Chapter 55: Server Maintenance Over, Update Complete
"There are many types of Sword Intent, but every wielder develops their own inclination," Hua's voice was as serene as the still air around them. "Some lean toward pure offense, others toward deception, and some toward an impenetrable defense..."
She paused, her gaze fixed on Rovel. "And your Clear Mirror Sword Intent leans toward 'observation'—to observe the enemy's every action and then formulate a perfect reaction. In essence, it is remarkably similar to the principle of 'Dissipating Force' in the martial arts of old."
"Both concepts revolve around striking after your opponent has committed, yet landing your blow first. Both use long-term strategy to overcome short-term aggression... However, you mentioned that you cannot yet wield your Sword Intent proficiently, that you can only manifest it while holding a blade. This reveals a fundamental limitation in your understanding of 'Intent' itself."
Hua closed her eyes, and in that instant, the world seemed to fall silent. The wind, which had been rustling the leaves, now only brushed gently through her hair, as if afraid to disturb her.
Drip... drop...
As Rovel watched her, a strange auditory illusion surfaced in his mind—the distinct sound of a single droplet of water falling onto the placid surface of a vast, clear lake.
When Hua opened her eyes again, her calm, azure pupils perfectly reflected Rovel's form. In that moment, he felt utterly transparent, as if his every twitch, every breath, every thought was being laid bare, mirrored in the depths of her gaze.
"Clear Mirror Sword Intent?" Rovel murmured, the words leaving his lips instinctively.
Hua gave a slight nod. She held no sword, yet the pressure of her Intent was obvious.
"Intent is a state of being, a form of comprehension. You feel you must hold a sword to use your Sword Intent because you first comprehended it through the sword. This has created a mental block, a fixed pattern in your mind."
Her guidance was patient, methodical. "Begin by using your sword to activate the Clear Mirror Sword Intent. Then, close your eyes and use your entire body to commit that feeling to memory. You must repeatedly impress upon yourself that this 'Intent' is yours and yours alone. It does not belong to the weapon in your hand."
"The sword is an inanimate object. The Intent originates from within you..."
Following Hua's instructions, Rovel slowly began the process.
The state of Clear Mirror Sword Intent was a wondrous thing. With a mind swept clean of all distractions, his opponent's every move became as clear as an image in a flawless mirror, revealing itself down to the most minute detail. It was a deep clarity, almost like gaining a god's-eye perspective on the battlefield.
The process of unlearning his dependency on the sword, however, was arduous. It was like trying to convince a bird it could fly without its wings, or a mole that it could dig without its claws. It was a deeply ingrained psychological pattern.
What Rovel had to do was shatter it.
It was nowhere near as simple as he had imagined. He could only cycle through the experience again and again, activating the Intent, feeling it, and letting not just his consciousness, but every cell in his body, memorize the sensation.
He stood there for an entire day, lost in this state of deep concentration.
His gaze was clear, fixed on the space before him, the entirety of the surrounding scenery reflected perfectly in his eyes.
Suddenly, a strange distortion rippled through his vision. It wasn't blurring... no, the images were beginning to overlap, to ghost over one another. The unsettling sensation made him instinctively shut his eyes.
The next second, those phantom images mapped themselves directly onto his mind's eye.
The overlapping disturbances were jarring, creating a disorienting feeling that bordered on motion sickness. But as he focused past the discomfort, he realized with a jolt that they weren't double images at all. They were trajectories.
The path of the wind's flow. The arc of a branch as it was pushed by the breeze. The subtle dance of every blade of grass and every leaf swaying in unison...
He kept his eyes closed, and the entire world around him was rendered in his mind not as a static image, but as a web of flowing energy and predicted motion.
When Rovel opened his eyes again and looked at the branches, he saw the leaves begin to sway, their movements perfectly matching the trajectories he had just 'seen' a moment before they happened.
[New Sword Intent learned: Tai Xu Sword Intent]
[Tai Xu Sword Intent: The state of mind sinks into a state of extreme etherealness. The senses no longer rely on sight or hearing, but instead use the heart to capture the subtle ripples caused by an opponent's muscle tremors, breath flow, and shifts in their center of gravity. These ripples, reflected by the heart, manifest as luminous tracks extending forward, allowing the user to deduce the complete picture of their actions in the next moment.]
[Effect: Able to see through any attack from an opponent whose Basic Kendo proficiency is lower than your own! Note: This effect may fail if the gap in raw strength is too great.]
[Due to learning a new Sword Intent, Basic Kendo (White) skill proficiency +30,000!]
Rovel's eyes snapped fully open, and he gasped for breath, the world rushing back in with dizzying speed.
"Did you... comprehend a new Sword Intent?" Hua's voice cut through his haze, tinged with a rare note of surprise.
Generally, such epiphanies occurred in the heat of battle, on the razor's edge between life and death. Or, they were the fruit of an extremely long period of quiet contemplation. For Rovel to simply stand here for a day and grasp a new, deep Intent... it was truly unusual.
"Yeah..." Rovel managed, pressing a hand to his forehead. "But this new Sword Intent... it makes me feel a bit sick..."
His voice was thin, his breathing ragged. His legs felt weak, and he nearly collapsed right where he stood.
Hua moved in a fluid motion, catching him before he fell. She lifted him effortlessly in a princess carry and brought him to a nearby pavilion to rest.
After a long while, the world finally stopped spinning, and Rovel felt his strength slowly return.
"What was that just now...?" he asked, shaking his head to clear the last of the fog.
"Intent places a significant burden on either the spirit or the body," Hua explained calmly. "When you are unable to process the vast amount of information your 'Intent' provides, it will overload your brain."
"To put it simply, the Sword Intent you just comprehended has already exceeded the limits of what you can currently handle. Forcing its use will only invite a backlash," she concluded.
"So... even though I've learned it, I have to wait for my spiritual power to increase before I can actually use it?" Rovel asked, connecting the dots. The Intelligence attribute was tied to spiritual power. To use 'Tai Xu Sword Intent', did he need to raise his Intelligence?
"Yes, that is the essence of it," Hua confirmed with a nod.
Rovel pulled up his status screen and looked at the newly added 'Tai Xu Sword Intent' in his skill list. It had awarded him a massive 30,000 proficiency points in one go. Compared to the 10,000 he received for Clear Mirror Sword Intent, the difference in tier was obvious.
also, the effect of 'Tai Xu Sword Intent'was astonishing. It was practically a form of future sight.'Being able to see through any attack lower than my own Kendo proficiency...'he mused.'In other words, as long as my opponent's skill level doesn't exceed my own, I'll see their every move coming?'His Basic Kendo was already at'Minor Accomplishment: 70,000/100,000'. As long as an attack's complexity didn't exceed that value, for Rovel, it would all be... useless.
'Of course,'he thought with a wry smile,'if someone like Kalpas threw a punch, I'd still have to eat dirt regardless.' Raw power was a different beast entirely.
There was still one day left before the game's server maintenance, which translated to twelve hours in reality. Rovel had no plans to continue his training; the single activation of 'Tai Xu Sword Intent' had left his mind in a state of deep fatigue. Even if he wanted to push himself, he knew Hua wouldn't allow it.
"Hua, I'll have to leave temporarily tomorrow. I'm not sure when I'll be able to return," Rovel said, his tone one of sincere gratitude. "Thank you for all your help these past few days."
"I am merely a guide. Your talent is considerable. I hope you will continue to hone it in the future," Hua replied, her expression as placid as ever. "Remember, the path of martial arts is endless."
"I will. Goodbye, Hua."
Rovel bid her farewell and made his way back to Mobius's laboratory.
"Klein, where is Dr. Mobius?" he asked, noticing the Doctor's absence.
"The Doctor is researching the 'Tai Yi' you brought back. It seems she has already made some progress," Klein replied, her fingers never ceasing their dance across the keyboard.
She poked her head out from behind her monitor and tilted it slightly, observing him.
"You look very tired."
"I just need to rest for a bit. Goodnight..." Rovel didn't even have the energy to log off. He collapsed onto the plush sofa in Mobius's lab and closed his eyes.
To recover mental energy, it didn't really matter whether he was in the game or in the real world. Both involved letting his consciousness enter a dormant state. And here, in the game, he had more time to let his brain recuperate.
Soon, the soft, even sound of his breathing filled the quiet lab.
Seeing this, the rhythmic clacking of Klein's typing became noticeably softer.
In his dream, Rovel felt a strange sensation, as if his face was being gently kneaded like dough for a very long time. Drifting alongside the odd feeling was an unusually pleasant fragrance that filled his senses.
When Rovel finally awoke, it was to the sight of Mobius sitting on the chair across from the sofa, her beautiful, gemstone-like snake pupils watching him quietly.
"Good morning, Doctor..." Rovel said, stretching luxuriously. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept so comfortably. He touched his cheek; why did it feel a little swollen?
"You have been asleep for twenty-three hours and forty-seven minutes," Mobius informed him, her voice a clinical, melodic purr. "There are twenty minutes remaining until the time you mentioned."
"I actually slept for that long?" Rovel scratched his head, surprised. "Maybe it's because I felt so at ease here. In my dream, I kept smelling a really pleasant fragrance nearby..."
His nose twitched, and his gaze instinctively shifted toward Mobius.
The doctor stood up from her chair and walked toward the inner room, her back to him.
"Take this." She tossed a small vial over her shoulder, which Rovel caught deftly.
[Intermediate Modification Potion: All attributes +100. Honkai Energy resistance increased by 200. Recommended Usage: Consume after all personal attributes have reached 150. Effective only upon first use.]
"I do not know the reason, but you seem unusually obsessed with becoming stronger," Mobius said, her tone flat and detached. "When you feel your body is sufficient to withstand the strain, use this."
"Thank you, Doctor..." Rovel looked at her retreating form, a flash of genuine gratitude warming his eyes.
"Alright, stop looking at me with that kind of gaze; it's far too sentimental," Mobius retorted, turning her head away slightly. "By the way, regarding that 'Tai Yi' you provided, it appears to be quite an extraordinary object. I still require more time to study it. There should be some tangible progress by the next time you arrive."
"Mm, I believe in you, Dr. Mobius," Rovel said earnestly.
Without another word, Mobius disappeared into her laboratory.
"Time is about up," Rovel said to the room at large. "Goodbye Klein, goodbye Doctor. See you next time."
...
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