Free Web NovelChapter 20: Chapter 20: Crimson Battle Instinct
Chapter 20: Crimson Battle Instinct
Andras stopped a few steps away from her.
"You sound disappointed."
Selene crossed her arms beneath her chest, her dark eyes fixed on him without the slightest hint of the respect most nobles expected.
"You disappearing for several days made the estate a lot quieter."
Several nearby soldiers immediately lowered their heads, clearly trying to hide their reactions.
Some looked nervous.
Others looked amused.
None dared laugh openly.
Andras noticed every one of them.
A faint chuckle escaped his lips.
Interesting.
Unlike the servants inside the mansion, Selene clearly didn’t fear him.
That made sense.
She answered directly to Evelyne, not him. More importantly, Selene possessed enough strength to stand above most nobles in the empire.
A Peak Seventh Circle Mage.
Someone like her had little reason to fear a seventeen-year-old heir whose reputation relied more on his family name than his own accomplishments.
Selene tilted her head slightly before gesturing toward the nearby weapon racks.
"If you came here to train," she said calmly, "then stop standing around and pick a weapon."
Without another word, Andras walked toward the racks.
Rows of training weapons were lined up beneath a metal canopy.
Swords.
Spears.
Battle axes.
Halberds.
Even enchanted staffs designed for combat mages rested against the far wall.
The scent of iron and sweat hung heavily in the air while the sharp clash of steel echoed across the grounds.
Without hesitation, Andras grabbed a wooden training sword.
The moment his fingers wrapped around the handle, something inside him reacted instinctively.
Muscle memory.
His body moved before his thoughts could catch up.
Grip adjustment.
Balance correction.
Foot placement.
Sword forms surfaced naturally within his mind, as though he had practiced them thousands of times.
Which, technically, he had.
Or rather...
The original owner of this body had.
Andras quietly raised the blade and gave it a few slow swings.
Clean.
Smooth.
Controlled.
The corners of his lips lifted faintly.
The previous Andras had genuinely trained.
That much was obvious.
Most noble mages looked down on swordsmanship. They preferred standing safely behind others while casting spells from a distance.
The original Andras clearly thought differently.
Andras narrowed his eyes slightly while testing the sword’s weight.
Honestly...
The previous owner of this body had never been stupid.
Cruel?
Arrogant?
Spoiled?
Certainly.
But not stupid.
Fragments of the original Andras’s thoughts surfaced in his mind.
Mages were terrifying at long range.
But once an enemy closed the distance, many became vulnerable.
Too many died because they relied entirely on spells while neglecting their physical combat abilities.
Back on Earth, Andras had seen the same pattern countless times while reading fantasy novels, manga, and manhwa.
The moment an assassin bypassed a mage’s defenses, the fight was usually over.
A glass cannon.
Powerful enough to destroy armies.
Fragile enough to die from a blade across the throat.
The original Andras despised that weakness.
That was why he had trained both mana and swordsmanship under Selene.
Andras slowly twirled the wooden blade once before resting it across his shoulder.
A mage capable of fighting at close range was far more dangerous than an ordinary mage.
Especially in a world filled with assassins, monsters, and battlefield ambushes.
His gaze shifted back toward Selene.
Now that he thought about it...
He still hadn’t checked her status properly.
Andras calmly called out to the system within his mind.
System. Show me Selene Vaelthorn’s status.
A familiar metallic chime echoed in his head.
[Ding!]
A translucent blue panel appeared before his eyes.
[Name - Selene Vaelthorn]
[Race - Human]
[Age - 37]
[Class - Mage]
[Talent - Crimson Battle Instinct (A+ Rank)]
[Realm - Peak Seventh Circle Mage]
Andras’s eyes lingered briefly on her talent.
A+ Rank.
Higher than Echo Resonance.
And dangerously close to the realm of truly elite talents.
Someone possessing an A+ Rank Talent already held the potential to shake kingdoms if given enough time and opportunity.
And Selene possessed both.
Talent.
Experience.
Battlefield achievements.
No wonder she had become General of the Darkmoor Army.
Andras studied her silently.
With enough time, she had a genuine chance of stepping into the Eighth Circle.
That alone would place her among the strongest individuals in the empire.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Andras calmly issued another command.
System. Show me the details of Crimson Battle Instinct.
[Ding!]
The system window shifted immediately.
[Talent - Crimson Battle Instinct (A+ Rank)]
[A battlefield-type talent specialized in combat instinct, danger perception, reaction speed, and battlefield awareness.]
[1. Killing Intent Detection]
[The user can instinctively sense hostility directed toward them.]
[Allows detection of ambushes, hidden assassins, sneak attacks, and sudden killing intent through subtle mana fluctuations and body movements.]
[2. Combat Prediction]
[The user’s mind rapidly analyzes enemy movements during combat.]
[Footwork, muscle tension, weapon angles, and mana gathering become easier to predict.]
[At high mastery, enemy attacks may appear slowed due to the user’s heightened perception.]
[3. Battlefield Awareness]
[The user gains near-supernatural awareness during large-scale warfare.]
[Allows detection of weaknesses in enemy formations, hidden dangers, and opportunities for counterattacks.]
[4. Instinctive Counter]
[The user’s body reacts before conscious thought.]
[Counterattacks become faster and more precise during battle.]
[5. Bloodline Awakening State]
[When heavily injured or surrounded, Crimson Battle Instinct enters an awakened state.]
[Reaction speed, perception, mana flow, and battle efficiency rise dramatically.]
[Fear and hesitation are temporarily suppressed.]
Andras read every line carefully.
The more he read, the more dangerous the talent appeared.
This wasn’t an elemental talent like Frost Dominion.
It was something entirely different.
Something built purely for combat.
A talent forged for war itself.
His gaze drifted back toward Selene.
She stood calmly near the center of the training grounds, observing the soldiers with sharp eyes that seemed to miss nothing.
Now that he understood her talent, her reputation made perfect sense.
Someone capable of sensing killing intent, predicting attacks, and controlling the flow of battle would become a nightmare on any battlefield.
Especially after years of real combat experience.
No wonder Darkmoor soldiers feared her.
No wonder Evelyne trusted her enough to place the duchy’s army in her hands.
A faint smile appeared on Andras’s face.
Crimson Battle Instinct...
It truly was an exceptional talent.
