Chapter 246: Profile, Sword Skills, Space
[Profile]
Name: Cedric Stormrider
Age: 22
Race: Human IV
Classes: Luminous Sage (Main), Demon Slayer (2nd), Educator (Sub)
Level: Tier 8 Lv.1
Titles: Son of Heaven, Master Tamer (+6)...
System Authority: Lv. 9
Companion Beast: Aurelion (Radiant Sunlion) T7 Lv.9
Aptitude Rank: EX+
[Skills]
Actives: Dispel (M), FTL Movement Lv.20, Meteor Slash (Elementary), Sunset Cut (Elementary), Heaven Extinction Sword (Elementary), Flashing Steel Sovereign (Intermediate), Solar Flare (Intermediate), Solaris Galatine (Intermediate)
Passives: CQC Mastery (M), Intermediate Sage Physique (U), Sage\'s Perception (U), Education Lv. 150, Demon Lore (M), Slayer\'s Mark Lv. 75, Sage Arts (M), Marksmanship (M), Sword Heart Lv. 20
Sub-Class Skills: (Omitted)
[Concept Laws]
Laws: Sword Law (Elementary), Fire Law (Elementary), Astral Law (Elementary)
Concepts: Slaughter Intent
[Law Traits]
Sword: Controlled Sharpness, Favored Enemy
Fire: Burning Heat, True Fire
Astral: Astral Genesis, Planetary Formation
Unique Trait: 『Aspect of the Sun (Mastered)』『Aspect of the Stars (Intermediate)』
[Domain]: None
[Equipment]
Weapon: Solaris Edge (T9: Legendary/Growth)
Armor: Star Sage Set (T9: Legendary/Growth)
[Mandatory Task:]
Hell Dive: Survive the Endless Undead Horde for 8 hours twice.
Rewards: 100% Demon Soul Gain; Clearance Streak: 1
Punishment for Failure: Failure Streak +1.
Record: Clear Streak: 38; Failure Streak: 0
Within the hidden space of True Sword Communion Hall, Cedric stood in the void with his eyes closed.
Solaris Edge, his sword, gleamed with sharpness as he firmly grasped it in his hand. The space around him seems to distort slightly, even without him doing anything.
His eyes then snapped wide open, releasing a faint golden brilliance. With a flourish of his sword, he performed a slash that seemingly separated the distant horizon. This move seems to twist the very fabric of space, which was then followed by a sinking golden orb that detonated a few seconds later, causing immense devastation that could be felt from miles away.
This was the Sunset Cut.
Following this, Cedric raised his sword, and the sharpness of his sword reached an all-time high. He performed a mighty cleave with a heavy grunt that seemingly brought the sky down, seemingly mimicking the end of the world.
This move was the Heaven Extinction Sword.
Following this, Cedric disappeared from his spot. Employing the FTL Movement at the highest level he could unleash, he transcended, shattered—the speed cap of someone on his strength level.
His movement left sharp cuts everywhere, but since he\'s moving too quickly, they all accumulated in a specific area. Then he reappeared in the same exact spot as before. With a final flourish of his sword, the silver trails he left behind erupted, causing an intense and chaotic storm.
This move was the Flashing Steel Sovereign.
Next, with a stomp of his feet, a giant golden orb appeared several hundred meters above him, staining everything within miles with golden radiance. The temperature rose at an alarming rate, too.
With a stern expression, Cedric pointed at a location using his sword, and at the same moment, the radiance of the golden sun above him intensified by at least three times. At the location he pointed at, a massive golden pillar of flames erupted. If one looked closely, even space seemed to be melting away due to the intense heat.
This one was the skill Solar Flare.
And finally, Cedric once again raised Solaris Edge above him. He paused and concentrated. The golden sun above him melted, and its existence was funneled into his sword. With the nourishment of the sun, Solaris Edge released an intense output of energy.
The output of energy was so great that it seems that Cedric was holding a massive pillar of golden light instead of a sword. As golden radiance swirled around him and illuminated his delicate yet focused features, Cedric opened his eyes and brought the sword down.
An explosion of golden radiance erupted as he did so. Everything within 10 miles in front of him was cleaved in half. The heat, sharpness, and brilliance of that attack would leave anyone stunned and speechless. Even those in the late stages of the Planar Traveler Realm would have to be careful about this attack.
This was Cedric\'s magnum opus of a skill he calls Solaris Galatine.
"Haaah..." Cedric exhaled a misty and warm breath as he kept Solaris Edge away and sat in the void.
His arms were trembling, and he was visibly spent. All of his self-created skills were taxing to him, and for a good reason; it would be too weird if he could unleash attacks of that intensity left and right without getting tired. Even with his absurd energy reserves, he still has limits at the end of the day.
"Excellent swordsmanship as always," the voice of the Law Communion Sword echoed in his ears.
"Thanks," Cedric huffed in reply, due to exhaustion. "But it still has a long way to go."
"Don\'t rush it, kid," the same voice chided. "Even at the heyday of Superhumans, hardly anybody in the same age as you could be your match. You\'re already doing well; don\'t be impatient."
"I know." Cedric sighed as he sat on the ground. "I won\'t rush it, I promise."
Cedric then closed his eyes and began recovering his energy.
Meanwhile, the Law Communion Sword was rendered silent. It\'s praise wasn\'t to inflate Cedric\'s ego. It was a genuine compliment. It is true that in terms of talent, potential, and comprehension, this kid was pretty much unparalleled.
The only downside to this kid is that he\'s too responsible. He carries too much unnecessary burden on himself, even going so far as to carry others\' burdens for them.
It\'s one thing for someone to feel responsible; that\'s normal. Being the savior of the world, on the other hand, is a completely different thing.
\'Hero-complex.\' The Law Communion Sword thought to itself. \'He\'s blessed with so much talent and a pure heart that he feels responsible for everything bad that\'s happening around him.\'
\'I\'ve seen his past, and sure, he\'s different back then, but that\'s just on the surface.\' It continued, \'Deep down, he\'s still the boy who looked up to Superhumans and believed them to be the heroes of the world.\'
\'The fact that he was granted the title of a Sage wasn\'t helping. His complex was worse than his predecessors, and it\'s unhealthy. Unfortunately, from what he told me about the current state of the world, this unhealthy mentality is what was needed the most; therefore, adults can only keep their mouths shut about this.\'
\'The worst part is that he\'s probably aware of this himself. He most likely knows how to fix this too, but he couldn\'t afford it since reality doesn\'t allow him to. Poor guy...\'
The Law Communion Sword could only lament silently about this. It\'s such a sad thing to see someone so talented and humble endure such a thing, but alas...
\'Hmm?\'
The Law Communion Sword felt strange fluctuations around Cedric.
Looking upon it closely, albeit faintly, the sword saw the fabric of space twisting and coiling around him. Shortly after, Cedric\'s silhouette began turning blurry.
It\'s as if a miracle happened and he suddenly multiplied by two. However, because the Law Communion Sword channels raw Concept Laws to this place, it understands what\'s happening better than anyone else right now.
\'This...this is Space Laws!? \' It exclaimed in surprise.
Without any further ado, it began channeling shards of Space Laws to the hall and watched as Cedric blankly opened his eyes to start comprehending them.
The strange twists and turns around him intensified. So much so that Cedric began unconsciously warping here and there. His body swayed like weed as he was pulled from one area to the next. His expression and gaze remained empty all this while.
\'Good! Good, Kid! Hah! \' The Law Communion Sword roared pleasantly in its mind. \'Space Laws! Hah!
How long has it been? Heavens, this kid is truly outrageous!! \'
Since time in this place moves differently from the outside, it actually took Cedric a whole month to comprehend the beginning stage of space laws, which was \'Spatial Manipulation\'.
That said, this doesn\'t lessen the absurdity of his achievement. If anything, spending a mere month to comprehend the beginning concept of space laws was already considered stellar in more ways than one.
\'More than a hundred years passed, yet only you, Kid, achieved something like this.\'
The Law Communion Sword remained silent until Cedric\'s consciousness returned. It watched as astonishment and wonder appeared on his face. It saw Cedric calming himself down before performing his first minor teleportation consciously and succeeding.
He then brought out his sword and stabbed it forward. Space twisted as he did so, and suddenly, the tip of his sword appeared several miles away from where he stabbed. He did again, and this time it appeared behind him even though he didn\'t turn around.
The sword watched as Cedric explored all the possible ways he could infuse the elements of space into his swordsmanship. Once he\'s done with that, he moves on to other applications too.
Eventually, after testing out hundreds of ideas, Cedric sat down in exhaustion, but with a bright gaze and a wide smile on his face. This is when the Law and Communion Sword said:
"If you raise your mastery of space laws to the intermediate stage, I\'ll agree on your proposal."
Cedric\'s eyes widened at that.