Percival slamd into the center of the quarry.
The following impact was loud enough to wake a quarter of the village. A massive shockwave of white kinetic force and azure flas exploded outward.
It ripped the bedrock to shreds, sending a plu of dust and boulders high into the air. The ground shuddered violently, while rcius and Willow stepped back, covering their faces.
When the dust finally cleared, Percival was kneeling in the center of a small crater, the Basilisk Blade flat by the side, fuming blue smoke.
He looked up at his Soul Summons, his dark hair falling behind him. "I think I mastered it. Do you?"
The Knights glanced at each other. "You certainly did, Master," Willow replied.
Percival let out a grunt and rose to his feet. "You were right, rcius. The Area of Effect of this Skill is very vast, and with the shockwave it creates. You can completely scatter an army’s formation with it."
"I’m honored to help, Master," the Brackenbutcher replied.
The Ding! sound of Percival’s interface drew his attention. He looked down on the floating screen in front of him.
⸢You have successfully achieved full comprehension of the Knight Skill: [Heavenfall]⸥
⸢Skill permanently unlocked⸥.
Ding!
⸢You have unlocked a new Skill - Heavenfall⸥
⸢Heavenfall: A mighty leap into the sky that unleashes the might of the heavens when descending, causing damage output of ×50 the casual output of the sword used⸥.
Percival exhaled a long breath, spinning the Basilisk Blade and angling it to his side. "That... is going to be useful."
Willow watched as Percival approached them. She admired her master’s chiseled features, and his thick, long, raven-black hair, flowing with the late wind.
"You comprehended it faster than I expected, Master," she remarked.
rcius walked to the edge of the crater he made, looking at her with a simple expression. "Really? I assud I took longer."
Willow shook her head.
"Well, I have my high Intelligence and Dexterity stat to thank for that," he said. "Thank you by the way. Both of you. I also couldn’t have locked it in this fast without the tactical breakdown."
Willow tilted her head, as though intrigued by his gratitude. "No need to thank us, Master. We’re your subjects, bound to do as you wish."
"Yes," Percival agreed. "And I wish for you to accept my thanks."
Willow froze, taken aback. Unsure of what to say, she stared at her master, which was when she realized he was waiting for sothing.
"Oh, yes," she bowed. "You’re welco, Master."
Percival nodded then turned to his Skeleton General.
rcius grunted and bowed his head. "I accept your thanks, Master Percival."
"Alright then," Percival mused, lowering his head to his system interface.
Willow was still surprised by Percival’s actions, so she just stared at him as he interacted with sothing unseen in front of him that she assud was his interface.
She thought of sothing, her blue soft eyes dimming. She took a glance at rcius, then returned her gaze to Percival.
"This power of yours, Master..." Willow began, her tone light and conversational. "The one that lets you take Skills from us. Does it only work one way?"
Percival looked up, eting her thoughtful face. "What do you an?"
"I an... can you share from one Summon to another?"
Percival’s brows creased, surprised that she had deduced that. "Yes it can. How did you know that?"
Willow’s eyes sparkled with hope. "Lucky guess, Master. I was only thinking, since I am going to be throwing myself directly into the jaws of the enemy as your Penetrator, I want to be stronger... Like the two of you."
She looked up at him, squaring her shoulders like she was trying to muster the courage to ask sothing of her Master.
"Perhaps you could share a Skill from the great Blade of Brackenbridge with ? As a Knight in a higher level than I am, he likely has Skills that I can only unlock in the future, yet could be useful in the present."
"But..." she turned to rcius. "Only if... it’s fine with you, Sir rcius."
Percival raised an eyebrow, looking over at rcius.
The towering Knight remained broad-shouldered, his posture rigid and deferential. He didn’t at all look bothered by it.
"My powers are our Master’s to command and share, Lady Willow," rcius said. "If he deems you deserving of my arsenal, I have no place to disagree."
Percival stood there in the dust of the ruined quarry, thinking it over.
Giving a Knight who learned from every death access to a legendary Knight’s skill tree was exactly the kind of logic-defying chaos Legion Link was ant for.
"Yeah," Percival said, opening his system interface. "Why not?"
Willow smiled weakly.
"Let see which can really help you without causing a spike in your core."
Percival summoned and tapped on rcius’s profile.
When he got to his Skills, he set the filter, narrowing the long list of combat proficiencies down to only the highest tiers: A-Grade and S-Grade.
A condensed list of legendary techniques populated the translucent screen:
⸢A-Grade Skills : Iron Soul | Sonic Cleave | War Calamity | Fortress Stance...etc⸥
⸢S-Grade Skills: Heaven’s Judgnt | Eternal Bastion | Last Stand...etc⸥
Percival was more intrigued by ⸢Iron Soul]. He selected the Skill and expanded the details.
⸢Iron Soul (A-Grade): A high-level buff that hardens the user’s mana corr. It significantly increases Physical Defense and provides high resistance to soul-based and also ntal-based status effects like Terror or Confusion⸥.
He looked over at Willow. As the Penetrator, her job was to break the enemy’s line and endure the brunt of the initial chaos.
If her mind or her soul core failed for even a second, she might not have the ntal or magical energy required to even hold on to ⸢Severed Fate⸥.
Percival initiated the Legion Link.
⸢Do you wish to copy and endow this Skill on yourself or another Summon?⸥
Percival selected Willow.
Ding!
⸢You have successfully endowed the Knight Skill: [Iron Soul] to your Soul Summon, Willow⸥
⸢Warning: This is a temporary acquisition. The Summon must achieve full comprehension to permanently unlock this Skill. Failure to comprehend will result in Skill loss⸥.
Willow’s eyes widened, her gaze darting to the invisible notification only she and her master could see.
"I... I see it, Master," Willow whispered. "The new Skill."
She turned to rcius, her expression shifting from awe to a fierce, desperate determination. "Sir rcius, I implore you. Teach . I need to master this so I can unlock it completely."
rcius nodded his hard head. "Of course. But it might not be easy for you to learn. So, prepare yourself."
Percival watched them for a mont. It was a surreal sight—two spirits of the past, one a legend and the other his rising shield, training with each other..
Percival could imagine tens and hundreds more of them, the undead Awakeners, serving him. He had to awaken more of them to fortify himself for what was coming.
And speaking of fortification, Percival rembered that he had promised himself to get new equipnt.
"I’m heading out," he said, approaching his Summons. The two Knights paused, turning to him in perfect unison.
"Stay here and continue the training," Percival commanded. "I want that Skill locked into her by the ti I return. I have a journey to embark on tomorrow, and I want to be prepared. So I’m off to the city to purchase new equipnt."
"As you command, Master," Willow said, bowing low.
"We shall not idle, Lord Percival," rcius added.
Percival turned his back on the quarry, his cloak snapping in the wind as he began the trek back toward the village.
The sun was beginning to dip, casting long shadows across the dirt path. Percival summoned Argus and rode back for the city.
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