Within the Tempest Cliff, a small cabin could be seen near the edge of a cliff, where a small wolf with extremely tough fur resided.
"Haah...it seems I have to hasten my plans since they found out, " the wolf could not help but sigh after seeing that one of the spies it planted inside one of the three alliances was killed effortlessly.
It walked around the interior of the cabin for a bit as it looked at the two other glass orbs which were still focused on two of the other spies it planted. It pondered for a bit before standing firm with the decision it formed. "I think it's time to call them back and prepare for a full-scale war against the three alliances."
It mulled over the statement it said and shook his head not long after. "No, it isn't worth fighting against the three alliances for this." In the end, it could not help but sigh. "If only I was still an Inanimate being, then negotiating with these alliances would be faster."
To Inanimate beings outside the Tempest Cliff, they would not know that this wolf was actually one of the superpowers of the Tempest Cliff, the only individual being that could beside the three alliances.
The three alliances knew that this wolf evolved from a rock, but they did not know its name at all. To make things easier for those who oversee the world of Erudinia [1], the wolf's name is Chonk.
"Why did my body have to evolve all of a sudden? It's not like I wanted to evolve into an Animate at the instant I could!" Chonk could not help but complain as it shouted loudly. Its voice echoed throughout the cabin, yet no one could hear it at all, turning into wisps of anger that dissipated into thin air.
Chonk could not help but sigh once more as it started to formulate a plan in its mind, a plan that would not anger the three alliances, and also help it transition to a Rank 1 class.
The method of strengthening as an Animate was multiple times harder compared to the method of strengthening as an Inanimate being, which mostly had to rely on absorbing the Life and Will particles of other Inanimate beings while strengthening their souls.
Animate beings all start out with no class, in other words, Rank 0. To start off in their journey to become a stronger Animate being, they must first find or create a Tempering technique, which would allow them to transition into the first step to strengthening as an Animate, a Rank 1 class.
Most of the time, Animates have a plethora of Tempering techniques to choose from due to the fact that they have created civilizations and foundations for strengthening that span multiple generations. As for Chonk, it did not have that option as it was a wolf, an Animate being, but was considered inferior to humans. Hence it had to create a Tempering technique of its own.
There are different levels to Tempering techniques, due to the facts that Rank 1 classes have different levels of strengths. The most stringent the requirements of the Tempering technique, the stronger the power an Animate obtains once it transitions to a Rank 1 class.
Chonk's Tempering technique could be considered to be a part of those that have the most stringent requirements. Now you may ask, why? This is because the main material needed for Chonk to transition to a Rank 1 class was...
The core of the Tempest Cliff.
"I have an idea where the core of the Tempest Cliff resides, but I have no idea how to take it out." Chonk lied down on the floor as the three glass orbs positioned themselves in front of its field of vision.
Whoosh!
"Hm?" A few minutes passed by and Chonk heard a gust of wind come from one of the glass orbs it used to survey the three alliances from within. It then tried to locate where the sound came from, only to find out that it came from the orb where the spy from the Tempest Branch Alliance was killed.
"Eh? It came from Connor's orb?" Chonk's eyes were filled with curiosity as it manipulated the view of the orb towards the whole base of operations of the alliance, sensing an intense aura of wind not long after.
"Such an intense aura of Wind!" Chonk could not help but exclaim as it tried to find the origin of the aura. After a few minutes of analysis, Chonk was surprised to find that the origin of the intense aura was from the one that killed its spy, Connor.
"Hmm...an intense yet pure aura of wind, coming from such a measly A-grade Inanimate." Being an Animate who evolved from an Inanimate, it was easy for Chonk to assess the being's grade. A few seconds later, a crazy plan was formulated in its mind, acting as a backup plan to its first plan. Chonk stood up on all four legs as it muttered to himself, "Alright, I should try searching for the core of the Tempest Cliff for now."
"If not..."
"That A-grade Inanimate will be my main material!"
...
Within the Tempest Cliff, Tempest Branch Alliance's base of operations.
"...And this is the final building within the small ecosystem of our alliance, the Sparring Tower, " Horell explained to Aurus who was hovering beside him.
Aurus nodded at Horell's words and asked not long after, "What's the purpose of the Sparring Tower?"
Before he got into his current situation, Aurus and Horell traversed the whole ecosystem of the alliance as Horell explained the purpose and the name of each and every building. While this was occurring, Aurus was experimenting with the newest spell he got from evolving his Spell Core, [Tempest Levitation]. After a few tests, Aurus realized that [Tempest Levitation] was just a toggleable version of [Gale Hover]. In other words, he could now permanently fly! Well...technically.
After passing through the Alliance Lobby, the Meditation Chambers, the Life and Will Fountain, and the Skill Emporium, Aurus and Horell now hovered in front of the Sparring Tower, which was the situation they were now currently in.
"Well..." Horell pondered for a bit before replying, "The Sparring Tower is basically the place where you can test out your newfound skills or powers. You can fight against immobile objects or objects that don't attack, and even vice versa."
After hearing Horell's explanation of the Sparring Tower, a brilliant idea flashed in Aurus' mind as he asked, "Is this also a place where we can polish our skills?"
Of course, Aurus did not mention any inkling of the system he had, as he knew he was a unique case...as well as Herellia.
Horell then let out a cheerful aura as he replied to Aurus' question, "Haha, I knew you'd catch on! That's right, the Sparring Tower is also a place where we can master the skills we currently have. Not only that, there might be cases where your skills ascend to greater heights!"
...
A few minutes later, Horell left Aurus in front of the Sparring Tower as Aurus asked Horell that he would be entering the Sparring Tower to test out his skills. Since Aurus had a resolute aura about him, Horell lightly chuckled before leaving him alone.
Taking a few deep breaths, Aurus headed inside the Sparring Tower and entered one of the many rooms where Inanimate beings tested their skills out.
Clank.
Aurus tightly closed the door into the room shut and stared at the only thing that was in the room other than him, a long pole made out of stone.
"So...is this the immobile object Horell was talking about?" Aurus could not help but let out a stifled laugh as he composed himself. "Well...I'll just ask Herellia about the ins and outs of the Sparring Tower later."
"For now..."
Whoosh!
With a single thought in his mind, a floating Anima was hastily stretched into a thin sword, which was then infused with Aurus' SP. Around one-tenth of a second later, this twin sword made out of Anima glowed an impure red, giving others the feeling that it wanted to keep everything to itself.
Aurus looked at the sword he formed and nodded inwardly before commanding the sword to head towards the long pole and slash diagonally.
"Let's see the limits of my new offensive skill."
"Sword of Greed, slash!'
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[1] You, the readers