Chapter 21: Aether techniques.

[Chapter 2- Aether techniques]

The smile couldn't leave Levi's face after he read the title of the second chapter.

'well. What am I waiting for, let's get straight to it'. Levi said. He and Grim were still on very bad terms and the latter didn't even bother to congratulate him or anything on his accomplishments.

[Chapter 2- Aether techniques

Chapter Objectives: you are expected to master the various aether techniques:

1. Aether flow.

2. Aether skin.

3. Aether burst.

4. Aether cloak.

If you are reading this, it means that you have succeded in creating a proper aether core and a good aether structure. For that I once again congratulate you.]

'oh thank you, shadow mage. It's very unfortunate that my partner refuses to share in the joys of my accomplishments'. Levi thought and Grim responded with a scoff.

He continued reading.

[Aether is a powerful source of energy that not only powers the various Aspects, of which you will receive more information about in the later chapters, but also possesses uses of itself.

Unlike mana, internal aether can not only be manifested as magic but also used for other purposes. A good number of which are actually combat oriented.

In this chapter, you will learn about the various aether techniques listed above, their uses and possible applications. You are probably questioning why I don't get straight to the point and teach shadow magic, but you will eventually realize that it is for your own good.]

Below the chapter introduction was an extensive explanation of the four aether techniques and it even went out of it's way to include the numerous real life applications for each of them. The writer was definitely a very thorough person.

It took Levi about forty minutes to read everything and he decided to summarize the entire essay in his mind.

'ok, let's see. The first technique is named Aether flow. It seems to involve the way by which I move my aether, my aether rotation covers some of it but it's far more broad than that. It also explains how one can channel the aether from their body's into another body, living or not. I believe I can safely say I've mastered this one'.

'the second one is Aether skin. This is the one that I've been waiting for, it teaches me how to imbue aether into my muscles and other parts of my body by first pushing the aether out of my body through the pores and then retracting it with my will and allowing it to seep into my physical muscles, strengthening them and allowing me to perform previously unimaginable physical feats. It's primarily an offensive technique and is very useful in combat.

According to the book, the reason why I failed in directly trying tonoush aether into my organs was because the realm where my aether structure is is the metaphysical, while my muscles were in the physical. My aether structure seems to be what links the two realms.

But apparently, pushing too much aether into your muscles can blow them up. It's a good thing the book measured the amount I can pump through the link it has with me. I can pump in only 5% of my current aether pool without any side effects. I'll need to increase this figure by working out and doing more aether rotation.'

'Aether burst seems to be what I learnt from that encounter back then. I have learnt it too. The next one though is definitely a lot more interesting. 'Aether cloak' is definitely a technique for assassin's or something, but it will still be useful for me.

Just like the name suggests, it involves releasing and contracting aether, but not allowing any of it to sleep through the skin. It completely hides my presence, erasing my smell and aura. It is also impossible to detect with mana detection spells. It would be hard to learn and maintain, but would definitely be worth it'.

And like that, Levi finished summarising the various aether techniques in his head. Just as he had finished organizing his thoughts, a hurricane wolf barged into his room and started barking loudly with a panicked expression on his face.

Levi was a bit confused by this sudden occurrence, he wanted to ask some questions but alas the wolf had not yet reached a level where it could actually speak.

Levi studied the wolf's expression. He seemed to be worried and panicked.

'i see. Worry and panic. That means that someone or something he cares for is in danger. But it has to be something important enough for him to barge into my room....' Levi deduced. His eyes shone wide with a suprise as he came to a conclusion.

He looked up, and at the beast in front of him. Levi didn't ask any questions or make any arguments and just said, "Take me there".

.

.

.

A good distance from where the den was, two powerful beings were clashing. At first glance, it looked like they were both on equal footing but upon closer inspection, one would observe that one was dominating the other.

"Huff..pant". The smaller creature was breathing heavily as exhaustion was steadily catching up to him, his body was covered in injuries and blood flowed out of all of them. He had been doing his best and then some just to keep up with his opponent who was about three times his size, with viscious fangs and claws.

"Your strength never ceases to amaze me.....alpha". Said the smaller creature to the larger one.

"I could say the very same about your skill, Raja. It truly is a shame...that I have to kill you". Alpha replied with a conflicted expression. He wanted to kill raja, and he was not hesitating in any of his strikes. Yet, it seemed that he did not want this.

"Damn demon bear..." Raja said to his opponent. The demon bear that Levi had encountered a few days ago.

"You are too unstable. This is for your own good and for my sake too". Alpha said as he charged towards Raja. His claws and fangs fully bared and his green eyes emiting a firm will to kill.

"Did I not tell you that I have it under control. I'm sorry for that time, but I've already found the cure!" Raja yelled at the incoming bear.

"So what! Are you seriously still believing in HIS words! If so, don't you think that those conditions are just insane. In fact, the specificness of his words should be enough to make you suspicious!!" Alpha roared in annoyance. There was definitely a history between the two.

"I trust him. I don't know why, but I get a feeling that I can trust his words!" Raja retorted.

At this juncture, one would ask who this HE was.

"Forget it! I will only fulfill my friend's request!" Alpha said decisively and focused his charge. He was no longer open to any conversation.

Alpha covered the distance in a split second, and slashed down on Raja with his massive claws.

"Air step". Raja said. Mana surrounded his body and in a powerful burst of wind, he disappeared from sight, and reappeared directly above Alpha's head.

*Slash*

The sound of bone meeting flesh was heard as Raja managed to inflict his first wound on the demon bear with an overhead slash. His claws, which were most definitely sharper than any other beasts', dug into Alpha's thick fur.

"Haha. You're not so strong after all". Raja said with a smirk, but it soon disappeared from his face when he discovered that the wound did little to the demon bear. The creatures muscles were just too tough and as such, the attack only amounted to a not-so-small bruise.

'damn it.' Raja thought as he saw alpha draw mana. Raja had a rough idea of what was coming and so threw a glance at his pack members ensure that they were out of harm's way.

There were a number of injured pack members, just a few twenty meters from where the two fought and they were watching while shivering in fear. Three out of said pack members stood in front of the rest, like shields as their expressions radiated a guilt filled reluctance.

They seemed to want to fight beside their leader, as his strongest and most trusted aides, but Raja seemed to have ordered them not to join the battle. They were also immensely afraid of the demon bear.

The guilt along with the fear gripped at their hearts as they watched the bloodied form of their leader.

After determining that everyone was okay, Raja turned his attention back to his opponent and started conjuring his own spell. It was good to note that mana beasts had the ability to skip the entire process of chanting during casting, and only requiring the root chant to conjure a spell. It was a feat that could only be achieved by high ranking mages.

It only took a few moments before Alpha was finished with his chant and then, "scorching roar", Alpha screamed releasing a powerful roar combined with fire mana.

The roar's destructive ability skyrocketed when it was infused with fire mana. The sound wave generated possessed fire properties and burned up the unfortunate trees, leaves and rocks and even a few daring squirrels and insects within the vincinity.

The roar also possessed a raw force which was akin to that of two trucks. But Raja wasn't standing idly by the whole time.

"10- layered wind barrier". Raja said and a wind barrier formed around him, followed by another and then another. In a few moments, the wolf was protected by ten overlapping barriers formed with wind magic.

The transparent green glow of the spherical wind barrier increased with each added layer. It's size increased by ten fold and it stood in the path of Alpha's spell with the aura if an unmoving mountain. Even though it was barely the height of a medium sized tree.

"Let's we if you can penetrate this!" Raja screamed as he braced for impact. The wave collided with the barrier and a loud boom resounded in the woods.

BOOM!

——–

"Huh? What was that?" Aina asked Juan.

It was their fifth day searching for Levi and they still hadn't found him. After a fruitless attempt on the first day, Aina went back home to report about what she found—nothing.

Raymond heard the news and issued a search party for Levi, but that was it. The search party failed to track Levi's location even after five days and Raymond wasn't planning to do anything about it.

Levi's family, except Aina, did not seem to be as concerned as you would expect a family to be at the disappearence of their son. As far as he was concerned, he had sent out a search team for Levi. They had made flyers and told the local magic knights about it. If Levi could not be found even then, then he would be tagged dead. It was an ideal situation for the count.

He would be rid of the stain on his name, and he would still maintain a nigh perfect public appearance. Yes, there would definitely be rumors, but they would not be able to do significant damage to his image as they would be unable to prove it. More so that he was not even directly involved in the disappearence of his son.

That morning, Aina lashed out at her parents for not worrying as much as a parent would in response to Levi's disappearence. She insulted them, calling them failures as parents and greedy bastards who only see children as tools to get what they wanted and then left the mansion again in search of her beloved brother.

She was currently with her servants, Juan and John and they were busy searching aimlessly for Levi.

The search proved to be quite an ardous task as they had come across a good few mana beasts and other woodland predators as they travelled deep into the forest. That it of course, until they felt the powerful surge of mana as well as a thundering explosion coming from a particular direction.

"I can sense two large presences, a few hundred meters away. And from the mana fluctuations, they seemed to be engaged". John reported after casting a spell.

He had used an earth spell and focused on that particular direction to cover a longer distance if over two meters. The spell was a third, out of the seven tiers of spell. The tiers categorized spells based on raw power and how difficult it is to learn, and they went up from one to seven, with one being the lowest and seven being the highest.

"Alright, let's go check it out". Aina said as she walked forward, front and center towards the area where the surge of mana was coming from. Her instincts were telling her that what she was looking for was there.

'please. Let him be there.' Aina prayed in her heart.

——–

At about the same time in another location, Levi had just arrived at the explosion site. He had come quickly by riding the back of a hurricane wolf.

He quickly dismounted and ran towards where the explosion occured while shouting at the top of his voice,

"Raja! Raja!" Levi shouted with a worried expression plastered on his face.

After five days, Levi had strengthened his relationship witj Raja and the two had actually become good friends. Levi could befreind the wolf quite easily because the latter was not a human and Levi's hate was only directed towards humans, including most of his family as they had never failed to let him down.

Apparently, there was a very large explosion as dust and smoke hovered around the entire area. Levi couldn't see or smell anything, his senses were rendered completely useless, but he could still sense two mana signatures from there.

'Raja is still alive'. He thought to himself.

His eyes frantically searched around for his freind until the dust started settling and two figures slowly became visible. As the dust and smoke cleared and the two figures came into view, the battle had ended and the results lay right there before Levi's eyes.

"Uh...."

A/N:

Hey guys, Dream here. I'm really sorry about not posting yesterday.I had something very important to attend to. But I will make it up to y'all by posting two today!

Special thanks again to Halis_eren_balaban, for voting!