The Chronicles Of New Havens

At the Alzar Kingdom's base, Elizabeth was seated in her temporary lodging, reading a book. As the heir apparent, in preparation for the inheritance race, she had plenty of material to cover and consolidate. There was no need to become an expert in every field, but she had to, at least, become knowledgeable enough to hold a conversation without embarrassing herself. Her last foray with the Grand Nobility Households taught her a very valuable lesson. It was never a waste of time to improve one's skills, no matter how meager the progress nor how boring it may be. One step after another, and in time, any mountain could be crossed! Anything was possible! That was the lesson that Lord Korogin passed onto her.

She closed her book and sighed. However she might study, this was only one facet to the inheritance race. The inheritance race was, for better or for worse, designed as a 'majority ruling' vote. The faction with the greatest support among the Grand Nobility Households would become the next ruling family! It tested diplomacy, negotiation, subterfuge, and wisdom. One had to know that every patriarch or matriarch was a crouching tiger, capable of devouring anyone they laid their eyes on. That was the bȧrė minimum requirement for those that stood at the top of the nobility, the twenty-four strongest families in the Alzar Kingdom! Since Elizabeth was the heir apparent, she controlled the Royal Faction, meaning she had the full support of the Royal Family. This would normally give her an unparalleled advantage over the others, enabling a smooth journey to the throne, but… Nothing ever went well.

Looking outside the window at the verdant green forest leaves, touched with a hint of golden yellow, it signalled the arrival of autumn. She pulled her clothes tighter due to the nippy air. Right now, it was late September, K.A. 515, close to October. A little more than three months remained until the end of the year, the official deadline for the inheritance race. That would be when the new monarch would be crowned! Elizabeth felt nervousness towards the results. She knew her faction was doing poorly, and support was at an all-time low. Her absence would only exacerbate the issues and strain the little cohesion she had. Yet, she still believed it was the right choice to come here! She believed she was necessary here! That was why she had to trust Lord Archibon.

At the training grounds, hundreds of soldiers were practicing and honing their skills. They clashed with one another, sought instruction from masters, or trained by themselves. Any bit of training could be the difference between life or death, so no one slacked off. Everyone was wholeheartedly dedicated to pushing themselves to the limit! Consequently, the place was filled with a vigorous vitality that inspired onlookers to do the same. It was the spirit of a soldier! Among the trainees, three people stood out like a sore thumb. Everyone maintained a safe distance from them, afraid to disturb their practice. They were friends of the heir apparent, Benedict, Shirley, and Freon!

"Look carefully," Benedict said. "This is Martial Energy."

Saying so, he took a deep breath and focused. His body reacted and a mysterious energy began emerging from deep within. Different from Magic Energy, which existed inside the Core and moved along Channels, Martial Energy was the body's latent energy controlled. Therefore, there was no one singular 'source'. His entire body was the source! At the Fundamental Realm, martial artists focused on sensing and manipulating this energy internally. It was identical to an Arcanist's Magic Perception being limited to inside their bodies. Only when they officially broke through the chains of mortality, and transcended to Perception Realm, could they finally master this energy and project it outwards! Still, while he might be lacking when compared to his master or senior martial brothers, Benedict was also strong in his own right.

He looked normal from the outside, but Shirley and Freon instinctively frowned. They could sense a large amount of power building up within him. Channeling the Martial Energy into his arms, he swung his sword down. Cloud Sea Style: Crashing Waves! A razor-thin pressure wave shot out from his sword and headed to a nearby tree. It was a flying sword! Although it was not a true strike, augmented by Martial Energy, the strength of his swing was sufficient to blast the air apart! The pressure wave travelled quick as lightning and split the tree right down the middle. As the two halves fell, the ground shook from the heavy impact. Benedict exhaled and sheathed his sword in one smooth motion.

Silence reigned. The soldiers gawked with slack jaws as their minds lagged. What in the world just happened? Benedict managed to cut down a tree with a flying strike! But that was impossible! It was the stuff of legends! Was that really something that a human could do? The people looked at Benedict like they were witnessing a freak. First, it was the Featherwind Sect's ambush from Ludin and Crus and now, it was someone cutting a tree down without touching it. No one knew what was happening anymore. Maybe it was a mistake signing up for the military…

"Oh, that was cool!" Shirley shouted with sparkling eyes. "Teach me how to do that too!"

"It isn't something that can be learned in a short time," Benedict said. "It took me months of training under my master to reach this point and even then, I'm still a fledging."

"I hate training," she stuck her tongue out in defiance. "It's easier if we duelled instead."

"A spar, right? Okay, we can do that."

Shirley made a silly grin and said, "I'll also show you what I've learned: Mock Perception!"

She grabbed her halberd and twirled it half-amateurly in the air. She was never formally trained by Inari in the art of the halberd, so her technique remained awkward and clumsy. It looked like a kid playing pretend by swinging a large stick around! Yet, when Shirley finally grabbed her halberd with both hands, her eyes turned cold as ice. Her aura made a qualitative transformation into a surging feral tempest! Slinking close to the ground, it was like she changed from an innocent kitten to a regal tigress! She released a palpable amount of mental pressure on Benedict, Freon, and all the onlookers. While she might kid and joke around, when it came to fighting, she would never take it lightly. Take it lightly and you will die! That was the lesson she learned in the Mordrigan Peaks! Everyone felt goosebumps at her terrifying change in personality!

Benedict nodded and unsheathed his sword again. Since Shirley was taking this seriously, it would be rude of him not to respond in full too. Using the Hawken Style, he entered one of the five stances. Although the Cloud Sea Style was more profound and exquisite, the Hawken Style was something he grew up with and trained in his entire life. It felt far more natural to him. Besides, the techniques in the Cloud Sea Style, when empowered with Martial Energy, could kill Shirley! He still lacked the proficiency to hold back enough to a training exercise. He concentrated and began moving the latent energy in his body, while Shirley was also ready to deploy Mock Perception. The training grounds fell silent again.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but you're going to spar with bladed weapons?" Freon ġrȯȧnėd. "There are training weapons specifically meant for sparring."

Benedict and Shirley scratched their heads awkwardly and chuckled. They were too wrapped up in the moment to notice. After swapping out their weapons for wooden ones and getting accustomed to the new feeling, they returned to their positions. Freon shouted to start the match! In an instant, Benedict zoomed across the field with unbelievable speed! The ground visibly fractured under his feet, as he boosted his leg strength with Martial Energy. For a halberd user like Shirley, she needed to maintain a certain distance for her weapon. Benedict was aiming for precisely that weakness and closed in on Shirley in a fraction of a second. His wooden blade straight for her belly!

Fast! It was too fast! That was the only thought on Shirley's mind. It was so swift that she had zero time to start Mock Perception. There was no time to think! As the blade closed in, her instincts kicked in and her body moved by itself. She shifted a hair to the side while bringing her halberd flying back. Her actions were subtle, but precise. It was the exact minimum required to dodge and counterattack! Benedict was shocked. His strike was lightning fast and perfectly executed. Adding to the fact that he did it immediately after the fight started, he almost thought it was unfair. It should be nigh impossible to dodge unless she was a Perception Realm! And yet Shirley did the impossible. She dodged and counterattacked!

Benedict ducked close to the ground and the halberd whooshed above him, narrowly brushing his hair. Pivoting his feet, tracking her halberd, and reversing his grip, he returned with a deadly stab for Shirley's back. Mock Perception! This time, she did not lose a beat and used her improvised technique. Her senses temporarily soared to the Perception Realm standard, and her perception of time dragged out. In her eyes, Benedict began slowing down! The effect would last for one breath, but it was good enough. However, Benedict smiled. Martial Energy! He transferred the monstrous energy into his arms and his sword for a flying strike! The pressure wave travelled faster than his blade and would collide with her back in the next instant. It would not kill, but it should be enough to knock her out.

However, as fast as it was, Mock Perception was slightly faster. Shirley instantly sensed Benedict's intentions and adjusted her strategy accordingly. She realized she could not dodge it; therefore, the girl tilted her body forward and angled herself slightly. When the flying strike landed on her back, she coughed. It really hurt! But she redirected that momentum ingeniously, suffering through half of it, and using the other half to aid her movements! Shirley grabbed her halberd with two hands and whipped around Benedict, directing the last bit of energy into her halberd! It circled with unbelievable speed into the boy's blind spot, smacking him in the back, returning the favor.. The two disengaged and distanced themselves. Although the round ended in the blink of an eye, it was ultimately a tie!