"All speed techniques require physical speed, meaning if you’re not fast enough, the techniques in your mind won’t work."

"But I can't expand my physical limits as quickly as I want."

Rufus picked up a sword from the wall and began examining it in his hand.

"These are just boring limits set by boring people. You don’t look like a boring person, Raven. I will increase your speed in five days."

Upon hearing this, everything Raven thought about power changed. Everything was as he wanted; there was no reason for him not to grow stronger.

"How do we start, master?"

Rufus pointed the sword he was holding at Raven.

"By testing your limits, of course. Choose any weapon you want, and we will fight. If you can touch me, you win; there’s no time limit, and if you become unable to fight, you lose."

Raven confidently walked to the wall of weapons. He chose an advanced-level katana. The hilt of the katana had red motifs, and the tip of the blade was also red.

"Good choice. For the first time in your life, you’re holding equipment made from monster parts. The katana you have is made from the claws of a flame weasel. It’s one of Edric’s favorite works at an advanced level."

Raven admired the appearance and sharpness of the sword. "I wish it were mine," he thought, but there was already a weapon made for him.

"Now that you’ve taken that weapon, it’s time for me to enlighten you a bit more about equipment. Some weapons have their own skills. They are divided into active or passive. The weapon you’re holding has both active and passive skills."

For a child who was on the streets just last year, it was difficult for Raven to digest so much information. Weapons seemed to be like individuals on their own, as far as he understood.

"What is its skill?"

"The passive skill is burning. When you place your hand on it, it has already taken some of the mana for itself."

When Raven looked at the katana in his hand, he noticed that the dark red motifs were glowing with a lighter and more vibrant red. Since he had never used his mana until now, this felt completely different for him.

"As long as it has mana, your strikes can apply burning to the opponent. Since the sword is advanced level, it can apply flame effects like an advanced level sword."

So weapons could help you use magic without having an affinity. This brought a question to Raven’s mind.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Do wands work on the same principle?"

Rufus shook his head.

"No. Wands facilitate the flow of magic. For high-level wizards, whether they have a wand or not doesn’t make much difference. You can think of mana flow according to your mastery in magic as a pipe with holes; as you master magic, you close the holes and create a perfect flow. Using a wand closes most of the holes for you. The reason masters use wands is not due to their weakness but because of their preferences. A wide pipe carries water faster but cleans the surface less. Narrow pipes use less water and clean more due to pressure. Everyone's way of flowing mana is also inherently different. The difference that makes people adept or inept in magic comes after affinities. High-level wands can artificially change the flow of magic."

Although Raven thought wands would become useless at some point, when Rufus finished his sentence, wands began to feel like a cheat to him. A wand could provide the one-in-a-million magic flow ability of people by itself.

"What is the active skill of the sword I’m holding?"

"Swords can understand your intent, my child. When you swing the sword normally, nothing happens, but when you want to use its active skill, it activates. Every sword has a different active skill, and the skill of the sword you have is flame cutting."

"Can I try it?"

"Of course."

After taking his stance with the sword, Raven faced a metal training dummy. He swung the sword, and burns formed in the area he cut. Since it was a metal surface, it extinguished again after a few seconds. After stepping back a bit, he took his stance again and swung his sword in the same way. After creating a fiery path as if cutting through the air, it flew towards the dummy and ignited it with a small explosion. Raven felt as if he had cast a spell. When he performed this move, the sword drew more mana from him, and feeling the flow of his mana, he truly felt like he had cast magic for the first time.

"Is the difference between basic and advanced level swords this big?"

Rufus moved to the opposite side of where Raven was standing with the sword in his hand.

"Yes, and the difference between advanced and superior levels is even greater. The difference between superior and perfect is even larger, and between perfect and legendary, it’s even more. So the difference between each level grows larger. To give you a preview, I took a basic level sword in my hand. I can even get you a wooden sword if you want."

Although Raven felt humiliated, Rufus was right. No matter how perfect a technique Raven developed, the only thing he could do in all battles was to run away with all his energy. He needed to develop a defensive technique or a superior offensive technique instead of just running away. After recalling how powerless he was against the Sembiyota, he decided to start fighting to grow stronger rather than proving himself to Rufus.

"Anyway, let’s get started."

After activating his ultra instincts, Raven took his guard. Rufus made the first attack. He was so fast that even though Raven couldn’t see it, he dodged with a side step using his instincts.

"I thought the match would end here. Come on, let’s step it up, Master Raven."

Rufus was enveloped in a blue aura, and his movements were clearly speeding up. Raven knew very well where this familiar sight came from.

Rufus IronShade: Affinity: Enhancement spells.