Theron lay in bed shirtless. A necklace hung from his neck, taking the shape of an inconspicuous sword. Every time he took a breath, a frosty energy would be sucked into it.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, a cold sweat forming a thin layer over him.
I will let you live. Stoke that hatred. Become the fuel for my Karma.
Theron sat up on his elbows, his core muscles softening and solidifying beneath his heavy breathing. His delicate skin reddened considerably, a spike of rage twisting his immature features.
Every night, the same dream, again and again.
It was certainly not natural. It acted as a reminder—a brand on his soul to stoke his hatred. There wouldn't be a moment of peace until one of them died.
Mancers were separated into four categories: Spirit Mancers, Soul Mancers, Flux Mancers, and Elemental Mancers. Most were born with a strong affinity for one, though depending on your starting Mancy, it was possible to transition to one of the others with time and effort.
The man whose tribulation killed his family and most of his town was a Spirit Mancer. This path of Mancy was most simply defined as the ability to use Mana as a proxy to absorb the resultant Mana of others. This was the textbook definition—vague and hard to understand for most. Only an Imperial Scholar like Theron would know it as such. Most others would know it in vague terms.
If a layman were asked, they might say it was the rarest Mancy, that it allowed one to read minds and control the soul, or complete acts of divination. Or, in Theron's experience…
It allowed one to absorb Bad Karma to strengthen themselves.
The Spirit Mancer who killed his family had done so for no other reason than to use their resentment to pass his tribulation smoothly. He let Theron live for no other reason than he believed it might help him with a breakthrough in the future.
Theron did not know his name, he didn't know who this person was, if he was close by or far away. He didn't even know what level of strength this person wielded.
All he knew was that to enter the Gold Mancy level, there was no such tribulation.
Either this man was far above Gold Mancers, or he practiced a technique that brought down Heavenly Judgment.
Theron hadn't even been a Bronze Mancer back then. He had no way of deciphering that man's strength… but his face was burned into his memory, as were the events of that day.
Even if he wanted to forget, he couldn't.
Theron pulled himself out of bed. He hadn't slept in the hideout but had instead chosen to stay in the inn. It was safer here.
After washing up, he gathered his things and placed a palm on the mirror. Soon, he was in his Association accommodations.
The stone bed was cold and hard, but Theron didn't mind. The coolness helped him calm from this morning's events, and after a while of sitting on it in silence, he had adjusted himself enough to pull out his gains.
He left the coins to the side and took out the three pills. They were the most common pills of improvement—Bronze Resonance Pills.
To become a Mancer, one needed to form a Bronze Core. This Core would take shape in one's dantian and act as the center of one's accumulation.
Resonance Pills helped to refine and rid one's Core of impurities. These, in particular, were of mid-tier quality, making them perfect for Theron's requirements.
Raiden wasn't wrong. Theron was indeed at the Third Resonance. One needed to complete nine Resonances to attempt a breakthrough to Silver Mancy.
Lyn had been at the Seventh Resonance, and Merchant Greycoat had been at the Ninth. It was just that Theron's strength in the rain was probably a match for anyone beneath Silver Mancy.
Well, if Merchant Greycoat had some actual combat skill to match his obscene wealth, he could have very well killed Theron. But the man was ultimately a paper tiger who only had his cultivation thanks to said wealth.
As one might expect, Theron would use these mid-tier Bronze Resonance Pills to enter the Fourth Resonance.
After a final breath, he swallowed the first pill.
His skin began to heat up, reddening beneath the strain. Deep within his body, the medicinal strength of the first pill rushed through his meridians. It split along the winding paths and suddenly converged on his Bronze Core all at once.
Theron clenched his teeth beneath the strain, a whirlwind of Mana forming in his dantian. The force compressed his Bronze Core again, and then again.
It took three hours before the effects died down. By then, Theron was drenched. It felt like he had just run a long distance at his fastest pace, his heart taking a long while to settle down.
Almost there.
He swallowed the second pill.
The process repeated itself, but this time Theron withstood it with far greater ease for two reasons. First, because this was his second time eating a mid-tier pill, and second, because his meridians had already sufficiently widened.
In practice, one wasn't supposed to take a mid-tier Resonance Pill until the Fourth Resonance, but Theron was using it to break through instead.
Theron should have been using a breakthrough-type pill, but those were far too expensive.
A single mid-tier Bronze Resonance Pill easily cost 10,000 bronzes. That was the market price, but it wasn't a surprise to see them go for double. A breakthrough pill of the same caliber would cost five times that at worst.
In the end, it was all worth it.
There was a crack in Theron's Bronze Core, and its outer layer peeled away like the shell of a boiled egg. Beneath, a brighter bronze was revealed—more resplendent and shimmering than the last.
Theron released a turbid breath and slowly opened his eyes.
He had succeeded, and in the process, he had even saved a pill.