"Vanishing steel. Obscuring iron. Honour and glory besmirch the name of victory. Concealing thrust. Unfettered conflict. Thou shall not deny thy triumph this day".

Placing his hand on the sands around his feet, Jon cast [False Spear Art; Concealed Spear Detonation], feeling his spear natured spiritual energy channelled through his palm and into the ground beneath him. Despite Jon's rudimentary methods of detecting the ambient spiritual energy around him, he could feel the lingering presence of spear natured spiritual energy in two places on the riverbank.

Nodding his head, Jon smiled before picking up a flat piece of bark he had managed to forage around for, peeling it off what he thought was some sort of eucalyptus tree. Backing up several steps, Jon threw the piece of bark towards one of the concealed spear constructs.

The moment the tree rind came into contact with his [False Spear Art; Concealed Spear Detonation], the bark practically exploded, shattered the moment a trident-shaped construct burst forth from the ground beneath it. The trident was about the same length as Assail, existing for about three seconds before vanishing into a silver-metal mist of spiritual energy.

Jon practically grinned at the sight, throwing another piece of bark towards the other trap he had prepared.

This time, an enormous bident erupted from the ground beneath the bark, shattering it in an instant. Over three metres in height, its two prongs were almost a third of the total length of the manifested construct. Despite the amount of spiritual energy that Jon had poured into that instance of [False Spear Art; Concealed Spear Detonation], it did not linger for longer than three seconds.

'So the Spell construct remains active for roughly three seconds before vanishing. That is good to know at least. Once I can integrate a few more fragments into my Spear Mana Core, I can store a few more charges of [False Spear Art; Concealed Spear Detonation]," Jon thought to himself.

His newest Spell required a minor amount of setup before it could be useful but did not produce a continuous drain on his spear natured spiritual energy. One construct could remain concealed for up to thirty minutes before vanishing and continue to exist even after Jon moved over a kilometre away from it.

Using [False Spear Art; Concealed Spear Detonation] during combat would require him to actively focus on his positioning, guiding his enemies towards the traps striking them when they least expected it. Although Jon also had [Wrath Of Green, Piercing Wood Eruption] as a short-to-mid ranged offensive Spell, against larger targets [False Spear Art; Concealed Spear Detonation] provided a greater effect for a much lower mana expenditure.

Jon noticed Schwarz Eis appear in a shower of whiteish-blue motes of spiritual energy. Wearing a pure white singlet and a pair of sweatpants that Jon swore had seen an actress wear in some movie from his youth.

"Fragments Of Trap often manifest with both the Spell Trait and the Technique Trait. It is one of the easier abilities to obtain a minimum level of mastery in. At higher Ranks, it can become quite dangerous considering how you want to develop it. Detonating them remotely or conjuring them from a distance is the most common routes of development," said the winter demon spirit.

Jon did wonder why neither Schwarz Eis or Ashvattha Rana would tell him how abilities could change or evolve as someone increased their Rank or Tier. Both of them spoke with such certainty behind their words although would not confirm any of the questions or answers he had relating to Knight Ranked abilities.

Schwarz Eis leaned against one of the pieces of deadwood that were scattered across the riverbank. Due to this section of the river curving inwards on itself, objects were quite often washed ashore filling this area with the corpses of drowned trees and foliage.

"I'd recommend integrating at least two more abilities relating to crowd-control. While your Fragment Of Eruption is excellent at creating space between yourself and your opponent, debilitating effects that reduce physical speed and stamina are always preferred by close-quarters combatants. I am able to produce spiritual and physical shields, so your Fragment Of Barrier should always be used when no other options are available."

"Although you were incapable of knowing that you would manifest myself as an ability, perhaps in the future, the development of your [Temperance Of Green, Imperial Wood Barrier] will move in a more alternative direction," Schwarz Eis said, looking down at her nails for a moment, blowing on them before moving her gaze back towards Jon.

That was the unfortunate reality of integrating Fragments Of Summon. Considering that each one of them guaranteed a summoned companion, it was quite up to the Mana Core that it was integrated into to determine what manner of creature might be contracted.

Schwarz Eis knew that the Source of an individual shaped what abilities one could manifest, although unlike that green-haired elfin sapient named Avahni, Jon did not possess an inherent affinity towards abilities with the Summon Trait.

Jon did not know if he could obtain another summoned companion through the integration of another Fragment. He was unwilling to waste the potential of a Memento Source Fragment on another Fragment Of Summon, so Jon would just have to test his luck whenever he wanted to integrate another fragment.

The eighteen-year-old glanced towards his status page, nodding at the presence of [False Spear Art; Concealed Spear Detonation] beneath [Thou Art The Monarch Of Spears And Truth]. Jon had integrated more than half of the maximum number of fragments a Mortal could integrate, feeling a subtle sense of accomplishment settle within his bones.

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Although he had not peered at Avahni's or Wilheim's status pages in a few days, there was not a shadow of doubt within Jon's mind that he had integrated the greatest number of fragments amidst the three of them.

Five if he included both Sariel and Shamael, the former of which, joined Avahni on her hunt this morning. Although she was accompanied by four of her summoned companions, the green-skinned satanas felt the desire to escort her on her search, following the lutin with a wide smile on her face.

Jon could not help but wink at Ru Luan Di, watching as the little ginseng king waved him off, telling him to focus on his own problems rather than his. Titus Claudius did not seem phased from the conversation, his [Fire Chevalier] Aura continuously enshrouding Avahni, preventing anything from getting too close without him knowing about it.

Although Jon was somewhat concerned about the presence of that powerful Knight Ranked creature nearby, given that Shamael and Sariel were both capable of escaping from it, he was not that concerned with its intelligence or capacity to track its prey.

Jon ignored the thoughts of that ashen-skinned creature within his mind. He did not notice the strange expression that Schwarz Eis sent him, instead focusing on something much more important.

Glancing towards the space just under [False Spear Art; Concealed Spear Detonation], there was another line of text, beneath the section reserved for his War Mana Core.

Moments after integrating the Fragment Of Trap into his Spear Mana Core, Jon followed Schwarz Eis' suggestion but instead integrated the Fragment Of Stealth into his War Mana Core. Reading the description was quite difficult, given that it was perhaps even longer than [With Thou In Hand, Wood Shalt Live Forever].

This one, caused even Schwarz Eis to straighten their posture, hearing Jon recite its effect description.

[Fragment Of Stealth] [The Fools Advance, Inversing Life And Death] (War, Stealth, Spell, Ability, Technique, Enhancement, Sensory, Debuff)

Effect (Mortal): Enter [Le Mat Avancement] obscuring oneself with a flickering haze of war natured spiritual energy. [Le Mat Avancement] envelops the physical form in an obscuring dark fog, preventing others from seeing their physical appearance. While [Le Mat Avancement] is active, successful strikes will inflict instances of [Crying Fool] up to a maximum threshold. Reaching the threshold will transform all instances of [Crying Fool] into a single instance of [Inversed Smile].

[Le Mat Avancement]: Increases the effectiveness of all abilities with the Technique Trait.

[Crying Fool]: Decreases the effectiveness of all abilities with the Sensory Trait and Perception Trait. Decreases stamina regeneration. Additional stacks have an additive effect.

[Inversed Smile]: Inflicts a continuous war-natured damage over time effect. Interferes with mental constructs and emotional stability, damaging the mind and spirit with horrifying images.

Both Schwarz Eis and Ashvattha Rana seemed quite interested in the connotations that this ability manifested. Jon did not think that his Fragment Of Stealth would manifest an ability similar in nature to his Fragment Of Destruction or Fragment Of Hunt. Although found the additional Technique quite interesting, even compared to the physical enhancements granted to him through his [Stance Of The White Star] and [Dance Of The Cold Star].

"Hmm. I did not expect your Fragment Of Stealth to manifest itself in such a way. Although perhaps it is to be expected, the War Mana Core carries certain connotations that allow the abilities manifested through it to be used directly during combat," said Ashvattha Rana, turning towards Schwarz Eis, who nodded at the bodhi tree's words.

"Once you obtain a level of sufficient mastery in each Jon, you should be capable of performing multiple different Techniques at once. After doing so, stacking the effects of [Stance Of The White Star] and [Le Mat Avancement] should allow you to continuously inflict debuffs upon your enemies. Although you lack a powerful finishing ability, this should allow you to whittle down most targets that do not specialize in cleansing or refining," Schwarz Eis said, humming while watching Jon initiate [The Fools Advance, Inversing Life And Death].

The winter demon spirit and bodhi tree both watched as a thick, dark haze of war natured spiritual energy was released from the soles of his feet, stretching upwards before enveloping the entirety of Jon's form. The haze was coloured dark-red, although fletches of silver occasionally caught the eyes of Schwarz Eis and Ashvattha Rana.

Taking a step forward while raising both of his arms, [Le Mat Avancement] followed his movements, dark wisps of war natured spiritual energy trailing behind Jon as he walked across the riverbank.

His steps and gait were quite measured, leaving quite a number of gaps for his opponent to strike at him through.

"Summon Assail Jon!", shouted Schwarz Eis, causing him to nod before manifesting the Spear Of Verdant Cedar in his hands.

Jon felt his eyes widen, as the dark red haze of his [Le Mat Avancement] extended up and down the length of his spear, enveloping in the same thick cloud-like substance that the rest of his body was obscured in. Although it was still possible for one to somewhat discern the shape, length and form of Jon's spear, it would certainly did not result in his opponent claiming a more advantageous position.

Performing a few thrusts and slashes with Assail did not result in the red haze failing to follow the follow the movements of the weapon. Running at his near full speed, using both [Cometh Thy Red Horse Awaits] and his Murmur-Glacial Marrow to enhance himself, Jon smiled, turning towards his two summons, seeing that the pair affirmed his thoughts regarding his newest ability.

"This new Technique of yours Jon seems as though it would be quite effective as an opening during combat. Enemies that have not yet become familiar with your fighting style or the characteristics of your weapon would fight more defensively, wary of the haze manifested through [Le Mat Avancement]," suggested Ashvattha Rana, watching as Jon nodded, cancelling the effects of the Technique.

"It feels almost natural. Even more so than [Requiem Of The Cold Star] and [Rhapsody Of The White Star]. I do not think I have an affinity for the Fragment Of Stealth, I just like it that much", Jon admitted, smiling as he felt the final wisps of war natured spiritual energy vanish into the wind.

Turning and facing both of his summons, Jon smiled before opening his task reward page. Given that he had received the opportunity to obtain another fragment of his choice, Jon did not see the need to keep it in reserve with so many empty slots in his Mana Cores still waiting for another Fragment.

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