Path to Transcendence

Chapter 540: Opening the Life Mana Manual

Julius and the others took a while to catch up. Anna hadn’t returned for almost an hour. By then, Julius had explained virtually everything that had happened in the realm. However, that only took up a small portion; the rest of the time was spent just talking about what they had been doing.

When Anna returned, she wasn’t alone. To Julius’s concern, Crown Prince Jaxson was there as well. The young man stood there, expressionless. Despite his youthful appearance, an aura of authority radiated from his body.

It was a different feeling he had gotten from the Emperor at the beginning of the tournament. He wondered why there was such a big difference. Perhaps Prince Jaxson was merely more combat-focused than the Emperor.

“You had enough time, Reinera?” Prince Jaxson suddenly asked Reinera with a softened gaze.

“Yeah, it’s like what we suspected. They were trapped inside an isolated space with the chimera. The other attack on the realm seemed to be related, but ultimately served a different purpose,” Reinera stated with a thoughtful expression.

“There was another attack?” Julius asked curiously.

Derek nudged him gently, as if to tell him to be quiet.

Reinera didn’t seem to care and nodded. “Yes, the attack on you guys seemed to be a secondary goal of the attackers. The true purpose was to destabilize the connection between the realm and us. They also appeared to have stolen something from the realm.”

“Reinera,” Crown Prince Jaxson said warningly.

“What? It’s only fair they know. They shared what they knew; I am just reciprocating.”

“There is no need to reciprocate. That information is sensitive, and the fewer people who know, the more we can control what information leaks out,” the prince said calmly.

“What? You don’t trust them to keep a secret?”

“I trust House Zenith’s loyalty to the Empire, but that doesn’t mean that word can’t spread somehow regardless of someone’s good intentions.”

“Fine. My bad,” Reinera said with a slightly apologetic nod.

Crown Prince Jaxson then turned his gaze to the four of them. “I don’t have to remind you guys that this needs to stay secret, correct?”

Derek bowed elegantly. “Of course not, your highness. We won’t speak a word about this matter.”

“Good,” Crown Prince Jaxson said, and with one final look at all of them, lingering on Julius’s form for a split second longer than the others, walked out of the room, leaving Anna standing at the door.

“Hmm. So what was this thing that was stolen?” Aubrey asked curiously.

Reinera shook her head apologetically. “Sorry, but I might actually get in trouble if I told you guys.”

Aubrey waved her concerns away. “Don’t worry about it. We understand. I was just curious.”

Reinera was about to respond when the door suddenly slammed open.

“There you are!” A familiar voice rang out through the room.

“Honey, you are yelling again,” another familiar voice said scoldingly.

“Sorry, I’m just excited.”

“That’s great, honey, but remember the last time you got too excited?”

“That wasn’t my fault. They should have made that building stronger. How was I supposed to know it would collapse that easily?” Cain said with an offended scoff as he strolled into the room.

Julius held back his amused smile and went over to Cain and Freya. He surprised Freya with a warm hug.

“Oh!” Freya said with a soft smile, rubbing his head lovingly.

“What about me?” Cain asked, disgruntled by Julius’s apparent favoritism.

He ignored the brute and shook his head with exasperation when he felt Freya’s concerned senses wash over him. He could already feel her examining his condition, and he knew she was agitated by what she saw.

“I’m okay. I promise,” he said, letting her know he was alright.

She grabbed his shoulders so that he was arm’s length away. “You absolute buffoon of a boy. I blame Cain for this,” she said with a dark look at her husband.

“What did I do? I’m the victim here. Julius is my disciple, and yet he hasn’t even greeted me yet,” Cain muttered before suddenly appearing in front of Julius with one swift step, slapping his meaty hand across Julius’s back.

“It’s good to see you, though. I saw your fight against Valis’s disciple. It’s nice to see that you have at least a little bit of competition,” Cain said with a laugh.

Julius stumbled forward and glared at Cain. He suspected that Cain had hit him a little harder as a form of revenge. He was petty like that.

“Thanks, I learned some interesting things from him too, so it was worth it,” he said once he healed his bruised back.

Stolen novel; please report.

Cain grinned and gave him a soft squeeze on the shoulder. Cain wasn’t like Freya, but this was his way of showing affection.

“So who is this young lady?” Cain asked with a teasing grin. “Another girlfriend?”

“She is Reinera Luminous, princess of the Luminous Empire. Please mind your words, Cain Steelborn,” Anna spoke up.

Cain ignored her entirely.

“So are you done here? Or do you want more time to catch up with your princess? I remember you said something about missing her,” Cain said to Julius, loud enough for Reinera to hear.

Julius rolled his eyes and slammed his fist into Cain’s shoulder with as much force as he could, implementing some of the improvements from the recent fight. “Shut up.”

He did notice that Reinera had turned away and looked almost shy upon hearing that. He wondered what that was about.

He shook his head. He could figure that stuff out later. At the moment, he was more concerned about the recent incident and what that meant for the Empire as a whole.

***

Shortly after Cain and Freya showed up, they decided to leave the arena and head back to House Zenith’s estate.

Unfortunately, Reinera wasn’t able to come with them. There was just too much going on at the moment, and she had responsibilities as a member of the Royal Family. At least they got to talk for a good hour or so. It was a pleasant surprise.

“Missing her already?” Cain teased him as they sat on the couch.

Julius didn’t bother to acknowledge the man and kept on weaving several pieces of mana together, trying to recall Riven’s own techniques by memory and feel.

Julius was initially surprised at how easily they managed to come and get him. At first, he had thought that Cain and Freya had forced their way through the Empire’s soldiers. However, he learned that they had gotten through with a more peaceful method. Apparently, Derek’s family had shown up, and, being a Ducal House, they had some nice privileges, so they were let in without much issue. Cain and Freya were allowed access alongside them.

Derek’s father had arrived, and while Cain and Freya were talking with Julius, he had been talking with the prince about something important.

“Okay, I think this thing is the real deal,” Freya said to him with a sigh, handing the worn-out book to Julius. “I don’t know what the exact contents are; it seems like it has been locked to your aura signature, but from my deep scans, it is the genuine artifact.”

“You make it sound like it is a bad thing,” Julius noted.

“I don’t have much experience with this kind of stuff. I can’t really help you beyond a certain point,” she admitted, though it sounded like it hurt her to do so.

“Would it suit his path?” Cain asked.

Freya chuckled softly. “Yeah, it is a really good fit for his current path. It would also address many of his issues with his overwhelming, ruinous aura. Especially now that he got that dangerous little thing,” she said while pointing at his crown.

“It’s been behaving recently,” he said, feeling the need to clarify that. The crown pulsed softly with blue flames, as if trying to show its agreement.

Julius fed it some mana as a reward, as one would do with a pet or a certain gluttonous life spirit.

“So what’s the hesitation?” Cain pressed.

“The problem is that it appears to be a ruthless training method. Itʼs too difficult to tell for certain without damaging it or the aura lock, but I don’t like the idea of forcing Julius to go through with this,” she explained.

“You aren’t forcing me,” Julius offered.

She reached over and rubbed his head. “I know, I know. That’s the other problem. I believe that you will inevitably push it too far. I’m not sure what will happen if that occurs, and I don’t have the confidence to save you if you permanently damage your body or worse, your soul.”

“But you can help keep me alive and make sure that I don’t make any stupid mistakes, right?”

“Of course,” she said with a firm nod.

“Then let me at least try it out. Allow me to see what it wants me to do and go from there.”

She scrunched her nose and stared at the book with a thoughtful expression. After a few moments, she finally nodded. “Fine, but you must promise me to be smart about it.”

He was already ready to agree with her, but she gestured with her hand. “I don’t expect you to take it easy. But I want you to promise me that you will understand when and where to push. Also, when and where not to push.”

Julius nodded solemnly. “I will try.”

She sighed and looked at Cain with a shrug. “Then that is all I can ask.”

***

Julius didn’t immediately open the book. As much as he wanted to, Freya had him spend a day recovering. She hadn’t been very pleased by how much he pushed himself. However, since she wasn’t actively scolding him, it must have been fine. Or fine enough that he was okay with only a day’s rest.

The others had been recovering as well. Most of them fell asleep right away. House Zenith had even offered some exceptional facilities that helped with recovery. Julius didn’t need stuff like that, with his skill helping him. But for the others, it was a welcome gift.

They had consumed several powerful natural treasures and were currently sleeping in a special room. Their souls had been slightly injured during the last incident with the chimera. The soul attack was powerful enough that it left small cracks along the surface of their souls.

Freya had offered to heal it for them, but when they learned that their souls would become stronger if they healed naturally, they hadn’t taken her offer. They simply stared at Julius and told her that they wanted stronger souls and, as a result, stronger willpowers.

He didn’t blame them for that. For Julius, he didn’t really matter too much. Since it was his own skill healing his soul, it was basically the same thing as healing naturally, just a little accelerated.

He ran his thumb across the spine of the book. Freya was the only one with him at the moment. Cain had to go somewhere. Apparently, Wesley Greyson had approached them when he was in the secret realm with an offer. Therefore, Cain was doing a little more investigating about it.

However, when Julius heard about this, he realized he hadn’t told them much about his past. They knew he had special circumstances and that his family wasn’t around anymore, but they didn’t know the whole story.

And so the other night, he had told them almost everything. Explaining the connection he had with House Greyson, Clan Genshen, and to an extent, the Conclave. They took it pretty well, all things considered. However, once they learned about his feelings about Wesley Greyson, the offer they had been thinking about was quickly taken off the table.

That was why Cain was off investigating. He wanted to see if there was any connection between it and what had occurred in the realm. They wouldn’t tell him exactly what the offer was, but it must have been alluring enough that the two of them were considering it.

However, he didn’t really have the luxury of thinking about that at the moment. He was more concerned with the book in his hands.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, prying the book open with his fingers. The aura lock on the book recognized his aura, and something clicked open.

He barely got to open the first page when his mind was suddenly blasted by information. A link formed between him and the book. It was overwhelming. He didn’t know what to do, and he barely realized that he had already fallen to the floor.