Born in Blood

Chapter 40: Stars

Liam often used the comfort of stargazing in his first life to cope with reality.

The constellations seemed to bring peace to his heart for some strange reason – the vastness of the universe reminded him of his insignificant existence, and even more so his insignificant difficulties.

The word 'celestial' seemed to stir up memories Liam had long forgotten, and his eyes couldn't hide those solemn emotions.

In a way, he had an unrequited relationship with the heavenly bodies. But now… he felt as though he could touch them.

He shifted his gaze towards the sky.

It was still daytime, and there were practically no stars in the azure space. Yet that didn't deter Liam from staring right at them, knowing they stared back.

'I will touch the stars... or die trying.'

Lloyd kept his silence for Liam to process what he heard. After a while, he spoke with a grave tone.

"...Do you know what this means?"

His teacher's firm words took Liam out of his stupor.

The seriousness of his tone made Liam just as stern. It took barely a moment for Liam to think of an answer.

He inwardly cursed.

"Will the nobles stop me from progressing?"

Lloyd gave him a shrug, prompting Liam to sigh.

"They most probably will, but might not. Since you're from House Royce, there's a chance they might see your talents and bring you into their family - as a soldier or something a bit higher ranked.

"Although, there's probably a slim chance of being recognized as a main family member."

Liam clicked his tongue. "What if I keep my awakening hidden? When it's a little less impressive, I can reveal it to them."

Lloyd solemnly shook his head. "Where would you get your succeeding techniques then? More importantly, the second Psionic Rune? Are you content with sitting around and wasting your time?"

Liam grimaced. His face turned pensive as he thought about what to do.

He leaned towards revealing his awakening straight away.

In the first place, he didn't mind taking a risk if it meant he could get stronger faster. His usage of unorthodox methods were a perfect example of that.

But he had to tread lightly. It could just as easily backfire and blow up in his face - the nobles could stunt his growth if they see him as a threat.

"I'll have to take a leap of faith. I'll just have to impress them enough to take me in." Liam finally spoke.

"But not now. I'll wait at least two weeks and spend as much as I can on mental energy restoration pills. That way I'll have an alibi of sorts."

Moreover, he could spend that time focusing on forging as well as completing missions - not to mention progress his body even further.

Lloyd nodded in response, a bit taken aback by his student's cunning. "You're growing too fast for your own good, kid."

Liam chuckled. "I do have a great teacher. Though he is a bit of a maniac."

"You've got a point. I guess that's where you get it from" Lloyd laughed, before taking out what looked like a scroll from his ring.

"Take this and memorize it. As a Rank-1 magus, you can now use spells."

Liam's eyes stuck to the scroll like glue, and he instantly grabbed it and opened its contents.

Like the previous spells he had inspected, the metal scroll had glowing diagrams – resembling a mix of runes and inscriptions – covering its surface.

After thirty minutes, Liam memorized the spell diagrams, and those exact writings appeared on his mental sphere walls.

"Try using it." Lloyd called out. "The name of the spell is 'Fleeting Foot'. It's only Rank-1, and basically makes you move faster."

Liam nodded. With a thought, the runes in his mind started to buzz – consuming a chunk of mental energy – and causing a yellow glow to envelop his hands and feet.

Instantly, he unsheathed his blades and started to swing them – each of its movements a barely visible flicker.

He practiced his leg movements too, and his body was incredibly fast, turning into a blur.

The effect lasted for 15 seconds, before eventually dissipating, giving Liam a small headache in the process.

"Neat. I don't suppose it lasts longer?"

Lloyd shook his head. "That's the spell's limit. You should only use it during emergencies, or sure-kill moments."

"How much did it cost?" Liam curiously questioned.

Lloyd let out a wry sigh. "Spells are expensive, even more than techniques. I've sold most of mine already, and that's the only one I have.

"It cost me 375 merit points to get from the guild. Still, I was fairly weak at the time, so I couldn't complete high stakes missions."

Liam's eyes widened at those words.

Even with all his savings, he barely made it past 240 points - which could land him a decent Rank-2 or even Rank-3 technique.

But nearly 400 points for a Rank-1 spell was ridiculously overpriced. Not to mention, it only made him faster.

"It's normal. Spells exponentially boost a cultivator's prowess and can express their power fully - especially through their mental spheres and cores. The body is often underestimated.

"Prepare for the next few months well. You'll need every bit of help you can get. Reach out if you need anything."

Lloyd threw a Jade Liam's way, which he had already explained how to use a moment prior – before departing ways.

Liam heaved a long sigh.

'I need to meet Revel.'