Chapter 21 #4
“And bought us time. Perhaps even our lives,” Lao Tie reminded with a placating smile for Kuaisu and Alex both.
“And all’s not lost. For it has a large percentage of Ice.
Those slivers will go for a pretty penny in the private gardens of several city lords in the know, assuming the prince doesn’t wish to hold them in reserve to preserve at least a portion of our crops, or generate sufficient water for thousands to survive emigration, should the absolute worst come to pass. ”
Kuaisu paled. “You’re right, my liege.” She then bowed her head Alex’s way. “This one apologizes for her careless words.”
Alex flashed a rueful smile. “But you’re not wrong. If that had been an actual pristine Water core…” He shook his head. “My tactics need to improve.”
“Your tactics quite likely saved at least a few of our lives,” Lao Tie assured. “An act of grace that neither me nor mine will soon forget. Still, awareness of the flaws within even the most deadly techniques is a wisdom best not taken lightly.”
Alex winced. “It’s all right. I think I know which attack, well…”
“Actually managed to shatter a Silver-tier beast’s core? And on the deeper end of Silver. And how insane is that in a boy your age?” Wu Xien declared.
Alex nodded. “Exactly. And don’t worry. I know what I need to do differently.”
“So long as changing tactics won’t get us killed,” Tang reminded, gazing down with haunted eyes at the ugly crimson gashes still on his leg.
Alex winced, realizing he had been so focused on his friends that he was neglecting his duties as a party member to all. “Tang?”
The man flinched and then bowed low before Alex. “I know. I owe you my life. And another debt just as precious. They are both burdens I’m grateful to have.”
Alex grinned. “I could ask for nothing greater than your friendship… and the knowledge that I never need fear being betrayed by a man I thought of as a friend.”
Tang blinked, before slamming fist to chest. “You have it, friend Alex!”
Alex chuckled. “Actually I was going to ask… did you want me to see what we could do about your leg?”
He then noted Kuaisu with gauze and liniment and Lao Tie approaching with a partially used but still precious crimson vial.
Both stopped and exchanged nods, and Alex quickly found himself coaxing another man into a far chillier lotus position and focusing on harnessing his own internal healing energies, which seemed to be not entirely unheard of in Silvers, at least, before Alex infused him with a considerable boon of potency.
Yet not so big that it detracted from the insights that he, too, had savored, now echoing through his skull.
You have successfully aided party member Tang in recovery!
Your understanding of the flows of both biochemical and spiritual energies through yourself and others continues to improve.
Prismatic Fox Restoration Technique is now Rank 9.
Potency Mastery is now Rank 5 (perk deferred).
Storm Swan Kung Fu is now Rank 7 (deferred perk chosen; elemental harmony!)
He could taste how close he was to Avalanche cresting Rank 5, and he sensed there would be a skill evolution that truly would allow his Earth-based attack to truly become one with the storm.
The very thought gave him a little thrill of excitement.
For so long he had been frustrated by his inability to enhance his prismatic techniques after Wind Affinity had thrown off his inter-elemental harmony, but in truth, when had he actually had the time to practice?
Regardless, it seemed that there might be another backdoor path to a completely harmonious elemental attack along a path so similar to Silver Swan. A path that truly was most representative of who he was and his own potential… at least this time around.
Not that he wouldn’t do his utmost to harmonize Wind Qi with all the others to the point of perfection, but here and now, so filled with the insights of the storm, he knew better than to fight the path he was on.
The path that came so naturally to him in the heart of this Silver-tier delve.
A path that he could hopefully embrace for hours, savoring the insights allowed to gently flow through him, before he need worry about Sage’s Insights crashing into any sort of Fool’s Folly.
Still, he’d be a fool not to get what rest he could, as Linnea and a now fully restored and cheerful Ya Ling embraced their craft and brought the winds down to a gentle warm breeze.
Linnea’s arts warmed the entire area surrounding the spirit beast they were carving so many choice cuts of meat from and the precious organs that Alex’s Dark Lightning hadn’t destroyed.
So Alex sent a quick message, made himself comfortable on a storage mat, and focused on rest, recovery, and basic cultivation as the lessons of their perilous battle settled themselves into muscle memory while he cleared his mind of all distraction, save for the epiphany that he knew he was on the cusp of.
Though it was a bit harder to tune out the voices—and thoughts—of the party that had fought and killed together that he dare not break contact with, lest another Deep Silver ambush them out of nowhere.