The True Purpose of Authority

"Huang-style Armament..."

Azer's eyes trembled slightly as he looked at the Light Blade in his hand.

In this world, the weapons commonly used by people were no longer cold weapons or firearms made of metal and steel.

The meteorites that had fallen to Earth through the Starfall Rain had brought Omni-Response Elements. Besides influencing the birth of the new humans known as the Star Vein Generation, Omni-Response Elements could also naturally crystallize into a special ore called Omni-Response Ore.

Using this Omni-Response Ore, many scientific fields in this world had achieved groundbreaking advances. One of the most representative developments was the Omni-Response Element conversion energy weapon, which used Omni-Response Ore as its core.

This type of weapon used the Omni-Response Elements within Omni-Response Ore as its power source, fully achieving recyclability and zero consumption. As long as the machine embedded with Omni-Response Ore was activated, the ore would materialize the pre-recorded element pattern, then further concentrate the Omni-Response Elements into beam-like blades, arrows, bullets, and so on.

These Omni-Response Element conversion energy weapons were known as Huang-style Armaments.

Not only could Huang-style Armaments have their output and power adjusted manually, but when inactive, they were merely Activation Devices the size of a handle. They possessed overwhelming practical advantages, so nearly all handheld weapons were now Huang-style Armaments. Their adoption had even reached civilian use; whether self-defense tools or children's toys, they were basically all this sort of thing.

Naturally, in Asterisk, a Duel City built for duels, as well as in the six academies that trained contestants for the Star Martial Festival, such convenient Huang-style Armaments could not possibly be absent.

As long as they were enrolled, students of Asterisk's Six Academies could apply to their academy's Equipment Bureau for a Huang-style Armament without conditions. They could also request a certain degree of adjustment and modification based on their own circumstances.

What Azer held in his hand right now was a Huang-style Armament.

And then...

"----"

Gripping the hilt of the Huang-style Armament tightly, Azer could only describe his feeling as unbelievable.

Before this, he had never handled any kind of weapon. The sharpest tools he had held most often in daily life were kitchen cleavers and fruit knives, followed by scissors and nail clippers.

Under such circumstances, he should have felt unfamiliar with the weapon in his hand. He should not have known how to use it.

However, the instant he gripped the Huang-style Armament, what arose in Azer's heart was not unfamiliarity, but an incredible sensation that could almost be called omnipotence.

It was as though that feeling were telling him...

"The thing in your hand is your hands and feet."

"The thing in your hand is an extension of your senses."

"You have already mastered it perfectly. You clearly and completely know how to use it."

"It is your subject."

"Bzzzz!"

Suddenly, Azer swung his sword.

His eyes were tightly shut, as though he had entered some profound state, and he began to dance with the sword naturally.

The Huang-style Armament in his hand truly seemed to be his own limbs, causing his body to move naturally as well.

He clearly had no prior experience using weapons, and this body had merely become younger and stronger. It should have been impossible for him to wield a sword so fluidly. Yet at this moment, Azer seemed as though he had practiced swordplay for decades. Like an old swordsman who had painstakingly trained in sword techniques for years, he wielded the Light Blade in his hand with extraordinary proficiency.

"Bzzzz!" "Bzzzz!" "Bzzzz!"...

Amid the vibrating hum of the energy Light Blade, Azer's sword dance became faster and smoother. In the end, he actually created countless streaks of sword light, weaving a dense, impenetrable curtain of flashing blades.

"Sshk!" "Sshk!" "Sshk!"...

Under Azer's increasingly swift and sharp sword light, slash marks began appearing across the surrounding ground, while the flowers and grass in the lawn and flowerbeds swayed back and forth beneath the sword wind.

"Boom!"

At the end of his dance, Azer abruptly opened his eyes and slashed out. The strike whipped up a gust of sword wind that swept across the lawn before him and directly overturned it.

In an instant, dust billowed and mud and stones scattered. Countless neatly trimmed patches of turf seemed to have been cut apart by innumerable sharp blades, exploding everywhere.

"Th-this was my doing?"

Only then did Azer come to his senses. Looking at himself still holding his sword-swinging posture, then at the chaotic lawn before him, covered in sword marks, his newly opened eyes widened at once, his face blank with shock.

"What was that sound just now?"

"What a huge commotion..."

"Could someone be dueling?"

"Let's go take a look!"

The facts proved that the disturbance had indeed been rather exaggerated, enough to attract the attention of people nearby.

Azer saw several figures approaching at astonishing speed. Without a second thought, he hurriedly put away the Huang-style Armament, causing the Light Blade to disappear. Only the Activation Device remained, which he hastily stuffed into the holster on his belt before turning around and running off.

Fortunately, he had moved quickly enough. By the time the people nearby arrived, the place was already completely empty.

All they could do was point at the mess Azer had left behind, chattering among themselves about who knew what...

"Whew..."

Elsewhere, Azer fled the scene as quickly as he could. Only after reaching another deserted corner did he stop and let out a breath.

"No, wait. Why did I run?"

Azer suddenly realized something and smacked his forehead.

He had nearly forgotten that this was the Duel City called Asterisk. Duels between students were commonplace here, whether inside the academies or in the urban district.

In other words, even if he caused a little damage to public property here, the responsibility was not as serious as it would have been elsewhere. He might not even need to pay compensation.

Of course, that was provided he had a legitimate reason.

"Practicing swordsmanship in an open area should count as a legitimate reason, right?"

Azer shook his head helplessly, but soon cast the matter aside.

Recalling the feeling from before, Azer took out the Huang-style Armament's Activation Device again and activated it.

"Sure enough, that feeling wasn't accidental, and it wasn't an illusion. It was all real."

Holding the activated Huang-style Armament once more, Azer finally confirmed that he truly could perfectly control the weapon in his hand.

He did not need to practice, nor did he need strenuous training. As long as he held a weapon like this, he could naturally bring out the most perfect way to use it, displaying swordsmanship as powerful as before whenever and wherever he wished!

"Is this what Authority does?"

Azer was somewhat excited.

"No, Authority does more than just this."

Azer could clearly feel that he could also use the power of Authority to perform even further operations on the weapon in his hand.

"I... seem to be able to make this weapon acknowledge me as its master?"

Relying on instinct, Azer vaguely confirmed it.

As long as he held a weapon, he could perfectly control and use it. This was merely the most basic function of the Authority within Azer.

If Azer wished, he could completely use the power of Authority to unconditionally imprint his mark upon the weapon in his hand and make it recognize him as its master.

In that case, the weapon would become his personal exclusive armament. It would receive a certain degree of enhancement based on his strength, grow alongside him as he grew, and even if it were damaged, he could store it within his body and nurture it. After some time, it would automatically be restored completely.

Even if the weapon were lost, as long as it had acknowledged him as its master, Azer could summon it back to his hand with a single thought. No one else could take it from him by any means.

"This is the true purpose of Authority!"

Having realized this, Azer's thoughts immediately became active.

He did not make the Huang-style Armament in his hand acknowledge him as its master.

This was merely an utterly ordinary standard-issue Huang-style Armament. Even after a certain degree of adjustment and modification, it was still nowhere near powerful.

Now that he had confirmed the true purpose of Authority, Azer naturally could not be satisfied with binding an ordinary standard-issue armament to himself.

If he wanted to become strong as quickly as possible, he needed a weapon that was more powerful, more special, and more formidable!

Thinking of this, Azer turned his head and looked toward the school building he had left earlier.

"I can only go..."

Pressing his lips together, Azer put away the Huang-style Armament, took a step forward, and headed toward the school building.

The new book is out! Back to my usual style!

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