After a few intense moments, a golden light suddenly illuminated the whole area from the ball of water close to the tree, and in the next instance, the figure of the Nebulon youth disappeared from the area.
Atticus's gaze flickered open, taking away his palm from the tree. He pondered the feeling he had experienced earlier.
As he connected with the flow of water passing through each tree's roots, it was as though his reach kept extending farther.
'This has huge potential,' Atticus noted, envisioning himself being able to control and utilize water from every angle and for large distances.
'But it still needs work. It takes too long and requires a lot of focus to use. I won't have that luxury in battle,' he realized.
Atticus's guard had been raised to the maximum as he encountered the bone race. Reading the rules only served to make him even more alert.
'The fact that the academy specified that we would be treated like fugitives means that there should be some kind of society, an advanced one,' he recalled the artillery and other equipment he had seen in their camp.
'Which means they would have stronger and more organized warriors, probably with better equipment,' he deduced.
Atticus wanted to be ready for any enemies that would come his way, and to do that, he had to gather points and recover his power as soon as possible.
His gaze turned towards the tree whose water he had just used. It already looked dried out, as though its life force was sucked out of it.
Pondering for a second, Atticus focused and manipulated the water to merge and enter the tree.
Unfortunately, a few seconds passed with no progress or signs of it returning to its original state.
'Looks like there's no going back once I use the water. I'll have to be careful,' he concluded.
Releasing his hold on the water, its large size splashed on the earth. He turned his gaze back just in time to see Aurora jumping back on the branch he was standing on.
"What was that? You controlled the water in the tree?" Aurora was thoroughly fascinated. It was the first time she had seen the water element used in such a way.
"Yeah," Atticus nodded. "It's something new that I'm still trying to figure out."
"Damn, you can use this on any tree and at a distance? That's OP as hell," Aurora exclaimed.
Atticus chuckled at Aurora's exaggerated reaction. "I guess you could say that. It still needs a lot of practice though."
Aurora sighed. "So I guess you'll be awkwardly touching trees as we move now? Training freak," she teased.
Atticus burst into laughter at Aurora's jab. He couldn't count the number of times she had called him a training freak.
He calmed down after a few seconds and suddenly recalled something, "You should have enough points to unlock your bloodline now, right?"
"Oh right, yes!" Aurora raised her artifact, clicking it a few times, then closed her eyes. Raising up her palm, a ball of fire suddenly materialized on top of it.
Aurora opened her eyes immediately, pointing her palm forward. The small flicker of fire suddenly raged, an intense amount of fire bursting out of her palm.
"Yes, yes, we know you can control fire," Atticus rolled his eyes.
Aurora's body flinched as she heard Atticus's comment, but in the next second, she shook her head, deciding to completely ignore him.
Although its potency and strength had been reduced to the intermediate+ rank, she was happy her bloodline was finally back! Going on more than 24 hours without her bloodline was hell.
Seeing Aurora's happy mood, Atticus smiled. "What a heartfelt reunion. We might not have any targets today, but we can't stand in the open like this. Also, stop lighting fire around; are you trying to attract the whole world?"
Hearing Atticus, the raging fire abruptly stopped, the sound of an audibly awkward clearing of throat sounding.
She had been too happy about her powers that she briefly forgot where they were. Giving her a wry smile, they both turned and started heading back to their cave. They had to wait until tomorrow before they received new targets.
…
Deep inside the forest, a battle was unfolding. A boy with undoubtedly all the characteristics of the Enigmalnk family members was currently engaged in an intense battle with eight different individuals.
Each of these individuals was donned in a sleek purple suit, but unlike those Atticus had fought, these men had no helmets on, their bald white heads on full display, and were equipped with traditional bladed weapons instead of guns.
They each radiated an aura of Advance-rank.
The Enigmalnk youth, who was undoubtedly Zezazeus Enigmalnk, was covered in a grey translucent glow as he moved through their ranks with speed and swiftness that most definitely surpassed that of an intermediate+ rank.
His movements were swift, and his every attack was precise and well-thought-out. It seemed as though he knew exactly where each of the assailants would be before they had even moved.
Wielding a pair of chakrams on both his arms, he effortlessly cut down each of the assailants, their necks getting sliced, a fountain of blood drenching the earth.
After a few moments, the figures of all the assailants hit the earth with brutal thuds, the area descending into silence.
Zezazeus gazed at their figures on the floor with a cold look. "The bone race, huh?"
The sound of a branch getting snapped brought him out of his thoughts as the grey translucent glow covering his body receded, returning his figure back to normal.
Turning his gaze towards where the sound had come from, he was met with the wary and demotivated look of a youth approaching him.
The second youth was undoubtedly also an Enigmalnk and bowed slightly upon reaching Zezazeus.
"How was it, young master?" The youth asked in a tired and demoralizing tone.
Zezazeus turned his gaze towards the dead assailants on the floor before responding,
"The restriction affected Aerokinesis somewhat; its power was lowered. At the very least, multiple Advance- rank shouldn't pose a problem."