From The Ashes - 034

Chapter 034 – Three Objectives

[2012]

Another three days were left before the promised date arrived on which I had to go back to Nidavellir to receive the weapon that Eitri had promised to forge for me.

I had prioritized gaining control over my Conquerer's Haki during the last week as I was bothered by my reliance on the Soul Stone to use it consciously.

There was naturally still a long long way to go for me to reach the level of Shank though, as Marco's memories were rather clear on the strength of that particular redhead's Haki but time was on my side.

Not to mention that even at this point I could enhance myself with the Soul Stone to surpass the red-haired Emperor since a cosmic relic like the Infinity Stone couldn't be measured with common sense.

This also caused a sense of anticipation and excitement to bloom in my heart as I greatly desired to reach those heights on my own.

Infinity Stones held incredible power but there were just tools in the end, even after I had placed them in my body. I didn't want to rely on external help to be powerful, I wanted to have the strength that rivaled those relics by myself.

That didn't mean that I didn't plan to master the use of the Space and Soul Stone, or that I planned to give them away, but my priority was simply to 'master' myself.

I pondered on this deeply as I rested in the soft grass, my thoughts circling and whirring as I reflected on my powers. I thought about my strengths and weaknesses, trying to form a vague outline for my future path.

I knew that just blindly training was a dead end. Only by envisioning a clear path would I have a direction that I could follow, a concrete goal that I could reach.

I had experienced this during my time in the Army often, especially during the times that I joined the training camps for some special forces units or was watching recordings of those training sessions.

It was crucial to measure one's progress as only a concrete result would allow one to know if one had succeeded or failed. And knowing if one had succeeded or failed was important as one could draw motivation from both results as well as learn to be more disciplined and strict during training.

Without concrete goals, it was easy to grow complacent and plateau in one's achievements. But with a goal, one could strive to move forward endlessly.

My only goal at this point in time was to gain strength beyond strength. By myself, I wanted to be a force that could crush all those that could potentially stand in my way, even if that someone was 'fate' itself.

It was an abstract and incredibly lofty goal, I was clear on that fact.

The logical thing to do was naturally to set smaller goals that would pave my path to this ultimate destination.

And after reflecting on my own capabilities for a few hours and evaluating my strengths and potential as objectively as I could, I realized the most crucial things about my powers.

Excluding the Infinity Stones, which were without a doubt my greatest power at this point in time, my greatest strengths were without a doubt my Haki and my Phoenix Transformation, which included my immense physical strength.

Combat experience also wasn't something that I lacked even if this Universe had many strange races and technologies. The most important lesson one could gain through combat experience was to find the right balance between confidence, caution, and decisiveness, after all.

Those three characteristics would alone one to be calm no matter the opponent, choosing the most optimal course of action when in combat.

The greatest problem that I was faced with currently was the fact that there was no concrete path of advancement for my abilities since the One Piece world did not have a complete transcendent system, which, to be honest, only a few worlds had.

The world of One Piece was one that was ruled by exceptional individuals that had forged their own paths, relying on their incomparable innate talent, monstrous determination, and endless ambition. Noting was free in that world, after all, everything had to be obtained through strength and battle, even freedom itself.

I had awakened this same talent, my Conquerer's Spirit proving that I had the qualifications to forge my own path, to chase after freedom. As such, I had to rely on myself to explore the limits of Haki, the limits of my fire, and the limits of my flesh and soul.

I had the confidence to do so too as all that I had to lose at this point was my life, which made me fearless.

Thinking about all this, I set my goals without hesitation.

The most important was naturally to find a way to condense all my strength into a single form that would allow me to unleash my power in the most efficient way. Too many fighting styles were more of a hindrance in my opinion, instead of an advantage.

Wanting to become a 'master of all' was a nice goal but it was also a childish thought that might easily lead one down the path of destruction.

Strength wasn't born through scattering one's focus but through the gathering of it, after all.

For this reason, I decided to focus on three simple objectives, which would enable me to avoid dividing my attention to the greatest extent.

Mastery of Haki. Enhancing the Phoenix Transformation. Becoming a Swordmaster.

The first objective of Haki mastery included all three forms and I was confident that I could make incredible progress with the help of the Soul Stone, which should also help increase the strength of my spirit and soul tremendously, as well as enhance my understanding of those rather ethereal concepts.

I believed that this was without a doubt a path that was filled with limitless potential, especially since Marco's original talent had been superimposed with my own after I awakened my Conquerer's Spirit.

With the Soul Stone's assistance, I was sure to reach a place that no one else before me had reached when it came to Haki.

The second objective of finding ways to strengthen my Phoenix Transformation was a rather easy one to understand as I had made some rather peculiar discoveries throughout the last few days, which would take some time to confirm.

Still, what I did know at this point was that having the physique of a mythical creature could only benefit me, not to mention that I was almost certain that this was my key to pushing open the doors of immortality.

Reciprocally, with the strengthening of my body, my phoenix form's power seemed to grow, as well as my inner fire. I had clearly noticed this after undergoing the baptism of two Infinity Stones.

The flames on my phoenix body had grown a tad darker while seemingly burning much fiercer.

Different from Marco's transformation, I also didn't have his markings on my chest and around my eyes when transformed, I was simply a massive azure-colored blazing creature of unearthly beauty with long blue and yellow-gold tail feathers.

All in all, I was contemplating several ways to strengthen my phoenix form, though it would probably be more accurate to say that I was contemplating how I could close the distance between my existence and this mythical creature.

It wouldn't be wrong to say that I was thinking of ways to increase my 'life level', considering ways to distance myself from mortal existence and approach the level of a higher being.

The success of this endeavour was hard to estimate but as I had no fear of the consequences in case of failure, there was no reason to shy away from this.

Last but not least, the objective of becoming a swordmaster was my attempt to walk a path that would allow me to gather my strength in a single form, to condense and focus my power in a single style that would permit me to be unrivaled.

One sword, fuelled by the strength of my will, body, and soul, to sever all.

Naturally, the last objective was the one that I was most passionate about.