Black String of Fate

"Damn it!"

With justified anger, Xavier threw the shiny mana core hard on the ground. It did not shatter, but it sure was flung quite far away.

'This stupid fucking ritual! Why can't I sense the damn frequency?! Don't tell me that this body is blighted...'

Blight was a rare condition that caused a person to never be able to sense any mana frequency. It was essentially a curse that blocked off the person's destiny to be a pathwalker.

'If I think about it, I was also never able to sense mana frequencies in my previous life. I just ate the mana core to initiate, and then simply ate more mana cores and stones to increase my total mana. I never tried to attune myself to the surrounding mana and increase it the normal way.'

Xavier never knew that he would make such a discovery about himself after becoming a Crafted Archon. He had walked his whole path without ever realizing this until now.

'If it's true that I'm blighted, the only way I can initiate is if I resort to my old methods. It's risky, but I have no choice here...

I'll take a tiny bite of the core first, to check if it tastes sweet. If it does, then it's all good. If not, then that core is useless to me anyway. Nothing wasted.'

Xavier got up with stiff legs and walked to the mana core he just threw away. He looked at the toffee-sized core with a little bit of hesitation before he took a small bite, chewing and savoring it.

To his relief, things went in a positive direction.

'Oh, it's sweet! It's sweet like candy! This body does have my type of physique, I can just eat this core!'

With joyful glee, Xavier popped the whole core into his mouth like candy. He quickly chewed and swallowed it, and then sat down again to prepare for the extreme heat he was about to experience. It happened to him in his previous life unprepared, but this time, he is ready for it.

Xavier's body started turning red, and he started sweating profusely. It was all similar to his previous life, but there was one single difference. The amount of pain he experienced felt nothing like the first time. Xavier first assumed that something went wrong, but when he saw his burning skin, he dismissed that train of thought. For such a phenomenon, he only arrived at a single conclusion.

'Rather than the pain being reduced, I have gotten used to pain. This pain doesn't even compare to the one I have when using Advent of Insanity. Looks like I can focus on creating my Dantian properly this time...'

When one begins his journey to being a Pathwalker, they decide where they form their core. This decision is dependent on their choice to be a warrior or a magician. People who want to be warriors form their core at their abdominal area, forming what is called in the warrior world a Dantian. The mana they absorb and process take up their personal characteristics, and the resultant energy is called Qi.

This Qi can later evolve even further as the warrior progresses as a pathwalker.

For people who want to become magicians, they form their core at the heart. Such a core is usually called a Mana Heart. Unlike warriors, their mana doesn't undergo any kind of evolution to form a different energy like Qi. They keep the mana as pure as possible, and their progression increases the quantity, quality, and control of the mana they use.

The major advantage they have is the versatility of the pure mana, magicians can weave mana in ways impossible for warriors.

For Xavier, who was a warrior through and through, forming a Dantian was an obvious choice that would guarantee results. In the real world, he can take his time to fix his blight issue, but here, he needed guaranteed results.

With his experience in manipulating mana, he visualized the mana spread around his body to gather at his core. While he couldn't sense mana frequencies, he had plenty of expertise in manipulating energies inside his body as an Archon. The process of gathering every single drop of mana, concentrating it in one part of the body, and forming a core, was extremely smooth.

After just five minutes, the Dantian was completed. Xavier let out a deep breath and opened his eyes.

'After so long... I can feel it... The surge of power coursing through my veins once more.'

Xavier got up and looked around for a sword, or anything resembling a sword. He had forgotten he had not brought one along with him, so he picked up a stick lying around.

Without a word, Xavier got into the basic stance of slashing. He raised his stick in a practiced motion and made a downward sword swing. During this motion, he used the qi present in his Dantian all over his body with an acquired muscle memory.

*SWOOSH*

A mighty, clean swing, that erupted a gust in the lifeless surroundings, Xavier had used his qi after a long, long, time. The feelings he had right now were indescribable. Only now he truly felt that he had gone back to the very start of his long, long journey.

'All my power truly has evaporated into thin air. I am once again Xavier, a street rat with wild ambitions...'

Xavier gave a bittersweet smile at this ridiculous situation. All the things that have happened to him, from regression to this trial, felt like a fever dream. He still had a hard time accepting his new reality, even though he knew for sure that all this isn't just some dream.

'Life sure is full of twists and turns. Even though the power I wield right now will disappear once I am out of this trial, getting a chance to wield it right now is a blessing in itself. Right now, I'm just retracing the steps I have taken in my previous life, but once I'm out of this damn trial, I will walk a path the world will remember for eternity...