Firasource Stone
“Time to go!” Leylin kicked Mies who had almost fallen asleep.
“Erm, where are we going?” Mies shrunk back a little, his vision blurred.
If there was a choice, he would still have preferred to sleep here as the weather outside was so hot that it could make him pass out.
“Hurry up!” Leylin raised his brows, Mies stood up immediately, feeling speechless.
“Okay! We shall go to the logistics department and check out the mission of the month. It’s almost time...”
“Alright, alright. You’re the boss.” Mies shrugged his shoulders.
Ever since the last incident, Leylin had gotten promoted and became a captain of the Special Task Force, while Mies was put in his unit, becoming one of his men.
As for Loke, he had his way around. Even though he was not promoted after the last mission, he soon achieved lots of merit for the following events and got promoted to be a captain like Leylin just a few days ago.
The logistics department of the Special Task Force was not far from his residence. Every staff were as obese as pigs, they resembled nothing from the slender and good-looking traits of the Emberwing race. This had Leylin and his men shunning them.
“Hand me all of my special offerings of the month, and an exchange list,” Leylin spoke to a big fat guy with oily hair who was sitting behind the counter with glass windows.
“At your service, Captain Leylin.” The fat guy was full of smiles and had a gingerly look.
Leylin’s fame had long ago become widespread in the Special Task Force. He had been able to achieve level 8 in Fireplume at such a young age, becoming a Sky rank elite! His prospects were definitely boundless.
Moreover, he had saved Schiker’s life. This was someone who was known to have a powerful background, tactical brilliance, and more importantly a person that favoured his own men.
Thus, Leylin was assured to have a bright future.
Some people speculated that becoming a captain was not the end of his road. He could possibly become a Marshal of the union with one star.
This fatty wouldn’t dare to neglect such people, and he handed Leylin his complete set of supplies. These supplies were a benefit enjoyed by every member of the Special Task Force.
The Atlan Union depended largely on their supplies and nobility; they had attracted and recruited numerous unbounded extraordinary ones.
Leylin threw the supplies to Mies, who followed Leylin like a valet. He then opened the exchange list.
The contents of Fireplume were at the top of the list, the first eight levels being recorded. This included some practical experiences as well as the special techniques of different individuals. It was everything he needed, totally perfect. Except for one thing.
It had no record of techniques at the tenth level, the Morning Star realm. This caused him to furrow his brows.
Having stayed here for quite a period of time, Leylin had discovered that their Special Task Force actually had high clearance to access in the Atlan Union despite their infamous reputation. Even a captain like him was equivalent to a major general in the union.
Leylin grew a little discouraged at not being able to learn the tenth level of Fireplume even with his current status. He was keen to know the second half of this technique.
Currently, Fireplume was the only path to power Leylin knew that combined physique and the soul perfectly. In his own world, these two paths were separated into Knights and Magi.
Nonetheless, even with the help of Schiker and the others as specimens, the information the A.I. Chip could simulate only pulled Fireplume to the ninth level. A lot of time and power would be required to deduce the tenth level, the Morning Star realm.
‘Only when one reaches the Morning Star realm along a path will it become obvious. Levels 1 to 9 can be deemed creative, but I’m not sure what the real path to power is like...’
Rumour had it that the Emberwing race descended from the phoenix, but Leylin disagreed. He had already tried it out, and had hadn’t found any genetic segments related to the ancient bloodline.
Still, when Fireplume reached a certain level, it was clearly linked to the phoenix. This was what had Leylin confused.
“We can put aside doubts about Fireplume for now, let’s look for the firasource stone!”
Leylin flipped down the page and an image of a fiery ore appeared, “Firasource stone: Increases the rate of advancement, or even assists in breaking through to the next level of Fireplume. Top-grade treasure, valued at 100 nobility points for a gram. Only available for ranks Captain and above.”
“A hundred nobility rank points for a single gram?” Miles shouted exaggeratedly from beside Leylin before he could comment on anything.
“I don’t think I could afford such an expensive item even if I sold myself!” he stuck his tongue out.
Designation of nobles was very prestigious in the Atlan Union. Thus, audit was very strict. The only way for one to achieve a noble rank other than through the Special Task Force was to head to the Death Grand Canyon Battles.
Therefore, everyone in the force protected their nobility rank points like their own eyes. For example, Mies felt repulsed just looking at the incredulous price of the stone.
“Hehe...but this is a firasource stone. It’s exclusively supplied to top ranks like us in the union, with just one gram being able to get you through six levels of Fireplume.” The fatty laughed from behind the window, mockery in his eyes.
“Six levels?!” Mies’ eyes widened. It was very difficult to break through the latter stages of Fireplume. He had currently been stuck in the fifth level for a long time. Once he reached the sixth, he would become an Earth rank elite! The difference in position from now went without mentioning.
And yet, Mies glanced at the price tag, somewhat unwilling to give up his points. After all, being able to acquire nobility was a rare chance, and he could not bear to spend all the points he had earned.
“Yep, I’m exchanging all my points.” Leylin nodded. Immediately, Mies shouted without a thought, “Captain! Have you gone mad?”
“Of course I haven’t! I’m very calm and know what I’m doing.” Leylin shook his head. After all, this was a foreign world. Nobility here meant nothing to me, and it was something he would have to think about even if offered for free. Thus, his points were better spent on resources.
“Ho– Hold on, Captain. Your transaction somewhat exceeds my authorisation limit.” The fatty behind the window found it hard to sit still, and beads of oily sweat trickled down his forehead. They were cleaned off along with his white handkerchief.
He could only exchange one or two grams of firasource stones at best, that was the limit of his authority. But this obviously did not satisfy Leylin’s needs.
Soon, another fat guy had received the notice, and he came to Leylin.
He had strong energy fluctuations of the Sky rank, at the boundary of Morning Star.
“Chief!” Leylin and Mies bowed down slightly. The one who had just arrived was the chief of the logistics department, and had a higher military rank as compared to Leylin.
“Hey, Ley, you have enough nobility rank points to earn you the title of a Baron. Are you really going to trade them all away?” The fat chief looked at Leylin with pity, he’d thought highly of this genius.
“Yes!” Leylin was firm, “As compared to nobility, I would liked to focus on my abilities first. As long as I have what it takes, I’m going to get more valuables and higher positions!”
“Brilliant!” Someone at the side clapped loudly, Schiker had come beside Leylin without notice.
“Exchange for him!” Schiker nodded at the fatty, then exclaimed, “If I were to think like him while I was young, I would have gotten more achievements than I have now.”
“Alright then... as you wish...”
The fat chief wiped his sweats on his face using a gold handkerchief, “Follow me. The exchange of nobility rank point isn’t a simple affair, but it should be alright since Schiker is around...”
......
...
After settling on a series of authorisation documents, Leylin had finally gotten the firasource stone. He thanked Schiker and the Chief once more before he returned to his place.
“Firasource stone!” Leylin opened his palm, revealing a fiery ruby. It seemed to contain a large amount of liquefied ore.
The entire ore was only the size of Leylin’s fingernail, this was all that Leylin’s nobility rank points could be exchanged for.
Despite its petite size, the chief of the logistics department spent much efforts to gather it, even having to transfer some from other regions to barely make it enough for Leylin.
A phantom of a phoenix showed up behind Leylin, letting out whistles of excitement.
Leylin had the premonition that once he made use of the firasource stone, his level 8 Fireplume would advance greatly, even to the extent of breaking through level 9.
But it was not the strange phenomenon of the firasource stone that caught Leylin’s attention, it was the notice from the A. I. Chip.
[Beep! Special object detected— Firasource stone! Gathering information.]
After a period of examination and simulation, the A.I. Chip sounded again.
[Special soul object— Firasource stone! Able to strengthen Magus point mass, increases soul force to an unknown extent! ]
Looking at the A. I. Chip’s notice, Leylin’s eyes widened.
It could increase soul force! Who knew this firasource stone had such an effect?
The advancement of a Magus and the power of their spirit were inseparable. From ranks 1 through 3, one trained in spiritual force. Soul force came into the picture after one entered the Morning Star realm.
Soul force was the most mysterious amongst all. Even though there were many great meditation techniques, they could only result in a strengthening of the soul over a long period of time. One could not be sure of the pattern.
Even those great meditation techniques required at least hundreds of years to improve one’s soul force, and it was even worse in Leylin’s case.
Kemoyin’s Pupil ended at rank 4, not giving him a single bit of information as to how to increase his soul force. Thus, he could only continuously try his luck.