The next three weeks passed quickly. With no threat to my life, I could finally focus on recovering. The flesh wounds were the first to recover. Phoenix fire and Accelerated Regeneration serums worked wonders on the body, pushing me back to peak shape within the week.

  After two weeks, the last damage done to the bonds was mended, each soulshare stronger than it had been before the incident with the Bakurean. As great a windfall as such growth was, I would much rather have intact and unscathed bonds.

  The weave took the longest to heal. I hadn’t realized how severe the harm was, nor how narrowly I had escaped permanently crippling it. Death would have been worse than damaging the weave forever, but I was grateful I hadn’t been faced with either.

  Instead of death or being crippled, I was given the opportunity to spend weeks in an overabundance of ether to rest, research, and work out. Utilizing the gains promised by the Aspect Ring alongside rapid soul energy recovery from the Accelerated Regeneration serums and high-intensity workouts, I managed to push my World further than ever. Watching my inner World grow far beyond what I deemed possible two years ago filled me with elation. Yet, it was the physical gains and the other changes occurring in and around the inner World that played a much greater role.

  It only took me three weeks to finish the first stage of the Fortress technique found in the deepest depths of Kazriel’s library.

  It was cumbersome, but useful. Or so I hoped.

  A semi-translucent structure adorned with silvery sparks had taken hold around my World. More precisely, it was a silvery sphere that coated the World like a second skin. Conjuring the sphere strand by strand, funneling ether and mental energy into the inner World’s surface, had only been the first step.

  To complete the first stage of the defensive technique, it required an anchor: a fortress connecting the strands and binding the World to the sphere. The final goal of the technique, Fortress, was to intertwine the World with the sphere completely, merging the technique with the inner World itself. As risky as it was–every flaw in execution could result in damage–Fortress was the strongest technique in Ruler Kazriel’s library. At least, I believed it to be.

  There were numerous Weaponmaster techniques, a few Master Arts and Styles, and many more scrolls containing powerful Body Tempering and World refinement techniques I wished I’d discovered earlier. Not for myself, but for Daniel, Sophie, and the others. They would profit tremendously from the treasures hidden within the onyx ring.

  Alas, I had to set those techniques aside to pass on later. Once I was back.

  Considering how useless the Body Tempering techniques were to me, I put them aside entirely. I double- and triple-checked the refinement techniques, only to realize that Blastor Refinery suited me best. It offered little benefit in exchange for tremendous strain, but the technique did not refine any elements, and that was precisely what made it valuable.

  Sophie and Daniel needed affinity-based refinement techniques to squeeze the most out of their Worlds. I, however, would only damage my World and push it into an affinity imbalance by focusing on one or two elements during refinement. Neutral was the correct approach for me, and it was good that way.

  Regardless, Fortress was the most suitable technique I could find. Forming the fortress and spherical strands required more than a thousand ether stones, or an equivalent amount of ether. With my core’s size, that would have taken months of work. Weeks spent doing nothing but drawing ether into my core to fuel the technique. Fortunately, I completed the first stage in three weeks without wasting a single ether stone.

  Now that the first stage was complete, I could take the next step and apply Fortress to the inner workings of the World. It was necessary to form a membrane to coat both the core and the soulshares, reinforcing and protecting them from invaders. This second layer of protection was something I considered crucial should Volca ever return.

  Fortress offered exceptional protection. It was nearly perfect, yet it was also incredibly expensive to practice and expand. Once the second stage was completed and the final step initiated, the membrane and spherical strands would become one with the World. They would expand alongside it, stretching thinner and growing weaker unless the practitioner continued to supply ether and mental energy to maintain and nurture Fortress.

  The expenditure would increase drastically once the World grew large enough to contain Guardian beasts, Overlords, or even Monarchs. Still, as troublesome as it promised to be in the future, I held Fortress in high regard. I deeply hoped the defensive technique would offer sufficient protection the next time a greater power prodded my World.

  That leaves the mind. I grunted inwardly, shuddering.

  Even after practicing the technique for two weeks, I couldn’t tell whether I had made the right choice. Strengthening the mind was crucial, but the technique itself was brutal, terrifying even. So much so that I regretted ever finding it. And the worst part? Three days had passed since I last practiced it, which meant my mind had recovered from the previous backlash. Or it should have. I still felt sluggish, but that was supposedly normal.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  Or so the book claimed. I wasn’t convinced the author cared much about mental health, or health in general.

  “Sadistic piece of shit,” I muttered quietly, shifting into a more comfortable position on the ground before practicing the Mindbreaker Shell once more.

  The technique revolved around forming a highly durable shell around the mind, but it was far from a conventional defense. Mindbreaker Shell relied entirely on mental energy. To form a shell composed of such energy, the mind itself had to be empowered to a considerable degree. Young Blessed were advised against practicing such techniques altogether, while older Blessed were warned of the damage that could occur during training.

  Regardless, I formed a shell from images that took shape in my mind. Rather than forming a dome-like structure, I imagined the shell as liquefied ether that coated my mind. It was flexible and stretched easily, following my mind’s every movement. Once the liquid covered my mind like a glove, I solidified it.

  The whole ordeal was odd at first. The sensation of something pressed against my brain was unnatural, but I got used to it fairly quickly. Not that it was necessary. The shell was fragile, offering little to no protection. That, however, was not why it was created.

  Mindbreaker Shell was a technique that strained the mind, pushing it to its very limit and beyond. The shell would grow into a firm and more dependable structure in the future. For now, it was more like a target at a shooting range.

  To practice Mindbreaker Shell properly, I had to attack the shell. I had to split my focus to defend and protect my mind from certain destruction while also trying to crush it. Doing so, attacking every inch of the shell, was suicidal, yet the technique promised great results, as long as the practitioner didn’t die.

  One way or another, Mindbreaker Shell was best used with an elemental Aspect. I had two at my disposal, but the stronger and more destructive element was the better choice. Hence, tiny explosions of mental energy, augmented by the Major Fire Aspect, jolted the mental shell.

  The first explosion did little damage, but their intensity increased ever so slightly with each attack. Blood pumped through my brain like crazy. A bad headache crept up the back of my head, and blood streamed down my nose. Teeth gritted, I pressed onward, pushing toward the completion of Mindbreaker Shell’s first stage, but the seventh explosion knocked me out cold.

  The shell cracked and fell apart, the sound of glass clattering on the ground echoing in my head. A curse slipped from my tongue, and I collapsed.

  Only a minute or two could have passed before I regained consciousness, certain my head was about to explode. The technique was damned, yet I resumed practicing it to finish the process I’d started – shattering the mind shell for good. Until the last bit of the shell fell apart, I wasn’t done. After all, its persistence meant I still had mental power left to keep the structure intact. That was not aligned with Mindbreaker Shell’s rules or the path to the strongest mind.

  Done practicing the devious technique, I opened the watch’s notes. Noting the day’s workout routine, my progress, and intensity, I compared the sensation I got from the last explosion with a forced smile.

  “The last attack was a little stronger than before.” Cocking my head to the side, I willed the experience from the first three practice runes of Mindbreaker Shell to mind. “It should have been about one percent more intense than last time. Probably less than that.”

  Without the proper ether devices, I couldn’t take any exact measurements. Regardless, the progress was acceptable, if not great.

  Are you ready? Because I am next!

  Aureus hollered in my sore mind, sounding a notch too excited.

  I groaned, rubbed my temples, and circulated phoenix fire through my head. Pure ether seeped into me with no resistance, courtesy of the lack of impurities in the air and the never-ending stream of ether circulating through the weave. Absorbing and annexing pure ether was barely worth my attention at this point. All I had to focus on was refilling the core and making sure I didn’t accidentally absorb too much ether, though that was difficult, near impossible, with leaking Gates and more than a dozen Gates that had yet to be filled and linked to the weave.

  Scrambling to my feet, I was greeted by vibrant golden irises charging at me. Aureus dove to the ground with more grace than a few weeks ago, yet he still crashed into me, barreling me back to the ground. Even if Aureus could change his weight, he was still heavy. His impact at close to top speed shook my innards, but it was the sudden change in gravity that truly affected me.

  It was like my weight increased more than fivefold, and it only seemed to worsen as I dragged my body upright. I pulled my legs back, palms pressed against the ground to push upward, but stumbled and fell as gravity intensified once more.

  Accessing the sub-aspect to reverse gravity alleviated some of the pressure, but my understanding of gravity was lackluster, and my mind was in shambles. It was not a fair fight. Sweat drenched my shirt as I succumbed in the struggle of minds and traits. Still, though I failed to reverse gravity back to normal, I stabilized it at five times and forced myself to my feet.

  With my superior physique at my disposal, I rose from the ground, smirking at Aureus. The Earthheart only snorted back, his eyes flicking behind me for a split second. Realizing he was up to no good, I rolled to the side, groaning as my concentration faltered. Aureus took advantage of that and doubled down.

  My weight increased once more, and I had to return to the mental battle. At the same time, a familiar Ferronox Mantis leaped at me, its scythes coming for my neck and heart.

  “You guys are teaming up against me?” I groaned, frustration threatening to swallow my exhaustion.

  Instead of growing annoyed with my Soulkins, I smiled. After all, it was none other than my own stupid ass who had allowed them to find ways to put more pressure on me–to work together and get to know one another for future battles.

  And now they were doing exactly that. They fought together to deal with me.

  It was just playful banter, but I couldn’t help but snort. I was not that easy to defeat.