Chapter 306
Recommendation (2)
The sounds of swords clashing fiercely echoed through a certain training room.
Inside, IAM and Henry could be seen in full training gear, their bodies spinning and colliding as they exchanged blow after blow with such intensity that it hardly looked like sparring. To an outsider, it would have seemed more like a life-or-death battle than a simple practice match.
A trace of excitement lit Henry's face as he swung his sword in a vicious arc toward IAM's head.
IAM reacted instantly, leaning back just in time to avoid the blade. However, the movement left his balance slightly off. Henry seized the opening without hesitation, driving a sharp kick into IAM's stomach and sending him sliding backward before he could fully regain his footing.
IAM's expression remained focused. He carefully restrained the strange killing intent that always threatened to leak out, keeping his eyes locked onto Henry's movements as his opponent rushed in, trying to close the distance and press the advantage.
Seeing this, IAM quickly used [STOP].
But its effect was minimal.
Henry had clearly been expecting it. Instead of freezing, he forced himself forward, resisting the influence and continuing his charge.
IAM immediately pushed in as well, refusing to let Henry build momentum. Through repeated exchanges, he had already discovered a flaw in his own fighting style: using his Path methods too frequently, and especially repeating them against the same opponent, drastically reduced their effectiveness. Once the enemy anticipated them and focused their intent on breaking through, the techniques lost much of their potency.
If IAM wanted to use his abilities at peak efficiency, he needed to be far more careful. They had to be deployed sparingly, unpredictably, and never in the same pattern. Against fighters like Henry, the true strength of his Path did not lie in repetition, but in timing and surprise.
This naturally did not apply to methods that affected himself, only to those that targeted his opponent. As IAM stepped in, he activated [PIERCE]. The sword in his hand moved far faster than before, slamming into the base of Henry's blade. To avoid damaging his weapon, Henry had no choice but to respond with skill, deftly maneuvering and parrying the strike away as he leapt back to create distance.
When fighting with a weapon, it was important to treat it with the same care as one's own body. The moment a weapon was damaged in a life-and-death battle was often the moment its wielder lost their life as well.
In a way, a weapon was just as important as the life itself.
That was why maintaining and protecting it was crucial, a principle Henry understood well and always followed.
IAM's eyes narrowed as a faint sense of admiration rose within him. Even with the gap in level created by IAM being an experienced level ascender, Henry was far more than merely holding on or struggling—he was truly keeping up.
Henry rarely spoke while they sparred, but this time he suddenly said, "Don't you think it's a little unfair? I get to fight with my preferred weapon, while you don't—and you're still very much a learner."
"Well…" IAM replied, "it wouldn't be much of a spar if I just kept spraying bullets your way now, would it?"
Henry let out a short laugh. "Fair point, man… fair point."
With that, they immediately returned to their silent yet intense clash, the exchange dragging on for several more minutes until it finally reached what felt like the last round.
Once again, IAM sensed that strange, creeping feeling of danger. He knew it instantly—Henry was about to use that trump method of his.
An incredibly transparent, golden, flame-like liquid formed at the tip of Henry's sword. This time, however, it was longer, denser, and spread across a wider area, a clear sign of how quickly he was improving.
IAM steadied his breathing and braced himself. Then, with a loud grunt born of strain and effort as a large amount of mana was forcefully drawn out, Henry burst forward at an incredible speed.
His sword was raised, and this time he went for a decisive, powerful thrust. As he closed the distance, he noticed that IAM wasn't moving. The glowing tip of his blade drew closer and closer to IAM's throat.
For a brief instant, doubt flickered through Henry's mind, and he considered stopping. But he dismissed it just as quickly.
He would trust IAM. He would trust that he would react—that he wasn't so weak as to allow himself to be seriously injured.
Time seemed to slow once more, and just as the tip of Henry's sword was about to pierce IAM's neck—the very point making the faintest contact—
[DODGE]
To Henry's disbelief, IAM's body twisted with unnatural speed, spinning to his exposed side. Using that momentum, he raised his sword and slammed the grip straight into Henry's ribs.
Shockwaves burst from the aftermath of Henry's thrust, the overwhelming force tearing through the air. The golden, flame-like liquid coating his blade was flung free, crashing into the far wall with a sharp crackle and leaving behind a deep, scorched mark.
That was the full power of the improved strike—what IAM would have been forced to take head-on if he hadn't dodged at the very last instant.
Henry collapsed, the combined pain from IAM's counter and the exhaustion from the massive mana drain finally catching up to him.
"Finally," IAM said, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he sank down beside him. "I won a match."
He was breathing heavily. The special version of [DODGE] had consumed a large amount of his mana, and this had already been their sixth bout of the night.
Up until now, every match had ended the same way—Henry unleashing his trump method and IAM losing. This time was different.
By exploiting the weakness he had realized earlier and using the element of surprise, IAM had finally turned the tables.
He had also achieved something incredible—countering a secret method with a special method, something extremely rare. Ascenders capable of such a feat were usually exceptionally potent and powerful.
Of course, doing something like this carried enormous risk. One of the conditions for it to work was taking Henry completely by surprise, giving him absolutely no chance to react. IAM had truly put his body on the line; if he had miscalculated even slightly, he might have lost his neck.
He had also deliberately lowered Henry's guard. He avoided using [DODGE] entirely and repeatedly threw out bait like [STOP] and [PIERCE], making it seem as though those were the only methods he possessed.
In the end, all of it paid off for that single, decisive counter.
As IAM absentmindedly caressed his neck, now feeling the faint burn mark where the tip of Henry's sword had grazed him, he turned and said, "I finally found a weakness of yours. That trump method of yours is static and simple. After the first move, you're completely exposed."
Henry, who didn't seem to be taking the loss too hard, rubbed his chin and nodded, murmuring, "You're right… I focused too much on the wind and solid state, and forgot about the liquid state at the end. That's why my attack lost its flexibility."
???
IAM then recalled Henry's swordsmanship. At times, it felt as immovable as a boulder, then light and swift like the wind, and finally flexible and flowing like liquid. It seemed that this last aspect—the liquid state—had not been fully applied in that final attack.
Henry suddenly stopped murmuring and turned to him with a smile. "This is all thanks to you, IAM. Without you, I would never have noticed such a weakness so early."
"You're welcome, I guess," IAM replied as he went to grab a couple of bottles of water. He tossed one to Henry, who caught it with a grateful expression. After taking a deep sip, Henry looked at him and said, "So what are you going to do about the trial? Are you going to reveal yourself? I don't see why not. The academy would give you extra care and attention, you know."
IAM couldn't explain the strange reason behind his rapid improvement. Even he didn't truly understand how or why it was happening. What he did know was that it wasn't simply a result of personal talent, nor was it something he could control.
And he couldn't tell Henry the truth, because it involved his greatest secrets. He had read countless books and never found anything that described his situation, so he had no idea how others would react if they learned about it.
So instead, he voiced another concern. "I don't want to draw the attention of the Circle of the Accursed again. I already survived and exposed their plot and some of their members. If they hear that I'm some kind of super genius now, they'll see me as a thorn that has to be removed."
Henry was silent for a moment. "I guess… but then what are you going to do?"
"That's something I'll need to think about," IAM said, exhaustion finally catching up to him. "After I get some much-needed rest."
Henry watched as IAM left the training room. Alone now, he looked down at his calloused hands, then at his sword. A determined expression formed on his face as he gripped the hilt once more and resumed his practice, continuing deep into the night.