NOVEL NEXT Chapter 62: 62.Spar (3)
Garrik's sword buzzed wildly in Licht's hand, felt like it could break free at any second, but a second was all Licht needed.
Lichts lightning wrapped balade cleaved down from the sky like a lightningbolt but just as it was about it connect..
it suddenly stopped.
There No clang or clash.
Just a a subtle, invisible rebound that knocked his strike off-course mid-swing.
His lightning scattered as the sword jerked to the side, slipping from its arc like it had been caught in a current.
And before Licht could even process why this was happening—
The world changed.
A glowing circle of earth coloure light pulsed beneath Garrick's feet.
Wind collapsed from below as the air thickened, folding in toward him. Stone bloomed mid-air like veins branching out from the earth.
The remnants of Tempest Edge folded into the new flow and in the same breath, Earthbreaker Charge came alive.
Garrick's greatsword rose quickly, and came crashing back down like the hammer of a god.
『Slayer Sword Style – Earthbreaker Charge!』
Licht's entire world tilted as the impact hurled him through air like a comet, scales flashed from hus Dragon Soul Guard actic=vating to keep his bones from breaking outright.
He crashed into the ground, gouging a trench through the training field.
Garrick stood tall, lowering his blade as he chuckled.
"Don't beat yourself up too much I did cheat a little."
Garrick chuckled, resting his blade on his shoulder.
"But hey, aren't you supposed to be a genius, Licht? You're not gonna get mad at me for pulling off a little Resonance Shift… are you?"
Licht coughed, dragging himself upright.
His Scales flickered down his shoulders as his「Dragon Soul Guard」 reactivated,
Garrick was right, Licht wasn't mad.
Instead he was furious!
「A Resonance Shift!」
That was the most advanced technique in combat mana theory.
See in this world, you could only activate one technique at a time and that was because each one had its own frequency, its own flow of mana if you will.
Most people saw this as a limitation But for the strong, it was a weapon.
Each technique flowed like a melody. And for those who had truly mastered them, you could learn to thread one into the next —forminga seamless harmony of combat.
If you perfectly read the flow of your own techniue and activated a second technique within one-millionth of a second of the first one's ending…
If your mana matched the rhythm perfectly…You could perform a Resonance Shift.
"Tch…" Licht spat hatefully
'To think that this grown man would still eb shameless enough to use a resonance shift on a girst year
After performing a reosnace shift a faint barrier can from around you For that brief moment, you becomee the center of the regions mana flow. Becasue of this your next attack would be empowered far beyond its normal limits.
Normally, only techniques from the same style or school could resonate like this. And even then it took years of mastery, instinct, and perfection to even attempt it.
Most Slayers could only trigger it by chance a few times in their lifetime.
That's how it was supposed to work…
Well that was until the invention of the Mana Circle.
The Mana Circle didn't just allow you to wield multiple techniques. It separated your mana flows into different frequencies giving you multiple chances to hit that infinitesimal window.
One mana circle gave you one extra chance.
Two circles? Two chances.
But what about Licht?
He didn't have two circles, He had twelve!
With so manay chances Licht refused to believe that he coudlnt do one and kick this annoying instructors teeth in.
'If i cant win with quality, then I'll habe to win with quantity.'
With that thought Licht's fingers tightened around his sword.
The twelve mana circles around his mana core spun to life like turbine engines, glowing within his body as each one tuned itself to a distinct frequency waiting to grasp onto thr current of energy.
He stepped forward.
His footwork was sharp and erratic , blinking side to side in short lightning covered zigzags And As Licht attack drew closer, Garrick just calmly raised his sword once more,
"You still don't learn,"
But before he could finish the sentence, Licht's body twisted sharply,his grip reversed, and his body spun mid-air !
The sword in his hand now came down like a vicious beast's snapping fangs.
『Valtier Sword Style — Howling Fang Sword! (C)』
The technique snarled with brutal energy, aura flickering like a cornered wolf But Garrick met it with a cold blink.
Is that it?
He broke the clash with a flick of his wrist and countered, forcing Licht back with a clean strike.
Sliding back across the ground Licht clicked his tongue in annoyance
Tch! I Missed the resonance window once, I won't miss again."
Seeing Licht rush towards him once again wthout changing anything, Garrick finally frowned.
Truthfully, this whole match was just a game to him.
He'd humored Licht with these restrictionsJust enough to see what all the noise from the Headmaster was about.
But now?
This whole ordeal felt like a waste.
Licht's either holding back… or he was never that special to begin with.
Either way, Garrick was done playing.
As Licht charged again, his blade crackling with lightning, Garrick moved with purpose.
Wind exploded from his man core coiling around his sword as he swung in a clean arc.The slash aimed for Licht's head, moving with such speed that only milliseconds remained—
And then it happened.
A low-frequency hum cracked through the air.
At the same time this happened glowing runic circle bloomed beneath Licht's feet and another pulsed from his blade like a heartbeat of light.
Garrick's eyes narrowed.
"Impossible..."
All twelve of Licht's mana circles ignited at once, bursting into a storm of violet flame that roared from his core.
He'd done it.
「Resonance Shift」
BOOM!
A deafening clash echoed across the training grounds, the kind that reminded cadets of a wild beast's howl making Some even clutched their ears as they were staggered by the sheer pressure alone...