Xavier peered at the rainbow-colored card intently, observing the delicate patterns etched across it. The glossy surface of the card had some weird symbols etched throughout the surface that he could not quite understand the meaning of. But in the center was a small sphere that seemed to move.
But it was then that he saw small wisp-like things revolving around the sphere. It resembled Earth with its greenish blue color and Xavier wondered if it had any connection to the planet. Luckily, his queries were resolved as soon as he read through the description
World Energy
Soulbound
(Can only be linked to Forsaken Tamers)
Fusion
Requires Soul World
Effect – The Forsaken Tamer’s Energy Pool fuses with their Soul World and becomes one.
The Card Holder’s energy will be purified and refined into World Energy.
World Energy grows alongside your Soul World and vice versa.
—
This Card was a little bit weird. It didn’t really have a Rank or Level. Instead, it said ‘Soulbound’
What a weird Card. But World Energy sounds pretty nice. It seems I will have to fuse my Energy Pool with my Soul World to refine it. How strong is World Energy, in the first place?
Purifying and refining his energy meant that it would grow more potent. That was enough information for Xavier to link the Card to his Unique Card Deck. His Class Path was called Tamer’s Desire, but he heard the name Forsaken Tamer often enough to understand that World Energy could be linked with his Card Deck.
Xavier inserted the World Energy Card into his Card Deck without further ado.
World Energy has been linked to your Card Deck and Soul
Please prepare for the Influx of Information and the metamorphosis!
The message was a bit different than usual, and Xavier mentally prepared himself for tremendous pain.
However, instead of writhing in pain and twitching on the ground as expected, Xavier felt a cooling sensation pass through his body. The energy accumulated in his abdomen circulated through his upper body. His Energy Pool left its original position and traveled to his Soul World. The sudden feeling of emptiness in his abdomen was weird. It felt like a crucial part of him suddenly went missing.
However, Xavier could still feel the energy inside him. It was just that his energy was stored somewhere else now.
Assimilation of the Energy Pool has been initiated.
1%
Following that notification, several minutes passed but nothing happened.
2%
Oof…that will take a while.
Assimilating his Energy Pool into the Soul World was a slow process. The worst, however, was that Xavier couldn’t access his energy while the Energy Pool fused with the Soul World.
At least, I can still sense my Energy Pool.
World Energy felt more like an Innate Ability than an ordinary Card. It was permanently linked to his Card Deck and his Soul as well. That was a bit weird and resulted in various unanswered questions, but that was fine. World Energy was related to his Class and the Forsaken Tamers. That meant World Energy used up one of its Class Card Slots rather than the General Card Slots.
He had more than enough Class Card Slots, and World Energy didn’t seem like a bad Card. The influx of information affirmed that.
The purity and potency of his World Energy depended on his Soul World’s size, and the Soul World’s size depended on the amount of World Energy and his Foundation Orb’s Tier and Level.
His Soul World and the World Energy would grow stronger alongside. That was a welcome surprise.
Now that I think about it, I’m already occupying 5 Class Card Slots. I only have 5 more Class Card Slots left. But then again…I wouldn’t know what other Cards suit my Class Path, either way. Is my Class Path Tamer’s Desire, or am I a Forsaken Tamer, in the first place?
Xavier could think of some useful Cards that could fit as Class Cards. As long as it was somehow related to his companions, or Soulbonds as they were often named, it should be accepted as a Class Card.
It was time to find out more about his new Cards and powers. Xavier had various theories that he wanted to test out. Unfortunately, he couldn’t use his energy because of his assimilating Energy Pool.
That was a shame because he was too excited to go to sleep.
Xavier remained in bed and Glut joined him. The Ember Sparrow laid down on his chest and fell asleep quickly, pulling his wings around his little body. Today had been eventful, and tiring. Glut was excited to find out what Xavier’s Card could do and how much stronger his friend had grown, but the exhaustion accumulated over the last few weeks knocked him out.
Xavier wasn’t doing any better. His eyelids grew heavier by the seconds. The progression bar of his assimilating Energy Pool barely reached 5% when the world around him turned dark.
**
Xavier was not sure when exactly he had let exhaustion win over, but he woke up the next morning as the soft, warm rays of sun fell on his face. A small part of his head still wanted to continue sleeping but the rational part of his brain reminded him of the huge list of pending tasks he had to complete. With a defeated sigh, he forced himself up from the bed, yawning and stretching his body as he looked around.
Glut lay coiled around in a small circle beside him. The little fellow was tired as well. Hence, Xavier let his little companion rest while he grabbed a set of clean combat clothes from the wardrobe and stepped into the bathroom. Hot water was still a luxury that they didn’t indulge in, so he quickly took a cold shower to drive the sleep away. They had to use the water tank that was filled with Cards that conjured water from energy. It was not a long-term solution because it kept three Card Holders occupied all day, but they didn’t have to be afraid of a water shortage. For now, at least.
He then walked outside his new home after he was ready and all set to brave the challenges of the day.
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But only now did he realize that it was not early morning as he had expected it to be. A gaze up the sky showed him that the sun had been up for a few hours. He had slept through most of the morning. Scolding himself, he quietly slipped out of the house and through the narrow streets to avoid being seen.
How could he sleep while everybody was up and working at the crack of dawn each day? He felt embarrassed to have slept so much.
However, his plans of escaping undetected were foiled easily when his gaze fell on Leyla and a bunch of kids training with Cards in a small clearing a few feet ahead of him.
Leyla noticed him and only gave him a nod of acknowledgment that he returned with a short smile. Leyla didn’t say a word because she had been busy observing him. Just a glance at him and his physique was enough for her to tell that something about Xavier had changed.
He looked a lot more confident, agile and stronger. It didn’t take her long to figure out that he had advanced to Stage-1.
That realization made her smile in relief. Her friend had been throwing himself into a lot of dangerous situations lately. Knowing that he was just a tad bit stronger provided her with the knowledge that he would be able to defend himself better now.
Xavier was oblivious to her internal thoughts as he made his way forward while she only whispered, “Be careful”. A wry smile appeared on her lips as she turned her attention back on the kids whom she was helping train with Cards.
He kept walking through the streets and a small cluster of houses that were built around the village center. They had renamed their new settlement as the ‘Haven.’ Alsburg was a thing of the past, just like their lives before the apocalypse. Haven signified what they had built together from scratch and a sense of belonging. They believed Logwood and the other surrounding villages must have also gotten lost in the pages of history as the survivors, if any, would have reshaped their new home. At least, that is what Xavier and the others presumed.
Hope was a powerful thing. To believe that more of them survived this deadly ordeal was more motivating than assuming not a single soul survived.
So far, they had not managed to look for survivors outside their village. The constant incoming monster waves had kept them all busy throughout the past few weeks. Nobody had gotten time to comb through the other villages and find more survivors.
Despite the hope, Xavier could feel that they were not the only ones to have been affected by the apocalypse. Probably, the entire Kaeron region had suffered the same fate as their small village. Xavier kicked a rock when he recalled the ample greenery, lush farms, and small but sprawling towns nestled in the huge state. He did not even want to imagine what they must look like now. Kaeron region only had two large cities but even the combined population never touched half a million in total.
Xavier feared only a handful of them, at best, must have survived. The apocalypse had razed entire towns to the ground just like Logwood. Not that he could do anything about it. Shaking his head, he decided to focus on the task at hand.
He didn’t leave the quaint village just yet. There were some things he wanted to test out with his new powers and the strands of World Energy he could access.
Assimilation of the Energy Pool has been completed.
Your body will be exposed to World Energy. Be careful!
The warning was also why Xavier didn’t rush out of the village to face the monsters hidden in the wilderness. Since the Haven’s Guardians obliterated all threats that invaded Alsburg, Xavier didn’t have to worry about any enemies. He searched for a small house near the main road and went inside to find a secluded corner to experiment without being disturbed. Soon, he found a corner and sat down cross-legged with Glut perched on his shoulder.
He conjured an Air Bullet in his left hand and inspected his creation for a while.
“Nothing seems to have cha-...” Xavier couldn’t even finish his sentence when he felt a burning sting in his hand. His hand twitched and he lost control of the Air Bullet. The Air Bullet whizzed through the air and pierced cleanly through the concrete wall opposite him. However, the Air Bullet didn’t stop after piercing the first concrete wall. It pierced through another wall and escaped the confinement of the house. The Air Bullet shot high into the air before it dissolved.
“Nevermind that…”
Glut chirped loudly like he was laughing at Xavier. Xavier scratched the back of his head and ruffled through the Ember Sparrow’s plumage. His embarrassed smile disappeared after a few seconds, a serious expression forming on his face.
Air Bullet’s power output and range increased by more than 50%. It’s almost a 100% increase in power. However, it’s also much harder to control.
It was possible to adjust the amount of energy channeled into each Card. However, Air Bullet consumed the least amount of energy. Channeling even less energy into Air Bullet would require finer energy control.
Xavier would have to learn how to control energy with more precision, either way, but he had been quite confident in his energy control skills. He was better than the majority of Card Holders already. Despite that, he felt extremely useless right now. He couldn’t even control a meagre Air Bullet? That made him frown.
But that made one thing clear; his World Energy was amazing!
Xavier was excited to test out a few more things. But instead of using his old Cards, he was more curious about the power and utility of his new Cards. His Card Set intrigued him the most.
“Eye of Evolution,” He mumbled quietly, activating the Rare Card. His eyes glowed faintly and his attention was pulled toward Glut.
Glut
Common Monster
Soulbond to Xavier Vador
Ember Sparrow
Healthy(Happy)
200(Overflowing)
Evolution Paths(+)
Xavier focused on the Evolution Paths with his Rare Card, and a drop-down menu revealed a wide variety of information that had been hidden beforehand.
Unlocked Evolution Paths (2)
Common Evolution Path – Ashen Sparrow (0/50)
Unique Evolution Path – Descendant of the Ancient Spirit Arcaes (477/500)
Hidden Evolution Paths (33)
1) Common Evolution Path – Fiery Sparrow
Requirements to unlock:
– Burn your enemies (Defeat 25 foes with a similar Foundation.)
– Adapt your body to fiery flames (Ignite your plumage without burning down your feathers)
2) Common Evolution Path – Beakster
Requirements to unlock:
…
3) Common Evolution Path –…
4) Unco–…
5)...
Xavier managed to read some information about Glut’s Evolution paths. However, he couldn’t read the requirements to unlock the Hidden Evolution paths beyond the first. The further he tried to read the more World Energy was drained. However, the information didn’t get any clearer. All Xavier felt was a headache creeping up the back of his head.
He didn’t even manage to read the names of the Evolution Paths above Common. The names were cut off as if somebody had wiped them away from his sight.
“That’s quite difficult. I should level up Eye of Evolution for your next evolution,” Xavier mumbled, while ruffling through Glut’s plumage. It was only a matter of time before Glut would evolve into a Descendant of the Ancient Spirit Arcaes. Xavier still had no idea what kind of Spirit that was, or the exact meaning of this Evolution Path. However, it was the strongest Evolution Path Glut could pick at this point.
Xavier wanted to help Glut grow stronger. Thus, it was necessary to Level up Eye of Evolution to find out the requirements for Glut’s next evolution once he became a Descendant of the Ancient Spirit Arcaes.
Following Eye of Evolution, Xavier wanted to try out Taming. But he didn’t really feel like taming a new monster. Interestingly, it was not necessary to tame a new monster to level up the Rare Card.
Accumulated experiences from establishing a Soullink with Glut and Unknown Egg have been registered.
[Proficiency of Taming reached 100%. Level Up!]
[Proficiency of Taming reached 100%. Level Up!]
[Proficiency of Taming reached 100%. Level Up!]
[Proficiency of Taming reached 100%. Level Up!]
Card Set – Tamer
Rare – Set of 4
Level 8
“Well, that’s interesting now!”