Destroyer of Ice and Fire
Chapter 111: Start of the real-combat mission!
"Multiple skill invocation effect?"
"Cocktail-style composite arcane power effect?"
"Integrating arcane particles with arcane power through sixty patterns?"
Within the following dozen seconds, Ayrin finally understood why Donnaâs "Fire Embers" was one of the hardest arcane skills to learn.
This arcane skill unexpectedly required three instant skill invocations, flowing the arcane particles from inside the body out of the hands and feet at the same time but in three different time frames. Arcane particles were split into three parts, gushing out from three different positions in the hands and feet, and you needed to rely on minutes gestures of the hands and feet to cause sixty streams of arcane particles altogether to flow out of the body in different ways, generating a discrepancy in the integration with arcane power, finally forming a perfect synthesis effect.
"There are some especially mighty arcane skills that are true multi-invocation skills in the genuine sense, launching multiple arcane skills with extreme speed. The collision of primordial energy will trigger a more violent chain reaction." Donna looked at Ayrin and explained, "My Fire Embers originates from the era of the newly risen Draconic scholarsâ Goudohar kingdom. The creator is the one called âGreat Cocktail Masterâ Norcas. His studies were directed at how to control as many flows of arcane particles in on arcane skill as possible, in order to produce effects only multi-invocation skills can generate.
"Of course, the arcane skills he pursued are faster than the genuine layering of multiple skills, but the result was that every one of his arcane skills is especially difficult. After all, itâs equivalent to doing the things youâd do to invoke two or three arcane skills in the time you invoke a single skill, and you even need to be especially meticulous. Thatâs why the vast majority of his arcane skills werenât passed down. This kind of diverse and meticulous arcane researcher has always been in the minority. The mainstream still consists of studies on gathering more arcane power with single arcane skills.
"Also, legends say that the only ones who can use it are arcane masters with some red dragon bloodline, that is to say, the bloodline of fire dragons, or some other mutation bloodline with a special affinity for fire-elemental arcane energy." Donna thought for a while, yet she still added without holding anything back, "I happen to have a little red dragon blood⊠The reason why Iâm telling you this much is to make you understand that, if you really feel you canât adapt to this skill, that you canât use the aura of this skill, then donât be overly tempted by it. Many arcane masters, because they were lured by the power of formidable taboo skills, kept studying them, yet couldnât learn them no matter what. In the end, they never obtained any accomplishment in their lifetime."
"I understand. If I canât learn it, I wonât try to keep digging a hole. Anyway, our Holy Dawn Academy still has many arcane skills I can learn." Ayrin looked at Donna, a little embarrassed. "Only, teacher Donna, can you do the kind of arcane skill that letâll me remember the scene of your skill invocation, like teacher Ciaran did?"
"Are you talking about âSpirit Touchâ?" Donna blinked faintly, then immediately smiled and shook her head. She stretched her hand and handed a small scroll to Ayrin. "I canât grasp that skill. That said, the effect of that skill is to give a profound impression of a scene that happened only moments ago in front of your eyes. I can just use the skill again right now, and Ciaran will help with Spirit Touch. This is an explanation scroll I made, you can also peruse it carefully."
"Teacher Ciaran, can we do that?" Ayrin took the scroll and looked at Ciaran.
"Go for it." Ciaran smiled faintly, nodding at Ayrin and Donna.
"Fire Embers!"
"Soul Contract - Spirit Touch!"
When the pale embers once again flashed around Donna, a stream of arcane particles became a dot of deep red light at Ciaranâs fingertip, then gradually vanished between Ayrinâs eyebrows.
A seemingly very gentle breeze blew up, blowing some withered leaves.
Donna and Ciaran both became grave all of a sudden.
Lisztâs figure suddenly appeared on a great tree in front of them.
"The missions are starting?" Donna asked directly. Her face no longer showed any of the gentle and relaxed expressions she had in the past few days.
"Itâs starting." Liszt nodded. He stretched out his hand and directly shot out a small scroll in front of Ciaran. "I already let someone notify Moss, he should be here very quickly."
"Then weâll meet after the start of the mission."
Donna waved at Ciaran and Ayrin. After a mere few flashes, she and Liszt both vanished completely from Ayrinâs line of sight.
"Teacher Ciaran, is it like you said a few days ago, weâre going to carry out missions as battlemasters?" Ayrin realized, suddenly excited.
"Yes."
Ciaran opened the scroll Liszt tossed her way and gave it a careful once-over. Then red flames sparked on her hands and burned the scroll to ashes.
"We also have to set off immediately for Windsough Canyon."
"Windsough Canyon?"
Before Ayrin could ask too many questions, a sturdy figure rushed wildly their way.
"Teacher Minlur."
Halting in front of Ayrin and Ciaran, Minlur handed three backpacks to Ciaran. He tapped Ayrinâs shoulder at the same time, saying, "Brave warrior Ayrin, your fighting spirit looks as sharp as ever. That said, weâre merely using this method as a special training, but thereâs after all a great possibility youâll encounter a real battle. In front of genuine enemies, any arcane master will be extremely ominous and utterly vicious, an existence that lives only to send their opponents to the underworld. You have to listen to Ciaranâs orders about each and every move."
Ayrin nodded fiercely. "I know, teacher Minlur, Iâll definitely follow teacher Ciaranâs commands to the letter."
"Sniff sniffâŠ" At this moment, Ayrin suddenly couldnât resist sniffing fiercely.
"Whatâs the matter?" Minlur felt very baffled.
"Smells really good, it seems like there are many tasty things," Ayrin said. After a little wait, he finally saw Moss running their way from the canteenâs direction, carrying two big bags of food.
"He can sniff the smell even from so far away, I canât smell it even from so close. Isnât this guyâs sense of smell just a little too sharp?" Minlur felt that Ayrin was filled with puzzles from head to toe.
"Brave warrior Moss!" Ayrin shouted at the running Moss. "Did you finally heal your lame foot?"
"Ayrin!" Moss shouted, depressed, "If you say the two words lame foot again, Iâm going to throw this food away right now."
Ayrin was a little curious. "What, you bought all this food for me?"
"Do you think everyone is a Huge Food Monster like you? Itâs not an ordinary training session this time. It doesnât matter if you keep training while hungry during ordinary times, but now weâre going out on a mission. Your stamina will be a bit better if we stuff you full right now. And, you wonât pass out from hunger during the mission just because you skipped several meals," Moss shouted.
"What, you usually donât eat to the full?" Ciaran frowned. Was it Carterâs negligence, was there a problem with Ayrinâs living expenses?
"Itâs not that. Iâm doing it to bring myself to a very hungry state. Then Iâll reward myself with some tasty stuff after accomplishing some training task. This way, my progress will be much faster than usual," Ayrin explained. "Thatâs a method teacher Huston taught me, itâs really very effective."
"Always keeping your body in a state of hunger? Thatâs the way of ascetic arcane masters, have you been doing that all along?" Ciaran and Minlur couldnât help but share a look, both very taken aback. "Your capacity for food is especially great, yet you still can increase the speed of your progress by controlling your appetite?"
"Haha, itâs truly hard to endure sometimes, I really want to eat a big tree. Only, when I train and reach my goal, I feel even happier than when I eat a lot. So, thatâs how I endure my way through training sometimes." Ayrin laughed, a little embarrassed. "I canât persevere for many days either. I canât help myself from eating a big meal every four or five days maybe."
Truly the most unpredictable guy, the guy with the highest fighting spiritâŠ
Ciaran couldnât help but shake her head lightly.
"Moss is right in this case. Remember the first rule of arcane masters on a mission. Before the mission, you have to adjust yourself into your optimal fighting condition. Weâre setting off. Ayrin, eat while we travel."
After saying that, Ciaran tossed the arcane master packs in her hand to Moss and Ayrin, one for each of them.
"Remember our mission this time. Before next sunrise, we have to hurry to Windsough Canyon and prepare an ambush.
"Thereâs a suspicious arcane master who might pass through there on his way to Gooseberry Townlet in search for a contact. That contact already noticed something abnormal two days ago and ran away. Thereâs another arcane team chasing after this person, as well as others related to him. Our mission is to lay an ambush, to waylay and capture this suspicious arcane master who doesnât know yet the changes that occurred in Gooseberry Townlet."
Utterly happy as he carried the two bags that were as heavy as him, Ayrin leaped nonstop while gorging himself, following behind Ciaranâs figure. He couldnât repress his curiosity at the same time: "Teacher Ciaran, whatâs the history of the contact in Gooseberry Townlet? Is he related to Evil Dragon followers?"
"Why does it seem like this guy became much faster? He seems free and easy carrying so much stuff, while I have a little trouble following him instead." Moss also went through a special training during this time, but heâd never been together with Ayrin. He perceived Ayrinâs changes all of a sudden.
"You guys have to remember, during a mission, all the members of the same arcane team have to share all the news and discoveries related to the mission. Because, by concealing anything, you could cause your companions to fall in danger from the lack of understanding about the opponent," Ciaran quickly said in a soft voice.
"The contact in Gooseberry Townlet concealed that arcane master who tried to assassinate Ivan. Itâs precisely thanks to his cover and assistance that the mysterious arcane master escaped from the several St. Laurenâs arcane teams chasing him. Right now, the preliminary conclusion is that the arcane master who tried to assassinate Ivan is indeed related to the Evil Dragon followers. He might be the ringleader they sent in this area. That contact was originally the owner of âEarth Essence Store.â He was hiding his strength. Before fleeing, he also revealed a strength of four arcane gates."
"Then what about this suspicious arcane master weâre going to ambush?" Moss couldnât help but ask.
"Itâs a member of an independent battlemaster team. He only has two open gates according to our data. Once a student of Fayth Academy, an ordinary human bloodline, an experience of twenty to twenty-five real battles. The arcane skills he uses relatively often are âFlying Fireball,â âChaotic Butterfly Blades,â and âFlash Step.â"
A word from your favorite translator:
Hi guys. First, I promised two chapters a day until chapter 100, but I was on holiday and missed a few days of double, so I sneaked some doubles in there this week XD. This series will be published once a day starting from now.
I enjoy tling and sharing, but at the same time, itâs a somewhat lonely experience. So, if you enjoy the story and appreciate the quality of my work, and can afford it, then yes, I would appreciate very much your support and it would do wonders for my motivation. Also yes, there will be up to 10 advance (probably unedited) chapters as a thank you. Please note though that theyâll available from the start of next month.
In the same vein, be assured that your comments, even a thank you, is a great satisfaction for me, even if I donât have the time to reply to all of you. So thank you. đ
Also a special shoutout to matosz over at Reddit who posts all my chapters there XD.
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