"I didn't get us just a powerful weapon," he said slowly, his voice carrying a weight of realization. "I got us weapons. If Ryder has advanced this much, then the others have likely experienced similar growth."
"We can finally break through from the bottom to the top of the hierarchy," he continued, his voice low. "With allies like these, we won't have to remain at the bottom for too long. We can be more than the fastest rising guild."
He turned back to Akira, his expression now a beaming smile. "Take me to them. I need to see this for myself."
***
Meanwhile, in the distance from which the earlier chaotic energy waves had emanated, Mara could be seen running towards the group.
Her emerald hair was scattered from her earlier flight through the air, and her clothes were torn in several places, but her expression was one of determination rather than defeat.
Earlier, she had been given a critical hit that sent her arcing through the air, completely out of the fight's vicinity. The attack had been devastating—a perfect application of Explosive Rush technique had been added to the kick she received.
Such a hit normally would have knocked her unconscious, but she had managed to move a small fraction of her gamma energy to the direction where Akira had struck, activating a partial Iron Coat technique there and significantly reducing the damage. Find the newest release on NoveI[F]ire.net
The quick thinking had likely saved her from serious injury, though it had still been enough to remove her from the immediate battle.
The technique she had performed wasn't something she had suddenly formulated by herself. It had been in her head—in other words, it was one of the seventy-seven techniques called Fragment Iron Coat. The knowledge had come to her instinctively, as if it had always been there, waiting for the right moment to be accessed.
Not just that—she suddenly felt like she knew all the other techniques just after learning the seven techniques Akira taught them, and at that moment, instantly realized why Akira had taught them only seven techniques and called them the seven relevant techniques.
All the other techniques were more like broken-down versions of the seven techniques they had been taught. There were techniques like Thumb Finger Fall, Index Finger Fall, Middle Finger Fall, Ring Finger Fall, and Pinkie Finger Fall—all exact but weaker versions of the First Fall technique. As their names implied, they all represented channeling energy into just one finger instead of the entire fist like the First Fall.
Those weaker techniques didn't need chanting before they could be performed, even by novices like herself. They were the building blocks, the fundamental components of all the other techniques. Akira made them learn the big picture instead of starting with the little fragments.
The system was incredibly well distributed, she realized. The seven "relevant" techniques weren't just the most useful—they were the core principles from which all others derived. Master them, and you could theoretically perform any of the seventy-seven techniques by simply adjusting the focus and intensity of your gamma energy.
After colliding with the ground, she had simply used the Recovery Flow technique to heal all her wounds, and that had brought her back to her peak condition within minutes. The technique was indeed effective, far more so than the healing she had obtained from contracting her familiar.
"Where the hell is she?" Mara questioned, panting as she reached the group. Her breathing was heavy from the run, but her eyes were bright with determination rather than exhaustion. Even Brok was up now, apparently having recovered from Akira's strikes.
Brok looked somewhat sheepish as he dusted himself off. The memory of being grabbed mid-technique and slammed headfirst into the ground was still fresh in his mind, reminding him of a reality he never forgot—Akira was superior to him, even though he was bigger and more muscular than her.
"You should ask that question to Ryder," Leo joked, though his tone carried annoyance. "He literally struck her off the planet. I still can't believe I didn't get a chance to partake in the fight I had long anticipated. I thought we were taking turns attacking."
As someone who had spent his prime and young age dealing with various red-marked summoners, he had been particularly eager to test himself against Akira. The fact that the battle had ended before he could properly engage was simply frustrating for him.
"Does that mean the fight is over?" Mara exclaimed, her voice carrying a note of disbelief. The idea that their first proper battle had concluded while she was still picking herself up from Akira's attack seemed almost embarrassing.
"Yes, dummy, do I necessarily need to spell everything out for you to realize?" Leo responded, slapping his forehead.
Ryder, on the other hand, scratched his head nervously, his expression concerned as he spoke. "I thought she could handle a punch with First Fall amplification. I'm sorry."
The conversation was interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. Two figures were walking toward them across the flattened grassland, while the last one was floating.
"Is that...?" Mara began, her voice trailing off as she recognized the newcomer.
"Master Sung," Brok finished, "the man who said he would be coming to check on us and track our progress once in a while."
"Look at him already coming to us even though it hasn't been a complete day since we started training. Isn't that something," Brok commented, trying to be a comedian, and unsurprisingly, no one laughed.
Among them was Akira, looking remarkably composed for someone who had just been sent flying through the air, and a tall man with long black hair flowing behind him, and there was a third figure—the one who wasn't walking, but was floating beside them.
It was a creature that looked like a massive eel, only that it was a beast and one that didn't need water to survive or to move freely on.
This was clearly a familiar, and one all could tell the owner— it was master Sung's. This fish is the logo of the red Eastern guild.