A lone figure could be seen standing at the shore of a peaceful lake. The beautiful and serene nature around seemed to not faze him as he looked in a certain direction with a complicated gaze.
The words Klea said to him just now did leave another burden in his heart, one that he probably wouldn't know how to unknot, but he really believed the girl's attachment toward him would only hinder both of their progress; and he didn't want that, especially when it also impacted her.
Between the new threat in the academy and the heated situation with the Nephilims at the moment, Emery would rather have her hating him for what he had done to her than having them be helpless in the future when it mattered the most. He was willing to bear anything, even her resentment, if it allowed him to not see her hurt, or worse, die.
What happened to Morgana was an example of it, and he definitely didn't want a similar thing to happen to her. Therefore, it was in the best interest of both of them to take some time apart from each other and focus on improving individually.
With a long sigh and a final glance in the direction she left, Emery finally cast the [Spatial Gate] to return to the Khaos space once more. This time, with an even better resolve than before.
Emery sat cross-legged at where he had always been cultivating in the Khaos space and immediately got into action. He didn't even give the dragon a greeting as he knew he had no time to waste. Put simply, he closed himself from any troubles as he began to focus on the two revolving cores in his body and started absorbing the spirit energy inside the Khaos space.
…
[Spirit force increased]
Emery didn't know how much time had passed, but he came into the reality when the familiar notification rang in his mind. Seeing that his effort bore the result, he immediately went back into cultivation.
…
[Spirit force increased]
[Spirit force increased]
With nothing in his mind other than the intent to progress, Emery managed to achieve a much faster absorption rate than usual.
Previously, it took Emery thirty five days of nonstop cultivation in order to gain fifty points of spirit force. Now, he only needed thirty days to have the same amount of results. An improvement indeed.
With the newly-gained 750 spirit force, Emery once again attempted to heal the unconcious girl whose body submerged in the pond at the shrine.
At the moment, he was standing by the pond, squatting down. His hands were positioned above Morgana's body and were enveloped in a soft green glow. This was the sign of his [Nature Grasp] taking effect.
Emery gave the best of his ability, but unfortunately, he was still unsuccessful in the endeavor. Just like before, the girl was still lying there silently with her fingers twitching here and there occasionally.
The sight of the girl lying in the lake and the memory of failure once again burdened over Emery's being, propelling him to train even harder. It was a fact, a bitter one, that he was still not strong enough.
Not wasting any more time, Emery quickly made his way back to the Khaos space again.
"That's more like it, kid!!" said Killgragah, who nodded in approval when he saw Emery's fervent dedication in training.
Looking at how the boy only gave him a single nod as a greeting, the dragon wasn't even mad and instead proud by such action. This meant that the boy finally focused all of his efforts in becoming stronger to the point of neglecting such trivial matters.
Sitting cross-legged in his usual location, Emery dived into his consciousness as he set the new target to accomplish: 800 spirit force. He was hoping that with another addition of fifty spirit force, he would be able to reach a new stage regarding his nature core.
Unfortunately for the spirited boy, this time it took much more time than he wanted it to be.
In truth, this seemingly disappointing result was not unexpected. Emery knew and understood that the higher number of the spirit force he had, the harder it would be for him to improve.
Even with full and relentless concentration, it took him 50 days to finally reach the target.
…
[Spirit force increased]
[Spirit Force: 800]
[Congratulations, your nature core has been upgraded to stage 4!]
Emery cracked a smile when he saw the awaited notification. This was another milestone that would bring his strength to another level, especially his nature magic.
He could feel his body brimming with power, seemingly endless energy coursing powerfully throughout his entire being. When he stepped out of the Khaos space, Emery was surprised and delighted to discover that he could cover much further distance with his [Spirit Reading]. For a moment, it felt as if the planet had opened itself for him to see.
Emery quickly tested his [Spirit Reading]'s new reach by using the [Spatial Gate] in tandem.
He was further surprised by the fact that in its maximum capability, his [Spirit Reading] now allowed him to directly perceive the territory located far south of the island. Now, he could arrive at Lioness City with one jump without the use of the formation stone!
In the past, it took him a dozen of [Spatial Gate] to reach from the Forbidden Forest to the Camelot Castle, but now he could cover the same distance in just three jumps. This is a massive, monumental upgrade to his mobility!
As his mind travelled through its memories searching for the geographical maps he had seen, Emery believed he could now jump across the ocean to the Gauls' territory from the territory located at the distant southeast corner of Britain. He was even sure that he could go to Rome from there with around two dozen jumps.
This meant that if he wanted, Emery could reach his friends that practically spreaded around the globe within hours, even faster than the usage of his formation stones. The differences wouldn't be that great, but they were there.
Naturally, this was something that Emery wanted to explore. But he immediately shelved the idea for the future as he knew now was not the time.
With his newly-improved state of nature core, his mind was set on the unconscious girl in the Gaia Shrine.
As he entered the familiar shrine, the High Priestess welcomed him with a smile.
He also noticed something different about the shrine which he didn't notice before. It seemed with the arrival of the new stage, it also made him able to 'see' the entire shrine in a completely different perspective.
Emery cast [Nature Sense] and he could clearly feel all the energy force that flowed from the Gaia tree into its roots which spread widely and deeply in the ground. It was as if the tree was the 'heart' that pumped blood and connected the earth.
"I can feel your progress, Emery." said the High Priestess, "You now can sense the Gaia as much as I do."
Emery smiled at the compliment and walked toward the pond, approaching Morgana with a racing heart. This time, he was much more optimistic about the possible result.
He placed his hands on top of the girl and cast [Nature Blessing]. Immediately after, the soft green glow enveloped his hands and her body.
His nature core drove to its maximum potential as the spell took effect. And just like what he sensed with the tree, the spell went into Morgana's body spreading throughout her nerves akin to vines creeping all over walls. With this, Emery found that he could heal any part of her body.
Emery now knew that the Gaia roots covering her body had done the same job, healing and repairing the damages the body suffered. Thanks to that, he also could pinpoint her main problems.
All of her organs seemed fine and were working normally. But upon closer inspection, he found a blockage to the brain. With this blockage, the girl couldn't possibly have control of her body, hence her current condition.
Emery directed and focused all of his 'healing vines' on the blockage, but he soon encountered resistance which made him frown. There was a strong energy that hindered and even blocked his vines from doing their jobs.
Without further ado, Emery used his [Shaman Transformation] to use the enhancement to open the blockage by force. He went pushing on the blockage for a few minutes before he stopped because he saw Morgana was trembling. It was evident that the process hurt the girl.
Emery let out a deep sigh, as he knew his brute force method wasn't working as it intended. However, he believed that he would need more control of his spell before he could even attempt to delicately remove the blockage. Hence he fell into an impasse.
Not willing to risk anything, Emery eventually decided to stop for now. After all, he didn't want to bring more harm to the girl; that was the last thing he wanted to do.
Looking at the girl who was still motionless, her skin had gotten really pale, Emery once again felt depressed. Clenching his fist tightly, Emery softly muttered, "Don't worry, Morgana. I will heal you no matter what."
The failure once again brought pain to his heart. Emery knew he cared for the girl, but there was simply nothing he could do at the moment. With his new understanding about human anatomy, he could diagnose his own condition. Hence he knew there was something strange with the situation.
Emery turned to the High Priestess and had a faint hunch that the other party knew something about the situation.
As if already expecting it, the High Priestess spoke to his mind and said, "You finally felt it, don't you Emery?"
"What do you mean? What is it that I am feeling?" asked Emery, confused.
He was a little surprised that the High Priestess would know about the few small, erratic emotions that he felt when he's treating Morgana.
The High Priestess looked at Emery with a meaningful gaze and said, "That is the side effect of the bloodline."