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Real World, Soaring Continent
Eastern Sea Region, Ace City
Swoosh!
Inside the independent dorm within the Magic Ace Academy, a pair of gaming cabins opened almost at the same time. One of them was Simone Bartolomeo while the other was Thomas Brooks, who just finished playing the game.
Right after they stepped out of their respective gaming cabins, they suddenly turned their heads toward the door of the room almost at the same time.
They saw Jean Camus leaning on the door jamb with his arms crossed in front of his chest.
"Oh! You are back? How is it?" asked Thomas in a nonchalant matter.
Jean shrugged his shoulders as he replied. "Not that much. Those guys are already done with the preparations, all we need to do is wait."
"I see," said Thomas as he stretched his arms and waist while adding. "I guess we also have to make our move."
"About that-... There are some changes in the plan. We have to pull out from the operation and leave the rest to others. We are tasked to stay here even if everything fails," said Jean.
Hearing that, both Simone and Thomas turned at him with a questioning gaze.
Jean stood straight and spread his hands. "Don't look at me like that. It is what my master has arranged. I don't know the reason either, so all we can do is comply."
The two were still confused. But since the great leader issued it, they did not have the right to question it.
Jean was about to turn around and leave when he suddenly remembered something. He turned at the two and asked. "Ah! One more thing. How about the task that I have said?"
Thomas quickly turned in his direction after hearing that and answered complainingly. "Oh! About that. It has been settled. But the others are quite unsatisfied with it. They are asking why you suddenly want to take back your orders when everything is already set in motion."
"They said that our most elite people are already about to set out when you suddenly want to wait a little longer."
Jean thought for a moment before explaining. "It is also not my order. If I am the one to decide, then I will order the quick elimination of the target as soon as possible. It is even better to capture them and hand them over to the higher-ups of the church."
"But what can I do when Master has ordered it? He said that we can't touch the kid for at least a month, but don't give me any reason, which is also why I ask you to come up with a random excuse to delay them," he added with a complaint of his own.
"The great leader has asked you to do that. I thought that he would leave everything about the game to you and would not interfere," asked Simone with a confused look on his face.
"My thoughts exactly! But how can I defy my master? He said that I can't ask about it, so I can only keep my thoughts to myself," Jean shrugged his shoulders with a helpless sigh.
Thomas thought for a moment before asking the main point. "But how can the great leader know about that 'variable'?"
Jean paused for a moment before shaking his head. "How can I know what Master is thinking? Just do what you are tasked with."
"I will join you with the meeting later this night, so they can ask me directly if they want," he added before leaving.
***
Magic Ace Academy, Research Department
Shin just finished another round of training and sat in a corner to rest. As for his progress for today, he was also quite surprised himself as he had already learned half of the sword principles that he needed to learn, and the ones that were left behind were those complex ones that could not easily be learned such as Mysterious Sword, Profound Sword, Transformation Sword, and others.
Clank!
"You still have to swing those weapons at least a hundred times every day even if you have already mastered the sword principle that they represent. And you have to continue writing those 'words' done whenever you are done swing them," he added with a strict tone.
"I understand, Instructor," nodded his head in full seriousness.
"Regardless, you are more than qualified to proceed to the next step," said Old Ryong before saying in a serious tone. "I will be teaching you three things."
"First is poetry, the second painting, and the third is how to integrate those sword principles in your sword-drawing and ever-changing styles."
"Eh!?" Shin was slightly taken aback after hearing those words, particularly the first two parts. "Poetry? Painting?"
Seeing Shin's reaction, Old Ryong smirked. "What? Unsatisfied with it?"
Shin raised his head and saw the meaningful eyes of the old man, so he shook his head. "Of course not, Instructor. I am just a little surprised."
Old Ryong chuckled as he explained. "Remember what I have said in our first lesson? I have said that the mind, particularly the willpower, of an individual, plays a big role in any disciple one."
"They are used in a lot of ways, but for me, the most important thing is 'visualization'," he added as he gave Shin a mystifying smile.
"Visualization?" mumbled Shin.
"That is right. Visualization," repeated Old Ryong as he continued. "Do you know why monks, Taoists, and other branches of disciplines chant long poems or mantras? It has something to do with visualization."
"It is some sort of self-hypnotism or mind conditioning to achieve the ideal state that they wanted before doing anything."
"It is the same for the ultimate techniques and martial movements of the current era as most of them came from visualizations. Even the Domains of a Domain Realm Martial Artist, the Authority of a Venerable Realm Mentalist, or the Sword Fields of a Sword Saint have something to do with visualizations."
"In a sense, it is a combination of their powerful willpower that could affect the world and their visualizations."
"They visualize a certain outcome and project it into the physical realm with their overwhelming powerful willpower," as the old man was talking about this, he the air within the room suddenly changed.
Then Shin suddenly noticed an odd feeling stabbing his skin. After that, he subconsciously turned his head toward the direction where that feeling was coming from. "Ah!"
That was when he saw a massive apparition of a demon with thousands of arms standing in front of him. Its towering size could reach the sky, making it much larger than all the giants that Shin had encountered even within the game.
It had an overwhelming pressure that could kill anyone with just its presence alone. Shin felt like he was drowning as he stared at this giant demon.
Swoosh!
It only lasted for a brief second, but Shin was already kneeling on the ground and supporting himself with both of his hands. Sweat was dripping nonstop from his face while his entire body was soaked with sweat. He was also gasping hard as he felt like the air had left his lungs for a very long time.
"I am quite different from most of the experts out there as I don't possess a Domain despite being at the pinnacle of Domain Realm?" Old Ryong continued as if not had happened. "But my Battle Spirit was way stronger than anyone, which can even destroy the most powerful domain out there."
"It is not even suitable to call it a Battle Spirit given its might, so I changed its name to Spiritual Avatar instead," he added with a pause.
He waited for Shin to recover before continuing. "As for the technique that I am about to bestow you will help you in a lot of ways."
Shin nodded his head solemnly as he understood that he was about to learn yet another unorthodox technique just like Professor Plum's Yin-Yang Arts, particularly the dual-core within him, which was one of its byproducts; or Grandmaster Benn's Four Symbol Scripture, especially the Spirit Pagoda within him which was a different Niwan Palace compared to most of the Mentalists.
But there was still another thing that made Shin curious. "But Instructor Ryong. What does it have to do with my swordsmanship?"
Old Ryong chucked when he heard that before explaining. "Didn't I mention earlier that willpower and visualization have something to do with each other?"
"Once you learn this technique, you will be able to achieve the ideal Mentalism Swordsmanship that you have."
"Especially when this method is perfect for your Mentalism Technique and Swordsmanship," he added while imagining what kind of achievements Shin would have reached in his path.
...