To say I wasnāt surprised would be putting it lightly.
I didnāt think I was going to be hearing those words when coming here.
Especially not from the robotic old man, I myself had even forgotten that Iād celebrated my birthday not long ago, since it felt like itās been ages since then, when itās barely been what? Two weeks? Give or take?
Nevertheless..
"Thanks old man, though your gifting sense is questionable, I still appreciate the thought."
Bonk!!!
"Owwww!!! Why???"I asked as I held my head in pain, finally, I could move again, but damn it!
"What do you mean youāre questioning my gifting sense? Do you know where I got this from?" The old man asked, apparently offended, I couldnāt tell, his face had returned to being indifferent..
"Huh? Where?"
"The tower of ascension, it was the result of my wish after passing the test of the 500th floor." The old man answered...
"Woah! Five hund... damn, how?" I was stumped.. floor 500? Of the real tower? What the hell kind of of power would you need to climb that far? Iād gotten smoked on the 70th floor of the budget version of the tower, yet this old man was saying heād climbed up till the 500th floor like it was nothing?
"Damn!! Youāre some hot stuff huh?" I couldnāt help complimenting the old man, only for his reply to floor me..
"What do you mean I am? I did that a few days after we got back with the corpse and soul of the dragon the weapon was forged from." The manās indifferent voice made my head spin a little..
"Wait, old man, how long have you had this thing?" I raised the book as I asked.
"How old are you now?"
"I just turned eighteen."
"that long."
"Damn!" I had to truly reevaluate the thing in my hands.
This old man had held onto this thing for eighteen years? How valuable must something be to demand such devotion?
"Iād planned on giving it to you the day Regulus gave you the halberd himself, after all, I canāt be looking bad as the godfather when you were receiving such a heavy gift right? So Iād gotten this from the tower, it should suit you perfectly."
Man, we gotta tell this man to stick to being a robot, why the hell is he over here trying to make me tear up..
Man up Dante. No tears today.
(A/N: hehehe... wuss..)
"Hooo... so, what does this, nameless art do? Howās it any different from normal arts?" I asked..
"Do you know what arts are?" He asked instead of replying..
"I have some ideas, though Iāll be needing a more comprehensive explanation." I replied honestly..
"Unfortunately thatās not my forte, but Iāll break this down for you as best as I can, so even a child should be able to understand." My lips twitched, this was a get back wasnāt it?
"Nameless arts, unlike regular arts, donāt have fixed abilities or techniques, it is the user that determines how theyāre created, either from his will, imagination or consistent practice, a nameless art is nameless until its user names it according to his wishes."
"Basically, what it means is, the art will give you all the necessary knowledge about halberds and how you wield them masterfully, but it wonāt give out any abilities or skills, youāll have to create those yourself from whatever you can comprehend from the art, the possibilities are endless, since you can incorporate your own abilities into whatever you wish to create, be they your laws, talent skills, bloodline abilities, you can incorporate them into the artās abilities, elevating them into vastly superior counterparts."
"That is the beauty of nameless arts, thatās why theyāre nigh impossible to find, afterall all the arts currently existing were each born from a nameless art."
Well, that was eye opening..
So, I was basically holding the beginnings of a totally new breed of halberd arts, is what Iām hearing.
And I could make it tailor fit for my own personal use? I donāt want to admit it, but the old man had gotten it dead right this time..
I didnāt bother with thanks, we were past that already.
So, wasting no more time, I hurriedly opened the book in my hands and the moment my eyes landed on the pages..
[Chaotic comprehension activated...]
Insights flooded my mind like a dam of knowledge had been broken..
Holds, stances, movement patterns, all the wielding techniques that a halberd user would need.
But that wasnāt all.
The halberd was effectively a fusion of not one but two weapons, an axe and a spear..
So, within the art itself, there were spear wielding techniques and axe wielding techniques..
It was a wholesome experience and I couldnāt help letting myself get pulled into it....
........
Valen watched quietly as Danteās figure went still the moment he laid eyes on the book..
The air around the young man was trembling as a terrifying aura started slowly building up around him..
"What a horrifying level of comprehension." He couldnāt help but shake his wryly..
Heād seen his fair share of monsters during his years.
Heād even been a part of one group of said monsters.
Yet sitting here now, watching Dante gain enlightenment into a nameless art within mere moments, something that had taken regulus, the man heād known to have had the greatest level of comprehension ever, almost an entire week to do.
He realized in bitter clarity, "truly, my foolish brother, you were right, he is definitely a monster, one Iām sure you wouldāve been proud to see traumatize a whole generation."
He smiled melancholically..
HUMMMMMMM!!!!!
A deafening hum broke him out of his thoughts as he focused on Dante.
A deadly sharp and lethal intent had filled the surrounding ten meters around the youth..
SWOOOSHH!!!
The sound of air splitting rang out soon after as the silhouette of a halberd unleashing a cleaving strike manifested above Dante, the attack tore through the devastated landscape, brushing past Valen, as it went on to reduce the little hut into a pile of splintered wood.
"Impossible! Not this fast!" Valen was still somehow shocked when he witnessed what had just happened..
Yes, Dante had gotten into an enlightenment state, yes heād expected Dante to comprehend it fast, faster than Regulus, but that time frame extended to two days, or at the very least, a full day, not.
"Thirty seconds.. ha..hahaha...hahahahahahaha.. ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous!" Valen laughed.
He laughed like a man possessed..
"Truly, Seraphina, Regulus, just what the hell did you guys drop off on my head like this?"
........
The sound of manic laughter faded in and out of my head as I was finally starting to come to, exiting the state Iād gotten drawn into earlier..
"So this is what those protagonists felt when they fell into enlightenment?" I hadnāt intentionally used
Chaotic Comprehension
like this before, so it was my first time, well, not first entirely, but it was my first getting fully immersed in the process.
And I must say.
"I wouldnāt mind actively using it more if Iāll always get into such a state." I smiled as I finally looked at the notification flashing before me..
[Comprehension successful.]
[You have comprehended the <Nameless Halberd Arts>.]
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A/N: Bro is actually wasting this abilityās potential, sigh.. this is what thinking about women all the time will do to you..
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Thank you for your continued support, I appreciate it a lot..
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Thanks for reading....