Chapter 215 Sword Presence
In the misty sky, multiple cable cars could be seen moving from one side to another. A silver-haired boy could be seen looking around with his small purple eyes wide open. He was awed by what he saw; the various magic beasts in this sanctuary were all living very peacefully.
He also saw how the older and more experienced sword beasts trained the younger ones. The training was a little harsh, but teachers are meant to be strict. He also saw a knight in armor using a sword; these beasts were fascinating. They only had a small ball-shaped original body, which they used to control the armor. He was looking around when his eyes fell on a strange beast looking at the bamboo tree before him.
It looked like a reptile with a thin body covered in gray scales. It had a small body, but its tail was twice its size, and a sharp blade was attached at its end. The sword beast howled cutely before turning and using its tail to swing and cut the bamboo tree in half. A sound of a metallic clash came, and the bamboo threw back the beast.
“It looks like that bamboo tree isn’t normal, but it was an incredibly precise and powerful strike. Is that little sword beast training by himself? His tail created a small light spark before it was about to hit,” commented Rishi as he looked at the sword beast trying again and again.
“It’s called iron-coated bamboo. It is tough until it is connected to a tree, but after separating, it becomes softer and is a very nutritious food for magic beasts; it strengthens their whole body, especially their weapons. This is very common here, but it is a rare item outside. It needs a very high amount of sword and metal energy to grow.” said Prof. Anya.
“You are very knowledgeable, Prof. Anya,” complimented Rishi. He knew about most of the plants and trees, but he had never heard of anything like this plant.
“It’s nothing; I just read a lot.” To become a successful beast cultivator, you also need to read a lot of Books. My knowledge has saved my life many times when I was stuck in a dangerous situation,” replied Prof. Anya.
“I will also start reading books whenever I am free,” said Rishi. While he had the ‘inspect’ skill to guess the item, knowledge was still necessary; he couldn’t always rely on the ‘inspect’ skill.
He kept looking around and saw many sword-bearing beasts. He liked the calm environment very much. His eyes suddenly caught the tall hill. It was full of different types of swords stuck on it. He could feel some presence on the mountain. If it had been earlier, this might have gone unnoticed, but after getting attacked by the ‘Rune of Swordsmanship,’ he had become sensitive to this presence.
He searched again and found that it was similar to the presence he had felt while looking at the golden-colored symbol that he saw during Sheru’s evolution. It was a little faint, but the power it had shocked him. He looked around and saw Prof. Roy also looking at the hill; his eyes were wide open as he could see something.
“What was that?” He asked Prof. Roy.
Prof. Roy looked at him with a hint of surprise before replying, “It was sword presence, something created from the combination of multiple uncontrolled smaller sword intents.”
“What is Sword Intent,” asked Rishi curiously.
“You don’t know Sword Internet.” Prof. Roy could not believe what he heard. He replied, “It’s something that high-level sword masters awaken. It gives them the ability to attack at will. It boosts the speed, range, and power of sword attacks while harming the opponent. It is something that makes you almost invincible when used.”
“Really?” asked Rishi; he couldn’t believe something like this existed. He then remembered how he got hurt by only the image of the swordsman looking at him when he tried to investigate the golden-colored symbol.𝓷𝒪𝑽𝐄𝓵𝓃𝑒xt.𝑐𝑜𝔪
“Have I ever lied to you? Everything I said is true. The sword’s intent is a unique ability of a swordsman, formed by an understanding of the sword’s techniques and the sword itself. It is a manifestation of his will, which could be used to change reality.”
“A swordsman with sword intent doesn’t need a weapon to fight; for him, everything becomes a sword. He can use a leaf to cut a boulder, and this is just basic use. Even I don’t know its limits.” He looked at Rishi with his eyes filled with pity. “I had high expectations that you would be able to learn it; you had the highest chance among my students, but your path is very different from the path to awakening Sword Intent.”
Despite hearing it, Rishi had no regrets. If he had had a legendary job class solely focused on swords, he would have taken it, but the class he got was different. He had to do it to become stronger; his new class could do that. It might take him some time to fully understand this job class, but it suits him quite well, and he was not sure how long it would take him to master Sword Intent after all; it was very rarely seen. Even sword energy and sword aura were already harder to master, and even now, he was not able to properly utilize them. Who knows how long it would have taken him to master sword intent?
“Sir, are there any other intentions that I can learn from?” asked Rishi.
Prof. Roy looked at him silently for a while. It’s rare to see someone who is so confident before explaining, “There are many types of intentions, but the way to cultivate them is not known publicly. The famous ones are spear intent, bow intent, slaughter intent, and war intent. They are useful at higher level combat; you will understand their value as you become stronger.”
“While facing an equally stronger opponent at later stages, it is tough to hurt them and make them lose.” The natural recovery is insane. The fights sometimes stretch to days without a victor. At times like these, an intent such as sword intent that is purely offensive makes it easier for you to win and defeat your opponent and even have a chance to eliminate them.”
Rishi now understood why his teacher had told him so often that he should focus mainly on the sword. This revelation made him a little sad, but he overcame it soon and clenched his fists. So what if I can’t learn sword intent? I will learn other intents, and there might be some intent that is suitable for me.
He was thinking about it when a question came to his mind: “Sir, does learning intent work the same as learning Aura? Can learning multiple intents make you stronger?”
Prof. Roy raised his brow, not really understanding the question: Does it even matter, kid? You have not even learned one intention but are talking about learning more. While he had not taken the question seriously as a teacher, it was his duty to answer the doubts of his students. He replied, “Intents are fundamentally very different from the Aura. They are not physical but manifestations of the user’s will, desire, and understanding of the sword.”
He looked at the hill as they approached it and started sweating. It was as if something would cut him into pieces. Rishi also felt goosebumps all over his body; his survival instincts kicked in as he moved back.
“Oh, you can feel it.” Prof. Roy was surprised and filled with joy, but then he remembered Rishi and all his joy disappeared. He shook his head and looked him in the eyes before adding, “This is what we call intent. Right now, it may not be felt by people who don’t have higher senses and will, but once the intent is focused on them, they will shiver in fear.”
“About your question, will have more intent makes them weak? The answer is no. Intents work differently than Aura; they are your understanding of concepts. You can learn many intents, and they will not negate each other.”
“But there are some things one needs to keep in mind while learning multiple intents: they should be compatible, and learning similar types of intents can backfire, especially in the case of weapon intents. That’s all I know about them.”
So it’s like this: Rishi touched his chin with his right hand’s index finger as he thought about it. It looks like I will need to learn intents, which are very important for the fight at the higher stages. It looks like I will need to work even harder.
He started thinking about his future plans. He looked at the scenery around him before the cable car moved around and started moving back to Sword Fiend City. He stepped outside and started moving firmly; only he knew what he was thinking inside his head.
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