No results found!

Chapter 38: In the Meantime

The dim ray of the rising sun managed to peek through a gap in the deep burgundy curtains right over my eyelids, waking me up rather pleasantly. Rubbing my crusted eyes, I took a moment to silently take in my surroundings. The Helstea Manor wasn't built with attackers in mind, so the exposed stone walls were rather thin, instead, allowing for more windows. The room I had been occupying was large but hardly lavish, with only a large dresser to occupy the center of one wall and a desk situated in the corner of another. The only luxury I indulged myself in was the fact that I had my own private washroom, with a heated water supply—something I realized to be truly rare in this world.

Shifting my glance to the unabashed figure of Elijah sprawled out beside me in bed, I shook my head with a smirk. The pillow fort that my friend had insisted on at first had long gone out of trend. Whether it was due to the fact that he had become more comfortable with me, or because building a pillow wall every night seemed to be hassle, I never asked.

Carefully getting out of bed, I gently stroked Sylvie's head, making her gingerly stretch out like a cat. My bond had ended up sleeping for four days straight before eventually awakening. She explained to me that changing forms like she had a few days before would put a bit of a toll on her body, which was the cause of her deep slumber.

Sylvie stirred awake for a few seconds before letting out a yawn and curling back beside my pillow. I walked over to the dresser, unhinging a thicker robe to wear over my sleepwear to fight against the frigid morning air that I had become unaccustomed to.

It was only a little past dawn so the manor that seemed to always be bustling with maids and my little sister was still very peaceful, with the only noises coming from the few cooks in the kitchen getting ready for the day. Not bothering to wash up, I made my way to the backyard where I felt fluctuations in mana. As expected, my father was busy training, absorbing the S class beast core I had retrieved from the dungeon.

Not wanting to disturb his training, I found a place to sit next to him and I began studying his aura. My father, Reynolds Leywin, ex-party member of the Twin Horns, was stuck at a bottleneck—unable to exceed past the dark orange stage.

Over the past few days I'd been back home, I had spent a lot of time overlooking the mana circulation in my father's body, as well as Elijah's.

As expected, Elijah's mana veins, the veins responsible for absorbing mana from the surrounding atmosphere, were incredibly wide. My father, on the other hand, had much more developed mana channels, the arteries that allowed diverse distribution of mana throughout the body, since he was an augmenter. However, while its been developed to its limit, it was hardly exceptional.

"Ah! You're up early today, son. Why didn't you say anything?" My father got up, wiping the sweat off of his face and neck with a towel he had on his lap.

"I didn't want to disturb your training, Dad. How are things going?" I got up as well and began stretching.

"It took a few days, but finally finished absorbing the rest of the beast core. For some reason, though, the core didn't crumble." He handed the S class core back to me with a curious look on his face. Usually, after the purified mana stored inside the beast core is depleted, the beast core would crumble into fine dust.

Thinking it peculiar myself, I put it into my pocket to study later.

My father had been doing little else except eating and sleeping for an hour or so during the process of absorbing the beast core. At first, not much difference in levels could be felt, but looking at his aura now, I could see a noticeable change.

Noticing my inquisitive look, he shot me a smirk and tossed me his dirty towel. "Your father has now passed the dark orange stage into the solid orange stage."

I gave my father an exaggerated round of applause as he began flexing his muscles in demonstration of his accomplishments.

"Congrats, Dad. Now that you're at solid orange stage, I think it'll be okay to teach you something I've been messing around with." I tossed the towel onto a nearby chair.

Giving me a curious look, he beckoned for me to continue.

Focusing a tiny bit of mana into the palm of my right hand, I will a small flame to ignite. "Here is the most basic flame attribute technique you learn, Ember." I shoot the small flame from my palm toward the towel that was hanging off the nearby metal chair.

As expected, the small flame, by the time it reached its target, was so diluted that all it left was a tiny black soot mark in the middle of the white towel.

"If you're talking about mana theory, it's not anything new to me, son. For augmenters, since we produce mana from within our bodies, the farther the mana travels away from us, the more diluted and weaker it becomes."

"I wasn't trying to demonstrate mana theory. That'll be for next time, Dad." I wagged my finger at him, earning myself a hard thump on the head.

Rubbing my head, I willed another small portion of mana into the palm of my hand. I ignited another flame but whereas the first time the color of the flame was bright red, this one was orange. "Now watch, Dad." I shot the small flame, that was the same size as the previous flame, at the towel once more, but this time, it burned a small hole through the towel.

My father didn't show much of a reaction. "Didn't you just add more mana into the flame to make it stronger?"

Shaking my head, I explained. "If I added more mana, the flame would be bigger. Dad, did you notice the color of the flame?"

"Yeah, the color was a bit lighter—more orange." He scratched his head, trying to piece this puzzle together.

"That's the key! What I did just now was a technique that is considered a high level spell used by conjurers." I grew excited as I began explaining it to him.

"You see, fire's temperature—or more accurately—the rate of combustion, depends on a mix of different things: the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere, thermal radiation, the type of fuel being burned, the oxidation of the fuel and so on. The so-called 'fuel' being burned, in this case, is fire attribute mana. What I discovered while playing around with it is how versatile this 'fuel' can be. That orange flame, Dad, was a flame much hotter than the previous one, making it even stronger." I stopped to take a breath.

My father shoots me an expression as if I had just talked to him in Hebrew but he seemed to have understood the last portion of my explanation. "So what you're saying is that, by using the same amount of mana, I can produce an even hotter flame for my techniques?" He fiddled with his beard while pondering.

"Exactly! Watch, it can go even further." I demonstrated again, this time producing a yellow flame, which left an even bigger hole in the towel, with the ridges still aflame.

I didn't stop there. The last demonstration took a bit more time, since I had to manipulate, very carefully, the fire attribute mana in my palm. After a couple of minutes, I produced a dim blue flame, which made my father's eyes go wide. Upon throwing the blue flame at the towel, the towel instantly combusted and the fire spread rapidly, eating away at the towel until only ashes were left.

"Are you sure you're my son?" My father gave me a suspicious eye before smiling.

Smiling back, I replied, "I must've gotten Mom's brain, right?"

Just then, Elijah walked in, his hair a bird's nest and his glasses crooked. He cast a drowsy glance toward us, taking in the sight of me clinched in a headlock by my father who was squeezing hard at my nose as I tapped in resignation.

"What are you guys doing?" he said as he yawned, rubbing his eyes.

"Training." We replied in unison, my voice coming out nasally through my pinched nose.

I gave my father a few key pointers in controlling the structure of his flame attribute mana so he could produce higher-level flames. Changing the structure of the attribute mana was basically the essence of chanting a spell. Using vocal incantations could condition the brain to change the structure of the mana in the atmosphere to create a spell.

While settling into a meditative position, my father asked, "Son, why did I have to achieve solid orange stage in order to learn this though?"

"The higher your mana core stage, not only do you have a larger pool of mana to draw from, the purified mana inside of you becomes higher quality, so you can have more control over the miniscule properties of it," I clarified, turning my focus unto Elijah.

Nodding in understanding, my father resumed his training, holding his right palm up and willing mana into it.

Elijah's training was a bit slower. What I realized with Elijah was that his control over his main element, Earth, was unstable, metal even more. It wasn't so much as a problem with mana manipulation of earth attribute mana, but more so the quantity. Elijah's lack of control over the strength of his power made it so he couldn't make precise and coordinated spells.

One thing that continued to baffle me about Elijah's magic was how unfair it was. Earth was powerful, yet limited in the sense that conjurers and augmenters alike could only make do with the earth that was accessible to them. Most of the time, that wasn't a problem, but it still gave a certain amount of predictability in the attacks that earth mages used.

Elijah, on the other hand, seemed to have the ability to change the structure of molecules and change them into earth. The closest thing I could think of that may explain it was something akin to alchemy. Elijah, for example, could summon earth spikes from trees and buildings made of wood. A limitation is that he wasn't able to conjure earth spells from water or thin air, but his capability to so easily change the structure of earth and its properties was frightening, even to me.

When I thought about the possibilities of how his powers could be used, I thought of the spell, Petrification. When normal earth conjurers used the petrification spell, it was actually just using the surrounding earth to form around the target, "petrifying" him. Elijah, on the other hand, if he became adept enough, could literally change a human into stone.

I shook my head to dismiss my frightening thoughts. At this point, I was just glad that Elijah was a friend, not a foe.

Elijah's training consisted of playing around with a small ball of earth. He had practiced doing different things with the small ball of earth: rotating it really fast, changing the shape of it, expanding it, condensing it, splitting it into different pieces, etc. This way, he could train both his mana control and shorten his incantations by learning the so-called "theory" of how the spells worked.

As my father and friend concentrated on their training, I headed back to my room, leaving the two of them alone. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of my bond sleeping so defenselessly on my pillow. She was most likely still recovering from her transformation, observing the amount of time she still spent sleeping; fortunately, these periods of slumber had been getting shorter.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I took out the beast core my father had returned to me, probing it with a string of mana. The mana inside had been depleted so I was curious as to why it hadn't dissolved. However, upon probing a bit deeper, a sharp pain in my left arm made me drop the beast core.

"What the hell?" I rubbed the rune on my arm that I had always covered underneath Sylvia's feather. Carefully picking up the beast core again, I probed it once more, even more intrigued than before. Suddenly, inside the vast black space of the beast core that I was studying, the shadowed figure of the elderwood guardian that I almost lost my life to appeared, bowing at me with its lance pointed directly upward.

"A beast will!" I trembled in excitement as I clutched harder at the invaluable prize I had obtained from the dungeon. What would happen if I were to integrate with two beasts? Was that possible? Would I then have two? Or would this one replace my Dragon's Will?

While I was thinking of these things, a sudden feeling interrupted me. It wasn't as intimate as the mental transmissions I had with Sylvie, but a primitive form of communication. Realizing that it was from the will of the elderwood guardian, I injected more mana into the beast core, hoping it would somehow allow me to have a better connection with it.

"I see," I muttered aloud. A feeling of disappointment washed over me as I let go of the beast core. From what the elderwood guardian was trying to express, if I were to try and absorb this beast's will, only the stronger of the two would end up being left. It made sense, but what I didn't understand was, why wasn't my father able to absorb the beast's will?

I realized the answer almost immediately after remembering what Grandpa Virion, that crazy old elf, taught me a few years back. There was the matter of compatibility between the beast's element and the mage's element attribute.

I couldn't help but let out a small smile knowing who to give this to.

'Good morning, Papa! Why are you smiling?' Sylvie cuddled up on my lap and let out a purr as I stroked her fur-like scales.

"I'm just thinking of how fun school is going to be," I answered.

"Brother! Wake …oh!" My sister slammed the door open but after seeing me awake, she just stood by the door.

Walking up, I patted my sister's small head with a smile. "Let's go eat!"

Don't want to lose your reading progress

0 Comments

View All

Rated Novels

Ongoing
Shocking Venomous Consort: Frivolous Miss

The destitute young miss of the Ling family was weak, had lowly qualifications, was ugly and frequently bullied. In the end, she was pushed into the freezing river by her so-called love rival. However, when she opened her eyes once again, her gaze was cold yet captivating! Everything had changed drastically! When her ugly looks faded, she became a peerless beauty. When she displayed her graceful bearing and talent, it was blinding and earth-shattering!I'm a foodie and I'm proud of it. I have a venomous tongue to infuriate people to death, but I won’t compensate with my life.All the handsome men would give their all just to make her smile, which provoked his desire to dominate and possess her. However, in the end, was it him who dominated her…

Ongoing
I Have Awakened The Deduction System

He Chuan transmigrated to an alternate world where everyone could reincarnate.In this world, all citizens who reached 18 years old could acquire a chance to temporarily reincarnate to another world.They could reincarnate to various worlds such as an Eastern fantasy world, Xianxia world, Western fantasy world, an urban world with advanced martial arts, or even a sci-fi world of the future.They would acquire a mission along with the ability required to survive in that particular world.If they successfully completed the mission, they would become a permanent Reincarnator. They could then embark on the journey of being rich and successful.If they failed the mission, they would become ordinary commoners. The gates to the new worlds would be forever closed to them.He Chuan reincarnated to his first world.[You reincarnated into a world of martial arts. You are an orphan and a loser. You awakened the Deduction System.]He Chuan devoted himself to deducting various kinds of martial arts. He extracted the essence of each technique and merged them into a unique system.In the end, he became the greatest legend in Jianghu.[You acquired S rank evaluation. You may choose to keep the power you gained during this reincarnation and use it again in your future reincarnations.]He Chuan chose to keep the Deduction System decisively.He then reincarnated to his second world.[You reincarnated to a fantasy world. You are talented and are the eldest son in the royal family.]Sit back and enjoy as He Chuan breaks through the limits of the world and crushes the void.

Ongoing
My Space-Time System

Blake, a pro gamer and the winner of the Zetron gaming competition for the MMORPG Lord of Legends meets his doom together with few other participants or so he thought.Together with others, Blake gets summoned over to a world of fantasy and magic filled with danger and mysteries.However, to go back, they have to fulfill the job of wiping away a foreign civilization that threatens the existence of both the infinite realm and earth

Ongoing
Keyboard Immortal

A lightning strike transmigrated Zu An into another world. In that world, he was known as the tr*sh of Brightmoon City, but for some reason, he was married to the gorgeous and highly talented daughter of the Chu clan?What? I’m a transmigrator but I don’t have any talent for cultivation? Why are there so many people out for my life? And most importantly of all, how in the world did I get on the bed of my sister-in-law on my wedding night?!It was a nightmarish starting point for Zu An, but fortunately, as a famed keyboard warrior in his previous life, the world gave him a keyboard in this life too so that he could turn things around. Through his trolling and flaming, he shall stand atop the corpses of his burned enemies and rise to the top of the world!

Ongoing
Chaotic Sword God

After death, Jian Chen’s soul was reincarnated into a foreign world. He grew up with flying speed, but at the end, because of overflowing enemies and from heavily injuries by them, his soul abnormally changed at the border of life and death. From then on, he stepped onto a completely different path of sword cultivation and became the Sword God of the generation.

Ongoing
Mesmerizing Ghost Doctor

She, a modern hidden ghost leader of an organization which gathered insane prodigies proficient in the various differing skill-sets. Highly skilled in medicine and poison, executes covert assassinations, viewed as insane and demonic in the eyes of people of the world. Killed in an accident, and reborn into the body of a disfigured young girl.What? Face disfigured, identity stolen? A return to the family dim and hopeless? Her identity can be given up, her family can be forgone, but as for the one who harmed her predecessor who inhabited this same body, if she didn’t at least make them scream in unimaginable agony and throw them into a state of wretchedness, how could she live up to her demonic reputation? Endless turmoil ensues and it’s a battle to dominate over all! See how she shook the world dressed in a suit of red, her sword up against the dominant powers that rocked the Heavens! Her name spread across the seas, shocking the earth!

Ongoing
Follow the path of Dao from infancy

A new work from the author of 'Astral Pet Store', welcome to enjoy it!————In chaotic times, one seeks survival; in prosperous times, one seeks fame.Despite being weathered by the vicissitudes of life, the Great Yu Dynasty still found itself in an era of prosperity.In the northwest, a youth trekked nine thousand miles on foot, slaying the Great Demon alone to compete for a lifetime of glory.In Long Lake, an unmatched Grandmaster hurried to the mortal realm to establish a sect, leaving his name to be revered for a hundred generations.In the imperial capital, a saintly figure spread his teachings far and wide, with followers throughout Qingzhou, his legacy lasting forever.Yet within Qingzhou City, in the compound of a family with a long military heritage,there was a child who never engaged in serious pursuits, instead spending his days playing chess, painting, fishing, and playing the zither.Years later—……When the sword rose, dragon smoke stretched for three thousand miles, and a single strike wiped out the cities of nine provinces!Among all the laws of the world, only I, have entered the path.……【Light-Hearted Humor】【Martial Path Panel】【Art Master】【Scheming】

Ongoing
Beast Master For All: I Can Unlimitedly Extract Mythological Attributes

Lin Yun travels through the beast world, his father is the strongest in the world, he can destroy the existence of the whole world with one hand, the resources and wealth of this world are almost unlimited for Lin Yun! Lin Yun awakens the mythical talent at the beginning of the game [God's Hand], which can extract the mythical attributes of all things in the world. After optimization and strengthening, he can bestow them on himself and the beast master![Extraction of SSS-level healing talent [Holy Radiance] succeeded! Obtain mythical talent, eternal glory! 】[Extraction of God's talent [God Shining Sun] succeeded! Obtain the talent of the holy spirit, the ultimate shining sun! 】...The pet beast took off directly, and Lin Yun continued to extract talents to bless the pet beast. Since then, the five-talented beasts and nine-talented pets have appeared one by one!Who would have thought that pet beasts with Amethyst-level and King-level qualifications could kill gods!Under the cultivation of Lin Yun, pet beasts with limited potential break through the limitations of talent, surpass myths, and achieve the age of the Holy Spirit!

Ongoing
Ancient Martial God

His martial spirit was taken away, his cultivation was ruined, and he accidentally obtained the ancient secret realm, so he stepped into the mortal realm and broke through the ancient divine realm with his sword... The ancient god of martial arts was unrivaled by his sword. God blocks and kills God! Kill the devil by blocking it!

Completed
New store opening: mythical beasts and artifacts, more than 100 million points

According to legend, there is such a small shop in a corner of the mainland. There are chewing gums that provide continuous energy when chewed in the mouth; there are sodas that can make you jump to life immediately after taking a sip, even if you only have one breath left. There are warehouses full of mythical beasts and rooms full of artifacts. There are only products you can't imagine, and there are no products that won't appear. Countless powerful men gathered there, and powerful ministers and emperors came in droves, but they could only wait outside the door. Because the store manager Qi Le will definitely open the door on time. "What? For these guys, let me lose one minute of sleep? Impossible!" Qi Le said.

Ongoing
I'm in Marvel

Traveling through Marvel, Russell awakens his attribute panel, and can improve infinitely by absorbing energy.Talent 1 [Energy Absorption]: Can absorb any energy and convert it into [Lifespan] (attribute points).Talent 2 [Attribute Transfer]: [Lifespan] can be converted into [Constitution], [Perception], and [Spirit].Just when Russell thought that his fate was numerical crushing and becoming a one-punch man, he found that there was something wrong with his talent 1 [Energy Absorption].Light energy, electrical energy, thermal energy, kinetic energy... and various magical energies.Under the guidance of Master Ancient One, Russell began to harm the demons of various dimensions.Russell: "Mephisto, I forgot to collect the interest on the last compensation. Let me settle it."Russell: "Beast? Just a primitive demon, watch me refine it in an instant."Russell: "Dormammu, I'm here to negotiate."... And e=mc^2, mass can also be converted into energy... Multiverse, you smell so good.——This book is also known as "Russell is not a numerical freak", "This Supreme Mage is not quite a Mage", "Me and My Supreme Mage Group"

Ongoing
Chaotic Lightning Cultivation

“Song Zhong’s parents were the geniuses of the sect. But they were apparently killed while on a mission when he was barely 6. As he apparently did not excel in any of the 5 elements, in fact, all 5 elements are in balance in his body. Thus, our fatty is deemed to be trash and does not deserve the respect his parents had.He is allowed to have one task, to collect garbage of the sect until he reaches the initial test-age where he has to prove that he is worthy to stay in the sect.Our fatty has no choice but to cultivate the only heritage his parents gave him. A mysterious black pearl.Unfortunately for him, this pearl seems to be only useful for… collecting garbage…”Original Synopsis:A Little Fatty who was constantly bullied in his sect, by relying on the Magical Artifact his parents left behind, cultivated the peerless, primarily chaotic Five Elements Lightning technique. Using this, he slowly rose and dominated the continents. 10th Step Water Divine Lighting, 3rd Step Fire Divine Lightning, 5th Step Earth Divine Lighting, 7th Step Metal Divine Lighting, Lesser 5 Element Soul Divine Lighting, Greater 5 Element Destruction Divine Lighting, Dark Purple Divine Lighting, Pure Divine Lighting, Clear Sky Divine Lighting, Righteous Taichi Divine Lightning.~A monk once said, “One who has dissatisfaction should get struck by all 5 bolts of lightning”~

Read on App