Chapter 442: Greater Thess’kalan Physique

Two Blues fought above the arena, giant balls of molten lava splashing frequently on the translucent barrier shielding the spectators, before rolling harmlessly down its smooth surface.

The scorching liquid pooled at the edges of the arena, inconveniencing the other Blues waiting there for their own battles. Most of them used their domains to protect themselves from the substance, though one of the elite disciples seemed entirely unbothered – almost as if he could tell in advance that the composite mana wasn’t going to end up anywhere near him.

Percy and Kassorith were also standing in that crowd, holding the magma at bay with a wall of willpower. Perhaps, it would have been more prudent of them to spend this time either watching the cataclysmic battle taking place above their heads or observing the other contestants around them, trying to gauge the strength of their soon-to-be opponents.

Neither of them was interested in doing that, however, their minds still occupied by the sect leader’s words. Kassorith in particular had practically been drooling since the revelation. Percy couldn’t really blame his host for that either, since he could also tell that this body-tempering thing had to be something good.

‘Enhancing your physique? How does that even work?’ he asked, though he tried to contain his excitement. No matter what this reward did, Percy didn’t know if it could be used by a human.

Kassorith frowned upon hearing his question, apparently having forgotten for a moment that he was sharing his body with another. A wave of apprehension rippled through his soul as he hesitated to respond.

‘Really?’ Percy rolled their eyes at his host’s reaction. ‘Need I remind you that you wouldn’t even be participating in the tournament if not for me? Or do you suddenly think you can get through three rounds without my help?’

Kassorith sighed.

‘I want to keep the resources if we make it that far. Don’t forget that it’s my body and core that give us most of our strength. Even your domain and runes wouldn’t be possible without my grade and affinity. Why don’t you just get your leaf and fuck right off? Isn’t that what you came here for in the first place?’

A pang of sardonic laughter escaped Percy’s wisp as he listened to his host’s sheer audacity. He was tempted to say something harsh, but he held himself back. Arguing with the bastard right before the tournament wouldn’t benefit either of them.

‘Look, the White said we can only get the main ingredient for the ritual after the third round, but he didn’t say we’re only allowed one. We need to win four times anyway to get to the leaf – so we might both be able to get a portion…’

Kassorith didn’t reply immediately, seemingly contemplating Percy’s words.

‘I suppose that may be possible,’ he conceded, if somewhat unwillingly. ‘But that would mean giving up on the other rewards. The ritual isn’t the only valuable thing in the prize pool. And we’ll need two sets of secondary ingredients too, if we want the complete version of the ritual.’

‘Complete version? How does it differ from the regular?’ Percy asked, realizing that this Ancestral Lineage Sect was quite famous among Thess’kalans, even though this ritual of theirs was supposedly difficult to come by.

‘The base version only strengthens our body, but there are two optional modifications. The first also sharpens our thermal vision and improves our resistance to heat and cold. The second increases the potency of our venom, and our body’s resistance to toxins.’

Percy creased his brow upon hearing that. These traits sounded an awful lot like something one would find in a beast’s body – not a sapient’s. Then again, this wasn’t news to him. The fact that his host possessed tools like venom or thermal vision had struck him as odd ever since he found himself on Thess’kala.

‘I know what you are thinking,’ Kassorith said upon noticing his confusion. ‘You’re not wrong. These physical traits are things we have inherited from our beast ancestors. Like most sapients in the universe, losing our beast affinities has gradually caused our bodies to weaken. With every generation, our venom grows less potent and our senses duller. At least, this was the case until the Ancestral Lineage Sect came along with their special bloodline.’

A bloodline…

Of course.

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Whenever an entire group of people developed some weird ability that they had no business possessing, it was often the result of either a Decree, or someone’s bloodline. And since bloodlines were brought about thanks to a Decree, it all came down to the number of gods and titans a world possessed. Both were things a greater spring had in spades.

But Percy didn’t interrupt his host, waiting for the rest of Kassorith’s explanation.

‘At first, their bloodline appeared useless. It did slow down the degradation of their ancestral abilities, yet the effect was subtle, and their physique had already weakened greatly by then. Eventually, they invented a ritual to preserve the potency of their blood even after death, allowing them to pass it to their disciples. After generations of repeated usage, they managed to recover a fraction of their bodies’ latent power, giving birth to the Greater Thess’kalan Physique. It still isn’t as good as the original, nor does it scale as well with one’s grade, but it’s far better than what should be possible without a beast affinity.’

Percy rubbed his borrowed chin thoughtfully. It was a great reward, though that still didn’t tell him whether a non-Thess’kalan could undergo the ritual. As a human, Percy possessed neither venom of his own, nor the ability to sense the temperature of his surroundings. Perhaps, his species had their own set of long-forgotten abilities, lying dormant within their blood, but it remained a question whether this ritual could awaken any of them.

Then again, it might not be impossible for him to acquire at least a part of the Thess’kalan physique. Based on what Kassorith said, the ritual didn’t necessarily depend on the recipient as much as it did on the person passing their lineage to another.

‘Why would they share something this valuable with outsiders though?’ Percy asked, thinking of a different problem.

Kassorith shrugged. ‘Mostly for selfish reasons. Someone with a strengthened physique can pass it to their offspring even without the bloodline or the ritual. If done that way, the lineage will inevitably start degrading again, but it takes many generations to weaken. It’s in the sect’s best interest to spread their lineage across Thess’kala every few centuries, to raise the average quality of our blood. A rising tide lifts all boats – and all that. After all, they recruit new members from outside the sect – like everyone does – so they don’t want their new disciples’ physiques to have a low starting point. Also, the elite disciples who rank at the top of these tournaments are some of our most promising candidates to become gods in the future. Stronger gods help Thess’kala rise in the cosmic hierarchy.’

Percy nodded, not disagreeing with any of that. Though he couldn’t help but latch on to something his host had said.

‘Every couple of centuries? And you’re telling me I was lucky enough that this happened right when I joined the tournament?’ he asked, finding this difficult to believe.

Kassorith shook his head, however.

‘I think you are forgetting where you are… This is a greater spring – not the average barren shithole you visit on your travels. The ritual is certainly a great opportunity, but it’s far from the only valuable reward to find its way into the competition. Despite what the announcer said to spur the crowd’s excitement, there’s something just as good almost every time. Last year, the Enchanted Scale Sect offered a chance to have a demigod personally inscribe every scale on one’s body with an enchantment of their choosing. Four years ago, the Profound Alchemic Institute offered a free, thirty-year tuition to their academy. Keep in mind that they don’t usually let outsiders join – for no amount of money. And they’re one of Thess’kala’s leading alchemist organizations.’

Percy’s eyes widened as he realized just how many amazing opportunities were available on Thess’kala every year. Perhaps, having the chance to compete for this ritual that might or might not even do anything positive to his body wasn’t quite the lucky break he thought it was. In fact, spending three decades studying alchemy on a greater spring might have been a far better reward for him – if somewhat time-consuming.

Alas, there was no point lamenting on what wasn’t meant to be.

‘Okay… How about this? We’ll take turns picking rewards from the prize pool – assuming we keep winning, of course. Keep in mind that I could have just blackmailed you into giving me everything, but I’d rather we both have a mutual interest to not try and sabotage each other. I’ll even give you the first pick.’

‘How magnanimous of you…’ Kassorith laughed, the bastard having the gall to employ sarcasm even as Percy extended an olive branch. ‘Are you planning to go for the ritual too?’

‘I don’t know,’ Percy said. ‘It’s great if it works on me, but I’m not sure I want to waste three rewards on an unknown. I suppose I’ll have to browse through the rest of the options and see if there’s anything better for me.’

In any case, they’d have to win a total of six rounds to earn enough ingredients for two complete rituals. That was already enough to get them to the semi-finals, which would be even harder than earning Percy’s life-extending leaf. Then again, that was only true if they picked all the optional modifications. If they each forsook one, they could have enough ingredients for the ritual by the time they made the top sixteen. Since Percy didn’t even have thermal vision or venom of his own, he would rather prioritize strengthening his body.

If it worked, it might let him draw some more power out of the Carnival, and maybe even use it alongside the Yellow trollsfury tattoos he was planning to give himself as soon as he registered the compression principle. As things stood, the Orange version of the ink barely did anything, and he wasn’t sure his body could handle both his boosting art and a tattoo matching his grade.

“Ahem… number fifty-three… please step onto the arena,” the White announcer said, sounding irritated.

Only then did Percy realize that the previous battle had ended, and everyone was staring at his host – or more specifically, at the circular plate with the number fifty-three written on it.

It was finally their turn.

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