The Null Element continued to prove that it was worthy of being called an extremely rare and powerful affinity. From what Cypher could tell, his mind, body and Orrium all gained massive boosts in effectiveness because of the purity of that kind of Zight.

Null Zight was lacking in the impurities other types of Zight faced. Null was devoid of all the other elements, yet encompassed them all. For example, a Fire affinity Conductor would, of course, have fire Zight. However, it would also carry with it traces of the other 3 primary elements. This would affect spells, growth through the ranks, and much more. Null didn't have this problem.

His mind grew quickly and he learned at an enhanced rate compared to other Conductors. His mental waves were more profound, focused, and able to exude intense pressure.

His body was sturdier, stronger, and more flexible because of the pure energy supplied to it by his Orrium at regular intervals whenever he used his body enhancement technique.

As for his Orrium itself, well, the results spoke loud and clear. He had skipped the liquid stage entirely, and while he had yet to see if that was a fluke or to be expected, it seemed to Cypher that this would be the norm for him.

All these things on their own were enough to qualify Null as the apex of elemental affinities. However, now that Cypher had discovered that he could nullify the spells of other Conductors, it was even more incredible to him. Of course, more testing would have to be done before he'd dare to use it in open combat again.

As amazing as this new development was, the fact remained that he had gotten lucky this time. If he hadn't been able to nullify the spells of the Wild Conductor, he would have died on the spot. Technically speaking, he had lost. Cypher cursed himself for being so careless. Glenda would have been furious to see him fail like that in a battle of life and death.

His greatest ability at the moment, aside from the nullification, was his ability to cast far above his current rank. But that was only due to the massive storage capacity of his Orrium. If he didn't have that, what else did he have?

This was a question that really bothered him. Until now he hadn't needed to worry about it. Every battle he had been in during his training was against illusory opponents. Sure, they could potentially kill him if he wasn't careful, but they all lacked the desperation one felt when fighting for their survival.

Against Alex, magick had been forbidden. The fight had been serious, but obviously, the two weren't trying to kill each other earnestly.

In truth, this had been Cypher's first real fight against stronger opponents that he could realistically defeat, and he had failed. He was only alive right now because fate had given him access to the Null affinity, and because he had simply acted on instinct. It was not his own power or practiced abilities that had saved him. In fact, ever since starting his journey as a Conductor, he had been pampered and given the best of the best.

The Academy, the private tutoring, his family home, that incident in Sanctum, hell, even his partner Spark, all of them were gifts that had been awarded to him for no reason other than that he held an affinity with the Null element. What had he earned for himself? Surely his skill with a blade had been born from his own talents and hard work, right? But what about everything else?

Well, he certainly couldn't claim that his power was wholly his own. That much was true. This weighed heavily on his mind and gave him pause. Why had he chosen to become a Conductor in the first place?

To gain his freedom? To Protect others? To gain power? Simply because the option was presented to him? Well, in any event, it didn't matter. He didn't want to take any more handouts on the road to the top. If he couldn't achieve his goals with his own power and his own merits, then what was it worth? Sure he could save some lives, defeat some monsters, and kill some bad guys. But none of it would bring him true pride in himself.

All those victories would be shallow and empty.

This was not how he wanted to live. This was not how he wanted to advance through life. Cypher looked at Alex and let out a sigh as he watched his friend fight. Alex had grown up all alone, aside from his father of course. He had been poor, powerless, and had suffered hardships.

Yet, despite it all, he had found his own path to power, he had built his arsenal of skills and spells and he was stronger for it. He had not been gifted special treatment or wealth, and he was still well on his way to the top through his own power. Cypher gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.

White-hot anger flowed through him as he thought about how selfish and arrogant he had been to accept all these gifts like they were just candies in a bowl. What made him any different from the nobles he hated so much? What made him different from Eiden?

Cypher shook his head and exhaled slowly. All the rage washed out of him instantly and flowed into his surroundings while he found his calm again. The rage was gone, but in its place burned a flame of determination. He would become his own strength. He would rise to the top all on his own, and he didn't need handouts or the gifts of fate to accomplish that.

Cypher vowed to never use the training rooms of his home for growth ever again. This one life-or-death battle had shown him his greatest weakness and he was already a better man for it. Training against phantoms was useless to him now.

He also needed to work on enhancing his abilities and creating techniques that would benefit from his new perspective on life. However, all of this would have to wait. Right now he had to get answers from the disabled Wild Conductor at his feet.

He had been exuding a constant stream of nullification so that the man couldn't heal his wounds, access his dimensional pocket, or cast more spells. He was holding up fine but he could tell that his energy was fading quickly.

Alex had finished killing the enhanced bandits, and after a few moments of rifling through their belongings, he began walking toward Cypher and his captive. The two of them only needed to question this Conductor and then, it was on to Finn's Deep to put a stop to Zealot's Ring.