“…Do not let your emotions dictate your thoughts,” Yuri said, shaking her head with a sigh. “You know how sensitive your Aspects can be to your emotions.”
“But that is exactly the kind of Martial Style I want to create… Martial Styles like the one I used against the Dark Earth Bear take too much time to prepare. Rather than using such Martial Styles, I would rather use the one that Cecilia has created for herself. At least it can uniformly increase my strength, and when needed, concentrate all my strength in my claws.”
“…Forget it. Things like Martial Styles can be figured out only through real fights. We will have this discussion on a later date. Till then, keep thinking how you can use your paths to complement each other. Even the path of Scholars.”
“…I will.”
“…Do you have anything you wish to say about your fighting style, Alnea?”
“I guess, I can also say that my Arcanas are a little too biased towards providing support. Even if I develop in the direction of a support Arcanist, I should at least have a couple of decisive Arcanas to end our enemies if the need so arises. Especially so, since out of the three of us, only I can specialise in the lineage of Day. And there are countless Mysteries in the lineage of Day which can help me create offensive Arcanas.”
“…And?”
“And I can also try to see if I can create more Healing Arcanas. Our team truly does need such Arcanas. And I think I should have the highest chance of comprehending the Mysteries of Life. If things do not go as planned though, then I might as well choose the lineage of Life to specialise in as a Scholar.”
“There is no need for that,” Cecilia said, with a slight hint of determination in her voice. “You can concentrate on your Arcanas. If you really don’t comprehend the Mysteries of Life… then I can take the lineage of Life as my specialisation.”
“…Are you stupid?”
“You are stupid!” Cecilia said, kicking him on his shins. Despite the fact that they were all sitting cross legged on the ground, her aim was as immaculate as ever. “Thus came the Origin, with Creation, Time, and Chance. An inevitability, it was then, that Life came to dawn…
“Just like how the lineage of Decay is best suited for Yuri to specialise in, lineage of Life is best suited for me to specialise in. Not to mention the fact I am going to specialise in attacks for both my Arcanas, and Martial Styles. It would be better for me to choose a support specialisation for my path as a Scholar.”
“That’s where you are wrong,” Yuri said, interrupting Cecilia’s monologue. “It is exactly because you are going to be specialising in attacks for both your Arcanas, and Martial Styles, that your Glyphs should also follow the same specialisation. Choosing any other way will only increase your troubles, and limit your achievements.
“Besides, who told you that choosing the lineage of Life is the best option for you? Although it might not be the worst option, but if you truly do choose the lineage of Life, then your Glyphs will surely come in conflict with the Mysteries of Night. After all, Night inevitably leads to Death, does it not?”
“But that will hold true of Alnea too. His Roots are also based on the Mysteries of Night.”
“And the Mysteries of Day,” Alnea added. “Don’t forget that. It is very important.”
“…With the Mysteries of Day, and Night balancing each other, he will not have problems with any lineage he chooses. As long as he not stupid enough to inscribe Glyphs from two different lineages, he should not face too many problems. But you… I know that you want to help Alnea, but you do not have to sacrifice your future as a Wanderer in the process. Or else, how are you going to stay by his side?”
“…Who wants to stay by his side,” Cecilia mumbled with puffed cheeks, but did not mention anything about choosing the lineage of life again. However, just because she left him alone did not mean that Yuri would do the same.
“Specialising as support in Arcanas, and now even in your Glyphs… Are you so afraid of fighting on frontlines?”
“Who is afraid of fighting?” Alnea said with a scoff. “I am just making the most rational decision. After all, like you said, since my Arcanas are already supportive in nature, there is no need to diverge on my path as a Scholar.”
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“…Or you could trap enemies with your Arcanas, and kill them with your Glyphs. Would that not be the perfect combination?”
“…Walking on two—three diverging paths is not going to be easy. Even master had warned me earlier, and said that I should choose to focus on only one path.”
“And what did you say to her then?”
“…I don’t remember.”
“…Really? Then do you remember the first thing that Cecilia had said to you?”
Alnea turned towards Cecilia, and found her looking back at him in interest. If he said the wrong answer…
“…You are so cunning.”
“Less than you.”
“When did I become cunning?”
“Is it not because you do not wish for me and Cecilia to get hurt that you are willing to focus all your attention on creating supportive Arcanas? Even choosing the lineage of Life for your Glyphs should have the same motive. What are you afraid of? The curse of your fate? Did we not talk about it earlier?”
“…Count it as your win.”
“…Forget it. You should at least remember your Oaths, right?”
“I do,” Alnea said, feeling a weird sense of premonition in his Heart.
“Then do you remember the Oath you took for big sis Nyssa the day you met me.”
“…I do.”
“And are you going to fulfil that Oath by following others, or by creating your own path?”
“…By creating my own path.”
“You should have your answer then,” Yuri said, looking at him with a smug smile. “With your talent in Martial Styles, and your affinity with Aspects, you should have no problem in your path as a Warrior. And you are progressing pretty decently on your path as an Arcanist. At the very least, you are better than most of our peers. So, why not be a little bold, and try something different?”
“…The lineage of Destruction, or the lineage of Time?”
“Both of those lineages will help the team equally. And both of them have some of the strongest Glyphs in existence. Most importantly, the Union has Glyphs from both the lineages all the way up to the Origin Rank. If you wish to truly stand at the peak of the path of Scholars, then they should be your best choice. However, your choice is still up to you. All I can do is give you suggestions.”
“…And threats?”
“When did I give you threats?”
“…Never mind,” Alnea said, wisely choosing not to expose the dangerous light shining in Yuri’s eyes. “I will think about them. For now, let us get back to what we were talking about. As I was saying, I need to add some decisive Arcanas to my repertoire. And I will try to increase the supportive Arcanas that I have. Not in overlap of your Glyphs, of course.
“Your Glyphs, not the offensive ones, restricts our enemies, while my Arcanas gives them negative buffs, suppressing their abilities. They might seem similar at first, but act in completely different directions. There also the other Arcanas which I can use to boost our abilities. And of course, the healing Arcana. But my Roots are not from the lineage of life, after all. I cannot guarantee than I will encounter more of their Mysteries…”
“What is the big deal about not encountering more Mysteries of Life?” Yuri said, smiling at him in a playful manner. “At most, you will not be able to create Healing Arcanas. But that will not stop us from using Healing Arcanas created by others.”
“But didn’t you say that we shouldn’t use Arcanas that we did not create…”
“What is more important, our lives, or our training?”
Alnea stared at Yuri in complete silence, while she kept smirking at him. Even Cecilia was left speechless by what Yuri had said. And a bit red faced.
“…I—
“Oh, right. I forgot. You cannot use Arcanas created by others.”
“You clearly did not forget!”
“Do not slander me. I am innocent.”
“…Forget it. You win. I will think about what lineage I should choose.”
“Good.”
“As for my Martial Styles… I am still learning them, so I cannot say what direction I will focus in. At best, I can just tell you what Martial Styles I am best at.”
“No need,” Yuri said. “We are both clear on your progress of Martial Styles, and the way you handle your sword. Even if there are some deficiencies, they will go away in time. The only problem you had in your fighting style was with your Arcanas, and the way you were thinking. Now that you have decided how to deal with those things, it is time address your most glaring problem.”
“…I still have problems?”
“Fighting advanced phase Oren Beasts while being an Initial Stage False Wanderer… is it really a surprise that all you can do is contain those beasts? It is fine for now… but what will you do against Heterodox Wanderers?”
“…There is still some time before the Heterodox Wanderers come looking for me.”
“Are you sure?” Yuri said. “Did you forget about the curse you were talking about?”
“…What should I do then? It is not like I can break through my bottleneck just because I want to.”
“…But you will break through because I want you to,” Yuri said, flashing an innocent smile on her face. “I have prepared a very special training for you. In at most five days, or maybe even as soon as tomorrow, you will become an Intermediate Stage False Wanderer.”