SK4 - Chapter 4 - The Swordsman (Patreon)

While the meal was enjoyable and Myron’s smile was wide as he tried all the food, Shara did continue being a bit reserved. Unless addressed, she mostly ate her food quietly, which meant that Myron had done a lot of the talking with Nick’s wives.

Irene had even come out of the archives to join them, and it seemed Shara’s eye started to twitch as she saw how Irene looked at and flirted with Nick. Eirwen sensed this, and laid on the compliments to Shara for her pretty hair and the decorative pins in it, while Rebecca and Luna learned more about the Star Oni people’s Paths and way of life.

The most eventful thing that occurred was that Kaya had convinced Shara to join her for a sparring match today, as well as showing her the pagoda and newly added garden. The Samurai Ordeal seemed quite compatible with the Star Oni women with the men as their Supporters. Very few Star Oni males took on truly offensive roles, many focusing on divination, scouting, shielding, and buffing their Fated partners.  

Nick had already met with Lothar and Renzou this morning, hearing about the gains of the town guard and the orc warriors. Many orcs like Andross were not overly challenged, but they still benefitted heavily. These things would help them in their push towards the third stratum in the Samurai Ordeal. They planned out their Heritage event assault, as Nick wanted to complete all four of them within a week or two at most.

And many of them would be running through the Samurai Ordeal or the Path of Kings for training.  

A surprising thing that happened was that the Alpha Drake egg had finally hatched, and one of the evolved scalefolk that were hoping to tame the drakes was present. The monsterfolk girl, one of Fang’s prospective girls for Nick, just so happened to arrive in time for it to hatch when they returned to Frosthaven. A fortuitous event, which meant that the girl was now bonding with the drake that imprinted on her.   

The baby drake was already quite large, a little larger than the size of an adult human on all fours. As a powerful beast, Nick knew that the creature would grow fast with the right food and environment. Lumos was already preparing an artifact from items they had obtained, and once the beast was ready to take leadership of the drakes, they would place it in the volcano to improve the environment further.

Nick was going to meet Kaya and Shara at the Training Grounds later, he just hoped that things were going well for them. Arriving back in his room after returning from Lothar’s home, he marched over to his private dojo. He had something to work on that required the protections of his home or the Heritage beneath the city.

Holding the information crystal as he stood in the training area, he went over what he had learned once again. During his several day journey, he had a few opportunities to peruse the contents and think on things further. 

He now mostly understood how the Archaen Monstrous Swordsman Ideal worked, and combined with another primer he obtained on just overall swordsmanship, he thought he was mostly ready to work on making his own.

Or, at least, make a second or third-rate one. Making one that included truths of his two Concepts into his fighting style felt nearly insurmountable. It was like he needed to create a new fighting style from scratch.

Thankfully, Nick actually had a wealth of experience to draw from: his time on Earth. Thousands of years of history have gone into creating the various fighting styles and katas present there. And while it wasn’t like Nick was a master of them all, he had seen and learned dozens as he sought the peak of swordsmanship within the various VR games that he played. He’d even progressed in various fictional ones which incorporated magic.

They were not the same thing, but Nick had seen enough that he felt like he wasn’t actually starting fully from scratch in this. 

Just what did he want from his sword style? Ultimately, he wanted it to accomplish the same goals as his Concepts. The Crown of the Frost King provided him with control over his enemies and the battlefield. His Heroic Redemption provided him with power to carry out his heroic deeds. Defeating evil and protecting the good and the weak.

Breaking it down like this, Nick didn’t think it was impossible. There were numerous martial arts and weapon fighting styles that focused on control, and others that focused on power. To combine the two would be almost contradictory, as most control styles relied on tempo and fast-paced, smaller movements, or grappling. These did not bring about a ton of power, as the strongest blows required larger movements and build up, which created openings for opponents to recover or counter–defeating the purpose of control and losing momentum.

Still, focusing on blending the two and meeting half-way, or alternating between controlling opponents and powerful strikes of opportunity could be done. And that was just his options if he was going to use a mundane fighting style.

Nick was not limited to that, however. He was an Archaen that had control of Body Essence, the energy enhancing his strength and infusing him with supernatural speed. And essence wasn’t as simple as doing something, and now it was something plus one. 

As an Expert who combined mana with essence, reality would shift even further, allowing him to accomplish things far beyond what larger muscles or faster movements could do. Almost all fighting skills like his Double Jump, Lothar’s Jab, Andross’s Stab and his rapid retreat were merely to train someone to accomplish things that essence could do. 

So Nick could make his blade sharper or duller, he could knock enemies back further than they would expect, he could increase the weight of his essence so that it slowed them down as it covered them, and more. Nick could even walk on air, and these types of things could fit into his fighting style, aiding him in managing something that provided both control and power.

He took his stance in the center of the dojo with his Soul Blade, its blue light and quiet hum echoing into the room. The Archaen Monstrous Swordsman katas were a framework for a working fighting style for Archaens, containing stanzas and layers that built upon each other. 

And Nick suspected why it existed, and why his father taught it to him. It was likely created to allow a warrior to use it to create their own fighting style. After all, his father’s was so similar, and he probably showed it to him to help him realize the purpose.

He went through the old stanzas, shifting things slightly at first. Weaving in his Blade Waves and his Air Walking capability, he increased the tempo of his attacks, and while considering that he may also fight opponents that weren’t humanoid, having large bulks.

Infusing himself with essence, he sped up his movements. Increasing the focus on faster attacks he could use in concert with his chains and Blade Wave, he made sure the dance took advantage of his monstrous flexibility and strength, as well as aspects of his Heroic Concept. 

In a later stanza, a feint led to his body twisting, and his arm whipping in a return that was far too fast for his opponent to block. His attacks came fast, able to send a series of slashes and waves into a target in quick succession, his goal meant to control his enemy’s pace and movements. 

Hiding powerful attacks behind feints and his odd, monstrous body’s absurd flexibility and ability to strike with both power and speed, he made up for the loss in tempo for his stronger blows. Then, he even performed acrobatics, leaping into the air and launching waves as he flipped, and dashed through the air in a way that normally should be impossible. His attacks flowed continuously and from difficult to defend against angles, even if his opponent used a shield. 

When he had his dance firm in his mind, he performed the changed Ideal.

“Drawing upon the light, I fight with skill.”

As he said the words in Archaen, he felt his Heroic Concept stir. He imagined if he had used the Cloak, it would certainly be enhanced further. He went through the dance, each movement controlling the enemy’s tempo with his faster movements and narrow dodges, his swaying body and whipping arm bringing about a constant, dangerous assault. Stronger blows were interspersed, but only when hidden by a feint, or by taking advantage of his body’s tendency to whip or bulk up. 

“Controlling my enemies, I bleed with haste.”

His Frost King Concept stirred, and his body sped up. His arms whipped more frequently, the tempo of battle controlled by his monstrous speed and his dominion of frost. Whether his enemies blocked his frost or not, his essence would slowly invade their bodies, and wounds would inevitably land on them. 

“Drawing upon the darkness, I strike with monstrous power.”

The darkness drew up from the depths of the prison that was Archaen Law, and he found it moving to his whims better than usual. The darkness increased his speed, and his muscles filled with monstrous strength. The balance of light and dark was precarious, but as his body sped up and his swaying blows continued their furious assault on the imaginary enemy, he found a deadly, powerful rhythm that resulted in strong blows landing in quick succession.

“Mastering the dark and the light, I maim with superiority.”

The light and dark energy within him found an even better balance, and his strength and speed increased. His swings became even more rapid, his attacks starting to wound and kill his imaginary opponents. His feints were protected by shadows, and his Soul Blade began to vibrate with the two powers.  When this happened, the frost power within his sword increased even further, emanating a more powerful cold, to his surprise. 

“With my wild and perfect blade, I’ll slay all who stand in my path.”

The energies rose a final time, and he felt the power within. His sword swings became a blur, his flurry of attacks coming from every direction. A swordsman opponent would get overwhelmed quickly, and that was if they could even come close to his enhanced speed and power in the first place. 

When he finished the stanza, he felt satisfied with his efforts. It was better than the old Ideal for Nick in every way. Despite his success, he had only gotten it to where he considered a decent baseline. He would need to commit to the Ideal, accomplishing it as often as possible. If he could do it in real combat, that would help his understanding much more.

He took out what he earned for the previous Trial of defeating Thresh and defending the Star Oni against the devilsaur matriarch, the [Spark of Insight and Major Enlightenment], and marveled at its contents. The crazy golden lightning flickered inside, as if trying to escape the bottle. It felt like a powerful energy was contained within, and he considered it for a moment, before he quickly stowed it away once more. 

Irene had thankfully had some information on what the words in the name of the object meant, even if the spark wasn’t in any records–a Major Enlightenment was massive, as one could imagine. Because of this reason alone, he was excited to use it when he was ready. 

But there was more. The Insight portion of the treasure would help if he was crafting an object, or swinging a sword, or practicing a skill. It would grant him magical insights and knowledge about how to perfect his task, whatever it might be. As long as he was doing something aligned with his Path, then the Major Enlightenment should improve his Concepts, or generate one that matched it well enough. 

The best thing he could to get the most out of the item, according to Irene, was to prepare his foundational knowledge for what he wanted to achieve and get himself as close to breaking through on his Concepts, and also try to achieve what he wanted to do. When he thought he was getting close to success or reached a challenging roadblock, then he could use the spark, helping him perfect whatever it might be with special insights from Orion.

For that reason, he knew he was not ready to use it yet. Even just making this Ideal and doing it once had improved his control of light and darkness, and bettered his understanding of his overall Heroic Redemption Concept. And this was just his first try. 

Nick would need to change and refine his Ideal and the fighting style contained within it, until it felt right. This was an improvement over the one he had, but it still wasn’t where he wanted it to be. 

The Archaen phrases and the katas themselves focused a little more heavily on his Heroic Concept over his Crown of the Frost King, and most of the original framework was just added onto as opposed to altering it properly. And while his kata did compensate for or consider his chains as weapons, he didn’t feel like he had mastered and integrated the semi-sentient chains into his fighting style.

He needed to find a more proper balance of the two Concepts, and he also needed to more properly compensate for all of his skills and abilities. 

Still. He had to use the spark soon if he was going to use it to form his Ideal and sword style, and actually get benefit from it before he ascended. An Ideal was something that took time for the effects to build up, to alter the essence within his body and cores to match his Concepts further. To become one with the essence, until it becomes him.

Nick wanted to ascend in under two months, to be ready for Blackthorne. And before then, he wanted to reach the Master level of his Archaen Swordsmanship. 

His goal mostly completed for now, he began to head over to the Training Grounds. He knew Kaya was meant to spar with Shara today, and he hoped that was going well. Only a few days remained until Elyra was awake, and he hoped that wasn’t a train wreck waiting to happen. 

Thankfully, she wouldn’t be over level one when she came out, or he might actually be in trouble of being smashed by someone’s club. He was sure she wouldn’t be happy about him having so many wives when her daughter was Fated. Myron was accepting, but who knew what she might think? Apparently, the women were all quite protective of their husbands and children.

Leaving his room, he found Winny and Irene in the living room sitting and talking across from each other at the coffee table and chairs. 

Eirwen smiled and got up. “Ah, there you are, hubby! How was it?” She kissed him on the cheek, before she leaned and hugged him tightly, with Nick returning the hug. His soft sheep girl was very huggable, and her fluffy hair tickled his chin.

“Went well enough. It’s a tough thing, and it’ll take some tweaking before I use that special item. What’s going on?”

Irene smiled. “Just some girl talk, my dear Nicholas. It seems several impressionable ladies of Seraphara are scrambling to get a piece of your heart, and so are about a dozen or so cute monsterfolk girls. Then we have this purple skinned, giant woman, who instantly hated me for batting my eyelashes at you. She kept looking at her club resting against the doorway, like she wanted to use it on me.”

Nick grimaced. “Yeah…really not sure how to handle that one. I was about to head out to go see her and Kaya.”   

Eirwen hummed. “Hmm… I think it’s easy enough, isn’t it? Can’t you just feel what she wants?”

“She wants to be my one and only. I’m pretty sure about that.”

“I meant aside from that, hubby. Charm her panties off so good she forgets about all that.”

Nick had, of course, considered that, but it felt off to him. He frowned. “That feels….manipulative. The opposite of that heroic thing I’m supposed to be, you know?”

“But you are being a hero by doing it. Hers. And I’m not saying to like trick her, I’m saying to appeal to her. The same thing you do with us girls already. Sweep her off her big ole feet.”

Irene added, “I hope you’ll do it soon, Nicholas. Winny told me what you told Shara, that you’d slow adding more wives for her. But if you hold off on taking new brides and making heirs for too long, it will hurt you and your kingdom. I understand why you did it, but…you’ve already held off for far too long.”

Nick let out a long breath. “Alright, I get it. I was just heading over to see her, anyway.”

Irene batted her eyelashes, smiling at Nick. “Plus, us priestesses were all looking forward to spending some…quality time with you. To hear it’d be longer before we received your tender touch made us all rather… sad.” She pouted.

Nick chuckled, knowing just what kind of quality time she was talking about. “I’m sorry about that, Irene. The poor girl is hurting, and I knew you girls would have some compassion available for her. I know you’d even help if you could, but it might have the opposite effect.”

“Patience is a virtue that all of us have. We are also preparing to enter the third stratum soon.”

Nick was a bit surprised that they were able to keep up so well with him, but he understood the truth. Those girls had built their foundations for many years, and now they were building their essence rapidly, now that they weren’t held back. 

“Are you going to need my help for that Boss floor, or?”

“Thank you for asking, but I think we’ll be just fine if you loan us Rebecca for a bit. Vanessa managed to unlock the Paladin class, so she can protect us in the Ordeal. Unless you wanted to come? But it might be best for your ascension if you focus your efforts on the Path of Kings.”

“Vanessa, really? That’s a bit of a surprise. But I suppose most of them had been training their bodies and using weapons, along with Rebecca.”

Irene smiled and nodded. “I’m sure my Becca is also close to a similar class. The fighting sisters of Seraphara are rare, but some have mastered delivering the light of wisdom using their staves, and their feet and fists.”

Nick couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Ah, so they learn to beat lessons into their enemy somehow? That’s both amazing and scary.”

“Yes, well, it’s unfortunately knowledge we did not have, as someone once again had limited us on purpose. But it seems with some of the recent unlocks to your Kingdom, Her wisdom has been recovered. The Faith Conduit is already providing dividends.”

They talked for a few more minutes, and Winny convinced him to change his outfits since he was going to the Training Grounds. His martial robes were function and form, but if he wanted to charm a girl, he may want to show her another look.

He wasn’t sure about that, but he figured it was worth a shot.