Chapter 111: Trance!
The surge of power continued to rise. An Elder at the 2nd Stage of Martial Novice continued to use Detect and was shocked at what he saw.
The level six energy of Dyne rose and reached level 9!
"What kind of technique is this? It goes beyond Novice Level skill!" The Elder exclaimed.
The bright light had coated Dyne with slightly purple energy. Dyne’s eyes and hair all followed the same color.
Dyne’s expression was no longer the casual and carefree person. Great anger appeared on his face.
“You think I’m an idiot?!” Dyne shouted angrily.
“Do you think that I would fall over some cheap lies? Weak! All of you are weak! You didn’t want to fight against that Mid-Level city and cowardly hide and cry here! And you blame your shortcoming on Big Sis! Big Sis is the only one who kept fighting! But instead of choosing to follow in her footsteps, you choose to bully her into taking out your anger! If you are truly angry at Dominic, then rise and fight! You filthy cowards! I will show you the vengeance that her heart requires!”
The intense emotions of Dyne began to affect those who were nearby. They could feel the rage and anger of Dyne, and it was as if there was a strange fear that was budding in their hearts.
“The thick death energy in Dyne is being leaked. But Dyne is using the Imaginarium Bond to cause this Death Energy to live. So it's reverting back to its pure form. The Mist!” Strafe observed the energy that was powering Dyne.
“But since when did he learn of the Path of the Berserker? And what’s with the strange lights? Why did he use the Imaginarium arts to… Wait! That’s it!” Strafe suddenly recalled another PS1 Game that had similar powers.
By using the Imaginarium Bond to reflect the anger, the fear, and the negativity, Dyne was able to provoke his emotions to surge at a point that the soul was actually enraged.
The Berserker Cultivators are considered pseudo Soul Cultivators because they can use their emotions to further improve their powers. The technique is similar to Spirit. Through harnessing the emotions, the martial body is stimulated. The body's death energy creates a powerful reflection of the emotion and adds a layer of power.
But Dyne's version was an even more advanced form! Dyne not only allowed the death energy in his body to be stimulated, but his soul, which also contained the soul powers of the Mist in Legaia, radiated this power.
"He's using Soul Cultivation to enhance his Berserk!" Strafe marveled at the sight.
Berserker was primarily a skill related to Body cultivation. But Dyne used a Soul Cultivation equal to what Berserkers do.
Strafe began to observe how Dyne, who was a happy person and who was aligned to the Light, could perform such acts. And then he saw the trigger that Dyne used.
“He used the Mist’s negative power to make his soul Berserk!" Strafe finally understood."
The powerful form of Dyne was something that no other cultivator in Merkley had seen. So everyone was hesitant to fight back.
Boaz finally stood up. He was missing several teeth, and his jaw was burnt.
“Kill that brat!’ Boaz shouted.
The surging power of his Soul rushed and compressed itself in a single point in the air.
Seed's power sent out a vast amount of energy towards the compressed point with the Elemental Spirit.
“Free Energy!” Dyne shouted, and the soul energy was released, creating a Brimstone explosion.
BOOM!
The explosion occurred right in front of Boaz and shocked the nearby cultivators.
Boaz was sent flying back several meters and crashed onto some of the villagers.
“Anyone else?” Dyne laughed as he began to draw the energy from Grim.
Powerful fire energy was emerging around Dyne.
“He's a Berserker!” One of the elders noticed the strong power. The child was very dormant and kind, but then suddenly, he transformed into a ruthless monster.
“Berserker!” The villagers exclaimed at this, and many began to flee.
They had long heard of abhorrent cultivators that love slaughter and killing.
The Imaginarium Bond created an image of great hellfire as Dyne released the heat within his heart.
The sight and the sensation of the heat made the warriors pale and take a step back. Their best warrior had fallen from that strange attack, and no one dared take a step forward, for it would mean death.
But most importantly, was that Dyne had recreated a thin layer of Mist. And as none of these villagers were Soul cultivators, the feat that the Mist brought paralyzed them.
Rena was stunned, silent. She had met Dyne and knew that he was a cultivator of the Light. The powers that he showed and used were light elements. Even Grim was a creature of Holy Fire! And yet, now, Dyne was employing powerful arts that she knew belonged to the darkness.
Many began to flee in as the terror struck their hearts, and the other warriors were slowly stepping back.
Seeing that the villagers did not intend to attack, Dyne began to absorb the energy once more.
An invisible soul vortex appeared and began to suck the force. Strafe was shocked because this was the same technique that Jedo was using to make the Mist rush to their area.
“He can copy it already!?”
Although the application was a hundred times weaker than the powers that Jedo used, it was enough to call back Mist that Dyne had released.
“Big Sis. Heal that Boaz. I may have hit him too hard.” Dyne suddenly laughed as the bright lights and the anger in Dyne’s eyes immediately disappeared. The Imaginarium Bond was allowing Dyne to see different memories that made him smile, and the dark emotions disappeared.
“Erm… Big Sis? He is bleeding to death. Dyne reminded as he pointed to Boaz.
Rena was awakened and immediately noticed that Boaz had a terrifying wound on his chest.
“Boaz!” Rena shouted.
She began to cast healing spells on Boaz.
Dyne sighed. He knew that Rena was too kind. And although things are bad now, Rena did consider this Boaz, a friend.
“You used Trance?!” Strafe asked Dyne.
“Yeah. Was it cool?”
“Cool? That was dangerous! You showed an ability that only Dark Cultivators use! That death energy of the Mist went into your soul!”
“Hey, it worked, didn’t it? Trance in Final Fantasy IX was explained as a state that occurs because of the surge of emotions. It was one of the most important aspects of the story. Even Kuja made his last gambit to use Trance!” Dyne explained.
“But that was a game! You just recklessly tried something in your soul?!”
“I wasn’t reckless! The game only inspired me, so I did that. I have long felt that the Soul gets stronger whenever it has certain emotions. I’m guessing Light Cultivators use positive emotions such as hope, determination, and love to create it! The Imaginarium Bond is an entire soul artifact that uses great loyalty and love to create! Wasn’t that also the power that I used to convert the many souls in Legaia? And wasn't my birth to becoming a Soul Cultivator was because of the great joy I’ve felt of being able to play? Wouldn't it be normal for me to notice this?” Dyne gave a barrage of answers.
Strafe was tongue-tied. He didn’t know how to answer Dyne.
“Amazing… You really could figure these things out…” Strafe marveled.
“I have to! For a master, you’re not really very helpful in giving me techniques! You still haven’t taught me any techniques, and apart from the technique you promised, which is related to Meta, you didn’t give me squat!”
“I have to observe your potential! Cultivation can be trodden in two ways. One is to walk on a path already set. Most people in my world do this. They search for legacies, powers, teachings, and so on to tread on. But that is a weak path. It is limited. The most powerful cultivators in my world sought their own! You are a genius in soul cultivation and even showed great potential in Body and Mind cultivation! And that was all you! Why would I begin to damper and hinder you by showing you the path that other people walked on? You are a genius who even managed to create a Brimstone Heart! Why teach you powerful techniques when your growth can allow you to create freakish techniques naturally!” Strafe argued.
“Still… You’re cheap. You could have taught me some fighting techniques.”
“I did! Or rather, I have laid it all down in the games you are about to play! You just have to get to the point where you can learn it!” Strafe argued back.
“Still… You’re cheap.”
Strafe didn’t know how to respond to that.
After two casts, which allowed the wound to close, Dyne moved to stop Rena.
“Big Sis. You’ve done your part. If you heal him too much, it might be troublesome for me!” Dyne laughed.
Rena was startled at Dyne’s interference.
The villagers had allowed Rena to move in and did not hinder her.
“Stop!” A woman cried.
Dyne turned around to see who it was. It was Xera.
“You criminal! How dare you attack us! Many of us are wounded! And you dare to stop Rena from healing-“
SMASH!
A rock that was coated with fire shot towards Xera’s face.
“That’s how you throw a rock!”
“AHHHHH!” Xera shouted in great pain as the sank in her jaw. The rock penetrated the cheeks and entered the mouth shattering a few more teeth in the process.
“You guys are pathetic! You abuse Big Sis and demand for her to heal you? I made Big Sis heal Boaz because I knew she cared for him as a friend. She cared for all of you and even told you about the rock that fell in the forest! Well, let me tell you this… She found it! It was me! That’s how I ended up here! I came from a Kingdom far away from my home, and by means that you can never understand, I got sent here!” Dyne shouted.
“I happen to have the power to save your pathetic town! But seeing how you treated and plotted against her, I’ll just save her and her family! Big Sis’s Mom and Dad. Pack up! We’re leaving! Buy whatever you need. We’ll be staying in the forest!” Dyne said as he waved a card, which tossed a lot of Legaia gold on the ground.
It was a huge pile of pure monster life energy.
Everyone who saw it lusted after the amount. Dyne was confident that the gold in Legaia would be the same in this place, and by the looks of the villager's expression, he was right.
Rena’s parents were shocked at the amount.
Dyne finally looked at the gold and had a peculiar expression.
“Woah. Since when did I become so rich?” He wondered.