“The first step toward strength was the bond. It granted us access to ether, to harness the very power that threatened to consume us.” A deep and profound voice resounded through my room. “Ether, granted through the bond, opened doors to paths we never knew existed. We were unsure, lost, desperate. We adapted. We learned, and we survived.”
I played the recording, unsure what to expect, and…I was still not quite sure what to do. The profound voice resounded in my room as I sat there, cross-legged, Aureus’ head on my lap. For a moment, I considered stopping the recording and refocusing on tempering my body, but I wanted to know what the Grand Camp’s online lecturers had to say about it.
“Body Tempering, once a desperate measure to replicate the ether empowerment of beasts, transformed into a proper technique to refine – to temper – our bodies after decades of research. First, we had only one technique, a method to temper our bodies following the example of a boar. It was a technique full of flaws. It carried countless issues and cost the lives of many, but it was the second step toward freedom. To power.”
That was not necessarily news to me, but I leaned back against the wall next to my bed. Aureus stirred and leaned closer against me, demanding caresses, which I silently obliged. My ears perked up and I listened more intently.
“The Relentless Boar Constitution was improved and refined. Even now, young Blessed can use it freely. While only useful to fill and refine one Ether Gate, it tempers the body excellently. If you need a highly durable body, one Gate to spare, and compatible Body Tempering techniques, I recommend using the Relentless Boar Constitution technique.” A touch of kindness suffused into the profound voice, but it vanished as soon as he cleared his throat.
“The second step toward freedom. Body Tempering.” The voice jumped straight back into the topic. “As we studied the links – soulshare as it is labeled nowadays – we learned about Gates. Every Blessed has an Ether Gate. They come alongside the connection with your Soulkin. The stronger the Soulkin, the more abundant the Gates. However, against our initial expectations, the Ether Gates are formed naturally. They do not come from our Soulkins. Instead, our Soulkins stimulate our Worlds, and thus us as well, through the soulshare. Our Soulkins trigger the creation of Gates within us.”
I was already aware of that. Aureus prompted the creation of three Ether Gates when he hatched. The Gates were empty and unrefined, like they ought to be when a Gate formed, but they were unique. My constitution, as messy as it had been when I was younger, formed and reshaped the Gates. They were massive, five times larger than the average Gate if the medical reports were still up-to-date, and they constantly leaked ether.
My Gates were like a bottomless pit, and they were leaky, constantly pouring ether into my body. As pleasant as constant tempering of the physique was, I had to refill the Gates and pay constant attention to them, or I would face the backlash – however that may look.
“Once a Gate forms, it has to be filled with ether and refined. Once filled and fully refined, it will be sealed off, and you won’t be able to modify the Tempering process. Henceforth, Blessed have to pay full attention to the Body Tempering process as well as the techniques used in the process. Choosing a wrong technique or flawed execution will result in issues. In the worst case, you may permanently harm your body!”
Rather than being sealed and isolated, as a refined Gate should be, my Gates were like open wells. Worse even, they were fully connected to the network of veins suffused with ether, which spread through my entire body. Precisely, everyone had the same network, a weave, connecting the body, allowing the execution of special techniques, arts, and styles. The weave consumed ether, allowing the aforementioned, and my wells of Ether Gates were naturally connected to it.
To be precise, Beastmaster Bert and his wife’s research concluded that my weave worked only through the consumption of ether. Every move I made consumed ether. While that naturally strengthened the weave through the constant infusion of ether, strengthening the network and my body, it also meant that I’d continuously lose ether – and thus the strength my Gates were supposed to grant me – if I failed to refill my Gates routinely.
“As Blessed acquire more Gates, their strength will reach unprecedented realms. Therefore, you, as a Blessed of considerable talent, have to pay attention to your surroundings. You carry power, and thus the responsibility to use it carefully….”
The voice continued to talk about responsibilities, justice, and many other things I did not particularly care about. I was more interested in my own Gates. After Aureus evolved and advanced to the Awakened Rank, seven Ether Gates, empty and unrefined, formed naturally. They were located alongside the weave and required an increasing amount of ether to be filled and refined. That was normal as well.
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As far as I’d learned, every additional Gate required more ether than the last. My first Gate was slightly smaller than the second and third. However, interestingly enough, the fourth Gate was much bigger than the first three had been. On the other hand, the remaining six Gates were only slightly larger than the fourth, except for the last two, which were massive. Then there were the Ether Gates that would form once my second Soulkin hatched.
“Wait a moment.” I leaned forward, stirring Aureus, who groaned in displeasure before closing his eyes again.
Even though I’d researched all the important topics, I didn’t think I’d acquire a second Soulkin this soon. That being said, I had no idea how many Gates would form when it hatched. I was also unsure if the Gates of a second Soulkin would overlap with the progress of the Gates formed through Aureus’ bond. I didn’t know how much ether they’d require…or anything, really.
“Seriously?” I cursed myself, ruffling through my hair. “Why do I know nothing about this? What did I even study all this time?”
I removed the video recording, opened another screen on the Etheriam watch, and searched the Grand Camp’s network for some information.
Ten minutes later, I had the answer, and I couldn’t help but groan.
“What a mess…”
First things first, I learned that Ether Gates had grades of their own. How did I not know that? Well…I had no idea, and that irked me more than anything.
The first three Gates were 1-Star Gates. They were the Gates that formed when Aureus hatched, displaying his potential as a mutant Soilback—or so the hypotheses I’d skimmed through mentioned. I would have to go back and study the papers thoroughly at a later date, but I was satisfied with the new intel.
Ether Gates were a measurement of a beast’s natural potential, ranging from one to five. A Wagur would only trigger the formation of one 1-Star Gate, whereas a Prouncer would stimulate the growth of four 1-Star Gates, meaning a Wagur had a potential of one, and a Prouncer had a potential of four.
“Clearly, they made a mistake here. Or this is inaccurate as hell.” The measurement couldn’t be correct since Aureus reached the peak of a Wild beast. Aureus stirred and looked me straight in the eyes.
Strong!
“Yeah, I know. You are strong. If not for that, you wouldn’t have formed five 2-Star Gates and two 3-Star Gates!” I cradled Aureus’ head and put him back to sleep, my eyes trained on him, my mind rattling.
Would he have reached the peak of a Wild if he hadn’t consumed all those serums? Probably not…
I tilted my head and stared at the Earthheart. Then, my focus returned to the official records uploaded to the Grand Camp network, and I searched for two particular reports.
“The bond with a Soilback forms three Gates…three 1-Star Gates.” I licked my lower lip and turned to the second report. “Mutations do not affect the rating. Even detrimental mutations, resulting in the birth of crippled beasts, do not affect the growth of Ether Gates.”
While that didn’t explain everything, it told me what I needed to know. I closed the tabs and focused back on my Gates.
“Two 1-Star Gates are missing though…” I muttered, and my focus returned to the first paper.
“Oh,” I grunted a few minutes later, a little more knowledgeable than before. “So…while a maximum of five Gates are formed per rank to display a beast’s natural potential, evolutions mess that up.”
From the looks of thousands of official records and various papers describing the same scenario, evolutions would not trigger the growth of Gates ‘of the same tier.’ Only the future potential of a recently evolved beast would be acknowledged by the World and body, prompting the Blessed to form the corresponding Gates.
“So, I’m missing two 1-Star Gates, and I will never get them.” I tilted my head but shrugged dismissively. “Not that it matters much. I have way too many Gates to fill and refine. How in the Rulers’ names am I supposed to fill two 3-Star Gates? They’re gargantuan!”
As much as I wanted to scream out loud, I couldn’t help but smile. First of all, Gates were not everything. Body Tempering was only one step to true strength. No matter how much I tempered my body, it would be hard to catch up with a beast’s prowess. Their ether empowerment was several times more useful. My Gates were unique and bottomless wells, but that was still not enough to catch up to them. Alongside the empowerment of my Soulkins’ soulshare, however…well, it depended on how powerful my second Soulkin was going to be.
“You have the potential to become an Evolved beast, without any serums or additional resources,” I muttered, trying to digest the information. “That’s amazing!”
I was going to provide Aureus with a ton of resources if possible, but it wasn’t like I had access to hundreds of serums like in the Bastion. The Grand Camp was bound to be a struggle for our growth. From the looks of it, however, that was no longer the case. If Aureus could grow to an Evolved without external help, that would solve a lot of issues.
“Great!”
And then there was my second Soulkin as well as the Gates it would form once it hatched.
No matter how I looked at it, I was going to be powerful.
Goosebumps spread all over my body. My mind drifted too deep into thought, forcing me to slap myself—so I did. I slapped myself fiercely, then focused back on training.
That was all I could do for now. Train. Study. Grow stronger.