Lord Summoner's Freedom Philosophy: Grimoire of Love

Chapter 184 The Spar With The Fallen One (1)

"It's cold... I wonder who is practicing in the midst of this cold..." Wilhelmina uttered under her breath. She then followed the presence of the surge of mana she felt, going in the direction where the big and tall trees are located.

The surging of mana she sensed is getting stronger, and it was not only one or two types of mana. It seems as if there are several people practicing in such a cold weather.

(Is it the village's guards, or some knights stationed at the village...?) (Wilhelmina)

"I wonder who is-" (Wilhelmina)

*Whoosh!*

Her words stopped by the scene of beautiful purple particles gathering and forming a giant form. But it doesn't stop there.

The man that utilized and made the purple particles dispersed them and shifted to wind magic. He continues to change from one element to another, making a beautiful spectacle with the spells and the way he utilizes those various mana.

At the time when Wilhelmina is at the wagon and resting, the thought of how strong Lyan is when he is compared with her strength when she saw at her peak back then crossed her mind. She thought that if she was at her former strength where she was the top of the military academy in terms of fighting prowess and other classes, she would be able to fight at least on par with him.

Unlike people that are strong because of raw power, the way Lyan fought against the frost giants before is elegant and skillful. He's not using raw strength, but he's using beautiful techniques and precise use of his skills which made him move like a whirlwind of death back then.

But even so, she feel that she could follow his moves. The way it moves unwaveringly and beautifully somehow resonances with her and her fighting style. So at the very least, disregarding the strength and might of his summoned creatures, his strength alone is as strong as her when she was at her peak strength.

But looking at the scene before her, she realized the difference between them.

*Thud!*

Wilhelmina watched how Lyan struck the big boulder that he carved into something like a scarecrow, and crushed it beautifully with his combination of several mana. While Lyan is complaining about how it is difficult to control them and use them together at the same time, Wilhelmina is praising him for his magnificent control of those different kinds of mana.

(Controlling a single mana alone is already difficult enough... To be able to control two mana at the same time, and improve them until they are powerful enough could make you enter any knight order without having to take a test) (Wilhelmina)

The difficulty of taking control and using the mana possessed as we use our body is one of the biggest reasons why people that are dual-elemental mana wielders are rare, powerful, and valuable. There are people that born with the aptitude for two different elements at the same time, but not all of them could control and improve the both elements at the same time. So even though one could born with two element aptitudes, most of them chose only one of the two and trained solely to improve the strength and the control of that one element mana.

(For him to control those numbers of mana at the same time...) (Wilhelmina)

"It's amazing!" Wilhelmina praised him as her hands unconsciously clapped because of her excitement.

As if he has just sensed her presence, Lyan shifted his gaze to her.

"It's very late already. Why are you awake, Wilhelmina?" Lyan asked the presence that is clapping in the distance.

"Ah..." Wilhelmina regained her composure after getting thrown such a question from him.

"I was thinking to look for fresh air, and I sensed an unusual presence from here so I went to check it out... Sorry..." (Wilhelmina)

Lyan's eyes peered into her for a while before nodding.

"I see. Well, I guess there is no harm in getting looked at by you," Lyan swings his glaive as if warming up his arms again. Of course, Wilhelmina immediately understood the meaning of his words.

It means that it's fine since she already got the mana oath that would prevent her from leaking the information about his strength to anyone.

Looking at such a big glaive made her wonder how could Lyan swings them so easily, but more importantly.

"C-Can I spar with you?" Wilhelmina's tone is slightly excited when she makes her request.

"Spar... I guess having a living opponent would be better for me too, huh? Fine," Lyan draw a sword from the grimoire's space and threw it to her.

"Eh? Aren't you going to use that glaive of yours?" Wilhelmina asked as she points at the glaive on the ground. Lyan is already holding another sword in his hand that he also drew from the grimoire's space.

Lyan gazed at Wilhelmina's right hand as he replied. "It will be unfair for me to use my designated weapon when you're not using yours, right?

"My... Weapon..." Wilhelmina remembered her sword. The sword she used before is not a normal blade. It's a sabre. A curved, single-edged sword with a long, slender blade. It was occasionally used by cavalry soldiers and was particularly effective for slashing and cutting motions. As a former knight, that is the sword that she's most comfortable with.

"How did you know that my favorite weapon is a sabre?" Wilhelmina asked as she tilts her head. She remembered that he possess the illusion mana that could also be used for mind magic. Did he use his mind magic to infiltrate her memories?

"Of course, I wouldn't know. But at the very least, I could see that you're not the type that uses a normal one-handed blade. People that could use a variety of weapons won't be using that stance of yours, after all," (Lyan)

"My stance..." (Wilhelmina)

Wilhelmina's making her usual stance, she stood with her feet shoulder-width apart, with her forward foot pointing towards her opponent and her back foot at a 90-degree angle. Her weight was evenly distributed between both legs, allowing her to quickly shift her weight and change direction.

The sword was held in her right hand with her arm slightly extended, and her left hand was used for parrying and controlling the distance. This stance allowed her to make quick and efficient movements, enabling her to easily attack and defend. She could feel the familiar weight of the saber in her hand and the solidness of her footing on the ground. She was ready for anything her opponent could throw at her.

"I see..."(Wilhelmina)

Hearing Lyan's words, Wilhelmina that realized she has made a stance that easy to be read by veteran warriors shifted her gaze towards Lyan once again to observe his stance. When she saw his stance, her eyes widened. Suddenly, a memory of when she was at the Battle Class of the military academy resurfaced.

'Everyone, remember this whenever you fight in a small number battle. You need to observe their stance to know how many weapons they are using. For warriors who are proficient with a variety of weapons, their combat stance is much more dynamic and adaptable. These warriors have trained extensively to fight with different types of weapons and understand the unique advantages and limitations of each one. As a result, their combat stance reflects this versatility, allowing them to seamlessly switch between weapons as the situation demands.'

'Typically, these warriors maintain a balanced stance, with their weight evenly distributed between their feet. Their arms are relaxed, but ready to respond in an instant, and their eyes are constantly scanning the battlefield, assessing threats and anticipating their opponent's moves.'

'This type of stance is designed to be highly flexible and responsive, allowing the warrior to quickly switch from a defensive posture to an aggressive one, or from a two-handed grip on a larger weapon to a one-handed grip on a lighter, faster weapon. These warriors understand that the key to victory in combat is not just brute strength, but also agility, precision, and the ability to quickly adapt to changing circumstances.'

'Remember that these kinds of warriors are easy to be recognized once you saw them. My words here are not a secret or a key to win to them, but it's a warning. You never know what kind of weapons they are hiding, and you might be surprised by even though they are more skillful in using their sword against you, they would suddenly change their weapon to confuse you. The best of them is capable of remembering all possible patterns of your attacks. So unless you're confident with your win.'

'Retreat is always an option.'

"I see... So this is what he meant..." (Wilhelmina)

___________________________________________________________________________

Name: Lyan Arkanium Evocatore

Occupation: Mythril-ranked Mercenary

Money: 3,797,710,950 Elnes / 3797 gold 71 big silver 9 big coppers 5 coppers

Weapon: Magic Glaive, 1 (Decent) One-handed Sword, 2 (Good-Quality) One-handed swords, 1 (Decent) bow

Equipment: Black leather cloak, Leather Armor, Breastplate, 2 Health Potions, 2 Poison Vials

Grimoire's Companions: 8 High Spirits, 3 Valkyrie, Shadow Goblin Lord (Lv. 5), Papilio Slime (Lv. 45), Galewing Butterfly (Lv. 45), Rock Golem (Lv. 50), Deadlight (Lv. 63), Moonlight Butterfly (Lv. 45), Ice Golem (Lv. 50), Acid Ant Queen (Lv. 9), Magma Bear (Lv. 1), Fey Mammoth (Lv. 1), Arcane Retriever (Lv. 1), Winter Wolf Alpha (Lv. 12)

Grimoire's Army: 6 Shadow Servants, 800 Skeleton Army