Chapter 101: Admission Combat Tests (3)
Arcturus also had a much easier time when he finally started fighting with the Dimension Empyrean because it felt far more natural and innate for him to fight with the Dimension Empyrean than with the Psionic Abilities.
He was trained rather extensively by the Grandmaster Byrmellir in combat using the Dimension Empyrean, and become he had very similar Super-High Risk Primal Psyker Ability; his master was able to give him many useful tips when it came to the usage of the Dimension Empyrean.
It was evident that the Headmaster of the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy wasn't going to actively fight because that would be an absolute squeal fight, as he was already Beyonder, so Arcturus was prepared that the Headmaster Kane would be only dodging his efforts to hit him.
One thing that Arcturus learned during his sparring with his master was that even the Beyonder was not absolutely protected from the corrosive properties of the Dimension Empyrean because the Empyrean Power was just too dangerous and corruptive in nature.
His master noted that while the effect on the Beyonder was nothing great because he was still just a Delta-Grade Psyker, just the sheer fact that his Psyker Ability was able to at least a certain degree affect a Beyonder was beyond astonishing.
Even Arcturus was aware of it.
He used the Empyrean Manifestation together with the Dimension Lost as he manifested the Empyrean Mist around him and Headmaster Kane. Another technique that he created during the training with his master before he left for the Throne World of the Eternal Empire of the Asurya was to draw the Empyrean Power directly from the Empyrean Mist generated through the Dimension Lost.
It was rather taxing to maintain because the strain on his Psionic Energy was ridiculously large, but fortunately enough, due to his very high Psionic Energy Reserves and Psionic Energy Regeneration, he was able to keep up with it.
At the same time, the very first ability of the Dimension Empyrean was the creation of the Psionic Energy Realm inside his soul, which was used to store additional Psionic Energy and also generate more if even one drop was spent from there.
With all of that being added together, Arcturus was able to sustain even such methods of attacking as he was doing right now when he conjured several tens of imaginary hands from the Empyrean Power and sent them toward the Headmaster Kane.
[Proficiency with the Super-High Risk Primal Psyker Ability Dimension Empyrean has been increased by 2%.]
[Proficiency with the Super-High Risk Primal Psyker Ability Dimension Empyrean has been increased by 7%.]
[Proficiency with the Super-High Risk Primal Psyker Ability Dimension Empyrean has been increased by 5%.]
Arcturus dismissed the notification from the System about the increasement in the Proficiency in the Dimension Empyrean, because this was the first time, he was using this technique in real combat and instead looked at the Headmaster Kane, who was effortlessly dodging the hands made of the Empyrean Power with ease.
When he could dodge, he just used the Psionic Energy that involved up hands and somehow disrupted the Empyrean Hands and caused them to disperse.
Arcturus didn't really understand how he did it, but he could see that somehow, Headmaster Kane managed to use his Psionic Energy to create some sort of disruption in the Empyrean Power, which caused the Empyrean Power to fall apart and disperse.
Though, nothing less was to be expected from the Beyonder and one of the more powerful ones across the Empire. At the same time, it wasn't just for his strength and power that the Bashar-General Nathril El-Amini Kane was chosen to lead the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy.
Nathril El-Amini Kane was one of the most knowledgeable Professionals not only in the entire Andromeda Galaxy, but also in the surrounding galaxies. His theoretical knowledge of the aspects of Psionics and Psyker Abilities was almost unparalleled as he was an acclaimed scholar of a very high degree.
It wasn't every day that such a powerful Beyonder would also be one of the most educated and knowledgeable people in their entire Cosmic Region. So, due to that, the Eternal Empire of the Asurya asked him to be the Headmaster of the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy.
Arcturus knew that it wasn't some sort of negation of Psyker Ability because those abilities behaved in a very different ways, and he had clearly sensed the Psionic Energy being used in a fashion that he didn't really understand, and it was almost driving him crazy.
Having such technique at his disposal clearly made Bashar-Generla Nathril El-Amini Kane an absolute nightmare to deal with. From what Arcturus knew, approximately 80% of the Beyonders, or even more, were Psionics or Psykers.
Only the minority among the Beyonders were Warriors because it was extremely arduous and hard to become a Beyonder when one was just a Warrior.
However, at the same time, once someone becomes Beyonder as Psionics or Psyker, it is rather easy for them to elevate their Physical Bodies to the Beoynder standard, something that even warriors struggle to do during their lives.
And many more would even fail in that endeavor.
So, having a Psionic Technique that was able to disrupt other Psionic Abilities, including the Psyker Abilities, was really a game changer.
Due to that, the most effective way to fight and defeat someone like Headmaster Kane would be to either overwhelm him with raw destructive power or fight him in quarter combat without any Psionic Abilities or Psyker Abilities.
Still, he did try increasing the output of the Psionic Energy into the Dimension Empyrean and the Dimension Mist to increase the intensity of the attacks on the Headmaster Kane as several more tens of hands made from the Empyrean Power shot towards the Headmaster of the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy, but it was all to no result.
Headmaster Kane just continued dodging the attacks of the hands made from the Empyrean Power like it was nothing, but Arcturus wasn't really discouraged as he continued controlling the Empyrean Power Hands attacking the Headmaster Kane, while at the same he controlled the Dimension Mist to start conjuring more objects from the Empyrean Power and shooting them towards the Headmaster Kane.
Right now, he was controlling the battlefield from a safe distance, as this test was solely based on the usage of the Psyker Ability; he wasn't going to fight in close quarters.
It wasn't really the best situation for Arcturus, who was usually used for the combat fusion between his swordsmanship, Psyker Abilities, and Psionic Abilities into one whole combat style.
Nevertheless, he still managed because the Dimension Empyrean was rather overpowered for one's daily usage... and even the Headmaster Kane was forced to actually dodge the attacks rather more seriously because he sensed that when he was hit by the Empyrean Power, it was rather painful feeling a bit.
He also needed to deal with the side effects of the Empyrean Power, which proved to be problematic because the Empyrean Power tended to latch on to his Psionic Energy and use his own Psionic Energy for further expansion and continuous existence.
Long short story, it was problematic to deal with.
"I can see that you are not used to fighting with your Psyker Ability... you are a true merged combatant, right?"
Just as Headmaster Kane dodged around fifteen Empyrean Hands and a whole bunch of projectiles made from the Empyrean Power that were being shot towards him, he looked at Arcturus as he asked this peculiar question.
"Yeah... fighting with only one thing isn't my forte. I usually incorporate my Psyker Abity and Psionic Abilities into the combined battle style with my swordsmanship."
The older Highborne Asuryani nodded because it was far more than just evident. Even a blind person could see that Arctrus was struggling a bit in the fight if he was using just one part of his skill set; it was evident that he was used to fighting with everything that he had.
"We can stop this fight... with this, I already have an excellent grasp on your capabilities with the Psyker Abity; even though it wasn't really the best one, this alone would put you at the top of the younger generation of Psykers at the entire Andromeda Galaxy. You just need to get used to fighting with your Psyker Ability alone. Tomorrow would be the last test in the swordsmanship with the Head of the Warrior Faculty."
In fact, Headmaster Nathril El-Amini Kane was very satisfied with Arcturus Crawford's performance on the Psyker Ability Combat Test. While it was obvious that the young Highborne Asuryani wasn't really used to fighting with just his Psyker Ability, he was using it with a high degree of expertise and mastery.
It wasn't certainly an easy feat, and Headmaster Kane could tell that there were not many Psykers at the Delta-Grade that would be strong enough to defeat Arcturus in the direct clash.
And despite his Psyker Ability being extremely dangerous, even to the user himself, because that was rather a common trait among the Super-High Risk Primal Psyker Abilities, Arcturus was able to use the Dimension Empyrean with high expertise and ability.
If he was fighting anyone from the younger generation of the Eternal Empire of Asurya, there was no doubt that there wouldn't be many people capable of dealing with Arcturus.
Not to mention, in the first place,e there were not many people with the Super-High Risk Psyker Abilities among the current younger generation in the Eternal Empire of the Asurya.
***
The next day, which was the last day of the Admission Combat Test, Arcturus was going through the last part of the Combat Tests, which was the swordsmanship test. This was the last one, and he wasn't really concerned about it.
With the Godslayer Sword Style and the Stardau Sword Style, there wasn't literally nothing that could surprise him during the match because even his master remarked that he wouldn't have any match amongst the younger generation when it comes to the Way of the Sword.
That one was probably his strongest talent.
Maybe it was true.
Adding the Slayer Force, Arcturus was rather eager for today's match because he could showcase his ability once more. He new that with the Psyker Ability Combat Test, he made a very good impression, so he hoped to replicate the result with the Swordsmanship Test.
"This is Master Nassain, who is a Professor at the Weapon Faculty, Head of the Sword Department, and he will be Proctor for today's test."
Arcturus took a look at the man introduced as Master Nassain and noticed that he had bright azure blue eyes and tanned brownish skin, reminiscent of people of the Middle East from Earth. He also had a thick beard and wore a battle suit that was made with agility and speed in mind, judging based on the lack of heavy and sturdy parts in the battle suit.
"The rules of engagement are simple; only the swordsmanship skills count, nothing else. For this test, Master Nassain has agreed to limit the usage of his physical dimensions to the Delta-Grade."
On the command of Headmaster Kane, both of the combatants got ready and drew out their training swords that were provided by the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy. Even though it was the training swords apparently, they were still a sharp-edged weapons and were very dangerous.
"En Garde."
Hering the command of Headmaster Kane, both Arcturus and Mastarer Nassain rushed at each other; Arcturus swiftly dodged the twin swords of Master Nassain, who was using two short swords that were shaped like Japanese tanto.
Arcturus immediately switched to the Sardau Star Sword, seeing that the swordsmanship of the Master Nassain was centered around the speed. So, he chose to counter the speed with the speed, and it rather worked.
At the same time, he also started infusing a bit of the Slayer Force into the Sardau Star Sword for the more explosive power because it was what the Sardau Star Sword was rather lacking.
After several exchanges with Master Nassain, both sides were locked in a deadlock, to the surprise and shock of several people who were observing the match between the two of them.
"So, it was true... you reached the limit of the Basic Mastery."
For the first time in around half an hour, Master Nassain spoke as he got into another combat stacne and created distance between him and Arcturus. Even he, who practiced swordsmanship for more than hundred and fifty years, didn't reach the limits of the Basic Mastery and prepare to cross the boundary between it and the Grandmaster Realm.
Not many people could achieve such a high degree of mastery in the Basics. Actually, the number of people who could achieve the Grandmaster Realm in the Basics could be counted on one hand across the entire regions of the Cosmos.
Nassaim never thought that he would meet anyone who had reached the threshold of becoming Grandmaster in the Basics.
"It seems that I would need to get a little bit more serious..."
Seeing that his opponent was much more skilled than Nassaim initially predicted, he decided to fight Arcturus as an enemy, not as someone to test.
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