Chapter 80: Fate Convergence - V

[Name: Aventine Tidea]

[Level: 1]

[Health: 190/190 » 200/200]

[Mana: 670/670 » 690/690 (Mana Storage Capacity: 900/900 )]

[Gift: Absolute Awareness (???-Rank)]

[Physique: 19 » 20]

[Mind: 19 » 20]

[Spirit: 67 » 69]

[Traits: Perfect Estimate (B-Rank), Power of the Sky (A-Rank), Power of the Sea (A-Rank), Power of Death (A-Rank), Soulbound Anchor (S-Rank), Blessing of Light (SS-Rank)]

[Divine Branches Contributed: 5/42]

o=o=o=o

[Class: Mage (Third Circle)]

[Engraved Spells: Mana Core (300/300 (x3) | F-Rank), Mana Storage (3/3 | E-Rank), Manakinesis (Lv. 2 » Lv. 3 | EXP: 82% » 75%)]

[Memorized Spells: Water Bullet (Available | E-Rank), Fireball (Locked | D-Rank), Chill (Locked | E-Rank), Earthen Grasp (Locked | E-Rank), Mana Flash (Locked | F-Rank), ...999+ more currently locked.]

[Psychic Techniques: Mind Force (F-Rank » E-Rank | Growth-Type | Blood-Imbuing Mastery: 100%, (NEW!) Bone-Imbuing Mastery: 0%)]

[NEW!]

[Martial Arts: Pure Instinct (F-Rank | Growth-Type | Autonomous Reflexes Mastery: 2%)]

Just like when I gave Melia that single Martial Art that let her break through her Physique’s bottleneck, the same thing happened to me after I used <Pure Instinct> while I imbued my blood with <Mind Force>.

The combination of my Martial Art and Psychic Technique went as expected.

It was efficient, allowing one to feed the other in a constant cycle.

<Pure Instinct> let my body respond to the thoughts imbued into it by <Mind Force>. Then, through <Mind Force>, the necessary commands—heightened by the light-attributed mana—would be distributed to every cell needed, allowing more of my Mind and Will to be imbued into more parts of my body while also strengthening them at the same time.

The prerequisite, of course, was that I was standing in sunlight.

If I wasn’t, I would have to expend my own mana.

...And that’s where my Mana Mage spells came in.

With three Mana Cores in my Mana Storage, I could store and generate much more light-attributed mana than normal Heroes of Leisha were capable of. Since my Spirit stat was the highest of all my stats and would continue to grow, I could supply my Mind and Physique with all the light-attributed mana they needed to catch up.

Thus, until my stats levelled out, the other two lagging stats would rise exponentially.

’But my Spirit stat will never lose out in growth.’

[Absolute Awareness] was an infinite hole for my mana. Even at the Wyrm’s height of strength above the A-Rank, I could still drain his reserves in moments.

What more, my own puny reserves? If not for Manakinesis, regenerating all that mana would be a slow process... and that was why that spell was so vital.

After imbuing my 4th Circle Spell and rising to become a 4th Circle Mage, I could focus on levelling Manakinesis up to upgrade it along with my Mana Storage and Mana Cores.

Unfortunately, just when I searched my mind for an appropriate spell from Daimyuon’s knowledge, I sensed a vibration being transmitted through the <Fate> thread attached to me.

’Hm? Is there something I need to do?’

No...

My senses expanded far beyond my study, blanketing the entire block. Taylor and Clementine weren’t home, and Lillie wasn’t anywhere nearby.

Odd.

What filled my mind were the usual chaotic images of Walvaskaz.

There was a Windfolk couple mid-fight, screaming like thunderstorms at each other. Lightning crackled in their bodies as they roared in anger and frustration. Their voices barely leaked out of their condominium floor.

An old dwarf on his deathbed, gazing longingly at a memento he had carved in his youth. The once-bronze figure in his hand was now covered in a layer of patina, humming lightly with undulating waves of mana. He was one of many patients in a small, cramped ward beside my Mage Tower.

Just a few floors above the old dwarf was a sickly group of young Salamanderspawn, shivering from the cold—they cried weakly for their parents who were out getting medicine, hoping they could return to give them comfort.

But those parents of theirs had suddenly faced a pair of thieves who had threatened their lives.

The thieves were then beheaded in the next moment—an old Elf swordmaster had been passing by.

Hundreds of thousands worth of these dynamic images continued to flow.

The deluge of information used to tear at my consciousness, but now I could manage to encompass this block, at the very least. Peering into all of the surrounding myriad lives.

When suddenly...

—Clang!

My senses moved down. I heard the sounds of battle occurring in the Layers Beneath.

—Clang! Slash!

Rocks were torn by sharp claws before being blocked by a thin rapier. I listened to the tearing of muscles, ravaged by overexertion.

"DIE!"

A Wolfman growled despite the blood pooling at the back of his throat. The stench of blood had long seeped into every strand of his fur. His bloodshot eyes saw only his lifelong enemy.

’PLEASE, JUST DIE!’

His tumultuous inner voice rang with a singular plea—to see the death of the Snakespawn before him. Blue-green hair framed her face, framed by the deeper shade of green from the scales beneath her skin.

Clementine frowned as she blocked another one of the Wolfman’s reckless claw strikes.

—Clang!

The rapier she brought along shook from the force, but she swiftly diverted it all back into her foe.

—Swish!

A deadly stab found another wound on the Wolfman’s tattered body.

I raised a brow when I heard an odd squelch originating from somewhere within the dying Wolfman.

"Oh?" Just as I narrowed my eyes, someone came running into the battle.

"No!"

Kuvie leapt in front of the Wolfman, her arm clad in churning streams of blood.

The Satyress threw out a punch, her fist enlarging with a crimson gleam.

Just in time, as well.

—BAM!

Because the Wolfman’s body detonated.

The Blood Seed—something Kuvie also had—erupted with frightening power. The Wolfman had been a mere D-Rank Martial Artist. However, with the accumulation of his body, he exploded with the force of a B-Rank Magic Spell.

Kuvie’s bloody fist carved a path through the bloody detonation, creating a small space where not a single drop of crimson could curse her and her friend.

Then, Reazue suddenly appeared beside the Wolfman’s remains. After a short moment to stabilize himself, he inhaled with all his might.

A whirlpool suddenly sucked in all traces of foul crimson. The small hallway in the Layers Beneath would not be tainted by such pungency.

The toxic blood that had spread outwards vanished into his digestive system.

I watched as Kuvie’s eyes shrank, and Clementine’s confusion grew.

"I knew you were hiding something, Kuvie," Reazue said, suspicion coating his tone.

The Werebat’s hungry eyes seemed filled with hypocrisy in this moment as it locked onto the streams of red still swirling around the Satyress’s arm.

"That <Blood Art> of yours is quite something—even I have never seen anything like it. Who knew that a race like yours, so close to nature, can abuse the power of blood as we Werebats can? Right. Can you tell me why you have it?"

Reazue’s eyes drooped.

"Why do you have something so valuable to my race?"