The man wore a black and blue cape with the symbol of a serpent in the sea, as well as shining gold armor encompassing his body. He had short white hair along with a scar running down his left cheek. The most noticeable thing, though, was the ice sword he carried with one hand below his waist. Occasionally, a single drop of water would drip from the tip and fall to the ground.
This was a Triarch. One of the three strongest Gifted! His name: Eric, Ruler of the Seas.
'I'm guessing the assassin ran when he saw him. I would too…'
Eric's ability was complete control of water. He could use it from the ocean, from frozen icebergs, or even from clouds and steam. With this, he covers his enemy and restricts their movement, as well as converting his water into ice to attack the enemy.
The most special thing about him was the sword of ice he wielded. It's said that he spent weeks condensing an entire iceberg into that one sword, and that it weighs more than buildings.
"You three failed to subdue the enemy. He used that blast from earlier to launch himself and retreat."
After reprimanding them, he fixed his gaze on Ryan's stiletto.
"That blood is his, correct?"
"If that's the case, bring it into headquarters so they can collect a sample. We'll find out where he is and swiftly eliminate him."
Ryan looked at his weapon to see it covered in the assassin's blood.
'Right… I did that.'
The weird thing about Ryan's ability was that it messed with his perception of reality. Sometimes, he would forget that things actually happened when he didn't use his ability. Sometimes, he would think he did something that actually never happened.
"Right away."
Ryan glanced at August before leaving, wondering what he saw in Eric. His ability to detect the strength of others didn't work on the Triarchs, probably due to a certain Gifted's ability they use to conceal themselves.
'I just hope they don't take my stiletto.'
***
A week after Cullen's battle with the Transforming Snake, he trained in the forest right next to the beach.
By jumping from tree to tree with all his force, he could exhaust his legs and allow them to grow stronger. This was his typical way of training on The Island, yet it was far too slow.
He had traveled close to the shores before, yet remained cautious about going on them. It would require him to be out in the open and may reveal his location to anyone watching. He also didn't believe there was much to see.
But after learning about the Jade Titan, Cullen had to reconsider where he spent his time. They roam around the core in a circle while remaining 500 meters away. Because of The Island's size, it was safer for him to be near the beach.
'I've yet to find a way to increase my training's efficiency. Well, I'm not even sure if there is one. Lucas certainly didn't mention anything like that, but it's possible he doesn't know either.'
In the past 7 days, Cullen has strictly trained his strength while keeping his encounters with Abominations to a minimum. He only hunted the wolves for their meat and avoided everything else. While he still felt safe with his Mini Kamikaze, The Island was too dangerous to let his guard down.
Because of this, he alternated which body part he would train each time. Exhausting himself all at once would leave him vulnerable. On average, it took around 20 minutes of constant work, whether it be lifting small trees, running at full speed, or carrying large boulders, to wear himself out. After that, his Gifted recovery speed allowed him to rebuild his muscles in less than three hours.
'I can't say for sure, but I suspect my strength is around 10 or 11 Tavros. Considering the rate at which I grow, it will take months to reach the Mindcradle! There has to be an Abomination whose ability can help me train…'
In theory, it was possible for this to happen. If an Abomination's ability directly increased its own strength, Cullen could use it for himself. The problem is that this wouldn't actually make Cullen stronger. It would be more like a temporary change, which would disappear if he stopped using it. To actually make his muscles grow, Cullen had to train them.
And the main difference between Gifted and Abominations is growth. Gifteds will progressively get stronger, but Abominations always stay the same. This means it would be extremely difficult for him to find an ability that allowed him to grow, or even impossible.
'I've also been thinking of different ways to defeat the Mindcradle, but brute strength seems to be the only thing that will work. Since it's not sentient, I can't command it with the Cursed Mask. The difference in strength will probably kill me, anyway. The Mini Kamikaze's explosion is pretty strong, yet it's unclear what would happen. If it does end up destroying the Mindcradle's core, will it be sent to a random location?'
Cullen collapsed to the ground, tired from all the jumping. While his legs ached, his head hurt even more from all this thinking.
'What does Tavros even mean? I'm relying on a strange system I know nothing about! Maybe having a lower Tavros doesn't mean I can't kill it, I just need to try harder!'
Cullen wished Lucas or Flora were here to answer his questions. The last thing he wanted to do was suffer through the Mindcradle all to test out a theory that wouldn't work.
'I believe that resisting its mental attacks is easier than living in constant fear. Because of this, I might as well try out my idea. Just because my strength is lower than some unknown number system I don't understand, it doesn't mean that it will never break. I only need to hit it over and over again!'
In the end, he decided to rechallenge the Mindcradle after three days. This would give him time to increase his strength yet again and also get used to his new sword, the Transforming Spiralblade. By utilizing its ability to grow mid-strike, he could add even more power to the point of impact!
'I'll give myself this time to think of an alternative plan, but if I can't come up with anything, then I must defeat it!'
***
Sure enough, 3 days later, Cullen stood in front of the mental barrier created by the Mindcradle.
He had, in fact, not been able to think of a way out.
What he did come up with was the item he would create from the Abomination!
'Before, I wanted something that could replicate its power around me. While this would be strong, it's also problematic for potential allies. To fully understand my ability, I first have to understand the Abomination's power. It doesn't move, doesn't physically attack, but uses mind tricks to confuse its prey. However, it's not as senseless as one would think. What seems like a normal barrier of mental attacks is actually something controlled by the Mindcradle's will.'
Cullen knew this because he had experienced it before.
The second time he encountered it, and the first time he reached the core, the pain had gotten progressively worse. Yet, it turned out to be a trick that the Mindcradle would later use on Cullen to make him think he had escaped. It is far more than just a headache-inducing monster!
So by this logic, could Cullen create an item that would allow him to not only damage enemies mentally, but confuse and manipulate them as well?
Cullen already had something in mind, but decided to postpone that until he was close to breaking the core. He had to focus on this first!
'I'm getting really tired of this.'
Sighing, Cullen stepped into the world of pain with his compass in one hand and sword in the other.
While it was still rather unpleasant, it was far from what he experienced the first time. However, since Cullen already knew the Abominations' tricks, it decided to go all in right off the bat, increasing the severity to the max.
He reached the center in less than a minute of speed-walking.
The instant relief he felt when entering the safe bubble reminded Cullen of a strange phenomenon he learned a while back. The eye of the storm! This was an area of peace in a raging hurricane, similar to this Abomination's power.
'Since the Mindcradle's ability uses this concept, the item I create can also. But the question is, how much can I change it? Could I make the 'eye of the storm' a figurative safe spot for people who don't wish harm upon me? This would severely bend its ability! But if it works, I could create the item I wish…'
After Cullen realized he was zoning out again, he forced himself to concentrate on the core in front of him.
Flashbacks to when he struck this core still lingered in his mind, and it pained him to see it floating there without a scratch.
'This time, it will be different.'