Noah's gaze landed on the figure of the valiant Athena as he processed the words of the Grandmaster. She was also someone given the t.i.tle of a being with a n.o.ble Fate, a concept he was just introduced to and did not fully know exactly what it entailed.
"Grandmaster, is this the same Crixus of the Profound Astral Sect? He holds a n.o.ble Fate?"
Athena walked in as her gaze landed on Noah, asking respectfully as a jolly laugh wiggled the facial muscles of Vredral.
"Yes. This is why fate is always something we must continue deciphering and learning, as even I didn't think the being we met briefly could have a talent like yours."
The Grandmaster replied as Athena adopted a look of responsibility, going towards Noah as she spoke towards him in a friendly manner.
"Nice to see you again, and under much greater circ.u.mstances at that."
Noah smiled as numerous thoughts crossed his mind, still evaluating everything about the Celestials and comparing it with the information he was given by the beings from the Dark Expanse as he spoke towards this valiant figure.
"Likewise. I look forward to learning alongside you."
Athena nodded as she turned towards the Grandmaster.
"Has he had any combat training yet? I will gladly fulfill my role as the Senior Disciple to make sure he learns the techniques of fate well."
Grandmaster Vredral smiled as he continued his motion of waving his hands, bringing to light numerous Inheritance Crystals that floated towards Noah serenely.
"He just finished condensing his first few thousand Fate Lines, so it will be a perfect opportunity for him to learn our techniques and test them in combat right after."
Athena nodded towards the Grandmaster as a valiant light bounced off her body, her gaze firm and full of righteousness as she replied.
"Leave it to me, Grandmaster!"
Noah's eyes were already locked onto the multiple Inheritance Crystals floating in front of his eyes as he grabbed them without reservations, a tremendous amount of information on how to fully utilize the mysterious lines of fate that were fully bound to his origin entering his mind!
This ma.s.s of information was taken in strides by the System as it carefully took everything and categorized it, Noah observing in real-time as he watched the formation of a brilliant skill tree which unlike the previous ones, shone with a l.u.s.ter of gold!
His eyes shone with light as he gazed upon yet another Void Ranked Skill, and this one was called [Fate's Guardian]!
[Fate's Guardian](0/30) :: As a beginner just learning the workings of fate, the role of a guardian that protects the weak and eviscerates evil is given to you. Abilities include Empyrean Guards(0/5), Empyrean Armament(0/5), Smite of Liberation(0/5), and Judgment(0/5).
[Empyrean Guards](0/5) :: A guardian is called forth to defend you and stand against your enemies. The Empyrean Guards are capable of healing and offensive magic, their strength only increasing depending on how many Fate Lines the user has. Current Summon Limit: 1
[Empyrean Armament](0/5) :: The user is covered with the brilliance of the summoned Empyrean Guards as every point in their body gains extreme boosts. +5% Soul Damage, Physical Damage, Speed, and Defense for every Empyrean Guard absorbed.
[Smite of Liberation](0/5) :: Cleanse the souls of those that stand against you as you smite them with a Blade of Liberation. The blade is corporeal and yet physical at the same time, granting +50% Physical and +50% Soul Damage.
[Judgement](0/5) :: A declaration of death for all those that stand against you is called forth. Those that cannot defend themselves will have their bodies destroyed and their souls shattered as they become lost in the river of fate.
His eyes quickly ran through the numerous s.h.i.+ning descriptions as the skills he received were extremely familiar to the abilities that he had seen Athena use in the battle against the Aberration in the First Realm of h.e.l.l! Much of his thoughts were on just exactly how strong he could make them once he added the Skill Points he continued to pa.s.sively collect from the Legion of Undead that was still razing Infernals to the ground even as he stood on this Celestial Star.
"The abilities that are coursing through your mind right now are fairly high leveled, where they are normally utilized best by those in the Void Realm. But this...is where the first use of Fate Lines comes in."
RUMBLE!
The body of Grandmaster Vredral pulsed with power as an uncountable number of golden lines appeared on his body. They were all extremely thin and condensed, being so imperceptible that it looked like a sea of gold instead of extremely thin lines!
"Fate Lines will directly reduce the energy required when casting abilities that influence fate, and this is just in addition to their offensive feature where they can boost your power to unimaginable levels. This is where you will have an incident like the one you observed in the First Realm of h.e.l.l, where Athena was able to take down a being stepping into the Soul Forging Realm with her realm still being of the Void."
The resonant voice of the Grandmaster rang out as the brilliance he portrayed died down, Athena moving further into the monastery as Noah continued to marvel at the expanding s.p.a.ce inside this building that seemed extremely small from the outside.
"The best way to learn how to utilize Fate Lines well is to test them in direct combat. Junior Brother, come. Let me show you how wondrous the abilities of [Fate's Guardian] really are."
A wide smile appeared on Noah's face as he showed a grin of determination, his body lighting up as numerous lines of fate could be seen as he spoke out.
"Yes, Senior Sister!"
RUMBLE!
Essence converged from the surroundings as s.p.a.ce was manipulated, the s.p.a.ce in the monastery they were in gradually continuing to get larger and larger as it completely defied the reality of the size of the monastery when looking from the outside.
"Since you have condensed...close to 10,000 Fate Lines currently, I will only be utilizing that amount when sparring with you. We will start gradually as we get you used to the techniques, and then ramp up the difficulty thereafter."
A valiant look accentuated itself even more from Athena as her dark hair automatically tied itself into a ponytail, her voice tinged with surprise as she confirmed Noah had really condensed 9,999 lines of fate in this short time period. Her energy moved as essence erupted from her body, a single Empyrean Guard appearing beside her with a resonation of power!
Noah looked on with a gaze full of interest, numerous unknown thoughts coursing through his mind as he tuned everything out. At this instant, he just simply wanted to see just what benefits he could wring out from this coming spar, and exactly how many more skills he could continue to receive from the Celestials as he continued. He did not forget his mission. He did not come here to mingle nor make friends. He came for the singular purpose of power and position among the beings in this incredible organization, and he would not stop until he achieved it at the highest levels!
[Empyrean Guards].
A whisper left his mouth as the lines of fate in his body pulsed, a being clad in golden armor carrying a long hammer appearing in front of him, its eyes blazing forth with a golden light as it looked at the opposing summoned Empyrean Guard that looked exactly like it in the distance.
"Good. [Empyrean Armament]!"
Before the Empyrean Guard standing next to Athena could even move, it became a streak of liquid light as it latched onto her body, her valiant figure gaining a golden chest armor along with a dangerously s.h.i.+ning gold hammer that she swiftly waved it in her hands towards Noah.
[Empyrean Armament].
Noah whispered the name of the same skill as he observed the wondrous feeling of the powerful summon in front of him turning into a gold liquid light that went on to cover him, feeling his capabilities boosted as a chest armor and a golden hammer appeared on his hands as well.
OONG!
Two distinctly different pressures released from the golden lines on each of their bodies clashed in the air between them as the Grandmaster moved at a far away distance and observed with a smile, Athena making the first move as she initiated the beginning of the spar!
"Yaa!"
Her body left behind a mirage of light as it quickly appeared above Noah's position, the heavy hammer in her hands swinging down dangerously as Noah smiled and clasped tightly onto his own hammer, swinging it up as a burst of gold light erupted out.
CLANG!
Noah felt the ground beneath him breaking as a tremendous sense of pressure rushed down, his body feeling light soon after as brilliance erupted from the numerous lines of fate around his body as he laughed, his eyes landing on the War Princess as he charged forward!
A simple spar had begun in a small monastery in the 7th Celestial Star, the winner of which was still unknown at this moment in time!