potentials

When Atrox returned, he found Tiber and Syla nearly done with their removal of starsalt in his tunnel, so he sat down and took a quick nap.

Everything had happened so quickly, and with his recent breakthrough, he was tired and needed to regain his mental energy. He ignored the looks the two of them shot him anytime they entered the tunnel.

Essence had been rushing through his body, and he knew he was changing. Not physically, but there was now something about him—a weight in his gaze that made people instinctively sense something different. It happens to all Knights.

About half an hour later, he opened his eyes into the near darkness and thought about a few things. The main agenda for him now was to solidify his power, and that meant getting stronger. With that, he would turn his gaze to other things.

"I should try and break through to the Knight rank," Atrox said softly. The Knight rank was the official rank for the journey of Knighthood, and Atrox wanted to join it as soon as possible and move into the second layer, where he'd be able to affect things in the Borderland.

"Then I'll form a team of my own, but that'll be difficult. After that, I'll then..." Atrox pressed his lips together and stopped. He had been taught to take things one step at a time, as long as one had a hazy image of their final destination.

He saw himself going back to the Soryu Clan, and it wouldn't be for a friendly visit.

He took a deep breath. "First things first. How do I break through to the Knight rank?"

Atrox blinked. 'The only way I know was through the Knight Assembly, but then...' He let the thought trail off. "I guess I really should focus on the first thing, which is to survive this Labor Camp. Kade will come after me for sure... and this alchemist organization. I should be prepared for that."

He sat in a lotus position and extended his two hands, palms facing up. The Squire ability was simple and lacked any complicated techniques; it was basically to shape essence.

He reached inside himself and took hold of the channels again but didn't immediately pull. "If those lines are drawing essence into my body, then pulling them will weaken me. No, that's not how to do it. Should I use the lines linked to my hands? Or... should I create new lines?"

Atrox frowned. 'Is that even possible?'

He took a deep breath; there was only one way to find out. He closed his eyes and turned his attention inward. He could see his core, a blazing blue and white orb the size of a fist, slowly rotating, and the lines that collected power into the rest of his body.

He felt essence in his core sloshing around and then sent his presence to wrap around it like a cloak, but nothing happened. Atrox frowned mentally, then pulled the essence towards himself.

At first, nothing happened, but then he felt resistance. This time, he pulled again, harder. Essence flowed out of him, and he directed it outward.

When he opened his eyes, he was met with the surprised looks of Tiber and Syla. They were glancing at his hand, where blue-white energy had gathered. Atrox stared at it for a while, watching it in fascination. 'So this is it. I've finally begun my first move on the long path of advancement to Knighthood'

"Wow," Syla said, her voice low. Jealousy tinged her words, but she didn't try to hide it and smiled a bitter smile. This was something she had wished for herself. She'd dreamed of this for years, and it was one of the reasons that had led her to the Soryu Borderland.

"Impressive. Are you going to try out a skill?" Tiber said in his deep voice.

Atrox shrugged and then flicked his hand, using his mental energy to press his will into the essence, shaping it as he wished. It formed into a ball that increased in size as he poured more essence into it until he was holding a head-sized sphere of energy.

Tiber and Syla sucked in sharp breaths and moved away from him.

Atrox frowned at them, his concentration breaking as the energy fizzled and disappeared. "What is it?"

Tiber shook his head and spoke while Syla looked at him as if he'd just grown two heads. "First, can you create that ball of essence again? But this time, pump as much essence as you can…"

He trailed off because Atrox was already shaking his head. "No way. I won't use up my reserve. Tell me what happened."

Syla sighed. "I've never seen anyone create an essence ball that big before, and trust me, I've seen a lot of Squires. But then again, I only study weak ones," she grimaced. "It's the only thing I can do since I'm not a Knight—gather as much knowledge about it in case I later see an opportunity."

'So that's why you're so knowledgeable about stuff like this. This might be useful' Atrox thought. He weighed how much he was going to tell them, but then decided to share a bit since it wasn't going to affect him much—maybe just draw some attention his way.

"How much do you know about the ritual of manifestation? About the potentials?" Atrox asked.

Syla's eyes gleamed. "The potential is a rough estimation of how powerful a Knight can be. The higher the light, the greater the potential."

Tiber nodded. "High potential means that such a Knight will be able to draw and store a much larger amount of essence."

Atrox nodded. "Then what do you consider as high potential?"

It was Syla who answered. "I'd say if the individual raised their hand and the light was taller than it, or higher than half their height. But that's only for geniuses."

Atrox paused and then nodded. "My own was a bit taller than my height." He didn't tell them that it had reached the roof.