Chapter 22: I Can’t Be Arrogant
The Ylisse Clan occupied an absurdly vast region on the planet Verdant Star. There were several other clans on the planet, but the Ylisse Clan was definitely the largest among them; it was extremely, extremely ancient.
Within its territory, besides the central residence, there were six incredibly extraordinary locations, enough to make almost any other clan living on the planet green with envy.
They were places that made every other clan on the planet ask the same question whenever they learned about them: How could they possibly have something like this?
It was indeed impossible for those other clans to possess anything similar, and the Ylisse Clan had created these places over time, practically out of nothing in the eyes of outsiders.
Five of those regions were training grounds commonly used by the clan’s most important members. The last one, however, was the largest and most impressive region, completely sealed by an extremely high-level inscription, whose entrance was only permitted under very specific circumstances.
All the young clan members received simple instructions: they had the right to spend eight hours a day in one of the five training regions.
This was a major boost the clan was giving them. Many of them, after the coming-of-age ceremony, wouldn’t even dare dream of entering those places again.
Priam listened to the explanation about the locations, then headed toward a mountainous region.
As he approached, even from far away, he could see a sea of black clouds atop a colossal mountain. Purple lightning lashed the summit from within the clouds as if the world itself were ending.
Near that mountain, however, there was also a natural valley.
The entrance to the valley faced north and was roughly three hundred meters wide. As it stretched inward, it became increasingly narrow.
The entire valley had the shape of a funnel, continuing along the mountainside until its width shrank to only about three meters.
When powerful winds blew from the northern side of the mountain, they were blocked by the mountain itself, creating immense pressure and an air current that rushed down through the funnel-shaped valley. As the valley narrowed, the speed and pressure of the wind element increased dramatically.
Both the mountain and the valley were elemental training regions of the clan. The mountain was known as the "Purple Tribulation," while the valley was called the "Windstorm Tunnel." People could choose whichever type of training they wanted between the two.
The Windstorm Tunnel was mainly used by those who wanted to train their stability and movement. For a Fighter Mage or Physical Mage to fight in close combat, solid movement was the foundation. To begin walking the path of combat Magic Arts, one first needed to master balance.
However, Priam had come specifically to the Windstorm Tunnel to train for something entirely different.
The entire place was also surrounded by a runic inscription. It resembled a giant dome made of tiny pale-colored runes. Using only the naked eye, those runes could only be noticed when one got very close to the barrier.
Inscriptions were one of the many creation branches of Catalyst Mages, just like Alchemy. A Mage had to dedicate their life to it, creating tiny runes that connected together to generate a unique effect.
Barrier inscriptions and spatial sealing inscriptions were the most basic. They weren’t difficult to create, but the material used to maintain them was the key to everything. If something extremely valuable was used, the barrier could become practically unbreakable.
Priam arrived alone at the entrance of the Tunnel.
Nobody wanted to come here on the first day, since there were more interesting places to visit.
A clan soldier was guarding the area, sitting at the entrance with his eyes closed.
The hierarchy within the clan was quite simple. From lowest to highest, there were first the ordinary people from the side branches. Then came the ordinary people who lived within the central clan. Slightly above them were the clan Soldiers, and above them stood the Elders.
The Grand Elder was a single individual who acted as the clan leader’s deputy. At the very top, of course, was the Clan Leader.
The soldier noticed Priam approaching and opened his eyes.
"Sir, I wish to enter the fifth level," Priam said politely.
All of the training grounds were controlled by another, more complex inscription that could regulate the difficulty level, allowing even those young Mages to train inside. There were ten levels in total.
The soldier was confused for a moment, thinking he had misheard.
The first five levels were designed for Magician Acolytes within the first three levels. Starting from level six, the difficulty increased dramatically, while level ten was reserved only for those Mages who had broken through and become Mage Disciples.
Priam was still at the fourth level, and from a brief glance alone, the soldier could sense the far-above-average physical power radiating from his muscles. Therefore, he could certainly handle the sixth level, or even the seventh with some effort.
"The levels were explained properly to you before, right, kid? Once you choose a level and enter, you have to stay for the full 8 hours. If you decide to leave early, you lose the rest of your time for the day. And after choosing, you can’t change levels that day. After all, regulating all of this costs the clan a lot, and every minute you spend inside is expensive as well."
Priam smiled and said, "I’m sure I only want the fifth level, Sir."
"Fine." The soldier nodded indifferently.
He made a gesture; the runes at the entrance shifted and pulsed for a second.
A path into the Tunnel opened, and Priam immediately stepped inside.
The moment he entered, he heard the roaring, thunderous sound of raging winds, as if there were thunderstorms inside.
It was only the thunder coming from the top of the mountain. The sound was terrifying and made the ground tremble subtly even from such a great distance. Just hearing that noise was enough to imagine the horror hidden at the summit.
Fortunately, Priam was only entering the fifth difficulty level of the Windstorm Tunnel, a relatively calmer environment. With his current level, he could walk through the tunnel with ease.
He arrived at the central area of the place.
There, the wind speed was moderate. He stopped, closed his eyes, and fully felt the mountain’s icy wind blowing against him, sharp enough to cut through the bones.
To create the runes for the first and second stages of that technique, without having the direct information, his only option was to synthesize them through trial and error. But his current chances of succeeding were about as good as accidentally stumbling upon a divine and invincible Magic Art.
Despite studying and working hard over the past year, Priam was still a complete beginner when it came to everything related to Magic. He had the theoretical knowledge provided by the system, but theory and practice were two completely different worlds.
Since he wasn’t a genius or anything like that, miracles weren’t going to happen.
His only real chance of success was to first feel the wind element as deeply as possible, then experiment with it using this place.
To do that quickly, he had two useful tools: the power of his Nexus Seed, which could store the wind element from the environment, allowing him to slowly analyze it later during meditation.
The second tool... was somewhat brutal, but proven to be effective.
He had learned from Flaris that some demons learned to properly use elements simply by allowing themselves to be attacked and injured by them.
Doing so increased their resistance while also helping them better understand the element. But obviously, it was done very rarely and with extreme caution, because a single mistake could get someone killed.
Another point... only those of the Physical Mage class could use that method.
"I’m a Celestial Mage... and I have no idea what that even means. But I feel like I can learn and use anything with the help of the Nexus Seed."
He didn’t know if it would work. But he only had two paths: succeed, or get completely fucked by failure.
"I can’t be arrogant enough to think I’ll defeat all the young Mages of the clan with only what I already have. I need to create this..."
He murmured, and without realizing it, a subtle golden light flashed within his eyes.
