Chapter 1323: Path to Awakening

“What exactly went wrong?”

Not only was Rhode puzzled by that, but the holy sword cards were confused as well. Celestina crossed her arms and frowned as if she were thinking hard. Celia shook her head in silence. Gracier and Madaras also weren’t smiling, which was uncharacteristic of them, and they stood quietly at the sides. Shira looked the same, standing beside them with a wry smile while swaying her body. Eleanor, Dona, and Catherine, on the other hand, lowered their heads and exchanged a few words with one another. But it was clear by the looks of them that they hadn’t come to any useful conclusions.

“Is it due to the fact that you rarely used her?”

Eventually, it was Canary who stood at the side who broke the silence. Rhode shrugged in response. It wasn’t like he hadn’t thought about that aspect of it either. But then again, if that were the case, it would be a real problem. Because time was the only problem that couldn’t be solved. The ones that Rhode used the most often were Celia, Celestina, Gracier, and Madaras. He barely used the other holy swords. At the very most, he would occasionally use Shira.

Rhode had rapport with the four mentioned, but his rapport with the remaining holy swords was a different story, especially in regards to Karin. Due to the fact that there was a real lack of technicians under Rhode, this holy sword spirit mostly served as a logistical technician after being summoned by him. For instance, tasks like building magical warships and whatnot were all completed by her, Lapis, and Marlene. Among them, Karin was in charge of the basics, which was the most important, so much so that although Rhode had summoned her early on, it was as though he didn’t use this holy sword at all. He initially didn’t think that this was going to be a problem. But now, he didn’t expect this issue to come knocking on his door.

In fact, Rhode also felt like every time he used Karin, her reactions were slightly out of sync. It was like two people in a whirlpool, desperately trying to hold each other’s hands. But after several attempts, either one side was faster or the other was slower; there was no tacit understanding to speak of. And it wasn’t a lack of effort from Karin either. He felt like she also tried hard, but no matter how hard they tried, it was simply a waste of effort if they couldn’t match up.

“That means you don’t have a good understanding of her yet, Leader. Drag her to bed and that will resolve everything! You two need to know each other better by going deeper!”

Mini Bubble Gum was apparently the classic case of one who wished for the whole world to be in chaos. Of course, Canary reached out her arm and slapped the gloating Bubble on the head. Icy Snow and Christie were watching from the side. Bubble didn’t know how to be cautious with her words; not everyone was as precocious as her, after all.

“Indeed, Big Brother. You have too little interactions with the other holy sword cards. You don’t know one another well enough yet.”

Upon hearing Bubble’s words, the younger sister nodded slightly. Apparently, she also ‘partially-agreed’ with Bubble’s remarks. In fact, even if the younger sister didn’t say a thing, Rhode was aware of the problem. But this was the only problem that wasn’t as easy to solve as the others. Because some things could only be solved with time. But now, even if he were to coordinate with the holy sword cards 24/7, it wouldn’t be the slightest bit beneficial.

So if this was really the problem, it would be a really difficult one to solve.

It was like falling in love. Falling in love was a gradual process of getting to know each other better out of mutual admiration. And after the two parties became familiar with each other, enough to be able to handle each other’s flaws, marriage was just a matter of course.

But what about a blind date? It was for the purpose of getting married in the first place and there was no basis for a relationship. It was only when one felt like it wasn’t good to continue being single that one would go on a blind date. For both parties on a blind date, marriage was like a task rather than a recognition of each other from the heart. So after the blind date, as long as the other person was superficially acceptable, the two parties could get married. But because of that, the problems in each other weren’t revealed. This was one of the reasons why so many blitz marriages and divorces happened. In the first place, there was no deeper understanding between them, so naturally, conflicts would occur after marriage.

If one were to use this as an analogy for the relationship between Rhode and the holy sword cards, it would be as if someone ordered them to get along and understand each other like passionate lovers in the shortest time possible, which would feel odd no matter who put it out there. So even if both sides knew it should be done, there was no shortage of mental resistance between them. Moreover, emotions were the hardest to express and easiest at leaving repercussions. Perhaps even if both sides had an affinity with each other, their hearts might still long to be somewhere else, which tantamount to tossing in vain.

“I don’t think there’s any other better idea.”

After some consideration, Rhode finally shook his head helplessly. At least for now, he believed that this problem couldn’t be resolved in a short time. And as for Bubble’s remarks about dragging Karin to bed for a round or whatever, he only treated it as a joke. He knew that he would be a loser if he took the joke seriously.

“It’s not like there’s no way around it.”

However, what surprised him was that his younger sister interrupted him with a smile on her face all of a sudden. Upon hearing her words, Rhode couldn’t help but turn to her. Sensing his gaze, the younger sister smiled and winked at him.

“Big Brother, haven’t you ever wondered why I created the holy sword cards?”

“What you meant is…”

Upon hearing his sister’s question, Rhode was taken aback. However, he responded quickly. Indeed, if it were just about creating the Holy Sword Barrier, there was actually no need to use the holy sword cards to awaken it as there were many measures and pieces of equipment meant to protect spirits in the Dragon Soul Continent.

The younger sister could also use equipment to seal them up without binding their souls, but it would be too restrictive, where only Spirit Swordsmen could awaken the holy swords and no other profession could. And now, with his younger sister suddenly mentioning this, he was stunned. He returned to his senses shortly after.

“… Awakening?”

“Not bad, Big Brother.”

Upon hearing his answer, the younger sister chuckled. Rhode twitched his brows at her reaction.

Awakening was an essential and dedicated ability for every Spirit Swordsman. But for the most part, it was rather useless. The awakening in this context wasn’t referring to Spirit Swordsmen becoming Super Saiyans[1], but rather awakening of cards instead. The cards of Spirit Swordsmen were actually much like those unique cards purchased with in-game currency on mobile games. And after the card spirit reached max level, one could choose whether or not to awaken it.

If the awakening was successful, the entire card would emit a golden glow and have a few more patterns on its surface. Along with the awakening, the appearance of the card spirits would also change. But… That was about it. It was just like spending money on a hero skin; one wouldn’t be able to increase the hero’s offensive and defensive ratings or anything like that just because one changed its skin. As for Spirit Swordsmen, the point of awakening was for its appearance’s sake for outsiders. After all, card spirits looked gorgeous after awakening, regardless of whether their strength had increased or not. At the very least, the beautiful card spirits were enough to attract a lot of people’s attention after being summoned.

Of course, it wasn’t surprising that when the winds howled around the highest peaks, they were often instant-killed in group battles.

That was why many experienced Spirit Swordsmen, including Rhode, wouldn’t choose to awaken their cards. Because if the awakening succeeded, the card spirits would certainly become incredibly gorgeous. However, if the awakening failed, the card’s loyalty and attributes would drop across the board. Not only that, but the success rate of awakening also seemed to be random. So unless one happened to be lucky enough to get some flashy card spirits that could be used for appearance’s sake, the average Spirit Swordsmen wouldn’t use this skill. And now that his younger sister brought it up to him, the only thing he could think of was awakening.

But this skill…

“The awakening skill may seem flashy and unrealistic in the game, but it actually isn’t that simple. It was originally set up so that the card spirits and the holder could get to know each other better…” The younger sister said, raising her right hand and making a gesture. “… Just like you and Karin right now, Big Brother. Although both of you know that you should work better together, deep down. you still subconsciously resist it. This is something you may not be aware of subjectively, but it does exist. The so-called awakening is to project your spirit into the subconscious of the card spirit and make them accept you. That way, when you succeed, the issues with value will not be a problem.”

“I see…”

Upon hearing the younger sister’s explanation, Rhode nodded. He finally understood why the loyalty and attributes of the card spirits would fall after this skill failed in the game. Because the Spirit Swordsmen failed to make his card spirit accept him, which was why it naturally rejected him. And even if it succeeded, card spirits were just data, after all. It was impossible for them to appear in tune with the player’s feelings or anything (of course, it was important to not invest emotionally in virtual characters). So, naturally, there wouldn’t be any other changes except for the card spirits becoming more gorgeous.

But reality and the game world were different, after all.

“So, in other words, all I have to do is use the awakening skill on Karin, pass through her subconscious, and I’ll be able to handle this tricky situation?”

That was good news for Rhode; at least, it was better than both of them having a hard time getting to know each other on a blind date.

“Yes. But Big Brother, I think you’ve also realized that it isn’t that simple… And besides…” The younger sister paused for a moment, looked at the crowd, and revealed a mysterious smile. “… Big Brother, I was hoping that you would use the awakening skill on all the holy sword cards at once.”

“… Huh?”

Upon hearing his younger sister’s words, even Rhode was stunned. But soon, he reckoned that this was indeed a good idea. In fact, in the midst of practice, he also found out that not only Karin, but he and the other holy sword cards also weren’t that compatible. However, their problems were within permissible limits, while Karin’s issues directly affected the construction of the barrier itself. That was why Rhode brought up Karin specifically. And if he could get through the subconscious of all the holy sword card spirits and get them to accept him, he could create the perfect barrier.

But…

“Is this going to take a lot of time?”

“The flow of time in the mental world is different from reality, Big Brother. It may feel like time passes very quickly in the mental world, but it actually moves really slowly in the real world. That is why even if you feel as if you’re spending years in the mental world, in reality, it’s only for a moment.”

“I see…”

Upon hearing her explanation, Rhode couldn’t help but nod and instinctively sweep a glance at Lize, who stood next to him. When she sensed his gaze, her face turned red instantly. Of course, she knew why he looked at her. Although she wasn’t his card spirit, she was the only one whose mental world was entered by Rhode. That happened a long time ago. Back then, Lize hadn’t confessed to him, but deep down, she was jealous of the intimacy between him and Anne. This led to her falling prey to the Mind Devil, sucking Anne and Rhode into her mental world. She also got so angry at them. However, Rhode managed to gain two cards in her mental world, which was a dark history that Lize could never forget. So up until that moment, Rhode didn’t use those two cards unless necessary. Or else, Lize might hang herself in shame when she saw the two card spirits.

Of course, awakening the holy sword cards wasn’t as simple as awakening the spirits of the card spirits because the holder’s spirit had to be projected into the spirit’s subconscious. That was why, during the process, Rhode was entirely defenseless and this sort of thing naturally couldn’t be done in full view of the public. As a result, he decided to do it at night in his own bedroom.

His younger sister would watch over him to ensure that his spirit wouldn’t be damaged or affected in any way. Of course, this would also require the consent of all the other holy sword card spirits. And if they disagreed, he wouldn’t have the permission to enter their mental worlds and would simply be ejected. Therefore, it was also very important for him to seek the opinions of the card spirits. Fortunately, everyone was well aware of what was at stake, so they didn’t complain much on that front, but quickly nodded in agreement instead.

And so, as night fell, the awakening ritual was about to begin.

“Are you ready, Big Brother?”

Looking at Rhode, who lay on the bed, as well as the 10 holy sword card spirits who were suspended in the air around him, the younger sister hesitated for a moment, before asking softly. And upon hearing her question, Rhode nodded.

“Yes, I’m ready.”

Under his younger sister’s narration, he also understood the entire process of awakening. The reason why she proposed to use the awakening skill on the 10 holy sword card spirits at once wasn’t solely for insurance purposes. It was due to the fact that the mental worlds of the 10 card spirits were interconnected. So by using the awakening skill on them at the same time, Rhode would be able to freely travel through their mental worlds without having to deal with them one by one.

Of course, in addition to that, the most important thing to note was that in the mental world, he would encounter more than one projection of the card spirits. Not only that, but the spirit projections would also have no memory of him at all. This meant that his existence was completely foreign to them. Only when he was fully acknowledged by the spirit projections would their memories be linked to their external body, thus restoring the part of their memory about him. And only after dealing with the spirit projections in the mental world, Rhode would be considered to have officially obtained the recognition of the holy sword card spirits and completed the entire process of awakening.

“I hope you can remember, Big Brother, that the spirit projections are likely to have a completely different personality from their actual selves. So you’d better not treat them with the same attitude. The mental world is the spirit projection’s home turf and if you infuriate them too much, there’s a good chance you’ll do damage to your own spirit. So you need to be careful to protect yourself and not get hurt or let anyone else get hurt.”

Even though the younger sister didn’t explain too much, Rhode knew exactly what she meant. The mental world was a fragile thing. Whether it was his own spirit projection or that of the card spirits, if his spirit projection was harmed, he would be hurt as well. If the card spirits received damage to their mental worlds, they would also face issues. In that case, any slight instability would most likely turn into factors that would cause irreparable damage to their original selves.

That was why this proposal from the younger sister could be said to be a beneficial, yet risky one. And if Rhode were able to complete the test flawlessly, the situation would naturally be perfect. But if something went wrong with him, no matter where the problem occurred, it was conceivable that the Holy Sword Barrier would basically be out of luck.

Despite the risks, Rhode agreed to his younger sister’s suggestion. Because he was absolutely confident in himself.

“Let’s start.”

After making sure that he was completely ready, Rhode took a deep breath, turned to his younger sister, and said. When she heard his words, she simply nodded, walked to the side, extended her fair, slender finger, and pointed at the holy sword card spirits in midair. Along with this action, a bright light emanated from the holy sword card spirits. In the blink of an eye, the brilliance connected the 10 of them, all of whom surrounded Rhode. Upon looking at this scene, Rhode muted his facial expression, continued to lay on the bed, and closed his eyes.

Shortly after, dazzling magical rays of light erupted with him at the center, forming a revolving summoning ritual circle that enveloped all 10 holy sword card spirits. Then, a blinding radiance flashed.

At the next moment, the entire room restored its serenity.

[1] An advanced transformation assumed by members and hybrids of the Saiyan race in the Dragon Ball franchise.

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