"Of course, that is too far away for you."
Before Ken could get any wrong ideas, she simply poured cold water on his excited emotions.
"Now, let me show you the power of my Wind Element."
She said while showing her left hand. The iron ball was still there, but soon, a green tornado appeared on her palm.
The tornado was small, but it managed to float the iron ball inside it.
As she did that, Flora explained.
"This is the power of Wind. I can use Wind to fly, to make powerful blasts, or create tornadoes. But Wind is known for another power. That is its cutting power."
"And if you manage to comprehend Wind Intent, you can do this."
Creek! Creek! Creek!
The tornado began to tear through the tough metal ball until several slashes appeared on it.
A few seconds later, the tornado disappeared, revealing an iron ball that was slashed nearly a hundred times.
Some slashes even reached their core.
"Now, finally, there is swordsmanship."
Flora held the iron ball in her hand and walked toward a training room. The training room was on the second floor.
When they reached there, there were several training equipment and weapons, including a sword.
But she didn't hold the sword. She just walked up to an iron dummy and swung her hand towards it.
Crack!
When the iron ball touched the iron dummy, it carved a sword slash on the iron dummy.
Ken just stood there, amazed yet confused.
How could an iron ball slash an iron armor?
That shouldn't even be possible. He didn't even see her use Spiritual Energy. Nor could he feel her.
So, how did she do it?
Confused yet excited, Ken stared at his mom.
Flora chuckled and put down the iron ball.
"That was Sword Momentum. It's similar to Wind Element. Remember, Wind doesn't cut. It moves. Wind is simply moving air. So, how could my wind cut?"
When she asked that question, she took Ken out of the training room while waiting for his reply.
Ken was thinking for a moment when he remembered the previous thing that his mother had told him.
"Is it about Wind Intent?"
Flora smiled and nodded.
"Wind Intent and Sword Intent. These two are the next level of training for you. I have shown you the power of both, but you can't learn them now."
"So, let's talk about basics first. If Wind Intent is equal to Sword Intent, then Sword Momentum is equal to Wind Element."
"The method of obtaining these two is vastly different. Because if Wind is something that exists within us and around us, the Sword is a material, not a power or energy."
"If you want to learn Wind Element, you can just keep feeling the power of Wind. Eventually, your Spiritual Energy would slowly transform into it. Of course, those without proper comprehension need years to do this."
"But with enough talent in comprehension, you can change the nature of your Spiritual Energy into Wind Energy simply through practice."
"But, I didn't see you use Spiritual Energy?" Ken asked with confusion.
"I am reaching there. To practice Wind, you have to feel the wind and understand its form. Once you understand that, you can train your Spiritual Energy to form Wind."
"But you can't do the same with Sword. Of course, you can shape the Spiritual Energy into a sword, but that's not swordsmanship. To understand Sword Momentum, you must believe in Sword."
"But what does this belief mean? How do you achieve it? Most people don't understand this, but the truth is simpler than you think. Sword is material, but it is also a concept."
"It is a conceptual weapon created by living beings. So, what exactly is Sword Momentum? Sword Momentum is the manifestation of your belief."
"It's simply a faith that you can cut or your sword can cut. That is Sword Momentum. But it is harder to achieve because it refreshes your cognition."
"It's like believing that one plus one is three. No matter how much you want to believe in it, people will say that it is not true. Whether it is historically or scientifically, one plus one equals two, not three."
"That's why it is very hard to obtain Sword Momentum. But with enough training, it is possible."
"Why? Because you use the sword to cut things. And, when you use a sword, you will slowly start to believe that you can cut anything."
"That's how those without talent can understand Sword Momentum."
Hearing that, Ken finally understood why his mother was able to cut something without even using Spiritual energy.
But this only made him excited. He had been training his swordsmanship for years.
It's just that he hadn't learn to put his faith in his sword. If he learned that, then he would be able to cut anything.
Flora instantly saw through his intention and nodded.
"Yeah, once you start to believe in your sword, you can easily reach the Basic Sword Momentum Stage."
"Basic Sword Momentum Stage?" Ken looked confused.
Flora chuckled and said.
"You don't think there will be no distinction between those who have trained their swordsmanship for years and those who have just put their belief in the sword, right?"
"Of course not!" Ken quickly shook his head.
"Basic Sword Momentum is the lowest stage of the Sword Momentum Realm. In this stage, one can use the sword to cut iron like cutting butter with a butter knife."
"Once you reinforce your sword with Spiritual Energy, you can even cut Spiritual Armors. The next stage is Advanced Sword Momentum. Here, you can release Spiritual energy outside your sword as a flying slash."
"This is very difficult because not only do you have to have enough control over your Spiritual Energy, but you also need to move your hand so fast that it can maintain the shape of a slash for a long time."
"This stage is where you can use swords as weapons for close or long-distance combat. Finally, there is Peak Sword Momentum, where you can use anything as a sword."
"When I used that iron ball, I used Sword Intent, but as long as your weapon has some sharpness, you can use Sword Momentum to cut anything."
"Of course, I only used Sword Intent to increase the sharpness of the Iron Ball, which shouldn't have any sharpness at all. So, technically, you could say I didn't use Sword Intent."
"But without Sword Intent, my belief wouldn't transform into Willpower. Without Willpower, you can't give sharpness to blunt edges. So, Willpower is a power used by Sword Intent users.
"When your belief becomes so strong that you can manifest it as a powerful force, it becomes Willpower. Willpower will have its characteristics based on your training and personality."
"If you are a true swordsmanship, your Willpower will be as sharp as a knife. Just by looking at someone, you can cut their thoughts."
"This power is too far away from you. So, let's not talk about it. Let's just focus on Sword Momentum for now."
"Every night during your sword training, I will spar with you. Through sparring, you can unlock your Sword belief faster."
"Now, do you have any more questions?"
Flora asked.
Ken shook his head. He might have some questions, but having too many thoughts wouldn't be good for him.
His current goal was to unlock Sword Momentum and master the Basic Energy Refining Technique.
Since he had already eaten snacks, he went to his room and started meditating.
In less than a minute, his mind entered the Spiritual Planet, where he began to sit cross-legged and started using the Basic Energy Refining Technique.
This process was tedious for him, but he persevered nonetheless.
Evening;
"Ken, it's dinnertime!"
Flora's call woke him up from his meditation. He opened his eyes and walked down the stairs.
He saw his father sitting next to the dinner table. Ken's parents both had black hair and pupils, but his mother looked slightly paler than his father.
It was due to her staying at home for a long time while his father was busy with several hunting programs launched by the Warlock Association.
"Hey, Dad! How was work?"
Ken was surprised to find his dad at the dinner table. Because of his work, he would often be late for dinner.
"It was the same as usual. I heard everything from your mom. I want to ask you one thing. Do you realize just how hard it will be to catch up to your friends, much less surpass them with your idea?"
As soon as he spoke, his father had a strong Aura around him.
For a moment, Ken felt his heart shake. As if the person sitting in front of him wasn't his father but some kind of demon.
'Damn it! Snap out of it.'
Ken cursed himself, and his eyes slowly regained clarity. He showed a strong look of determination and said.
"The difficulty doesn't matter. I will never allow myself to fall behind them."