Chapter 258 - The Hunt Begins (1/2)
A minute or so before Argentum and Blob decided to leave the Azure Shores to make their way towards Verdant Breeze Town.
Within the inner depths of the Flame Spirit Inheritance, a humanoid made out of red energy radiated an aura of immense shock and surprise as it stood up from the chair it made with its energy. It walked around the room it was in for a short while before deciding to sit down on the chair it made once more, letting out a long sigh of wonder soon after. The being then muttered to itself, saying, ”Who knew Felix's prediction would actually be correct? To think that Argentum is actually going to try and learn the Lesser Origin element…”
”Does he really believe that he could learn it without a problem or does he just want to die?” this being continued to mutter, thinking that she might go insane if she mulled over it for a bit longer. Of course, this being was none other than Eleanor, the owner of the Flame Spirit Inheritance, as well as 'Argentum's teacher'.
Whoosh!
A few seconds after mulling over the topic, Eleanor went ahead and conjured a huge ball of red energy before sending it towards a certain direction. It was only after a couple of minutes or so until a ball of energy of the same size came to where she was, albeit taking on a blue hue. Knowing who had conjured this ball of energy, which was now hovering in front of her, she then infused her own energy into this ball, allowing a familiar voice for her to resound throughout her mind not long after.
”So…what happened? Did Argentum say he was going to learn the Lesser Origin element?” the familiar voice asked her, taking on a masculine tone that was pleasing to hear. This voice came from none other than Felix, the owner of the Grand Blue Inheritance.
Letting out a sigh in response to the question, Eleanor then replied, ”Surprisingly, yes. He admitted that he was going to learn the Lesser Origin element.”
”Huh?” Just as she was finished with her reply, Felix could not help but utter a sound of disbelief as he did not expect Argentum to admit learning such an element that easily. Feeling that the response Eleanor got from Argentum was a bit off, he then asked her, ”Did you cast a spell to see whether he was lying or not?”
”Of course. How would I forget something like that?” the Undying Flame Spirit replied in a tone that sounded she was being wronged. She then added, ”Just from his tone as he answered, it seemed that he was confident in learning the Lesser Origin element without a problem.”
”As you've said, he was confident that he was going to succeed in learning the Lesser Origin element,” Felix said after Eleanor was done talking. ”Do you think he knows about the Origin Trials?”
”Probably,” Eleanor replied concisely. ”If not, he wouldn't respond in that manner, don't you think?”
”Fair enough,” Felix said with a light sigh. ”But don't you think it's too early for a Normal-grade Pseudo-Animate like Argentum to try and clear the Origin Trials?”
”Of course I do. How could I not?” Eleanor said in a slightly worried tone. She then pondered over it for a bit, a thought that seemed to make sense forming in her mind not long after. With that in mind, she then told Felix, ”But now that I think about it…Argentum's idea to learn the Lesser Origin element early on makes sense.”
”In what way?” Felix asked as a response, to which the Undying Flame Spirit responded, ”If he learns the Lesser Origin element at his current grade, then his control over the element would be far better than those that learned the Lesser Origin element at a higher grade.”
”In that case, wouldn't that make him a near-invincible power?” Eleanor added after that, asking Felix. In response, Felix pondered over Eleanor's question and thought that it did make sense, but he still could not help but think that the chances of Argentum passing through the Origin Trials were low. With that in mind, he asked her, ”Can't you like dissuade him or something? You're his teacher, right?”
”I may be his teacher, but I won't restrict a being from achieving their dreams,” Eleanor said, letting out a slightly crazed chuckle. At this moment, she was quite optimistic that Argentum had the ability to learn the Lesser Origin element, even though she was against it just a while ago. She did not know what changed her opinion of Argentum in succeeding, but she presumed that it was probably due to her putting herself in his shoes, allowing her to get an inkling of an idea as to what Argentum had in mind.
”Plus, he's sensible. He doesn't seem like a being that moves on impulse,” Eleanor added, only to remember that he lashed out at her the very first time they met each other. With that in mind, she let out an awkward chuckle before saying, ”Well…a being that sometimes moves on impulse.”
”Are you really sure you want him to take on the path that might lead to eventual death?” Felix asked her one more time, but heard no response from her even after a few seconds. In the end, he could not help but let out a low sigh. A few seconds later, his tone changed to that of slight curiosity as he asked her, ”Changing the topic, uh…how was it talking to Argentum?”
”Huh? What kind of question is that?” Eleanor asked with a tone of slight confusion before adding, ”Shouldn't you just go ahead and contact him through your own method?”
”Well, you know…he might be busy because he's preparing to learn the Lesser Origin element and all that…and I haven't really used something like this so…” Felix responded to her question with a slightly awkward chuckle, leading to Eleanor letting out a low sigh before saying, ”You do have a point there.”
”Fine. I'll let you know how it feels like.”
”First, go ahead and contact me through the method you have with Argentum.”
”…”
”But aren't I talking with you right now?”
”Exactly. That's what it feels like.”
”…”
”…tch.”
…
On the other hand…
In the middle of the wilderness, two Pseudo-Animates were looking at each other with an awkward aura suffusing around them, brought about by the incident that had happened just before.
These two Pseudo-Animates were none other than Argentum and Blob. Just a while ago, Blob had successfully finished his Power Baptism by utilizing the full extent of his strength to more or less disperse the third lightning bolt by punching it with a shield enchanted by his creator.
The two of them looked at each other for a bit more before Argentum went ahead and took the initiative to disperse the awkward air surrounding them. As he imitated the sound of one clearing their throat, he then focused his sense of vision towards Blob before asking him, ”Do you mind if I look at your stats for a bit, Blob?”
In response, Blob let out an inward sigh of relief as he realized that Argentum was dispersing the awkward air surrounding them. With an aura of slight happiness, he responded, ”Do you really have to ask me that, Argentum? Be my guest. You can check on my stats whenever you want.”
”I'm just checking your stats after you've gone a Power Baptism, that's all,” Argentum said after Blob was finished responding, silently commanding the system to bring up Blob's stats in front of his field of vision.
Ding!
Accompanied by a notification sound, a small holographic screen appeared in front of Argentum's face, allowing him to check how much his stats had improved. Unsurprisingly, after a single skim through the numbers listed on the screen, Argentum was left at a loss for words as he pondered as to how strong Blob currently was when compared to Animates.
________
[Blob] (Level 11/40)
Experience: 3270/16400
Existence Level: Pseudo-Animate (Epic)
Species: Infernal Aegis Spirit
Power Baptism: 1