The platinum cube opened, and from it, seven floating balls of light surged outward.
A row of notifications flashed in front of Uriel.
[Flawless Scholar Set {Diamond—Growth}]
[Novice Mage Guide—Path to Heaven's Arcana]
[Random Lineal Arcane Talent {Diamond} (x1)]
[Arcane Pill Sack— {Diamond} (x3)]
[Mage Tool Template {Silver} (x1)]
[Spell Template {Silver} (x1)]
[First Circle Arcane Spell {Diamond} (x10)]
He read them all, slowly, one after another.
Then he reached out and picked a ball of light at random. It immediately transformed into a pouch, filled with three pills.
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!
The sheer aether radiating from the pills destabilised the surroundings, chaotic winds kicking up around him, whipping the air into violent currents.
But he didn't mind it. Instead, he focused on the new notification that had appeared, detailing the pouch in his hand.
—
[Item: Arcane Pill Sack — {Diamond}
>Contents; Great Sculpture Pill, Godless Arcana Pill and Godly Arcana Pill
…
•>Name: Great Sculpture Pill—
~>Details: Consume pill to reforge and evolve your core into a Perfect Arcane Core Type and grant your natal aether arcane properties, suited for spell casting.
…
•>Name: Godless Arcana Pill—
~>Details: Consume pill to reforge and realign body in accordance to one's arcane talent, perfectly suiting it to magic.
…
•>Name: Godly Arcana Pill—
~>Details: Consume pill to break limits of your talent and gain ungraded arcane depth, evolving your mind and sensitivity to magical forces.
~Note(I): If the one consuming the pill already has ungraded arcane depth and talent, said talent will undergo mutations bound to their Spark.
~Note(II): Mutations caused by spark cannot be predicted.]
——
Uriel shook his head.
'This would've made things much easier. It's unfortunate it's come to this, though.'
It was the first thought he'd had since Thoryl left, but it carried none of the anger or fear one might expect.
It was smooth. Calm. As steady as he always was.
But anyone who truly knew him would notice the tension slowly building in his neck, the unnatural stillness in his gaze, and the suffocating pressure the surrounding aether had begun to exude.
He was calm, though.
He opened the sack and scooped up the pills, eyeing them carefully.
They were large and round, each one like a polished bead of marble, their flawless surfaces reflecting all light that touched them.
Without hesitation, he threw them into his mouth, bit down, and swallowed.
Ignoring the explosions echoing from his stomach—ignoring the way his body began to shatter, collapse, and break down at the most fundamental level, only to rebuild itself into something grander—he reached out again.
He picked up another ball of light.
This one sank directly into his body.
[…randomising…]
A screen materialised in front of him.
…
[Lineal Talent: Kindest Lie (Temporary)
>Grade: ?
>Details: The Kindest of Lies is reality, and reality leads to Truth itself — all those who witness these gates must abide by the laws of equivalent exchange.
•A piece of them will be taken, replaced by a shard of the gate of truth.
•Be careful, for the price of Truth, father of Power, is one none can shy away from.
•Are you willing to pay the price?]
…
This time, he was genuinely taken aback.
According to Enoch and Ayah, Lineal Talents were abilities all ascendants received during their evolution.
Each evolution granted a talent, one intrinsically linked to the essence of what had been assimilated to spark that evolution.
If you assimilated, for example, a sword, one of extremely high grade, etched with runes that granted it fire abilities, then the resulting talent would most likely have something to do with conjuring a blade of fire from aether, or even transforming parts of your body into flaming steel.
It could be subtler still. Perhaps every touch would echo the sharpness of a blade, or carry the torrential heat of fire within it.
But in this case…
'…what is this talent's origin? Can it even be called a talent?'
Deep within his body, he could feel the presence of the ball of light, pulsing faintly, almost calling out to him. With nothing more than a flicker of intent, the talent would activate.
Shaking his head, he refocused and deliberately ignored it. He didn't have time for this.
It was unfortunate that he hadn't received a talent he could make use of in his upcoming death sentence, but at this point, what good would complaining do?
He'd understood the depth of Fate's unfairness years ago.
PAH! PAH! PAH!
He grabbed the remaining balls of light one after another, manifesting the items of his pack in quick succession, just as the changes within his body reached their zenith.
To his shock, the mage guide, the ten First Circle Diamond spells, and the spell template ball of light all shattered into motes of azure radiance, fusing directly into his head, and his very mind.
A flood of information crashed into his consciousness, vast and overwhelming.
But just like with everything else, he forcibly split his focus, pushing the torrent aside for later, and refocusing on the present.
The last two items of his pack now rested in his hands.
The first was a set of scholar's robes, not unlike those worn by the little witch he'd faced before. White silk pants, contrasted by a wide-bodied white tunic, its gold collar gleaming faintly, cloud patterns etched delicately into its sleeves.
There were also boots, gloves, and a silver inner compression shirt.
From touch alone, he could tell it was of the highest quality.
The screen that appeared next only confirmed it.
—
[Item: Flawless Scholar Set — {Diamond — Growth}
~>Details: A set of gear crafted by a forgotten weaver, a renowned rune master, and a stubborn mage, born to adorn the frame of a pristine and budding young scholar.
•>Enchantments: Flawless Flow, Scholar's Halo, Swift Glide, Scholar's World Theory, Mending Might
…
>Enchantment: Flawless Flow
~>Details: Once adorned, the scholar set harmonises with the wearer's aether flow, perfecting it and mimicking the function of an aether circuit, enhancing arcane prowess tenfold and greatly improving efficiency.
~Note(I): Once the wearer eventually forms or gains an aether circuit, this enchantment will evolve.
…
>Enchantment: Scholar's Halo
~>Details: Allows the wearer's mind to handle mental strain more easily, with the burden of spell casting largely offloaded to the set. First to Fifth Circle spells can be offloaded by up to ninety percent.
~Note(I): Beyond the Fifth Circle of spell casting, the enchantment will evolve.
…
>Enchantment: Swift Glide
~>Details: Through the scholar's boots, ambient aether is used as a gliding platform. Friction is reduced and the realms of swiftness are opened to the wearer. The mage becomes agile, mobile, and fast, shoring up one of a mage's greatest weaknesses—close combat.
…
>Enchantment: Scholar's World Theory
~>Details: Allows most damage sustained by the wearer to be redirected to any target they designate using their aether. To set a target, the wearer must form an aether knot within the subject.
…
>Enchantment: Mending Might
~>Details: The scholar's set repairs itself over time and is bound to the mage's core. As long as the core remains intact, the set will eventually reemerge.
•The set also grows alongside the mage's core, with a slim possibility of one day shattering the barriers of the Diamond Grade and surging beyond.]
—
Uriel's lip twitched as he read the details of the set, his thoughts drifting back to the battering he'd taken at the little witch's hands, and to Lirik's cruelty.
For a brief moment, he almost considered checking the rest of his rewards. If this was merely the pack, then what about everything he'd earned from the cloud trial?
Surely, it had to be extraordinary.
But he shut the idea down just as quickly. He already knew what he intended to do with his remaining time.
Finally, his gaze settled on the last item of his pack.
It was… a piece of paper.
…
[Name: Mage Tool Template
>Template Type: Hybrid
>Grade: Silver
~>Details: Use this template to design and create a Silver-grade mage tool bound to your core, with up to three Silver-grade enchantments and one Gold-grade enchantment.]
…
Uriel exhaled slowly.
He closed his eyes, weighing the rewards he'd received, his ideas, his goals, and a dozen other interlocking factors.
Then he nodded to himself.
'It's doable.'