章節 15: Chapter Fourteen: Don't Judge by Appearance
Ragna's consciousness returned to his body, the mental space vanishing and the courtyard of the Royal palace appearing as he opened his eyes. Ragna felt so jubilant, so happy, and whole with the presence of a core within him. This was what he had been waiting for. He felt the Essence within his core, the leftover dregs from his core formation. It was enough for Ragna to channel throughout his body, strengthening his muscles, bones, and nerves. He felt a familiar rush of strength go through his body, and his psychic energy became brighter and stronger from his core formation. It was finally complete. All the pieces necessary for true cultivation. Ragna checked his surroundings noticing those who had received a Rune and those who hadn't. He looked at Helga his cousin, who seemed to have claimed a Diamond tier Rune, a fitting outcome for someone of her blood. He turned to his companions, Anders and Torvi who seemed to have been bestowed a Gold tier Rune. Ragna noticed that all of them were sitting in a lotus position meditating as they tried to achieve what he had already achieved. Becoming a Rune Novice. The true starting period of cultivation. Watching him was Fulla, the Spirit who also embodied the Rune tree's will. Ragna could tell what she was thinking. The shock and confusion on her face was very obvious. He bet she felt insulted that he had refused her better offerings and went for the lowest one. But why should Ragna explain himself to her? He turned his attention away from her and over to his mother and Aksel who were smiling and glad to see him safe. The people there both the Nobles and the commoners looked upon Ragna and wondered what tier of talent he would possess for he was the son of the Storm breaker, the Princess of their Kingdom.
"Prince Ragna, you should do like the others and begin gathering the Essence within yourself," One of the Vikings who was close to Ragna said to him.
"There's no need for that," Ragna said. "I already formed my Core," Everyone there gasped in shock upon the absurd notion Ragna had said out loud. Some of the Nobles began to snicker, thinking that the Prince must truly be a bumpkin if he thought he could fool them all.
"So what's your talent? What tier of Rune did the Spirit grant you," Thorvald the Elder said. He was the Father of Thorvald Bjornson.
"Iron tier Rune," Ragna said. There was a burst of laughter from the Nobles as they couldn't stand the ridiculousness of Ragna whether he was a Prince or not. An Iron tier talent already formed his core. What bullshit was the Prince spewing? Ragna didn't care for their laughter ignoring them as he went over to his Mom and Aksel. Bestla already knowing that Ragna did not need to lie tapped her feet on the ground. Just that tap was enough to send a precise Pressure strike through the ground, hitting each of the Nobles who dared to laugh at her son. They all fell, the dud of their heart against their chest as the pressure overwhelmed them. Ragna had seen and felt what his mother did and was quite surprised at it.
The level of Essence control to do something like that would be enormous He thought. Now that Ragna's Core was formed, his Internal sense could still not sense the level of power that higher-level beings possess without their permission, but at that moment, Ragna realized the true depth of his mother's strength. She astronomically was levels above him. In his current state, even if he were to draw out the power of his transcendent soul, Ragna would not last much against her in a battle of attrition. That was how powerful she was. The rest of the Nobles fell quiet as they did not want to experience the same trouble their colleagues had gone through. Ragna waited alongside his mother as they waited for the others to begin their Essence gathering. It didn't take long for Ragna's cousin, Hvisterk to be the first to form his core. When he stood up from his lotus position, Hvisterk was surprised to see Ragna already up and about. He was even shocked to find out that Ragna had gotten an Iron tier Rune and formed his core before even him who had received a Diamond tier Rune.
'You seem so full of surprises cousin," Hvisterk said to Ragna. He could feel the presence of a core in his cousin so he knew he wasn't lying about it. Those Nobles who had doubted Ragna, if only they had used their internal sense to scan Ragna, they would have realized he was speaking the truth and would not have suffered for laughing at Bestla's son. What was more, Hvisterk could sense the tier of the Rune he had which in a way felt just as strong as the Diamond tier Rune Hvisterk had.
Father was right. Don't judge these people by appearance. Hvisterk thought as his eyes landed on the Nobles still suffering from the attack Bestla had laid on them. Soon enough each of the newly awakened began to open their eyes and stood up from the lotus position. Not all of them were ready as some were still struggling to form Essence within their soul and form a core. As such they would have to wait for the others.
"So have you figured out your Aspect yet," Bestla said to her son. Aspects were Inherent abilities one manifested from being a Cultivator. But not all Cultivators manifested one at the beginning of their Cultivation journey. Aspects were something one gradually developed and formed according to how one views and understands oneself and their relationship with the world. It was similar to the Ability factor in his former world. But there were instances when one could immediately manifest an Aspect due to the bloodline one was born from. Or how talented one was in Cultivation. Ragna smiled as he raised his hand and golden lightning crackled over his fingers. This power was familiar to Ragna as it was the same power he had inherited from his former family's bloodline in his previous world. This power seemed to be accepted and compatible with the structure of this world. Also, because this power originated from a more powerful world than this one, Ragna noticed that the essence expenditure was very low.
Even though my physical genes are different in this body, my Celestial soul influenced how my Aspect would be like, Ragna made some conjectures in his mind as he felt the power influence Space around him. He smiled at how easily the Space reacted to the energy. Universes comprised more than just the Natural elemental forces like Water, Fire, Earth, and Wind or the Esoteric elements like Light, Darkness, Space, and Time. There were also the Fundamental Elemental forces that held the Universe together. These Forces such as Gravity force, Radiant force, Strong force, and Weak force were glues that kept the world in balance and stable. And the power to influence all four of these forces was the energy that crackled before Ragna's fingertip. His former family called this power Grace. But Ragna felt like giving it a new name in this new world. An image of someone from his past rose in his mind. The only person he had ever loved in his life. One of the few things he regretted and held tight in his heart. Ragna blinked in shock as a single tear ran down his eyes. It had to be known that Ragna's memories of his past life were still intact but he lacked an emotional attachment to those memories. Memories that he treated like a repository of knowledge and experience to help him in this new world. But the memory of Phoebus rose in his mind. An image of a beautiful radiant smile that had comforted him in a period of darkness. Millennial years had passed and Ragna would always remember that smile and what it meant to him.
"Phoebus," Ragna muttered as he felt the golden light dance through his fingers as tiny orbs. Bestla noticed the strange orbs that were floating around Ragna's fingers, her senses noticing the way the space around it reacted to it. She felt the laws of the electromagnetic spectrum bend to those light, but more than that she felt the other forces being influenced by it.
The Lothbrok bloodline Aspect gives one control of the Electromagnetic energy, but this is more than that. Bestla said to herself. It's like a stronger version of it. While Aspects were abilities woven into one's body, the way one applied them in the physical world beyond their body was different from how another with the same Aspect would apply it. This method was known as Rune technique in this world. Ragna dismissed the light feeling good about the result of his Awakening. He turned to his Mother and was about to answer his Mother when-
"AARRGHH!"
There was a scream among those who were still meditating, one of the Awakened was laid out on the ground, grabbing his neck as his body shook and bent, his skin forming blisters and boils that began to leak out black liquids that felt like corrupted Essence. Everyone around him ran away keeping their distance as the boy shook wildly, losing control of the flow of Essence in his body, his mind breaking apart due to the poison that had seeped into his being. Two guards who were keeping an eye on the ceremony, and for any sign of danger rushed forth, their weapons drawn and ready to deal with the threat. The boy-his skin turned black, and his fingers elongated into claws, reaching seven feet and one inch, with his spine breaking through with sharp blade-like ridges- roared releasing a pulse of Essence that blasted the warriors away like rag dolls. Ragna didn't hesitate, moving so fast by channeling Essence within his leg's muscles and tendons, bursting past the guards as they were flung backward. As he moved past one of them, he grabbed the guard's sword and saw the boy release another wave of Essence.
[Phoebus: Starlight Cross]
Ragna activated his Rune technique, the light stretching space itself like an elastic sheet, spatial pathways opened up within Ragna's internal sight, these pathways allowed for instant crossing over long distance to any predetermined location. And the location Ragna chose was the one behind the boy who was turning. With a swift slash of the blade coated with Essence, Ragna cleaved the head from the body, instantly killing the boy before he completed his corruption. Ragna moved his leg aside as the blood dropped on the greenery ground, staining it blood red. Across the crowds who were watching the ceremony, a woman screamed and ran to the front of the crowd, pushing them aside as she ran to the corpse.
"UBBA! UBBA! Why? Why? He could have fought it off," the woman looked up at Ragna with red puffy eyes. Ragna saw her tears and he understood why she cried. But instead of letting it affect him, he easily brushed the guilt aside.
"He was too far gone," Ragna said.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票