Initially, when Aiden first witnessed this technique that resembled the legendary "sword aura," he was thoroughly astounded by its pure aesthetic of destruction. He immediately badgered Alfia and Zald, asking about its secrets.
At the time, Zald merely laughed heartily. Patting him on the shoulder, he said it was still too early for him.
That required power capable of moving mountains and parting seas, along with skill that commanded one's own strength to the finest, most infinitesimal degree.
Looking at all the adventurers across the entire lower world, those capable of achieving this step were exceedingly rare—they could be counted on one hand.
Alfia's answer was, as always, concise, even carrying a hint of matter-of-fact nonchalance: "It's very simple. Just swing your magic out."
She made it sound simple, but Aiden knew the profound difficulty behind it.
Magic was an extension of an adventurer's Mind, controlled as easily as one's own arm, but it solely resided within the adventurer's body.
Unless released through the fixed "program" of a spell, it was fundamentally impossible to detach it far from the body, let alone "swing" it out like a stone.
After becoming an adventurer, Aiden had also attempted it countless times.
But without exception, every attempt failed.
He was completely unable to condense that swordsman's power into a physical form, detach it from the blade, and turn it into a true flying slash.
But now, he seemed to have found a shortcut.
Since his current abilities and skills were insufficient to support the use of a proper Lumina Slash, and he couldn't achieve the esoteric "swinging your magic out" that Alfia spoke of, he would use the power of magic to take a shortcut.
He used the sonic power of Demon Lord Valion as the "carrier" and "thruster," the fire of Everlasting Flames as the "warhead," and his own slash as the "guide" and "shaping mold." The three merged into one.
Using this trick, he "fired" the slash out.
Although this wasn't a proper Lumina Slash, but a simulated composite move that was fundamentally still a magical attack, with the amplification of two powerful magics, its power was equally not to be underestimated.
Of course, if possible, Aiden also desired to one day achieve a true Lumina Slash, reaching the realm where Alfia and Zald stood.
Without using any magic, obliterating distance purely with a swordsman's slash, erupting with a terrifying power comparable to the annihilation magic of a top-tier mage.
Unleashing sword aura—this was the ultimate, irresistible romance carved into the bones of every swordsman who yearned for power.
According to his own guesses, achieving a true Lumina Slash required satisfying several prerequisites.
First, absolutely powerful basic ability parameters.
Without a sufficiently deep foundation, it would be like trying to build a castle out of sand; it was fundamentally impossible to unleash that kind of world-destroying flying slash.
Aiden conservatively estimated that one needed to reach at least Level 5 and become a First-Class Adventurer to even have a chance of touching this threshold.
Then came peerless technique.
If one relied solely on ability parameters, how astronomically high would the numbers need to be to compensate for a lack of skill? Perhaps only in the realm of Level 7 could one force it through brute strength.
Otherwise, one must possess exquisite artistry capable of perfectly controlling, condensing, and projecting every single ounce of power.
Finally, and most importantly, one must have a skill or magic capable of buffing oneself.
Just like his [Alpha Inforce] and Everlasting Flames.
Without an "amplifier" capable of amplifying and qualitatively transforming power, even with sufficient ability parameters and skills, it would be difficult to erupt with that over-specced power to achieve the Lumina Slash technique.
Achieving Lumina Slash was just that difficult.
Precisely because of this, those who could master it were all heroes remembered by their eras, chosen ones favored by the gods.
They could cleave mountains, shatter city walls, and bisect giant monsters capable of triggering natural disasters with their swords.
. . .
Lumina Slash? No, that's not it... Did he use a trick?
Behind the barrier, Astrea, who had been silently watching the battlefield, widened her emerald eyes the moment Aiden unleashed that slash.
Although the power of Aiden's Unsheathed Heavenly Fire when slaying the Goliath on the 17th Floor earlier was even more astonishing.
The feeling that move gave off was more like a pure magical bombardment with energy compressed to its absolute limit.
But this was different.
That strike just now, whether in its windup or its final manifested form, was infinitely close to the true Lumina Slash in her memory.
However, a god's insight was ultimately extraordinary.
In just a moment of astonishment, Astrea saw through its essence.
The core driving force of Aiden's sword strike was still magic—the product of an ingenious fusion between two spells of different natures. It was not the slash unleashed by those heroes known as "Champions" in her memory, which was condensed purely from artistry and willpower.
But this was astonishing enough.
To be able to achieve this step at Level 3, "simulating" the prototype of Lumina Slash through a trick, meant that Aiden not only possessed extraordinary combat intuition but also a terrifyingly high comprehension capable of grasping the whole from a mere fraction.
He had already crossed the threshold; he had already touched the door to that realm.
As long as his ability parameters and skills met the standard in the future, mastering the true Lumina Slash would only be a matter of time for him.
When that time came, a casual swing of his sword would rival the painstaking bombardment magic of a mage.
As a swordsman, he would have truly reached the absolute pinnacle of what mortals could achieve.
In the long memories of Astrea's divine life, the number of adventurers in the entire lower world capable of using Lumina Slash was already incredibly small.
Excluding those legendary "Champions" of the Zeus and Hera Familias who had long since drawn their curtains in the tides of the era, among those still active in the world today, the only ones she knew of were the silent, mountain-like "Warlord" Ottarl of the Freya Familia, and Leon Vadenburg, the "Knight of Knights," who constantly wandered outside of Orario.
And now, she seemed to be witnessing the third person possessing such aptitude rising like a new star.
Compared to the surging emotions of Astrea, the reactions of Daphne and the others were much plainer.
They didn't know what Lumina Slash meant in the world of swordsmen, let alone understand what an earth-shattering technique it was to unleash a pure slash outward.
In their eyes, that strike just now looked more like another new trick Aiden had come up with after fusing his two wondrous magics.
After all, they were already used to their Captain casually whipping out a fiery bombardment to clear the field from time to time.
Although the form and power of that sword strike were completely different from his previous fiery bombardments, immersed in the relaxed atmosphere of a victorious battle, they didn't delve too deeply into it.
Adventurers were pragmatic; as long as it could effectively and quickly eliminate the enemy, it was a good move.
They simply couldn't comprehend what that sword meant to a swordsman pursuing the pinnacle of the sword path.
Within the team, Daphne, the only one who used a sword as her primary weapon, didn't self-identify purely as a "swordsman," but rather as a flexible and versatile "adventurer."
To her, the sword was just a handy weapon.
If a mission required it, she could switch to daggers or a spear at any time; she was even adept at using a long whip for mid-range crowd control.
She had never walked the path of ascetic training to specialize in one discipline, so she naturally couldn't see through the door to a new world opened behind that Pseudo Lumina Slash.
Therefore, among the crowd, only Astrea stared intently at Aiden with those sparkling emerald eyes.
That gaze was as fervent as having discovered an unpolished, peerless jewel, as if she were personally witnessing the birth of a new hero candidate.
The gods desired heroes and admired heroes; she was no exception.
And the dazzling potential Aiden displayed at this moment caused her heart rate to accelerate uncontrollably, making it impossible for her to look away.
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