Chapter 299: Little Bau (1/2)
Zac quickly taught himself the skill, and a fractal was formed above his navel. It only took him a few seconds to realize how it worked since it was exceedingly simple. He only needed to push miasma into the fractal, and the fractal would in turn push concentrated power into the limbs of his choice.
Zac tried pushing miasma into the arm that was holding his axe, and he quickly felt the strength in his limb increase. There was no discomfort whatsoever either, so Zac kept pushing more and more energy through the fractal. In the beginning the arm simply felt pumped up like he was in the middle of a work-out, but soon it started to grow.
By the time he started to feel some pain in his arm the circumference of his bicep had almost doubled, and it radiated extreme power. Zac remembered the strength the Corpse Lord emitted when he used this skill, and that was nowhere near the monstrous energy that was stored in his own arm at the moment. It was likely either his extremely durable constitution or his high Endurance that allowed him to push far more miasma into his attacks than was the norm.
He had lost some of the arm's dexterity due to the new bulk, but it felt as though he could punch a hole in the sky. He quickly found a small hill and slammed the axe down with ferocious force, and the explosion almost matched the power of [Nature's Punishment].
The hill was completely gone after the swing, replaced by a huge scar in the ground that reached almost a hundred meters in the distance.
The skill worked even above expectations, and it was almost perfect for the upcoming battles. It didn't provide great utility for fighting against hordes of enemies, but that also wasn't his job in this war. His enemies would be the Incursion leaders, and he had a feeling that very few of them would be able to walk away from a swing empowered by [Unholy Strike].
Zac was forced to give up on [Cyclic Strike] for the moment, but he was still satisfied with the results of his experiments. He decisively headed back to Port Atwood after returning to his human form and walked toward the Academy. Perhaps Alyn knew of some method to improve the control of his Daos.
But who would have known that when he walked through the gates to the Atwood Institute he would be met by pandemonium? A few hundred people had gathered in front of a large structure Zac didn’t recognize, scuffling to get inside.
It was an all-out brawl, though luckily no one used Cosmic Energy or skills. It wasn’t only students either, as Zac spotted a few Valkyries and demons in the mix. They were the closest to the doors and were ferociously attacking each other to be the ones to step inside.
A few people sat some distance from the angry mob nursing their wounds while glaring at the people still struggling to enter. They were likely the first casualties of the curfuffle. Zac only gaped at the mayhem, wondering what was happening inside that made people so desperate to enter.
Suddenly he spotted a familiar form speeding toward him. It was Alyn, and Zac froze when he saw her facial expression.
“Are you trying to tear my poor school to the ground?” the irate school mistress asked in an accusatory tone as she stopped just in front of him.
It was the first time Zac could see the annoyance on the Alyn's face, and something about her expression made Zac’s hair stand on end. She was usually the personification of grace, but Zac was once again reminded that she was meant to be a slave driver rather than an educator on earth due to her ruthlessness.
“What’s going on?” Zac hesitantly asked as he secretly imbued himself with the Dao of Hardness just in case.
“Between the call to war and the magical painting things have gone out of control,” Alyn said as she took out a few familiar balls and threw them at the congested areas. “You really planned this one out exquisitely, didn’t you?”
Explosions erupted one by one, and dozens of people were blasted into the air by each of the bombs. Only the Valkyries and the demon guards fared a bit better from the bombardment, but Alyn only snorted and took out a handful of them and threw them all over at the same time.
A cascade of explosions finally put an end to the melee in the academy, with Alyn singlehandedly destroying everyone’s fighting spirit. Zac could only wryly shake his head at her antics, and breathe in relief that the buildings seemed to be reinforced by arrays.
“Can you tell me what’s going on now?” Zac said, deciding not to comment on the fact that Alyn maimed the people who would soon be on the battlefield.
He knew that she was a master at using those small energy bombs, and while it looked random no one was seriously hurt. They would be fine after taking a healing pill and resting for a day.
“It was that painting you had Emily bring,” Alyn said with a shake of her head. “I couldn’t see what was so special about it, so I simply placed it in the public meditation room since you said it would improve one’s Dao comprehension.”
“Two elemental mages sat down in front of it, and it just took them a few minutes to gain their first Dao Seeds. The news quickly spread like a wildfire and people are doing anything to get a chance to meditate in front of it before they are sent to the front lines,” Alyn continued, some wonder creeping into her eyes.
“What? The painting was that effective?” Zac said with some shock.
He was just as confused as Alyn. He had looked it over when he got it, but he sensed nothing special from it. It was an exquisite painting, but that was about it.
“I believe that some special energy was left behind by the painter or the previous owner that helped the first couple of people to attain the Seed. After a while most of the effects wore off,” Alyn explained. “It is still far more effective to meditate in front of it compared to without it though.”
“You know how much getting a Dao seed improves one’s combat power,” Alyn said with a sigh as she kicked a few students who didn’t get up fast enough after getting blasted as they walked toward the meditation building. “I will place it in a restricted chamber instead, and one will only be able to meditate in front of it in exchange for contribution points.”
“Well, I’m good it is coming to some use at least,” Zac said with a smile. “I am here for something else though.”
He proceeded to explain his problem with [Cyclic Strike], though he didn’t mention his horrible affinity.
“There are trinkets that can help train one’s spirit,” Alyn said after a bit. “I don’t have any, but they should be pretty simple for Calrin to purchase. They are slightly expensive, but that shouldn’t be a problem for you by this point. Now go away, I have so much to do.”
Zac was afterward unceremoniously thrown out of the Academy, and he walked over to Calrin’s. Thirty minutes later he left with a tool that could train one's mental dexterity. It was almost like a toy, where one needed to utilize mental energy to activate the contraption in certain patterns, but the amount of energy and the direction was extremely strict.
It was just what Zac needed at the moment, and he kept trying to complete the little puzzle as he walked through the town. Finally, he gave up in frustration, and when he looked up he found himself in front of the tavern.