《Spirit Sagas》Elemental Stones
Advertisement
During the process Flynn noticed the size of his essence core had expanded. The Essence Core is the area in one’s body that holds the elemental essence once it has been absorbed. Along with the Quintessence Palace that houses and nourishes the soul, they are the foundation of a cultivator. The bigger and deeper one’s essence core, the more essence one can use and for a longer time. The Quintessence Palace, in the Element Domain, is unusable and only nourishes the soul passively. Only by entering the Territory Domain can one actively make use of it.
“Using my essence until the point of nearly exhausting it may also have caused the growth of my essence core, but since I have never drained myself to this degree I can’t be positive”
It seemed that using his essence until the point of it nearly drying caused it to increase slightly in size. He never heard that the size of a person’s essence core could grow without advancing to the next tier. It seems he got more out of the fight besides the essence core of that Gale Wolf that he will have to dig out later.
After completely restoring his essence, he decided to take a look at the books inside the ring his mother gave him. None of the books had a name and they were incredibly old, but one book had a sword technique, another had a dagger technique, another had a movement technique and the final one taught another way to absorb the elemental essence making the body stronger before it is purified and enters the essence core. Although he wanted to learn them all now to increase his strength, the sword and dagger techniques and absorption method could only be used once he entered the Knight domain. Only the beginning of the movement technique could be used now.
“Advancing to the Foundation Domain shouldn’t be too far away. I should make the best of my time and move steady.”
Placing the books back in the ring and took out the corpse of the wolf and the sword. He decided to improve the power of his mind by controlling the sword with it and carving a hole in the center of the wolf’s chest, to remove the core. The core was about the size of a baby’s fist and radiated a bright green color representing the wind element. Placing the core to the side, Flynn skinned the wolf and was able to cut it up place it back into the ring before feeling dizzy from using nearly all his essence.
His control increased a bit and the amount of essence needed to move the sword decreased slightly. He immediately started absorbing the essence again and noticed that his essence core did indeed grow slightly, but not as much as before.
“It seems simultaneously absorbing and using the essence and also draining one’s self completely can increase the size of my essence core.”
Once it was completely restored he picked up the core and began absorbing its essence hoping it would allow him to advance to the next tier. Normally when someone absorbs essence from a core, they only manage to absorb half of the essence because the core of others have a berserk element within and absorbing to much is the same as looking for death. As he started absorbing and purifying the essence, he noticed that the berserk element within the core started to vanish and a hint of joy flashed within his eyes.
Advertisement
“Without the berserk element I should be able to absorb all the essence without having to waste any.”
Absorbing the core took quite a while and although he didn’t enter the next tier he was now at the peak of the eighth tier and only needed a step to advance. The light of the core disappeared after absorbed what he could an now looked like an ordinary stone.
“It feels a little different than the essence of the world but it still gets the job done.”
He walked to the entrance of the cave with the sword floating behind him steadily increasing his control and power. Spreading his perception in the surroundings he noticed that no beast were in the vicinity. He started retracing his steps until he found the river then headed outside the forest. There were some essential things required that could only be obtained from people and not in the forest since there were very few, if any, people inside.
After leaving the forest he soon arrived at the village that was attacked and stood outside. It was noon and he could still smell the blood wafting through the air. Almost a hundred people were killed last night, only a dozen or so were villagers while the rest were bandits he ordered killed. He was surprised the village was basically empty, with all the villagers gone and a few bandits roaming around, going through every house one by one.
Using his perception he noticed that there were only seven all together and only was at the Foundation Domain, 2nd Tier at most, the others were all in the Element Domain. Unknown to him his eyes flashed purple momentarily due to his rage before he stamped it down.
“I need to be calm. Losing my cool will only make me make mistakes.” he remembered his mother's words.
He placed his sword back in the ring and focused, moving quickly towards the closest house with a bandit. It only took a few seconds before finding his target heading into a room. The opponent was only at the 7th Tier so he immediately made his move. Reaching around to crush his throat to stop any sound from escaping, Flynn thrust his dagger into the back of his heart.
There was no struggle. It was over immediately so Flynn continued to the next house. It wasn't his first time killing a man but it was different from killing prisoners of the family. He knew that once the adrenaline wore off he would need time to recover and doing that now was just stupid so he didn't waste his time. He only made a move when the bandits were on there own and in a house and avoided the Foundation Domain man at all costs.
Each kill became easier and allowed him to calm his nerves, no longer running on adrenaline. It didn't take long to finish off those in the Element Domain since the strongest was only at 8th Tier and there was no problem taking out someone of the same Tier.
Facing the last house with the Foundation Domain bandit he didn't try to sneak around anymore as it was of no use since the man finally noticed none of his comrades were responding. Taking out his sword he walked slowly towards the house making no attempt to be silent. It didn't take long before the bandit rushed out the house he was in.
Advertisement
“Was it you, little bastard, that took out my men” the man clenched his teeth and spoke, looking around for anyone else. Inside he was shocked. The person in front was only a young boy and he also noticed the boy was only at the 8th Tier of the Element Domain and now all his subordinates were dead. He also noticed there was no blood on him or the sword in his hand so he obviously thought someone else was here.
“Where are the people of this village” Flynn wholly ignored the question. Then he noticed the man looking around and smirked. “There is no one else here but you and me so you can stop looking”
The man was startled for a moment before revealing a fiendish smile. If it was only the boy then the man felt 100% confident in finishing this quickly. He took a step forward and prepared to charge at the boy. “Time to...” he didn't finish speaking when Flynn moved first but he didn't move towards the bandit. He actually used the strategy he used to handle the Gale Wolf and manipulated his shadow to go forward while he rushed to a small bird that was on a house close by.
By the time the man realized what happened the bird was already dead. He felt anger and humiliation. His opponent felt it was more important to kill a bird than to face him. He yelled in and charged at the boy at full speed but when he had only covered half the distance his pupils contracted as he felt pain in his back. He looked down and saw the blade of a short sword sticking out of his chest, but the pain was only half the problem. He felt his essence core shatter because of the sword. Looking behind himself he was shocked to see absolutely nobody there.
Flynn turned around and looked at him coldly. During the time he made his move against the bird and manipulated his shadow he also dropped a sword he picked up before leaving the last house. The moment the man charged at him his fate was already decided. As soon as he passed the sword Flynn used his mind to move it a destroyed his essence core. He was only still living because he wanted to know what happened to the villagers.
He moved towards the now crippled man who was still in shock. He picked him up by his hair and again asked about the villagers. It didn't take long to get it out of him. It turned out that when they arrived at the village it was already empty with only the corpses of the bandits from last night here. They started searching the village with the hope of finding anything of value and hopefully someone who knew what happened.
He also found out that although a group was absorbing all the others it was far from being under control so many groups still acted on their own and that it wasn't a bandit group but an official mercenary band. Those from last night were a mob but the ones today were sent for the group doing the absorbing, Red Star Mercenaries.
Done getting all the information he wanted he finished off the man and also took the Cosmos Ring from his finger. He found an empty house to have a rest and also check the ring. It had the same size as his own and inside the ring were about 1000 gold coins, a few weapons, and other miscellaneous things. What made him happiest was that the ring had a pile of elemental stones, almost 1500 of them of various elements.
Elemental stones were stones of concentrated elemental essence. They were like beast cores except that there was no berserk element and they can be used for things other than cultivating. Fire stones could be used to heat water or cook food and wind stones could give the user a boost in speed or allow one to levitate for a short time. Water, earth, light, darkness, and lightning elements all had stones. With these stones, making it to the Foundation Domain will be easier and so will staying alive in the forest.
He transferred all the items into his own ring the searched the house for some clothes his size. It didn't take long to find some then he left and searched all the other mercenarie. After taking the few things he found he rushed out out of the village and back into the forest.
Instead of heading directly to the cave he moved to the area where he killed the wolf. He had been busy all day and was quite hungry and if he cooked inside the cave it would draw the beasts there and that would cause unnecessary trouble. Taking out a piece of the Gale Wolf and a fire stone he cooked it while staying on alert. Just as he finished he detected a presence and turned around to see a fox that was a little more than half the size of the Gale Wolf he killed.
The fox had glossy black fur and purple eyes a shade darker than his own when he was angry. Although it was smaller than the Gale Wolf he felt that this fox was actually stronger than the wolf and if he had to fight it he would undoubtedly die. He truly felt unprecedented fear from the bottom of his soul. The fox looked like a Shadow Fox except that it had two tails and one had a purple tip and the other had a gray tip.
They just stared at each other as time continued. Flynn noticed that the fox seemed to be injured. It had large wound on its right side which he felt made it more dangerous instead of easier to deal with. He didn’t know why the fox hadn't attacked yet but he didn’t want to wait until it decided to.
He took the rest of the wolf out and tossed it to the fox. When it looked at the meat Flynn activated the wind stone he took out and fled as fast as he could without looking back. He rushed into the cover of the trees and covered himself it darkness and headed to the cave. Just before he made it to the cave he spread out his perception and when he was sure he wasn’t followed and no beasts were around he rushed directly inside. Only after covering the entrance with shadows did he let out a sigh of relief.
“Dammit that was dangerous.” he whispered to himself.
He turned after sealing the entrance and his heart skipped a beat. In front of him were two purple eyes glowing in the darkness.
Advertisement
- In Serial128 Chapters
The Great Core's Paradox
A tiny snake with great potential. The sole creation of the Great Core. That was who I was. That was what I was.It was just us, the Great Core and I, tucked away in our little corner of the World Dungeon. Together, we hid from the bad-things and the Coreless of the world outside — safe from the horrors that would consume us.Until, one day, the Coreless found us. Until they tried to steal away my creator. Until, with no other option, I swallowed the Great Core that had made me.Only after that did I become what I was always meant to be.At last, I became the Great Core’s Paradox in more than name.[The Endless Cycle] began.Thus begins the story of a little snake zealot and his journey to greatness.
8 865 - In Serial34 Chapters
RakhtaBhushan (Blood Ornament)
[This book has been contracted elsewhere, which is why I am not updating any more. Please contact me if you want to continue reading the story.] God King Arya defeats Agni Asura Yaman. Two hundred years later, Asura Yaman reincarnates as golden prince, Suryadev, of RakhtaPrastha. Once he comes of age, a darkness begins to lurk in his dreams. Flashbacks from his past life erode his mind, his fate "unforeseen by the gods." As he seeks to heal, his path entwines with Vidyut, his long time rival. Hardened by the cruelties of life, Vidyut embraces the dark art of Tantra, for which he is both rejected and coveted by the people of the five kingdoms. Meanwhile, the kingdom of RakhtaPrastha is facing political turmoil and rival kingdoms, while the animosity between God King Arya and Yaman/Surya's supporter, Goddess Dimuka, is spilling into the human world. Princes, Spells, Gods, Spirits, Heaven, Mythical creatures, Wars, and Reincarnation, and so much more. It is based on Indian mythology, specifically Hindu mythology. But it is an original fantasy and focus is character arcs. It has BL/Gay content. Most Surya-Vidyut interactions are in the chapters marked Surya or Vidyut. The romance in this story is slowburn. **Daily Chapter Release** Cover Art Disclaimer: The cover art is using an image from Pinterest. The art has been kindly created by Ben Arisson. You can find the artist's profile here: https://www.royalroad.com/profile/181989 07/02/2021 Announcement: To stay updated on future chapters, please contact me at my discord server: https://discord.gg/eq2cmxHu My discord ID: FantasyBliss30#4993
8 55 - In Serial7 Chapters
The Royal Guard
An orphan was found on his own, listless and wandering aimlessly. A lithe man with a hood covering his face watches as the kid walks right into him without seeing him. This kid should be the final recruit. Hopefully the guild will be glad to have all the new trainees. The hooded man thinks to himself as he firmly grabs the kids elbow and steers him to a new life. Damien lost everything. One day, he is found by a man looking for a very special kind of person. Damien is brought to a training ground for assassins. He spends many years there, until one day, a master in the order of assassins assigns Damien to work as a Royal Guard. The Royal Guards are an elite force charged with guarding the most important people in the empire. Amongst the Royal Guards, Damien will face demons, mages and things beyond his imagining. Mature tag is for one really fantastic song in chapter seven. Totally worth reading the whole story for that one song.
8 198 - In Serial8 Chapters
Project from December 2019
Starting chapters are heavily invested in psychology and philosophy. A story about John Keene exploring a different world. This project is similar to 'Ex Legacy' and 'Aidan Alastair'; they follow similar plots. Ex Legacy has more of a completed feel so far - it's debatable, but you are free to read both of them: Aidan Alastair: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/31409/aidan-alastair-volume-1 Ex Legacy: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/48422/ex-legacy
8 182 - In Serial80 Chapters
Fateless: The Silver Lining
It has been ten years of peace for the Union since the end of the great war with the eastern barbarian tribes, yet in the cold north of the Union's land, a new threat is looming. This time, an ambitious Lord is seeking to restore the yore pride of his kin, forcing the weakened Union into yet another unwanted war, as he ramps up the ranks of his army with thieves, murderers and mercenaries.* * *The temperature inside the forge was nearly twice as high as the one outside. A black-haired girl hammered a steel ingot into the shape of a blade. The heat of the steam was draining her stamina away, but her focus remained sharp as her sweat streamed down her face. Hit after hit, for hours, the sound of the hammering steel followed the rhythm of her breathing. Exhausted, she placed the blade into the water and wiped the sweat off her face using a drenched rag. Why are they screaming? Vatra dipped the rag back in the water, twisted it, and approached the window. Her mouth opened as her world shattered again into the living nightmare she had wilfully tried to forget. She bit her lips; it wasn’t a dream. The pulse of her heart rose. A cold sweat prickled her back. A mother was running, and a child was screaming. A torrent of smoke was emerging from the roof of her neighbour. Vatra’s eyes blinked. The mother lay on the ground, a spear through her back. A torch circled in the air and landed on the roof of her workshop. In the distance, a man wearing a banner well known to the world… Fateless is a philosophical medieval dark low fantasy centered on war, militaristic campaigns and geopolitical conflicts between multiple empires. This story follows the fate of Vatra, a former slave from the eastern Nar Empire who was raised in a culture far away from her own, forced into warfare against her will, and the fate of Lanaya, an ambitious half-angel exiled from her home whose existence is seen as heresy. As they wished for peace, both chose a path opposed to one another until their fate crossed. In this story where war dictates the law, love strikes them as a poisoned balm to which they grasp for with all their might, as it is in the darkest of times that the smallest flames may burn the brightest. * * * Tome 1 already completed and available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Fateless-Silver-Hugo-Emmanuel-Simard-Wallot/dp/B09LGSH1KK Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hugo-Emmanuel-Simard-Wallot-100547579135891/ I will publish 1 chapter per week (sometimes 2 if the chapters are too short for my liking).
8 482 - In Serial47 Chapters
Magikind [Original]
The third millennia, a time of change and evolution. An era, where people, through countless generations, have evolved strange powers and abilities. Through several centuries of selective breeding, these beings, known as mages, have become part of the very foundations of society. However, some refused to change or adapt. They believed in purity and refused to interbreed with magikind. Known as the manush, they were a rarity among society. Now, in the fifth millennia, the manush are thought extinct. With magikind ruling the world, a three-way war grips society. In these uncertain times, a manush called Gin, will herald a new era for all Magikind. A story of how man could realistically evolve while still pushing boundaries. Disclaimer: Chapters will be edited once the first volume is done. Bear the beginning for the time being, and hopefully you can see my writing improving over time (I've learnt a lot on how to write because of this (though I'm still not perfect :P)) Proud Member of Writers to the End, WriTE The link to the pledged fictions PS. If you find the 'notes' too boring or too info-dumpy, feel free to skip them and just read the main chapters. They're there for the reader to understand Gin's world (written in the perspective of Gin). But later on, we can see some interactions between the main characters and the occasional references to his past in the notes, so it has its purpose.
8 69