Path to Transcendence

Julius watched Declan turn on some mana-powered lights that illuminated a section tucked away in the back of the courtyard. Declan waved over Julius to come toward the center of the sparring ring.

“Okay, we can start slow and then slowly increase the pace. Does that sound good to you?” Declan asked Julius.

“Sounds good to me.” Julius was a little excited, it felt like forever since he had the opportunity to fight another human. He was curious where he stood now that he had gotten stronger.

He had already decided that he wasn’t going to use his life affinity. He had been feeling like he was becoming too reliant on his healing skill anyway. He felt like he was developing bad habits because there were fewer repercussions to his actions. If he mistimed a dodge and lost a hand in the process, it wasn’t a big deal because he could heal it. He didn’t want to use the skill as a crutch. He would rather rely on his other abilities and use [Pseudo-Phoenix Renewal] as a trump card. He was also thinking about limiting how powerful his fire constructs would be in the future, especially at the academy. He was thinking that he could try to create some new constructs that would use as little mana as possible but also do enough damage.

When he arrived at Goldencrest he didn’t want to stand out too much, otherwise, there would be too much attention on himself, which might lead to someone investigating who he really was. However, if he was too “weak” they might not even accept him in the first place. That was why this spar with Declan was important because he would get a better sense of how much he could limit himself while still being impressive enough to get in.

From now on, he would primarily lean on his kinetic affinity, at least in public. He would still train his other skills, but he would keep them somewhat secret. He didn’t care if Declan or honestly, if Orus knew about them, but the better he was able to hide them the safer it would be.

Julius had made his way into the center of the ring, with Declan confidently standing there watching him. Orus was also off to the side spectating.

“Ready?” Declan asked him.

Julius nodded in confirmation. Then without hesitation, Declan moved in, leaning in and throwing a casual punch at Julius. Julius activated [Savage Dance], [Fighter’s Will], and [Kinetic Augmentation] in quick succession as he evaded the simple strike.

They danced around each other at the beginning, each getting a feel for the pace. As the minutes passed Declan decided to increase the pace slightly. Now Declan was moving at twice the speed as he was in the beginning. Even at a handicapped speed, Julius could tell Declan was skilled.

Julius was still able to keep up easily. [Kinetic Augmentation] was still not even close to being fully activated. But he did find himself frequently having to increase the amount of kinetic energy he infused into his body to keep up.

Declan was an impressive fighter. He had a similar style to Edwin, where he was speed-focused build, but instead of using deception and counterattacks, Declan was more aggressive in his approach. It wasn’t even that, while the lack of breathing room was becoming annoying, Julius was more impressed at how fluid Declan was transitioning his strikes. Each move and attack led to several additional attacks due to the placement of his body and the timing of the strikes. Julius was really good at not falling for feints or deceptive attacks because of [Spatial Perception] but he found himself getting caught up in the increasing pace and almost fell for several feints.

Declan used his body so creatively, hiding a leg kick behind a swing or changing the speed of a punch just a hair so that it caught Julius off guard. Julius was getting completely out-skilled by Declan, it wasn’t even close.

They had finally reached a point where Julius was almost going full out, pumping kinetic energy to keep up with Declan. Even Declan was taking it more seriously. In the beginning, Julius noticed that Declan was playing around with him, not considering him as a threat. However, that changed pretty quickly. Declan’s eyes narrowed in focus and his strikes were becoming sharper and more crisp, not leaving a single gap for Julius to exploit and Julius was starting to get beat on, his openings getting exploited by the much more experienced fighter.

However, he wasn’t taking the beating without a fight. He made Declan work for every strike he landed and made sure to land attacks of his own even if it meant taking several hits in return. But Declan was able to read Julius like an open book, and he wondered if Declan was reading Julius’s aura to predict where he was going to attack. It would make sense considering Declan’s proficiency with aura. It was just that Julius had no idea how to obscure his aura, yet at least. He was going to make sure he got Declan to give him some tips.

Julius was also making sure to take notes on Declan’s style, it was very similar to how he liked to fight up close and he was learning a lot already. However, he was getting worn down pretty fast, and with no [Pseudo-Phoenix Renewal] to heal his fatigue, he realized that he wasted a lot of energy during a fight.

Declan in contrast didn’t waste a single movement in his assault, everything was calculated and efficient. It was like Julius was running around like a chicken with its head cut off in comparison. So as he was trying to implement some of Declan’s attacking combos he also was trying to use his stamina more efficiently. Instead of diving to avoid a strike, he would use his momentum to evade but make sure he was in a good position to either continue to dodge or counter with his own attack.

At the start of the fight he had been planning to display some weaker applications of fire magic but as the fight intensified he was just enjoying having a straight-up brawl. Declan wasn’t using any of his active skills either, other than some physical enhancement with his aura and maybe a couple of his passive skills.

He could feel himself improving as the fight went on. He made small adjustments that he would have never recognized without Declan’s help. It just sucked that his fatigue was going to be his downfall. He tried to keep going but at some point, his body was unable to keep up, his arms were not doing what he wanted them to and his legs were shaking from the exertion.

It was only after Julius tripped over his feet and blocked a kick with his face that Declan called it off. Julius was on his face once again and Declan helped him up. “Why don’t you go clean up and then we can talk about it afterward.”

“Why… not… now?” Julius asked out of breath.

“Because you can barely talk and trying to talk without someone who can’t even get enough air to speak is a pain. Now go get showered and meet us back out here once you’re done.” Declan ordered Julius.

Julius didn’t bother arguing any further. He could wait, and a shower did sound nice. He could take the time to use [Pseudo-Phoenix Renewal] in the meantime. Not enough to completely heal, but just enough to take the edge off.

He slowly made his way through the doors, passing by some guards who were hanging out in the common room, and struggled up the stairs as he was barely able to lift his legs to each step. Halfway up the stairs, he got frustrated at his predicament. He sent out a pulse of [Spatial Perception] to make sure nobody was watching and used [Pseudo-Phoenix Renewal] at low power to heal some of the muscle fatigue in his legs. The relief was immediate and he was able to make it up the stairs with way fewer issues.

He quickly got to his new room and jumped in the shower to wash off the sweat. It didn’t feel as good as his last shower but it still felt damn good. When he got out he looked in the mirror and noticed over a dozen large bruises scattered over his body.

Julius was a little surprised at how Declan didn’t hold back. He half expected the man to use kid gloves on him and leave him practically unscathed during their spar. However, he was glad that the man decided to roughen Julius up a bit. Julius was able to learn so much more because of that. Kinetic Augmentation even leveled up.

[Kinetic Augmentation lvl 8 -> lvl 9]

After inspecting himself in the mirror he left the bathroom. There were several more sets of clothes on the bed. They were all the same as the ones he got earlier. Once he dressed himself he left his room and went back downstairs to the courtyard.

POV Declan

Declan watched as Julius staggered back inside, closing the door behind him.

He shares so much resemblance to Isaac but acts in a completely different manner. Declan thought to himself. His son, even when he was alive did not enjoy fighting, Julius on the other hand clearly loved fighting. Declan watched as Julius fought with a maniacal grin, loving every second of it.

The second Julius was out of earshot Orus spoke up, “With all due respect sir, what the hell was that?”

“That’s exactly what I want to know,” Declan replied. He had just wanted to see where Julius stood and see if he was good enough to get into Goldencrest even without an excellent affinity. But he didn’t expect Julius to be such a good fighter.

“And you’re absolutely sure he is Tier 1?” Orus asked him.

“He’s pretty darn close to Tier 2, but yes, he is for certain a Tier 1. As for how? Your guess is as good as mine.” Declan said.

“I just don’t understand how he has a body that strong and one that is resilient enough to handle that much energy before getting his Affinity Body. His body should have exploded from that much energy. Did he mention if he had some kind of special bloodline that allows him to do that?” Orus was pacing around.

“Calm down Orus,” Declan ordered the man. “His aura had no indications of a bloodline. But you felt it right?” Declan asked Orus.

“Felt it? How could I not feel it? Kinetic is a rare affinity in these parts, but in Valsi we have enough exposure to the northern warrior clans to see what a kinetic affinity can do. But I can safely say that I have not seen it used in such amounts in someone under Tier 2.”

“Me either… So do you think he will get into Goldencrest?” Declan smiled as he asked Orus the question.

“Get in? I will personally beat up whoever thinks that the boy isn’t qualified. Fighting up a tier is impressive as hell, even if it's at Tier 1. There’s no way they would reject him,” Orus said while shaking his head in disbelief. “You know I was going to intervene when I saw you going at him that hard. There are going to be some bruises later you know that right?”

“Yeah, I wasn’t going to take it that far, but after a few minutes in the spar, I realized that he must have some sort of evolved combat focus skill that has elements of pain resistance. That and after experiencing some of his strength I felt less bad about beating him up.” Declan explained.

“He might even have some rare skills already. My guess is that he has some sort of rare body reinforcement skill and maybe even that focus skill is at the rare rank,” Orus predicted.

Declan didn’t disagree with Orus. He also didn’t say anything but Declan believed that Julius was still holding back. Based on his aura Declan was pretty confident that Julius had at least another affinity maybe even two more that he didn’t use in the fight. He got the feeling of explosiveness and vigor hiding in his aura.

However, he didn’t mention it to Orus. While Declan trusted Orus, he didn’t want to share too much about Julius’s circumstances with him before he got permission from Julius. He sent Julius away so that he could get some time to unravel what he had just experienced and also to see Orus’s reaction. At that moment, Declan could feel mainly excitement and disbelief in Orus’s aura. Orus was much better at keeping a lid on his aura than Julius, but with Declan’s superior aura abilities, it was still possible to get a read of him.

For now, Declan was going to wait until Julius came back out. He would bring up the topic of sharing information with Orus with Julius, but if Julius didn’t feel comfortable with it then he wouldn’t try to convince him otherwise. Orus would understand as well, he was a kind and considerate man. Declan was preparing Orus to take on more responsibilities within the guard for a good reason. In the end, it would come down to Julius’s decision.