A weapon is a bit like fate. All one needs to do is hold it to know if they have an affinity with it. Take this spear… the first time I held it, I knew we were fated companions.

~Lugh, God of Battle and Craft

“You won’t change your mind?” Gavin asked.

“What’s wrong with it?”

“It-that-hmm…” Gavin wasn’t sure how to respond. It wasn’t like he could give the boy another choice. “You know that to train, you will need to run from malevolent spirits—ghosts. It is also a partial soul technique, at least when you use your Source to power it, which are notoriously hard to master.”

“Yes, but is it the most powerful movement ability here?”

Gavin sighed. “It really is one of the best movement abilities, but this could harm your Soul.”

“Only if I use my Source, right? I could practice it until I’ve mastered the physical steps, call that my lesser success, and then greater success when I can use—”

“You understand that it’s not just the ghosts that’s the problem, right? You will step across the graves of your ancestors. That is the reason it’s down here and not sitting in the clan’s Ancestral Library. It shouldn’t even be in that zone, but in the next one down.”

“Which makes it all the more intriguing and the one I choose. Besides, who says I have to use our ancestor’s graves?.” Crow grinned.

“Madmen—your entire lineage contains madmen. Even Luthais is not exempt from that.”

“I chose a spell, but I’m not sure what happened to it. It’s in here now,” Crow said, tapping his head.

“That’s odd. None of those types of vestiges should have been in there. What’s it called?”

“Ghostly Visage? No, Seasonal Shift—uhh, it changed again.” Crow felt confused now, but the spell itself didn’t change on him. He was sure it was Ghostly Visage.

“Ghostly Visage!? What the hell was that doing in there?”

“You know what this is?”

“I do, but the vestige fades in and out. It even disguises itself and might be one of the most bizarre techniques we have down here. I know without a doubt that that should not have been inside that room. Something weird is going on here…” Gavin’s voice trailed off as he stared at Crow and then looked upward as if thinking of something. “If I had to guess, I’d say the Librarian is interfering. This might not be a bad thing—it means it recognizes your bloodline. No one has touched that spell, much less learned it. What does it do?”

“One sec, I haven’t had time to review it. I put my Source into it to inspect it. Next thing I know, I’m on the ground screaming.” Crow explained and checked the spell’s details. The more Crow tried to decipher it, the more unfathomable it became.

At its first tier, which is all he could understand, it allowed him to fade his body out and blend in with his surroundings. Not putting much thought into it, he followed the method and felt a soft, warm energy flow through his body.

“Oh, that is definitely sky grade,” Gavin said unexpectedly, and Crow refocused his eyes to find Gavin circling him.

Holding up a hand, Crow could see through it. His body was transparent. Looking at himself in a dazed manner, Gavin pushed him hard enough to cause him to stumble.

“You bullying me, old man?” Crow snapped and then bit his tongue.

“Sorry, kid.” Gavin grinned. “Thought you might have been incorporeal. Turns out it’s more like camouflage. Still, that’s a damn good spell, especially for the Hunt. Movement and concealment. Those are good. Very good and practical, I approve. You might change the name of your movement ability to Ghost Steps, that will invite less trouble and match the theme you have going. Now get in the training room and keep at it until you’ve reached initial success—well, in the movement ability. Since you’ve already learned the spell, just take time while resting to meditate on it. It is the only way to open up the other parts of the ability.”

“This one understands.”

Gavin nodded. “Go ahead and don’t tell anyone you have two sky grade abilities.”

“Thank you, teacher!” Crow nearly exclaimed loudly and quickly tried to rein in his excitement.

“Remember, two months until the Hunt. If not for this event, I’d have forbidden you from using Ghost Steps. However, if you can master that ability’s basics before then, it’ll be beneficial. You are already very skilled with woodcraft, and I’m confident that you’ll come out alive with the choices you made. I need to report to your grandpa. He’ll lose his mind when he hears you snagged that spell, and if he asks, I did not assist you. It really is putting me in a tough spot, but thankfully it was Ghostly Visage. That thing behaves with a will of its own, so only luck could land you that spell.”

Gavin walked him into the training room. “Remember to sit down before you put send your Source into that vestige, hah. Save you from falling on your face.”

“Thank you, teacher.”

“These are the things I should do. Practice for the next ten days here. Trust me, the gains will be worth it. Drop the vestige in that slot there when done to get out. This door won’t open until you do.”

Crow entered the room, and the door shut behind him. The room itself was roughly a hundred meters long and thirty meters wide. In the corner, near the door, was a small bed and a padded chair. He went over and sat down on the bed, arranging himself until he was comfortable. Taking a deep breath, he placed the vestige against his forehead before channeling his Source energy into it.

It wasn’t as intense as Ghostly Visage. Images rammed into his mind again and again like the unrelenting tides of an ocean. It was like decades of knowledge had just appeared. After an indeterminate amount of time, Crow spat out blood, even felt it leaking from his nose and ears. The blood was a sign that he’d overtaxed his soul, but it was within his expectations. Releasing the blood eased the pressure and prevented damage to his soul. The problem was that he had tried to absorb two sky grade vestiges almost back to back—which put his soul into danger.

His eyes refused to open, and before long, he felt his head hit the soft bedding and fell into a deep slumber. Had anyone walked in on him, they’d have seen his eyes weren’t closed but staring blankly at the world around him. In his mind, even asleep, he was performing the Ghost Steps.

Almost two days later, he finally roused and stood up. Feeling the knowledge churning in his mind, he moved. Step after step, he flowed through the room like the phantom in his mind. Not one iota of his Source activated, but each time he shifted, it was like he’d become something supernatural. After several hours, he started adapting it to his attacks and strikes. Fists whistled through the air as he struck practice dummies and slid around them—appearing behind it with slightly more than a whisper.

The master in the vestige hadn’t made a sound, but Crow’s understanding hadn’t reached that level. He was quiet, but his feet still made a light slapping sound on the stones, and his clothes rustled when he struck. Still, it was far above what he’d known previously. Suddenly, he laughed. It felt good, this feeling of control and power, it was freeing, and at some point, he’d shifted into simple dances Barnes had taught him, finally understanding.

Moving was freedom. Whether it was dancing, running, fighting, or just walking up the street—it was all freedom. As long as Crow could move, he wasn’t suppressed, held back, or without options. This enlightened state of mind was something that all cultivators begged the gods to have, and Crow adjusted his state of mind to maximize his benefits.

Hours and days passed quickly. Crow comprehended Ghost Steps and Ghostly Visage to a much higher level than expected. Using these abilities together made him feel nearly invincible, and when combined with his bow, arrows struck the dummies from out of the void—or at least it seemed like it. It was the mysterious way Crow moved that made it seem like he had never moved.

Crow had no idea how long he’d been at it, but he felt his understanding of Ghostly Visage expanded by leaps and bounds. He now knew that there were actually ten parts to it, each more profound than the last. However, these weren’t stages and didn’t require an understanding of the other parts. It was almost like a series of ten different spells, but Crow could feel that wasn’t entirely true.

Just his understanding of the first part had reached small perfection, which increased the amount he faded from sight. In a well-lit room, anyone could see him breaking the illusion, but in a forest, he really would be like a ghost. Greater perfection would allow him to be invisible, and mastery allowed him to cross into the ghost realm, which was more potent than invisibility—his soul would disappear.

The ten parts were: Become the Ghost, Faces of the Dead, Ghost Form, Ghost Eyes, Deathly Appearance, Myriad of the Dead, Curse of the Myriad, Become the Wraith, Become the Reaper, and Ghostly Existence. The last four were nearly impossible without having a high-level Shield, maybe Topaz or higher. All but four of the parts required Ghost Mana, which meant they were impossible until he cultivated some using the method provided.

Still, the four he could use were somewhat mind-blowing. Become the Ghost was the one he’d already reached small perfection. Faces of the Dead allowed him to take the appearance and aura of anyone he’d personally killed, which Crow had mixed feelings about. He didn’t want to kill anyone, but it was a level of protection that he couldn’t ignore.

Next was Deathly Appearance, which granted him the ability to temporarily transfer his appearance and aura onto a corpse. And then Myriad of the Dead was an illusion that made the target see Crow as the people they’d killed. Because it targeted the mind, it would draw up the ones that had the most impact on the person.

The rest he could barely comprehend, except for the very last part. Ghostly Existence was by far the most powerful ability of the spell, and it gave Crow the chills. Its requirements for use were beyond Crow’s ability, but it cursed the entire realm with a Ghost of a Memory, making everyone forget the person who cast it. It would turn him into an actual ghost—forgotten by all. However, the curse wasn’t permanent and would fade, eventually. The decay rate increased depending on how strong a relationship he had with the other person—such as intense hate or love.

Such a powerful spell was only high sky grade? He didn’t even want to know what a higher grade spell could manage. Still, the associated cultivation method would allow him to absorb Ghost Mana, which definitely was above sky grade—maybe the grading ignored it as it really wasn’t part of the spell itself.

After Crow had reached a bottleneck studying the spell, he realized he’d only overcome it through experience. He needed insight that studying couldn’t give him. Regardless, he switched to Ghost Steps.

Ghost Steps had tiers or stages, and the later stages depended on the previous ones. There were only four stages, but each touched on profound principles such as sound, gravity, touch, and sight—none of which was easily mastered.

First was Soundless Phantom Steps—the initial movement technique which maximized his movement potential while not making a sound. There were a few levels of success, such as increasing the speed and distance, but most importantly, moving without a whisper of sound.

Following that was Groundless Phantom Steps, Echoing Steps, and finally Void Hopping. Groundless used Crow’s Source to cushion his steps so they never actually touched the ground. Echoing Steps projected sounds of movement—a type of illusion. It made people hear him moving in different directions, creating confusion. Void Hopping was something Crow didn’t fully understand, and it was the pinnacle of Senior Ghost Frog’s movement technique. Best he could figure out was that it was some sort of space or temporal jumping. Short-range teleporting or something similar.

Crow had reached small perfection between the two abilities, but the next two steps towards mastery wasn’t something he’d accomplish in two years, much less two months. Still, the enlightened state had helped him tremendously, and reaching this point was already a significant success in his mind.

Just fading in and out while moving about erratically entertained him endlessly. Knowing that a beast frog created the ability gave him some valuable insight into the movement. Arawn had helped him, and Crow felt obligated to find as many Moonstones for the god as he could. He would take his time studying the map to figure out where to find them in the pocket world—

Ding.

A soft bell sounded in the room. It was quiet enough to prevent startling him and possibly damaging himself during cultivation but loud enough to let him know time was up. Crow stopped practicing and felt his stomach rumble. It’d been ten days since his last meal. A benefit of having a Source was that he could go quite a while without food, water, or sleep, but ten days was his limit for now.

The door itself remained sealed, and Crow saw no handle or way to exit. The only sign it was a door was the outline and the dropbox next to it. Crow dropped the vestige into the box and watched as it slid into the wall. Moments later, the door hissed and popped open.

Gavin stood there waiting. Crow took a step, and the old man’s eyes widened in surprise. Not because it was noteworthy, but that it already carried traces of the Ghost Steps. His gait was a little quicker and a lot softer. For a moment, it felt like Crow hadn’t even moved.

“Not bad. Some say that abilities choose their masters. That one seems especially suited for you.” He praised the boy. “Alright. You have a month and a half, give or take, before the Hunt. Spend most of that time training with your uncle. It’s a shame Barnes isn’t here. Also, pick a short-ranged weapon and have your uncle work with you on it. For the next two weeks, focus on what you learned. Don’t come back here except to read up on the Hunt. Work on your martial skills. I already informed your uncle and grandpa about your choices here. Luthais will help you integrate them into your martial talents.”

“But—”

“No. You want power, then you’ll listen to me. Any technique can be profound, and you can copy the previous master until you can use the entire thing. That isn’t power because you didn’t make the ability yours. An ability cannot have its potential maximized until you understand how it works. It’s the reason I had you learn the fundamentals of your Source first and look what you did? You formed a spell out of nothing. I guarantee you that spell you made is more powerful in your hands than Water Blast because you built it from your comprehension. You need to know how those abilities link to your Source, understand how it uses that energy, and why it behaves the way it does—if you do that, you’ve truly mastered it. Mastering something is the first step in transforming it—transform an ability, and you will have truly done something that defies those heavens you are angry with.” Gavin’s voice boomed, and Crow’s mind shook. He’d never seen the old man so impassioned, and for the first time, Crow realized that Gavin was far beyond ordinary.

“Teacher… I won’t let you down,” Crow finally said, feeling a bit chagrined.

Gavin’s laughter echoed through the halls, and he rustled Crow’s hair. It wasn’t the first time Crow’s aptitude and willingness to put his stubbornness aside in pursuit of knowledge impressed him. The moment Crow spoke, he saw the rebelliousness in those eyes and used a heavier hand than usual to curb it. It might have been a bit brash, but the boy understood.

“Very well, go get something to eat and sleep. It’s around dawn, and you’ll probably sleep until tomorrow. Train hard, kid.”

“It will be as you say.” Crow felt an urge to put his fist over his chest and bowed towards the old man before turning to leave. Gavin stood there, a little shocked, but a smile split his face long after Crow left.

“This kid, he really might be—”

“Our champion in the cross-realm competition?” Mugna said from beside him, appearing randomly.

“No—well, yes, but not what I was thinking. Maddox clan’s bloodline power is thinning. In another few centuries, we really might end up subordinate to another clan.”

“If I’m right, and that boy fails, you won’t need to worry about being a subordinate clan. You should worry about whether the Druid Order will continue to exist at all.”

Gavin looked over Mugna, seeing the grim face without a trace of mirth or mockery.