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Black Onyx - Phoenix Resurrection
Ch. 315 Back in Business

Ch. 315 Back in Business

I blasted away the rubble blocking my path. The exit tunnel led us not far away from the platform, but over time it got covered with debris from outside.

While I was still mad for the lack of reward from the trials, it wasn’t like I left completely empty-handed. I traded half my gathered Souls for a mountain of Celestial Metal and a Divine Body Cultivation technique. More than worth it.

If that was all that was promised in advance, I would have no complaints. It’s just that having such a powerful pill dangled before me, only for it to turn out to be an expired, shriveled-up ball of trash, irked me a bit. Ignorance is bliss, as they say.

“So… What happens now?” Sonic asked.

I shrugged. [Unless you have something else for me to check out, we are going our separate ways.] The expedition cost them nothing and they gained a bit of Celestial Metal for it. Oh, and the Immortal Blood Undying Body technique, of course. That alone was worth more than their lives.

The man shook his head and looked at the others. None of them had a reason to keep me there, so I left.

I took a moment to imprint the location of the trial chambers into my mind in case I wanted to revisit them later, and then oriented myself by the cardinal directions of the sky. The way back would be long, so I didn’t waste any more time and jumped into the sky.

I accelerated up to a good cruising speed as I blasted through the sound barrier and then let my mind wander.

The Immortal Blood Undying Body technique really messed me up mentally. It was not the pain that did it, it was the uncertainty. The fact that I was going in blind, unsure if what I was doing was right or wrong, did way more damage than anything else.

I had been stupid. Reckless. I trusted the words of that damn illusion. It didn’t even cross my mind that the technique they gave me could be wrong. Booby-trapped. Purposefully scrambled. I had no doubt that if I was your average Cultivator I would have died if I tried to do what I did. Or maybe not, since the others weren’t even able to begin Cultivating with it. Their power was not enough. What a weird test.

In retrospect, it was obvious. Of course, I would need to construct the proper plumbing and a pump before connecting it to a spring. I first needed my body to be able to handle the increased pressure before filling it with the new blood.

While in flight, I tried reforming the capillaries in my fingers. Changing them according to the technique, making them stronger. Surprisingly, that action was just as slow as when I tried to reforge my bone marrow. It was more than a thousand times slower than even Cultivating the Spirit Body. Perhaps that’s what I was missing in the first place. More power, more knowledge of my own body. I was getting ahead of myself and skipping important steps again.

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I returned to the camp ten days later. I had been traveling slower than before, and I nearly got lost once, having flown off course by at least a few hundred kilometers. It was not easy finding the right way back, but I managed despite the place lacking any significant landmarks to guide my path.

“Master! You have returned!” Bram ran to greet me as soon as I landed. I returned a nod to the man’s greeting bow, letting him lead me to the rest of the team. During my absence, the encampment had changed significantly. The depleted Dreadstone ore was compressed and used as bricks to create a wall that guarded the research area and the resting quarters from the dust and wind. The floor was also reformed, a large slab of stone replacing the uneven gravel ground.

I noticed the little Felix playing on the swine in the distance, using it as a large boulder to climb. The beast lay perfectly still, sleeping.

[Hello everyone.] I greeted the people there. [I have returned.]

“Oh, hey, boss.” Eden said, lifting one hand in greeting, but didn’t otherwise stand from his seat on the ground. Calla and Thalza did a similarly unenthusiastic greeting, the Drow keeping to herself even after such a long time.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

The only one who showed some excitement at my return was Thener the researcher. In fact, he had enough excitement for all.

“Master Gerald! Ah, you are finally back! You came back at a perfect time, I have so much to show you!”

I followed him into the structure they made for the man’s research. Inside were all kinds of things scattered about as usual. A desk full of papers and drawings, a chair made of stone, glowing crystals giving off white light, illuminating the gloomy place, and a work table in the corner, containing metals and carving tools.

The inside was not decorated, but you could feel a sense of home and purpose. Thener went and took the shield off the wall, the same one he showed me the first time, but I knew something was different.

“This, Master. I know I already explained how the Abyssal Ward works, but upon further testing, I uncovered an unexpected property.” The man said with an excited smile.

[Oh? Do tell.]

“Yes! Well, as you know, the shield absorbs energy, however, after the first surge is absorbed, the area of its influence expands. Let me demonstrate.”

He placed the Abyssal Ward against a wall and then sent a tiny blast of Qi at it, but purposefully missed, hitting the wall. The energy of the impact was so low that even the terribly weak depleted Dreadstone ore brick was just barely singed.

“Now, observe.”

Thener went to the shield and injected some energy into it and then stepped back, blasting it again. He aimed for the same spot once more, but as the tiny speck of Qi neared the plate-sized object and it seemed as if it was going to miss again, the projectile suddenly turned, absorbed by the broken blade in the middle.

Thener spread his arms widely as he began to explain. “As you can see, the area of effect can expand. And depending on just how much energy the alloy absorbs, the upper limits can reach up to three times the original size!”

[Oh… Impressive.] I rubbed my chin, already thinking if the effect could somehow be used even better.

“Each blow absorbed by the Abyssal Ward only serves to empower it, up to a certain point, and against long-range magical attacks, I dare to say it is the best relic I have seen.”

I was about to say something when he continued excitedly. “And yet, there is more. Now, this might be just speculation and I would need more time to confirm it, but it would appear to me that after each cycle, the material gets marginally better.”

I frowned at that. [What… do you mean, marginally better?]

Thener’s eyes opened wide as excitement was positively oozing out of him. “Each time the alloy we created gets filled with Qi, it very subtly changes. I have noticed that after all my experiments, the power of the Abyssal Ward increased very slightly. Of course, that could be just my imagination, but I don’t think so.”

He took a deep breath and continued speculating. “The change was very small, and to confirm I would need to focus my research in that direction, but I am certain that I can get to the bottom of this mystery, given enough time.”

He paused and I just stared at him, thinking. My mind was stormed with the implications. [Are you telling me… that things made out of this get better over time?]

“No, absolutely not. Well, yes. Maybe. I don’t know! That’s the thing I’m trying to figure out. However, the problem is that I simply don’t have the resources for my research. If my guesses are correct, to significantly improve the shield, for example, it would need to go through hundreds of cycles, and those take time. And Qi. Both of which are in short supply, unfortunately.”

The man sighed. “I have so many things to do, but there is just one of me.”

I placed my hand on his shoulder. [That’s alright. We can get the others to help you with the experiments, as for the energy required, that is not an issue. I have enough Spirit Stones to last us a while. Come, let’s discuss this with the others.]

We left the room and went to check on the forge and picked up Eden and Calla at the same time.

[You two are going to be helping Thener here with his work for a while.] I said to the two Cultivators. [I really want to get that sword…]

“I know Master, I know.” Thener lowered his head, looking defeated. “It is difficult to get the Celestial Metal in the Lower Plane, we know that. However, without it, I cannot make the things you want me to no matter how hard I try. It’s simply impossible”

[Oh, yeah? What if I gave you enough Celestial Metal? How fast could you do it then?]

“Enough…?” Thener scratched his head. “Well, I would prefer to run the experiments first, and then I would have to make some design changes depending on what I discover…” He shrugged. “A year, maybe?”

[A year…] I considered his words as I slowly stroked my chin. I was in no hurry, and good things were worth the wait. I nodded. [Acceptable, I’ll hold you to it.]

I snapped my fingers and a pile of Celestial Metal poured out of the sky. I watched with amusement as Thener looked at the cascading mountain of metal with an open mouth and eyes wide.

[Think it’s going to be enough?] I teasingly asked.

“Ha?” The man replied, completely out of it. Luckily he snapped back quickly. “Yeah… Uh-uh. Yup. Yup! Hah… haha… More than enough.” The man continued nodding while smiling, showing his white teeth.

[In that case…] I patted him on the shoulder and looked at the other two, his new coworkers. [We are back in business. Good luck.]