Chapter 163: Expansion Plans (1/2)
—In the south wing of the demon king's castle.
Albert held his Miao Dao with both hands as he adopted a fighting stance in one of the massive training halls in this wing. He was the only one currently in this hall as everyone else would train in a different hall.
As an Advanced Level Tier 5 Magic swordsman, the only people in this castle that could challenge him besides his master were the girls. Even Z would not be able to push him too far and he wouldn't get anything out of a sparring section with him.
Since the girls weren't interested in training with him he had no choice but to go at it alone. Z had advised him to just spend his time learning new control spells that could complement his fighting style but he could not learn many spells and he did not feel like just learning low-level spells would help him to the extent he was aiming for.
For Albert, reaching the peak of Tier 5 was the only chance he had to get any stronger as his swordsmanship was already perfect or near perfection and even improving his secret techniques would not make much of a difference. He would train here every morning to improve on his stamina and try to attain a breakthrough but such a thing would not be easy.
With his eyes closed, Albert envisioned his opponent and contemplated on the ways he would be able to attain victory against them. His master was a no-go area as he would lose before the match had even started. Although if he was feeling generous like he normally was he would entertain Albert's efforts and hold bad as long as he found the match a little entertaining.
However, even then didn't mean his odds of winning had improved from zero. He envisioned the dark elf known as Rain. Her speed was far superior to his and as an assassin type she would be hard to deal with but he was fairly confident he could force a draw 6 out of 10 times.
The demon Liz was also not a compatible opponent as she was a mage and although he felt like he could win if he got close enough to her. He was unsure of the full extent of her availabilities and there was sometimes within her that gave him the chills.
Erin was also a no-go area as that would be devastating in more ways than one. In the end, amongst all the top fifers in the castle, he was surely the weakest and most ordinary even though he was the only one that had once been a demon lord.
Even adding Z to the list didn't make him look better as the man had the highest level of intellect after his master's.
Albert frowned and opened his eyes, if he wanted to remain useful to Lord Ty, he would need to get way more stronger than he was now. He greeted his teeth but soon stopped and took a deep breath as he brought out five scrolls from his spatial storage ring. They were his personal items and since Lord Ty had shown no interest in them, he was free to use them as he saw fit.
Summoned monsters - Chained Spirits. (Tier 4)
While one would consider using five tiers 4 summoning scrolls as a waste, Albert thought it would be worth it if they could push him past his limit so he could achieve a breakthrough and reach the Peak of Tier 5.
Five large Humanoids monsters with pale white skin appeared from the magic circle that had formed on the marbled floor. The creatures were wrapped in chains attached to metal skulls that dragged on the ground. They only had physical bodies from their waist up and their legs were just smoke that originated from the skull that had appeared in the ground like some type of genie.
These were spirit beings that could not be harmed by physical attacks. They could only be killed with specific elements and magic or enchanted weapons. Albert Miao Dao was heavily enchanted but that was not why he had chosen these monsters as his challengers for the day.
The reason he did that was because these monsters mostly attack with physical attacks even those who were spiritual beings. They were very vicious and as such would attack any opponents even if they were stronger than them and would attack without care as their attacks would not affect other chained spirits.
Albert proceeded to dash forth at the summoned monster who immediately charged at him, swinging their chains around. The monsters all swung their chains at him and Albert immediately began the moves he had been practicing all mourning.
Secret Technique: Shadow Step.
In a complicated movement, A shadowy figure suddenly began to trail behind him while mirroring his movements.
He suddenly kicked off the ground and jumped above the 10-foot monsters and swung his blade down.
Secret Technique - Gravity Slash.
This was a technique he had created himself back when the lesser basilisks were attacking the settlement. He would normally use the force of gravity to power his slash as he used a bit of his mana to expand on the area of effects.
However, this time was different. He quickly silently cast the spell 'Heavy' on himself, promptly dropping back down to the ground several times faster than the norm. He swung his blade at the monsters as he landed and a large boom resounded in the hall.
A large slash of energy shattered the reinforced marble floor and three of the chained spirits had died. The other two continued their attacks and Albert easily avoided their attacks as he soon found an opportunity to counter and within the next five minutes, all five monsters were dead.
Although he was glad he made some improvements. He still felt frustrated that he could not make a breakthrough again today. He left the training hall and after Albert was done checking mg upon the others that were being trained by Jarret using the Black Knight and Lich.
Albert then returned to the north wing, he would usually begin assigning new tasks to the maids and the guards he had stationed around the castle but right now, he had another thing on his mind. He went up a level in the north wing and located Erin in one of the offices on this floor.