Ebony didn't spend much time in Arcta. Just a little over a week.

Kiva remembers him and Clovis got some valuable information while he learnt a thing or two about proper anti-mage tactics from watching Christy spar with Korta. Both relatively young Frost Elves but old mages. He even had a chance to see Koawe fight.

He understood 'position' better now. Asking for a spar would not be a good idea when the defenders were tiptoeing around his very presence in the village. Anyway, he didn't want to bully them with his Domain. It didn't look like any of them could keep up with him if he augmented himself. Their minds and magic were fast but their bodies weren't. If a few of them were together, it wasn't out of the question that they were a significant threat to him.

When they told him it was alright to leave, he left. As long as it didn't compromise their village's safety.

Ebony received an invitation to their second village but he denied it. As the days passed, his mood got worse. Shutting meditation's erasure of Xin's face from his mind might not have been the best idea.

His attempts at writing a song have failed even with a substantial amount of brain power allocated to it. It was supposed to be a gift at his wedding. Meant to show his feelings but he couldn't put that into words. It didn't feel right to ask Muse either. She already told him he was not ready to write a song but he wanted to do it.

"I hope you won't forget me next time." Ebony gave Kiva the treatment she wanted, raising her with mana threads to give him a high five. She giggled at the ticklish touch of mana every single time.

"Ebony, do you think I'm ready to go out…if the village ever opens within the next decade."

"I myself, think I'm not ready. Elcra has opened up to more visitors. It's only getting more dangerous. You're not a fighter, I hope you understand where your parents' worry comes from. But if you still want to, I can ask my friends if they have a spot in Tidal Academy. That should be a good starting point for an academic."

Clovis brightened up. It seemed like his first sentence went on deaf ears.

"I heard that the village would open up within the next couple of years, I'll visit soon and more often," Ebony said his farewells and was escorted out of the village by Orren again.

The young village chief looked at him very differently now. A lot more respect.

The rest of the villagers didn't change the way they saw him. They weren't able to feel much of a difference with him as they were peaceful crafters.

Some of Clovis's older village children hadn't been around. Such as the Snow Rogue Tiha, the sister of one of the village chief's party members. They were in a dungeon the Frost Elf claimed and had been busy training within for the past few years. In another century or so, Arcta would have another batch of combatants ready to protect their village.

Clovis was going to join them the next time they exited and entered. That should be a better gauge for himself but honestly, the wilds weren't all that dangerous outside. Elcra's wilds were relatively safe all things considered.

Ebony didn't turn back and walked deeper into the Glades.

Every step pushing him dozens of kilometres, he took a stroll.

He didn't know if there was an increase in demand for ice-type materials and ingredients or if his perception allowed him to see a rise in freelancer activity.

'At least 6 parties are exploring. Their gear…charms are already in use here?' Ebony was pleasantly surprised at how fast the influence of other worlds had set in. They were in the countrysides of the continent.

Charms weren't native to Elcra.

The only ones rich enough to import items at the moment were concentrated in Tidal. If Plainston or its surrounding towns and cities already had access to these commodities, it was likely Z&Z firm having distributed their goods all over the continent.

Cheaper charms helped greatly in exploring differing environmental conditions such as the cold. It was a worthwhile expense for explorers to come to the edge of Hoarfrost Glades for more uncommon ingredients and materials.

Getting from the Chilly region to the Icy one didn't take more than an hour.

Ebony stomped another Will Relay Buffer deep into the ground.

This area was a bit more troublesome to plant these buffers. He had to make sure there were sufficient defensive and stealth runes to hide from territorial creatures removing foreign substances. Since his Will Relay Buffer was usually a bunch of runic formulas embedded into a rock, it was chock full of his mana and unlike creatures elsewhere, Hoarfrost Glades had many magically inclined monsters.

'I'll have to search for a more suitable material. I wonder if there are materials that can strengthen Will and can withstand loads of high density mana.' Ebony had a portion of processing power search Eidolon's markets and forums.

He could easily make those buffers invisible but only physically. He made them hard to spot with mana but it was still easy to spot if anyone had a decent affinity with the ice element and were sensitive to Will. That referred to almost every single monster in the Glades.

His current solution was to put a higher density of these nodes in the area so that he could push his mana to this area and scare the monsters away. Rocks cannot take too much of his mana so he changed the main material for the nodes with higher grade metals ore he had on hand.

When he entered the Icy region and had an eagle gun for his eyeball, he removed his Myriad Bracelet. This time, there was no sudden fluctuation despite no longer having his mana absorbed and converted to money in his bank account.

Hands in his pockets, light blue flames followed his every step and every monster within two hundred kilometres woke up and scurried away from where his tiny mana leak was coming from.

His mana pool was full. His current expenditure was sending mana across the continent through his buffers to keep his Clones charged up and to continue charging Dusk up. The immense distance made the loss in mana extravagant, more than 90% was lost in transition. But he didn't care for it, he was slowly being more mana efficien with this transfer so it would only get better.

Not all of his clones were fighting at the moment, and Dusk wasn't expending much either. Less than 0.1% of his current regeneration was enough to keep them maintained. The buffers took more to maintain, especially Will.

Will was the biggest issue.

The rest of his mana now had to go somewhere, overflowing wisdom was a problem now that his bracelet was off.

Disseminating it within the radius of the three hundred kilometres made his mana thin enough that it wouldn't kill any monster but thick enough to make them run.

He simply wasn't in the mood to hunt.

Every so often, something would decide that he was more delicious than dangerous. Sending their intense killing intent at him. Ebony's body would fade through them leaving a Shade behind with a decapitated prey. He would bury them before his body left the range of his mental control behind using ice and sound magic to dig.

'Ting' 'You have killed [Snowshard Ravager Lvl 321]. No experience is gained due to maxed level.'

'Ting' 'You have killed [Frigid Serpent Lvl 292]. No experience is gained due to maxed level.'

'Ting' 'You have killed [Vine Lurker Lvl 311]. No experience is gained due to maxed level.'

'Ting' 'You have killed [Chitinfang Beetle Lvl 421]. No experience is gained due to maxed level.'

'Ting' 'You have killed [Boneclaw Locust Lvl 500]. No experience is gained due to maxed level.'

'Ting' 'You have killed [Blazetalon Raptor Lvl 478]. No experience is gained due to maxed level.'

There were some mixed in from his Clones but he wasn't too bothered by it other than the surprise that Eight, who was in Vermin Paradise found and killed a level 500 creature.

In normal cases, his Clones drew mana from Dusk who had more stable mana storage. Ebony needed to keep his own mana for training, emergencies and bank account after all. It was also easier for Ebony to charge one point of contact instead of splitting it up. Dusk could do that for him. Tidal was centralised compared to his current location so it was also more efficient this way.

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Another few dozen notifications for Locusts came in but it was no surprise. Insect types were generally weak to cold and generally had the numbers to back themselves up.

'Ting' 'You have killed [Thunderhorn Stag Lvl 506]. No experience is gained due to maxed level.'

Ebony gave Twenty a bit more of his focus. He'd not seen a lightning elemental monster in the wild. He was in some mountain range near the sea. Directly opposite the border cities where war had been conducted with the Trolls. There weren't any towns there and no one lived there either. It was as far east as the continent goes, further east than Xienor was situated.

'I guess the general mapping will be complete within the next week while a detailed one would take a few more months.'

Twenty was with Twenty-One and the two of them were having a hard time. Their bodies were constantly destroyed but they only had to retain about ten percent of their body at any one time. That was sufficient for enough mana to be sent from Dusk through the Will Relay Buffers. They also had Will storage with Dusk, they couldn't be killed or have their memories lost as long as they were connected and constantly updated Dusk.

If they 'died'. They could have Dusk or Ebony form a new body near the Will Relay Buffer and when a compressed enough ice body was formed, it would be able to take in their Will again. It was a pity for the monsters who didn't like his clones enough to get violent. The most they would lose would be a day or two of memories, less if they update more frequently.

His clones could be said to be ice golems with remote cores and an seemingly limitless energy source behind them.

Just like the rest of his Clones on Cinderash, Dusk copied Ebony and segregated some space for individual Clone's Will.

'What is going on there…the monsters there are almost Hoarfrost Glade strong. And so varied in their elements and skill set.'

"Anyone free can go support Twenty and Twenty-One to speed things up." Ebony sent that message to Dusk to disseminate. It shouldn't take a few minutes for them to hear him.

Ebony personally reached the Apex Apes' territory. Not one was bothered by his mana and they greeted him with a giant punch to his face.

"Get your elders." He kicked the young ape's wrist and sent it flying back further than it could recover immediately.

Taking his robe, shirt and boots off.

Apex Apes were one of the strongest Grandmaster races around. Ebony used to fight their Masters but their race shined more after the Grandmaster evolution. Enough to make them truly 'Apex' in the Glades. At least in the Icy region.

They would never turn a fistfight down, especially when they didn't seem to remember him at all. He was an invader again.

Ebony got all his augmentations up without his Domain.

'Let's see how tough a Grade 5 Grandmaster is.' Ebony stopped actively spreading diluted mana and let overflowing essence go naturally. The Masters were knocked out immediately and the Grandmaster Apex Apes stopped their intention of sending younger members out to test him.

The leader of the Apex Apes jumped forth with imposing momentum. Ebony had never seen it but he had sensed this Ape before.

Over 7 metres tall and across, trunk-like arms. Short but muscular legs. Thin waist. This gorilla had a big head for its species.

The fur on its back and arms raised in response to Ebony's mana.

[Apex Ape Lvl 500]

'It didn't change. These Apex Apes are Appraised as Apex Apes before and after their evolution…they can control their evolution.' Ebony already knew but this was confirmation that the Apex Apes can deny the influx of the Worldcore's essence, stopping their evolution on purpose.

They were less monster, more animal. Perhaps they've fully resolved the issue of foreign essence and are a proper race, like humans and beastmen.

"RWAAA!!!" The Alpha roared into the skies and beat its chest. Looking down on Ebony, it grinned foolishly.

"Oh, you recognise me," Ebony recalled how the Apex Apes challenged each other and beat his chest like them. He roared with every bit of power Soul Basilisk Pseudo-Imitation Roar could deal. If the Shi didn't give him wrong information about the roar.

The rest of the Apex Apes stared at him with rage while some mothers pulled their fainted children further away.

Souls were extremely durable regardless of evolutionary stage, Ebony wasn't that worried he killed any of them with that. It was questionable whether he could even destroy an unclassed's soul with his skills' current strength. He wasn't nearly good enough to dabble or improve the skill when he knew next to nothing about souls.

Quake 'Kick' activated on his punch when the Alpha 'flickered' at him. They have similar burst movements.

Phantasmal Shade Sovereign Arts wasn't able to make more than a single shade within that timespan. Ebony was thoroughly impressed when both of them were knocked back on contact. The Apex Ape had a fist imprinted on its knuckle bone but his arm was fine.

'Can't underestimate any creature regardless of level…so that is equivalent to a tier 5 enhancement at level 1000 plus an active skill of tier 5 at the same level, or my augmentations should be enough to overpower it.'

The Alpha scratched its head with its other hand while looking at its injured fist…it gave a wider and more foolish grin in return. Ebony's head was knocked back the next moment.

'A sonic attack with a glare? This gorilla as an active optical attack with mana?' Ebony wasn't hurt by it but he was shocked when the speed of the attack came faster than what Xin threw at him. All it took from the Alpha was a glare and the attack didn't need time to cross distances.

He rolled in the air along with the sonic attack and landed on both his feet.

The Apex Apes were berserker-type fighters.

This wasn't even their strongest physical form.

Like the Alpha, Ebony was getting excited by the show of pure physical power.

Their bodies burst into action, flurries of punches and kicks were sent flying into the Alpha's body. But the Alpha surprised Ebony once more when it kicked as well.

'Since when did they use their legs other than for movement? This guy is an aberrant too.' He was certain already. This ape was no different from Obsius or his Kappa teacher. There was too much intelligence within its eyes.

Ebony didn't have a tier 5 body enhancement skill but he did have multiple such enhancements. Knowing the standard doubling a tier up, two tier 4 enhancements at the same level should equal a tier 5 as long as base refinements weren't considered.

When the Apex Ape noticed that it wasn't losing in strength but was losing in body toughness and Ebony's vibrational reflections were damaging its bones over time, it quickly went into berserk mode.

'The buff increased by way more than double…refined berserk state.' Ebony kicked his Domain buff in. He didn't have to go so far as to break his body down into ice dust before he outpunched the Alpha.

The Alpha was easily tricked by his Phantasmal Shade. He wasn't even trying to trick the apes' senses using light refractions. Ebony's Phantasmal Shade produced an effect similar to stacking his physical attacks on top of one another.

Traces of his mana intensifies his shades, that sentence made him focus on purposely leaving his mana behind while his body moves forward. This ability was simplified with his conscious manipulation of mana in his chassis. While his body moves ahead, he purposely slows his chassis down. This leaves a Shade that tries to chase up to his actual body to return to its original owner.

It wasn't that strong at the moment, a Shade chasing after his main body dealt around 12% of the actual physical force his main body dealt. Ebony had long experimented that he could fragment these shades but it weakens each delayed shade.

For example, he could break the Shades into five instead of one, each delayed from each other by a thousandth of a second but it would reduce their strength to less than 2 per cent and each one weaker than the one before. He currently didn't know how to strengthen them.

However, he was sure its strength was connected to his mana chassis rather than his physical technique or force.

Despite not having many tier 5 skills, Ebony beat the Alpha up rather easily. The level and tiers of skill didn't translate well to battle strength.

But he wasn't satisfied. This wasn't the end of his path as a Grandmaster.

'Ting' 'Class Skill Phantasmal Shade Sovereign Arts lvl up 999 → 1000'

'Ting' 'Class Skill Phantoms' Flicker lvl up 1074 → 1075'

'Ting' 'Class Skill Fabrication of Frostblaze Embodiment lvl up 987 → 988'

'Ting' 'Class Skill Ethereal Arctic Rivertide Art lvl up 898 → 899'

'Ting' 'Class Skill Ethereal Fluid Blitz lvl up 902 → 904'

'Ting' 'Class Skill Frigid Tranquility's Martial Grace Conditioning lvl up 499 → 500'

'Ting' 'Class Skill Crystalline Avalanche lvl up 902 → 903'

'Ting' 'Sub-Class Skill Resonant Battle Hymn lvl up 800 → 801'

'Ting' 'Sub-Class Skill Extreme Mana Vibration lvl up 805 → 806'

'Ting' 'Sub-Class Skill Gravity Mana Command lvl up 899 → 900'

'Ting' 'Sub-Class Skill Tempestuous Lull Pelt lvl up 748 → 749'

'Ting' 'Sub-Class Skill Sonic Reverberation lvl up 804 → 805'

'Ting' 'Sub-Class Skill Torrent Path lvl up 899 → 900'

'Ting' 'Sub-Class Skill Quake Kick lvl up 829 → 830'

'Ting' 'Sub-Class Skill **** ******** Pseudo-Imitation Roar lvl up 785 → 786'

'Ting' 'Profession Skill Tolerant Stalwart Foundation lvl up 927 → 928'

'Ting' 'Generic Skill Lightning Mana Manipulation lvl up 297 → 298'

'Ting' 'Generic Skill Sheer Mana Poisoning Resistance lvl up 105 → 112'

'Ting' 'Generic Skill Lightning Tether lvl up 352 → 353'

'Ting' 'Generic Skill Electroshock lvl up 371 → 372'

'Ting' 'Generic Skill Soul Resilience lvl up 79 → 80'

'Ting' 'Generic Skill Will Relay Buffer lvl up 488 → 492'

"Not efficient enough. I'm not improving fast enough." Ebony muttered while he slid his arms back into his robe. He had already set a short term goal of beating Grandmaster version of Ning Xun, his future Great-grandfather-in-law before he even considers evolving.

This wasn't nearly enough.

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