Two weeks ago…
"This one is the horn, this one is the other horn, and that one's the third horn," Laerton explained.
"Why do you have three horns for your train?" Davi raised an eyebrow. He stood inside the conductor's station of the Phoenix Flight train. He had been rather shocked when Laerton took him all the way to the front and showed off everything that was behind the iron walls.
Each train car was slightly different, and Laerton's room was directly connected to the conductor's room at the front of the train. It was just as messy as he expected and smelled of booze. The ground was littered with empty beer cans, and weirdly enough, paint covered the walls as if a child had decided to pretend to be an artist, crude sketches carved into the iron.
The front part of the train wasn't very big, made only for three or four people at a time, with two uncomfortable chairs and a large control panel that came out of the floor directly in front of the two seats. The panel was old, missing several buttons and levers. Sections of it were cracked with vines coming out of them, and outside, the front of the train had half a tree growing through the engine.
Laerton hummed and slumped down in her seat, letting out a tired yawn. "This train was given to me, and I tried to fix it up. Back in the day, it used to look a lot worse. Unfortunately, I'm not a mechanic, so when I did fix it up, a lot of the buttons or switches activate the horn now. I guess I wired it wrong."
"The train doesn't even run, does it?"
"Of course it does." Laerton gave him a half smirk. "This bad boy can soar through the skies."
"I find that hard to believe," Davi admitted.
"You think I'd lie?"
"Yeah? I mean, your name is literally 'name not real', backward. I'd have to be dumb to fully trust you."
Laerton let out a laugh at his response. She took a swing from another can of beer and sighed. "I thought you'd perk up more when I trained you. Nothing has changed, though. You're still so scrawny and weak. How come you're not getting stronger?" Her eyes narrowed, and she poked him in the side a few times.
"I am getting stronger," Davi stated coolly. "Most of my training just isn't focused on the physical aspect."
"Doing mental training?"
"Something like that. I'm having some trouble with a few things, though. Namely, around the Cores. It feels like mine just aren't that good."
Laerton finished off her can and let out a loud and wet burp. "What are your core types again?" She grabbed a different can and popped it open.
"Fifty percent Mask Core, and then twenty-five percent for both Qi Lines and Circuit Cores."
Laerton nodded and rubbed her chin. "Fifty-five percent is the lowest a Core can be and still function properly, but you'd actually want at least sixty. That's when it'll be able to hold out. Back in the day, the Pilgrim thought a being with all four Cores would be able to reach a level similar to Haru, but we now know that isn't possible. Haru's Core was unique, as it was called a Heart Core. The mixing of Cores will cause a person to become far weaker, as they'll lose the abilities granted by their normal Core. With your fighting style, it honestly would have been better if Qi Lines were at sixty and everything else was lower."
"Why Qi Lines? I'd personally rather have my Mask Core up higher so I can make a Core Mask."
"Don't get me wrong, Core Masks are very powerful, but they're also tricky and hard to maintain," Laerton explained. "You base them off of someone you know and can visualize in your heart. They're fueled by emotion, sometimes love, jealousy, or even hate. You literally craft a mask out of this emotion and wear it, tricking the universe into thinking you're them. It allows a mixing of magic and gaining spells you don't normally have, but the main issue with it is that since it's based off someone else, the growth of it is set in stone unless you constantly update it. Your brother is a good example of this. He's constantly evolving his mask each time he sees you, thus his becomes stronger, but for others, if they lose the one they based their mask on, then it simply ceases to grow. Do you know what it's like to wear the mask of someone who is no longer in this world?"
Davi felt a lump form in his throat. "I don't."
"Good. It's best if you avoid it." Laerton gave him a sly grin and tapped her can of beer against his chest. "That can seriously do a number on your mental health."
"...Captain, do you have a Core-"
"Qi Lines would be better suited for you." Laerton turned away from him and let out another tired yawn. "Each Core works a little differently, and when it comes to Qi Lines, they're the best at using techniques. Your mana is growing and evolving, but you're not at the stage where Danger Sense will shift into Instinct. You're getting close. If you had Qi Lines, then the growth of your mana would be far faster. Hell, you might even unlock it right away if you were to somehow improve the percentage of the Qi Lines."
"Too bad I can't just improve my Qi Line percentage."
"Who says you can't?"
"Is it possible?" Davi perked up.
Laerton finished the can of beer and tossed it away. She wiped her mouth and let out a satisfied sigh. "I don't know." She finally said.
"Seriously…"
"Changing the percentage of a Core is technically possible." Laerton folded her arms and nodded. "I have a fifty-fifty split of both a Circuit Core and a Mask Core. Because of this, I can't properly use enchanted items or my Knight Gear to their fullest, and I can't use my Mask Core, so to get around this, I make a change in the dynamics of my Cores. This is done with a Vow." Laerton held up a finger, and it flowed, raw mana swirling around it. "When you get to my level of power, you learn how to reverse the flow of mana. Typically, we absorb high amounts of mana, which is turned into our special energy through our Cores, but if you learn how to invert this effect, you can cause the mana to flow the other way and lose the effect of your core, returning it back to the rawest form, which is chaotic mana. This chaotic mana can't be properly controlled or channeled, but we can work alongside it to do things such as a mana step, mana strike, mana skin, or other various things. When making a Vow, we must offer something up. Sometimes a Vow can be a temporary thing, or other times it can be a permanent sacrifice. There are three things that determine if the Vow works or not. Do you know what they are?"
Davi shook his head. "I've never really had any issues with Vows not working. I just figured they always did if you used them?"
Laerton let out a snort at his answer. "Strength and the level at which a person knows how to enchant play the first role in crafting a Vow. The more skilled a being is at enchanting and the more mana their body holds, the higher the Vows they can make with the smaller the cost. The second thing that determines if a Vow works or not is a person's mentality. The way a person thinks affects their spells, and the same is true for a Vow. When you make a Vow, you have to give something up that is usually equal to what you're trying to get. What determines if it's equal or not is based on the mental sanity of the person in question. You can't cheat the system by offering something you don't value. For example, if you tried to make a Vow and offered up the ability to never have kids, that might seem like a powerful loss, but what if you're someone who took a vow of celibacy? To you, having kids was never something you wanted, and so it holds less value. Because of this, your Vow likely wouldn't work, but if you did want kids and it was a greater desire for you, severing this ability would be able to fund the cost of the Vow. Lastly, the final thing that determines if a Vow is made or not is the Lord of Order. He exists to stop the system from being cheated."
"What do you mean?"
"Since memory magic exists or there are some nutty folks out there, some people might try to alter the way they think and value things to try and cheat out a Vow. When a Vow is made, it is actually the Lord of Order who decides if it is allowed or not. He views everything, and ultimately it is his final call. This makes it so creating a Vow to do the impossible is… Well, impossible. You couldn't make a Vow to split the planet in two, no matter how strong you are or what you'd be willing to give up, because the Lord of Order would simply deny the creation of that Vow."
"That's interesting."
"I find it interesting as well. Do you know why I'm telling you all of this?"
"No. Not a clue."
Laerton's grin grew at his blunt response. "Making a Vow to fundamentally change your Core is impossible, at least for me. I created a process that allows for a small change, but that's about it. This involves me using two effects at once. I draw in chaotic mana like normal and also reverse the flow of my own mana. This causes chaotic mana to clash with more chaotic mana, and that results in a merge within my body. Using this merger, I'm able to add it onto my Core through Vow. I temporarily sacrifice one half of my Core and can add the merged chaotic mana onto the other half. This results in one section dropping to zero percent and the other leaping up to one hundred. That said, the process honestly isn't that good."
"It's not? I would have thought being able to switch your core type on the fly like that would be useful."
Laerton shook her head. "On paper, it is, but there's the overall issue of maintaining this effect. Chaotic mana is prone to burning up or washing off our Cores, and so it won't last forever. In fact, it'll only be for about five minutes. After that, it throws the Core out of its balance, and it'll forcefully revert back to normal."
"Why not just keep doing it?"
"What do you mean?" Laerton raised an eyebrow at him.
Davi rubbed his chin, seemingly deep in thought. "Why don't you just do the process again? If it starts to wear off, just force more chaotic mana onto the core?"
"I'd love to, but that's just not possible." Laerton snickered. "We don't have control over chaotic mana, remember? We can draw it in, sure, but there's a limit to that. It'd be like trying to put out a house fire with only a cup. Even if you do have access to the ocean, that cup can only pull so much of it out, and it takes time. Once that energy is used up, it'd take about an hour or so to regain it all and do it again. That's time you just won't have while in a fight."
"That's dumb."
"That's just how magic works."
"Magic is dumb then."
"What are you, a kid?"
Davi folded his arms, and his frown grew. "I want to figure out a way to keep doing that process. What if I could use it to boost my cores all up? It would be good, right?"
"I guess in theory, but I honestly don't even know if it's possible for you." Laerton snorted. "After all, you need to know how to reverse the flow of special mana back into chaotic mana, then know how to draw in a massive amount of chaotic mana for the clash. You'd also need to be good at crafting Vows and be able to come up with an exchange. For myself, I only have two cores, so the balance is simple, but you have three. It could be different for you."
"Would it work better if I had a fourth Core? For more balance?"
"Maybe? I don't know."
Davi hummed and then smiled. "Alright. I think I got it. Thanks, Captain."
"Huh? For what?"
"I think you just gave me an idea."
***
Present day…
Himvel was faster, stronger, more durable, and way more skilled, but he lacked the Instinct trait, which was extremely rare and very busted, as Davi was finding out.
It was like his eyes had suddenly opened for the first time in forever. Just like when Olivia had used Polymorph on him, his body had inherently shifted in the way it operated. He saw various lines; they worked like signals to his brain. Some were red, others blue, and whenever he gazed at them, his body would move on its own, dodging and attacking all without thought.
That wasn't the only change, either. His strength, speed, and durability had all gone up, but he technically didn't get any stronger. No new power was flowing through him; instead, this was just the effect of his mana having Qi Lines.
Qi Lines were able to move energy far quicker and faster, allowing for quicker responses and heavier blows, and so it almost felt as if he had taken a huge step forward in terms of power, even if it was all just the strength he always had.
He was hitting Himvel back, dodging his strikes, and reacting to his sword.
And yet, he was still losing.
Davi felt pain as his sword clashed with Himvel, and the force of the strike blasted him back. Despite the pain, he laughed and stood back up, his eyes lighting up as he saw the red lines that flowed from Himvel's blade.
Himvel gritted his teeth and stared at him in anger. "What did you do? How did you become this strong?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Davi lifted his sword. "Row Shadow Scar!" He slashed it down and sent out a wave of black fire that came screeching toward Himvel.
"Row Atomic Shift." A portal of space tore open and absorbed the fire, the elf's frown growing. "You're starting to tick me off."
"And you're starting to show more and more of your own power." Davi wiped some of the blood away from his mouth. "I think I'm getting the hang of your fighting style also."
"Don't get arrogant."
"Oh, this isn't arrogance. For the first time since I left my village, I feel… happy?"
Davi shook his head and looked down at his hand. It was amazing. Having a proper Core was a game-changer. His mana was actually responding to him, and his thoughts felt so clear.
This had all been possible due to several factors. Captain Laerton had put the idea of how to improve in his head, which led to the creation of his new chaotic Core. The issue was that Core was a completely separate one and not connected at all. Sort of like a monster core, it was an extra thing. After thinking about Ken and her constant offers for Joint Cultivation, which led him to trying to merge the two Cores together.
One hundred percent of the Chaotic Core got split apart and added into his normal core. So, if he took fifty percent of his chaotic core and shoved it into Qi Lines, then his Qi Lines would become seventy-five percent instead of twenty-five percent. The process was like what Laerton had explained to him, but he had his solution to the issue of it not lasting long.
Normally, it was impossible for a mage to gather chaotic mana up, but thanks to his earlier Vows he had long since solved that issue. Pain generated chaotic mana, and normally that chaotic mana would rapidly leave, but Way of Self Iron and Old Bird's Flapping Wings kept it contained. When he burned up the core, it did indeed start to get used up just as Laerton said, but that process caused pain, which generated more chaotic mana that he could then add on to replace the missing chaotic mana.
It was sort of like pouring gasoline on a fire in the rain, trying to get the fire to burn faster than the rain could put it out.
It was thanks to this process that he took thirty-five percent of his chaotic core and added it onto his Qi Lines, causing them to get boosted to sixty percent. This finally gave him access to the power of Qi Lines, and with that power came more responsive and stronger mana. He was actually using a proper Core.
That wasn't all. There was still the rest of the chaotic core, which he split up into further pieces and fed to the two other sections of his core.
That said, even after all that, would the boost really be that much? Sure, Qi Lines were strong and enabled his mana to move faster and hit harder, but the fact was, Himvel was above him by several degrees. Reaching him with sixty percent Qi Lines wouldn't be possible.
But what about one hundred?
What if he had one hundred percent in Qi Lines, Mask Core, and Circuit Core, all at once? Instead of doubling his power as he had been doing, what if he went all in, and increased his total power by times three rather than by times two?
Would such a thing be possible?
Well, if he was willing to put in the work.
At last…
'It' was complete.
All thanks to the power of math!
Davi adjusted his grip on his sword. "Himvel, I'll ask again. Can you give up? Put your trust in me that I'll save everyone."
"Trust is earned, not simply forced." Himvel shook his head. "Power up or not, you have to know you can't beat me. You're still losing."
Davi nodded. "Yeah. I'll admit it. You're still way out of my league. This is everything I had to do just to follow your movements and be able to get you to show a bit of your power. You outclass me."
"So, then give up."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I want you to be able to trust me," Davi admitted. "I want to show you I have what it takes."
Himvel grunted and raised his blade up. "So be it. From this point on, I won't be holding back."
"Good. Hit me with everything you got." Davi nodded. "I'll do the same and show you the extent of my power! I'll show the path that I'm picking here and now!"