Lone Cloud Wanderer Ch.4 (Patreon)

Chapter 4:

Essence Manipulation  was an ordered process that Gastus was hammering into Leon’s body and soul.

There were channels and nexuses that Gastus had opened in Leon, where Essence flowed and gathered. Essence was produced by the soul which was layered over the body. The energy then seeped into the body through three points: the middle core above the crotch, the heart and the brain.

Then Essence followed the path of arteries and veins to suffuse bones and flesh. And finally, there were the spots where the energy leaked out of the body.

While some Essence did leak from the pores of the skin, the majority of it came out from the spots Leon had noticed during the abominable acupuncture session Gastus made him go through.

Through the ankles and wrists, the tailbone at the bottom of his spine, the throat, eyes and the two random spots at the top of his head.

Gastus had explained that each of these release points had the function of facilitating the use of Essence thanks to the way the spiritual energy gathered there.

Essence flowed through the eyes, which allowed one to see Essence itself. The third eye point was the reason behind the spiritual sense that allowed one to feel Essence beyond the sense of vision.

The throat, ankles and wrists release points were made to move and shape Essence through movements and incantations. The movements and incantations guided the Essence, and the Essence gave power to the words and motions.

As for which movement and words did what, that was when it became a bit more complicated.

Essence flowed through all things. When it flowed out of someone, it joined the currents of Essence that permeate the world. Through it, there was an echo of one’s soul and power in the world.

When enough people believed in the power of the same words and gestures, they gained a weight that others could use for themselves. They became common arts that had a structure backed by the Essence of the World itself.

Yet, the strongest were those who went beyond the common flow and created their own way of shaping Essence, their own rituals and incantations.

The way Leon understood it, it was the power of an idea that was common sense versus a genius who disproved a long-held theory with his own. The collective versus the individual.

Leon was currently doing the first one. He was a beginner so he would learn the Cloud-striding Monks’ techniques. Gastus told him that if he wanted to make his own techniques after he managed to get off the island, he was free to do so.

And so, that was why the Otherworlder was currently dancing. He was making circling steps while waving his hands in arcs. This was supposed to represent the flowing nature of water and wind to invoke them and form a cloud. This was the first Outer Art that Gastius was teaching him.

Leon had to follow the choreography while also channeling his Essence through his limbs. When he had asked why the puppet Gastus had piloted didn’t have to do the same movement, he said that once one had cast the same art enough time, it was easy to recall the flow of Essence and cast it faster and without the ritual behind it.

Slowly, wind and moisture gathered in the spot Leon was dancing around. A fluffy little cloud appeared.

Leon stopped dancing. He could feel the connection with the small weather phenomenon. It was made of his Essence and he had made it. He had cast a spell. Leon did real magic!

And then, he lost hold of it and the cloud dissipated.

“Again. We’ll keep doing that until your cloud won’t disappear because of a stiff breeze.” Gastus ordered and Leon started dancing

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The physical training hadn’t stopped either, if anything it had become even more intense now that Leon was learning to channel Essence to strengthen his body.

Where before Gastus had let the dolls’ programming to do the work, now the ghost was actively manipulating them and using his arts through them.

When Leon got kicked, now it was followed by a burst of wind that sent him flying. The dolls waved their arms and whips of water flayed Leon raw or caught his limbs like the tentacles of an octopus to restrain him. Their wooden frames would disappear in bursts of speed as they used the Earth Shrinking Step.

It was also a demonstration by Gastus. With his new ability to see Essence, Leon could observe how Gastus was moving his hands, strings of Essence extending from his fingers to control the dolls like a puppetmaster, while also chanting spells that created fist-sized hail that flew at Leon. And then, there was the Essence the ghostly teacher was channeling in the training room’s enchantments, showcasing how one could create and manipulate multiple strands of Essence at once.

Leon was at the starting line.

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Four months later, Leon had to get out of the Sky Temple to hunt. Until now, he had survived on rations left behind by the monks when they were alive. They had enchantments that conserved food far longer than cans, but even that had a limit and most of it had spoiled. The fact that there had even been enough for Leon to eat for the last six months was already incredible enough.

Gastus had given him steel gauntlets and greaves to protect his limbs. The Cloud-striding Monks didn’t have any equipment beyond that and their robes.

His objective was to grab some of the birds who managed to make their nest all the way up there without being eaten by the gryphons. The wyverns who made their nests down the flank of the floating island were too big and didn’t consider regular birds prey, they were more like ants to the giant lizards. 

On the other hand, bigger animals like the gryphons or humans like Leon were on the menu.

The plan was to catch some birds, evade the monsters and go back to the temple.

The moment Leon saw a gryphon, the plan flew out of the window. He had a grudge to settle.