Chapter 202 The Vestas versus the entire world.
*Clank* *Clank* *Clank* Swords clashed, Orion continued to block all of Vaan's attacks in an effortless manner. The confident look on his face gave a feeling that Vaan couldn't even be an opponent who could pose a challenge to Orion, however, *Whoosh* Vaan's Battle Style was much different than any other Mages. A Fireball was generated, it shot towards Orion, and from a distance this close, even someone like Orion had to take it seriously. A solemn look appeared on Orion's face, his sword shined, and, *Slash* With one sword, the Fireball was cut into two parts. "Hey! You used Sword Aura! That's cheating!" Vaan complained. Sword Aura was not something Basic Swordsmen could use. It was an Advanced Technique that only Intermediate level Swordsmen were able to use. This was also the biggest difference between an Intermediate Swordsman and a Basic Swordsman. Basic Swordsmen were strong, their bodies had surpassed human limits and they could do things that normal humans would be horrified by, however, even then, when compared to the Intermediate Level Swordsmen, the Basic Swordsmen were nothing but children and the reason behind this was Sword Aura. After all, there was a limit to how much a body can be enhanced, if Swordsmanship was all about enhancing one's body, then the Swordsman would never have reached the level they have reached. Against Mages who could control the forces of nature, summoning Fire, Wate, Earth, and Wind and using countless destructive spells using them, simple Body Enhancement would be useless. And this was where Sword Aura came in. The ability to bring out the Aura that they had stored in their bodies and cover their Swords with it. This gave birth to a sword that was strong enough to cut anything. Even the Magic Spells. An ultimate weapon against Mages, who relied on their Spells to do almost everything, the Sword Aura, however, made these Spells almost useless. This was also the reason why Mages were at a disadvantage against Swordsman in a one-on-one battle. Even the Intermediate Mages, who had the ability to form a Mana Core and Store the Mana inside their Bodies and cast Magic Spells almost instantly, were helpless against beings who could simply 'cut' their Magic Spells and render them useless. "What are you crying about, man up." Orion snorted as he rushed towards Vaan, completely dismissing his words. "Haah!? Man up!? You are the one using an Intermediate Skill against someone on the Basic Level and I am the one who needs to Man up!?" Vaan was quick to retort. After all, if even his Strongest Spell was simply cut away, how was he supposed to win?
"Not my fault that you are weak." Orion shrugged as he attacked Vaan using his sword. *Clank* Vaan blocked his attack with his own sword, his speed was much faster than what he had shown in his fight against Alex. It wasn't just his speed, Vaan's Strength, Speed, and Stamina, everything had surpassed Human Limits, something that shouldn't be possible for a Mage. *Clank* *Clank* *Clank* Vaan tried to counterattack, since Orion's Sword wasn't shining anymore, he could tell that he wasn't using Sword Aura, this was also the reason his Sword was able to 'clash' against his father's in the first place. After all, a Sword Aura was able to 'cut' anything, what was stopping it from cutting the opponent's sword? "Tsk, you are fighting against a 20-year-old, while you are in your 60s. That's like me fighting and winning against a 10-year-old and acting all arrogant. Have some shame." Vaan snorted as he continued to land a series of sword attacks on his father, hoping to catch him off guard with his enhanced speed at least once but suddenly, "Huh…?" Vaan's expression changed. He could feel that his body had slowed down… Not just that, he felt a lot weaker compared to before and his muscles had started to spasm. "Fuck…" He cursed and, *Bam* Orion found an opening and kicked his abdomen. Vaan's body flew away, clashing with the wall of the Training Room. *Thud* "Ugghh…" He groaned in pain as his entire body trembled nonstop. He took out three dull stones from his pockets and sighed in defeat, "They were all used up…" "You speak awfully lot for someone who uses external help to increase their strength."
Orion commented. These three Stones in Vaan's hands were the Strength Stone, Speed Stone, and Stamina Stone respectively. These were the Stones that could be mined, just like the Elemental Stones, and self-explanatory from the name, these were the stones that boosted the user attributes depending on the Stone used. "As if I have a choice…" Vaan sighed, his breathing was rigged, it was obvious that he was pushing himself using the Stamina Stone and now that the effect had worn out, he was facing the consequences. Right now, even keeping his eyes open was a taxing task for him. "If only I could use Mana to increase my Body Limits…" Vaan sighed. He had already completed all 135 of the Basic Stances his father had taught him, his muscles were lean and toned, there was no unnecessary fat anywhere in his body and his body was in a perfect condition to do almost anything. Orion's judgment was current, in these past few months Vaan had trained together with him, and the rate of his improvement was so quick that it was honestly horrifying. If Vaan had decided to become a Swordsman instead, Orion could have sworn that none would have been able to match his pace of development. After all, this monster completed 135 Basic Stance of his technique in a matter of two to three months!
However, as monstrous as Vaan was, he had a limit. In the end, he was still a Mage. The next level of his Stances, which required the use of Aura, was not something someone like Vaan could do. He couldn't improve any further. At least not until he became an Intermediate Mage. "You cannot use Magic to increase your strength, but you can use Magic instead." Hearing Vaan's words, Orion spoke up. Vaan however, just sighed. He knew Magic Spells like 'Strength', 'Speed', and 'Stamina' existed, they had the same effects these Stones had and were a natural alternative, however, These spells required direct use of 'Mana' and Basic Mages were limited to only being able to use Spells related to their Elements. Mana Spells like 'Strength', 'Speed', 'Stamina', 'Magic Bullets', or more could only be used by Intermediate Mages. "I wouldn't be in this situation if I had that option, father." Vaan shook his head. "…" Orion turned silent as well. There was nothing even he could do in this situation other than allow his son to use these Stones to get used to the 'boost' his Spells would provide him in the future and further hone his swordsmanship. "Your battle against Swordsman won't be easy." Suddenly, Orion commented as he sat next to Vaan. Vaan's face turned solemn. He knew it as well. "How did mother do it?" He questioned. "Didn't you say Mother brought the Era of Magic Division where Mages dominated the Swordsmen? How did she do it?" "Well, your mother was different." "How?" "She was simply too advanced compared to her opponents. It was as if she had already studied all her opponents and no matter what they did, she always seemed to have counters prepared beforehand. You can call it a natural gift. Your mother was far more tactically advanced Mage than anyone I have ever seen, even to this day, I have never met a Mage who has a better crowd control ability than her. A one-on-one battle against her was a nightmare, even for me." "But you still won a few matches, no?" "Who do you think I am? Of course, I won." Orion snorted but then, his face turned serious, and, "Truthfully, your mother's era and the current era have one significant difference. This is what gave Swordsman an even heavier advantage over the Mages." "What is it?" Vaan questioned with a frown on his face. "Magic Engineering." Orion replied. "Hmm?" "The creation of new Artifacts. Armors strong enough to protect the wearer from Magic Spells, Swords that are somewhat strong enough to 'cut' some comparatively weaker spells like how an Aura Sword does, Creation and Usage of such Artifacts have made things much more difficult for mages than how it used to be." "Haah? But wasn't the use of Artifacts in duels forbidden?" Vaan questioned. After all, this was the only reason why Mages weren't allowed to use Instant Spells in the Battle. If it wasn't for this, then even a Basic Mage could use a Spell of an Advanced Mage and end any battle, no matter how strong the opponent was. "Only the usage of Exhaustible Artifacts is forbidden, Vaan. Not the Artifacts that can be created using our own technology. With the Advancement in Magic Engineering, these 'Artifacts' have become nothing more than slightly better Armor and Swords. So using them in a battle is not forbidden." "So we are in a deep shit because Magic Engineering hasn't made anything for Mages but has made things that would greatly benefit Swordsmen?" "Well, although things like enhanced armors are somewhat helpful to Mages as well, you can summarize it that way.
This is what happens when almost the entire world is against you, Vaan. And this is why your mother is worried about the Vesta Family despite being one of the strongest Mages Agresia has seen." "It is the Vestas versus the entire world…" Vaan repeated what his mother said with a solemn look on his face.
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