Chapter 23: Chapter 23 – Enlightenment (1)
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Asher climbed the mountainside near the estate and off the premises of the territory. He took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air of the forest. This was the place where he always wielded his sword by himself when he needed time to think on difficult things. It was his second home.
The fluctuating emotions in his heart gradually subsided and his breathing became steady. His worries and stressors washed away from the calmness brought to his mind from his surroundings.
"Whoa."
If he were to hold a real iron sword, he could have done it at the training camp on the estate, but there was a reason why he came all the way out here. When he strengthened his muscles, his entire body became firm and elastic. His muscles expanded and then compressed beyond the normal limits as white energy coated itself around his body with a light sheen.
It was not normal, and if anyone could recognize the clear difference, He and possibly other swordmasters could tell immediately that it was not something brought forth by aura. He did not become able to summon what others defined as 'aura' but it was something similar yet different in its entirety.
Asher swung the wooden sword in his hands with the same amount of pressure he always would, though this time with the white energy surrounding his body. He swung the sword at the nearest tree lightly, and the tree exploded into tatters.
Quang!
The tree could not withstand the huge and frightening force within Asher's body and sword as it was completely decimated. It was as if a cannonball had been shot point blank and smashed the tree from the stump upwards as it fell. The leaves from the branches shook violently as the trunk fell with a thud.
Asher looked down at the fallen tree. It was quite a large tree. If one were to use this tree for firewood, it would last easily for a few days. It was a tree that would normally require him to chop down about a dozen times with an axe with his current body.
Yet, he hadn't just knocked this tree down with a single blow. He had decimated it. It was clearly not a force that other humans could dare to reproduce.
'What kind of power is this?'
Asher narrowed his eyes. In his previous life, he didn't have this kind of power. Other swordmasters only awakened aura, which was something that could be transferred into weapons and could be sensed with killing intent. But strength that could transcend human limits, was something that had never arisen for these masters with the sword.
It was a power that he had never seen before and seemed that only he had. He swung the sword again. Asher swung the sword with all the force within his body at an opened up path.
Kwoong!
Asher's feet slid and rotated with his hips as the sword swung down with might. The air distorted it's flow and a large power gushed out and destroyed the path. It was a single path but had been completely destroyed in the wake of his simple slash. It stretched onwards farther than his eyes could reach.
'I really don't know what it is.'
It was a type of strength that was unseen before. Yet it was also something that was incomparably different to aura in the sense that it was much more versatile… and stronger. Although Van Ester was his friend from his previous life, there was no way he could tell him what this power was, or even try to explain how he had reincarnated into this body.
But it didn't mean he would ignore this power or dismiss it. If it was something that could save his life, he needed to know the cusp of its limitations and full strength.
'Once I use it… It strains my muscles to an incomparable degree.'
Funny enough, it could be said that it was a force that transcended human limits much like aura did, but instead of it being something within one's core like aura, it was the muscles that were strained to a burning degree. His muscles creaked whenever he used this strength. Even now, his entire body was screaming just by swinging three times.
Asher clicked his tongue and squeezed his body's limits. He had just barely started to train his body for the past two months, and if anybody were to compare the progress he made in two months compared to any training program within the empire for knights, they would say his progress was ridiculously fast and almost inhuman. Yet… all it took was three swings for him to be completely exhausted and in a vulnerable state.
He knew the power was incredibly useful, but the consumption of his stamina was too dangerous and large. Asher closed his eyes and thought for a moment. To what extent could he withstand this transcendent strength with the body of his previous life?
"About ten times."
That would be the limit of a completely trained human body. In addition, the stamina in his body was used up as well as his physical strength at any given time, so it was nothing he could think about using for an extended period of time. It could be a blow to completely turn the tide of a battle or finish one, but that was it. Only one blow could be used… maybe two if it was his life in danger, but any more than that and he would surely die in a battlefield.
Moreover, in this world, it was not uncommon for humans to transcend their human limits. In that sense, it was not a very useful force compared to most in terms of efficiency, but it's output of power was ridiculously incomparable.
But Asher laughed.
Even if he trained his body to his previous life's limit so what? He would just focus even more and try to transcend his body's limits. Even if it would take a long time, he was no slacker when it came to hard work and effort. He would alter his training to meet his goal of finding the pinnacle of swordsmanship. And this power was just the thing that might help him do so.
It wasn't like he gained heavenly talent all of a sudden, but he had finally been granted a means. He no longer had to stay stagnant and in place any longer. He could finally reach new heights.
All that was left for him to do, was training his body to the limit.
***
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