62 Training (1/2)

”Frankenstein,” said the Goblin with a strange light flashing in his eyes.

”Frankenstein… Are you a warrior? A Mana practitioner?”

Frankenstein's face betrayed a sincerely sorrowful and bitter expression. Helial had never seen those feelings on the Goblin's face; he had always just showed worried that someone would find him reading. ”How could I practice? I have no right to read these books, nor someone who can teach me a Breathing Technique suitable to my Mana. For now.” A golden flame flickered in Frankenstein's eyes. It seemed to devour all the darkness holding him back, making his Aura shine with madness. ”These lacks are only temporary. I'm ready to learn everything step by step. To discover, create, mold my body and temper my mind. I won't let Goblin rules stand in my way. There's so much I could accomplish without these pointless rules…”

Then Frankenstein began to mumble nonsense under Helial's frown. That Goblin swung from servility to rashness. Helial ran a hand over his chin and let a question echo out inside his Soul: ”What's his Mana like?”

The Devil shrugged and said: ”Check it for yourself.”

Helial consulted quite often that black-banged kid who lived inside his Soul and whose only occupation was a table to lay. From time to time, the Devil tried to cook something as well. Every time he wondered where the ingredients came from, or how and why his Soul had become a dining room, Helial could not help but feel a headache.

Skill Activated:

Perception

Helial had made some progress with that Skill lately, and now more than ever Perception helped him detect people's Mana. As Helial squinted repeatedly, the world began to resonate with the Mana before his gaze and painted bright colors all around him.

Every Mana had a distinctive shade depending on its Affinity. Helial's Mana was almost completely White, whereas Lumia's Mana was more brownish. Helial was indeed inclined towards Light, and Lumia towards Earth.

Helial's gaze turned to look at Frankenstein, frankly surprised by what he had just seen. He furrowed his eyebrows tightly, while pondering over that view.

He had been doing some digging on Circe and Pseudonym. Now he knew pretty well his future opponents. Circe was an Elemental, which meant that she mastered all Affinities at the same time.

Fire, Water, Earth, Wind.

These were the Affinities one must have to become an Elemental. Since the four of them were to be mastered in parallel, it was difficult to find someone who had enough talent to acquire this Class. Every Elemental could make the fullest use of the four elements. Any practitioner could use them, but without the right Affinity their efficiency would have never been the same.

Was it possible to cultivate an Affinity from scratch? Helial had already asked this to the Devil, whose answer had been yes. The price would be dearest though. One couldn't develop all the Affinities needed to become an Elemental, not before decades of training.

But now, before his eyes, four feeble lights were gleaming. A Red light, a Blue light, a Brown light and a Green light. An unusual smile spread over Helial's face as he patted on Frankenstein's shoulder and interrupted his gibberish by saying: ”Come here tomorrow by lunch time. We need to talk. You have my permission. Here, carry this locket with you. The King gave it to me, so nobody will bother you. Now I have to go.”

Frankenstein stared blankly at the locket in his hand, bewildered. Meanwhile, Helial had turned and was walking away.

***

Evening, Training Ground

”HAAAAAA!” Helial erupted in a terrifying cry which gave birth to a sea of white flames.

Skill Activated:

Flame of the Qilin

Lv: 3

Grade: White

Radius: 150 yd

Damage: 2,500-5,000/sec

Effects:

The damage generated by Flame of the Qilin differs according to the user's resonance with the Forces of Life. It inflicts triple damage against the creatures of Darkness.

Inflicts Burn Malus

Cost: 0

Cast Time: 0