Chapter 5: Testing the Skills
The Ink Revenant gazed at Ain puzzledly while pondering his question. It only answered after a few seconds. “Wooo…”
Ain intuitively understood his spirit pet. It stated that it had no recollection of the past; however, it did find him to be extremely familiar. The slight disappointment from this response couldn’t be avoided but it affirmed his choice to contract the Ink Revenant. There seemed to be a deeper connection between them.
Speculating was hardly helpful now, so he moved on.
He’d yet to name his spirit pet, so Ain glanced at its cloudy form that exuded a white misty substance. Its body was cold to the touch as it sat upon his palm obediently. He stared at its swirling black eyes that resembled black holes, devouring all light that shone into them. Ain’s eyes lit up at this sight, and he decided, “I’ll call you Nox.”
“Wooo…!” Liking its new name, Nox escaped Ain’s grasp and began phasing in and out of his body in jubilation. Ain sensed the chilly sensation wherever it moved as it kindled a long-forgotten warmth within his heart. It was an innate sense of kinship.
With an excited smile on his lips, Ain clapped his hands and said, “Alright, calm down. Let’s take a look at your skills first.”
Nox phased out of his chest and ran over to float across from him. Its eagerness to show off was openly transmitted, affecting Ain’s emotions. The liveliness brought upon by the positive company of another was comforting.
“Show me Phantom Claws first.”
“Wooo…!”
Nox’s eyes swayed up and down as aether began circulating within its body. Its gaseous body expanded slightly to produce a couple of protrusions that gradually morphed into two white claws. The claws resembled a deformed human hand with frighteningly sharp fingertips, capable of slashing and piercing the toughest foes.
“Wooo…!”
Once the claws manifested, Nox swung them around in a frenzy, eager to display its strength to Ain.
Ain watched on with similar excitement. This was his spirit pet. Its combat power was naturally his combat power! He glanced around and pointed at the closest azure pillar. “Go attack that pillar!”
“Wooo…!” Nox obliged and immediately clawed at the target.
Ding! A crisp sound echoed when the attack collided with the azure pillar. Nox paused and stared at the pillar for a second before turning to Ain, a little aggrieved, “Wooo…”
Ain suppressed a laugh, understanding that the pillar was too hard. He recalled the question marks he’d gotten for the Crescent Azurlite’s rank. This outcome was only natural. In his excitement, he’d overlooked this fact.
“Don’t worry about it; the pillar’s material is of a higher level. Let’s forget about Phantom Claws for now and try Possession.”
“Wooo…!” Nox’s attention span didn’t seem long, and it promptly cheered up. It was even more eager to showcase its innate skill.
Ain watched on curiously as Nox approached him steadily. Just as it reached him, Nox suddenly dove into his chest, much like it had done before. Immediately, a powerful aura burst out of Ain as a ghastly demeanor emerged. Newfound strength, alongside surging aether, coursed through his body with vigor.
Ain’s obsidian eyes somehow grew even darker, reflecting the void that used to reside in Nox’s eyes, reflecting no light. He stared at his hands in astonishment, taken by surprise at the unexpected surge of power.
“This is Possession?”
An affirmation originated from Nox within him.
Possession was vastly different from what he’d expected. Instead of an enemy, the innate skill’s target was actually Ain himself. However, this didn’t serve to lower his evaluation of the skill; rather, it bolstered it further.
Clenching his fists, Ain eagerly tested his newfound strength by throwing a couple of punches. The intimate sensation of friction against his skin thrilled him. He continued with a couple of kicks and some random moves he’d seen in the past.
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Once satisfied, he exited the Possession state, and Nox appeared beside him.
“Wooo…”
“Your skills are amazing. Good job!”
“Wooo…!”
Ain smiled at the simple Nox that was reminiscent of the children he remembered from the orphanage.
Next, it was time to explore the hallway with the broken puppets. He’d already memorized the Chronarch Precept on the wall. Although it was much lengthier than the Rank-0 section he’d learned before, it still only inscribed the section for Rank-1. From the events so far, it was easy to deduce where he’d find the rest of the meditation technique.
“Nox, there might be a battle soon, so be prepared.”
“Wooo….”
Ain rested briefly to allow Nox to recover its aether before arriving at the hallway. His steps were cautious as he stared at the scattered puppet remains past the grand door. Finding nothing abnormal, he glanced at Nox for reassurance before entering the hallway.
Just as he stepped into the hallway, the grand door slammed shut behind him, causing him to almost jump out of his skin. At the same time, the broken puppets on the azure floor abruptly vanished with a faint flash.
“What happened?” Ain hastily recovered his nerves and stared ahead with heightened vigilance veiling the slight panic in his heart. Right before his eyes, with another flash, brand-new puppets appeared without warning.
Ain’s eyes widened at the sight. He hastily turned around to grab at the doors in panic, but they refused to budge even an inch. He could only face his back to the grand door again, his gaze wandering to the gray vortex on the opposite end.
“That portal is my only way out.”
This entire sequence only took a second. The puppets that appeared twisted around at awkward angles before straightening out. With their crude texture, the dark wooden puppets were similar in height to Ain. Their humanoid forms were thin and dainty, seeming to be severely malnourished and weak.
Ain glanced at them one at a time.
“There are ten puppets in total.”
As he observed, he realized that none of the puppets seemed to have noticed him as they stood still like sentries, staring off blankly. Furthermore, they were stationed in a rather curious formation.
In the long hallway, the puppet closest to him was alone. With this puppet as the tip, the rest formed a triangular formation, their numbers increasing by one at each increment.
What followed this lone puppet was a pair of two. Behind this pair were three puppets bunched together. And as expected, the finale was a group of four, making up the ten puppets he’d counted. Each group was approximately twenty meters apart from the others, occupying the entire azure hallway.
After confirming the details, Ain briefly discussed with Nox before commencing a simple plan.
He nodded at Nox, signaling it to begin.
Nox left his side and gradually floated over to the lone puppet closest to them. A few seconds trickled by, and the puppet finally reacted. Its dark wooden head turned to face Nox before it broke out into a sprint.
About three meters! Ain confirmed the puppet’s perception range while commanding Nox, “Use Phantom Claws!”
It was the only attack skill it possessed, so Phantom Claws were his natural choice.
Nox didn’t falter at the incoming puppet and brandished its lethal white claws, directly clashing with the puppet’s wooden fist. What followed was a dull splintering noise, originating from the puppet’s wooden arm that’d shattered upon Nox’s attack.
“Wooo…!”
Nox, thrilled at its success, launched another attack, aiming for the puppet’s head.
The puppet wasn’t to be outdone and dodged before countering with its remaining fist.
Under Ain’s gaze, Nox’s body split away from the incoming fist and rejoined to strike the puppet’s head with Phantom Claws. Another crunching sound resounded as the puppet’s head shattered in the air, raining dark wooden chunks onto the Crescent Azurlite floor.
“Wooo…!”
Nox roared in victory as it watched the wooden puppet abruptly halt before scattering onto the floor in pieces. It circled its fallen enemy once before zooming over to Ain.
“That was a great battle, Nox. Good job!” Ain felt the need to praise his spirit pet. He was astonished at the ease with which Nox concluded the battle. He’d been truly nervous deep down.
He observed the remaining puppets closely in case they reacted. A few seconds elapsed in silence. Once he confirmed their inaction, Ain gradually arrived next to the puppet’s leftovers, held a chunk in his palm, and used Scan.
[Name: Plundering Rosewood]
[Aspect: Wood]
[Rank: Rank-0]
[Aspect Traces: Wood 82.3%, Dark 9.7%, Soul 2.4%, …]
[Description: A small piece of Plundering Rosewood from a destroyed puppet.]
“It’s only Rank-0? No wonder the puppet was so weak.” Ain muttered in understanding. Of course, this fact didn’t discount Nox’s great power as it was only at Rank-0 as well.
“This Plundering Rosewood also has aspect traces like Nox.” Ain didn’t fail to notice these enigmatic aspect traces. These weren’t present for the Prismatic Void Stone, nor for himself. He brought out the familiar black stone.
[Name: Prismatic Void Stone]
[Aspect: Void]
[Rank: Rank-1]
[Aspect Traces: Void 85.6%, Earth 9.3%, Fire 0.7%, …]
[Description: A stone originating from the Ink Domain.]
“Hmm? The Prismatic Void Stone has aspect traces now?” Ain didn’t expect to make such a discovery.
His mind operated at unbelievable speeds as connections began forming.
“I was at Rank-0 when I scanned the Prismatic Void Stone initially, and I only scanned Nox after reaching Rank-1. Is that the reason?”
This wasn’t a difficult matter to confirm. He simply rested his palm against the azure floor and used Scan.
[Name: Crescent Azurlite]
[Aspect: ???]
[Rank: ???]
[Aspect Traces: ???]
[Description: ???]
“As expected. The Crescent Azurlite also has aspect traces now.” Ain confirmed with happiness, ignoring the large chunk of aether that’d been consumed.
He’d also scanned the Crescent Azurlite at Rank-0 and it didn’t have aspect traces back then. His conjecture was likely correct.
His innate talent had upgraded upon ranking up!
This first battle was brief, but there were already some gains. Moreover, these puppets weren’t as threatening as he’d initially expected, which further bolstered his confidence.