Limits

The place I arrived at, was a complete wilderness. There was nothing there, except a few dead trees. 'Let's get to work then' I thought, and used my Auras, as well as the Power of Ice to try and find any hidden Formations. I tried the dead trees, the ground, rocks, anything in sight really.

I found nothing in the area. I move further north in a zigzag pattern, and repeated the same process. Time slowly passed. Although I found nothing, I was training at the same time. I had to constantly use my Auras, as well as the Power of Ice. My Auras lasted a lot longer though. With the Power of Ice, I was limited to how much I could use it. Even if I used it moderately and with average strength, I still had to wait after a certain amount of uses. It was something I could use additionally, but not something I could rely on when searching.

Using my Auras had more benefits as well. Not only was I able to search the area, but also train the control and intensity of my Auras. The more time passed, the more adapted I became with the new way of using my Auras. At that stage, I could create five Aura Daggers. My control got better as well, and I could to some extent practice the Stringless Aura Form. 'There's still room for improvement. I broke through not that long ago, and the next step should be the Primal Limits... No matter how I look at it, I'm far away from reaching that stage' I thought.

The other three masters in the Forbidden Arts, didn't reach that stage either. That didn't mean they abandoned the idea of reaching it. Nathan was already in front of a wall, while Irwin and Yater didn't have much before they would stumble upon it too. Nathan told me that reaching the Primal Limits stage, wasn't based on talent alone. There were loads of talented people in the past and present, who couldn't reach that stage. This required luck, and a lot of it.

From what Nathan told me, the historical figures used a lot of resources in order to break that wall. Even then it wasn't guaranteed. Not only one's blood had to be pure, one had to grasp the understanding of some things. It wasn't enough to simply have a set of poses, which would allow one to break through. Even life and death struggles wouldn't mean much in that case. In simple terms, it was something one had to achieve on their own.

'There are a few figures who reached that stage, during the current period. Ha! But who would share such things with an outsider? Elysians would never tell me anything, I would only get killed for asking such questions. The Emperor of the Endrosian Empire didn't really reach that stage. It was all thanks to some sort of inheritance item. While North? Hatmandor perhaps, but why would they share their secrets with me?' I thought. There was no way for me, or people like Nathan to get such information. We had to do it on our own.

I wasn't worried about that though. Before I reach the wall, that Nathan reach, it would take a long time. I could feel it myself, progressing and increasing my strength was no longer that easy. That didn't mean I couldn't improve. I estimated that around twenty Aura Daggers would be my limit. That was under the condition I controlled, and strengthened my Domineering Aura. As for my Bloodlust Aura? I was able to create two Swords of Rage, but there was a catch. Those swords combined, possessed the same strength as just one Sword of Rage. In other words, I wasn't able to intensify my Aura, I was only able to split it.

The weird thing was, when I split the Aura into two Swords of Rage, the pressure on my body lessened a bit. Even though I was using the same amount of Aura for one and two swords, the single sword made my blood boil much more. I guessed that one Sword of Rage was much more condensed. This affected me more, and was harder to control. Both methods had advantages and disadvantages. With one Sword of Rage, the strength of the Aura Sword was greater. At the same time, it was harder to control. When I split that into two swords, the pressure lessened but the strength suffered too.

There was another thing I figured out. I tried using those swords, just like my Aura Daggers in the Stringless Aura Form. But I couldn't do it. The Bloodlust Aura did not allow me to make any strings, or control those swords in any complex ways. I could throw them, but not retrieve them. I figured that might've been due to the nature of my Auras. The Domineering Aura packed things tightly, which meant my Aura stuck together very well. This allowed me to make loads of different shapes, and utilise the Aura in different ways. Such as making Aura Strings, or producing different shapes.

The Bloodlust Aura was not like that. It was crazy, aggressive and unpredictable in nature. Although I was able to make shapes out of it, the shapes had to be simple and promote killing. After all, a sword was a weapon used for killing. If I tried to make something like a heart from that Aura, it would simply refuse to form such shape. 'While I'm on it, what exact nature does my Unyielding Aura have then?' I asked myself. The Aura acted just like Domineering Aura. I was able to form all sorts of shapes, and even use it for illusions. That wasn't all, the Unyielding Aura had different effects too. Illusions hardly affected me, and it seemed like my instincts got sharper while the Aura was awakened. The weirdest part was that, it couldn't be sealed by the poison. My other Auras were affected, but not the Unyielding Aura.

Even though I probably had that Aura since birth, I knew very little about it. 'I know about a few properties of that Aura, and have a vague idea about the conditions required to awaken it. But, nothing else other than that' I thought. The Aura wouldn't necessarily awaken in a life and death struggle. No, it depended on something else. Something had to snap inside me. It wasn't some simple rage, hate or whatever else. It felt more like something that affected my values deep down. When I had enough and didn't want to take it anymore.

Those were simple terms, but not so simple to achieve. I tried many times, but it seemed to me that the Aura required a natural course of actions. Only under certain circumstances would it awaken. The strength also depended on my stage. Back at Sedon, I broke through while the Aura awakened, that was the reason for its superior strength. I was able to manifest it, precisely because of my breakthrough. 'I'm not about to create some artificial events, just to test it' I thought. Fox's injuries were enough for me. I had no desire to see my other friends in such state.

I abandoned the thoughts about my Unyielding Aura, and continued the search. I had loads of ground to cover, and I only just begun. Day in and day out, I looked left and right checking anything appearing in my view. Yet there were no results, no clues to be found. Nothing was there.

'I already spent a few days worth of time here. There must be a better way, or rather a quicker way' I thought. I tried recalling everything I knew about Formations. I knew that Formations consisted of runes. Those runes were placed or drawn in specific patterns to create a Formation. The difficult part was that, those runes became invisible once the Formation was completed. At least, when someone like Alicia or Suly did it. Beginners wouldn't be able to blend those runes, into whatever they were drawn or placed on.

This meant, I couldn't simply spot them. 'I can't spot them, but I can spot something else' I thought. There was indeed a way, if the Formation was a certain type of course. One type of Formations, gathered the energy around them in order to function. This meant, it would have to gather the energy at all times. 'The question is, what does such Formation actually gather as an energy source?' I asked myself.

The Formations that required users' energy to be activated, meant I had to supply it. In other words, my body or me, worked as a supply for the Formation to function. But, what about Formations placed in the wilderness, or those that had a constant effect? Where did they gather the energy from? The only conclusion I could come up with, were the Elemental Orbs. I wasn't aware of anything else, that could function as an energy source for those Formations.

'If my guess is correct, I might be able to find hidden Formations' I thought. The plan was simple. I had to search for increased activity of those Orbs, or the lack of them in certain areas. I retrieved the mask, and placed it on my face. "It's worth a try" I said to myself, and activated the Formation.