Lassim stood still as he admired the two majestic beings in front of him on the barren, war-torn ground of the elemental plane. Their forms shimmering and coursing with elemental mana that told their natures.
The Thunderbird, which exuded an electric presence with her feathers crackling with vibrant violet lightning. Her eyes sparkling with a playful curiosity as she fluttered and hopped around Lassim on her short little talons.
An energetic voice filled with an eager inquisitiveness rang out in his head. "Hi. I’m Zaphy! You’re Lassim! Oh wow, this place is wild! What’s happening?
Who are all these creatures? Are they enemies? Are we fighting them? This is exciting! Mari-Mari! Look over there!
What’s that?"
In stark contrast, the Royal Koi floated serenely in the air with her long, silk-like fins undulating gracefully. They cast a soothing light blue and royal blue glow around her.
Her voice, through the mental connection, was the epitome of tranquility. A deep reservoir of slow patience. "Calm yourself, Zaphyrella. We are here to assist Lassim, not to overwhelm him. Lassim, how do you fare? I am Queen Marinelle.
It is a pleasure to finally meet your acquaintance. You may call us Mari and Zaphy if you so wish. It is how we sisters refer to each other, and you too are our family now." She motioned in a way with her fins that Lassim could only understand was her version of a curtsey towards him.
Lassim, still processing the rapid transformation into a Spirit Growth stage spirit warrior—and the emergence of his elemental companions—looked up at them with awe and gratitude.
The pain from the Iktomi’s webs had been excruciating but now all of his wounds appeared healed. The evolution into the next stage changed his body at a fundamental level, leaving it pure and jade-like.
"Zaphyrella, Marinelle, thank you for your help. I—I feel stronger. It’s a bit overwhelming but we need to continue fighting to meet up with the other first year students."
Zaphyrella suddenly flapped her wings once and zipped through the air. Her form blurring with speed and her excitement barely contained. "Yes! Yes! Let’s go, go go! Zap them all!
Show me where to strike, Lassim! I’m ready!"
Marinelle’s fins swayed gently, creating ripples in the air that felt like soothing waves. It had a side effect of calming some of the chaotic energies around them from the beasts they slaughtered. "We shall proceed with caution and precision. We shall follow your lead."
"Thank you Zaphy; Mari." He responded in kind with his own bow to each of them, mainly returning the favor to the Royal Koi.
Together, the trio then turned to face the endless legion of abyssal creatures that was currently being held back by a swirling whirlpool of water elemental mana. It was a blender against the horde. The beings were just much too weak by comparison to a Spirit Growth warrior’s elemental spirits, even if they’d just hatched.
Yet, any other Spirit Growth warrior would be incredibly shocked at their levels of intelligence and power levels at birth.
They were easily 10 times stronger than any other Spirit Growth warrior’s spirits in the history of Nexaria. They even had fully formed intelligences and personalities which usually showed traces of developing during the latter levels of Spirit Growth; typically around SG7 or SG8.
Never mind being able to have fully detailed conversations which usually only happened during the next stage, Spirit Transformation.
Lassim had no way of knowing this since no one ever thought elemental spirits could develop differently or had a different starting point until now.
"Let’s go!" He ordered as he took off with blinding speed, much quicker than previously was possible.
Yet, his enhanced body was too much for his ingrained muscle memory.
He thought he’d be taking just a single step but the enhanced physique, empowered by lightning and water mana, shot him about 50 meters further than he expected. He witnessed it happen in slow motion, his perception enhanced to insane degrees with the evolution, but the twitch reactions for his new cultivation level were not there at all.
He could only watch as he tripped and fell face first into the ground, sliding to a halt with his legs in the air behind him.
Zaphy, who watched it happen from above, tilted her head in confusion before asking, "Game?! Is this a new game? I wanna play!" and she too, with an impressive—lightning fueled—dive bomb came sliding to a halt right next to Lassim.
In his pain in misery, with a face covered in dirt, he lifted his head and turned to see the goofy thunderbird next to him. She had her beak open, looking directly at him, as if in a smile that said, "Did I do it right?"
Sighing he pat her head, ruffling her feathery crown tufts silently, before sitting back up and centering himself again.
Lassim chuckled, "Okay. Let’s go again, but slower this time." He then took off again but used the appropriate force this time.
Zaphyrella, still with that playful glint in her eye, flapped her wings energetically while sending another mental message, "Ay’ Ay’ Leader!"
The whirlpool, under Mari’s direction, came to a stop and thus began Lassim’s slaughter into the horde of beasts. This time, as a Spirit Growth stage warrior. The effects of the new stage were now on full display.
The storm above, now a vast expanse of swirling clouds, thunder, and hail began to quadruple in size. Now growing to cover an area of over 2 kilometers with just his normal cultivation rotation. He was not even specifically trying to enhance it or fueled by intense emotions like previously. This new normal was terrifying considering it used to only covered a few hundred meters before.
His movements were deliberate and careful, like the hasty misstep before hadn’t even occurred. He Quickly adapted and focused on synchronizing his movements with the newfound strength coursing through his veins. He decided to begin by methodically practicing the [Storm Bringer] battle art against the tide of abyssal creatures.
Each motion of his halberd displayed immense power. The force behind the swings sent slices of water that carried the momentum forward, deep into the mass, leaving deep gashes a meter wide along the ground.
His precision became more accurate too, cutting through the air and the flesh of the demons with equal ease.
The creatures, grotesque amalgamations, crumbled under his new might. Vile ichor spilled from their bodies, only to be washed clean by the relentless downpour summoned by Marinelle. No trace of the corruption that once marred the land was left behind. It seemed she had a disdain for the filth coming anywhere near Lassim.
As he cycled through the [Storm Keeper] moves, each made the tempest above surge with ferocity. Almost as if it was a part of the technique too, the clouds moved and swayed similarly in the direction of his [Sweep]s and [Thurst]s.
His halberd cleaved through the ranks of a mass of Chaos goblins, their twisted forms bisected before they could shriek out in pain. The ground trembled with the force of his strikes, shattering under the raw energy of his elemental power.
Zaphyrella, embodied the frenetic heart of lightning in the storm. She darted across the sky as her presence heralded a constant drum of thunder as bolts of lightning arced down. She was incinerating rows of advancing Trolls, Lamia, and Imps alike. Every sky-faring creature as well trembled at her appearance before falling to the ground as charred husks; inevitably landing on the horde below.
An unfortunate imp was crushed into a paste when a gargoyle made of granite fell directly on top of it.
Marinelle’s aquatic and royal grace turned the battlefield into a hurricane of destruction. She commanded the rain, now sharpened like blades, to slice and pierce through the ranks of the abyssal legion.
The water swirled and surged, dragging the demon’s remains down into their oblivion. The earth cleansed of their foul essence.
After around thirty minutes of practice, Lassim was now fully in tune with his enhanced capabilities. He moved through the horde like a deity of war.
Each step was a calculated signal of death. His halberd an extension of his will. He channeled his mana and the storm’s fury into devastating blows. His figure was engulfed in a swirling blue and violet aura that empowered his figure. Arcs of lightning and water danced around him.
There was no need to even use [Aegis] at this point. The combination of having the elemental spirits allowed him to focus fully on attacking.
Mari would slaughter and block anything that came remotely close to him, like a Queen protecting her castle. Zaphy would also maintain a certain perimeter around Lassim as well, obliterating anything that attempted to launch a long distance attack or an attack from the air.
His advancement was truly remarkable. His strikes not only shattered the physical forms of his enemies but also, his blue and violet energy seemed to disrupt the corrupt mana sustaining them. Some monsters that fully came into contact with this aura were left with nothing but a void where they once stood.
The landscape transformed under the might of their combined assault. What was once a barren wasteland, now bore the scars of their battle and became a flood plain.
The ground was littered with the remnants of demons, and their essence erased by the purifying storm. Their threat was practically nonexistent under the relentless advance of the elemental trio.
As Lassim’s confidence soared, so did his mastery of the [Storm Keeper] techniques. There was no room for the abyssal creatures to retaliate.
In this dance of destruction, Lassim found a new rhythm, a harmony between his power and the essence of the storm. With each fallen foe, his understanding deepened, his mental connection to Zaphyrella and Marinelle growing stronger.
This growing storm and their destruction, thankfully for the other first-years, did not go unnoticed by them.
They too had similar ideas as Lassim and set their jade bracelets to display the ranking at all times. They had all been on edge because of the shattering and cracking sounds that echoed through the plane earlier. It seemed they realized what, or rather who, had caused it. What they saw was shocking.
Lassim’s points had escalated by an absurd amount, and continued to do so very rapidly every secon. His score was jumping by several hundred points every moment.
Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com.
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Total Participants: 1,036
---Second Trial Ranking---
1. Lassim Vanthar - 94,025 pts
2. Rygar Wildheart - 48,766 pts
3. Sirium Giffard - 43,243 pts
4. Lustria Alisone - 42,897 pts
5. Tex Gravewood - 41,490 pts
6. Marcie Springwater - 41,185 pts
7. Camie Morcan - 40,622 pts
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Time Remaining: 10:53:46
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