Chương 35: Advance

Arcane Affinity was already an Advanced attribute, so it didn't evolve as I slowly raised it to 50 points. Still, I could intuitively feel what those extra thirty odd points did. I conjured a small flame over my palm to observe the difference. After a few more conjurations, I realized that the time required for each had been halved, aside from it becoming a lot easier. Next came the 100-point threshold.

Regrettably, one had to be Noble class to even pass that threshold, so there was no point in augmenting on my part. Moving on to Fortitude, I felt more tangible changes in my body as I invested points in it. I had to sit in a meditative pose and channel my essence threads to aid the process and save myself from the uncomfortable sensation. That used up 51 of my hard-earned points.

I felt a bit depressed, watching the drop in my Profile, but I still pressed on with Cognition, investing 20 more points to bring it to 50. While I was at it, I added another 2 points into Arcane Acuity. No point leaving behind the 50-point mark. A surge of essence flooded through my veins and into my essence seed as Cognition reached the 50-point mark, followed by the prickly feeling in my palm. Soon, the Spell's voice echoed in my ears. [You have met the condition to evolve your elementary attribute Cognition.] [Please choose between the two Advanced attributes: Sharpened Mind | Hypercognition.] Mum had already explained the options, so I didn't hesitate to choose Hypercognition. Both were incredibly useful, to be fair. Sharpened Mind was a passive attribute that would keep me as sharp as an arrow whenever I wanted and save me from most kinds of headaches, whereas Hypercognition accelerated my thoughts and problem-solving abilities.

Essentially, it would allow me to accomplish more in a shorter span of time, making it the perfect attribute to complement Split Focus. A tearing pain assaulted my skull like tiny iron ants biting into it, causing me to let out a wail. Thankfully, the pain passed as quickly as it had arrived, leaving me gasping for breath. [Congratulations! Cognition has evolved into Hypercognition (Advanced).] With that, 73 of my 145 points had been allocated.

It was foolish to think of them as wealth to be hoarded without putting them to use. The same went for actual riches; most folk saved them all away as if they were actually looking forward to bad times. Shaking my head, I was about to test my shaping skill to see how much better I'd become when another surge of power tore through my core, far more potent than before. It was almost as intense as the feeling when I first ignited my essence seed, though not quite as painful.

"Mum," I croaked, swiftly falling into essence unification.

"Pumpkin?" she asked, her eyes shimmering with golden light as she scanned me. I didn't need to explain what was happening; her seasoned eyes could already tell.

"Calm down, your second Aether root is about to form…" I could feel it, almost visualize it. I closed my eyes and concentrated. There was nothing for me to do other than endure the twisting pain and stabilize my essence seed as best I could. The process was as natural as the way many human organs operated, though it was agonizing. An Aether root anchored my Essence Seed to the spiritual realm, from which I pulled the energy for myself.

Having more was always advantageous, as the more I had, the more aether I could channel. The process was supposed to be instantaneous, yet every moment felt painfully slow until a green Aether Root pierced my essence seed from one dimension and split into eight thin strands of essence threads upon entering the other plane of existence. With that, my essence threads doubled, and I could— An impaling pain pierced my mind, stealing my consciousness away. …

My eyes fluttered open into darkness, but soon the blackness receded as I squinted at a nearby light source. I looked blearily at the light construct before my attention was drawn to something beyond it. A massive creature sprawled on the ground. Its form was dark, hairless, and wiry, with four pairs of limbs, though three were severed below the knees. It lay dead, a great sword piercing its neck, its maw open and bearing rows of dagger-like teeth. Unmistakably, this was a creature I had encountered before… Before…

I was here. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I gulped and did a double take. Immediately, my eyes darted skyward, and I saw a starless sky, just as I remembered.

"Blighted ashes," I swore, my voice hoarse and leathery.

"Why is this happening?!" I ran a clumsy hand over my face and felt a rough beard. Blood and sweat drenched my hair, while the rest of my injuries appeared to be healed, though a trace of powerlessness lingered.

"You're awake," said a soft, melodic voice. I turned immediately to find a woman to my left tending to another man—a man who seemed to have lost an entire limb. Is that the man I tried to save last time?

"How are you feeling?" she asked, turning to me. Her hair was pure white and glowing in the dim light, and I noticed her slightly pointed ears, sharp facial features, and nebulous eyes.

"A fae," I mumbled unwittingly. The woman blinked, an expression of worry crossing her perfect features.

"Did you save me?" I asked, coughing bitterly. She gave me a look that said, Who else but me? True, I didn't see or sense anyone nearby. Keeping her eyes trained on me, she crept closer to check on me. Her warm palm brushed over my face as wisps of essence pushed into my body. White essence—not the transparent variant of the Transference type, but pure white essence, like the nebulous white light of her eyes. They were Alien, and yet I could somehow discern the deep worry in them.

Perhaps she was someone close to the body I was inhabiting.

"What is that thing?" I asked, gesturing toward the massive corpse.

"How did you kill such a thing? It was terrifyingly swift and..." I faltered, noticing her expression.

"You didn't kill that thing," I mumbled.

"Who did?" The woman shook her head slightly.

"Who else in here is stupid enough to take down an Ashhound to save one person?" she said sarcastically.

"Perhaps it took a lot out of you, and that's why you're having trouble recalling what happened."

"I killed it?" But I was sure that thing--that Ashhound--had devoured my form completely last time. Oh... she was likely talking about the owner of this body.

"You were barely breathing when I found you on top of its corpse," she said, her nebulous eyes glaring at me.

"I don't like it one bit…" Her lips mumbled something, but I couldn't catch the last word.

"Wait, what did you say?" She squinted at me.

"I said, I don't like how you force yourself into situations like this,..." There it was again.

"What was the last thing you just uttered?" I asked, my brows knitting together.

"The very last word."

"..." Her lips moved identically, and I recognized it as a name she was uttering, but for some unforeseen reason, I couldn't catch it. All I could hear was the wind whispering, and then all her words became silenced by the wind before I was jerked away from the insane dream.

"Gah!" I jolted awake with a searing pain and found myself back in our home.

"Pumpkin?" Mum's voice entered my ears, but I failed to respond. I clenched my teeth, my expression shifting from disoriented to befuddled.

"Are you feeling well?" she asked, placing her palm over my forehead to check.

"I am…" I muttered wearily, "alright." This time hadn't been as intolerable as the last, but it left me wondering: was this vision going to be a recurring thing? The spell's voice pulled me from my thoughts. [You have advanced another step into your path.] [Please decide which aspect you want to empower: Influence | Weight | Will] Heaving a deep breath, I considered my options, since there was no way to save the choice for later, unlike my attribute points.

Influence merely meant more range, which I had no urgent need for. So, the choice was between Weight and Will. The first depicted the might of my essence threads, while the latter illustrated my command over them. For the current me, might was more necessary. [+1 Weight] When I was done, I found Mum staring at me worriedly, Father at her side with a similar look.

"Sorry, I was just choosing which aspect to empower." That was probably not what they were concerned about.

"I chose Weight."

"What happened?" Mum asked, studying my expression.

"You passed out right after your Aether root formed..." I considered what to tell her. Honestly, if I told her the truth, she would only worry more. But on second thought, history seemed to repeat itself. If I were to have these visions regularly during my advancements, it would be a pain to keep hiding them from her. And I never wanted to lie to her.

"It was…" I began, but I was soon interrupted by a knock at the door.

"We'll talk about this later." Leaving those words behind, she opened the door and brought the guests inside. It turned out to be someone I knew. Diana's mother entered the house, and the girl hesitantly followed behind her. Her eyes scanned the room until they landed on me. She waved.

"Ashlyn, I've come to you with an important request," her mother said, her gaze locking onto Mum's.

"I'm assuming it's not about plumbing or a water issue at your inn," Mum replied dryly. The heavy woman shook her head.

"It's about my daughter," she said, nudging Diana forward.

"Solas bless us all, she'd awakened the path of Shaper." She placed a hand over her chest in prayer.

"You know I'm not familiar with anything related to you Awakened, but I don't want my ignorance to hinder Diana. She's all I have." Ah, so she wanted Mum to teach Diana about Essence Unification and other foundational skills of shapers.

"There are so few Shapers in Karmel," she continued, her voice filled with frustration.

"Headmaster Larius is too busy to take on any new apprentices, so I had no choice but to send Diana to Old Galen. But do you know what that blighted fool did?" Nobody had to ask her to continue.

"He refused to teach her anything and demanded that I pay him!" That wasn't how it was supposed to be. I didn't know where the tradition began, but here in Karmel Valley, people usually took newly Awakened under their wing to teach them the basics—often for free. A blacksmith might get a good apprentice in a year or two just by offering some training. But it seemed the rules were different for Shapers.

"Twenty leaves per month! That's what that blighted old fool asks," Diana's mother fumed.

"I told him straight—if I have to pay for Diana's lessons, why would I pay such an irate, foul-tempered old goat?" Mum handed her a glass of water as the wrathful woman finally calmed down. She downed it all in one go, making a throaty noise afterward, before returning her attention to Mum. She didn't fume again, but practically fell to her knees, pleading for her daughter. In the end, Mum had no choice but to take Diana as her apprentice, not that she actually minded. She even did it for free.