Almost There

One Month Later.

Inside the forest, a middle aged man with black hair wearing a tunic hid behind a bush as he carefully observed a deer drinking water from a small pond. He had a serious expression on his face as his gaze was trained on it.

He kept inching closer, careful not to alert the animal of his presence.

Once he was about ten feet away from the unsuspecting deer, he pointed his two fingers in its direction and whispered something softly.

Immediately, a thin stream of invisible energy shot out from his fingertips and locked the deer in place.

Seeing this, the man wasted no time as he leaped out of the bush and dashed forward in the direction of the deer.

Using the small sharp object in his hand, he stabbed the deer in the eye.

He didn't stop there as he removed the object and stabbed again at its neck, cutting a deep and bloody vertical line.

The deer could only watch as the man mercilessly disfigured its body while it wailed pitifully.

After some time, the deer was freed from its restraint but it was too late. It had lost a substantial amount of blood and its body was a carved mess.

Still, it struggled fiercely but the man gave it no chance and continued stabbing haphazardly in different places.

Bits of flesh kept flying off its skin as blood sprayed endlessly from its body and onto the man. It was a shambolic sight but the man persisted.

After some time, the deer finally gave out as the light disappeared from its eyes.

The man hunched and placed his hands, which were dripping with blood, on his knees as he panted heavily.

"Hah…hah… hah … hah!"

His knees constantly trembled and eventually buckled under pressure as the man plopped down to the floor.

After regaining his breath, he looked at his messy handwork and sighed:

"Haa... as expected, melee or weapon based combat truly isn't my forte... but still, my efforts this past month have paid off."

He shifted his sight to himself.

"...Those spells can also work here in this world. I don't know how it compares to Tier Magic yet—ah... Magic huh… let's see... in this world I guess I'll just call this Spirit Magic since it's fueled directly by my Spiritual Energy."

This man was Ingram.

When he discovered the energy inside his body, he completely threw Mana to the back of his mind and focused on it instead.

However, in order to confirm if it was in fact Spiritual Energy which was mainly used in Bleach, he decided to try the Magic of the Soul Reapers.

Kidō Spells.

They were also referred to as Demon Arts and numbered up to the nineties.

However, the difference between Kidō and Tier Magic was that the former needed incantations, mostly for the higher tiered spells while the latter only needed spell circles and of course required Mana.

But in truth, Kidō was extremely powerful. Despite its long incantations, its power couldn't be underestimated. Most especially the high tiered ones in the seventies and nineties.

Kidō was divided into three major categories: Bakudō (Way of Binding), Hadō (Way of Destruction) and Kaidō (Healing Spiritual Arts).

Just now, Ingram used a Bakudō called [Sai] which was a low class Restraining spell.

Since he could remember most of the spells from the show, he decided to try and copy them. Needless to say, it was easier said than done.

Just the control it required proved to be extremely difficult, after all he was still new to it.

He had used almost a whole month to get the hang of casting such a low Kidō, something that took mere days for those in Bleach to learn.

However, he was content.

He had no one to learn from so it could be said that his progress was already good. He was sure that his control over his Spiritual Energy would increase the more he practised.

He slowly stood up and made his way to the pond to wash his face after which he just sat there to reflect on himself.

"If at all I have to make an estimation then I would say that the strength of this particular spell is on par or maybe even slightly stronger than a Tier 1 spell which offers the same effect…"

Unlike Kidō which numbered up to the nineties, Tier Magic had spells numbering up to only eleven.

Still, this didn't mean Tier Magic was weak.

In fact, the highest spell that over ninety percent of Magic Casters could cast was Tier 5. It just went to show just how powerful the sixth up to the super tiered eleventh spells were.

He didn't know how to properly classify between Kidō and Tier Magic yet and could only make estimations.

"Hmm, I will need to have some offensive spells in my arsenal as well. Also, it seems like I can't use all of my Spiritual Energy yet."

He realised that the energy he was able to channel was like a grain of sand compared to the massive energy sleeping within his body.

He wasn't surprised by this, after all just because one had Reiryoku (Spiritual Power), it didn't mean they could use all of it immediately.

Reiryoku could be said to be equated to potential and the fact that his own energy was extremely massive just meant that his potential was extremely high.

"Hmm... I wonder what my ceiling is—"

He slapped his head as a deep chuckle escaped his throat.

"—What am I even saying? I have the Hōgyoku attached to my very soul."

Ceiling? What was that?

The hōgyoku didn't play by those rules. As long as it was its master's desire, then it could be fulfilled.

So it could be said that his potential was completely terrifying.

"Putting that aside... I remember that in the show, some of the few humans who had above average spiritual power manifested unique abilities and even enhanced physiques. I wonder... is the same true for me as well?"

After thinking for a moment, he shook his head.

"One thing at a time. I should just focus on better controlling this energy. Hmm... but I guess I'll also have to do some light physical exercises."

Just from this short encounter, he realised that his physical body needed improvement. Quite frankly it was too stiff.

Although it wasn't to the extent of absurdity, he was clear that even a Thief needed a good physique.

Things such as agility, reflex, dexterity, flexibility, balance and endurance were all important in the long run for him.

The Spell took a great deal of his energy and even that short burst of speed drained a lot of stamina. He wanted to make up for these weaknesses and exercises would go a long way.

..

However, he failed to realise that he actually used an ability earlier even though it was still in its infancy.

But...that was something he would find out much later.

..

Turning his head, he stared at the carcass not far from him.

He certainly didn't have the required strength to lift the deer so he could only leave it here for now and request for help once he returned to the village.

Deciding that he had rested enough, he walked back to his earlier hiding place and picked up a small pouch. In it were some herbs that had a strong medicinal scent.

During the past month he had been busy.

He wasn't just practising and trying to control his Spiritual Energy but he had also been making progress in medicine thanks to Rina.

Right now he could identify a few medicinal herbs if he came across them. But he knew he still had a long way to go.

"Alright... I guess everything is going smoothly. I've already gotten much closer to the village chief and my knowledge on herbs is increasing. All I need to do is just proceed at this steady pace and wait for everything to come in place before I leave this village."

As he walked towards the direction of the village, he kept mumbling everything that was in his mind.

His plan was to simply steal the harvest profits from the village chief and leave. Although it wasn't overly grand, there were still steps he needed to take. Besides, it was simply the best thing this village could offer him.

He was a meticulous man when it came to his plans.

However, no matter how large or insignificant it may be, from experience he was aware of such a thing called:

The Ripple Effect.

Drop a tiny stone into the sea and it causes ripples that spread over a distance.

Although he would steal from the chief, he was also placing his sights on the Tax Collector and even the Local Lord of the land. He was thinking about the possible reactions from them due to his interference and if he could further benefit from it.

Yes. He planned not one but two steps ahead.

Still, he also knew that what he envisioned might be the complete opposite so he had a back up in such a case.

Once he stepped out of the forest, he casted a quick glance at the long and lonely narrow road that led to the city.

A deep smile slowly crept up on his face before he made his way into the village.

...

Four Months Later.

Ingram sat on an armchair in front of his house facing another man who had red hair and a full beard.

In front of them was a crudely made rectangular board which had sixty squares of two different colors.

Ingram had a calm expression on his face as he lifted a brown circular piece and placed it over another brown piece with a black dot in the middle.

Picking the dotted piece up with a smile, he kept it on his side. However, the other man had an ugly expression on his face.

"Argh!!.. damn it!!... I lost." He pulled his beard and shot a resolute gaze at Ingram. "Again!!!"

"Chief... How about we stop here? Surely you don't think you're going to win. How many losses does this make now?"

"Hmph. Don't get ahead of yourself, my previous losses were just a warm up. I'll surely win the next—and didn't I tell you to just call me Landers?"

Ingram just laughed at his antics and accepted his challenge.

This was the village chief and right now his relationship with him was very strong. All he had to do was just introduce a game called checkers.

In a village with little to no entertainment, it wasn't any surprise that the village chief was hooked. The materials weren't difficult to acquire, just wood and charcoal did the trick.

"Oh yes that's right, Ingram... your daughter's wedding will be on the harvest festival night, right?"

Ingram shifted his circular piece across the board and spoke:

"That's right. It was a decision from both of them.. haa.. Those little brats, they want to take advantage of the harvest itself so they're patiently waiting."

Hearing this, Landers just shifted his own piece and guffawed:

"Hahaha... the joys of youth. We were once like that... it's good, let them enjoy it."

They continued conversing about different topics as they played.

As the game went on, Ingram, still with a smile plastered on his face, had a completely different thought.

'..Almost there!..'