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Chapter 263: Kramps, the Originator of [Battle Frenzy]. [Release Draft]
🕑 Added 2022-01-03 03:00:00 +0000 UTC<Multiple proficiency requirements fulfilled. [Fluid Cast Lv. 5] [Spear Mastery Lv. 6] [Draconic Roar Lv. 5] [Crushing Enhancement Lv. 6] [Concentration Lv. 8] gained>
<Our blood activates upon emotional and instinctual stimuli. When I was first born, [Battle Frenzy], to me, was just part of my fight-or-flight response. Even with my parents, fighting was part of our daily lives. As such, I never had a problem with it as you did.>
I could feel my heartbeat rising, causing my blood to pump through my blood vessels at a higher pace. The blood gives my cells nutrients, using the oxygen I breathe in to keep my body nice and healthy. My mind eased up as my body relaxed. The calmness and tranquility of Mother’s cave were perfect for meditation.
<Before the Divine System was introduced, life was fragile, suffering from all sorts of maluses. Even I was weak when I was first born. There were no concepts like Health or Vitality. All we dragons could rely on were our fangs and scales.>
Memories of the past were pulled out from the depths of my mind. The fear I felt when I first entered this world, fleeing with all my might from those kobolds. My decision to kill that kobold group after learning how human they were. The appearance of the two garms, looking down at me with the ability to kill me with a single stomp.
The chills I felt as the reaper crept up to me, his scythe ready to swing. I had to bring those emotions up. Relive the moment I felt them. Everything had to be remembered. I had to put myself back in that weakened state. Like VR.
… Urgh.
<Thankfully, we dragonkins are naturally inclined towards magic and mana. Mana has always been around since the dawn of Peolynca. Fangs and scales are important, but when we add magic and elemental prowess into the mix, that is when the lizard becomes a dragon and drake. Just like the faefolk, our bodies take on the elemental properties of our magic and mana, and mutate as such. That was how monsters evolved before the Divine System>
The chase! My legs moved as fast as they could. Tripping from my lack of finesse. Imagining my heart beating so fast I could hear it pounding caused my actual one to simulate that tension. It caused my body to become twitchy and the heat inside of me to grow. I could feel my sun core activating, fully believing I was in danger right now.
Calm down. Calm down. Slow breaths. Deep in… exhale. Breathing techniques.
<But I wasn’t satisfied with that. I wanted to reach beyond the limits of magic and mana, so I directed my attention to my blood. The raging lust for battle. I was the only one to have it, so I was my own teacher. [Battle Frenzy], I called it. The power that allowed me to become the Black Tyrant of the Skies. An ability that drew out the full potential of my black flames and enabled me to shatter the sky and sunder the earth. I am the Black Tyrant, Hestia.>
“… Grrrrk!”
My inability to use [Imperial Hellfire] against Astalos despite trying all I could to finalize the spell. Shiterno hijacking my status and suddenly giving me more power than my body could handle at that moment, the pain forcing me into a berserker mode. Astalos nearly killing Ellaine, provoking me to meteor bomb him to death. Then…
Eshe…
Her lifeless body. Her blood seeped the puddles red. The images were coming back to me. That smile on that demonkin’s face. How he bragged about murdering Eshe, Sir Alikar, and Dame Anivh. Everything became more and more vivid.
“Grrk!”
<[Battle Frenzy (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>
<Proficiency requirement fulfilled. [Mental Stability Lv. 8] evolved into [Mental Stability Lv. 9]>
[“Bethlieranha.”]
[“Yes, brother.”]
The warmth in the middle of my chest increased further and further until the heat became noticeable to me. Warm tears began seeping through the slits of my closed eyes, pouring down my cheeks and falling onto my skirt. My tail kept slamming the floor over and over again, uneasy and nervous from witnessing Eshe’s death over and over again.
I’m sorry! I should have come sooner! I should have noticed something was up and that the demonkins would target us blessed! Dammit! Why didn’t I think abou—
And then an uncomfortable cold wrapped my whole body like a blanket.
“Brrrrr! Fuck! Cold!”
My eyes shot open and I jumped up, shivering from the sudden frost winds. It pulled me right out of my meditation.
<Hmmm. That’s how long you can keep your emotions in control, huh? What caused [Battle Frenzy] to activate?>
It was Kramps’ voice. At the same time, the cold quickly dissipated and the darkness around me brightened up like unveiling a window inside a black room. I looked to my sides — the snow wyvern twins were there.
“Thank you, Bethlieranha and Shayatierus,” I thanked them for stopping my [Battle Frenzy], earning me an “Our honor, Princess” from them. After that, I turned my attention back to Kramps’ question. “When I remembered Eshe again…”
I explained to him everything I simulated and tried to remember since he started his storytelling, detailing how I felt and what emotions were triggered by those memories.
<Mhmm. I understand. Your mental resistance skills have helped you endure the simulation of all your fight-or-flight responses you’ve experienced up until now, but emotional stress seems to be your limit.>
“… I guess I also have to conquer all that baggage to get [Battle Frenzy] under control, huh?” I asked rhetorically.
<Of course. [Battle Frenzy] can only be controlled if you do not fall into a blind berserker rage, and to do that, you need to be one with your emotions. All the rage, wrath, and desire to destroy is an intrinsic part of my blood. To conquer that part of yourself, your nature? That is when you transcend from a simple dragon, and become someone able to harness the full powers of your draconic heritage and the divine blessings inside you. You are a usurper, Hestia.>
Four days had passed since Mother managed to compromise with Kramps to help me out with [Battle Frenzy]. With my training with her, Yorshka, and for my concert, I hadn’t done anything concerning [Battle Frenzy] in the meantime despite Kramps telling me I should open my schedule up for him.
Regardless, today was the first day of the training to conquer my [Battle Frenzy]. While Mother was deeply asleep, I was now spending time with Kramps and the two snow wyverns mother had practically taken in as her attendants.
<Tell the wyverns to increase the cold. The colder it is, the less eager your body will be to fight.>
Remembering how I would feel sleepier than usual in the winter, I asked Kramps about it. I presumed it was ‘cause I was a fire dragon.
<That is correct, Hestia. Fire dragons are the most active in warmer climates, while winter is usually a perfect time to hibernate for us. Yes, we can warm our surroundings up, but nature is nature. It seems you inherited more of Eltharion’s blood than your mother’s. It also doesn’t help that you evolved into a full fire elemental dragon. Well, this also means you have more potential to draw out once you conquer [Battle Frenzy].>
I did remember Mother lamenting that I was incredibly weak against ice and water. She admitted to being extremely elated that I was able to inherit my scale-dust from her.
In any case, I turned to the two snow wyverns and conveyed Kramps’ words to them. As you would guess, calling them “snow wyvern female” or “the brother wyvern” would be inconvenient in the future. Since Mother took them in as attendants, I asked her to give them names to make addressing them easier.
“Shayatierus” was the name of the older brother, and Bethlieranha was for the sister. They were completely overjoyed with their names, given to them by a being they greatly respected as the epitome of winter. They practically swore their eternal loyalty to Mother and to me at the same time.
The snow wyverns were helping me out by cooling me off whenever I lost control of my [Battle Frenzy]. Just like how Master Kush stopped my rampage after Shiterno’s interference, anything ice or water element could help “douse” me.
With my solar core still damaged, I couldn’t exude extreme heat without cracking it again. The pain most likely would have snapped me out of it. Fortunately, this did mean the wyverns and Tasianna would be able to cool me down. Otherwise, Mother probably would have been the only one able to do so.
“Okay, got some time to rest. Let’s do it again, Kramps.”
<I am Kargryxmor, Hestia! Your grandfather. I am not ‘Kramps!’>
Yeah, yeah, it’s not like you hate it that much. You’re just complaining about how casual I’m talking to a god. Whatever.
Ignoring Kramp’s pouting, I sat back down. I took in a deep breath, using my breathing techniques to quell my beating heart and find tranquility in the silence. I could hear the wyverns’ breathing, but it felt more like a cold breeze than anything else. It made the process easier, in fact.
Meditation was key to this process. Kramps explained when he first tried to conquer it, he thought constant fighting and beating other apex predators was the answer. With his method, his progress was slow and he almost died multiple times trying to overcome any walls he faced. It was only when he changed his fighting style to be less a berserk brawler that he understood he had to look deeper in himself.
The idea was to find harmony with your emotions, thoughts, and actions. A bit of Buddhism in the idea, eh? This trifecta was there to calm yourself down during a fight as your body was being overwhelmed by the mana from Kramps’ blood. [Battle Frenzy (Critical)] was the goal here, as that is where you would have the power to “shatter the sky and sunder the earth” or whatever over-exaggeration Kramps wanted to compare it to.
I was pretty sure it would be pretty strong, but my goal, for now, was [Battle Frenzy (Major)]. That was when [Bearer of Kargryxmor’s Blood] would connect with Aurena’s and Shiterno’s blessings to grant me a sliver of their power. In other words, my hair would turn white and I would go super dragon mode.
As such, I had to work hard and find inner peace, I think.
Okay, first, my memory of being born.
The start was quite rough during the previous try. That was when I was still the size of a gecko and was afraid of everything around me. I was a city girl in the body of a small, helpless reptile placed inside a deadly forest. I was scared shitless day in and day out.
I then remembered the conflicts I had with the kobolds, orcs, and garms, simulating myself back into that memory. I asked myself how I felt and what I could do to overcome them. Of course, after reflecting on them so often, I knew exactly how to defeat them while sustaining less damage than I should.
Up until the garm matriarch. The imposing wolf mother of Saori. The fear of death was so very vivid. Chills ran down my spine whenever I remembered her eyes glaring down at me. A D rank newbie fighting an experienced C rank; I just couldn’t figure out how to win her battle, even after going through it multiple times. Maybe I was projecting Saori in her place, but I couldn’t think of a way to outwit the matriarch.
… Good enough.
But death has been with me far too often now. I’ve gotten used to it. I’ve accepted living as being victorious. If you survive, you could always return for a rematch. I was scared of her, but from her, I learned how just barely surviving was a blessing by itself. How life was so precious and fragile.
The next important memory was after we escaped Astalos and went into a cave towards Artorias. I remembered how I went mad in that cave and got to [Battle Frenzy (Moderate)] and went on a killing spree without any idea of what happened. And then the thing with Shiterno happened.
The fear of my own body and the dread of potentially harming everyone and everything I came to care for during that time. Saori and Tasianna are my family. Just imagining hurting them made me scared of getting stronger since I had no idea how my body worked. It also didn’t help that my fear of performing and failing was influencing my decision-making.
Thinking back on it, I was going insane from the isolation. Saori and Tasianna entering my life stopped that, which also caused me to fear losing them. I still did, and I would probably go mad if something happened to them now. But, back then, I honestly thought I was the only one able to protect them.
I was stupid. Saori and Tasianna showed me they could handle themselves with enough training. I thought I learned that when I broke into tears, breaking my oath to my past self, but I had to get lectured by Saori and Yorshka to remember it. If I couldn’t handle a threat alone, then I shouldn’t be scared to let others carry me. I learned to trust others.
… Another one. T-This is exhausting.
[“Princess, you are sweating.”] Shay — short for Shayatierus — called me out of my mediation with [Telepathy].
Opening my eyes, I noticed myself breathing faster than I expected and even felt some sweat beads forming on my forehead. My body temperature wasn’t exactly high with the twins around, so this was cold sweat? Stress?
<Yes, most likely, Hestia. You held out well for the first try, but it seems it has taken a toll on you for the second try.>
While massaging my temples, I responded, “It shouldn’t be this hard, though. I made it all the way to Eshe’s memories on the first try. The second time, it should be even easier! My [Mental stability] is level nine and I have [Tranquil Mind Lv. 1]. I shouldn’t be sweating only a half year into my memories.”
<You are underestimating how much mental fatigue affects you, Hestia. Do not forget, you are going through the trials and tribulations of your travels up until now. You are puttting yourself back into those deadly positions and are reliving those emotions. It is harsh, especially if one memory was a trauma. Like Eshe’s death.>
I reluctantly agreed. Getting over Eshe’s death completely would still need a while.
<Still, I am surprised, Hestia. Astounded, really.>
“Hmm? Why? If you ask me, slowing down on the second try seems more like a failure to me.” I didn’t think my mental state was that weak. For someone so prideful of their bloodline, I thought Kramps would scold me for being unable to do something simple like this.
<Not at all, Hestia. After all, this method you are using is the unfinished one. The brute force way.>
“Huh?”
<Yes, this is the method I had to use to conquer my [Battle Frenzy] and the one I taught your father, my firstborn, Eltharion. We are the only two who mastered [Battle Frenzy] through this rigorous method, and the reason why I realized it was unrefined and barbaric. When I had to teach it to my second child, I realized how difficult this method was when he wasn’t able to last as long as you did.>
Kramps explained how he had to refine this method for his other children, unwilling to allow them not to master his ability. It was his pride speaking. With the help of Eltharion, they both refined the method and separated the process into different sections, all targeting different emotions which could awaken [Battle Frenzy].
It was to isolate these memories and to allow the dragon to take breaks instead of searching through years upon years of experiences. This was the official method taught to my half-siblings. According to Kramps, most have mastered their [Battle Frenzy] up to (Moderate), while only my eldest siblings could enter [Battle Frenzy (Major)] without a problem. Eltharion remained the only living Kargryxmor able to access the (Critical) stage.
<I wanted to see your aptitude, Hestia. Maybe you had a piece of your father inside you. Hmmm… but then again, somebody as iron-willed as Eltharion still managed to succumb to the effects of war. The deaths of his siblings must have been truly traumatic, but a necessary thing to do. I had high hopes he wouldn’t end up like that but…>
Kramps…
Is this the reason for why Kramps was so disgusted about his son? Was that why he sounded so antagonistic when he spoke to Mother? Damn. My family has some issues, huh?
<In any case, you lasted long enough for my liking, once again making me glad that you were chosen as our reincarnator. Hahahaha! That other god surely chose the correct soul.>
Instead of my [Battle Frenzy] training, the moment Kramps opened his mouth to mention a god, my attention was instantly drawn towards that topic. If I were to guess, Kramps was probably talking about the third god involved in my reincarnation.
“Who is he?” I asked. “Goddess Aurena wasn’t very talkative about them, so I don’t have any idea who they are.”
<Mhmm. I do not have the authority to tell you about them, Hestia. Goddess Aurena has already told you that they are an external god, since Ilsaphone isn’t as experienced with transferring souls from one dimension to the other yet. Hmm, however, I think I could tell you a bit more now that we were able to investigate your soul a bit more. For example, he’s responsible for you usurping our blessings.>
Hold on, what?!
<Goddess Aurena told me they are a mischief-maker. A trickster. While they performed the same procedure for Goddess Crustacia, they didn’t add anything weird to Chihiro’s soul. Yours, however, was meant to rebel against our blessings and to usurp them. Even that [Mana Eyes] skill is something you shouldn’t have gained this early in your life. It’s essential for space-time skills, and Goddess Aurena and I were planning on giving it to you later down your life.>
“You serious?” I was baffled. “But why would that person do all of this?”
<For chaos’s sake, I presume. He’s a trickster, after all. Goddess Aurena and I were careless. I would also like to blame him for the death of the imperial egg deliverer, but I have no proof of that.>
“Hmm?”
Thinking about it, it did make sense. If I were to be born away from the dragons and in the Belzac forest, the gods would have easily found me if my blessings had worked fine. They could have seen through my eyes, after all. But if that person was the reason for me usurping the blessings, then it could also be he was the reason why I was in the Belzac forest in the first place.
But, as Kramps said, all of this was just an evidence-less presumption. An accusation with no weight behind it.
<Nevertheless, the fact you usurped three gods’ blessings is a feat nobody could brag about, Hestia. Ha! As the Black Tyrant, I am actually quite proud of that fact, even if it inconvenienced me majorly.>
“What are the benefits of me usurping them? I guess, one is that I am not exactly tied down by you three, right?” I presumed.
<Yes, quite so. We gave you those blessings, but now they actually belong to you. We cannot take them back, even if you displease us. We can add more on top of those blessings, but we cannot modify them in any way without your consent. In addition, to actually use the divine powers in those blessings, normally you would need the permission of the gods they belonged to. As I knew your usurpation of those blessings would work in our favor, I allowed you to use my blessing's ability to borrow their powers when you fought that demonkin.>
I see… I guess the goal of that third god really was chaos, in a way.
With everything said, it all pointed to the fact that the third god didn’t want me to be a pawn of Aurena and Kargryxmor in their plans. He allowed me to be born away from their influence and also outfitted me with skills and abilities to help me find my own path. They even made me usurp other gods' blessings like it was nothing.
Thinking about it, I didn’t exactly go through with his plan, huh? At the end of the day, I still allied myself with Aurena to form a deal. Then again, if that god had told me anything, I could have followed down another path, maybe.
Hold on… Would that be possible?
“Say, Kramps, since I’m able to usurp the blessings of not only Subordinate Gods but also Origin Gods, then, couldn’t I also usurp the blessings of those weird Edjurl gods? Or maybe even a demonic blessing?”
<… That sounds a bit stupid, don’t you think? Imagine being able to control the power of a demonic god? You would do the exact thing you’ve been trying to dissuade your human companion about.>
“… Yeah, you’re right. That does sound a bit stupid. It would be a bit broken, huh?”
Besides, which Edjurl god would willingly give me a blessing? I’m pretty sure that, after seeing Shiterno losing control of his own blessing to me, everyone must know not to give me any blessings anyways. I could steal it away from them.
<Anyways, we’ve deviated too much from the topic at hand. Your [Battle Frenzy] lesson. Alright, the method taught to all of Eltharion’s descendants is a method the both of us refined together. Before I ascended, I further improved on it by isolating the different phases into the seven cardinal sins. All types of emotions are connected to them in some way. As such, this is a great way to guide the process.>
Back to the seven deadly sins, huh? Season one, hopefully.
“With which do we begin?”
<With the sin least impactful in controlling [Battle Frenzy], but also the one most important for calming you down — Sloth. It is the best foundation.>
“I see. I can imagine why that would be good. Okay, Kramps, let us beg—”
“Hestia-san!” But, before anything could happen, somebody suddenly stormed into Mother’s cave.
I turned around, only to see Haruka running at me at high speed. She was pretty fast, honestly.
“Haruka-chan?” I wondered when she stopped before me.
“There’s a problem in the training ground! Daichi-san and Tatsuya-kun are fighting!” Haruka exclaimed loudly, but I couldn’t help but feel confused.
“Well, yeah, they’re training, Haruka-chan. If you spar, they should be fighting against each other.”
“No, no, they aren’t sparring. They are fighting, for real! Tatsuya said something to Daichi and that caused him to suddenly lash out at him. Tatsuya even used his druidification to fight back! Kyouya-kun and Asa-chan can’t stop them! Sir Elrick is doing all he can, but he can’t do much without accidentally hurting them!”
Are you serious?!
“Hold on, I told everybody that I would be busy right now. Why didn’t you ask Saori?! Or Ellaine and Grimnir?”
“Tamae-chan just asked Sensei for help since the restaurant is booming again. She’s working in the kitchen right now and doesn’t seem like she has any time. Tasianna, as you know, teleported over to Griffonpeak for today. And Ellaine and Grimnir are currently so engrossed in their work that they didn’t even hear me shout for help! You’re the only one available!”
What the fuck?!
<Hestia, go.>
“Wh-What?! Kramps?” I didn’t expect him to give me permission that easily, seeing how busy he was.
<You are the leader of this hunter’s company, so act like its leader. These situations shouldn’t have happened in the first place, so you should take responsibility for your negligence.>
“Negligence?! What do you mea— Oh!”
I suddenly remembered what Asaka told me a week ago, about how some people won’t be able to adapt their roles in this company due to Aurora conflicting with them. One of them was Daichi, who was a fire mage through and through. Asaka told me to talk to him, but due to everything going on, I had forgotten about that.
Scheiße! This is ‘cause of me!
“Alright,” I told Haruka. “Let’s go. Lead the way, Haruka-chan!”
“Y-Yes, let’s go. We must hurry!”
It was time to act like a leader.
Comments
Rita 152
"Back to the seven deadly sins, huh? Season one, hopefully." I found Season 2 better
Diego Rossi
Interesting development.
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