Chapter 3: The Engraving Ceremony
Nitaan is currently hiding in a small cave, only slightly larger than himself. He has to carefully support Kiita before pushing his own way in. Due to the narrowness of the cave entrance, the giant bear cannot enter, making this small cave temporarily safe.
Nitaan sits on the ground, panting, his face filled with anxiety.
He, who has discovered 3 Words of Power at the young age of 19, is truly a genius. Even looking across the kingdom with hundreds of millions of citizens, it's almost impossible to find more than three geniuses like him. But at this moment, Nitaan feels no pride or joy. His entire gaze and concentration are fixed on Kiita's wounds.
Kiita's body is bleeding profusely. Four claw wounds run from the middle of his back to his torso. Although they haven't reached the bone or internal organs, such severe wounds cause blood to gush out terrifyingly. Every drop that flows out is like mud, crowded in Nitaan's throat, making it difficult for him to breathe.
It was a miracle that Kiita was still alive. The giant bear's enhanced claws could easily crush a large tree.
Damn it! He’s lost too much blood!
I'm such an idiot. Why didn't I realize that giant bear might have more than 2 Words of Power?
If I hadn't been careless, Kiita wouldn't have had to sacrifice himself to protect me.
If I had planned better, if I hadn't stepped into that trap, if I… if I… if…
Where are those idiots? It's been over ten minutes! Why haven't reinforcements arrived yet?
Nitaan suppressed the surging emotions raging within him, desperately trying to press down on Kiita's wounds, which were too large for his two hands to cover.
Nitaan used his Link power to try and mend the wounds while crying profusely, but the blood continued to gush out as if to mock him. Kiita's weak breathing and pale face squeezed his heart into a shattering wreckage.
The image of his parents throwing him out of the house flashed through his mind again.
Why? Why am I so weak? Why did everyone I loved have to die so I could survive?
Nitaan gritted his teeth, suppressing all the foolish thoughts in his head. His brain raced, searching for a way out of this situation.
When we escaped earlier, we went deeper into the forest. If I carried Kiita back to town to find a healer, it would take about 10 minutes. No, that's a straight path. That giant bear must still be lurking around there.
If I take a detour, it would still take 20 minutes. With wounds this big, Kiita might not even last 10 minutes. Or, we could run back the way we came and hope to find reinforcements. They could deal with that bear while we ran back to the town. No, we'd definitely meet that giant bear before reinforcements.
The only way is to run straight back to the town and pray that giant bear misses us. Or worst case, I had to kill it or escape from it.
Are you stupid, Nitaan?! How are you going to handle that? You haven't even gone through the Engraving Ceremony yet! At least, you'll need a 3-word Learner to deal with that bear!
It was as if lightning struck Nitaan's head when a crazy idea popped into his head.
Fade, Link, Gravity
Nitaan's 3 Words of Power appeared in his mind.
At least, it'll need a 3-word Learner to deal with that bear… If I perform the Engraving Ceremony now, it will take less than a minute. I'll instantly become a 3-word Learner.
But… but if I perform the Engraving Ceremony now, Spirit Root’s Great River will dry up, my spiritual foundation will decline, and the chances of another Engraving Ceremony will be slim, not to mention whether I will even be able to find the 4th and 5th words if my Spirit Root’s Great River dries up.
Whine…
A faint moan came from the body on Nitaan's lap. Kiita trembled, his eyelids were heavy, and his body was drenched in thick blood, but Kiita still tried to open his eyes. His black, longan-seed-like eyes blinked weakly. Searching around…
Those eyes searched tirelessly, undeterred by the agonizing pain. He forced himself to stay focused, determined to find something, the most precious thing in his world.
When those eyes met the tear-filled, deep blue eyes of Nitaan, those black eyes instantly cleared.
He had found the most precious thing in his life, safe and sound.
Whether it was his imagination or because Nitaan's spiritual connection had improved, he felt the bond between him and Kiita had strengthened slightly. Nitaan could faintly sense the thoughts emanating from those black eyes.
Yay... Nitaan... is safe. Why is Nitaan crying? ... Don't cry...
Kiita... will lick Nitaan’s tears... will hug Nitaan... Nitaan... don't cry.
Nitaan froze, his breath catching in his throat. His chest ached as if it would explode.
In that instant, all absurd thoughts vanished from Nitaan's mind. He wiped away the overflowing tears, gently lifting Kiita's body with both hands, as if cradling a fragile, colorful glass. Before gently placing it beside him,
Wham!
Nitaan's rough, calloused fist slammed into his own face without restraint. A small stream of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes were filled with unwavering determination.
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A heat surged from the center of Nitaan's heart. In the dark depths of his conscious space, a vast river appeared. This river stretched from the depths, flowing as far as the eye could see. It was as wide as a club reaching to the sky, endlessly boundless, like a mighty dragon. The water in this river was so clear that one could see its bottom. Every drop radiated energy, as if nourishing all things.
This is the Spirit Root’s Great River, something everyone possessed in their conscious space, the source of nourishment for the heart and soul, allowing all things to discover their own Word of Power through the exploration of the mind and understanding of the soul.
The river flowed slowly, then gradually quickened, from a calm river to a raging stream. The immense volume of water flowed up into the heavens above, into the bottomless darkness.
In the darkness of the sky, a large sphere appeared, like a sun.
Amidst the darkness of the sky, five large black spheres appeared, resembling stars.
One was hazy and indistinct, like mist, with the word "Fade" engraved in its center.
Another was entangled in chains, their connections strong and intricate. The word "Link" was visible within.
A third radiated a purple gravitational pull like an orbit, its interior swirling endlessly like a storm. Upon closer inspection, the word "Gravity" was visible in its center.
The other two were pitch black, with nothing emanating from or visible within them.
Water from the Spirit Root’s Great River flowed up, enveloping all five stars. Three of them, representing Fade, Link, and Gravity, began to show cracks, but the other two black stars remained completely unchanged.
As the water from the Spirit Root’s Great River completely covered the five stars, it began to evaporate rapidly from the stars’ surfaces. Simultaneously, the cracks on the surfaces of the three black stars widened.
Water from the Spirit Root’s Great River flows continuously to replenish what evaporates. Creating a continuous cycle where evaporation increased the number of cracks. Then evaporated water got replaced by the flowing water from Spirit Root’s Great River.
The enormous amount of water in the Great River is rapidly decreasing. Only two pitch-black stars are able to endure without showing any cracks. Almost half of the water that flows up evaporates without being able to do anything.
As the Great River looks almost dried up, the three stars crack throughout their sphere, unable to contain the Word within any longer. The three stars shatter before exploding.
Fade, Link, Gravity
The three words floated out from the three stars before shooting up into the darkness above, scattering and illuminating the entire sky. The once dark sky became vibrant with color, then three giant characters were engraved across the entire sky.
In the northern sky, a thick gray mist appeared. Giant characters manifested as if written by a deity using the sky as paper. Fade!
In the eastern sky, chains of multicolored light spread across the heavens, connecting and weaving together into a single, inseparable web. A giant script was engraved in the center of the sky. Link!
In the southern sky, a purple vortex rippled, rhythmically spreading towards and away from its center. This vortex radiated power as if both drawing and repelling everything simultaneously. Giant characters were engraved in the middle of the sky. Gravity!
While the western sky and the central sky between the four main directions remained pitch black, devoid of any light, only two stars remained in their original positions, showing no signs of cracking.
The Spirit Root’s Great River was now merely a small stream. From a colossal dragon radiating immense power, it was now reduced to a mere serpent, no longer capable of intimidating anyone.
Nitaan realized instantly that even if he discovered the other two words, his Spirit Roots water would not be sufficient to shatter the two remaining stars.
Nitaan opened his eyes, clenching and unclenching his hands, reviewing the power he had gained through the completion of the Engraving Ceremony.
Nitaan looked down at Kiita's faintly breathing body. Throughout the entire time Nitaan had performed the Engraving Ceremony in his conscious space, Kiita didn't take his eyes off Nitaan's face for even a second.
Yay... Nitaan... isn't... crying... anymore…
With the enhanced power of the Engraving ceremony, Nitaan sensed Kiita's feelings even more clearly.
"I'm sorry, Kiita. Don't worry. I won't cry anymore. Most importantly, you'll be safe. We'll go home together." Nitaan smiled gently.
His large, fluffy black tail wagged weakly.
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Nitaan held Kiita in his arms and ran through the forest at incredible speed. His body moved as if weightless, appearing and disappearing like a ghost, running at a speed incomparably faster than a few minutes ago.
Gravity manipulation at the Learner level!
Nitaan applied this to his and Kiita's bodies, allowing them to run as if weightless. His footsteps were light and silent, like an owl flapping its wings. Every step he took left no footprints. His body was now stronger, reinforced by the 3 Words of Power in his conscious space.
Kiita's breathing became more stable. Although still faint and weak, the amount of blood flowing was still worrying. However, his face did not look dangerously pale like before. Nitaan link Kiita's wounds as he ran through the forest, gently supporting Kiita's body in both hands.
Nitaan ran in a straight line, ignoring everything around him. In less than a minute, he returned to the spot where the fight between him and the giant bear had taken place.
Nitaan continued running without slowing down, hoping only that he might be lucky enough to avoid encountering the giant bear again and that he could safely run through the forest to find reinforcements.
Roar!
A booming roar echoed from ahead of Nitaan. That roar told him to stop hoping for a miracle and prepare to fight.
Hundreds of sharp needles shot towards him. Nitaan dodged to the side. His body floated slightly, one hand pushed to the side, and expulsion force erupting from Nitaan’s palm propelled him to the side.
While in the air, his body changed trajectory, attracted to a tree next to him.
Link and Gravity at the Learner level!
In front of him, a giant bear leaped out from the grass, its ferocious roar echoing. The beast's gaze was fixed on Nitaan without wavering, as if afraid that the moment it was distracted, its prey would disappear from its sight again.
Even though his Fade power also got improvement, in a situation where the enemy was staring at him intently, his power at the Learner level was insufficient.
Bear paw prints appeared on the ground in front of Nitaan again. He ignored them, stepping on them as if he didn't see them. This time his feet didn't sink, as if what stepped on the pawprint was merely a light feather.
"Who would fall for the same old trick?" Nitaan sneered.
The giant bear, though puzzled by its power's ineffectiveness, didn't slow down in the slightest. Nitaan's eyes gleamed slightly as he looked at the giant bear's left paw. The giant bear suddenly felt something pinning its paw to the ground.
Although the giant bear was just a devil beast, it is a 3-word Learner. It wouldn't fall for the same tricks again either. The giant bear quickly yanked its paw away from the ground to minimize the impact on its speed and balance, but this time it felt like it had to exert tremendous effort to free its paw.
Realizing it needed more force to release, it gathered its strength and yanked its paw violently. But this time, its paw released easily, as if nothing had ever held it in the first place.
When you pull something with all your might and it suddenly comes loose without resistance, your balance is instantly disrupted. It's like a tug-of-war where one side is exerting maximum force, but the other side suddenly lets go.
The giant bear's left paw flew up uncontrollably, causing its body to tilt to the right. At that moment, it felt its body's right side suddenly become incredibly heavy. All body balance becomes a mess.
The giant bear tried to move its right paw to another position, hoping to use it to rebalance itself against the ground. However, its right paw was now brutally stuck to the ground. Unable to control its balance any longer, the giant bear fell helplessly to the ground.
This was a true demonstration of the power at a Learner level. Nitaan now could link to multiple objects simultaneously, whereas before he could only link one target at a time. His control now is much more precise and accurate, whether applying or canceling the power's effects. The binding force was also much stronger and more potent.
Nitaan quickly used and then canceled Link, creating a situation where the bear exerted all its strength to pull its paw out, causing it to lose balance.
Once the body tilted, Nitaan used Gravity to suddenly increase the weight on the giant bear's right side, causing it to lean even more. Its balance was completely lost due to the uneven weight distribution.
The Gravity power now had increased strength and range, and its precision was so high that it could pinpoint specific points to increase or reduce weight. Furthermore, the power to pull and push was greatly enhanced.
Lastly, Nitaan links the bear’s right paw to the ground, extinguishing any hope of it trying to regain balance.
The result was that the giant bear fell helplessly, tumbling until its back slammed into a decaying tree, causing the tree to fall on top of it. The tree trunk crushed its torso.
When it tried to get up, it realized that the side of its body was linked firmly to the ground. The fragile and hollow tree trunk on its body suddenly feels like 100 kilograms.
The actual events ended incredibly quickly. Everything happened in just a few seconds. from Nitaan dodging the giant bear's needle to the bear lunging forward and falling, to the point of being pinned to the ground and unable to get up.
The giant bear was completely trapped. It tried to tilt its head to look towards Nitaan, trying to memorize the face of its enemy. It was certain that Nitaan wasn't capable enough to kill it at the moment.
Its tough, resilient skin could withstand most attacks. Even though it was having difficulty getting up now, it would soon be able to get out. If Nitaan tried to attack again, it was confident it could react accordingly.
But Nitaan had vanished without a trace, leaving only the lingering power embedded in the decaying tree trunk, pinning the giant bear down and preventing it from moving. The drops of Kiita's blood had faded almost completely, leaving only the faint scent of blood carried by the wind.
