Seeing the destructive attack coming to his direction, Fang immediately knew that it was a skill that transcended the norm.

'Despite being only in its budding phase, it's already monstrously powerful, that's a legendary skill for you.'

Fang smiled. Pointing his arm forward, the sword lights surrounding him shot out at once towards Jaden. Akin to a tsunami that sought to devour everything in its path, the sword lights blotted out the sky as they drowned the legendary skill, and even Jaden himself.

Boom!

An explosion resounded as the ocean of sword lights clashed with the devastating attack that tore space apart.

[You are fighting an unimaginably powerful opponent! Fighting Aura +1.]

Ignoring the system message, Jaden refused to back down in front of the endless waves of sword lights that were coming for him. He focused on every muscle on his body, and every fiber of his being, channeling the potential of his body to further increase his strength and momentum.

*Badump!* Badump!* *Rumble*

Reverberating in his ears was the constant sound of a pumping heartbeat. Jaden could feel an invisible type of power flowing throughout inside of him, akin to a stream of a river. 'What a pure power.' he thought as he felt the pristine energy that gushed out from his body.

As the two skills clashed, a hint of dazzling radiance covered Jaden's skin. Different from Roland's red-colored aura, the one that shone from Jaden was of golden-color, bringing forth an ambiance that was glorious and majestic, yet humble and simple at the same time.

"Fighting Aura...You can already materialize it?" exclaimed Fang as he looked at the young man in astonishment.

Jaden couldn't even hear Fang's words since his attention was fully occupied by the Fighting Aura that was pulsating and resonating with him. Right now, Jaden's figure resembled that of a god as his whole physique emanated a golden luster. His jet-black hair that flowed along the wind contrasted the glittering brilliance exuding from him. His already perfect appearance was elevated further by the

resplendent aura that drifted around him.

Badump! Badump!! Badump!!!

The distinct sound of the pulsating heart intensified as it resounded in Jaden's ears. At this crucial moment, Jaden suddenly closed his eyes. 'I can feel it...I can even see it...what is this, my heart...But I don't feel any different...in fact, I feel better than ever.' if one could see Jaden's heart right now, then his or her mind would be blown away.

Golden aura wrapped around his heart, as if both protecting and strengthening it. 'It's fusing with my heart..? No, it's slowly refining it...and my heart is, vice-versa, refining and enhancing the Fighting Aura. Both complementing and supporting each other.

'The most important of all is your heart!' Jaden remembered his master's words. 'An indomitable will represents one's Fighting Aura. Remember this, my disciple, the more refined and stronger your heart and will are, the stronger your Fighting Aura will be!"

[ Assimilation: 9% ]

And at that moment that seemed eternal yet instant at the same time, Jaden's eyes flew open.

"Go!" he yelled. At once, the incandescent radiance surrounding him intensified and spread outwards to his sword, boosting the destructive power of [Sundering Heavens].

[The Sundering Heavens skill has been updated.]

Boom!

The sword auras dissipated and the waves of energy swords that sought to hack Jaden to pieces were destroyed as the legendary skill penetrated through.

"Amazing! What a talent you are!" guffawed Fang. His eyes then flashed sharply as he lifted his foot and stomped on the ground.

Bang!

The whole training ground vibrated as if an earthquake had just occurred. Cracks and fissures spanning hundreds of meters appeared as the surrounding stones were decimated, turning to debris and ruins.

At that instant, an overpowering presence assaulted Jaden, sending him flying dozens of meters away, his [Sundering Heavens] sliced apart.

"Now, how can you use a legendary skill...Roland shouldn't have taught you such a thing since your strength is too low." laughed Fang as he walked at the chasm afar. "The only answer left is that you must've comprehended and created that skill on your own." standing on the edge of the chasm with the outline of a human body, he looked down at Jaden.

"Ugh...It's called Sundering Heavens." Jaden replied, struggling to get up. "I had a sudden enlightenment the other day. " Propping his body up, he stared at the grinning Fang before jumping out of the crevice.

Nodding his head, Fang remarked. "And it allowed you to develop this [Sundering Heavens] skill..that makes sense." he continued. "I presume Roland has given you your training routine for the next three weeks?"

"Yes."

"Good, since you'll start your rigorous training tomorrow, let's practice your sword arts first for now," smirked Fang as he stared at the young man in front of him.

Eager to try out the blond man's sword techniques as well, Jaden nodded his head and took a few steps backward, fixing his stance.

Seeing the eagerness to fight inside Jaden's eyes, Fang laughed, and jumped a hundred meters away, standing still with the sword in his hand.

At this moment, Jaden felt that Fang was akin to an immovable mountain with a peak that towered up to the firmament, standing proudly and exalted. Narrowing his eyes, Jaden dashed forward and in just a few steps, he had crossed the hundred meters gap between the two of them.

Brandishing his sword, he slashed from above, bringing forth his unbendable will to decimate the unshakeable mountain before him.

Retaliating, Fang struck out with a speed that accelerated beyond a human's capabilities.

Clang!

Sparks flashed as the two swords collided against each other.

**********

New Era City, Cross Family Mansion.

"Son, what's the news in the game, it's been a week since Destiny Forged had officially launched," asked Morgan as he finished up his food.

Jaden was silent for a moment before replying. "Well...I'm still Level 1..."

"What?! Level 1?! After a week in-game, I was sure that you would've been among the top players already," exclaimed Morgan as he stared at Jaden.

A slight giggle was heard as Morgan stared at his wife. "Huhuhu, our son has been doing 'well' so don't worry about it," said Veronica with amusement.

"'Well'? So you've been watching him? Tell me what he's been doing then for him to remain at Level 1 after all this time."

"Why don't you ask your son's IGN first, dear."

(Author: IGN > In-game name.)

"IGN?" muttered Morgan before staring at Jaden.

Scratching his head, Jaden replied. "King. My name is King in Destiny Forged." as he said this, he couldn't help but stare at his mom who was covering her mouth, laughing.

"...King...sounds familiar..." pondered Morgan as he suddenly found the name extremely familiar. "King...Legendary skill...that's right! I've heard from my employees that there was this monster named King who had created a Legendary-rated skill on the day the game launched! Wait a moment..." At the sudden revelation, Morgan exclaimed as he stared at his son who was currently wolfing down his food.

"Wahahahaha! As expected of my boy! A Legendary ranked skill already, and on the first day of the game's launch too!" laughed Morgan as he nodded his head in satisfaction, his expression saying. 'What amazing genes I have!' Right now, his previous scholarly image was already gone as he patted his son's back.

Jaden smiled helplessly and looked at his mother. "Wait, mom, have you been watching me all this time in-game?"

Smiling beautifully, Veronica replied. "Just a little bit, although I'm the company's president and head director, I don't have much control of the game."

"Oh? Why is that?" asked Jaden with curiosity.

"Actually, Only I have a little bit of jurisdiction and authority over Destiny Forged while others don't. Be it the other directors, the production, the operators, and normal workers they have totally no control over the game. Our company's super A.I. Prime controls the whole game and could be said to be the game's God." said Veronica while looking at her dazed son. "Prime is the one that creates all the NPCs, quests, events, stories, and so on while we, the directors and operators and the company, just oversee and supervise while holding up certain rules about the game. So basically, we can't really control the game's flow so it all depends on all the players' decisions."

"So that's how it is..." exclaimed both the father and son. Even Morgan didn't know the fact that EGC only held a portion of power and control over the game.

"Say Jaden, what have you been up to all this time?" asked Morgan with curiosity.

Thinking for a second, Jaden smirked. "Training. Both in and outside the game. I've been training and practicing my sword arts, improving and increasing my attributes at the same time." he then asked Veronica. "Hey mom, did you know that I was actually able to increase my stats through intense training?"

"Actually, yes I knew that, but it's extremely difficult to increase one's attributes through training, especially when your stats get higher and higher. And then, there will be a point when it'll be impossible to increase it further." smiled Veronica gently at her son.

Enlightened, Jaden nodded his head repeatedly.

"So you should take this chance to increase your attribute points as much as possible! Although you will remain at Level 1 and will be left behind by everyone, it wouldn't matter at all. Knowing my son, you can catch up to the peak players in no time even without your increased attributes, let alone with!"

Morgan agreed at his wife's words and thought. 'Hehe, this kid's already a terrifying monster without his stats increased, once he starts to raise his level, who can stand up to him then?'

He lightly coughed before standing up. "Alright, you both finish your dinner. I still have a lot of work to do so I'll go up first." after saying that, he told the maids to clean up when the two are done before heading upstairs.

When Morgan entered his room, he walked towards an obsidian gaming capsule, similar to that of Jaden's. "Open," he said as the surface of the capsule parted, revealing a chamber large enough for a human to sleep in.

Grinning, he entered the capsule.

**********

Basics of Combat training ground.

"Whew, it's the last day of Roland's training program huh," said Jaden as he sweated buckets. He massaged his right shoulder when he sat down on a stone chair near the training dummies.

'That Fang's really shameless huh, using the power of a [Royal] ranked when he said to only compete in sword techniques.' thought Jaden as he recalled the blond man's expressionless face when he declared to only use sword techniques earlier.

Speechless, Jaden proceeded to check his skills. "My sword-related skills have also improved."

_______________________

[Sword Mastery]

Type: Passive

Mastery: Intermediate 7 (54%)

→ 24% increase in damage dealt with a sword and all sword-related skills.

----------

[Intermediate Swordsman]

Type: Passive

Mastery: Intermediate 4 (89%)

→ If using a sword, damage increases by 17%

→ Damage of all sword-related skills increases by 25%

→ Increases proficiency gained of all sword-related skills and mastery by 15%.

----------

[Chop]

Type: Active

Mastery: Level 3 (11%)

→ Deals 300% damage to a single target

Cooldown: 7 seconds.

_______________________

"The mastery of both the sword and swordsman mastery have increased to Intermediate pretty fast," muttered Jaden. "[Acceleration] and [Warlord's Challenge] have also increased by a level, while [Chop] improved the most, reaching level 3." At this moment, Jaden was elated as he checked the skill page. He felt a sense of tranquility and accomplishment when he improved his skills.

However, it wasn't just his skills that got better, his sword arts have also improved by leaps and bound, thanks to Fang's guidance and combat training.

'But, the most important discovery of all is the 100,000 gold!' shouted Jaden in his mind. He recalled yesterday when he remembered from the world announcement that he obtained some rewards, so he checked his in-game mails and it sat there, a mail from Prime, Destiny Forged's Super AI.

-----

(Unread)

Sender: Prime

Date Received: February 17, 2060 - 3:14 P.M.

Subject: System Rewards for player King

-----

When Jaden opened the mail, other than the 100,000 gold and the 10,000 World Reputation points, he also obtained a new title.

_______________________

Title:

[Becoming a Legend] (1 / 3)

Rank: Epic

Description: You have achieved a legendary feat by being the first heaven's chosen to create a skill, and not just a normal skill, but a Legendary-rated skill. You have completed 1 out of 3 tasks to obtain a legendary title! All the legendary beings are watching you!

Effects: → + 9,999 World Reputation Points

→ EXP and Gold gained are increased by 15%.

→ You will be Respected by NPCs in cities and in kingdoms and empires, you will have the same treatment to that of a "Count".

→ All stats +15

_______________________

Jaden checked the title again and he couldn't help but helplessly sigh once more. 'This title is indeed amazing, but why didn't it leave any clue on how to complete the rest of the tasks for obtaining a legendary title...'