Chương 83: B2 Chapter 4

Hakon was certain magic was the answer he was looking for. Strengthening his magic ought to give him the power needed to surpass the Ancestors' expectations and ascend again. But to work on magic, he first had to think like a human. Or, and that suited him much better, like a Mage. Though that was still nowhere near perfect, Hakon made it work… somewhat. He accessed his spirit. It came in the form of a semi-translucent shape that looked just like him, as though he were made of see-through moonlight.

The spirit moved its arm when Hakon flexed his muscles, and a familiar azure-blue structure permeated the network of lines filling the spirit's every nook and cranny. The lines, also known as channels, connected to a small, brightly shining sphere. That was Hakon's Core, and it was brimming with mana now that he had replenished it. A small vortex of mana was visible within the Core when he looked closely enough, but the vortex attracting ambient mana was not what caught his attention.

It was the structure within the vortex. [Aether Spiral]'s spellweave. It was not the only spellweave that caught Hakon's attention; however, it was among the most pronounced weaves. And as soon as he focused more intently on the weave, he felt himself growing more in tune with himself. More weaves unraveled before his eyes, and they grew even more pronounced as he focused on the things that appeared crucial.

At first, it was not obvious, but Hakon recognized the subtle prodding and guidance granted by Enhanced Comprehension. As the weaves of his Skills unraveled before him, it became apparent that the Skills filled his spirit. It was still fine for now, but it was only a matter of time or Skills before his spirit became full. Would the weaves of his Skills collide and damage one another if there was no more space? Would they hamper one another, slowing their growth, or would something worse happen?

Hakon was not sure, and Ava's responses didn't help much either. While she did mention that regular Mage Apprentices could only have thirty Skills in total, she also mentioned that outliers existed, that proper Mages could accept more spellweaves into their spirits, and that by advancing further, their spirits would grow as well. Then again, she said something about Mages always lacking Skill slots.

That half their slots were usually filled with Skills such as [Mana Meditation], [Mana Sense], [Mana Manipulation], and many more Skills essential to maximizing a Mage's spellcraft, be it research, combat efficiency, or other fields of expertise. Hakon didn't understand everything, but he heard Ava talk about Skill Fusion and Upgrades – or at least their equivalents.

The way she talked about advancement also reminded him of a Barbarian's ascension, which was interesting but not enough to stop his studies and ask questions. Instead of bothering with questions, Hakon learned by trying to understand all the things no Barbarian ever seemed to care about. His spirit still had enough space to accept more. That would be important for later. For now, however, Hakon concentrated on the existing structures. Some appeared weaker, like frail little ducklings.

Even those that appeared relatively large, some even brimming with more power than the structure seemed capable of holding, weren't particularly impressive. Their structures were nowhere near as complicated as the brighter weaves, whose structures were not only complex but also far more durable. Power seemed to flow through the more complex structures with much greater ease. There was also something else about those structures, but Hakon couldn't quite grasp it.

Instead, he reached for some of the structures that were fragile and covered in cracks, yet closely tied to one another. Energy flowed from one structure to the adjacent one, forming a cycle that seemed to encompass a set of no fewer than three Skills. A synergy? Is that what Ava was talking about? Hakon's eyes snapped open, and he empowered some of the Skills. Mana flowed through the spirit, which seemed to fade from his awareness. A moment later, [Mana Shield] materialized before him.

Inspecting the fleeting image of his spirit, Hakon channeled another Skill belonging to the set, conjuring a bolt of mana before his eyes.

"[Mana Shield] and [Mana Bolt] belong together," he mused.

"Does it feel like that to you? That's very interesting. Not many Mages focus on constructs made from raw mana. Do you know which other spellweaves you're adding to the Merging? If you do, I can write it down, and we could try to replicate the process for me or one of the others," Ava said excitedly, but her bright, jovial expression dimmed ever so slowly after a few heartbeats.

"Wait a moment. How do you know that?" Her eyes grew wide.

"Don't tell me…"

"I looked at my spirit. At least I think that was my spirit. It looked just like me, but you could see through my muscles and flesh. My spirit is only a–""Don't tell me," Ava interrupted once she regained her bearings.

"You don't have to tell me about your spirit. That is a very personal thing. Some Mages even say that sharing information about their spirit was very intimate. They warned us never to tell anyone about our spirits if we ever got the chance to learn [Spectral Introspection]." Hakon hadn't learned a new Skill, yet he had learned a lot. And although he did not think talking about his spirit's form would be very intimate, he changed the subject.

"Why do you ask me about the spellweaves? Do you not know how to fuse [Mana Bolt] and [Mana Shield], or which other Skills are needed?" Ava grimaced and didn't respond right away.

"Everyone's path is unique. Every weave can be merged with others in one way or another. You can even force a Merging if that's really what you want. However, adding certain structures to a Merging may weaken the resulting Skill or destroy it completely. Nobody wants to waste several precious Skills and years improving a spellweave only to end up with something worse." You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Mages researched a lot.

Hakon understood that much, for they wanted the best possible result. What he could not grasp was why humans did not trust their gut feeling more. He had two Skill Fusions where he'd followed his instincts to integrate weaker Skills to create something marvelous. His creations had been powerful, one of which was [Adaptive Resilience]. It was powerful already, and it would only grow more powerful once he figured out what he had to do to increase its Tier.

His passive Skill aside, he recognized something else about the spirit. First, most of the frail-looking Skills appeared to be weaker Skills. One of the frail weaves, which had looked like it was bursting with power, was [Evasion]. It was already at Level 20, which was also the limit for that Skill. And that was the issue at hand. Should I work on the weave? Is that what the Ancestors need me to do to learn more about how to upgrade it? He wondered, closing his eyes again to inspect his Skills.

The spirit form materialized before him after hundreds of heartbeats. This time it was much faster than before, but it still felt like he was doing a lot wrong. He wasted precious time. Focus. The weaker structures were clearly Skills with a limit at Level 20. That was good to know, just like it was good to know that the cracked weaves were mostly about Skills he'd modified a lot. [Mana Bolt], [Mote of Light], and [Mana Shield] looked among the worst, though they were brimming with power.

Power, which he could apparently use to mend the weave or apply more modifications. Ancient power. That had to be what it was, for he had gained it after using those Skills against the Pearot Barbarian in the last battle. And he did use many of his Magic Skills against the Pearot Barbarian in the last battle. Ava would likely disagree, and Hakon was honestly not too sure about the power's origin either, but did the truth matter? Not really.

Higher-level Skills felt more powerful and were usually a little larger than others, which was curious. However, Hakon's attention was pulled away from one research topic to yet another – his passive Skills. [Vitality Stream] did not exist as a weave. Instead, its power was somehow suffused into his spirit, like it was everywhere, yet nowhere at the same time. Its warmth was always with him, though it pressed down on him from all directions at all times. It was a welcome pressure, one that ought to strengthen him.

Just like [Adaptive Resilience], though the latter was not warm and welcoming. [Adaptive Resilience] was cold, tough, and overbearing in ways Hakon struggled to describe. But it granted him strength, and that was all that counted.

"... –gen, right?" Hakon heard Ava say, only to feel a light punch from the side.

"Hakon?! Are you even listening?" His eyes snapped back open to a fuming, red-faced human woman.

"I wasn't listening." The corner of his lips curled up, seeing her like that.

"Felt like checking out the spirit vision again."

"[Spectral Introspection]." she grumbled, her lips parting for yet another rebuttal. Looking at him, watching him smile smugly, Ava was fuming, but she decided against saying something.

"What do you want me to do now?" he considered pushing [Mana Bolt] and some other Skills to their limit to upgrade them or fuse them. Either way, the Skills would grow stronger, and so would he.

"Now you train me," Ava said matter-of-factly.

"Or are you selfish enough to believe I will teach you all day, while I get nothing in return?" Hakon felt like saying that he was indeed so selfish. Of course, he wanted to learn more about magic. The more, the merrier. But teaching Ava didn't sound too bad either. After all, it was possible to use magic to train her. I can train my magic while training her physically. That thought made him smile, and his Core flared alive.

Mana poured out of him, and a handful of the weakest mana bolts he could maintain at the same time formed around him.

"W-what are you doing?" Ava blanched at the sight of them.

"Don't tell me… No, you can't do that to me!" Hakon tilted his head to the side.

"Why are you so afraid? That's what you wanted – training." Her first reaction was to nod, but she hurriedly shook her head.

"I-I was talking about a training plan. Meals with a high-protein content, maybe cured monster meat to recover faster. Of course, physical condition is important as well, but a plan, or something–" Hakon dismissed her nonsense with a wave. No matter how many arguments she threw around, his plan would never change.

"Pain is weakness leaving the body. So that's what we will do. You, just like I did, will follow the Barbarians' path."

"But I am not a Barbarian!" she squeaked, but her cries met deaf ears.

"Not yet. Maybe I will make one out of you." Hakon flashed his teeth, amber eyes sparkling at the idea.

"A bit of muscle, weapon practice, and a lot of food is all you need. Oh, and pain, of course." To turn a fragile human into someone truly worthy of Tribe Taskur's respect, a lot had to change. A lot of weakness had to leave the body. Pain was the answer. It was perfection, even if Ava didn't seem to agree.

"Don't worry too much, I won't try to kill or maim you." he said, unable to control his savage grin. Tears welled in Ava's eyes, yet another sign of weakness that had to be crushed with brute force.

"I will be gentle." The Barbarians' version of gentle, that is.

"And now… you run for your life," he said, releasing the first of many mana bolts. It smashed into Ava's shoulder, pushing her back. A pained cry rang out, but it was quickly silenced as another bolt cut through the air.

"That's it. Weakness leaving the body," Hakon roared.

"Let it all out. Get rid of the pain and grow stronger." Ava conjured a shield of mana on her own. It blocked the impact, giving her just enough leeway to get back up and stare Hakon dead in the eyes. But instead of seeing hatred, pain, or fear, as expected, Hakon saw a flicker of determination. As for Ava, all she saw was a seemingly endless pit in the bright, dead-serious eyes of the man who had just promised to torture her. And, confusingly enough, she didn't hate it. Because he promised her power.

Real power, not what the nobility thought to be power. The flicker of determination remained and bloomed into something more. As it did, Ava spun around and ran for her life, just like Hakon wanted.

"Don't die on me," he called out with a smile.

"Wait! You said you wouldn't kill me!" Ava squealed and nearly tripped over her feet.

"I won't, if you block the worst of it." His attacks were measured and wouldn't do more than bruise even the weakest of human servants, but a little threat never harmed anyone. This time, it worked as well, pushing the fragile human to greater heights. Or so Hakon hoped. This was his first human to train, so he did the thing he was best at: experiment.