There were quite a few many things that the girls had to say. Especially Cecilia. Vestia and Yuri mostly glared at him, but Cecilia did not shy from tearing into him with her words. Still, she could also see how tired he was. So, even though she had a mouthful to say, she could only swallow it for the moment, and glare at him with Vestia and Yuri, as they made their way out of the Arena, and back to their mansion.
Thankfully, by the time they reached their mansion, her anger had mostly dissipated, leaving behind just a pout on her face. One which he dealt with just a few words. It was Yuri and Vestia, who had not spoken much since they left the Arena, that were truly holding a grudge. Though they did not say anything, Alnea could see it from the way they looked at him.
So, after coaxing Cecilia, he began coaxing the two of them. Surprisingly, things went much smoother than he expected them to. Just a few words, a couple of promises, and they were back to normal. Maybe even more amiable than they normally were. At least they were not arguing with each other. Perhaps, the girls were not as mad as he thought they were. Why were they expressing their dissatisfaction then? He could never understand what went on in their minds…
Back in his room, Alnea put away his sword, and sat down on the ground. And the moment he did so, he felt the call from the ground underneath him, asking him to just let go of everything and lay on his back. He did not. Instead, resisting the temptation resonating with the laziness in his Heart, he chose to close his eyes and reflect on himself. On the battle he had in the Arena, the Trials he had completed earlier, and even how he had handled the affairs of the day. Making a new friend so easily…
Was it because of the way he had communicated with Ameria? Maybe. Their fight had indeed allowed him to understand her Heart. But it was not just because of how pure and passionate her Heart was that he agreed to be her friend. After all the things that he had been through, he had learned how to not trust others easily. Or else, Vestia would not have had to spend hours trying to convince him to let her join their team. Even then, it was only because of how logical she was that he had agreed to her request.
Recently though, something had changed within him. Maybe it was his experiences with the Star Seekers, or it was the path he had found for himself… It could also be because of the Concepts he had comprehended. In any case, recently, Alnea had found himself opening up his closed Heart, and had begun to trust others once again. And that was how he had gained another friend.
Of course, Ameria was just a normal friend. She was not close enough to his Heart for him to take an Oath for her. He may have opened up his Heart a little, but he was not naive, or foolish. And neither was he as reckless as he used to be. There was no need for him to take an Oath just to prove to himself that he had gained another friend. Still, she did him an inspiration. Creating her own Fate…
If he had time in the future, then he would surely help her create her own Fate. For the moment though, he had to focus on creating his own Fate. His birthday was drawing closer, as was the month of Inkah. If his guess was correct, the Curse of his Fate was going to flare up in the next few months, as it had flared up in the last two years. He did not know what the Curse was going to bring him this time. More Heterodox Wanderers? Or maybe the Lotus clan? Maybe his competitors from the Lost City…
It did not matter. He would face all his enemies head on. After all, he was Alnea Oathkeeper. He was not going to cower in fear of just a mere Curse. On the contrary, he was going to defeat it, as he had done the last two times. If his Fate was Cursed, then he was going to create his own Fate. Still, it would not hurt to be a little cautious. If not for himself, then for the people he cared. For his team. For the girls. For Yuri…
Alnea exhaled a heavy breath, as he opened his eyes, and stretched out his arms, before letting out a yawn. Feeling the saturation of his Spirit, he knew that he had completely recovered his Spirit Power. Even the ache in his body had subsided. Mostly because of the blood red wisps of energy rising from the floor, and seeping into his body, helping him digest the meal he had had the day before, and recover from his fatigue.
That was another use of the blood red energy Alnea had discovered in the past few months. Helping his body recover. No wonder he had barely slept since coming to the city. Even though he had already learned how to replace sleep with meditation back in the Night Canyons, he would still fall asleep from time to time. Ever since he had come to the Lost City though—
No. Not the Lost City. It was only after he had begun living in a mansion, and consequently, enjoying the blood red wisps of energy rising from the ground, that he had felt the recovery rate of his body increase. Though that had also led to increase in his hunger. Or maybe that was partly because of the increase in his strength. But that could not explain why he was hungrier every time he was exhausted or wounded.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Regardless, the more important thing was that he had already recovered. And though he was a little hungry, it was not yet time for dinner. So, not willing to waste time, Alnea pushed himself off the ground, and stretched out a little, before practising his Martial Styles. Only the ones he could practise in his room, of course. As for the ones that he could not use in his room, he just practised their forms. Like the Sky Streaming Style.
Since there were no Skies in his room, he could not Stream across his room either. He could, however, Stream across the floor. From one end to the other. Without the help of his Aspects, of course. Otherwise, no matter how good his control over his Aspects was, he would still not be able to stop himself from blasting through the walls of his room. Perhaps, if he had comprehended the Martial Style’s essence, he may have been able to Stream through the Skies of his room at his will. But that was easier said than done.
It had been nearly two years since Alnea had been exposed to Martial Styles. And in those two years, he had mastered thousands of Martial Styles. No, no just mastered them. He had also become proficient in their use. Yet just because someone was proficient in a Martial Style did not mean that they could also comprehend its essence. Only when the Martial Style conformed to their Heart, to the Concepts they held, could Wanderers master a Martial Style’s essence. And even then, they would have to first engrave the Martial Style into their very instinct, into the core of their being, before they could begin understanding its essence.
It was only natural then, that of the thousands of Martial Styles he had mastered, Alnea had understood the essence of only a dozen of them. And without any exception, all those Martial Styles were based either on the Concept of Slaughter, or on the Concept of Protection. The Sky Streaming Style did not have any intersection with those Concepts though…
After Streaming across the floor a few times, ensuring that his mastery and proficiency of the Martial Style had not fallen, Alnea went on to the next Martial Style. And the next. And the next. Until one by one, he had practised all the Martial Styles he could. There were still a few Martial Styles that did not practise. But those were not something he could practise without any enemies, or the right terrain.
Done with all the Martial Styles that his master had given him, Alnea sat down on the ground, and shifted to the Martial Styles of the Lost City. The Blood Crystal Martial Styles. He had already exchanged the Intermediate Stage volumes of the Martial Styles after the Star Seekers had redeemed their Stars. All that was left was practising the Martial Styles themselves.
Before practising any of the Intermediate Stage Blood Crystal Martial Styles though, he had to condense an Intermediate Stage Blood Crystal. And to do that, he had to first destroy an Initial Stage Blood Crystal. Not literally, of course. He just had to erase a part of the Blood Crystal Pattern carved on the blood cell, allowing it to regain its malleability. Next step was identifying two blood cells, and bringing them close to the incomplete and defective Blood Crystal. Another easy step that Alnea was quite familiar with.
It was what came next that made the process of condensing Intermediate Stage Blood Crystals a little tricky. Extending the Blood Crysal Pattern from Blood Crystal to the two blood cells next to it, all the while making sure that blood cells would not drift away, turning them into a one large Blood Crystal. A process that was both cumbersome, and painful, demanding delicate control of his Oren, and absolute focus of his mind.
Even then, every time he carved a stroke on a Blood Crystal, it put immense pressure on the blood cell in the centre, distorting it a little, so that by the time he finished carving the complete Blood Crystal Pattern, the Blood Crystal itself had degraded from Transcendent Grade to Distorted Grade. Partly because of his inexperience with the Intermediate Stage Blood Crystal Patterns. Though that could easily be addressed through practice.
By the time Alnea condensed his fifth Intermediate Stage Blood Crystal, he was already adept enough with the Intermediate Stage Blood Crystal Patterns to condense a Complete Blood Crystal in one go. But that was where his rapid ascension ended. Condensing a Perfect Blood Crystal in one go was not something he could achieve through just a day’s practice. As for Transcendent Blood Crystals, they could be achieved only through Evolution, and not through direct Condensation.
As such, once he had condensed his fifth Intermediate Stage Blood Crystal, Alnea chose to stop condensing more Blood Crystals for the moment, opting to evolve the Blood Crystals he had already condensed. Another cumbersome process that required extremely delicate control of Oren. Thankfully, it was not as painful anymore. Still, restoring the shape of the Blood Crystals was not an easy task. At the very least, it was not something that could completed in a day. Especially with how much more complex the Intermediate Stage Blood Crystals were than their Initial Stage counterparts.
So, after familiarising himself with the Intermediate Stage Blood Crystals, Alnea began to practise the other Blood Crystal Martial Styles. More specifically, he began Forging his Blood, Muscles, Bones, and Organs. Another rather painful process, that demanded absolute focus. One that did not stop until he had almost completely exhausted his Spirit Power.
