Chapter 32: Theke


    ''It''s one bunch of thieves stealing from another bunch of thieves, but only a fool would side with a pirate. They have no code at all, no honor and though they would speak ill of the kingdom''s soldiers and make a good show of it, they would slit the throat of any man, woman, or child at the smallest whisper of gold. The war with the empire only served to make things worse for themon folks, most of the warriors sent to fight in the frontlines, but what did that leave for the poor Fishermans and seaside cities? Bloody pirates.''  ???


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    In concerns to thetest update on blood magic, I failed... Everything started out very well, and then it wasn''t. I thought my sphere of influence would perhaps extend to all liquid matters, but as it turned out, that wasn''t true.


    Blood, in particr, was almost impossible to manipte. It was as if a strange power bound it, making it difficult to wield. I started my experiments on some small animals and critters that inhabited the foot of the mountain.


    What I ended up figuring out, was that I had no ability to manipte another creature''s blood or bodily fluid. But, on the other hand, I could to an extent manipte mine, but only if it was not inside my body.


    By that I mean, I could manipte a few drops of my blood if it was outside of my body but I could not do it if it was still inside. This discovery led me to think, ''Does that mean I can manipte other creature''s blood the same way? Is it no longer bound to that strange power once it leaves the body?''


    The answer to that was, yes, again to a certain extent. The method to use blood and will it to change forms ording to my whims was by utilizing the energy that constantly swirled around my heart.


    For my blood, the energy needed for this was almost equivalent to that of a dragon''s breath! A ridiculous thing considering all it allowed me to do was change its shape. A highly draining process with no practical uses, at least not yet.


    The second outrageous discovery was the cost needed to manipte another creature''s blood. It was twice that of dragon''s breath! Twice! Needless to say, with my new findings, my dreams of manipting my enemy''s blood and turning it against them were pushed down the drain.


    Hence, I turned my attention back into researching water magic. A couple of weeks had passed on the mountain, and today father had finally allowed us to leave. The clouds that constantly obstructed our vision of thend below cleared to show the same giantke where we had our first hunt.


    With father and mother''s permission, Green was the first to leave as she soared the sky, never heading too far from home. Mother''s giant figure sat at the edge of thend, her gaze constantly scanning our surroundings while keeping an eye on Green.


    Golden boy who I thought would be one of the first to rush down, surprisingly didn''t. With his discovery of earth magic, most of his days were spent sculpting what looked like dragon golems.


    The craziest part was that he somehow managed to make them move! Granted, it was not so graceful, but still, with this Golden boy now had permanent sparing partners.


    I will admit, it felt a little lonely without him constantly nagging me for a fight. White, did not move and continued blissfully sleeping outside of the cave while enjoying the sunlight.


    cky on the other hand left our home, his eye met mine as I stood next to mother, overlooking theke below. He then gave me a nod before lowering his head in submission and respect to mother.


    I nodded back in acknowledgment, while mother merely nced at him before she continued watching over Green. cky did not seem to mind, he slowly walked to the edge and jumped.


    Momentster, his figure rose through the air and disappeared off into the distance. ''Now then, should I go as well?'' I thought before I turned my gaze backward, Golden boy was still ying with his golems.


    Shaking my head, I followed cky''s lead and jumped from the ledge. The feeling of weightlessness overtook me as the wind howled in my ears. This time, there was no nervousness in my actions, I waited until my body almost reached the forest below before I opened my wings, the momentum sending soaring onwards.


    I took my time, it was still early during the day. And so after a few circles around the mountain, I then made my way down to the banks of thergeke below.


    As I closed in on the ground, I raised my entire body upwards and extended my wings which abruptly stopped my descent, yet that was exactly what I wanted.


    I steadily pped my wings and gently lowered my body closer to the ground. ''Almost there!'' As soon as my feet touched the ground, a sigh of relief escaped my mouth.


    ''Safe!''


    I was quite proud of mynding this time, considering I did not kiss the ground. I nced upwards to see our giant floating mountain which cast a huge shadow on one part of the forest.


    Green was still flying around without a care in the world. ''Her stamina is really scary,'' I inwardly mumbled. It only took me a few circles around the mountain before I was exhausted, yet she is able to stay in the sky all day.


    As soon as Inded, my attention was caught by the gentle whisper of the surrounding mana. Water-type mana was abundant here, and that made sense considering the giantke in front of me.


    I made my way to the water, almost as if hypnotized by its summons. I could feel the mana dance around me with joy. As soon as my w touched the water, something shocking happened.


    My eyes widened in surprise as my foot did not sink but continued to stand on the water surface as if I was standing onnd. ''Huh?'' I was momentarily surprised by the absurd situation, that I simply stood there nkly for a few seconds.


    Water mana surged from my surroundings, as theke water jumped and danced around my body. It almost appeared as if it was weing me. I took a deep breath to steady my excited heart before taking another step forward.


    ''Well how about that, I can walk on water,'' I grinned.