The Inheritance Ground II

'So are you going to tell me who or what that voice was in our head back in that incident?' Peter asked, sitting in a meditation position and absorbing mana.

'Remember when I said the colors had turned into people, in my vision after I died?'

'Yeah. What of it?' Peter queried.

'The Stigma's predecessor was some sort of demon-'

"What!" Peter shouted, breaking out of his meditation.

Demons were an ancient race that had almost brought the world to its doom several hundred years ago but a natural calamity struck them, cutting down their numbers. On this planet (Kraon), humans were not the only inhabitants. Other races also harbored its surface and Demons had the smallest numbers but also were thought to be the strongest beings. Even their offspring were born with the strength of a mid-Novice Rank Cultivator.

The demons' powerhouses were equal in strength to the leading race of Dragons - A mythical bloodline of Magical Beasts. So when Peter heard the word 'demon', he couldn't help but be shocked.

'I can read your thoughts and don't worry, he will never be able to take over… I think.' Noah said, laughing awkwardly.

"What do you mean you think? This is serious. We're talking about those powerhouses and monsters that can wipe out nations with a snap of their fingers." Peter spoke his thoughts out loud.

'Stop worrying. There's a limit to what he can do due to the Stigma's limitations. The reason we could hear him this time was because I went overboard and channeled too much power from the Stigma. That was just him exploiting my momentary weakness.

'I'm sure you felt it too but our power almost tripled when I did utilize the stigma's power; we reached the equivalent power of a 9th stage Novice with the Stigma's boosts. I'll make sure to never channel that much mana ever again unless we're in danger.' Noah reassured.

'By the way, since there's 10 rounds, we'll split it half and half. There's a lot for you to learn and what other better way to learn than directly in the field. Haha.' He swiftly changed the subject focusing on the task at hand.

Noah knew Peter had a lot of worries but they would only be solved only if he got stronger. There were a lot of risks if Peter only relied on him. What would he do the day when Noah wouldn't be able to help, due to the Stigma's limitations?

He'd have to rely on his own strength.

What Peter needed the most right now was a good teacher to grow…

**

Two 2 horned bulls charged at Peter from different angles. He hurriedly rolled sideways dodging their charges.

'I can't focus on manipulating my mana! They keep charging at me, not giving me enough time.' Peter complained huffing and puffing. He had been dodging the 2 horned bulls' attacks for the past 10 minutes now, not managing to cause any significant damage.

'Forget about time. It's your will that matters, channel your emotions into your mana. Direct it and command it like it's your only tool, your tool to power. You managed to imbue your sword with Darkness mana during the break so you should be able to do it now, I don't doubt that.

'Come on Peter. What do we do first before anything else?' Noah spoke in Peter's mind.

'We stay calm, calculate our options, look for openings, and execute without hesitation.' Peter replied, dodging another charge.

'Good. Now find an opening and cut those beasts up!' Noah urged his brother on like a motivational speaker.

'I can do this.' Peter took a deep breath focusing on his surroundings using his enhanced senses.

Memories of his suffering, memories of his times as a powerless boy, memories of the times when he felt weak channeled through his mind.

The mana in his body responded to his strong and undying thirst for power running rampant through his veins as they turned black.

A darkish cloud of mana began to form around his body reflecting his stifling emotions. His dark blade seemed to get even sharper as the black cloud wrapped around it, extorting a powerful and deadly aura.

The beasts stiffened looking at the weird being in front of them. Peter did not realize it but the dark cloud that had formed around his body gave him a very fiendish and devilish look making him look like a harbinger of death.

His body rapidly accelerated at an insane speed; he didn't even use the shadow steps spell and still managed to reach one of the beast's sides. The darkness mana wrapped around his blade as he struck down swiftly, severing the bull into 2 pieces.

Now he had to kill one more but it seemed his mana core was already depleting. His new form was eating through his mana reserves ravenously.

The bull roared seeing its brethren die. It charged at Peter, from close range, leaving a small gap to dodge.

Peter managed to use the Shadow Steps spell one last time, leaving his mana reserves at 5% for one last attack.

"Take this You big Cow!" Peter roared, leaping up and spinning down, slicing through the bull's head cleanly.

Peter fell back and landed on his bum, his chest heaving up and down from the intense use of energy and mana.

The two corpses of the (Tier 1) 2 Horned Bulls slowly dematerialized into blue particles after a couple of seconds, signaling the end of the second trial.

"Trial 2 complete. Your 30-minute break starts now…" The female AI voice echoed around the large battle dome-like hall.

'So how did I do?' Peter said, pulling out some minor mana potions and health potions to rejuvenate his energy fully and some of his mana.

'Good job. That was some willpower you showed there, I'm proud of you. However, there is still a lot of room for improvement. Although your power was immensely strong, the efficiency of your mana usage was poor. I don't think you noticed but your mana consumption was huge, you need to control your mana output.

'Therefore, you will be learning the most basic augmenting technique, which is the foundation of all augmenting techniques. It will teach you how to control your mana properly as well as improve your body's capabilities.

'As you already know, augmenting is the process by which a mage exercises a layer of mana over their body to enhance their capabilities.

'I will be teaching you the basic technique that will be the foundation to help you with future techniques and martial arts.' Noah explained. At the moment he took a role not as Peter's brother but as a true wise and experienced teacher.

He inherited a small amount of the battle experience the previous Stigma Holders held, who were all powerful Cultivators. So what other better teacher for combat was there for Peter than his own brother?

'What's the technique called?' Peter asked, getting into a lotus meditation position and filling up his mana core.

'Mana Skin.' Noah replied, 'Okay switch control with me. We only have 30 minutes so I will again demonstrate the feeling. Just focus on the feeling; you'll catch onto it easily.'

Peter nodded, swapping control with his brother.

Noah then exhaled slowly, having control of Peter's body once more. A cloud of darkness mana swirled around his feet slowly before being absorbed back into his body again.

Peter focused on the feeling of his body being wrapped by a cold sensation, trying to remember this exact feeling so he could replicate it later on.

After a couple seconds Noah exhaled deeply again. However, this time a thin purple aura radiated around his body.

He took the sword out of Peter's bracelet's storage space and executed the second form of the 'Ethereal Blades' Martial Art. Two ethereal blades formed out of darkness mana appeared alongside him like afterimages, as he unleashed a sequence of moves.

As his brother executed the moves swiftly and beautifully like it was an intricate art, Peter focused with all of his mind's concentration on the feeling. The feeling of every muscle fibre twitching as it contracted, then relaxed again.

Not only was he rapidly memorizing his muscle's movements but he was also trying to get an understanding of the way the mana behaved with every of his brother's moves, matching it with the body's movements.

He initially just wanted to learn the 'Mana Skin' technique but now he was focusing on learning the martial art too.

Noah relaxed again sheathing his sword and putting it back in the storage space.

'Noah, can you please do it again?' Peter asked, his laser-like focus still plastered on his body's movements.

'What? You want me to repeat the 'Mana Skin' technique?'

'No. The Martial art. I want to feel those movements again.' Peter replied with a steady tone.

Noah knew what that tone meant and he couldn't help but smile. He was the only person in the world who knew what that tone meant.

Noah knew Peter's tone only became like that when he was in a state of complete and utter focus. A state people would die for. It accelerated one's understanding to the max, helping someone to comprehend something in a fraction of that time.

Peter was on the verge of completely comprehending a martial art by the second demonstration! What madness! What insanity!

Noah laughed hysterically.

'Peter, you sly Genius. Your comprehension speed still scares me, I've forgotten how powerful your mind is. Fine, I'll do it for you.' Noah exhaled again, taking out the black sword from the storage space, allowing for the purple aura to coat his body again.