"Why did I have to form my Core? I wish I became a Perception Realm instead," she grumbled.
When Benedict heard that, he almost choked. Talk about being greedy! He wanted to comment, but he stopped himself. Instead, he took a deep breath and tried to recover his strength. "How do you think everyone else is doing?" he wondered.
"They're doing fine."
She declared it so confidently that Benedict was confused. "How do you know that?"
"It's what I hope and believe to be true, and that's all I need."
"You're something else," he chuckled. Her extreme optimism astounded him.
"Am I?" Shirley replied, tilting her head in the darkness. "I think you should stop being so negative all the time. Girls don't like that in boys."
He was stunned. "What does that have to do with anything?"
She stared at where his voice came from. Maybe it was because they could not see each other, or because they might die the next second that she felt encouraged to say this, "You like Elizabeth, don't you?"
"What-What are you saying?" A horrified expression appeared on his face.
"Am I wrong?" she pressed.
"You… I… How did you even get that idea?"
"I thought it was obvious."
Benedict opened and closed his mouth many times, unable to say anything. Eventually, he exhaled and his shoulders sagged. With a shameful voice, he replied, "You're wrong about that."
"You don't have to be shy. Your secret's safe with me."
He shifted uncomfortably. "I'd rather not. Can we talk about something else?"
She could tell how resistant he was to the idea and wisely gave up. "Then, can you teach me how to use Magic Energy? I don't really remember what Elizabeth and Freon said."
"Hm? Magic Energy?" He scratched his head awkwardly. "…To be honest, I'm not much better than you in that regard. I can't even cast any spells. Do you have any preference for spells like fire or water?"
Shirley pondered. "Why can't I use my halberd?"
"Of course, you can't," he laughed. "A halberd is…"
His voice trailed off, leading Shirley to grab his arm. "What's wrong?"
"I'm fine," he answered with a smile. "Give me a second."
Little did she know, she set off a series of explosions in Benedict's head. She raised an excellent question. Magic was typically divided into certain categories. There were elemental spells like fire, wind, water, earth, light, darkness, and ice. For example, Elizabeth used wind, and Freon fire. Ten Dawn Yvonne specialized in light and darkness. Then, there were the enhancement-type spells like healing. Ten Dawn Iris was the best example of this. And finally, there were barrier-type spells. These three categories formed the pillars of today's Arcanist society. However, why was there not a 'halberd' spell? Or a 'sword' spell? On the surface, this was a stupid question. A sword was a sword. How could there be sword spells? It was like asking if pigs could fly. Of course, they could not.
Benedict would have never entertained that question before. Yet… there was a new precedence now. From giant insects that could toy with Royal Guards to salamanders that could cast spells to talking birds that could rival his master, the world was filled with strange things. He could not discard everything that strayed outside his worldview anymore. So, it came back to Shirley's question: what about a sword spell? What would that entail? Was it something like what the Arcane Knights did, mixing magic spells with their own martial arts? He shook his head. No, that was not it. They were fighting with spells and weapons, but it was not truly a spell as a weapon. They were separate things. It should be more like the Cloud Sea Style, expressing swordsmanship through martial techniques. Every motion, every form should embody the sword.
A sword was rigid, so techniques could be easily woven into it. A spell, on the other hand, was flexible. It did not have a constant shape, structure, or style. Therefore, to achieve a sword spell, it should be constructed like a sword: fixed, unmoving, and unyielding. No, that was wrong again. His eyes brightened suddenly. A blazing spark ignited in the depths of his pupils. Spells should not be forced into becoming sword-like. Rather, swords should become spell-like, free-flowing and ever-changing. That was a true 'sword spell'. That was the true essence of a 'sword'! The second he came to that realization, he breached that razor-thin barrier in his Sword Attainment. Perfect Sword Form! He finally reached it, the pinnacle state of the Sword Form Stage! This was the same stage that Sir Roland, his father, and other famous swordsmen stood at. With it, he could finally call himself a master swordsman, one of the best in the world!
A million ideas raced through his head. In hindsight, it was obvious. Sword styles should change and grow over time. They should never remain stagnant. It was obvious, yet he overlooked this one simple concept. It was not because his understanding of swordsmanship was insufficient. No, it had to do with himself. Since the beginning, when he trained under his father, the rules of swordsmanship were thoroughly beaten into him. Those rules became the laws that governed his combat style. Later, when he earned the tutelage of the Sword King, he added Martial Energy and the Cloud Sea Style to his repertoire, but his rigidity never changed. Even when his strength grew by leaps and bounds and he became a Perception Realm Novice, in a sense, he was the same as before. Thus, the answer to Perfect Sword Form was a simple one. He had to break out of his habits, challenge what he knew, and explore new paths. That was the way to become a master swordsman!
Seeing that he turned quiet, Shirley felt she might have gone too far earlier. "Listen, I'm sorry for bringing up Elizabeth. I won't do it again, okay?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Benedict was mystified. He had been absorbed in his sudden enlightenment that he genuinely forgot about their conversation.
Question marks appeared over Shirley's head. "Then, why were you quiet?"
"Oh… I was thinking about how I grasped Perfect Sword Form just now."
She looked at him like he was a freak. They were talking about spells, and he grasped Perfect Sword Form? How did that work? Funnily enough, she had the same incredulous expression that he had when she formed her Core and became a Low Gaseous Fog Arcanist. They were more alike than they realized. And coincidentally… neither of their breakthroughs changed the situation. Shirley's Core was useless without a wand, and Benedict's Perfect Sword Form was useless without a sword. Regardless, they had to do something. It was pointless to stay here. Thinking that, the girl wobbled to her feet. Their short rest was enough for her to recover some energy.
"We should start heading back to that cavern. Maybe we'll figure out something on the way."
"Alright," Benedict replied as he barely stood up. "Let me use my Martial Perception to scout ahead."
"No, I'll do it," she quickly volunteered.
She was well aware of how poor his condition was, and since she was relatively better off, she should endure the strain. As she drew a deep breath, she activated Mock Perception. An immediate surge of pain pierced through her head like an arrow, making her hiss. Her nails dug into her palms and drew blood. Even her nose was bleeding. One advantage she had over Benedict's Martial Perception was that her mastery of Mock Perception was many times greater. This enabled her to precisely control her range and how much information she received, which, in turn, lowered her burden. The process was slower and the result was less accurate, but the pain was made tolerable. That was enough. When her mental map got to a certain point, she jolted.
"People are fighting nearby!"
"Is it Elizabeth and Freon?!" The moment he said those words, he regretted them. Everyone was out there struggling for their lives, and here he was, only interested in his friends. How selfish.
"No, it's a Grand Knight and Arcane Knight. We need to help them!"
This time, he agreed without a second thought, "Let's go!"