PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

All his life, Desmond was considered a monster in human skin, a nonsensical anomaly when it came to talent; that lasted even after entering the association.

That was why hearing about his limit was so strange to Desmond. Elaisa actually mentioned something similar in the past about not dabbling in the three energy systems.

She said that no one was that talented, Desmond didn’t think much of it back then, but Titania’s words made him question the actual limits of his own talent.

Now, Desmond could not fall asleep, so he found his way to the nearest lake and quietly thought about it. Such a thing would have been possible were it not for a particular fairy who had returned from her visit to her mother.

Being in her child form, Kyuru showed curiosity on her face as she questioned her beloved hunter. “What are you thinking, Desmond?”

“I was thinking about my limits.” Desmond replied absently.

Moving a little closer, Kyuru leaned into Desmond’s side and continued to show concern. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Desmond wrapped an arm around Kyuru’s petite body and hugged her closer to him before answering. “Not really. I believe that I understand what I lack and what must change. It’s just that I never thought I would be the one to sin with pride.”

.....

Nobody said anything else for the rest of the night. They both understood what was on the other’s minds, and there was no need for words anymore. Just as Desmond had said, he knew what was missing; his experience in Serefia had told him so.

Desmond knew he wasn’t the strongest man in the world and would never dare to have that kind of suicidal thought. He was a man who believed strongly in being prepared whenever possible. But this time, Desmond had been outmatched in every way.

He had failed to protect Cecilia from the church conspiracies; instead, he had limited himself to safeguard her life. Desmond did not foresee the attack on Cecilia’s tower where Nana was killed. He, too, had made multiple mistakes during their escape. There were all kinds of variables that Desmond didn’t consider, all sorts of things that he didn’t do or couldn’t do.

Desmond could tell there wasn’t much he could do under the circumstances. That keeping Cecilia alive was good enough. But even that last one had gone wrong, and if it hadn’t been for Harmony, things could have ended very differently. At the end of the day, when all was said, that was his limit.

Desmond had combat prowess and mana control capable of going head-to-head against someone in the early stage of the two-star class. But that was only under the assumption that someone had low overall prowess.

That was his limit, and his previous Pyrrhic victory was only possible given other factors that were not entirely in his control. Psychological tactics could be considered part of Desmond’s arsenal. Still, these were always the last card to play, given how difficult it was to determine its outcome. His and Cecilia’s survival depended on this was already a defeat in Desmond’s books.

This wasn’t the first time Desmond had seen his limits. Something similar happened during his visit to the Martial Sovereign World, where Desmond felt firsthand the difference between an aura user and a mana user.

Had it not been for that experience, Desmond would have continued to focus his efforts solely on martial arts and close combat. Which would have wasted the strengths of mana.

Reluctant to completely abandon the style he was so used to, Desmond began creating a hybrid fighting style. Even now, when his combat style was in the early stages of development, Desmond had seen a significant increase in his combat prowess. Desmond had grown and evolved from his experience in the sovereign martial world.

Desmond had not yet finished digesting his experience in the sovereign martial world, and his growth was already outstanding. Once he feeds off of his experiences in Serefia, Desmond hopes to be able to surpass his current limits.

As for the issue of stopping using fire mana? Desmond had already made up his mind. He was not stupid enough not to listen to the advice of an entity like Titania. After thinking about it for a few hours, Desmond concluded that the queen of the fairies was right. Pride didn’t matter; Desmond had to accept that even he didn’t have enough talent to waste it.

Avalis was exactly as Titania had described; it was complicated to tell day from night. The only reason Desmond hadn’t needed a watch was that it didn’t take one to hear the laughter of the fairies around him.

In another place, sleeping in the open would have been very uncomfortable, but that was not the case in Avalis. Desmond woke up still sitting up with Kyuru in his arms, barely remembering how he fell asleep in the first place.

“You guys seem very loving.”

Titania introduced herself wearing a mischievous smile, bringing a small entourage of fairies. Desmond found this a bit odd, as these were far more fairies than had been here the day before.

As uncomfortable as it might be to deal with such a highly empathetic being, it was undeniable that conversations tended to be more productive. Titania smiled at Desmond’s doubts and explained tactfully.

“As I mentioned yesterday, I come with a gift.”

Flushed and sleepy, Kyuru stood by Desmond’s side as she listened to Titania explain. Kyuru still remembered how she had finished her talk yesterday; she knew what kind of gift Titania had for Desmond. In the same way, Kyuru knew a little about what awaited them once they exited the stone door.

“Tell me, Desmond. How much do you know about mana? What do they say to the members of that little organization you belong to?”

A rock could feel the sarcasm and mockery in Titania’s words; needless to say, Desmond could too. However, Desmond also had the impression that Titania hadn’t planned on telling him anything specific, or she would have already done so.

Helpless, Desmond merely explained what he knew about mana; also, Desmond mentioned some information about the three power systems. Judging by the disdain in Titania’s eyes, Desmond could already sense that there was something wrong with it.

“Life, energy, and law. I can’t say that description is entirely wrong. The aura is the life that exists in all things. Mana is the energy of all things. And the arcana is the detached essence of the laws that govern all things.

To be clear, these three energies share the same source, the one that gave birth to all things: the origin. That is why it is not surprising that there are enormous similarities between these three energies in their various fields and how they can be used.”

Although what Titania had said at first made it sound like she disagreed with what Desmond had said, it hadn’t made much difference, except for mentioning the so-called origin.

These little differences might not be much, but Desmond didn’t take it that way. He knew that the information Titania was giving him could be more valuable than it seemed, so he couldn’t wait to hear the rest.

Titania sensed Desmond’s impatience, but she chose to temporarily ignore it. “My dears, it’s time to prepare the gift for our guest; I will trust you.”

Following Titania’s orders, two different groups of fairies were formed. One group with nearly a dozen water fairies and another with a dozen wind fairies. Each group performed a very similar activity. Soon a blue and a green sphere formed with fairies dancing around them, occasionally blowing kisses and mana-filled caresses.

This was developing for a few seconds when Titania looked back at Desmond. “These energies interact differently with the world and can be used to create certain phenomena more quickly depending on the type of energy used.

To put it simply. If I wanted to break a mountain, it would probably be easier to ask a powerful aura user who could do it with his fists. If I wanted to create a forest or a lake where there was none before, a mana user could accomplish such a feat more easily. While creating a floating city would be easier for an arcanist who has studied the related laws.”

The dance of the fairies around the orbs intensified; their gestures of love and joy became more intense and the spheres brighter. Titania saw this, but she didn’t seem to care. She looked at Desmond and continued.

“Body, mind, and heart. This is probably the most significant difference between the three types of energies. To grow and evolve, living beings seek to become stronger. Aura is more compatible with strengthening the body, arcana is more consistent with the mind, and mana is more compatible with the heart.

As you may have been told, no one is talented enough to train equally in all three types of energy. However, to overcome certain bottlenecks, you still need to strengthen those three aspects, the body, the mind, and the heart.”

At that point, the two orbs of light had reached their limit, unable to store any more elemental mana of such purity. Titania smiled, and with a casual gesture of her hand, the two orbs of light condensed in a second until they crystallized. This way, two crystals were formed, one blue and one green. Each of the fairies of the respective elements took a step forward and tenderly kissed the crystal, causing it to shine more intensely.

With a flick of her finger, the two crystals flew into Titania’s palm, who extended her hand to Desmond. With a smile, Titania said. “This is my gift to you. With this, your heart will be ready when the time comes to take the third step.”