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[Fencing Lv.5]

CLINK

CLINK

CLINK

Sparks danced around the place, faintly illuminating the surroundings with each clash.

"You don't know how to use the sword," the man smiled as he attacked with his swords.

The boy was forced to step back with a backward twist.

The man forcefully struck the ground with the edge of his sword, causing it to crack fiercely.

Shinka gritted his teeth at the scene.

'His strength is greater than mine, and his sword control. I have no chance.' Shinka found himself in a completely disadvantageous situation.

CLINK

The swords clashed once more, and the man looked at Shinka with an expression of confidence.

'If only I could use the enhancement ability constantly and not just when I have to run or attack, maybe I could do something. No, even with that advantage, I couldn't win.'

Thoughts swirled in the young man's mind.

'I must understand how he fights and improve my ability. Maybe then I can...'

"I see what you're doing. Believe me, copying my style is not something you can do easily, you know?"

Drops of sweat ran down Shinka's cheek.

CLINK

With a thrust, the man opened Shinka's guard.

'I'll lose if I keep this up!' The only option for survival had already settled in Shinka's mind.

'I must flee!'

Under the watchful gaze of the two girls awaiting Shinka's defeat, they were amazed at the spectacle unfolding.

With an agile sword movement from the man, Shinka's left-hand sword was taken away.

If Shinka didn't want to lose his hand, he had to jump away from the sword's grip.

Shinka's eye contracted at the scene.

From anyone else's perspective, he was about to lose the fight, but that wasn't his case.

His body was enveloped in a blue light.

With an agile leap, Shinka kicked the sword's hilt and soared several meters with it as if it were a soccer ball.

'Between winning against me and two girls who can't dodge, which would you choose?'

With a simple touch, the sword began to spin, and when its edge pointed towards the girls.

BOOM

A powerful kick sent the sword flying towards the ground.

WOOOSH

Shinka looked at the man with a calm expression. He knew what choice that person would make.

In a microsecond, the man's figure disappeared.

CLINK

The sword had avoided the tragic fate of the girls.

"Are you okay?" The man asked as he cut the light halo binding the girls.

Both nodded, and the man turned his gaze back to the battlefield.

"That kid..." Shinka had left no trace.

"Father, we were humiliated!" Kaede shouted with teary eyes.

"Ah, very well, explain to me in detail what happened."

...

"Shinka, you look pale! Is everything okay?" Asked the boy's aunt.

"Everything's fine. Maybe I overdid it with breakfast this morning." Said Shinka with a silly laugh, scratching his head.

"Okay, let's go home. We don't want any accidents here."

Shinka simply nodded, and they both left in the family car.

On the way, the aunt and nephew started chatting a bit, but Shinka had important things to think about.

'They saw my face. It won't be difficult to find me with the sparse population of this place. It might take them about five hours to check the village records, but they'll definitely find me.'

Shinka's mind plunged into a dark place.

He wasn't worried that they would try to kill him again. In the end, he could become strong in a matter of hours, but what about normal people?

'Inevitably, if they know who I am, they'll know who my family is. They could try to kill my aunt and uncle, my grandmother, and even my sister...'

Discreetly, Shinka clenched his fist with helplessness.

He knew his sister was stronger than him, but would she be stronger than that man? Would that man's system allow him to beat his sister?

He didn't know, but he had an answer.

'My system allows me to become anyone I want. I just need to train.'

The boy glanced sideways at the sword on his back. No one could see it, only him, because of the invisibility magic.

'I have to hunt them down.' Shinka's eye gleamed with a deep blue hue.

[Item: Replica Holy Sword Muramasa.

Durability: 1988990/2000000.

Affinity: Very low.

Ability: Can store the user's mana and release it in waves of cutting energy.

Hidden Ability: Nullifies demonic energy created by devils. (Depends on affinity with the sword)]

Reading that, Shinka understood some things about the world.

'Devils and exorcists exist. It means that consequently angels exist, and in turn, so does God, so I suppose supernatural beings possess unique systems.'

'This system can be inherited or shared in some way, and if that's the case, then maybe angels share their systems with exorcists.'

This thought left a big doubt in Shinka.

'If that's the case, then who inherited this system to me?'

As Shinka knew, that was an answer he wouldn't get soon, so he dismissed that thought, and something bigger emerged.

'If I'm going to hunt the exorcists, then they can't be the only ones investigating.'

"Aunt, I'm feeling much better now. So I'll go out with my friends after a while," Shinka mentioned as his aunt stopped the car in front of the house.

"Whatever you say, dear." The aunt seemed to have given up on trying to manage her nephew's occasional outings with his "friends."

"Just don't be late," she said authoritatively.

. . .

In a clearing in what seemed to be a small forest, stood Shinka Kusaka, holding a large sword with white and golden details.

SLASH

Shinka was repeating a simple action. Up and down with the sword, making a cut through the air. Like the typical Kendo training.

The edge of the sword glowed with an unnatural light coming from the sky.

Anyone would think that light was being emitted by the moon, but it wasn't.

Gradually, as Shinka trained with the sword, specks of blue light emanated from his body, rising to join the giant energy sphere forming in the night sky.

Shinka's brow was furrowed as he swung the sword.

'It's almost complete.'

[Fencing Lv.20]