33.5 - Waking up part two

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

*****

I returned to my testing of my abilities

Since I have already tested my basic affinity, I need to learn about the other affinities to usefully control them. Unlike the fire, wind, water and earth, the other affinities are elusive. Even those that I have seen only have a single affinity, which they seem to be born with. This could only be for the beast.

But then how does the human cultivate?

Do they have a specific affinity sprite root or does it depend of the technique they practice?

That question can't be answered now.

I, as a beast, was born with a single affinity. However, my affinity encompass many other variety. Since my affinity is Cosmos, from the name itself I can derive that it should encompass everything in a cosmos.

From the burning fire of the sun to the cosmic wind.

Yet, my normal mode of thinking could not be applied to this world. I can't thing of the world through the eyes of a physicist. This world defied the common logic of my world. Qi, the very reality altering energy, its presence allows cultivators to rewrite reality on a scale proportional to their cultivation.

In a way, I am blessed and cursed.

Since I am not from this world, for me Qi is basically my fantasy come true, at the same time, it is an alien force to me. Even though I could naturally control it, I do not have the familiarity with it.

I have only been using the raw force of it all.

It like the difference between fish and a human. Even though both of us can swim, the fish can swim better. But as a human I know that fish is in a tank.

Unless I shed my world view of thinking in scientific term, I would be restrain by it. I would need to change the way I comprehend to truly accommodate the new perspective. I need to use my expansive knowledge and rewrite the laws of this reality.

Now that we have pointed that out, lets find what the other affinities react to.

Fire, water, wind and earth - the basic elements. Even these four elements can't be underestimated. Their attributes extended to the foundation of the universe itself. But, now is not the time to explore them.

What are the other affinities did I read in the novels?

Light, darkness, shadow, void, lightning, ice, nature, poison, spatial, temporal, lunar, solar, cosmic, Chaos, metal, blood, I can't think of anything more.

Even some of them are hard to comprehend, as I have no solid idea of what they represent. This is my restrain, unlike the denizens, I have no idea. The denizen's world view of seeing this as normal helps them control these elements easily.

What a pain!

But now let's explore the though subject of Light, which in my view is the emission of photon. But is it really? From all the knowledge I have gather through out my salted-fish years. Light affinity can be used as a beam of light to healing severe wounds, encompassing both destruction and construction.

But normal light can't do that.

Moreover, the light affinity can be subdivided into Solar and Lunar. Both also contain differ attribute, hot and cold. So, the more confusing this affinity gets.

With both this case, the attack would have the characteristic of light yet they are not light. For fun fact that Moon only reflect light from the sun, yet it also change the characteristic of the sun light.

What a confusing world it is!

But I don't need to think of it in more technical terms, that would be my demise. I need to tone down my brain capacity and go into my nerd phase if I want to live in this world right. Basically, I need to move Qi with my body than mind. I need to do it instinctively and intuitively, without thought.

I thought of all attribute a solar Qi would have and willed it into my Qi, this time only focusing on my claws. I saw the Qi coating my hand turn brighter, almost blinding me.

That could be used as a flash bang,

I turned my eyes to my hand, the condensed glow Qi surrounding my hand as it chiseled with heat. The vary air radiated energy as Light condensed.

I swung my hand to the tree. I felt no resistance from the tree as my claws sliced through it. It was similar to just swinging my hand through air.

No resistance at all.

I nodded my head in appreciation, it was good that I have a flash bang to disrupt the enemy. I could also use the light beam as a mode of attack by fusing it with my dragons breath. An attack that hits at light speed would be unavoidable in the rush of battle.

Now, I need to turn to the aspect of Shadow, in turn, darkness.

Such a weird combination is Shadow, Darkness and Void.

Shadow, Darkness and Void, the trio represented by black. Shadow and Darkness is similar to Solar and Lunar. They look the same yet they are so different.

Some might think that shadow is the absence of light, but it is not. Shadow is the obstruction of light. Darkness is the absence of light. In other word, shadow could be a subclass of Darkness, a reflection of darkness.

Next, void is not darkness.

Darkness might give the idea of nothingness, yet it is not. Darkness might dull the senses and make it feel like there is nothing, yet there is something. You have a sense of it, even if it is minute. However, Void is Nothing.

Absence of all is what we call Void, no light nor darkness, no earth nor sky, no space nor time. It is the absence of reality itself, a concept that no sentient being could fully comprehend. Yet, if the attribute did exist in reality, that is confounding to understand.

Because, if Qi is the thread that weaves reality. Void is Nothing. It's empty. What do you even call that?

It is as my friend said, "There is no shadow in Darkness, nor Darkness in Void."

***

Then how am I to comprehend these attributes?

Especially Void,

Void is a powerful attribute to have. A blade that would cut the threads of reality. It would be a weapon to be feared even by the top experts of this realm. But how do one cultivate it?

I can cultivate shadow affinity by sitting under a tree at night.

I can go into a deep cave where no light enters to cultivate Darkness.

But to cultivate Void, need to leave reality itself. Even then, how will I cultivate? When there is nothing to comprehend, how will you comprehend nothingness? Such a conundrum could never be explained.

This is giving me a head ache,

I wiped my face as I thought about it. No wonder its one of the rarest affinities to be had and one of the difficult to cultivate.

But I can do the shadow and darkness.

I extended my hand and placed it on my shadow. I tried to sense the flow of Qi, which had been a knack for me as per the leveling up. I could already feel the Qi that flowed through the air. I could feel the Qi and all that, I got my divine sense.

I shifted through the mirade of earth and nature Qi and focused on the darker, purple, Qi, that covered the surface. I tried to get the feeling of the Qi. The feeling I got from the Qi was something murky, like a stagnant water full of dirt.

I tried to keep sensing the Qi while trying to make my Qi imitate the feeling. I could feel feel my Qi taking a murky purple texture as they covered my hand. My black scales glowed a purple glint as they connected with the shadow.

Before they started to sink in,

My hand slowly began to sink into the shadow like it was a quick sand. The slow but strong pull on my hand caused me to shiver. I felt a chill at the thought of sinking to the shadow and getting lost, causing me to panic as I used all my force to pull my hand out of the Shadow, my concentration lost as I struggled against the strong pull.

With my concentration broke, my Qi reverted back. The shadow that was pulling, suddenly pushed my hand out, as if repelled. I fell back due to the sudden force, grasping my hand to see if I had lost any fingers.

Haaa, I have my finger. I.. have my fingers. I didn't lose it. God that was scary.

I panted in relief.

I should have known, I should have known with all the shenanigans that anime protagonists pulled. I should have expected that I would sink into the shadow. I should have freaking known.

I huffed my annoyance at my stupidity and got up.

I really hate that I have no knowledge of such affinity. What's with giving a guy who lived in Modern Society with no mage, a power that encompass all affinity? I can't even comprehend what that shadow was?

Its like learning to swim all over again.

Haa Haa

What's more annoying is that I have to test other affinities. I should check the easy one, should be greedy. I should my head to clear my thoughts and walked away from the shadow. Don't want to try that again.

Now on the affinities, I know lightning easily as I have seen Roaster use it. It basically similar to flash, enhanced speed and destructiveness. A force of moment and heat, a conduction of high energy.

But... it should also increase my speed. It have the ability to increase the speed of the user something similar to speed force.

As I though of the lightning as more than conduction of electricity into something more incomprehensible as the speed force, which increase speed and willed it into my pure Qi. I felt the Qi flow shift in my body.

I felt them change from their normal stable state to one of energized as lightning began to bounce of my scales. My eyes constricted and my muscles tightened as the electric pulsed through me.

I lifted my hands, and was shock at how fast it moved up, nearly throwing me off. I strained my muscles to stop and struck a new tree with my claws. The claws moved faster than before as they sliced through the bark like butter, added with the burn damage from lightning.

I was amazed and shock my hands of numbness.

Next should also be something simple, not going to try some overpower affinity and get stuck in the ground.

Should I try Spatial affinity, but can I even do that? I can't sense the spatial plane.

This is why those born with the affinity is better. They already grasp everything, that make the whole process hard, naturally. If I were to use it, I need to train with it. It like learning how to move your muscle all over again.

***

While Lijen was going through all this,

System was being proud about Lijen's growth. It felt like a proud mother watching over her sun finally gaining some brain cell.

It watched as Lijen ponder over the affinities, trying to understand them. Lijen as a Dragon with Cosmos affinity that nearly encompass most basic and rare affinity, would need to learn everything to be strong.

Unlike those who were born with it, he would need to study every single thing from start. One by One. But as a Dragon, he had more than enough time to do those. To learn and master each affinity.

Especially when the threat had targeted him.

"What an amusing sight!"

A growling voice filled with amusement boomed.