Even though they told me that the Holy Spring would boost my training (I'm never going to use the C word), I had no idea how to go about it. What exactly was I supposed to do? It wasn't as if I had a loach necklace that could absorb all the mana from the Holy Spring or something. I didn't possess such convenient plot devices or cheat items. I was tempted to call that thing a McGuffin, but even though it was a device that was necessary to the plot, it wasn't exactly unimportant or insignificant because the protagonist used it extensively to improve his magic by absorbing monster essence, other magic items and all that.
Long story short, I didn't know how to train beside the Holy Spring. Was I supposed to drink the water or something? Or would I subconsciously absorb the mana from the Holy Spring if I trained normally next to it?
I realized I made a terrible mistake by not asking blockhead or Teacher Fielding about this. What a failure on my part.
"Oh, well…I guess I'll try this out then."
Sitting cross-legged next to the Holy Spring, I closed my eyes and began accumulating mana in my hands. Probably this process would allow me to eventually draw mana from the Holy Spring and into myself. After a while, I stood up and began casting spells and executing my techniques within this enclosed but large space.
People tended to think that it was enough to sit down and meditate, and your magic would somehow grow more powerful. The same cliché was used for martial arts in trashy xianxia stories, where the authors made it look so easy. Sit down cross-legged for a few hours and suddenly your internal energy or qi become stronger and you make breakthroughs. The fuck? Since when was becoming stronger so easy? If all you needed to do was sit down and meditate, then anyone could become strong. There wasn't a need to physically train your body at this rate.
Reality was harsher and at the same time, simpler and more logical. If you wanted to get stronger, you practice. You practice casting your spells over and over again, and the more you cast your spells, the more proficient you become. It was like any sports or martial arts in the real world. You didn't get strong in kendo or aikido by sitting down and meditating for hours. You got stronger in kendo by swinging your sword and practicing your swordsmanship over and over and over and over again for hours. The same thing with aikido, soccer, or any kind of sport. Hard work trumped over everything. Reality had always been this practical.
Hell, never mind sports. Even theory and exams were the same thing. If you wanted to raise your score, you don't meditate. You practiced past years examination papers over and over again. You studied by reading the same textbook and your notes over and over again. You write your essays several times. Writing was the same thing. You didn't become an excellent writer on the first go. You practiced over and over and over again, experience frustrating failures and harsh criticisms from readers, but refuse to give up and continue rewriting, editing, and writing new stories until you finally come up with one that everyone enjoyed.
Everything was practice. Magic was the same thing. If you wanted to master your spells, you practiced them over and over again. You don't just sit there and "meditate". You think you'll suddenly become enlightened and comprehend the universe if you just sit there and empty your mind? Or if you circulate your mana around your body aimlessly? Don't just circulate the mana, convert them into actual spells!
After a few hours of practicing, I realized something.
"Oh, wow…I'm not exhausted…how is this possible?"
Normally, I would be dead tired after such a grueling session of training, but right now I felt as if I could go on forever. I realized that the principle behind the underground Holy Spring was simple. Training for an hour inside here was equivalent to training nonstop for three days outside, or something like that. In other words, I could accelerate my training pace inside here and make remarkable progress. The cliché time capsule or whatever they called it. Ah…Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Of fucking course.
"I can't believe that such a stupid cliché exists in this world," I muttered under my breath. Then I noticed something.
My Constellation spirits were gathering around the Holy Spring and drinking from it. Some of them, anyway. Others, like Cetus and Pisces were literally swimming around in the spring and making waves. Serpens was joining them as well, his long body unwinding in the water.
"You guys…"
I was practicing my summoning magic, which was why they were all running around, but I didn't expect them to do whatever they liked. Even Black Tortoise was wading through the Holy Springs lazily, while Green Dragon and White Tiger sipped from it. Only Vermillion Phoenix kept his distance, probably because a fire-type spirit like him couldn't really handle water very well. On the other hand, Taurus and Leo had no problems drinking from the Holy Spring, despite them possessing the fire elemental attribute. I wondered why.
Cygnus was floating on top of the pool, like the swan he was. Above him, a flock of Corvus soared throughout the vast expanse of the underground cavern. While watching my Constellation spirits prance about, I started to get a headache.
"Oi, show some restraint, guys!" I complained. "Don't drink all of the Holy Spring, otherwise I'll be in huge trouble!"
Fortunately, it seemed that the Holy Spring was limitless. No matter how much they drank from it, the water didn't disappear and the volume still remained the same. I was starting to understand why it was a magical pool.
Then something else hit me.
"…eh? Now that I think about it…"
Scrutinizing my army of Constellation spirits, realization finally dawned upon me. I had been so engrossed in summoning one Constellation spirit after another to practice my summoning spells that I didn't notice it at first, but I had practically summoned all of my soul beasts at the same time. Not only that, I was able to maintain their existences in the material world for an unusually long time – for a few hours. All of them. At the same time.
"How the heck…?"
I shook my head in disbelief. The answer was obvious. This was evidently due to the amazing effects of the Holy Spring. I should have known, but even so, I never expected the Holy Spring to be this miraculous.
"Man, I really should take advantage of this for the next week or so!"
Drawing Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, I gestured to my Constellation spirits.
"All right, guys. Break time is over. Time to train! I hope you don't mind sparring with me for a bit?"
The chorus of enthusiastic replies was a prelude to the rampaging stampede that rushed toward me.
"…me and my big mouth," I muttered before I disappeared under a mass of hooves, claws, fangs and elemental spells.
*
"Kureha, did you find any new clues?"
Alicia glanced at her friend before returning her gaze toward the dozens of holographic screens that were propped up in front of her.
The two girls had continued their investigation after the wake of the invasion of the three thousand monsters' attacks. By the way, people were wondering why I didn't go into a coma after nuking three thousand monsters, whereas I did after I nuked two dragons. The reason was simple. I only cast one Antares spell with Scorpio during the invasion of three thousand monsters, whereas I was repeatedly summoning over a dozen Constellation spirits and Constellation weapons against the Hellfire Drake, which included at least two of my Celestial Guardians and their massive spells. The accumulated burden from summoning so many Constellation spirits and weapons, as well as the casting of their ultimate techniques, at once, was too much for me to handle.
Honestly, if I only cast Draco's ultimate spells to nuke the dragons from the start, I wouldn't have passed out from just those. Unfortunately, the Hellfire Drake wasn't going to obediently lie down and wait for me to finish casting those spells. And obviously I didn't know the dragon was coming back – my plan was to leave the mountaintop before it returned to it nest. That didn't work out because I got carried away with playing the vigilante and hanging our poor prisoner from the cliff to threaten the information out of him.
Information that Kureha was now putting to good use. Or trying to put to good use, given that she hadn't gotten anything new since the raid on the warehouse.
"Nope, nothing." Kureha shook her head. "After we investigated the warehouse and alerted the authorities, the scientific research company on drinks that they were using as a cover shut down and all of its employees disappeared. The police is still investigating, but they haven't found any leads. Uncle Frank and Cousin Fred also vanished from the Franklin estate. None of my other relatives have any clue where they have gone."
She clenched her fists and scowled.
"Bullshit. They definitely know something. Several of them, anyway. They were in league with Uncle Frank and are conspiring to take the Sword Saint title away from me and my family."
"What about your mother and grandmother? Are they done with their mission yet?"
"No, not yet. The organization they're hunting has gone underground, and they have difficulty locating the second base. After they successfully destroyed the first research facility, the syndicate has become a lot more cautious and hid deeper underground. They have erased their trails completely with magic."
Alicia sighed as she leaned back in her chair. "They just won't make it easy for us, will they?"
"Yeah." Kureha shook her head in frustration. "I'm concerned that Uncle Frank and his Research Foundation Group will launch another attack on Jing Tian City. I don't think they'll be able to get another three thousand monsters from nowhere…but I didn't think it was possible to control an entire horde of high-ranking monsters and direct them toward your city in the first place."
"Yeah. We still haven't found out how they did it." Alicia grimaced. "While I'm happy that Richard nuked the hell out of the horde, he also destroyed ay traces of spells that the enemy cast on them. All we have is the so-called lure that your uncle claimed the drinks were. We sent the drinks to the magic forensics department, and up till now they still haven't a clue how they worked. Something to do with pheromones, but just generating pheromones shouldn't be enough to control the monsters."
"Perhaps they aren't controlling the monsters as we believed, but just vaguely directing them into destroying whatever they want. Like a city. I mean…if their goal was complete control, then they would be controlling much less monsters and targeting more specific targets rather than a whole city…" Kureha shrugged. "I'm just speculating. There's too much we don't know."
"You might have a point. Perhaps there are limits to the enemy's capability that we aren't aware of. Even so, we can't afford to underestimate them…" Alicia rose to her feet. "Well, I'll visit the forensics department again and see if they have any new clues."
"You do that." Kureha nodded. "I should return to Legnica City and see if I can find any other clues. Perhaps my relatives will be more willing to…share information if I show up in person."
"I'll be counting on you."
Alicia smiled brightly and reached out with a hand.
"Please let me know if you come visit Jing Tian City again. It was great to have you."
"Same. Thanks for hosting me. You've helped me a lot during my stay here." Kureha reached out and hugged Alicia. She then winked mischievously. "Help me bid farewell to Richard once he comes out of the Holy Spring training. I'll be long gone before I can become a third wheel."
"I never thought of you as such! Geez!" Alicia pouted. Kureha laughed and squeezed her tightly.
"I'll be off then. I'll see you next time. Stay in touch!"
"I will!"
The two girls then split up, each of them having a specific destination in mind.