Chapter 198: Core

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Bloody Fortress, Training Square.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The fierce sound of rushing wind could be heard. The cross-shaped sword pierced through the wind again and again, leaving behind patches of light and shadows in the air. The blade of the sword was brightly illuminated by the dancing braziers.

In the square, Heath, who was dressed in a swordsman’s uniform, was doing swordsmanship training.

Although his focus had always been on the magic field, Heath’s improvement in swordsmanship had not fallen behind over the years. He would complete at least one swordsmanship training and combat aura training every day.

Under his hard work, the improvement was significant:

Strength 52.3, Agility 62.8, Vitality 48.6.

The three attributes of a Knight had reached around 50, especially agility, which had reached more than 60. Even without using magic, Heath could still have the speed of an Apprentice using [Gale], it was truly terrifying.

Soon, the sword dance ended, and Heath sheathed his cross sword.

At this moment, there was a round of applause outside the square.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Heath turned his head and saw a middle-aged man standing at the side of the square. His entire body naturally exuded a heroic aura. It was none other than the commander of the Bloody Fortress, Robert.

Heath bowed and said, “Commander Robert.”

Robert smiled confidently and said, “You dance well. Your swordsmanship alone can be ranked in the top ten among the swordsmanship masters in the West Coast.”

Heath said humbly, “Thank you.”

There was a weapon rack at the side of the square. Robert walked over and took a cross-shaped sword from it.

He pulled out his sword aura and walked into the square. “Let’s have a match.”

Heath raised his eyebrows. “Swordsmanship?”

Robert nodded. “Swordsmanship, according to the Knight’s tradition.”

Heath did not refuse.

After greeting each other according to the Knight’s etiquette, both parties took dozens of steps back in the square.

Standing still, Heath held his sword with both hands. The blade of the sword was forty-five degrees up, and he was in a starting position.

Robert, on the other hand, was just standing there foolishly with his crossguard sword in one hand.

Heath raised his eyebrows. “Your Excellency?”

The starting position was a crucial part of swordsmanship. An outstanding starting position could allow a Knight to gain an advantage at the start of a battle, and even directly determine the final outcome.

Robert smiled and said, “Go ahead and attack!”

Heath frowned, feeling a little unhappy.

He was the champion of the Allund Tournament and the famous Black-Haired Knight of the Helan Kingdom. When had he ever been looked down on by anyone?

Robert saw that Heath was unhappy, but he did not correct it. Instead, he continued to add fuel to the fire by provoking him. “Why? Are you going to hatch an egg there, sir?”

Heath did not try to control his emotions. He said arrogantly, “The last guy who talked nonsense in front of me has already become a ghost under my sword!”

Robert continued to provoke him. “The taste of defeating a third-rate swordsman is not bad, right?”

“You will pay the price for your arrogance!”

“Then come!”

As a temporary judge announced the start.

Boom!

Heath disappeared from where he was. In the next second, he appeared in front of Robert and raised the cross sword in his hand, slashing down.

This sword was like a rainbow, like a bolt of lightning that tore through the sky. It had already reached the peak of Heath’s speed. He was also confident that this was the peak of swordsmanship.

However, in the next second, he realized that he was wrong, and he was ridiculously wrong!

The momentum of the sword approached the door, and Robert finally moved.

He did not have any special movements or moves. It was as if he just casually grabbed the cross-shaped sword and swung it at Heath’s cross-shaped sword. His movements were so casual, as if it was child’s play.

However, just such a casual sword could only be heard —

Clang!

A cross blade flew up into the sky, spinning and landing on the ground. Then, with a ‘cha’ sound, it stabbed diagonally into the ground.

In the square, Heath’s hands were empty, and his expression was as dumb as a wooden chicken.

Robert was still holding the sword easily, as if he was on an outing.

He laughed and said, “How is it? A third-rate swordsman?”

Heath was shocked.

But at the same time, he was also excited.

He asked, “Can I try again?”

Robert nodded. “Yes.”

Heath walked over and picked up the crossguard sword, then attacked Robert twice. But the outcome was the same. No matter what starting stance he used, no matter how he attacked, Robert would defeat him with a wave of his hand.

After the third attack, Robert said, “Let’s stop here. The gap is too big. No matter how many times you try, it’s useless.”

These words sounded very harsh, but Heath also knew that Robert was telling the truth.

He put away the crossguard sword and frowned as he fell into deep thought.

Seeing this, Robert could not help but ask, “Are you curious about where you lost?”

Heath nodded.

This was something that he could not understand. They were all Grand Knights. Although he could not see Robert’s specific attributes, he could feel that Robert was not much stronger than him in terms of attributes. They were basically on the same level.

Other than the difference in strength, what made Heath even more shocked was the aspect of moves.

One had to know that over the years, Heath had occupied the system, so he did not know how many sword techniques he had learned. Not to mention that they were all over the Western Continent, but he had basically mastered all of the sword techniques in the Underdark Treesea. Right now, he was definitely a sword master and an expert.

But just now, he could not see what moves or sword paths Robert had used to defeat him.

It was as if he had really just casually swung his sword at himself, and then he was defeated. What he used could not even be considered a sword technique.

Heath said sincerely, “Please enlighten me, sir.”

Robert nodded. Then, he explained, “There are no problems with your fundamentals. Your strength and speed are very good, especially your sword technique. I can see that you have a solid grasp of this aspect. You must have learned quite a few sword paths.”

Pausing for a moment, he continued, “The real gap between us is in the realm of swordsmanship.”

Heath asked in puzzlement, “Realm?”

Robert said, “Yes, the realm of swordsmanship and the understanding of swordsmanship.”

Heath pricked up his ears and waited for the rest of the story.

However, as if deliberately keeping him in suspense, Robert was not in a hurry to explain. Instead, he suddenly asked, “Before that, I have a question to ask you.”

Heath said, “Please go ahead.”

Robert asked, “Are you preparing to use swordsmanship as the core of your magic and become your regular magic?”

Heath was puzzled. “Magic core? Regular magic?”

Robert said, “It seems that you don’t know anything.”

Heath: “…”

Robert continued to ask, “What do you think is the biggest difference between us Wizards and mortals?”

Heath thought for a moment. “Powerful strength? Abnormal constitution? Long lifespan?”

Robert said, “What you said is all true.”

After a pause, he continued, “But the most important thing is time.”

“Compared to ordinary humans, we have more time and longer lifespan. This time allows us to understand and understand the world more. We can integrate what we understand and understand into our magic and build a set of rules and fields that belong to us.”

Heath seemed to understand but not understand.

1

Robert continued to ask, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but many powerful Wizards, especially Stigmata Wizards, have specialties other than magic, such as music, poetry, sculpture, and so on.”

Heath thought for a moment and said, “It seems to be true…”

Just like how humans liked to talk about their idols, Stigmata level was one of the topics that the Apprentices talked about the most when they were in Shadow Tower. Every Apprentice was familiar with the experiences of Stigmata Wizards.

Just now, with Robert’s reminder, Heath thought for a moment and indeed, as he said, many Stigmata Wizards, apart from being a Wizard, also had part-time jobs such as musicians, craftsmen, painters, and so on. Some were even famous in history.

For example, the Wizard Master of the Tower of Order, the ruler of the Western Continent, Babitos. Besides being a Wizard, he was also one of the most outstanding painters in the Western Continent. His paintings in the human world could almost be said to be priceless treasures.

Robert continued to ask, “Why do you think these Wizards waste their time and energy to learn these messy things?”

Heath was stunned.

Robert’s question really stumped him. Why? Hobbies? Were they bored with too much time to kill time? Did they need a reason to learn things?

Heath shook his head. “I don’t know.”

He had never thought of this question before.

Robert said, “This is related to the core of magic.”

“We all know what magic is. It is nothing more than a cluster of energy particles arranged and combined according to specific rules and principles to form a powerful energy that can summon wind and rain, live forever, and so on.”

He asked, “Then where did these rules and principles come from?”

Heath replied, “From observing nature.”

There were records in the book that the first Wizards observed nature, observed the burning of flames, simulated fire-type spells, observed the falling of lightning, and simulated lightning-type spells.

Robert praised, “Not bad, your foundation is very solid.”

After a pause, he continued to explain, “Yes, Wizards’ spells are formally derived from the understanding and simulation of the laws of nature.”

“However, the laws of nature are not limited to these.”

He casually swung his sword forward, and the space twisted, as if the entire space had been cut open.

Heath’s eyes lit up at this scene.

Because he could clearly feel that when Robert swung his sword just now, there were elemental fluctuations. In other words, this sword was not a sword technique, but magic!

Robert continued to explain, “Sword techniques that can kill enemies are a kind of rule, and music that is pleasing to the ear is also a kind of rule. Painting that is pleasing to the eye is also a kind of rule.”

“We can imitate the wind, we can imitate the rain, so why can’t we imitate sword techniques? Why can’t we imitate music?”

Heath was stunned.

Robert said, “Using magic to imitate sword techniques, music, or using sword techniques and music to release magic, combining the two into one, and using it as the core to create magic.”

“This kind of magic is also called rule magic by us Wizards, and Wizards who are used to using this kind of magic are also called Rule Wizards.”