Divine Sword Art System

Chapter 4. Magic Neutralization

Tobias eventually took the other man's katana sword, but he still asked Jason to make him another sword with the best materials he could use. Tobias made it clear that he wanted Jason to put his best strength and skill into making the best katana in the world.

"Your wish will be carried out well, sir," Jason said, accepting three gold coins in return for his work.

"I don't know your name yet, am I allowed to know it?" asked Jason.

He was behind on such important matters; knowing the name between the seller and the customer was important enough to maintain a good relationship. Tobias smiled as his left hand seemed to be gripping the sword tightly.

"My name is Tobias, Tobias Archibald," Tobias replied.

"Archibald? You're from a noble family?" asked Jason, surprised to hear Tobias' last name.

It was an honour for him to make a special sword for the Archibald noble family. So that his reputation as a sword maker would not be bad among the nobles, he was determined to make the sword Tobias wanted with all his knowledge.

"I will make you the best sword you've ever had," Jason said.

Tobias nodded his head and smiled softly. He said he was looking forward to it.

The young man said goodbye to Jason, as did the maid who had been by his side. The two of them walked away from the blacksmith shop to reach Archibald's residence.

Just as he was about to enter Archibald's residence, Tobias and the maid were surprised by a theft not far from Archibald's place. Tobias glanced over and saw that the thief was running, intending to head to the main road.

Tobias quickly ran towards the direction of the thief. Tobias' maid suddenly shouted for the young man not to act rashly, but for Tobias, there was nothing to worry about.

Using the scabbard, he smashed the thief's belly so hard that the man fell limp with a bruise on his stomach. He continued to moan in pain even as the villagers carried him away.

"How did you do that?" asked the maid who had arrived with Tobias.

"I have swordsmanship skills," Tobias replied, smiling confidently.

The incident was not only a shock to the locals but also to Archibald's noble family. With their mouths agape, Tobias' parents were stunned to find that their third son could do such a thing.

"Where did you learn that?" asked Thompson. Tobias fell silent as he stopped his steps.

"Do you intend to become a swordsman?" asked Lussie, Tobias' mother.

"Yes. I'm going to become a swordsman because I have the divine system for it," replied Tobias, showing his parents a katana sword with a black scabbard.

They were stunned and silent, unable to believe the Tobias they knew would take such an unusual path compared to other boys his age. Darwin, Tobias' older brother, began to hold Tobias' shoulders tightly, trying to ask him what he meant gently.

"You know, Archibald is well known for its high magic. If you're planning to become a swordsman, then you've indirectly dishonoured our family name," Darwin replied, explaining why they were all surprised by Tobias' decision.

"If you really want to become a swordsman, then I'll allow it under one condition!" said Thompson, crossing his arms and standing tall before Tobias.

"What's that?" asked Tobias.

"You must win a fight with me using that sword!" said Thompson.

Thompson's words caused a lot of shock among the other family members. Even Darwin tried to stop this fight by proposing to replace his father. However, Thompson insists on fighting Tobias in a battle between magic and sword.

Because the conversation between the two took place outside Archibald's place, many people heard the fight. News of the father-son fight spread quickly from warriors to farmers knew about it.

Thompson scheduled the fight for tomorrow in the main field of Archibald's residence. The fight would be attended by Darwin as the successor to the Archibald family, the commander of the troops, and several important people.

Tobias prepared everything he needed for tomorrow's battle, one of which was trying to train the sword's durability. He was accompanied by the maid beside him to ensure nothing terrible happened to Tobias.

The young man opened the skills menu and saw that Tobias used five skills to call techniques. The five special techniques appeared because Tobias managed to unlock the divine system for the power of the sacred sword.

Not only those five techniques, but earlier, when he was a Taichi, he had learned seven techniques from Mount Myurajin's moon sword arts. In total, the number of techniques he owned amounted to thirteen.

[1. Fading art style]

[2. Dark dimension]

[3. Magic-stopping incision]

[4. 24-rib piercing]

[5. Heavenly realm strike]

Tobias held the hilt of the sword with both hands tightly as he tried to remember the names of the sacred sword techniques. He began to focus his eyes on a wooden puppet that was used to train his sword skills.

[Sacred Sword Skill: Fading Art Style]

Suddenly the katana sword that had been pulled out of its sheath began to emit white light. He swung the sword at the wooden puppet that seemed to be unaffected. Naturally, Tobias wondered about that.

"What is the function of this technique if it can't be used to split the wooden doll?" asked Tobias, looking down at his sword.

"What if you try using another technique, will the results be the same?" asked the maid standing watching Tobias.

The young man nodded his head. He immediately recited the second technique, which brought out a different light on the blade, a deep black colour. Tobias thrust the blade's tip towards the wooden doll, and the black light suddenly gathered at the blade's tip and formed a black ball that dragged everything around it.

Tobias stuck his sword into the grass to hold his body against the gravitational pull of the black sphere. The sphere only lasted five seconds from the moment it was pierced into the wooden puppet.

"I never thought there was a technique like that in this world," Tobias explained, still not believing in his powers.

"Now I understand."

Those words did not come from Tobias or the maid who was with him but from Giselle, who had been watching Tobias from the second floor of the Archibald residence. Giselle felt two different things at that moment, enthusiasm and sadness.

She was enthusiastic because she could see magic different from what she had known, and she was sad to see Tobias relying more on swords than magic. However, Giselle understood that everyone is born to make a choice. Tobias had made his choice to become a swordsman.

"You're still using magic in your body. It's just that you're distributing that magic through the sword," Giselle replied, smiling as she pointed at the sword Tobias was holding.

Giselle surprisingly jumped from the window of her room, the height wasn't that high, but it still managed to take Tobias' maid by surprise. The woman walked over to Tobias as she took in the unique sword her brother was holding.

"A sword with a single-sided sharp edge. Why would you want to use a sword like this?" asked Giselle.

Although the woman was good at using magic, there was no denying that she still knew various types of swords. The sword Tobias held was new to Giselle, and every new thing always attracted the woman's curiosity.

"Because I'm more skilled with this sword than any other," Tobias replied.

"Really?" asked Giselle, as if doubting Tobias' words.

"Then fight me with your sword," Giselle continued, looking back at the wooden doll that had been destroyed.

Giselle took a step to keep her distance from Tobias. The woman said that Tobias was free to use anyway to win against her, sounding like a confident remark from Giselle.

"Fine. I may torture you but not kill you," Tobias said.

He took a short stance with both hands gripping his sword. Tobias' maid was the referee for this training, and she was also the one who would start Tobias' training with Giselle.

"The fight ... begins!"

Giselle stretched her right hand forward, and a magic circle appeared due to the incantation cast by the woman. Tobias, who was seeing this kind of magic for the first time, immediately dodged without attacking. He fell silent in shock.

[Magic Skill: Sequential Fireballs]

Tobias ran in a circle to avoid Giselle's attack while looking for a gap between the fireball attacks she launched. He continued to run while his right hand kept gripping his sword.

[Magic Skill: Wall of Fire]

While dodging, Tobias was surprised to find a wall of fire appearing in front of his face. He dared to slash at the wall of fire with the power of his sacred sword.

[Sacred Sword Skill: Fading Art Style]

One quick slash at the wall of fire caused the wall to disappear on its own; what Tobias did made Giselle's heart skip a beat. The woman was stunned to see that magic could be dispelled by a sword cut.

"What?!" gasped Giselle.

The woman attacked Tobias again with a relentless fireball. Tobias, who realized his power could dispel magic, immediately did the same thing as when he dispelled the wall of fire.

He swung the sword at the fireball, which caused the fireball to disappear and turn into a soft gust of wind. Giselle was getting increasingly panicked because none of her attacks managed to hit Tobias.

Tobias dashed towards Giselle, making the woman cast an elemental fire magic defence spell.

[Magic Skill: Fire Dome of Protection]

From beneath Giselle's feet, pillars of fire appeared that rose upwards and formed a dome with the woman inside. Tobias jumped back, and his clothes hit the fire sparks that the young man had to extinguish.

"What is that power? Why did my magic disappear so easily?" asked Giselle, curious.

"I don't know. It's like my sword can neutralize the magic you cast," Tobias replied.

"That's impossible. No single power can-"

[Sacred Sword Skill: Magic-stopping Incision]

Tobias jumped towards the dome of fire as the blade of his sword began to emit a bright white light. He made a shaped cut towards the dome that caused the fire element to turn into the wind instantly.

Giselle widened her eyes just in time to realize Tobias' sword blade was on her neck. Tobias' maid declared the fight was over, won by Tobias.

"H-How could you possibly stop magic?" asked Giselle, not expecting Tobias' strength.

Tobias re-sheathed his sword calmly. He stood tall as he turned to Giselle, thinking he needed more practice against magic users.

"That was thrilling. Let's do it again, Giselle," Tobias said, excited.

Giselle was no different. She wanted to prove that Tobias' power wasn't magic neutralizing. However, if that was indeed his power, then he could be invincible in all of Equestria.

"Alright. I'll try to be serious now!"