Path to Transcendence

Chapter 602: Surprising Opportunity

After dealing with the bandits, they continued their travels. They came across a few monsters, but for the most part, it was quite calm and peaceful.

They stayed in a couple of towns when they passed through, but typically camped in the wilderness. It wasn’t even really camping since they had a mobile hotel at their disposal. He really needed to ask Cassandra where she had gotten this thing. He would pay good money to have one.

As it would turn out, Maya would continue to ask him to train every night for the next several days. But it wasn’t like it was that big of a deal, and he finally acquiesced to her requests.

He served as her sparring partner/teacher. He didn’t know how this responsibility was dropped on his shoulders since Cassandra was there, but he didn’t really mind it all that much. He was learning some stuff too. Since he was helping her, she was more than willing to answer questions about her skills and the way she used fire mana.

It was very different from the way he used his own mana and was very similar to the way that Cassandra had shown him before. It actually helped him better understand Cassandra’s explanation and the reason she demonstrated certain exercises to him.

Julius mainly helped Maya with close combat fighting. Apparently, Cassandra didn’t specialize in this sort of thing. At least using a staff that is. Another reason he didn’t mind was that he found himself enjoying her company during their travels.

She was a nice girl, and he could tell right away that she had a good heart. The way she helped those caravan members and children demonstrated that she was empathetic and kind. His gut told him that she was one of the good ones.

Shin on the other hand…

Julius wouldn’t say the other boy was bad or anything. Shin had also helped the caravan and made sure the children were safe. Going beyond what was expected of him. But he was different. He had some arrogance and pride, likely symptoms of his upbringing. It didn’t help that his grandmother was a powerful Tier 6.

Honestly, Julius was more surprised that Derek, Aubrey, Kyle, or Lily weren’t like that. He was beginning to realize just how abnormal his friends were, considering who their families were.

So, over the past week, he slowly got into a daily routine. Most of his days were spent either helping Maya or meditating as he trained his various affinities. Now that he was Tier 4, he could see why many people chose a single affinity.

Having three different sources meant he had to split his focus equally. This required a lot of time and sacrificed some of his other abilities to work on others.

For his kinetic energy, it was relatively straightforward. He had Cain’s notes and exercises to help him. It was essentially the same thing he had been working on anyway. Unsurprisingly, the Tier 6 had been quite thoughtful, and the stuff he had Julius learn in the past helped him improve his control over kinetic energy even after advancing.

His life and fire mana were a little more difficult. He never had any real teachers other than Freya when it came to life mana, but she used a different style than he did. She also focused on ice mana, rather than fire.

He still took notes from her, but the way he used life mana was a lot more aggressive and violent. It was even more so now that he was practicing the manual from Tezuko Willow.

Thankfully, Cassandra noticed this and was helping him with his fire mana control. She even personally acted as an opposing will when he used his fire mana. Whenever he tried something, she would press down on his will and disrupt what he was doing. She was obviously holding back, but having someone actively fight against him. Having someone more skilled and knowledgeable was an invaluable experience.

Just for that reason alone, he was glad that he came along.

The issue was his life mana. It was both easier to use and harder at the same time. His new body made using the life mana so much more seamless, but it was more powerful than ever, so also more difficult to control.

His ʼlackʼ of control over these affinities was a big reason he hadnʼt used any of the treasures he got from Reinera. He was tempted, but he had more than enough to occupy his time with, and before he left, Freya advised him to acclimate to Tier 4 before he consumed or used any of them.

Instead of being tempted by them, he kept himself distracted, and that was precisely what he was doing at the moment. Training was the perfect distraction.

A ball of life mana floated over his palm. It was late at night, but Julius had stayed awake to practice and train. Inside the orb was a number of constructs and swirling lines of mana of his own creation. He deliberately made them as difficult to control as possible to challenge himself.

“Do you mind if I join you?” Maya’s voice suddenly asked from behind him.

He had already detected her sneaking up behind him. It became a little game for her to try to hide from his senses. She realized early on that his perception was high and did her best to sneak up on him.

It didn’t work, but it was a fun game to play along with.

Plus, it had become normal for her to join his late-night training sessions. She would work on some of her stuff while he did his own exercises. He would occasionally help her out if she had any questions. It felt a bit odd since he was probably younger than she was, but perhaps advancing to Tier 4 had changed things.

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He looked at her over his shoulder and shook his head. “Not at all. Did you have something you wanted to ask for help with?”

She nodded hesitantly. “I was wondering if you would be willing to help me with some willpower training,” she said while twisting her fingers together.

“Hmm. Why the sudden interest?” Julius asked her. For the past week, she had mainly been concerned about close combat techniques and applications on how to reinforce her body with mana and aura. They hadn’t really talked about willpower or that kind of stuff.

He found out that she had always used mana to enhance her body, and that aura enhancement had never been something she worked on. But she saw how he used aura to reinforce himself and asked for help.

“I noticed during your training with Cassandra that your ability to prevent disruption attempts relied heavily on your willpower rather than complicated techniques like I have seen some of the sectʼs elders use. I have also begun to realize that my attempts at aura enhancement are fueled by my willpower,” she noted, staring at him intensely and leaning forward ever so slightly.

“Yeah, aura and willpower are closely connected. They work off each other. One always helps the other due to their connection to your soul and such,” he explained distractedly as he continued to work on his life orb. There were a few tricky little lines he had messed up and was trying to untangle them.

Maya stood there for several moments, silent.

Once he finally untangled them and realigned them to other sectors of the orb, he lifted his head to look at her with a chagrined smile. “Sorry, I was distracted. What were you asking me for again?”

“Your willpower is very strong,” she said bluntly.

He tilted his head. “Umm. Yeah, I guess so.”

She shook her head. “No, like a lot stronger than anyone else I have seen at your age.”

“I’ve had opportunities that others didn’t.”

She looked over at the carriage with a solemn expression on her face. “You know… Shin and I have consumed many treasures that have increased our willpower in the past. Yet, I feel that my willpower falls short of yours. I wanted to ask you what you did and if I could do the same.”

He sighed and let the orb of mana fall to his side. He knew what she was asking for. “Come here,” he gestured to her.

She didn’t hesitate and stood right in front of him.

“Are you sure you want to train your willpower? It’s not a pleasant experience, I can assure you that.”

“Will it make me stronger?”

“Perhaps,” he said with a shrug. “Willpower isn’t so simple. You still gotta have the skills and abilities to utilize it properly. In my case, I have several abilities that draw on my willpower. I also have several skills that actively challenge my willpower at all times.”

He didn’t go tell her the details about his unique aura, but when he first got his ruinous aura, it had been a real struggle to control it, especially the strain it had on his willpower. He would say that his aura was a big reason why his willpower had grown to the point it was at today.

As he grew, so did his aura, which also meant he needed the necessary willpower to control it. Otherwise, he would get eaten alive by it, or worse, the people around him would get brutalized by it. That was an even larger concern now that he was in Tier 4. Fortunately, he had been able to stay ahead of it.

For now, at least.

He saw her processing what he had said. That’s what he liked about her, too. She was very meticulous and unrelenting in her training.

“Will it help me with what I am trying to do with my aura reinforcement?” She asked him.

He nodded. “Yeah, it will help gain a higher degree of control over it.”

“Then I want to do it,” she said resolutely.

“Did you ask Cassandra beforehand?”

“I don’t need her permission to do this. It’s my decision. Plus, she told me that I should take advantage of you for as long as I can,” Maya said. The last part, she said with a smirk.

“Oh, she did?”

Maya nodded with a smile. “Yep. She said that I should take advantage of your kindness and squeeze out all of the tips and tricks I could from you while I can.”

Julius rolled his eyes. “Fine, in that case, let’s get started on your willpower training right away. I can punish you for trying to take advantage of me.”

She perked up. “Really?”

He shook his head exasperatedly. “You really don’t know what this entails, do you?”

“A little bit. I have done some willpower training in the past. You will use your aura against mine and enforce your will onto me, while I do my best to defend myself.”

He chuckled. “No, it’s not going to be like that. My aura is very different. It will constantly eat away at everything you have. It doesn’t matter if it’s your mana, aura, or your soul. It will consume everything in its path. And trust me, it will be painful.”

She laughed. “Stop trying to scare me. It’s not that bad.”

He didn’t laugh with her and stared at her seriously. “Yeah, it sort of is. That’s why you should ask Cassandra or someone else to help.”

He saw her smile flicker, and for the first time, he could tell that she was doubting herself. However, her stubbornness prevailed, and she shook her head.

“No, letʼs do this.”

He sighed. “Fine, but I’m going to start easy. It’s too late at night for torture for my tastes. Plus, I don’t need Cassandra to flay me alive when she hears your screams.”

She grinned brightly at him. “Thank you!”

He pinched his nose. “Like I said, don’t thank me yet. You are probably going to regret this.”

“I won’t! I want to get stronger!” She said firmly.

He grunted. “We’ll see about that,” he said while he began to gather some of his aura and wrapped it around her.

He did his best to keep it as toned down as possible. It was actually sort of hard to do. He was surprised at how tricky it was to extend it out while keeping it contained like this. The difficult part wasn’t about keeping a hundred percent contained, but letting a little bit flow through, just enough to oppress her will, so it was a struggle.

It was like using a giant firehose to water his garden. Only he wouldn’t be destroying a bed of flowers if he accidentally released too much pressure. He would be destroying Maya and her aura. He had seen how some of his enemies had been left practically catatonic after his aura was done with them.

He would really like to avoid that with Maya.

Just because of that danger, he was going to stop. But when the first wave of his aura hit her will, he was amazed at how well she handled it. She let out a yelp of pain, but her will held relatively firm, and she did what she needed in order to stop his aura from consuming her.

That was the only reason he didn’t stop immediately. He continued to let his aura blanket over her, tempering her willpower with his ruinous aura. He was confident that he could keep up this pace for a good while longer.

Furthermore, he was pleasantly surprised at how good an opportunity this was to train his aura.