Chapter 27: Hope

  Three Words of Power appeared in Nitaan's consciousness space. Nitaan observed those 3 stars floating aimlessly.

  He focused his attention on the ‘Domain’.

  ‘Domain’—from what Nitaan observed, Kiita used this power almost constantly, allowing him to clearly perceive his surroundings. When in the forest, Kiita focused particularly on this power to scout and survey.

  After a long time of constantly using this power, examining the environment and various living things became a normal part of his daily life.

  Nitaan tries to activate ‘Domain’ by himself. He felt the power flowing in as if it were his own.

  Nitaan spread the power around himself, creating an area hundreds of meters wide that covered him. This power had a blind spot below his feet, like a dome covering the sky down to his feet.

  Nitaan frowned slightly. He remembered that Kiita could gather information in an area of ??almost a kilometer, and that was when Kiita was at the Newborn level. Now that Kiita is a Learner, the detection range should be much further.

  If Nitaan were to guess, it was partly due to compatibility.

  For example, Kiita himself could barely increase weight by Gravity. However, weight reduction and Fade are almost indistinguishable from the original when Nitaan is the one using them.

  Another possibility is that the shared power is somewhat weaker than the original, thus rendering it incomplete.

  Kiita's ability to detect objects nearly a kilometer away since at a Newborn level isn't solely due to the ‘Domain’. Other factors include detection experience, tracking analysis, and the ability to sense territories to predict terrain. In short, Kiita’s mastery is way higher than Nitaan’s.

  There is no way Nitaan could do that. At most he can only detect objects normally within a few hundred meters. The very basic use of ‘Domain’.

  Actually, both possibilities might be true. I might have low compatibility with ‘Domain’, so I can only do this much. Kiita, on the other hand, has high compatibility with Fade and part of Gravity, allowing him to utilize many of these powers almost as effectively as I can.

  When he spread his power, a large map suddenly appeared in his mind. He didn't need to focus on the map. Simply feeling it revealed every detail.

  If he focused his attention on a particular point, Nitaan felt as if his body appeared there. He could see, feel, and smell the surrounding environment clearly, but he couldn't touch or move anything.

  Even the wind, temperature, and pressure were clearly felt.

  Nitaan felt slightly dizzy from the overwhelming amount of information and the new senses he'd never experienced before. He felt like he was suddenly processing dozens of things at a time.

  How does Kiita endure this constantly? No wonder his senses are so sharp. Nitaan muttered.

  I guess I'm not really suited for this Word of Power. My compatibility is probably quite low. But it's still a very powerful Word of Power. I should practice using it sometime.

  Nitaan closed his eyes again, dismissing his domain before summarizing briefly in his mind:

  It's very useful. If I master it, it could even help in close combat. But the sheer volume of information might easily distract me.

  It's better to let Kiita use it. But I might be able to borrow it for a surprise attack.

  Nitaan observed his consciousness space again, this time channeling power into ‘Fortress’.

  When he opened his eyes, his body was as strong as steel. His slightly honey skin gleamed like fine steel. Nitaan tried moving his limbs and jumping around.

  It's not as difficult to move as I thought. While the joints do stiffen, they still move normally. Weird, absolutely no feeling of restricted movement at all?.

  Kiita's ‘Fortress’ has a different effect than other defense-type Words of Power. Like ‘Shield’ or ‘Scale’

  From what Nitaan observed, if only considering the defensive aspect, ‘Fortress’ is not on par with ‘Shield’ or ‘Scale’. However, its advantage is that it doesn't restrict movement at all.

  ‘Shield’ or ‘Scale’ mostly work by creating a strong, enveloping shield around the body. The weight and tightness make movement difficult. Some might have gaps at the joints so the movement is more nimble but also result in more vulnerabilities.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  ‘Scale’ on the other hand, creates hard scales covering the entire body. While offering high defensive power, they also hinder movement since the joint is stiff.

  'Fortress' main advantage is that it covers the whole body and leaves no opening. It also hardens the skin without losing elasticity, allowing Kiita to move as nimbly as before.

  ‘Fortress’ is highly effective against slashing, stabbing, and piercing attacks. However, it would struggle against special attacks like heat, cold, acid, and poison. Nitaan expertly analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of this Word of Power.

  Actually… its defensive capability was quite high, even able to withstand an attack from a Learner Emerald-fur bear. This didn't fit my analysis at all.

  I hardly felt any difficulty using it, so my compatibility with ‘Fortress’ must be quite high. Maybe mine is weaker because Kiita enhanced himself with ‘Chase’?

  Nitaan picked up a stone, infused it with power, and then clenched his fist tightly. The stone easily shattered into small pieces.

  It couldn't fortify other objects, even though it should be a fundamental power. Fortress literally means "a wall for protection". It should be usable on objects. Perhaps... Kiita interpreted Fortress as himself. Only Kiita and Kiita alone can become a fortress to protect what he holds dear.

  Nitaan then drew a spear from Palace Hold bag at his waist.

  "Kiita, try swinging this at me." Nitaan tossed the spear to Kiita. Kiita nimbly jumped to catch it.

  "Woof!"

  Ouchy… or Ouch!!

  "Big Ouch!" Nitaan smiles confidently.

  Kiita tensed his body, his muscles expanding, veins bulging, and his jet-black fur starting to gleam. Kiita, having performed Engraving Ceremony and now a Learner, was simultaneously enhancing his powers in various ways—‘Chase,’ shared physical abilities, and reducing weight during swings.

  "Are you for real…?" Nitaan broke out in a sweat.

  "You didn't have to go that far…" Nitaan couldn't finish his sentence before he had to cross both arms to block the powerful swung spear.

  Boom!

  A deafening clash echoed, the sound reverberating like a hammer striking a solid metal rod, unlike the expected impact of a stick hitting a person.

  Nitaan was sent flying several meters, landing sprawled on the ground. After a while, he bounced up, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

  Nitaan brushed the dust off himself, his neck cracking.

  "Had fun?" Nitaan said through gritted teeth.

  "Woof! Woof!"

  Nope! Still holding back!

  Nitaan was speechless. He was certain that the strike just now was very similar to the Emerald-fur bear all-out attack. Even though he could block it without ‘Fortress’, it was enough to leave him severely injured.

  He completely forgot that Kiita had already performed Engraving Ceremony. Therefore, Kiita's overall power was much higher now, unlike before when he only used his "Chase" to barely catch up to Emerald-fur bear.

  Present Kiita should be able to fight Emerald-fur bear directly without his help.

  His physical prowess has increased dramatically since becoming a Learner. With the combined strength of ‘Chase’, shared physical abilities, and weight reduction, Kiita can be this strong. Nitaan coughs. He still feels the pain from that last attack.

  Actually, he hasn't even reached his limit yet. If Kiita receives all my physical abilities and I add weight while attacking, that attack should easily surpass the Emerald-fur bear.

  Nitaan reassessed his condition. Although blood flowed from his mouth and he felt body aches, his skin was free of wounds, and his internal organs weren't significantly affected. Only slightly bruised. He could still fight perfectly.

  Such a powerful defense... This means my analysis was correct. Kiita interprets ‘Fortress’ solely as himself. Since he can't fortify anything else, the defensive aspect becomes much higher.

  Nitaan tried to calculate both his and Kiita’s combat power, but it only made him confused. Predicting their combat power was quite confusing at the moment, as they could borrow and share power from each other. The result varied depending on their current state.

  When a Beast tamer fights with a companion, their power doubles. However, he and Kiita should be even stronger than that.

  Since their company can only be them alone.

  Nitaan smiled. ‘Fortress’ had dramatically improved his close-combat abilities. If he mastered it and combined it with Gravity, the Emerald-fur bear might no longer be a life-or-death opponent.

  Alright, final word. Nitaan channeled the power to the last star excitedly. Information instantly flowed into Nitaan's mind.

  Choose one target. One can perceive the target's location from a distance and enhance physical abilities, speed, endurance, spiritual energy, and overall state to get closer to the target.

  The better one knows the target, the closer the enhanced abilities will be to that target.

  At that time, Kiita probably chose the Emerald-fur bear as his target for chasing. Kiita knew this Emerald-fur bear well since we had been tracking it for many years. It wasn't surprising that he could enhance it to that extent, Nitaan thought.

  Nitaan tried targeting the Emerald-fur bear himself. Nitaan felt his muscles expand, veins bulge, and his pupils constrict.

  He tried clenching and unclenching his fists. His body felt a slight improvement, though not as dramatic as a full power enhancement. It was more of a qualitative increase in power than a quantitative one.

  At this point, his physical abilities should be close to that of a Learner devil beast.

  This made Nitaan understand the Emerald-fur bear's strength more clearly. Even Kiita, who had enhanced himself to get closer to that bear, and himself, a 3-word Learner with careful planning, almost didn't survive.

  That damn bear was really strong. No wonder it was an apex predator even among Learner devil beasts. Nitaan sighed softly. This state was draining him considerably. He could only use it for at most a few minutes.

  He remembered that Kiita also seemed somewhat exhausted when fighting that bear, but not as much as he felt now.

  The compatibility was about average. I could use ‘Chase’ effectively, but not as effectively as Kiita. He could maintain this state far longer than me.

  Judging combat power is difficult. All the enhancement and each layer of sharing power made it confusing as hell.

  Roughly speaking, Kiita is probably about as strong as the Emerald-fur bear, or slightly stronger. As for me, I'm somewhat weaker than the Emerald-fur bear, but not to the point of being completely defeated. Nitaan muttered.

  However, Kiita and he could share power, so it wouldn't be wrong to say their maximum limits were roughly the same.

  Their base power isn’t high at all, but after the enhancement, both of them become far stronger than any of their peers.

  Nitaan suddenly envisioned a future where Kiita could thoroughly comprehend ‘Chase’ and ‘Fortress’, immensely strengthening his body in every aspect and giving him an insanely strong defense.

  That’s not a dog anymore. Nitaan laughs.

  Well, if Kiita gets stronger, so do I. I can even share some of Kiita's power, so I won’t be a burden. Nitaan smiled. He could now see a future where they win a tournament.

  If the two of them teamed up, fighting above level was possible. Nitaan used to think that if they were to fight against one of the two bandits again, they could hold their own without being overwhelmed. They wouldn't need to rely solely on surprise attacks.

  Engraver might have some bizarre tricks, but the two of them could counter them with numbers and power enhancements.

  "Second word Engraver. That will be our goal if we want to win," Nitaan said confidently.