It made no sense.
That was what Ketis thought after reading and skimming through Venerable Trey Walinski's scriptures.
Obviously, the deceased Heavensworder expert pilot was not a scientist. Yet every decent ch pilot had to study at least so level of physics in order to gain an essential understanding on how chs actually worked and how to fight in various environnts.
ch pilots who understood not just how, but why chs that moved faster always consud more energy faster would always be able to manage their energy reserves better.
ch pilots who understood the basics of orbital chanics and knew the difference between acceleration and velocity would be able to maneuver much more skillfully in space.
ch pilots who understood the concept of heat capacity and knew how rapidly a ch dispersed its heat in vacuum, air and water environnts would be able to keep their chs cooler.
In short, learning just a little bit of scientific knowledge could comprehensively improve the judgent and subsequently the performance of any ch pilot!
Therefore, Ketis expected that a prosperous and well-run second-rate rate like the Heavensword Association would surely emphasize the basic sciences.
While it was too much to ask for ch pilots to learn as much as ch designers, they should at least be able to master high school-level physics!
Yet when Ketis read through Venerable Trey's chaotic and unedited ramblings, she sensed the man had probably forgotten at least 80 percent of what he learned.
Sure, the late expert pilot and swordmaster showed so indication of understanding. Venerable Trey readily referred to the concept of potential energy and kinetic energy.
However, that was where the science part ended.
Just as Ketis thought that Venerable Trey's writing would make actual sense, the scriptures went into a completely different direction!
For example, the books constantly emphasized the accumulation of energy, only to unleash it in a manner that completely defied conventional science.
According to the expert pilot's own words, the essence of the Annihilator Sword Style laid in destroying every obstacle in the path of the sword.
At its peak, the scriptures claid that the sword style should even be able to cut through neutron stars, one of the densest and hardest objects in the galaxy!
Ketis almost fainted when she read this claim. What a shaless boast! Any ch that ca close to such a dense and heavy star would probably fall apart due to the enormous gravitational stresses affecting its fra.
"It's like I have to turn my brain off in order to appreciate these scriptures."
The problem was that she couldn't. She was a ch designer. She learned enough science and engineering to know how reality was put together by a myriad of physical laws and phenona. Even though humanity still possessed a shallow and incomplete understanding of reality worked, she was quite sure that a layman like Venerable Trey was absolutely wrong on many matters!
She listed a couple of glaring impossibilities.
First, where did all of the potential energy co from? rely holding the sword did not magically charge it up with enough energy to generate antiparticles in an environnt that was filled with conventional matter.
Second, how could a swordsman possibly generate antiparticles without any advanced technology? By wishing it into existence?
Third, how co those antiparticles didn't annihilate with the material of the blade or the molecules in the air and release a massive amount of energy, thereby causing an explosion that was violent enough to destroy an entire city?
Fourth, how could a swordsman ensure those antiparticles only annihilated the matter imdiately in front of the blade and prevent the release of so much energy?
These were just a fraction of the many inconsistencies and impossibilities that Ketis stumbled upon. She grew increasingly more convinced that Venerable Trey didn't even know what he was talking about!
"It can't be antiparticles! It's impossible! His sword style must be doing sothing else!"
Yet try as she might, she couldn't even begin to guess at the truth of the Annihilator Sword Style. The best guess she could co up with was that Venerable Trey was able to form so kind of mystical force field that had the effect of erasing matter from existence.
This also matched with what she observed from Fred Walinski's impressive demonstration. It made no sense for him to create antimatter out of thin air. Generating an energy field was much easier, though still questionable considering the lack of advanced equipnt.
However, the reason why she preferred this alternate theory was because she had already managed to accomplish this herself!
Only superpowers were able to defy physics, and Ketis had successfully demonstrated this ability many tis!
Even though the effects were different, the process was roughly the sa. Ketis obsessed over sharpness while Venerable Trey focused on a more direct form of destruction.
There were differences, though.
As a ch designer, her thorough understanding of the sciences granted her a very realistic outlook on what sharpness ant and how it could be achieved. At most, she chose to invest herself in a couple of unproven assumptions that could be made real as long as she furthered her research over the course of her ch design career.
"ch designers wish to prove their assumptions real."
In contrast, expert pilots like Venerable Trey Walinski didn't see reality this way. They instead made bold claims that had no basis in reality and essentially utilized their transcendental strength to make it happen anyway!
This basically sounded like expert pilots possessed superpowers, but this sounded weird, because ch designers also possessed superpowers.
"Are we… more similar to each other than we thought?" She wondered.
Ves had never taught her much about his own secrets, so Ketis lacked the knowledge to rationalize this question. She vaguely felt that ch pilots and ch designers might actually be two sides of a coin rather than two completely separate entities.
"If this is so… can I drill a hole in the coin and connect the two sides?"
She shook her head. This was a stupid taphor. High-ranking ch pilots and ch designers were much more complicated than she could possibly figure out at the mont.
After turning her attention back to the Annihilator Sword Style, she eventually concluded that she lacked the mindset to accept it. So many assumptions were so objectively untrue that she couldn't put it in herself to believe them at face value.
"I'm a ch designer, not an idiot!"
ch pilots didn't necessarily know any better. Their shallow education in the sciences caused them to lack the background and critical thinking that was necessary to know what was plausible.
However, it was exactly because ch pilots didn't know the limitations that they were able to surpass the limitations of the laws of physics and develop superpowers for so reason!
Ketis grew increasingly more doubtful and confused. She knew that Ves had a hobby in figuring out the nature of expert pilots and how to facilitate their breakthroughs, but she had never touched upon this subject until recently.
It helped that she already knew a thing or two about expert pilots. Her regular interaction with Venerable Joshua allowed her to learn how he regarded his own abilities.
"Joshua told that he simply saw reality in a different way than others."
He constantly viewed everything in the perspective of life. He also believed that everything had the potential to beco alive, and that he could resonate with them if that was the case.
To be honest, Ketis thought that Joshua was kind of silly a lot of tis, but sohow he made all of it work. His absolute confidence and conviction in his own views grew stronger when his superpower affird his flawed theories.
"Do I have to do the sa?"
She had a feeling that this was how every expert pilot and swordmaster worked. They all developed silly notions that sohow ca true because they turned into superpowers.
The problem she had was that this was a completely opposite approach from that of a ch designer. One based their superpowers on science while the other based their superpowers on fantasy!
If Ketis was just an ignorant Swordmaiden, then she would have been able to accept the scriptures. Yet because of her abundant knowledge and sound logic, she struggled to accept even the most basic assumption.
"Everything that's written in these books breaks the law of conservation of energy! This is impossible! Not even my sharpness superpower can do that!"
She looked around. After Fred Walinski challenged her to learn the Annihilator Sword Style, she chose to study the books in private. The office used to be filled with dust, but opening the window and sweeping the barren floor quickly took care of that. It did not do much to spruce up the faded and decaying wall decorations.
Right now, she had already spent two hours on this endeavor. Due to her augnted cognitive functions, it didn't actually take long to read through all of the books. She instead spent the majority of the ti trying to reconcile all of the inconsistencies she noticed.
She failed.
She knew that she was at an impasse. Unlike her lovable boyfriend, Ketis felt it was impossible for her to deliberate make herself stupid enough to believe in the fantasies espoused by Venerable Trey. Reality simply didn't work this way!
After feeling that there was no use in going over the books, she closed them all and set them aside. There was no point in rereading them. She already knew the theories they espoused by heart. The problem was accepting them. Her mind simply could not do that.
"Should I take a mind-altering drug or sothing?"
She seriously considered this option because she saw no other way to dumb herself down and alter her judgent. Yet she was afraid she might have to inject herself with the strong stuff in order to sufficiently suppress her intelligence!
This was not a viable solution!
Her eyes shifted over to Shiva, the Destroyer. The relic of the Annihilator Sword School strangely felt like it belonged to her after Sharpie paid a visit to it. Now that she had studied the Annihilator Sword Style, she understood why the saber was forged this way.
"It's a good blade to channel the power of destruction."
While Ketis completely failed to comprehend the chanics behind the Annihilator Sword Style, she had no problem figuring out its other aspects. Its sword techniques, its overall approach and the recomnded tactics that Venerable Trey had formulated all made sense.
The sword style demanded an explosive and intensive approach. Anyone who adopted this style had to finish their opponents as quickly and decisively as possible, because each attempt at performing annihilation imposed a huge burden on the wielder!
Though the costs were great, the results were even greater. At its best, a sword empowered by the Annihilator Sword Style had the potential to cut through any physical barrier!
No matter if it was a protective suit, ch armor plating or even ship hulls, anything composed of matter could not pose any hindrance because the materials in front of the blade simply disappeared from existence!
Of course, the Annihilator Sword Style was not omnipotent in its ability to cut everything. It fared less well against non-physical barriers such as energy shields.
Dodging or preventing the attack from landing were also effective ways to counter this sword style. If the sword never reached its target, then its power beca invalid.
That did not take too much away from the potential of the Annihilator Sword Style. Ketis grew sowhat attracted to it despite the fact she already possessed a sword style and focus of her own.
"I don't want to give up like this."
Perhaps all of this thinking and theorizing was pointless.
"Maybe I should just try it out."
Shiva called to her.
Ketis could not resist the temptation and picked the weapon up. She did not feel that much different from the first ti she held the saber.
She adopted a serious expression and tried to go through the tenets of the Annihilator Sword Style.
"Swords exist to kill. We exist to destroy."
She swung the saber, but nothing happened. The slash was utterly normal and devoid of any extraordinary characteristics.
Her cheeks reddened a bit. She felt like a fool at the mont!
"How the hell can I fix this?"
She suddenly recalled what happened before. An interesting idea ca to mind.
"Sharpie, can you help out? I just want to channel the new sword style I learned."
Swish swish swish!
Ketis didn't expect much at first, but her living sword intent beca quite enthusiastic all of a sudden.
A mont later, she felt as if so kind of switch had flipped. Sharpie no longer felt as sharp as before.
Instead… it exuded a different vibe!
Her ntality changed in a subtle and unknown way that crept her out. Extra thoughts entered her mind that were never there before.
Even though she felt incredibly disturbed at the uncontrolled changes in her mind, her intuition signalled that nothing was wrong.
She spontaneously followed an impulse and approached a wall. She lifted Shiva over her head and began to concentrate a bit. After several seconds of accumulation, she swung it down in a strong and unwavering chop!
Shiva cut completely through the wall as if it wasn't there. When the blade passed through the solid stone material off the wall, not a single sound reached her ears. Instead, the strange black glow that surrounded the blade had silently annihilated any material in its path!
It took a mont for Ketis to snap out of her concentrated mood.
Her eyes widened as she beheld Shiva and the impossible cut she left behind.
"Sharpie… what did you do?"
Swish swish!
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