The Supreme Level Up System

Paladin Lv 72

Health: 616/616

Mana: 204/204

Stamina: 84/84

Strength: 114 + 48

Dexterity: 20

Magic: 41

Endurance: 114 + 32

Resistance: 61

Speed: 05 + 16

Status: 00

Sword and Shield Refinement Lv 48

Bonuses: Strength + 48 , Endurance + 32. Speed + 16

Skills: Double Strike Lv 23, Shield Swing Lv 22, Charge Lv 17, Boomerang Shield Lv 10, Reflect Lv 03

Passive: Shield Mastery Lv 23, Protect Lv 18, Magic Defense Lv 19, Defensive Stance Lv 15

Improvement Points: 216

Accumulated Experience: 0

Coins: 175.250

Inventory:

Absorption: 0/1000

Processing: 0/1000

Reset

While Aion was looking for a random shield and sword in the armory, he checked his classes. Using Paladin to spar will probably be the best one since he didn't want to wound his brothers before the ceremony… he didn't want to wound them after either. In any case, it took a while to make the next class reach the level where they could be upgraded since he was leveling them equally in order to be prepared for all possible situations. In any case, his choice of weapons made his brothers frown, while he shrugged. They still had a lot to learn... they had a lot of time to do so, though.

"Shield and sword?" Philip asked. "You used that fighting style against Caelis?"

"No, but it wasn't the fighting style that made me the winner," Aion said. "It was the fact that he was stupid, and I used my brain whenever possible. He was stronger and faster, but he underestimated me many times, and I was more resourceful."

Aion was pretty sure that no one from the kingdom watched his fight. He didn't feel that weird sensation of when he is being watched while hidden, after all. Still, Philip grabbed a spear… it could be a coincidence, but Aion learned a long time ago that he shouldn't assume things.

Regardless, that day, the audience of the spars was a bit different. Lexus still wasn't around, just like Henri, but his wives and daughters were there… which was truly unusual. They had their own pride to consider, so that they couldn't act that friendly toward Aion, but there wasn't any sign of hostility since he showed up back home.

"Ready when you are," Aion said and assumed his stance of slightly moving his Shield forward and the sword back.

Philip stepped in insanely fast and began to thrust his spear. His speed improved a lot alongside his accuracy. Still, Aion blocked the strikes while moving the shield and making him hit the center of it all the time.

It didn't take long for Philip to notice that and get a bit surprised. He wasn't attacking with all his might, but in a real fight, he would be injuring his hands and Aion would barely suffer any damage. Attacking with a sequence of trusts was no good, so he changed his attack pattern. He stepped in even more than before while swinging his spear horizontally… Aion blocked the attack by moving the shield to his left side, but he was wide open and Philip tried to kick him, but he changed his mind when Aion moved his sword. It was a training one, but getting hit would hurt and determine the winner of the spar.

In the end, Philip stepped backward and then took a deep breath. Aion's defense was too solid. He probably had a few chances here and there to counterattack, but he didn't do it since it would end the first round of the spar.

"Aion… can I use a technique on you?" Philip asked. "I developed recently, but practicing it is hard, but you have a solid enough defense to nullify it completely."

"By all means, go on," Aion replied.

Philip nodded and then readied himself. It seemed that the technique was in the first stages of development since he needed some time to prepare. His stance, the position of his dominant arm, the distance between him and the target, and his aim…

Aion was quite curious to see what Philip had come up with. Since most of the styles of the family were self-taught, Aion imagined that something new was about to be used. When Philip finished his preparations, Aion could tell him aiming at the shield while increasing the power of his grip. Just to be safe, Aion used Protection and activated Defensive Stance. As long as he doesn't move, Defensive Stance could nullify up to three points of damage from all attacks per level.

Regardless, Philip took a powerful step forward that even smashed the ground and then twisted his right arm to the limits… it was a throw, but then, the red aura of the Inner Force appeared on the tip of the spear… that attack would be troublesome.

Since his speed wasn't high in that class, Aion barely saw the spear moving. It just collided in the middle of his shield and caused a powerful metallic sound that made everyone around cover their ears. At the same time, Aion felt the energy of the attack piercing his shield and making it crack. He was pushed backward for three meters, and then the spear broke. It was only a training spear, after all. Still, soon after, the shield fell apart.

"Ouch, that hurt a bit," Aion said while moving his arm, which was burning a bit.

"Sorry, it seems that using that technique against an ordinary shield wasn't a good idea," Philip said. "The fact that it was something that hasn't been perfected helped a bit to prevent problems."

"It isn't a bad technique, but it requires too much time to prepare, and unless you have a spare, using anywhere else that isn't a duel will be a problem," Aion said. "Your posture also needs to be improved."

"Yeah, at this point in time, I can barely call it a technique," Philip said.

"Anyway, I guess that father would wet his pants if you challenge him and use that," Aion said.

"Would I?" Lexus' voice came from behind.