Eric looked past the bloodline window that popped up and focused on his opponents. But more than anything, he focused on each of his own swings, blocks and deflections, which suddenly became much more refined.

  It wasn’t like his technique had suddenly become more complex. No, it was just that glaring mistakes became much more obvious to him when he compared himself to Anna, as he finally saw the truth of her movements.

  At times he would prepare to move from too far, making his intent known and at other times from too close, making it hard to make adjustments.

  There also wasn’t a giant leap in his quality as a fighter, not at his current level. Without Anna’s fragments, he was only a little better than an ordinary knight. And unlike in fiction, knights weren’t these great warriors that could single handedly dictate the flow of battle, at least not the ones he fought.

  If he were fighting human knights, than everything would be great. But unfortunately, he wasn’t. He was fighting full blown superhumans that had spent years fighting and training with other superhumans.

  However, now that he had finally grasped Anna’s fragments, and apparently something more, he was now on the same stage. And now, now he needed to fully make the fragments his by using them in true combat.

  To do this, he had to restrict his actions to only Anna’s fragments, not necessarily discarding everything else, but at the very least, momentarily ignoring it.

  A spear thrust came from the right, Eric easily saw it and lifted his sword to respond, but then he saw a punch aiming at his leg from the opposite direction. If this was him from a few moments ago, he would have struggled to react, but not this time. Not now.

  Without stopping his movements, he turned his wrist, extending his sword and reaching for the spear sooner than it should have been possible, millimeters suddenly vanishing.

  Instead of waiting for the strike to arrive, he struck the tip of the spear. When his arm could rise no more, he turned his wrist and brought it down diagonally.

  The spear that was aiming at his side was set off course, causing the wielder to stumble in surprise. While the punch that aimed at his leg never arrived because the attacker retreated as soon as they saw that the sword was coming down, surprise also evident on his face.

  They were simple movements, no matter how he thought about it, he could have easily done something similar before. But there was a difference, mentally and maybe something more.

  This difference allowed him to see beyond what he currently grasped. Where he once only saw simple swings and stabs, now he saw freedom—boundless freedom.

  ----------

  Krellon had noticed the shift in the way that Eric fought. It was similar to what occurred on the first floor but more refined, more complete and substantial. If on the first floor he had barely learned how to stand, then Eric now knew how to run. How well he did so was now a journey that would take him years to determine.

  At first, Krellon only stood still, observing how Eroc reacted to his companions. He needed to know just how much he grew with this short revelation.

  Was it a revelation? he asked himself. Wouldn’t they be too close together? Or maybe not. It’s been more than a month since I lost saw him. The previous one might not have been significant. It could have also been broken in two and this is the latter half. I’ve heard of that happening to some experts. Though it tended to be about great concepts that determined their future.

  Krellon stopped, another possibility coming to him, one that he had ignored. I haven’t seen him in a month, but how long has it been since he saw me?

  With a steady breath, he acknowledged the thoughts that were flooding his mind, the worries that fueled them and let them go. This was a simple meditation technique that was taught to everyone, and Krellon liked it a lot.

  Its simplicity was deceptive. One of a lesser mind might think that because it’s simple, it wasn’t useful. But they couldn’t be more wrong. An addled mind can do nothing in the midst of combat. An addled mind is nothing but a burden, and yet, something so simple is the solution.

  He kept on watching the other three fight, gaining the insights that he wished. It had only been a matter of seconds, but for a mind as trained as his, Krellon had seen all that Eric had to offer and more. And he did not like what he saw, not at all.

  At first it was only an inkling, a tiny prick at the back of his mind that desperately wished to spark something. But it was hard, not only was he technically still in battle, but he also wasn’t seen all of it. When he finally realized what exactly it was that demanded recognition, his eyes went mad with fury and jealousy.

  He thought that Eric had only learned a bit more than the basics, but now that he recognized some of what he was doing, he realized that that wasn’t the case.

  “Third chapter of the Unrestrained Blade, Freeflow…” the words escaped his lips in awe, but the anger that was shown in his face only grew.

  How can he be using something so arcane?! So ethereal?! his mind shouted in question.

  He had studied that very technique for years, as had most of the sword wielders in the multiverse, but they all failed.

  How is he—What is allowing him to do it?

  Krellon was sure that Eric himself didn’t even notice what he was doing, not truly, and this only made his anger boil with even greater intensity.

  The more he observed, the madder his eyes became. He was only using fragments; he still hadn’t incorporated all of it together.

  “What will it look like once complete?” a part of him blurted in wonder.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  But Krellon wouldn’t allow that—he couldn’t allow that. As soon as he noticed the truth behind Eric’s movements, he flooded his body with mana and returned to the fight.

  The intensity in his very soul was palpable. This was no longer about a miracle substance, no, now this was to prove that to himself that the Blade of Freedom was the problem, not him.

  At the very least, it just wasn’t for me.

  When he was only a few steps from Eric, he lowered his sword, its tip digging into the ground, purposefully dragging it low. The lightning that enveloped it became heavier as he injected more mana into the sword, this caused the lightning to behave differently.

  As Krellon’s swing lifted from the ground, and tried to cut at Eric’s arm, barely missing, the lightning dragged behind. It kicked up debris and with each moment that the lightning refused to leave the ground, its power grew.

  When Krellon’s sword pointed to the sky, like a whip, the lightning shot toward Eric.

  With a bright flash and the sound of something crumbling to dust, Krellon’s true attack met his target.

  ----------

  The impact was heavy, it felt both electrifying and like he was just hit by a bag of wet cement. Eric was shot back a few meters and any air that was contained in his lungs, left him almost immediately.

  The elation that he had been feeling for a brief moment had almost vanished completely. But being who or what he was, he wasn’t affected by the cold reality.

  “Of course that wouldn’t be enough to hold my own against them,” he muttered as he rose from the rubble of dirt and stone that surrounded him. His body twitched involuntarily, thick strands of electricity still within him. “I’m still catching up. Not only to these fucking monsters, but even to people back on Earth.”

  Freeing himself from the rubble, he put both hands on his knees in an attempt to catch his breath. But before his hands had the chance to meet his knees, he found himself jumping to the side, with a new gash that ran all along his lower side that was probably made by the spear that had dug into the stone of where he once stood.

  “I can’t beat them and that fucking infinite essence,” Eric coughed because of the dust, “is that really worth all of—”

  “Hand it over!” Krellon demanded after he kicked Eric on the still closing wound on his side, cutting off his words.

  Eric coughed up a mouthful of blood. It was nothing new, but he still found it unpleasant.

  Approaching his fallen opponent, one hand free and the other holding a sword, Krellon reached over and lifted Eric up by his collar. “Hand it over and you’ll live.”

  Eric couldn’t answer even if he wanted to, that kick had knocked the wind out of him, again. But he didn’t need to speak, his eyes conveyed his intent well enough.

  “I don’t even know what the monarch saw in you to give you something so precious,” Krellon said, his expression one of utter bewilderment. “You’re barely learning how to fight. You’re like a chick that’s barely hatched and was thrown directly into the raging flames of war,” he added, keeping his jealousy at bay. Then he turned away from Eric as if the mere sight of him pained him. “There are others who can better use such a treasure.”

  “Really… who?” Eric asked, mockingly.

  “This isn’t a conversation. I am merely informing you,” Krellon said, his face slowly settling as the agitation of combat left him and as he let go of the rage from seeing Eric do something he couldn’t. “You can hand it over here without issue or I can take your hand and do it the hard way.”

  Eric was about to respond, but he couldn’t, instead he winced. It wasn’t because some old injury flared up and prevented him from talking, no, it was due to the lightning imbued sword that was inching toward his heart in a deliberate manner.

  “You don’t want to answer, huh?” Krellon asked in a mock tone, the anger once again rising as he remembered how Eric deflected and redirected attacks with movements that he himself couldn’t perform. “Then I guess that—”

  Leaves started to swirl around Krellon and Eric in a circular pattern, as if containing them within a tornado.

  Eric was alert enough to notice that they weren’t actually leaves, but something similar to a skill.

  Magic? he asked himself, trying to grasp the true nature of what he was seeing. But his thoughts were interrupted as the sword that neared his heart suddenly twitched.

  Eric’s gaze went beyond the leaves that surrounded him, ignoring Krellon entirely and he remembered something, the real difficulty of this floor.

  The reason that something so simple as stealing from ten merchants without getting caught was even considered a trial to begin with. And that very reason had just made its way to the scene of the battle, saving Eric by the skin of his teeth.

  Three tall men, wearing the same red uniform that appeared to be a single piece of cloth, stood around Krellon and Eric. Behind them were the decapitated corpses of Krellon’s companions and another uniformed man stood near them, holding two small pouches in his hand.

  “It appears that there are some thieves running around our fine city,” one of the uniformed men said. “And now, there is even someone that dares attempt murder in these fine and refined streets of ours.”

  The sword that was within Eric’s chest began to recede, shaking slightly as it did so.

  Wait, no it isn’t, Eric suddenly realized.

  It was Krellon that was shaking, visibly struggling to regain control of the sword in his hand and push it back in, struggling to achieve his purpose of piercing Eric’s heart.

  “You should take our very actions as an order for you to follow. If I push the sword out, take that as an order for you to aid me and remove it yourself, and if not, at the very least do not attempt to resist,” the same uniformed man said, with some kindness in his words.

  Suddenly, both Eric and Krellon rose from the ground and floated a few centimeters above it.

  “Now, if you’ll please allow us to inspect you for any merchandise that might not be yours,” the man smiled, “then we can proceed with other matters.”

  Eric’s wounds were already healed beyond the point that he had to be cautious of how he moved, no longer fearing pain or further damage. But now that his attention could be focused on other matters, he realized how outclassed he was.

  Using his innate mana sense, he searched the uniformed men and realized that while they had lesser energy to him, it was thicker, almost like honey. And just seeing what he was doing, it was obvious that he was much stronger than Eric currently was.

  What’s his level? 30? 40? Has he evolved?

  “Now you,” the uniformed man said, walking up to Eric with a bloody sword and a ring in his hand. Behind him stood the headless corpse of Krellon.

  It appeared that while Eric was musing about the man before him, Krellon had been searched and deemed guilty.

  The ring that the uniformed man has must’ve been the thief’s storage ring, Eric said to himself, and his heart began to race uncontrollably.

  Eric wasn’t panicking, he was preparing to do whatever it took to run away if he was caught.

  What can I even do? They’ll probably cut my head off and then my arm. That’s all they need in order to access the storage, right? Will I recover from a severed head—I better because that sounds cool as—

  Eric’s thoughts were interrupted as a wave of energy enveloped him. It was cool and brief, barely noticeable unless you had high sensitivity to mana and its various forms, like Eric.

  The uniformed man lifted an eyebrow, clearly having noticed something.

  Shit!

  “All clear,” the uniformed man said, lowering Eric and letting him go. “Now, if only we could settle your part of the damage caused, you can be on your way.”

  Eric was stunned for a moment. I guess they have no concept of tattoo storage here.

  “I don’t have any money on me right now, but I have some hidden in the forest nearby, it’s where I made camp before entering the city,” Eric said, lying through his teeth.

  “While that does sound incredibly possible,” the uniformed man winked, “I was thinking more along the lines of you joining us, if only for a few days. Many travelers come across our city and then vanish into thin air, never to be seen again. Any help would be welcome, and you would be paid extra for successful captures. As you can see,” he gestured to the destroyed street, “the price is quite high. In this way, you can clear your debt quicker.”

  Then Eric heard the familiar chime of the System.

  New quest!

  Quest: Patrol Duty.

  Objective: Patrol the streets of Thousand Lanterns City.

  Duration: Unknown.

  Reward: +10 Reward Points.