Kaito didn't accomplished much in these last few days . His rank was still at peak of S-Rank as he didn't have any places to hunt monsters to raise his level . He also realised something during his training . As his body was leveling up more quickly in comparison to any other person , he faced the problem that his body can't use the full strength acquired by it .
Kaito's strength was at the peak of S-Rank but his attack power was equal to a S-Rank Awakener . He needed time and practice to get familiar with his stats before increasing it . These last few days Kaito trained in the morning and used mana breathing at night . He trains mostly using his new eyes to get familiar with the features . As a result , his headache has decreased quite a bit and he can stay longer with his eyes uncovered .
Today was the day he would train with his grandfather . Kaito was informed last night that he had to be present at the training grounds before 9 A.M . Kaito did as said as he was asked as he reached the grounds around 8:40 A.M. He came more ago as he wanted to do a little warm up before the training begins .
Akari also came 5 minutes later . Kaito didn't expect her to be present but he was happy . They did their warmup together as the clock reached 9 A.M. At exact that time the door opened as Kiyoshi entered the hall . They both bowed as they showed respect . Kiyoshi told them to get up as he went towards the stands of wooden swords .
He took out two swords as he took one and threw the other towards Kaito . He grabbed it as Kiyoshi looked at him with cold eyes . He said in a chilling voice .
"Kaito , you haven't reached the level of Swordmaster , have you ?"
"No , Patriarch"
"Hmm…..And Akari ?"
"N-No , Patriarch"
"You are already an SS-Rank , are you not ?"
"Yes"
"Then , why haven't you reached the level of swordmaster ?"
"I tried to reach the level but couldn't"
"You tried ?"
"Yes"
"Then , where is the result ? In this family , if you try you have to get the result"
"I didn't manage to reach swordmaster level but my understanding of sword increased"
"Really ?"
"Yes"
"Alright . I'll let this slide once but remember you have to reach swordmaster before going to the academy"
"Yes"
"Kaito , you too"
"Yes Sir"
Kiyoshi looked at him with sharp eyes . It was as if he was measuring Kaito from head to toe . Kaito didn't feel uncomfortable as he too was looking at Kiyoshi . He smiled as he raised his sword .
"Kaito , come at me"
Kaito looked at Kiyoshi surprised for few moments before he raised his sword . Kaito wanted to check his grandfather's stats .
['Clairvoyance' activated]
[Name : Kiyoshi Sakura]
[Race : Human]
[HP : 1,800,000/1,800,000]
[MP : 4,500,000/4,500,000]
[STR : 605]
[AGI : 610]
[DEF : 602]
[INT : 612]
[Current Rank : SSS-Rank (Peak)]
[Magic Level : 8-Stars]
[Sword Level : SwordMaster (Advanced)]
Kaito wasn't too surprised upon seeing his stats . He knew his grandfather was the head of one of the great families and he needed to be atleast this much strong to hold his position .
Kaito concentrated . He lunged towards his grandfather as he stroke the sword . It didn't connect . Kaito jumped back . His grandfather's speed was too fast for him to catch up . He striked again and again and again but every time he failed to hit Kiyoshi .
Kaito didn't lose his cool . He coated his sword with mana as he striked again . This time Kaito was barely able to break Kiyoshi's defense and land a hit on his waist . Kiyoshi was expecting this but wasn't sure . He looked happy but Kaito didn't stop . Kaito continued to attack him over and over again . The more he attacked the more the precision of his strike increased and he was able to break Kiyoshi's defense more easily . Kaito thought of his final attack . He raised his blade . Kiyoshi seemed to realise something as he increased his guard . Kaito's sword got covered in a pinkish aura as his sword extended .
The sword strike landed on Kiyoshi as his defense shattered and he flew away as smoke covered the area . Kaito dropped his sword . Akari was surprised to see this attack . Kaito took deep breathes as this attack took a lot of his stamina . The dust settled as Kiyoshi came out unharmed .
"Splendid . Good work Kaito"
"T-Thank you Patriarch"
Kiyoshi let him rest for just 10 minutes before starting again .
"Akari , come at me"
Akari went towards Kiyoshi . She started attacking him . Kiyoshi dodged and blocked each attack effortlessly before Akari started getting serious . After she used her mana , her speed and strikes accuracy increased which made a little problem for Kiyoshi but he still blocked her strikes . Akari lasted 2 minutes more than Kaito . Kiyoshi's face was looking happy .
"Good work Akari . You both are very talented and quick learners"
"Thank you Patriarch"
"But , you both are still lacking in some places"
"….."
"First , Kaito . Your attacks are precise but it lacks the strength . If you add strength then the precision decreases . Your swordmanship is good against low rank demons but if you face an intelligent demon , he will effortlessly dodge your attacks"
"I understand"
"Second , Akari . Your attacks are perfect . It has strength and precision but your sword balance decreases the longer you fight . With less balance , it would be difficult for you control your center of gravity and you can lose your body balance"
"I understand Patriarch"
"You both have 1 month left before you return to the academy , correct ?" "
"Yes Sir"
"In this one month , you both will improve the places you have it wrong . You both will have to reach the level of Swordmaster and awaken your aura blade . I will teach you both the 'Elemental Sword' after you become a Swordmaster . If you reach before one month , only then I will teach you both the 'Elemental Sword' "
"We understand Patriarch"
"Good , I will be leaving but you both continue and Akari come to my study in the evening"
"Yes"
Kiyoshi left . Kaito and Akari stood in the hall . Akari looked at him as Kaito was deep in thought . She called out his name as it took her quite some time to catch his attention . Kaito looked at her with curious eyes .
"Kai , let's spar"
"No , it wouldn't be a good idea"
"Why not ?"
"Sparring is only effective to master a technique or form but increasing the level of swordsmanship couldn't be done with sparring"
"Then , what do we do ?"
"Comprehend"
"What ?"
"Comprehend the inner plane inside the body . Calm the mind and to master the technique within us"
"Are you really my Kai ?"
"I am but comprehension of a technique can lead to greater understanding"
"Then , what do we comprehend ?"
"Aura Blade"
"You mean , we have to imagine the formation of aura blade inside our mind ?"
"Quick to catch"
"But , do you know how to do it ?"
"I guess . Aura isn't any different from mana . Mana originates from the heart and is an essential part for a magician . Swordsman refine it within their dantain to form aura "
"Simple words please"
"Mana is for the magicians and Aura is for the swordsman"
"But , we are magic swordsman"
"Correct and that's where the difficulty increases . A magician focuses solely on mana improvement whereas a swordsman on aura but as we are different we need to train mana and aura simultaneously"
"How do we originate aura ?"
"Concentrate your mana inside the lower abdomen"
"You mean the dantain ?"
"Yes . Swordsman form an aura core inside their lower abdomen"
"But , we didn't need it until now"
"That's correct because we weren't swordmasters yet"
"I am still confused"
"Listen to me very carefully"
"Okay"
"Swordsman below Swordmaster level doesn't need to have aura . The mana can be used by swordsman upto Sword Expert stage . Aura is the basis of Swordmaster . If you fail to awaken aura , you will never reach Swordmaster"
"You mean ?"
"Yes , swordmasters need to have aura . The mana cannot support it . If the mana is used on both magic and sword then the person won't reach either Swordmaster or 7-Stars"
"7-Star magic ? You know how to reach it ?"
"Just a little . First , we need to have a good mana control . Second , we need to separate the mana and aura and concentrate it into two different places of the body . You can know about the rest from Yuuki-senpai"
"Yuuki ? Is she a 7-Star ?"
'Huh ?! Sister doesn't know ? I guess she is keeping it a secret'
"I don't know but she is also a magic swordsman"
"But , she is low levelled than me"
"Doesn't matter"
Kaito headed towards his room . He needed to train his inside more to reach Swordmaster . After he reached his room he sat on his bed . He closed his eyes inside the blindfold as he entered into the meditative state after some time . Kaito wanted to form his aura core , so he slowly extracted mana from his heart as he guided them down the passage way and concentrated it in his lower abdomen . He was doing it slowly but suddenly the mana became unstable as Kaito failed .
-3 HOURS LATER-
After so much time Kaito was slowly able to form a part of his aura core . He failed countless times in the last few hours but it still wasn't enough . The aura core he formed wasn't a complete core but it was able to store a little energy . Kaito felt that he wasn't too far from reaching Swordmaster level but the only problem was that he was still a S-Rank and his mana wasn't enough to reach the Swordmaster level . Akari had a little better chance of breaking through as she already has over 300,000 points in mana .
Kaito calmed down as he threw away all the useless thoughts . His only thought was to reach SS-Rank at of this moment .
['Aether Surge' activated]
Kaito started to absorb mana into his heart . His 6th Circle was being filled up more and more by mana . Kaito continued his absorption . After about 2 hours his mana reached level which is the highest an S-Rank can reach which 299,999 points in mana but he wasn't able to breakthrough .
'This won't do . I can't breakthrough . I need to raise my level to atleast 200 before reaching SS-Rank'
As Kaito's level increased , the amount of exp he needs to level up also increases but the most important part was that Kaito's stats didn't increase frequently like it raised back then . Each level up increased about 12 to 18 points back then but now it increased only by 5 to 8 with each level up . Kaito was sure that his leveling speed was slow as he didn't kill monsters now .
Kaito can increase his level at a very fast rate only after graduating from the academy . The students after graduating from the academy can choose various roles . They can either join the military bases or they can form a team to hunt demons as they received missions from the mission halls .
The demon hunting teams are divided into few ranks :
The novice grade is the rank from which all the demon hunt teams starts . The starting point is same for everyone but the ranking up is different . The Master Grade has strength rivalling the demon king whereas the legendary Supreme Grade has the ability to rival the top 10 demon kings and even potentially stop the Demon God. Supreme-Grade squads should have one member of Z-Rank and the others must be X-Rank Awakeners . There are no team in the Supreme-Grade as humanity doesn't have a Z-Rank Awakener till now .
Kaito slept for the night as he was tired from his training .