98 – 42. Mana Master (1)
The moment of facing Satan once again triggered the appearance of the quest window.
[Encountered the owner of the Abyss!]
[Emergency quest activated! Defeat the Demon Lord Satan in rage and obtain Ian’s retrospection as a reward!]
The tail of Ian, in a slightly different form than what had been seen countless times before, involuntarily lifted.
‘He has changed… But back then, at least there was a choice… This time, there’s not even that.’
It felt like unilateral coercion. Regardless of how it happened, wasn’t it making him perform the quest forcibly, unlike before when he was given the choice of selection?
Moreover, the reward had also changed from a hidden secret to retrospection, not concealed.
‘Retrospection… I don’t know the difference between the hidden secrets that could be obtained as rewards until now and retrospection. But considering the discrimination made like that, there must be something.’
He couldn’t know the details. Honestly, just listening, there didn’t seem to be much difference…
Still, wasn’t everything known when thoroughly examined?
Even if he thought there was nothing special right now, if he found out the true identity of retrospection, there might be new information that he hadn’t known so far.
‘Yes. It’s still a stage where I can’t be sure.’
Even if he thought hard alone, nothing would change.
Although a corner of his mind became frustrated with that fact, honestly, it didn’t matter.
‘If you’re curious, you can find out.’
As he had done so far. If there were obstacles, he just needed to overcome them and find the answers himself.
Having done it for a long time, he naturally had confidence in himself.
‘Yes, everything is Satan… Just defeat that guy.’
Having made up his mind, Ian raised his sword and immediately prepared for battle.
[Confronting a formidable adversary! Receives considerable adjustments based on the comparison of comprehensive combat power.]
[Activate the Guardian’s Eunhwan! Temporarily change the user’s attribute from darkness (暗) to holy (聖) attribute.]
[Obtain the curse of Levrion due to the mismatched attribute! Mental erosion occurs!]
[Indomitable willpower has been activated! Gain strong resistance against mental attacks! Resist the curse of Levrion!]
“Now it’s time to put what I’ve learned to use.”
Ian, assuming the basic stance of Volkanov-style swordsmanship, prepared for battle.
***
Alex Volkanov’s swordsmanship was perplexing and abstract.
Swordsmanship being abstract? It could be difficult to understand at first glance.
“After learning the basic movements and mastering various techniques that can be applied in different situations, swordsmanship is about combining them and using them instinctively.”
In simple terms, it is about combining basic and advanced movements and using them appropriately for each situation.
It can be complex and challenging.
If I had followed the proper steps, it wouldn’t have been considered perplexing.
“Yes, there shouldn’t be any problems if I’ve structured it appropriately.”
However, on the other hand, if I hadn’t set the steps and learned the movements haphazardly, it would naturally be difficult to understand.
“Our great ancestor didn’t even classify it properly, and if he hadn’t finished explaining it in just a few lines…”
Unfortunately, Alex Volkanov’s swordsmanship belonged to that category.
With extraordinary talent in the art of the sword, he learned it without a proper master.
Naturally, he never experienced the process of systematically organizing swordsmanship.
That was also part of the reason.
“What did he say? Fill the movements with ignorance and use them according to the situation?”
As they watched the martial arts technique of Musing, unanimously celebrated with bowed heads, the reason for their initial confusion became apparent.
Some of the basic movements were not properly classified among the herbivores. However, that wasn’t the only issue.
‘If you’re going to teach the movements properly, fine. Just throw out some metaphorical expressions and give it a try. That’s how I learned.’
In the original, when Hailey taught the fundamentals of swordsmanship, she started with the grip method and explained how to strike at what angle. However, Alex was different.
‘Horizontal slashing should be done smoothly, yet firmly, simultaneously with a sense of exhilaration.’ He explained it like that.
For Ian, who wanted a systematic process, it was an unpleasant experience, to say the least.
There were times when Ian wondered if Alex hadn’t classified the movements because he had never learned swordsmanship.
Haven’t you heard such words? Even an outstanding player may not become a great coach.
No matter how skilled he was, possessing the ability to decapitate a neck like that of an ancient god, there might still be shortcomings in teaching.
‘Yes. I thought so.
But from the moment Ian learned all the way to advanced herbivores, he no longer found Alex’s swordsmanship confusing.
It was only then that he realized.
‘I was overlooking this point… Alex never intended to teach from the basics in the first place.’
The fact that geniuses beyond the norm usually couldn’t understand ordinary people.
From Noble mtl dot com
‘When I first learned swordsmanship, my mindset was to forget Hailey’s swordsmanship and completely switch to Alex’s. However, Alex didn’t think that way.’
The moment he grasped the sword, Alex, who had quickly mastered basic postures, horizontal and downward slashes, thrusts, and other movements, believed that if he could do it from the beginning, others could too.
‘Basics can be done anyway, so there’s no need to teach. That’s what he thought. He just decided to add some color.’
Not by replacing with something new, but by blending Aleks Volkov’s color into the original swordsmanship.
That was exactly what Aleks intended, and the moment Ian mastered the vegetarianism, he perfectly understood his true intentions.
“Learning without a foundation in swordsmanship was challenging.”
Regardless of what Nunu said, Ian’s body easily remembered what it had learned once, and as the training continued, his posture naturally improved.
It was that moment.
“I didn’t feel any confusion once it became familiar.”
When Ian was ready to fully embrace the color of Aleks’s swordsmanship.
Continuing the training, Ian kept going even when his hands were blistered and the power in his legs was released.
In the end, he could perfectly master Aleks’s swordsmanship.
Fully embracing the power of the one called the God of War.
Thanks to that.
“What is it! What the hell are you saying!”
“Noisy.”
Shuffle! Clang!
“Grr!”
The reason he could overwhelm Satan, even considered among the top demons, was that Satan, covered in wounds all over his body, breathed heavily, recalling the swordsmanship he had just witnessed.
“I couldn’t read it… I have no idea what he’s doing!”
An attack that couldn’t be deciphered, whether it was an intention to attack or defend.
At first, faced with a seemingly incomprehensible stance, he tilted his head, but eventually.
In the blink of an eye, the right arm that had regenerated was torn away, leaving no choice but to brace the heart.
Attempting to read and respond to the opponent’s swordsmanship properly was the initial intention. However, it was already too late to correct the situation.
Swish! Thud!
“Ugh! My, my leg….”
Unable to catch up with Ian, who swiftly overcame Satan with movements akin to a flash.
Even with the thought that it was unavoidable, Satan attempted to create a magical barrier to buy some time.
Thud! Swoosh!
“How can… ugh!”
“It’s better not to think you can block it with such a thing.”
Even the barrier created with all his strength was torn apart like a piece of paper by the sword swung lightly by Ian.
For the first time, Satan’s pupils began to tremble.
“What, what is this? Ian Volkanoft is this strong?”
Fearful. Always leading the lower demons, everyone in Astelgia worshiped him.
Satan was a ruler, and he had never experienced being crushed by someone’s coercion.
“Me. Me!”
Even if he became a predator, he had never been someone else’s prey. What a disgrace this was.
Even though Ian effortlessly blocked attacks that could be fatal with just a brush, when the retaliation began, it was himself who suffered damage.
In the end, what happened?
Wasn’t he retreating against the enemy after the shield was torn apart?
As one of the seven Demon Kings ruling Astelgia, there was nothing more humiliating than this.
“Was I careless? That couldn’t… possibly be true?”
In that moment, Satan started to quickly ponder.
He couldn’t accept the fact that it had come to this.
Just to be sure, he tried to recall if he had ignored and let his guard down, but…
“Ha…”
Regrettably, such memories did not exist.
The meaning of this situation was painfully clear.
“I…”
His own power began to fall behind Ian Volkanov, and the gap was much larger than he had imagined.
“Weak? Nonsense… Am I, the Demon King, really falling behind a mere mortal?”
He felt his mind grow hazy in this unfamiliar position of weakness.
At the same time, he was curious.
Why was Ian Volkanov stronger than him? How did he grow so much in such a short time?
With the intention of resolving his curiosity, Satan fixated his gaze on Ian.
And in that moment, he could see it.
“Oh, that…!”
The radiance and mana emanating from Ian’s body.
The mana of the Holy attribute that enveloped Levrion had solidified into a firm crystallized state.
“No way. It can’t be true!”
Humans were well aware of the stages in mastering mana, Satan knew.
At first, they handled it in the form of energy, gradually shifting from gas to liquid. The thickened liquid would start crystallizing, eventually transforming into a solid.
‘Ian Volkano must have been an expert…’
The Ian known to Satan was handling the realm between solid and liquid.
The outer part had started crystallizing, but the inside was still a soft liquid.
But now, the Ian he was seeing was completely different.
Kagak!
‘He has achieved perfect crystallization… That means he’s a Master.’
Mana transformed into a perfect solid state, even inside. There was only one meaning to that.
‘Mana Master… To reach that level at such a young age.’
To rise to the level of the strongest on the continent in one’s twenties, standing shoulder to shoulder with them.
It was the moment when he realized this fact.
These villains that have menacing name like Belpegor, satan, etc. Sure feels like a weakling.
At least Belphegor is the real one, everyone else become at least second-rate
its not that they are weak… Ian is just too strong lol
Nah it’s because of the restriction they have when entering the human realm. I remember Asmodeus saying they could only exert 1/10 of their power where humans reside. Meanwhile, in the demon realm, they are at full power.