Chapter 203: The Master
Priam spoke with the bull-like Beast. This race’s request was to obtain the Yin energy contained within the ores at the bottom of a high-level lake located inside the sect’s territory. It was an extremely difficult place to access, one that only women dared to enter.
"Will any high-level Yin material do?" Priam asked indifferently.
The Beast snorted, blowing air through its nostrils. "Yes, but the Yin contained in the minerals at the bottom of that lake is of an extremely high level... WHAT?!"
Without saying another word, Priam took out a Yin crystal from his inventory and displayed it in the palm of his hand.
The Beasts were completely dumbfounded. That perfectly pure crystal was thousands of times more valuable than any mineral they could ever extract from the bottom of the lake.
The deal was settled on the spot.
Priam handed over a dozen of those crystals in exchange for a continuous and unlimited supply of the materials he needed.
As soon as the Beasts left, Dandara walked over and handed Priam a spatial ring.
"Boss, here’s everything you asked for. Sorry it took so long. It took me seven days, and now we’re running pretty short on time."
"That was actually faster than I expected," Priam replied, nodding approvingly. Then he looked at the little one in his arms before turning to Dandara. "Mirra, this is another friend who lives here in the central mountain. She can teach you things about yourself that I wouldn’t know. So, get along with each other."
Mirra let out a soft, friendly purr. By now, she was already able to recognize and understand quite a few words, allowing her to communicate in a simple way with the people around her.
***
Over the next seven days, Priam devoted every hour to refining Steel Bones Potions, Rigid Meridians Potions, and Flexible Meridians Potions.
With every new batch he completed, his dissatisfaction only grew stronger.
He felt like he’d rather spend his days running for his life on that exile planet than be locked up for days mass-producing potions. Even so, he stayed focused and finished the job.
In total, he refined exactly one thousand potions, divided among the three types.
Priam finished the last batch in the middle of the night. He was completely exhausted, feeling as though he’d been tortured in the depths of hell for an eternity.
Dragging his feet, he looked toward the bed and saw Mirra lying there, sleeping soundly like a soft little ball of fluff.
He didn’t think twice before lying down beside her.
[EX Training Booster]
[-8,000 GP]
[Accept? Yes / No]
The cost had gone up a little after the first use, but fortunately, Priam had exactly that amount left.
At the moment, the accelerated physical enhancement provided by the booster was the least of his concerns, so he simply ignored it.
The real treasure was the bonus study time. He still had a mountain of accumulated knowledge to process and needed to catch up on everything.
He confirmed the purchase and closed his eyes.
When he arrived in the Timeless Space, he discovered that he now had a full thirty days devoted exclusively to studying.
...
When he woke up back in the real world, an excited smile spread across his face.
He had spent all thirty days in the Timeless Space focusing solely on mastering the Ancient Art of the Eyes of the Wind while also deepening his understanding of the Wind element.
He glanced beside the bed and saw that Mirra was still sleeping peacefully.
The little one slept a lot every day, at least fifteen hours. Most likely, it was because her true body was assimilating its rapid growth.
Without wasting any time, Priam sat down on the bed in a meditative posture.
...
A short while later, when he opened his eyes again, his pupils pulsed with a bright light-green glow.
The very next millisecond, the air around him began to ripple and shimmer with vivid, translucent colors.
Priam clenched his fists tightly, feeling an overwhelming power flowing through him.
"I did it... I completed the seventh stage."
He could feel that his mastery and control over the Wind element had multiplied tremendously.
The unknown Magic Art had a total of eight stages. The first two and the final stage weren’t included in the original record.
Priam had already created alternative, functional versions of the first two, and now he had mastered every existing intermediate stage.
Only the last one remained...
"Heavenly Elemental Body of Wind..."
He quietly murmured the name. The title of that final stage was the only thing he knew about it.
The seventh stage taught him how to draw in pure wind and make it resonate in perfect harmony with his own body. Following the logic behind the name of the eighth stage...
"Do I need to absorb wind into my body... literally?" he muttered, slightly bewildered. "Is something like that really possible?"
He let out a deep sigh and focused once more, activating the seventh stage as he began his practical experiments.
...
A few minutes later, Dandara arrived at the entrance of his cave. Priam had told her the day before that he’d finish the batch of potions early that morning.
Sensing her presence, Priam waved his hand lightly, and the door opened.
The instant Dandara took her first step inside...
"!"
She froze in place.
Priam was still surrounded by the peculiar aura of the winds. The subtle resonances and fluctuations of the seventh stage of that Magic Art visibly pulsed around his body.
Priam opened his eyes, puzzled to see her standing motionless at the entrance.
Suddenly, the atmosphere inside the room seemed to grow dense and icy. The aura surrounding Dandara underwent a complete metamorphosis.
The usual warmth vanished from her gaze, replaced by something sharp, profound, and unfathomable—the solemn expression of an Immortal Empress looking upon the universe with absolute indifference.
’Final Boss Dandara’ had taken control.
Witnessing that mysterious transformation only made Priam even more intrigued.
Her gaze remained fixed on him for several long seconds, almost as if she were deciphering the very structure of his existence. Then her lips moved, her voice calm yet unsettling.
"Boss... what is that?"
Priam took a deep breath, remaining calm.
"An unknown Magic Art that I somehow managed to advance. Even I don’t know much about it. Do you recognize it?"
Dandara gently shook her head, but her eyes remained locked on the currents of air surrounding him.
"I’ve never seen it before, but... it’s strange," she murmured, her voice sounding like an echo from distant ages. "Something deep within my soul tells me I know this pattern. It’s as if I’m looking at something I’ve witnessed countless times... I..."
Suddenly, a visible flash of pain crossed her face. Dandara grabbed her head, letting out a sharp breath through clenched teeth as a faint crack seemed to echo within her mind.
"Are you alright?" Priam straightened up, worried. What the hell was happening to her?
Dandara quickly composed herself, still maintaining the imposing posture of her ’Final Boss’ state.
However, her eyes seemed unfocused, staring into empty space.
"Heavenly... Elemental... Body... Master..."
The words escaped her lips slowly, solemnly, almost as though she were recalling something buried deep within her memories...
Priam froze on the spot.
’She just said the name of the final stage?! She really knows about it?!’
Dandara blinked, and clarity gradually returned to her eyes as she focused on Priam once again.
"Forgive me... Those words just appeared in my mind without any explanation. I don’t know what’s happening to me..." she whispered, falling into deep thought.
A heavy silence filled the room for several minutes.
Dandara finally lowered her head.
"That Magic Art... I feel like it has a deep connection with the Elementals. Boss... have you ever tried studying them?"
"Wind Elementals?" Priam repeated, intrigued. What could simple creatures of nature possibly have to do with such a terrifying Magic Art?
Dandara simply nodded.
The very next millisecond, the oppressive, mystical aura vanished from her body. Her expression softened, and she looked at Priam with her usual slightly shy gaze.
Priam let out a sigh, stood up, and picked up the sleeping Mirra from the bed.
"We only have a few days before the competition," he said, handing Dandara the spatial ring containing the one thousand potions while passing Mirra into her arms. "Distribute the potions and have everyone train as hard as they can."
He pointed at Mirra.
"This time, the little one can leave the central mountain with you. Don’t be too soft on her. If she does something wrong, be strict and correct her immediately. Anyway... I’m heading into the forest to look for some Wind Elementals."
Dandara smiled and nodded enthusiastically.
Over the past few days, Mirra had grown extremely attached to Dandara, acting almost like a little sister who never left her side. After Priam, Dandara was undoubtedly the little girl’s favorite person.
Priam turned around and hurried out of the cave.
He had no idea why Dandara had said those things, but he knew one thing for certain: that ’Final Boss’ version was a glimpse of the original Dandara, the bearer of Anima and the Transcendental Wheel of Destiny. She would never say something without a profound reason.
Within the region where the outer sect factions lived, there were vast preserved forests where small Elementals lived peacefully. Since they were both rare and extremely low-level, most disciples didn’t pay them any attention.
When he reached the area near the top of an isolated peak, Priam spotted a dozen tiny light-green specks happily floating through the air like fireflies.
He silently climbed the mountain and sat down in meditation just a few meters away.
He simply watched them, expanding all of his senses.
’Is there really a connection between this Magic Art and the Elementals?’
He murmured to himself, unable to get Dandara’s words out of his head.
’She said "Master" at the end... Was she someone’s servant in the past? Or...’
For a brief moment, Priam imagined Dandara looking at another man with admiration and calling him "Master."
That simple mental image stirred an unfamiliar feeling within his chest, something he had never experienced before.
A burning mixture of resentment and wounded pride.
He took a deep breath and shook his head, forcing the thought away.
But the feeling didn’t disappear completely. Instead...
It transformed into an overwhelming desire to become an even greater existence, so that he would never have to feel inferior to anyone—or watch those by his side bow before someone else.
With a renewed and focused mind, he turned all of his attention back to the Wind Elementals.
...
Hours passed in absolute silence.
Without Priam noticing, thick black clouds began gathering overhead, covering the peak above him in an oppressive darkness.
...
A few seconds later, deep within the sect branch, Mishnar abruptly opened her eyes, her face pale with sheer terror.
"A PUNISHMENT FROM THE LAWS OF THE WORLD?! HOW THE HELL IS THIS HAPPENING?!"