Alaric knelt in a clearing deep within the forest, the aftermath of his battle with the red-furred blood ape still visible around him: scorched trees, broken boulders, and a faint crimson mist lingering over the terrain. The blood-element essence from the ape pulsed in his qi and mana paths, a powerful but unstable energy. Each heartbeat echoed with its chaotic rhythm, threatening to overwhelm him if not properly controlled.
He focused, closing his eyes, drawing the essence into himself. Unlike the fire or earth elements, blood demanded a connection to life itself — a rhythm, a pulse. Alaric extended his senses, feeling the forest around him: the sap in the trees, the creatures lurking nearby, even the faintest traces of his own blood flowing through his veins. Slowly, the energy began to respond, syncing with his dual-path cultivation.
The first attempt was messy. He tried sending a surge of blood energy through his Sky Rendering Sword, intending to create a lacerating slash infused with the power of life-draining force. The blade erupted with crimson sparks, but the recoil nearly knocked him off his feet, his qi and mana flowing wildly. He fell to one knee, sweat and blood dripping, heart racing. He gritted his teeth and recalibrated, this time letting the blood-element energy follow his movements instead of forcing it.
Alaric practiced small controlled strikes, feeling how the energy pulsed through his muscles and sword. Each slash left faint red streaks in the air, pulsating slightly as if alive. He experimented with Phantom Strike, integrating blood energy to enhance speed and piercing power. The effect was subtle at first, but he could feel the synergy growing — the blood-element energy amplified his dual-path attacks, adding life-force draining potential to his strikes.
To fully master it, he moved to dynamic combat practice. Trees became training dummies, boulders became obstacles, and the forest floor became his testing ground. Each step was precise, every swing measured. He combined Lightning Steps with blood-enhanced sword strikes, creating phantom afterimages that left the forest air shimmering. His body absorbed the energy with each movement, syncing rhythmically, until he could summon a controlled wave of blood energy without losing stability.
By the end of the day, Alaric had managed to cast a blood-element slash that carved through multiple trees with precision. The energy pulsed in tandem with his heart, responding instantly to his intentions. He finally understood the element's essence: it demanded respect, rhythm, and connection to life, not just brute force. Exhausted but exhilarated, he knew that this mastery would make him far deadlier in combat.
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After resting, Alaric turned to the wind element core obtained from the previous king-tier beast. Unlike blood, wind was agile, fluid, and unpredictable. Controlling it required finesse, precision, and spatial awareness. Alaric's first steps involved sensing air currents, manipulating minor breezes to move objects, and syncing the energy with his Lightning Steps.
He experimented with combining wind with flame, creating blades of fire that cut through the air with enhanced speed and range. The first few attempts were clumsy: bursts of fire flared uncontrollably, whipping branches and scattering debris, leaving him singed in a few places. He adjusted, learning to channel the wind to guide the flames, producing long, cutting arcs that flowed like liquid fire.
Next, he integrated earth magic, attempting to launch flaming, wind-driven projectiles while stabilizing his stance with earthen spikes. The synergy was incredible: he could strike from unexpected angles, controlling trajectories mid-flight. His sword techniques became fluid storms of motion, slicing through the forest with calculated fury.
Alaric pushed himself further, incorporating Phantom Strike and Sky Rendering Sword. The wind element enhanced his speed exponentially. He could move between trees almost instantaneously, leaving afterimages that confused his foes. Flames rode the wind trails, creating a deadly combination of speed, precision, and destructive power. He felt exhilaration and the weight of responsibility: the element was powerful, but its misuse could easily backfire.
Finally, he tested the wind in combat scenarios, creating gusts to throw boulders, deflect debris, and manipulate the battlefield. Each strike was a lesson in timing and control. By the end of the day, Alaric could summon a controlled tornado of wind and fire that responded to his sword movements — a precursor to the devastating combination techniques he would employ in real battle.
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Confident in his mastery over the blood and wind elements, Alaric ventured deeper into the forest to test himself against live targets: ordinary king-tier beasts. His first encounter was a giant horned rhino, its armor-like hide nearly impervious to standard attacks. Alaric advanced cautiously, letting the wind element enhance his speed. Lightning Steps carried him around the rhino's charge, while earth spikes from his feet destabilized its footing.
He combined blood and fire, creating slashes that drained vitality while igniting exposed skin. The rhino bucked and charged again, but Alaric anticipated its movements, using wind-enhanced flames to slash across its flank. The combination of elements overwhelmed the creature's defenses, and he delivered a precise Phantom Strike to its underbelly, finally felling it.
Next came a giant lion, a peak advanced tier beast without elemental affinity. Alaric experimented with combining blood-draining slashes with wind-enhanced mobility, dodging powerful swipes while countering with strikes that drained stamina. The lion's claws tore through trees, sending splinters flying, but Alaric moved with a combination of Lightning Steps and aerial maneuvers, finally bringing the beast down with Sky Rendering Sword infused with flame, wind, and blood energy.
The forest echoed with his victories. Each kill honed his reflexes, elemental control, and dual-path synergy. He experimented with combining earth and blood, wind and fire, and even all four in rapid sequences, testing how the elements interacted mid-combat. By the end of three days, he had slain multiple king-tier beasts, his skills sharpened, his control precise, and his confidence soaring.
Alaric knew this training would make him nearly unstoppable. He could fight multiple high-level opponents, adapt to elemental affinities, and fully utilize both mana and qi paths simultaneously. Every slash, every step, every spell was a testament to his mastery, and he felt ready for any threat the world could throw at him.