My master is an asshole. The man is supposed to be coming here to pick me up. Even now, the man is busier obsessing over Cloak's gift than making sure of my safety. I know the man very well. If I were to ask him about why he is doing this, he would claim his very presence would be enough to ensure my safety. That he knows of my durability and how hard it is to actually kill me.
It is the truth in a way, I guess, but the man forgets that I am in the territory of a tribe. I am sure that even Paltroc, who has been healing me for all this time, will kill the first chance that he gets.
Right now, my master is carrying a sledder on his back. That is the Cloak's gift, you see. As for why he is carrying it on his back. My master is of the strong belief that he doesn't need to learn something as stupid as piloting a ship. I am sure that he would be more comfortable if he were riding the damn ship, but it is impossible to convince the man. I have never managed to convince the man to do anything once he has set his mind to it. He would rather carry the ship on his back than to learn drive it. (It would take somebody like him a couple of minutes.)
I have to admit that the man looks quite stupid at this moment. Not that anybody would be willing to say it to his face. They would shut their mouth looking at the ship on his back. My master will never admit that it looks stupid, though. He believes that learning something like driving a ship is a waste of time.
Such tasks he usually leaves to his disciples, like me. Well, I am not complaining about that for once in my life. After all, I plan to do something now that I would not be able to do if he could pilot a ship. I won't speak about it since if my master found out what I plan to do, he would not be happy. (The punishment is not going to be pretty.)
(After about half a day.)
Right now, we are making our way to the frozen peak. Sensory formations without a strong enough mana sense are a pretty weird thing to feel. Especially when I am so used to my mana sense.
That is half the problem people face when piloting an airship, you see. Sensory formations are very unreliable. My strong mana sense helps me look farther than anybody using the same formation.
On top of that, another weird thing is the luxury in the room. Most control rooms tend to be bare. There is usually nothing in the room other than the formations needed to run the damn thing. This one has an entire miniature bedroom in it. The damn place has cushions for the driver's comfort.
Well, I have wasted enough time describing the ship. It is a fine piece of work, but it is not the reason for me to start this record.
The reason that I suddenly started to record now is due to my master. Right now, we are in the plains near the frozen peak, right at the edge of the truelands and the frozen peak. This is the ideal position for me to execute my plans.
I stop the ship completely. As I feel the ship stop, I can feel my master's attack. Even as I speak, the man mounts an assault on my control strings. I try to hold my own against the mana, and I succeed for a bit. Then, any mana string that I send towards the formation is immediately ripped apart.
Well, that was to be expected. I did not expect to hold against my master anyway. Not that he will be able to do anything with control over the formation. The man is more likely to crash this ship even if he were to try and take control.
Well, he will be coming to meet up with me any second now. I am surprised that he is not already here.
"Why have you stopped here, you brat?" he speaks, appearing next to me as if he had always been there. Why does everybody do that? My little heart cannot take anymore people popping up behind me like this.
"Well, I am sure that you know what I am going to be demanding right now.", I speak to the man. "When have my demands changed? Remove this stupid ban on my cultivation knowledge, and I will start the ship."
"You do realize that what you are pulling off here will seriously damage my ties to the snow tribe. They will read anything other than us driving out of this place as an attack on them. The damn bastards are already on the verge of banishing me from these lands.", my master starts growling at me. Looks like I have succeeded at pissing off my master. "I have made it clear to you. The day that you learn about the next stage is the day that you make a class seven formation."
"I have been working on formations for the last four years under your command. I have accepted every request that you have made for me. Even if they are monumentally stupid." I speak, my voice rising in response. The man is too stubborn for his own good. "This time, your challenge was a bit too much. I almost died, you old fool. With my sword, I would have had a fighting chance at the very least. All of these requirements you put on me are monumentally stupid. Especially the ban on my knowledge."
"Well, you are an idiot if you did not think that the snow tribe would figure out who you were with that sword. They would have found out the minute you swung that sword.", my master speaks, his voice steely calm. "Then they wouldn't send such a small group after you. Anyway, you were quite safe. I have taken all the precautions to ensure your safety."
"Oh yeah, if that was the reason, then why did you restrict me from my other formations? You made me leave everything behind." I growl back. The damn bastard never accepts that he might have made a mistake. "You don't even need to say it, you know? I know that it is some stupid tradition."
"Well, I needed you to prove your strength. I thought this would be the best way to do so.", my master speaks, finally admitting the truth. The man always pulls things like that.
"Well, I am not moving until you remove this stupid ban from me.", I speak, stating my intent.
"Well, gods know why I have to deal with such a stubborn disciple.", he says. As he does so, he sits down with me. "Do you want to guess why I wanted you to prove yourself?"
"It must be some stupid tradition of yours.", I snap back.
"Will you be serious for a minute, you brat?" he says, his voice measured and on the verge of erupting. Looks like the man is getting serious. Any more and the man will be a pain to deal with.
"You want to know why I have restricted you. I don't practice the same magical path as the black mountain, kid.", the man speaks. "The elven magic path is similar enough to mine, I guess. There are still significant differences. Differences that would have made practising that path quite dangerous to you. I stopped people from speaking about it because I know you, kid. You would have messed with things that you shouldn't have and ruptured your mana core. I thought giving you the techniques for the foundation stage would have been enough. That you would spend your time focusing on cultivating your foundation. You just seem to have gotten obsessed with figuring out the stage after the foundation stage. How much have you cultivated in the last few months?"
"Well, couldn't you have just told me all of this before?" I ask, "I am quite capable of being careful."
"Are you so sure about that, you brat?" the man laughs. "You created your sword because you ignored the warnings of your troop leader then. You told me this yourself. You might be capable of being careful, you just don't want to be. If I told this to you before, you would have ruptured your mana core before the day ended."
"Why are you telling me all of this now?" I ask.
"Well, I felt that it was about time that I started teaching you something worthwhile.", he says. "I thought that I would have done it at the hexmountain. Seeing how impatient you are getting, though, I will do it now and here. Get out of the ship. It is about time that we got your induction started."
"How am I going to do that?" I speak, a shiver crawling up my spine even thinking about it. "I would freeze to death."
Suddenly, my master is in front of me, grasping my shoulder. The next thing I know, I am standing outside in the frozen wasteland. I don't feel cold. I don't feel anything at the moment. The man has stabilized all the ice mana in the surroundings to such a degree that I can't even feel the cold.
The man's control over mana can be considered to be one of the most precise on the continent. I don't have my mana sense, but it is still a beautiful sight to behold. The mana in the area flows like a river of strings, all revolving around the man. I am not even sure if the man realizes that he is doing this at this moment as well.
"Today, I am going to show you a demonstration of my cultivation. You can consider it as a display of what you can do in the future. My master did it to me when he set me on this path. I am doing it for you.", he says. "Under my master, I only managed to keep awake until his fourth formation. I wonder till which you will reach."
As he speaks, he shows me his hand. On it is a ring with a red ruby. He is always wearing it. It doesn't even emit a bit of mana, so I did not think much about it.
"You can say that this ring is my magnum opus", he says. "It might look quite ordinary, but it is a class three formation, kid."
As he speaks, the ring begins to shine and the man's skin becomes grey. It takes me a few seconds to realize that he is sprouting hair. A few seconds later, it seems like the man has been covered by a wolf skin.
"This is my first formation, "wolf skin".", he speaks. "It is a class nine formation, which allows me to cover myself in wolf skin. This wolf skin is capable of enhancing the durability of my skin and a few other benefits."
As he completes speaking, he suddenly falls to the ground on all fours. His bones begin to collapse as he falls on his four legs, taking the shape of a wolf. Within a few moments, the only thing that is standing there is a giant wound.
"This is the second formation on my ring, 'wolf flesh', which allows me to change my body into that of a wolf.", he says. I open my mouth to ask a question. Looking at him, though, I shut up. The man doesn't want to be interrupted. "It is a class eight formation."
His presence magnifies as he speaks. Right now, I feel like I am looking at a wolf preying on me. I swear I can feel teeth on my throat. Its claw is cutting into my back. My master is nowhere near me, but I still can't ignore the nagging sensation that I should be running.
"This is the third formation on my ring. You don't need to know what it is now.", he says. "Only that it is called the "wolf's presence".
Again, his presence changes. It is almost the same as before, but something is different. I can't pinpoint what it is, though. Then I look at my master. He suddenly seems like a giant crushing me to death. I feel myself collapsing to the ground as my breath is crushed out of me.
I have felt this before. This is what Jacob Starfall had pulled off. I feel a sense of anger in the pit of my stomach. It feels like I am lifting a mountain, but I manage to take a look at my master's face, and I find him grinning at me.
"This is the fourth formation on my ring. A pity your mana sense is so bad at this moment. It is a beautiful sight to behold.", he says. "You are doing good, kid. During my initiation, I could not get up at all. You know what I think you are ready for something a bit more."
As he completes his statement, I can feel the presence of this man. It is like a crushing pressure as I fall to the ground again. I can feel my anger burst like a dam as I try to get up. I can't move even an inch. It reminds me of the time cloak crushed me to the ground, which inflames me even more.
Even though it is useless, I keep struggling.
"This is the fifth formation on my ring.", he says.
Almost as soon as he completed speaking, his presence disappeared.
"What was that?" is all I can say as I begin to get up.
"That, my dear student, is your path to power.", he replies. "And I am here to teach you the very first step to this path."
I can feel the questi...