Mushoku Tensei: Reincarnated as a Beast Race-Chapter 157 - Becoming a Water Emperor

The Water God Style.

This was a swordsmanship style specialized in defensive techniques, with an emphasis on parrying and counterattacking any kind of attack.

Because practitioners did not have many means of direct attack, there were also the arts of provocation to make the opponent take the initiative.

A skilled practitioner was capable of even cutting spells and projectiles of all kinds.

The disadvantage of the Water God Style was that the user could not attack first using Water God Style techniques, which made it difficult to fight against the North God Style due to its characteristics of sudden attacks, trickery, and adaptability, which are difficult to predict.

On the other hand, the Water God Style basically counterattacked the Sword God Style due to its philosophy of taking the initiative and attacking first.

Due to its defensive nature and not needing to move much, most practitioners chose to wear heavy armor.

Knowing how to read the flow in a battle was essential for fighters of this style.

That is why Rygar, despite being aggressive by nature, had great talent in this combat style; his keen senses made him an expert at reading his opponent and reacting accordingly.

The Water God Style possessed many techniques, but seven of them stood out at the highest levels, the first and most important technique being Flow.

Flow was a technique where the user channels battle aura to control/manipulate the opponent's blade with their own and redirect it to create an opening for a counterattack.

Mastery of this technique is what leads to the "slipperiness" of the opponent's blade.

And then there were the five secret techniques, all of which used Flow as their base and applied it in even more refined ways to achieve different results.

The first was Water Mirror Flow, which was a technique that basically consisted of absorbing all of the opponent's strength, speed, and power and counterattacking them by returning that force even stronger.

The second was Tide Flow, which consisted of deceiving the opponent's senses, opening a false gap, and at the instant the enemy charged against the "weakness," delivering a devastating blow.

The third was Counter-Flow Current, which could redirect any attack, but without nullifying the force behind the blow, allowing one to 'throw' the opponent anywhere the user wanted; it was a technique that aimed more to parry than to counterattack, and therefore was more easily executed.

The fourth was Instant Flow; this technique consisted of instantly counterattacking any bloodthirsty move or any movement of the opponent in front of the user and required a precise reading of the flow.

And the fifth was Omni-Directional Rain Flow; this was a technique specialized in fighting more than one opponent at the same time, since it allowed executing Flow from any position, in 360 degrees; the user could not be caught by surprise.

In addition, the current Water God had created a "Sixth Secret Technique," called Deprivation Sword Realm, which mixed the fourth and fifth secret techniques and refined them to a new level.

It is the only technique that Rygar has ever witnessed capable of mixing Magic and Touki, but by Reida Reia's description, this was done completely instinctively; upon reaching an extraordinary realm in her swordsmanship, she invented this method.

Perhaps it was something that came innately with the style; the first Water God, Reidar, was a god both in swordsmanship and in magic.

This was a technique that counterattacked any movement within a perfectly spherical range of unknown radius around the user.

Reida relied on this technique to remain firmly as one of the most powerful swordswomen in the world, even after growing old.

These were the main techniques used by swordsmen of the highest level.

Rankings beyond the Advanced level were defined simply: when you master the use of Flow, you are a Water Saint.

And for positions above that, the Water God would say when you were good enough to ascend to a greater position.

But by an unwritten rule, as long as you had mastery over one Secret Technique, you could be a King; if you mastered two, you would be an Emperor; and if you mastered three, you could challenge the current Water God to take their title.

This happened because in the process of learning each of the Secret Techniques, your mastery over all your other techniques would also increase thanks to you already using a more refined application of Battle Aura.

This meant that someone capable of using a Secret Technique would almost always outperform other Saints even without using it in combat.

Rygar was learning all five techniques at the same time.

And, on the day Reida was leaving the Sword Sanctuary, he already completely mastered Instant Flow and Counter-Flow Current, being also very close to mastering Omni-Directional Rain Flow.

His progress was extraordinary, surpassing what many warriors could not even dream of achieving in a lifetime. And yet, Rygar had still not reached his true potential.

---

In a training hall with a stone floor, the cold wind of the Sword Sanctuary was constantly blowing, and Rygar stood face to face with Eris Greyrat, the new Sword King.

It had been a week since Eris had become part of the upper echelon of the Sword Sanctuary.

As soon as she received her title, she immediately challenged Rygar again... and lost again. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

This time, however, the fight was different.

Her sword, the Phoenix Elegant Dragon Sword, gifted by Gall Farion after she became Sword King, ended up piercing Rygar's lung, narrowly missing his heart.

It was by the slimmest margin.

Rygar was still leagues stronger than Eris if he used Touki to strengthen his body.

Therefore, he had established a rule in his fights with Eris: if he felt that his life was truly in danger, he would use Touki or magic to avoid any fatal blow.

Otherwise, it meant that he could still win relying solely on his raw physical strength.

That rule was what allowed Eris to fight him with all her strength, without fear of accidentally killing him.

However, for Rygar, the situation began to become worrying.

In the last fight, he realized that, with him depending purely on his physical strength, Eris was already more powerful than him; he won only by luck.

He managed to hide his concern, pretending that everything was within plan during the fight, but deep down, he did not know what he would do the next time he was challenged, since she would be even stronger.

Eris was progressing much faster than he expected.

This, however, was not necessarily a bad thing. For a while, Rygar worried excessively about not being defeated by her.

But, upon reflecting, he realized: did that not mean that Eris was surpassing her own limits over and over again? Why should he consider this a bad thing?

Upon reaching this conclusion, Rygar abandoned his worries and was in a great mood.

Eris was becoming increasingly fierce and slender, a true whirlwind of growth and talent.

On the other hand, Aisha had never challenged him even once.

In fact, this only increased Rygar's expectations about what she would be preparing for the moment she finally decided to face him.

But today was not a day for challenges. No, today was a special day: the day of Rygar's graduation in the Water God Style.

Gall Farion, Reida Reia, and Isolte Cruel were present, watching Rygar and Eris in the center of the hall.

Eris had been invited to be Rygar's training partner so that he could demonstrate his techniques with precision and fluidity.

Meanwhile, the other warriors continued their training as usual.

The night before, a farewell party had been held for Isolte, who would leave the Sword Sanctuary along with her grandmother that same day.

Nina, Eris, and Isolte had become great friends; their rivalry had kept them in contact over the last two years.

Isolte also liked teaching Aisha in her free time, and they were very close, but it was a different friendship from the rivalry she had with the others.

Anyway, it was a good farewell party.

In front of everyone, Reida Reia approached softly and asked:

"Are you ready?"

Rygar looked at her with his golden eyes, full of determination, and replied firmly:

"Yes!"

The moment he answered, Eris charged at him like a red comet.

The Sword King, the Red Lioness, with all her momentum, used the Longsword of Light against Rygar, starting from a high stance.

Rygar was prepared, wielding his Silver Blade Water Mirror, and with a smooth movement, executed the third Secret Technique of the Water God Style: Counter-Flow Current.

The Phoenix Elegant Dragon Sword was a long, curved, silver blade. When it met Rygar's Water Mirror blade, it glided smoothly around its surface.

A sound like a symphony echoed through the hall as the blades slid against each other.

With a fluid and elegant movement, Rygar completely redirected Eris's momentum, and the girl was thrown by her own force to the other side of the training ground.

This technique was more than a simple block: Rygar could have thrown her at another opponent, into the air, making her a live target, or even off a cliff, if there had been one nearby.

That was the true power of Counter-Flow Current: once caught by it, the opponent could no longer contain their own advance.

But that was just a spar.

Eris, with her unwavering will, quickly recovered.

Without hesitation, she charged at Rygar again, her expression concentrated and focused. An intense fight unfolded in the center of the makeshift hall.

Rygar demonstrated the peak of the Water God Style techniques, which could be clearly seen and analyzed because Eris's strength was at the exact level for a realistic demonstration.

The fight continued for several minutes.

Gall watched half-interested, sitting in a corner, while Isolte seemed downcast, watching in silence. Meanwhile, Reida, with an attentive gaze, followed each of Rygar's movements.

After some time, Eris suffered a large cut when counterattacked by Instant Flow. Reida, in a firm voice, announced:

"That's enough!"

Rygar immediately ceased his movements. Eris, exhausted, fell to the stone floor, panting, her face red from the effort. Despite the pain, a huge smile shone on her face.

Rygar approached, smiling, and, extending his arm, cast a healing spell to treat Eris's wound.

"Why are you smiling? Didn't you just take a good beating?" he said, laughing.

Eris held Rygar's arm to stand up, unable to stop smiling.

"It's just... you're very strong!" she replied, her eyes shining.

Rygar was rendered helpless by that "logic." How could taking a beating make her happy?

Reida coughed, cutting the moment.

"Enough flirting. Eris, you're dismissed!"

Puffing, visibly displeased, Eris left the training ground without replying.

She seemed even more confident since becoming Sword King, although she had not reduced the intensity of her training at all.

Reida then called:

"Step forward, Rygar."

Without saying anything, Rygar walked up to Reida, standing before her, Gall, and Isolte, waiting for what was to come next.

Gall looked bored, leaning back casually as he observed the scene before him.

In fact, he didn't even want to be there—but he had accepted Reida's invitation to be a witness after the mistress insisted that over the last two years she had personally trained some of his disciples.

He accepted unwillingly when he realized he owed her.

Isolte, on the other hand, had a complicated expression, a mixture of admiration and resignation on her face.

She had devoted her entire life to the Water God Style, training tirelessly, overcoming countless difficulties. Even so, there she was—being overwhelmingly surpassed by Rygar.

And the most impressive thing was that Rygar did not limit himself to the Water God Style; he simultaneously trained in several styles and studied magic diligently.

At that point, she was like everyone else who had tried to beat Rygar: each one bringing their best, trying to use their strongest point to defeat him...and all of them miserably failed, despite him training almost everything at the same time.

Rygar was simply off the charts.

Reida, in a soft tone, said: "Until today, you were still officially only a Water Saint...but today, as the reigning Water God, I grant you the title of Water Emperor for your skill and proficiency; be proud of it, you far surpass Gall in understanding this style."

Rygar says, "I thank you for the honor."

She briefly paused, staring at Rygar with an enigmatic smile. "Do you know why I did not name you Water King that time you mastered a Secret Technique?"

Rygar thought for a moment and replied honestly: "Because you didn't trust me?"

Reida laughed lightly and said: "Half right..."

Her eyes gleamed with a trace of irony. "Actually, I thought you were too arrogant."

Rygar raised an eyebrow, intrigued, and Reida continued: "I mean... a brat who wasn't even an adult yet telling me he wanted to master all five Secret Techniques at the same time?"

She shook her head, remembering that time. "And then he wins a challenge to master one of them in six months? I was impressed, of course, but... I was also irritated!"

Gall began laughing loudly beside them, while Isolte looked at Reida and Rygar, shocked by that absurd frankness.

Rygar seemed incredulous at the Water God's pettiness, but Reida just shrugged and smiled.

"But, over time, I learned to deal with it," she said.

"You really were born to be the genius of this generation. I believe that, in the future, your name will be as great as Ars, the First Hero of Humanity, and Aldebaran, the Golden Knight of Humanity."

This comparison made Rygar startle.

Many had already compared him to Kalman I or Perugius Dola, or other legendary heroes...but Ars and Aldebaran were something else entirely.

They had been responsible for ending the first two Human-Demon Wars, and their names had echoed through millennia without being forgotten—and probably would still echo for many millennia to come.

Modestly, Rygar said: "You are overestimating me..."

Reida smiled, satisfied, and replied: "That's what I expect from you."

She paused before adding:

"I also hope you further develop that technique of yours that mixes three styles...I think you called it Instant Light Flow?"

Rygar nodded: "That's right."

"Hm." Reida confirmed with her head, before adding: "Also, like Auber, I officially recognize the creation of your Beast God Style on behalf of the entire Water God Style dojo."

She sighed deeply, crossing her arms:

"Honestly, with what I've seen of it so far, I believe it can even replace the Sword God Style as the 'strongest style'."

She cast a furtive glance at Gall Farion, who would normally respond with a taunt or arrogance.

But, this time, Gall just looked at her in silence, apparently disinterested.

Rygar was surprised by Reida saying this, but he knew it was true. His Beast God Style really was a style that would surpass all others at the same level.

He replied, with genuine gratitude:

"I sincerely thank you for all the knowledge you have given me. You have certainly been one of the teachers who taught me the most during my life. Especially the Deprivation Sword Realm... you gave me some very good ideas for the ultimate technique of the Beast God Style."

Reida smiled slightly, visibly satisfied: "Then I'll say goodbye here, boy..."

Isolte, in a friendly tone, said goodbye as well. "Farewell, Rygar. I hope we meet again!"

The two began to walk away, and Rygar, saying nothing, remained silent. Before they moved away completely, he said, looking at Reida:

"If you change your mind about fighting Orsted, send a letter..."

The old lady let out a low, almost relaxed laugh.

"Hehehe, I'm too old for that..."

Gall Farion, with a mischievous smile, made a final taunt. That was his way of saying goodbye.

"Don't freeze to death on the way, old lady!"

Reida did not respond, but her smile said it all.

The two figures walked away, and Rygar, standing there, continued to reflect on everything that had happened.

He knew that Reida served the Asurana royalty, and one day, he planned to go there to "have a chat" with them. He wondered how Reida would react to that, and, to be honest, he was somewhat apprehensive about what she might do.

He whispered to himself, with slight regret: "I hope we don't become enemies..."

Gall, who was still watching Rygar, raised an eyebrow at that statement, but did not question anything.

Rygar did not explain what was behind his words. He walked away silently, heading home, deeply immersed in his own thoughts.

-----

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