Jon underestimated just how powerful the effects of a Title could be if one took the time to integrate conceptually heavy or powerful Title

Jon underestimated just how powerful the effects of a Title could be if one took the time to integrate conceptually heavy or powerful Title Fragments. Despite the fact that Jon had barely had Princeps Of The Wandering Mutation for more than day, the now nineteen-year-old young man had fallen in love with the effects of his complete Title.

Although the term "princeps" was unfamiliar to Jon, the way the word was pronounced on his lips felt right in strange, unexplainable sort of way. Rana had told him that a "princeps" was another term for ruler or monarch in certain languages.

Despite how egotistical the Title made him sound; Jon could not help but smile cradling a handful of new fragments in his palm. Through the combined effects of Princeps Of The Wandering Mutation, in addition to his Seir-Glacial Heart and Murmur-Glacial Marrow, Jon possessed a strength that seemed almost outrageous for someone still constrained by their Mortality.

His Fragment Of Heart and Fragment Of Marrow were the crux which allowed Jon to withstand greater physical enhancements. These physical mutations altered the very nature of his organs, blood and bone marrow, allowing him to withstand greater amounts of physical stress and produce an even greater physical force.

The effects of Princeps Of The Wandering Mutation were passive and did not rely on spiritual energy either. As such, Jon could push even more spiritual energy into his Mutation Trait abilities, overloading them without having to worry about accidentally injuring himself.

Not only that, but Jon found his other Mutation Trait abilities growing stronger as well.

His Yaochi-Jade Prana contained an even greater concentration and quantity of lifeforce, further increasing the recovery effect of [Green Is The Flesh, As Red Is The Blood]. Not to mention both [With Thou In Hand, Wood Shalt Live Forever] and [With Thou In Hand, Even War Will Be Dyed Yellow] could now withstand an even greater number of debuffs and afflictions before being annihilated.

Jon was unsure of the exact number of debuffs Archetype Green and Archetype Avarice could withstand but knew that both now boasted a significantly more lifeforce within.

His Longinus-Lancea Spirit and Minerva-Sagacity Eyes did not see an overwhelming change, but the invisible-lance constructs that [Thou Art The Monarch Of Spears And Truth] manifested were now larger and much more robust even without overloading his Fragment Of Spirit.

His Helel-Testament Pride remained unused for the time being, Jon not finding a situation that warranted the use of his Fragment Of Superbia.

'Although the greatest boost to effectiveness would have to go to my Fragment Of Shadow,' Jon thought to himself, his eyes glancing towards two-dimensional reflection on the ground.

[Thou Is But A Shadow Of Oneself] was perhaps Jon's worst Mutation Trait ability.

After quite a thorough amount of testing an experimentation, Jon had found that his Hades-Sagacity Shadow could expand up to thirty feet in a single direction. His Fragment Of Shadow could even enter spaces beyond where his vision could reach, so long as there was a physical gap that his shadow could enter.

Jon had found this out after using his Hades-Sagacity Shadow to recover a Fragment Of Driftwood without a sunken tree several hundred metres down river.

It was quite an effective method of reconnaissance, if it was not for the limitations placed on [Thou Is But A Shadow Of Oneself].

The first and most obvious being that for whatever reason, Jon could not overload his Fragment Of Shadow, allowing his Hades-Sagacity Shadow to stretch beyond thirty feet. Overloading it merely increased his resistances towards light-related damages, afflictions and debuffs.

The second limitation being that after cancelling the effects of the Spell contained within it, Jon would experience a brief moment of cognitive lag, moving his senses back from his Hades-Sagacity Shadow back into his Mortal body. His master over [Mine Is The Sea Of Knowledge] did nothing to remove this side-effect, although Jon would be able to remedy this upon reaching Knighthood.

'Either a Fragment Of Mind into [Thou Is But A Shadow Of Oneself] or a Fragment Of Duality into [Mine Is The Sea Of Knowledge]. Rana also suggested a Fragment Of Incarnation or even a Fragment Of Sovereignty if I wanted to pursue more martial paths for my Hades-Sagacity Shadow.'

'Of course, that is on the condition I integrate a Fragment Of Duality into my Sea Of Knowledge.'

The third and final limitation was annoying to say the least.

Outside of a natural or artificial source of light, Jon found the range of Hades-Sagacity Shadow cut in half. The thirty foot length would be reduced to a mere fifteen feet. The effects of abilities did not count either, the dull golden-green glow of the Earthen Treasury Womb doing nothing to combat this limitation.

These three constraints his Fragment Of Shadow possessed was the reason why he refrained from using his Hades-Sagacity Shadow so often, outside of practice around Avahni, Sariel and the others.

It possess to many weaknesses in comparison to his Minerva-Sagacity Eyes, Longinus-Lancea Spirit or even other abilities such as [Rhapsody Of The Cold Star] and [Requiem Of The White Star].

'That is until I obtained Princeps Of The Wandering Mutation,' Jon could not help but smile, closing his eyes whispering the chant associated with his Fragment Of Shadow.

Stolen novel; please report.

"Hark! Mine is the shadow of knowledge, the sweet ignorance within thou ambitious daydream. Hitherto, and awaken from thou fantasy, lest your eyes become mine own, your fingers, feet and heart all too".

Jon felt his consciousness move from his physical body into his Hades-Sagacity Shadow, the world growing quiet as the connection between his sense of smell and taste grew muted as his remaining three senses grew stronger.

Jon had never noticed that effect until he obtained his Title. Whether it was inadvertent or on purpose, while assuming his Hades-Sagacity Shadow Jon was not able to smell the world around him, nor was he able to taste using the shadow of his tongue.

'Perhaps it is in the nature of shadows to not smell or taste?' Jon thought to himself quietly.

Stretching his two-dimensional shoulders, Jon took a deep breath before stretching his Fragment Of Shadow ahead of him. His mutation, which elevated his mortal shadow into that of a Hades-Sagacity Shadow moved in accordance with his will, stepping forward despite having neither tendons nor nerves.

Within a matter of moments, Jon's shadow stretched towards the twenty-five feet mark, smiling as the narrowing sensation that he was felt was now nowhere to be seen.

Twenty-eight feet. Twenty-nine feet. Thirty feet. Thirty-one feet.

His Hades-Sagacity Shadow stretched beyond the limitations that was once placed on it. Even after exceeding thirty-five feet, Jon still felt as though he could extend his shadow even further than forty feet.

[Thou Is But A Shadow Of Oneself] could not be overloaded. Rana had told him that however uncommon shadow-type mutations were, the basic essence of a Mortal Ranked mutation was how well an individual could shape and manipulate their shadow.

Finding the maximum value that someone could extend their shadow was the first step.

This was a common practice for individuals that either possessed Shadow Mana Cores, or people like Jon who managed to mutate their shadow.

'I'm almost there…'

Jon unconsciously furrowed his brows, feeling a familiar "narrowing" sensation.

Forty-two feet. Forty-three feet. Forty-four feet. And…

His Hades-Sagacity Shadow could no longer stretch beyond forty-five feet. The mortal constraints of [Thou Is But A Shadow Of Oneself] preventing him from expanding his shadow even further.

Jon could feel the tickle of grass against his neck, and the soft crunching of loose earth beneath his feet. Although his sense of smell was dulled, if he circulated spiritual energy into his Fragment Of Intuition, Jon thought that he could imagine the faint aroma of freshly cut grass on his nose.

'Princeps Of The Wandering Mutation dramatically increases the effectiveness of all abilities with the Mutation Trait. My Hades-Sagacity Shadow has experienced a fifty percent increase in effectiveness. I guess I should assume that all my other mutations have experienced a similar level of improvement?'

Although Jon could not be certain regarding his Longinus-Lancea Spirit, Yaochi-Jade Prana, Minerva-Sagacity Eyes and Helel-Testament Pride, it fell in line to the increase in effectiveness his Seir-Glacial Heart and Murmur-Glacial Marrow experienced.

His physical capabilities were monstrous even without the enhancements of [Cometh Thy Red Horse Awaits]. In addition to the effects of his Heretical Chaulk Pauldrons, Jon should theoretically be able to overpower anyone still constrained by Mortality.

Unless they specialized in physical mass and enhancements that boosted physical strength and endurance.

'Although once I become a Knight, I can integrate other fragments into my abilities, giving me even more flexibility and variation in my moves. What should I pick? A Fragment Of Teleportation? Or a Fragment Of Poison? So many different possibilities!'

Jon opened his eyes, cancelling the effects of [Thou Is But A Shadow Of Oneself] and allowing himself to carried through the waves of cognitive lag his Spell inflicted back onto him. The effects were brief, lasting no more than a few seconds, but during that time Jon felt as though his senses were inverted raising his arm instead of taking a step forward.

Letting out an overexaggerated breath of air, Jon nodded, feeling the presence of a certain bodhi tree in the gap between his conscious and subconscious mind.

"You still aiming for one more mutation before becoming a Knight Jon?" Ashvattha Rana asked.

The brown-haired young man in question nodded, glancing towards his remaining task rewards. With eight possible fragments of his choice still available for Jon to claim, he certainly did not want to waste any more time waiting around while Knighthood was right there for him to obtain.

"The combination of a Fragment Of Mutation and Weave Mana Core would all but guarantee some sort of Mutation Trait ability. A Fragment Of Stomach or even a Fragment Of Liver might be another option to consider, but neither one guarantees another mutation."

Princeps Of The Wandering Mutation was too good of a Title for Jon not to consider another mutation.

In the future, when Jon would ascend from Knighthood to Lordship, and then Lordship to Barony, he might be able to transform his Sea Of Knowledge into a form of mutation, or even [Monstrous Intuition] through a specific combination of fragments, but such a thing was too far away for Jon to consider a viable possibility.

If he could obtain another mutation before becoming a Knight, Jon would not have to worry about rushing to acquire more Mutation Trait abilities down the line.

"Although I would normally recommend against such a thing, I do agree that the effects of Princeps Of The Wandering Mutation are far too beneficial for you to not consider. Perhaps something more abstract, such as a Fragment Of Bravery or a Fragment Of Personality might be more fitting?" Ashvattha Rana suggested.

Jon hummed in thought, glancing towards the corner of his vision for a few seconds before dismissing the completion notification of another mandatory task. Jon would receive nothing, but the Mortal Ranked rewards if he accepted it now and thought it better to wait until he had a few more Titles under his belt.

Pocketing the fragments he had in his hand, Jon took a deep breath before gazing upwards towards the vast reaches of this inversed world. Even with the effects of his Minerva-Sagacity Eyes, Jon could just barely make out the finer details of the landscapes above his head.

Mountain ranges which divided the heavens with their frozen peaks.

Deserts stretching hundreds of kilometres across the sky.

Vast forests that seemed to conceal rivers and swamps within them.

Enormous lakes that seemed more akin to seas given their incredible breadth.

Jon could not help but want to see more of this world.

There were so many opportunities here that it made Earth seem almost boring in comparison.

'Before the five of us leave to travel North, I want to have a full set of abilities. I don't want any of us to be unprepared this time. In the event that we encounter another Knight, all of us will be ready.' Jon thought to himself.

The Earthen Treasury Womb let out an unimpressed snort.

"Five of us? Summoned companions do not count as people then?" the bodhi tree teasingly asked.

Jon chuckled, shaking his head while shrugging his shoulders. He would need to reserve one of his task rewards if he wanted to resummon Schwarz Eis, leaving him with seven possible fragments of his choice. Not to mention the fact that Avahni had summoned numerous companions over the past few days, Huo Liyu, Totlechatl, and Annwn Boann just to name a few.

Glancing in the direction of his campsite, Jon took a deep breath before stepped forward, feeling an emotion that he had felt in quite some time.

Hopeful.

Jon could say with absolute certainty that he felt hopeful about the days to come.

And it would start, with a Fragment Of Creation.

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