Chapter 109: First Stage Completion
"My spells are already potent enough. I don\'t think adding more offensive techniques would help me as much."
This made Kyle put a strike on the Radiant Inferno school, that didn\'t mean he had ruled it out completely though. He could still re-consider if he doesn\'t find any fitting one.
"Iron Earth," Kyle considered next. "A fortress in motion. Unyielding, immovable, waiting for the perfect moment to counter."
He thought about the long, grueling battles that the school\'s practitioners were used to enduring.
"I\'m not the kind to stay put and absorb blows. It\'s just not me. I\'d rather stay on the move," Kyle decided.
Fighting to stay on the defensive was not something he could consider. It was not only boring but could make him change his style of fighting completely.
"Wind Chasers," Kyle muttered after. The name alone sparked an idea in his mind. It was a school built on speed, precision, and agility—elements that complemented his lightning affinity.
"Speed isn\'t just movement—it\'s awareness," Kyle recalled the line from the book.
The idea of reacting, outmaneuvering, and exploiting every opportunity felt right, but the Wind Chasers weren\'t the only school that offered Movement Techniques.
There was the Serene Wave. It\'s philosophy had to do with patience, calmness, and guiding the battle rather than matching force with force.
He traced a sentence on the book with his finger that described their philosophy. "Adaptable, like water."
"I already fight with some level of patience," Kyle reasoned. "I study my opponents, adapt to their moves, and look for weaknesses. But… is that enough?"
Kyle sat in silence for a moment before voicing his thoughts. "I need to improve my movement. That\'s what I want."
A movement technique would complement his current style and let him engage and disengage at will, avoid hits, and create openings.
One could argue that he had a movement spell already—[Lightning Dash]. But from what Kyle had read from the book, techniques were more than just spells.
Spells are raw bursts of mana shaped for immediate use, but techniques... they\'re art in motion, and could be adapted into combat.
"That narrows it down to movement techniques. Now, between the Serene Wave and the Wind Chasers…" Kyle paused for a while, weighing the two options.
The Serene Wave offered a unique approach, a patient and adaptable style that allowed for strategic responses.
But Kyle\'s heart leaned toward the Wind Chasers. The thought of embodying the wind, moving with unmatched speed and agility, resonated with him.
He could envision himself dodging attacks effortlessly, striking at his opponents\' weakest moments, and controlling the tempo of every fight.
"The Wind Chasers," Kyle said aloud with a voice filled with conviction. "I prefer their way of fighting. They were quick, unpredictable, and always one step ahead."
He could almost see himself darting around the battlefield, turning every encounter into a dance of precision and swiftness.
Kyle took a deep breath, feeling the decision settle within him. It felt right, like the missing piece in his combat puzzle. "Alright, that\'s it. The Wind Chasers school it is."
Having decided on what school to embark on, Kyle stood up and stretched his arms.
"Alright, time to head back," he said, tucking the book under his arm.
Returning to his room, Kyle saw Void in the center of the room, his eyes closed and aura pulsing gently as he cultivated.
Then suddenly, Kyle remembered what he had pieced earlier from reading the history of Martial arts. That was the key for creating his chaos mana core.
\'Adaptation,\' Kyle referenced in his mind. \'I need to think like the core, act like it.\'
He placed the book on a nearby table, and with a smile, Kyle approached his bed.
Without hesitation, he sat cross-legged, steadying his breath as he prepared for the task ahead.
He began by sensing the chaos pool of mana within him. He had done this for the umpteenth time already, but Kyle didn\'t mind. He had set his focus already.
Unlike his previous attempts, which had been full of coercion and rigid control, this time he allowed his approach to mirror chaos itself—unpredictable and varied.
He drew on his internal energy with an array of methods, shifting between aggressive surges and subtle manipulations. He pushed his mana flow, then allowed it to pull back, testing the limits and pressing without forming a pattern.
Minutes flew quickly and in a blink of an eye, 2 hours passed in a flash with Kyle still trying to form an orb.
He didn\'t feel discouraged though, as he knew that it was working. With each attempt made, Kyle knew he was inching ever closer to his goal.
He kept on shifting from controlled focus to sudden bursts of intent, trying to mirror the chaos within him.
And then it happened.
A warmth surged in Kyle\'s core as he was already in the process of forming an orb. He quickly moved, varying his actions even more in an attempt to mold the core.
With time, the mana finally condensed into an orb... and it didn\'t shatter. It held!
"I did it!"
Kyle knew he had done it. He had completed the first stage of forming his core—forming a spherical orb.
Truth to be told, the orb was of a very large volume and Kyle knew that he had a difficult task in hand when it came to its compression.
It would be very challenging to make it as small as possible, but Kyle couldn\'t dampen his victory with such thoughts now. What mattered was that he was on track. He had taking the first step!