Kuroki barely raised a barrier in time as he blocked an onslaught of attacks, warding off the threats sent against him by that detestable malice entity. The bird that appeared to be made of shadows fired off countless arrows at him and the Oracle, but the Oracle blocked them all with a shield of golden light, before firing off several beams of energy from his hand.
"Its so nice to have something to vent on, both an enemy and a place where my restrictions wont stop me" The Oracle said, as several golden magic circles appeared around him. The bird fired feathers at them, breaking some of them before they activated, but the others activated successfully and launched golden swords made of light at the bird. It tried to dodge, but it got hit a few times in its wings and legs, as well as the strange tentacles made of pure shadow that grew out of it.
However, any damage it took almost immediately regenerated, and it showed no signs of slowing down at all when it did get hit.
The Oracle dragged his bare foot through the mud, creating a line that surged with golden energy. Somehow, none of his clothes seemed to get muddy at all, although Kuroki could only see the upper robes. His shorts and underwear, if he was even wearing any, could be muddy for all he knew. But on the surface, the Oracle appeared prestine even as he walked through the mud.
Various golden lances appeared this time, as The Oracle summoned more magic circles. This time beams of light shot out of them as the golden lances launches themselves right at the Darkness Bird, or whatever it was called. According to the Oracle, it was a creature made of pure negative emotions, but he did not recognize it as anything he has seen before, suggesting whoever made it was either very special and unique, or had powers from another world.
It launched another barrage of feathers right at Kuroki, but the Oracle's barrier and Kuroki's ice wall blocked them all. Its attacks seemed nearly constant, as they came even when it took damage, when it was flying around, facing away from them, ect. They never stopped coming, but they did intensify further occasionally, such as the barrage just now.
"Tsk. This guy is weird. It keeps making moves that prevent me from engaging in the ideal future for this battle".
"What do you mean?"
"I am using my powers to see the future to pick attacks and combinations that would defeat it quickly, but it keeps moving in ways that seals those futures. it must have foresight or is connected to someone who has that ability. This is exactly what happens when two people who can see the future fight each other".
The Oracle countered every surprise attack it sent their way, but it avoided all of the Oracle's most damaging attacks. ANd light or even moderate damage didn't bother it at all. Even heavy damage didn't seem to phase it, it would just act with no pain at all and regenerate right after. In other words, they could not whittle it down over time. Meanwhile, The Oracle and Kuroki actually did have limits to their mana and regeneration ability, which meant it looked like it had the advantage in this situation right now.
Shields were raised across every attack point that got focused on, creation a bastion that kept it back. The Oracle seemed to be drawing upon something, and from what Kuroki saw it didn't seem like he was getting exhausted, but he was human, so he should have limits as well.
"How vexing. In this current situation, it will kill us for sure eventually. Still...it's not like we are at full strength yet either".
Suddenly, the Oracle had a golden glow under him, as the hard earth buried underneath the mud cracked as he clenched his toes and dug into the earth. He jumped up suddenly, taking to the air as golden magic circles appeared around him.
"Dance of the fairies, revised edition!"
"Wait what?!"
Was that a quickcast?! But this looks way too powerful and customized for that!
Suddenly, the Oracle shifted directions as if he kicked off the air, as two large golden circles appeared on either side of him, moving as he moved his hands. They went flying towards the bird, aiming to cut off its wings entirely. Even if shouldn't be able to fly then, probably.
And yet it seemed to dodge at just the right angle to avoid it and all the attacks the Oracle had hidden behind himself, as beams of golden light shot out to try and overwhelm it. Avoiding all of that, it temporarily swooped down at Kuroki...only for an arrow clad in golden light to hit it right in the neck. This arrow then exploded in dazzling golden light, and while the bird recovered quickly, the force caused its attack to be knocked off course, saving Kuroki's life.
Kuroki looked to see where the arrow came from, and on a distant tree, he saw Juno, as well as a boy floating next to him, as he held some sort of new bow. Juno notched two more arrows, and aimed it right at the bird.
"Let's see how you like this. Arrow Arts: Razor shot!"
Those two arrows suddenly went flying with way more force then normal, going at speeds that were much faster then normal arrows could. It didn't appear to be magic, but something to do with how Juno shot the arrows, or perhaps the arrows and the bow itself. And yet, Kuroki felt traces of mana from the attack. The bird avoided both arrows this time, but they got so close to grazing it.
No wait, they both missed, but it still took damage?!
Kuroki realized that somehow, the bird had taken damage despite successfully dodging both arrows. It appeared as if the wind itself that was generated from the spinning arrows was so fast, it formed blades that cut it.
Kuroki realized that he too, needed to step up his game. It was like what he was realizing before, he was binding himself from his own fear and limits. Obito was stronger then himself, because Kuroki expected him to be stronger than himself.
He failed to realize he could use the mud, because it wasn't something he normally used.
He was failing to realize how to grow stronger...because deep down, he expected his father to always win in the end. That had been his experience for all his life, being beaten down by him. But now, he didn't have to use martial arts which he held no interest in or desire to use, especially what was taught to him by his shitty father. No, now he had magic. And that meant, like what he did with Obito, he could be resourceful. Magic wasn't about raw power, not increasing some number value of magic power or mana capacity. It was about creativity, of bending situations to help you, of finding impossible solutions for impossible situations. And it was about having fun.
And Kuroki, even in this life and death situation...was starting to have fun.
In that moment, he began to glow, as his world changed around him. He found himself in a familiar place suddenly. Naked once more temporarily, he was also in the place where he had invoked Flopsy's Last Wish. Only instead of some voice or screen, there was a second Kuroki there, mirroring him. It was almost like looking in a mirror right after a bath, seeing a naked reflection of yourself like that.
"So I guess I am not invoking someone's Last Wish this time..."
"No" the other Kuroki stated. "You are simply acknowledging a wish you made. One you made long ago, and has amplified every time you suffered".
"Acknowledging a wish?"
"By realizing a wish you made, not just with thought but with your very heart. This is nothing more then awakening a catalyst you yourself have already sparked, you could say. Starfallen do not get great powers that let them smite powerful people with a single strike, but by awakening their true potential, they can grow. At least a little bit. But sometimes, a little bit is all you need. One does not need tremendous powers of mountains and oceans and dragons, to become a major power in the world".
Suddenly, the reflection took a step forward, walking right up to Kuroki until mere centimeters separated the two of them.
"Now, what is your wish? What is the wish you have realized?"
"I wish to have fun, be carefree sometimes, and enjoy life with my friends, forever and ever. That is the promise we made to each other".
The other Kuroki nodded.
"And now, through realizing your wish, you will manifest its power better. And so, we begin the next chapter".
The reflection of Kuroki then smiled at Kuroki, and then it all disappeared. Kuroki was wearing the clothes he had before, and he felt a surge in power. His hair grew longer for some reason, growing all the way past his shoulders. The hair in the back he felt even went all the way down to his waist now. He felt mana surging through it, and through his whole body. Vitality too. It felt like he had been reborn almost. He briefly wondered if this meant he also grew a bit taller, but if it was, the change was so small he could barely notice it.
Kuroki had awoken to the power that dwelled within himself this time. His mana felt as if it was overflowing from his body. It felt like he was completely naked and mana was sweating out from every centimeter of his skin, oozing out around him. The entire world went black for a moment. This was not some surge of mana, some large increase in his capacity. His mana had improved, but he was in such a dopamine high and excited state, his control had weakened. It was difficult for him to contain and control his mana that had increased a bit and improved in quality a bit, while also handling a temporary drop in control. That is what caused his current situation, as his Grimoire fell to the ground under him.
The bird tried to attack him, but the Oracle intercepted with a barrier, and Juno kept disrupting its charges with his arrows.
"Barrier, triple!"
And also, Akano and Riza finally joined them.
"Sorry we are late. It took time to navigate out of the building. It got filled with goblins somehow!"
The Oracle blocked another attack, as he saw more goblins climbing the mountain. However, their eyes were unusually black.
"Shit. Don't tell me every time it attacked, the feathers that went into the forest were spawning monsters under its control?"
As The Oracle said that, Riza pulled out two swords.
"I can help attack the bird, but I can't protect them from monsters and help you finish off the bird at the same time".
Juno fired a few more arrows, watching them splinter in mid airs and kill multiple targets at once.
"Tsk. Riki, we can't keep doing this. I can pick them off as best as I can, but we need The Oracle and Riza to focus on the bird, but they cant in this position. Can you help them?"
"I can't empower your bow with the arrows you need to pick them off and go help them. And we haven't practiced enough yet where I can go that far from you anyways!"
"Shit!" he cursed, notching two more arrows...as he saw two orcs maneuver outside of people's perceptions and around a building, and went right for Kuroki as he was facing another direction. "My arrows won't make it in time!"
The orcs raised their weapons, and swung them down on Kuroki as he turned around...but neither of them connected.
Because a tall shield bearer had appeared, wearing just a red and green sweatshirt and black shorts.
"Sorry I am late everyone".
"Reiji!"
"It's Reiji!"
"You are not late, you are right on time!"
Kuroki, Akano, and Juno all cheered at Reiji's appearance. Meanwhile, Riki nodded.
"Reiji has grown up well. I want him to see me with a full head of hair too!"
Naturally, since Riki went to the same elementary school as the two of them, he knew Reiji as well, although certainly not as well as Juno did.
And so, The Mage, The Warrior, The Rogue, and The Priest reunited at last for the first time in this world.
The Oracle smiled and nodded, as he knew he could leave it to those four. He and Riza's projection then looked at the overgrown bird.
"Now we can focus all our attention on it".
"Indeed" Riza said, summoning four more swords which floated around him. He launched them in a salvo, as The Oracle followed up with hundreds of golden magical circles, each one firing different types of attacks on different angles at the shadow bird. Golden flames, golden lightning, golden swords, golden lances, golden beams of light. Normally that much gold might like gaudy, but with The Oracle, it appeared to be more noble and honorable, protective and warm.
Shields of golden light appeared, but they were not simple translucent barriers this time. They appeared to have bolts and heavy plates among them, even though they were all made of translucent golden magic. It didn't look like a recreation either, but something in a shape that was new and unusual.
At the same time, Kuroki picked up the Grimoire that had fallen to the ground. It didn't arrive with him into the Spirit World, so why was it here now? Something was different about it also. It was radiating an energy Kuroki had not felt in a long time, not since he first acquired it. He wanted to open it, but the staff in his other hand made that difficult.
"Wait, a staff?"
Kuroki was, for some reason, holding a staff with a blue sapphire the size of his fist embedded at the end. No, perhaps it only looked like a Saphire, since in truth he could feel a great deal of mana from it. Not only that, but he felt like it was connected to him...like it was a part of him. The staff also had strange symbols and lines and geometric shapes all over its body, which seemed to spread to Kuroki's body when he held it. It was all written in blue ink, or perhaps blue energy, but it was perfectly made. The rod part itself was silver in color, and the part which held the gemstone appeared to be gold. The staff was noticeably taller than Kuroki, as if he held it up completely straight, it would stand at 150cm easily. That said, Kuroki felt like when it wasn't fully active, he would probably be able to make the handle shrink a bit.
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Did I get a True Arcanium somehow? But when...maybe when I realized my wish? Wasn't it supposed to come at the third trial? Or maybe, overcoming all this, and fighting against this bird...and reuniting with everyone was enough?
"That is indeed correct, my sweet shining star" a familiar voice said to him. Kuroki looked behind him, but there was no one there, not even a projection. But he was certain of it just now. That he had heard his mom's voice.
A voice only projection...still...perhaps its time for me to combine the two.
Kuroki swung his staff around, as mana gathered within it. It almost felt like the gemstone became the center of a giant whirlpool, as mana swirled around it like flowing water. Kuroki almost felt like he himself would get sucked in.
At the same time, his Grimoire activated. Something about this had awoken something inside of it, as the chains came off on their own and the pages flipped open.
Words felt like they were flowing into Kuroki's head, as he began to incant.
"Morias. Renevis. Caltia. Razatanius!"
At those words, the mana became a sphere of water filled to the brim with light. It shined brightly, as beams of light shot out of it and cut through the monsters. Kuroki swung his staff and sent the sphere flying, the beams of light cutting through all of their enemies while leaving everything else intact. Even Kuroki's new overly long hair, which had gone past his shoulders and was filled to the brim with mana. It was kind of messy and unruly though, so if it stuck around, he might have to do something with it first.
The Oracle meanwhile noticed the spell, and figured it was time for another one of his own.
"Rizivi. Theoraza. Altio Miristh. Eniozala Ruukazia!"
Using the same strange words, he suddenly brought forth golden wings onto himself and took the air, as even more magic circles appeared. Riza meanwhile cut through its wings, using his six blade style to force it to go where they wanted it to go.
At the same time, golden feathers shot from the wings, and counteracted the bird's feathers of malice. Each golden feather felt like it was full of warmth and compassion when simply gazed upon, and it seemed like the very emotions were the opposite of what the bird was made of. Furthermore, the wounds began to regenerate more slowly when hit by these feathers, meaning that they could finally whittle down the bird and defeat it.
But it wouldn't just rest on its laurels like that. As Reiji guarded against another attack, Juno shot an orc that tried to ambush him from behind. Juno swung his own staff around, creating barriers of golden light himself, although they were not as golden or magnificent as The Oracle's dazzling barriers, nor did they look as sturdy and strong. He also applied healing to Kuroki and Reiji, letting them recover from the injuries they received earlier.
"How did you even get here Reiji?"
"I had an associate help me out" Reiji said. "Turns out, in this world, there are good necromancers as well".
"Oh, that makes sense then" Juno said as he nodded, staying upon his high perch above them as he fired off arrows he called out one after another. This was something he could only do in the spirit world, or perhaps it was because of Juno's new bow. Whatever the answer, Juno had unlimited arrows to work with, every archer's dream as it meant he could stay up here and fight. Well, mostly.
He quickly grabbed a branch and swung himself around, avoiding a few black feathers that came his way.
"Oi, keep him off me!"
"Sorry!"
"He is increasing his output! He must have been holding onto some trump cards!"
The Oracle apologized, while Riza gave an explanation while annoyed. More monsters appeared from the forest, and in greater numbers then before.
Kuroki normally might have frowned, but he just looked towards the other three.
"No matter what comes our way..."
"...no matter how many bullies, how many creeps..."
"...we stand together, we have each other's backs..."
"...so long as we are together, we never lose hope and we continue to smile!"
Mana and stamina seemed to surge from all of them, as they seemed to get even better at combat as the fought. No, that was not exactly right. The Oracle watched them, and realized they were getting stronger, better, faster, and smarter as they fought alongside each other. In other words, something was empowering them when they were together. Something that stemmed from their friendship, their hopes, their bonds.
The power of friendship, made manifest through a wish? To have such friends...how wonderful.
The Oracle couldn't help but admire it and get a warm fuzzy feeling from it, although not as much as the one plastered across Riza's face.
"...oi, sword idiot, help me finish this thing while they work hard down there".
"Hey, I am not a sword idiot! I am a mage who uses swords!"
"You are a projection of someone who is a knight. Aren't you a knight who uses magic instead?"
"Knights can be mages too!"
While bickering, the two utilized some of their strongest techniques against the bird. Golden lasers tore through its wings, while Riza used a special enchantment on his swords that seemed to block even the bird's regeneration. Whatever this thing was, it was clearly not ordinary. Even if he was just a reflection and might not be on the same level, Riza's Reflection was still a copy of an S-Ranked Adventurer, and the Oracle was brimming with divine power and magic. In fact, because his real body was still trapped inside that room, which served as an amplifier for his abilities, all his abilities in this battle augmented thanks to that. The collar around his neck prevented him from fighting against his tormentors, and no one else who was hostile ever entered the room though, so people had only seen his passive abilities improve.
They had no idea he was using it right now while projecting his spirit outside of his body, to fight in the spirit world against such a threat. And given that he could temporarily mind wipe himself until it was time to recover his memories, they never would.
Riza unleashed a hexagon flying slash attack, which was outright impossible for the bird to evade. With the golden aura affecting the flying slashes, it would do tremendous damage as well. it fired feathers to intercept one of the blades and pull off an escape, but then a dozen golden lasers came at it. It fired feathers in all directions, as if to show that it would not be overwhelmed so easily. A few of those feathers that seemed to miss changed direction mid air, and went after Riza in his flank.
And yet, the feathers were deflected by a golden sword. A seventh sword, that seemed to come out of nowhere. All six of his bracelets and anklets had already disappeared, but now a seventh sword appeared out of nowhere. Even The Oracle was not sure where he pulled that blade out of, and he knew the mechanisms behind the other six.
He must have hidden one in a weird place. Or he has more trump cards then I realized.
Not only that, but Riza blocked the attack without even looking at it. He just reached around and blocked it with the flat side of his giant blade. The feathers had no pressence at all, no mana to detect, so even Kuroki was confused how he had detected the attack.
"I suppose I should get a bit more active..." he muttered, as the bird finally was brought down after being damaged by his hexagon slash. "If I recall correctly, he did it like this..."
Riza bent his knees down, and had his toes dig into the earth.
In the next moment, Riza seemed to go fast he might as well have teleported. He was on the other side of the bird, and in fact to some it appeared he did teleport. And yet, Kuroki and his friends recognized the move instantly. It had been used against them far more times then they could count when they tried to fight Kuroki's father.
"Brilliant Flash".
It was the same technique Riku managed to actually pick up. Brilliant Flash, a technique that lets you have a sudden burst of speed. And Riza had just used it flawlessly. His was even stronger then Riku's, it reminded him of his father's in an eerie way.
And as the head began to roll off, it suddenly sprouted wings and flew away, as the shadowy corpse exploded. The Oracle just barely was able to contain it, but in doing so, it forced him to be completely distracted from going after the head that ran away. Furthermore, the corpse was not just exploding a single time. It appeared to be exploding repeatedly, so he had to keep up the barrier.
"Riza!"
"I will chase the head! Keep that weird perpetual explosion contained!"
At the same time, Kuroki's group was in battle against the huge amount of monsters the malice creature had spawned.
"A brilliant spark of energy, striking down with all it has. Watch as it travels and affects the land. This bolt which comes through fast and true. Watch as it travels through all of you. Chained Bolt".
Mana swirled through his staff as his Grimoire seemed to focus the chant and enhance the words. Kuroki wasn't holding back with this spell, adding extra mana to it to enhance it further. A bolt of lightning shot out of the crystal, and zig zagged its way around allies and piercing through enemies. About two dozen of them suddenly found themselves skewered, a severe increase in power compared to what he used back in the sewers.
That said, many of the later half only had grazing wounds, since they were able to see what happened to the others and dodged in time. Unfortunately, it was slower then a natural lightning strike, although it was still difficult to see because it was still fast on its own.
Reiji seemed to be an unstoppable wall, who often would block multiple attacks and then counter attack, using his sword to remove the heads of goblins and bring them to their deaths. He seemed almost unstopable, and this was especially true since Akano was there to cast healing spells any time he did get injured. The enemy was unable to break through wherever Reiji positioned himself, and since The Oracle's shields he created earlier were still in effect, he didn't have to be everywhere at once either.
Speaking of Akano, he was doing well with quickcast barrier spells, and occasionally even launching a magical attack or a staff attack on his own. He had mentioned he had found and partnered with his neighbor, Tamaki, but it felt like Akano could hold his own just fine. He supported anywhere he needed to support, relieving stress in critical areas and covering for angles no one could could cover for.
Juno meanwhile was high on his perch, unleashing arrow after arrow upon his foes. It seemed like he would never run out, and occasionally he even used special and enchanted arrows to further magnify the damage he did. He attacked rogue units and those who tried to flank the others, keeping watch on the battlefield and monitoring movements, calling them out as needed when he was busy with another area. With a reliable field monitor, they were able to focus better on the enemies in front of them. Akano typically moved according to Juno's callouts, which let Kuroki focus more on casting spells that took time but would kill or injure more enemies.
Should they meet in the real world finally, and group together like this, it would be this sort of teamwork and tactics that they would have to face. Certainly a rather unappealing situation to be caught in, unless you had sufficient numbers to overwhelm them or some other way to break through.
When the big bird finally went down, the enemies stopped producing reinforcements too, which gave them a real change to finish everything off.
"Cover me, I am using a big one!" Kuroki said, as he created several ice pillars as stairs and ran up them as he began to chant.
"A shattering storm gathers upon us. Let these cold winds take all that there is, and form a strike of hundreds of spears. Divide them further, and shock the world with a snap of your fingers. A gathering of ice, and sleet of storms. From my sky, I see below. Across this battlefield I will make it snow. This frozen sky, charged and ready. For now I shall hold it steady. I bring forth the frozen tempest, which will annihilate all who dare step upon this battlefield of mine!"
The ice pillars he jumped off of shattered and its fragments flew into the air as he chanted, as he got higher and higher into the sky. The moment he finished chanting, he jumped off the last pillar, as it did the same as the others. A huge amount of mana was swirling around him and his staff, as his grimoire seemed to open up and have several pages fly around him as he was casting. And then, he spoke the trigger words to bring down the chaos.
"Wrath of the Frozen Tempest!"
This was the same spell he had used during the battle with the Goblins. The ice that had followed him all formed sharp shards of ice, as if hundreds of daggers were behind him. Like the last time, he floated there in the middle of the air as he unleashed his magic upon the goblins and orcs. The brilliant beauty of the sparkling ice decimated the battlefield below, aimed at the center of the largest goblin and orc formation. The last time they had many which managed to dodge to a degree, but it seemed Kuroki was able to make them a bit faster this time, so less of them dodged. Or perhaps he had just created more projectiles.
Not only that, but each shard of ice that struck the ground then froze that very spot, making icey fields which would make good footing impossible in various areas. If someone got hit in an arm or leg, they themselves might get entirely frozen and still die even if it was not in a vital part of the body. All the same as last time, perhaps even more decimating.
Still, the issues with the spell persisted. Not only did it have a much longer chant, and was a mana glutton, the fact he had to remain in the air to make it rain down left him open to ranged attacks. He could only use this if he had enough cover or was far enough back, especially since it was a spell that was continuous, not just a cast and move on like others were, such as Kuroki's frozen guardians.
However, it still held its secondary power as well. The moment they tried to charge through the field of ice shards, Kuroki snapped his fingers. Lightning bolts shot out between all the shards of ice, becoming lethal lightning rod pillars for dozens of seconds that wiped out even more of the goblins and orcs. The orcs actually had surprisingly good resistance to the spell, but they were left vulnerable enough for Juno to shoot through the eye to finish off. It seemed Kuroki underestimated the vitality of orcs. That concerned him in a number of ways.
Either way, by the time the spell was over, only stragglers remained. The group prepared to finish them off, only for a wave of golden light to soak the battlefield, destroying every monster that got in its way. its source was The Oracle, who seemed to have finally finished containing the perpetual explosions.
"What the absolute fuck was that" The Oracle complained. "Still, that should be it".
"...to think we still need to go through a third trial after this..."
The Oracle however, shook his head.
"That is no longer necessary. It appears it has been decided that you passed".
"Wait really?"
"Yeah. You manifested your True Arcanium, Akano resolved his regret and gained more power himself, and Juno and Reiji appear to have gotten their own boons, although they may not be totally obvious until you grow more".
It appeared that Reiji somehow had earned something, despite showing up only at the end. Then again, mentally he was already really put together, or maybe he had done some trials on the way.
In fact, if Kuroki had to say, Reiji was probably the most emotionally stable of all of them. He was kind of their rock, a very tall, very smart rock. Well, that said, no one can go through life without some regrets and sadness. But when it was time to support Reiji, the three of them would be there for him, just like he was for all of them.
Unfortunately, it seemed as if their time was up. Their bodies appeared to be deteriorating, turning into particles of light. Of course, these were never their real bodies in the first place, just the manifestations of their souls with some clothes they found along the way. It appeared it was time for them to go back to the real world now.
"Guys, I am still looking for you all. I joined the adventurer's guild and put in some feelers".
Akano however looked surprised. "Wait, I did the same thing".
"We did as well" Juno confirmed.
This caused everyone to be puzzled. If they had all done this, they should have heard something by now...
Someone is purposefully blocking the information?! But who?!
Unfortunately, they had no more time to discuss it, as their vision was consumed by a brilliant light.
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When Kuroki woke up, he was laying naked in a field, his body having collapsed when his mind when to the spirit world, and inside his very soul. However, things had changed since he last went in. His hair was still quite long, with the back and some of his front bangs going all the way down to his waist or even a bit further. and his body felt a bit lighter. He had hoped maybe the process that gave him vitality would let him grow, but if he did, it was by a small amount and was hard to tell. Perhaps one or two centimeters at most, but he might just be imagining it. Or it was wishful thinking.
However, he was still holding his staff. His Grimoire too was right there with him, despite having left it with his clothes far away so it would not disrupt the ritual. It was peaceful and quiet, but his staff felt like it hummed with power and resonated with his Grimoire, which seemed to have become active now for some reason. Did it have some hidden secrets he was unaware of? it seemed like something he would need to investigate.
I also need to figure out why contact with each other is being blocked. Someone is clearly at work here.
However, he pushed those thoughts out of his head as he sat upwards, and hugged his staff tight, overcome with cheer and bliss. He finally had his True Arcanium, which was a major achievement for a mage. Not every mage got one, so it was a sign of great talent and ability. Not only that, but he would be able to utilize even more complex magic now. He would need to test his layering skills especially.
"With this, I take one more step forward towards my goal" Kuroki muttered to himself, as Amyris, Riku, and the others came into view, running towards him to see how it went. His hope rekindled into a brilliant inferno, his determination became sharp and focused.
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At the same time, Kuroki's father, also known to some as the Northern Cardinal Catastrophe, awoke from his slumber in an inn.
"I can feel it...something is wrong...making me sick. Some bastard is tempting my progeny down the wrong path. I am so far away, but I will need to increase my efforts, even if I must cross the ocean on my own".
With such words, his anger and rage were boiling over into determination as he felt that something, to his point of view, was incredibly wrong and twisted.
He could tell instinctively that all his hard work, his goals and desires, were being pushed further away, tainted and destroyed by some influence he found revolting.
And while he would need to deal with a lot to get to where he needed to go, he would make sure not to slack off either.
"This world tramples upon my ideal...I may need to destroy it to show it the light".
With such ominous words, he got to work early that day. All so he could raise his adventurer rank, make money for food and travel, and go in the direction he sensed his son to be in. And he would let nothing stand in his way.