Maria was blessed with both intelligence and talent, however, she never let this get to her head and always worked hard to get the results that she wanted. She put in the time and effort into anything she did and never tried begging or just lazing around thinking that her talent would solve everything for her. Many of Maria's peers appreciated her for this, but there were times that they felt she could be a little overboard when doing things.
There was always a downside to everything and this included Maria's diligence. Whenever she set her mind on anything, Maria always wanted to perform and complete whatever she set out to do to complete perfection. A perfectionist would be an extreme way of putting it, but one could simply say that she just didn’t know when to stop. A week had almost gone by as Maria continued to try and master the sword dance that Odin had shown her. She was actually able to perform all 9 forms of the sword dance but she hadn’t tried using [Zantetsuken] as she performed the sword dance just yet.
Maria wasn’t confident enough to do that yet because she felt that her forms still held a few flaws in them. It wasn’t like Odin’s perfect sword dance but some degraded version of it. She wanted to perform the sword dance as close as she could to Odin’s sword dance but even after almost a week, she still hadn’t been able to perform it as she wanted to.
“Again!”
This past week inside the Void Realm, it was like Maria’s vocabulary had been reduced to only one word, ‘Again’. That was all she said during this past week as she knew no rest and continued trying to perfect her sword dance.
Odin couldn’t help but worry about her wellbeing though he never did anything to stop her. This was Maria’s choice and resolve so he decided to just stand by and watch. It wasn’t only him though, but in the sky, a large black castle was floating there and on the edge of the land that held this castle was a large being standing there silently as it looked down on Maria who had been tirelessly trying to mimic Odin’s sword dance.
This creature had 12 pairs of black-red wings on its back that were conjoined together into a single massive pair of wings. A large metal halo was rotating in place just above his back and this creature looked exactly like a western dragon that was standing on its two hind legs. The creature's head was shaped exactly like a dragon with a horn growing on the middle of its forehead and two more growing from the side of its head that curved forward. Despite being a dragon, its body seemed almost humanoid.
The scales on its body made it look like the creature was encased in a black suit of armor and it exhaled smoke whenever it breathed out. The markings on its scales and body made it look both majestic and foreboding. This massive creature silently looked down on the top of Mount Valhalla and suddenly, another being appeared next to it.
“I’m glad you came, Bahamut.”
This being that had appeared next to the dragon-like creature was Odin and from the way he addressed the creature, this one was the Primal that Maria had wanted to meet, Bahamut.
“What do you want, Allfather? You told me you wanted a favor...don’t tell me it has something to do with that mortal down there…”
“Well, interestingly enough, it does!”
“...”
“The little one down there is my 6th disciple, the only disciple I have in this generation. She came here to the Void Realm to seek a pact with one of us Primals,” Odin introduced and explained.
Bahamut didn’t seem to care as it replied with a simple, “So?”
“I’d like you to form a pact with her.”
“Me? Do you want me to form a pact with her? Your disciple?”
“Yes.”
“Impossible.”
Odin had requested Bahamut's presence so that he could give Maria a parting gift and a chance to form a pact with the great Primal but he knew that Bahamut would reject his proposal.
“Just give her a chance to take on your trial. I’m sure you’ll find her quite interesting and agreeable.”
Bahamut narrowed his eyes as he glared at Odin before saying, “If this child can perform what I think she’s trying to do, not only will I let her take my trial, I’ll even agree to form a pact with her regardless if she fails my trial or not.”
“Oh?! You said this yourself! You better not renege on this agreement later!”
“Heh, that’s if she can perform the [Shin-Zantetsuken]! That technique isn’t something a mere mortal can perform.”
“You never know, she might surprise you.”
Bahamut grunted in response before saying, “I can tell that her time in this plane is almost up. If she stays here any longer, she’ll be forever trapped here.”
“...That’s why I had you come here. Once her week here is over, she’ll only have a month or so left to stay in the Void Sea. Finding your castle within a month is practically impossible.”
“...”
Down on Mount Valhalla’s mysterious arena, Maria was still practicing the sword dance and she was so focused that she didn’t realize that Odin was no longer there with her. Only Sleipnir was there as it continued to observe Maria try to imitate its master’s technique.
It moved over to Maria and silently said after looking around and noticing that Odin was not there, “Do not try to copy the Allfather’s technique.”
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Maria stopped when she heard the unknown voice and looked to the side to see that Sleipnir was next to her.
“Oh?”
“Change it if you must, but do not copy the Allfather. Make it yours instead of performing an imitation.”
“Uhh, Okay?”
Sleipnir stepped back and returned to its spot after saying this. Maria was left behind at the center of the arena as she contemplated Sleipnir’s words.
“...Hmm, maybe Sleipnir is right. I shouldn’t just imitate Odin...I should take his teachings and make it mine.”
There were only a few hours left before the deadline and Maria decided to switch up her methods a little. She already got the form down, all she needed to do was turn it into something that she was comfortable with. It was simply impossible to mimic the Allfather's movements, because one, Maria wasn't a Primal. She was only a mortal and all mortals had limitations that they couldn't overcome that only a divine being like a Primal could. Two, her body structure and Odin's body structure were fundamentally different. Even if she tried to copy what Odin did, she wouldn't be able to do it perfectly because they were just fundamentally different body-wise.
And finally, 3. What Sleipnir said was absolutely correct. Copying someone is indeed a great way to learn something and Maria had already done this. She had copied Odin and learned his sword dance to almost complete perfection. The only thing she needed to do now was to make the technique hers. Instead of thinking about what she could do to perfect her copy of Odin's technique, she should think about what she could do to make it hers, so she could wield it to her own form of perfection.
Taking Sleipnir's words to heart, Maria stopped moving and began meditating with her sword in hand. After a while, she tried performing Odin's Sword Dance again and she noticed that her strikes and forms flowed more naturally together as the flaws began to disappear.
“O-Oh! I can feel it! This feels much better!”
Maria looked over at Sleipnir and gave him a thumbs up and a smile before focusing herself back on the task at hand.
Everything became so much easier after she listened to Sleipnir’s advice and stopped being so fixated on trying to imitate Odin’s sword dance. She finally understood that imitation would hold no meaning if all she did was create a copy that would probably never be as perfect as the original one. Instead of making a copy, she should just make a sword dance that uses Odin’s sword dance as a foundation and turn it into something of her own creation.
This, in the end, worked out for her as she finally felt that the sword dance she created using Odin’s sword dance as the base flowed well with her movements. Once she was satisfied after training for a few more hours, the movements had become ingrained into her body and Maria began using the new sword dance she created with [Zantetsuken].
“First slash, second, third!”
Her movements flowed well together, but there were a few things she had to work out as she still had to balance her control of mana, execution of her skill, and finally, her body's movements.
Up above, Odin was smiling as he looked down at his disciple who had finally found her own path. Odin turned towards Bahamut with a smug look on his face and the dragon god harrumphed and said, “Sleipnir helped her.”
“Doesn’t matter. All I can see is that she’s doing it, and she’s doing it well. There’s still a few hours left until the time limit, but she's already succeeded.”
“...”
“So, about our agreement.”
“Tsk, you’ll have what you want, Allfather. I just do not understand why you have chosen to give this seedling to me.”
“That is just how I am. I am the Allfather, it is only natural that I look after my children.”
“...Hmph.”
Odin disappeared from Bahamut’s side and reappeared down below. He waited until the time limit was over and just at the last second, Maria had finished the 9th stroke of her sword and behind her, 9 fractures of space appeared and they simultaneously blew up as she completed her sword dance. This time around, Maria controlled where they would blow up and didn't decimate the arena like before.
“...Phew...That was...that was awesome!”
Maria said as she felt satisfied after completing the sword dance. Behind her, Odin began clapping and Maria immediately turned her attention to him and said, “I did it!”
“Hahaha, yes you did, and in such timely fashion as well!”
“Hehe~”
*DING*
Quest update: Odin’s Legacy has been completed!
*DING*
The skill: [Zantetsuken] has been permanently added to your [Skill] menu
*DING*
Hidden objective of the quest has been achieved. Additional rewards have been added! Variations of the skill: [Zantetsuken] has been added as a sub-skill: [Shin-Zantetsuken] and [Rekka-Zantetsuken]
“Oh, cool! I got 3 skills instead of just one!”
[Shin-Zantetsuken] was the [Zantetsuken] that Maria had used just earlier where she completed the skill with her sword dance while the [Rekka-Zantetsuken] was just a degraded version of the original [Zantetsuken] and since it was degraded, the skill could be used without the need of Odin’s sword, Zantetsuken, or Maria’s Calamity-Z. Naturally, the skill’s full power could only be brought out if she used Calamity-Z, so [Rekka-Zantetsuken]'s damage output was severely low in comparison to the other 2 skills.
“Come here, little one. I still have a few gifts for you.”
“Really?!”
“Yes.”
Odin tapped a finger on Maria’s clothes and she could feel the Void Sea’s energy gathering around her as they formed a suit of armor on her body that was similar to the one Odin was wearing.
*DING*
Odin’s Random Reward(Degraded) has been acquired: Valhalla’s Raiment
Odin’s Random Reward has been acquired: Zantetsu-R
A sword suddenly materialized in Maria’s hands and it looked exactly the same as the one on Odin’s back. When Maria saw the sword, her eyes widened in shock as she began stuttering.
“W-W-W-W-W-Wait a minute! Y-You’re giving me Zantetsuken?!”
“Hahaha! Child, it is only a replica, though it was forged to greatly resemble my sword.”
“W-Wow! This is...this is just so much! I...I don’t know what to say…”
“Promise me that you will not use it for senseless destruction. Although it is similar to my sword, it is not entirely the same. It absorbs the energy and emotion of its wielder to gain strength so if you use it for evil, it will become a cursed sword but if you use it for good, it will become a holy sword.”
Maria nodded before saying, “Okay…but what if I use it for neither of those purposes and instead, only for myself?”
“Then it will become a blade made solely for you,” Odin answered.
“Awesome! I don’t like the idea of having a cursed or holy weapon. I’d rather have one that’s made just for me instead!”
Odin handed her a sheath for her new sword and Maria placed it on her back just like how Odin did. She then sheathed her Zantetsu-R behind her. It felt a bit heavy but she soon got used to the weight as she also placed Calamity on her back as well. Maria had gotten used to always carrying Calamity around since she started training with Odin. Her master did say that keeping her weapon with her at all times would let her learn more about it. Since it was advice from her master, Maria didn’t hesitate to listen to it.
Odin smiled at her before saying, “I have one last gift for you. Take my hand.”
Odin stretched his hand to her and Maria immediately grabbed it without any hesitation whatsoever. The two immediately disappeared in a burst of light before they re-materialized somewhere else. Maria looked around and noticed that they were somewhere completely different...and high up in the skies as she could feel the turbulent winds of the Void Realm buffet her body as she was nearly knocked to the floor after being caught off guard.
After she stabilized herself, Maria looked around once more and saw a majestic black castle nearby that seemed to be made from obsidian or something.
*DING*
You have discovered a hidden location: Sky Castle Liwash
“Let’s go, little one. I want you to meet somebody.”
“A-Alright.”
Maria said as she braced herself from the wind. Odin was just casually walking while completely unaffected by the turbulent winds, but Maria had to constantly adjust her footing and her wings so that she wouldn’t topple over or get scooped up into the skies.
“Just take this as a small test, little one. You won’t be able to meet with this Primal if you can’t overcome this small amount of void wind.”
“Y-Yes!”