Alaric went completely still, watching the battle before him unfold with silent anticipation. Every so often, his face twitched with suspense only for his eyes to open wide in awe.

The wind from missed attacks blew his black hair which had grown longer during the Tempering Ritual.

Part of him—albeit a less serious part— was giddy with how well he could keep track of the movements in front of him.

The men fighting were clearly past human limits exchanging blows of inhuman strength capable of shattering human bones and yet… their bones held, a testament to the vitality of their Temper Ranks.

Calmly, his eyes followed the battle, analysing the mesmerizing footwork of the Slayer of the Tower.

He’d seen the other men spar before. Sadly, at the time, Alaric had been too weak to keep up with their movements but skilled enough to predict where they wanted to attack or what was flowing through their minds as they weaved intricate traps with their crude combat.

They were decent warriors but not nearly as refined as the well-oiled machine they were currently fighting.

Gunther was up against three slayers and yet he was in no way disadvantaged. With elegant footwork and the flawless swing of his blade, he pommeled humiliating lessons into their joints and sides.

Absentmindedly, Alaric asked, “LionHeart, how can you figure out someone’s Temper Rank without… asking them? I noticed Garin doing something like that back at the orphanage.”

“That! They would have taught you at the Academy but I guess it doesn’t hurt to give you a few pointers,” the man responded with brimming enthusiasm. He cleared his throat and began, “ You know the kinds of energy that flow through your vessel?”

Alaric looked up in thought, “I know about Aether. Alia has always talked about Spirit Energy but I’ve never been able to detect that one.”

“Not bad! Those are the two kinds of ‘mystical’ energies that flow through your body. And while they have a few similarities, they are different. If you give aether purpose, it transforms into magic which is just aether with specific attributes but that doesn’t work quite the same way with Spirit Energy.

I won’t get into the different ways you can utilize aether flow to increase your body’s base capabilities. I’ve noticed you already know a bit about that.

What you’re looking for now is Spirit Energy or Spirit Essence as some would like to call it. Spirit energy is contained within your Spirit Vessel and is very important for strengthening the bond between you and your Guardian.

Close your eyes and look for the feeling of Spirit Energy. It should feel similar to the bond you have with your guardian. Don’t ask me how it works. You’ll know when you find it. When you’ve found it, direct it to your eyes and open them,” the man explained.

“Do I direct it the same way I normally direct aether?” Alaric asked, his eyes closed and in deep focus.

Alaric’s impeccable attention to his body allowed him to sense his Spirit Vessel a lot faster than normal. Why not anyway?

Ever since he woke up, he’d felt strangely… different. A part of him was feeling more tangible.

It was like something had been added to his being and that something felt strangely like his guardian. Alia’s presence felt… closer. Like he could reach for the guardian the moment he felt like it. It made him feel safe.

Focusing more on this fuzzy feeling of warmth and safety, Alaric continued to map out his whole Spiritual Vessel. Past his arms, then to his chest, then torso, legs and the rest of his body.

When it was that he’d mapped out his Spirit Vessel in its entirety, he gasped. ‘This…’

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He had no words to describe this feeling. Before, Alaric’s body had been human… ordinary, weak.

He’d heard these exact words from his guardian… and many times he’d also heard that it was the reason taking in the power of other guardians was excruciating and difficult. His body was not strong enough… and would not grow as strong as he wanted it to be without the improvement of his Spirit Vessel.

Still, Alaric had endured that pain to grow more powerful and learn more about his Inborn Ability. Weak as his human body had been, he’d managed to control Thomper’s abilities albeit to a lesser level when compared to what Thomper was truly capable of.

Now, however, everything was different.

From Alaric’s current perspective, his body wasn’t human in the slightest. A vast casing of power clothed it in a pale invisible glow, reinforcing it in unnatural ways.

Alaric’s body wasn’t weak anymore.

It was… tempered.

It was a shock that he had not yet broken things without meaning to. At the same time, it felt as though his awareness of the Spiritual Vessel made it just a bit stronger, as though acknowledging it, activated it somehow. Now that he was aware of the change, however, he felt the need to unleash his newfound power… to test it out.

[ You’re supposed to be directing the power to your eyes ] Alia interrupted his thoughts.

[ Eyes… right, ] Alaric thought, [ Focus… ]

One second… Two seconds… A cold sweat broke out on the boy’s forehead and he collapsed on the ground, breathing badly… Massive amounts of energy rippled through his body, shuddering as though he’d just attempted to move a mountain. The world was spinning and Alaric was struggling to keep his breakfast. Beads of sweat quickly surfaced on his brow, dropping to the ground with a silent dripping rhythm.

“Yeah, it’s not easy,” LionHeart sighed.

Finally noticing the pair, Gunther struck the men he was training in the gut with three successive attacks they barely had the time to see.

“Take a rest,” the man said, then left them to meet the new arrivals.

“He was toying with us!” Alaric heard the men gasp, “That bastard!”

LionHeart let a smile grace his face while Alaric looked up at the man while trying to stand. As it so happened, the tremours that shook his Spirit Vessel were affecting his very ability to stand up straight. The diminishing sense of vertigo threatened to throw him to the ground yet again.

“How is the training coming along, Gunther?” LionHeart asked.

“They are improving. Slower than I would have liked… but this is not the Tower, so I can’t complain when I see progress. If we were to be attacked by the likes of Darth of the Flame Vipers, we wouldn’t stand a chance,” the man replied with a sigh, “Who is…”

The slayer went silent.

‘Black hair… Green eyes…’ he thought to himself. Who else had these features but Alaric? Except, had he always been that tall? Had his skin always been that smooth? He knew of the changes that came with the Tempering Ritual but this…

“Alaric woke up. Can you guess his Temper Rank?” LionHeart grinned.

“That’s not funny, LionHeart,” Gunther said before turning to Alaric. Alaric, who was still catching his breath, felt a wave of Spirit Energy blow past him right before Gunther’s eyes went wide, “How?”

Alaric smiled, still struggling to remain upright. He staggered only to be caught by LionHeart, “Hey, you okay?”

“You didn’t say it would be this hard,” Alaric breathed.

“It’s hard but not as hard as you’re making it out to be. I think you tried moving your whole Spirit Vessel. Rookies make that mistake all the time,” the man guessed.

Alaric was confused, “Isn’t that how you manipulate Aether?”

The two slayers went silent for a bit, looking at each other with confused expressions. LionHeart stuttered, “You… You manipulate Aether by moving everything in your body?”

It was Alaric’s turn to be confused, “You’re supposed to circulate Aether through your body to use it, right?”

“For Body Augmentation? Yes! You do that even for simple tasks?” LionHeart asked.

“Yeah, it’s more efficient that way,” Alaric countered.

Gunther found himself laughing at the boy’s words while LionHeart facepalmed. The smaller slayer spoke through his chuckles, “Studies have shown that to be more efficient… It’s just not… convenient. If you apply that concept to your Spiritual Vessel… Well, it’s going to feel like you’re trying to lift an elephant. Your Spiritual Vessel is malleable but not as much as aether.

Aether flows through channels in your body like a smooth river… but your spirit vessel is a lot more rigid. So to use Spirit Energy on your eyes, you’d need to extend only the part of your Spiritual vessel that’s close to your eyes, and use that.”

Alaric nodded, then tried again.

He felt for the overwhelming vessel that was his Spirit Vessel, then focused on the part of his vessel around his eyes. When he opened them, the world had changed subtly.

The slayers next to him were glowing a blinding white that Alaric was forced to look away from them. In the process, he spotted, the men resting at the far edge of the clearing, winded and without the energy to stand.

Their bodies glowed a soft orange.

“Tempers that are higher than yours will always be white… but those below you will shine in hues that your guardian can interpret for you,” Gunther explained.

As if on queue, Alia spoke up, [ They are all Glass Rank. The man with the brightest orange is at Glass Rank Level Eight while the other two are at Level Six. ]