While Argentum let out a sigh of relief as the dark clouds a few thousand meters over his head were gradually dissipating, the aegis that he threw in the air at the last moment had finally come down, digging a bit into the ground as it stood upright. After looking at the aegis for a bit, he then went ahead and stood up before lightly stretching, deactivating the buffs that he had cast on himself soon after.
Around this moment, Blob finally reduced the gap between the two of them as he dashed towards his creator in an instant. With an aura of elation surrounding him, Blob could not help but shout, "Congratulations on clearing your first Power Baptism, Argentum!"
In response, Argentum let out a chuckle as he replied, "Thanks." He then added, "To be honest, I was not expecting the last bolt to turn out like that. Did you expect that to happen?"
Radiating a brief aura of contemplation, Blob soon shook his head as he responded, "I did not expect that as well. At most, I only expected you to have the same number of lightning bolts as I did when I took my Power Baptism. When I saw that with every round of lightning, the number of lightning bolts increased, I could not help but wonder what made your trial turn out like that."
"I guess the trial wanted to adjust its difficulty to the amount of power I had with all of the buffs," Argentum joked before adding, "You did see me punch those bolts without a problem, right?"
"And you told me that you needed my help just in case," Blob said sarcastically as a response to Argentum's question. Imitating the sound of one clicking their tongue, he then muttered, "Even the last round of bolts were easy for you to handle. If I were in your place, I definitely would have become critically injured. Death might even be possible."
"Well, let's forget the what-ifs of my trial," Argentum said not long after as he placed his left hand on Blob's shoulder. With an aura of happiness and elation surrounding him, he told Blob, "What matters is that I cleared it."
"Yeah," Blob nodded, letting out an aura of happiness as well. He then went silent for a bit, sensing the aura his creator was currently radiating for a short bit. A few seconds later, he could not help but let out a sigh, which was soon followed by a chuckle with a hint of mockery, prompting Argentum to ask Blob, "What's wrong?"
Removing Argentum's hand on his shoulder, Blob went ahead and sat down on the ground, his sense of vision focused on the starry sky up above. Letting out another sigh, he finally told Argentum, "With you clearing your first Power Baptism, I can't help but feel like I've become less useful to you."
"Why do you think so?" Argentum asked as a response, sitting beside Blob as he soon gazed at the starry sky as well.
Taking in a deep breath, Blob replied, "Judging from the aura you're radiating right now, your combat power is still at a level where I would still win, but it's now at a level where you don't need to rely on me as much. If we factor in the buffs you have, then your overall power far surpasses mine."
"Just so you know, unlike your innately intrepid strength, that kind of power costs me mana," Argentum soon replied, finally understanding what Blob was getting to. Letting out a sigh as he imagined the worst, he then asked Blob, "Let's say the two of us got into a fight. Using all of the mana I have within me, I can unleash a power far beyond what you can currently do. But what if I was sapped dry of mana amidst a fight? Who's gonna help me out?"
Just as Blob was about to respond, Argentum interrupted him from doing so and continued, "Of course, you'd think that anyone could fit the bill. But remember that I can't possibly trust them, nor do I think that they would unleash a level of power at the same level as my full power. Only you would be able to fulfill all requirements without a problem."
With Argentum explaining his mindset, Blob finally realized that he was pondering over his usefulness in the wrong manner. Being used as a personal escort by Argentum throughout the journey, Blob thought that with Argentum undergoing a Power Baptism, he only needed to cast a single movement speed boosting buff on himself before becoming able to move at a similar speed at him. Only now did he realize that there were a lot more areas for him to fill, which Argentum couldn't.
Taking in a deep breath before letting out a long sigh, Blob radiated an aura that felt like he had achieved enlightenment, closing his eyes for a bit. Eventually, he looked at Argentum and said with an awkward chuckle, "I guess I was looking at it from the wrong perspective. My bad."
"No worries," Argentum said with a tone of comfort. "Whenever you feel like this again, just tell me. I'll make sure that you won't think that way ever again."
"Got it," Blob replied, radiating an aura of feeling cared for as he nodded. The two of them then went ahead and looked at the starry sky for a few more minutes as the atmosphere between them turned silent. After ten minutes or so, Blob went ahead and took the initiative to start a conversation, looking at Argentum and saying, "Hey, Argentum."
"What is it?" Argentum asked in response.
"With your Power Baptism done, what are we gonna do next?" Blob asked, to which Argentum mulled over for a short bit. After a few seconds, he said in a slightly unsure tone, "To be honest, I was thinking of heading back to where I came from, Tempest Cliff. But…"
Not long after, a thought surfaced in his mind as he soon asked Argentum, "Ah, right. Do you have the tome with you?"
"Ah," Blob uttered before manipulating the energy circulating throughout his body. In an instant, an opening was formed on his torso, revealing the Tome of the Four Elements that the two had obtained from Verdant Breeze Town. Without hesitation, Argentum grabbed it from the inside of Blob's torso before staring at it for a bit, formulating a plan in his mind that revolved around the tome.
Pondering over it for a couple of minutes, Argentum eventually had a plan inside his mind as he told Blob with a tone of certainty, "Forget what I said a while ago. We're heading to Felix's inheritance."
"The Grand Blue Master's inheritance?" Blob said in response. "Why there?"
"Well, it's the closest place from here where we can do anything without having to worry about our safety," Argentum responded without delay. "Although I know you can defend me from threats and vice versa, it's still better for a third party we can trust to protect us while we do our things to improve our power. You still have those Fire-based spells you learned from the manor, right?"
In response, Blob nodded, prompting Argentum to continue, "In that case, you can improve your understanding over the spells in the inheritance without being disturbed, no?"
Thinking about the proposition for a bit, Blob eventually said, "Well…true. I do want to increase my arsenal of abilities, seeing how you almost have a spell for every situation…"
At this moment, Blob was now on board with Argentum's plan, which Argentum radiated an aura of slight satisfaction as he listened to his companion's response. As for Blob, he asked his creator, "When do we head there?"
Placing the tome inside his upper torso by manipulating the energy in his body, Argentum soon stood up and looked at Argentum before saying, "Right now."
Whoosh! Whoosh!
In an instant, four balls of green energy were soon conjured in front of the vision of the two, with two balls each heading towards their bodies. Not long after, the two felt like their bodies were as light as a feather, giving them the idea that a single movement of theirs would allow them to traverse a massive distance.
Hearing Argentum's response, Blob was not surprised by it as he stood up slowly, knowing that hastily standing up would propel him upward thanks to the movement speed boosting buffs. With Blob now ready to head out, Argentum lightly nodded and told him, "There's no need for you to know the route. You just have to follow me."
"Alright," Blob nodded as he responded. Soon after, the two of them channeled all of the strength inside their body towards their legs, disappearing from their original position in less than an instant as they were now making their way towards the Grand Blue Inheritance.
Unsurprisingly, with the help of Argentum's two movement speed boosting buffs, the journey, which took Blob almost two days to traverse, was shortened down to a matter of a few hours. Just as the sun was about a quarter of the way to the peak of the sky, the two were standing in front of the ice castle that housed the Grand Blue Inheritance, slightly gasping for air as they felt that they had overexerted themselves.
After catching their breaths, Argentum looked at the ice castle for a bit before looking at Blob, saying, "Let me tell Felix that we're already here."
With Blob nodding not long after in his peripheral vision, he then went ahead and utilized the connection he had with Felix, manipulating a great portion of the energy circulating inside his body as a voice soon resounded throughout Argentum's mind.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Argentum," Felix's voice resounded throughout Argentum's mind, which was accompanied by a light chortle. "What made you come and contact me?"
"Hey, Felix," Argentum greeted Felix in response. He then asked him, "Do you mind if we come into your Grand Blue Inheritance for a bit? We're planning to improve our combat powers for a bit before heading back to where I came from."
"Oh, sure. No worries," Felix unhesitatingly agreed to Argentum's favor before asking, "Do you want me to teleport you two inside? Are you two still outside that town?"
"Nope," Argentum succinctly replied as he added, "We're already at the front of the inheritance."
"Oh," Felix said briefly, only to let out a startled shout soon after, which he hastily suppressed. Imitating the sound of one clearing the throat, he then told Argentum, "Well then. Give me a second."
Whoosh! Whoosh!
And just like that, Argentum and Blob disappeared from the front of the inheritance, appearing in the depths of the inheritance a few seconds later as they were greeted by the sight of two humanoids made out of blue energy and red energy respectively.
Whoosh!
Taking a bit of time to look at his surroundings, Argentum eventually realized that he and Argentum were inside the room the Grand Blue Master usually stayed in, remembering the sight he saw from the corridor in his trial. Just as he was about to greet Felix, a familiar voice soon resounded throughout the room.
"It's Argentum!" the voice shouted, followed by the sound of the wind blowing as Argentum soon realized that someone was hugging him. Noticing the red energy that constituted the one that was hugging him, with a surprised tone, he then shouted, "Eleanor?! What are you doing here?"
"What's wrong with me being here?" Eleanor soon replied, doing a pouting expression after as she added, "Am I not welcome in my good friend's inheritance?"
"Well…it's not really that but…" Argentum said not long after before adding, "I'm just surprised that you were here."
Just as the conversation was about to continue, Felix could not help but butt in as he looked at Eleanor, asking, "Argentum knows your real name?"
"Well, why wouldn't he?" Eleanor nodded as she shrugged her shoulders. "It's a way to establish a deeper connection between teacher and student anyway."
Hearing Eleanor's words, Argentum could not help but inwardly let out a sigh of relief, realizing that he had slipped up a while ago. In his mind, he decided that he was going to make it up to her after his bout of improving his combat power.
Oblivious to what was going on in Argentum's mind, Eleanor went ahead and initiated a conversation with him as she said in a slightly playful tone, "Anyways, you came here at just the right time. I have something to ask you, Argentum."
"Hm?" Argentum radiated an aura of curiosity as he replied, "What is it?"
"Felix told me that you gave him a recipe to a potion that increases one's perception to the Water element," Eleanor unhesitatingly replied. She then continued in a slightly embarrassed tone, asking him, "I was wondering if…you might have a recipe to a potion that increases one's perception to the Fire element instead."
"I do," Argentum replied without hesitation, to which Eleanor radiated an aura of elation as she asked, "Really?!"
"Yep," Argentum said in response before utilizing the connection he had with her in order for Felix and Blob to not hear their conversation. Through that connection, he said, "I'll give it to you if you give me a greater share of control over the Flame Spirit Inheritance."
"I've heard." Although Eleanor was slightly surprised to hear Argentum's words resound in her mind, she hastily adapted as she replied. "Felix told me that you gave it to him after increasing the amount of control you have by 5%. How much control over his inheritance do you have right now anyway?"
"Around 20%?" Argentum soon replied, to which Eleanor inwardly let out a sigh as she said, "Is 10% enough for you to give me the recipe?"
"Sure," Argentum responded to her words, sending her information regarding the Heaven's Flame Potion soon after, which made Eleanor inwardly ecstatic. He then cut the connection between the two of them as he said, "I'll give it to Teacher after I'm finished with what I need to do."
"As expected from my student," Eleanor replied, knowing what Argentum was trying to pull off. "I guess I shall stay here for a bit if that's the case."
"Do you mind if I do, Felix?" she then asked Felix soon after, to which Felix replied with a shake of his head, "No problem at all. I just need to form another room in the inheritance, that's all."
"Anyways, Argentum," Felix said not long after, attracting Argentum's attention. "You told me a while ago that you were going to improve your combat power. The same goes for your friend. But what exactly are you going to do in my inheritance?"
Listening to the conversation that was happening between the two, Eleanor could not help but focus her sense of hearing on the two, not wanting to miss a single word.
In response to Felix's question, Argentum nonchalantly replied, "Oh, you know. I'm just gonna do something that I should have done right about now."
"And what would that be?" Felix followed up with a question of his own.
Argentum chuckled before saying, "[Earth Affinity]."