Ex-Rank Awakening: My Attacks Make Me Stronger

Steel rang out in the void, echoing endlessly as Leon clashed against the shadow of himself. His blade moved on instinct, but even as he fought, his thoughts sharpened.

'This phony is good at its job.'

He snapped his wrist, thrusting his sword straight for the copy's head. The strike was fast, and l decisive but the copy tilted its head a fraction, the motion efficiently clean and its footwork was flawless as it slid into a counter, its blade hissing through the air toward Leon's ribs.

Leon twisted away, steel scraping past his side.

'It has all my sword skills… down to the micro movements.'

The next moment their swords collided again, the void ringing with a relentless rhythm.

Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang.

Sparks burst with each strike as they drove at one another, neither giving ground. Finally, their blades locked in a heavier clash, the force rippling through the void as both were shoved backward.

Leon didn't waste the moment. He whispered under his breath, the sound soft yet carrying unnaturally in the emptiness.

"Extreme Art—Flicker Fang."

His figure blurred. The afterimage of his stance lingered, but Leon himself was gone. A heartbeat later, he stood behind the copy, sword lowered as though he had always been there.

The copy's eyes widened. Its head slipped from its shoulders in silence, tumbling; only for the body to dissolve into countless motes of light before it even touched the ground.

"Tch." Leon clicked his tongue, his gaze narrowing. "He has my skills… but does he have Extreme Arts?"

The void answered at once.

"Extreme Art—Horizon Cleave!"

A voice identical to his own roared the technique. A massive sword aura tore through the void toward Leon, its edge humming with destructive power.

Leon's eyes narrowed, his grip tightening. "Extreme Art—Horizon Cleave!"

His own slash erupted to meet it. The two arcs of power collided at the center, the clash detonating in a deafening boom that shook the emptiness around them.

Light and shadow warred in the blast, swallowing both Leons in its brilliance.

****

Outside in Shantel, the streets were quieter now. The worst of the destruction had been cleared, and the people moved with weary determination, patching what little they could.

James wiped the sweat from his brow as he spotted Crystal, the female scout, returning from her patrol.

"Have you seen Lord Leon?" he asked.

Crystal shook her head. "Last I saw, he was heading toward the Lord's manor."

James frowned. "The manor? Why would he want to go there?"

She lifted her shoulders in a small shrug. "I don't know. Should we go and assist him with whatever he's doing?"

James thought for a moment before shaking his head. "No. There's no need. If he wanted our help, he would've asked. And if there's any danger there—which I doubt he can't handle—what could we possibly do but stand in his way?"

"That's true," Crystal admitted, giving him a small nod before returning to her duties.

James lingered, his gaze fixed on the distant silhouette of the manor. His jaw tightened, but after a long breath, he turned back to his work.

Unseen by either of them, a hooded figure stood in the shadow of a ruined wall, listening. Racheal's emerald eyes glimmered beneath the hood as she whispered to herself, "So… he's in the manor. But why can't my talent see him?"

She closed her eyes, focusing, reaching out with her gift.

"Still nothing."

There was a void, where he should have been. Her brow furrowed as she opened her eyes, narrowing them at the manor's direction.

"He seems to be in danger…" she muttered, her voice tinged with unease.

For a moment, she wavered. She had not known this human long, and the only reason she had come this far was because he was the closest presence she could sense after escaping the forest. But then, memory struck; the altar, Leon's blade cutting down the guardian, saving her and Jessica both.

Her fingers tightened around her bowstring as she whispered, "I owe him that much."

Resolve hardened in her chest. She pulled her hood lower, her long ears hidden once more, and set her steps toward the manor.

****

Back in Leon's mind, the clash raged on. The once-flat landscape was torn apart, deep gouges carving through the earth and shockwaves rippling out with every collision. The silent void was no longer silent, every strike thundered, every explosion reverberated endlessly in the black sky above.

Leon twisted his body, barely slipping past a slash that would've cleaved him in half. His boots skidded across fractured ground as he pulled back, chest rising and falling though his soul form didn't need breath.

'I've thrown almost everything at this bastard—Tier III Force, Extreme Arts, every sword skill in my arsenal, and he's matched me step for step.'

The copy landed lightly on the ground opposite him, blade dripping with void light, wearing his face and his grin.

Leon's grip on his sword tightened. 'It's like he only moves once I move first. Every skill, every art—he copies after I show it. My extreme art he stole it after I used flicker fang. Even Force, Tier III… all mine, yet mirrored back at me.'

The thought gnawed at him as their blades clashed again and again, sparks scattering like stars in the void.

'So the more I use, the more I feed him. My own strength turned into his weapon.'

'What will happen if I use [Attack]'

He slid back from the force of another blow, his sword vibrating in his hand. The frustration boiled over, his voice low but sharp as he muttered, 'What the hell am I scared of? Holding back against a fraud? My talent is my own—no one else's!'

His counter was ready. Every strike he had landed, every exchange—even the ones he lost—had fueled it. The system inside this space felt different from Pandora; the cycle didn't matter here. Points kept accumulating with a different cycle. Leon's eyes flicked to the number floating in his mind's eye.

[Attack Points: 10,000]

He grinned. "Perfect."

Without hesitation, he willed the points to burn. The rush hit instantly, his body surged with power, every stat flooding higher and higher, his muscles thrumming with lethal strength. He had outpaced the copy. For the first time since the battle began, he felt the upper hand was his.

But across the battlefield, the clone's smirk widened into something sinister.

"Burn… Attack Points."

Leon's eyes widened.

The aura around the copy erupted, a tidal wave of killing intent pressing down like a mountain. His exact surge, mirrored, reflected back. The field evened in an instant.

Leon's teeth clenched as he spat the only word that came to mind.

"Shit."