The world warped and stretched. One moment, William was charging towards the black-clad sorcerer, the other, everything seemed to slow down.

The air itself felt thick and sluggish .

The terrifying skeleton, its bony armor a ghastly parody of a knight, lumbered towards Vedik, but its movements were jerky and unnatural.

Vedik POV

Terror, a cold serpent coiling in my gut, threatened to paralyze me. But then, a memory flickered in my mind - Father's voice, stern but patient, guiding me through training exercises. "Focus, Vedik. Observe your opponent. Time your attacks."

Taking a deep, calming breath, Vedik forced the fear aside.

The skeletal warrior raised its spectral blade, a chilling blue light flickering at the edge of the blade.

The blade moved with a sickening slowness, and it could be easily evaded. Vedik knew it was his chance.

Vedik remembering countless hours spent practicing swordsmanship with his Father, gripped the hilt of the practice sword tighter.

Vedik channeled the mana throughout his whole body.

"Mana Breathing," he shouted, drawing in the surrounding air and condensing it within his qi points.

Vedik felt the power surge, a tangible force at his command.

"Mana Compression," he continued, focusing the concentrated mana into a single point. It crackled with pent-up energy, eager to be unleashed.

Vedik had enough . He with a battle cry that echoed through the clearing, dashed towards the skeleton warrior.

The skeletal warrior swung its blade in a clumsy arc, but Vedik was faster. His practice sword met the spectral blade with a clang that resonated through the slowed time.

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A jolt of pain shot up Vedik's arm, but he pressed on, channeling more mana into the attack.

Vedik rained continuous blows upon the skeleton. But to his growing frustration, the spectral blade seemed impervious.

It looked like the skeleton warrior was playing with Vedik .

If any of the attacks of Vedik reached the skeleton it left only faint cracks on its bony armor.

However after observing the skeleton, a flicker of hope emerged. Vedik noticed that the cracks only appeared on the skeletal warrior's ribcage.

Understanding dawned on him - Mother must have used a time manipulation spell to slow down the skeleton, and her magic must have focused on its weakest point, the ribs.

A surge of determination washed over vedik. He knew that this skeleton needs to be defeated. So he can finally fight that bastard Thalnos .

With renewed focus, Vedik combined Mana Breathing and Mana Compression once more.

However , this time, he channeled the energy not just into his qi points, but also into his mana viens.

Vedik remembered William telling him that the Qi points and Mana viens are fundamentally different.

Qi points are used by the warriors and these core points can hold mana. While on the other hand sorcerer uses mana viens , which allows them to let mana pass through there body and thus allowing them to use spells but they can't store the mana hence the sorcerers are weak physically.

So , I don't know how both mana viens and qi points are interconnected in your body . But don't use mana viens like qi points to store mana .

But Vedik didn't have a choice to defeat this skeleton and save his parents, he would do whatever it takes.

His both hands began to glow with a soft white light, a testament to the surging mana.

With a final battle cry, he unleashed all his built-up power into a single, desperate strike.

Vedik's practice sword, imbued with compressed mana, slammed into the skeletal warrior's ribs. The impact resonated through the clearing, even in the slowed time.

But the result was not what Vedik had hoped for. His practice sword, unable to withstand the force of the concentrated mana, shattered on impact.

The skeletal warrior faltered for a moment, a deeper crack appearing on its ribs, but it remained standing.

Despair threatened to engulf him. He had nothing left. His attack had failed, and he was defenseless.

Suddenly, a voice echoed in Vedik's mind, a strangely familiar voice.

Celestial Task

Task 1 : Reach Mortal Qi Advanced Stage

Reward : The Echoblade

The user has completed task 1 would you like to recieve the Echoblade.

Vedik's eyes widened with suprise , he had completely forgotten about the Celestial Task.

Without hesitation, Vedik mentally shouted, "Yes!"

A blinding light erupted from his body, momentarily filling the slowed world with an ethereal glow. When the light faded, a beautiful blade, intricately forged and shimmering with a faint golden light, materialized in his right hand.

Hope surged through me, replacing the despair. He could feel that the Echoblade was very strong so it can easily withstand his Mana.

This was Vedik's second chance. With renewed determination, he channeled Mana Breathing and Mana Compression once more. The Echoblade resonated with the flowing mana, its golden glow intensifying.

Remembering the cracks on the skeletal warrior's ribs, Vedik focused all his energy on a single, decisive attack. With a battle cry that echoed through the distorted time, he lunged forward.

The Echoblade, imbued enormous mana struck true. The impact resonated through the clearing, shattering the silence of the slowed world.

The skeleton blocked Vedik's attack with his big blade but Vedik didn't stop , his eyes turned red as he pushed the Echoblade against the skeleton.

The skeleton warrior's blade started cracking and vedik pressed his blade into the skeleton's ribs with all the energy in his body.

Finally a shattering sound was heard and then the skeleton turned into dust and the time started flowing normally.