[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 236 – Lucky Thirteen

Sam trained the Empire’s forms without end, striving to move his bulky body and aura as one.

What little meaning time once had was long-since discarded as Sam’s ungainly and awkward movements became smooth and graceful.

Perhaps most importantly, he finally gained the [Aura Control] skill.

[Aura Control Foundation]

(Personal Trait) (E-Class)

(★★ Unusual)

Through tireless effort and guided by the Will of Zarak herself, you have attained the foundation upon which all aura control relies. There are few limitations to what a sufficiently skilled person can do with their aura, and you are well on the path to true mastery. Whether it’s enhancing your physical body to shrug off an attack, or imbuing your strikes with more potency, you have only begun to tap into the limitless possibilities of what you can do with your aura. Grants a tiny bonus to the effect of all stats and rank when using [Aura Control].

Newfound knowledge swept through Sam’s mind, bringing a level of clarity to the use of auras he never had before.

He was astonished that his [Aura Control Foundation] started as high as E-Class. That was an entire echelon above F-Class. Unusual rarity was incredibly potent as well. He could feel the tremendous difference between F-Class and E-Class Unusual rarity.

He studied the Shardscript. Will of Zarak must be a big deal in the Empire, huh?

The Empire honored the thirteen primals. Each movement was created after one of the primals. Each form was supposedly copied from the very motions and attacks that the primals were capable of.

Sam didn’t know if it was like some of the Shaolin monks adopting fighting poses after certain animals they had seen in the wild or if these primals were real creatures.

In the end, it hardly mattered.

The thirteenth movement was the Phoenix, the symbol of rebirth fittingly placed at the end of the Empire’s tireless series of combat movements that created an unending cycle.

When the Phoenix movement was finished, the Empress moved right back to the first movement: the Serpent. And on and on it went, with Sam going through each of the thirteen movements in sequence without a break, then starting all over again.

He lost count of how many cycles he went through somewhere around number 77. All attempts at counting and keeping track of time were discarded as superfluous.

Every waking moment was filled with the movements of the Empire. He felt as if his heartbeat kept the Empire alive despite its present, ruinous state.

With Komachi at his side, the pair went through each of the movements with perfection. When there was nothing more the Empress could critique, she called for them to stop.

Sam’s entire body ached, but as soon as he stopped, the discomfort quickly vanished.

He was getting used to the odd way a lack of time affected his body.

“The Immortals of the Empire wielded swords first and foremost, but the best among their number were capable of a unique skill: Dual Wielding.” Zarishna unsheathed two blades that mirrored each other’s appearance with only a single outlier. One was etched with silver, and the other gold. “You have asked for no shield. I can sense within you the capacity for twin greatswords. Few would be better to teach you the art of Dual Wielding than the Empire.”

Sam laughed at the ridiculous notion of him dual wielding two greatswords. As he laughed, the Empress’ face remained stoic and impassive.

“You’re not joking,” he realized.

“No.”

“That’s…” He wanted to say it was ridiculous and foolish, but was it? He had the capacity to wield colossal greatswords because of his Incarnate nature. Would it be so odd that he could wield two of them as well as one?

He had hoped for such possibilities, but never thought they would actually come to fruition.

That would be impressive, he had to admit. Two greatswords would also mean that he could potentially attack twice as fast. Something he had trouble with. Recovery on each swing took valuable time. Time that a cunning enough enemy could exploit.

“Any commoner may carry two weapons. Even attack with both during battle. However, wielding them in tandem is beyond most. Dual Wielding offers freedom from restriction, and harmony within one’s body. Are you truly turning this teaching down, and…” She smirked slightly. “Admitting my husband is better than you?”

While Komachi was successfully goaded into raising her hackles and swatting aggressively at Zarishna, Sam hardly thought that the comparison was fair. He had learned a great deal about the Emperor while training with Zarishna. The man sounded more like a living legend, but somehow he didn’t doubt the increasingly outlandish tales the Empress regaled him with.

The least of which was that the guy was an Emperor, unlike Sam, who was a King. From what he could glean, the Empire was a vast nation with millions of people to care for.

Sam was a King in name only. He had barely a handful of subjects, and most of those were mandragoras!

“I don’t have–” Sam started, but then realized he did have two greatswords. He chuckled. “It would seem I’ve run out of excuses.”

“Then let us begin,” the Empress told him.

Sam took out both clockwork greatswords. One from his [Biting Sheath], sparks spraying all over the place as he withdrew it, the other from his inventory with much less fanfare.

“I’m going to need to get another sheath made,” he mumbled to himself.

Sam possessed more than enough Strength to be able to hold both colossal greatswords with one arm each, but it felt…awkward. His swords were several times larger and longer than the Empress’.

When she came at him without preamble or warning, Sam reacted before he knew what was going on. His body snapped off The Serpent Sways, one of the first forms he ever learned, and the crossed guards of his swords fended off the Empress’ first testing strikes.

“Very good,” she congratulated. “You barely hesitated, but just because you can hold two swords does not mean you can use them.”

“Aren’t you going to teach me how?” Sam asked, seeing the gleam of violence in her gray eyes.

The Empress came at him again, bringing both swords out and to the side. He could see the diagonal strike coming before she made it and set up the proper defense.

With blades as massive as Sam’s, they acted like shields when the flats of their heavy metal frames were faced against an attacker.

He could easily see their guarding utility, especially when combined with that physical resistance enhancement. If he could truly wield both colossal greatswords, he could unleash tremendous spikes of damage on the battlefield. And then, in an instant, turn them into stalwart bulwarks.

He wouldn’t envy the opponent that faced him in the First Layer.

The Empress laughed, pressing into his guard with both blades. Empowered by his aura–a natural instinct at this point–Sam was able to hold off her attack with little effort.

“Why should I teach it to you?” she asked him, mere inches away from his face as their locked swords trembled and squealed against one another.

“I thought that was the whole point of this!” Sam barked.

Zarishna smirked. “You already know how to use Dual Wielding. You’re doing it right–now!”

With a twist of her blade, she disengaged one sword and brought it up and over into an overhand chop that would surely split Sam’s skull.

He reacted again on instinct. Pure muscle memory had him moving his second greatsword up and over into Dragon Takes Wing, part of the fifth Dragon-based movement.

“See?” she said gleefully, her eyes filled with battle lust.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Komachi strumming two instruments on the ground. Her dexterous paws played both a guitar and a harp. The music melded together and filtered out into the space, interrupting intermittently as she was learning.

“No way! I can cast two songs at once?” Komachi whispered to herself. “Now that’s hella nachi!”

And then the Empress would give Sam no further breaks. She assaulted him with everything she had, testing his every defense until he found himself gliding through the thirteen movements as if they were second nature.

Each time she attacked, his arms moved those colossal greatswords, his legs shifted to provide a solid foundation, and his core tightened to keep his defense in place.

Despite his best efforts, however, the Empress was faster and more skilled by far. He had no idea how many levels and ranks she had over him. It seemed an immense amount.

She slapped the flats of her blades through the gaps in his defenses, bruising but not bloodying him if she could help it.

A few times her blade nicked him, but they were minor wounds that, even without Komachi’s aid, would have closed up quickly with no harm done.

Of course, Komachi healed him the moment he took even the slightest bit of damage. She was a bit overzealous at times. The effect of [Regen Paeon] was flickering in and out, anyway.

The more accustomed Sam became, the more of her power the Empress unleashed.

Sam felt like Sisyphus, constantly pushing the boulder uphill. No breaks, no time, no letting up. Every inch he gained, the Empress made sure he earned ten times over until, eventually, he gained the skill in full.

[Great Dual Wielding Foundation]

(Personal Trait) (F-Class)

(★★ Unusual)

Wielding two weapons is possible by anybody, wielding them in tandem is a rare talent even among the trained and elite Immortals of the Empire. Only once in a generation is a true Dual Wielder born that can not only wield two weapons simultaneously, but independently as well. Not only are you capable of wielding two greatswords of colossal size and weight as one, you are able to work them independently. Such rarity in skill does not come without its drawbacks. A greater degree of training is required to enhance your understanding and mastery of this skill, and as a result it will grow slower than most, but the rewards it provides are vastly superior should you remain dedicated. Grants a minuscule bonus to the effect of Strength, Agility, and Dexterity when using [Great Dual Wielding Foundation].

Achievement Earned: Dual Wielding Dynamo

Finally able to achieve your dream of wielding two colossal greatswords at once, you have reached the unattainable. With two colossal greatswords at your disposal, you’ll have double the fun! And also double the loss when you inevitably lose both greatswords. You gain the following:

+45 Agility

+45 Dexterity

Pressing with all of his newfound skill, Sam worked feverishly to get back to something of an even-footing with the Empress.

“Excellent, you’ve built the first strata of your own unique Dual Wielding variant,” Zarishna said with a fanged grin. Her dual scimitars crashed against his weapons in crossing patterns, then flowed in independent rapid strikes like lunging vipers.

She kept switching up her tactics, forcing him to not just keep up, but struggle to try to stay ahead.

There was no way he could move nearly as fast, not with weapons this massive. And yet, because of the sheer size and strength behind each blade, they didn’t have to travel as far to parry and strike.

The rest of the motion and momentum carried through as well. As strong as the Empress was, her curved scimitars didn’t harbor that overwhelming facet. They were better for slashing too, whereas Sam’s blades could do both slashing and stabbing.

He could spend all his life trying to mimic her tactics and moves. That she was skilled was never in question and anybody who sought to simply follow in her footsteps would gain skill beyond most people’s wildest dreams.

But Sam wanted more. He didn’t just want to follow the beaten path, he wanted to make the movements of the primals into his own. Something that was, for once, wholly his creation.

True to the Empress’ words, as he came to understand his own skill, Sam stopped trying to mirror her movements and began to adapt the shared forms of the thirteen primals to his own style.

His swords were nothing like hers. Trying to move the massive hunks of metal as if they were, would leave him a step behind her for all eternity.

No matter how fast he could move them, their size was something he could not do anything about. Only by using their size and weight to his advantage rather than ignoring them with his colossal Strength did Sam see any changes.

It was only then that he went from constantly defending, to matching, and rarely gaining on the eminently skilled Empress.

The entire time, he drew power from his aura. It was the only way to meet the might behind the Empress’ strikes. It was a struggle not to be blown away by the pressure from the Immortal’s aura.

Each strike drained his mana in blinding, actinic flashes. However, due to the timeless nature of this Dead Echo, he never had to worry about running out entirely.

The Empress clearly understood his limitations and eased up enough to allow him to recover before pressing back again.