Chapter 12: First Attempt with the Berserk God Ascension Technique
The night was not so tranquil. There were occasional growls and roars filled with savageness, high-pitched croaks of frogs, and chirps of insects sounding from a distance. All the sounds blended together into a bizarre harmony of nature that caused a slightly tense atmosphere to descend upon the cave occupied by Tyrak and Tamara.
Tyrak had just watched Tamara finish her dinner. But even though he was a bit hungry, he turned down all sorts of goodwill from her and resisted the urge to taste her food. The experience from the afternoon was still fresh in his mind, and as the old adage goes, once beaten, twice shy. He wouldn't trust her easily, even though she claimed she had become his slave in both body and soul through the Fate Queen's Enslavement Rite.
"Are you sure that you don't wish to have some of the food?" Tamara asked. "I can vow upon my identity as an oracle that there's no poison in the food."
"Don't worry about me," Tyrak replied with a dismissive wave. "I'm still full after enjoying all that food from you in the afternoon. I don't feel like eating again."
"Is that so? Then, suit yourself." Tamara smiled with resignation. She nodded at Tyrak and started packing the leftovers into her saddle bags. Her actions were quick, and she swiftly proceeded to clean the cave. Before long, the whole place was tidy, and not a single fruit or piece of dried meat remained on the floor of the cavernous space.
Tyrak was watching her the entire time. And for the umpteenth time, he exclaimed how beautiful a creature the girl was. Stretching lazily to showcase her ample curves, she suddenly announced, "I will be going to a nearby river to take a bath."
"You're going out to bathe at this time?" Tyrak exclaimed. "Don't you hear the roars and hisses out there! What if a wild beast attacks or a snake bites you while you are bathing?"
"Don't worry about me," Tamara said confidently. "I already told you that I'm an apprentice oracle. I have ample ways of protecting myself." With that said, she didn't wait for Tyrak to respond. She quickly whirled around and headed towards the cave's exit.
"This girl is really reckless..." Tyrak sighed and shook his head as he watched her back disappear behind a bend in the cavern. He remained silent for a while until his sharp senses picked up the barely audible sounds originating from Tamara's actions of untethering the horse. Then, after hearing the thumping of the horse hooves disappearing in the distance, he finally decided to explore the items he had received from the mysterious entity.
Aside from the two magical scrolls, the mysterious entity also gifted Tyrak a few books. He quickly perused through them and discovered they only contained knowledge about mysterious ruins. They mainly elaborated on what to look out for and how to avoid danger while exploring ruins, but nothing else.
Tyrak was a bit disappointed after gaining a preliminary understanding of their contents. Initially, he had been full of hope, thinking that the mysterious entity had left him a few more techniques to strengthen himself with. But it seemed all that was wishful thinking on his part, and he just had to settle for the blessings he had already obtained.
His experiences with Tamara and the newly-learned knowledge about the warlocks had forced a great sense of urgency upon him. As such, he was eager to focus on training the Berserk God Ascension technique so he could strengthen himself as soon as possible. He didn't wish to lose out to all those geniuses from the mystical warlock organizations when he finally faced off against them.
"Phew..."
Taking a deep breath, Tyrak quickly got into a meditative stance. He settled into a cross-legged position on the floor and closed his eyes. He placed his upward-facing palms on his knees and slowed down his breathing before following the patterns described in the Berserk God Ascension technique manual.
The first stage of the Berserk God Ascension technique involved the most-preliminary refining of one's body. It included the five sub-phases of meridian opening, muscle conditioning, viscera altering, bone forging, and marrow tempering.
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Anyone training in the Berserk God Ascension technique had to start by sensing and absorbing cosmic energy from the natural world. Then, by continuously assimilating enough energy in one's body, the person in question would utilize that 'very' energy to unclog the twelve primary meridians.
Of course, opening all twelve primary meridians and achieving the pinnacle state of the meridian opening realm was not that simple. But through unshakeable efforts of nibbling at the obstacles in one meridian at a time, the person would slowly take firm steps forward and eventually shutter all the barriers in the twelve meridians.
In some bizarre way, the mysterious entity had managed to transfer the entire content of the Berserk God Ascension technique into Tyrak's mind. As such, Tyrak had already mastered the knowledge to strengthen himself by following the steps described in the mysterious art.
First and foremost, he synchronized his breathing pattern to match the breathing routine described in the Berserk God Ascension technique. Slowly but surely, he felt his thoughts slow down until his mind eventually achieved a bizarre state of emptiness. Then, without losing a moment, he acted almost by instinct. He followed the instructions in the description of the Berserk God Ascension training manual to focus his consciousness and spread out his senses.
Time flew, and minutes flashed by as he maintained a state of thoughtlessness. He continued maintaining the breathing pattern while trying to sense the cosmic energy described in the Berserk God Ascension training manual. Eventually, just as he was about to give up, his mind seemed to shatter an obscure barrier, and the world around him turned more kaleidoscopic.
Within his perception, many bright specks of different colors were moving about and around his body. There were red ones, dark ones, green ones, brown ones, etcetera. Their motion was just random, without any visible pattern whatsoever. And just by looking at them, Tyrak could immediately conclude that they were some of the world's most fundamental energy particles described in the Berserk God Ascension technique manual.
However, there was still a doubt in Tyrak's mind that almost pushed him out of the state of thoughtlessness. According to the Berserk God Ascension technique manual, the cosmic energy that Tyrak had to draw within his body should have taken the form of a formless mist-like substance around him. But what he was sensing was something different. So, could he still use those specks of different colors to open and unclog his meridians?
Without a teacher to guide him, Tyrak was like a blind man trying to find a way forward. He remained still for a few minutes while maintaining a state of emptiness until his gambler's instinct set in. He hardened his resolve and immediately focused his spread-out senses on one of the energy particles floating around his body.
The energy particle in question was dark in color and on the more oversized side compared to the other specks floating in the area. By following the instructions in the Berserk God Ascension technique manual, Tyrak focused his entire perception on the energetic particle and slowly drew it toward the left part of his chest.
According to the Berserk God Ascension technique manual, any aspiring powerhouse would have to initiate his body refining by opening his heart meridian to allow the cosmic energy to flow into his heart — and that same energy would slowly nourish the rest of the body. Without first shattering the obstacles clogging that crucial meridian, there was no way to set foot on the path to achieving unparalleled physical strength. Understanding all that, Tyrak was unwavering in his efforts. He remained tenacious in both body and mind until he finally dragged the dark-colored energy particle into the opening of his primary heart meridian.
As the energy particle moved through his primary heart meridian, Tyrak, who was hauling it along with his mind, felt incredible resistance hindering its forward motion. It was as if his consciousness was dragging a weight of hundred tonnes, and soon enough, he felt himself approaching a critical limit. Mental fatigue was wearing down his tenacity much quicker than he could have expected, and his brain started giving birth to thoughts of giving up.
Gradually, he felt a sensation of vertigo overwhelm him, and he reluctantly let go of the energy particle he was towing. It seemed he had just fallen short after doing all the work, and a helpless feeling overflowed within his mind.
In the meantime, the energy particle that had escaped his control had already started flowing back through the meridian toward the outside of his body. However, just before it could exit the heart meridian, Tyrak felt an incredible ripple of boundless energy surging forth like a tide within his body.
Tyrak knew not from where the energy overflow originated. It was so sudden and unexpected, and it put his body through a great deal of distress. The energy gushed forth with boundless momentum, and before Tyrak could make sense of what was happening, it had already flowed into his heart meridian and swallowed the dark energy particle. But it didn't just stop at that. It also swept and smashed through all the obstacles clogging up his heart meridian before most of it quickly receded like a tide.