70 Chapter 70_ Sword Saint Biban (2)

The Tower of Wisdom was a secret society that fought to protect the world for hundreds of years. They worked hard to prevent 'disasters that couldn't be handled with human strength' from happening. They were the ones who drew the dragons' attention whenever a great demon descended.

Dragons, a transcendent species that couldn't be compared to great demons—watching them was the mission of the Tower of Wisdom.

"I came from the tower to meet you. Just once! Let me see the skills of the new Pioneer!"

The Tower of Wisdom and the Pioneer had a relationship of cooperation. An exchange with the tower was unconditionally beneficial to the Pioneer. The story that the mysterious man told meant he would get a hidden quest and a huge reward.

He looked upon the man with an overwhelming presence. He felt an unknown pressure that was neither mana nor killing intent, it was something else entirely. On his right side was a heavy looking sword that was twice the size of his Virulent.

"Hello. The name's Lexus. That's right. I am the ruler of this country and the Pioneer."

Lexus politely introduced himself. The mysterious man was already aware that he was a Sword Saint, so there was no need for him to add that in his short introduction.

'Ruler... Ruler... Don't tell me?'

The mysterious man got goosebumps. He was reminded of someone who had superior talent than Muller and was also the ruler of a nation.

'Is he Madra's descendant and had grown to be a Sword Saint?'

Undefeated King Madra. The miserable genius who spent his life locked up in a cage and whose life ended before he could spread his wings. If Muller was a genius that appeared once in a thousand years, Madra was a genius who would never appear again. If Madra was alive, the Tower of Wisdom wouldn't exist now. This was the evaluation of the tower's chief. Why? The dragons would've been sealed and the need for the tower's existence gone.

'Heh, I'm going too far.'

The mysterious man shook his head. Madra's descendant couldn't exist because no secret techniques were left behind. He was a great man who slaughtered tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands with a paltry weapon.

"Ohh..." Biban took off his robe. He smiled brightly while extending his hand for a handshake, proudly revealing his black-gold name. "It is nice to meet you."

People didn't know about Biban. It was because the second generation Sword Saint wasn't well-known among the people. He was a figure from far in the past, and few people were interested in the second generation Sword Saint when Sword Saint Muller was known as the 'strongest of all time.'

Nevertheless, he instinctively knew this was a big opportunity. It was because his transcendent status told him that Biban was also transcendent. In fact, Biban was stronger than him.

"Then I'm starting." Biban's sharp energy started to spread out like a tent. A small street in Reinhardt turned into a spherical shape. The throne room disappeared from his field of view.

'Barrier?'

This was a space that was completely blocked from the outside. It was definitely a barrier. Some named boss monsters had this ability, and Biban definitely had it. Biban smiled as he explained, "This is a space made of sword energy."

Lexus nodded. It is easy for a great person like Biban but his mastery over his sword energy hasn't reached this level. It felt sharp. It felt like his wrist would be cut off the moment he touched it. It was clear that this huge tent consisted of thousands or tens of thousands of blades.

"Let me say this first. The Pioneer doesn't need to demonstrate your skills because you have already proven yourself. The tower completely trusts the Pioneer. We just want to help the Pioneer."

"Help?"

"You can think of the Tower of Wisdom as a place of succession for the Pioneer. In the future, the members of the tower will evaluate your abilities and give skills that match your abilities. However, don't be too disappointed. There is no one worthless."

"...!"

"Now, I will get started."

The quest began the moment Biban drew his sword.

[The 9th's Test is occurring!]

[Sparring mode is activated!]

[9th's Test]

[Difficulty: ???

The 9th seat of the Tower of Wisdom, Biban is assessing your skills.

Do your best to get a good evaluation.

Quest Clear Condition: Last one minute in the spar. It is considered to be an elimination when you enter the immortal state.

Quest Clear Rewards:

No rewards if eliminated within 10 seconds.

Acquisition of '???' if you last more than 10 seconds.

Acquisition of '???' if you last more than 30 seconds.]

"Well since I'm fighting against someone like you, I guess I should borrow the power of items."

Lexus spoke as he unsheathed the red sword at his back. He wasn't nervous at all. The Pioneer had the authority to enter the Tower of Wisdom. This meant the Tower of Wisdom would likely favor the Pioneer.

"Borrow the power of items? That's weird."

The mysterious man's face wrinkled like he was eating something that he dislikes. The sword shone because of swordsmanship. In other words, it was natural for technique to be greater than tools.

"Very well, the test is quite simple. You just need to last more than 10 seconds against me. Do not worry young pioneer I will not kill you. At most you would be knocked out." Even though Biban said this with a smile on his face, Lexus felt the pressure emanating from his predecessor has doubled.

"What will I get if I last a bit longer?"

"I don't know because I haven't thought about it."

As that happened, the clash between the two Sword Saints began. Lexus and the sword of the mysterious man collided five times in a row but it was all Lexus defending. The mysterious man felt admiration. Hands emerged from his sleeves and wrapped around Lexus.

The mysterious man, the second generation Sword Saint Biban, was obstructed by a single God Hand that Lexus summoned. Then his sword cut Biban's back. To be exact, he cut Biban's robe. The baffled Biban still managed to respond to and dodge Lexus' attack. It was the power of the repetitive training and experience that he built up for hundreds of years.

'This is bad.'

Lexus grimaced as he thought. Although it looked like he was keeping pace with Biban, he knew that he was being overwhelmed.

'I'm still not used in my current state!'

His body's movements were sluggish despite having his stats surpassing 10,000 but that was the very exact reason. His mind and his body are not synchronized yet.

[A very small gap in your swordsmanship is exposed to Sword Saint Biban.]

[Evasion is ignored by Sword Saint Biban and defense has dropped. You will receive a critical hit.]

Although it made him so strong, it also led him to be vulnerable because of the massive increase in his raw strength. As he wasn't familiar yet with his current power, it still hadn't been engraved yet in his very being how to efficiently utilize the explosive power within his body.

However, Lexus barely managed to defend with the help of his Keen Intuition, which had been triggered by his luck. Though the rapid growth in his stats caused him a bit of trouble, Lexus wasn't too concerned. This was because his super sensitivity was still functioning and helping him overcome the crisis he was in.

Then—

[Enhanced Thought Acceleration]

The world around Lexus froze. It was the result of his perception being amplified by a million times.

"Oh?"

Biban became interested. Despite feeling the large gap between them, Lexus' movements took full advantage of the power of super sensitivity and his innate fighting skills as he swiftly retrieved his red sword. He focused completely on Lexus, observing him thoroughly. A legendary sword and the dignity of a ruler... Immeasurable eyes and thoroughly disciplined breathing...

Lexus hadn't built up his transcendent status due to a lack of experience, but he didn't seem lacking. He would've surely made a name for himself if he had been born in the same era as Muller or Madra. Perhaps, he could even have been stronger than the two of them... Well, probably not.

He groaned. It was hard to believe that Biban was an old man as he moved with his overwhelming swordsmanship. Despite with his fast movement and attack speed, together with the activation of Enhanced Thought Acceleration, Lexus still haven't been able to land a single slash to Biban's body.

'This is cheating.'

Lexus just realized the prowess of his super sensitivity stat when he personally saw it. He considered it as an absurd ability despite also having it. Just like him who utilized his super sensitivity to overcome his desynchronized state, Biban's super sensivity was also assisting Biban to detect and deflect Lexus' attacks.

Not to mention that he was a Sword Saint who had lived for more than hundreds of years so Biban is much more familiar and proficient in utilizing his super sensitivity making Lexus unable to land his Virulent even once. Not even the five strikes of the Mortality Sword managed to hit Biban since the old man's super sensitivity furiously reacted about the danger of those strikes.

Then, hundred swords were fired from his inventory. It was the Control Sword, a skill of the Sword Saint that allows to move the swords without using his hands. At the first stage, it allows a Sword Saint to control 10 swords but as Lexus had now produced his own swordsmanship and had widened his horizon about the sword, it now allows Lexus to control 100 swords.

An ordinary person wouldn't be able to control their body and the swords at the same time. In normal circumstances, this ability would make the enemy fall into a state of despair but both Biban and Lexus were Sword Saints.

Not to mention that Biban is far more experienced than him. Although it wasn't publicly known. He was the one who taught and guided Sword Saint Muller. Him being Sword Saint Muller's teacher can't be disregarded at all.

Then, more than 30 God Hands surrounded Biban. A red light glittering in gold light appears. As the strongest legendary combat class, Sword Saint, Lexus and Biban have the effect of reaching the maximum speed when a sword type weapon is equipped.

Blacksmith's Rage.

With the activation of his skill that strengthens him, Lexus moved forward and took a stance.

Massacre's Dance.

The distance between Lexus and Biban narrowed as several scorching sword energy flew and petals fluttered. Lexus reached his maximum speed, and a bursting sound rang incessantly in his ears. His vision was spinning. Lexus continued to shift his position, swinging his sword while keeping Biban in the center of his field of view. It was to force Biban along a certain path and induce the baptism of fluttering petals of flaming mana and sword energy.

[Second Form: Massacre's Dance]

[Dominate the surroundings with the solemn and stirring sword dance with the soaring momentum of the dragon that imposes a heavenly punishment on the enemy.

No one can approach you at this time.

All nearby enemies are overwhelmed by your power and will fall into fear. The feared target will have their defense reduced and won't be able to move for 5 seconds.

* Expresses a large array of consecutive slashes in a continuous motion to strike the target. A total of 10 strikes will be launched, dealing 100 times of attack power with each hit.

* For each additional two steps, the damage of the sword dance will increase by 25%, 50%, 100%, 200%, and 400% respectively.

Skill Resource Consumption: 200,000 mana, 200 sword energy.

Skill Cooldown Time: 30 minutes.]

With just the first slash, Lexus saw and felt that the world was turning upside down. His lips curled up. The swordsmanship that could stand above everything by making anything kneel in fear.

This attack was based on the sword dance, Restraint but there was a big difference between the two. Unlike Restraint that simply overwhelms any target by making them unable to approach, Massacre's Dance forcefully makes the enemies around to kneel and submit with the Dragon Fear.

Or to be exact, the essence of the second form was all of Pagma's sword dances combined into one. It could also be said as the ultimate and the final version of the sword dances. Just like the first form, Mortality Sword, the only drawback on the powerful ability was its massive consumption of Lexus' mana and sword energy resources.

"Wonderful!"

Biban exclaimed. The movements of Lexus, the very hot flames in the trails of the sword that reminded him about the flames of Fire Dragon Trauka, and the dangerous vibe from each strike, Sword Saint Biban was amazed by all of it.