Young lingered, gazing upon the sheer size of the lightning mass. Spark was right, discharging this would be a total waste. The only real way to get rid of it would be to assimilate the energy properly.
He glanced at his Saturation meter, which was now at 45%. He would need to keep a close eye on it in order to get a feel for the new saturation rate. His first order of business was to focus on Body Reinforcement. At this point he could tackle either, but since he'd already started he chose to focus on improving his (Inner) reinforcement.
He began to practice using the Crashing Thunder technique and much to his surprise he was able to cultivate painlessly. He could feel the lightning energy traveling through his body with each cycle effortlessly. The technique was so effective that he was able to pull forth nearly three times the amount of energy than before as well. Because he focused less on control he was also able to infuse the energy more quickly.
After just one hour his progress was astounding:
[Body Reinforcement (Inner) - 7.65%] +
At this rate he would manage to complete Body Reinforcement with another twelve to fourteen hours of training. It would be boring, but a necessary evil at this point. His saturation also rose to 55%, ten percent in such a short time. He would need to absorb excess energy almost two times more often than previously. Still, this was a minute trade off when he considered the fact that he had a massive deposit of pure lightning energy contained within his soul sea. That in, and of itself was a miracle.
After a good night's sleep and more meditation, Young finally acquired a new Body Reinforcement rank late in the afternoon.
[Body Reinforcement (Inner) - 1 (100.23%)] +
[Quest Complete : Body Reinforcement (2) ]
The rewards were similar as well.
[Body Reinforcement (Inner) was successful, you've reached rank 1 of 3. As a result your body has undergone some drastic changes.
+30 Health. +25 Stamina. +5% Resistance to Physical Damage. Absolute Defense +1]
His status now looked like this:
[Name : Jade, Young]
[Age : 15 Years Old]
[Affinity : Lightning (Evolved)]
[Martial Style : None]
[Health : 173 / 173 (5%) ]
[Qi : 1,113 / 1,113]
[Stamina : 95 / 190 (3%) ]
[Power : 11 (17%) ]
[Speed : 6 (36%) ]
[Agility : 4 (58%) ]
[Intelligence : 10 (8%)]
[Cultivation Rank 0, Level 99 / 99*]
[Soul Sea Grade 3]
[Physical Resistance : 10%]
[Elemental Resistance : 10%]
[Absolute Defense : 2]
[Body Reinforcement (Outer) - 1] +
[Body Reinforcement (Inner) - 1] +
[Body Reinforcement (Frame) - 0] +
Young only took a breather to stretch his body before he next launched into his next task, obtaining 1,500 qi. His curiosity got the best of him! He was determined to complete the final Body Reinforcement, but his desire to craft a new weapon was much stronger. With the Crashing Thunder cultivation technique it only took him six more hours to raise his qi beyond 1,500.
[Qi : 1,521 / 1,521]
"Yes! Finally!" Young said happily as he got to his feet. It was time to forge a new sword! For a brief moment Young entertained the thought of making a spear but with his only sword on the brink of destruction, he felt it was a no brainer to replace it.
He eagerly configured the Forging material, only to be met with an unexpected alert:
[Not enough qi, 1,925 required.]
"Huh!?" Young Jade breathed, disbelief echoing in his tone.
"What the heck gives? It was 1,500 earlier!" Young said as he tinkered with the options on the forge menu. The only thing different was…
"The crystal." Young said as he realized his mistake. He had no idea that adding more materials would inflate the crafting cost so much!
He sank down to his knees, grumbling as he mentally prepared himself for another bout of meditation.
"Just 500 more, for good measure!" Young repeated, mostly in an attempt to motivate himself. Eventually he settled down into meditation once more, determined to really push his limits this time.
This time, after stopping to reduce his saturation several times, he managed to top 2,000 shortly after another four hours.
[Qi : 2,009 / 2,009]
"I'M GOING TO GET MY WEAPON THIS TIME." Young said, his determination at an all time high. He configured the settings once more and hit the seal icon eagerly.
[The following forging will require 1,925 qi. Commence Forging? Y/N]
"YES."
Unlike the previous creations the trio of materials re positioned themselves in a triangular shape then slowly moved to overlap one another before phasing into a singular item in a bright flash of light.
[Augmentation Variation Unlocked : Long-sword]
[Fulger Crystal Long-sword
Rank 3
A sleek, crystalline long sword that harnesses the power of lightning in every swing.
Element : Lightning (Grade 3)
Effect : Lightning Blade]
"Spirit Forging [3]. Spirit Items have ranks associated with them, ranging from 1 to 9 with nine being the most powerful. While the rank of an item largely depends on materials used and the skill of the forger, the higher the item rank the better.
You've forged a Rank 3 weapon, which makes it more stable. Thus you can activate its effect indefinitely -- as long as you feed the weapon qi."
"Yes, yes, yes! Jackpot!" Young shouted as he took the Fulger Crystal Long-sword into his hands. The weapon itself felt light, much lighter than the spear. Was it perhaps due to the material? The blade was translucent and blue in color, made completely of crystal. The hilt was wrapped in navy blue bands of leather and the pommel resembled a three prong growth of crystal edges.
Young swiped the blade to and fro several times to get a feel for it before attempting to force his qi into the weapon, however nothing happened.
"Hmm.."