Chapter 29 - Sword and Body (1/2)

Chapter 29: Sword and Body

Sylvie lets out a ‘kyu’ in excitement at the idea of exploring a dungeon but I stay silent, looking at the two swords strapped to the back of my waist.

Today’s battle with Kaspian confirmed a lot of things for me. I’ve spent too much time adjusting to and learning this world’s magic system. a.s.similating with Sylvia’s Beast Will, honing my Lightning and Ice Attribute techniques along with all of the other elements. I was so engrossed in the fact that this world made it capable to produce physical manifestations of elements that I neglected my foundations, the very thing I was best at, which was my body. In my past life, I used the simplest techniques to utilize the most of my small ki pool and with just my sword; I was able to rise to the top. This world offers so many more possibilities but if I am to truly excel and become the best in this world, I’m going to have to not only use my gifts in this life, but my experiences from my previous life.

In the midst of my thoughts, I feel someone b.u.mp past my shoulder. Looking up, I see the blond boy named Lucas walk past me with his entourage of guards and servants.

“You’re not bad for an Augmenter, but that’s it. Don’t get c*cky because we happen to be in the same cla.s.s. Even in the same ranks there are levels, and you would be at the bottom. Cheh! Know your place.”

The blond boy just smirks while intentionally leaning his head back so he can look down on me. The fact that his height was a fair bit shorter than mine just made him look silly.

What a cliché behavior for an annoying side character.

Not even bothering to argue with him, I just face back to Jasmine, “Let’s go to the portal.”

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Crossing through the teleportation gate, my senses jolt from the scenery. The City of Xyrus has the most teleportation gates among the cities since that’s the only way you can enter into it, it being a floating city and all. The one we crossed led us directly to the front entrance of the area known as the Beast Glades.

Hearing the chirps of birds and occasional cries and roars of beasts, the constant sound of water flowing filling the background created a natural symphony. The sight of tall trees and numerous hills filled with different plants reminded me of anything but a dangerous landscape crowded with monsters that can kill even the strongest of mages. Only lower rank beasts inhabited the outskirts of the Beast Glades, where the natural resources were the least plentiful. The deeper you go in, the more mysterious the landscape turns into, with caves and hidden entrances to unexplored regions of the continent.

I take a deep breath, with Jasmine soon following up through the portal after Sylvie and me.

Suddenly, Sylvie hops off of my head and scurries off, as if chasing something.

Dumbfounded at this event, I just yell out, “Wait, Sylv! Where are you going?”

Sylvie just sends me a vague response, saying she wants to train too.

My pet dragon has never left my side ever since she hatched but she suddenly leaves? I was uneasy at first, but I realized after a bit that I could feel where she was.

“I think she will be fine. Mana beasts have a natural instinct to get stronger after a certain period of time. She must’ve felt very suffocated being in a sheltered environment all of her life.” Jasmine says, walking next to me.

Putting her hand on my shoulder, she signals for us to start moving. “There is a place I wish to visit first before going to a dungeon. We have to hurry though; it gets a little more dangerous at night.”

Willing mana into her body, Jasmine bolts off into the distance, with her wind attribute mana propelling her even faster.

I follow suit, forming two gales of wind below my feet before I dash after her. I made sure to keep tabs on Sylvie but it wouldn’t be much of a problem since both she and I were mentally linked. Even as the distance grew between us, the connection remained strong and I was able to sense that Sylvie was catching small prey, her ecstatic mood affecting me as well.

The journey lasted a couple of hours and it was growing dark. The only reason I was able to keep up with Jasmine, even when she was a dark yellow stage, was thanks to the use of mana rotation throughout the way. This skill has become almost second nature to me now, and I use it unconsciously whenever I exert mana.

By late evening, we cleared through a dense forest and arrived at a small clearing. Surrounded by trees, there was a small field of gra.s.s with a stream of clear water flowing through it.

“We’ll camp out here tonight and stay here for a few days.” She announces while setting down her bag and taking out a couple of things.

“Were we not going to go into a dungeon right away?” I ask while I set down my bad as well.

She just shakes her head, picking up a few branches of wood and gathering them together.

I go into the forest, finding some decent sized branches to make a fire with. After a bit, we got a fire started. Making myself comfortable, I take my mask off now and sit by her next to the fire. We sat there, staring at the light produced by the flame and hearing the wood as it burns and cracks.

Trying to break the silence, I ask Jasmine, “What made you want to become an Adventurer?”

Her gaze never leaves the fire and I just stare back at the flame, thinking she didn’t want to answer.

After a couple of crackles of wood made by the fire, Jasmine answers softly, “I wanted to get away from my family.”

“I see… Are you on bad terms with your family?” I respond, my eyes staying on the fire.

*Crackle*

“The Flamesworth House was a major contributor to the war against Elves. Our house has provided many powerful mages, both Conjurers and Augmenters. Our lineage in the fire attribute element is second to none. We took great pride in this, because fire is considered to be the most powerful of the elements.” She stated.

This was the most Jasmine has talked in one sitting.

“But Jasmine, aren’t you a…” I look up at, furrowing my brows.

*Nod*

“Since early on, when I first awakened and started training, my family tried to test my mana for fire affinity. I went through various tests so they can see how my mana was exerted and how it flowed through my mana channels.”

Jasmine continued on, “When it was made clear that I had no apt.i.tude for fire attribute, my family shunned me.”

I didn’t know how to respond to her. For the first time, the always aloof and cold Jasmine seemed… vulnerable.

“I’m sorry for what happened…” was the only response I managed to utter.

Shaking her head, she gives me a faint smile. “The Twin Horns has treated me well and I don’t dislike what I am.”

I see her palm form a small swirl of wind, different emotions running through her face as she stares at it.

This world was a place of discrimination and cla.s.sification. The hierarchical roots imbedded into this land would never truly disappear. Normal humans were considered second-rate people, while even amongst mages Augmenters were discriminated against by Conjurers. It goes further than that, where unless one is a deviant or a dual element specialist, some elements were considered “higher cla.s.s” than others. Being born from a family of powerful fire attribute mages, she was discarded as inferior because of the elemental attribute she had; something that most mages would kill to acquire. She was a dark yellow Augmenter skilled in fighting and with mana manipulation at the ripe age of 24. Many would consider her a genius but from the standards she grew up with, she considered herself average at best.

We put in a bit more wood and laid out our sleeping bags a couple meters away so we could still feel the heat.