A second of silence was all it took for Veronica to realize what she had just said.
The word just came out of her mouth without any thought.
Ahh, what am I doing? Am I supposed to teach this young lord… no, he's at least five years older than me. Do I even know how to teach anyone anything?
This ugly old lord… his eyes, though. Ahh!! Noo! What's wrong with me?
She began feeling the sides of her cheeks get warm, but quickly moved her Blood Force to suppress the blush threatening to expose her thoughts.
As for Marcus, he stood to the side, waiting for Veronica to do or say something.
Veronica unconsciously glanced at his eyes again, and this time she couldn't help but be frustrated by those eyes.
Let's get it over with. She thought.
"What do you know about Weapon Resonance?"
"Huh, what's that? Is it a term for something else?" Marcus replied.
His response shocked not only Lily but Veronica too.
"So you've been swinging your sword without knowing this. How much of the basics do you know?"
Marcus paused and picked up his sword.
He put a bit of distance between himself and Veronica before slashing. And then he thrust his sword.
"There's also parrying and blocking. That's all I know."
Veronica, unaware, had her mouth open a bit.
Who the hell was your teacher!? What do you mean, "that's all you know"? All of that is common knowledge! This crazy, ugly, old lord, how were you planning to execute a Graded Technique without knowing the basics!?
Seeing her stupefied expression, Marcus immediately realized that he had just embarrassed himself.
He cleared his throat and said, "Is there something about the basics that I don't know?"
"The Graded Technique you've been trying to perform- who taught it to you? Weren't you taught about the basics to achieve it? Slashing and thrusting are things that even a child with a kitchen knife can do. Those are not the basics required here."
Marcus quickly guessed what a Graded Technique was. Though he didn't dare to confirm, as he didn't want to embarrass himself further.
He chuckled lightly and scratched the back of his head. "I really wasn't taught anything about the basics."
Speechless, Veronica walked off to the corner where a rack of weapons lay.
She picked up a sword and turned to face Marcus.
"There's no point in asking you these questions anymore. I'd rather just show you."
With the sword raised and pointed at Marcus, a faint ripple of energy traveled from her arm to the sword, and in Marcus's eyes, the sword seemed to look like a part of Veronica.
He blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to confirm if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
But nothing changed.
If anything, he even felt like with every second that passed, the sword melded with her hand.
"This is called Resonance. It refers to the bond between the weapon and the wielder. That's one way to put it, but what it truly refers to is the familiarity and repetition. How much have you trained with the sword? Have you thought of it as a part of you, rather than a tool?"
Veronica swung the sword to the side, and a thin line of red hue lingered in the air for a second or two.
"Do you understand?"
Marcus paused and held his chin. "You're trying to say that I haven't practiced with the sword long enough?"
"No." Veronica frowned. She truly didn't know how to teach things. Especially something that she was able to achieve on her own without much of a hassle.
"While one can achieve Weapons Resonance by constantly practicing with a weapon and being familiar with it, that is just one aspect. There's also the path of understanding. Do you know its weight and dimensions? Can you use it as well as you use your hands?"
Marcus's frown deepened. He felt like what Veronica was saying made sense. And at the same time, it didn't.
Whether it was a lack of intelligence on his side or not, he didn't know.
Seeing him struggle to understand, Veronica's frustration increased, and she whispered to herself. "Why did I agree to do this?..."
"Come at me." She suddenly said and pointed the sword at Marcus again.
"What?"
"Don't use your Blood Force or Mana. Just your physical strength. If you can't comprehend it from my words alone, then perhaps witnessing it will do it."
This should be okay, right? It's just sparring. Marcus contemplated.
Before he could come to a conclusion, Veronica had already appeared before him and swung her sword frightfully fast at him.
Marcus's eyes widened, and he quickly raised his sword to block the strike.
Ding!
There was nothing but force behind Veronica's strike, and it forced Marcus to stumble, backing away seven steps before he found his balance.
Shock laced his face as his palm felt slightly numb.
Veronica had not used Mana or Blood Force in that strike, and even though he had blocked the strike, it felt as if a hefty man had struck with his sword.
Why is she so strong?
Marcus had just asked himself this when she attacked again; this time he was more prepared.
As the sword descended, Marcus stepped to the side and positioned his sword to parry her attack.
However, the moment their swords touched, Veronica's attack path changed as if the laws of motion and force didn't apply to her.
Once again, Marcus felt that heavy force behind her sword push him back.
His face scrunched up with confusion and a slightly grazed ego.
How had her sword changed path in a split second and still retained that much force?
Marcus wondered.
Not even a second later, another strike came, even faster than before.
In response, Marcus attacked back, refusing to be on the receiving side of this.
The two swords collided, sending sparks into the air. This time, Marcus was pushed two steps back.
Refusing to accept that he was weaker, Marcus charged forward this time, aiming to push this young lady back.
They clashed about thirteen more times before Marcus started to silently believe that he was weaker than her.
Damn it! Is the difference between our strength that big?
"No," Veronica uttered, as if she read his mind.
"At the moment, our physical strength is almost similar. So that's not why you're being pushed back. The difference between us, at the moment, is the Resonance. This sword is not only an extension of me, but it is a part of my thoughts.
It will go where I want it to. Don't just react to my attacks or charge at me thoughtlessly. Meld your thoughts, muscles, and breathing with how you wield the sword. That is how one attains Resonance with the weapon."
Hearing this advice, Marcus took it seriously.
But before he could digest it, Veronica attacked again.
*****
Three days had passed since that day. And each day since then, before dawn, Veronica and Marcus would spar, exchanging a number of moves.
One was determined to teach, since she had agreed to do so. And this wasn't for any other reason other than her pride.
And the other party was determined to learn when he realized that sparring with Veronica helped his combat sense improve. More importantly, he increasingly felt like he was at the cusp of grasping what this Resonance truly was.
And on the fourth day…
Ding!
Two swords clashed and remained stuck to each other.
Marcus's eyes shone with understanding as a small smile played on the corners of his lips.
He finally understood what it meant to Resonate with a weapon this morning.
Veronica too felt it in his sword.
But the two of them didn't stop sparring. Marcus wanted to beat her once in a spar, while Veronica allowed the spar to continue because she thought he was still trying to consolidate what he grasped.
"Argh!" Marcus leaped into the air and descended with his sword striking down.
For the first time since they started sparring, Veronica had to parry the attack, unlike before, when she would cancel out his attacks with force.
Marcus's sword connected to hers, only to slide down the side and strike the floor.
Thud!
The sword created a line on the ground a few inches deep.
Why is he still attacking me? He's already grasped what Resonance is.
It was at this point that she noticed the smile on his face.
He's enjoying this. Her eyes squinted.
In retaliation, Veronica increased the strength behind her strike.
The moment Marcus moved to block the strike, he was sent flying over a dozen feet.
He flipped in the air and landed smoothly on his feet. However, he wasn't pleased.
"I thought you said we would be fighting without using Blood Force or Mana."
Veronica looked at him blankly. "I didn't use any of that."
And truly she didn't.
"Then…" Marcus paused to think. "Was that a stronger form of Resonance?"
"Yeah. But it isn't called Resonance. That was Synchronization. And after that, there's Evocation, a level that many don't even reach. It is a stage where one tries to manifest mental energy and synchronize it with their weapons."
Marcus sighed internally. Just when he thought he had achieved something great, he was shown that the wall was taller than he thought.
"Is there any more?"
Veronica tilted her head to the side. "There's Intent above that. But that is a realm where even I don't have the knowledge to speak about it. But from what I've heard, it is incredibly powerful. They say that if a mortal could wield Intent, then he or she could take the life of a Tier 1 Being with a few attacks."
Intent!
The moment Marcus heard this, his ears perked up.
Didn't the information on the Seven Desolate Swords say that the technique was created after observing the Sword Intents of many old masters?
Intent was the major reason why he chose to purchase this technique then.
He couldn't help but be a bit excited to hear something about it now. Not only that, if he could achieve it, wouldn't that mean that he would be able to stand his ground against Maney?
"Is it that powerful!?" Marcus dropped his sword and quickly closed the distance between them, startling Veronica.
His sweaty scent filled her nose, making her feel uncomfortable.
She quickly took two steps back. Normally, she would have done something else, but this was the first time she had seen Marcus make an expression like this.
He looked like a child that had seen something that excited him.
By the corner, Lily glared at Marcus, thinking; How bold of you!
"Yes, it is."
"Please, tell me more about it!" He quickly sat on the floor, waiting for her to join him.