Free Web NovelChapter 58: Aureleah’s Essence Runes
Meanwhile, immediately after the quartet disappeared into the darkness beyond the waterfall entrance, Aureleah wasted no time dragging the rest of the group back toward the clearing.
The place looked exactly as they had left it...
The waterfall thundered endlessly into the lake below, sending up a curtain of mist that drifted lazily through the air. The branches of twisted trees swayed gently within the morning breeze, while the distant cacophony of shrieks and chirps of unfamiliar creatures echoed through the forest.
The waterfall was somehow peaceful and scenic...
Yet for three particular individuals, the scenery felt anything but comforting.
Veyrath, Caelestra, and Sylveris stood shoulder-to-shoulder near the center of the clearing...
No, rather than calling it that, ’huddled together’ was a better description...
Their backs pressed against one another as they slowly rotated in circles, eyes darting across every moving shadow and sand grain.
Veyrath’s expression was especially tense; a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face, his hands twitched nervously, his shoulders were rigid, and his ears were practically straining to catch even the slightest sound... freewebnσvel.cøm
The same could also be said for the other two girls.
Caelestra’s gaze constantly swept across the clearing while Sylveris looked as though she was one loud noise away from screaming.
Most importantly, or strangely, none of them had their Soul Essences manifested, and that alone made the atmosphere amongst the trio odd.
The silence stretched; one second... Two seconds... Three seconds... Then...
"Gotcha."
A cold voice suddenly whispered behind Veyrath.
The failed Alchemist was petrified on the spot as his entire body locked up. Cold sweat erupted from his forehead as he sensed something sharp and metallic pressed lightly against his carotid artery.
One wrong movement... And his blood would be painting the soil.
Caelestra and Sylveris spun around immediately. Their eyes widened as they took in the sight before them...
Aureleah stood directly behind Veyrath, pressing a silver Dagger against his throat.
The failed Assassin’s expression remained completely indifferent as though appearing out of thin air behind people was perfectly normal.
Only when Aureleah withdrew her Dagger did Veyrath finally release the breath he didn’t even know he was holding.
"Holy Aetherium..." The failed Alchemist whispered, clutching his throat dramatically. "I literally saw my life flash before my eyes."
Caelestra almost sneered at his words. "Why are you suddenly exaggerating? It wasn’t as if she was going to kill you for real."
"And how would you know that? You weren’t the one with a cold edge pressing against your neck."
Caelestra ignored his words and instead turned to Aureleah with confusion clouding her face.
"How?" She asked in disbelief. "I mean, we watched every direction, we had our backs against each other, and with the way we were positioned, there shouldn’t have been any blind spot for you to take advantage of. So how exactly did you get behind him?"
Aureleah twirled her Dagger once before it disappeared with a flash of silver light.
"I told you before, in a fight, you must learn to anticipate your opponent’s movements. If you can’t even understand what your enemy intends to do next, then how would you possibly counter them?"
Caelestra frowned slightly. "I understand what you mean, but that doesn’t answer my question. You moved without any of us noticing. How do you expect us to even anticipate an attack we can’t perceive?"
Aureleah shook her head and replied. "There is no such thing as an imperceptible movement. There are only observers who failed to notice the signs."
The trio didn’t understand anything.
The silver-haired Assassin looked at them calmly as she explained further.
"You see, during a battle, every action creates information. The shift in breathing, the slight movement of the eyes, a redistribution of weight, a tightening of muscles, and even silence, they all can reveal intent. The problem is that most people only watch what their opponents are doing while neglecting what their opponents are about to do. And this perception is what separates an experience fighter from an ordinary one."
Aureleah paused to wet her lips before continuing.
"Combat isn’t about reacting, it’s about predicting. If you only react after an attack begins, you’re already dead. The best fighters tend to move before an attack ever happens."
Veyrath scratched his head. "But that’s impossible. How do you expect us to respond to an attack that hasn’t even happened?"
Aureleah raised a delicate brow. "Such a thing is possible and Regaleon does it all the time. Tell me, when Regaleon fights, do you think he’s simply faster than everyone else?"
Nobody could answer that question because none of them really focuses in how the silver-haired Knight fights. None of them except one...
"Regaleon is someone who predicts, reads, and anticipates an attack before it happens. And that is why it seems like he is always one step ahead whenever we are in danger."
The trio were silent as they contemplated her words. Then after a few moments, Sylveris suddenly spoke.
"Sister, but what if the enemy doesn’t have a clear pattern? What if they’re completely unpredictable?"
Aureleah’s gaze sharpened as she replied. "If they are unpredictable, then you predict the possibilities. You see, battle is like a gamble; you never know exactly what move an enemy would do, but you can know what move they might make. Good fighters react, but great fighters prepare for possibilities."
The silver-haired Assassin didn’t care whether the trio got her explanation or not as she said without hesitation.
"Anyways... We continue with the training."
"Wait, hold on." Veyrath immediately raised his hand. "Before we continue, can you at least tell us how you are doing that sneaking thing."
Caelestra also nodded. "He’s right. If we are supposed to learn from this training, then at least explain that weird move."
Sylveris also nodded eagerly.
Aureleah looked at the three expectant faces and after a moment, she sighed.
"Actually, that movement technique I used is called Shadow Drift and it is the first Rune of my Shadow Cloak." freewebnσvel.cøm
The moment she finished speaking, Veyrath looked like someone who had been scammed.
"So you mean to tell us that you were basically cheating all this time? No wonder, I was quite surprised when you manifested your Cloak even after having us dismissing our Soul Essences. So this is what you are using it for. I mean, if you are using your Soul Essence against us, then how is this training even fair?"
For the first time ever, something resembling ridicule flickered through Aureleah’s eyes.
"Fairness?" She repeated, as though the word sounded foreign to her.
"There is no such thing as fairness in battle. If there was, then explain why we had to fight against five Rank One Animas as merely Awakeners."
The trio couldn’t answer that because they knew she was right...
Aureleah’s gaze grew colder as she spoke further. "Do you know what was constant during my training as an assassin? It was the fact that I was always pitted against opponents way above my level of strength. I was expected to defeat people who had every advantage against me and I must not lose..."
Her cold gaze swept across the trio as she spoke further. "Do you know why? Because if I did, I would lose my life."
She then turned toward Veyrath directly.
"Now, not all of us were raised the same way. For insurance, I am sure you were raised like a prince in House Vauldryn where whatever you needed was handed to you on a literal golden platter. But forget the past. Just as Regaleon said, out here, the Nether Lands doesn’t care about you; it only cares about survival... And death."
For several moments, nobody spoke until Caelestra finally broke the silence.
"Aureleah, we understand what you’re trying to teach, but can you at least lower the intensity of the training a little? Like you’ve said, we weren’t raise the same way so make the training something bearable for us."
Sylveris quickly nodded. "Right, sister. Also, you still haven’t told us about your Essence Runes. At least, tell us about them so we can work towards countering them better."
"She’s right." Veyrath agreed. "You still haven’t told us about your Runes. I mean, we shared ours, except you and Regaleon. And since we’re suffering under your training, the least you can do is explain what we’re up against."
After a brief silence, Aureleah nodded. "Very well, if that’s what you want to know, I will oblige. For the first Rune of my Cloak, it is called Shadow Drift and as its name suggests, this Rune allows me to merge and travel through darkness, shadows, mists, reflections, and even certain currents of the air."
"In other words, our formation earlier was useless against you since you can literally move through our shadows. How do you even defend against something like that?"
Aureleah looked at the failed Alchemist and then replied. "Moving through shadows doesn’t make me unbeatable. It only makes it seem that way..."
Then, she moved on. "Anyways, my second Rune is called False Imagery. With this Rune, I can create phantom movements, afterimages, fake positions, and false distortions in space."
Caelestra’s eyes widened as she remarked. "So with this Rune, tracking you visually is basically useless."
"Right, that’s the idea. The third Rune is called Presence Erasure... And whatever you are thinking the rune does, you are probably correct."
"All three of your Runes are absurd. They are perfect for you..."
"Remember, there is no such thing as a perfect Rune. There is only a better wielder. My Runes might look unsurmountable but the moment you discover their weakness, you would have a counter to it."
She didn’t wait for a reply as she continued. "For my Daggers, the first Rune is called Mark Of Darkness. With this, every cut or wound inflicted automatically exposes weaknesses. Therefore, future attacks against that same opponent becomes easier as they target the vulnerable areas of that person automatically."
She paused briefly to let that sink in before continuing.
"My second Rune is called the Bloodstep and it is a movement Rune just like Shadow Step. But unlike it, Bloodstep seem a little bit lackluster so I haven’t figured out what to do with it yet... For my final Rune, it is called Predator’s Rhythm. With this Rune, every successful strike increases my lethality so subsequent attacks becomes sharper, smoother, faster, and deadlier."
The silver-haired Assassin then looked at the faces of the trio as she concluded. "And that is all for my Runes. Now, since you’ve known what you want to know, it is about time we get back to training..."
