Chapter 151 - Breakthrough
Two days after Master Ronin had told him, sudden news of the youngest prince's visit to the Yalveran Union shook the public. After all, the Ilios Empire has tried to attack the Yalveran Union and there were talks about another war between the two.
However, the Emperor of the Sun has stated personally that they wanted a ceasefire. The Ilios Empire would compensate the Yalveran Union according to the losses they suffered. This would be estimated by the World's Council and every major nation would participate in that conference.
This declaration came out as odd, but understandable. The Ilios Empire tried to take the opportunity provided by the Calamity Spider to take over the Yalveran Union. Now that it had lost its advantage, taking the losses was the only method they could use to avoid another war.
The Yalveran Union responded after a day, accepting the terms of the agreement. They signed a new peace treaty that would last ten years given the Ilios Empire compensated the Union properly.
The sequence of events left Arthur bewildered. It was so smooth that it almost felt stage, but maybe everything in politics was this way. However, a peace treaty was only a piece of paper that could be breached by any side at any given time.
That's why he needed to get stronger. The next time, he wouldn't be so lucky to have the advantage of runes. If he met a threat that even his insignia couldn't help him overcome, he would have no place to cry to.
There was another issue regarding this news. It was the identity of the youngest prince. Arthur knew who he was, and that person was sure to know Arthur very well. After all, he had wiped the floor with him at one point.
Erin Voldor.
It seems the time has come to face him. Since Erin attended Jerano College as well, Arthur had previously thought of avoiding him. However, why should he bow his head and run away? With his legacy, he could become stronger than any of these people as long as he kept killing monsters.
That's why he kept aiming for Jerano College. Just the thought of studying runes there freely left him giddy. He'd grow exponentially there and bring his legacy to its full potential. He didn't care what troubles might come his way as long he had the time to grow stronger.
With his Art of Creation, he only needed to hunt monsters to evolve. He can use his legacy points to buy the next part to evolve further. That's why as soon as he got the crystals, he left the Yalveran Union and headed toward the wilderness.
It took him some time to get there and he had exhausted all of his mana, but the moment he teleported into the fortress, he felt that he was home.
He was the only person allowed to teleport directly inside because of the key he had. As he stepped foot into the fifth layer, Arthur heard booming sounds coming from the training room.
He walked there and opened the door to reveal Li and William sparring. Their speeds were faster than Arthur could process and it took him some time that a person had traveled the full length of the training hall.
William fired several bullets but Li slashed them with his sword. William used his speed, gun, and ability to push Li back but the moment Li got near, it would be over for him. Arthur stood there watching their sparring as he wished he had some popcorn and a couch.
"Tsk, monster," William said after he was beaten to the ground by Li. The masked person shrugged and withdrew his sword as he turned to Arthur.
"I see you guys are having fun." Arthur laughed as he walked over. It was a bit awkward since this was the first time the three of them were alone but he tried to play it casually. "I'm here to resupply the fortress. You can leave if you want to."
"Finally!" William stood up as he tidied his clothes. "I was so bored over here. I'm leaving right now. You can manage, right? Newbie?"
"Yeah, go ahead." This was actually what Arthur wanted. After all, he didn't feel safe with this guy around. He then turned to Li. "What about you, Li?"
Li shook their head as he resumed training. William said something about lifeless people and left the fortress altogether. It seems Si and Idris had provided the necessary vehicles for the members' transportation.
'This person should be safe, right?' Arthur sighed as he gazed at Li cautiously. He had never heard them talk, never saw their face, and didn't even know if this person was a man or a woman.
For some reason, however, Li felt reliable. They would always get the jobs done and help others when needed. Thus, Arthur glanced at Li training for one last time before heading to the core of the fortress.
Inside the rotating gears and giant arcs of metal, Arthur placed the crystals in the middle. He then placed the twenty superior mana crystals as he controlled the fortress to pour them into a single mana chamber.
Arthur walked back to the training room to find Li still training, swinging the sword as it cut apart air and almost tore through space itself. There was a peculiar beauty in watching the sword in sync with the world.
"Li," Arthur called out as he walked over. "I need to tell you something." As masked and as mysterious, Li turned to face Arthur. "I'll be attempting to break through now. I don't know if anything might happen, but I have most of it under control."
Li nodded twice in understanding without replying. Arthur felt mused and slightly awkward that he was the only one talking.
"Well, you can keep training."
Li then placed the sword on his shoulder as he pointed with his thumb to his chest. They then pointed with their chin toward the mana room. Despite how chaotic these gestures were, Arthur understood the meaning.
"You stand guard?" Arthur asked and received a nod. "Alright, thank you." He laughed before turning and heading into the mana room. As he opened the door, he was met with a rich air of mana. He closed the door behind him as he breathed in and out.
He felt his mana increasing by simply breathing in this room. This was probably the way people trained and hunted. In areas with a highly-condensed amount of mana. Arthur sat down in a lotus position as he prepared himself to merge with existence again.
Like a rolling tape of a film, every memory he created since he awakened played in his head. Avarice dungeon, Master Ronin, the trial, the goblins, Alfred, the Runes Cup, and the fortress. So many things changed and now they would change once more.
Unlike normal arts, the Art of Creation used existence as a mana condensing agent. It pulled on every law of existence to create something from ethereal energy. This was the first step as an evolved human.
This was normally produced by an agent that would provide a medium for the mana to manifest into the world. For example, the Maiden's Tear is a material that allowed mana to take a physical form by inhabiting it.
However, Arthur was about to turn mana into a purely physical form. No medium would limit the mana into a lesser form, one with impurities. He would use the laws to create pure manablood.
He breathed in. He breathed out. The moment he thought about the art, every word in it appeared in his mind, telling him the secrets of creation. Mystical, poetic, domineering, and pure they were. His mana followed the paths, created new ones, and molded his body into a new vessel.
His sense of self was fading but a thin connection remained. He was becoming one with the earth, one with air, one with space, one with the flickering flames, one with everything.
Like a distant crunch of leaves, he heard his bones crack and grow. He felt his muscles drink mana like a starved soul. Every cell in his body used mana to create newer cells as the weaker ones died.
Using the slim connection in his mind, Arthur opened his legacy. With his own eyes, he saw the numbers change. The stats rose and his runes also started evolving.
His state of existence became more prominent, closing in on something far greater. Something nostalgic and familiar. Something akin to a home he always lived in. The first change happened in his strength stats.
[Strength: 101.]
He broke through the limits of neo-rankers. Then came agility, stamina, perception, and mana. All of them started rising.
101. 102. They didn't stop. 103, 104, 105… 110. They showed no signs of stopping. Arthur didn't plan on stopping the use of his Art. He knew it was dangerous to indulge in such certainty, but he needed it. His stats broke through 120. They kept rising until they were 130, but they didn't stop.
Then, his runes began evolving as well. Every rune that could evolve rushed to do so. His Strength-II became Strength-III. His Teleport-I rune became Teleport-II.
As these changes kept happening, Arthur's consciousness slowly faded as he felt that he no longer existed. A certainty he missed pulled him as he felt himself oblige. However, there was a wall that stopped him. It was the last piece of fabric separating him from that familiar place.
"Arthur," A voice spoke to him. Arthur turned to see Jizo standing beside the wall like a gatekeeper. "It's time you wake up. You can't go any further."
"Where… am I?" Arthur asked, his voice traveling like waves of ethereal through space. It was the first time he talked to Jizo after he saw the dream in the trial.
"This is everywhere," Jizo looked at the ethereal world full of white. "And this is you."
"Me?" Arthur asked with confusion. He looked at the thin wall separating him from the light. "I yearn to go there, Jizo."
"I know." Jizo nodded in understanding. "However, it's too early for you." Arthur turned to look at him and nodded in understanding.
"The seven families are coming for me," Arthur said to him. "I don't know if I'm enough."
"They need you as much as they fear you." Jizo shook his head. "You're their only way to survive later on."
"I don't understand." Arthur felt his voice turn heavy as if it was sinking, unable to reach. "Why did you choose me to be the outsider?"
"I never chose you. You were the outsider all along." Arthur felt himself being pulled back, away from the light and Jizo. "You'll understand everything later on. For now, get stronger." These were the last words Arthur remembered before the world went black.