Black String of Fate

"Couldn't even pierce the hide of a rank 3 monster properly."

"Surely you did not expect a 300 Rouble sword to face up against Rank 3 monsters… Moreover, how are you alive after even facing them?"

Xavier ignored the snarky comments and went to the shop's technique section.

"Do you have the Foundation Sword Techniques of the First Swordsman?"

"Of course, it's right there at the frontmost shelf."

Foundation Sword Techniques was one of the most common beginner sword manuals in the world. It was said to have been written by the First Swordsman in human history, and it has been thoroughly researched and improved by the tens of thousands of generations of swordsmen after him.

'Almost every swordsman learns this art when starting out, but I learned my basics from that demonic art. While that was a better choice back then with my 4 extreme stars, with the harmony state I have now, not learning this all-rounded art would be a stupid choice.

Plus, that's not all.'

"Do you also have the Four Basic Sword Stances, Basic Light Sword Arts, and Guide to Heavy Swords?"

This time, after hearing this, the shopkeeper was surprised.

"...Kid, are you trying to open a school?"

"Haha, nice joke. Now, do you have it or not?"

The shopkeeper sighed and did as he was told. It was not his business whatever the kid was doing with these books. All he could do was give his own opinion.

'If you have some crazy idea about learning all of these, I suggest you give up. A jack of all trades is a master of none.'

"But he's often better than a master of one. Also, remember this old man…" Xavier looked deep into the eyes of the old man, and said,

"I'm not a simple jack."

The old man was speechless after looking into the eyes of Xavier. What he saw there wasn't the eyes of a child filled with reckless ambition, but a fearsome master with a burning flame inside him.

He, of course, could not believe what he saw. There's no way a child could have those eyes, unless he was an expert messing with him. But, why would an expert look like a child and buy basic sword manuals? It didn't make sense.

'Maybe I'm getting too old, but… That child is special, I'm sure of it.'

Xavier had already walked off after keeping the money on the counter. He had no intentions of trying to act like a youngster in order to appear his age. He could not waste time on such insignificant worries.

Xavier now went to a training arena and booked a small room with straw dummies for his practice. In a world populated with monsters and pathwalkers, having a training arena was seen as a basic necessity.

After all, it would be a massive headache to fix the destruction of the environment if the high-level pathwalkers just used their abilities willy-nilly.

He first sat down and laid the four books he had bought. It wasn't without any plan that Xavier had bought these basic sword manuals.

'First, I must start out with the Foundational Sword Techniques. While it's so basic to the point of anyone being able to master them, these are the only sword arts I know that have the 7 stars perfectly balanced.

While this balance was made to adjust to the larger warrior population, it's practically made for me, a potential 7-star, to master.

Next up, these ones…'

Xavier looked over the Arts he had brought extra alongside the Foundational Sword Techniques.

'I have no plans of using these as my main Arts. While these are also great, they are made for people who lean on some specific stars from the start. I'll just learn them and try to incorporate their essential qualities into the foundational techniques.

Four Basic Sword Stances are specialized in Deflection and Dexterity, Basic Light Sword Arts are made for Agility and Precision, and Guide to Heavy Swords deals with Strength and Endurance.

That's six out of seven stars. For Intuition…'

Xavier took out a piece of parchment and pen from one of his pouches and wrote down,

'Sixth Sword Sense.

It's my self-created basic technique. I published it under an alias to the martial community, and it was proven to be the sole effective technique for training intuition at the beginner level. It made waves in the world, but nobody was able to link it back to me.

Heh, I guess no one expected a wild, bloodthirsty terrorist to create such a sophisticated art.'

Xavier wrote the complete technique and arranged all of them neatly.

'If I somehow combine all of these, I should be able to create the ultimate foundation technique for myself… First, let's learn the Foundation Sword Technique.'

Xavier picked up the book and quickly memorized the contents of the manual. Despite losing his expertise, he was still extremely knowledgeable about the ways of the sword. It did not take long for him to comprehend this manual down to the details. The fact that he was an absolute genius in the sword path also helped.

He picked up his sword and swung it just once.

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[New Skill Added]:

Foundational Sword Techniques of the First Swordsman:

The basic sword technique said to be created by the first swordsman. While the authenticity of this myth remains unclear, it is true that it has been studied and constantly improved since the earliest generation of swordsmen, making it one of the best manuals to start out for beginners.

The fact that it has always been widespread and easily available helped in the improvement of the Art to this degree.

Rating: Rare

Mastery: Novice

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