Chapter 518: Just Start Blasting
Chapter 520 of "Path to Transcendence" commences with: Julius could see Rivenâs reluctance to accept defeat. He could understand the pride of not... Donât miss the next part!
Julius could see Rivenâs reluctance to accept defeat. He could understand the pride of not giving up, but after a few moments, Riven looked at his feet and nodded.Julius nodded as well and lowered himself to the ground, his wings elegantly floating his body back down to the ground. Riven was right behind him, the mageâs wind magic gently cushioning his beaten-up body.
Julius could see the extensive damage he had done to Riven. Shattered ribcage, ruptured organs, and several other bad injuries were sprawled over the mageâs body. Julius felt bad and was about to help him, but before he could, he felt the remnants of life mana coming from something attached to the mageâs hip.
It was likely the healing item that Julius had sensed earlier in the battle. Still, it wouldnât hurt to ask.
âAre you okay? Do you need any healing?â He asked the dejected mage.
Riven still didnât look at Julius, but he at least responded. âJust my pride, I hate losing,â he said bitterly, but sighed after a few seconds. âPlus, I donât think my body can take much more healing without causing other issues.â
âIt was a good fight,â Julius said, hoping to offer some solace in the loss. He knew that it probably wouldnât make Riven feel any better, but he didnât know what else to say.
Riven finally looked up at Julius and let out a reluctant smile. âYeah... Yeah, it was.â
Several long seconds passed, and Julius was about to say something when Riven suddenly dropped to his knees and puked up more blood, groaning in pain and grabbing his deformed ribs in the process.
Julius scrunched his nose and let out a sigh. He felt bad and walked over to the mage. He couldnât just let such a good opponent suffer like this and called out Drasil from his soul. The life spirit appeared on the center of his palm, letting out a confused coo and looking around at the devastation their fight had created.
The entire area was torn up. The ground was filled with large fissures, and there were dozens of massive boulders strewn across.
He spotted many people looking on from afar. Apparently, most of the monsters had already been taken care of, and they had decided to watch Juliusâs and Rivenâs fight. A lot of people had surprised looks on their faces and looked at Julius with a mixture of fear and respect.
Only a few people looked outright angry at the result. One of these people was Garrett Greyson. Julius could see the frustration on the other boyâs face plain as day. The other person who looked pissed off was the girl Riven had been with. She looked like she was ready to stab Julius in the face.
Julius decided he didnât like so many people watching him, so he created a barrier around him and Riven, blocking the spectatorsâ view. It was only then that he leaned down and placed Drasil next to the gasping mage.
Drasil seemed to understand what Julius wanted and trotted over to Riven, placing his tiny arm on the mage.
Riven glanced to the side and saw Drasil touching him with a mixture of confusion and pain. âWait, wait,â Riven tried to say to Drasil.
However, the life spirit didnât bother listening to the mage. He was already sending soft, gentle pulses of life mana into Rivenâs body. The mageâs protests were drowned out by the soft sighs of relief that came out of his mouth.
It took longer than it usually did, but Drasil was being extra careful, just like Julius was telling him to. Freya and Galten had told Julius that not everyone could heal as frequently as he was used to.
Apparently, it had something to do with a personâs affinity to life magic and, to a lesser extent, how much they were used to it. They called it something like someoneâs healing threshold, or maybe it was something else.
Either way, there was only so much healing magic someone could withstand before it would cause terrible things to happen. It was also a reason why people couldnât just drink healing potions like juice boxes.
A couple of them were fine, but any more than that and they would mutate or explode into a bloody mist.
It was a pretty common occurrence for adventurers to have this happen. If someone was delving and was injured, they might risk consuming another potion or getting healed one too many times.
This was a real problem for healers. That said, it only applied to normal healers. To someone like Freya and Galten, they had learned how to get around the healing threshold somewhat.
It required a lot more finesse and skill, but it was possible to ignore it. Julius clearly didnât have the requisite skill or finesse, but he had another thing going for him.
That was his Phoenix healing skill. Because of his overpowered skill and Concept, he had a totally different kind of healing magic available to him. It afforded him many other options and was a big reason why he was able to heal himself so frequently, even with his high affinity for life mana.
Of course, this little ability extended to Drasil as well since the little guy was so interconnected with Juliusâs soul. It was why Drasilâs healing magic was so potent and why Julius felt confident in letting Drasil heal Riven despite the mageâs protests.
At least he was hoping he was right. If he was wrong, then he really didnât want to see what would happen.
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Julius waited for the screams to begin, but thankfully, even after a full minute, he didnât hear anything.
Rivenâs protests had already died down, and he was looking at Drasil like he was the biggest miracle on the face of the continent. His wounds had healed, and the only evidence left behind was the huge blood stains. Blood stains that were quickly fading away due to the self-cleaning enchantments on the robes of the mage.
These robes were really a unique treasure. They werenât even scratched from Juliusâs attacks. Not even a single torn thread. Whatever these robes were made of, it was likely costly.
Riven sat on his butt and continued to stare at Drasil with wide eyes. Drasil, on the other hand, looked confused by Rivenâs intense stare and turned to Julius, whistling out with anxiousness.
âItâs okay, I think he is just grateful,â Julius said with a shrug.
This seemed to shake Riven out of his trance, and the mage nodded fiercely. âYes, yes, absolutely. Thank you so much,â Riven said, standing up swiftly and bowing deeply to the six-inch spirit.
Drasil gave an adorable salute in reply. Julius didnât know where Drasil had learnt that from, but it was cute as hell.
It was only then that Riven looked at Julius. âHow?â
âHow what?â
Riven glared at him. âYou know what I mean.â
âDrasil is a special boy,â he said proudly, smiling when Drasil held his arms up, as if to say, âhell yeah, I am.â
âFine, I have way more other questions I want to ask anyway.â
Julius shook his head firmly. âNope. You lost, which means you donât get to ask any questions. As per our deal, you now have to help us deal with Garrettâs little thuggy group.â
âThey are not all thugs. They are people who have been offered a lot of money or other things to work together. Itâs part of the advantages of having so many connections,â Riven explained.
Julius shrugged. âEither way, now they are your problem.â
âSeriously?â Riven asked flatly.
âWhat? Did you think I fought you just because I was curious about your skills and wanted to test some things?â
âYes, that is exactly what I think.â
Julius nodded before he could catch himself. âDamn right I did,â he said with a grin, but quickly backed up and coughed into his hand. âBut that is beside the point. I wanted you to deal with it since you are more familiar with them than we are.â
âWhy donât you just start slaughtering them? You are more than strong enough for that idea actually to have some merit,â Riven said with a roll of his eyes.
Julius pressed his lips together. When he thought about it, Riven had a good point. Why not just blast them?
âWill that actually work?â He asked.
Riven shrugged and tilted his head. âMaybe? There are only a few people actually to worry about. The rest are either too weak or will just run away if it gets bad enough.â
âWhich ones should I worry about?â
âThey have Eren, Louis, Casey, Garrett, and Eva, but Eva will probably come with me, so you wonât have to worry about her.â
âWhat do you know about Casey Vale?â Julius asked.
Riven looked at him, confused. âYouâre asking about her, not Eren? Iâm surprised.â
Julius frowned. âEren seems to be a straightforward opponent, but from what I have heard, the Vale girl is more mysterious. Is it true that she uses soul magic?â
Riven nodded. âYeah, she has a weird variation of it as well. Some of us believe it is a bloodline ability, but others think it is some kind of unique skill or maybe even a treasure soul bound to her.â
âAnd you think it is a bloodline ability? What does your master think?â
âMy master has no clue, which is why there are so many eyes on her. That and my master has also told me that she has killed a Tier 5 all on her own, but he also thinks that is because of some special conditions.â
Julius widened his eyes in shock. This was news to him. Killing a Tier 5 was no small feat. It didnât matter how you did it, either. Technically, Julius had helped kill a Tier 5, but that Tier 5 had a crafting-focused path, plus he had another Tier 5 that did most of the work.
âDo you know how? Or do you even know if it is true?â
âThe details are not known, but numerous sources have confirmed it. The Tier 5 had been an elder to a noble house, causing a lot of drama, I hear,â Riven said with a chuckle.
âIt doesnât sound like you like nobles that much, which is surprising considering who you are working with.â
âWorking with is a stretch. Like I said before, I am only doing this because it was a small part of the agreement my master made with House Greyson.â
âWhat did your master get from House Greyson anyway?â Julius pressed curiously.
Riven laughed. âYeah, I am not telling you that. Anyway, I have already answered plenty of your questions. I only did so because you healed me, and I find you somewhat interesting.â
âSomewhat interesting, huh?â Julius asked with a blank look.
âYeah.â
âYou know I can always decide to finish what I started, right?â
Riven suddenly plastered on the fakest smile in the world. âI was just joking, haha.â
Julius was about to say something, but he felt his friends approach his barrier, knocking on the very edge of it. He created a small gap for them to enter through, then closed it the moment they entered.
âAre you okay?â Derek asked right away.
âYeah, Iâm good. I was just talking with Riven here. He said he was going to help us, right?â Julius said with a pointed look at the mage.
Riven gave Julius a resigned look but eventually nodded. âYeah, a deal is a deal. But I donât know how much help I will be. I used a little too much mana in our fight, and my body is still quite injured.â
âYouâll be fine. You can drink some mana potions, and as for your body, you shouldnât be complaining. Drasil just healed you,â Julius stated, and Drasil, upon hearing his name, whistled in agreement.
âYes, but just because I am healed doesnât mean I can just fight again right away. I need some time to recover,â Riven said, like it was the most obvious thing.
Julius was about to tell him to man up when Derek intervened.
âThatâs alright. I feel like we have some time anyway. The doors have just opened, and we havenât been attacked by Garrettâs group just yet. He seems to be waiting for something.â
âThatâs good for us. We can make a plan in the meantime,â Edgar added.
âYeah, I have a plan. Just start blasting them,â Julius muttered loud enough for all of them to hear.
He didnât appreciate the judgmental look he got from Riven, as well as the silent praying of his friends. He thought it was a pretty good idea. It was just unfortunate that they didnât think the same thing.