Path to Transcendence

Julius was still having a hard time controlling this newfound aura effect he was emitting. It was so bad that he wasn't able to leave the room without feeling like he was putting other people at risk.

The only way he was able to leave, was if Richard or Rebecca were with him. Only their domains were capable of managing the aura.

Funnily enough, Drasil wasn't affected by his aura at all. He had taken the little life spirit out during one of his breaks from training and noticed right away that the spirit didn't react negatively at all.

Perhaps, it was because of their connection, but so far Drasil was the only one other than himself that wasn't affected by the aura.

He also learned from Richard that a superior epic skill wasn't that much different from a superior rare skill. The main difference was that the skill had already met the requirements to reach legendary rank once it hit level 25. As for the other details, Richard told him that it was better for him to explore it himself as it had to do with acquiring his Authority.

He didn't disagree with the man either. He was honestly a long way from ranking up any of his skills to legendary if his current progress indicated anything. There were so many other things he had to worry about.

Such as getting a handle on his aura. This was why Julius was sitting around the room, trying to find a way to manage his aura so that the ruinous aspect didn't try to kill everyone it touched.

But if there was anything he was good at, it was being persistent and stubborn. Thus, for the next week, he stayed isolated with one goal in mind.

Get control of his aura.

***

It took longer than he thought it would, but in the end he finally managed it.

The trick he figured out was that he needed to essentially create a barrier with the sole purpose of containing the ruinous aura and bury it under many layers like it was some kind of nuclear waste.

It was difficult at first because he wasn't able to properly seal off the aura from coming out, but as long as he maintained focus on it, it was doable.

This technique was a bit different than his usual aura control. Typically, he made sure that his aura was contained to his person and limited any large fluctuations. This was more so that people couldn't read his aura to get an idea of what he was thinking or feeling at the time.

But he rarely ever cut off his entire aura. For one, it was wildly uncomfortable. For two, it was impractical. And for three, it was just rude to do so. It was sort of like wearing a face mask the entire time during a conversation. It was just impolite.

Furthermore, a major point of aura control was to deceive your opponents. And if they noticed you clamping down your aura, it would tell them that you are skilled enough to accomplish an ability that most people couldn't do with proficiency.

There was the existence of items though. However, the better he got at aura control and aura sensing, the more he realized how much these items stand out when someone wears one. It was almost just as bad as simply allowing one's aura to lash out uncontrollably.

Almost.

However, what his new technique allowed him to do, was to effectively handicap his own aura. He took the core, the most integral part of his aura, and shoved it deep into the furthest recesses of his soul.

He did not think that this was a viable long-term solution in the least, but for the time being, it would have to do.

At least this way, he would be able to walk around without killing people like an exposed nuclear reactor.

When he finally left his room for the first time in over a week, he was greeted by Richard's smile.

"You hungry?" The man asked him.

"Absolutely starving," he replied dramatically.

For the past week he had been training, he had been barely been eating. Only eating the occasional snack within his storage ring. Granted, with [Phoenix Renewal] he was able to go without food for a long time as long as he had mana, but that missed the entire point.

Food was an essential part of his life. And at the moment he could use a real meal.

"Let me go get Grace and Becca, I already let them know that you might be coming out today. We can maybe go to that spot we found the other week," Richard said to him cheerfully.

Julius nodded excitedly, Reinera had found a pretty nice breakfast spot the other week. It was a simple diner that looked like it would fall down with a gust of wind, but the food was amazing.

When he exited the room, he held his breath. The enchantments around the room would no longer hold his aura back if he accidentally let it go. He was pretty sure that his makeshift method worked, but honestly it was still in the experimental phase.

Of course, he made sure that it wouldn't just break apart if he lost focus. That was what the last couple of days had been primarily spent on. Richard helped him and ensured that he wouldn't lose control just because someone bumped him in the streets.

***

The four of them found themselves sitting down at the diner, each with a full plate of food in front of them.

Julius was gorging himself on a huge plate of this fried meat covered in gravy which reminded him of country fried steak along with too many hashbrowns to be considered healthy. He also had several other smaller plates of various items just out of reach.

The diner was just like he remembered. The walls were in constant flux of falling apart and the tables were one nudge away from breaking down like a house of cards. But the food was delicious, so nobody complained about it at all.

"Since we are all here, I wanted to talk about the mission we discussed a while back," Richard began.

"What about it? Is it coming up soon?" Reinera asked after swallowing her food.

"Probably in a couple of weeks, if I had to guess," he replied to her.

"Okay, sounds good. I think we will both be prepared by then. It should allow me to get used to my new staff and Julius his new skill," she said with enthusiasm.

However, it wouldn't seem that Richard or Rebecca shared her enthusiasm. The two of them winced at the young girl.

"Yeah, about that…"

"What? Did something happen?" Reinera asked, concern coloring her voice.

Julius saw Rebecca nudge her husband in the arm. As if telling him to spit it out.

Richard sighed and gave Reinera an apologetic look. "That's the thing. It has been decided that you won't be going along on the mission."

"What!? Why not?" Reinera asked loudly, standing to her feet.

"We have decided that there is a better mission that would fit your abilities better," he said placatingly.

"What does that mean? Are you saying that I might be a liability to Julius? I know I am not as strong as he is, but come on, I can hold my own," she insisted.

"It's not about holding your own," Rebecca interjected sternly. "It's about weighing out options. We feel like there is a much better job where you can help us way more than you going on this bait mission. We think it would be a waste of your skills if we sent you with Julius."

"What do you mean? What kind of job are you proposing?" Reinera asked, sitting down and sounding at least a bit more interested.

"While Julius is going to continue with the prior plan, we want you to spy on someone for us," Rebecca explained.

"Spy? I'm not a spy."

"No, but you have the noble etiquette required to blend in with the group we want you to spy on. You also are a new face, so you won't be connected with House Easten if you show up," Rebecca told Reinera before she turned to look at him. "And no offense to you Julius, but you would stick out like a sore thumb."

He pointed a finger at himself with a look of disbelief on his face. "Me? Why what's wrong with me?"

Before Rebecca could even respond, Richard coughed into his fist. Julius turned to him curiously and saw the man looking directly at Julius's hand and face.

Hands and face which were currently covered with various food and gravy.

He nodded, understanding the unsaid reminder. "Okay, maybe you have a point. But I still think that I could blend in if I tried," he insisted.

The three looks he got in return said everything. Not a single one of them believed in him. What did they think he was going to do? Blow something up?

That would be completely… completely normal for me, he realized. Okay, that was just a bad comparison, he tried to convince himself now, but even his own words rang hollow to his ears.

Instead, he pouted and resumed to shove more food down his stomach, leaving them to their discussion.

"See?" Rebecca pointed out. "This is why we need someone like you to help us, Grace."

"I'm still right here," he muttered.

They ignored him.

"Who do you need me to spy on?" Reinera finally asked, sounding less reluctant.

"We have suspicions on a lord of Blumand who might be leaking information out to the Conclave. We want you to attend some parties and events, in the hopes that you might find something useful or incriminating."

Reinera gave her a doubtful glance. "You want me to spy on a Lord? Don't you have actual spies to do that?"

Rebecca shook her head in denial. "No, we don't want you to spy on Lord Townsen. We want you to spy on his son, Eric. The two of them are regulars in the noble social circles and attend most of the parties in the city. The son in particular has been known to be quite loose-lipped in front of pretty young women. We are hoping that he might let something slip in your presence that might help us figure out if Lord Townsen has betrayed us."

"Wait? You want her to act as a honey pot?" Julius asked, baffled at the situation.

All three of them looked at him with confusion. "Honey pot? What's that?" Rebecca asked.

Oops, they wouldn't know that.

He scrambled to find a suitable explanation.

"It's when someone approaches another with the intention of enticing the other in order to gain information or trust. It's usually a woman who leads on a man," he attempted to explain as best as he could without offending Reinera. But he still saw her face frown as described the term.

"Oh, I get it. Honey pot, that's a good one. I am going to use that from now on," Richard said, sounding oddly pleased.

Rebecca gave him a wack across the shoulder and a stern eye. "She won't be acting as a 'honey pot'. She merely needs to befriend the boy and see if he says anything bad about House Easten or accidentally says something that might point toward them betraying us."

Reinera pulled on her fingers in thought before finally saying her two cents. "I don't mind doing this job instead as long as I don't have to do anything I am uncomfortable with. But what about Julius, who will be there to watch his back?"

"We will make sure to have plenty of trustworthy people alongside him. He shouldn't be in that much danger. He should be able to protect himself long enough for reinforcements to arrive and take care of the rest of the attackers," Rebecca assured her. "We just need to lure them out first and hopefully get one of them to talk or to pry information out of them forcibly."

"And this is the only plan you have?" Reinera asked skeptically.

"Of course not. We have several other plans in the works, but they haven't worked out yet. This one I think has the highest chance of success. They shouldn't be expecting someone like Julius there as well."

Reinera turned to him. "And your new skill isn't going to be a problem for you?"

He shook his head. "It shouldn't be. I got a decent grasp on the new aura effect and I just need some time to adapt to the new strength of the skill. But after that, I should be fine."

Richard gave him a questioning look. "Are you sure you still want to do this? No matter how good a plan is, there is always the chance of something going wrong. If you don't feel comfortable, we won't do it."

He shook his head firmly. "No, you already know that I want to do this. I have some things I want to settle with them. This might be a perfect opportunity for me to do so."

He was glad when Richard didn't press him for more details about what he wanted to settle with this group.

Instead, the older man simply gave him an encouraging nod and went back to eating as if the conversation never happened.