The sun had begun its descent towards the horizon. Far from the quaint and peaceful Mira village, a dark, cramped underground chamber lay concealed amidst the rocks, housing three women in secretive mood. Outwardly, it was just that; a pile of rocks. But that was only due to the efforts of Alanis. In reality, the rustling of Alanis' movements were quite loud as she paced back and forth, applying counterintelligence measures to safeguard against any prying eyes.
"It's done, my lady," Alanis reported with a reserved demeanor, in stark obedience compared to her more casual demeanor back at the village.
“Then, please wait outside.” Sumire gently waved her off.
“By your orders, my lady.” The wolf-beastman bowed before leaving the small, cramped room.
Sumire turned towards the one person who remained in the room. “How many crystal coins did it cost?”
Katyusha's eyes flickered with the glint of cold, calculative intelligence, gleaming in the dimly lit room. "The grade-S mana pool awakening potion costs around 10,000 coins." she leaned forward, her brows furrowed as she spoke with a serious tone. "We also used up a couple of dozen mid-grade crystal coins, concentrated elemental crystals, and various spell catalysts for the ritual formation and the cleanup. All in all, we're looking at about 28,891 crystal coins."
Just hearing the number from her mouth prompted Sumire to massage her temples.
The typical mana pool awakening ceremony would cost around a hundred to a thousand crystal coins. If it was a grade-A, then the cost might inflate to two thousand. The fact that a grade-S mana pool awakening cost almost fifteen times that of a grade-A is a testament to the fact that merely having talent is not enough to make one into a peerless cultivator. Money is power. Even the number spent on cleanup alone is still a number that not the average Hunter team could afford.
“The Association will only reimburse up to 2,500 for each mage candidate with a grade-A mana pool that we recruited, up to a 100% bonus if they also possess grade-A spirit talent. As for the body cultivator candidates… they range from a hundred to a thousand.” Sumire sighed. “With just this boy, we’ve already begun to drive ourselves into the red...”
Katyusha waved her arms in a reassuring manner, “I will use my authority as the captain’s assistant to fully reimburse your faction when I report to her personally. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure the reward ratio split between our factions won’t change. The captain despises complications with wealth distribution and she has countless treasures piled up from her extradimensional expeditions, so I’m doing her a favor. Also, I won’t mention Sakuya’s… closeness to Satoru.” She paused before adding, “I never would’ve thought she’s a shotacon….”
“Hahaha.” Sumire chuckled, letting out some tension. “I think she wanted to groom her own lover. Not that I blame her for wanting to tie the knot with a future-Paragon, though.” The brief reprieve didn’t last long, and the casual atmosphere was quickly suffused with a businesslike mentality once more. “Then, about his request… I had Alanis prepare the soul contract containing our agreement with him, but we can’t get him to sign it unless his parents are dead.”
“I will take care of the execution. You just need to plan how she will die since you’ll be responsible for the cleanup afterwards.” Katyusha took out a mobile phone that, at first glance, was made out of transparent blue crystals. After interacting with the touch-screen, it produced holographic images of various magic machinery artifacts and a list of spell catalysts. “These are the resources I am authorized to take out for this task.”
“I can’t express how grateful the captain has been taking care of us… considering we are using up Ayame’s tech and all.” Sumire praised as she interacted with the holographic images, looking at the new things that their captain had invented.
Katyusha shrugged. “Sometimes, I also wondered how the captain managed to persuade Ayame to share her magic machinery artifacts with us, but then again, the captain is an ocean of depth when it comes to these things. But, let’s not waste time talking about useless things.”
“True…” She agreed. “Here,” She pointed to two spell catalysts and a magic machinery artifact, “I believe we can use this…”
Katyusha glanced at her selection and pondered on it for a few moments. “A Nanom-based assassination method, huh… understood. Since we’re leaving tomorrow morning, then I’ll have to do it tonight.”
….
Later that night, on a campsite some distance away from Mira village.
“Myriad Blaze Sanguine Pool is a fire-blood extreme mana pool… it is based on my true body’s!” Astaroth praised Mordred for his prudent arrangement. He truly is preparing ‘Satoru’ as Astaroth’s future vessel, unlike the few hundred times he had bamboozled her. Since it is so attuned to fire magic, she doesn’t need to adapt Satoru’s body to her on her own. “Thank you for choosing it, fire and blood aren’t even your field of expertise!”
With a nonchalant tone, he replied, "It's fine, it's the least I can do." While his physical body meditated inside a tent provided by Twin Helix members, he telepathically communicated with the two demons residing within his phylactery. Since he wasn’t being disturbed, he was able to concentrate and focus on the conversation without any interruptions.
“Since it is similar to my true body’s, then its initial size must be a 10-unit. Its ‘extreme’ quality is to gradually refine your blood into a secondary mana storage medium. Slowly but surely, your blood would be enriched with mana and fire elemental particles, allowing you to use it as a catalyst in blood-path or fire-path magic spells!” Astaroth muttered in excitement. The archdemon’s methods were naturally cheats that practically broke conventions of spellcasting.
Mordred gave out a light laugh. “Ha, that was my goal all along. I cannot galvanize the laws of fire-path freely since I am lacking in attainment, so it is an alternative. However, that can only happen in the near future when I’ve fully enriched my blood. For now, I am a fire-path mage apprentice who has yet to learn my first spell.” He then switched his attention towards the demons in the phylactery. “Asmodeus, you said that Katyusha has found out about you two?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” the demon king reported. “She might have gotten a glimpse of what Astaroth looked like…”
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty…” if Astaroth were to have a physical body, she would be bowing in shame, asking for forgiveness. “I was too excited when you asked me to handle the mana pool refinement. It was the first time I worked with Heaven-and-Earth Refinement Style methods and we hadn’t yet faced someone that could see souls so I had forgotten to hide myself. …”
“That’s fine.” Mordred did not blame her. Grade-S mana pool ‘awakening’, or in this case ‘refinement’, was beyond his capabilities at that moment since he lacked the spiritual foundation nor can he use mana to accomplish it. If he were to use his soul arts, it would’ve been possible, but it would’ve weakened Mordred for a long period of time since he did not possess a large number of souls to support it. After all, dealing with the heavenly dao is not an easy task. “Since Katyusha did not go insane, I assumed that she was unable to see you, Asmodeus?”
“I… cannot confirm nor deny that.” Asmodeus admitted honestly.
As the split soul of a rank 6 existence, she inherited minor versions of her main soul’s myriad abilities. According to Morderd’s understanding, as an Aesma Daeva, if lower-ranked beings were to get even a glimpse at her true form, their mind would break down, rapidly turning them insane. Their minds will be filled with endless, rootless rage. Oftentimes, the Demon King of Berserk Inferno would leave a ruined battlefield filled with corpses of both allies and foes, enraptured with infinite, sourceless rage, locked in a perpetual bloodbath amongst themselves.
Only Paragons can get a glimpse of her true form without having their minds spurred into infinite rage, but even then, they’ll have to take layers upon layers of countermeasures to do so.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
In fact, Mordred’s [Misophonia] was so potent because he improved it after gaining a deeper understanding of the Aesma Daeva’s true nature.
“Hmmm, I see.” Mordred instantly understood why she would answer as vaguely as she did.
Rank 6 existences are Sovereigns, the apex of a world or a civilization. Having the knowledge on some things but unable to confirm nor deny it is a means of mitigating karmic retaliation. Asmodeus knew something about Katyusha from their brief interactions but to ensure Mordred wouldn’t be infected with the karma, she chose not to tell. It was a tacit understanding between two equally powerful beings.
It’s a bit troublesome, but that’s the true nature of the world.
There are things that are better kept secret, even if one knows them. For instance, if a mortal were to mention a god's true name, the god can use the karmic relation to gain knowledge of a trivial fact about the person who mentioned it. If the true name was repeatedly mentioned over a long period, the deity would eventually know everything about the person.
Furthermore, gods aren’t the only things that exist beyond the realm of reason. There are other mysterious, enigmatic beings out there beyond the reaches of Morgen World’s world boundary, and most sovereigns are considered as a mere fragment of these entities.
Thus, some information is truly best left unspoken at all.
With that in mind, trying to ask Asmodeus for more would be a waste of time. Thus, he focused on what can be done. “Then, let’s assume Katyusha’s background. Perhaps, she’s a descendant of a sovereign, but there are quite a few sovereigns whose concept and element is related to ice who hailed from the Seas of Eternal Winters. One of which is my former self- the Great Archmage's- mentor who taught me ice-path… Vladimirovich Stukov. However, there should’ve been a bloodline reaction when someone possessing Vladimirovich’s bloodline is in my proximity, so she couldn’t be his descendant.”
“!!!” Astaroth was shocked. “Your Majesty, you are Stukov’s apprentice?”
“Oh, you were acquainted with him?” Mordred raised an eyebrow, not minding that the conversation trailed off to another direction. For him, conversing about the past might help recover his memories. “There was a time when the ‘Great Archmage’ traveled around the five regions to learn about the world. During that time, I was an Epic and had the privilege of studying in Stukovgrad. There, I delved into the teachings of Stukov's Profound Dao Ice True Inheritance, which included a unique Ice Radix that was impervious to melting, even when used to protect oneself when you land on stars…”
“I see. He once visited Purgatory World and fought against the Demon King of Berserk Inferno.” Astaroth observed Asmodeus’ reaction as she spoke, but was disappointed after the lack of one. Perhaps, her memories regarding that event were also sealed. “As a result, there was a permafrost glacier island in the Pyrocaustic Samudra of Purgatory World. To the natives, it was a hellish landscape that shouldn’t be approached even by Epics, to think it was the same Ice Radix…”
As Mordred and Astaroth idly chatted, occasionally joined by Asmodeus, time seemed to pass by in a blur. It wasn't until Mordred's internal clock chimed midnight that he felt a presence approaching his tent. The two demons instantly went quiet as the tent’s zipper-door opened, allowing a red-haired beauty in a red-hue lace nightgown to enter.
“Psst…” The intruder whispered after isolating herself and Mordred inside his tent. “Are you still awake?”
“Miss Sakuya, how can I fall asleep when you told me not to?” Mordred opened his eyes, unbothered by her rather revealing clothing. All this time, he was following Sakuya’s instruction to ‘meditate’ while waiting for her to come. Even if he’s blind and deaf to the happenings in the village after his mana pool awakening, he wouldn’t be naïve enough to think that this tent isn’t monitored by Twin Helix’s personnel so she must’ve known that he hasn’t been asleep yet.
“Hehe… I apologize for that.” Sakuya faked an apology following a small giggle. “Come, let me teach you the basic spell that every fire-path mage needs to learn!” She produced a small book from her dimensional storage and shoved it to Mordred’s arm in excitement, ignoring the ‘really? it’s literally fucking midnight’ expression on Mordred’s face.
Swoosh! A small ball of red-orange flame quickly manifests on top of Sakuya’s finger, pushing the darkness away in this small tent. “It has to be [Fireball] because it is one of the most flexible spells ever created!” Sakuya explained the grimoire’s cover and content which are written in alien language.
‘That’s because it is the most basic fire-path spell…’ Mordred rolled his eyes as he paid great attention towards Sakuya’s finger which was tracing the small grimoire. “Miss Sakuya, I can’t read…”
“That’s fine, I’m here to teach you.” Sakuya won’t leave any gap, she wouldn’t let him get away after all she had spent on him. “However, what I’m about to do is extremely dangerous. You should never allow other people to do it except if you fully trust them, okay?”
“W- what are you going to do?” Mordred pushed the rank 1 warmage away from getting too close. A glint of skepticism paired with one of anticipation gleamed in his eyes for a brief second.
“Hmm…” Sakuya scratched her head after seeing her aggressive skinship approach didn’t quite work on Mordred. “I wanted to impart to you a minor inheritance regarding Ancient Arcana Lingua, the magical language used in low-ranked spells. With it, you don’t have to learn how to read, write, and chant from zero!”
“How is that possible?”
“It’s like this…” Sakuya extracted a cloud of telepathic will from her head. In the real world, telepathic wills manifest in different forms, having various colors and functions depending on its concentration. Since she is a fire-path cultivator, her telepathic will is heavily influenced by her cultivation technique, therefore, the cloud of telepathic will has a slight orange-red hue in it.
“Long ago, imparting inheritances was quite difficult. A few hundred years ago however, the Great Archmage officially invented the wisdom-path.” Sakuya elaborated. “Since then, more deliberate wisdom-path methods have been adopted far and wide by other paths. Now, creating a minor inheritance like this is not too difficult, even a rank 1 fire-path warmage like me is able to do it with some effort! I will imprint the knowledge directly into your mind, so please relax…”
Mordred nodded as he closed his eyes, waiting for him to receive the lump of telepathic will. So that he could receive it the most efficient way, Sakuya condensed the cloud-like telepathic will into as small as a sesame seed, before sending it into the spot between his eyebrows. Mordred’s forehead creased as his body jolted when he received it, but he relaxed as soon as he got used to the foreign knowledge flowing into his sea of consciousness.
The telepathic will quickly break down into telepathic thoughts as they are assimilated within Mordred’s sea of consciousness, quickly becoming memories that he could easily access and sort.
“I see… With this method, I am able to learn complex subjects with ease…"
"Well, it isn't that simple." Sakuya seems to know what he had in mind. "Since I'm a fire-path warmage, I am not specialized in refining telepathic wills because it is the core concept of wisdom-path. However, a wisdom-path mage like our vice-captain wouldn't be able to create fire-path minor inheritances because she doesn't specialize in fire-path. If you think having minor inheritances is a shortcut to learning, you'd be disappointed… unless of course, you have access to Ayame's virtual learning device…"
After mentioning Ayame's name, Sakuya seems to enter a deep londeration. "Maybe it would be possible if I asked the captain…" she muttered under her breath.
"Who is that?" Mordred's inquiry brought Sakuya's attention back.
"Ayame is the magic machinery operator in our team, she's always by our captain's side so it’s quite difficult to ask her for favors. Hmm, I'll just ask the captain directly. She’s very generous, after all.” She added for emphasis. She then brought Mordred’s attention back to the grimoire. “Let’s put that off for later, for now, if you can learn a spell or two, you might be able to help us during the return trip.”
"Very well," Mordred replied with a respectful nod to her advice. Morgen World is filled with perilous dangers, fraught with hostile races and dangerous creatures lurking around every corner. The journey back to the academy or any nearby cities could involve navigating treacherous, uncharted territories where even the most competent hunters could be endangered. The roads are for the meek, after all, and they were a team of hunters. Thus, he recognized the wisdom in having skilled companions by his side, knowing that their combined strength would increase their odds of emerging from the wilderness unscathed.
“Before you start thinking about using spells, you need to understand the various types of materials that can be used as spell catalysts.” Sakuya pointed at the candle-like ball of fire in the room which has been serving as a light source. “This is a minor fire-path method which uses oxygen- er, I still haven’t properly made the minor inheritance behind the principle of fire…”
Just as she was about to extract another cloud of telepathic will, Mordred stopped her. “In order for fires to burn, they require some amount of air. This is because air plays a vital role in the processes that occur during a fire. As the fuel burns, it reacts with the surrounding air, which in turn releases heat and generates combustion products such as smoke and heat. However, the fireball that you produce does not generate smoke while generating minimal heat… it is beyond the work of nature so it must be magic.”
Sakuya looked at Mordred in pure shock.
Mordred almost thought he made a mistake. “W- what’s wrong, miss Sakuya?” He scratched his head. “I might be uneducated, but I am not stupid.” He lied naturally as he breathed. In reality, he is too lazy to ‘learn’ everything from the basics. Besides, he can use the enlightenment during his mana pool awakening as a cover for his ‘sudden’ knowledge.
“N- nothing.” Sakuya smiled in genuine happiness. “It seems that mastering this variation of the [Fireball] spell is possible before we return!” She muttered in excitement.