Chapter 35: Reaching Rank-1 Again

Ain looked away from his hololink to observe the newcomer. It was a young spirit master, similar in age, with short beige hair and brown eyes, smiling earnestly with an honest appearance. This was the spirit master practicing wind spells nearby, occasionally greeting the neighbors.

After observing, Ain replied quietly, “Yes, I’m here to join Arcane Heart University.” This wasn’t a secret. It could be readily inferred. Most young spirit masters, between ages fifteen and twenty, were all here for the same purpose.

“Great, I’m also here to join Arcane Heart. My name is Hugo, by the way.” The young spirit master smiled widely, extending a hand towards Ain.

As was his nature, Ain stared at the hand blankly before choosing to respond. In fact, it was only an instant, but numerous thoughts churned due to Wisdom Root. Shaking Hugo’s hand, he answered softly, “My name is Ain.”

At the same time, he activated Scan. He was gradually adapting to his mutated innate talent, grasping every opportunity to use Scan.

[Name: Hugo Ravenfall]

[Species: Human]

[Rank: Rank-1]

[Innate Talent: Wind God’s Blessing]

Wind God’s Blessing… Ain pondered curiously. He didn’t know much about innate talents, so his thoughts stopped there.

“Nice to meet you, Ain. I was wondering if you’d like to form a team to complete some missions from the Spirit Master Association. It’s mostly for training purposes.” Hugo asked with a hopeful expression.

“Uh… I’m sorry. I’m not ready for missions yet.” Ain responded briefly. For one, he felt uncomfortable accompanying a stranger for potentially dangerous missions. Moreover, he truly wasn’t prepared yet. He wanted to master Aether Shield and Spectral Blast before all else. Hence, he decided to refuse the offer.

“Oh, I see. Let me know if you change your mind. I’ll be around here.” Hugo replied with some regret, though not too bothered by the refusal either. He chatted briefly before waving goodbye, returning to his own training.

Ain also turned to his hololink again, searching for Aether Recovery Pills. Aether Recovery Pills were an essential item, readily available at most stores dealing in elixirs and supplies. Their primary function was to increase aether recovery rate, not to directly provide aether as he’d expected. Aether crystals served just that purpose. Of course, he wasn’t willing to absorb aether from an aether crystal valued at million starcoins.

Ain had discovered several vendors on Cyberspace offering Aether Recovery Pills. As an elixir, the Aether Recovery Pills were naturally divided into grades. Normal-grade Aether Recovery Pills were priced at 1500 starcoins, whereas Excellent-grade pills cost 3000 starcoins. Going even further, only a few prosperous stores sold Superior-grade Aether Recovery Pills, priced at around 6000 starcoins. This was the price per pill, which surprised him. From the description, Aether Recovery Pills had an effective duration of ten minutes. Higher grades provided greater recovery rates within the same duration.

“With prices like these, it’s no wonder I was gifted so many aether crystals.” Ain sighed to himself. Just one night’s stay at a decent hotel cost him 3000 starcoins. An essential elixir of the lowest grade was worth half of that amount. The sense of indulgence for staying at The Red Baron suddenly dissipated. Making a note of the Aether Recovery Pills, he closed his eyes and focused on circulating the Chronarch Precept to recover aether.

After recovering sufficiently, Ain began studying Spectral Blast, the offensive ghost spell he received from Sage. It was slightly more complex than Aether Shield, but still incomparable to Temporal Blitz. As was the case with Aether Shield, Spectral Blast only required him to visualize a spell rune. With eyes shut, he used aether to visualize the spell rune, attempting to smoothly trace it. The process was unhindered at first. However, just as he reached halfway, a sudden explosion nearby distracted him. The half-finished spell rune immediately disintegrated.

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Opening his eyes, Ain glanced at one of the young spirit masters, who was now sheepishly apologizing to others, before closing his eyes again. Noise was to be expected in a training room, but this spirit master had cast a powerful spell, causing a great commotion. It didn’t matter much to Ain. With just a thought, the part he’d traced before was instantly visualized again, bringing a smile to his face. “With Wisdom Root, my spell training is much faster, and I won’t fail to visualize mid-battle due to distractions or interference.”

Just like that, Ain’s training proceeded smoothly. With a couple more attempts, he succeeded in casting Spectral Blast. With a smile, he continued training for a while longer before returning to his room in the afternoon. Summoning Nox, he sat on the bed, preparing to meditate.

“Wooo…” Nox glanced around casually.

“Nox, I’ll be training for a while. Practice Haunt in the meantime. Try to increase the casting speed.” Ain suggested. Haunt’s casting speed wasn’t desirable in combat. However, this was mostly due to Nox’s unfamiliarity with its new innate skill. Swift improvements were expected in the following days.

“Wooo…!” Nox answered enthusiastically. Earlier, Ain hadn’t summoned it in the training room. His first day in the training room was sort of a test, scrutinizing what others did and did not do. It seemed acceptable to summon and train spirit pets there. He might consider it next time.

As Nox commenced its training, Ain slowly sank into meditation. He wished to confirm a certain matter. With great familiarity, his aether circulated according to the Chronarch Precept, only utilizing his first aethercore. Although he’d condensed it later, he had taken to calling his Rank-1 aethercore as the first one, and the Rank-0 aethercore as the second one. Upon completing one cycle, he switched to his second aethercore, circulating the Chronarch Precept once more. After repeating this process several times, he opened his eyes, contemplating.

“It’s as I thought. The Chronarch Precept isn’t as effective on my first aethercore anymore…” Ain confirmed. There were no issues in aether recovery, but the Chronarch Precept’s efficiency in strengthening his body and aethercore had decreased drastically. It was still greater than his second aethercore, but it was solely due to the difference in ranks.

“This is likely because I’m using a time-aspect meditation technique after contracting a ghost-aspect spirit pet. To make normal progress with my first aethercore, I need a ghost-aspect meditation technique.” Ain pondered silently. He hadn’t discovered any meditation techniques on Cyberspace. From what he’d learned, it wasn’t difficult to obtain techniques and spells in Arcane Heart University.

“I’ll have to wait a month to see if I can obtain a ghost-aspect meditation technique. For now, I’ll upgrade my second aethercore to Rank-1 and see what happens.” Ain sorted out his thoughts and decided. There was excitement in his eyes. He was eager for this moment. Resuming his meditation, he rapidly circulated his aether, following the pathways in the Chronarch Precept, focusing solely on his second aethercore. At first, it was a minute, which soon morphed into an hour. Before long, several hours elapsed unknowingly.

Ain remained motionless throughout, completely unaware of his surroundings. Beside him, Nox would occasionally glance at him restlessly, impatient to display its recent progress. Suddenly, dense aether fluctuations appeared with him as the center.

“Wooo…?” Nox paused its actions, curiously floating over to him.

As it watched on, a faint gust of wind, stimulated by the surging aether, gradually blew over, ruffling Ain’s hair. His clothes rippled in the gentle breeze, followed by the bed sheets and curtains. A vortex slowly formed above as large amounts of aether was siphoned into him. Specifically, it was surging into his second aethercore, which now had an aether ring rotating around it!

Ain’s eyes opened abruptly, startling Nox who’d gotten a bit too close. It rolled back comically, flipping over a couple of times, appearing exceedingly amusing. Ain supported a wide and joyous smile as he said, “My second aether ring!”

He felt the familiar, invigorating sensation coursing through his body. It was no different from when he first reached Rank-1 inside the black monolith. The amount of aether within him multiplied, far surpassing his previous reserves. Even its quality was greatly bolstered, augmenting his body even further. More importantly, he sensed the ability to form another contract!

“I can really contract two spirit pets at Rank-1!” Ain mumbled happily, barely withstanding the urge to celebrate. “With this second aether ring, I can finally contract a time-aspect spirit pet. I’ll also be able to use Temporal Blitz and Temporal Shift!”

Glancing at the window, past the fluttering curtains, Ain saw the darkened skies. The graceful moon exuded a gentle light, casting deep shadows in the crevices of Heart City. He had meditated for eight hours! After placating his broiling emotions, he finally considered the next step. “I need to find a time-aspect spirit pet.”

Just as he spoke, a stream of information from Wisdom Root manifested. It was a new quest!

[Quest: It’s a Cold World]

[Description: Obtain the ice-aspect by contracting an ice-aspect spirit pet.]

[Reward: Unknown]

“Huh?” Upon understanding the quest, the smile on Ain’s face slowly faded.