The world felt ever so slightly brighter in Jon's eyes. Colours appeared more vibrant. Scents possessed layers to them. Sounds bounced off t

The world felt ever so slightly brighter in Jon's eyes. Colours appeared more vibrant. Scents possessed layers to them. Sounds bounced off the objects around him filling his mind with a faint ringing that did not exist previously.

The sound of his heartbeat was slow yet resounded throughout his mind.

Not in fear or trepidation. Nor in joy or zealous excitement.

Everything just… fell into place. There was no sense of discontinuity between thought and action. No incoherence between the imaginary and the real. The form that Jon had in his mind, was the form that he repeated with perfect accuracy.

Taking a slow and steadied step forward, Jon did not enter his [Le Mat Avancement], not feeling the need to waste his war natured spiritual energy. His gait was measured and controlled, everything from the slight swing of his arms to the relaxed tension in his shoulders and arms, not a single thing was out of place.

There was a literal sense of ease in everything that he did.

The distance between his strides.

The tautness of his shoulders.

The steadiness of his breath.

The concealed strength within his arms and legs.

The precision of his thoughts.

Jon could not help but smile, even as he watched the four remaining Malum Goblins move around enormously long wood barrier that he had manifested just moments ago. After realizing the nature of what existed within himself, Jon, for the first time perhaps since arriving within the System Introduction, did not feel fear or joy or anything in between.

Holding Assail in just a single hand, Jon adjusted his grip, grasping the Spear Of Verdant Cedar towards the base of the polearm. Despite the preternatural sense of balance his summoned spear possessed, the tip of his barred spear remained just inches off the ground.

Jon just continued walking forward, his stride slow but measured.

His [Monstrous Intuition] urged him of an approaching source of darkness natured spiritual energy, but Jon just turned his torso on its side, allowing the arrow-shaped projectile to brush past him, mere inches away from striking his chest.

His Minerva-Sagacity Eyes locked onto one of the little ashen-skinned beasts, the corners of his mouth raising as he watched it mutter some sort of Spell. The familiar texture of tree natured spiritual energy gathering around it, forming some sort of construct beneath the earth's surface.

Jon did not appear worried or bothered about the Spells and abilities sent flying towards him, side-stepping each one of the constructs of darkness natured spiritual energy or water natured spiritual energy. Despite their physical mutations and abilities, not a single one of the Malum Goblins wanted to get within the reach of Jon's spear, each of them taking turns at casting Spells at him, keeping the human at range.

Jon felt his eye twitch, tilting his head back as he avoided a torrential stream of water natured spiritual energy sent towards his head, simultaneously slashing the space in front of him with Assail shattering a tree root that burst forth from the ground in front of him.

Despite all of these abilities and Spells sent towards Jon, not a single one of them managed to land a hit, or even a glancing blow against him.

[Monstrous Intuition] did not feel overloaded, but Jon limited its effects to just his hearing and sense of sight. The "Knowledge" that he had accumulated about these Malum Goblins increased the effectiveness of his two senses to the nth degree, his intuition and instincts sharpened down to a needlepoint.

Jon did not need the Spell effect born from his [Eyes Through The Looking Glass]. The Fragment Of Eyes, which birthed his Minerva-Sagacity Eyes refined his retina quality and visual acuity to the point where his vision exceeded that of ninety-nine percent of the animal kingdom back on Earth.

Jon could perceive each individual bead of sweat formed on the brows of each Malum Goblin. He could count the number of blades of grass each one of them crushed as they attempted to retreat further away from him. He could make out the fine, almost hair-thin veins of the leaves connected to his [Temperance Of Green, Imperial Wood Barrier].

Jon did not dare to draw upon his Seir-Glacial Heart or Murmur-Glacial Marrow, and his Yaochi-Jade Prana and Hades-Sagacity Shadow did not possess inherent effects related to combat. Both Ashvattha Rana and Schwarz Eis had told him he could change that after attaining Knighthood, but Jon was still so far away from such a thing that he could not rely on them in the short term.

Although Jon did have his Longinus-Lancea Spirit, which possessed an innate offensive Spell, it was not enough. Especially considering that [Wrath Of Green, Piercing Wood Eruption] and [False Spear Art; Concealed Spear Detonation] possessed prerequisites such as maintaining physical contact with a surface while casting.

As a result, Jon felt something within him tremble, a subtle resonance forming between the Source within him and a certain object within his pocket. It was not quite as real as the one between himself and his Fragment Of Avaritia, but given his present state, he could better manipulate every facet of himself with a much greater sense of ease.

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Adjusting his grip on Assail Jon entered a much more defensive posture, swinging the spear in one hand while deflecting arrows of darkness and scorching waves of fire. The techniques imparted upon him through his Fragment Of Hunt, Fragment Of Destruction and Fragment Of Stealth were all being used, albeit without him activating each ability.

[Stance Of The White Star] taught Jon to strike with the horrendous strength of a white star. Ice does not falter in the face of wind or rain, nor sun or warmth. It would envelop all beneath a coffin of purest white.

[Dance Of The Cold Star] taught Jon how to enjoy running with the monstrous acceleration of a cold star. Ice encroaches upon the land and sea. Upon the skies and the deepest depths beneath our feet. Whether now or in ten thousand years, it would catch up to you and crush you beneath its frozen weight.

[Le Mat Avancement] showed Jon a third path. The reconciliation between the horrifying violence of war and battle, and the strength of remaining unseen from ones enemies. Standing in front of one's opponent, shrouded in a violent haze of spiritual energy. [The Fools Advance, Inversing Life And Death] was something that Jon still did not fully understand, although could see the directions where he could take this ability.

The footwork that Jon had created was near-perfect. This sense of clarity that had overtaken him, born from the enlightenment granted to him through the Earthen Treasury Womb, had moulded Jon in the heat of battle, and forged him into something beautiful.

His waves and tides within his Sea Of Knowledge surged and splashed, creating enormous tidal waves and tsunamis capable of toppling entire cities. Yet at the same time, the undercurrents beneath the water's surface had come to a complete halt, bringing with it an incredible sense of calm and assurance.

Minerva-Sagacity Eyes darted between two Malum Goblins, watching as two of them attempted to perform a simultaneous attack from two opposite directions. Feeling the corner of his eye twitch, Jon gritted his teeth, hurling Assail in the direction of one of them and strengthening how much he was overloading [Cometh Thy Red Horse Awaits].

Jon did not even turn back to face the goblin that he had once again impale upon the Spear Of Verdant Cedar. Focusing the physical enhancements solely on his fists and forearms, Jon could not help but wince as he shattered an arrow of darkness natured spiritual energy, feeling himself become inflicted with an instance of [Midnight Darkness].

The young human did not even concern himself with the effects of the debuff, feeling Archetype Green transfer it away, and then Archetype Avarice claim it as its own.

Jon could feel that he had broken at least one of his fingers, but ignored the pain, taking a deep breath and reaching into his pocket.

Fragment Of "Weapon" discovered.

Would you like to integrate this into your Spear Mana Core or War Mana Core?

Y/N

Although Jon could hear Ashvattha Rana yell at him in the back of his mind, the eighteen-year-old felt not a single regret as he accepted the integration notice, selecting his Spear Mana Core with a swift flick of his finger.

Left without a weapon in his hand Jon did not hesitate for a single moment as he punched several oncoming arrows of darkness with his bare hands. His heightened senses and superhuman physicality making up for his distinct lack of form or technique. Each approaching projectile shattered caused his sense of clarity to quiver under the pressure but continued fighting ignoring almost everything else around him.

Blood splattering and bones crunching as his [One With Green] buff worked to slowly heal the damage that he had willingly sustained. Jon refused to use [Green Is The Flesh, As Red Is The Blood] so relied on alternative sources of healing granted to him through his Archetype Green.

Jon noticed one of the other Malum Goblins, the one who had integrated a Fire Mana Core finish one of their chants. His [Monstrous Intuition] not reacting until brightly orange-coloured flames burst forth from the goblin's hand, shooting towards him in a continuous stream rather than an enormous wave.

His Fragment Of War strained under the amount of knowledge natured spiritual energy he poured into it. His figure almost flickering as Jon vanished from where he once stood, sprinting in a wide arc while watching his three opponents scatter while still remaining within casting distance of one another.

Jon almost did not notice the presence of an approaching object. The fact that he did not realize its presence was due to the fact that it was born from his own spiritual energy, [Monstrous Intuition] not alerting him to the danger.

From across the forest, Ashvattha Rana turned back towards Schwarz Eis fighting the Knight Ranked creature, noticing that the amount of ice natured spiritual energy at her disposal was less than five percent what she had initially started with.

The bodhi tree extended her roots towards the three Malum Goblins, ignoring the fact that she possessed no inherent offensive abilities other than the minute amount of strength her limbs could release.

Carving paths through the earth beneath herself, the Earthen Treasury Womb felt her roots pierce through the soft dirt beneath the feet of the three goblins, coiling around their ankles and tightening as much as her physical form allowed her to. The grip was not necessarily tight, but it was strong enough to prevent them from removing their feet without destroying the roots.

One of the Malum Goblins, who had mutated their right arm through the integration of a Fragment Of Talon into its Goblin Mana Core slashed at the bodhi tree's roots, sending waves of pain shooting up the length of the extended limb.

"Jon! Your Fragment Of Weapon, use it now!", Ashvattha Rana screamed, her innate vitality damaged with each strike the goblins inflicted upon her. Ashvattha Rana no longer possessed the numerous defensive abilities or mutations which increased her lifeforce or natural regeneration, and as a tree, her roots were among her most vital organs.

Fingers twitching at the words of the Earthen Treasury Womb, Jon took a deep breath reaching out with his bloodied hand and grasping at the empty space in front of him. The action felt somewhat strange considering that Assail was lodged in the chest of some lifeless corpse several dozen metres away.

Jon opened his mouth, filling his lungs with air.

Swifty swinging his extended arm downwards and slashing a line of pink-neon light the air in front of him, manifesting the summoned weapon born from his Fragment Of Weapon. With just a swift glance up the length of the polearm, Jon could see that it differed in appearance to that of Assail, possessing a cross-shaped blade at the end, rather than a barred tip.

The three ashen-skinned goblins appeared slightly taken back at the sudden appearance of another weapon in Jon's hands. One of them, who had integrated four Mana Cores snarled at Jon, extending its hand forward and muttering another chant.

Glancing at the effect description of his new weapon, Jon smiled while pointing it towards the Fourth Initiated goblin.

"Bloom wonderous flowers; thulian rain shall pierce through the azure firmament. Wilt phantasmal petals; orchid hopes shall thrust through the false dream!".

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