Saharan Successor

Vol. 1 - Chapter 48 - Nephthys Lament

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Corvus didn't say anything else, taking two long branches simulating a spear from the old tree, with one tossed to Mathias. After that, he took a relaxed stance, lowering the spear down while Mathias entered a middle-guard stance.

"Ready, boy?"

"Quick question before we start? Can I also use my magic spells?"

"You know magic? Sure, why not. As long as you entertain me, everything is allowed."

Nodding his head, he casted 'Arcane Intellect' on himself before he waited for his MP to recover to the full, and after one minute of waiting, keeping Corvus anticipating for what this young man in front of him had to bring, he saw as Mathias activated 'Raven's Movements' charging at him.

'Interesting, he reached the second step in the movement, and it has been almost 3 months since I showed him.'

Thinking that surprised, he looked into Mathias's green eyes while swinging the spear downwards, which he blocked easily. What followed in suit was Mathias changing positions and pulling 'Sweeping Thrust' on Corvus.

Stepping on the spear, Corvus blocked the sweeping movement pinning Mathias's wooden spear on the ground, where he followed with a leg kick wearing a smile on his face.

Yet, seeing himself unable to pull the spear from Corvus's trap, he released the grip, evading the kick, which had the spear master stare confused in the face of such an act. However, it was seconds later that his attention was pulled back to the sparring, with Mathias sending out two 'Arcane Missiles', which looked dangerous.

['Arcane Missiles' was evaded.]

[You have dealt 76 damage to the target.]

With the first spell being dodged easily, the second one managed to hit his stomach area, which had Corvus look shocked and also angry, saying to Mathias.

"That projectile stung me, little brat. Good attack, but I doubt you can keep fighting like this since you abandoned your weapon."

"Don't worry about me, Corvus, worry about yourself." said Mathias with fake confidence, where his mind was going overclock, trying to figure out a way to cause more damage to this spearman.

'To think my 'Arcane Missile' would do such a pathetic number is like I turned back to being a level 1 player. Nevertheless, I can see the difference from the first time I sparred against Corvus and now.'

Contemplating his situation, he was awakened by Corvus, whose step released some jet-black feathers containing some energy inside, and instantly he appeared in front of him, hitting him with a spear pierce that made him puke blood collapsing on the ground.

[You have suffered 2134 damage.]

"Ahh, I got over-excited and used my 'Dragon's Tail' attack. Still, I didn't put much strength on the attack, controlling my power. But I think I got the boy killed with this first attack."

Still puking blood, feeling his body screaming in pain after being hit by Corvus attack, he slowly raised on his feet, gritting his bloody teeth.

"I can continue the fight."

Saying that, he took a healing flask which recovered 1500 of his HP but did not wipe away the pain generated by the attack.

"Good, good. Come take your spear back and let's start round 2. This time I will try not to kill you from only one hit, even though we are using these sticks."

Giving Mathias the chance to take his spear back, he used his arcane to get his stick back, levitating it from the ground, entering back into a guard stance, looking at Corvus, who held an interested expression, before not long charging at Corvus activating 'Raven's Movements'.

Corvus let Mathias get to him, without bursting with his real power, and saw 'Piercing Rain' attacks raining on him, which he dodged using his steps, and when he saw Mathias go for 'Sweep Thrust', he seemed to be annoyed.

'Kid, you have to be unpredictable with the spear. Otherwise, you will suffer a real defeat which will shatter your confidence.'

Thinking that, he placed the branch down right in the direction of the sweep, but he noticed with his keen eyes that it was only a feint because ahead of him was a white-purple missile flying for his head.

'I even eat a feint from an amateurish brat? Haha, if brother Piaro would have seen this, I probably would have been laughed at for an entire year.'

Picking up his spear, he did a fast spin after jumping, slashing, and attempting to destroy the incoming missile. Yet, when he did that, and the spear made contact with the arcane spell, it burst, being destroyed, leaving Corvus without any weapon.

Mathias took advantage of this, and while appearing in front of him, he unleashed 'Piercing Rain', managing to craze Corvus's right arm one time, with the remaining attacks being parried with his own hands, countering back with a lightning-fast jab that stunned him.

[You have suffered 172 damage and are affected by the 'Stun' effect for a period of 2.5 seconds.]

'What happened? I didn't even see that attack. The discrepancy between the two of us is so great?'

Remaining in place, he could see Corvus release an evil smile, disappearing from where he was and appearing beside the tree, ripping another branch, and when he still had to wait 1 second, appearing back at him, saying to him.

"Good strategy of using your magic gifts to keep me guessing. You aren't stupid or a bad fighter. Nevertheless, the path ahead for you is a long and arduous one."

Saying that, he began to check Mathias's defenses and how his reactions were when placed under pressure, which had Mathias troubled, but in the end, surviving.

After many minutes of sparring where he consumed all his resources, from his mana to getting to the lowest point in his health, with haggard breathing, he heard Corvus say casually to him as he distanced away.

"You are good. Compared to the last time when I called you decent, your status evolved to good. I've seen what needed to be seen, and I will not make you feel worse by crashing you."

"Hah, hah, I take this as a compliment. I know I have a long way to go in my spear play or magic mastery. Thank you for taking your time to spar with me." thanked Mathias, bowing his head, feeling tired from all this sparing, which depleted even his stamina.

[You have cleared the quest 'Corvus Curiosity' gained the reward: Chance of learning new spear techniques]

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"Kid, I will teach you a new series of attacks. Since last time, I only showed some basic skills, and your set of attacks seems predictable. I will teach you only 3 attacks, but each one of those attacks holds potential that only the user can discover." mentioned Corvus after taking some distance from Mathias, holding the wooden spear at his side, waiting for Mathias to recover a bit.

Only after seeing Mathias focus on him, he plant the spear down, telling him with a serious voice.

"First of all, one thing needs to be mentioned before you learn this strike. You need to hold malice in you to get the best out of this strike. Malice looks like this, kid."

Ending that, he grasped the spear once again, and from his body, energy akin to the raven's feathers started being released, covering his hand in a tar color before picking the spear, which started to give off raven's feathers.

"This attack is called 'Nephthys Lament'. Better watch it carefully because I will not repeat myself more than 5 times."

Seeing Mathias nod, Corvus activated 'Raven's Movement,' and with a malicious gaze, he moved in the direction of the tree, where even from where he was, he could sense the pressure released by his body.

His eyes didn't shy away from Corvus, watching all his movements and recording what he was doing.

Corvus, who got to the ancient tree, thrusted the wooden spear inside the tree, creating a blast of wind, which in Mathias's ears, even a cry of a raven, was audible. What's more, he was shocked to see that this attack could create a hole inside the tree without the wooden spear being destroyed.

"Did you get it, boy?"

"Hmmm, not fully, but I have a question for you. Is the momentum you gain from 'Raven's Movement' required, or can it be bypassed?"

"It matters less. What I showed you is the basic movement for this attack. Once you start mastering the attack, you could do it like this too."

Answering casually, not mad about being questioned, like in the past, maybe he felt the question worthy of him, and with his arm being covered in that energy which looked similar to the energy released by the 'Raven's Movement' and after doing some quick steps toward Mathias he sent out his thrust attack which released a black wind blade in the shape of a raven.

"It is relative to your mastery. You don't need that over-the-top momentum, but for beginners, you need it, otherwise, you can't draw enough energy."

"So, the energy comes from the movement? Or is it something you have to obtain?"

"Try it, and you will find it. I don't like teaching people that much, but I give you this chance because we are acquaintances. Stop asking questions. You have 3 more chances at seeing this technique, afterwards, we will move to the next one."

"Okay, okay. Don't rush me. I will try it too."

Grabbing his spear, he activated 'Raven's Movement' and checked to see if he could pull the energy circulating in his legs, but he couldn't notice a single change in his body. Frowning after 2 minutes, he simply chose to attack following the same manner Corvus did, but it was just a fast thrust attack that did nothing.

"Watch again, and try to emulate. If you can sense that malice inside of you, then you will not have much luck."

Once again, Corvus made the same attack, which Mathias tried to emulate, failing short, watching Corvus do all the chances he had at hand for those attacks.

Even after all these tries, Mathias was still trying to pull off this attack until he stopped moving and closed to himself, ignoring Corvus' gaze. There he was pondering on all the information he got on this attack, and he was stuck on a simple concept, "malice".

'I need this malice, Corvus refers to. But I tried thinking about killing someone when making the attack, and there was nothing. Could it be that I am wrong? I don't have to be a psychopath to activate this skill. Right, this guy Corvus is not a crazy person, so it must be the other aspect of malice.'

'Do I need to get evil and want to bring pain and misfortune to my enemy?'

With his eyes closed, Corvus could see Mathias enter into a state of contemplation and take a seat on the ground, watching the full moon illuminating this courtyard perfectly. Opening the bottle of strong spirit, he took a mouthful, releasing a deep breath.

"Ohooo, this is a dwarven spirit. Those little fucks know their way with spirits and have a gift at brewing alcohol. Kid, you really outdid yourself, I was thinking of some cheap wine since it is hard to make money in Titan, but I was wrong."

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With an eye on Mathias and another one on the bottle, he kept drinking until he placed the bottle down, seeing some changes on Mathias. With the 'Raven's Movement' activated, he could see some weak energy around his main hand.

"That's it, kid. You really aren't stupid. Now let's see if you can keep the malice up and concentrate it on your spear."

It didn't take long that Mathias reached that step, drowning the wooden spear on the black feathers' energy, and with his eyes opened up shining in a white-purple light, he began charging toward Corvus and thrusting, releasing an attack similar to what Corvus demonstrated.

"Finally, I was preparing to go to sleep with the manner you progressed. How long was it 30 minutes? You still have a long way to go with this skill, but I can't look down on your learning abilities." mentioned Corvus getting up from where he was, destroying the attack sent by Mathias with ease.

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Looking at Corvus easily disposing of his newly learned spear attack, the notification window announcing his success confirmed him the newly learned skill.

[You have understood and learned the skill 'Nephthys Lament'.]

After placing the notification on the back of his head, he said to Corvus, a bit tired.

"This attack of yours consumes a lot of resources and does not allow me to use it as often as I would wish. Maybe two of those attacks, and I consumed all my mana."

"Sure, but it does the job, ending your enemies. It can be combined along with 'Piercing Rain' into an end sequence. Now, let's quickly get this done and show you the other two. They will be relatively easier than the first. Same like the 'Nephthys' you got only 5 showcases."

With Mathias focused on him, he heard the spearmaster hold the spear relaxed moving casually, before the aura around him intensified and with a faster step he planted his wooden spear on the ground and launched himself in the air, doing an aerial strike which when the spear collided with the ground, it created a heavy mark on the floor.

"This attack is called 'Bloodfall'."

Not letting Mathias place his questions, he moved to unleash the other attack he had in store for him, and after 'Bloodfall' he moved in another direction, starting to unleash an attack that comes from a thrusting sequence combining some spins and unpredictable attacks which from what he saw, it could target any vital spot.

"This one is called 'Treachery'."

"Now, I will leave it to you to try and show you other examples. It shouldn't prove troublesome for you. After all, you managed to learn 'Nephthys Lament' , one of my signature spear techniques."

Agreeing with Corvus, Mathias went to work, trying to emulate the spearmaster, taking him some time to get adjusted with the movements and the spear placement, and another 3 examples from Corvus, until he gained the notification of him learning, 'Bloodfall' and requiring him another showcase for 'Treachery' which even under 'Arcane Intelligence' influence it proved troublesome for him.

"Sigh, where are you blocking, kid? Is Treachery that hard for you?"

"It is tricky, as the name implies. I am stuck at the spins. I can't synchronize them."

"Hmmm, think of it as a whirlpool or a tornado. Once you have the image in your head, simply follow that instinct and move your body that way. Come on, kid, getting stuck on an insignificant problem?"

"I am not a genius, okay? Give me a break. I am trying my best and can't think of every single possibility if you don't wish to give me more details." said Mathias looking at Corvus, who was drinking the dwarven spirit, while he took a deep breath to calm himself.

Settling his emotions down, he activated once again 'Arcane Intellect.

After that, Mathias began to walk slowly ahead, increasing his rhythm by using 'Raven's Movement', and once he reached a desired speed, he began attacking using a central thrust, followed by a combination of strikes going low and high.

It was a weird movement, going from low to high, before spinning and raising his arm following the movement of the whirlwind and getting to the last part of the skill, he chained two strikes, ending it with a final thrust.

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap* "See, it wasn't so hard after getting the hang of all the movements of 'Treachery'." said Corvus from where he was, applauding and complimenting Mathias's execution of the skill.

[You have understood and learned the skill 'Treachery'.]

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"With this done, I can take a nap with clear consciousness. Do you still have some questions?"

Being low on stamina, he walked to sit not far from him besides the ancient tree, and after Corvus offered him the bottle of spirit, with a mouthful taken, which sent an impulse to his brain clearing this feeling of fatigue, he asked him a simple question.

"Corvus, who are you? I had some encounters with some people who recognized the movement speed, calling you Crow."

"The lowly rats like to call me many names, but I guess I can answer this question since you are an outlander and have no business with the upper echelon.

My name is Corvus Richard von Welf, of the prestigious Welf House, someone who lost his home and his family. Someone who was spit in the face by the Royal House even after my ancestors and family served them for such a long time. Who I am, is just the fragments of my former self after it got cracked, trying myself to keep hold of my madness of not trying to do something stupid."

"You are a noble?"

"I used to be a Duke... Since then, I've been homeless for about 2 years."

"You really have no other place to go or someone to call family?"

"Well, my elder brother Piaro is still alive, kicking somewhere, trying to recover from his wounds and maybe plan for revenge. I am waiting for him to recover before I help him in bringing down the Saharan House with the rest of the people who suffered from Saharan's Tyranny."

"Sigh, what happened for the Emperor to try to destroy a Duke House?"

"That motherfucker destroyed my family because he heard my brother was fucking his wife and was planning a scheme to dethrone him taking over the Empire having the support of that whore, and the other dukes. But that is a blatant lie where he had no evidence, only the words of a rat called Asmophel. ARGHH, my ravens inside the city told me he was still somewhere in Titan or Dewars, but no sign of him. So much I wanted to cull him and see him scream in agony and pain for everything that happened to my family and people.

I let my ravens search the entire Empire, spending my savings, yet, no sign of that traitor." said Corvus with a cold voice, with a lot of emotion inside, not minding Mathias's questions.

In fact, he felt much better sharing with someone else his story, someone who would look at him as if he was a traitor to the Empire.

"Asmophel? Is he someone important?"

"That bastard used to be one of the pillars of this rotten Empire with my elder brother, a Count. Hah, to think I used to call that bastard big brother is pathetic on my side. But these are my problems, kid. No need to bother yourself to even try to help me. If those bastards find out you are helping me, they will send out their hounds to hunt you down and everyone close to you."

"I can give you some money if you lack funds to keep living."

"Don't worry, kid. I am someone who can simply encroach inside a noble house I dislike and get all his money since I am an outlaw and no longer have to care about how the other nobility might see me."

Nodding his head, taking another mouthful of spirit, passing it back to Corvus, he asked him some casual questions, moving away from the harsh reality of this world's politics and conflicts.

"Corvus, can you tell me if I could take on Clark Gang as I am right now?"

"Clark? Ohh, those rats who think themselves important in the alleys. Don't try them yet. You still lack the power to take on Clark and his entourage. Don't ask me to get rid of them for you because I'd rather not. Those are useful idiots for me. Helping me hide away from the Red Knights' pesky eyes. Even though they used to be my elder brother subordinates, I wasn't a Red Knight choosing another path. Also veiling my presence from that fossil Chensler and that idiot Bain who is always beside that Saharan scum."

"I see, so I better not disturb the balance in Titan."

"Indeed, there was a guy who killed off 'Black Spades' creating a power vacuum that even bothered that creepy monster, the Grandmaster."

"Sorry."

"For what?"

"I was the one who ended 'Black Spades'. Well, not me alone. There was one more person who did the final blow to Irenaeus."

"You managed to stay alive against Irenaeus? A newbie like you? Impressive. How did you manage to pull it off?"

"They were weakened by Goddess Rebecca, which allowed me to fight them on the same stage."

Not fully understanding such an extraordinary case, he didn't follow up to question Mathias, just reminding him to stay put and not disturb the balance inside Titan if he had no power to follow up and fill up the void spot. Even if those thugs were extorting people, they were useful pawns in his grand scheme and didn't wish to lose them because outsiders didn't like how things went inside the city.

"Mathias, you have to grit your teeth in the face of injustices. Only kill those who deserve it, not idiots who think of themselves as some fantastical people, being able to do as they wish. Place them to sleep, but no more killing of the thugs. In the future, after you grow in power and have the power to replace those fools, I will even support you from the shadows, removing your track from Eclipse."

They didn't talk much after this, and Corvus, downing the bottle of spirit, bade his farewells to Mathias, leaving, not returning to the tavern, opting for another place, truly like a homeless man, while Mathias also walked back home, checking the newly gained attack skills.

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[Nephthys Lament -Lv.1]

Rating: Secret

A masterfully created spear or sword attack, based upon the prided swordsmanship of the Welf House, 'Supreme Swordsmanship' - 3rd Movement.

Deals 850% of your attack power to a single target ignoring the target's defense having a chance of dealing a 'Weakened','Desperation' or 'Bleeding' debuff.

You can change the trajectory of the attack using extra mana.

Skill Activation Condition: Have a spear or sword-type weapon.

Skill Stamina Consumption: 30 of your Stamina.

Skill Mana Cost: 750 MP

Skill Cooldown: 180 seconds

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"Wow, a finishing skill. I was lacking those ones for quite a while. No wonder I felt depleted of my stamina after successfully casting this skill. It drains you instantly of your stamina. Now let's see how good the rest of the skills are."

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[Bloodfall - Lv. 1]

Rating: Epic

An attack trying to emulate the beginning of a storm, using a fast descending spear attack that could cause havoc against the enemy.

Deals 250% of your attack power to a single target with a chance of proccing the 'Bleeding' debuff and 'Disarm' debuff.  If the enemy has resistance to debuffs, they will suffer half the effects of the debuffs.

Skill Mana Cost: 250 MP

Skill Cooldown: 60 seconds

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[Treachery - Lv.1]

Rating: Unique

An unexpected chain of attacks would place even the most experienced master in trouble when trying to predict the oldest of attacks coming from the technique. The order of the attacks can always be shifted in order to create a tense moment of treachery.

The normal attack of the technique deals 130% of your attack power while the spinning attack deals 165% of your attack power. The attacks of the technique can range from a number of 4 attacks to 7 attacks with a maximum of 2 spinning attacks.

Skill Mana Cost: 450 MP

Skill Cooldown: 60 seconds

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"Good, I shouldn't have a problem using my skills when I reach a higher level, having plentiful mana at that moment."

"Also, it seems I will have to stay put concerning the Clark Gang. To think I was almost close to stepping in an abyss I wouldn't be able to exit if I would have accepted the quest of fighting the gangs without having much information on them."

"As for the Corvus story? It is indeed a sad one. I am even wondering how he can keep sane after suffering so much injustice. If I meet Lord Juander, I have to ask him that."