Chương 65: [BL] 64. Elf and Mana [2]

So I heard two students–new students, mind you. They just enrolled about three weeks ago; they claim that they're grateful to be born in an age where Mana was caged by runes and classes. I heard that and smiled at them. There's a bitterness inside me. A regret, you might say. A regret at not being born in the age of cultivators—the age where magic was pure and our ears were long.

While I'm a grand Archmagus, a tier-nine, a force that can rival the [Hero] and most Bright Stars, my power is still limited to what my runes and class allow. How glorious it must have been to live in the ages of purity! Back then, to progress, one needed to cleanse the impurities inside their body that everyone is born with.

They did so through the act of absorbing a Beast Stone (something we call a dud class stone now), absorbing its energy and injecting it into their bodies, and through intense meditation, slowly clearing the channels inside. An expert meditator was even capable of siphoning a beast's spell, I hear, even taking on some of its appearance. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine what someone who achieves the peak of cultivation could do?

Instead, now, our bodies still share the same impurities, and we might use our spells freely, but that comes at the cost of a limited path! Oh, yes, I'm aware this allows more soldiers to fight against the Apocalypse Cycle, something our ancestors did not have to worry about, but one can still dream—even this old man. --Archmagus Brandon Sredan Meditation was something Willow had dabbled in before she came here. She went through a period where she was obsessed with maximising every single second of her days.

Later, she found out that instead of wasting time meditating in the morning, it was far better to just study right after she woke up. But now? Now it might be something she needed to pay close attention to. The world shifted, and once again, Willow found herself inside the spirit world. She huffed, and her breath came out like a violet puff that brimmed like sparkling stars, exactly the color of the sky that stretched above, with countless minor stars brimming across the endless dim indigo.

She found herself above a long, narrow mountain, overlooking a cliff where purplish grasses grew in each small crevice. Below was a rolling hill that led into a wide plain of grass covered by low plants. She sat down for a brief moment, remembering Mera, even expecting her to show up, but of course, that would not happen. Let's get this done. Willow focused her mind and summoned the Auric Huntress. The class materialised behind her, looking confused. Willow commanded it to put on the Elf ears, and it did so.

Something flickered, a sudden gathering of power around its ears. Willow peered closer at it and softly touched below the class's ear. An energy coursed through the Huntress's body, visible only to her, but it was hampered like a river stopped by sludge and mud. This must be the impurities a cultivator of the past needed to cleanse by consuming beast cores.

Willow squinted, seeing something more inside the class, a dedicated space—a cage inside—a reservoir that existed within Willow's body, one that she shouldn't normally be able to reach if she were living during the age of Cultivators. Spells and Enhancers. Because they existed within Willow's body but were not part of her body's circulation, she could tap into a power that had been limited by her class and runes.

"This is the cage," Willow muttered. While her Elf Ear gave her access to raw mana, she also found that it could, like her, tap into the reservoir, drawing more runes than necessary. Willow chewed her lip, thinking. Could she absorb a dud class stone? A beast core? But she had no such spell—Brandon had done intensive research on Bright Stars who possessed Elf Ears like her. The Archmagus was disappointed when they could not absorb a beast core.

Their use of Elf Ears was merely to enhance their spells and enhancers to a greater degree. The Bright Stars of the past had gone through the same struggle she currently went through, and that was the Runes wasting. Brandon observed that the secret to using Elf Ears efficiently was to, instead of cleansing one's body of impurities, lead the impurities to form a wall to cage their Elf Ears.

By creating an absolute cage for the Elf Ears, the ears could only direct their mana to the reservoir where Spells and Enhancers were caged; once that was done, it would be easier to control, as the connection of the Elf Ears to the reservoir would become visible. There were various ways to build cages of impurities, and Willow could try to do them, but Brandon also said this would make the art of cultivation harder to achieve, if not downright impossible. To others, that might be fine… but to her?

The nature of her class made her hesitate. The nature of Huntress. [A perfect Huntress will not let any method of hunt be. She will master them, whether it's Efficient Magic, Swordsmanship, or Archery.] She had discussed this with Kroos. The man had been the one to tell her to keep trying things, since that was her class specialty, and not to give up on any art.

"My lady, I believe that with the combination of your Elf Ears and your class's very purpose, you can get a spell you desperately need. Tap into your desperation, think about what you need, and play to your enhancers' uses, then we will practice. I shall prepare everything once you're ready." Her class was a perfect huntress. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

So as long as she believed it was necessary for her hunt, then it shouldn't be impossible to tap into the art of cultivation. She did not want to give up experimenting with the cultivation art, but she also wanted to enhance her spells or enhancers like other Bright Stars had done. It might be impossible to tap into such an ancient art of power, but surely this class, which intended to be a perfect huntress, could find a way if Willow tried through the proper method.

She recalled one way to build the wall of impurities, and that was to summon an enhancer around her class in the spirit world and lead that energy below her Elf Ear. So basically, borrowing an enhancer to form a shield. Willow tried it; she ordered the [Auric Huntress] to don her True Archer. A swirl passed by. Wind gathered into a green ranger mantle around the [Auric Huntress]'s body. The green mantle extended into a hood that covered the class's head. Perfect.

Willow pressed the hood to her ear, inserting her runes, and a point of light was born underneath the class's ear. A point of light she could hold and form into a wall to limit her Elf Ears. She let go, not intending to let that happen.

"Thank you," said Willow to her class. It was awkward seeing a nonsentient being she could summon. The class differed from the Olympyans; it felt like a baby in adult skin. The class nodded at her and disappeared like a swirling gust. Willow huffed, and her world bled away. She did not open her eyes right away. She let the light settle and slowly opened her eyes to the calm silence of the throne room. Willow sat in a meditative stance, surrounded by Kroos and the others.

"It works," said Willow. Kroos nodded above his throne. The man regarded those who stood behind Willow.

"Shall we do it, then?" Krywen, Evan, Josha, and Shera had been waiting for her. The last two were agitated, for they were eager to get moving, but they still insisted on wanting to help Willow.

"My lady, you know what to do?"

"Yes, I'll reverse the method."

"Good, good." Kroos smiled.

"A Hunter will recognize a tool to hunt and claim it for herself. I'm sure the Bright Rune will react accordingly to your desire." The Count clapped his hands together, and beside him, golden mist swirled, summoning a golden trumpeter who held a giant trumpet. The trumpet hole was three times bigger than her head!

"Have you narrowed down the Enhancer you shall have your Elf Ear focus on?" Willow glanced over her Guidance Spirit, and the choice was easy.

"I do." [Elf Ear]—An elf is known as a mark of pure mana—a being of mana purity. Every time the Huntress downs a foe higher level than her, she recovers one Bright Rune. Mana is the purest energy that can no longer run through humans, but the Elf ears are a mark of beings of Mana, allowing the Huntress to split her Runes into pure Mana that she could use to reinforce both her Enhancer and Spells by +10% effectiveness per Rune spent.

+20 Strength, +20 Dexterity, +20 Vitality, +20 Constitution, +20 Sense, +20 Arcanic, +50 Bright Runes. [Right of Hunt II]—A Huntress is always, and has to be, the ultimate predator even in the face of someone who is far stronger. She could not possibly let go of such a right. Grant Auric Huntress +30% Sense +30% Arcanic when facing a stronger predator. +5 Strength, +20 Dexterity, +5 Vitality, +5 Constitution, +5 Sense.

"We start now. All four of you, be steadfast."

"Yes, Grandpa!" Krywen said, snapping to attention. She was the only one who answered, as the other three had already begun casting their spells. Leynah was not here, since her spells would be too powerful. Drawing a sharp breath, Willow maintained her meditative state and sent Kroos a nod.

"Trumpet." Violent, concussive fanfare blared at her, sending a pulsing shockwave that attacked her brain directly. Willow's hair tossed backward, and her brain pulsed with a knotting pain that twisted and twisted inside her head, forcing her to grit her teeth. She bit her lip; any pain was better than this cutting through her brain. The sound was tearing her brain apart, and Willow did all she could not to scream as she tried to retain whatever focus she could reach for. Blood.

Blood slid down from both of her ears, and she kept biting her lips, biting back the shriek building in her throat. [The Lord's Clarion Call demands you to submit!] Clarion Call was one of Kroos' mind-attack spells that would force submission upon an opponent's mind through overwhelming sound. This could only work inside his Lord Castle's throne room. She focused on her Enhancer, the Right of Hunt.

[Right of Hunt activated: +30% Sense, +30% Arcanic to the Auric Huntress] A minor point of light blinked across Willow's vision, but it was not strong enough to keep her world together. Then invisible helping hands propped her up enough for her to retain her meditative form. [The Rider Stampede is called!] [+10% Dexterity, +10% Sense] [The Winter Hag applies Cold Mind to you!] [+20% Arcanic, +1 Rune] [The Squire grants you one Banner!] [+10% Sense, +10% Arcanic] [The Grimoire Wizard applies the Pages of Mind to you!] [+30% Sense, +30% Arcanic] By the second, the sound that sent her brain metaphorically bleeding started to be filtered out. The Right of Hunt refused to let a superior predator beat her down, and Willow reached for this reinforcement from Josha and the others, trying to show her Enhancer this resistance. Something they desperately needed.

She waded through the pain, and with every bit of focus she had gathered, she reached for her Elf Ears. Because of her desperate need to counter this overwhelming pain, Willow forcefully forged a path between the Elf Ears and the Right of Hunt. She committed almost all of her runes, filtering them into pure mana as they surged through the thin line that bled into her vision. Everything grew so hazy. Is Kroos trying to kill me? Willow kept her eyes open, even though she could barely see anything.

But then the flicker of light grew into a bright star that blasted the world back into color, banishing the haze. [Right of Hunt II] → [Auric Mind II]—The Auric Huntress senses the need to possess a stronger mind. A mind that would make her invulnerable to the mind attacks of stronger predators. Through experience, she recognises it. Through intense pain and the example of resistance, she showcased to her body the necessity of a powerful mind. And finally, through her will, she modified her spell.

Auric Huntress will no longer get +30% Sense +30% Arcanic when facing a stronger predator. Instead, she will gain an indomitable mind that requires her to close her eyes and break any kind of mind control if under a mind attack. The time needed to sever a mind attack shall depend on how strong her opponent's Arcanic is.