SERPENTINE WATER

Oh my God he actually attacked me, what the hell?!!! Although Lynne’s face still remained calm as the First Prince launched his attack, his mind was screaming in panic. I thought we were just having a verbal spat, I can’t freaking fight you, are you insane dude?!! Just as the enormous gauntlets were about to hit Lynne, tyrannical gust of wind blew from behind him, causing First Prince’s face to distort as he was blown backwards, unable to reach him. Whoever it is I will lick your toes!! Thank you!! However, nobody could read Lynne’s mind; from the surface, he appeared like a stoic wall, unbending, with his hands behind his back, as if none of this mattered one bit, and as if he expected this to happen. This, in turn, caused others’ opinion of him to rise, as very few could remain as cold as ice when faced with such strength.

“He really isn’t a simple character,” a Sect Master of one of the low-ranked sects spoke solemnly. “Not only did he rebuke Prince’s words, giving him practically no face, he remained as calm as water even when faced with Prince’s tyrannical strength. Truly not simple…”

“Indeed,” another person commented. “If it were me, I’d already be on my knees, apologizing.”

“Well, he is a direct disciple of the Principle. Even if it’s the First Prince, as another disciple, he can’t just bend over.”

“Junior Sister, what is the meaning of this?” First Prince asked in a rather overbearing fashion, anger apparent on his face.

“I’m just saving you from great humiliation, Senior Brother,” as Lynne heard her words, he wanted to turn around and slap her senseless; Are you insane woman?! Just say you owed me one and move on!! “Lest you say I care very little for you.” Princess Anna calmly walked up and stopped shoulder to shoulder with Lynne. His tranquil gaze, steady appearance, and eyes that seemed to see beyond worldly matters, inspired youths around him; after all, he was in the presence of two major figures, yet he seemed to not even care they were there.

“Humph,” the First Prince coldly snorted, his eyes brimming with killing intent. “Just say you wanted to protect him, why give him face he doesn’t deserve?”

“You jest, Senior Brother,” she chuckled lightly. Please, please, I beg you, just stop! Lynne’s mind was in frenzy; he realized that not many people understood the meaning of ‘verbal spat’. “Senior Brother Lynne here was able to kill Four Evolutions Creature with ease. Surely, you’re not saying you can do the same?” I was lucky you damned brat!! Why are you doing this to me?!

“What?!!” it was First Prince’s moment to be shocked, as were almost all other people in the vicinity. After all, ‘Four Evolutions Creature’ was an existence that majority of them had never even seen, let alone fought. Yet, this young lad that didn’t even seem to be 20 had already killed one. Just how could they remain indifferent? “Impossible! He’s but a ‘Dao Magus’ brat, how could he possibly kill ‘Four Evolutions Creature’. Stop lying Anna!”

“But I’m not,” the Princess still chuckled, leisurely covering his mouth with her hand, giving her a rather innocent appearance. “He did it in front of me, thus saving my life.”

“Impossible!!” First Prince still denied it with fervor; after all, he was yet to kill even a ‘Three Evolutions Creature’, and would still struggle greatly with ‘Two Evolutions’ ones that were a bit more powerful than the ordinary ones. So how could he possibly believe that Lynne did something like that?

“Well, anyway, there’s that,” Lynne took the opportunity as he turned around, exuding humbleness that caused hearts of many girls to stir. “I will let today’s matter go, as to give some face to Junior Sister.” he then began casually walking back through the path he came from, leaving the crowd gasping for air.

“Wait!!” Dammit you rotten brain, just let me go! “I still don’t believe it! Take one of my fists; if you can, I will let this matter go.”

“Huh?” Lynne’s calm appearance suddenly changed as he glanced backwards. His eyes now appeared to be that of a devil, as his entire body began brimming with bloodlust, causing people around him to push backwards even more, despite the fact that there was no space left. Even Anna and the First Prince subconsciously took a step back due to his appearance. “Who do you think you are, you bag of rotting brain? I just said I’ll let this matter go, and you dare obstruct my way? Humph, brat who doesn’t know the extent of heaven and earth!” Oh my God this rotten kid is truly shameless! Even the monkey was speechless at the Lynne’s outburst; after all, he was well aware that Lynne nearly pissed his pants just a moment ago. “If you’re that eager to die, wait until the competition and pray we meet. But when your head flies off, don’t say I never warned you!” with those words still hanging in the air, he turned around and left, leaving everyone to process what just happened.

After all, the man he just claimed will die during the competition was the First Prince of Elvarnheimn Empire! This wasn’t just another one of the royal children born from concubines, but a direct descendant of the Emperor and the Empress! Perhaps, on the entirety of Alloy Continent, only ten figures of young generation would dare say those words, yet this young lad of unknown origin spoke them so casually and with such confidence, that many actually believed his words completely. Even Anna was struck silly by Lynne’s outburst; after all, during their time spent together, she understood that Lynne was very much a calm and collected person who only lost his wits when it was a matter pertaining to money. It couldn’t have been just an act, since she felt genuine hatred and desire to kill coming from him when he faced the First Prince, as if they already had some grand, blood feud.

If Anna was shocked that much, one can only imagine how the First Prince felt. Nobody – not even his parents – ever spoke to him in such overbearing manner. Nobody ever even dared insult him, let alone claim they would kill him the next time they met. What’s more, he even felt his heart freeze for a moment when Lynne looked at him directly in the eyes; those eyes were like devil’s, bearing sky-high pressure that even he couldn’t resist. In that moment, he actually felt fear; he felt afraid of this nobody who wasn’t even 20 years old, and was barely a ‘Dao Magus’. At that moment, every bone in his body told him not to provoke this lad.

While everyone was still processing what just happened, the culprit rushed back to his residence. His heart was beating faster than ever before, and cold sweat broke profusely from every orifice on his body. As he sat down on his bed, there was a mixture of excitement and dread on his face. The monkey, on the other hand, burst out in laughter the moment the two entered the room. If the crowd was to see him at the moment, there’s no doubt they would be unable to recognize him.

“Damn brat,” the monkey finally spoke as he recovered. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Ugh, shut up!” Lynne exclaimed, burying his head into his hands. “What the hell did I do?! I basically just said I’d kill the future King of the largest Empire on this continent! Even if I had fifty lives, it wouldn’t be enough!”

“Ah, relax,” the monkey tried to comfort him. “You only have one. So, when you die, that’s it. You won’t have to ponder over this anymore.”

“I’ll skin you alive damned monkey!”

“Ha ha,” the monkey laughed freely. “Don’t worry, he’s not as strong as he seems. He simply used pills and potions to push himself into the realm he’s at now. You still have three days until the competition starts, so just train. You may even be able to defeat him.”

“Even so, he’s a ‘Physical Mage’,” Lynne grunted, dissatisfied. “They are basically built to be my eternal headache.”

“At worst, it’ll be a draw,” the monkey said calmly. “As long as you can evade his attacks, it shouldn’t be much of an issue. He’s clearly a ‘Vanguard’ type, so his offensive prowess shouldn’t be that high.”

“He seems earth-based, which is even a greater headache,” Lynne lamented while his eyes grew wetter by moment. “My natural disposition is towards fire and space. There’s no way I can have advantage over him. His Mana reserves are probably endless as well, so it basically means I’m screwed.”

“’Spellweavers’ shouldn’t really be bothered about Mana reserves,” the monkey said; after all, due to his inherited memories, he was quite well versed in human’s progress when it comes to Magic, and various types of it. “You’ve yet to embark on the dual path, so by all means you’re still a ‘Spellweaver’. You should have an art or two that specializes in agility, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Here,” the monkey suddenly took out a small, finger-sized tube filled with azure liquid. The liquid shimmered brightly, and strong, Magical aroma spread throughout the room. “It’s something I came across a few years ago,” the monkey explained. “From what I gathered, it’s called ‘Serpentine Water’, and it’s a high-quality mix of potions and pills. Aside from increasing one’s Mana reserves, it also boosts any movement-based art by quite a large margin. Unlike the pills and potions that the Prince was fed, it has no after-effects as long as you don’t take more than one.”

“Wait, why didn’t you drink it already?” Lynne asked, confused. “You live for this damned stuff.”

“True, it could help me if I drank it, but not by much. Even those pills and potions you gave me back on the island were more valuable for me. This is because potions and pills that have something to do with Mana are generally not that great for me, so I saved one or two just in case.”

“Thanks.” Lynne took it without any pretenses; after all, he was being offered a gift. Who would be dumb enough to reject it?

“Don’t get used to pills and potions though,” the monkey warned. “While they seem like a great way to increase strength in short amount of time, they leave far too much cracks in foundations. Especially for someone like you, who aims to cultivate duo-paths, it would be like destroying your future prospects.”

“Hm,” Lynne nodded, examining the small tube. “Although, I heard there’s a way to refine one’s body to be able to filter out all negative sides of the pills and potions, and leave only benificial ones.”

“I doubt it,” the monkey shook his head. “Refining body is one thing, but potions and pills directly influence the soul, and refining soul is impossible. At best, there may be some legendary treasures that can filter out pills and potions, but I’ve never came across one, so I wouldn’t know.”

“Alright, thanks. I’ll start training now. Here,” Lynne took a few pills and potions from the Headmaster’s pouch and handed them over. “It isn’t much, but it’s something.” the monkey’s eyes immediately lightened up when he saw the bottles, taking them without reservation. Just like Lynne had love for money which bordered lunacy, the little monkey similarly had the same love for potions and pills.

“Hu hu,” the laughed strangely, breathing deeply as if he just ran ten thousand miles in one breath. “Y-you sure have some good stuff.”

Without saying anything else, he retreated into the corner and began processing them, one by one. Similarly, Lynne sat up, cross-legged, onto the bed, and drank the entire tube of liquid in one go, closing his eyes and examining the outburst of energy the liquid provided as it sank into his body. He immediately brought knowledge about ‘Fiery Sweeps’ into his mind, and began examining it over and over again.

‘Fiery Sweeps’ actually had direct correlation to the Natural Flames; as Lynne understood this principle, he was greatly shocked, and had finally come to understand the core of the ‘Fiery Sweeps’. Each flame had its own nature; for instance, golden flames were overbearing and explosive, and their nature as unpredictable. On the other hand, purple flames were much more coy and shrouded in mystery, bringing unpredictable results. The similar natures were imprinted on ‘Fiery Sweeps’; depending on which flame Lynne used to cast the spell, the nature of the spell would change. However, at the moment, Lynne could only control two different Natural Flames: golden one and blue one.

Still, at the moment, it was more than enough for him to slowly begin grasping at the advanced truths of the spell. Up until now, he merely used it as an instant burst of speed despite the fact that he knew that wasn’t its only usage. However, he never realized just how versatile the spell was until now. At the moment, golden flames could provide instant burst of speed – similarly to the way he used it so far – whereas he could cross a great distance in a single step. However, this consumed relatively large amount of Mana. On the other hand, blue flames had completely different nature; they were much more flexible and tranquil, almost like water. When encased in these flames, Lynne can easily sweep left and right at unpredictable angles and strange increments, while its Mana usage was almost negligible, even for someone like Lynne.

Suddenly, as if the wall inside of him broke, he felt a strange sensation sweep throughout his entire body. While azure liquid slowly increased his Mana, which was purified through his veins as it was headed into his soul, it also provided him with an inspirational moment, helping him break through the shackles and understand the advanced truths of the ‘Fiery Sweeps’. While he only scratched the surface, it still increased his efficiency with the spell by at least tenfold. Knowledge flowed like river through his mind, as his soul was coated in tranquil clouds.

However, he didn’t reach any major breakthrough in terms of realms; he had merely attained the rank of a ‘Three Star Dao Magus’, as breaking through the next realm wasn’t that simple. However, he still had time. It took him only about three hours to reach this state, and it appeared as if the effects of the azure liquid still didn’t vanish, as it was pouring out more and more Mana throughout his veins. He sternly decided right then to move forward and push, determined to have another major breakthrough before the competition. ‘Dao Magus’, after all, referred only to someone who had scraped the surface of the profoundness of Magic, and attained the slightest enlightenment. It was a bridge between a complete novice and a small success. Each stage within the ‘Magus Rank’ represented further comprehension of the nature and its laws, and ability to project those laws through one’s Mana. Lynne was but a child at the bottom of the well, still far off from the sky he saw in the distance.