Seed Of Speed

Testing his affinities revealed that his Shadow affinity had increased a level, bringing it to three stars, while his Fire and Thunder remained the same since the seven stars in Fire would be hard to improve and his Thunder was already at the peak. Shadowbolt sent him off to bed with a few words of encouragement after that and he was surprised to find out just how tired he had been once he laid down in his own bed.

The next few weeks were a blur. Training with Swordflash had reached a new, frightening level as now the swordsman actually brought out his sword instead of deflect Diego's attacks with his b.a.r.e hands. On the bright side though, his healing spell had broken through to the fifteenth level from constantly healing the wounds he received from Swordflash.

When he was not training, he had been asked to wear a charm that hid his true cultivation and refrain from showing any of his ability within the sect. Even as a core disciple, it was complicated to explain just how Diego had risen so quickly to the Demi-Body Stage when he had entered the sect less than a year ago at the Fifth Stage of the Mortal Body. If Swordflash had not been strictly watching his cultivation, even the masters would be dumbfounded by his exponential growth as if defied all known logic, but of course, they did not know about the 'Seed of Speed' within his body.

The ten-man team had been practicing for two hours every three days to nail down their coordination, although only eight truly fought against each other. Silverflame did not reveal any traces of his pact with the Daemora like he did during their first practice, but that was mainly due in part to the fact Flowingrock had made a point to never get caught again. By using the magic that gave her the name, Flowingrock could turn the ground around her to the constancy of water which allowed her to 'swim' wherever she chose, making her nearly impossible to tie down since she only needed to 'resurface' to cast a different spell.

Diego had also talked with the group, and Shadowbolt, to figure out what role he should play during the actual contest. Being able to split his body evenly into four, with all the clones still having the same power as his true body, gave him many different possibilities. In the end, he decided to dedicate two bodies solely to supporting his teammates with martial skills while his other two would focus on magic and music. He also had spent his cultivation time within his mental plane developing a new Spell-Song, specifically for working in a group.

The only thing that broke up the monotonous routine was Diego's first concert three days before the team test. The Gambling Arena had been closed for the evening and a large, sandstone platform had been erected in the center of the sparring area. Katalina had been kind enough to help him figure out the number of people he could comfortably influence for an extended amount of time without draining himself completely.

{Tranquil Heart} could extend to cover about three hundred at once and be maintained for roughly two hours, but {Training Montage} was much harder on his body, limiting the reservations for that part of the concert down to just fifty people for half an hour since he was performing both during his concert. There had been a question between the Grand Masters of whether or not it was even worth using the second ability since it brought {Tranquil Heart} down to two hours, but after they tested it out with some of the apprentices, it was turned into a mandatory.

Ten apprentices with average potential and a variety of affinities had been given the same black rank technique for the first time and were only given the amount of time of a single song to practice. Normally, to achieve a minor success with a black-ranked skill would take a few days of practice, but each one managed it by the end of the song. When word got out about the benefits, there had been an uproar that was only settled when the sect promised that in the future there would be many more concerts. Even the elders and masters had begun signing up for the future concerts, pushing aside the slots meant for students.

"Nervous, Brightmelody?" Shadowbolt asked with a rare amused smile on her face.

"Not really," Diego said as he polished the custom-crafted musical instrument Katalina had made for him: a keyboard.

It was similar to an electrical keyboard in that it could recreate the sounds other musical instruments as well as the classic synthesized notes they were famous for but ran off his mana for power and his memory for the sound. Although he considered it a masterpiece, Katalina was unsatisfied with it as normally the instruments for bard would be able to magnify their power and solidify their music to make it as strong as mana on its own.

"Good. I know Swordflash has been keeping you busy in particular these past few days and plans to continue until you leave for your expedition, so I wanted to take the chance to give you these," Shadowbolt said, handing him three talismans.

"The first one is an Attack Talisman which contains my strongest spell: Black Lightning of the Shadowed Heart. It will kill anyone with a mana core below a grade-six and can kill stronger opponents as well if their 'Will' is weak. The second is a Defense Talisman that can protect you from a person or beast with a grade-seven mana core for as long as it burns. The last is a Mystic Talisman that can transport you a thousand kilometers in a random direction, so use it with caution or you can find yourself in even bigger danger," she explained.

Diego had seen weaker version of the first two talismans in the Exchange, but the price for both were ridiculous. He could not even imagine the price of these two if apprentice level talismans were already so expensive, but the last one was something he had not even found record of in the Great Library, so he knew it must be worth more than the other two as well.

"Master, these are too precious. You can't give them to me," Diego said.

Shadowbolt chuckled and placed the slips of paper on his keyboard. "I can my own spells quite easily, just as I can defend from opponents my own strength. Take them, Brightmelody. I personally crafted them for you."

"Thank you, master," he said with a soft smile as his heart warmed and stored away the talismans.

"It is my duty as your master, and one I enjoy. Now, go. It is time for your performance," she said with a kind smile.

Diego nodded and picked up his keyboard then headed out of the private sparring room where he had been getting ready. He walked out of the corridor and out to the main arena where the stands were a quarter filled, but as he descended into the sand, every eye locked on him. He did his best to ignore everyone as he leapt onto the platform and used his [Speed Clones], giving one a drum and the other a ki'ta then readied his keyboard. To start his first ever concert, he began strumming a gentle tune he had always loved since he was a little kid, "With A Little Help From My Friends" by the Beatles.

"What would you think if I sang out of tune?

Would you stand up and walk out on me?

Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song

And I'll try not to sing out of key..."

"Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends

Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends

Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends…"