Chapter 657: A Simple Task

Chapter 657: A Simple Task

Combat splitting? Dallion thought as he was being attacked.

It wasnt exactly an attack. The large boy was just trying to slap him in the face. The attack was well executed. All three instances approached from different directions in an attempt to catch him off guard. There was a time when such an attack would have been troublesome. Not now, though.

Dallion moved to avoid all attacks without even resorting to splitting. He didnt even stand up, continuing to eat, while his opponent desperately tried to hit him. If a grownup would see, theyd call this outright bullying. As far as Dallion knew his traits were five times higher than those of the child, maybe more. Of course, that didnt stop Phoil from persisting.

Get him! the boy shouted, splitting into five instances.

Someones been training, Dallion thought.

The rest of Phoils posse joined in, each of them splitting into anywhere between two and four instances. A multitude of instances filled the section of the dining room. All but a few of the other children looked in the direction, observing the fight. Normally, such behavior would be looked down on, but since no magic was involved, there didnt seem to be any mages running in to break it up.ber, no force splitting, Nil reminded. In fact, it might be better if you dont split at all.

Dallion sighed. He didnt have to. The only thing the boys childish attempts had achieved was preventing him from finishing his dinner. Against half a dozen opponents, Dallion had no choice but to move around. Even so, he continued to only evade attacks, in the hopes that the children would notice the difference in levels and stop. Unfortunately, they only took that as a sign of weakness on his part. Overconfidence was emanating from all of them to the point that there was nothing else.

Two jumped on the table, attempting him to reach him with sweeping kicks. Their instances collided, causing both of them to fade away.

They arent even coordinating. Dallion stepped to the side, avoiding a series of punches from Phoil. Dozens of guard sequences were available to him, should he choose to use his skills. Part of him wanted to do so, just to teach the arrogant brats a lesson. A little pain could be just what they needed to get rid of their bad habits. Then again, fear could be just as motivating a factor.

Striking multiple times faster, Dallion removed a few of their valuable trinkets without them even noticing. He was about to do more when the instances suddenly faded away. It was a force splitting, but not one that Dallion had initiated.

Youre interrupting my dinner, a black-haired boy said; the same that had raised his hand after Dallion in class.

Everyone instantly stopped, looking at him with fear. The expression was enough to tell Dallion that was the child of an archduke. Only someone of such lineage would impose such an amount of fear and respect.

Related to an archduke and a mage. Hell definitely go far, Dallion thought.

Sorry, Phoil said. He just

Hes a hunter, which means he can beat you up any way he wants.

The larger boys posse looked at one another. Phoil himself hesitated a few seconds before turning around and quickly leaving the room.

Thanks, Dallion said, glancing at what was left of his dinner. Part was kicked off the table during the fight. Funnily enough, an apple remained.

You dont owe me one, the black-haired said. But still, my mother would still like to hire your services at some point.

Dallion stood up, turned to the rest of the class, then repeated the process. What was more, he partially split into six instances, having his hands pull the magic out then put it back in again from each of the other five sides of the cube.

Half of the children gasped, some frowned, and onethe black-haired noblecopied him, though without the combat splitting.

Sir, whats the point of putting magic back into items? Phoil asked. Why not use it on the spot?

Because there might not be magic where you are, the instructor explained. Extracting magic and storing it into a container ensures you get to use it at a later point. More importantly, though, the same method is used for adding magic to yourself.

Reaching behind the podium, the fury took out a sturdy wooden box. Opening it, revealed a series of small golden disks. Even from this distance, Dallion could instantly tell two things: the objects were abundant in magic, and they were also artifacts from a past age.

This, the instructor took one of the disks, is a magic enhancer. They were used in the past to increase the magic of a person, similar to awakening items. Needless to say, they are rather valuable. They have one drawback: they cannot increase the magic trait of a person above five. He took a few steps forward, placing the item in front of Dallion. As novices, youll be given one once you manage to achieve what Dal has. Anything else needs to be earned through excellence.

Now that the item was closer, it became obvious that the item was in fact made of crystal. The cold was nothing more than an outside ring, wrapped around the glowing purple core.

Carefully, Dallion picked it up. It was cold and pleasantly heavy. Its flat surface made extracting the magic a lot easier than the cube. However, there was no indication of how to ingest the magic once it was out.

Dont worry, the instructor continued. The artifact has a safeguard. You wont be able to exhaust the item without consuming its magic. And please dont try to eat it. It wont work.

I suppose I must figure this out on my own as well? Dallion looked at the other side of the disk.

That goes without saying, dear boy. The only thing I can guarantee is that the results will be a lot more satisfying.

Dallion chuckled, then proceeded to grab and pull out the magic thread from the item. The experience was no different from extracting it from the magic cube. Still holding the end with two fingers, Dallion bent them inwards, so the thread touched his palm, then used his other hand to try and pull it through. Apparently, living tissue reacted differently than inorganic matter.

Youre overthinking things again, Nil said. Just do what comes naturally.

Yeah, right, Dallion grumbled. As a seventy-seven level awakened, he didnt want to start from scratch, even if he had to. If he were to progress smoothly, though, he had to let go of all of his pre-conceptions and start from a blank slate. It was logical to assume that everything needed to consume magic had already been taught. It couldnt be finding it, since that presented no challenge right now. Pulling out magic was obviously involved, just as was pulling it in.

Dallion let go of the thread. Instantly, it went back into the artifact.

I need to focus my own magic to touch it, he said to himself. And magic to pull it out.

His own magic went up to his fingers, then into the item as he grabbed it. So far, so good. If he were an object, hed need to find a way to pull it through himself. However, since his own magic prevented it from physically doing so

No, Dallion whispered. Could it be so simple? It seemed absurd, but since this was a childs task, he decided to give it a go.

SPHERE ITEM AWAKENING