ROTLE- Chapter 176- Four At A Time

The air grew heavy with the weight of mana. Aiden ignored it, hands coming out as [Dash] pulled him straight into the approaching [Saint]. Techniques were powerful but they were neither invincible nor perfect. In fact, what made techniques unique was simply the sense of combination. In the simplest explanation of techniques, they were a series of movements perfectly executed in synchronicity. No wasted breath, no wasted movement, no wasted time.

At some point in Nastild’s history, some one or some group of people discovered than when such perfect execution was carried out, it left great, sometimes even devastating results. And the user had to be accurate to the last minute detail. Unlike techniques specific only to the Order, there were techniques that were technically a single move that produced a devastating result. A perfect swing of the sword that cleaved through what the user would normally not be able to cut through.

What made the Order’s unique was that if taught properly and learnt properly, anyone could use it. Even someone with a domestic class.

Again, it didn’t mean that the technique could not be avoided or defended against.

Aiden got to Clerent and his hands came up. A piece of paper flew straight between them and Aiden adjusted to compensate for it. His striking hand slipped past it, unknowing of what the piece of paper was supposed to do. His grabbed Clerent by the shoulder and moved him into a throw.

Clerent frowned as his body was forced to obey, Aiden’s mostly red arm displaying far more strength than Aiden had.

Twisting his body to the side, Clerent displaced most of the momentum. Aiden ignored it, switching seamlessly into the next step of the technique. His leg shot out, slamming straight into Clerent’s knee. It disoriented the [Saint]. But Clerent refused to go down without a fight. His sword of light swung out, aimed straight for Aiden’s neck.

Aiden stepped into the [Saint], catching the swinging blow between his arm and torso. Pain erupted in his side as he trapped the arm. He cast the pain aside, it was a sensation, nothing more, and slammed his head into Clerent’s. Clerent reeled back from the blow, but Aiden had him trapped, allowing him no escape.

Then his other hand shot out once more, his body moved. The hand grabbed Clerent’s neck, and Aiden practically leapt on the man. His other hand came up, legs locking around Clerent’s torso.

He had the man pinned. However, when his hands moved to snap Clerent’s neck, a piece of paper slipped between the both of them and exploded in a blinding light. The force sent Aiden flying back. He adjusted, tilting in the air so that he landed on his feet.

A frown marred his face. He had hoped to end it in one blow, even if he had not been expecting much in the way of success.

Tanor and Estabel remained careful witnesses to what was happening. Yerit was too far away, hiding behind a tree as if the combination of Aiden and Clerent in a fight was like a nuclear bomb ready to go off. As for Tanor, he had Estabel carried like a princess. The [Mage] looked tired and weak, but her eyes were sharp on the fight now.

When the air cleared from the explosion, it revealed Clerent standing with a scowl.

“Brandis has raised a killer,” he spat. “He has taught you well, too well. Perhaps the church has underestimated that royal house.” He rubbed at his neck. “To summon a child who moves to kill his fellow human in a single move devoid of hesitation.” His hand left his neck and he held his sword of light with both hands. “You aren’t human anymore.”

One of the few qualities you needed to have to become an instructor worthy of teaching techniques in the Order was to be able to execute techniques regardless of the complication of the situation. You needed to break techniques and resume them in a way that the system still categorizes the series of moves as a technique.

Aiden had only failed this one because a literal explosion had stopped him from completing it.

“I,” Clerent said, his pieces of paper spreading farther out, “will not underestimate you again.”

Aiden couldn’t care less.

Clerent charged forward. His pieces of paper fluttered out. Aiden kept the [Saint] in his periphery but tracked the pieces of paper. That was where his focus was. He caught the inscriptions on two then four then ten then eleven pieces of paper as everything rushed at him.

He could overturn them, even nullify them. But there was a problem.

Too many, he thought, changing tactics.

He brought his red arm up, claw tipped fingers, and drew. The air sparked with gold, leaving a golden trail as he carved an enchantment into the very fabric of reality.

His interface popped up as he did.

[Dimensional skill Dimensional Touch is in effect]

[You meet the criteria to affect the world]

He watched parts of the enchantment wither away as if they were unable to hold onto their own existence, leaving only a single symbol. Aiden committed the symbol to mind before it activated.

[You have used Trait skill Dimensional Touch]

[You have used Rune of Lightning]

[You have touched the world.]

[Rune of Lightning takes effect]

Streaks of lightning jumped from the rune. They leapt forward, ruining everything in their path. Black with hues of blue they consumed pieces of paper as they reached forward, lighting them up in bursts of flame.

Clerent changed his strategy, leaping to the side. His movement was a blur, almost as if he had used a skill, so that he seemingly appeared elsewhere.

“You are not a [Mage],” he snarled.

“And you are not a [Saint],” Aiden returned, not to him at least. The man before him was nothing more than a [Multiverse Agent], and Aiden was beginning to piece together what that meant.

His words seemed to infuriate Clerent, like a man being denied the one achievement that made him who he was.

The inscriptions on his robes dimmed a little. Aiden paused, having an idea of what was about to happen. If Clerent was of the [Enchanter] class, it meant that he would not have a lot of active skills that he had to look out for during combat. An [Enchanter]’s problem was in their enchantments.

With a robe lined with so many inscriptions, Aiden prepared himself as his streaks of lightning guttered out, terminated by nothing but a thought.

Clerent took another stance, Aiden took up one of his own. Then the [Saint] shot forward, disappearing in a blur of motion.

Aiden took a deep breath. When fighting against a physically superior opponent, you needed to anticipate and react.

The point of a bright sword appeared in front of his eyes. Aiden weaved to the side immediately so that it pierced the air where it would’ve spitted his eye. Clerent followed up with two more stabs. Aiden moved back with each stab. He moved bodily to evade the first, then leaned to the side to evade the next.

Clerent swung a side slash to take his head. Aiden ducked beneath it. When he came up, the [Saint] stabbed at his chest, forcing him to move again. The man was fast. Aiden could not lose a moment of focus in his will to keep up.

Clerent moved again, transitioning from the stab to another side slash. Aiden took the blow with a raised arm. The sword of light struck the sleeve of his green jacket, cutting through it like a hot knife through butter. But Aiden hadn’t been counting on the sleeve to stop it. He felt it when the sword slammed into his reddened arm. It stopped there, bouncing off as if striking a hard thing.

The force sent Aiden staggering back and to the side. His back hit a tree. He bounced off it only to find another slash coming his way. Aiden fell low, ducking completely and coming up on the other side. The sword tore a groove in the tree that ignited with fire.

Aiden took the opportunity, switched into a boxer’s stance. He threw two quick jabs, testing the waters. Clerent evaded both of them easily with his head movements. With each dodge, Aiden caught two inscriptions on his robe light up.

Clerent responded to his jabs with two strikes of his own. Aiden caught the first swing, upwards and diagonal, evading it with a tilt of his head. The second was a downward strike, following a combo path. Aiden stepped in to that one, slipping past it with a low dodge, then lunged forward with a haymaker. Clerent slipped passed it, coming up behind Aiden.

Anticipating it, Aiden was already turning, darting into the man’s space. He grabbed Clerent by the wrist as the [Saint] swung again. Wrist in hand, Aiden moved into a disarming technique. He bent Clerent, then twisted and turned, forcing pain into the entire arm.

Clerent winced, three more inscriptions ignited on his robes. Aiden took note of them. The moment they ignited, Clerent’s sign of discomfort was gone. Aiden stepped into the disarming and thrusted his shoulder into the [Saint]’s chest, sending him staggering back.

A curious expression crossed Clerent’s face. He looked down at his sword of light. “You are highly aware of a weapon,” he noted. “That you dropped yours means you are more confident against a sword when you are unarmed.”

That much was true, but Aiden wasn’t going to give the man any confirmation.

“Fast too,” Clerent continued, his sword of light slowly diminishing into nothingness, light evaporating in motes as a new wave of enchanted pieces of paper rose from behind him. “You are very good with your hands. I would say your speed with them might just surpass mine. Your dexterity must be high.” He paused, thoughtful. “But that would come at a cost of your other stats. Which one will it be? Strength?”

Four inscriptions lit up on his robe. He darted forward in a burst of motion. Aiden’s hands came up. Clerent slammed into him like a battering ram. It sent Aiden staggering back. He staggered with so many steps that he didn’t even bother trying to count them or stopping himself. Instead, he fought not to lose his composure.

Clerent came for him once more. He assaulted Aiden with a barrage of fists. Aiden blocked and dodged and deflected. Each blow was heavy, powerful. All four inscriptions continued to glow as Aiden did his best to hold him off.

Aiden charged forward, finding an opening, just to pull up short. He back stepped a spinning back fist from Clerent, blocked two straight punches with raised hands, weaved away from an uppercut, and blocked another two straight punches. Quickly, he responded with a front kick, throwing his foot into Clerent. Clerent’s defense was good, another inscription lit up, one of the previous four dimming as he blocked the kick with a high knee, sending it to the side.

Clerent responded with a move Aiden did not expect. His robe fluttered, concealing most of him. Aiden caught the attack as it came and ducked the roundhouse kick a split second before it landed. Clerent followed up with a punch, exhibiting great speed. Aiden blocked the punch, kicking out the [Saint]’s front leg at the same time. Following up, he threw a left hook, attacking with his red arm for maximum damage.

Another inscription lit up, dimming another in the process. Clerent displayed unjustified flexibility, dropping into a crab walk to dodge the left hook. It was enough to put an expression of shock on Aiden’s face. From that angle, Clerent sent his legs up, striking Aiden. Aiden protects his face, deflecting the kicks with his raised hands.

The blows forced him to step back.

Speed, agility, flexibility, strength, pain nullification, heightened perception. Aiden took quick glances at the pieces of paper still hovering in the air but not attacking. Channeling enchantments, elemental enchantments, fire, water, gas, dirt.

People would call what Clerent was doing cheating, but the [Saint] was only fighting the way the [Enchanter] class knew how to. The man was supplementing the hell out of himself with his enchantments.

But only four at a time, Aiden noted. The question was if it was a limitation of the robe, the papers flying about or the [Saint] himself.

As for the light ability, it was completely out of place with the [Enchanter] skillset, but Aiden already knew what it was. [Saint]s, by virtue of their title, were granted an extra skill that stands in support of their title. Clerent’s seemed to be light based.

Alright, then.

Aiden feinted forward, and Clerent covered the distance, moving faster than him. Too fast. Aiden took note of the inscription that lit up. Before he could react, he was distracted by a flash of light.

He frowned as he looked away, giving attention to his other senses. His hands came up, deflecting an attack, only for him to be grabbed by the shoulder. His sight back to him, he looked out for the next enchantment to light up.

Strength. Speed.

Clerent held him in place and cocked a powerful blow back. When he struck, Aiden caught it with his red hand, feeling the weight of it. In a quick maneuver, he bent Clerent’s fist, twisting the wrist. Lesser wrists would’ve broken under the weight of it, but Clerent wasn’t lesser. He winced in pain, releasing Aiden’s shoulder.

The pain vanished from his face as another enchantment lit up.

Pain nullification.

With the pain gone, Clerent reached forward, ignoring his twisted wrist, and grabbed a handful of Aiden’s shirt. Then he pulled him into a headbutt.

The advantage of his enchantments and the complexity of them had led Clerent to arrogance. Aiden predicted the headbutt before it even began.

His elbow came up and cracked Clerent’s jaw. It sent the [Saint]’s head reeling back, fist still locked in Aiden’s red hand. Aiden released the hand, allowed Clerent to stagger away to regain distance and composure.

With a calming breath, Aiden hopped on the balls of his feet for a moment. Then [Dash] helped him close the distance in the blink of an eye.

A new inscription lit up on Clerent’s robe.

Perception?

Aiden wasn’t entirely sure. When the enchantment for strength lit up, Aiden was certain. Clerent raised his arms in defense of his face. Aiden threw two punches. The first tested the solidity of the defense, the second had more oomph to it, forcing Clerent to tighten his defense. Aiden switched up and punched the man in the stomach with his red hand.

The speed enchantment lit up and Aiden reached up to grab one of Clerent's defending hands, and pulled it down to break the guard. Clerent staggered forward, falling. Another inscription lit up and Clerent regained his balance. Before he could pull himself back up, Aiden struck him with a vicious kick to the face.

It rocked Clerent back up and Aiden clocked him in the moutth with a jab. Clerent staggered again, nose bloody from the kick. Disoriented, Clerent threw a careless punch. Aiden weaved under it, then tripped Clerent’s forward leg with a swipe of his foot. In his position Clerent was meant to go staggering once more, but he held his balance.

An enchantment for balance, Aiden noted as he slammed another fist straight into the man’s face. He felt Clerent’s cheek cut, felt the warmth of blood on his fist. This time, Clerent was sent staggering once more.

Three of the pieces of papers flying about came flying down. With their approach, Aiden noted an the inscriptions except the one for strength die out on Clerent’s robe. His attacks didn’t stop, though. His red hand shot out, his mind capturing the enchantments on the pieces of paper as they came.

Together, they formed a complex shield enchantment designed to keep out physical attacks. Aiden dragged his red finger across the air, draining a significant amount of mana as the paper settled between him and Clerent.

[You have used Trait skill Dimensional Touch]

[You have used Rune of absorption]

[You have touched the world.]

[Rune of absorption takes effect]

The moment they aligned and took effect, a translucent shield of mana reached out from them only to be siphoned straight into the rune. Aiden blew past it all, attention focusing on Clerent without breaking stride.

Clerent’s eyes widened as he saw him coming. Still off-kilter, the [Saint] threw a desperate back handed blow—it was the best he could muster. Aiden ducked it, then landed a body blow to his liver.

He heard Clerent cough, then wheeze, just before rushing at him. Aiden stepped into the [Saint], caught his hand, turned, kicked his leg out, and threw him over his shoulder. Clerent came down hard on the ground with his head, bending his neck at a wrong angle.

Multiple inscriptions lit up across Clerent’s robe immediately, bright and powerful. Aiden frowned, leaping away from the man, unsure of what was happening. As they lit up, countless pieces of paper burnt up in the air.

What’s happening now?

Aiden kept his eyes around, paying attention to any and everything.

“Lord Lacheart!” Tanor called out.

Aiden held his hand out to the man without looking away from what was going on around him. “Stand back, Tanor!”

In his situation he had forgotten to use the man’s alias, but it didn’t matter.

The world suddenly grew heavy. It weighed down on Aiden, trying to force him to his knees.

[Multiverse Agent Clerent Adoth has used aura]

Aiden frowned as it bore down on him. But this was good. If Clerent was using aura, then it meant that he did not have [Mana mastery]. If he did, the interface would have informed him that the [Saint] had unleashed his mana.

[You are under the effect of Clerent Adoth’s aura]

Fighting against the weight, he pulled himself up straight. He knew he could beat it. His interface agreed.

[Skill Willpower is in effect]

[You have withstood Clerent Adoth’s aura effect]

Aiden felt the weight lighten on his shoulders, then it was gone. In its absence was Clerent standing with rage in his eyes as his neck slowly popped back into place. The countless pieces of paper burning up and the countless inscriptions coming alive, what had they been? Enchantments couldn’t heal so they definitely couldn’t bring the dead back to life either.

The interface had not given Aiden any notification of killing Clerent so the man had definitely not died.

Transference? Aiden wondered. It was a branch of linking runes that channeled fatal damages away from the person who used them they took far more work than they were really worth and certain levels of sacrifices, to pull off.

Think about it late, he chided himself, preparing for what would come next.

“Stand proud,” Clerent said, holding his arms out to his side in a benevolent gesture. “Not many below me have forced me to this point.”

Aiden’s mind was still looking for a response when the world grew bright and enchantments appeared in the air behind Clerent. It was as if they were fighting under the light of the sun.

The enchantments ruled the world behind Clerent. There were four in total, but they seemed to fizzle in and out of existence. It made them difficult for Aiden to deduce, but not impossible.

It made him frown while he stopped himself from squinting at them. Aiden knew the skill Clerent was using. He had taught people with similar variations.

A gift only to the [Enchanter] class, just as the [Mage]s of significantly high levels had formless spell casting, this was the [Enchanter] class’ version, formless enchanting. Enchantments without the need for engravings.

Aiden smiled. The [Saint] had just used his manifesting skill. And while Aiden was proud, he didn’t like to think of himself as arrogant.

He brought his hands together and weaved a series of signs unique only to him, hope at the heart of his weaving. Then he activated a skill.

[You have used Class skill Walking Canvas]

The mana flooded out of him. He felt it as it strained against the world around him and Clerent’s aura that still permeated the air.

Clerent waited patiently, an honorable opponent.

When [Walking Canvas] reached its limit, Clerent cocked his head to the side.

“Your mana isn’t spreading further,” he said. “Does that mean your skill is done?”

Aiden said nothing.

“Dishonorable to the very end,” Clerent spat. “No matter. Prepare yourself, [Demon King].”

The mention of the name shook Aiden to the core, roused his ire. He only had one response to give to the [Saint].

“Fuck you.”

Mana rushed out of him like a tidal wave. His entire forearm returned to completely being red.

Clerent pulled to an immediate halt, horror settling on his face. He looked around, eyes settling above and behind him.. The light from his manifesting skill that had flooded the world was gone, his pieces of paper that filled the air were gone, and two of the four enchantments that ruled the world behind him were blotted out.

Aiden brought his hands together in a final sign. A single notification appeared before him as darkness reigned…

…And the world fell silent.

[You have used Manifesting skill Enchanted Void]