chapter 129: dual cultivation?

When the blue light faded around me, I found the world dark. I had chosen to arrive in the middle of the night so that I would not be spotted descending by anyone, so I was alone inside the quiet shack. In one hand I held a long, gnarled staff, which I subconsciously found myself leaning on for support as I felt my joints seeming a bit more stiff than I was used to. On my wrist, there was still the golden bracelet, my Token of Nature which would let me easily access my druidic powers.

Oh, and that reminds me… Oh Terra, great Goddess of Fate… Mind making sure Ashley doesn’t advance her world too far while I’m down here? Once she gets to the same level that the world we came from was at, please make sure to pause it.

I heard a light laugh in my mind in response to that prayer, so it seemed like she agreed. “Now… to level distribution.” I closed my eyes briefly, taking a deep breath and calling up my character information.

I suppressed the desire to let my eyes twitch as I looked at the stats, though as I looked closer a small smile came to my lips. Although the levels of the classes had shifted around, with some going higher and others lower, just looking at the pure stats was enough to see the direction that the world was growing in.

All of the stats had increased by quite a lot, but by far the biggest increases were in intelligence and wisdom, which seemed to show that the classes related to those stats had increased far more than any others since the last time I checked.

Now, I just needed to decide which classes I wanted to ‘unseal’ for this voyage. The druid class was obvious, as it was the main reason for me being here in the first place. But I wanted just a bit more, something that would help reinforce the image of power, as well as give me the stats I’d need to survive.

If I take my own levels into consideration, and add in the difference in druid levels, I come up just shy of two hundred. Now, there’s no particular reason that I can’t surpass the normal level limit, but I want to keep it as close as possible. So… the mage class goes right out the window, same with monk and ninja.

So, this leaves me with two options that I could really see as being plausible, given my combat experience so far. I could either unseal the elemental monk class, combining my normal monk levels with my Keeper druid levels to amplify that… Or I could unseal the spirit hunter class.

The elemental monk class would add more raw stats, but I don’t have much practice using that class, aside from the very first time I practiced elemental ki before buying the class. On the other hand, the spirit hunter class would give me more versatility, an added sense of mystery, and allow me to have Leowynn play an effective role in combat, should the need arise.

Leowynn? I directed my attention inward, wanting to get her opinion on the matter.

Hmm? She spoke up, seeming drowsy as if she had been ready to take a nap. I’m fine with whichever. Though… if you use me, that would give us a chance to practice Aki Seppo. We haven’t been able to do that yet.

Well… she raised a very valid point. I spent over a hundred points on that martial art, and she has been training with it ever since she died, but we haven’t had the chance to use it together yet. Nodding my head, I unsealed the spirit hunter class, bringing me to a grand total of level two hundred and forty-eight, just shy of the cap. This way, people would simply see me as having reached the pinnacle of power.

I could immediately feel the results as my stats increased. My stiff joints loosened as if I had suddenly become young again, a feeling of power filling my body. “Okay, that’s taken care of now. Would you like to practice Aki Seppo for a bit, Leowynn, that way we know what we are doing when we actually need it?”

Yes, please! She practically shouted out from within me, before I could feel her sitting down to explain. Okay, so, I’ve gotten a bit more familiar with my end of this. I was named after a star, I lived a bright and happy life, and I died wanting to be your’s and mom’s star… so it’s not really that surprising, but my special abilities are based on stars.

I chuckled slightly when she explained that, nodding my head for her to continue. Specifically, they are based on the elven constellations that I told you about before. Whenever I focus on each one, I feel a different power within me. So, I should be able to use a few different abilities, depending on which constellation I use.

I simply nodded again, waiting for her to finish. “Alright, then.” I let the staff fall to my side, taking a deep breath as I walked out of the rundown shack. I had built this a good distance from the nearest city, so even if I did practice here, nobody would see anything strange. “Let’s get this started.”

Aki Seppo had a few restrictions, but most of them were placed on the relationship between the users, rather than the movements or techniques involved in it. I closed my eyes, focusing as my hands raised up. I could feel Leowynn’s spirit moving through my arms, before wrapping tightly around my hands and forearms.

I manifest the Traveler! Leowynn called out, clearly focusing on one specific constellation. Why I opened my eyes, my arms were covered with glowing silver vambraces, matching gauntlets on either hand. On the backs of each gauntlet was a series of dots with lines drawn between them, giving the rough shape of a cloaked man.

I glanced around, and couldn’t particularly feel anything different about myself. No sudden ability to control light or dark, no instant teleportation. I was beginning to think that we had done this wrong, before I realized that my body was suddenly lighter. Not only that, but as I began moving, I found myself to be quite a bit faster than before. “Okay, so the Traveler increases movement speed… makes sense. Do you want to try a different one?”

I could feel Leowynn trying to focus within the gauntlets, before she let out a sigh. I need to go back to see the stars again. After she said that, the gauntlets and vambraces disappeared into a thin cloud of smoke for just a few moments before beginning to reform, accompanied by her voice echoing in my mind. I manifest the Web of Souls!

This time, when the gauntlets formed, a different pattern was stamped on their back. Another series of stars, this time connected in a way to look like a spider’s web. This time, the effect was far more obvious, as white threads of spiritual energy slowly spread out from my body, burrowing into the ground and extending along it.

I could almost feel as some of the threads latched onto spiritual bodies of small creatures, sapping their energy and feeding it back to me. However, as soon as that feeling appeared, the gauntlets vanished again. Let’s… not use that one when we can avoid it, okay dad? I might accidentally hit someone with it.

“That’s fine. I take it there’s another story behind that constellation, then?”

Hearing my question, Leowynn spoke up in a faint voice. The Aerop was a spider who preyed on the living and the dead. After stealing the power of the stars, it was said that it gained the ability to hunt the ghosts who had passed. Some claimed to have seen mother’s angels trapped in its web.

“Okay… so, we’re just going to forget that power is a thing unless strictly needed.” I nodded sagely as I agreed with her decision after hearing that, knowing there was likely more to the power if it was based on that story. “We can try one more tonight, so pick a good one.”

I could feel Leowynn smiling at that, thinking carefully. Alright. I manifest… the Dragon! When her words fell, the flow of spiritual energy shifted. It was no longer focused purely on my arms, but instead began to wrap around my entire body.

Instead of a simple pair of silver vambraces, I soon found myself covered in a full set of pitch black armor, layered scales covering my chest, arms, and legs. My gauntlets had been converted into sharp claws, while I wore a helmet that I could only imagine was designed to match the head of a dragon.

However, that wasn’t the biggest change to this. The biggest change was the fact that I could feel large, leathery wings attached to my back. As my attention was drawn to them, they began to slowly extend and retract. I’ll control the wings for you. Leowynn assured me.

As soon as I thought about flying, the wings flapped heavily, sending me up into the air. I couldn’t help but laugh as I looked at the ground moving away from me, feeling Leowynn keeping me airborne with constant beats of our wings. “The dragon, huh?” I mused softly, rather liking this form.

It had been a dragon that killed Leowynn, so I expected her to be more hesitant about borrowing the powers of one. To my surprise, she seemed to hold no ill will towards it, and I could almost feel that she was thankful to the dragon. With our connection strengthened in this manner, I could nearly see into her mind, just as she saw into mine.

Having had enough of flying, I had Leowynn set us down near my shack, and called her back into me. These manifestations were not free to use, and each one drained her energy slightly. I was able to feel that the longer we remained in that state, the weaker she was getting. Though she had recovered some of her energy with the web of souls, she cut it off before it was enough to make up for the total drain.

I would have to wait and see if she naturally recovered her energy on her own, or if I’d need to harvest some spiritual energy to help her get back to her full power. But for now, there was something else I needed to check while she rested.

Raising my hand up, I closed my eyes and let my senses flow into the golden band around my wrist. I needed to see just how far of an area I could control with my druidic powers amplified as much as they were. To do that, I created a small ball of fire in the air above me, and sent it out, away from the direction of the city.

The small flame sped along through the air, further and further away. Fifty meters, a hundred meters, two hundred, soon easily surpassing a full kilometer. Then a second kilometer, only slowing down once it moved past three. Finally, at just under three and a half kilometers, I was unable to focus enough on the flame, and a small gust extinguished it.

“So, my effective control area is a three kilometer radius, then. That should be more than enough to get me on the voyage.” I smiled slightly as I thought about that, nodding my head. When I went back into the shack, I laid down on a bed of straw, closing my eyes and looking forward to the days ahead.