Rise of the Limitless One

Chapter 64: A True Guardian

----

"U-ughh" Cyrus groaned while taking a few steps back. While Lucian's blow wasn't as strong as the android he had taken blows from before, his strike was far too precise, landing on a spot that nearly sent a jolt to his brain.

Luckily, his partial wolf transformation stopped the pain before he could blackout. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to learn anything from the spar if it ended too quickly. 

"Tsk tsk; that's a fatal opening you have there," Lucian chuckled while springing back to his feet. Though Cyrus moved faster than him, Lucian didn't suffer a loss because he went beyond using reactive instincts. Instead, he moved proactively after reading Cyrus's strike.

After all, Hypervigilance was strong enough to the point that his weakened perception didn't seem weakened at all. 

Again, Cyrus caressed his jaw before spitting out a little trace of blood, "Thanks for letting me know. But you hit like a sissy, Lucian."

"Oh?" Lucian said with an intrigued expression. It seemed that using his ability also made Cyrus's attitude more boorish, though Lucian didn't necessarily mind this. It was Cyrus who was asking for it, after all.

"Don't say I didn't give you a warning," Lucian said with a light chuckle. A moment later, his joking expression was replaced by a sharp gaze that raised Cyrus's awareness.

'What's changed?' Cyrus thought with narrowed eyes as he crossed his arms. Then, with a roar, he dashed toward Lucian. His sharp claws gleamed with traces of Mana as the intensity of the spar increased a step further.

On the other hand, Lucian didn't perform a straight dash toward Cyrus, instead swaying side to side while advancing, which caused Cyrus's eyes to constantly jump from side to side.

A faint smile appeared on Lucian's lips as he smashed his foot against the floor and sped up instantly.

Cyrus's eyes widened as he slashed both his arms downwards. Unfortunately for him, Lucian expected this reaction and raised his arms before touching the outside of Cyrus's forearm.

The path of his swipe was curved outward as Lucian spun and slammed his elbow into Cyrus' chest.

Thud!

Though it was a clean hit, it sounded muffled as Cyrus looked down at him with a menacing grin. Even some of his teeth seemed sharpened by this transformation.

"Very smooth, but the executing power is lacking!" Cyrus snarled before kicking towards Lucian.

In response, Lucian shook his head, "Sometimes, power isn't everything. There are times when you need finesse."

Lucian shifted his body to the side, marginally dodging the attack before turning around. He used the same momentum generated to deliver another elbow strike to the earlier spot.

This time, Cyrus took a step back with an indistinct tremble. But, just this minute opening was enough for Lucian to capitalize on.

Thud! Thud!

Bang!

BANG!

Crrrrck!

Lucian's expression became cold and sharp as he spun repeatedly, executing that one strike repeatedly. At first, the muffled noise persisted, but after the 5th strike, the sound changed into something frightening.

Admittedly, the repeated blows caused Cyrus's bone to become tender, allowing Lucian's strike to have a deeper effect, even driving Cyrus to take even more retreating steps as a precaution. 

Regrettably, he had stirred Lucian's urge to disprove Cyrus's statement. He didn't let up at all, even increasing the frequency in which he executed the simple yet appallingly sharp elbow strike. Soon enough, a cracking noise was heard from Cyrus's sternum.

Afterward, he fell to a knee and raised his hand as the partial beast transformation subsided. Though he didn't want to admit it, Lucian's strike was simply too much to handle. 

Every hit landed when he took a step back, not even giving him a moment to recover. It was a ruthless onslaught through and through.

Still, despite his expression, once Cyrus expressed that he wished to concede, Lucian stopped.

"I think this will count as my win," Lucian said with a light chuckle.

"Y-yeah," Cyrus groaned softly while clutching his chest. He could sense that the bone wasn't completely broken, just fractured because of how many contusions he suffered from the android. Still, it was never on the level of this type of pain.

Because of how short the span between Lucian's strikes was, it barely gave Cyrus's body enough time to register the pain. As a result, the pain gushed at him all at once. 

Of course, while he was ruthless during the spar, Lucian held too much care for his brother to allow him to suffer in pain, no matter how high his resilience was. Therefore, he walked closer to Cyrus and kneeled before him.

"Let me see," Lucian said.

Gradually, Cyrus moved his hand to reveal a dark purple bruise on his chest with a noticeable indent. At first, Lucian chuckled sheepishly because he hadn't realized just how heavy-handed his attack method was despite his weakened strength.

It was similar to hammering a nail into a wall. It didn't enter on the first strike, but sooner rather than later, it would puncture the wall as long as there was nothing concrete behind the wall.

Nevertheless, a milky aura coated Lucian's hand as he placed it over Cyrus's wound, causing Doctor Arc's eyes to widen as he burst through the door. "Is that a healing ability?! Such pure Mana!"

Rapidly, the purple bruise in the middle of Cyrus's chest receded as Lucian's mana pool shrank. Although he was only limited to half of his MQ, the mana was still on the level of his D+ signature.

So, it was capable of healing Cyrus in a matter of minutes. Not to mention, the injury wasn't severe, so it took little mana to repair the fracture in the bone.

"Ah," Cyrus sighed in relief once the pain of the injury disappeared.

"There you go. Now, I think we should address the issues with your combat. Your level head vanishes and you need to fix that," Lucian said, to which Cyrus agreed. While fighting, a large portion of his repressed anger seeped through.

After all, there was no way a teen would be unaffected by the fact their parent disappeared to save the fate of the world, yet it seemed like no one worried about these disappearances.

"What do you suggest?" Cyrus asked while still rubbing his chest. Compared to the healing abilities found in this place, the one Lucian revealed was more pleasant to experience.

"Mm, I suggest you focus on defending properly and examining your opponent when fighting against the android. Don't just have fast movements, have intelligently placed ones as well," Lucian said after a short pause.

"I got it," Cyrus nodded before looking at Lucian with a complex expression. After their spar, it felt surreal. 'I can truly rely on him. That monolith must be filled with wonders and even secrets to turn him into this.'

Meanwhile, Doctor Arc beamed while looking at the two sitting on the floor, "Yes, yes, yes!"

A burst of gleeful laughter came from Doctor Arc as he hopped around. While he couldn't tell Lucian's ranking, from what he saw, he didn't need to know.

He had all the makings of a true Guardianrapid decision-making skills, agility, strength, and even refinement in his actions! 'I have to call them. No, I must give them a call!'

After what he saw, the first thing Doctor Arc wanted to do was get in contact with the Guardian Corps. However, before he could do so, a ring came from Lucian's holographic watch attached to his wrist.

It wasn't a call, but rather a notification.

'Is this why Ahri asked if I'll be going to the Guardian Corps?' Lucian wondered. Because, the notification before him was a summons, or rather an invitation to the Guardian Corps.

Since it was headed by the strongest current Guardian, the Guardian Corps was in possession of some exclusive rights as well as novel machinery, due to its title as the lead of power of Alteria. 

For example, the Chairman of the Guardian Corps possessed the authority to receive a list of the new Guardians after each set of tutorials.

Once it was distributed to the lower staff, they then sent a summons out to those on the list. And, in this batch, Lucian just so happened to be a part of it, hence why he received the invitation.

However, the list given to the organization was incomplete, only listing the names and no other information.

Ultimately, the decision to join or reject was up to Lucian. However, it wasn't a choice he would make lightly, because there was an enticing statement at the bottom.

'The ability to charge Anomaly Rifts and create a Guild?' Lucian's expression brightened due to his interest in this claim.