Chương 73: Chapter 74: New Attunement (II)

A ball of searing, red-hot flame swirled above Ember's palm, its form shifting as he manipulated the weaving. After Dawn taught him the weave for a Fireball, Ember had no trouble picking it up within a couple of tries. However, his control over this new attunement didn't feel as intimate as kinetic force or even Mind, the attunement he was least proficient in. Well, he had only just awakened it a few hours ago, and through a foreign element at that.

According to Dawn, there was a price to pay for forcibly growing an attunement without much organic practice. He would need to dedicate a significant amount of time to make his fire weaving as proficient as kinetic force, even though their numbers were similar. Ember didn't mind. As far as he was concerned, he had gotten a new toy to play with. He wouldn't mind spending hours and days, or even weeks, discovering all its quirks and taming the new power.

The only issue was the constant mana expenditure required to keep a fire spell alight. Well, at least he wouldn't need to hold fire spells as he had to in kinetic weavings to build up power. Fire attunement was the most straightforward. The greater the mana, the stronger the spell. The weavings were not as complex, either, though he had to burn a lot of Will for the fire spell to be worthwhile.

At least that was true to make the fire more concentrated, more threatening, or else it wouldn't even hurt a Level 5 Mirewood Toad. He hadn't yet begun cultivating fire-attuned mana after absorbing the fire crystal, so he couldn't say how hard it would be. Though from what he had observed so far, it was likely much easier in comparison to mind attunement, but not as effortless as kinetic force.

After he absorbed the fire crystal, they started moving again, intending to find a way out of the goblin dungeon as soon as possible. Dawn advised him against absorbing more crystals immediately. Although there was little chance of anything going amiss, she suggested he become more familiar with his fire attunement before trying his hand at another element. While his mana foundation was solid, it was still in the early phase. Gaining too many attunements and forcing their growth too quickly might destabilise it.

So, he decided to practise fire spells for a couple of days before turning his attention to wind or strengthening his kinetic force. They moved non-stop through the deeper layer of the dungeon, with him practising various shapes of fire spells. While his practice was bearing fruit, navigating their way out seemed to be more of a debacle than either of them imagined. The region was far too vast for them to stumble upon the exit point easily.

Adding the previous two days, they had covered close to sixty kilometres without finding a way out. Dawn was a little peeved, but she still didn't forget to offer advice every time he stumbled in his practice. They encountered a few packs of goblins at every couple of turns. Ember dealt with them alone. With one of the Fire Staff still intact, he decided to put it to use, while figuring out what 'inefficient' meant in Dawn's dictionary.

It was certainly powerful, capable of augmenting his barely harmful fireballs into Tier 4 spells, sizzling through the ranks of goblins and reducing them to burned charcoal. As for the mana cost, it was a tad bit inefficient, burning mana even quicker than his wand. For the first time in this expedition, Ember had to almost deplete all his mana reserves to take care of a dozen odd goblins.

True, they were a little stronger than what he had seen so far, but he was talking about a hundred breaths of mana, not to mention he too had grown in strength since Advancing to Tier 6. His pure Might might only be slightly lower than a Tier 5 hobgoblin's. In a fistfight, the difference was so minuscule that it might not even be apparent with his superior speed. Thankfully, there seemed to be no shortage of goblins to test what he had gained from his advancement.

After casting a rejuvenation spell on him, Dawn kept to herself, watching him break through their ranks like a proud mother hen.

"I don't know if I am qualified to advise you in swordsmanship," she interjected, landing beside him as he wiped his new blade.

"But I feel you're overly reliant on your mana with your sword. You did break through their numbers like a battering ram..." She struggled for a moment to find the right words.

"What I am saying is that you pour an excessive amount of mana into the blade when a little finesse would have been enough." This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Ember furrowed his brows.

"It's still comparable to what I spend on spells." Of course, the expenditure would be lower once he became more comfortable with the Tier 6 blade, but that didn't seem to be what she was referring to.

"You want me to find weaknesses in their forms and overpower them by taking advantage of them. While I do agree with that idea, when fighting several enemies simultaneously, it is better to cut down their numbers as early as possible."

"No, it's the way you channel mana through the blade," she said, hesitating.

"There is nothing wrong with being overly reliant on mana, since it is where you excel, but you could become more efficient if you awakened an attunement related to the sword." She registered how she sounded and quickly tried to reassure him.

"Well, considering everything you already have on your shoulders, perhaps it's best to just concentrate on mana for now." That gave Ember pause. While initially he had little interest in swordsmanship, now he could see how useful it could be in a fight. And not just a buffer for him to weave another spell. Perhaps he shouldn't ignore practising with the sword anymore.

Fighting against several groups of goblins had been enlightening as the skill levelled up, but little seemed to have changed in how he used his mana through the sword. I guess my problem is that I have too much to spare with the sword.

"I will give it some thought," he told her.

"I only mentioned it because I see you have a genuine talent for it."

"Talent?" Ember hummed.

"Mhm, I don't really think so. The little proficiency I have came from my grandfather beating the lessons into my bones and muscle memory. And he never forgot to tell me how awful I was with my forms, or how I would die fighting the first tough opponent I met."

"Hmm, your grandfather sounds a lot like mine."

"I very much doubt it." She shot him a meaningful glance.

"Has your grandpa ever thrown you among hungry wolves as a reward for learning a skill too quickly?" Ember turned to face her, his eyes widening in horror.

"No," he said, scrutinising her.

"My father would have chewed him alive if he ever tried." Dawn nodded and continued ahead, as though somewhat disappointed. Was she trying trauma bonding or something? He chased after her and tentatively asked, "Were you really thrown among savage wolves?"

"It's nothing serious," she said.

"I was almost your age, and Grandpa had given me everything I required to survive. You could say it was one of the coming-of-age rituals from where I'm from." Yeah, but coming-of-age rituals usually happen at fifteen, after someone has gained their class. Well, considering what he had seen of her so far, perhaps she had no trouble dealing with those savage wolves.

"My grandpa isn't bad, if that's what you're thinking," she added.

"Yeah, I don't think mine is, either. He just decides on the things he feels are best for others." Ember couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"I don't know," Dawn said.

"It feels like you need to have a heart-to-heart talk with your grandpa." Among the few people he knew, after his father, perhaps only his grandfather truly understood the life of an Ascendant. He couldn't say his relationship with the old codger was close, though the old man certainly had his moments. His father had only taught him the basics, whereas Timber Blackstone had forced him through everything that was required. Perhaps if not for those strict lessons, he wouldn't have endured against the basilisk.

Of course, Timber Blackstone wasn't without fault. What Ember detested most was how cynical he could be, and his disregard for anything but power. They found more goblins along their path. Ember tried his hand against them a couple more times before deciding to avoid them. After covering only a few more miles, they came across one of the goblins' dwellings, which explained why there were so many goblins around there. The goblin village was not what he had imagined or even read about.

It was more akin to how the dwarves lived in the mines and stone halls from The Lord of the Rings, though the goblins were far less civilised, and their sense of hygiene, so far from what he had seen, was terribly lacking. Massive, broken structures were built upon the stone walls; most of them failed to stand the test of time. Though more of the massive structures were still bearing their head proudly.

The fire torches were too far apart for him to recognise the finer craftsmanship carved on the surface, but the work was definitely too intricate and too aesthetically pleasing to be created by those dirty spawns.

"Those are far too old to have been made by the goblins," Dawn agreed. Using the Shadowy Veil, she led him through massive stone arches, avoiding any contact with the goblin guards on duty. She stopped before a colossal statue. A four-armed statue of a deific figure, though only three remained, each held a sword, a shield, and a bow. Time had weathered its features enough that neither of them could recognise much of it, though it didn't seem like something the goblins would worship.

"Perhaps they migrated here after the original residents left." They didn't linger, despite the many fascinating structures surrounding them. They pushed through another series of dwellings, once again avoiding contact as they traversed to the other side. However, even after passing through dozens of archways and stone tunnels, all they found were dead ends.

"I fear we might be heading in the wrong direction," she said. And they had changed directions a number of times already. The only direction they had avoided so far was where the battle between the basilisk and the goblins seemed to be raging.

"Well, let's just sneak around and see if we can slip by without any of them noticing."