Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 97: Book 2: Chapters 14: Return and Trade

Read chapter 97 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Book 2: Chapters 14: Return and Trade Book 2: Chapters 14: Return and Trade Alex breathed slow and deep. His knuckles were split again, small hairline cracks running down each one, calloused skin torn and scabbed, but he didn’t stop punching. Each strike against the thick wooden pillar sent a low hum of aether rippling through the camp. The pillar groaned, hairline fractures spiraling outward , up and down it’s length like spiderwebs. With every impact, a pulse of black-blue aether rolled down Alex’s arms, then sank into his torso like breath pulled inward and shot into the wooden structure like an artillery gun. Solo training, day seven. He wasn’t done, not even close. The [Condensing Spiral] technique still whirled around him, slow and wide now, dragging in ambient aether from every tree, rock, and breeze. It wasn’t his advanced [Three-Fold] gathering technique, he couldn’t manage to keep that one active while training. But he could manage with the basic version, as long as he didn’t move around too much. His new willpower and Adept Tier status was what made this particular breakthrough in his aether control possible. Along with the studying he had done with the scroll gifted by Sylvaris. He was starting to look at and feel aether a bit differently. He could feel it now not just as heat or pressure, but as layers . Like tones in a song. Harmonics . High-pitched pulses from the sky. Low rumbles in the earth. Mid-range flows drifting between plants and moss and birdsong. It wasn’t just energy anymore. It was music. Aether was music. And he was learning the rhythm. A beat that flowed through the world in the language of magic itself. It was primitive still, painfully slow in fact. He barely had a grasp on the ideas, and he was going by feeling and instinct far more than anything else, but it was progress at the very least. At some point he sat down, palms open, elbows on his knees. Sweat ran down his back. His thoughts buzzed with the lingering edges of aether. He reached inward, not just into his body, but his intuition. That strange, magical sixth sense that had first opened in the forest and never quite closed again. Something in the air shifted. A flash of a slender, one-eyed figure sparked behind his eyes. Not a real one, Obby’s hallucination body showing itself to him. “ You’re new path of understanding aether is an interesting one. That Sylvaris had some wild ideas to say the least. There is lot’s we can do with this.” Enchantment ideas stirred inside Alex’ mind, partially his own, partially guided and informed by Obby’s influence and knowledge. Patterns for reinforcing tendons, embedding directional force into ligaments. Temporary overlays for reflex boosts. New vein-like channels crafted as specialized pathways for his aether energy. Artificial spell patterns etched into his tissues themselves. None of it he could do yet, not until his [Glyphcraft] skill ranked up again. But soon. He’d need to be ready. The crack of wood reverberated through the camp as he began to pick up his training once again , but then Alex felt it. A wave of aether far different than anything else in the area. And it came from underground. He stopped his training and began moving toward the tunnels at a brisk pace. Within a minute he could her voices echoing loudly down the tunnels. Not of alarm or fear, he heard laughter and relief. He picked up his pace, rounding a corner at nearly a sprint, and then he saw them, one by one, staggering into the cavern from the white aether doorway. Devon appeared first, somehow upright, even though his clothing looked like it had fought a bear. Kate was behind him, limping. Her sword was gone and her expression unreadable. Garret flopped to the ground with a dramatic groan. “We’re alive! Someone feed me and tell me I’m handsome!” Lance held Allie’s arm, and she was trying very hard to pretend she didn’t need it. Cole’s armor was cut, slashed and hanging by a few bare threads. Zach had a cut on his forehead. Pet