With the addition of his three new abilities, Jon felt significantly more secure about ensuring his safety even when facing a stronger opponent. [False Spear Art; Concealed Spear Detonation] was in of itself quite the powerful offensive Spell.

Although Jon was unable to display the full strength of his Fragment Of Trap, given that [False Spear Art; Concealed Spear Detonation] scaled with the number of fragments integration into his Spear Mana Core, the fact that Jon could possess up to six instances of the Spell active at once improved some of the shortcomings that Jon was initially wary about.

It allowed Jon a degree of flexibility in his combat style, integrating ideas such as kiting and controlled retreats into his repertoire.

If Jon could lead an enemy into a location he had laid numerous instances of [False Spear Art; Concealed Spear Detonation], then he would be able to almost ensure his victory. The variation in his spear constructs was also quite the boon, although he felt as though he had just scratched the surface of its potential.

'That is ignoring the horrifying might of [Frozen End Art; Envelop Seas And Mountains In Ice And Snow]. I doubt that even Wilheim's [Light Of Thou Consecrated Shields] would be able to withstand a single overloaded instance of my Fragment Of Annihilation…', Jon thought, leaping over a patch of [Noxious Liver Berries], his [Monstrous Intuition] twitching at the presence of an approaching malicious intent.

Assail manifested itself in his hands before Jon could even process the situation.

A wave of unknown natured spiritual energy expanded in all directions around Jon, causing him to frown as his he urged his Fragment Of Incarnation to transfer the effects of whatever debuff or affliction he had just been inflicted with.

Frowning, Jon could not feel his Archetype Green transfer any debuff or affliction away from him, instead the human felt a strange, foreign spiritual energy clump onto his arm. It did not interfere with his lifeforce or own spiritual energy, merely attaching itself to him, as if a dandelion being caught on the hem of pantleg.

Glancing behind him, Jon noticed the presence of an approaching carnivore, immediately running in the opposite direction, entering his [Le Mat Avancement] and shrouding himself in a dark, red haze of war-natured spiritual energy.

The four-legged hyena-looking creature sprinted at him with a ravenous expression on its face, a searing orange drool dripping from its fangs. Although this creature appeared visually similar to that of a hyena, with a quick cast of [Eyes Through The Looking Glass], Jon could see that it was called a [Thick-Flesh Hound].

Other than the Hound Mana Core that it had manifested on its own, Jon could see that it managed to integrate a Lava Mana Core in addition to an interesting sounding Gluttony Mana Core.

Jon had previously been interested in devouring-type Mana Cores and fragments. The fact that they could "devour" afflictions and debuffs rather than refine them piqued his interest quite a bit, finding out that there was an additional method of removing them outside of the three methods that Rana had taught him.

Although Jon found himself quite disinterested after hearing that devouring-type Mana Cores caused certain psychological traits to become more pronounced. Jon had experienced such a thing with his Knowledge Mana Core and could only imagine just how debauched an ordinary individual would become after integrating any sin-type Mana Core.

'I think this would be a good time to test out how effective [False Spear Art; Concealed Spear Detonation] is on a moving conscious target,' Jon thought to himself.

Minerva-Sagacity Eyes peering around him, Jon swiftly darted several metres to his left, behind a poisonous patch of [Purple Night Flowers]. Holding Assail in one hand instead of two, Jon placed his hand on the ground, muttering the chant for his concealed spear detonation.

"Vanishing steel. Obscuring iron. Honour and glory besmirch the name of victory. Concealing thrust. Unfettered conflict. Thou shall not deny thy triumph this day."

Jon felt his spear natured spiritual energy flow into the earth beneath him, concealing a bident-shaped construct within. Just to ensure that his target would run over the foot-wide mark, Jon started muttering the chant for another one of his Spells, one that he had not practiced with in quite some time.

"Theirs is the embrace that rejects the winds and rain. Theirs is the blessing that whispers truths of warmth and kindness. Theirs is the temperance, that rises against the surging destruction!"

[Fragment Of Barrier] [Temperance Of Green, Imperial Wood Barrier] (Wood, Barrier, Spell, Shield, Buff)

Effect (Mortal): Chant, placing your hand on a surface. Using the point of casting as the centre, the earth shall sprout a barrier of twisted and misshapen trees within a defined radius. Those within the [Temperance Of Green, Imperial Wood Barrier] shall be granted an instance of [Graceful Wood Blessing].

The number of trees manifested, in addition to their shape and width is determined through the amount of spiritual energy poured into it.

[Graceful Wood Blessing]: Increases resistances towards wood-related damages, afflictions and debuffs.

Jon manifested a three-metre-tall, twenty-foot-long barrier of twisted and misshapen trees on one side of the patch of [Purple Night Flowers].

Although Jon would have preferred to summon a tree on each side of the concealed spear mark, he settled for just one, watching as the Thick-Flesh Hound trampled over the poisonous flowers, inflicting itself with numerous instances of [Purple Night Poison].

Despite the fact that it managed to obtain two more Mana Cores, its intelligence had not increased in the slightest, causing Jon to let out a disappointed tsk, dismissing the Spear Of Verdant Cedar he had in his hand. All the while, watching as the hyena-looking beast rapidly approached him, running past his [Temperance Of Green, Imperial Wood Barrier].

Jon did wonder if his [False Spear Art; Concealed Spear Detonation] would be able to move swiftly enough to pierce this creature in one blow, knowing that some sort of spatial displacement or teleportation ability would be able to resist its effects.

Although from what he could see, this beast had no such fragments integrated into any of its three Mana Cores, narrowing his eyes the moment its paw came into direct contact with the corner of his concealed spear mark.

Jon could feel something twitch in the back of his mind. An intuition of sort, born from his Fragment Of Trap which alerted him to the activation of his concealed spear mark.

Glancing to the space beneath the approaching beast, Jon watched on as an enormous bident-shaped construct burst forth from ground beneath it. The patch of grass were Jon had placed the concealed spear mark glowed an almost imperceptible silver before releasing the Spell contained within it.

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His Minerva-Sagacity Eyes, combined with his [Monstrous Intuition] and his Sea Of Knowledge captured the exact moment the Thick-Flesh Hound was completely bisected in half. A sharp yelp escaped the lips of the beast as it came crashing down in the space several metres in front of Jon.

The Thick-Flesh Hound might as well have exploded in a violent eruption of flesh and blood. It hind legs and tail laying several feet away from its head and front two limbs, twitching as though it was still connected to the rest of his body.

The [False Spear Art; Concealed Spear Detonation] might be constrained in terms of requiring a set up in order to be used effectively, however made up for this limitation by possessing an overwhelming amount of destructive power.

Jon could do nothing but watch on in silence, observing the creature with an almost pitiful expression on his face.

'Holy shit. How the hell does someone react in time to avoid this? And I can have six of these active at once!?'

The creature did not die straight away, releasing a violent pain-filled howl towards the inverted sky. Blood continued to flow out from both ends, pawing at the dirt in front of it as trying to drag itself closer and closer towards him. Drool dripping from its loose-hanging tongue although Jon thought that he could see tears running down the sides of its face.

'Even in death… it is still hungry,' Jon thought to himself.

The manifested spear construct lasted for several seconds before vanishing amidst a cloud of silverish-steel motes of spiritual energy. The Thick-Flesh Hound had died still trying to claw its way towards Jon, and the eighteen-year-old could not help but gulp, still taking in the destructive might of his Fragment Of Trap.

Walking over towards its corpse, Jon used Assail to poke through its innards, eventually finding the two Mana Cores and seven fragments that his Minerva-Sagacity Eyes had observed.

Although Jon was not interested in the Lava Mana Core or Gluttony Mana Core the beast had integrated, there was one fragment in particular that interested him quite a bit.

Fragment Of "Avaritia" discovered.

Would you like to integrate this into your Spear Mana Core or War Mana Core?

Y/N

Although Jon had in his possession a Fragment Of Ira, which conceptually was quite close to the Fragment Of Avaritia in his hands, Jon felt a strange pulling sensation within him which he did not have while holding the Fragment Of Ira in his hands.

The Fragment Of Avaritia was coloured bright yellow, so bright in fact that it almost appeared closer to gold. Although Jon was not tempted to integrate it the moment he felt his fingers wrap around the triangular-prism shaped gemstone, he could not help but hold it up to the sun, enjoying the way it filtered the light that passed through it.

Humming, Jon heard the sound of Schwarz Eis in the back of his mind.

"A Fragment Of Avaritia? Interesting. I would have thought you more compatible with a Fragment Of Superbia more than anything else. Perhaps you should give this fragment a go Jon. Although it might seem somewhat impulsive, unlike a Greed Mana Core, this one will not influence your personality traits. Who knows, you might even manifest something useful," suggested the winter demon spirit.

"Sin-type fragments do often manifest abilities with a high threshold for mastery, although I have never integrated a Fragment Of Avaritia myself. Greed is an interesting concept. It focuses on accumulating and gathering inwardly, rather Wrath or Lust which is somewhat of an outward desire", said Ashvattha Rana, rustling her leaves as she observed the Fragment Of Avaritia.

Jon furrowed his brows, still holding the Fragment Of Avaritia in his hands. There was no doubt in his mind that he felt a sense of affinity with the fragment, one that he did not feel with the Fragment Of Ira he left at the bottom of his bag.

It did seem somewhat hasty, but Jon had long since grown to trust his gut feeling over pure logical and rationality. The chaotic nature of fragments meant that any manner of ability could manifest from the integration of fragments in Mana Cores. Fragments Of Tree were just as likely to manifest some sort of Technique as it would manifest a Spell.

Fragments Of Heal were capable of damaging targets whose nature was the antithesis of the Mana Core they were integrated into.

Although Jon did wonder what sort of ability the Fragment Of Avaritia would manifest if he integrated it into his Spear Mana Core, Jon ignored the possibility seeing the familiar image of an effect description appearing in front of him.

His eyes widening as he read further and further down the page.

Break.

Sariel found herself enjoying the presence of Avahni and her summoned companions. Although the green-skinned satanas initially felt awkward while walking in front of the little ginseng king, sitting atop an enormous chevalier fire swarm beetle, the older Lemnos sibling could not help but smile hearing the soft hum of the lutin beside her.

Avahni did not look as though she had just commanded Titus Claudius to brutally slaughter a herd of "deer" beasts, referring to the English term that the lutin had learned from Jon.

Sariel and Avahni had just killed almost a dozen megaloceros-looking creature, claiming their assortment of Mana Cores and fragments as their own. Although Avahni had not found a Mana Core that suited her, Sariel on the other hand, held an interesting greenish-pink coloured Mana Core in her hands.

"Lotus" Mana Core discovered.

Would you like to integrate this "Lotus" Mana Core?

Y/N

Sariel did not mention anything to Avahni, but she felt a strange sense of attraction towards the Lotus Mana Core in her hands. The young satanas had never heard of the word "lotus" before, so she hesitated even thinking about integrating it.

The word "Life", "Shield" and "Space" were all familiar to Sariel, her culture possessing numerous gods and goddesses each representing such concepts and authorities. The satanas did not possess a deity whose domain stretched into whatever a "lotus" might be, although was now more than slightly interested, given the pulling sensation within her chest.

'I wonder if this Lotus Mana Core will help me reach the same level of strength that Jon possesses. Just glancing at him swim up and down the river this morning gave me a rough estimate of his physique and physical characteristics; however his physical prowess exceeds mine in every aspect imaginable', Sariel thought to herself, suppressing the urge to bite her thumb.

Jon felt different to both Wilheim and Avahni. Something that her brother concurred with. It was not an explainable feeling to either of them. Perhaps it had something to do with the connection the pair of them possessed that made them feel this way.

Her brother had mentioned something about a "Source" within both of them, although did not know how to explain it. Whenever Jon stared at either of them for too long, Shamael could feel the shape of his "Source" within him but did not know how to touch it.

'He is not rude. He is not aggressive. In fact, he even lent Shamael his strange blanket last night. Sha said that it was one of the most comfortable sleeps he had ever had in his life. If anything he is quite… nice', Sariel did not dare to utter those words out loud, knowing that the two summoned creatures behind her could communicate with Jon.

Sariel tapped her index finger and thumb together, trying to hide the nervous tick from the beautiful green-haired woman beside her.

It was a nervous habit that she had tried to rid herself off before joining the warrior caste but failed after being transported into the Pure Room. For the first time in her life, Sariel was unable to feel the presence her brother, their innate connection severed through some unknown means. Although she appeared within the System Introduction with her brother beside her, Sariel was fearful that something terrible had happened to him.

Fortunately, the pair had reunited, each joining the other within the small realm.

Glancing towards her status page, Sariel specifically focused on a single ability. Her first ability. The one manifested from the integration of a Fragment Of Physique into a Life Mana Core.

[Fragment Of Physique] [Hers Is The Life That Cradles The Earth And Sky] (Life, Physique, Mutation, Ability, Passive)

Effect (Mortal): Transform the mortal nature of ones physique into a Vashti-Orchid Physique. The Vashti-Orchid Physique is a pseudo-spiritual amalgamation of blood, flesh, bone and life natured spiritual energy. The Vashti-Orchid Physique saturates the physical form with life natured spiritual energy, elevating it beyond the limits of Mortality.

Dramatically increases all physical capabilities. Dramatically increases maximum mana and mana regeneration. Moderately increases longevity. Slightly increases the effectiveness of all abilities with the Life Trait.

Although not her favourite ability, Sariel knew that it was arguably her most useful. After explaining the effects of [Hers Is The Life That Cradles The Earth And Sky], she promised that the next time she obtained a Fragment Of Physique that she would give it to her Shamael.

Sariel was unsure whether or not Jon had obtained such a fragment but did continue to wonder just why the human felt so… different to the lutin and floresiensis. Perhaps it was his existence as a "human" rather than him as an individual.

Although that did sprout another thought within Sariel's mind.

'If Jon does not already possess a Fragment Of Physique, then I wonder just how he managed to obtain the strength that he now currently possesses?'.

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