Akhir-akhir ini Lex punya terlalu banyak kekhawatiran, tapi dia menyingkirkannya semua untuk saat ini. Dengan pikiran jernih dan fokus, dia memasuki Lembah Pedang, dan seketika merasakan resistensi niat pedang yang memenuhi area.
Dibandingkan Kekuatan Naga, yang mengancam menghancurkan tubuh dan jiwanya serta mematikannya, bahkan ketajaman ini yang mengancam memotong tubuhnya terasa seperti tidak ada apa-apa. Apapun yang terjadi, Lex tahu di dalam Inn dia tidak bisa terluka hanya oleh aura saja, jadi elemen bahaya itu menghilang, tidak peduli seberapa sulitnya.
Saat itu, di hadapan naga, jika Lex santai bahkan hanya sejenak, atau menyerah, bahaya nyawa benar-benar nyata. Dia harus kabur ke Inn untuk selamat dengan nyawa utuh. Mirip tantangan plank yang dulu populer di Bumi, tapi bedanya kalau menyerah, mati.
Seperti memanjatkan pistol ke kepala orang biasa lalu suruh plank sepuluh menit. Meski adrenalin menggebu-gebu, tidak pasti bisa bertahan. Dibandingkan itu, betapapun mengancamnya niat pedang ini, bukan apa-apa. Apalagi bahkan kalau ancamannya nyata, Lex tidak akan ragu.
Informasi tentang niat melintas di pikiran Lex. Sebelum bisa mempelajari niat, harus dulu mencapai tingkat kemampuan tertentu di bidangnya. Meminta Lex jadi grandmaster pedang semalaman terlalu banyak, tapi dia harus mulai dari suatu tempat.
Lex fokus pada rasa tajam yang menekan tubuhnya, membayangkannya sebagai sesuatu yang melapisi pedangnya sendiri, lalu menebas ke depan.
Seperti dugaan, pedang Lex tidak dilapisi niat nyata. Meski hasil sudah terduga, Lex mengerutkan kening. Karena pikirannya jauh lebih tajam dari sebelumnya, Lex memperhatikan banyak hal yang dulu akan terlewat. Menurut standar biasa, tebasannya normal. Bahkan cukup bagus. Tapi Lex sadar saat mengulurkan pedang saat menebas, keseimbangannya sedikit terganggu.
Dia segera menyesuaikannya agar tebasan tidak melambat, atau tidak menyimpang dari target. Namun dia tidak puas hanya karena keseimbangannya terganggu dari awal.
Dia mengulang semua langkah sebelumnya, memvisualisasikan niat melapisi pedang, dan menebas lagi, kali ini menyesuaikan jejak kakinya sedikit sebelumnya agar tidak ada ketidakseimbangan. Tebasan lebih baik, lebih cepat dan mengandung lebih banyak tenaga, tapi Lex tetap mengerutkan kening.
Perbedaan hampir tak terlihat, tapi Lex tetap sadar. Akibat penyesuaian kaki, jangkauan serangannya berkurang sedikit.
Dia mencoba lagi, kali ini dengan hasil yang diinginkan dalam pikiran, tapi menemukan masalah baru.
Begitu seterusnya dia mencoba, fokus awal pada niat pedang sudah terlupakan. Dengan setiap percobaan baru, dia melangkah lebih dalam ke lembah, tapi niat pedang yang semakin meningkat tampak tidak mengganggunya sama sekali.
Masalahnya bukan belajar pedang sulit, tapi Lex terlalu peka. Dia mendeteksi kekurangan gerakannya yang bahkan master pedang biasa tidak akan sadar. Bisa dibilang, sejauh tebasan biasa yang dilakukan Lex, dia sudah lebih baik dari banyak master pedang. Menurut standar itu, dia sudah level bisa memanifestasikan niat pedang.
Masalahnya di pikiran Lex masih ada cacat dalam pedangnya, dan sebab itu tidak bisa memanifestasikan niat pedang. Pada titik ini, ketidakpuasan sendiri terhadap levelnya satu-satunya hal yang mencegahnya memanifestasikan niat pedang dasar.
Jauh di dalam lembah, Qawain mengamati kemajuan Lex dengan penuh minat. Meski level Lex sangat rendah, Qawain suka standar yang ditetapkan Lex, dan betapa seriusnya dia. Lagipula, sebagai pedang itu sendiri, dia pasti suka orang yang benar-benar menghormati pedang dan ilmu pedang.
Dia juga penasaran kenapa Lex tidak terlihat diganggu niat pedang sama sekali. Untuk menguji, dia meningkatkan tekanan di sekitar Lex, dan hanya Lex saja.
Peningkatan mendadak tekanan membuat tebasan Lex goyah, yang membuatnya mengerutkan kening lagi. Dia tidak menyalahkan peningkatan tekanan mendadak. Lagipula, dalam pertarungan nyata, situasi dinamis. Kadang tidak ada tekanan sama sekali, kadang tekanan astronomis. Oleh karena itu, dia harus bisa performa di situasi apapun.
Lex hampir menggeram karena rasa jengkel luar biasa, tapi tiba-tiba berhenti. Emosinya फिर gelisah. Dia menggunakan pedangnya untuk melihat refleksi dan melihat bayangan samar pedang di mata kirinya. Benar dugaannya.
Lex memejamkan mata dan hampir seketika memasuki kondisi meditatif, menarik napas dalam-dalam untuk menenangkan diri. Dia biarkan emosinya perlahan memudar, dan mengusir semua gangguan. Seperti dalam keadaan Flow, tapi dia tidak menjadi dingin dan tanpa emosi. Seperti dia mendapat semua keuntungan keadaan itu tanpa efek sampingnya.
Saat membuka mata, Lex sudah tenang sepenuhnya, dan memfokuskan ulang. Dia menebas ke depan sekali lagi, kali ini hasil jauh lebih baik. Dia kira karena sudah tenang dan mengendalikan emosi, bayangan pedang di matanya menghilang. Tapi kenyataannya, bayangan itu jadi lebih jelas begitu pikirannya tenang. Dengan setiap tebasan, semakin jelas, hingga akhirnya mulai berkilau.
Seperti bayangan itu mencoba memanifestasikan niat pedangnya sendiri. Sayangnya, Lex masih pikir levelnya terlalu rendah, jadi tidak memanifestasikannya.
Lex had too many concerns lately, but he put them all aside for now. With a clear, focused mind, he entered the Sword Valley, and immediately he felt the resistance of the sword intent that filled the area.
Compared to Dragons Might, which threatened to crush his body and soul and extinguish them, even this sharpness that threatened to cut his body felt like nothing. No matter what, Lex knew that within the Inn he could not be hurt by aura alone and so that element of danger vanished, regardless of how difficult it was.
Back then, in front of the dragon, if Lex had relaxed for even a second, or given up, the danger to his life was extremely real. He would have had to escape to the Inn to get away with his life intact. It was akin to the plank challenges that used to happen back on Earth, but the only difference was that if you give up, you would die.
It was like putting a gun to an ordinary person's head and asking them to plank for ten minutes. Even with all the adrenaline pumping, it was unknown if they would be able to make it. Compared to that, regardless of how threatening this sword intent felt, it was nothing. Not to mention, even if the threat was real, Lex would not hesitate.
The information about intents flashed through Lex's mind. Before one can learn intent, they must first gain a certain level of competency in that field. Asking Lex to become a sword grandmaster overnight was too much, but he had to start with somewhere.
Lex focused on the sharp feeling that was pressing against his body, visualized it as something that was coating his own sword, and then slashed forward.
Predictably, Lex's sword was not coated in any real intent. Despite the expected result, Lex frowned. Since his mind was much sharper than before, Lex noticed a multitude of things he would have missed before. By ordinary standards, his slash was normal. It was pretty good even. But Lex noticed that as he extended his sword during his slash, his balance was somewhat impacted.
He immediately adjusted for it so that his slash was not slowed down, or so that it would not deviate from its intended target. Yet he was not satisfied by the fact that his balance was affected to begin with.
He repeated all the previous steps, visualizing the intent coating his sword, and slashed again, though this time he adjusted his footing a little beforehand so that there would be no imbalance. The slash was better, faster and delivered more power, but Lex frowned nonetheless.
The difference was practically imperceptible, yet Lex noticed anyway. Due to his readjustment of his feet, the range of his attack had been minutely reduced.
He tried again, this time keeping the desired result in mind, but then encountered a new problem.
Like this he kept trying, his initial focus on sword intent already forgotten. With each new attempt, he would take a step deeper into the valley, but the ever-increasing sword intent seemed to not bother him at all.
The issue was not that learning the sword was hard, but that Lex was too perceptive. He would detect issues with his moves that even ordinary sword masters would not be able to detect. In a sense, it could be said that as far as the ordinary slash Lex was performing, he was already better than many sword masters. By that standard, he was already at the level to manifest sword intent.
The problem was that in Lex's mind he still had flaws in his swordsmanship, and as such would not be able to manifest sword intent. At this point, his own dissatisfaction with his level was the only thing preventing him from manifesting basic sword intent.
Deep in the valley, Qawain was watching Lex's progress with interest. Although Lex's level was abysmal, Qawain liked the standard Lex was setting, and how seriously he was taking it. After all, as a sword himself, he would definitely like those who seriously respected the sword and swordsmanship.
He was also intrigued by how Lex did not seem to be bothered by the sword intent at all. To test things out, he increased the pressure around Lex, and only Lex.
The sudden increase in pressure caused Lex's slash to falter, which made him frown again. He was not blaming the sudden increase in pressure. After all, in real combat, the situation would be dynamic. Sometimes he would face no pressure at all, and at other times, the pressure would be astronomical. Therefore, he should be able to perform in any situation.
Lex almost growled due to the immense irritation he was feeling, but then suddenly paused. His emotions were getting agitated again. He used his sword to look at his reflection and saw the faint image of a sword in his left eye. It was just as he suspected.
Lex closed his eyes and almost immediately entered a meditative state, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. He allowed his emotions to slowly fade, and pushed away all distractions. It was as if he was in the state of Flow, except that he was not becoming cold and emotionless. It was as if he was gaining all the benefits of that state without the side effects.
When he opened his eyes, Lex had calmed down completely, and renewed his focus. He slashed forth once again, this time getting much better results. He had assumed that since he had calmed down and taken control of his emotions, the sword image in his eye had vanished. But in truth, it had become even clearer once he calmed his mind. With each slash, it became clearer still, until eventually it began to shimmer.
It was as if the image was trying to manifest a sword intent of its own. Unfortunately, Lex still thought his level was too low, and so did not manifest it.
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