[Novice]
[Warrior]
[Master]
[Grandmaster]
[Monarch]
The skills attached to various souls were contained in numerous talent scrolls. One could even say these skills were infinite, as while some of them were preordained talents, others had been created by very adept users over the course of history.
As for the elements, there were others too, like water, wind, stone, and wood, but Kion didn't give much heed to them. He scanned further down the list of elements till he found his sub-domain: lightning.
"A very adaptable and powerful element if used well." Shamar spoke. Kion had almost even forgotten that he was there.
"Not many people have had that element at all in the history of Stormholt. The last notable one was many millennia ago. An Everglade who would not just stop at the level of mortality, but transcend to divinity."
Kion knew who he spoke of. The fabled thunder god, Raiden. He'd spent his mortal days as an Everglade commanding the Imperial Army, reaching the rank of Super Admiral, a rank not many warriors could attain in their lifetime, as it required doing something so difficult it was considered nearly impossible: reaching Legendary-grade.
"Okay. I'm done now." Kion said as he folded the multi paged chart. It had a lot of information, but nothing too useful or specific enough to raise an eyebrow. Kion knew he was hoping for too much when he had expected to see some hidden secrets about this world from an open source material.
"Alright then." Shaman replied to his rather hasty finish. He had expected Kion to be a scholar for knowledge like he was, but he knew that in a kingdom like Stormholt, it was easier to find a legendary grade warrior than it wa sto find someone like that.
"Before you go, I'd like to teach you a meditation technique you could use to advance your cultivation even further. Until now, you've been the underdog, but that could change now, couldn't it?"
Kion didn't answer.
Shaman summoned the scroll with some telekinetic skill Kion had never seen.
"What soul core do you have?" He asked.
"Oh—". Shaman feigned surprise. "I have a magic soul core. It's one of the souls that belong under the Spirit Mancy branch. Something you should know if you read through—"
"I only needed to know about mine. Plus, I'd prefer experiencing the other souls in battle where I can get a good advantage than reading them from a book." Kion interrupted.
There was a brief moment of silence, Shaman wondering just how hasty this boy had been with the whole process. If he didn't know better, he would've thought that Kion already knew of these things from a past life.
"Okay let's just jump into the meditation technique then." Shaman said as he sat in a lotus position, beckoning Kion to do the same.
"Meditation is about zoning out of the physical and entering the spiritual plane. You have to focus, and feel the dormant mana in the air around you."
Kion did as he was told, silencing out all background interference and focusing his mind on the empty space around him. He suddenly began to feel it, like tiny pinpricks of static current battering his body. The energy felt alive and real. For someone like Kion who had never felt mana before, the experience seemed otherworldly.
"Yes that's it." Shaman commended. "Now here comes the tricky part. You'll have to reach out and pull that electrical feeling inward. Let it soak through your pores and wash over your being. It helps if you're already comfortable with the tingling feeling."
This time, Kion didn't see the tingly feeling as otherworldly, but felt comfortable with it. Within minutes, he could feel his skin pores open, hungrily swallowing the energy around him.
"Very good. You're a fast learner. Although I'll advise not allowing in too much energy to avoid mana poisoning. Now for the final stage, unlocking your meridians. Open your eyes, young master."
Kion opened his eyes, and instantly felt surprised, as his skin emitted a faint glow.
"That's your body accepting the mana." Shaman explained. "You'll have to now reroute the mana through your blood vessels and muscle fibres, ensuring that it nourishes ever bit of your body. Your meridians are the natural pathways mana would flow within your body. Since it's your first time, you'll have to unlock them, and with time, even learn to control and reroute them to fit your fighting needs.
For instance, if you have a more tanky fighting style then most of your mana would be needed in your muscles and heart. If you rely more on speed and reflexes, then your mana would be needed more in your fast twitch fibers. Either way, let's bother about unlocking your meridians first."
"You'll have to focus on a different level for this phase. Feel every bit of your being, from your organs to the tiniest blood vessels and capillaries. You'll have to be conscious of each and every one of them. When you've done that, you'll need to focus the mana in your body through these channels."
This part was a bit tricky for Kion, as beads of sweat could be seen visibly forming on his forehead. But he eventually got it done, and he could see spiderweb like channels glowing through his skin, signifying the passage of mana.
He suddenly understood why Shaman asked him to open his eyes. It was a marvellous sight.
"Very good!" Shaman expressed. "Most first timers don't even pass this stage but you did it on your first try. I'm impressed, and that doesn't happen very often."
Quite frankly, Shaman had found himself more and more impressed by this boy ever since his awakening. Afterall, it was one thing to awaken a top tier grade soul and another to master your very first meditation without breaking too much of a sweat. Kion was just full of surprises. He made a mental note to keep track of Kion's progress.
After about five minutes of continuous meditation, Shaman decided Kion was good to go.
"Your brother already knows of this meditation technique without even needing a scroll. Knowing him, he should be meditating already, which was why you really needed to catch up. Currently, you're an unascended warrior, meaning you haven't broken through any grade yet. Everyone starts out like this, but you can break into common-grade without about a month of just meditation and maybe a little training.
Like I said, you wouldn't need supplements or pills yet. Just meditate and train, and of course, eat well. The newly awakened would need a good diet for their body to get used to mana. And also, I'd like you to have this—"
The Shaman summoned another scroll, but unlike the meditation scroll, which had plain parchment, this scroll's paper was a deep red.
"I normally wouldn't do this yet, but call it a favour. This is a talent scroll. It contains a unique meditation technique that would allow you to unlock your very first skill."
Kion was already getting a unique sense of deja vu, and Shaman's next words confirmed his spine tingling feeling.
"This one's called [Fire Blade]. I'd imagine the name's self-explanatory enough." Shaman continued, placing the scroll in Kion's hands.
"Use it well."
"Thank you." Kion said as he began to leave.
"Oh, and don't forget, young master—"
"Play the fool."