After the group returned from the auction, Emery once again dove back to his training and spent some more time engrossed in it.
Another day passed by like a flash, he opened his eyes once more as his [Spirit Absorption] managed to bring him some more boost.
[Spirit force 1776 (1784)]
It was certainly much less than the previous time, but it was still a very much appreciated gain.
When Emery finally decided to take a break and went outside, there was only a thin amount of mist left around his spirit cores. The thought that he would finally have absorbed the energy he devoured from the elves excited him to no end.
By this time, there was only one more day until the Elimination round of the Magus Tournament blared its horn. Curious about how his friends were doing, Emery decided to check on the noises in the palace’s courtyard
Upon arriving, he was immediately greeted by the view of Thrax’s body covered in sweat from top to bottom. Just like days before, the Thracian had been fighting against Magus Silica. As if the latter who was a veteran fighter wasn’t enough, he also battled several of Terra’s captains.
The constant battle that the Immortal Gladiator had been through allowed him to break through his bottleneck, as his [9 Sun Divine Technique] rose to stage 8 which gave him a huge boost in his comprehension of the fire element and give him more resilience in battle.
[Thrax]
[Battle power: 152]
[Spirit force: 788]
[Acolyte rank 9 – medium stage – 5 pillars]
[Fire – 5 pillars]
Thrax’s body glittered with a layer of brilliant light while the air around him seemed to be compressed, as he used his [Immortal Gate – stage 7], increasing his strength even further by giving him a staggering 124 battle power.
[Battle power 276]
With the combination of the two techniques, Thrax now possessed enough battle power to stand toe-to-toe against the female magus. He swiftly mounted a retaliation against the latter, which proceeded quite successfully, until the magus decided to use the same [Immortal Gate – stage 7] technique and eventually overpowered the Gladiator.
“One more time!!”
Seeing the fervor the Thracian displayed, Magus Silica and all her captains couldn’t help but find Thrax to be the embodiment of Lord Izta they served due to the similarities they had with one another. Because of that, they also very much enjoyed sparring against the young talent.
Meanwhile, on another corner of the huge courtyard, among the lush trees, three blurry figures could be seen flickering amidst. There, Chumo was also training hard and painstakingly by sparring against two powerful female figures.
One possessed extraordinary strength that could pulverize boulders with ease, while the other moved as swiftly as the wind. Facing the two, Chumo’s tolerance was brought to its limit as he was cornered multiple times throughout the spar.
The two women were none other than Naya, the magus-level merfolk, and Yuria, Lord Izta’s youngest wife.
[Chumo]
[Battle power: 128]
[Spirit force: 910]
[Acolyte rank 9 – high stage – 8 pillars]
[Darkness – 8 pillars]
Emery watched the three’s spar from a distance with his Spirit Reading. It was a completely different battle than what Thrax had, with Naya imposing pressure on Chumo with her powerful, relentless attacks while Yuria prevented him from hiding with her swift movements.
Chumo was practicing his shadow ability with his new pair of tier 5 daggers that coincided with the cursed blade techniques. Meanwhile, other than [Immortal Gate – stage 5], Chumo was also getting used to the soul of the Mythical shadow creature that was hosted within his body as the dark eerie aura helps boost his shadow technique and strength.
[Battle power 210]
On the third side, in the flower garden that was behind the castle, Klea was seen with her eyes closed with a familiar figure standing nearby. Under the guidance and direction of the Eastern Sage himself, she deepened her understanding of the elements.
She was currently learning how to cast several spells at the same time. While her eyes were closed, different elements could be seen appearing in her hands. Wind, water, lightning and ice; they kept changing according to the grand magus’ request.
[Cleopatra]
[Battle power: 92]
[Spirit force: 970]
[Acolyte rank 9 – high stage – 9 pillar]
[Lightning – 4 pillars]
[Wind – 2 pillars]
[Ice – 2 pillars]
[Water – 1 pilar]
Emery could clearly see how serious the usually playful Klea was at the moment. Her entire body was covered in sweat as she was immersed in her training. Not wanting to bother the girl, Emery made sure to keep his distance.
But then, he noticed the Sage began walking towards him and giving the girl some space to train on her own.
The Eastern Sage asked about the progress of his training, and in response, Emery talked about the massive spirit force he gained from his devouring as well as his lack of progress in the gravity spells.
By the grand magus explanation, Emery’s assumption of the elves as they indeed had a much stronger spirit soul than humans was confirmed.
“These elves are not only born with a stronger body, they are also a devout practice of Katra, which strengthen their mind and soul”
Hence the reason for the rich spirit energy he had devoured from them.
Unfortunately, the Eastern Sage couldn’t help him regarding the difficulty he had in his endeavor of learning the gravity spells. After all, he had no affinity nor experience in the darkness element.
However, there was one thing that the Sage could help him with. It was his progress in the [Dao Divine Technique].
Retrieving his two swords from his Spatial Space, Emery admired his new Lightsaber for a moment before holding them in each hand. The two weapons stood side by side in harmony, as the improvement he had in the light element provided the necessary balance between his dark and nature core, resulting in a more stable, powerful output.
The session began as Emery shot forward and attacked the Sage. The latter received his attacks as if they were nothing, and if that wasn’t bad enough, the weapon he used was merely a wooden practice sword.
Covering the wooden sword with his own energy, the Sage parried, repelled, and nullified all the attacks Emery threw at him with ease.
Emery of course gave everything he had. Hence, even though he had somewhat expected it, he still couldn’t help but feel bitter when he saw his attacks being so easily overcome by the grand magus. It was as if he was attacking an impregnable fortress!
Minutes later, the Sage gestured for Emery to stop whereupon he pointed out some of the things he had noticed and what Emery could do to improve himself even better, especially on balancing his attacks between the two.
The grand magus accepts a dozen of his sword attacks with his own wooden sword and manages to give Emery a few pointers on his movement techniques as well. Naturally, Emery listened to the advice carefully and jotted it down in his head for later.
“Thank you, Senior, for your guidance.”
He couldn’t wait to get back and dive into his training once again. But then, he suddenly thought of one of his friends that he still hadn’t seen.
Just as he was about to open his mouth, the grand magus spoke.
“If you look for Julian, he is still trying to recover from his injury.”
This news startled Emery. He didn’t expect that his Roman friend was apparently still suffering from his injury. Fortunately, Julian still had three more days before his participation in the second round of the tournament, and naturally, Emery hoped that the man would be in his prime by then.
Another day quickly passed, and finally, the Magus Tournament began.