Back in the annex building, he had rested enough and decided to continue with his training. He picked up one of the wooden swords and moved toward the sword training area filled with scarecrows.
Taking a defensive stance, he aimed to try out the various positions he had read about in the swordsmanship book during his previous sneaky trips to the city library in search of answers.
The stance he assumed was called ’Roof.’
It was a defensive posture where the sword was held high overhead, protecting the head and upper body. He swung the sword dozens of times, imagining he was facing an opponent.
Then he shifted to another stance:
’Plow.’
This was another defensive position where the sword was held in front of the body, providing a solid shield against attacks. He swung his sword dozens of times again before transitioning to yet another defensive posture.
The ’Ox.’
In this stance, the sword was held up and out, offering a powerful defense, especially against thrusts.
’Alber.’
This stance involved holding the sword high and angled, allowing for both offensive and defensive maneuvers.
He practiced these sword stances dozens of times before moving on to more advanced positions.
The Water Stance: In this stance, the sword was held at an angle, enabling a quick draw and parry.
Finally, he reached the Moon Stance, where the sword was also held at an angle, facilitating a quick draw and parry.
He repeated these stances over and over until his hands bled and were filled with blisters. This was all he could do, relying on the meager sword skills he had gleaned from books. His peers had learned powerful sword techniques that put them ahead of him, but that didn’t matter. He would move slowly; he would put in more hard work. Even if he couldn’t excel in swordsmanship, he would turn his body into a weapon. He had his own way of doing things, so he gritted his teeth and continued training until it was almost 11 a.m.
Growl!
It wasn’t until his stomach growled, announcing its annoyance at being empty, that he decided to stop and head into the house. He took a bath before moving into the kitchen. There wasn’t much food left, so he scraped together what he had to cook something simple. Sitting at the table, he began eating. Because he was hungry, he devoured the food as if he hadn’t eaten in days, even going for another serving.
Once done, he decided to take a good nap to let his body rest after an exhausting morning—it was how he usually recharged.
He woke up five hours later, feeling refreshed. It was nearing evening, and he decided to read some classic books to increase his knowledge. From what he had gathered, to become a student at Glory Academy, one must pass a written test followed by a physical test. Even if you hadn’t awakened or were not blessed, you could still try your luck. Not that anyone without a blessing hadn’t tried in the past; there was one person who had attempted but not recently. He would be the first in a hundred years. But maybe he could awaken at the academy. Someone had done it in the past, which was why that small loophole had been left.
He continued reading books, gathering information here and there. It wasn’t a secret that one-third of the continent was occupied by monsters, the enemy of the races. A barrier had been erected around the northern part of the continent through the combined efforts of the Leclair and Gnomus families. It was a solid barrier that kept the monsters in the cold north; only weak monsters could pass through, while the powerful ones could not. If it weren’t for this barrier, the rest of the continent would be swarming with monsters, as their leader desired world domination to create a kingdom of monsters. The races’ goal was to defend the barrier while weeding out any monsters that managed to slip through. Sometimes, middle-ranking monsters would breach the barrier, especially when it was at its weakest. The barrier was reinforced every three years.
The goal of Glory Academy was to educate the younger generation, training them to face monsters and defend the continent. It could be considered a military facility of sorts.
The world was filled with primordial energy, and people unconsciously drew it into their bodies. However, because it was an unconscious act, it didn’t do much. Cultivation began with the Assimilation Stage, where one could draw primordial energy into the body through breathing techniques. Once the body accumulated enough primordial energy and became familiar with it, one could move to the next stage, called Condensation. In this stage, a core was created to contain the energy. Finally, there was the Manifestation Stage, where one could invoke their inherent Law. This was what had happened with Barak; he was currently at the Manifestation Stage.
After reaching that stage, one would start to grow their core to accumulate more energy. With more energy, one could invoke their Law for longer and use stronger skills. The more one advanced and became familiar with their Law, the higher-level skills they could draw from it.
Be they mages or knights, everyone began with the three stages to move forward. Only after passing the two levels of the preliminary stage could one be considered a Low-level Knight or Mage.
The final stage was to become one with one’s Law, wielding it as if it were an extension of the limbs, allowing for spectacular feats. One could become a moving disaster, capable of annihilating a kingdom. In the current world, not many had reached that stage, except for the patriarchs of the seven families and a few rogue individuals.
Apex-level Knights were called Zodiac, while Mages were referred to as Archmages.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t sense the primordial energy, so he couldn’t start with the first stage. He had tried since he was five years old, and until now, he had yet to succeed. He didn’t know why he couldn’t sense the energy like others; maybe something was blocking it. Only by sensing and passing through the Assimilation Stage could he move to the Condensation Stage. Then he could receive a blessing to see whether he would awaken the Law of Lightning or any other type of Law. If he received a blessing and could wield a Law, his power would increase exponentially.
"Sigh! I must increase my physique and use it as a weapon until I receive a blessing." He closed the book he had been reading and stretched, his stiff muscles emitting popping sounds.
"Let’s go cook something to eat." He went to the kitchen after saying those words.