Chapter 101: Using Writ for the First Time

The clear blue skies were bright as a gentle morning breeze ruffled Ain’s hair. He stepped onto the carpet of lush green grass, still moist from the morning dew, while observing Nox, the cat, and the pups from a distance.

Although they'd played for hours the previous day, this new playground seemed magnetic, attracting all their attention, especially the pups. Ain’s old apartment limited their freedom, unlike now, where they could run to their heart’s content.

This sight affirmed his choice to purchase this mansion, and a smile crept onto his face. As he leisurely strolled about the grass, Ain recollected the Spirit Awakening Ceremony, when his innate talent mutated into Wisdom Root. Wisdom Root granted him a comprehensive cognitive boost, as well as five special abilities - Scan, Deduction, Analysis, Premonition, and Writ. As their source was his innate talent, Ain referred to them as innate abilities.

Scan, Analysis, and Deduction were used often, and Premonition played a vital role in dangerous situations. However, his last innate ability, Writ, had been gathering dust all this time. Writ generated consumable writs that allowed Ain to seek an answer from the Heavens. This ability held immense potential, which, contrarily, led him to hesitate. He intuitively understood that Writ’s limitations lay in his rank and spirit energy. Consequently, he believed it wasteful to consume the writs at this stage.

Today, however, Ain finally decided to use Writ. The recent kidnapping was the impetus, but an idea had already germinated within his mind when he first used Scan to measure the cat’s attribute traces. He periodically pondered about it, with an irresistible urge brewing inside, but it was always left for another day. However, Rank-2 was drawing closer and closer, especially with the Vital Harmony Spring in his possession, prompting him to finally act on his idea.

Ain’s leisure stroll led him to the cat lounging on the lawn in relaxation. As he sat down beside it, the cat turned its furry white head to meet his gaze.

“Meow,” the cat greeted him lazily.

Ain smiled and patted his lap. “Come here.”

The cat remained unmoved, silently alternating between his smile and his lap. After a few moments, it stretched its limbs slowly before hopping onto his lap. Finding a comfortable posture, it lay back down and started following Nox and the pups with its gaze.

Ain held its front paw and quietly used Scan, consuming a minuscule amount of spirit energy.

[Species: Jasper Cat]

[Attribute: Ice]

[Rank: Rank-0]

[Quality: Common | Max Quality: Common]

[Attribute Traces: Ice 89.221%, Water 5.673%, Earth 0.249%, ..., Time 0.002%]

Ain reviewed the familiar information before pausing at his target. “The time attribute…”

It was the time attribute that drew his attention back then. When selecting an attribute for his first spirit pet, he also searched for the time attribute in the list provided by his mentor. Ain had used Scan on numerous resources, especially during his transactions with Green Water, and had yet to see the time attribute elsewhere. He’d seen incredibly rare attributes such as soul, star, and even space, but the time attribute was the most elusive. This wasn’t due to the time attribute’s absence but because of Ain’s inability to measure attribute traces past three decimal places. Even the cat only displayed the time attribute at 0.002%, which wasn’t far from avoiding Ain’s measurements.

He couldn’t ascertain anything special about the cat, but this time attribute provided inspiration for Writ.

“Haa,” Ain breathed out deeply and consumed a perfect-grade Spirit Condensing Pill. Even a temporary increase in spirit energy quality was helpful. With his preparations complete, he closed his eyes and entered a tranquil state of mind, free from distracting thoughts. His spirit energy gathered toward his spirit core, activating Writ for the first time.

“How can I evolve the cat into a time-attribute spirit beast?”

Rumble!

In the bright cloudless sky, without any precedence, sounds of deafening thunder suddenly reverberated, sending ripples through the fabric of space.

Duskfield City was stunned at the abrupt phenomenon as everyone hurriedly looked toward the skies. Countless powerful auras stirred within the city as their divine senses swept through space. Not just in Duskfield City, the entire Dawnstar Federation’s attention was suddenly drawn to the blue canvas above. In various regions of the Dawnstar Archipelago, and even beyond, powerful entities suddenly paused and glanced up in puzzlement. “What… was that?”

Various investigative means were employed but it was all to no avail. The phenomenon seemed like a mystical dream, just a moment in their lives, leaving no traces behind.

Ain, the source of this phenomenon, sat cross-legged on the grass, with the cat still in his lap. His eyes were closed, appearing to be deep in meditation.

When the phenomenon appeared, the cat glanced at the sky in puzzlement. It was clear and bright, no different from before. Failing to discover any irregularities, it quickly turn to observe Ain’s face. With such close proximity, it sensed Ain’s depleting spirit energy with great clarity, as if it was being forcefully snatched away.

Ain was unaware of all these happenings.

Just as he used Writ, his mind seemed to escape his form and merge into the void. Emptiness consumed his senses as his thoughts ceased to exist. The concepts of space and time seemed meaningless, and death seemed no different from undeath.

Slowly, in this blank world, colors began to emerge, followed closely by sounds. Ain saw a world of white, with whistling winds piercing through the air. A freezing chill gradually manifested, as a fresh dryness seemed to enter his nose.

These sensations slowly magnified, turning into raw information that began drilling into Ain’s head. Various scenes began flashing past his eyes, exhibiting vivid sounds and scents.

A gargantuan ice mountain in the midst of a snowstorm that blotted out the skies.

A special method to enter an unknown space.

A tranquil carpet of snow with a beautiful silver flower. Alchemy instruments bubbling with radiant liquids. Finally, a white cat with enchanting blue eyes staring into his soul.

Vast amounts of information appeared in Ain’s mind as his eyes abruptly opened. He blankly stared off into space for a second before collapsing backward onto the grass.

“Meow!” The sudden commotion stunned the cat, and it jumped away in fright. But when it saw Ain’s state, it hurriedly pattered over to his side.

“My body…” Lying on the grass, Ain finally sensed his sorry state as astonishment colored his tired face. He had never been this exhausted before! Spirit energy exhaustion, physical exhaustion, and mental fatigue all assaulted him simultaneously. His vision turned blurry as drowsiness struck him like waves.

“I think…I’m gonna sleep…” Muffled words escaped his mouth as he dozed off.

…

Darkness seemed to suffuse the world when a ray of light suddenly pierced through.

Whimper… Whimper…

Ain’s hazy consciousness gradually gained clarity as whimpering sounds entered his ears. He vaguely sensed a moist touch on his cheeks while slowly opening his eyes. When his eyes were fully opened, an unfamiliar ceiling entered his vision, giving rise to some confusion.

“Meow!”

“Wooo…”

At this moment, more sounds appeared, drawing his attention. These sounds seemed familiar, and he even understood the latter. After a brief pause, realization struck him, and Ain sat up hastily before looking around.

“Woof!”

“Woof!”

The two pups licking his face rolled backward due the sudden motion.

“Wooo…”

Nox floated over joyously and bombarded him with affection. It began explaining various matters, moving onto the next topic before even finishing the last one.

“Alright, alright. Calm down. I’m fine.” Ain recovered his bearings and chuckled at Nox’s incoherent explanation as he helped the pups up.

The cat glanced at Ain quietly and then lay down beside him lazily, ready to doze off.

Ain glanced out the window, realizing that it was already dusk. He used Writ in the morning, and now, it was already evening. Twelve hours had elapsed unknowingly.

“I was out for so long… Writ’s consumption is greater than I expected.” Ain muttered while sighing to himself as he recalled what lead to the irresistible nap. Glancing around, he found himself lying atop his sleeping bag, which he’d used the previous day due to lacking a bed. When this thought appeared, Ain’s mind immediately jolted, “The delivery!”

His furniture was supposed to be delivered this afternoon!

He immediately used his hololink and glanced at the messages. Indeed, there were a few messages, and one was about the failed delivery. Ain sighed once more and replied with an apology before rescheduling the delivery for the next day.

After putting away his hololink, his vision swept past the lounging cat as his thoughts drifted back to Writ. Although he lost consciousness immediately after, the information he received from Writ was permanently ingrained within his mind. Even now, he could perfectly recall every detail.

His objective in using Writ was to discover a method to evolve the cat into a time-attribute spirit beast. The cat had accompanied him for over two years, and they shared a strong bond. He’d initially pondered on contracting the cat at Rank-1; however, Jasper Cats were Fair Spirit Beasts, forever limited to Common quality, never reaching beyond Rank-0.

If he’d used Writ back then, successfully evolving the cat was very unlikely, primarily due to his lacking alchemical abilities. His goal was to evolve a Fair Spirit Beast into a time-attribute spirit beast. Which alchemist would assist him, a weak Beginner Rank-1 Spirit Tamer, and not covet his secrets?

Furthermore, Ain wasn’t even confident about receiving an answer from Writ. What if his rank and spirit energy were insufficient for his question?

Therefore, Ain couldn’t contract the cat at Rank-1, but he was adamant about contracting it at Rank-2! Writ had miraculously provided the answer he sought. It was possible to evolve the cat into an ice and time dual-attribute spirit beast!

Somewhere in the Emerald Garden, there was a large ice mountain, where snowstorms were unending. On that mountain, there was a secret passage that could only be accessed via a special method. This passage led to a hidden space where an ice and time dual-attribute flower resided. And this flower was the primary ingredient for an evolution potion!

If the cat consumed this evolution potion, it could trigger a mutation evolution, evolving into an ice and time dual-attribute spirit beast!

Writ provided Ain with the detailed location of the main ingredient, alongside the evolution potion recipe, containing insights on the entire concoction process.