Haha! Every little bit helps!
Lloyd clenched his fists and opened the system window. He had more than enough RP to level up.
[You are leveling up your manaheart to a higher rank.]
[Required RP to level up: 3,800]
[Current RP: 4,612]
[Proceed and level up the skill?]
[YES / NO]
Of course, it's a yes.
Since it wasn't the time to be stingy about RP, he didn't think twice about selecting "YES".
Ding Dong!
[Skill Class Level Up!]
[Skill Name: Manaheart]
[Stage: Novice Swordmaster Lv. 1]
[Physical Ability Improvement Rate: 4,000%]
[Currently Owned Optional Skills: 1. Shock Neutralizer / 2. Complete Resistance to Poison / 3. Frenzy / 4. Half-Human Half-Dragon / 5. Time Freeze]
[Required RP to level up: 10,000]
[Current RP: 812]
[Your Manaheart skill level has risen to the rank of <Novice Swordmaster>.]
[Your manaheart has finally made a huge jump through your innumerable hours of training until now and has risen to an impressive rank of sword mastery. This special and successful experience brought about a change to your manaheart skill.]
Messages restlessly flooded Lloyd's eyes. He couldn't afford to skip over a single message, especially the one informing him of a new optional skill.
[An optional skill has been removed.]
[Skill Option 6: Swordmaster Syndrome has been removed.]
[You have now become a swordmaster, which means you have full control over your heightened senses.]
Finally, the shackles that had been restraining him were now gone. Instead, he obtained a pair of wings that would take him to new heights.
Ding Dong!
[A new optional skill has been added.]
[You have become one of the most notable swordmasters in Lorasian history. Moreover, you are the first person to reach this level through a method that hadn't existed before now. Your unique process of growth and success has greatly affected your skill set. Accordingly, you will be receiving a large reward.]
[One of the skills you own will be randomly merged with your manaheart skill to create a combined optional skill.]
A combined optional skill? Linked to another skill?
What could it be? Lloyd carefully looked at the message, and he immediately found the answer.
[Your converged optional skill has been registered in your manaheart skill. ]
[Skill Option 6: Attack Design - After surveying your skill history, "Designing" was used the most aside from your manaheart skill. You have spent countless hours designing buildings, and this strenuous experience has been combined with your manaheart skill. From now on, you can design and put aside potential attacks of your opponents and yourself and the outcomes of those actions in advance to utilize at the present moment.]
[For more information, please select the "more information" button below.]
What the? I can design my attacks?
Lloyd gulped dryly. He knew from one quick glance at the message that this new skill was going to be something special.
More information.
He pressed the button below, and more information cascaded down immediately.
[Skill Option 6: Attack Design]
[More Information (1): Attack Design is an optional skill that allows you to design your and someone else's actions in advance and apply it in real life.]
[More Information (2): You can transfer the data you collected with your surveying skill regarding an individual's physique, weight, etc., into the virtual design space.]
[More Information (3): You can manipulate and design the spatial location, posture, order of movement, weight transfer, etc of the figure in the design space. However, you cannot design movements that are physically impossible to do for the individual that is being modeled.]
[More Information (4): You can transfer your own data into the design space and freely design your location, action, attack route, speed, strength, and striking point. However, just as in information (3), you cannot design movements that are physically impossible to do with your body.]
[More Information (5): You can also save "combination" that combines you and your object's actions you had designed in your design space.]
[More Information (6): Once you finish using the design space, the collected data can be saved and applied in real life at any time.]
[More Information (7): The save capacity for the attack design space is three. However, it can be expanded by leveling up your optional skill.]
[More Information (8): The subject of design is limited to one.]
[More Information (9): The length of time for the movement you design is limited to five seconds.]
[More Information (10): Designing movements and collecting data does not cost anything. However, executing the collected data in real life consumes 250 RP for every try.]
Lloyd gleaned the information, forgetting to breathe as he did. His fists balled up and clenched on their own. That was how incredible this optional skill was. He could tell the moment he read it.
This is nuts! Completely mad!
This optional skill allowed him to design movements and put them aside to use in real life.
So, that means I can exert full control over someone for five seconds.
Five seconds. Sure, it was a short amount of time, but in a desperate and urgent situation, this was more than enough. Plus, the optional skill had more to offer beyond that.
I can even design movements for myself. This means that I can coordinate my moves to align with the ones I design for others. In that case, I can use the skill similar to how movie stars coordinate their moves with stunt doubles before shooting an action scene.
The exciting stunt scenes on TV, which looked incredible and impressive inside movies, looked ugly and messy in real life. The actors looked more like a group of emotional teenagers trying to punch one another. Real life wasn't carefully orchestrated like films, and the same was true with sword fighting. Using controlled and elaborate sword movements to combat and block your opponent was nearly impossible to do unless you were on the same level as Javier or Queen Alicia. It went without saying that Lloyd couldn't do it.
Not even worth thinking about.
That was the reality. That is, up until this moment. Now...
It's a completely different story.
Lloyd was convinced as he looked at his new skill. Five seconds. He held complete control over someone for that time period. He could manipulate someone's body, design an attack to use on them, and bring it all to life. The skill, however, wasn't his only reward.
Thump! Thump—!
His heart was racing. No, it was his manaheart. It was on a rampage as it spread a strong vibration and pounding sensation to his heart, muscles, tendons, bones, skin, internal organs, arteries, and capillaries, pumping him with a new sense of invigoration.
This stormy sensation, the flooding charge of power... All of these belonged to him. The expanded and controlled sensation of the sword master paved a whole new world before him. When he lifted his gaze, he realized that swordmaster syndrome was a joke compared to the actual experience of being a swordmaster.
I see it. I see everything.
His gaze moved down to the fierce battle between Javier and Raphael below, and his eyes were able to catch all of their movement. He wasn't at the same level as a grandmaster or high-ranking angel yet. But he was able to get a vague read of their moves. That was particularly true for Raphael.
Now, I can see it. Javier is at least two times better than him in terms of the rapidity, precision, and variety of moves. But Raphael is... strong. Much stronger than Javier.
A thought crossed Lloyd's mind as he watched the fight. Maybe all the angels were high-end punching bags in their past lives. Raphael, literally speaking, was outrageously strong. The small blows from the two's stormy exchange of offense and defense had a minimal effect thanks to Raphael's incredible resilience and restorative ability. He attacked. Then got hit again. Yet, he continued to endure everything thrown at him and push back.
To compare them to animals... Javier is a weasel with fatal offense capabilities, while Raphael is...a strong wild boar from the rough mountains. There's only one way to end this fight. It's to overpower the boar with a fierce punch.
That was what Javier was failing to do at the moment. It wasn't that he lacked the strength. It was that there hadn't been an opportunity for him to throw his final blow.
Raphael's fighting skills are nothing to look down on after all. He's allowing Javier's smaller blows to land on him and dodging all the bigger ones. What a troublesome opponent he is. Well then. Time to create a momentary slip in his defense. Survey!
Lloyd activated his surveying skill.
[Scanning will begin.]
Bzzt! Lloyd's sword master senses scanned Raphael's moves and his physique. Once he turned it into a set of data points, he uploaded the information into the virtual data space.
[You are uploading the surveyed subject, "Raphael the Throne" into the design space.]
[Manaheart Skill Option 6: You can freely control the surveyed subject's movements.]
[Would you like to activate the Attack Design mode?]
[YES / NO]
Why else would I survey him? Yes!
The space for the Attack Design appeared in his view. Raphael floated in the air, and Lloyd's hands moved faster as they got to work.
Okay. How should I deal with him? Like this. This way. That way.
Swish! Swish! Lloyd coordinated a string of moves for Raphael to follow in his virtual space. There wasn't much to do since the moves had to take less than five seconds to complete. Next, he designed his own attack before saving his work.
[Please name the design that will be saved in slot 1.]
Space Out!
[Slot 1 has been saved as "Space Out."]
Lloyd wasn't satisfied yet.
While I'm at it, I should fill up all the slots!
Attentively designing more sequences of movements and attacks, Lloyd rushed to use the rest of his slots and quickly set it all aside for later.
[Slot 2 has been saved. "Bent Leg Twist."]
[Slot 3 has been saved. "Thwack."]
[You have filled all three slots.]
[You must delete an existing slot to save a new Attack Design in the system.]
Okay. It's done.
Lloyd clenched his fists now that everything was all set. He then jumped off the Jewel of Truth’s peak with a shovel in his grip, and as he jumped off the stairs, Lloyd rotated his three-strand mana circle and thrust his shovel forward just in time to fire a triple mana blast at Raphael.
Kaboom! The burst of mana jetted from his shovel to engulf Raphael and finish him. But the same attack that had once penetrated the Gigatitan's body was neutralized when Raphael casually deflected it with his free hand.
Boom! Lloyd, however, wasn't disappointed even though his blast disappeared into the sky.
That was just a greeting.
The real fight started now. Raphael may have put up a good fight against Javier and troubled the latter with his incredible strength. But now, he was nothing but a toy at Lloyd's disposal.
See how I do it.
Lloyd then made a landing right in the middle of the fight. He found Raphael towering over himself when he lifted his gaze. He also noticed Javier coming to save him in surprise. Disregarding them both, Lloyd activated his Attack Design skill.
Ding Dong!
[Manaheart Skill Option 6: Activating Attack Design.]
[Please select the slot of data you saved.]
Space Out!
Lloyd shouted inwardly as if he waited for his skill to activate. The response was immediate.
[Uploading data for "Space Out".]
[You have used 250 RP for the skill.]
[Current RP: 562]
A message appeared in the corner of his vision. Even then, the situation was developing at a breathless pace.
"Master Lloyd!" Javier yelled frantically from behind.
Despite Raphael's iron mace, which was ready to strike Lloyd in the head, Lloyd stayed still and didn't move an inch. Despite Raphael's ghastly energy and Javier's frantic efforts to protect him, Lloyd merely cast a cool and confident gaze at Raphael.
["Space Out" data has been actualized in real life.]
When the message appeared...
Thud! The iron mace suddenly dropped to the ground with a sound. And then, Raphael slumped forward and took on a dazed posture.
"Eh...?" A dull sound came out of Raphael's mouth.
