the norms of society with the ways their Battlesouls were utilized.

Most of the times they weren't blessed with Elemental affinities, but it didn't mean they were weak. Their powers were totally random, ranging from scout to destruction to healing type abilities but one thing was for sure, and whatever ability they possessed was immensely useful.

And now, Noah had found himself against one of them as his adversary. "What was that?"

"Oh that?" Argos smiled and didn't seem to mind giving his information to the entire world. "My Battlesoul is called The Word. It grants me the ability to grant an aspect of power to myself. For now, it's limited to simple things like increased strength or speed and the rest."

Noah nodded but warning bells rang in his head as he focused on the teen's use of 'For now'. This meant that at a later stage, he wouldn't be limited to just that. 'That's not what I should be worried about.' He regained his focus and stared intensely at his opponent, gripping his sword tightly as he did so. "Again."

"Of course! I'll make sure to do better this time." His Essence flared once more as he spoke. "Combo Words: Strength + Speed! Burst Step Art: Instant!" Argos' current speed surpassed his fist, reaching Noah even faster than before.

Thankfully, the transmigrator was already cautious of his speed. He spun to the side while executing Flicker and appeared behind the teen before launching a Drill Thrust. He could feel his sword sink into flesh but not deep enough to cause much damage. "Hehe. Nice try, that's my Defense Word at work. Of course I'm also boosting it with a Battle art." Argos moved forward, allowing the sword to exit his back, letting out a decent amount of blood. Yet he merely spoke once more while circulating his Essence. "Heal." Another character left the ring of the book and fused with his body, increasing the rate at which the wound healed. It helped a bit, but the remains of Noah's ravenous Essence seemed to hinder the wound from fully healing. "How troublesome. Serene Hearth: Healing Warmth." With a wave of Blood Essence, the remains of Noah's Essence were erased allowing the wounds to heal within a few seconds.

It was at that moment that Noah noticed that Argos had been using Blood Essence to drive his arts for a while, which meant that he had been utilizing Body type Battle Arts since the beginning. This made him slightly curious as he wondered how actual Body-type Battle arts were since he was only using Martial arts driven by Blood Essence. Still, it wasn't enough for him to get distracted by his current battle.

"Let's go! Burst Step: Mirage." This time the teenager made multiple stops while running, leaving afterimages that could pass of as him.

Noah cursed as he saw this. 'Goddammit, if I had access to the other skills within Void Steps, my fights would be less tasking.' Still he could only grumble inside and try to follow Argos' movement. Thankfully, his Silver Dragon Eyes proved to be useful, allowing him to find his real body and execute the Push skill onto the teen, slowing down his approach. Essence then seeped out of his core and coated his sword and arms as he aimed to execute his Gale Sword skill.

Argos only smiled calmly as he looked at Noah and parted his lips. "Hinder."

The transmigrator widened his eyes in shock as he felt himself slow down as if he had been dropped in a tank of tar. He could see the visible extra glow on his opponent's Battlesoul, meaning that the Word he had just used was a Soul skill, albeit immensely terrifying. It only made him slow down for a few seconds but that was enough for Argos to regain his bearings, his Blood Essence boiled as he pounded down at Noah's recovering state. "Asura Fist Arts: Tremor." The teenager's hand seemed to be coated with two layers of Blood Essence serving as extra arms as he buried the transmigrator into the ground.

An explosion echoed around and a dust cloud burst forth in a ring shape. Argos stood at the middle of it all, staring deeply at the deep hole in the ground. Sensing no further movement, he sighed in relief as he assumed his adversary had fainted. The teenager couldn't remember when he had last fought as hard as he had today but he felt it to be refreshing. "I won."

"Think again." A sudden voice made his eyes widen in shock, his body twisted and his lips parted as he attempted to summon his Words but he could only manage to say the Word "Defense" before a burly fist met his face and sent him flying. Noah let himself lean down as his arms returned to their normal size while his legs tensed and bulged before expanding. "Azure Dragon Art: Flowing Partial Embodiment."

Argos spit out a bit of blood after regaining his bearings and managing to land on his feet. He panted as he finally felt a dash of fatigue. After all, the reason he didn't bother learning normal Battle Arts was that the use of his Words ate at his Essence like a damned whale. He wouldn't be able to use Words if he learnt Battle arts fueled by Essence and vice versa. Thankfully, his The Word, though looking like a book was actually a monster type, granting him Blood Essence. Because of that he could use Body-type Battle arts. In the end, even with this, the battle was still taking too much time, his whale of a Battlesoul was still consuming too much Essence and drained him of his stamina. He reckoned he had to reach half way through the Adept Stage before he could handle the drain of his Battlesoul.

Even with this, he still revealed a smile filled with battle intent as he stared at the just as tired Noah. "Good, let's finish this in a grandiose manner."