R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 20

R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 20 (in editing-v2)

Day slipped into night in the blink of an eye.

The rustling crackle of a burning fire echoed in the still air, painting the surrounding forest a warm hue of orange and yellow. The temperature of surrounding air was cool, a sign of the growing onset of winter.

Micheal’s eyes fluttered open as he exited his hours-long meditation, cycling the Ki energy in his body with a sigh of comfort. He smiled as he looked around at a small stone house, nodding to himself.

They had made excellent time.

After he and his group set off for the Dragon Mountains, they had taken no breaks until this exact moment. Micheal didn’t know whether it was luck or just a coincidence, but they didn’t come across even a hint of the undead Blue Drake that lived in this region.

The route they took through the Dragon Mountains was one exclusive to the Farians, a path Micheal hadn’t even heard of before.

According to Captain Sprel, one of the first things the Lord Justiciar had ordered when he arrived on the Second Layer was for several Farian Blood Masters to drill several secret tunnels all the way through the mountain range. They functioned both as a means of general transport as well as an escape route for the Farians if relations between them and the dominant Silent Sword Sect that ruled over this area should sour.

After blitzing across the entirety of the Dragon Mountains in a single afternoon, they had arrived on a small grassy plain that bordered a large forest. They ended up more than 60 miles to the east of Tansol Town and the Tansol Pass, the original route Micheal had taken to reach the Farians.

They also ended up only a couple hours north-west of Yvvtal’s Inheritance, or, at least, the rapidly transforming Magic Forest that had replaced it.

In the end, Micheal didn’t get to see the newly-born Magic Forest with his own eyes. Instead, they headed directly south until they reached their current location, a normal forest around a hundred miles south of the Dragon Mountains.

After sprinting for the entire day, even the superhuman elite Farian soldiers became exhausted. Before Micheal came to the Farians rescue, he would have been included in that tally as well.

However, thanks to his Heartflame Physique constantly absorbing energy as they ran, Micheal found himself settling into a rhythm that left him full of energy. He consistently regained the energy he spent as he ran, leaving him in equilibrium.

Micheal’s unique, evolved Physique overcame, to some extent, one of the major shortcomings of Micheal’s build: his lack of an even halfway decent Recovery stat.

Because Micheal focused the vast majority of his effort into growing only one of his melee stats, Strength, with a secondary focus on Endurance, his Recovery stat was pitifully low. Even mid-level warriors on the First Layer had a higher Recovery stat than him.

Of course, there was good reason for this. Why would he need a stat that centered around enhancing a creature’s natural regeneration when he could just cure all of his injuries by breaking a Life Orb? Any focus he put into this stat would be a waste.

If he wanted any chance of overcoming what was to come, he needed, among other things, to become as physically powerful as humanely possible.

The problem came from the fact that the Recovery stat didn’t solely refer to the regenerative powers of a being. It also affected one’s overall stamina.

A higher Recovery stat allowed a person to restore their body at a faster rate, which included replenishing one’s energy stores through absorbing latent energy in the air.

Of course, this was solely relegated to passive regeneration. No matter how high one’s Recovery stat, entering a meditative state would always work far faster when it came to recovering one’s energy.

However, that passive regeneration could have a sizable impact when it came to long-term battles of endurance or, as in the case of the present, long-term trials of stamina.

‘Well, it’s not like I didn’t know about that ahead of time.’ Micheal shrugged to himself as he stood up.

He was aware of the flaw in his growth, but he didn’t exactly have a choice.

He would never outlast a Deity in any form of extended combat, especially not against the strongest Deities.

In fights that would end in seconds at best, minutes at worst, passive regeneration wouldn’t matter.

‘Still, this is nice.’ Micheal grinned as he opened and closed his hand, feeling the warm energy flowing in his veins.

His Heartflame Physique seemed to make all of the energy he absorbed fill him with a sense of warmth and comfort. He had studied this feeling all throughout their journey, examining his body and the changes within it.

It wouldn’t enhance his ability to heal like a high Recovery stat would, but at least it resolved his problem of diminishing stamina.

Micheal’s gaze scanned around the campsite, a hint of appreciation filling his eyes.

In lieu of the basic tents or uncovered sleeping bags that Micheal had grown used to sleeping in while travelling, the Farians had constructed a miniature village in a matter of minutes to serve as their campground.

The detachment of warriors from the Shadow Guard had included a pair of Farians that possessed the Gorgar Lizard Bloodline, a Bloodline that allowed them to manipulate stone and rock at will. At first glance, it wasn’t a particularly powerful Bloodline given that they could only shift the earth around a meter per minute.

However, when it came to logistics like setting up camps, barricades, or fortifications, there was nothing better. They had created more than 3 dozen fortified stone houses in less than 15 minutes.

Micheal walked out through the front door of the hut they’d created for him, passing by several evenly dispersed fires that lit the camp up. While the mission they were on was secret, they themselves didn’t actually need to hide. A group their size was bound to be noticed, regardless of how they set up camp.

He spread his senses out around him as he walked, his powerful Soul stat letting him take in the presence of anything nearby.

Most of the Farians were asleep, save for the rotating night guard that kept watch on the area outside the camp, including below the ground, on the ground and above the ground. They had been lucky enough to avoid any dangerous Magic Beasts thus far, but there was no guarantee that would continue.

After a few seconds, Micheal frowned as he noticed something off.

‘Where’s Serena?’ He had memorized the energy signatures of everyone here, but didn’t find her among the slumbering Farians. It wasn’t impossible to hide one’s energy signature, but given that Micheal had the highest Soul stat of anyone present, it wasn’t easy to escape his notice.

He closed his eyes for a few moments, extending his senses to their absolute limit.

The crackling fire became intensified, raging like a storm ablaze. The rustle of leaves clashed like chaotic cannons while the cool breeze transformed into a loud, rippling river.

Micheal focused on these sounds, slowly isolating them away as he looked underneath.

The qualitative Master transformation he underwent gave him a much greater control of his body, to the point where isolating specific sounds was merely a matter of effort.

Soon, his senses tingled as he picked up the chirps of bugs, prowling forest creatures, and the shifting groans of plants drifting in the breeze.

Seconds passed as he sifted through the noise, maintaining an incredible level of concentration that could only be picked up after more than a decade of constant training and experience.

Finally, after roughly 30 seconds had passed, Micheal detected the breathing of a Farian that wasn’t within the confines of the camp.

‘Found you!’ Before he could continue that thought, however…

As Micheal’s senses zeroed in on her, he also felt the blood within his veins seem to resonate ever so slightly.

This shocked Micheal out of his deep concentration, bringing his eyes wide open as he stared down at his open palm.

“Huh.” He muttered quietly to himself.

The feeling was buried deep within his blood, a sensation of familiarity that he hadn’t noticed until he focused on Serena.

‘Does it have to do with my Physique?’ His instincts were telling him this was correct.

He pulled up the description of his Physique.

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—- Heartflame Physique - 3 Stars —-

A Physique that contains a hint of the essence of a Phoenix. From life unto death and death unto life. This 3 Star Heartflame Physique vastly enhances the host's ability to absorb latent energy in the air. Excess energy will be absorbed into and empower the flesh. Greatly enhances resistance to curses, mental attacks, and spiritual attacks.

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‘The essence of a Phoenix…’ He nodded to himself. Serena possessed the Red Phoenix Bloodline. Perhaps all Phoenixes were inherently able to recognize each other? While neither of them had a pure Phoenix Bloodline, it was enough to create a feeling of familiarity.

Micheal made mental note of that as he began to walk in Serena’s direction.

They were only one day into their journey, but he could already tell that if he didn’t do anything, Myla’s Disciple Apparent would doubtlessly avoid talking to him the entire trip.

‘I’m not going to let a Mythical talent slip through my hands without even trying.’ Micheal waved at a Farian sentry as he left the campsite, his eyes gazing out into the darkness.

Even if she didn’t like him, she’d at least hear him out if he started a conversation right?

…

Well, maybe.

‘Alright… first things first… how do I open? I can’t just start by talking about the weather right…? Hmm…’ Micheal’s mind grew clouded as he headed over towards Serena’s location.

‘This might be harder than I thought…’

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