Chapter 30

Chapter 30 - LOT

Jack explained the situation, almost in its entirety. He talked about the damaged Space Gate, how he had been forced to flee into it, the fight with the Magmiric Wolf and his use of Wyrmblight.

There were certain things he decided he’d hide, like how he had come to this world, some details about himself. But some things, like using the Sundering Sword Monarch’s blade to send the Gem Beast fleeing, he wasn’t able to hide. He knew he’d been seen using it. He instead described it more vaguely, that his sword had a unique effect on draconic beasts.

As Jack detailed his story, the eyes of several of the elders filled with incredulity. At one point, one of them even asked Jack to demonstrate his use of his Natural Ability to prove he was in the Time Clan, which he did, convincing them all.

As Jack went on, he also told them about the letter he had found discussing the Space Gauntlet, and its hiding place in a lake deep in the Magma Lands.

This sent the Councilmembers into a huge furor, where they immediately demanded to see the letter. Jack mentioned it was in his Space Sealed Pouch, and in just a few minutes he found his storage pouch returned to him.

When Jack went to check the pouch, however, he only found the Space Gem within it. The letter was nowhere to be found.

As Jack cast his mind back to the fight with the wolf, he faintly recalled that he had been reading over the letter before the wolf had attacked him.

He frowned when he realized this. His memory was a bit misty, but he realized he’d never actually put the letter in his Space Pouch.

By this time, there was no chance the letter remained in one piece. The protection used on the documents of the Space Clan was limited in scope. The letter was exposed not only to the dangerous elements of the Magma Lands, but also the roaming beasts. There was no chance it remained intact if left outside for more than an hour or two.

Once the Council saw the Space Gem, they immediately seized upon it. However, without the letter as proof, the Council broke into debate about the veracity of the claim, as well as the risks in venturing deep into the Magma Lands to find something that might not even be there.

The Grand Marshal finally ended the debate, forcibly silencing everyone, and declaring they would resolve the issue at a later date.

When Jack proved he was of the Time Clan and pulled out the Space Gem, the Grand Marshal had become much friendlier towards him, immediately removing the manacles on his hands. The lord already had a good opinion of Jack for rescuing his grandson, even if his grandson’s beliefs were disappointing and dangerous.

As a member of the Time Clan, Jack was in the same boat as the Space Clan in regards to the rest of the world. In addition, the Space Gem Jack brought back, even without the Space Gauntlets, was a priceless treasure. Its uses to the Space Clan were limitless.

Jack’s efforts did not go unrewarded. Not only did the Grand Marshal offer Jack safe haven in the Fourth Conclave, he was also given the status of an Esteemed Guest of the Fourth Conclave, full access to the martial libraries and records, and ten thousand High Grade Spirit Crystals, an enormous sum.

As the Grand Marshal finished listing off these rewards, the small bit of worry Jack had kept in hie heart finally faded away. It seemed he had found a safe place, at last. He would be able to purely focus on his training. His heart ached for a moment for Little Seven, hoping she was in a safe place too.

“Do the records you have here contain any information on the Time Clan?” Jack asked, looking up at the Grand Marshal. The information he had about his own clan was far too little.

The Grand Marshal was in a great mood, and smiled down happily at Jack. To have found a Space Gem, and have a descendent awaken the Might of a Human King, today was truly a day worth celebrating.

“Yes, there should be. Our Conclave has stood for thousands of years.” He nodded.

At that point, one of the members of the council who hadn’t said a single word suddenly spoke up, his voice aged and tired.

An elderly man so old and frail he looked as if he might keel over at any point talked aloud, his voice wavering. He was completely bald, with a heavily lined face, and a small, white beard and mustache. His eyes were fogged, almost completely blind.

“One moment… Grand Marshal.”

The other Councilmembers turned in surprise, staring. This was Councilman Yelo, Head of the Archives. It was he who oversaw the library and records. He usually stayed out of any affairs on the Council that did not affect the archives.

Of all those present, Yelo was the oldest, at over 200 years. The regular lifespan for a human being was 100 years, but for those who trained their Spirit sufficiently high, living to be 200 years was not unheard of.

“Councilman Yelo. What is it?” The Grand Marshal nodding respectfully. While he may be stronger than the librarian, his respect for this renowned elder was not diminished.

“There remains… a matter of importance… that we have not discussed…” Yelo coughed as he spoke, as if unused to speech.

“This Time Clan boy here… The Myriad Prophecies… they do line up…”

Upon hearing this, odd expressions dawned on the faces of the other Councilmembers. Jack even faintly saw a look of ridicule, quickly smothered, appear on a few.

“The Myriad Prophecies? What are those?” Jack asked, curious.

The Grand Marshal’s eyes tightened when he heard Yelo speak. He then looked at Jack.

“The Myriad Prophecies are a group of tales told by an unknown man, thousands of years in the past. These prophecies are long and confusing, and many question their veracity. To be able to see the strands of destiny lining up, to speak of fate, it is a daring thing that should not be trusted.” The Marshal spoke these words seemingly to Jack, but it was clear he was actually speaking to Yelo, and the rest of the Council.

The eldest member of the council was unperturbed.

“Destiny… the lines of fate have been drawn. It is not a coincidence… that young Jack has been drawn here to us… The discovery of a damaged Space Gate… The transportation here… The strings of fate have begun to gather… Nor can it be a coincidence… that young Liren has awakened a King’s Might… destiny cannot be pushed back…” Yelo’s voice contained a powerful depth as he spoke, portraying absolute confidence. Each drawling phrase carried with it a certain degree of might, despite his age.

The Council was silent for a time. Some with thoughtful expressions, others with faint looks of derision.

Shortly, though, the Grand Marshal once more took command, shrugging off the atmosphere.

“Regardless, young Jack, we, the Space Clan of the Fourth Conclave, are indebted to you. You have answered our questions sufficiently, you are welcome to return to your rest for the day. One of my assistants will see you tomorrow morning, and help you settle in and answer any of your questions.”

Jack nodded and bowed. The Space Clan seemed confident Jack would stay, and Jack felt he didn’t have too much choice in the matter. Still, the situation was fine with Jack. He needed somewhere to rest, and somewhere to train. His eyes glinted sharply as he stood up.

The smiling knight that had led Jack in gave him a cheery wave, and guided him away. After reaching the lobby a clerk greeted Jack, and led him back to the dorm he’d been in, where Jack laid down to rest, his body exhausted from just being up and about. His injuries had healed through the worst, but he still needed time to make a full recovery.

..

..

Jack woke up in the middle of the night, panting. His heart was pounding, a sheen of sweat covering his forehead.

Jack had dreamed he was standing before Little Seven, on a barren, rocky ledge. Hundreds of faceless, hulking beasts were attacking Little Seven as she desperately tried to defend herself, sending out powerful beams of fire and heat.

No matter how hard Jack tried, he couldn’t reach her, and could only watch as she was killed, unable to defend herself.

“NO!” He yelled out instinctively before freezing. He took in several deep breaths, the world around him still. His mind calmed down as he realized where he was, the memories flooding back into him.

“Whew… whew… I’m okay. Little Seven is okay. It was just a dream.” Jack muttered as he rubbed his forehead, sitting up from his bed.

He looked down at his hands for a moment.

“One step at a time…” He said, his eyes calm.

Since he was awake, Jack walked over and picked up his Space Sealed Pouch from the ground, looking through it.

All his original Spirit Crystals were there, as well as the medicine Little Seven's rescuer had provided him. He also found the books he had been given by the Hunter Association, one about Spirit Beasts, one about Spirit Energy, and one about the world.

Jack looked inside himself. In his soul, a perfectly expanded Spirit Circle rested, indicating mastery of the First of the Six Great Stages of Spirit. Right now was the perfect time to work on the next step.

Jack opened the book on Spirit Energy, delving into it. This was his first time he ever had a chance to really learn about the mysterious blue energy he used.

The basics of Spirit Energy Jack skipped over. He already knew it was used to increase the durability and strength of an attack, or of one’s self, and that it was very useful for Swordmasters.

Quickly, Jack found himself a summary of the Six Great Stages.

The First Stage, forming a Spirit Circle. This was the Stage Jack was at the peak of. In this stage, one would form a complete Spirit Circle in one’s soul, allowing them to freely draw upon and utilize Spirit Energy.

The Second Stage: Forming a Spirit Pool. Once a Spirit Circle was fully formed, he could gradually transform this circle into a small Spirit Pool. Once fully morphed, the amount of Spirit Energy that Jack could draw upon would increase five times over.

The difference between a warrior who mastered the First Stage, and someone who mastered the Second Stage, was largely centered on endurance. For regular fights, one wouldn’t use too much Spirit Energy. For an intense battle, however, a man at the Second Stage would usually far out last a man at the First Stage.

In this world, Spirit Energy wasn’t everything. Therefore, a difference in Stage’s usually wasn’t able to make up for a difference in Natural Ability.

For example, someone with the Natural Ability of the Golden Flame Clan would easily be able to fight a fighter with a lesser ability, even if they were at a higher Spirit Stage.

For, Jack, however, reaching the Second Stage was of great importance.

The Sundering Sword Style that Jack practiced required the user to have a very powerful Spirit. The first technique, Sunder the Earth, required a large amount of Spirit Energy.

Jack needed to condense the energy of his Spirit in a pattern that folded back and forth repeatedly, for a total of thirteen times, transforming the color of the energy coating his blade from blue to dark green.

The more Spirit Energy Jack had available, the more times he could use this technique.

And, for Jack who had yet to master the technique, the more Spirit Energy he could use, the more times he could practice.

Apart from that, every warrior that wanted to reach the peak of strength knew they had to reach at least the Fourth of the Six Great Stages of Spirit.

For the Fourth Stage, Soul Expansion, allowed a human to double their lifespan, a miraculous ability that was highly desired, in addition to helping strengthen one's Natural Ability.

Only, the difficulty in reaching this stage was far beyond most. Past this, the Fifth and Sixth Stages, Soul Formation and Soul Returning, the effects were powerful and unique, but not as awe inspiring as doubling a warrior's lifespan. Unless one was a highly trained Swordmaster, or a master of some other technique, utilizing the Fifth and Sixth Stages would give little extra benefit for a prohibitively huge cost and difficulty.

It would be more useful to spend that time practicing and working on strengthening their own Natural Ability or techniques. Reaching the Fifth and Sixth Stage simply required too much focus and time for most.

About an hour went by as Jack studied, learning more and more about Spirit. In particular, he began to understand how the process of transforming one’s Spirit Circle into a Spirit Pool worked.

Jack needed to gradually increase the concentration of Spirit Energy in his Spirit Circle, either by relying on steady meditation, or through the use of Spirit Crystals. Then, over time, this condensed energy would slowly begin to spread out through the circle, and transform into a liquid pool.

This could only happen once a fighter fully formed their Spirit Circle. This was where Jack currently was in terms of Spirit, at the very peak of the First Stage. His Spirit Circle wasn't showing signs of transforming to a Spirit Pool yet, but according to what he read, it would only take a few more weeks before the process began.

If one used no Spirit Crystals, the entire process would take anywhere from 6 to 10 years. With the use of Spirit Crystals, however, one could vastly reduce the training period to a mere 2 to 3 years.

Just as Jack was finishing up a section in the book, his mind engrossed, he heard a loud knocking on his door.He paused, startled.

“Come in!” He yelled out, looking at the entrance expectantly.

The door opened to reveal a blonde, fifteen year old boy with a long scar on the side of his face.