Practicing Sword

After Iris reported all the information to Roderick and Alva, Alva's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

According to Iris's words, it seems that some mages in the Propulsion Department are indeed doing things that are detrimental to the entire the Alliance, and at this critical juncture, this is also a crucial matter.

If nothing unexpected happens, they will be leaving the Alliance in their Floating City and heading to the Cult of the Sky Dragon's Floating Isle to have a fight with them.

At this critical juncture, when war seems imminent, there are potential hidden problems within the Propulsion Department. Who wouldn't panic in such a situation?

If, when they arrive at the Cult of the Sky Dragon in their Floating City, the engine suddenly stalls and the Floating Isle runs away, they won't be able to catch up.

Or perhaps a slight, violent impact would cause the Floating City to plummet. Even if these Fourth Order Mage could temporarily hold up the Floating City, there was absolutely no need to let things escalate to that point.

In addition, the recent discussions in the Alliance Council about which Floating City would eventually crash had put Alva on high alert.

If Fran hadn't mentioned at the last minute that those mages might have been bound by contracts, Alva probably would have wanted to conduct a magical interrogation of all the mages.

If we actually do that, even if we send new technical personnel, the entire Propulsion Department will be shut down for a long time, and it will definitely not be able to meet the requirements of a top-secret operation.

So in the end Alva opted for a compromise, sending technicians to thoroughly investigate all the problematic areas and providing a large amount of Alchemy Device.

Fran initially thought the latter was just a filler solution, and the former was the key. However, after Fran was led to obtain the Alchemy Device, she realized that the latter was actually more valuable.

She received a large vat of golden liquid, the vat itself was dark, and it was probably a size larger than the bottled water she had in her previous life.

The most important thing is the golden liquid inside. Fran couldn't even imagine that the liquid inside was all Drops of True Knowledge.

That special Alchemy Device that could verify the authenticity of the information with just a drop—she had only seen Iris carrying a small bottle of it last time, but now she had received a whole vat of it.

Of course, not all of these Drops of True Knowledge were for her use; they were assets of the Mage Tower, and she couldn't even take them out of the second basement level.

However, not being able to bring it out doesn't mean she can't use it. She can bring in the items that need to be tested from outside, apply them, and it will still work.

Getting back to the main point, after obtaining such a large quantity of Drops of True Knowledge, Fran picked up the mages' testing reports and began the tedious work of applying the Drops of True Knowledge.

If Fran hadn't done this, Fran probably wouldn't have believed that someone would use the Drops of True Knowledge to drip complex data here instead of testing those precious knowledge points.

A rough count reveals that these piled-up reports number in the thousands. How much Drops of True Knowledge must have been wasted?

However, with permission from Iris and other superiors, Fran did just that.

After some time, when Fran had summoned all the mages whose reports showed problems, Owen was the first to sense that something was amiss.

He looked at the monks around him; he recognized them all—they were all members of his small group, without exception—which gave him a bad feeling.

Fran called out their names, then waved her hand and said loudly:

"Security, arrest these mages and lock them in solitary confinement. They are suspected of falsifying data..."

A group of Security Team who had been positioned nearby unleashed their magic, and Owen and the other mages felt as if their brains had been suddenly disconnected, and then their limbs were tightly handcuffed.

"Wait, what's going on? I didn't falsify any data; that charge requires evidence!!"

Owen knelt on the ground and struggled to speak.

If it were like last time when they failed to frame Fran, that would be one thing. Back then, almost all the mages did see that those mages made the wrong judgment, and Fran did have reason to lock them up.

But if you accuse him of falsifying data, he won't agree to it. Without evidence, it's impossible for the Security Team to lock him up on that charge.

Fran smiled, then took out a report that had been torn into several pieces, but the names on it were still legible, along with a single Drops of True Knowledge that had not merged with the paper.

"I used a single drop of Drops of True Knowledge to specifically test it. Doesn't that prove the situation? Do you think you've fabricated anything?"

Owen and the other mages stared in disbelief. They hadn't expected to see this drop of Drops of True Knowledge on their reports. Was it really possible to waste such a precious Alchemy Device?

Owen was filled with unease, because he knew that since Fran had done this, it meant that the resources she could mobilize far exceeded their expectations.

They were actually powerless to stop Fran and her team from inspecting the Propulsion Department, because with such a high level of scrutiny, any hidden problems they might have had would definitely be uncovered.

"I should have tried to extricate myself from this the moment I heard about the top-secret mission," Owen thought with some regret. Now that he had left the Propulsion Department, it wouldn't be so easy for him to completely extricate himself.

One morning, Fran unusually did not go to the project site of the Mana Communication System, nor to the Propulsion Department. Instead, she stayed obediently in her house, practicing swordsmanship and Combat Technique.

She hasn't focused on these things for a long time, and in order to get a new Profession in the future, she should practice these skills properly.

She is no longer the Fran a constitution of only 0.8. Back then, she couldn't even practice Breathing Technique for long, and her body would probably ache after just a few Combat Technique a day.

Because at that time, her physical condition was too weak to withstand the strain of several attacks.

Now, with all the Profession bonuses she has, her physical abilities are more than enough to practice these Combat Technique and swordsmanship.

She stood inside the house, holding a greatsword newly forged from fine iron, and stared at the specially made scarecrow target ahead. She took a deep breath and charged straight at it.

Then, as he reached the scarecrow, he suddenly stopped, placed the greatsword on his right side, and a silver arc lit up.

Whirlwind Slash!

With a muffled 'bang,' straw flew everywhere, and the standing scarecrow was torn to pieces by the force, almost unrecognizable from its original form.

"This scarecrow is so fragile; every time I hit it, it looks like this..."

Fran looked at the scarecrow scattered on the ground. Each time, she had to hold back most of her strength to avoid scattering the scarecrow.

Each time she breaks apart the enemy, she has to repair it, wasting some time, before continuing her attack and breaking apart again.

This is such a waste of time, and more importantly, she doesn't really enjoy practicing Combat Technique.

"Go back and find the Sword Chant School's training grounds. I remember there's a dedicated practice area there..."

Fran's aerial Combat Technique is actually not very effective because it doesn't hit the target, making it difficult to dissipate the force from the weapon, so the Combat Technique proficiency bonus is minimal.

Only Combat Technique that can actually hit the target will have the effect of practice, and the Panel will then display the increased proficiency.

"Then let's not practice Combat Technique for now. Let's find a suitable place later and practice the two sword techniques we bought first."

A complete swordsmanship is a complete Arts that includes combat techniques, footwork, and fighting style.

On the mainland, a Physical Profession who masters a sword technique is perfectly capable of fighting, because such a sword technique will at least ensure that his performance in combat is not too bad.

Furthermore, as swordsmanship is honed, the combat power it can demonstrate becomes increasingly profound. It can be said that a Physical Profession professional could spend their entire life using only one sword technique without learning other Combat Technique.

Of course, this only applies to the first and second tiers. At higher tiers, Physical Profession must change their combat logic.

Otherwise, when facing opponents who can fly or teleport, Profession who can only wield swords on flat ground are inherently at a disadvantage, and the effectiveness of this combat method will be greatly reduced after reaching the third tier.

However, the importance of swordsmanship in the first and second tiers, or even in the apprentice stage, is undeniable. Even for third-tier Profession like Sword Saint, swordsmanship is a requirement for advancement.

Fran posed according to the pictures and instructions on the silver paper, but just as she was thinking of continuing, she suddenly didn't know what to do next.

Because the Broken Wing Sword Art she is currently practicing requires, in the early stages of training, attacks against small flying targets, such as birds and sparrows.

Once you've mastered the skills, you'll have a greater sense of initiative when facing flying targets.

The Floating City is located high in the sky, and the trees here were all transplanted up from below by mages, but not many small birds were transplanted here.

Even if some small birds come by, she cannot attack them, because in this scarce environment, a bird might be more precious than an apprentice.

"Later, let's find a training ground for the Sword Chant School, spend some money, and have a few apprentices operate some small flying devices..."

Unable to practice this sword technique, Fran had no choice but to switch to another, the Blood Law Sword Art.

But after reading the explanation of the sword technique above, she was dumbfounded, because this sword technique also required additional conditions.

This swordsmanship requires the fresh blood of Magic Creature to practice. Given the environment of the Floating City, even if some celestial Magic Creature tried to get close, they would almost certainly be sliced into mincemeat by the mages' spells.

"I'm not practicing anymore. Let's go find the Sword Chant School's practice room." Fran dropped her greatsword and walked straight out the door.