To Duncan, an incantation was more like a kind of programmed cue—something that prompted the brain into an instinctive magical response the moment it was heard.
Human magic was different from a monster's skills and innate abilities. At the same level, most magic far surpassed a monster's raw abilities in power, range, and striking distance. The price for that, however, was much finer control, longer preparation time, and greater difficulty in casting.
To help the body build a kind of mental memory akin to muscle memory in combat, incantations became the perfect tool. By chanting, the brain and body were instantly prompted to recognize that magic was about to be used, rapidly mobilizing one's mind and spirit. The greater the magic's power, the more preparation it required—and the longer the chant became.
Duncan had seen no-chant magic in other works before, but when he brought up the idea to Alfia, she scoffed at him. Over the years, it was not as if no mage had tried the same thing, but almost none had ever succeeded.
That was because, aside from serving as a cue, incantations in this world also had another function: they were a necessary precondition for using magic at all.
The former was manageable enough. After all, there were always masters of magic in the Lower World who could eventually break free from the need for such cues. The latter, however, was far more difficult. The children's magic came from the blessings bestowed by the gods. That blessing—something very much like a system—forced them to perform the preparatory chant before casting. Unless one was like the ancient heroes who did not rely on the gods' blessing, it was extremely difficult to break free of that framework.
Duncan accepted Zeus's explanation that chanting did indeed make magic easier to use by way of mental suggestion. But he would bet good money that the gods also simply thought it was more interesting this way. Considering their long record of bad behavior, that might well have been the real reason.
"Swift Heavenly Advance."
Duncan murmured the words to himself, as though reaffirming his own conviction.
The once wild and unruly power had become far more docile in his hands now. Invisible force wrapped itself around his entire body.
Though its main effect was to sharpen the edge of his attacks, he had unexpectedly discovered that it could also reinforce his body and even the shaft of his spear. That was something he had stumbled upon during his fight with Andarres.
When he wrapped the power around his legs, it increased the force of his kicks and the speed of his movement. Wrapped around his body and weapon, it improved resistance to impact. The degree of strengthening and the stamina and mental energy it consumed were somewhat disproportionate, but the deeper one developed a skill, the better. At a critical moment, it would always prove useful.
He lowered the spear tip to the ground and transferred the force coiling around his body into the weapon. After a brief tremor, Lihua fell still. Countless repetitions had produced real results. Following the诀窍 Zald had taught him and drawing on his own practice over these past days, Duncan took a deep breath and began chanting the new magic he had learned after leveling up.
"I am the breaker of evil, the spear that pierces through hordes of fiends.Even in the abyss of ten thousand ravines, unyielding radiance yet remains.Roar. Tremble.This is the spear that turns the tide."
A red gleam first lit the tip of the spear, then spread across the entire spearhead, like a newborn crimson sun radiating frightening waves of energy.
"Piercing Sun!"
He stepped forward with one foot, imitating Zald's stance. He drew into a forward lunge, twisted his waist, and leveled the spear, pulling the head back behind him. That single step, twist, and sweep was enough to bring a layer of white sweat to Duncan's brow. Though he could not yet make the movement look as effortless as Zald had, he had at least completed the entire preparatory sequence.
"Light-Splitting Slash."
With a low shout, Duncan clenched the shaft in both hands and hurled out all the power that had been gathering at the spear tip.
The red glow shot forward as a streak of crimson light, carving a deep trench along its path before erupting more than a hundred meters away.
Unlike Zald's strike, Duncan's attack did not explode outward in blazing fire. Its red light spread over only a limited area, but it spun like a drill, continuously grinding into the earth. When the light finally faded, what remained was a deep crater more than ten meters across. The inner walls were unnervingly smooth, etched with clear traces of that spiraling rotation.
Once it was over, Duncan gasped for breath in huge, ragged gulps. Sweat poured from his forehead, and his face had gone as pale as paper. If not for the spear planted beneath him for support, he might not even have remained standing. Only after he grabbed a bottle of mind-restoring elixir and drained it in one go did he look a little better.
Even so, the exhaustion this technique caused was even worse than Finger Wag.
If Finger Wag merely left him weakened, then this move brought him to the very brink of complete mental and physical depletion. It did not feel like a technique someone of his current level should have been able to grasp at all.
"One month…"
Not far away, Zald and Alfia could no longer hide the shock in their hearts.
Even they had never imagined Duncan would reach this level in a single month.
There was still much to improve—his range, his power, his recovery, all of it—but Light-Splitting Slash was a technique reserved for the executive members of the Zeus and Hera Familias.
And during the thousand-year reign of those two great Familias, even the lowest-ranked among those executives had been Level 6.
Yet Duncan before them had only just reached Level 4.
More than that, he had completed this training while still adjusting to the awkward mismatch caused by the sudden growth of his body after leveling up.
This was no longer the realm of genius.
It was bordering on monstrosity.
"Did the Captain ever show this kind of talent?"
"How could he have? Setting aside the period when the technique was first being developed, Maxim certainly didn't perform like this when he was Level 4. If anyone could have done something comparable, it would only have been you, Alfia."
"…Hard to say."
Alfia shook her head, the corners of her lips lifting into a faint, gratified smile.
"In other words, this brat has already, without realizing it, surpassed the great deeds of the old guard and continued onward?"
"He's still far from that. He can talk once he's no longer standing in the shade of those who came before him. I'm going."
"Where?"
"To check on Bell. His brother has already reached this level—how can I allow him to keep standing still? I need to give him a stronger push."
Alfia answered without even turning her head.
"So this is what the gods call a tsundere tiger mother? Honestly, you really are—"
A burst of gospel exploded at his ear without warning. If Zald had not blocked it with his greatsword, the blow would probably have left him in misery for quite a while.
"Next time you run your mouth, I'll aim for your head."
Alfia's voice drifted back lightly on the wind.
"You've already done it, haven't you?!"
Zald gave a helpless laugh, lowered his sword, tossed out the complaint, and then headed over to Duncan, who was still trying to recover.
"Ah, Uncle Zald—I did it!"
Seeing him approach, Duncan excitedly reported his success.
"Alfia and I both saw it. There's still a lot you need to improve, but you did indeed complete the full technique. And in only one month. Even in the prime of Zeus and Hera, that pace would have surpassed quite a few executive members."
"You're only Level 4 right now. Given enough time, you'll surpass those old fossils for sure."
"But don't get cocky. Don't be reckless. The Dungeon devours every fool who grows arrogant. No matter how high your level is, accidents always happen."
"Until your Light-Splitting Slash is truly refined, you are forbidden from using it in real combat."
Zald first patted Duncan's shoulder in encouragement, then delivered the warning in a grave tone.
....
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