Fantasy Libary

"Lux..."

Seeing the light blade in his hand, Ark's eyes trembled slightly.

In this world, the weapons commonly used by people were no longer cold weapons or firearms made of steel.

The meteorites that fell to Earth during the meteor shower brought Mana. In addition to influencing the birth of new humans like the Genestella, Mana could also form a special mineral called Manadyte through natural crystallization.

With the use of Manadyte, many scientific fields in the world had achieved breakthrough developments. One of the most representative advancements was the Mana-transforming energy weapons with Manadyte as their core.

These weapons used the Mana within Manadyte as their power source, were fully recyclable, and required little energy. All you had to do was activate the Lux coated with Manadyte, and the Manadyte would materialize pre-recorded elemental patterns, further grouping Mana to form blades, arrows, or beam-like bullets.

Such Mana weapons were called Lux.

Lux could not only adjust output and power through manual operation, but when not activated, the weapon was just a handle-sized Lux, giving it an absolute advantage in usability. Therefore, almost all personal handheld weapons nowadays were Lux, and their popularity had even reached the civilian stage. Whether as self-defense props or children's toys, these weapons were essentially objects of this kind.

Of course, in Asterisk, built for the purpose of duels, and in the six academies used to train contestants for Festa, it was impossible not to have such convenient Kirara-style weapons.

Students studying at Asterisk Sixth Academy could unconditionally apply to the academy's equipment bureau to receive a Lux while they were still enrolled. They could also make custom requests and perform certain adjustments and modifications to the Lux.

At this moment, Ark was holding a Lux in his hand.

And then...

"—"

Gripping the Lux sword handle tightly, the feeling Ark experienced could only be described as extraordinary.

Previously, he had never held any weapon. The sharpest tools he had held were kitchen knives and fruit knives for cutting fruit, aside from scissors and nail clippers.

In such a situation, he should have felt unfamiliar with the weapon in his hand and should not have known how to use it.

However, as he grasped the Lux, what Ark felt in his heart was not a sense of strangeness, but an almost omnipotent feeling.

This feeling seemed to tell him...

"The object in your hand is your hand and foot."

"The object in your hand is an extension of your senses."

"You have mastered it perfectly and know exactly how to use it."

"It is your subject."

*BUZZ!*

Suddenly, Ark swung his sword.

His eyes closed, as if entering a mysterious state, and he danced naturally following the direction of his sword.

The Lux in his hand felt like his actual limbs, allowing his body to move naturally.

Clearly, he had no prior experience with weapons, and this body had only become younger and stronger, so it should have been impossible for him to swing a sword so fluidly. Yet now, Ark seemed to have been dancing with the sword for decades, like an old swordsman who had long practiced the art of the sword, and he wielded the lightsaber in his hand with extraordinary skill.

*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*

Amid the vibrations and hums of the energy blade, the speed of Ark's sword dance grew faster and smoother, until he was weaving countless light blades into an impenetrable, dense web of light and shadow.

*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*

Under Ark's increasingly swift and sharp sword light, marks began to appear on the ground around him, and the flowers and plants in the garden swayed back and forth under the sword's wind.

*BOOM!*

At the end of the dance, Ark suddenly opened his eyes and swung his sword, creating a gust of sword wind that swept across the garden in front of him, completely overturning it.

In an instant, dust flew, mud and stones scattered, and the freshly trimmed lawn exploded as if cut by countless sharp blades.

"Did I... do this?"

Ark finally reacted. He stared at himself, still swinging the sword, then looked at the chaotic garden in front of him, covered in sword marks. His eyes, which had just opened, widened in shock.

"What was that sound?"

"Such a loud commotion..."

"Could someone be dueling?"

"Let's go and see!"

As it turned out, the noise had indeed been excessive, attracting the attention of people nearby.

Ark saw several figures approaching at an alarming speed. Without a second thought, he immediately deactivated the Lux, causing the light blade to disappear. Only the Lux handle remained, which he hastily tucked into the sheath on his belt. Then he turned and ran.

Fortunately, he acted quickly enough, and by the time the nearby people arrived, the place was empty.

All they could do was point at the mess Ark had left behind and chatter, not knowing what they were talking about...

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

"Haaah..."

On the other side, Ark fled the scene as fast as he could. After running to another quiet corner, he stopped and let out a relieved sigh.

"Wait, why did I run?"

Ark suddenly remembered something and slapped his forehead.

He had almost forgotten that this was the duel city called Asterisk, where duels between students were common, both in the academies and in the urban areas.

In other words, even if public property was damaged here, the responsibility wasn't as severe as outside, and compensation wasn't even necessary.

Of course, the prerequisite was that there had to be a legitimate reason.

"I was practicing swordplay in an open area. That should be a legitimate reason, right?"

Ark shook his head helplessly but quickly put the matter aside.

Recalling the earlier feeling, Ark took out the Lux and activated it again.

"Indeed, that feeling wasn't a coincidence, nor was it an illusion. It was all real."

Holding the reactivated Lux, Ark finally confirmed that he could indeed perfectly control the weapon in his hand.

You didn't need to train yourself, nor did you need to practice hard. Just hold a weapon like this, and you would naturally be able to use it in the most perfect way, displaying sword skills as powerful as ever, anytime and anywhere!

"Is this the function of Authority?"

Ark felt a little excited.

"No, the role of Authority isn't just that."

Ark could clearly feel that he could also use the power of Authority to perform further operations on the weapon in his hand.

"I... seem to be able to make this weapon recognize me as its master?"

Ark vaguely confirmed this based on his instincts.

As long as you hold a weapon, you can control and use it perfectly. This is just the most basic function of the Authority within Ark's body.

If Ark wished, he could use the power of Authority to carve his mark unconditionally onto the weapon in his hand and make the weapon acknowledge him as its master.

In this way, the weapon would become his exclusive personal weapon, would be strengthened to a certain extent according to his power, and would grow as he grew. Even if damaged, the weapon could be placed inside his body for nourishment, and it would automatically repair itself after a certain period.

Even if the weapon was lost, as long as it had been recognized by its owner, Ark could summon it back with a thought, and the weapon would return to his hand. The weapon could not be taken by anyone else by any means.

"This is the true function of Authority!"

After realizing this, Ark's mind suddenly became active.

He hadn't recognized the owner of the Lux in his hand.

This was just an ordinary standard Lux. Even after some adjustments and transformations, the weapon was still far from being powerful.

Now that the true function of Authority had been confirmed, Ark naturally wouldn't be satisfied with just being the master of an ordinary standard Lux.

To become stronger as quickly as possible, he needed a more powerful, more unique, and more potent weapon!

Thinking of this, Ark turned his head and looked toward the school building he had left earlier.

"I have no choice but to go..."

Pursing his lips, Ark stored his Lux, stepped forward, and walked toward the school building.