“How do I do that?” Vincent questioned, excitement rising as he learned he could get stronger.

  Grom closed his eyes and fell asleep as he said, “Figure it out on your own.”

  Vincent shrugged and returned to his corner of the chamber. He sat down cross legged and closed his eyes. He focused inward and separated an essence from the others. He took a close look at it before willing his soul to gather next to it. After a moment of consideration, he moved his soul into the essence. A problem quickly arose. The essence was too small, it wasn’t big enough to contain his soul. In fact, the essence seemed to be on the verge of collapse. He quickly stopped what he was doing.

  After a few minutes of hypotheticals, he gathered all of the essence in his body to one spot. He quickly felt everywhere else grow weak, except for where the essence was gathered. This time, the mass of essence contained all of his soul. Satisfied, he moved the essence back to their original place. However, another problem arose. His soul was in one piece, while the essence were thousands. He quickly realized what he had to do. He looked at his soul and focused, willing it to split into two. A second later, he grunted in pain as a small tear appeared on the edge of his soul. The pain was so unbearable he almost fainted on the spot. He quickly stopped what he was doing.

  He let out a breath as he realized he might have done something extremely risky. The idea of splitting his soul was put to the back of his mind, he had to think of something else. Time continued to pass as Vincent split his training schedule into two parts, one was purifying his essence, while the other was learning how to infuse his soul into his essence.

  When Ace and Vincent went to ask Grom more questions, he refused to answer, only stating, “I’m not going to hand hold you kids. If you don’t learn how to discover things on your own, you’ll only become incompetent. I’ve taught you enough for you to become masters in the future, the rest is on your own.”

  Even though they were upset, they knew Grom was correct. They had been relying on Grom too much recently, and they already had their plates full. Time continued to pass as they trained, and soon, 10 months had gone by.

  Chapter 96

  It has now been one year since Ace and Vincent hid in the center of the planet. The chamber was the same as before, and they felt like they were about to lose their minds at the familiar sight. They had no idea how Grom could still be so sane when he had been trapped here for thousands of years. They admired him even more.

  In the chamber, multiple dogs ran around. One pair was chasing each other, while others performed various tricks. If an outsider looked upon this sight, they would have no idea that the dogs were actually made of qi. A moment later, the dogs dispersed into qi and returned to Ace.

  Grom looked down at Ace with a smile on his face, “Good, you’ve passed.”

  After spending a year with these two kids, he had grown fond of them. Their progress brought him great joy, and he now realized why some of his friends in the past retired and raised families of their own. He turned to look at Vincent and found that Vincent’s skin was shining slightly, although only slightly.

  Vincent and Ace looked at each other, a grin on their face. Ace slapped his palm into his fist as he said, “Let’s do it!”

  “You have one minute.” Grom declared, realizing what Ace meant.

  Ace and Vincent stood in the air, declining to sit down and get into a comfortable position. They no longer needed to do such a thing, they could now perform to the best of their ability in any position. A flood of energy seeped out of their bodies. Qi surrounded Ace, while blood surrounded Vincent. They were easily using all of their energy reserves.

  Grom laughed at himself, realizing he had given them too much time. After evaluating them, he said, “Vincent, 7900. Ace, 6300. Vincent wins.”

  Ace expected this result, afterall, he had less total energy than Vincent. He had more strength, while Vincent had more stamina and recovery. Grom quickly began the next test, “Use only 1,000 units of energy.”

  Vincent withdrew 1,000 units of blood and began to condense them. They quickly formed into the size of a tennis ball. He frowned, unsatisfied with the result. He grunted as he summoned all of his strength, applying even more force. The ball shrunk a notch smaller. He released a breath, satisfied.

  At his side, Ace’s sphere was the size of a table tennis ball. It was smaller than his by quite a bit. Grom quickly announced Ace as the winner. Grom promptly declared the start of the third test, “Create as many spheres of energy as you can. Each sphere has to be 50 units of energy. You will be graded on the density and amount of spheres. Begin!”

  Vincent instantly created 158 spheres. He only felt a small tug on his soul. After awakening his soul, he was able to multitask much easier. He began to condense them, and found his limit to be the size of a baseball.

  Ace created 126 spheres and felt a moderate tug on his soul. Half a year ago, he had successfully awakened his soul and unlocked the soul force stat. He condensed the spheres and stopped once they reached the size of a pool ball. The test was completed quite quickly. Grom nodded in satisfaction, “You two have clearly mastered all of the energy that you have available. In the future, try and increase the amount you can use as much as possible. The winner… is Ace!”

  Vincent sighed, expecting this result from months ago. Ace had grown extremely fast due to the combination of clones and origin stone absorption. However, he didn’t let it get to him. Grom had explained that this test didn’t test combat power, it only tested the control over your energy. After making his own ability, he felt completely confident in beating Ace. The only problem was that it required him to go all out. He didn’t feel confident in using the ability and not killing Ace accidentally.

  Ace smiled as he glanced Vincent. He was happy that he won, but only by a little. This was a little competition between them, just a fun little game between brothers. He flew over to Vincent as he narrowed his eyes, “Ready to return home?”

  “Of course,” Vincent nodded as he put back on his mask. He had taken it off a long time ago out of respect for Grom.

  It was now time for them to leave. They had grown strong enough that they were now confident in conquering the planet. In addition, they were anxious to return home. They walked up to Grom and bowed deeply as they said in unison, “Thank you for everything you’ve done for us!”

  “Haha, it was my pleasure,” Grom laughed heartily as he accepted their gratitude. He continued with an awkward smile, “It feels weird to say this, but go get ‘em kids!”

  He had trained them to kill the leaders of his own descendents. However, due to his age, he wasn’t familiar with all of his family members, there were just too many to count. In addition, he’d been through so much life and death, he didn’t particularly care if a distant relative died. Still, it was strange to train someone else to kill his kin, even if it was for the end goal of saving his species.

  Vincent stood straight and looked deeply at Grom before turning to leave the chamber. Ace stared at Grom, his eyes full of resolve and confidence. He sent a telepathic message as he turned around, “I promise to grow strong enough to save you from those chains! One day, I will return!”

  Grom was silent. He watched Ace fly into the distance, knowing that to grow strong enough to break these chains… was probably impossible. Ace would probably die before he reached such heights. In addition… he didn’t have much time left...

  Chapter 97

  “So,” Vincent spoke as they flew towards the surface of the planet, “how do you want to go about doing this?”

  Ace had thought about this in recent months, and he decided to go about it in a way that matched his personality. He responded, “We’re going to challenge the leaders of each clan. I want to leave the civilians out of it as much as possible.”

  “I’ll follow your lead,” Vincent said.

  An hour later, the sun appeared overhead. They reached the surface of the great chasm and flew out of it. A year ago, they took a gamble and entered the chasm without any hopes at all. Now, they had been completely transformed, they were no longer the same as before. Ace’s appearance was the same, but his aura was reserved and calm. Vincent’s hair had grown down to his waist, and it no longer looked like a mortal’s hair, it was lustrous and silky.

  Remembering the location of the headquarters of Clan Baugh, they flew north east. As they traveled, they sensed the location of various patrolling orcs. They avoided them and continued onwards. The orcs were unaware that two humans were flying high above them.

  “Oh,” Vincent raised an eyebrow as he recalled a certain orc, “should we contact Magtha and ask for information?”

  “Hmm,” Ace fell into thought. He owed Magtha a great debt, he didn’t know if they would have made it out as safely as they did without her help. He would prefer not to involve her any further, but when he realized he was planning on conquering the entire planet, he nodded, “Okay.”

  They continued to fly as Ace connected his mind to Magtha’s through the tattoo, “Uh, hello, Magtha?”

  “Who is th-” She paused briefly before screaming, “AH!? YOU’RE ALIVE?”

  “Of course! Don’t underestimate me!” Ace responded happily, when he entered the great chasm, all connections with telepathy didn’t work. It appeared as if he died.

  “But, but… how did you live within the great chasm for so long? Mogtar only lasted a few days before he returned…” Magtha was bewildered. Due to being an elder, she was privy to more information than most. She was aware that Ace and Vincent fled into the great chasm and were never seen again.

  Ace shrugged, “Apparently the curse only affects orcs.”

  “Really? Well, it must be true since you’re still alive.” Magtha gave a deep sigh before continuing, “I’m glad you’re alive, but… this makes things awkward…”

  “Yeah...” Ace understood that they had an awkward relationship. After all, they killed Mogtar, and then the elders of Clan Baugh betrayed them.

  “That’s not what I mean. Big things have happened since you di- went missing.” Magtha’s voice was anxious.

  “Oh? Can you tell me?” Ace wondered what could have happened.

  Magtha began to explain the past year, “Right after you disappeared, Clans Ragash and Mash realized that Clan Gulm, led by Kaum, was getting too strong. Soon, he would be unbeatable. They hoped to prevent that so they teamed up. However, Kaum shocked us all, he single handedly beat both the leaders of Clan Ragash and Mash in a fair duel. They submitted to him, and he now controls the entire planet. At first, everyone thought Kaum would become a tyrant, but he’s shown to be a capable warchief who cares for our people. Things are actually looking good for our species! I’m afraid it's impossible for you to conquer the planet now…”

  “Haha,” Contrary to Magtha’s expectations, Ace laughed happily, “This makes things easier!”

  “Ace, I’m sorry, but I stand with my species. I pity your situation, but I can’t help you any further. I… I have a duty to inform Kaum about your reappearance. Goodbye.” Magtha cut off the connection.

  Ace wasn’t upset, he realized she had provided enough information already out of kindness, he didn’t hold anything against her. Ace glanced at Vincent and began to explain what he learned, “Change of plans, Vincent.”

  “Oh?” Vincent was surprised that an orc had taken control of the planet. Just a year ago, there were four clans on equal footing with each other. For just one person to change the entire situation, now that was strength. He desired to fight it out with Kaum.

  They changed direction and flew north west. They crossed the great chasm and travelled towards the headquarters of Clan Gulm. The planet was a third of the size of earth, so it didn’t take long for them to reach the headquarters with their speed. After entering the territory as intruders, the first thing they noticed was a giant bubble surrounding the clan. It was the low tier mana spire.

  Behind the blue bubble, an orc patrol spotted them. Their faces changed as they began to speak telepathically with their superiors. Ace and Vincent waited patiently outside the barrier. In under a minute, a massive army stood within the barrier. In front of them were three orcs, and Ace and Vincent were familiar with two of them. One was Moggul, while the other was the orc that transformed into a worg. They figured the third orc must be the previous leader of the last clan. Moggul gave them an awkward smile while Ace nodded his head in return.

  All of the orcs suddenly slapped their chest and chanted, “Warchief Kaum!”

  They chanted his name louder and louder. All of their voices were enhanced with qi, causing the wind to blast outwards and slam into the blue barrier. The orcs in the middle of the army suddenly parted as a lone orc was revealed. Ace and Vincent narrowed their eyes as they laid sight upon the orc; they instantly knew it was Kaum.

  Kaum slowly walked forward through the air and passed through the barrier unmolested. He stood in front of them and nodded, “To have survived for a year in the great chasm… I admire you.”

  “Ah,” Ace waved his hand in front of him, “The curse actually doesn’t affect us…”

  “Oh.” Kaum raised an eyebrow at this information. He shrugged, “Still, to have the courage to know that the planet is under my control and come before me, I still respect you. Have you come here today to enter my clan?”

  “No,” Ace shook his head, his eyes full of resolve “I want to return home, no matter the cost.”

  “Ah,” Kaum sighed and turned around, “that’s unfortunate.”

  He lost interest in them and entered the barrier. He raised his hand and gave a command, causing the army split into three groups, with the three previous clan leaders in command of each one. Each army had a specialty, which was best governed by the previous leaders. At this time, Mokka took a step towards Kaum, “Warchief, please let me fight them alone. The only prey to have escaped from me was them, causing me great dishonor.”

  “Hmph, do as you wish,” Kaum was familiar with her queer personality. He knew that if he denied her request, she would become grumpy and irritated for months. He mused, “So tiring…”

  Mokka laughed in happiness. As she flew through the air, her body cracked and rippled. It only took her a second to transform into a worg. Ace raised an eyebrow as he muttered, “Oh, I understand now.”

  Mokka created small platforms made of qi and jumped off of it, causing her to make erratic movements in the air. Her body flashed as she approached them. Only a second had passed when she transformed into a worg to when she appeared in front of Ace, her jaw wide open. Terrifying lifelike teeth wrapped around his neck.

  Just as her mouth was about to snap shut, they seemed to bite into an impenetrable wall. Ace repelled her mouth with his head as the center of a gravite node. Before, she was able to break through his gravity domain, but now, they were equally matched. At the same time, Ace clenched his hand as he instantly created a condensed gravity bomb in front of his fist. He shot his fist straight into her exposed chest, while at the same time releasing the bent up energy contained within the ball.

  The underbelly of the worg directly exploded, while Mokka’s entire figure shot into the sky at lightning speed. This wasn’t her dodging, but the result of a direct hit! Blood rained down from the sky, staining Ace’s face as he said, “Who’s next?”

  Chapter 98

  An orc separated from the army and rushed to her flailing body as he summoned a high tier health potion from his inventory. When he reached her, he found she was unconscious. He wrapped his arm around her while he poured the potion down her mouth as he shouted, “Come on, Mokka, stay with me!”

  The rest of the orcs kept their eyes on Ace, their mouths hanging open from shock. Moggul stared at Ace, wondering how he became so strong. The last leader was scared, he never fought with Ace and Vincent, but he saw them fight with Mokka last time. She completely dominated them, but now that a year had passed, they dominated her?! What the hell is going on?

  Kaum turned around, his eyes narrowing as he replayed Ace’s move in his head. The speed with which he manipulated his qi… was masterful! His heart began to beat faster in excitement. He wasn’t upset that Mokka was on the verge of death, no, he was jubilant. For decades, he had dominated every battle he fought in. He had defeated numerous clan leaders, and now, a challenge that made him excited appeared out of the blue. This was a gift from the heavens. However, he was cautious. That was what got him this far. He didn’t know anything about these two humans.

  The army of orcs turned to look at Kaum, waiting for his command. The orc who grabbed Mokka returned inside the barrier. She was now conscious, but confused. She looked at her ally and muttered, “Wh- what happened?”

  “You were too rash, you underestimated them and attacked them from the front. They are much stronger than before…” The orc explained.

  Mokka fell silent. Reality had slapped her across her head, giving her quite a shock. Even if she denied it, she had to accept it. Kaum looked at the three chiefs and commanded, “Mokka, Moggul, Goran, kill them!”

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21