Preparation (2)

Authority of Projection.

So long as there is enough magic power, it is a divine authority capable of conjuring all manner of natural disasters and miracles at will.

Vladiark.

A devouring, growing weapon that absorbs magic power from enemies and supplies its wielder with virtually limitless power.

Vladiark compensates for the only weakness of the Authority of Projection—"magic power depletion"—while the Authority of Projection allows one to do everything Vladiark cannot.

These two already had the best possible synergy.

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◆Skills absorbed by Vladiark

-[Dark Hook Throw(黡葛投) Lv.63]

-[Shadowless Skybreaker(無影飛破) Lv.58]

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'I never imagined it had a function like this, too.'

This ability not only absorbs an opponent's magic power, but also their skills, storing them away.

[※Notice: 'Authority of Projection' has been detected in the user.]

[※Notice: Absorbed skills can be copied via the 'Authority of Projection'.]

[※Notice: You can currently project a total of '2' skills.]

Moreover, only a user who possesses the Authority of Projection can extract technology absorbed by Vladiark.

That said, considering that the Heavenly Sword Family Lord's skill, whose aura was once devoured by Vladiark, was not absorbed—perhaps absorption only occurs if the opponent's innate energy is also swallowed.

'So even the Grand Duke of Gluttony wasn't able to utilize all of Vladiark's functions.'

Even the Grand Duke of Gluttony, who was Vladiark's master in my previous life, probably never used this ability.

Ian was sure of it.

He had never seen that guy steal and use someone else's technique as-is.

'It was impossible to use because he didn't have the Authority of Projection.'

A function of Vladiark that could only be used when combined with the Authority of Projection.

'At this point, even a fool would realize.'

There is some definite and intrinsic connection between the Authority of Projection and Vladiark.

'Could Vladiark also be related to the 'Goddess'?'

When Ian was captured at the mountain stronghold...

During the tutorial for the Authority of Projection, while preparing to escape, he saw the following phrase:

[※Tutorial:《Authority of Projection》...(omitted)...is a treasured artifact prepared by the Goddess to protect this world.]

The phrase that appeared before my eyes referred to the Authority of Projection as "the Goddess's arrangement".

'The Authority of Projection is the Goddess's arrangement.'

Then, is Vladiark also the Goddess's arrangement?

'The Goddess, huh...'

The indifferent voice Ian heard before his return, as he faced death.

[Goddess... Guardian of the world... Selection...]

[Goddess's arrangement... Authority of Projection... Forced succession...]

[Reconstruction of the world line... In progress...]

That, too, mentioned the 'Goddess'.

'If regression, the Authority of Projection...and even Vladiark are all related to the Goddess...'

It was certain.

The entity called the Goddess was focusing her intentions on pouring power into me.

'In that case, the Goddess's intention is...'

[Guardian of the world... Selection...]

[《Authority of Projection》...is a treasured artifact prepared by the Goddess to defend this world.]

To protect the world.

The Goddess wants to defend the world through Ian.

From what?

'Isn't it obvious.'

The Demon Grand Dukes of the Demon Realm and those demon bastards.

The only ones destructive enough to shatter the world are that trash.

'So there was a reason people prayed so earnestly to the heavens.'

In his previous life, Ian didn't believe in the existence of a god.

No, more precisely, he just never paid attention.

But having now received such direct support from a deity, he had to admit the existence of a god must have been real after all.

However...

Why did the Goddess choose him?

He'd spent his whole life far from religion.

If She were to choose someone, wouldn't it be better to pick a devoted follower instead?

If so, they might have understood Her will more quickly and obeyed it faithfully.

'And in terms of ability as well.'

There must be plenty of people more capable and stronger than him.

Take Darkan, the Heavenly Sword Family Lord, or even Yuria Hisperion—both possessed much greater power and talent than him.

If the Goddess wanted to protect the world, wouldn't it be better to entrust it to such prodigies?

'If the Goddess had chosen Yuria, the whole course of my previous life would have been completely different.'

If Yuria had summoned Vladiark instead of the Holy Sword Genesis in the Sword Selection Ceremony, she wouldn't have suffered so one-sidedly at the hands of the Demon Grand Dukes.

'Genesis is certainly a powerful sword, but its synergy with the Authority of Projection is the worst.'

The Holy Sword Genesis is the ultimate weapon with the greatest destructive power in the world.

It is said that the Creator God used it to split heaven and earth at the world's genesis.

However, that kind of power came with an enormous consumption of aura every time it was used.

No matter how talented Yuria was, even if she had the same amount of aura as Ian, managing the aura drain from using both Genesis and the Authority of Projection at once was always a struggle.

'In the end, she was defeated through attrition.'

Yuria's weakness was that she had no means whatsoever to recover aura.

This flaw was brutally exposed in wars of attrition.

With her magic power depleted, Yuria's dantian was finally pierced through by the Grand Duke of Gluttony's hand...

'... Haa.'

Ian shook his head violently to shake off those distracting thoughts.

'These thoughts are no help right now.'

Why the Goddess chose him.

What he was doing in his previous life.

Why Yuria had to meet such an end.

Such thoughts were of no use to Ian at this moment.

'What matters now is not to repeat the same tragedy.'

If he wanted to avoid repeating the same tragedy, Ian can't let himself get lost in such distractions.

'At least the situation is far better than in my previous life.'

Whereas Yuria constantly struggled with magic power depletion in the past, now Ian have Vladiark, allowing him to absorb enemy magic power and be free of that issue.

And with the "skill absorption" ability of Vladiark—which only someone with the Authority of Projection can use—Ian can take full advantage of it, using Vladiark more effectively than the Grand Duke of Gluttony ever did.

'The main weakness of the Authority of Projection is gone, and with Vladiark, I can even steal the authorities of the Demon Grand Dukes.'

The situation was full of hope.

'Yes. Now's the time to look at the possibilities of the future, not the trash of the past.'

For now, Ian should focus on using Vladiark to strengthen his martial power.

'First, let's check out the absorbed skills.'

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◆Skills absorbed by Vladiark

-[Dark Hook Throw(黡葛投) Lv.63]

-[Shadowless Skybreaker(無影飛破) Lv.58]

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Dark Hook Throw is an art that creates hooks out of aura to snatch the target.

Shadowless Skybreaker is a martial technique combining stealthy footwork and assassination skills, allowing the user to hide their presence.

'Both are useful techniques.'

Depending on how Dark Hook Throw is used, it could become a trump card in combat, and in cliff-like terrain it could even be used as a rope for climbing.

Considering Shadowless Skybreaker is a specialty of professional assassins, mastering it could greatly enhance Ian's infiltration and stealth skills.

'But the magic power required to extract these is outrageous.'

The magic power required for projection rose in proportion to the level of the target.

Dark Hook Throw is level 63. Shadowless Skybreaker is level 58.

'The highest level I've projected so far was 27.'

─《Authority of Projection》─

◆Trait

[Sophia's dantian & mana circuit Lv.27]

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It took a full three days to project Sophia's dantian and mana circuit at level 27.

Of course, Ian was only at the very start of the User stage then, while now he had reached entry-stage Expert, so things are different.

At his current level, projecting Sophia's dantian or her mana circuit would take about half a day.

'But level 58 and 63 are just too high for me right now.'

A two-fold level difference didn't mean the magic power required was simply doubled.

The higher the level, the more exponentially the required magic power increased.

'I can feel it vividly. The sheer weight of magic power needed.'

To project Dark Hook Throw, he'd need the total aura of one peak-stage Expert, and for Shadowless Skybreaker, the aura equivalent to a late-stage Expert.

'Damn expensive.'

Currently, the aura gathered in Ian's dantian was at the level of an entry-stage Expert.

Vladiark had the aura storage just above the level of a peak-stage Expert.

Even combined, it was impossible to immediately learn both techniques.

'Right now, raising my aura level is far more effective than projecting new techniques.'

Both Dark Hook Throw and Shadowless Skybreaker are useful, but not what Ian need immediately.

It's not as if he have an infiltration mission right now.

And in the long term, raising his aura rank was much more profitable.

The higher Ian's aura rank, the easier it will be to supply the mana needed for projection, and if he can defeat more powerful enemies, he'll be able to absorb even more skills.

'For now, focus on raising my rank to the maximum.'

One week later.

Ian reached the middle-ealy-stage of Expert rank.

Previously, the mountain bandit boss he defeated with his fists was at the intermediate User level.

Now, Ian could take on thirty like him at once.

The average level of the new recruits at Sword Dragon Hall was only at the entry to early-stage Users.

With the addition of his Frenzied Insight Style, even if all the new recruits rushed at him together, it would be impossible to capture Ian.

In effect, the position of top student at Sword Dragon Hall was already practically reserved for Ian.

'Sword Dragon Hall offers rewards according to achievement and performance.'

The best reward, reserved for the top student, would also go to him alone.

* * *

Two weeks of training passed in the blink of an eye.

"Young master! Look! I've got calluses on my hands already!"

"Weren't those calluses always there?"

"What?! No, they weren't! These are new! I really worked hard, okay? This is proof!"

"Really? Let's see. Oh, you're right. They're the kind of calluses you get from gripping a sword. You really did work hard, Sophia."

"Hehehe... Compliment me more, please!"

"Just keep doing what you're doing. You're awesome."

"Hehehe...!"

"...?"

During these two weeks, Sophia made remarkable progress as well.

She quickly adapted to physical training, as her basic physical strength was already good, and she had more talent for swordsmanship than expected, at least enough to lay down a solid foundation.

She even managed to reach the entry-stage User-rank.

Turning an ordinary person into at least a fledgling swordsman in just two weeks was an incredible achievement.

'But there's still a lot that's shaky—if I don't supervise her closely, it'll fall apart quickly.'

Since the foundation was built hurriedly, there were many rough patches.

Her aura rank was still only at the very beginning of the entry-stage.

She could sense and move aura, but even reinforcing a single finger was difficult for her.

'Still, at this level, she shouldn't be totally outclassed by the new recruits. She should be somewhere in the lower-middle tier, at least.'

Sword Dragon Hall is the world's most elite swordsman training institution, gathering geniuses from around the globe, but in reality, only a fraction of the new recruits are true prodigies.

Most of them are just ordinary teenagers.

Of course, they're better with the sword and manage aura better than Sophia at the moment, but Sophia has much greater strength and stamina than her peers.

If she relied on physicality, she could reach the lower-middle rank without much trouble.

'There's nothing to worry about with Sophia.'

She'll continue to receive intensive tutoring from Ian, so soon enough, she'll be aiming for even the upper-middle ranks.

'The problem is Yuria.'

In his previous life, Ian heard so many stories from Yuria.

Among them, of course, were tales from her Sword Dragon Hall days.

'Yuria said she came close to death countless times before graduation.'

There was the time during the monster battle practical exam when an assassination was attempted with a bomb hidden inside a monster;

On a mission, she was ambushed by dark forces when her siblings leaked confidential information;

There were other things too—like how she could no longer eat her favorite foods after the poisoning attempt, or how she found it hard to trust people after discovering that a trusted companion had been a traitor...

'I remember every story Yuria told me... every single world.'

She would show her scars from her close brushes with death, grinning mischievously, but for Ian, those weren't good memories.

They were all tales that made Ian's heart sink.

'In my past life, Yuria barely managed to survive graduation by her own strength, but there's no guarantee she'll make it unscathed this time as well.'

As long as there was even a 0.01% chance that Yuria could die, I could never relax or let my guard down.

'I absolutely can't leave her alone—this time, I must be by her side.'

In his past life, Ian always felt regret.

If only he could have spent those days at Sword Dragon Hall with her, not only could he have protected her, but they could have shared so many more memories together.

'But there's no need to regret anymore.'

Now Ian was in the same class as Yuria, entering Sword Dragon Hall together.

'I can settle all the regrets I had in my previous life.'

Ian took a great step toward the Sword Dragon Hall.

'In this life, we'll graduate together with not a single scar—just a heap of memories, Yuria.'

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

The Simping Son-in-law of the Swordmaster Household—Blessed by Authority

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】