Chapter 255: Lukas Vs Clavor (9)

After several minutes, the two moved apart, the distance between them being reestablished. Lukas was breathing heavily, his Lunar Source significantly emptier. Clavor remained practically unharmed, his breathing calm and controlled.

"You’re starting to understand." Clavor said, his voice filled with approval.

Lukas nodded, understanding taking shape in his mind.

"I need to stop thinking so much."

"Exactly." Clavor clenched his fists, his eyes fixed on his son.

"So now we’ll do something different."

Lukas became alert, his body preparing itself.

"What?"

A silver aura began to envelop Clavor’s body, first his arms, then his chest, his legs, and finally his entire body. The aura was not merely bright, it was dense, stable, and completely different from Lukas’s unstable reinforcement. Clavor had activated full-body reinforcement.

Lukas felt the pressure, the weight of his father’s presence intensifying. His heart accelerated, a mixture of admiration and determination.

He knew that sensation. He had seen it before when Clavor fought seriously.

Back then, he had merely watched, an amazed spectator. Now he was standing before someone completely enveloped in mana, and he himself could do the same.

Clavor looked at him, his eyes shining with silver light.

"Show me what you’ve learned."

Lukas took a deep breath, feeling the air fill his lungs. He opened the Lunar Source, and the remaining mana exploded through the five channels. It coursed through his muscles, bones, tendons, chest, arms, and legs. A silver aurora began to emerge around his body, much weaker than Clavor’s, thinner, and more unstable. But it was there.

Lukas smiled, a sensation of power filling his being.

"Let’s go."

Clavor advanced, and Lukas did the same. The two disappeared in a blur of movement.

’BOOM!’

The first clash made the air vibrate, fist against forearm. Lukas reinforced his defense at the last instant but was pushed backward. Clavor appeared again, a quick kick. Lukas spun, the foot passing by his abdomen. He responded with a punch, and Clavor reinforced his chest.

’THUD!’

The blow landed, and Clavor retreated only one step. Lukas was surprised but had no time to think, Clavor was already before him again.

A cross punch, Lukas ducked. An elbow, blocked. With a knee strike, Lukas reinforced his abdomen. A kick, he reinforced his leg.

The movements became too fast, a storm of blows and blocks. Lukas felt as though the world had slowed down, not because it was actually slower, but because his senses had been amplified by the mana.

He could perceive the movement of Clavor’s shoulder before the punch, the shift of his hips before the kick, and the position of his foot before the charge.

Even so, Clavor was far more experienced. The man fought as if every movement had already been engraved into his bones, every reaction an automatic response that required no thought.

Lukas dodged a punch and attempted a counterattack. Clavor tilted his body, the blow passing by. An attack toward the ribs, Lukas reinforced his torso.

’BOOM!’

He was sent to the side, rolled across the ground, stood up, and advanced again.

One minute had passed. Lukas’s silver aura was already beginning to fluctuate, unstable like a flame in the wind. He could feel the Lunar Source rapidly diminishing, the energy running out. But he did not stop.

Clavor launched a sequence, punch, punch, kick, elbow. Lukas blocked the first two, dodged the third, and reinforced his shoulder against the fourth. Then he found an opening, concentrated mana in his fist, and advanced.

’BAM!’

The blow struck Clavor’s abdomen, and this time, the man retreated half a step.

Lukas’s eyes widened. He had done it. It was not enough to injure Clavor, but he had managed to make him retreat. Pride exploded within him.

"I did it!"

Clavor smiled, a rare sign of approval.

"You did."

Then he disappeared from in front of him.

Lukas sensed the danger and turned around, too late.

’BOOM!’

A blow struck his side, and Lukas went flying. His body crossed several meters of grass before falling and rolling. He stopped, stood up again, his aura almost gone, the Lunar Source empty.

"How long...?" The question came between ragged breaths.

Clavor answered, his voice calm.

"One minute and twenty seconds."

Lukas took a deep breath, feeling the exhaustion in his bones.

"I still have a little left."

"Then use it." Clavor’s challenge was simple, and direct.

Lukas gritted his teeth, forced out the remaining mana, and the aura returned for a few seconds. He advanced one last time, not to win, but to learn. They exchanged a few more blows, and then Lukas’s aura flickered, disappearing completely. His legs lost their strength, and he fell into a seated position on the grass.

His chest rose and fell rapidly, his arms trembled, and the Lunar Source was practically empty.

Clavor remained standing in front of him, his aura slowly disappearing. The clearing returned to silence, with only Lukas’s ragged breathing breaking the stillness.

Lukas raised his head, his face covered in sweat. But there was a smile on his lips.

He had lost, completely, absolutely. There was no doubt about it. Clavor was much stronger, much more experienced. But, for the first time, Lukas had truly felt what it meant to fight using mana.

He had learned that reinforcement was not simply a way to increase strength, it was a language, a way of making mana respond to the body at exactly the right moment.

And he was still only beginning to learn that language.

Clavor extended his hand.

"Get up."

Lukas took his father’s hand, feeling the strength in his grip. Clavor pulled him up.

"How do you feel?" Clavor’s question was simple but filled with meaning.

Lukas took a deep breath, feeling the air fill his lungs. He looked at his own hands, his palms still marked by the effort. Then he smiled, an expression of discovery.

"As if I just discovered a whole new world."

Clavor nodded, his eyes shining with approval.

"Then it was worth it."

Lukas looked at the forest around them, sunlight filtering through the leaves. His muscles ached, his mana was exhausted, his entire body was spent. But his heart was racing in a different way.

He wanted to fight again, he wanted to learn, he wanted to understand how far that power could take him. And, at that moment, a certainty formed within him: the sword would continue to be important, but now he had finally taken the first step toward turning his own body into a weapon.