Ascension of the Nephilim

The curse that Destiny sent in connection to the energy was a malevolent curse that could easily mean the destruction of an army. By all common sense, the addition of the curse [De-Spacito] alone would have meant sure demise.

Destiny had once more believed he overestimated the strength of Kyros and the ability to overcome the curse, much less teach it to the forces.

And yet, Kyros had done the impossible.

The power of Pronto was one of Kyros's amazing skills developed naturally since his perception has always been slower. The curses and seals that were placed on Kyros by Fate were meant for occasions such as this.

And so, the impossible occurred. However, the steps to recovery had already started. Unknown to many, they were already using Pronto, and most of them had recovered from it.

Dexterity naturally increases as a person level's up. So at each level increase, the person grows faster, not just physically, but their perception also increases to a certain point. But to tap on the full strength of this speed required training. But the problem is that a normal person slowly increases in their Dexterity that they wouldn't be able to identify just how fast they got. They would only see it when pressed in a fight, as their brains would naturally revert to a 'normal' speed.

Kyros used his powers to forcibly distort the perception of everyone to the point that many couldn't even tell what the normal speed of their perception was. The contest forced everyone to maintain their Dexterity and brought their perception to the fastest possible speed that their brains could do.

And the result was that even when they were not fighting, the distortion of perception for two full hours made them have a more precise grasp of their speed.

"Destiny decreed a curse of death upon us, but this turned out to be a decree of blessings!" Kyros laughed.

"Don't be so cocky, Kyros. You just figured out one of the three curses. Remember, you've had De-Might and De-Magic for so long, but you haven't cured it!"

"I didn't have the time. But don't you see? These decrees of Destiny will only assure us of our victory!" Kyros turned to Mechiel and paid no concern over the remaining curses.

"Mechiel. Let's continue with our previous meditation. Understanding the Celestial Code is our objective." Kyros then moved to pull Mechiel out of the crowd.

The group began to disperse, and many began to move and meet their teams for training. 

"That was fun!" Avary laughed.

Gregory was exhausted. Many young warriors secretly had their eye for Myas.

"But... I don't get it? We have at least a week of free time left. Will this training really help us?" Gregory asked.

"It's working." Martha appeared next to them,

"Lady Martha? You really think so?" Hunter asked.

"Was I speaking too fast?"

"No." Avary, Gregory, and Hunter answered,

"Then it's working. I spoke fast, and you couldn't tell." Martha chuckled.

"Re-Really?" Gregory was amazed.

"Yes. You can't tell because your dexterity points aren't that high, to begin with. As for me, my Dexterity stat is one of my focuses. So I can clearly feel its effects. This is a vicious curse. If Lord Kyros hadn't done what he did, you would see the terror of this curse only during actual combat. Imagine being in the middle of a battle, and you shot your arrow or slashed your sword, and those attacks would fall short because your estimates of when your enemy would be in the position you aim your strike to be are wrong."

"Scary... So that's why Destiny didn't drastically decrease it!"

"Kyros used a lot of means to achieve it. When we were playing that game, he also kept talking, remember?"

"Yes. He kept telling us how to react, and so on."

"You didn't notice that he was synchronizing the real-time from our perception even further. He was using Heretic Teacher by talking and redefining the speed of how we should be thinking. Right now, our minds are alert and in a state of caution because of his words. We are actually thinking a bit faster than what we usually do."

"We are?"

"Yes. We have thoughts as if we are in the middle of the battle. You know how it is that when we are fighting, time is slower. We become aware of every second and act accordingly. And Kyros has made this arrangement so we would all assume this vigilance, even right now!" Martha then gave a heated glare on some of the women who voiced their desire for Aron.

It wasn't just Martha. Everyone was in a constant state of wariness, caution, and alertness, which pushed their minds to maintain the speed of their perception that they had in the games earlier. Even Gregory was secretly watching Avary.

"Kyros is using that, and he is adding a small faint layer of his power to increase the speed of our thoughts. This helps us keep the momentum of this speed. And I have a feeling that we can maintain this state much longer if we hone our Paths of Combat."

"Amazing..." Avary marveled at Kyros's preparations.

"The effects of this curse could even be to our advantage! But we can't put all the work to Lord Kyros. So I think it's time for you to train in the Path of Steele. That [De-Might] won't heal itself, after all."

"You want to resolve [De-Might] on our own?" 

"Lord Kyros never intended to fix all the curses by himself. Well, actually, he doesn't need to. He just needs to fix our problem with time. Leave magic to the Emeberdons. If anyone can figure out how to overload the [De-Magic] curse, it would be them. And as for Force, my husband is on it." Martha smiled.

"Lord Aron? He can fix this?"

"Yes. Brother-in-law and Father-in-Law seemed to have expected this, and the two were preparing for it and doing their own study. But what we need to do, is learn the basics of the Code called True Cut. The Library of Light has books that detail this. We have to start now to teach others how to use it. It could be necessary if we want everyone to overcome [De-Might]!"

On the far end of the Temple, Aron secluded himself. Despite the alert, everyone could see Aron's serious expression and enlightened eyes.

The activity earlier pitted him against Kyros, and it was the few opportunities he had to challenge his nephew. He utterly lost, but in the constant use of his Force, the bindings that held him gave him an even greater understanding of the limitations of Force.

"This curse... allows me to feel what most people feel. Father said I have a talent and a constitution that allows me to wield Force energy in a more refined and... sharp form. It was as if my Force was naturally a sword itself. But now, I feel a great weight that pulls my Force energy down. This curse has also allowed me to sense a dulling power." Aron continued to harness his Force energy. He had the strongest Force Energy, and his body could naturally carry and use it in a way that would be three times more refined than the average knight. And since the curse would rob a person of a percentage, the effects were very much visible to Aron.

"This is perfect. I was a genius who never understood the problems of normal humans. This is why my brother was always better at teaching and molding others since my state as a prodigy hindered me. But now, I can relate to them!" Aron smiled. 

The Force Energy in his body began to move wildly. It coursed through every muscle and vein of his body, trying to see where the ripple of Force would pass through and be hindered.

Soon, he could see the parts of the body that somehow blocked the flow of Force energy.

"I see it... These could be those Eight Gates of Energy I read in that other book. The curse has even helped me find where my Force Energy comes from! I couldn't feel it earlier since my body had a nearly perfect body constitution, and my Force energy would only flow out easily. Still, now the curse is making this body of mine feel the bottlenecks and identify the locations of these bottlenecks! It seems this curse will help me and everyone attain knowledge that only the Library of the Nephilim teaches us once it reaches level 2 or higher!"

The basic books on Force Energy had revolutionized their understanding of Force. The knowledge was so great that once everyone completes their training in it, it could increase everyone's strength and vitality by at least twenty points! This would make it possible for everyone to have a Commander's potential!

But the Eight Gates of Energy were barely discussed. Only a general description of it and what it does were mentioned, and training on how to activate it was also available. The Steele Family had already known how to activate one of the gates through their [Last Stand] skill. But this was a skill that would kill them after use.

But now, Aron could see where it was.

"I wonder... Are these Eight Gates of Energy the same for the rest? No. If it was, then it should be available in our books. But since it requires a higher level of the Library of the Nephilim, then everybody should have deviations as to where this is! Oh well. Finding the Eight Gates of Energy won't be my problem anyway! I'm sure my brother can find them and create a way for the others to look for them. I just have to focus on how to activate these gates...." Aron fell into a deep state of meditation.