Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Dragonman Swordsmanship LV.2, [Dragon Tail Sweep]

With a slight shift of his two-handed grip, Evans positioned his blade to block Jon’s incoming attack. Simultaneously, the edge of the simple Blunt Sword began to emit a dim, earthen glow.

The signature ability of an Official Level Professional: Power Manifestation!

If Jon didn’t show his true strength, the rebounding force from this exchange would be enough to make him suffer!

However, Evans, having never dealt with unpredictable players who didn’t play by the book, was destined to be taken down a peg.

SHIINK—

The two swords met, but not with the violent clang he anticipated. Instead, there was only a subtle scraping sound.

Jon’s attack dissipated the instant it made contact, vanishing without a trace like a puff of mist!

A feint!

Evans froze for a moment. He had no idea how Jon could retract his attack so quickly, but his well-honed Swordsmanship instincts kicked in. He immediately raised his hands from his sides, thrusting his sword forward to parry. In the next instant—

A heavy, powerful blow fell from above—no, it *crashed* down!

[Readjust Stance]!

[Dragon Claw Swing]!

Jon was still wielding his sword with one hand, but he relied primarily on his support Arm Armor for power, so there was little difference between a one-handed or two-handed grip.

In fact, this reverse-grip slash perfectly mirrored the Attack Stance of a Giant Dragon Claw, allowing him to concentrate even more power into the blow!

CLANG—!

The swords clashed with a resounding clang!

Jon felt as if his sword had just struck solid rock. Even with his Arm Armor absorbing the recoil, his palm throbbed with numbness.

’Such powerful parrying... He’s worthy of the name "Stone Sword"...’

But Evans, on the receiving end of the attack, was not faring well either.

The move he had just used to block, called [Rock Seal], had a defensive effect that was exceptional even among Knight Level Swordsmanship.

Yet, when facing Jon’s attack, he felt a sharp, stinging pain in both hands!

How was that possible!

In a head-on battle, the gulf between the Knight Level and the Soldier Level was supposed to be insurmountable!

But what he didn’t know was that the [Modified Dragonman Swordsmanship] Jon used was a Rare Level Swordsmanship. Its greatest characteristic was that it inherited the immense Piercing Effect of a Giant Dragon’s attack!

——

[Dragon Claw Swing: Consumes 20 Qi Value, launch a swing at an enemy within a certain distance, dealing 200% weapon damage, +20 Piercing Effect. Can be freely chained with other Dragonman Swordsmanship Skills.]

——

With a +20 Piercing Effect, one would still take some damage even in a defensive stance, unless they had a specific counter.

But after a brief stalemate, it was Jon who ultimately disengaged and retreated.

He could use the support Arm Armor to erupt with 18 points of Power, and he had used the effects of his Rare Level Swordsmanship to momentarily pressure Evans, but it was ultimately insufficient against an Official Level Warrior Class Professional, who started with 30 points of Power.

If he kept pressing his attack, he would be the one to get struck.

However, retreating didn’t mean he was giving up.

It wasn’t every day he found an opponent he could really cut loose against. How could he let it end so soon?

Jon mentally accessed his system panel, navigating it with practiced ease.

[Do you wish to spend 5,000 universal Experience Points to upgrade ’Modified Dragonman Swordsmanship’ to LV.2?]

’Yes!’

From the 12,700 Experience Points he had just accumulated (which included 600 points from crafting engineering equipment and parts), he had already spent 2,400 to upgrade Crystal Carving to LV.3, leaving him with 10,300.

Now, another 5,000 points were gone—nearly half his remaining total!

Yet, his face showed no trace of regret.

You get what you pay for. The increase in combat power from leveling up a Rare Level Swordsmanship was well worth the expense!

——

[Modified Dragonman Swordsmanship LV.1→LV.2]

[Skill Unlocked - ’Dragon Tail Sweep’]

[Dragon Tail Sweep: Consumes 20 Qi Value, launch a spinning sweep at enemies within a certain area, dealing 200% weapon damage, +15 Piercing Effect, chance to knock back enemies. Can be freely chained with other Dragonman Swordsmanship Skills.]

——

With the second Skill unlocked, the true power of [Modified Dragonman Swordsmanship] began to emerge.

The key lay in a line present in both Sword Skills’ descriptions: "Can be freely chained with other Dragonman Swordsmanship Skills"!

That’s right. [Dragon Claw Swing] could be chained into [Dragon Tail Sweep], which could then be seamlessly chained back into [Dragon Claw Swing]!

As long as your Qi Value consumption could keep up, you could perform an endless combo of these two Skills!

However, Jon’s current Qi Value wasn’t high enough to sustain the kind of relentless combo reminiscent of a Giant Dragon’s rampage. He could perform three sets at most before his Qi would be depleted.

But this wasn’t a fatal, life-or-death battle. It was just a Swordsmanship spar, wasn’t it?

The young Warrior’s eyes were fixed on his opponent. His footwork remained steady as he dodged a powerful, heavy, upward counter-slash by a hair’s breadth.

Evans wasn’t using his full strength. His attacks were more of a form of pressure, an attempt to force Jon to reveal more variations of his Swordsmanship.

And Jon was more than happy to oblige.

After dodging another of Evans’s follow-up downward chops, Jon let out a sharp breath, and the aura around him shifted.

"Hah!"

[Attack Stance]!

Before he had even fully regained his footing, he spun around, his arm whipping out like a dragon’s tail. The sword traced a crescent arc as it swept toward Evans’s side!

[Dragon Tail Sweep]!

The attack was incredibly fast, exploiting an opening in Evans’s offense. It forced him to abandon his pursuit, shift his footing, and raise his sword to parry.

BANG!

The sound of scraping metal arrived simultaneously with a powerful Impact.

The familiar stinging pain caused Evans’s brow to twitch.

Even after their second clash, he still couldn’t figure out the source of the bizarre penetrating power behind Jon’s Sword Skills.

But Jon didn’t wait for him to figure it out. Before the momentum from the sweep had fully dissipated, his torso twisted at an impossible angle. He used the rotational force to unleash another burst of power, swinging his blade from low to high, like a Giant Dragon raising its claw to tear the heavens!

[Dragon Claw Swing]!

This swing was faster, its Penetration even stronger!

Evans neither dodged nor retreated. He brought his sword hilt close to his body and, with a minuscule motion, deflected the blade by half an inch, parrying the ferocious strike at a dangerously close range.

But Jon wasn’t finished!

[Dragon Tail Sweep] into [Dragon Claw Swing] into [Dragon Tail Sweep]!

He treated Evans like a practice dummy, unleashing the wild power of a Giant Dragon with abandon!

For his part, Evans was keen to comprehend the subtleties of Jon’s Swordsmanship, so he offered no counter-attacks, choosing only to block.

And so—

CLANG CLANG CLANG—!

A sound like a blacksmith’s hammer rang out across the training grounds. The dazzling sparks from the clashing swords captivated and stunned the watching guards.

When had they ever witnessed such a ferocious and overwhelming Swordsmanship combination?

When had they ever seen their own supervisor pushed back like this?

Today, they were seeing it.

A few moments later, the morning’s Swordsmanship spar came to an end.

When Jon’s final strike landed on Evans’s blade, the black-haired, grey-eyed Swordsman clearly faltered.

The speed was still there, but the force behind it was significantly weaker.

He looked up at the young Warrior opposite him, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.

Jon, however, just shook his head innocently, pulled back his Blunt Sword, and rested its tip on the ground.

"I’m out of steam. Let’s call it here. You win."

Evans looked at Jon’s trembling arm and the beads of sweat on his forehead. Though he felt things were ending prematurely, he could only nod.

"Alright. Come back again when you’ve rested."

And with that, a notification popped up in front of Jon.

[Swordsmanship Spar I (Excellent · Daily Quest), Complete]

[You have completed a Swordsmanship spar with Evans Dean. He was very satisfied with the novel Swordsmanship you demonstrated and has agreed to spar again.]

[Completion Grade: B, reward multiplier 2.0x]

[Reward: 1,600 Combat Experience Points (800 base x 2.0), 100 Heta County Noble Union Chamber of Commerce reputation (50 base x 2.0)]

The young Warrior stretched his arms, mentally reviewing what he had gained from the spar.

The Experience Points and reputation were expected; what truly mattered was what he’d gained outside of the formal rewards.

’A "B" grade... I must have given him a satisfying fight. If I could actually beat him, I’d probably get an "S" grade.’

’Besides, sparring with someone this skilled at Swordsmanship, I can feel my own mastery of my Skills improving. A few more sessions like this, and maybe I can level up some of the simpler Skills without spending any Experience Points...’

All in all, when it came to sparring, the more the better!

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