Eve and Anabel were only able to sigh a breath of relief when Leonidas returned to them.
“Let’s return. It’s about time we close the door on our trap.”
***
Leonidas’ return to Violet Waters was as understated as his initial exit to all but a select few people.
He took note of the fact that there were far fewer commoners on the street and of those that remained, he noticed quite a few with dragging feet and heavy eyes.
Secretly nodding to himself, he entered the Church, only to find something that made his steps pause.
Up ahead, Father Barat stood, his usually stoic expression replaced with one of shock when his eyes landed on Eve. It felt like he was transported 20 years into the past. His body froze, his feet feeling heavy.
Leonidas’ steps didn’t falter as he walked past Barat with Anabel, but he also didn’t make a move to stop Eve from pausing on her own.
Soon, only Eve and Barat remained in a somber sort of silence within the grand halls of the Inner Church.
“I never got the chance to say thank you, Barat.”
Back then, Barat could have chosen to make things even more difficult for Leonidas than he already had. It could be said that it was thanks to Barat that Leonidas’ trial ended so smoothly without him losing a pound of flesh.
“Do you—.”
Barat tried to speak, but the look in Eve’s eyes made him pause. There was a very clear barrier there.
“I owe you a life,” Eve continued. “It is because of me that you spent your prime in the Church and it’s because of me that you continue to stay here.
“I’ve asked you to leave before, but I also lacked the proper sincerity. A part of me wanted you to stay trapped along with me, and I feel that you sensed that.
“It’s been my selfishness that has cost you so much, and I’m willing to return as much of it as I can.”
Barat’s expression fell, his lips curling with self-mockery.
Did you speak of such things with a person you loved? With a person you saw as your closest?
What was this talk of returning favors and cost exchanges? Each word was like another stab to his heart.
Somewhere inside, Barat knew that he was just Eve’s escape back then. She had never truly loved him.
But, he had been willing to be used so long as he was the final choice she made in the end. He had even gone so far to show his sincerity, all for it to mean nothing at all.
“In a few months to a year, Leonidas and I will leave for the Main Shrine.”
Eve bluntly left out Anabel to draw the line as clearly as possible.
“When that happens, should we succeed, there will be two openings remaining for Apostlehood. I will leave you with the Blessings you’ll need to transcend and you can also choose a worthy partner for yourself to take on the second opening.
“You can establish a noble family of your own and leave your mark on Violet Waters and its later generations. Or, you can leverage this to join a Main Shrine of your own in the future.
“I know that my words are crude and that your sacrifice can’t be repaid so easily, but this is all I can do for you.
“I hope that if my life continues to shine bright and I one day return to Violet Waters, your family name will have become a legend surpassing the Bruthers, Rardin and Peyton families.
“You were once the most promising Knight under my father’s charge. I’m sure you will shine once you come to hold true power.”
Eve waved a hand and a Spirit Circuit completed its cycle within her beautiful golden irises.
A Level 3 Heal fell over Father Barat, filling him to the brim with a blinding sort of vitality.
By the time the light had faded, Barat looked as though he was five years younger but Eve had long since disappeared.
He stood in silence, a bitter smile spreading across his face.
His eyes closed, a deep breath filling his lungs.
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If you dared to kill, you should dare to be killed.
In the same way, if you dared to love, you should also dare to suffer heartbreak.
He had never lacked daring in his life. If it wasn’t for Eve’s lie back then, giving him the wrong date of her wedding on purpose, his blood would have already been spilled in the halls of the Peyton family estate.
Today, that thread of his life was finally severed.
His heart was pained but he somehow felt freer.
When his eyes finally opened once again, their dense blackness was suffused with an endless depth and a hidden sharpness.
***
Days later, Leonidas stood in a familiar training room, his mind the picture of absolute focus.
Over this time, Leonidas had forced himself to withdraw into his patience, diligently probing and testing the limits of his Mana Sense and what it could accomplish. Without the tome to guide him, he could only fumble around himself.
He had managed to learn quite a few things.
First, the range of his Mana Sense was about a ten-meter radius outside of himself.
Second, there was a limit to how much ‘Free Mana’ he could use to fuel his attacks.
Free Mana was the term Leonidas had decided on for Mana that was no longer under the restriction of his Mana Pool. Without outside interference, Free Mana tended to disperse and assimilate with the world.
It was because of this that the lake of Mana he and Eve had stumbled onto was so astounding. Such a large concentration of Mana couldn’t be created at will, it required a large amount of effort or a very rare natural phenomenon.
Leonidas realized that this limit was decided by three things.
His level of control. The range of his Mana Sense. And, the Level of the Blessing.
Leonidas’ ability to control Free Mana had three stages. His base form, his form when Scholar’s Eye was activated, and his form when Scholar’s Mind was activated.
His control would weaken when he entered Berserk, but it would strengthen under the effects of War Cry.
There seemed to be many variables that decided “control”.
The second limitation was his Mana Sense. Leonidas realized that his Mana Sense had increased marginally just by meditating on his Mana Pool.
In doing so, his control limit also increased.
It was due to this realization that Leonidas came to understand that he had foolishly wasted his opportunity with the lake of Mana. But this also wasn’t his fault as he had yet to awaken Mana Sense back then.
With the lake of Mana, he would likely have a shortcut to strengthening his Mana Sense!
The last restriction was the Level of Blessing.
Mana Shield’s capacity for Free Mana strengthening was far higher than Mana Blade’s. Yet, the former paled in comparison to Mana Hand.
Of Leonidas’ spells, Mana Hand had the greatest potential. If he accumulated it to its limits, he even felt that it would faintly surpass a Level 4 Blessing. But, the time he would need to prepare it to that stage made it practically unusable in battle.
The third thing Leonidas learned about his Mana Sense was that he no longer needed to set his eyes on a target to cast a spell Blessing in its direction.
Under normal circumstances, a Magic Circuit would complete in the eyes and one’s irises as a window to the world.
With Mana Sense, though, the entire domain became the window.
So long as it was within range of his Mana Sense, Leonidas could form a Blessing anywhere.
Leonidas tried to use the Knowledge Well to find out more about Mana Sense, but everything related to it was locked behind a heavy Blessing Unit cost.
Considering even the cheapest ranged in the thousands, Leonidas concluded that Mana Sense must be a far higher-Level ability than he originally thought.
After Leonidas gathered his thoughts, he finally turned his attention to what mattered the most to him now.
Taking a breath, Leonidas traded for the technique.
The information flooded his mind like a tidal wave, filling his thoughts with all sorts of forms and variations.
The feeling was wholly different from reading [Twin Saber Foundations]. It took no more than a blink of an eye for Leonidas to consume all of the information, but digesting it all felt like a towering mountain looming before him.
And that was just the forms, variations and styles themselves, as for the terminologies and milestones Leonidas had to meet, they were even further over his head.
It was only now Leonidas realized that Mana Sense was only the lowest threshold he needed to meet. As for the others, they all cost thousands of Blessing Units just to learn about, many even cost tens of thousands, hundreds to even millions!
Mana Sense. Mana Heart. Mana Soul?
Within each category of milestone, there seemed to also be varying Levels within.
Following this, Leonidas realized something else. The cost of 500 Blessing Units wasn’t for the technique, but it was rather the cost of having the technique impressed onto your mind one time.
When Leonidas looked again, the cost was now 1000 Blessing Units.
‘The price will increase every time? Why would you need to look a second time, though?’
Leonidas’ brows furrowed in confusion before he shook his head, ignoring it.
What he didn’t realize was that this was a very rare occurrence. For most others, it would take several attempts to just remember a single part. But, Leonidas had digested the entire technique all at once.
The price doubled every time. Most would end up paying millions, if not billions just for a single look by the time they reached their highest Levels of attainment.
Leonidas, though, was blissfully unaware. Instead, he turned his attention toward the weapon’s catalogue.
Normal weapons were worth about ten missions of equivalent rank. For example, a Level 1 mission rewarded between 1 and 4 Blessing Units. Meaning, a Level 1 weapon would cost between 10 and 40 Blessing Units.
However, this was only the price for the base weapon, as in the quality of the material and the sharpness of said weapon.
Above normal weapons were Blessed Weapons.
These weapons carried with them an extra Blessing that could further strengthen an Apostle or a Paladin.
Even the weakest of Blessed Weapons were Level 4 even if their materials were Level 3 or below. This was due to the enhancement of their Blessing.
Leonidas’ run-in with Urog made him realize just how lucky he was.
Thankfully, Urog’s Bloodline Talent Fragment was too weak to control higher Level weapons, or the devastation his talent would have brought to Leonidas would have been lethal.
If Leonidas wanted to fight Deacon Ezor, he would need a stronger weapon, one that he could be more confident in.
The bad news was that exchanges with Gods limited you. Leonidas couldn’t exchange for Blessings above Level 3 as he was only a Level 3 Apostle.
However… The Fallen Apostles didn’t have such rules.
Leonidas restricted the list to chained twin sabers and further restricted it to Blessed Weapons.
‘It seems the most common are elemental…’