Chapter Five Hundred And Ninety Seven – 597
The first thing Vess helped him do was clear up the grass in his field of statues. Some grass was left, but the vast majority was eliminated and the ground below it resolved into a pattern of concentric circles. Each of the circles was made of a metal-like chitin, bright green in color and somewhat raised from the Golden Death Beetles carapace. They looped between the Skill statues in convoluted knots, intersecting some but not all before they inevitably led to the center.
It was his center that was the problem.
His core, now a ring of blackened green light, had been buried deep inside his elaborate mansion. Safe, or so he had thought when creating his core space. With Vess assistance, Beef realized that his layers of protection were actually hampering the flow of power in his core space. His visualization was too tangled in some places, too solid in othershis entire set up required an overhaul.
Hours went by as Vess and Beef practiced her visualization techniques. Together, they developed a sort of stepped well design, turning the flat field into a spiraling path that led inward and downward, with each of his Skill statues positioned at specific intervals. Vess inspired the design but Beef was the one who shaped it, visualizing the specific bricks and steps in the new formation, all while maintaining the pattern of those metal-chitin loops. He based the design on a specific type of well, a communal construction that he recalled seeing in some sort of documentary. Deep in the center of the well, down in a thick darkness that reminded Beef of the Passages, was his core. It was a spinning ring made of blackened-green light and broken statuary. Arms, legs, and faces swirled among the ring, colliding and coiling through the light as they were slowly polished from dull stone to translucent gems.
It thumped like a heartbeat, driving the Golden Death Beetle forward and providing power through the looping circles of metal-chitin and into his Skills. Bright pulses swirled upward from the dark depths in time with that enormous heartbeat, regular intervals accompanied by strobe lights and a satisfying, almost imperceptible song.
As the last piece of brickwork clarified, Beef let himself sag backward. He dropped a leg, bracing his wobbling muscles as he marshaled his Strengthyet after a moment, he already felt stronger. Steadier. The fields around them blurred by, Hallows steps a distant thunder, and he didnt even notice the beetles wobbling.
Excellent job, Beef! I am quite happily surprised. Normally such changes would require a great deal of time to enact, but we have been at this for a mere four hours.
Thats fast?
Incredibly so. Perhaps sometime you can ask Felix how long it took him to learn my techniques.This chapter made its debut appearance via N0v3lB1n.
Beef perked up. He wasnt good at them?
A powerful Mind is not always a boon, she said by way of explanation. Nor is advancement. My techniques were developed for those who have barely begun their path, and they grow far less effective when you have several Temperings under your belt.
But Im fully Tempered into Journeyman Tier, Beef noted. It had been difficult, changing parts of his core space, but not that troublesome. Doesnt that mean it should be harder?
Iyes. Yes it should. Vess hesitated, frowning into the middle distance. I apologize if this comes off as rude, Beef. Please know I do not mean to offend you.
Beef winced. He knew it. Something was wrong with him. He was still so far behind Felix in strength, and he had no clue whybut maybe this was it. Maybe it was something about his core that was broken or faulty. I can handle it, he said.
Your Mind and Spirit are open.
I knew it, I Beef blinked. What? Is that a bad thing?
It means they are more malleable than I expected. You take to change far more rapidly than someone of your Temper shouldpartly, I believe, due to your relative youth. She stared thoughtfully down into the newly made well. In this case it was a benefit, but as you advance it is our solidity that protects us. To reach the pinnacle is to accumulate a vast amount of significance within our Skills, and then our Tempered Aspects themselves. If you remain too amenable to change, I do not know if you can handle the rigors of Master Tier and beyond.
Beef stared at the lady, his insides all churned up. He had felt so good a second ago, and now he felt like a failure again. How do I fix that?
I do not know, she admitted, her tone apologetic.
Bring the boy to me.
The voice echoed around Beef's core space, piercing in a way that Hallows voice never matched. Vess looked up, startled. Are you sure, Yin?
The only response was a deep rumble, like distant thunder.
Dragon eggs, he said, and couldnt help the shiver of awe that ran through him.
Yes, the Wyrmling said, his deep voice strange coming from his tiny mouth. Their eternal care is my penance for the dark deeds I once performed.
That was not your fault, Yin.
A tiny, five-fingered claw lifted up, forestalling Vess words. Let us leave that familiar argument by the wayside, little Dragoon. He fixed Beef with his liquid gaze; gold on gold, without any trace of a pupil. You were brought here to fix a deficiency in your Aspects.
Oh. Yeah. Mymalleability, right? It can be fixed?
It can. But it requires sacrifice.
Beef scrunched his snout. Likea virgin blood sacrifice?
What? Yin asked, his regal pose disrupted. Why would Iwhat does virginity have to do with this?
I dont know, you said it!
I did not!
Boys, Vess said. Her face was a weird mix of pale and flushed, and a smirk fought against her control. Please. Yin, explain what you need from him.
I was doing so before he interrupted me, the Wyrmling stated as he flowed back into his regal posture. I have a method to fix your deficiency, but it cannot be attempted until I have advanced. Once I have, it will still require a great deal of pain and effort on your part.
Okay. Im not a huge, uh, fan of the last part, but no pain no gain right?
...Right.
What exactly would be required of him? Vess asked.
He must help us. I have hunted down most of what I need to begin my Evolution; the elements churn within my belly even now. The last piece of it will come from the Dwarven mountains, and it will require your particular Skills to capture it alive. However, it was a unique sort of creature, rare even in my time. Yin sighed. I do not know if its kind still lives.
Hunt down a monster? I can do that. Beef was pretty confident of his battle capabilities, at least. Most of the time. What then?
Then, once I have Evolvedonce I can complete my penancethen I shall attempt to bind your unique Spirit to something truly exceptional.
Truly? Vess asked. Yin, how?
Wait. What are you talking about? Yins eyes flickered downward. Beef gasped. Youre kidding!
I would not dare, the Wyrmling said. If you aid me, Beefhammer, Minotaur and Unbound warrior, I shall bind your Spirit to a hatchling.
Yeah! Beef shouted in unrestrained glee. A fucking Dragon!
