Mastering the 8 Variations

"Holy shit," Karsha muttered, staring at the hundreds of thousands of connections required for a single variation the clone was executing. He couldn't help but curse out loud in disbelief.

"It's just too complex." The variation is called [Cyclone Dash]. True to its name, the technique involved fusing lightning with wind to create a miniature cyclone that not only propelled the wielder forward but also dealt offensive damage.

The variation was more of an attack-movement technique than just a mere movement one. Despite its power, Karsha couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the nearly 3,000 connections he needed to understand to master the technique.

The exact number of connections is 2,896, making it almost three times the variations he had mastered in the previous steps.

"How am I going to get this done on time?" Karsha wondered aloud. With an added 18 days, he allotted 200 days to master the second level of the Stormstride Ninefold Path. His goal was to master the second level within those 200 days before moving on to the next stage. However, with 2,896 connections contained in just a single variation, mastering it and completing the others in time seemed like a child's dream.

However, Karsha didn't let that hinder him. He still had 115 days left. Even if he couldn't master all 8 variations, he could at least master half and finish the rest later. After all, he could still access the system Subspace in the human world.

But while this might be a viable plan, he knew he had a better chance against the overlords if he mastered all 8 variations.

"This is just another challenge in your path, General Karsha. No need to let it overcome you," Karsha said in a strange voice, perhaps mimicking someone from his past life on Earth.

Since that seemed to encourage him, he turned back to the clone and started comprehending the connections. With his enhanced comprehension speed, he began to understand some aspects almost instantly.

The connections were linked not only to his yin-yang lightning but also to his silent wind element, giving him a slight increase in his understanding of the wind along the way. While this wasn't enough to break into the Medium affinity stage of the Silent Wind element, it was still progress.

Two days went by in a flash, but Karsha never moved a finger. In that time, he had comprehended about 700 connections, but that wasn't enough. There were over 2500 connections, and before he could master Cyclone Dash, he had to comprehend them all.

Five days later, he had comprehended 2400 connections, but the task only became more difficult. The connections grew increasingly complex. He had to understand how each one interlinked with the next, how they communicated with each other, and how best to link them together.

He had to ensure he didn't mistake one connection for another. Eight days later, Karsha let a small smile escape his lips. He had comprehended 2890 connections, leaving only six more to go.

The remaining six connections were about linking all the other connections to form something akin to a nucleus. Imagine the connections as threads that need to be tied together to form a net. The last six connections were the threads that linked all the others together.

While this might sound relatively easy, linking the wrong thread meant starting all over again. It was like connecting a live wire to a neutral one.

'You have only one shot at this, Karsha. Don't mess it up,' he thought to himself. After encouraging himself some more, Karsha started watching the clone continue to execute the variation.

Two days later, Karsha smiled as he let his mind relax a little. He had finally comprehended all 2,896 connections. The net was now connected and ready to be cast.

He had expected the first variation to take more time, but surprisingly, it only took 10 days. Well, it was his fault for underestimating his intelligence and the effect of the time tablet.

However, his mind was now exhausted, so he needed to slow down and let his brain recover before starting on the second variation.

After five hours of rest, Karsha began comprehending the second variation. It was called Rapid Thunderstep Surge. This variation involved fusing electric charges into the cells and using them to propel the body forward at an incredibly fast pace. At top speed, the person would look like a blur.

It was an improved version of the Rapid Burst variation from the 108 variations in the first level.

"1,002 connections, huh?" Karsha arched an eyebrow as he read the number of connections he had to master.

Although there were just 1,002 connections, they were nothing like the first set. The first variation involved using wind and electricity to move. Now, however, he had to fuse electricity directly into his cells.

Thankfully, as the clone executed the movements, Karsha could see the flow of electric charge passing through his veins, meridians, and cells. The visualization was so clear that it made Karsha marvel at the power of the system and its subspace.

"Simple enough," he thought. After spending an entire day watching the clone execute the movements countless times, Karsha began the fusion process.

He started from his feet and gradually worked his way up to his upper body.

Eight days later, Karsha was still left with 10 connections to comprehend. He had linked the energy cells in almost every part of his body. The only part left was his most vital organ—the brain.

Even linking the heart had been relatively simple for him. However, the brain was a whole different challenge. He knew he had to proceed slowly. Fortunately, with how much he had observed the clone, it didn't take long for him to link 5 neurons without much difficulty.

He proceeded to link the remaining connections, and by the end of the tenth day, all 1,002 connections had been established.

"Arcing Blitz," Karsha said aloud. After resting for six hours, he began comprehending the third variation. Surprisingly, this variation only had one connection, albeit a very important one. With the wind already linked to the first variation, all he had to do was advance that connection to the next level.

After just five days, Karsha understood what needed to be done. He had to infuse the wind into the lightning. While the first variation involved infusing lightning into the wind, now he had to reverse the process, which proved relatively straightforward.

The Arcing Blitz allowed him to glide with extreme speed, akin to the wind. When he needed to escape while delivering one last blow, the Arcing Blitz was key. It enabled him to traverse obstacles effortlessly, using the momentum and wind to ascend gracefully and descend with lightning speed.

After he was done fusing the wind into the lightning, he moved on to the fourth variation, which also took him 10 days to comprehend. This one was called Electroburst Dash. Similar to the first and third variations, it used the wind, making it even more powerful than expected.

Electroburst Dash utilized both wind and crackling electricity to propel the user forward at extremely high speeds. The remarkable aspect was that the speed with which one started moving could be maintained, allowing the user to sustain their top speed for as long as they wished.

This fourth variation was ideal for large-scale battles, where numerous targets could be taken down with lightning-fast speed. It was incredibly powerful, and after meticulous weaving and connecting, Karsha managed to comprehend it fully.

He then moved on to the fifth variation, which took him twelve days to comprehend. While that may seem like a long time for a single variation, Karsha truly struggled with this one. The variation was called [Tempest Flicker]. It was a technique that made the user flicker in and out of existence.

Essentially, the person had to supercharge their cells, making them so volatile that their body could transform into something akin to an afterimage.

His cells would be in an excited state, allowing him to expand his body to the point where an incoming object would pass right through him.

This technique was incredibly advanced and could have taken many years to understand. Unbeknownst to Karsha, he had comprehended part of the space law, a feat that required significant effort and compensation.

The sixth and seventh stages took him just ten days each. The sixth, [Thunderclap Leap], involved charging the cells in his legs to propel himself upward. This ability allowed him to leap into the air and descend with a thunderclap, enabling him to evade and counter before retreating.

The seventh variation was [Static Surge Glide]. This movement allowed him to glide like the wind while weaving a chain of lightning in his wake. He would move so fast that all anyone could see was the lightning chain he had woven, which would trap targets, allowing him to escape or counter.

"One more to go," he thought, contemplating the last and greatest variation: The Sonic Bolt Dash. This variation transformed the user into a streak of lightning that flashed across the battlefield. The surge was so powerful that, at full mastery, the user could cover 100 kilometers in a second. In the blink of an eye, they could move and kill a target without anyone knowing what had happened.

Karsha spent about twenty days mastering all 3,000 connections. He tried various methods to understand the connections, but their complexity was overwhelming. However, after slowing down and carefully watching the clone perform the variations repeatedly, he finally managed to grasp it.

"This feels like forever," Karsha sighed. He then stood up, stretched for a while, and activated the eight variations. Instantly, he surged forward, executing a series of maneuvers.

Watching him jump up and descend with a thunderclap was both beautiful and terrifying. He had achieved something remarkable, though he would only fully understand its significance when the real challenge began.

< Ding! You have attained an SSS+ rating in the Stormstride Ninefold Path: Second Level - Thunderstep >

< You have mastered 8 different combinations >

< Ding! Your mastery of the First Level has been raised to SSS+ rating >

"Time to build some walls, I guess," he said, feeling accomplished with the movement technique. He then moved on to the defense technique, the Titan Defense Art, intending to master the first two levels.