The Masters and Students as well as a number of botanists, engineers and interpreters of literature sat in an inn in one of the towns in the Continent Of Thunderstorms. Two months had passed since the Students had returned from the Hidden Phoenix Village.
The Masters and Students had received another letter from the King Of Avalon confirming the establishment of an alliance amongst the six continents. Sentries had been established in all the continents to watch out for unusual events and to report them to the alliance. A united Naval Force composed of knights from amongst the various continents had been established to patrol the seas surrounding the six continents and to watch out for any strange events occurring around those seas as well as the seas and skies surrounding the Continent Of Iron (or Oblivion), Josec, Harry and Buern's home continent.
Periodic reports kept coming in from the various continents detailing their progress in solving their problems as well as details concerning advancements in the fields of technology. Avalon for instance sent periodic reports on advancements in the field of Engineering. Continents like Vung, the Continent Of Storms and the Continent Of Deserts sent periodic reports about advancements in Agriculture, Gaeia sent reports on advancements in Architecture.
There were also rumours concerning the sighting of a certain mysterious old man and rumours of people claiming to have been sucked into the Book Of Jo-lan. The rumours also stated that these people had acquired certain abilities that were beyond explanation. The Masters and Students knew that this was not merely a rumour but those that the rumours centred around had encountered Jo-lan within the Books sent from the Phoenix Clan, had witnessed the Common History Of Jo-lan and had been granted a Jo-lan Class. These rumours increased in frequency as the days went on and then two months passed.
TWO MONTHS LATER…
Most of the villages in the Continent Of Thunderstorms now had Harry's Defensive Lightning Rod Formation around their borders. The Masters and Students sat in an inn talking. Over the past four months, Josec had continued to train in the Killer Ghost Oscillation, the Labyrinth Of The Defender, the Shield Of Elemental Neutralization, the Zone Of Absolute Defense as well as the Elemental Rainbow Dance Of The Fenixes.
He sparred with the Masters and Students. Buern occasionally practiced with him, dueling the others as a duo to increase her proficiency in the use of the Talons Of The Phoenix and by implication, the Light's Wound Limit Break. When they practiced in the Psychorage Fusion, they noticed a reduction by half in the Armoured Golden Phoenix's regenerative abilities. They concluded rightly that this reduction was as a result of Fleur's absence. Both Fleur and Jason were Dryads possessing the ability to restore life to the earth. This ability was converted into regenerative abilities in the Armoured Golden Phoenix Fusion Psychorage. With Fleur's absence, the power of regeneration was halved.
"It's finally time to start experimenting with the Mutating Several Layered Zone Of Absolute Defense" Master Luna said one day.
Josec raised up the multi-layered dome with the innermost dome surrounding the borders of the Town they currently dwelt in. The engineers had already created several vents flowing from the area within the multi-layered dome to the areas outside it to allow fresh air into the dome and especially into the Town once the Domes were raised. These vents were constructed underneath the Town in patterns similar to that of a sewage system. The vents in areas outside the town but within the dome leading out of the dome were to provide Josec's afterimages with air to breathe during battle. There were eight domes in total creating seven regions for ionized air. This technique was implemented via Josec's Labyrinth Of The Defender. The regions of isolation were also constructed to ensure that any lightning striking a rod would be conducted only into the region of ionized air containing the rod that was struck.
Through the Killer Ghost Oscillation, Josec generated and maintained afterimages in all seven regions of the domes where he would ionize the air. Only the innermost dome was not fluctuated. All other Seven Domes underwent high speed oscillation to allow Josec to maintain his afterimages. Master Luna and the other Masters trained Josec by attacking the Defensive Formation with lightning attacks of varying wavelengths. Over time, Josec's ability to react instantaneously to the attacks was greatly increased. He was able to ionize and alter the wavelengths of the ionized air in each layer of the dome.
Josec could also avoid the ability of the ionized air to stun him by matching wavelengths with the ionized air within the domes. He could alter the wavelength of his afterimages to multiple wavelengths within multiple regions of the dome by combining the Killer Ghost Oscillation with the Shield Of Elemental Neutralization and the Elemental Rainbow Dance Of The Fenixes. Since Josec's afterimages were generated as a result of high speed oscillation, he had enough time to switch positions within any layer of the dome and to alter his wavelength within that time.
THREE MONTHS LATER…
Josec was now quite experienced in switching wavelengths and maintaining the Mutating Several Layered Zone Of Absolute Defense. All his practice occurred within the Town the Students and Masters currently inhabited. It was to prevent the risk of inadvertently alerting Raichuu to the activities of the engineers as well as the Masters and Students.
"Josec, it's time for you to head to all the Towns and Cities within this continent. It's been three months since you began to practice the Mutating Several Layered Zone Of Absolute Defense" Master Fencer advised.
"But I thought we were not supposed to draw Raichuu's attention by utilizing the Mutating Several Layered Zone Of Absolute Defense in all the towns simultaneously" Josec said.
"Josec, we are sending you to all the Towns for two reasons. The first is unlike you, Raichuu probably can't be in multiple places at the same time but aside from unpredictability, another characteristic of lightning is speed, so we can't know this for sure. You are well aware that lightning users possess tremendous mobility. It is possible that Raichuu could possess speed almost rivalling that of Apollo's but the generals' abilities are quite different from ours. Though they are Psychorages, they are not dependent on the art of Jo-lan but have developed an art of their own centred on crushing Jo-lan. You witnessed this in the battle against Apollo. Because of this, I am certain that unlike your Killer Ghost that depends on the Eyes and Wings Of The Phoenix, the generals' abilities have very clearly defined limitations. I am willing to bet that even if Raichuu's speed were to match yours, he could not utilize the oscillation in the same way you do and even if he could, his speed would decrease as the distance between his afterimages increase. You do not have this limitation because your oscillations are generated by the Wings Of The Phoenix and are not dependent on your physical ability but rely for the most part on your will. The reason we raised the Mutating Defensive Formation in every Town and City on this continent is that we cannot be sure of when and where Raichuu will attack so we are sending you out for the most part as a scout. Reason two is that even if Raichuu were to be confined to a specific region by the limitations of his speed, we cannot be certain of the range of his abilities. You must have studied in the Hidden Phoenix Village. Andrea told us all about it so I am certain that by now you are well aware of the fact that the Seven Generals Of Souryu excel in wide range Debilitating Terrain Alteration Techniques. You've noticed the storm clouds looming over most parts of this continent. If this is indicative of Raichuu's range, then even if the limitations of his speed were to confine him to a specific geographical region, his abilities and their effects could extend to most parts of this continent regardless. We raised the Mutating Defensive Formation to deal with potential wide range Terrain Alteration Lightning Attacks. We want you to create as many oscillations as possible and head to all the Towns in this continent. Here is a map" Master Pheisl said and handed Josec a map.
"I will synchronize with you via telepathy and utilize your eyes to view all the areas that you see. I will also remain connected to Edgar Fencer's Library to keep you advised on what to do" Master Colette said.
"If Raichuu makes a move against any of the Towns within this continent, I will utilize the ability of the Golden Rune Knight as well as Colette's ability to view what you see as a means to warp space and bring all the Masters as well as your friends instantaneously to your location" Master Fencer said.
"You won't really be lonely either because an oscillation of yours will remain with us. So you will always be with us but at the same time, you will also be with the people of this continent" Buern said with a smile.