The three of them remained in silent contemplation and pondered the dilemma in the workshop.
This idea of creating a vessel capable of storing Spirit Sense—something that was just a side effect of higher cultivation and an enhanced mind and mana—seemed impossible.
Rlyis tapped her fingers slowly against the metal framework in front of her, her thoughts clearly racing as she considered the possibilities.
Suddenly, Eno seemed to recall something, the faint trace of a memory from long ago. He furrowed his brow, as if searching through the fog of his early days of cultivation.
He straightened up slightly, his eyes flickering as if he’d experienced a revelation. "There might be something… but I’m not quite sure if it’ll actually be useful," he began slowly, "from back in my early training days as I was traveling around learning and studying how natural minerals and ores form in the ground, I came across something. A mineral called Soul Quartz. It is rare but also not really. The only reason it’s rare is because there’s no real use for it. Miners don’t really go for it because it also needs specific conditions to form. However, I remember it distinctly because it did something I’d never seen before when I came across it."
Rlyis’s gaze sharpened, her focus immediately snapping to him. "Soul Quartz?" she repeated, almost as if testing the word. "I’ve heard of it, but isn’t it mostly just ornamental right? What’re you thinking?"
Eno nodded, gathering his thoughts as he spoke. "Yes, most would see it as decorative, just a beautiful stone that glows. But, if you remember, that glow occurs when exposed to Spirit Sense. I remember it also had a quality that it would hold onto the energy in a strange way, lingering long after my Spirit Sense left. That’s why they stay glowing for so long when used as decorations."
He paused, his expression growing more serious. "If I’m right, then that means it held onto Spirit Sense, as if it could carry it. And, it remained within, pulsing with that same glow for hours when I think back to the time I came across it."
A slow smile tugged at Rlyis’s lips, as she connected the potential of such a mineral with the problem they faced. "If Soul Quartz can actually hold Spirit Sense… then it might serve as the vessel we need, allowing constructs to tap into that same resonance. But where would we find it? It’s not exactly like I can ask a supplier in the sect to get some easily."
Eno gave a small nod of agreement. "I do remember seeing it, a long time ago, on one of the northern islands off the coast of the continent, deep into the southern seas. It’s remote, but I’m sure we could still find it there."
Rlyis’s gaze shifted to Lassim, "You’ve already proven yourself capable in dangerous situations and certainly stronger than us, Lassim. Would you be able to handle a journey out there alone? You’d be faster on your own than if Eno or I went with you too."
Lassim gave a resolute nod. "I’ll find it. If Soul Quartz is what we need, then I’ll bring it back."
With that, Eno provided Lassim with precise directions to the island, marking it out on a rough map, while Rlyis handed him an array crystal, a small item she’d fashioned that would let him send a quick signal back if he found trouble beyond his strength.
"Be careful," she warned, "If the quartz reacts to Spirit Sense the way Eno described, there could be beasts drawn to it."
"Alright, I should be able to handle myself, though. I kind of look forward to that if it happens. I’d like to test my abilities haha." With that, Lassim leapt out of the workshop with his focus unwavering as he flew northward as the outpost he was at was all the way on the southern side of the continent.
Using his [Tempest Steps] to cover the long distance quickly, he traveled tirelessly for over an entire day and a half, through the night, until he reached the northern coast of the southern continent.
There he caught sight of the vast southern seas stretching into the distance that he once crossed almost two years ago now.
He scanned the horizon and set his sights on trying to find the distinct shape of the island Eno had described, a rugged formation shrouded in a dense mist.
As he approached the approximate location according to the map, he could feel a subtle shift in the air, a tingling sensation at the edge of his Spirit Sense.
"Must be close… The special conditions for the Quartz to form must have something to do with this odd feeling with my spirit sense. I wonder what it is?" He pondered.
Mari and Zaphy internally could feel the change in the air as well but just sent mental nods of agreement and uncertainty that they too weren’t sure what it was.
Upon landing on the edge of the mist-covered island, Lassim took in his surroundings.
The island was dense with odd ivy and dew-covered vegetation. There were shadows cast by the towering, thick-canopied trees that covered much of the terrain, making it hard to see the island’s floor.
He extended his Spirit Sense, immediately sensing faint, unfamiliar resonances that pulsed from within the island’s center.
These pulses were subtle, but they felt remarkably like a heartbeat, steady and rhythmic, and they drew his attention deeper into the dense forest.
Moving carefully through the underbrush, Lassim felt the presence of beasts all around him, sensitive to the Spirit Sense he radiated.
Although he kept his spiritual pressure well contained as he usually did to not cause the problems that came with having divine level mana, the beasts seemed naturally able to ignore that and scary past his efforts to see exactly how powerful he was. This caused a small beast tide of the smallest beasts scurrying away and only the bigger beasts to carefully watch from a distance, wary of his presence on this undisturbed island.
He maintained his focus, ignoring the beasts as they kept their distance while pressing onward. He continued as he felt the resonant pulses grow stronger, almost making his path towards them easier, guiding him deeper into the heart of the island.
As he moved, he spotted small signs—delicate trails of glowing blue moss that faintly glimmered, scattered along the ground. These blue patches and trails grew in number as he reached the entrance of a hidden cavern, a jagged opening concealed by more thick ivy and a looming, natural stone formation, a pillar, in the middle of the entrance that made the cave entrance a tight squeeze to get into.
Extending his Spirit Sense into the cavern, he could sense an almost magnetic pull, emanating from within.
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He stepped inside the cavern, and the walls were lined with veins of outcropping opaque mineral shards that were glowing brightly as his Spirit Sense crossed over it.
He paused, marveling at the sight; the glow seemed to intensify with each pulse of his Spirit Sense interacting with the crystals, as though they were reacting with his very presence.
This was more than a simple reaction to them too—it was a slight pull and connection, the mineral holding onto his Spirit Sense a tiny bit at a time.
He approached one of the larger veins with an abundance of the crystals popping out of the side of the rocky cavern walls, carefully extracting a piece.
As he pulled it free, the quartz continued to glow, even after his Spirit Sense had withdrawn—the same quality that Eno had described.
Holding it in his hand made him fully realize the qualities of the crystal that the young Eno might not have thought to pay attention to when he first came across the material all those years ago. Lassim felt its weight, not just physical but almost… resonant, alive with a faint rhythm of its own as it expended the small bits of hit Spirit Sense that it had absorbed to create the glowing feature.
He realized it was as if the quartz was holding onto a fragment of his Spirit Sense, echoing it back in a controlled and paced rhythm.
But his concentration and studying of the object was suddenly broken.
"RAUAGHHHGK!!!!"
Lassim, not knowing which direction the roar came from due to the cavern’s echoes, quickly reacted and sent forward his spirit sense in every direction and rotated his fused mana through his pathways as he prepared himself. This caused the veins of Spirit Quartz along the walls to burst with a bright, almost blinding light.
Yet, despite this, a powerful, beastial presence entered his Spirit Sense, filling the cavern with a fierce energy.
He turned to see a beast emerge from around a corner, its eyes gleaming with an intelligence that seemed almost human-like or at least at the intelligent hybrid-beastkin level.
Its aura radiated the full and unmistakable strength of a Spirit Transcendent stage level six beast. It was an extremely odd looking bear-like creature, standing on two legs but it had glowing white stripes and markings all along its back and ribs and even limbs. They traced its skeleton structure but there was an odd whimsy to their design that made Lassim’s eyes slightly want to haze over as he stared at them.
Lassim summoned his halberd from within his inner heart world, feeling the rush of energy course through him and the lightning spirit fish sparking to life as he turned to face the incoming bearkin.
The bear beast lunged, swift and with a sonic boom as its paw whipped through the air, but Lassim moved faster.
With a burst of [Lightning Steps], Lassim sidestepped the beast’s massive swipe, his form a blur as the bear-like creature’s claws tore through empty air.
In an instant, he launched his counterattack. He raised his halberd, the lightning spirit fish crackling to life within his fused mana as it emerged and gathered at the tip of his halberd.
Lassim unleashed a precise [Thrust], driving the halberd forward as bolts of lightning fish spiraled from the polearm’s pointed tip, embedding themselves in the creature’s torso.
The spirit fish wove through each arc with an eerie precision, delivering concentrated bursts of energy that sliced through the beast’s thick hide, leaving scorched bite marks in their wake.
The creature staggered, letting out a furious roar, but Lassim pressed the attack, surging forward with another quick [Lightning Step] that closed the distance instantly.