Control of the Ancient Monarch

Ever since Nial had awoken his origin, he had never really thought about his own situation, and the most important goal he had in mind was to support his parents financially in order to allow them to purchase better medicines for his sister.

Every single thing he had done since the day of his awakening had been for Sabrina, and Nial hadn't even noticed that until his best friend scolded him.

Recalling the short period that had passed since then, he realized that he could have done most of the things differently.

Knowing what he had to do in order to gain the most benefits was important, and that was exactly what he hadn't done because he had been way too focused on short-term gains.

Even though he had a rough plan on what specific traits he had to improve on, the way in which he was supposed to proceed was something Nial didn't know.

At least, that was his current condition, and when Nial thought about the feisty lecture his friend had given him, he slowly understood that he had made substantial mistakes, which he had to fix.

Nial knew that this was not something that would happen overnight, but realization and acceptance of mistakes were considered the first step to becoming a better version of yourself.

With that in mind, he averted his attention to releasing his mana fluctuations in order to visualize his surroundings.

Grabbing the closest manual that was just an arm's length away from him, he read the title that didn't sound special in any way.

Yet, instead of judging a book by its cover, Nial flicked it open and read a few pages, only to frown the moment he realized something that caused his mood to plummet.

'I don't know what some of the terms mean…' The first page was filled with dozens of terms he had never heard of before and the fact started to bother him.

Based on the contents inside it, the technique seemed like any other ordinary one, and even if it was possibly something he could be interested in, there was one thing he understood clearly- many techniques had requirements such as affinities, specific abilities, or a specific amount of mana one required to possess.

With that in mind, Nial understood that it was unlikely to find any great techniques at the higher floor of the pagoda because they had to be the best of the best.

Thus, the required amount of mana someone would need to practice such techniques would probably be tens of times higher than what he could provide.

Yet, when he averted his attention to Melvin, Nial was able to hear the excited exclamations of his friend.

"Nial, look here! My Master found the technique [Path of a Thousand Lightningstrikes]! That's so amazing!!! My father had searched for that technique earlier but he had failed to procure it. Nobody was willing to sell it...Maybe I should ask my Master if he can lend me the technique...I will be able to improve my understanding of the Lightning's essence!"

Nial just smiled upon hearing Melvin's excited babble.

He was always astonished by how Melvin's mood could change so quickly. Sometimes, he was envious of this ability, but then, it could also be extremely distracting, and unsuitable in certain situations.

With that in mind, Nial was able to let go of his envy after a few moments.

Nevertheless, based on the technique's name, Nial grew certain that it would suit Melvin.

As such, he agreed with his friend and remarked,

"If possible, try to convince your master to lend it to you. It would be great if you wouldn't blast me away with your uncontrolled bolts of lightning…"

Nial tried to tease his friend, and it seemed to work as he heard footsteps rushing towards him from behind.

This caused his faint smile to widen as he added,

"Your Master must be one of the stronger powerhouses in Katu, right? How else would he be able to procure a technique your father could not obtain?"

After he had raised his doubt, Melvin's footsteps muffled down as his friend's voice which was filled with pride echoed through the room.

"Master Junades is amongst the strongest powerhouses in the entire Stinon alliance! He is probably amongst the top 1000 Originals in the nine shelters of humanity!"

Nial was astonished by the news and realized that Junades was a mighty cultivator.

But he still felt that other humans who had survived the dungeon's descent might also have constructed some shelters.

After all, the dungeon descent had happened several decades after the first dungeon had emerged.

Yet, instead of commenting on something with half-baked assumptions, Nial chose to remain silent.

Rather than starting a discussion that might turn into a heated debate, he continued to search through various techniques.

He knew that he didn't understand most complex terms, which originated from his lack of knowledge about Originals, dungeons, martial art techniques, as well as the fact that he was not yet proficient in reading things.

In the end, he had a lot to catch up to so he was a bit relieved at his reading progress that showed significant improvements.

As such, he tried to comprehend the things he had yet to learn, which in turn, made him extremely interested in getting to know more about the techniques.

Learning a technique would allow him to become much stronger because he would slowly start getting to know his body, how to move it in the most efficient way, and how to employ all necessary groups of muscles to attain the highest strength!

Because of that, Nial wanted to find the best possible technique for his current condition which was far from perfect.

After some time of reading multiple techniques, Nial noticed that the way in which he wanted to tackle his issues was completely wrong.

He was not even sure what exactly he was looking for. Would a movement technique be the best as his first technique, or would it be better to learn a complete martial art technique, right off the bat?

Weapon-based techniques were not what Nial was looking for because he and his parents should be able to learn and use the selected technique.

To make the most out of it, the technique should be something that could be used universally.

While thinking about that, Nial got frustrated because there was no such technique, and he turned towards Melvin, who was excitedly skimming through different techniques.

"By the way, where is your master? It would be great if I could seek his advice on the best suitable technique for myself…"

Even if Nial couldn't be sure that Master Junades would answer his questions, let alone help him to pick a suitable technique, he could at least ask. There was no harm in trying.

He wouldn't kill him, just for asking a question- that was something Nial was relatively sure about.

Unfortunately, Melvin's answer was not really helpful.

"I have no idea, but I doubt we will find him. He will probably find us first, either way!"

After that Melvin shrugged his shoulders before he approached Nial and tried to appease him.

"What technique are you searching for? Is it something to help you improve your control over mana, including your mana perception to visualize any kind of object in a longer range, or do you want to improve your movements first?"

His question stumped him as Nial had not even thought about either of the options.

In an attempt to avoid answering Melvin, he just picked the closest book from the next shelf without thinking.

"[Control of the Ancient Monarch] odd name…" He mumbled before he opened the first page, and read the first few sentences while using his mana perception.

Owing to the mana fluctuations that radiated from the book that felt like it was extremely old and tattered, his hands had reached for it subconsciously.

His mana perception was slightly off, but that was not further problematic.

Barely a few minutes passed in which he had adjusted to the manual's mana fluctuations, only to frown deeply as he let out a sigh.

"I don't understand it!"

Earlier, it was only the complex terms and jargon he had not understood, but in the manual, he was currently reading, almost every single word seemed to be written in an entirely different language.

Nial knew that this was not the case, but he simply couldn't understand the words he was reading.

This frustrated him because he felt like the manual might be useful owing to a single sentence he had understood.

[The first step of becoming a mighty Combatant is to comprehend the energy you are using, and how to utilize it perfectly!]

That was interesting, and Nial wanted to continue reading it, understand it, and learn what the writer of the manual truly meant!

But before he could continue reading, a stern voice floated towards him making him involuntarily stiffen.

"Brat, isn't it obvious that you cannot comprehend the technique right off the bat? Do you expect to understand everything the moment you read it? You are too naive, lad…"

It was just after the calm and vigorous voice resounded through the small hall that Nial perceived the arrival of a young man with an athletic body through his mana perception.

He hadn't heard, smelled or sensed any vibrations from the surrounding which astonished Nial, because the man had suddenly appeared behind them.

The young man was less than a meter away from them and both Melvin and Nial turned around to face him.

At that moment, Nial felt a bolt of electricity spreading through his entire body as his mana perception was now fully averted from the [Control of the Ancient Monarch] technique to the young man.

'He is fucking strong!!' Gulping down nervously, Nial's body instinctively retreated and he bumped into the wooden shelf where he had picked up the old manual before.

However, instead of reprimanding him further, the calm and vigorous voice turned joyous the moment Nial felt a calculative gaze run over his entire body.

"Oh, I think I know you, brat! You should be Melvin's blind friend, right? This poor disciple of mine never had many friends, so he always talked about you and your sister!

I always wanted to see you, and it seems like today is the day. Nice meeting you, and I apologize for my disciple's behavior. He has been pampered too much by his mother...ah, by the way, my name is Junades!"

Standing in front of Master Junades with a blank expression, Nial didn't know what to say and merely blinked.

He didn't expect one of the top 1000 ranked Originals of humanity to be such a mood bomb.

His voice sounded cheerful and based on the way Nial was able to perceive Junades' outlines, his entire body was overflowing with joy.

Because of that, he was flabbergasted, and could not think of a proper way to greet Junades. Melvin seemed to have understood his hesitation so he mumbled beside him.

"Don't be too astonished. He is one of the unique Originals. He was unable to feel any joy and excitement before he awoke his origin. You remember the unique Originals, right? They grow stronger when they feel the emotions that had been previously sealed!"

Melvin spoke in such a low voice that Nial had issues hearing him properly. Yet, the moment he heard everything, even he couldn't help but be excited.

"Ohh! That's amazing, so he must grow even more powerful the more joy he feels! I wonder if he gets more excited when he fights and, in turn, if it further increases his strength! That would be extremely powerful."

Nial's voice sounded extremely curious and he didn't even notice how his hushed whisper had transformed into an excited squeal.

Thus, it was no wonder that Junades was able to hear Nial, which caused him to smile slyly as he asked,

"Do you want to test it out? I won't use any mana, and only my emotions to fight you."