Rogue Villain-Chapter 315: Talent

Ackster’s sword clashed with the strangely indestructible material of the ground with more power than last time. But it remained unmarked yet again.

Ackster glared at the ground.

He used the moves of his martial art as he felt was right. It was what Bo had taught him and what he followed every time he practiced the martial art. Ackster didn’t think he was doing it wrong.

But no matter what he did, the sword didn’t create any ripples when it struck the ground.

Just for the sake of it, Ackster punched the ground, too. That didn’t create any earth-shaking ripples, either. But Ackster could tell that his fist properly transmitted the force of his blow into the ground. It was just that the material was too sturdy to show any signs of it. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

However, when he struck with the sword, Ackster didn’t feel that the force of his blow reached the ground. It was like smashing a metal rod against a brick wall but without any of his supernatural strength or skills. The force traveled right back up the sword and into his hand.

"What the fuck...?"

Ackster held the sword with a fierce expression, scaring it. The problem lay somewhere with his understanding of martial arts.

Ackster slashed the air a couple of times, using purely his physical body. He didn’t use any of his sources to augment his or the sword’s strength.

He cleaved downward, thrust, slashed upward, and cut the air diagonally. Ackster made all kinds of moves with the sword, gradually getting more and more comfortable with what he was doing.

The sword’s movements became more natural, and his body flowed like water as he walked around the clearing he had made. He practiced the sword, indulging in his body’s natural talent as he actually tried to learn how to combine the sword with his martial art.

It helped that his sword was somewhat sentient and actively matched his movements, sharpening them even further.

Ackster sank into the world of enlightenment, only focusing on his sword and martial arts.

Mara and the others could only stand back and watch as Ackster first tried to attack the ground, seemingly in a frustrated outburst of rage. Then, he paused before punching the ground. He tried to cut open the shockingly sturdy material again before stopping and glaring at the sword as if it were a disappointment.

After another brief pause, Ackster started slashing the air as if he were taking his frustration out on something else he couldn’t cut instead of the ground. But Ackster wasn’t just lashing out with the sword because he was frustrated nothing worked.

Wilma was the first to notice what Ackster was doing.

He wasn’t doing something as useless as venting his frustration. He was training, practicing, and honing his sword skills. And he was getting better at a visible rate. Wilma got the shivers.

Progressing and advancing at such a visible rate when he was already so strong and knew how to use a sword was downright frightening. It wasn’t like he had a lot of experience with similar weapons, either.

As far as Wilma knew, Ackster had only recently picked up the sword. She hadn’t seen or heard of him using a weapon other than Stormcaller until after his ruin exploration with the Sword God. After that, things had soured a little. But assuming that Ackster started using a sword after meeting the Sword God, which made sense, Ackster hadn’t even used it for less than two years.

And Ackster had supposedly been indisposed and dead or close to it for at least one year of that time. He hadn’t had much time to practice.

However, Ackster’s death and rebirth and the strength that experience had given him seemed to have granted upon his body a talent beyond what mortals could comprehend.

Mara, Karandiel, and Kargas also noticed what Ackster was doing. Their eyes widened, and their jaws hung slack. They knew Ackster was strong and driven and that he had an incredible growth rate. But this was the first tangible display of his talent. It was downright terrifying.

Mara had seen his drive and ability to grow through pain before, but nothing like this. Kargas had also seen Ackster recover from being less than a skeleton. So, he knew how monstrous Ackster was.

But regeneration that could put Ackster close to immortality and talent that let him improve an amount that took others years and decades in a matter of minutes...

Kargas didn’t know what to think. All he knew was that Ackster wasn’t normal. He wasn’t human.

Mara’s eyes shone with admiration and devotion. She was right in following Ackster. A person as great as him deserved nothing less than absolute loyalty. It was only right that she devoted her entire being to him.

Karandiel, on the other hand, looked like she had confirmed something. Still, her eyes also shone with admiration. Ackster’s promise that he would keep her safe and help her keep herself safe wasn’t empty. Karandiel already knew Ackster was strong. But she hadn’t known how strong he was back then. He had easily killed all those ants. If it weren’t for her and their trap, he wouldn’t have gotten caught.

But now, Karandiel could rest easy. His rate and ceiling of growth were greater than hers, a person who lived as the saintess of the God of Light ages ago and became strong enough to become an angel of the God of Light. She was one of the rare exceptions since the birth of the Celestial Realm who wasn’t an angel made by the gods. She was one of the rare humans of Millmeria with the strength to be chosen as an angel.

Of course, there were humans now with the strength. What mattered in becoming an angel was faith and the will to serve for eternity. Few with the necessary strength had that.

Yet, the God of Light had broken that faith and will. But the God of Light hadn’t broken Karandiel completely, nor had he succeeded in changing her nature.

So, when her savior raised her from the depths of despair before eventually showing such greatness as to overwrite her lingering faith, it was only natural that Karandiel, a formerly devout believer of the gods, started worshipping Ackster instead.