Wine-red threads slithered around Ewan as he practiced the spell in the training room. Some fell under his control while a few still roamed untamed. The lives he took so far empowered his enough to match his other mainstay spells. The blood threads grew in number with each kill of the same step tainting him with one, and soon enough, they’d inched closer to triple digits. Ninety-nine threads were the peak of Step-0 and Kyrons, hundred was the threshold for Step-1.

His own level thwarted the advancement of the spell, however, and his ceiling constrained it. Not to mention, even if he could hypothetically propel the spell to Step-1 right now, he couldn’t sponsor its Anima usage. If he forced it, the backlash would crush his soul.

Nevertheless, his curiosity flowered an intriguing yet alarming thought. What if he used the of Step-1 level on Step-0 Astylinds? This was not a question his Astylinds wanted answered, but he still wished to explore it.

was a support spell, it amplified the target’s overall strength for a period. The written limitations were unclear though. Theoretically, the spell had endless potential. As long as he killed, the spell would grow. But the book didn’t touch upon the extent of amplification a target could take, beyond which the strength would become poison.

He needed to analyze it.

The ferocious nature it triggered in his Astylinds had already provoked Ewan’s prudence, so they could never be its test subjects. But he could outsource. One day, if and when he became a Step-1 Severynth and leveled the spell up, he could work on it.

As if it waited for his thoughts to settle, the conscription notice knocked on his door an hour later. Five days had gone by, two days more and he might’ve regained his status as a healer. Yet the independent possibilities collided against each other and messed with his plans. At least, he could kill for more blood threads and let his reach the peak of Step-0 sooner rather than later—his optimism lightened his mood.

……

There was no design to the war, there was no structure. They were all Ashevas on the field, mostly Severynths, the olden Kyrons’ strategies didn’t fit them. When individual strength topped everything else, military strategies mattered less anyway. Thus, they stood, opposing the other side on the prairie, waiting for the horn of war.

“Nervous?” Trask asked.

“A little, yeah,” Ewan said.

“You should’ve accepted Kiev’s offer then and join the back support,” Sheree said. “Healer or not, you’re still a Potioneer.”

“Today or tomorrow, I had to experience this,” Ewan said. “Can't run away forever.”

“Stick with me, I’ll protect you,” Mize said, grinning.

“Sure.” Ewan laughed.

“You broke through?” Mize’s nose twitched as he sniffed. It had already been a week since Ewan had his ninth awakening. The sweet smell around him had lessened, but it was still noticeable.

“What did you use?” Mize asked.

“I’m also interested,” Trask said, lifting his brows.

“Crelith,” Ewan said. “You guys didn’t research it?”

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“Is it good enough? Mize asked. “Wait, what element is it?”

“Is it Earth? I never checked it,” Trask said.

“It’s earth,” Ewan said.

“How’s the defense? And the defects?” Mize asked. “Does it have high energy requirement for complete restoration?”

“Important details of my research,” Ewan said. “Can't tell you that for free.”

“I’ll buy it. What do you want for it?” Mize asked.

Ewan mulled. He hadn't intended to advertise or sell his research notes on Crelith, the situation just developed in that direction. But since he used Tigog Acrix, the earthen glass, for his physical defense, his research on Crelith mattered little to him. If the pay was good, it could sway him, not to mention the abundance of Crelith on Airadia wouldn’t let its price rise even if everyone knew of its high defense—else it wouldn’t be Kyron’s currency.

“How about an ‘Identify’ database?” he asked. “Information for information.”

Mize pulled back and went silent with his brows furrowed. “Fine,” he said after two breaths, taking a thick book out and handing it over.

Ewan flipped the pages and checked the spell circuit. The base spell for was similar for all variations, it was the database that differed. So, he inspected the circuit for strokes in the database section that weren’t in his own . This database was a lot smaller than his own, but it still had some extensions that his didn’t. This was his first time probing the difference in spells like this though. He couldn’t tell how much those extensions meant in terms of information. And thus, he considered his research against it.

“Do you have any better one?” he asked and pushed back. “This has almost nothing new for me.”

Mize scratched his dried lips. “I do have one, but your research might not be enough for it,” he said.

“I’ll add some potions on top,” Ewan said. “It might just save your life here.”

“Yeah, fuck it, I’ll trade.”

Ewan checked the new book Mize gave him, and the new strokes on this were far more—this was a better trade for him. He agreed with a nod and handed Mize a copy of his notes on Crelith and a few healing potions while putting the new book he got into his claw-ring. He already confirmed the commonness of storage artifacts, so he was free to use his now.

“Is that your storage artifact?” Sheree asked.

“Quite a niche style,” Trask said, laughing.

“Don’t ask.” Ewan shook his head with a sigh. “I had no say in the design.”

“Why? It looks good to me,” Mize said. “I would buy it off you if you don’t want it.”

Ewan looked over all his accessories hanging on him, from the pendant to the piercing to the dangling chains. Indeed, this style would fit his flashy gait more. But alas, this was his family’s legacy. Regardless of the quirky design, he would never give it up, no matter the price.

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Status: Healthy

Step-0 [9th Awakening]

Name: Ewan Ayres

Species: Human

Vitality: 2.0

Spirit: 18.0

Anima: [Fire – 18.0 | Ice – 18.0 | Blood – 18.0]

Astylinds: 4 [Potential: 0]

Rolling Cat [Toast]: Step-0 [9th Awakening]

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Fire Monkey [Orange]: Step-0 [Level-9] [Grade-B]

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Imp [Frost]: Step-0 [Level-9] [Grade-B]

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Blood Lotus [Iris]: Step-0 [Level-9] [Grade-B]

Equipment: Common Clothes; Yurn [Neck Gaiter].

Storage: Journal; Elementalist—The Path of Anima [Subtype-Book]; Spellbook; Bloodlust [Spell]; Transmute [Spell]; Anima-Crystals [Novas Coins]; Obsidian Dagger; Hub-Connector; Ingredients.

Novas: 33,045

Crelith: 4,049