Novel Full Chapter 826 - Taming the Fifth Year - Spirit of the Torch - 2
Chapter 826 – Taming the Fifth Year – Spirit of the Torch – 2
He couldn’t lower his guard, needed to use everything he had available if he wanted to win without risking a premature defeat in this tournament that would damage not only his pride a bit but also give the nobles reasons to talk. While they could no longer deny he deserved the rewards, it could generate more difficulties in managing his territory… And especially, he wanted to indulge his parents by winning, didn’t want to betray the new trust they’d placed in him.
But there was also a more analyzed reason for this decision…
He wouldn’t run out of secrets or options.
He’d keep thunder, ice, and other more advanced combined elements as hidden cards for the future.
Light and darkness would have to be shown in all his beasts eventually anyway because they were the fundamental base to many of the techniques he planned to develop later. He could reveal them now and perhaps improve them soon so he wouldn’t be left so exposed.
Ren had been thinking about this throughout the entire battle against Taro and the other boys on his friends’ team, his mind working in the background while his conscious focus handled immediate combat. And he’d realized with growing clarity that wasting the mantis here could be his defeat in the end when he faced Liora’s Bashe if the wolverine arrived tired.
He needed the mantis operating closer to maximum of its capabilities, not contained by artificial restrictions on what elements it could use publicly. He’d placed everything on an imaginary table in his mind, evaluating pros and cons.
The biggest problem that could arise from revealing more mantis capabilities was that enemies would finally understand that his three beasts had total access to all seven elements without exception. Light and darkness completely integrated.
It was a conceptual leap that would force astute observers to reconsider fundamental assumptions about how his cultivation worked.
And probably now yes… they would connect without any doubt those capabilities with his Jade mana, that distinctive color that didn’t fit normality. They would have almost complete certainty that the old legend Selphira had spoken about regarding different mana from antiquity, that lost knowledge that supposedly had existed, could be more directly related to Ren than they’d previously speculated.
What that would generate as consequence was that they’d take him more seriously, elevate the level of attention they paid him to the point of treating him as a threat or resource comparable to Luna and her genetic key, or possibly worse.
They would seek more aggressively ways to use him, to control access to what he represented, to ensure that any benefit coming from his unique capabilities would flow toward them instead of toward competitors.
But Ren had realized during his analysis that this no longer changed much in practical terms…
He’d successfully repaired an ancient artifact with demonstrated success, a feat that had already put eyes on him in a way that couldn’t be reversed. And he was about to receive an enormous quantity of rewards for his achievements, resources and recognition that would elevate him significantly in political and military hierarchies regardless of anything else he did.
If they didn’t have him in their sights at maximum already after all that, then they were blind or incompetent in ways that made them a lesser threat than he’d anticipated. The additional revelation of complete elemental control would simply confirm what sharper minds already suspected. It didn’t change the fundamental equation of his situation.
So the decision was clear when evaluated coldly. Use almost everything available now, win this battle in a way that demonstrated more capabilities, and deal with political consequences later when he had more time and resources to handle them appropriately.
Ren made his choice…
“Light and darkness,” he ordered through the bond. “Full integration. Show them what you can do with them.”
The mantis understood immediately, recognizing through their connection that more restrictions were being lifted. That it could finally use a bigger spectrum of capabilities it had been developing under Ren’s careful cultivation but keeping suppressed in public demonstrations.
The change was subtle at first… a shimmer across the mantis’s jade-colored exoskeleton as the light element began flowing more freely through its form. The mantis’s blade-limbs and water shield began to glow with pale luminescence, light element concentrating along their edges in a way that made them appear sharper, more defined. Simultaneously, shadows gathered around the segments of its body, darkness element providing counterbalance that enhanced mobility and reduced the visibility of its movements even without active camouflage.
In the stands, several observers leaned forward with renewed interest. Those with sufficient expertise recognized immediately what they were seeing.
“Is that…?” someone murmured.
“Light and darkness. Both. Simultaneously,” another replied, voice carrying note of disbelief.
“Not just the hydra. The mantis too. Which most likely means…”
The implications rippled through the more knowledgeable observers like shockwave. One beast having access to opposing elements could be explained as unique evolutionary adaptation or rare mutation. Two beasts demonstrating the same capability suggested something fundamentally different about the tamer’s mana itself.
IN THE SHADOWS
Far from the main stands where the majority of spectators observed with attention focused on battle, in a less visible section reserved for observers who preferred maintaining low profile, a figure dressed in a manner that wouldn’t draw particular attention held a small notebook.
They had been watching the battles, especially Ren’s throughout the day, with specific instructions to report any significant developments immediately. And what they’d just witnessed when the mantis began using light and darkness after the hydra had already demonstrated access to both elements definitely qualified as significant.
The observer spoke in a low voice, words barely audible even to someone seated directly beside them in the noisy stands. “Additional confirmation. The mantis now also exhibits complete control over light and darkness. That makes two beasts with access to all seven traditional elements without apparent limitation.”
They continued with a tone bearing the weight of the important conclusions reached. “From this point, probability increases to ninety-nine point nine nine nine percent that Patinder hasn’t simply discovered a strange species of hydra with unusual capabilities as some had speculated. His mana itself is what’s marked in that mural.”
They discreetly produced a small bird…
“Continuing observation. If the third beast demonstrates the same pattern when manifested, then we’ll eliminate the small remaining uncertainty completely.”
The observer tore off the page, storing the notebook discreetly while tying the message to the bird and sending it flying, then returned their focus to the battle below.