Mehubanarath opened his raised fist. The smoldering orb of flame floating on his palm split into three. The elder Mardukryon waved his arm above his head in a wide arc, leaving the new fiery balls evenly spaced in mid-air.

Each one of them transformed into a mysterious symbol with a different color. The first, an angry red, became something of an angular runic sign; the swirling blue in the middle had a more wave-like pattern; and the last, displaying a bright white color, was an emblem of concentric circles with lines crossing through it.

"Manipulating the Ancestral Flame, there are three main forms." The Big M grabbed the fiery red rune. It shattered into a haze of sparkling red lights, almost like a swarm of fireflies that gathered around his hand. "Katinnu! The arts of the warrior." The mass of crimson glitters formed into the shape of the sword and burst into flames. "Weapons? Mardukryons have no need for those," he said as he demonstrated his skill with the sword. “The Ancestral Flame is our weapon.”

Mehubanarath backed a few steps away so he wouldn't chop me as he sliced the air, turning the temperature up to—I wasn't sure what the temperature was since I couldn't gauge it with my Mardukryon body. He was doing the time-tested and favorite in schoolyard fights helicopter blade technique, the rings of light reminding me of the fire dancers in that one resort we brought Mum for her sixtieth birthday.

"Cut down enemies around you," the Big M said as he made a powerful downward swing. "Incinerate those afar." He swung his sword upwards, releasing a crescent-shaped wave of light that faded into nothingness before it hit the trees. "All that, and more, you will learn if you become a follower of the Form of Katinnu. Youngling, as you have eliminated a rabid group of Mirdabons by your lonesome, perhaps this might be the best Form for you to learn.”

That is very cool, I mused. It couldn't be denied that at some point as a kid, I imagined wielding a flaming sword. It was an interesting concept to make weapons out of fire and cast fire skills simultaneously. A sort of hybrid of an elemental fire mage and a swordsman?

It turned out my hunch was correct when I examined the details of the Katinnu Form Ocadule.

[ Katinnu Ancestral Flame Form ]

Mardukryon Ocadule | Epic Quality

Disciples of the Katinnu Form empower themselves with the primal energies of the Ancestral Flame, molding weapons of fire to use in battle while mastering spells of fire and destruction. The power of each attack, each spell cast, is increased by fire damage to scorch those who stand in their way.

(Requirement: Unarmed State; Non-Mardukryon Races will use Energy instead of Ancestral Shroud.)

"Asipu!" Mehubanarath stated as he reached for the second floating symbol. "Those who converse with the fire spirits of the world unseen." The bluish flame expanded into a writhing mass of light. The Big M flung it down to the ground, and it took on the form of a blazing hound. "The masters of the Asipu Form call upon these fire spirits to aid them in battle."

He conjured a couple more creatures from the blue flame—a giant salamander-like monster with six legs and a tiny goblin. The three summons demonstrated a few moves before they were extinguished and faded away.

[ Asipu Ancestral Flame Form ]

Mardukryon Ocadule | Epic Quality

Disciples of the Asipu Form manipulate their Ancestral Flames to provide vessels for fire spirits. They whisper to the denizens of the other world to borrow their powers, coaxing them with friendship, subduing them into servitude, or contracting with them as equals. The Ancestral Flames provide the fire spirits sustenance as they traverse the mortal plane, the power they wield dependent on their summoner’s mastery of the Asipu Form.

(Requirement: Unarmed State; Non-Mardukryon Races will use Energy instead of Ancestral Shroud.)

"That looks incredibly tempting," I said with a reminiscing grin. While I was a tank player through and through, I vaguely recalled building characters that could summon other creatures. There was a time Paul convinced me to try a necromancer because an army of skeletons was awesome in a teenager's mind no matter how one looked at it, and I ended up simply turning it into a tank.

Admittedly, having a group of minions at one's bidding was fun, fulfilling a kid's imagination of commanding a fantasy army.

Perhaps it wasn't only a child's dream. Many adults also wanted to have many minions in real life. There was a time I enjoyed managing large groups of people. But micromanaging was a bitch, taking a toll on me and hampering a huge team's overall performance—a rookie mistake on my part when our business was beginning to grow. I eventually learned to delegate.

Minions in RPGs, like the skeletons of a necromancer or fire creatures summoned by an Asipu disciple, were much easier to manage than employees. But this Ocadule wasn't for me. I certainly could make a tank out of it, using the summons to soak damage or something along those lines.

However, that wasn't in line with my vision of standing proud in the middle of the battlefield and looking down on the pathetic people failing to kill me. Goal #1...I will become the best tank, crush everyone, and remain standing after every battle.

I wanted others to hit me and despair at their lack of damage; summons would steal my limelight. I wouldn't be the only one left standing if I had minions with me. The summons looked incredibly cool though.

"I suppose the last Form is related to support classes?" I asked Mehubanarath.

The towering Mardukryon closed his fist on the last floating symbol made of fire to use its power. "We Mardukryons are not solitary creatures, rather we—"

"Says the hermit."

"—are part of the herd, a piece of the whole. The masters of the Aritu form were the backbone of the vast Mardukryon hordes that stampeded through the Plains of Omiburn during the War of the Eight Titans! Erecting colossal barriers—"

"Erecting?"

"—rejuvenating the injured, even those on the brink of death, and strengthening the warriors and fire spirits by imparting sparks of their own Ancestral Flame!"

"Ah, I was too late with the immature joke," I said. "Manson would be disappointed in me."

A magical circle of white light expanded from Mehubanarath's hooves, sweeping beneath me. Green particles drifted around my body, giving me the feeling of warmth and comfort.

A healing skill? I was at full health, so I couldn't verify my hunch.

"What is this?" I said, noticing a surprising change as I observed my health bar. I now had more than three thousand health points. "Now, this is what I'm talking about! I'd rather have this than the fire summons."

Mehubanarath stomped on the ground. A slightly transparent pinkish circular wall grew around him. Another stomp with his front hooves and a different barrier formed, a yellow-tinged bubble enclosing his body.

"Heals, buffs, and shields?" I guessed before reading the last Ocadudle option. Yet again, Herald Stone was right.

[ Aritu Ancestral Flame Form ]

Mardukryon Ocadule | Epic Quality

Practitioners of the Aritu Form are foremost in maintaining the purity of their Ancestral Flame. They have dedicated themselves to healing arts and barrier techniques that ensure the survival of the herd. Selfless and courageous, their Ancestral Flame resonates with others, allowing the transfer of life force to rejuvenate and bolster the strength and vitality of all allies.

(Requirement: Unarmed State; Non-Mardukryon Races will use Energy instead of Ancestral Shroud.)

Unless the arrogant clown, Luds, and his gang of Legion Contractors found another hidden achievement, they’d have only the base reward. That meant I managed to find a better Ocadule than they did. I wasn't one to gloat...directly. Indirect gloating was very much on the table.

But now wasn't the time to reveal the secret I found—perhaps the Expeditionary Legion would pay a sizable amount for this information when Mardukryons would become popular again. And I also wanted to get closer to Luds, not antagonize him, to learn tips and tricks for Mardukryons choosing the Unarmed State.

"I choose to be a follower of the Aritu Form."

"And so it shall be!"

[ Received: Open-Compatibility Accessory Data Module (Ocadule) Full System –

Aritu Ancestral Flame Form ]

"Thank you, your hugeness, sir."

"Meld with the Ocadule, youngling," Mehubanarath commanded me. "Show the world your resolve to continue the path of the Aritu masters long gone. You now shoulder the burden of their knowledge. Do not let it fade away and be forgotten again."

"Don't worry, old one. The world will not forget our Ancestral Flame Arts when I stand at the top."

[ Integration with Ocadule: Successful ]

[ Aritu Ancestral Flame Form - Melded - Akashic Configuration ]

[ New type of Charge Counter added ]

"A charge counter?" I said. "Is that a new resource because of my Ocadule?"

Rejuvenation Charge (Base duration 10 seconds):

Each Charge will add (Max counter [4]):

+3% Healing Increase

+3% Healing Received

+5 Ancestral Shroud per Second

"And how do I obtain the Rejuvenation charges?" I asked, more to myself.

Nonetheless, Mehubanarath answered, "With each spell you cast from the Aritu Form, the embers of your Ancestral Flame burn hotter. Your selfless fervor makes every subsequent aid you extend to others more and more effective."

"I see, thank you." Using Aritu skills will stack the charges. Very useful for long battles, which were par for the course for tanks. I opened the Ocadule. "Only one skill?" I said. "No other choices?" This might be how Ocadules worked as opposed to Cidules.

I was now an Aritu Form disciple; it would be quite unconventional for a disciple to pick and choose which lessons he wanted to learn. My hunch was the Ocadule for the [Novice Ancestral Flame Arts] contained skills generic to the three Forms the Big M had shown me, while the upgraded rewards gave stronger skills specific to the Forms. For example, first Aritu skill was a heal.

Lvl. 1 Healing Touch: Use a touch of your revitalizing Ancestral Flames to heal yourself or an ally for (100 + (Vigor x 0.5) + 3% Ancestral Shroud) Health Points, and grants the target a buff that heals over time by the same value over 10 seconds. (Heal buff does not stack for a target.)

Generate for target: 1 Rejuvenation Charge

Cost: 20 AS

Cooldown: 3 Seconds

Although survivability was the priority for tanks, it was also important to include healing skills in the build. I tended to view heals as extending the health bar indefinitely so long as I stood. If the tank didn't die in one shot, he could always heal back up with the help of supports and his own skills. It would then be a race between the incoming damage and the healing rate.

A significant thing with [Healing Touch] was that it was composed of three values—a base heal, a Vigor component, and an AS one. For low levels like me with pathetic stats, the base heal alone was a great help, replenishing almost a third of my unbuffed health bar. The Vigor and AS values were negligible at present.

But as the game progressed, the latter two would continue to rise and scale into the late game. Furthermore, the skill healed twice the value. The lingering heal was useful if the skill was rotated for the entire party.

Unfortunately, given the three-second cooldown of [Healing Touch] and the short ten-second duration of one [Rejuvenation Charge], there would only be one second that I'd have the maximum four charges up. Other skills that also generated charges were needed in my rotation.

"I dreamed of the day that I could pass on the meager Ancestral Flame Arts I have managed to reconstruct," Mehubanarath said, his voice full of emotion. "But the day has come. Youngling, demonstrate what you have learned. Cast your first skill."

"I am going to touch myself!" Raising my hand, I used [Healing Touch]. A green glow wrapped around me and pulsated each second—I assumed that was the heal-over-time part of the skill.

"Excellent! To progress your prowess is the next order of business. I will send you—"

"Uncle! Uncle Mehu!" A voice called out, interrupting our conversation.

I turned around and saw a Mardukryon NPC standing by the entrance of this hidden clearing. He was larger than I was but smaller than Mehubanarath. He carried a monster carcass over his shoulder—a fat white-furred beast with a spiky whip-like tail—and had three differently designed spears strapped on his back.

[Lvl 27 Mardukryon| Hunter-Warrior: Sharulrath] exclaimed, "Uncle Mehu, why have you taught him the Ancestral Flame Arts and not me?"