I Reincarnated As A Stick

A couple of days had passed since Melzarin, Aurus, and Horell had departed Verdant Breeze Town to head to the inheritance Lucius owned.

Swoosh!

At some point, the three had appeared in what seemed to be in the middle of a vast plains. Looking around, Melzarin lightly nodded before taking a look at the sky. “It’s already midday, but the sun seems dimmer than it should be. Yep, we’re definitely at the right place.”

“Where are we exactly?” Aurus could not help but ask before looking at Horell, who seemed to be on the verge of fainting.

“The place where Lucius’ inheritance is located, the only part of the continent where Dark Element would possibly be this concentrated to even darken the sky,” Melzarin said in response.

“Welcome to the Everdark Mountains, you two.”

“I didn’t even want to come here at all!” For some reason, Melzarin’s words triggered Horell into forgetting how he was on the verge of fainting. Looking at Aurus with a hint of rage, he asked, “Why the hell did you have to drag me into this?!”

“First of all, why not? Unlike Herellia, who’s been to a couple of their inheritances before, you’re the only one who hasn’t been to an inheritance yet,” Aurus replied. Though, his words definitely sounded grating to Horell’s ears.

“Second of all, because it’s hilarious.”

“Why I oughta…” Without hesitation, Horell infused both of his hands with great amounts of energy before strangling Aurus by the throat. As the two of them were at the peak of Grand-grade, they more or less had a similar level of strength. With that, it did not take long for Aurus to make a weird face as Melzarin watched two from the side in silence.

…

“Did you really have to strangle me that hard?” Aurus could not help but say, his expression pitiful. “Were you actually trying to kill me?”

“Don’t mess with me, Aurus. You know very well you could escape from that with ease.” Of course, Horell was still mad at Aurus for dragging him here for no reason, but since he was already here, there was nothing else he could do. With a long sigh, he looked at Melzarin. “Sir Melzarin… right?”

“That would be me, yes.” Melzarin nodded.

“Where are we at the moment?” Horell asked, his previously cowardly nature nowhere to be seen. “Also, are we close to the inheritance you guys were talking about a couple of days ago?”

“As I’ve mentioned before, we’re at the Everdark Mountains.” Melzarin did not mind explaining where they were one more time. “If you’re wondering where exactly are we on the continent, we’re at the southernmost tip. It’s the only place in the continent that’s concentrated in Dark Element.”

“The inheritance, on the other hand, is still somewhat far away from us at the moment. However, we’ll get there in about an hour or so as long as we head in this direction.” With that, he pointed at a certain direction, prompting the other two to look beyond, surprised to see a vast mountain range greet them.

Naturally, Melzarin wouldn’t allow to dawdle around for any longer, casting movement speed buffs on himself before carrying the two once more with his energy. “Alright, hold on tight. Our next destination…”

“The Void Mind Inheritance!”

…

Surprisingly, Melzarin was right in his estimates, with the three arriving in front of a temple about an hour later. As Melzarin released the energy that bound the two, Aurus and Horell looked at the sight in front of them with great curiosity.

Unlike the previous inheritances Aurus had been to before, the building in front of him gave him the feeling that he had been transported to another reality only the original Aurus wished to live. Although it was situated in what seemed to be a desolate location, the three-story temple in front of them was very clean, as if it was newly built. Not only that, but there was a slight holy aura to the place, which brought peace to those who looked at it even though they were literally in the darkest place in the continent.

Just as the two were wondering as to how they were going to enter the inheritance, two people appeared from the door that led to the inside of the temple, being greeted by the sight of a man and a woman.

The man looked like he was in his early forties, yet he was still brimming with energy. His face showed how he had weathered through the vicissitudes of time, though his body said otherwise, seemingly having the body of someone in their prime under the simple gray robe he wore. His hair was neat and tidy, while his gray eyes gave off the feeling of being able to peer through everything. If one didn’t know any better, one would think of this person as a scholar rather than the owner of an inheritance.

As for the woman beside him, to say she was beautiful was already a great understatement. Wearing a simple gray robe just like the man, it formed a stark contrast to milky white complexion and her jet-black hair and irises. Giving off the feeling of emptiness whenever one looked at her, the light smile she had on her face made most of that feeling disappear.

“Well, well, well… look who decided to pay a visit!” The man had a large smile on his face as he came closer to the three. After that, he embraced Melzarin. “Long time no see, Melzarin! How have you been?”

“All good, Lucius,” Melzarin lightly smiled in response, feeling great joy in meeting Lucius again after some time. “How about you two? How have you two been faring as of late?”

“Fine and dandy as always.” Lucius grinned before taking a look at the woman still at the temple’s entrance. Turning his head back, he then focused his attention on Aurus and Horell. “So, who are these two? Your successors?”

“Not really, but one of them is similar to that.” Melzarin lightly chuckled. Placing his hands on their shoulders, he introduced the two to Lucius. “The one with the brown hair is Aurus, while the one with the light blue hair is Horell. They asked me to bring them here since they have something they need your help with.”

“Oh?” Lucius raised his eyebrow in curiosity. With that, he asked the two, “Is that so? What do you need my help with, young ones?”

Hearing that, Aurus decided to speak up. “Er… Melzarin told us that if we wanted to have our Existence Transition techniques modified to a far greater degree, we would have to seek your assistance. That is our reason for coming here, Sir Lucius.”

“What kind of Existence Transition technique are we talking here?” Lucius asked in response, his expression now calm. “Judging by the energy you two are emanating, both of you are already Grand-grade Pseudo-Animates. With that in mind, it won’t make sense if you two are planning to transition back into Inanimates. Most of the power you two have accrued so far would disappear in an instant.”

“In that case, the only possibility is that you two are planning to transition into Animates, right?” he concluded, prompting the two to nod in response.

Sending a strand of energy containing the Existence Transition technique he obtained from the five sometime ago to Lucius, Aurus went ahead and explained. “The Existence Transition technique we have is the [Mortal Grasping Corporeality Manual]. Although it’s already a sufficient technique as it is, we want to have the technique wipe all of our skills and only let us leave with one skill of our choosing, possibly even enhancing our body’s properties for a bit as we transition. Is that possible, Sir Lucius?”

At the very instant Lucius read through the technique Aurus sent him, he could not help but turn silent as he took a quick glance at Melzarin. After that, he looked back at the woman before pondering over Aurus’ question. Eventually, he let out a light sigh as he scratched his head soon after. “I could try and modify it, but it’s been a long time since the last time I’ve actually modified an Existence Transition technique to the extent you two are requesting. If it was a simple modification, I would’ve probably accepted your request on the spot. But since you’re asking me to modify it to that extent… what are you willing to give me in exchange?”

“This…” Even though it made sense, Aurus felt like the question was very alien to him. Then again, as he thought about it, Lucius seemed to be separated from Eleanor and the gang, which meant that the person in front of him had no clue who he was.

With that in mind, Aurus went silent for a bit before eventually coming up with an answer. “Is there anything you might need at the moment, Sir Lucius?”

“Hm?” Not expecting that kind of answer, Lucius raised his eyebrows in slight surprise. Turning around to look back at the woman behind him, he pondered over Aurus’ question once more. “Hmm… if you could procure five Mana Tenacity Cores and give them to me, not only will I modify your Existence Transition technique to the specifications you’ve requested, I’ll even owe you a favor. How about it? Does that sound good to you?”

“Er… that sounds good and all, but I have a question,” Aurus said in response.

“And what would that question be, young one?”

“… what are Mana Tenacity Cores?”