Nick dodged away from Lothar’s axe, and ducked under his fist as he backed off. Filling his new inscription with essence and mana, Nick swung his blade, his attack meeting nothing but air.

A wave of frost essence echoed out from his swing at nearly the same speed, and Lothar met it with a cross-armed block. Ice crystals formed on top of his arm guards, but he wasn’t even slowed down in his approach. He swung his axe at Nick again, but he kept on the move, backing off from Lothar’s advance.

The orc was big and strong, but Nick was much faster on his feet. Three more swings and waves followed the first, before he was forced to dodge away from Lothar’s own wave of essence. Nick’s blade waves struck Lothar, ice spreading over his body, despite blocking one with his axe and the rest with his essence attack.

They were sparring at the orc’s Training Grounds, his girls all honing their skills in different areas. It was a large walled in area, with numerous waist-high fences forming makeshift arenas. A mostly dirt and gravel ground with little obstructions, it was easy for warriors to watch other bouts or queue up to face opponents.

The essence was denser than the rest of the city, and it provoked a more rapid recovery of mana as well, allowing warriors to fight more frequently. When following the right protocol for duels where warriors properly challenged themselves earnestly in their bouts, Orion would even reward victories with small amounts of essence.

There were also sections with training dummies and work out machines that resembled a more primitive gym, but looked effective all the same. More experienced warriors gave pointers, guiding the younger ones as they practiced.

Kaya was showing off her talent with her Concept, and Fang and Sable were training the wolflings from both their old tribe and Ironclaw’s. The orcs welcomed their new brethren, happy to meet the large additions to their tribes.

The Ironclaw wolflings had been spending much more time in the city lately, and the kobolds and snakefolk as well. The beetlefolk were still a rare visit, but a handful still made it to the tower each week.

Luna and Eirwen both sat with Agatha, working on their shamanic magic. Fang and Sable didn’t need her help as much, since their magic was more monstrous and instinctual.

Nick continued on the move, sending more waves at Lothar, but he eventually called for a stop.

Lothar noted, “It’s not bad, but a little weak. I don’t feel much cutting power. Why’s this better than making your essence carry?”

Nick knew that while the trait Kaya was blessed with helped, he could still focus on improving his ability to make his body essence carry a bit further with his attacks. He would do that in the future, but that was enough for now.

This new Soul Blade enchantment was an infusion of the Blade Wave glyph awarded from his recent trip to the mall and conquering of the bizarre obstacle corpse. It seemed useful, but it looked like it would take a lot of practice once again–just like what he had experienced with Double Jump.

“I don’t know that it is better other than that it can use a higher mixture of mana, but I don’t have a trait for it like you and Kaya do. I think you might understand if I use the white blade of light. Just to be safe, use your new Concept?”

Lothar nodded, held out his arm confidently, and stirred his essence. The air shifted around Lothar, and it was like Nick could feel it. The man in front of him was a temple, built through relentless hard work, from tearing down his body and building it back up again. He held a sturdiness that was tough like stone.

Nick gauged his swing as best he could, and mixing his essence and mana into the attack, he sent out a white blade wave with a downward chop.

It formed a hazy, indistinct blade swing, which struck Lothar’s arm guard. It knocked his arm back, but didn’t even cut. Instead, it looked like his armor was scraped. Nick’s attack was slightly off target, perhaps only a few inches from what he practiced.

There was a small slice, but it wasn’t even enough to draw blood if it struck his arm, most likely.

Lothar frowned as he looked at it. “How odd. It felt like several cuts landing.”

Nick sighed. “That’s about as good as I can get it right now. It’s really tough to aim the wave. The closest thing I can compare it to, is attacking with a whip.”

“Like a whip? How?”

“A whip has a specific effective range, where the tip of the implement can reach its maximum speed. If it bumps into something or the target moves, it can drastically influence the cutting power and the force of the attack. The blade wave is like that. When I swing, I have to be specific about where I want the cutting light to arrive–to be focused on. A few inches in either direction when the wave arrives, and it’s like those several cuts don’t line up.”

“Ah, I think I see now. Difficult to use on a moving target. So the first step is probably memorizing attack distances, along with swing and essence strength as you gain experience compensating. Why’s it not as much of a problem with the frost?”

Nick thought that was a good idea, and so far, he had just been playing with it a bit. He had been doing his Blade Soulforging daily, but finished the enchantment just yesterday, and had practiced cutting things in his room.

“Since the frost doesn’t need to cut, the freezing light can arrive at different times and still chill and freeze as the wave arrives. It can still cut a little, but it would need to be a perfectly aimed attack, much like the white light.”

“So you really need to master the blade wave to make it truly useful, though it was interesting how you were using the frost blade–attacking me while on the move. Something new for you to practice. What about your ice magic?”

Agatha spoke up from where she was meditating with Luna and Eirwen. “He’s doing well, but it’s difficult to guide him. He’s not a shaman, so his control over the elements is just different from what I can teach him. The young lord can learn shamanic magic like his Frost Shock, but I think it would be a waste of his talents.”

Lothar frowned, but nodded at Nick. “It’s true that most of our shamans cannot natively manipulate ice like you. That is usually the realm of monsters or mages. Instead, they call upon the spirits, the essence itself, to do it. An in-between step.”

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He thought for a moment, before he smiled at Nick. “Good, you have come a long way while I was gone, and you didn’t grow lax in your training. Your Concept Fragment of the Frost King is almost further along than mine and personal to you, so I can’t give much guidance there, other to use mine as a whetstone to your blade. But the next stage for reaching Body Essence Mastery, and thus advancing your swordsmanship, is to integrate your Concept into your fighting style.”

Nick frowned in thought. “I’ll need to come up with an Ideal that will work for me. What if I have two concepts, and I don’t want to integrate both of them into my fighting style?”

“You can use one only with your swordsmanship, and that is fine. But you’ll be giving a lot up. Anyway, that’s the difference between an Expert and a Master. You need to focus on your Concepts for now.”

Nick grimaced. “I don’t see how I can do that with the heroic concept, at least not yet.”

He then explained the trouble he was having with using his heroic concept fragment. How the darkness of his Ideal drew out the malevolent energy from those he judged, and practice of it was difficult, as it seemed to only be drawn out properly when he was being Tested, or doing something properly heroic.

“You say your father called it redemption and salvation? I can understand salvation, a hero certainly brings it. But how would your concept redeem? I think if you can answer this question, you will be able to move forward.”

Nick tried to come up with an answer. “But why does it matter? Why has my concept ended up this way?” He didn’t really understand where this was coming from. Nick had been mildly interested in redemption, from when Rebecca brought it up in his discussion about judgement. He had probed her on whether it was okay for him to punish evil as he did back when he was in Zura trying to rescue the children. But for that to become a part of him and his overall path felt…odd.

“You had explained how this might have come about. Divine Usurpation was the Bishop’s concept, and somehow–you purified it. It has a light and dark component in it, perhaps, you’ve skewed it in a heroic fashion. Rather than stealing the light and dark energy, you are instead earning it, or being given it willingly through salvation and redemption. The Divine Concord will give you the light energy, but you must find a way to obtain the dark.”

Nick frowned. It was certainly true that the bishop both had, and was harvesting, tainted energy in addition to the faith energy. But just how could Nick harvest it? Nick couldn’t even make a Soul Pact with someone like the bishop, as far as he knew. But for some reason, his Ideal drew it out from the depths of his soul–the people he had judged.

He would have to think about how to make this happen. He had an idea, but it worried him a bit.

Nick spent some more time with his mentor, practicing his Frost King Concept. Thanks to the expansions they had done to the Genesis Chamber, many of the orcs and wolflings that had died had already been restored. But a few were still queued, and he was able to use their chains for the moment.

He also used his Create Soul Servant to restore the corpse’s bodies over the last few days in secret, the warriors returning to their families gradually. Many had died in the two battles against the bandits, and it took Nick many hours to restore their bodies back into fighting form.

Not everyone within the city was a Follower of his, so they would have to keep this a relative secret. The warrior’s sendoff was for the warriors and their families in Lothar’s personal courtyard, and they burned the corpses of those Nick was unable to restore.

Some nosy Havendale and Zura people might be suspicious over time that there seemingly isn’t any families missing their men or women, but by then Nick should have a solution.

He would purchase a building that protected the people of his city through death, and just keep it inactive and use it as an explanation for their resurrections. His method brought his people to the level they were when they died, whereas other methods that existed would force them to start over nearly from scratch.

Jasmine arrived near him, and wiped down his sweat with a towel. Then she handed him a canteen of water. “All done for now, Master? I think you’re doing well!”

But Nick noticed something a little odd–he could see the bottom of her spider legs. The dress had previously almost touched the floor, making it look as if she were floating when she walked.

“What’s going on with you? You’re getting bigger?”

“H-Huh? Um, maybe? I didn’t notice.” She looked down, and it appeared to dawn on her.

Jasmine was busy exploring the mountains most evenings and mornings while Nick was asleep, and was a little cagey about what she was doing. He knew she was hunting, much like Jasper, and doing a bit of exploration. She had a certain goal in mind, and wanted to surprise him.

Over the last few weeks, Jasper had defeated numerous enemies in the wilderness. His Soul Servant liked to hunt to the north, looking for creatures to consume. Each time he was successful, a rush of essence the creature shared would join Nick in his core, bringing him closer to the next level.

Unfortunately, they only had a few more days left before they would head to Silverbrook, and it appeared her plan was to stick around here for a time.

Nick looked over to his sheep wife. Periodically, her eyes would glow, and she would gaze into the distance from where she was sitting. He knew she was working with spirits in some way, her shamanic abilities making her able to commune with them. “How are you doing over there Winny, Luna? Any progress?”

Winny beamed. “Yup! Agatha taught me a bunch of things for us to practice on our trip, and while we’re in Silverbrook. I’m eager to unlock my new class!”

Agatha smiled proudly. “An Ancestral Guide is a unique class. An Epic-Support truly blends the differences between a full combat class and a support, and I’m amazed that you are so close to unlocking it at such a young age. Most don’t have enough attributes until they are in the third stratum.”

Nick smiled at his wife in pride. She had gained several traits from their trips through the Ordeals, and now she was really starting to excel.

Luna watched Eirwen fondly as she waited patiently for her turn to speak. “And I’m finding a new path to strength as well. I’m excited to try the totemic magic.”

Nick arched his brow at her. “Totemic magic? You’re able to do this now?”

Luna nodded. “Not quite yet, it will take some investment of my time first. It’s thanks to us being in the second stratum, and having such a high strength of soul. Which is thanks to us being your mate, of course.”

Fang bounded into Nick, her tail wagging as she rubbed her face against Nick’s chest. “Yes! It’s all thanks to Boss. I have to work hard and master more magics too!”

Sable chuckled. “It’s the same for me. Unfortunately, it is a little tough for us to learn, as we don’t have anyone to learn from. We’ll have to master our unique magic and essence abilities on our own.”

Kaya was the last to return and rejoin everyone, leaving several trounced orcs in her wake. Many of them were proud they had hit the second stratum and had become blooded, but she was quick to show them they still weren’t her match.

She joined the group as they were resting, recovering from their training. “What’s everyone talking about, over here? What’re we doing for food?”

Nick arched his brow at her. “Is that why you stopped fighting? You were hungry?”

“N–Yes.” Kaya blushed, as she was forced to tell the truth of the matter.

Nick teased, “Damn, we better not run into some guy with a Hunger Concept. Kaya would be finished, defeated by her stomach of all things.”

Kaya shivered. “T-That can’t be real, right?”

Eirwen chuckled. “Why not? But let’s hang out in the mall for a bit, and have some fun. Nick is going to meet Rebecca soon for his second date, so we’ll have to keep ourselves busy for a while.”

Fang’s tail was wagging. “Yes! The mall! Where we can have more of the bubbly drink, and eat all the pizza.”

Sable and Luna looked equally excited, their tails wagging at the idea. Kaya had a little bit of drool on her lip, and Jasmine smiled at all the girl’s excitement.

Nick dragged each of his wives into a hug and a kiss, and bid them farewell. It was time to meet with his prospective wife for dinner.