....Why am I even here....?
Ash thought as he looked at his surroundings. There was no snowfall in this place at all, although the chill in the air still lingered faintly, though not as chilly as the cold of Serenity Falls.
After taking the first position in the exam, he had earned the privilege to learn from anyone he wished in the academy.
Even though he did not particularly want to, he still chose the Principal as his first target. He was a Sword master after all.
But being a Saint, the Principal was an incredibly busy man. That was why Ash had been forced to come to this military base, which remained on constant watch, guarding the crack in space that loomed like a death sentence of the world.
After all behind that crack was a Semi-divine beast, and no one was powerful enough to defeat one. So, if the beast somehow crossed over, the world would be doomed.
Still, no matter how tight the surveillance, many had already lost their lives to carelessness. The beast within the crack, although unable to fully cross over, was still powerful enough that even some weak awakened people could not bear its presence, and its powers were greater than even a Saint.
Thus, Saint Nichole remained stationed here, never leaving his post, always keeping his gaze locked on the crack in space.
When will he even start teaching me....
Ash’s thoughts drifted as boredom weighed on him. His position here was rather unique; he was summoned daily here because of his anchors, since Ray had already blabbered about their powers to the Principal. Who thought of using it as a weapon.
Saint Nichole took one of his anchors every day and tried to close the space crack, while also trying to make the beast retreat, but he failed every day.
It was quite a view to see a saint beaten back every day, even though the actual monster was not even using 1/10th of its powers.
And because Ash could only destroy the anchors manually, he was forced to stay here all the time, ready to act when the principal was in danger.
As someone with space affinity, Nichole infused the anchor with more space energy, strengthening Ash’s anchor until it was capable of teleporting even a Saint.
After all, Ash alone did not possess enough mana to move a Saint, for their very existence carried the weight of an entire world.
Still, it was quite shocking to witness such a thing, since it was almost impossible to combine the mana of two different people. Yet a Saint managed it with ease. When Ash asked how he had done it, Nichole replied with only a single word: will.
Which, in turn, made many ideas bloom in his mind.
But it was not as if Ash gained nothing in return. Even without direct lessons, he learned plenty simply by being here.
Every day he was allowed to witness a Saint fighting with his own eyes, and from that he absorbed as much as possible, filling his mind with nothing but swords. His insight deepened, his instincts sharpened, and his experience solidified, until finally, he reached the first stage of weapon mastery.
After fighting more than a thousand monsters and watching a Saint battle day after day, reaching the first stage had become inevitable. Since he already had past experience with the sword, his progress came a little faster than he had expected.
Now, his foundation was firm, and his body was filled with pure instinct. Even when he had no intention of doing so, his posture remained upright, his body unconsciously standing straight like a sword.
Reaching the first stage brought a qualitative change for him. His senses grew sharper, his control over his body became more precise, and in turn, many other aspects of his combat ability began to change.
Yet the next stage was where he was stuck.
I don’t have a sword art....
In truth, he did have one, a sword art he had created himself by integrating it with the Divine Martial Arts. But no matter what kind of sword art Ash made or learned, all of them would eventually be seen through by Ray.
..I know there will be a day, when I have to fight Ray and even kill him....
The thought came with a heavy certainty. Ash had a gut feeling that one day, he would personally end Ray’s life. With the way Ray’s system worked, and with how much hatred burned in him, it was bound to happen sooner or later.
If not for the possibility that the system might abandon Ray and instead attach itself to him, Ash would have already left him to die against the semi-divine beast. If not that, he would have killed Ray himself long ago.
Ray’s existence was too dangerous, for he could see through any sword art, no matter how carefully crafted, and even copy them as if they were his own.
The system, even in the novel, was quite generous to Ray..... it gave him Runes as though they were candy..... or maybe it was simply feeding him in preparation for butchering me....
Ash could not say for certain, but he believed the system was not some benevolent entity. Whatever it was, it had its own purpose, and that purpose clearly had nothing to do with the livelihood of anyone other than Ray.
In that sense, it resembled Ash himself. Despite how he was acting heroic nowadays, all of it was nothing more than deception.
Who in this world goes around.... showing their true selves....
Ash was a born schemer. In the beginning, his real nature had been suppressed by Dark Ash, leaving him emotionless and governed only by cold logic and reasoning. But now that he was free of that influence, his true cunning surfaced once more.
The world would eventually witness the treachery of his snake-like mind.
One example was the search for Runes among the dwarves. Day after day, he entered their territory, and every time, more of them rose against him in anger. Yet Ash cut them down without hesitation, whether they were men or women, young or old.
He left only when he decided it was no longer worth the risk, for another destroyed city might eventually draw too much attention. Mercy had never been part of his choice, and he had no intention of leaving any loose ends behind. Every action he took was calculated, measured, and coldly efficient.
Coming back to the matter of sword arts, there were countless techniques he could learn. Hell, he could even study the personal sword art of Saint Nichole himself, the very pinnacle of skill in the Human Association, but Ash had no interest in following someone else’s path.
Sword arts were the foundation of a master’s entire existence. They were not just techniques, but the very framework of thought, instinct, and precision that shaped a swordsman’s body and mind. Ash had deliberately destroyed his previous foundations for both magic and sword.
For magic, he had obliterated his entire magic circle, leaving nothing but a blank slate. For the sword, he had dismantled his shaky foundation and rebuilt it meticulously from the ground up, forging a new base that fit his own instincts perfectly.
Learning any other sword art now would only complicate his progress and muddle his personal style. Ray was the exception, blessed with both the class and talent to absorb other sword arts and gradually craft an unbeatable sword art, but no one else could match that combination of skill, patience, and innate aptitude.
I want something... that cannot be copied by Ray and cannot be understood by Ray...
And finding something like that seemed impossible, almost laughably so.
Though I could make one if I cannot find it...
That was why Ash spent most of his time in his Soul Space nowadays. He learned every sword art he could access, from the weakest to the strongest, observing every detail, every posture, every subtle shift in weight, every instinctive movement. It consumed a massive portion of his time, but as mana could not be used in the Soul Space, he relied entirely on his WILL.
This reliance only strengthened his will further, shaping it into a force more rigid and enduring than anything he had possessed before.
In fact, he was studying these sword arts for a very specific purpose: to observe and experience as many techniques as possible in preparation for creating his own personal sword art. He had conceived a bold idea—one that could yield a unique, entirely original sword art, the first of its kind in the world, something never seen or heard before.
It will be interesting...
As time-consuming as it would be, he was grateful that time flowed differently within his Soul Space, giving him the opportunity to refine himself endlessly without interference.
Speaking of time...
I also need to absorb the Rune of Time...
The conditions for absorbing the Rune of Time were extraordinarily demanding. To absorb the Rune of Time, Ash had to act in the antithesis of his own will. In the novel, Ray had once done something cruel, killing innocent people.
That act, so entirely against his heroic nature, allowed him to fulfill the condition necessary to absorb the Rune. Though that led to a long, tragic trauma for him.
So, Ash also tried to do something heroic, tried to save dwarves, and even tried to kill monsters for the benefit of humanity, actions that went against his very nature, but he still had not achieved the condition.
Maybe the action is different for everyone...
Perhaps for each person, the required act was tied to their deepest instinct, the behavior rooted in the core of their being. For Ray, it had been heroic nature. But for Ash...
...I am a coward, so do I have to risk my life...?
He had a strong intuition that he was right. He would need to place himself in genuine danger, to prioritize his life at its absolute risk, and face true death—or at the very least, graze the edge of it.
Isn’t it quite a coincidence... that something capable of killing me would appear just when I needed it...
Is fate playing with me again...?
Ash realized that events were already unfolding beyond his control, moving in directions he could only react to, not dictate, and the world itself seemed to be orchestrating the circumstances that would test him to his limits.
****