"Let's start this Soul Link Channelling thing then." Spes rubbed both his palms, the thought of a body excelling in both magical and physical making his breath accelerate.
"It's a simple process. Normally it shouldn't be, but because our souls are already linked, we don't have to go through the hard part," Liber responded, sending a 3D projection of Spes's body in front of him.
"See these glowing dots on your body?" he said, making the white dots flicker so Spes could recognise them faster.
"For the process to be complete, I would have to imprint these nodes in these critical parts of your body. They would act as the link between your physical body and my magic, our soul being the bridge that holds everything together," Liber added, a blue line passing through each dot, merging them into one system that all passed through the seed in between Spes's eyebrows.
"There will be 3 steps."
Magic Nodes Imprint >> Soul Link >> Core Synchronisation
"Whenever you're ready."
[[Authorisation Request: Proceed with Soul Link Channelling?]]
>>Accept>>Deny
Of course, Spes pressed the accept option, the blue panel in front of him vanishing into thin air.
[[Authorisation Request Accepted]]
[[Proceeding to Step 1: Magic Nodes Imprint]]
[[Imprinting 36 Magic Nodes on recipient.]]
[[Progress: 0.1%]]
"Spes!" A familiar voice shouted out the young man's name just as he felt a weird sensation on the areas where the magic nodes were being imprinted.
Spes exited his tent, squinting his eyes, raising a hand to shield his face from the bright rays of the sunrise.
"Decus? What brings you? We're leaving already?"
The tall, handsome Decus had a hand awkwardly positioned on his neck, a wry smile on his face.
"I'm sorry, Spes... I talked to the Captain and... no matter what I said, she didn't back down. She said that she'll only let you stay if..." Decus stopped in his words, closed his eyes to let out a deep sigh.
"She'll let me stay if what?" Spes brought his hand down, the sun now glaring at him, revealing his frowning face.
"She'll let you stay only if you manage to defeat her in our next bout. I'm sorry Spes... I really did try."
"I could've warned you earlier, but I didn't want the pressure to go to you..." He added, giving the young man an apologetic look.
"How's the progress on the Process, Liber?"
[[Step 1/3: Magic Nodes Imprint]]
[[Progress: 25%]]
[[Estimated time remaining: 10mn 36s]]
"When is this fight with her?" Spes then turned to Decus.
"Now..." Decus responded, turning around as he signaled Spes to follow him.
"Try to save time... I'll try mending my soul to accelerate the process," Liber gave a piece of advice as the two young men walked towards an open area where almost everyone in the camp were already gathered in a circle, a single girl in the middle of them all.
"Good luck, kiddo. Remember: her weaknesses, your aces." The fat Vota winked as they passed by him.
"Just do your best... Maybe she'll change her mind if you perform well enough." Decus too gave one last piece of advice as he stopped in his steps, letting Spes continue on to where his captain stood.
And there, the two of them stood face to face: a young man, slightly nervous, eyes resolutely facing head-on the impassable threat despite all the odds; and the ever-so-cold captain of the Inquisition, Crystal, her silver hair shining brightly as she held her sheathed sword with both hands, staring coldly at Spes.
"You came..." she coldly spoke, pointing the tip of her sword towards the young man.
"You're on your own. My authority level is too low to access the seed's combat assistance features. Good luck, Spes."
Spes nodded, opening his eyes wide and raising both arms, ready for the fight that would determine his fate.
"Tire her out..." he whispered to himself, taking a deep breath to calm down his racing heart.
Crystal then dashed towards him, sending a straight thrust to his chest—the same move that brought him down back when he was at his lowest. Spes side-stepped, easily dodging the attack, his eyes now different, completely focused on every change in Crystal's movement.
Now that the two were in melee range, Crystal followed with a full roundhouse kick, one that Spes knew he couldn't dodge. So he braced himself, folding his arm to block the kick from damaging his ribs.
Despite Crystal's delicate features, she displayed feats of strength as Spes was sent a few steps back, his arm slightly shaking.
"I can't give her a breathing room..." he thought, as to Crystal's surprise, the young man in front of her suddenly dashed toward her, going for a body bash.
She stayed motionless, welcoming Spes's attack, coldly staring at him with an eyebrow raised. Spes smiled in response as he was a few inches away from bashing straight through her.
Of course, the difference in experience immediately showed as, right before impact, Crystal shifted her body and—with one leg behind—grabbed Spes by his shirt, sending him flying, falling to the ground with a loud thud.
"Why do you even bother? You can't beat me," she said, taking a deep breath in.
"I still hope I do..." Spes stood up, patting the dust off him.
"Those clothes... Dolere..." Crystal mumbled, her eagle-like silver eyes noticing the flower patterns on Spes.
"An opening!" Spes immediately jumped back towards her, repeating his earlier move, going for another body bash.
Crystal, who was caught in a small trance, didn't take too long to wake up—but it was too late! Spes had already made contact, his entire weight hitting straight at her, sending her falling to the ground.
Unlike Spes, who fell with a loud thud, the captain rolled backwards once before quickly getting back on her feet, glaring hatefully at Spes, who had his eyes wide open, unconvinced by what had just happened.