Another year passed an Arthur turned another year older. He had stopped worrying about notions such as age, or the year it was, a long, long time ago....
Being in such a young body, at the peak of its mortal physical prowess and still going through various hormonal and psychological development, Arthur just rolled his eyes and waved the rest of them off.
"I think so.... I mean, I don't really care about things like birthdays. Last year I was so busy cultivating I didn't even notice, so it's only naturally that I would forget....".
He could use an aging Fae to forcibly age his body a few years, but having such a young and vigorous physique had its perks. Excluding the obvious boost to endurance and stamina, it also gave others the impression of a young, still maturing teenager.
Even if he was talented, even if he was strong and even if he was someone who was about to become a Father, Arthur didn't remove that "part" of himself.
It was perfect for trying to fool those older than him, under the guise of trying to better himself, or for being too hot-blooded. Arthur wasn't the type of person to typically let his emotions dictate his actions, but being overcome with grief, loss or even rage was easier while pretending to be a virile young man.
The way he acted, in combination with the way he looked created a sort of magnetism around Arthur. Not specifically in the way that attracted women, or even some men, but just in the way that others unconsciously followed.
The Spirit Affection Tree Fae, was only the added bonus.
Arthur's original plan didn't even have the Boundless Forest Yearning included in it. With it, it certainly made things quite easier though. Easier to influence others, and much easier to extend his reach farther than what normally should be possible with just human ability.
Nyssa was one such person.
Despite being under the influence of the Spirit Affection Tree just like everyone else, she already had the image of Arthur in her mind before falling under Arthur's Fae. He saved her from death itself, such a thing would hardly be forgotten in the first place....
"Oh!? You don't celebrate your birthday?".
Nyssa and Iryna glanced at each other before turning towards Arthur, their intentions obvious to anyone who had half a brain.
Considering that they were the ones who brought it up, it was plain to see what they were trying to probe.
Arthur just shook his head blocking another strike from Eric and then jumping back a few paces and avoiding Helga's invisible windstream fae. The best thing about most Wind Attributed Fae, was that they were all mostly invisible during day, and at night you had a better chance of seeing shadows more than the wind....
Placing an arm behind his back, Arthur thrust forward, adopting a style similar to Vladya's, only much more refined, and with less emphasis on pure strength.
Arthur thrust his leafsword fae out multiple times, forcing Eric to go on the defensive as he parried the flurry of painfully accurate strikes to his vitals.
The young man, clad in nothing above the waist, winced slightly as he felt numerous cuts appear all over his upper chest and neck, feeling the slight coolness of Arthur's leafsword against his throat.
"Watch your footwork some more. Don't be too overly reliant on your weapon either. I've taught you all that in the beginning it is best to figure out how "martial arts best compliment fae", but don't forget that at the end of the day, you might need to sacrifice you Fae in order to protect your body. Your life comes first, even before potential rewards".
Eric nodded slightly before adjusting his posture and resuming his attack.
Arthur glanced at Nyssa and Iryna standing off to the side, the former using her Bone Attributed Fae in order to best compliment her White Devil Fae, while the later was trying to make use of her large Bone Piercing Lance Fae in a close-quarters offensive battle.
Iryna mainly used it for defensive battles, but its large size did create an advantage over most types of opponents. Arthur suggested trying to explore the usage of Transformation Fae to an even greater degree, seeing as though Transformation Fae only had one ability, the number of variations it could be used for was much more than the average type Fae.
Arthur turned his head, spinning on the balls of his feet as both Zlatanna and Helga tried to assault him from either side.
The seventeen year old narrowly avoided the slashes of their two invisible blades, before activating his Wisteria Fae and entangling Eric's legs as he tried to attack from his vulnerable behind.
On the other side other practice field, Dagen and Milena were sparring against Henrik and Parvan.
The first pair specialized in offensively oriented poison type Fae, while the latter both used a mixture of Earth and Metal Attributed Fae, in order to attack or defend, depending on their target.
Parvan had gotten quite used to manipulating the size and structure of his Stone Monolith Fae, and it worked quite well when used in combination with Henrik's Steel Spike Fae. By creating stone monoliths so close to each other it was possible to pin down their opponents, and then used the steel spike fae to create a pseudo iron maiden, killing them almost instantly.
Of course, the weakness being that if they could fly or jump high enough, they could escape from such combination attacks. However, Arthur had suggested that they both try their hands and manipulating types of sand or metal grains.
Both could be used offensively and defensively, and if they could merge their powers together somewhat, they would be able to create domains in which they could attack, defend or even support their allies. They didn't have to necessarily have the highest attack power, or the strongest defense. So long as they could let their teammates kill their enemies, they would be completely fine.
Dagen and Milena on the other hand, had tried their best at experimenting with various corpse poisons and blood poison mixtures. The essence of the Corpse Attribute was similar to the Undead Attribute in that that it tries to control the bodies of deceased beings.
While the ultimate goal of the Corpse Attribute was to create an Immortal Zombie, the ultimate goal of the Undead Attribute was to turn the undead back to living. An Attribute Control Skill, or some sort of Fae that could achieve that has been the figurative 'philosophers stone' of the Fae Masters who specialize in such fields.
Not every Fae Attribute has a specific goal in mind, but those who research Corpse Attributed Fae do.
Arthur wanted to push Milena and Iryna together, in order to try and push them to create a Corpse capable of Transformation, but the offensive power of mixing corpse poisons and blood poisons were much higher overall.
Instead of trying to create a powerful Zombie in which Milena could do battle with, the pair had tried to use Zombies as incubators for cultivating their powerful poisons. Very much like an ancient poison jar, in which all the poisonous insects in the world are thrown in, and only the most poisonous and most powerful would be able to survive.
In this instance, by throwing in the most toxic blood poisons into a jar made of corpse poisons, Milena and Dagen would be able to create an extraordinarily powerful offensive tool.
Their methods of thought were aligned with the methods of some proper Gravekeepers, and Arthur had plans for both of them in the near future.
He let out a sigh, smiling gently before nodding his head.
"It's time. You're all ready to venture out past the Village walls".