Chapter 51 - Sword Calligraphy
'This is the moment of truth.'
Letting out one final thought, Leo tried his best to edit out anything but his sword from his sight, all in order to achieve the highest immersion in his first execution of this 'Sword Art'.
Although the majority of people were more inclined towards using the term 'Sword Practice' instead, Leo couldn't find a better way to describe the contents of the manual he read. If he were to specify the description even forward, only one word came to mind, Calligraphy!
Using the sword as a brush to draw patterns similar to words, linking them to achieve a true combination of art and sword skill, the description closest to perfect would naturally be 'Sword Calligraphy'!
As the blade shone under the sun, Leo tightened both hands around its hilt as the sword finally moved it out of its stationary state, drawing out the first stroke of the beginning pattern, filled with zeal to complete his own piece of art.
However, as if they were nonexistent from the very beginning, the thoughts that crowded Leo's mind simply vanished, accompanied by his suppressed excitement that just exploded, allowing him to transition into a state of complete clearance as if following the transition of his sword to the second stroke…
[ The Second 'Reading' Attribute has been invoked! Updating conditions have been met… ]
[ Reading attribute, 'Ability Reading', has been activated! ]
Even as voices surfaced in his mind, Leo was completely unaware, just as he was unaware of his surroundings. The only thing that he perceived was the sword as well as his hands that served as his connection to the sword.
Even his body was disregarded as if something else was moving the sword. Although his eyes were open, Leo wasn't sure if he could see or not. Everything other than the slim piece of alloy steel felt extremely blurry.
Swishh! Swishh! Swish…
One stroke begat a second, and two strokes begat a third, before he knew it, Leo felt like he swung his sword for years, whenever all of this would end was anything but known...
[ The 'Personal Book' has been updated. ]
"Haaa…"
It was only when he heard a voice that he missed dearly that Leo took in a huge breath of air as if he just managed to escape after being completely submerged in water. The relaxation he felt definitely didn't feel like suffocation, but the sequence of happening made everything feel reversed.
'What was that?'
Not even managing to bother considering where he was, Leo immediately called out to the 'Personal Book' as he tried to ease the disorientation he felt towards time. Ignoring the statistical page, he directly checked the latest log page while trying to reconnect back to reality.
'Ability…? Is the intensity so much different just because it's an 'ability'...?'
As his perception gradually returned to normal, Leo was able to slowly tell what happened. Once more, this was another form of 'Reading' with his original ability at its base, it was just that this time, the 'Reading' felt even more surreal than it was with 'Skill Reading'.
In reality, Leo had expected another 'Skill Reading', his apprehensions were regarding whether it would activate or not, or whether its effect would be useful or not. However, he somehow ended up having a completely different experience being thrown into a more aggressive 'digestion' of what he received.
The 'first' stated by the voice when it first mentioned 'Skill Reading' did hint at something. However, Leo didn't expect to discover this 'something' this soon...
"What are you waiting for? Do it again! This time at the same rhythm!"
Although Rain was still flabbergasted regarding what he just witnessed, he didn't care about getting an explanation at the moment, all he cared about was seeing the result of it. Leo's incomprehensible growth made it so that his 'performance' was disconnected, now he wanted to see a complete execution with the same skill the last stroke had!
On the other hand, the Leo who only had a fragment of his questions answered finally remembered the situation he was in, holding back the intent to check the first page and holding back the thoughts that were about to crowd his mind with it. He simply put everything away as he followed Rain's instructions.
Even if he didn't completely understand everything at this moment, did it really matter? Wasn't his excitement for the result of 'Sword Breathing' the true reason his heart wanted to jump out of his body?
Despite the interlude caused by 'Ability Reading', his goal was still the same, and he was going to see it through!
As the sword went back to the beginning, Leo restarted his attempt at 'Sword Calligraphy', this time, he was completely in control of the process!
From one stroke to another, and from one pattern to another, every transition was smooth and comforting. The complete piece of 'Calligraphy' took a whole 10 minutes to finish, but Leo didn't even feel the passing of a minute.
Just at this moment, Leo felt something familiar seep into his body from his surroundings, completely filling up the emptiness in his body before slowly starting to fade away…
At the same time, another familiar stream made its way to his body. However, not only did the stream feel even closer to him, but it also only entered through his hands that were glued to the sword's hilt.
As the great wave that filled his body eventually faded, Leo couldn't help but feel empty, but he quickly rejoiced at the faint feeling of something swimming in his body.
'It worked… right?'
Although it was less sharp and tame in comparison, these streams Leo sensed were undeniably of the same kind as the flood he received upon his consumption of the 'Cleansing Sword'. if he wasn't simply hallucinating due to his forceful mind suggestion, Leo was confident that he had successfully accomplished his first set of 'Sword Breathing'!
Undoubtedly, this was the moment where Leo wanted to check his 'Personal Book' the most since his arrival in this foreign world. However, he was able to quell his desire successfully as he directed his gaze towards Rain…
[ Plot change confirmed.. Unique event recurrence has been detected. ]