Tave returned to his own ho, as Lily had an afternoon class at the academy. That particular lesson didn't apply to him since he was still in a lower class, with fewer education hours than his sister.
He headed straight to the training hall at the back of the house. It was a spacious room, though the ceiling wasn't as high as the training halls at the Knight Academy. This was where his father had trained both him and Lily in martial arts.
The floor was made of solid wood, polished smooth, with various dummy weapons placed around the room.
Tave settled himself in the center of the space, sitting cross-legged. There were a few things he needed to confirm, his Gaia Stage and the condition of his body.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and focused, reaching out to sense the Gaia Force in his surroundings.
Gaia Force was, practically speaking, a form of natural energy. Sothing akin to Qi in Eastern fantasy or Mana in Western fantasy. They shared certain similarities.
In simple terms, those who had an affinity for these forces could perceive elental particles in the air. This typically happened when they were half-closing their eyes, in a semi-conscious state, or fully concentrating.
Once awakened, a person could absorb the forces, containing them within their body. The energy would accumulate and center around their heart.
Yes! The heart was the first part of the body to undergo transformation. That was why, when slaying a monster, one could find a Monster Core. It was a condensed form of Gaia Force, marking the creature's evolution. The sa process occurred in humans as well.
Though in most cases, when a human was killed, their core shattered, leaving nothing behind.
The progression of Gaia Stages followed this order:
Novice → Apprentice → Guardian → Master → Grand Master → Champion → Archon → Sage → Mystic → Transcendent.
As the Gaia Force evolved a person through each stage, they granted special upgrades and unique abilities, taking the form of sigils, elental affinities, and other enhancents. However, each Gaia Stage also provided unique, stage-specific upgrades that varied from one level to the next.
For example, a Gaia Novice began experiencing physical enhancents, increasing their strength and agility.
A Gaia Apprentice gained the ability to reinforce their body with elental magic, which was marked by the awakening of their Elental Affinity.
Unfortunately for Tave, even after advancing to Gaia Apprentice, he hadn't awakened any elental affinity of his own. Without his new acquired sigil, he wouldn't have access to elental abilities at all. Sothing that would have severely limited his potential.
Upon reaching Gaia Guardian, a person could begin using Gaia Force externally, manifesting it beyond their body. This allowed for techniques like elental attacks, such as Lily's Water Blade, or the healing abilities used on her earlier.
As one ascended further, their connection to Gaia Force would deepen, unlocking even greater abilities and access to more advanced powers.
To increase their gaia stages, a person had to reach level 10 within their current stage and then break through to the next. There were four key thods, all of which needed to be balanced for optimal growth.
Honestly, it would be much easier if leveling up was just about killing monsters, but the Gaia Force system was far more complex, altering the human body and introducing advanced chanics at higher levels.
The four main thods were:
First, training the Body.
Strengthening the body improved synergy with Gaia Force, allowing for better energy channeling and stronger techniques. While leveling up naturally increased physical condition, intense training further boosted endurance, speed, and raw power, helping the body handle the strain of high-tier skills.
Second, training the Mind.
ntal discipline and ditation enhanced control over Gaia Force, improving precision, casting speed, and energy efficiency. A focused mind led to smoother execution of techniques and heightened awareness of surroundings.
Third, training the Spirit.
Unlike mind training, which focused on control, spirit training deepened one's connection to Gaia itself. Activating elental skills repeatedly helped refine efficiency and mastery over abilities.
Fourth, forced Absorption Through Battle.
The most dangerous and controversial thod. By slaying monsters or defeating other Gaia Awakeners, one could forcibly absorb their Gaia Force, accelerating growth beyond what traditional training could achieve.
Simply put: Body = Physical Strength through physical training and combat techniques, Mind = Control through ditation, Spirit = Resonance through elental skill practice, and Combat = Absorption through real battle experience.
Balancing all four was crucial. Neglecting one would limit progress, while mastering all would unlock Gaia Force's true potential.
Tave took a mont to analyze his current condition. His body was well-built, having undergone intense physical training. His martial arts and swordsmanship were solid foundations. It was an undeniable advantage.
For elental skills, now that he had an affinity with the Dark Elent, all he needed was to keep honing more techniques related to it. Problem solved.
For combat experience, he had only one option, hunting monsters. He could take on small hunting missions near the city and, of course, his upcoming Rift Expedition would be a major opportunity.
Now, for the Mind.
He closed his eyes, focusing, trying to sense the Gaia Force in the air.
Darkness. Just like any normal person closing their eyes... but then, faintly, he finally saw them. Elental particles, drifting around him, glowing with a soft white light.
Oh, this is amazing!
But just as suddenly as they appeared, they vanished.
Ah, damn... Keeping focus and concentration was harder than he thought.
He steadied himself again, attempting to bring those elental particles back into view.
Right... there they were.
Normally, ditation involved calling these particles into the body, drawing them toward the heart, where they would condense and strengthen the core, allowing for the absorption of more Gaia Forces over ti.
Alright, he needed to try this. Summon the particles. Pull them in.
Co on... co closer... please...
He reached out. He focused. He tried to absorb them.
...Nothing.
The elental particles didn't respond to his command.
Wait.
Was this the reason the Original Tave struggled to level up? Because the Gaia Force refused to respond to him?
Damn.
This was solid proof. His talent for using Gaia Force was practically nonexistent.
And that... that was a massive problem for soone trying to grow as a Gaia Awakener.
Tave kept trying, convincing himself that this was a problem of the original Tave, and that maybe, just maybe, he could do sothing about it now that he had taken over this body.
He focused. Again. And again.
Ti passed. He kept concentrating with everything he had... but the elental particles refused to respond.
Hours passed. Then another. Then another.
Tave gritted his teeth, hands clenched into fists. No matter how much he focused, no matter how hard he tried. Nothing changed.
It was like trying to grasp air. His fingers closed around emptiness, over and over again.
For the first ti, doubt crept in.
Was this truly impossible?
His hopes crumbled. This body truly had no natural talent for absorbing Gaia Force.
For a normal person, this would be a dead end. They would have no choice but to give up.
But that didn't apply to him!
Because he had an alternative. A way to overco this flaw.
Because he knew more. He understood things beyond what anyone else in this world did.
Well... this also ant one important thing.
The original protagonist had figured this out too. It happened sowhere along the journey.
Because later in the story, Theo discovered a new thod to level up Gaia Force. And since he regressed, that information should have still been fresh in his mind. Sigh.
And that one new thod was... yes.
It was extre, brutal, even.
Because anyone who chose this path was practically abandoning their foundation as a human.
This thod was called... The Bloodline Override.
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