Soul Venerable (Re-written)

 

A large campfire is surrounded by multiple carriages carrying supplies and necessities for the team to progress through the competition. Most of group 4 members are socializing and eating after harvesting the resources that went into their ways. 

Despite lacking the necessary supporting resources to increase the efficiency of eating their meat, Maya’s team are proficient enough to turn these Charging Mass Boar corpses into delicious cuisine while harvesting their bones, tusks and organs for sale later. 

Beyond the carriages that encircled the campfire, a wall of roots was erected by Green Lake team members, giving the group a sense of safety that couldn’t be found in the wild. 

Kenji the Wild Savage actually didn’t mind being exposed, he was like a true savage that lived in the wilderness. Since the night guard shifts are taken by Maya’s team who felt their competency was lacking in the previous engagement, Kenji and Sumire’s team are using the freed up schedule to cultivate. 

“So your cultivation methods allow you to just eat and gain strength?” Kurogane, envious of Kenji’s strength, strikes a conversation after seeing a hill of meat being devoured before his eyes.

“White steel’s brother, was it? Yes, and no. My cultivation methods are not too different from yours, to be honest.” After eating, he just laid down on the dirt floor with a rock as his pillow, admiring the star constellations. To Sumire’s team members, Kenji was more accepting than Green Lake’s weak members.

Kurogane sat down next to him, “I know it’s rude for cultivators to ask about personal cultivation methods, but do you have any pointers for me? Even though my strengths are greater than most strength-path cultivators, it was barely above average. Yours are something worthy of envy and respect.” 

Thinking that it won’t be bad to have a good relation with white steel’s little brother, Kenji sat up, “As I said, yours and mine are not too different.” he gazed at Kurogane’s large frame, activating strength-path investigative methods. “You have good bones and muscle structure. Compared to others of the same age, the body runes on your person are also matching a set. It couldn’t be helped as you choose to be an anti-sword strength-path warrior instead of a pure brute like me.”

Suddenly standing up and pointing towards a large rock, he asked Kurogane “Do you want to try arm wrestling with me?”

“Surely you jest?”

“No, I’m being real. I’ll just use three… no, two fingers.” Seeing Kurogane’s serious expression, he let it pass. “Alright, your loss.” he sighed.

“For starters, it’s not about your strength that is lacking.” Sumire suddenly entered their conversation, surprising both.

“Oh? The erudite is going to share her wisdom!” Kenji jokes.

Sumire rolled her eyes, “Don’t let this savage fool you, Kuro. If you think he’s a muscle brain, then you’re going to lose before you even fight him. Let me break it down for you, the moment he strokes his hammer to the beasts, do you think it’s pure strength that he relies on?”  

“It wasn’t?” Kurogane wondered.

“Hmm, this savage here is someone very similar to the legend of Heracles.” Sumire smiled.

Being exposed, Kenji gives a wry smile. “Man, you’re too knowledgeable about the most random things!”

“Heracles… wait, isn’t he someone from Great Archmage’s bedtime stories?” Kurogane was astonished that this one-man-team savage was likened to a character from a child’s book.

“Hey, please stop with your quick judgement. It’s from the Great Archmage himself, a Brave that protected the world, you know. It's worth something, at least.” Kenji seems to know what he was thinking.

“Fine, let’s hear it first from my dearest captain.”

“Great Archmage, the greatest magic caster who invented information-path and popularized the usage of wisdom-path while being a refinement-path expert. The bedtime story he left behind contains great profundity.” she recalled the essence of the story. 

“Heracles is the son of a god and a mortal, blessed with limitless power and strength. In his adventures, he fought a beast donned in golden fur. The beast’s fur was impenetrable; no harm could befall towards the beast despite his limitless strength. Did you know how he defeated such a beast?”

Kurogane was not fond of reading, therefore he wasn’t too knowledgeable regarding the story. As for Kenji, he wouldn’t spoil the fun.

“Arrows could not pierce the beast’s fur, just as swords and spears. In the end, he made the beast return to its cave. Within the dark and narrow space of the cave, he stunned the beast and killed it by strangling it with his bare hands.”

Kurogane became confused. “That’s… just an exploit of his strength, wasn’t it? His story is applicable only to Kenji because he has superior strength that no one could match within the same level.”

Kenji looked at Kurogane as if he’s an idiot, but he didn’t utter anything because it’s too troublesome to explain. He rather listened to how Sumire was going to handle it.

“It seems that you missed the point. Alright, let me tell you another one of his tales. In another adventure, he met with a multi-headed snake, hydra, whose poison is so virulent and toxic that even the scent is dangerous. Heracles tried to behead the hydra with caution, but when he chopped one head, two grew back from its place.

Cutting the head won’t work, but eventually, he defeated the hydra by cutting off the head and then burning the wounded parts, effectively cauterizing the wounds and removing the hydra’s ability to regenerate its head.”

“I still don’t get it. Is this the testament of his endurance? That he was capable of fighting a beast that could regenerate its head unceasingly until he found the method to defeat it? My opinion still stands, his story can only be applicable to Kenji because of his unnatural endurance and strength.” Kurogane retorted.

Sumire patiently explained to this muscle brain, “No, Kuro. You see, most would see him slaying the golden-furred beast and the hydra as a feat of strength. They didn’t see the profundity behind the story at all. The golden-furred beast couldn’t be wounded by him, it was Heracles' hard-counter, but he still defeated it nevertheless.

Yes, it’s true that without Heracles’ strength, killing the beasts wouldn’t be possible, but isn’t strangling the golden-furred beast and cauterizing the hydra is a feat of wisdom? When his specialty couldn’t shine, he used the gift of wisdom to topple his adversaries. 

This is why you wouldn’t be able to defeat Kenji with your current self. This ‘savage’ is a scholar of combat, a maniac that studies and practices combat maneuver incessantly. During his sleep, he enters a mental battlefield to fight against a stronger version of himself. His investigative methods are far more dangerous than his offensive ones. Before you make a move, he has already calculated the best angle, the best strength, and the best method to counter yours. 

You think his normal hammer swing is ‘wild’ and ‘savage’? Wrong! Before he makes a move, he gathers every perceivable information to make calculations so that any move he takes gives him the optimal advantage while disguising himself as a savage. His information warfare potential is only slightly lower than mine.” Sumire explained.

Kurogane was shocked beyond words. The moment he pondered about the relationship between Heracles and Kenji, he felt like a new world was revealed. 

“Information… warfare?” he muttered. “So all this time, your secondary path was wisdom?”

“Fool.” Kenji rolled his eyes, mocking Kurogane in the process. “I’m a pure strength-path cultivator.”

Seeing Sumire’s faint smile after his reply, Kurogane understood. “I see. This is what information warfare is about. Even if I confirm the existence of his sub path, his combat ability still stands. Without the means to handle his superior strength, it would be useless.”

“Now that’s more like it. You’re getting worthy of your bloodline.” Sumire said. “Even if you find out his methods, so what? Your strength, speed, body runes, nor your combat experience could not be compared to this freak. If you want to overcome him, you have to step up your effort.”

“I… Alright.” Kurogane looked down, thinking hard.

“Well, it’s rare for you to come here, Violet. Are you here just to have a chat with us, or do you have something in mind.” Kenji looked at her.

“I’m here to talk with you, in private. Would you please come with me to my tent? It’s important.” 

Kenji faked a gasp, “The beautiful and smart Violet is trying to make a move on this wild and coarse man? It just happened that I’m your type, huh. I guess the rumors are true, well-endowed women chase after wild and free men like me. Well, I can’t help it if I attract one of the most beautiful fairy of our academy, this is my punishment for being too handsome. My legendary feat will leave ten thousand men and women weeping in despair for conquering their fairy.”

Sumire rolled her eyes, leaving the two with a fed-up expression. She did not even bother to leave a reply.

“You heard your captain,” he joked. “She has a good head on her shoulders, but she also carries too many burdens. It’s best if you step up your effort.”

“I know.” Kuro looked downcast. “I’ve put 120% of my effort into every training, but I just can’t progress as fast as you.”

Kenji pondered something, leaving Kurogane in silence. Thinking that Kenji didn’t have anything else to say, Kuro wanted to leave for the night but he was stopped by Kenji.

“This… I can share with you some part of my cultivation method. It’s just that, your resource expenditure would rise exponentially.” Kenji said after consideration.

Kurogane’s black eyes lit up, “Really? This will save me a lot of effort. I don’t mind the resource expenditure; I can bear it.”

“Fool. That’s not the kind of resource I’m talking about. You really are a muscle brain.” Kenji sighed. “Whatever, it’s not my problem anyway. I’ll consult with Violet first and hear what she has to say. You are too intellectually challenged to make this kind of decision.”

Lost for words, Kurogane looked at Kenji with an expression as if he had insulted his mother. Unfortunately for him, Kenji had already left for Sumire’s tent.

The allocation of the tents depends on one’s importance and fragility. Those who need protection, such as priests and backline supporters, would be put in the center of the campsite to ensure their safety. For members like Kurogane or Kenji, they were put on the most dangerous side of the campsite to allow better survivability for other members and also for faster reaction time.

That being said, Sumire’s tent was located near the center, but her security level was lower than others to avoid ‘decapitation’ tactic or assassination by disguising her location.

When Kenji entered her tent, he saw Sumire meditating under a shadow. Dense dark element particles that are too thick to exist naturally in this enclosed space formed a black mist of uncomfortable darkness. Looking at the various dark-path materials disintegrating all around her, he realized she was cultivating new methods.

“Dark-path, huh?” He touched his chin, “You’ve chosen a secondary path.”

Sumire’s purple eyes opened. Highlighted by the unnatural dark mist around her, her figure releases a presence of evil. She parted her lips, the dark mist rushed towards her mouth as she absorbed it all. When the darkness faded, her evil presence disappeared. 

“Oh my, it seems that I have made a slight miscalculation.” She stood up. “My apologies, I have no plans of showing such an unpleasant display.”

Kenji’s eyes glint in a dangerous light. There was a short but intense undulation within his body as he activated strength-path methods that aided him in calculation. Unfortunately, his effort proved to be fruitless. “Just get into business, what do you want to talk about?”

“I need your help with something, a request that can only be handled by someone of your caliber.”

“Pray tell.”

“I need you to take command of group 4 while I’m away.” Sumire began to elaborate.

... 

 

“A pinch of heat stone powder mixed with mortal ice in a 1:10 ratio following Lord Mage Kazuya’s water fire refinement method will produce warm stone water. Warm stone water cannot be used in fire-path spells alone, but if I mix it with some transparent oil lizard’s saliva and 12 other supporting materials, it could be a viable napalm fire-catalyst for my spells. The price of this replacement material is a lot cheaper than Lord Mage Kazuya’s true napalm fire, but I need to find a great quantity of heat stone powder…”

Within one of the tents, a red-haired fairy-like woman with gloves that extended to her armpits muttered as she tried to refine materials in her spare time. As a fire-path cultivator that dabbled on magic spells on the side, her resource expenditure is intense. Not only does she have to refine materials for spells, the chance of materials being ruined during the refinement process also exists. 

With that being the case, magic casters are always, to a certain extent, considered as refinement-path experts. 

If a magic caster could optimize their resource expenditure by reducing the loss of materials during the spell catalyst refinement process, then that would alleviate their ever growing resource problem. Her understanding of materials is higher than mages of the same level even if she cultivates martial arts primarily due to her mana aperture.

Since she couldn’t cultivate her mana pool properly like a true mage, she channeled her time towards theoretical research and martial arts training. She did not cultivate her mana aperture because her clan is filthy rich. As long as her spiritual force development quotient reached a certain bottleneck, she would replace her ‘obsolete’ mana aperture with a better one that suited her.

Her clan’s method of changing mana aperture was effective up to rank 2. It’s only possible due to her powerful background. Other clans or cultivators with no background would have to pay their entire fortune to undergo a mana aperture transplantation procedure, and only the mid-lower grade one whose mana aperture sizes are not that large.

In other words, Sakuya is a genius produced by pouring obscene amounts of resources. Still, that does not discredit her talent in both martial arts and spiritual force. Even if she possessed an inborn mana pool, her performance wouldn’t be much higher than she is right now.

“If I mass purchase heat stones in a short period of time, then the price will soar. It would also be problematic if others find out I can replicate 20% the efficacy of napalm fire with 15% of the original price. Although the price difference was merely 5%, it allows napalm fire to be used more frequently in low-ranked methods, it’s a secret that I should keep to myself until I reach late-stage rank 1.”

As she pondered, her hands aided by several semi-translucent [Mage Hand] never ceased refining various fire-path materials. From powdered gems that emit heat, blood of hot-blooded beasts, to trace amounts of flame metals, most of them are high quality rank 0 materials. 

“With the data from the last live experiment, the most napalm fire catalyst I can carry at one time is enough to cast 4 augmented fireballs. Any more and they will hinder my movement, exposing myself to the risk of explosion.” Sakuya traced her lips with her fingers as she took a break.

When refining spell catalysts for fire-path methods, there is always the risk of explosion due to their nature. For someone who moved a lot, Sakuya couldn’t bring too many catalysts. Putting them into storage bags is always a viable option, but one shouldn’t spend too much time rummaging storage bags during intense battles.

The solution for this is actually very simple: just don’t carry too much. Since that was the case, she could choose another spell catalyst as back up. 

With that on her mind, her concentration soon became occupied with the pair of long gloves on her arms. Although it was made out of some beast leather, it was soft to the touch. The red-black gloves possessed a strange metallic sheen as if metals were used to refine it. From a distance, the red-orange lines on its surface are similar to a type of magic circuit from the eastern continent where anti-mages were prevalent. 

There, mages are, for lack of better words, hunted like pigs. Therefore, mages need to have a certain edge to combat the large amount of anti-mages from land of sand and fire. 

“I’ve never thought my combat system would be relying on this…” she became lost in thought.

The gloves on her hand was a treasure of her family, being passed down from several generations ago. During her research regarding the said artifact, it was revealed that this glove is one of the Great Archmage’s inventions before he rose into power. It was a sign of his struggle against anti-mages, that’s why the clan of Akane, her household, treated it like a treasure. The historical value of this artifact is higher than some of the national treasures of Hartina Kingdom itself!

Sakuya clasped her hands, praying towards the Great Archmage.

Despite not being a true god, he was actually being the receiver of faith from someone relatively high caliber. If he was still alive, this amount of faith allowed her to be heard by the demi-god himself, giving her the chance to be a priestess. Unfortunately, he was branded as the Devil King after a certain experiment revolving around extraplanar exploration. 

Recovering her distracted concentration from something irrelevant, she returned to her gloves. 

Sakuya started to refine materials into various powder, liquid and gas. The amount of resources she spent was far more than what she used for refining napalm fire catalysts. 

“Although costly, light fire is far more dangerous than napalm fire. Fortunately, this glove, Scorch Grasp, allows me to use one of Great Archmage’s refinement methods…metaspell!”

Sakuya’s refinement-path attainment is far lower than an expert that specialized in it, but she understood why most magic caster respected the Great Archmage’s achievement. One of his best methods is not to refine artifacts, forge weapons, or concoct alchemical solutions, it was something far more beneficial to magic caster as a whole: refining spells.

When a magic caster uses spells, they have to understand the principles behind it. Spiritual force and mana are the spell’s primer. Under different refined materials as catalyst, the activation sequence of spells or its effect could change entirely. For example, Sakuya could augment her fireball spell with napalm fire or light fire.

For some, spell activation sequences are difficult enough that they could not modify their spells with a unique catalyst. However, the Great Archmage revealed that he could, in fact, refine spells with a method known as [Metaspell].

[Double Lengthen: Distant Combustion] that Sakuya used in the previous engagement is a metaspell that allows her spell not to crumble after traveling roughly twice the normal range. Of course, using metaspell wasn’t without cost. For Sakuya who diligently study metaspell, it’s usage increases the resource expenditure by around 150 to 225% depending on the type of spell. 

“My Scorch Grasp allows me to refine 2 metaspell amplification runes while allowing me to store up to 4 spells in rune-form. When I reached rank 1, the artifact’s 1st seal would be lifted, giving me more spell charges.”

Scorch Grasp is an artifact similar to a mage’s staff, the unusual design was intended to fight against anti-mages who specialized in disarming mages. There are various spell-activation sequences, augments, and other auxiliary functions that increase a mage’s effectiveness during combat and non-combat. 

“With this, I am prepared for any situation tomorrow.” her eyes glint in fiery light. “Now is my time to cultivate.” She sat down to meditate, hoping to increase her spiritual force development quotient through daily effort.