The Sound Of Despair

"You told me your race only reaches platinum and that dragons are powerful diamond beasts beyond comparison, right? Do you just accept being below them in the pecking order? You should not surrender yourself to fate! Fight against it! No matter if you are facing dragons, phoenixes, or any other natural diamond beast. They are lazy, just as you were. Every day you are improving yourself, and they are not, is a day you will be closing the gap."

Indeed, they had been training for only three months, and already there has been a substantial change. Innate diamond beasts were even lazier than most platinum races, often hibernating for hundreds of years. They would wake up considerably more powerful, and there would be no ceiling to their strength. What would happen if they instead trained? How much progress could be made in that time, how many skills developed and perfected?

Suddenly Schatten did not feel as proud about his tribe's warrior culture. Every year, they fought and conquered the surrounding factions, valuing combat experience above everything. They often looked down on peaceful races, as they had not been forged in the flames of war. If they dedicated just half the time of their war efforts to developing their skills, then maybe they would have already reached the unification they dreamed about.

<<Well, at least we are better than those kittens>>, thought Schatten.

While Schatten simply questioned the efficacy of their methods, Licht's clan did not even possess any. Raitigers were proud beasts but also naturally lazy. For thousands of years, they have been protecting the gate and grew content with their lot. No matter what the ignorant brumawolves said, his clan's mission was a holy undertaking deserving of respect. Licht used to be confident in their prowess, but now he could only question if they were truly prepared should the gate ever open.

As much as the tiger did not like to admit it, the words of that stupid dog were not entirely false. Even worse, Licht knew that he could only match Schatten because his bright lightning countered the puppy's dark lightning. It was the reason the brumawolf tribe both hated and feared his clan, not even once attempting to conquer it.

The only reason they were evenly matched right now, even without access to most of their lightning power, was that they both started from zero. Licht's pride did not allow the human to outdo it in dedication, but it would rather die than see Schatten surpass it again. Winning because it just happened to possess a natural counter did not make it feel superior.

<<Just look at that pup. It is clear for everyone to see that I am better in every single way.>>

Seeing his motivational speech was a success, Sturm immediately wanted to increase the training intensity. But, to his dissatisfaction, he noticed that such a thing was not possible. Any increase would be detrimental rather than helpful. The current training schedule was already packed, and the training routine as intensive as possible.

<<Oh well, I guess at least they will be complaining less.>>

"I can see you two understand. Just do not forget your current motivation. What if you return one day to your families and surpass every single member in strength? As future leaders, you will be able to change their destiny. Alright, enough talking, let us go back to training. I know you two will want to test your abilities against other beasts, especially you, Schatten, but we are deep inside the forest and not prepared to face the enemies surrounding us."

Now that the two beasts realized how much Sturm's training had benefitted them, they felt ashamed at their previous display. Too embarrassed to apologize, the two heirs decided to do everything in their power to support Sturm instead. It was not just the boy who would benefit from their insights, but they would as well.

Licht had thought about the last three months and noticed that every single day, without exception, there would be either big or minor adjustments to their training schedule. To keep developing and adjusting their routines, the boy had to gain new information or insights about them.

{Wait. There is an ability that should be of great interest to you. Only lightning or life-attributed can use it, albeit the life version works slightly different than ours. It is called electroanalysis, and you should see for yourself its effects. To use it, you have to circulate your mana cells in a specific pattern through your veins while simultaneously converting them halfway to lightning matter. Make sure to not complete the conversion, or else you will burn your veins, and recuperation would take months. Here, I will show you.}

The tiger stepped next to Sturm, and like they had done during the establishment of their contract, Licht pumped his own lightning cells into Sturm's system. Instead of leaving them inside, though, he just cycled the half-converted lightning cells through Sturm's body. The sensation was tingly but not hurtful.

The pattern was not complicated, but Licht made sure that Sturm perfectly learned it, as failure could have grave consequences. When it finally seemed like the boy could perfectly explain what had to be done, the tiger stepped back to let Sturm try it.

<<Alright, here it goes. Licht is looking at me like a father who gave his children presents he knew they would love. Let's make sure I get this right.>> Sturm did not take it lightly.

First, Sturm mentally went through the pattern time and time again to assure there was not even the slightest imperfection. Then, slowly the conversion of lightning cells into the lightning matter began, but he stopped the process just when the energy started taking physical form. It was a lot harder than Sturm had thought; the conversion was almost instantaneous, and thus the window for a successful interruption small.

When the lightning cells took on the desired form, Sturm started moving them how Licht had taught him.

One circulation. Nothing really changed; it was the same tingly feeling as when the tiger had been showing him.

Two circulations. The tingling intensified, and Sturm could feel the electricity coursing through his veins more intensely than ever.

Three circulations. Upon completing them, Sturm's veins started turning hot. Before he could panic, thinking that he had over-converted the lightning cells, Licht assured him he was doing fine.

Four circulations. The lightning cells that had been spread throughout his vascular system clumped together.

Five circulations. Every single half-converted cell made its way directly into his brain, shocking Sturm as new information filled his mind.

[Electroanalysis]

-Average Body Strength: 9.15678 (+2.23459)

-Average Agility: 14.43247 (+2.65436)

-Constitution: 7.58325 (+1.24234)

-Intelligence: 17.95732 (+1.84331)

-Perception: 64.32485

<<Are those… stats? What is this?>>

The information that appeared in Sturm's mind was exactly like stats in games he sometimes used to play. Were there stat points he could invest, but had never seen before? Was this the secret about those steps towards heaven? Even disregarding if this world was similar to a game or not, his perception was especially noteworthy. With a numerical value of over 60, it was disproportionately higher than the rest.

<<It must be because of the Art of the Nine Pillars and its first chapter. There is no other explanation. At the same time, intelligence is a lot higher than the others as well. Is it because of the gintseng I consumed over the years? Edgar did say it was supposed to increase a mage's intelligence, but he also said that this just means the ability to learn and memorize and not suddenly getting smarter.>>

"Licht, what is this about? Does everyone have stats in this world? Do I have unused stat points, and if I do, where can I find them?" Sturm asked.

{Stats? Stat points? What are you talking about? [Electronanalysis] sends shocks through your system, and the half-converted lightning cells gather information about your body, after which it sends that information into your brain. Thus, it is nothing more than a numeric representation of the state of your body. The life attribute equivalent is [Lifescan], but I do not know how that particular ability works.]

Sturm felt glad instead of disappointed. Progress came from hard work, and if people got stronger through the allocation of stat points, then that speech he had just given would seem extra stupid. In the end, this seemed similar to what doctors did on Earth to check a patient's health and fitness.

<<I guess that is the reason there are so many decimals. Does this mean I will be able to directly track my progress? I see why Licht said it would be of great interest to me. This changes everything. With [Electroanalysis], I will be able to further optimize our training. If only lightning-attributed beings can use this, does that mean I am the only human capable of doing so?>>

Sturm had two more questions. "I understand. So what are those extra numbers that are displayed in brackets? And can I use this ability on others?"

{Let me answer your second question first. The answer is no, at least not for now. Using [Electroanalysis] on yourself is far easier than on another person. Before you can use it on others, you will have to significantly improve your will. Schatten and I can use it ourselves, so we can give you our information. Talking about will, your amount of willpower is not displayed because it is not something that your lightning cells can detect.

Now regarding your first question. Remember I told you a contracted beast shares some of its power with its contractor? Well, that is what you see there. As far as I know, about 10% of our attributes are transferred to you. You simply did not notice a change initially because we were too weak, and then you accredited the increase to your own training. If you wonder why your perception remains the same, that is because perception only increases when a human advances in celestial steps or a magic beast advances in its rank. That is also why it is always a round number, while all the others should have decimals behind them.}

It was not like Sturm had any other people he wanted to analyze anyways, and if will could not be detected, then the information he could get out of the noble mage would not be very useful either. On the other hand, increasing his power would be even easier now. Sturm simply thought the beasts would increase his strength as combat assets and not that they would directly enhance his physique.

Licht said that perception was always a round number, which could not be increased by training. So why did this not seem to apply to him? Did that mean his senses may be as good or better than even that of nobles?

<<There are so many new things to learn and experiment with.. Edgar, Reinhardt… I wish you were here. What would your reactions be? What would you advise me?>>