Jessie observed the results of William's spell from his bird's eye view with some amount of shock and trepidation. The spell's area of effect covered the entire mob as well as Uriah and Nick.
Jessie could feel the incredible intensity of the magic power involved and wondered whether this was really a rank 2 spell.
(The only reason that I did not get caught up in its area of effect is because I am flying at an altitude higher than fifty meters above ground and the spell's area of effect only reached up to about forty meters altitude. That being said, this incident is a good thing. At the very least, the ice-for-brains should be dead but I'm concerned about the man who was in close proximity to him. Based on the descriptions that I received, the man with the head full of white hair should be Nick Capitol. I'll go after him next when this light clears if he's still alive; I only came out here for the inheritance after all.)
One minute after the light path spell enveloped a large section of the grassy plain, it suddenly faded and revealed its aftermath. Out of the entire mob of students, Jessie could see no survivors and the only signs that remained of their former presence were the numerous blood stains that dyed the grass in scattered patterns on the ground.
Jessie made sure to fly over to where Uriah had been to get a good look at the situation there but found that only the light path Magician remained levitating at that area of the grassy plain; Nick and Uriah were no where to be seen.
(Sigh, the fight's over and I obtained nothing but a little revenge. So be it, I can still investigate the former site of the mountain range to see if there are clues to the inheritance there.)
While Jessie was plotting, he flapped his four wings, intending to leave the area immediately but to his surprise, a beam of white light appeared right in front of him, then a person's figure flashed in white light at the end of it; this happened over milliseconds.
Before Jessie could react, all the white light faded and revealed William who had skillfully moved from his previous position without Jessie realizing it until it was too late.
William's forearm then glowed with an intense white light and he ruthlessly chopped at Jessie's head.
(Martial Light)
Jessie was momentarily shocked but the Whirlwind Raptor Transformation naturally granted him the supernatural visual perception of a real whirlwind raptor so he could follow William's movements, albeit barely. Jessie immediately made use of the whirlwind raptor's masterful and instinctive control of its body in midair to tilt his body by about ten degrees to the right in order to avoid William hitting his head.
With a quickness spanning milliseconds, Jessie succeeded in his maneuver but William's right hand chopped through his two left wings instead, at which point Jessie's blood spattered with some of it ending up on William's face and Jessie himself fell towards the ground like a kite with no wind to sustain its flight.
(I need to cancel this transformation and morph into something else.)
It was an optimistic thought but William had no intention of giving Jessie the chance to make anymore moves.
(If I decide that the battle is over, then it is over.)
Within less than one second, William had already clasped both his hands together with his right and left index and middle fingers pointing at the whirlwind raptor's falling body.
(Glorious Justice)
From the tips of his pointed fingers, a thick beam of white light, about two inches in radius shot out and struck Jessie on the head, vaporizing it down to the stump of his neck, at which point the beam of light faded. The falling magic beast carcass immediately flashed with a dull white light, transforming into a human's headless corpse before transforming again into specks of white light and disappearing.
William unclasped his hands and put them into his pants pockets while remaining in midair in order to observe the battlefield. He sighed when he realized that the previously rowdy plain had become deathly silent - he was the only one remaining on the battlefield.
He looked at the spots where Uriah and Nick had been previously standing and mused:
(I doubt that those two actually died. During the final moments Glorious Jewel's effects, the ice path magician seemed to completely shatter into pieces of ice but considering that he has the ice flesh talent, that was probably some kind of ruse that he used to somehow escape; I am also now doubting whether he is just an ice path Magician - the temperatures that he generates are just too incredibly low. As for Nick Capitol, he just vanished without a trace. Space path magicians are always troublesome to capture or so I've heard. In any case, its time to search for that inheritance. I'll start with the direction from where Victoria and Nick had previously arrived here from.)
William took his right hand out of his pants pocket and formed an 'O' with his fingers, quickly casting Instant Light and disappearing with the white beam that the spell produced.
Nick watched William's departure from his grey room and heaved a sigh of relief.
(That light path Magician was holding back initially. I had already suspected that but to see his real strength in action was not pleasant. I was only able to escape because I was already forming the laws for Grey Room within my mindscape and before his spell could do me in, I cast it.)
Nick sighed with deep emotion.
(I've been studying and training within the Never Ending Battlefield for almost ten years but I still lose out in some regards to other Magicians. I guess it can't be helped since my accumulation of usable methods is just too small even with my high attainments in soul and space path and my inheritances.)
The truth was that Nick had many soul path spells at his disposal but they were mostly unusable because he lacked the required soul path cultivation even for the rank 2 methods which would take a long time to achieve. The space path methods that he had were mostly usable but they were also mostly auxiliary in nature and were lacking in attack and healing capabilities.
Nick had put most of his efforts into creating spells suitable for himself throughout the past few years but they were imperfect and he would need time and experience in order to improve them significantly. Thinking back on William's area of effect spell, Nick faintly envied him:
(That's probably a legacy spell that was perfected over who knows how many years. Is it any wonder that it almost killed me? I have to work harder or I won't be able to achieve anything.)
Nick thought about the new spells that he had developed recently and felt some hope in someday competing with legacy spells.
(Dominating Splice is basically a a form of Sever that releases multiple severing attacks upon impact, as well as, each attack has the ability to resist or cut through the influence of one major counter attack and pass through one major counter defense. Dominate The Space is similar to Space in that it can manipulate or teleport people and objects within its area of effect but it also theoretically allows me to do so three times as easily and overcome the resistance resulting from magical laws or magical defenses by temporarily suppressing the magic power that results from them, however, it cannot stack onto the effects of other space path methods and the spell cannot suppress magic power of a greater quality than my own.)
The former spell is purely of the rule path while the latter spell is of the rule and space path. Nick was satisfied with them both as he would have had a much more difficult time defeating the lightning path Magician without them.
Nick suddenly felt something amiss and he frowned intensely.
(I've lost the connection between myself and my miniature mountain range. Looks like someone realized its relation to me or at least they found it interesting and stole it.)
Nick internally chuckled; he had faced losses so many times that he grew unbothered by them now. As time went on, he slowly started to feel pain resulting from his magic energy reserves almost being depleted from maintaining the grey room so he cancelled the spell, appearing in his previous spot on the battlefield once again.
Nick observed his skin and realized that all of it had been healed of the burn injuries caused by the light path Magician's spell.
"That's good news. I guess I partly failed to make a real battlefield like that strange person wanted but I am satisfied with my actions."
After Nick said that, he heard a good natured whisper in his right ear:
"He, he. Considering your current strength, you did fine but I need better results next time. Tell me, what would you prefer as a reward for your efforts? Power or wisdom?"
Nick felt that the situation had become weird. He looked all around him and saw no one but felt like the voice was strangely familiar.
(Is this the mysterious person that I met in the undergrounds desert?)
The strange voice quickly replied:
"Sure am."
Nick became shocked.
(You can read my mind?)
"Does that really surprise you? C'mon, how long have you been practising magic?"
Nick realized that the voice had a point and asked:
(Who are you?)
"That's none of your business for now but know that I'm not here to harm you but to help you to help me."
Nick squinted his eyes in suspicion.
(How so?)
"All schemes unfold with time. Don't worry, you'll find out when the time is right. Back to my question, since you dutifully did what I suggested in the desert, I am going to reward you, so what will it be? Power or wisdom?"
(What do you mean?)
"It's simple really. I can help you obtain the power to kill your enemies on the battlefield or I can give you wisdom that you can use to develop that power for yourself. Which will it be?"
Nick thought for a moment before asking:
(Isn't power and wisdom practically the same thing?)
"Not really. Power doesn't necessarily lead to wisdom, that's why empires eventually fall and wisdom does not necessarily lead to power, that's why martyrs and saints exist. While my words are true, either one can lead to the other if you are courageous enough to see it so."
Nick felt appreciation for the voice's words and replied:
(Then I would like wisdom. I want to know how to ascend to rank 3.)
"That is a prudent request, given your circumstances, so I will help you. To ascend to rank 3, you must know your affinities and talents with certainty, you must train your mind to uphold your principles religiously as if you were a true saint - with unwavering conviction even if they result in death and shame and you must be willing to do what others will not."
Nick frowned and asked:
(Is that really the wisdom you wanted to give me? Sounds like part of a motivational speech.)
"Ha, maybe so but I am not done yet. For your benefit, I will give you insights into your current talents and how you can obtain one that would surely help you to get to rank 3 if used well with the others."
(Talents? Like singing and dancing?)
"No. Magical talents are powers borne from laws that have been permanently etched into your being. They produce powers distinct from spells and magic tool. Many Magicians posses them and some have even used them to conquer entire realms."
(Are you saying that I have talents, how comes I never noticed them?)
"You probably have noticed them, at least in part, but did not recognize them for what they really were. I will give you the information that you need but before I do, let me advise you further. Do not let this wisdom lead to knowledge or you'll become a fool, let it instead lead to action..."
The voice suddenly went quiet and Nick's mind was imprinted with information about his supposed talents and a note of how to earn another one:
_____________________________________________________
Fateful Luck: You have been chosen by fate. Your past and future circumstances are not entirely of your choosing.
Cursed Vessel: You are the vessel of a wicked being. Its dreadful aura and lineage inhabits you.
Limitless Path: Every path consists of rules. Your affinity with the rules give you limitless inspiration.
Spacial Instinct: Your affinity with space path is innate; it is inseparable from your DNA. Strange spaces nourish you and your spacial awareness is extraordinary.
Be aware that these four talents together may give birth to a new talent if you intentionally sacrifice your two eyes:
Eyes of the Fated: Your lineage is both cursed and beastly; fate also haunts you. Your eyes have been renewed by sacrifice and they now see the laws related to your affinities clearly; you see through what most cannot.
________________________________________________________
(Sacrifice my two eyes? Is that a joke?)
Nick went over the information in his mind ten times before he stopped to think about it.
(These are my so called talents? If I think about it, the second one could be explained as a result of my cursed bloodline, the third one could explain why I keep getting inspiration related to rule path and the fourth could be explained by my becoming a deep seeker dragon warlock and why I can heal within the grey room and also why I can see space path laws on some objects like my space band.)
Nick finally realized the reasons for many of the strange things that happened around him.
(What's this first talent about though. Fateful Luck? The description makes it sound like something is willfully influencing my past and future.)
Slade commented at this time:
[It seems that my suspicions about the aura that you wield were correct. It is a talent of yours.]
Nick now understood why Slade had kept quiet when he had asked for his opinion regarding the strange happenings:
(Are talents difficult to perceive?)
Slade replied:
[No, not at all if you have enough experience with someone else who you know holds the talent or have their own experiences recorded for your perusal; it is even possible to be aware of them by intuition or like you, when they act up unexpectedly. I had not told you my suspicions because talents are numerous as the stars in the sky and can be gained in myriad of ways so any words that I offered as an explanation would have been a guess. Also, having a peculiar characteristic may not mean that you actually have a talent. Whoever the being is that gave you the information has probably set up some very mystical methods within this realm to be able to discern your talents so easily. The being even gave you clues on how to obtain a new one, considering your existing talents. Consider this your good luck.]
Nick frowned.
(Luck?)
He thought about his Fated Luck talent again and began to have suspicions.
(Could it be that I'm being manipulated? Even the Eyes of the Fated talent seems too good to be true.)
Slade broke out in laughter, saying:
[Manipulated? Yes and so what if you are? Understand that you are still too weak to ask explanations of beings that could swat you like a fly. Don't concern yourself with that or you will halt your own progress. The best solution to your suspicions is to take the opportunity to grow stronger.]
Nick felt like he had swallowed a bug when he heard Slade's words. He frowned intensely and tried to find words that could refute Slade's outrageous sounding argument but a few seconds later, he realized that he could find none. Nick's face then adopted his usual indifferent expression.
"You're right."
Nick cast Absolute Push and Absolute Pull and raised himself high into the air before leaving the area. He decided to finally move on from the grassy plain.
*********************************************************
Fifteen minutes earlier...
William flew through the air carefreely along with beam after beam of white light. He had been traveling for ten minutes already and thus far was only met with a ruined landscape which he assumed was the result of Nick's and Victoria's battle as well as Nick's activities in recent weeks.
Soon, however, he caught sight of something that emitted a peculiar magic power and it was just floating by its lonesome near to the ground. William stopped the use of Instant Light and floated towards the position of the strange object.
What he saw was what looked like a rock encased within an orb made of spacial magic.
(A rock? Hmmm...maybe.)
He decided to deal with the spacial magic surrounding the object first before examining it for what it really was. He quickly pointed his right index finger at the object and cast a light path spell:
(Minor Jewel)
A finger thick beam of white light immediately shot out of William's index finger and hit the unique space encasing the special object and the beam directly pierced through it but even after a minute had passed, nothing happened.
(This is spacial magic far beyond what someone with ordinary attainment could produce. A space path master? Wait...doesn't Nick Capitol use space magic? He can't be a space path master, right?)
William then remembered all of Nick's victories over military personnel and the fact that he defeated Victoria Nelson who William knew was no push over.
(Now it makes sense. His attainment is unexpectedly high and that is why he is so difficult to deal with.)
William shook his head in disapproval.
(The military is really a joke. High attainment is great and all but it doesn't make up for strong methods and battle experience which seasoned soldiers should have. Then again...the spell that he used to kill Victoria was of a path I did not recognize. Maybe Nick Capitol and I need to exchange notes wen I see him again. Ha.)
William's mood had become jubilant in contrast to the final moments of the previous battle which forced him to become serious.
(I just love experiencing new magical methods. This spacial magic is tricky but I'm not without options. Hmph! I myself am almost a light path master. How could I possibly lose out to a junior?)
William floated over to the object and touched the exterior of its unique space with his right index finger tip that was now glowing with white light, casting his spells:
(Martial Light)
(My Glorious Light)
The unique space around the miniature mountain range began to ripple, starting at where William's finger tip touched. A few seconds later, the unique space flashed with a brilliant white light and dispersed, seeming to have transformed into light itself.
(My Glorious Light converts magic power into origin light which is said to have been the light that existed up to one hundred thousand years after the first humans appeared on Grand Earth. Origin light can assimilate anything if manipulate correctly. Unfortunately, the light is now extinct but thanks to my talent, 'Light Source', I can produce origin light at will as long as I'm willing to accept the disproportionate consumption of my magic energy. Although I was born with the talent, manipulating origin light is not easy.)
As soon as the unique space surrounding the object was removed, the object fell to the ground and sunk a few inches into the soil.
(Oh, it's probably heavy. The spacial magic must have been used to handle its weight.)
William tried to lift the object but he quickly realized that doing so with his body was impossible. He then tried to use his magic to do it by forming a hand made of special white light to pick it up but the hand could not move it either.
(This object naturally weighs more than a few tonnes. Looking at it by itself, it really does look like a mini version of a mountain range...hold on. The rumors did entail that Nick stole away the mountain range that was supposed to loom over this area and that held the inheritance. Is this it?)
William had felt before that that part of the rumor was unlikely but he was now seeing the proof with his own eyes.
(How could a rank 2 Magician shrink and move an entire mountain range by himself?)
William sighed and the muttered:
"When magic is involved, anything is possible."
(This means that Nick Capitol is far more talented than he seems or at the very least, he knows special methods. Either way, I might really have to sit down with him and chat later.)
William tapped the miniature mountain range with his space band and it disappeared, being stored within the space band.
(Now that I think about it, spacial magic is a great way to carry around heavy objects so I was right about the purpose of the space that encased the mountain range earlier. Since this is supposed to be the mountain range that housed the inheritance, I'll take it back to Shelter Town and examine it properly)
William took another look around the area before casting Instant Light and leaving for Shelter Town.
************************************************************
One week later...
Nick finally left the grassy plain and arrived at the edge of a cliff overlooking a vast forest. It was night time and the moon was full and reflecting its light beautifully. Nick quickly went below the cliff and after descending about fifteen meters, he used Space to help him dig out some of the cliff wall, creating a small room that he moved into comfortably.
He went into the room and cancelled all his spells.
"I can finally get some rest now."
Nick had been practising magic and fighting for weeks without much sleep or rest so he was very tired to say the least. He had planned to find a safe area so that he could let his body recover from all the built up stress but before he could commit to that, he had one last thing to do.
Nick sat quietly in the dark, cross legged and steeled his resolve. He asked himself a question that he had read from a Chinese martial arts story a long time ago:
"Would you castrate yourself in order to learn this move?"
Nick thought for a while before answering.
"Yes I would."
Nick placed both his index fingers in front of his eyes and by his actions made a decision that would affect him for the rest of his life.
(Sever.)
(Sever.)
Magic power pierced into both his eyes before dissipating; blood flowed from Nick's eye sockets profusely even after he closed them. Nick Capitol, after nine years within the Never Ending Battlefield had destroyed his eyes.
He pursed his lips and lied down on his side while a mixture of tears and blood slid down his face. He was in incredible pain but strange enough, his mind remained clear.
(You know what? Of all the times that I've cried, this is least painful instance.)
Unbeknownst to Nick, a changed occurred within his mindscape at this time. The golden figure of light stopped walking on its road and looked up at the starry sky. The symbol on its head faded and a new one took its place that read: 'Sacrifice'.
The figure then turned its attention back to its road and began walking again. Nick's mind was then inundated with knowledge of rule path laws that he had never seen before. Although he was in too much pain to assess them properly, he could intuitively sense their immense value.
Nick remained in his lying position until morning when the pain at his eye sockets subsided and now they only ached slightly. He opened his eyelids and despite having destroyed his eyes the previous night, he was now witnessing the sunlight shine through his room's opening with absolute clarity.
"Eyes of the Fated, huh? Talent secured."
Nick summoned a pack of wet wipes from his space band and used some to clean his face before storing the rest. He immediately got to work on thinking through the new laws that he had gained last night.
(These laws should be related to my Limitless Path talent. They detail magical principles having to do with...sacrifice. Is this because I destroyed my eyes last night?)
Nick quickly attempted to meditate and his consciousness soon entered his mindscape and just as he suspected, the symbol drawn in Nickel on the golden figure's forehead read: 'Sacrifice'. He ejected his consciousness soon thereafter and pondered:
(What exactly is the basis for the Limitless Path talent granting me inspiration? Is it strong emotion or pain or a mixture of both?)
Nick wasn't sure and knew that he was not yet qualified to discern the answer.
"These laws...I can use them to create a healing spell."
Nick's conclusion was simply based off his intuition but he knew that was enough for it to be possible.
"Nickel is my own mystical language after all. Of course my intuition is sensitive to its potential. Isn't that how mystical languages work Slade?"
Slade replied indifferently:
[In a sense...but you'll have to learn far more mystical languages before you can properly hone that intuition.]
Nick summoned a stack of papers from his space band and started drawing the symbols for the new laws on them. Two hours later, he was finished and began reviewing his notes. He became ecstatic upon reading through the symbols.
"I can somehow see the essential patterns that give these laws its meaning."
Spell making involved ordering magical laws in a way that produced a certain effect. Depending on the mystical language which could have thousands of unique symbols, millions of patterns were possible that could generate all kinds of peculiar meanings and therefore effects.
To create an effective spell, one would have to generate these patterns based on his own understanding of what he was trying to achieve. When Nick looked at his notes, the essential patterns that made up the rules of sacrifice was already apparent to him. This was an extremely special occurrence; it means that unlike the other times he developed rule path spells, he had an absolutely solid basis for determining what effect his spell would have where as other times he had to approximate, then adjust his laws based on trial and error results in order to obtain a working spell.
"The downside to the latter approach, however, was that my spells usually started out having flaws that I could not foresee. I should be able to better remedy those issues now. Eyes of the Fated...Eyes of the Fated. I guess this counts as being able to see through what others can't. Hold on..."
An idea suddenly came to Nick and he quickly wrote down the laws for the rule of dominate that he had previously used to create his two newest spells, Dominate The Space and Dominating Splice.
After looking through what he wrote, he realized that he was now able to see possible applicable patterns for the laws that he had never picked up on before and probably would have never picked up on if not for his new talent.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha..."
Nick laughed out loud like a maniac for all of ten minutes before he committed to beginning his work.
"I had planned to rest in this room for a while but fuck that. This is my opportunity to close the gap between me and people like that light path Magician."
Nick still remembered how William's one spell had basically defeated him, at least in spirit.
"Never again."
Nick began jotting down concepts for news spells and focused on what he was doing to the exclusion of anything else.
*****************************************************************
Four months later...
A rainstorm raged across the grassy plain as a magic beast the size of a mature African elephant struggled at death's door. Flames lined its hairless skin in seemingly haphazard patterns and even made up what seemed to be the whiskers that were position on both sides of its menacing face that had four eyes positioned, two at the far left and two at the far right.
The rain was unable to extinguish the magic beast's fire but that water that soaked its skin made it somehow difficult for it to move. Soon, a group of people surrounded the magic beast; the leading figure was a man wearing a green military uniform with an emblem that had three horizontal bars and three crimson stars pinned to his chest.
The man had three notable figures standing behind him who stood out because of the profound magic energy that they radiated as they waited for orders.
Renice breathe in deeply and mused:
(So this is the Sergeant Reynold's Storm Bringer talent. With it he is able to generate storms at will and alter the characteristics of the resulting moisture and water. This early stage doomsday cat never stood a chance. Why did he need Oliver, Tait and I to come along if he could control the situation this easily?)
Sergent Reynold spoke without turning his head towards the three:
"Officer Renice, go finish the creature. I want its flesh intact and undamaged."
Renice finally understood Reynold's intention in bringing her along once he said that. She walked through the rain with her usual indifferent expression to cross the nearly fifteen meters to get to the magic beast.
Reynold's voice suddenly whispered in her ear:
"Don't worry about the magic beast getting up to attack you. If it was a peak stage doomsday cat, I would have to fight it in a life and death battle in order to take it down but at the early stage, I just need to drench it with my mortal water to make it as harmless as a baby."
Renice replied:
"Understood, sir."
She quickly went up to the lying magic beast that was now softly growling at her and placed her hand on its huge body that dwarfed her by manifolds. She formed the laws of a spell within her mindscape, then cast it:
(Soul Capture.)
The magic beast's eyes that glared at Renice fiercely in defiance then suddenly lost focus completely. Renice lifted her hand from the magic beast's body, revealing a soccer ball sized orb of translucent miasma.
She then returned to Sergeant Reynold's side and spoke to him with a flat tone:
"Objective achieved, sir."
Reynold nodded before asking:
"Have any of you guessed why I requested for three other rank 3 Magicians to come along with me in order to subjugate this magic beast?"
Oliver, Tait and Renice remained silent, believing that the sergeant would soon answer his own question:
"That is because it is common for rank 3 and above magic beasts to also have talents, far more common than it is for humans to have them and even if it is weaker than me in terms of magic power, it having even one peculiar talent could have put this entire platoon in danger so I needed extra insurance so that we could all return to Shelter Town relatively unharmed."
The three knew that what the sergeant said made sense and was logical but their years of experience with military politics made them suspicious of whether those were the main reasons for bringing them with him.
Sergeant Reynold was not oblivious to their suspicions but he did not care about them. He simply needed to show an attitude of caring for his subordinates in order to satisfy the requirements of his position. He then sternly ordered:
"Captain Tait, prepare the men to help in transporting the magic beast's body to Shelter Town!"
*************************************************
Nick finally floated out of his make shift room within the cliff wall by using the effects of Absolute Push and Absolute Pull and then flew over the forest canopy below.
(Eight months are left until the exam is over. What do I do now?)
Nick thought for a while but could not immediately come up with an answer.
(Fight with the other students? I'm not all that interested in that at this point in time.)
As he flew through the air, he soon realized that he had unfinished business with a certain magic beast that he had run from many years ago.
(It's been nearly nine years since that time and I wonder if that strength path shadow goblin remembers me. Probably not since I was running from it for most of our interaction.)
Nick snorted in response to the memory that was still fresh in his mind.
"I'll go pay him a visit."
Nick stored his map and turned west in order to travel to the underground goblin nest that he had visited nine years ago. Nick traveled through the air day and night for three more weeks, only taking breaks in order to eat, relieve himself and kill the occasional magic beast that attacked him. Those magic beasts were relatively weak and so he at most needed one Cleave to finish them.
On a gloomy day, when he was about two days from his intended destination, Nick flew over a group of about thirty five people and he quickly realized that they were uniformed MOM soldiers.
(Oh, its been a while since I encountered the military. I wonder If they are still after me.)
Nick took a closer look and realized that they were hauling a large carcass using a large flat bed truck while some soldiers were clearing the way of obstacles. Nick squinted his eyes as he observed the carcass further.
(That's not a carcass, that magic beast is actually still alive. How are they keeping it so tame? Isn't that a rank 3 magic beast?)
Questions filled Nick's mind and due to his natural curiosity, he unconsciously moved closer to the platoon of soldiers, who in turn, noticed him quickly. Sergeant Reynold who was riding on his horse turned slightly towards Nick's position and commented:
"Looks like someone is interested in the doomsday cat. Captain Oliver, go have one of the men politely instruct the young man to lower himself to the ground so that no one gets the wrong idea."
Oliver replied:
"Right away, sir."
However, before Oliver even turned away from Reynold, one restless soldier flew into the air, soon arriving at Nick's altitude, about eighteen meters away from him, facing his side. The soldier ordered aloud:
"Boy, you better get lost or else!"
Nick was so used to being isolated that when he focused on something, he naturally ignored everything else unconsciously, so the soldier went ignored for thirty seconds straight. When the older man realized that he was being ignored, he mistook Nick's actions for disrespect and moved to discipline the young man.
Captain Oliver noticed the man's intentions and was about to interfere when Reynold stopped him by saying:
"Stop, let's see what happens."
The soldier who looked to be in his early thirties glared at Nick while forming the laws for a spell within his mindscape and when he did so successfully, he then opened his mouth wide, casting it:
(Fire Breath)
An intense blast of flames erupted from the man's mouth and went straight towards Nick. Nick frowned as he sensed the incoming magic power and unsheathed Pressure Piece. He quickly turned and pointed his left arm at the hostile soldier, casting his spell:
(King's Domination.)
Nick slowly clenched his outward stretched left hand following which the space around the man's head compressed, forcing his mouth shut; the accumulation of flames already blasted forward dissipated almost immediately. Nick then swung Pressure Piece with a horizontal, downward motion, casting another spell:
(Direct Dominion.)
The moment that Pressure Piece's blade struck down in midair, the blade suddenly vanished from its middle to its tip; the soldier was then sliced from the middle top of his chest down to the lower middle of his abdomen, the blade of Nick's sword having partially appeared in the distance to directly slice through the man's uniform and into his flesh. Blood sprayed like a fountain but Nick had made his swing with adept skill, so the injury was bloody yet superficial.
Nick performed another swing while casting Direct Dominion again, this time aimed at the man's face but Captain Oliver suddenly appeared in front of the man, leaking his imposing rank 3 aura and Nick immediately cancelled his spell and stopped his actions.
Immediately afterwards, Nick suddenly sensed a tug on his soul and quickly turned around to witness a woman on the ground pointing her right index finger at him, projecting magic power his way. Nick frowned. With his Eyes of the Fated talent, he could see the laws of a soul path connection that had been established between the woman and himself as the laws had formed a kind of chain, indiscernible to others, that extended through the air and now imprinted on his body. The woman was clearly trying to restrain Nick but to a soul path scholar like himself, the laws of her spell appeared rudimentary at best.
Nick quickly adjusted the laws for Soul Pulse with the intention of directly breaking the woman's spell which took milliseconds using his mindscape and he then cast his method:
(Soul Pulse.)
A pulse of forceful magic power radiated from Nick's soul and spread out from him in all directions but dissipated after traveling about ten meters. Nick witnessed as the forced magical connection between him and the woman shattered like glass.
Renice frowned intensely in response to feeling her spell broken which then resulted in her coughing out a mouthful of blood almost immediately. Reynold opened his eyes wide as he noticed what had happened between Nick and Renice through using his own magical sense. He looked up at Nick like he had seen the most interesting thing in the world and declared aloud:
"Good, good, good. I will test you myself!"