LEAVING THE ISLAND

As the days passed by, Lynne had submerged himself in studying the Alchemy and absorbing Mana from the Mana Spring, while the monkey never left his solitary corner and continued absorbing potions and pills that Lynne gave him. Two simply ignored everything else as their minds were too preoccupied, Lynne’s in particular. When the monkey told him that he has three innate Gifts: ‘Mana Manipulation’, ‘Elemental Affinity’ and ‘Comprehension’, he was rather indifferent, but has quickly come to understand the undercuts about it whilst reading the Alchemy book. For instance, one can never become true Master of Alchemy without ‘Mana Manipulation’, as latter pills and potions of high quality required immense control. As the matter of fact, if Lynne had the innate Gift of ‘Nature’s Guardian’, his complexion would have been perfect for Alchemy. Nonetheless, his main goal wasn’t Alchemy, but he still studied it diligently the more he read, as benefits from it kept shocking him.

In the guide, there was a specific pill mentioned - ‘Spellweaving Essence’. If he wanted to follow the Origin Path, he’d require this pill and it had to be further refined at least six out of maximum, ten times. And that was just one of the surprises.

The book the monkey gave him wasn’t really just ‘another basic instruction’ on Alchemy; rather, it was a comprehensive overlook of the basics by breaking down extreme complexities. For example, a potion called ‘Tonic of Divinity’ required eight hundred different types of high-quality herbs, and at least two years of constant concocting to make. It had absolutely nothing to do with the ‘basics’, but, the author of the guide broke down immense complexities of concocting such potion, turning them into the ‘basics’ that are easier to understand while also being more profound. Lynne couldn’t even imagine just how far on the Path of Alchemy the author got, but he could imagine that he’s perhaps one of those legendary Alchemist who could concoct pills to extend lifetimes.

Days passed, and soon the month came to an end. As predicted, the monkey as able to fully absorb pills and potions, while Lynne had comprehended the book, more or less. He had also managed to reach Five Stars Archmage. Usually, the rise of stars within the same rank indicated the level of comprehension towards the Essence of Mana and spell casting. However, crossing over into other ranks was much more difficult, as it required one to make a full breakthrough in one of their spells. Lynne was unable to make any progress beyond basic understanding across all his spells, so he was unable to cross over to the Dao Mage ranks.

“Hey, monkey,” Lynne spoke as the monkey came over and drank a gulp of the Mana Spring. “You said you can locate any natural treasures, right?”

“Of course I can!” the monkey replied proudly.

“Is it due to spacial awareness?” Lynne probed.

“Oh? Didn’t think a rotten brat like you could figure it out. Indeed,” the monkey confirmed. “As most treasures – at least those worth a damn – oftentimes let their energies seep out, my innate Gift of ‘Spacial Awareness’ allows me to feel them, regardless of where they are. Of course, there’s distance limit, so don’t think I’m omnipotent.”

“That’s not it,” Lynne shook his head. “I wanted to ask you whether it’s only for natural treasures.”

“Oh?” the monkey asked, smiling wryly. “You feel like stealing something?”

“A little bit.” Lynne admitted.

“What do you want to steal?” the monkey asked.

“I need a manual on the Spellweaver’s Origin Path: Spellweaving Celestial.” Lynne said.

“… and here I thought you’d actually be at least slightly reasonable.”

“Oh? You can’t locate it?”

“Rotten brat, of course I can locate it!” the monkey cursed. “But it’s a manual of the Origin Path! You really think it’s just lying around some random house in the bum nowhere? It’s probably guarded by at least ten thousand people! What the hell do you need it for anyway?”

“To experiment.” the monkey nearly spat out a mouthful of blood when he heard.

“You want one of the most precious books in the history of the world to… experiment? And you still dared to call me dumb?”

“You misunderstand,” Lynne chuckled slightly. “I happen to be in possession of a manual for a different Origin Path. I’m merely curious if I could combine the two and follow two Origin Paths simultaneously.”

“… you are absolutely insane, you know that, right?” the monkey muttered, strange glint passing through his eyes. “But… that sounds interesting,” he then smiled wryly. “From the few memories of my bloodline that I’ve managed to recover, it seems it is indeed possible to follow two different Origin Paths at the same time… but also impossibly difficult. Are you sure you’re up to task?”

“My goals aren’t to hoard sheep and raise brats,” Lynne replied. “So whether I am or not, I will be.”

“I like it, I like it. So, what’s your endgame? How much chaos do you want to cause?” the monkey inquired, pressing his two small hands together and rubbing them.

“Oh, you know, toppling of a kingdom or two...” Lynne muttered with a sneer.

“Ha ha ha!!” the monkey suddenly burst out in laughter. “No wonder you want to follow two paths. Perhaps that’s actually the only way. I like it, I like it!” the monkey exclaimed. “Sure rotten brat, I’ll help you look for the manual. I can’t promise anything, though.”

“Don’t worry,” Lynne shook his head. “We’ll be passing through a few important places, perhaps we’ll get lucky. And I’m still some ways off from the deadline in terms of strength.”

“Well, we won’t be finding anything if we stick around here,” the monkey said. “Did you finish with the book?”

“I’ve gotten most of it,” Lynne said. “I lack practice though.”

“We’ll get there eventually,” the monkey said. “Consider the book my first treasure gift to you, so you don’t say I’m cheap. As most of the things I find don’t suit me at all, or barely, I’ll give you treasures, you give me pills and bottles.”

“Alright,” Lynne said, getting up and stretching out. “It’s high time I left this damned place.”

“You got a destination in mind?” the monkey said as he jumped onto Lynne’s shoulder. “Rolyhard,” Lynne said calmly. “Time to cause them some minor headaches as I go along.”

“Ha ha,” the monkey laughed. “Good, good. Let’s flip some skirts and behead some fools!”

“… you’re the most shameless animal I’ve ever met, damned monkey.”

“Screw you rotten brat!”

Without further delay, Lynne tidied everything up and left the cave and soon the island. He headed north, towards the port cities of Rolyhard, using the same method he did whilst searching for the island. When he’d run out of Mana, the two would float atop the water and rest, and then ride the waves again. He estimated that it would take quite a while to reach the land, but at least this time around he had company, however foul it was.

TWO MONTHS LATER

A good hundred or so of armed guards were hurrying over a dirt pavement, heading towards the distant smoke. Over the past week, that’s the third fire started in the nearby villages, and they still had no clue who the culprits were. Strangely, targets each time were either Nobility or Sects; all guards pondered who had a nutsack so large to actually piss off the only two powers nobody else dared piss off.

While the guards were hurrying over, two figures were hurrying away. A young lad, appearing to be eighteen years old, was dashing through the lush forest with a monkey laughing happily on his shoulder. The two didn’t even pause for a moment, with Lynne using momentum to jump up, grab a branch, and then fling himself forward at a greater speed. The duo had arrived on the land three weeks ago. For the first two weeks, they merely inquired about information, local status and such, but for the last week, they’d started giving headaches to the local authorities. Naturally, the reason they were setting fires wasn’t solely for the sake of fires. Lynne had learned that he truly struck gold with the monkey in tow, as each of the three places he set on fire, just so happen to contain some quite decent treasures. Within the first two mansions – which belonged to local Nobility – a branch of the Main Imperial Family – Lynne had managed to snub a precious ‘Spell Art’ and a pretty decent, mid-grade sword. While he wouldn’t be using either, it didn’t mean he couldn’t sell them if ever in need of money.

The third, and latest, victim happened to be a local Sect called ‘Windfall’. While it was much trickier than breaking into the houses of Nobility, it was also well worth it. He came across quite a few precious potions and pills which were given to the monkey, while he had taken large quantities of herbs and special materials required for alchemy alongside several recipes.

The two didn’t stop until they reached a small lake near the top of the local mountain. Finally out of reach, Lynne collapsed and panted, feeling his legs ache.

“Who the hell thought that robbing people would be so beneficial?” Lynne exclaimed, smiling innocently. “If I had known, I’d have become a master thief instead of a freaking Magus...”

“Rotten brat, you really think it’s that easy to get rich robbing?” the monkey sneered as he spoke. “How the hell would you break into their places without my help? Huh? How would you even locate or steal treasures without my assistance?”

“Yes, yes, you’re a great Master Ape, is your ego satisfied for today, damned monkey?” over the past two months, the two had grown much closer, and while to bystanders it seemed like they did nothing except fight, a deep sense of friendship was formed through it.

“Heh, not yet, keep praising...”

“*smack*”, Lynne slapped monkey’s head lightly while the other faked a loud groan. “That look is disgusting, never show it to me again.”

“Rotten brat, you dare hit your grandpa? Huh? Shameless brat!”

“Ah,” Lynne sighed softly. “Despite everything, it’s too slow,” he said. “Nobody cares what we did, really. At best, we caused them some temporary setbacks while putting target on our backs.”

“What did you expect brat? With your strength, even this is a miracle...”

“… screw you.” Lynne lashed out.

“Which idiot takes two months to go from basic to advanced understating of a spell? What the hell is wrong with your head? Your Gift is literally wasted on you!” the monkey continued with barrage of insults, hitting every single one of Lynne’s soft spots.

“Bastard, if it were so easy, anyone would become a Magus!” Lynne lashed out; in truth, Lynne was right. For most, it usually took a year before they could bridge the gap between ordinary Archmage and Dao Archmage. And this was only due to the fact that most people would comprehend much easier spells, unlike Lynne whose were much more profound.

“Yes, yes, yes, I get it, you’ve got excuses for everything,” the monkey sneered; he knew very well that Lynne was right, but he never missed a chance to piss him off. “Anyway, what do you want to do now?”

“Let’s move towards central parts,” Lynne said calmly. “We’ll hit a few more Sects and Academies if we can on the way while moving towards the capital. If there’s any place that the manual would be, it’s probably there.”

“Aye, I agree,” the monkey nodded. “Besides, staying here any longer is rather risky. On the way, you can use those herbs and materials to slowly start practicing Alchemy as well.”

“Yea,” Lynne agreed. “Maybe we’ll encounter some other opportunities as well, who knows? Let’s rest for now and leave first thing in the morning.”

“Hm.” the monkey agreed as well and scurried off to float on the lake, relaxing.

Lynne sat calmly as he pondered over the profundities of ‘Elemental Blade’, as he decided to advanced to Dao Archmage ranks using it. With the basic understanding of the ‘Spell Art’, he could summon an Elemental Blade of any Basic Element: fire, water, earth and wind. With advanced understanding, he’d be able to summon blades using properties of Advanced Elements, as well as combine the two. As ‘Spell Art’ never specified what lies beyond that, Lynne figured that whoever made it never got that far, but he still felt it was far from over. As he pondered, he also felt a sense of self; for the past two months, with the monkey in tow, he had slowly tampered his heart and mind, and returned to his original state of mind. His thoughts were no longer muddy waters and he could think and plan clearly ahead of him, not consumed by overwhelming emotions. He had a set of goals, with the first one being to obtain the manual detailing how to follow the ‘Spellweaving Celestial’ path. After that, he’d try and combine two Origin Paths and follow them at the same time. With the plan and goal, day-to-day living grew much easier. It was akin to finding another purpose after your original one was stripped away, granting you another chance at life. He had also learned that his father was still alive, which contributed quite a lot to his current peace; while he was still imprisoned, men behind bars can still be freed, but dead can never be brought back to life. He had no idea where exactly he was imprisoned, but another stray road in his path was slowly showing itself, and the more of those there were, the happier and more preoccupied he’d become. In such thoughts, he fully dove into the profound truths behind ‘Elemental Blade’, trying to procure enlightenment and bridge the gap before him.