Seed Of Speed

Despite learning that Silverflame could one day become his mortal enemy, Diego tried to not let the fact bother him and treated Silverflame the same. After talking for a while on how to strengthen their teamwork, the ten-man team broke up to spend the rest of their day handling their tasks. After explaining that she had taken the whole day off, Diego and Rainshower spent the rest of theirs enjoying the view of the desert city along the banks of a seemingly endless ocean from high up in the air on the back of Diego's stone griffin.

The next day, Diego's mind kept drifting back to his date with his arms wrapped around Rainshower's waist as they cruised around on his golem, especially after Swordflash flew into a rage when Diego told him that he already had a Demi-Body cultivation manual he intended to use. Swordflash had gone through the sect's library and pulled out one of the three strongest manual's they had: Lightning Devouring King. The uniqueness of the cultivation would allow him to absorb any Thunder-based chi technique while also strengthening his body's explosive power and speed.

Although Katalina had been surprised at the quality of the manual, she insisted that Diego should not waste his potential on the lesser manual. With his perfect affinity, Thunder-based spells and techniques would already be weakened when used against him and with the regenerative capabilities brought by the 'Seed of Speed', it would be a massive waste as the granted abilities of the manual would be rendered useless. The problem was… it was hard to relay that to Swordflash without exposing his major secret.

After an hour of yelling, and no end in sight, a miracle occurred, even if it was only a miracle to Diego. His first master, Shadowbolt, appeared next to him without him being alert by the normal aura that surrounded her which meant that either she was a projection, or she was using a spell to conceal her presence.

("My, my, what have you done to incur such wrath from Swordflash?") echoed through Diego's mind as he felt the familiar tickle of Mind Magic connecting him to Shadowbolt's mind.

("I refused the Demi-Body cultivation manual he chose for me because I have one imparted by my deceased master that I think would fit me much better than the Lightning Devouring King,") Diego sent back.

("Oh? That is a top manual within the sect and with your affinity in Thunder, you could truly bring out all of its power.")

("Perhaps, but with all due respect, it is a bit limiting. The method can not increase my affinity with Thunder anymore, and it would do nothing to help any of my others.")

("Then yours is better? Come, we will discuss this back in my office.")

("But… What about master Swordflash?")

("I'll leave an illusion of you still help. Whenever he finally realizes it, I'll have the spell deliver a message informing him that I've gathered you,") she replied with a wave of her hand.

Although he had not felt anything, when he stood up and slipped away, he saw a second him, still sitting and listening to Swordflash's lecture. With a smile, he followed Shadowbolt around Swordflash's manor and up the road to Shadowbolt's tower.

For a change, when they descended to the bas.e.m.e.nt level, Adapt Dancingflames was sitting at the talisman crafting desk with two stacks of yellow paper on either side of the desk. She looked up excitedly when the elevator lowered, but after noticing Diego, she huffed and returned to her work. Although his other two senior-disciple sisters had warmed up to him quickly, Dancingflames had remain obstinate in her dislike of her new junior member.

Shadowbolt did not stop after the elevator landed on the bottom floor and head straight for her office with Diego on her heels. Once inside, she made her way to the back wall where she kept a number of books and scrolls then picked one of each before returning to her desk. She placed both down on the desk and slid them over to Diego.

"These have a special enchantment on them that allows you to easily transfer your knowledge into them. The book will record the body manual while the scroll will record the Ritual Spell Sigil that works in tandem with the manual. If you are not willing to share the secrets your master imparted to you with the sect, you may burn the copies after I examine them, and I will swear a magical vow to never disclose the secrets," Shadowbolt said.

(Any advice?) Diego asked silently.

::Go ahead and show her. The sect can even have the manual, but once she sees the requirements, she'll understand that the sect will have little chance of ever being able to use it::

(Is it really that difficult to train in this method?) Diego asked as he picked up the book.

::For someone without a perfect Thunder affinity, yes, but aside from that, the ingredients needed to perform the ritual just to elevate from the third to the fourth rank will be extremely difficult for the sect to produce::

(Then how am I going to advance?!?)

If she could have, Diego knew Katalina would have whacked him on the head with her pointer like she would when she taught him magic in his mental plane and he asked a stupid question. Instead, she could only express her annoyance with the tone of her voice.

::Because you have me. My whole existance is to ensure yyou can step into the next world and rejoin your sister. Do you really think I would give you a method that would be unable to advance you through the Demi-Body Stage?::

(You just said…)

Seriously, she would have whacked him by now if she only had the chance… probably multiple times.

::Just because your sect can't handle the method to secure your ingredients does not mean that I do not have my ways! Now, stop questioning me!::

Instead of replying, or asking anymore questions, Diego accessed the information about the manual he had been awarded when he reached the Peak of the Mortal Body. Thanks to the System, the information was not truly in his mind, yet was at the same time, much like all of the information in his 'Lore' window. The leather-bound book seemed to react to the knowledge as it brightened and warmed in his hands. After a minute or two, the book returned to normal and he passed it over to Shadowbolt before picking up the scroll. It had a similar reaction as the book and, once its magic was done, he gave it to Shadowbolt as well.

As Shadowbolt read through the manual, her usual neutral face now betrayed her surprise and awe. With her own affinities with Thunder and Shadow, if she had gotten this manual when she first underwent the transformation to the Demi-Body, not only would the affinities likely have been pushed to the max, but she would also have a body twice to three times the strength as she does now. When she examined the Ritual Spell Sigil though, it was as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her head.

The needed catalyst for advancing to the first stage required nine grade-one Thunder gems, which are refined from Thunder crystals, five grade-one Fire gems, and four grade-one beast cores with Shadow affinities. While the sect did have those ingredients in stock, the requirements on grades continued to increase for each stage of the Demi-Body. The sect could handle the grade-two gems, and possibly the grade-three at an exorbitant cost, but they completely lacked the ability to create grade-four gems and above.

"Brightmelody… while I agree this method is much stronger than any of the ones the sect has… There is no way we can supply everything you would need just to step into the mid-ranks, let alone the final stages. At best, you would be trapped at the bottleneck between the third and fourth stage," Shadowbolt said somberly after a few minutes of silence.

::Tell her that while you understand her worries, your master has given you both a gem crafting technique and a beast core combining technique, but that is something you are unable to share::

"I understand your concerns, master, but my deceased master already foresaw this problem and gave me a gem crafting technique and a beast core combining technique. The only problem is that I am unable to teach it to others," Diego replied as Katalina had told him.

Shadowbolt gave him an incredulous look then sighed and said, "Forgive me for not believing you, but gem crafting techniques are some of the most guarded secrets of the sect and I've never even heard of combining beast cores."

::Tell her you will demonstrate for her::

"I'll demonstrate," Diego said.

Shadowbolt stared at his eyes for a minute, judging whether or not to trust this apprentice of hers. Gem crafting is something only Master of the sect had a chance to learn because it was so demanding for precise control over the mana contained within the crystals. How could an apprentice, who had not even been wielding magic for a year, hope to accomplish something that require so much finesse. Finally, she waved a hang over the desk and ten small violet crystals appeared in front of Diego.

::I'll be taking over your body for a few minutes… Just sit patiently to the side::

Diego suddenly felt as if his mind was pushed to the side and he watched through his own eyes as his body moved under Katalina's control. He picked up three of the Thunder crystals and held them in one hand while he brought his thumb to his mouth and bit down, drawing blood. He squeezed out a single drop and smeared it across each of the crystals before he felt his mana stir.

A violet glow covered his fingertips as they dexterously drew a number of complex runes at high speed over the crystals in his other hand. As soon as one was completed, it would sink down into the crystal, and his grip on the three would slightly increase. It was a delicate balance of mana control, speed, and pressure as the three crystals were slowly pushed together and became a dim violet gem. Once the process was done, he placed the gem on the table then suddenly, he was back in control of his body once again.

Shadowbolt, however, did not truly register the shift as she stared dumbstruck at the grade-one Thunder gem resting on the table. As a Grand Master, she had crafted hundreds, if not thousands, of elemental gems, and even with all of her experience, she would still need at least six low-grade Thunder crystals to create a single grade-one Thunder gem. The longer it took to meddle the crystals together, the more mana was lost in the process. To craft a grade-one gem would take her roughly five minutes, with her best time being three minutes when she would repeat the task over and over to fill a large request, but he had taken less than a minute to form them all together.

"How… how can you be so skilled in this?!?" Shadowbolt asked in amazement as she picked up the gem.

"Everything my master taught me was imparted directly to my mind, sometimes even carrying his own memories as the instructions," Diego replied.

"No wonder… who ever your master was, he must have been incredible," Shadowbolt breathed.

Diego could almost see Katalina's smug smile in his head, but he refrained from laughing and simply asked, "Does this mean you will vouch for me and my cultivation method?"

Shadowbolt came out of her daze and placed the gem down on the desk. "Even with this incredible skill you have shown, it will still be difficult for you to advance through the ranks of the Demi-Body. Absorbing the power of Heavenly Lighting and the Flames of Hell will put you through unimaginable pain and, if you lose focus for even a moment, your body will likely explode from all of the energy you would be attempting to contain. Are you sure you want to go through all of this?"

Never having children of her own, Shadowbolt treated all of her personal disciples as if they were her own. The thought of any of them going through such excruciating pain with such a high chance of death filled her heart with fear. Even if it meant he would be weaker, she would still prefer him to take the safer approach, but she would never take away his right to choose him own future.

"Cultivation itself is an act against the Will of the Heavens, is it not? Where there is danger, one often finds treasure… I can not hope to grow if I remain sheltered my whole life," Diego replied.

Shadowbolt sighed as she closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. "Fine… I will talk with Swordflash," she said after a few moments of silence.

"Thank you, master!" Diego replied quickly.

"I will arrange for you to undergo the ritual, but due the nature of this method, we will need it to take place outside of the sect. Return here tomorrow evening before sunset and everything will be handled. Now, go and prepare yourself as you will need to be in peak condition."

"Thank you again, master," Diego said as he stood up and gave her a formal bow.

Shadowbolt merely waved her hand in dismissal and Diego walked out of the office. She once again picked up the grade-one Thunder gem and a second one appeared in her other hand. Side by side, there was no difference despite the fact that six crystals had been used to form hers while Diego's only had used three. It defied all sense of logic the longer she stared at them.