It had been three days since Jon had reunited with his two younger sisters. He had dropped Lydia and Ariel back off at his parents’ house later that afternoon, after the two of them had spent several hours shopping within Melbourne, smiling as he watched the two fall asleep in the back seat of his car.

  Leaning on one another, just like the two of them did when they were younger.

  Although Lydia and Ariel wanted to stay for another couple days, he thought it best that the two of them were not over too often. Especially while Jon was still forming his remaining three spiritual veins.

  Although he had taken steps to prevent their interactions with ambient motes of spiritual energy, he wanted to reduce that chance as much as possible.

  Especially considering how often he expected them to come over, now that he was back in their lives. He had asked Rana to observe them, at least whenever he was capable of manifesting her.

  “The two of them did not show signs of spiritual energy awakening Jon.”

  “Although Song and Eis might have knowledge relating to unique formations or ritualistic Spell effect that can assist in the awakening of a Mana Core, your [Spiritual Weave Art; False Faerie Ward] is not quite suitable for such an undertaking.”

  “Although I cannot help but wonder why you do not want them to possess a Mana Core just yet Jon?”

  Rana watched as Jon lounged around the base of her trunk, laying against her roots and tendrils, practicing his manipulations over [Writhing Worms Beneath Spirit And Flesh]. A misshapen handful of finger-sized worms writhed and squirmed in the centre of his palm, some fat and bulbous while other thin and elongated.

  Their appearance was somewhat disturbing, but each one moved under Jon’s careful and practiced control. Each one required ten percent of his available lifeforce in order to be cast, something that he was thankful for, considering the increase to the quality and quantity of his lifeforce that his Yaochi-Mudra Prana granted him.

  The Earth Reincarnation Womb admired his dedication to the mastery and manipulation of his abilities, even if the effects of his Fragment Of Thieving-Envy disagreed with her.

  “Is it not in their best interest to become Mortals and then eventually Knights under your supervision? The chances of them awakening Mana Cores is much higher, due to their close proximity with you. Practicing spiritual vein formation with them in the house might almost guarantee them awakening a Mana Core in the coming months, if not weeks depending on how often you practice.”

  “Didn’t you say that you wanted them to learn how to defend themselves?”

  If Jon was moved by her words, his expression certainly did not indicate such a thing. Head turning upwards to peer at the rest of his summoned companion, continuing to practice his control over the Worms Of Envy.

  “… Lydia and Ariel should have the chance to experience as much normalcy, before the rest of participants from the System Introduction return back to Earth. Although I initially prepared to have my entire family moved into the countryside within the first week of my return, the unexpected end to our small realm afforded me some…”

  “Leniency, in regard to my timeline.”

  Given that the Resonance-Barrier Lock that he had placed around his house prevented spiritual energy from spilling out into the outside world, motes of spiritual energy literally saturated everything within the boundaries of his property.

  Walls. Ceilings. Floorboards. Carpets. Concrete foundations. Not even the gas mains or the plumbing were an exception.

  Although not quite as spiritually saturated as the buildings within Springtown, primarily due to his wards and Resonance-Barrier Lock, it was a precaution that would prevent others from determining his location. It was ironic, in a sense that while trying to conceal himself from other Mortals and Knights that he increased the chances of one of his sisters awakening a Mana Core.

  Something which he had worked even harder to prevent.

  Jon hummed in thought for a few seconds, allowing his Worms Of Envy to slither their way around the length of his Tabitha-Cedarspear Arm. Constructed from war natured spiritual energy, the worms did not leave trails of viscous liquid behind after crawling along his arm.

  In fact, if it were not for the fact that he was controlling them, Jon never would have realized that they were touching him in the first place.

  “There are no immediate threats to myself or my family. There are no mutated beasts which roam through cities, attacking innocent civilians and there are no dangerous, rouge Knights that have declared themselves warlord, threatening the peace and stability of the world.”

  “Spiritual energy is bound to proliferate and engulf the entire plant, causing the appearance of fragments and Mana Cores. Conflicts will break out over Wonders and Dungeons, and those of us who participated in the System Introduction will be at the forefront of it all.”

  “They will not be able to experience the illusion of ‘peace’ for a long, long time Rana.”

  “Not until-.”

  “Not until you become a Baron, right?” Rana interrupted, watching as Jon smiled in response to her words. The human and bodhi tree enjoying the warmth of the summer breeze.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “Not until I become a Baron,” Jon repeated, nodding his head ever-so-slightly.

  Jon leaned deeper into the Earth Reincarnation Womb, softly sighing. His focus turning back towards his [Writhing Worms Beneath Spirit And Flesh]. There was more to improve upon, other than just his Rank and Tier.

  His manifested Worms Of Envy crawling along the length of Rana’s roots, disappearing amidst the luscious green grass. Although his Minerva-Infiltration Eyes were capable of perceiving them, he was still able to sense their movements and positions through virtue of his Fragment Of Thieving-Envy alone.

  ‘Each Worm Of Envy contains their own individual instance of [Branded Envy]. Although the effect is not currently active, it might be possible for others to detect the inactivated debuff. Fragments Of Detection or Fragments Of Observation specialize in this kind of detection, although Fragments Of Perception and Fragments Of Discovery might also work depending on what Mana Core the ability manifests from…’

  Even if Jon could conceal their physical existence, abilities, such as Miyoung’s [Predator Spell Eyes] were able to pierce through what flimsy illusion or concealment technique he used to disguise them. It reduced the chances of them inflicting their contained debuffs and afflictions onto a target, especially one that was capable of moving at high-speeds.

  Although Jon was also able of sacrificing Worms Of Envy in order to imbue all four debilitating effects onto a target, it came at the cost of his lifeforce.

  Something which took longer to regain in comparison to spiritual energy.

  “Is that why you are practicing so much with it? In hopes of realizing something that you missed about its effects?”

  Jon nodded his head once more.

  “In comparison to the Fragment Of Alnus-Viridis Protection, or even the Fragment Of Cedarspear Mutation, the Fragment Of Thieving-Envy is woefully insufficient, other than the mana-regeneration-theft effect. In fact, other than using a Worm Of Envy to activate [Thieving Spirit], I dare say I would not choose to use them in combat at all.”

  “Especially considering I now know that connected abilities exist.”

  Case in point, both [Alnus-Viridis Wood Art; Majestic Towers Of Springtime Green] and [Alnus-Viridis Wood Art; Vast Mouths Of Thorned Green]. Each Spell effect connected each to one another, through virtue of their shared concepts.

  Effect (Knight): When used in tandem with abilities that share the concept [Alnus Viridis] increase the effectiveness of [Alnus-Viridis Wood Art; Majestic Towers Of Springtime Green] by twenty-percent.

  Effect (Knight): When used in tandem with abilities that share the concept [Alnus Viridis] reduce the mana expenditure of [Alnus-Viridis Wood Art; Vast-Mouths Of Thorned Green] by twenty-percent.

  Although Jon had intended on asking Song, Eis and Rana about them, he had decided on waiting until his ascension to Lordship before forming anymore fragment pathways.

  ‘If abilities can feed into one another, or even provide passive enhancements to one another, then what would happen if all of the abilities from a single Mana Core shared the same inherent concept?’

  ‘Mana expenditure reduction. Increasing damage output and buff effectiveness. Storing additional Spell charges. Increasing the effective range of Spells and duration of debilitating effects. When adding on the removal of chanting through a spiritual vein, specific abilities could become…’

  ‘Outrageously powerful.’

  Jon scratched the top of his head, huffing as a stray strand of hair brushed against his eyelid.

  ‘At any rate…’

  ‘I suppose that I shouldn’t put off ‘that’ any longer.’

  Willing his status page into existence, Jon focused on its top portion. Ignoring everything below [Bestial Intuition].

  Jonathan Randall Guilliman

  Age: 20

  Rank: Knight

  Tier: Third-Vein

  Title: [Princeps Of The Wandering Mutation]

  Title Fragments: [Forerunner] [Journeyman] [Specialist] [Polyglot] [Dungeoneer] [Logos Eidos] [Construct Dominus] [Lonesome] [Wonderchild] [Wonder Dominus] [Adeptus Bellum] [Memento Rex] [Thieving Dominus] [Mind Cavalier] [Mind Killer] [Dual-Pathway Dominus] [Lord Of Violent Transformations] [Ethos Of Alnus Viridis] [Blessed Of Verdant Night] [Lordslayer] [Blood-Soaked Pride] [Mentis-Mutare Sanctus]

  [Vanquisher] [Green-Desire-Transformation Anathema] [Returnee] [Luminous Shidonai Acolyte]

  His mouth curling upwards into a grin as his gaze lingered on six Title Fragments in particular. Princeps Of The Wandering Mutation yearning within his chest for him to layer additional concepts atop its foundation.

  ‘… It’s all coming together.’

  Break.

  Several hundred kilometres off the shore of Sydney, raged an unnaturally wrathful storm. Waves exceeding forty metres in height crashed against the hull of ASLG Horizon, causing the enormous freighter to groan as it tipped unnaturally towards each side.

  The continuous rise and fall of the shipping freighter prevented anyone from sleeping, regardless of whether someone was on shift or not. The thick, scent of salt had grown even more potent since the beginning of this storm.

  The thunderous echo of crashing waves and ear-piercing lightning drowning whatever conversations one attempted to have above deck. Although all crew members had returned back to safety of their accommodations or the navigation bridge, the continuous shouting of key crew members prevented anyone from maintaining a calmful demeanour.

  “Radio refuses to work captain! I think the storm is interfering with our long-range transmissions!”

  “Magnetic fields are disrupting our compass and short-distance navigation! Satellite isn’t working either!”

  “Benson and the others are reporting a leak from within the cargo hold!”

  “We’re about to lose another-!”

  The crew members watched from the safety of the bridge as another tether snapped, sending more than a dozen freight containers tumbling into the ocean. Their hearts sank, watching as tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of materials and imported goods crashed into the waves below, disappearing amidst the blackened currents.

  “Shit.” Captain Francis Tell muttered, biting his lower lip.

  His eyes trying to observe the distant ocean, nothing but wind and rain buffeting the reinforced window of his navigation bridge. His radar was useless, magnetic fields disturbed due to the strength of this sudden storm.

  For a moment, Franic Tell thought that he saw something shift beneath the waves, splotches of water appearing darker than the rest of the surrounding ocean, before another wave crashed into the side of the ASLG Horizon.

  His brows furrowed in annoyance, cursing whatever existence that dared to place this natural disaster right in front of him.

  “Renoir! What was our last confirmed position!?” He shouted towards his senior navigator.

  “Approximately three-hundred nautical miles from Sydney sir! Coordinates are-”

  Whatever it was Renoir Lucas was about to say, was something that would belong to him and him alone. Dozens of eyes widening in shock, as an unfathomable large set of jaws burst up from beneath the blackened waves, swallowing the bridge whole.

  The ASLG Horizon sinking, vanishing amidst the wind and rain.

  Never to be heard from again.