Reincarnated Lord: I Conquered Fate With My Harem-Chapter 52: Power Depends On Perfection And Not Magnitude

Chapter 52: Power Depends On Perfection And Not Magnitude

"The time is up!" Magister Dango announced with a voice that reverberated across all angles of the arena.

All eyes widened, especially those who still had their loved ones in the test zone.

"Don’t tell me the three Elements are goners," a boy mage mustered enough courage to comment, but the weight in his tone betrayed that courage.

"But nothing has happened," another female mage replied, looking a little bit worried but settled.

However, Magister Dango, amidst the tense atmosphere that his announcement has created, began to laugh like a roaring demon.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

The laugh didn’t stop until he had completed three stretched intervals of it.

Confused, everyone continued to watch the screens. Mobix was still engaged in his battle with the sentries, Lyra and Miriam running seemingly to where Mobix fought.

Could it be that...

"The time was all made up by me," he said after he stopped laughing, then began pointing at the screen bearing Miriam’s figure.

"Time waits for no man, yes, that’s the belief," the Magister lowered his hands and began to say calmly.

"And that is why I created a countdown. You see, time’s limitation isn’t what pushes us to achieve something, but the pressure in it."

He turned to the screen once more and glanced at running Miriam.

"When you believe there’s endless time at your disposal, the brain slips into the tendency to stay passive until something forces action.

Not because time would do anything, but because the mind is what will react to these limits, even against physical will."

Having said that, Magister Dango’s eyes gleamed at each section of the screens, and another laugh echoed out from his mouth.

"Isn’t it cool to use the deceit of time to warp reality?" he asked after the laughter ended and turned to the crowd. "Soon, it will be more fun!"

...

Meanwhile, I was still there in my zone trying to meet up with the conditions for becoming successful.

Before me were the sentries, ever ready. In the same vein, I was also agitated.

"My story is about the ’weakling.’ A boy who was framed!" I began, my voice echoing across the still arena.

Lowering my head and reducing the volume of my voice, I continued in a sober tone. "He was called evil. Considered evil. Acknowledged as a threat, even though he didn’t understand what the word meant at the time."

None of the Sentries reacted. They remained still, listening.

"They locked the gate that granted him strength and abandoned him to become the weakest among all, even as a prodigy.

In his quest to regain power, he almost earned death..." At those words, I lifted my blade. "And yet... he lived."

I dashed forward, targeting the lightning sentry first, because it was the fastest and could be the most troublesome later.

I released the arm that held the sword, sending its blade to cut toward the sentry. The slash sliced through the crackling air around it, but Lightning raised an arm and deflected it with a burst of static energy.

The recoil stung my wrist, but I didn’t think to stop. I pushed forward almost at the same time, slashing into an upward spin.

Lightning barely blocked the attack again, its form flickering like a disturbing signal.

’Tch. They’re so strong.’

But I didn’t let my guard down in the least or even think of giving up.

Regaining my composure, I continued. "See? In the end, the boy didn’t die. Luck favored him. Destiny favored him. And he swore to define his fate himself."

I slid backward and shifted my stance. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Breath of Calm: Pre-match."

Activating the skill in my mind, I inhaled slowly, then exhaled even slower.

The creeping fear of going against these formidable opponents vanished a bit to make my heartbeat steady.

The discouraging voice that almost developed faded, and the pressure from these elemental bodies weakened.

So, I moved again.

My feet produced a crack of sudden acceleration across the floor as I changed my direction towards Fire. The sentry raised a pillar of flame, but I switched to a different stance in seconds.

"Footwork Ladder."

I hopped slightly across the flame pillars, climbing the air like steps, and dropped behind Fire.

Without further ado, I struck my sword, and it connected swiftly.

Fire staggered.

Steam and sparks burst from its form as the blow carved a long arc of aura through its burning body.

"His only path to power was to inherit them from other mages. His only path to becoming stronger was to bond with others to break the forced fate!"

Without any response, not like I needed one, I made use of my advantage over the Fire Sentry and switched into Continuous Cutting, slashing rapidly at Fire before the others interfered.

«↓ AGI: 243 → 271 ↑»

«↓ Sword Mastery: 95% | Reach the landmark to unlock a new title ↑»

« ... »

The notification wanted me to become momentarily distracted, so I called it off and focused.

In a bid to defuse my attacks, Fire lifted both arms, struggling to block. But my blade collided again and again.

KA-SHAAA! KSH! SHAAA!

Its burning body dimmed with each strike. And I was close to breaking it. So close that it would cost me two more strikes.

But suddenly, the ground beneath me twisted.

GRRRRMMMM!

Another sentry moved forward. The earth sentry stomped its foot, and the stone slab beneath me spiked upward.

Sharply, I jumped almost immediately, twisting my body midair, and the spike missed my ribs by inches.

’That was so close!’ I screamed in my thoughts.

Yet, it didn’t seem like that would be the end.

Their fellow has been injured, angering them to attack without thinking.

Air sent a slicing gust toward my back, but I tilted sideways in the last minute. The wind cut a long line through the ground instead, causing my eye to widen at the effect that attack could have had on me.

At the same time, Darkness stretched a tendril toward my shadow, but I barely stepped past it.

The attack got me, causing a searing pain to establish once again in my left shoulder and ankle.

All the other six were defending Fire at once now.

"It’s still my turn to tell the story," I said, landing lightly at a distance apart.

"WE HAVE HELD BACK QUITE ENOUGH!"

"I see. Still, I will continue my story."

"The boy met mages. Good mages. People who lent him strength without knowing. People who wished to protect him."

As I spoke, I walked forward, with my sword lowered at my side.

"He fought beside them. Grew with them. Formed successful bonds with them. And shared their powers."

Lightning and Arcane both raised their hands.

A shimmering net of electricity and raw mana formed between them. For a moment, I thought it was going to be an offensive attack, but it was rather defensive.

A dome materialized around them to serve as a barrier.

I smirked. "Hiding in that won’t make this fun, will it? Don’t you want to end it fast?"

No response.

I laughed calmly and said. "If you don’t wish to end it fast, I do. Not after coming this far will I delay further. Not even a barrier has ever stopped me from achieving my goals.’

With that, I inhaled softly.

"Breath of Calm, First Form: Sparring Pause."

Time slowed in my mind, and my thoughts sharpened at the same time.

My arms became loose, and then I lunged.

My sword slid upward in one fluid motion, but there was no result.

"Pfft. How can I forget... that power is not always in the magnitude of the strike, but in the perfection of its focus?"

A barrier was just and behaves like a drum skin. If you slash it with a blade, the force only spreads, and the surface flexes with the movement.

In the same vein, swinging your hand across the surface of a glass does nothing to it, but gently knocking on its pane can reveal weak points.

I laughed, having figured out a possible means to break through the barrier.

If I tap it, depending on the force I exert and how focused it turns out to be, it will send a sharp vibration straight through the barrier.

And the only sword skill I have that can perform this act is... Hmm, let’s see.

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