Chapter 65 - incorporate magic into the battle
I tightened my grip around Eclipse as countless thoughts raced through my mind.
How am I supposed to combine magic with swordsmanship?
The answer came almost immediately.
It was actually the simplest method.
Coat my sword with an element.
Just like Sword Aura.
I held Eclipse firmly with both hands and considered which element to use.
Ice...
No.
Not yet.
I had heard from Astrid that experienced Ice users could manifest an Ice Aura around their weapons, allowing every slash to carry freezing power.
But I wasn’t anywhere near that level yet.
Trying to force it now would only waste mana.
That left...
Darkness.
Space was still far too dangerous to use offensively.
One mistake could easily injure me instead of my opponent.
Darkness, however, was different.
It was one of the elements I understood best.
Using my Dimensional Awareness, I slowly guided Darkness Mana toward Eclipse until the black energy wrapped around the blade.
The sword became noticeably darker.
Then I attacked.
Clack!
Astrid blocked the strike without any difficulty.
Again.
Clack!
Again.
Nothing changed.
The coating didn’t increase my strength.
It didn’t make the sword sharper.
It didn’t even affect Astrid’s defense.
It...
Did absolutely nothing.
At least, nothing obvious.
"That’s strange..."
"Simply coating my sword with Darkness doesn’t improve its attack power at all."
"So what’s the point?"
Astrid noticed I had become distracted in the middle of our spar.
Instead of interrupting me, she simply smiled and continued defending while occasionally launching attacks I could barely manage to block.
She was giving me room to think.
Then...
An idea suddenly flashed through my mind.
"If Darkness can’t increase power..."
"Maybe it doesn’t have to."
I gathered Darkness around Eclipse once more.
This time, instead of concentrating it tightly around the blade, I allowed the darkness to flow outward the moment I swung.
Whoosh—
A dark crescent sliced through the air.
Astrid easily stepped around it.
The attack itself accomplished nothing.
Yet...
A grin slowly spread across my face.
"I see..."
"This isn’t for increasing damage."
"It’s for hiding my intentions."
During a fast battle, most opponents relied on reading their enemy’s weapon.
The angle.
The direction.
The position of the blade.
If my sword was partially concealed by Darkness...
Reading my movements would become much harder.
Even if only for a brief instant.
That tiny hesitation could decide an entire battle.
Satisfied with the discovery, I continued attacking while repeatedly experimenting with the Darkness coating.
Astrid tilted her head.
"What exactly are you trying to do, little Gray?"
I launched another slash before answering.
"I’m trying to use Darkness to create blind spots."
She raised an eyebrow, signaling me to continue.
"When people fight..."
"They usually read their opponent’s weapon first."
"They predict where the next strike is coming from."
"So if Darkness partially hides my sword..."
"It becomes much harder to read my movements."
I smiled.
"I know this probably won’t work very well against monsters."
"They don’t rely on swordsmanship."
"But..."
"In a duel against another person..."
"I think it’ll be really useful."
Astrid smiled approvingly.
"Interesting."
"Very interesting."
She didn’t praise me any further.
Instead, she simply raised her wooden sword again.
"Continue."
I nodded.
The more I attacked...
The smoother my control over the Darkness became.
Each swing made the concealment feel more natural.
Eventually, however, I realized...
This alone wasn’t enough.
If my opponent could still evade my attacks...
Then hiding my sword wouldn’t change the outcome.
"I need something else."
Without stopping the spar, I gathered Ice Mana.
Several ice spears formed around me.
Rather than aiming directly at Astrid...
I aimed elsewhere.
Her sword.
Her hands.
Her legs.
Places that would interfere with her movements.
One spear shot toward her sword.
Another targeted her right leg.
Two more aimed for positions where I predicted she would dodge.
At the same time—
I used Space to teleport several of the spears into more advantageous positions.
"If I can disrupt her balance..."
"Even for a moment..."
"I might finally land a hit."
I knew Astrid could destroy every spear instantly if she wanted.
But...
I also knew she wouldn’t.
She wanted to see what I was thinking.
So I attacked.
Unfortunately...
The result was exactly the same.
Astrid’s eyes swept across the battlefield once.
Then she casually took two small steps.
Every single spear missed.
My carefully prepared attack collapsed before it could even begin.
"She saw through everything..."
I lowered my sword slightly before charging again, already searching for another solution.
Astrid suddenly raised her hand.
"Stop."
I immediately lowered Eclipse and took a deep breath, trying to recover my stamina.
Astrid looked at me thoughtfully.
"Some of your ideas are surprisingly good, little Gray."
She smiled before continuing.
"But there’s one major problem."
"You’re too slow."
She tapped the wooden sword against her shoulder.
"Your Darkness technique is clever."
"And your Ice Spears are well planned."
"You even thought about attacking my weapon and my footing instead of aiming directly at me."
She nodded approvingly.
"That was a good decision."
"But..."
She looked directly into my eyes.
"Your speed can’t keep up with your ideas."
"By the time your attacks are fully prepared..."
"I’ve already figured out your plan."
"If you can’t execute your ideas fast enough..."
"You’ll never bring out their true potential."
Her words echoed inside my head.
Too slow...
She was right.
My thoughts were always faster than my body.
No matter how good the plan was...
If I couldn’t execute it quickly enough...
It would eventually fail.
"So..."
"How do I solve that?"
Lightning?
No.
I didn’t possess Lightning Affinity.
Wind?
I didn’t have that either.
I silently began searching through everything I knew.
Then...
One word appeared inside my mind.
Space.
Why was I limiting myself to the elements I didn’t have?
I already possessed Space.
Immediately, the description of my affinity surfaced inside my mind.
⸻
SPACE AFFINITY
Have the power to manipulate space itself, granting various abilities such as teleportation, distance manipulation, gravity control, sensing spatial fluctuations, and controlling space to aid one’s will.
⸻
My eyes widened.
"Gravity..."
"That’s right..."
"Space can manipulate gravity."
A flood of possibilities instantly exploded inside my mind.
"If I reduce the gravity affecting my sword..."
"It’ll become lighter."
"A lighter sword means faster swings."
"Then..."
"Just before impact..."
"I can increase the gravity again."
"That would make the strike much heavier."
My breathing quickened.
"No..."
"Not just the sword..."
"My own body too."
"If I reduce the gravity around myself..."
"I’ll become lighter."
"I’ll move faster."
"Jump farther."
"Change directions more easily."
"And maybe..."
"I can even manipulate the surrounding battlefield."
The more I thought about it...
The more incredible the possibilities became.
This wasn’t simply another spell.
This could become an entirely new movement style.
Without wasting another second, I concentrated on Space Mana.
I decided to start with the simplest application.
Making my sword lighter.
I reached out with my perception, carefully trying to manipulate the space surrounding Eclipse.
Nothing happened.
...
Again.
Nothing.
It failed completely.
"Not enough..."
I closed my eyes for a moment.
"Think."
"Space doesn’t obey brute force."
"I need to understand what I’m manipulating."
Once more, I activated Dimensional Awareness to its limit.
This time...
Instead of trying to directly lighten the sword...
I focused on the space surrounding it.
If I couldn’t reduce the sword’s weight...
Maybe I could reduce the gravity acting upon it.
Slowly...
Very slowly...
I attempted to lift the invisible pressure surrounding Eclipse.
Meanwhile...
Astrid simply watched me with folded arms.
After waiting for a while, she smiled.
"Little Gray..."
"What are you doing?"
"Don’t tell me you’ve already given up."
I snorted.
"Hmph."
"Who do you think I am?"
"I’m not giving up."
I opened one eye and looked at her.
"I’m just trying to create a new application for my Space Affinity."
"If it succeeds..."
"One of my biggest weaknesses will disappear."
Astrid stared at me for a few moments.
Then a warm smile appeared on her face.
"So focused already..."
She stepped backward and lowered her wooden sword.
"Alright."
"I won’t disturb you."
"Take your time."
"I want to see what kind of absurd idea that little brain of yours comes up with this time."