Chapter 269
Building sets
The first thing IAM did was activate his Avien, letting it draw in mana. The thin stream of energy coursed from his core to his brain, spreading outward in subtle waves that reinforced his body
He did so because it helped him think—it made it easier to process and digest the new understanding taking root in his core.
For a while, he just sat there, breathing quietly, letting the energy circulate through him before focusing again on his newfound understanding.
There were a few seconds where IAM went completely silent, his thoughts turning inward.
He had already established that speech—his path—was meant to influence others, to reach into their minds and stir action or emotion through words. But now, with this newfound clarity, he understood something deeper: influence was not control. Words could carry intent, but that did not mean they would always take hold. They were a bridge, not a chain.
Even the strongest phrase could crumble against willpower, conviction, or simple defiance.
For example, when IAM says stop to someone charging at him with the intent to kill, they would naturally ignore him. Speech could only carry intent—it was never an absolute decree or command.
There had to be conditions, layers that strengthened the likelihood of speech taking effect.
He realized that when people spoke, they didn't just use their mouths. The face moved, the body followed—every expression, every emotion, every gesture lent to the words. Tone, posture, even silence—all of it shaped how one's speech was received.
It wasn't just about what was said. It was how it was said, and who said it.
It wasn't as simple as just speaking. Take the example just mentioned earlier—if the person was wielding a sword and running towards IAM to kill him, simply saying stop wouldn't do anything. They wouldn't stop just because he said so.
But let's say IAM pulled out a gun and aimed it at that same person. The moment he did, the same word, stop, suddenly meant something else entirely. With an aggressive stance and clear intent, the person would naturally hesitate, more likely to stop.
The act supported the word, and together they built meaning that could actually influence the other person's mind.
That was the key. The word stop alone wasn't enough—but everything that surrounded it could help enhance it.
With this newfound understanding, IAM realised how limited his use of the path had been. He had been keeping it in a box—restricting it to mere words and ignoring everything else that could strengthen its effect.
He thought back to when he had first used it against Kon. Back then, he was still a novice with barely any mana to spare, and his understanding was shallow. His intent had been far too simple—he had spoken without reinforcing his words with other actions. If he had combined more things, he would have used far less mana and achieved far greater control.
Instead, he had wasted energy forcing his influence through sheer will alone, allowing Kon to break free of it within five seconds.
But even with all of that, speech was still the core of his path. No matter how much he expanded his understanding, everything circled back to that one truth.
IAM went quiet for a few moments. Even with all this progress, he still couldn't grasp what made his path blessed and cursed.
What did that truly mean?
What part of speech could be considered a blessing—or a curse?
He thought deeper. Maybe the answer wasn't about power but about nature itself. The ability to speak, to share thoughts and emotions, was what bound people together. It was how they built trust, formed bonds, and created meaning. That was the blessing.
But that same gift could be twisted. Words could hurt, deceive, manipulate, and destroy just as easily as they could heal. Perhaps that was the curse—that the very thing that connected people could also tear them apart.
He wasn't sure if he was making progress or just circling back to where he started. His thoughts felt tangled, looping endlessly as he tried to put himself in the shoes of the one who first created his path—the pioneer.
When you made this path… what were you thinking? he wondered silently.
What urged you to do so? What did you hope to achieve? What was the meaning behind it all?
He leaned back slightly. There had to be a reason—no one created a path without purpose. Was it born from faith in words, in communication, in the power of expression? Or was it born from despair, from seeing how words could twist, divide, and destroy?
The more IAM thought about it, the more he realised the answer might not lie in the extremes. Maybe it was both. Maybe the pioneer had seen the power of speech—the way it could bless and curse in the same breath—and sought to master that contradiction.
Or maybe he was completely wrong.
IAM let the questions drift from his mind, deciding to focus on what he could control in the present. His gaze fell on the stack of books in front of him—carefully chosen guides on Base Methods, Special Methods, and Healing Methods.
He hadn't picked any for the other sets yet; those were far too advanced for him to dive into at this stage. They required a foundation he didn't yet fully have.
The books he had chosen now were the building blocks, the essentials that would later allow him to construct the more complex methods. He had to master these first, lay the groundwork carefully, before moving on to the others.
IAM opened the Base Methods Beginner Guide first, letting his eyes skim the introduction before settling into the details.
Base Methods were meant to be lightweight attacks or defenses, designed to test an opponent and gauge their strengths. They weren't about overwhelming power but tools that could be adapted in countless ways.
Any ascender was expected to have at least three base attack methods and three base defense methods. Beyond that, the creation of these methods was left entirely to the ascender's preference, allowing personal style and creativity to shape their combat foundation.
IAM paused, reflecting on why his path was now considered a dead path. It wasn't that it lacked potential—it was simply too broad, too loose. The ability to activate it through speech gave almost infinite options, making it difficult to define, refine, or specialize. Its generality was both a gift and a limitation.