บท 80: The Kobold Soul
"Congrats girl, you are a Knight now," Hestia said with a broad smile as she welcomed the two young people coming out of the arena.
The screams and cheers could be heard through the sturdy walls behind them. The match might have ended abruptly but it caused even more chaos than any other fight ever.
"Thanks," Althea said stiffly, causing Hestia to raise her brow.
"Nothing personal against you. She just considers it a loss against Clannad," Hex explained with a grin, earning a disgruntled look from the girl beside him.
"Well, I can understand that but making the top five is less impressive than breaking through to the Knight stage at such a young stage. Now I am worried you will surpass me in no time," Hestia laughed as she put her arms around Althea and dragged her into a hug of sorts.
"I wanted to beat him so badly but I did what I could do to get out of the situation. Suddenly my body was filled with heat and the energy accumulated throughout the years burst out," Althea said, letting out a sigh.
She then turned towards Hex. "I guess you will have to face four of them on your own. You better try to reach the third Blessing in the coming two days."
Althea was referring to the following two days the Squires were free from the tournament. In these two days, the Knights would participate to determine the finalist.
On the third day, they would first have the rumble to crown the champion of the Squire division, followed by the final in which the champion from the Knight division would be determined.
"She is right," Hestia chimed in. "None of the four are weak. One on one I don't see anyone being much stronger than you but this will be four against one. And I bet that those four are adept in working together."
Hex nodded in agreement. He knew it wouldn't be easy but he wasn't afraid. His path would lead to enemies far more dangerous and situations far more unfavorable than this. If he chickened out now, he would be better off scavenging inside the chasms and crevices.
While talking they had already entered the coach Hestia had brought with her.
"I am working on it. But how can Clannad use so much ice elemental power? Even with a special constitution, it shouldn't be possible, right? It even left burning marks on her," Hex asked, pointing to Althea's arms. They were covered in ice burns.
"True. I haven't seen even many Knights who were capable of wielding such potent elemental energy. I guess you will need the baron's advice with this one." Hestia gave Hex a wry smile. She knew the baron and Hex didn't talk too much with each other.
"Yeah, I will talk to him," Hex said with a reassuring smile. Others might think they were on bad terms but Hex knew that whenever he had asked for advice so far, he had received it.
'It's not always clear and concise. Hell, often he is so cryptic I suspect he is faking being an expert. But his advice has given me the best growth in such a short time.'
Although it seemed like ages, Hex had barely been a few months under the baron's tutelage yet he was strong enough to face opponents who had at least six years more experience than him.
Hex believed that he could grow enough in the coming two days to give those four a good beating.
'Just two days more, Clannad. The name of the winner will be written in blood.'
…
"The Glaciaborn Technique?" Hex asked without masking his shock. "Is it a technique exclusive to members of their family?"
Hex pressed on to hear a proper explanation. He was alone with the baron inside his study.
When they arrived at the castle he split from Hestia and Althea. The ladies went to look for Lira to get Althea's wounds treated while Hex searched for the baron.
Whether it was by luck or it was deliberate, Hex found the baron in the first place he looked for, the study. After describing Clannad's performance, he received a three-word answer. But it wasn't enough. Hex needed more.
It took a while but the baron finally put whatever he was reading down and started to answer his question.
"Yes, the Glaciaborn technique was developed by an ancestor of theirs. It allows a person with an ice-related constitution to bond with the soul of a beast with a similar element.
This grants the user control and power over the element above their rank. In exchange, they offer a symbiotic relationship with the beast soul." The baron explained in his usual deadpan way.
"That is too broken, isn't it?" Hex asked with a frown. It was already impressive to be able to wield elemental power as a Squire but on top of it, Clannad had access to the beast's assistance. Hex clearly remembered the scales on Clannad's arms and necks. Who knew what other advantages it had?
"You think the technique is impressive?" Although the expression on the baron's face hadn't changed, Hex could have sworn he had seen disdain in his master's eyes. Disdain for the technique.
"The beast's soul resides in the same space as the user's soul. It retains its bloodlust and risk of going berserk. And when the user shows even the tiniest of weakness it will try to devour the soul of its partner. From your description, it nearly happened today. Conrad didn't step in to enforce the rules. I am sure he came to stop the beast from devouring his grandson's soul."
Hearing the drawbacks made Hex understand why his master disdained the technique. No matter how much his power would improve, Hex would never want to risk losing his soul.
The explanation also made him realize how he could counter the technique.
"So if I manage to weaken Clannad, will the beast devour him? And I just have to kill a wild beast in a human body?" Hex started to look forward to it. Killing his opponent with his own technique.
He knew it wouldn't be easy. It was probably why Conrad went for a rumble to decide the champion. He could prevent weakening Clannad as he would have time to recuperate if required while the others held the opponent back.
"Yes, but I don't want you to simply kill the beast's soul," the baron said, looking at Hex.
"What do you mean?" Hex asked, confused.
"That beast soul should be of the Ice Kobold at the Disaster stage, living at the edge of the inner mountains."
"Disaster-stage?" Hex stood agape. He would never have guessed that his old rival had the balls to fight a Disaster-stage beast and even carry its soul inside him.
"Yes. And you are nearly ready to become a triple Blessed. I think fusing the Ice Kobold with your Bear soul will create a nice surprise."
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