When talking with his friends, Dante would deliberately seal off his ability. Sometimes, knowing too much wasn't a good thing — it robbed him of small joys. The little surprises, the unexpected moments — turning on his emotion-reading ability would inevitably dampen his enjoyment when he was with them. He realized this early on and chose to keep it deactivated. But every now and then, his power slipped out of control because he forgot to turn it off. It was truly puzzling.
After defeating Austor, Dante would face Kara in the final match. He had seen her from afar — her long, smooth blonde hair tied into twin braids, glinting beautifully in the light. She always wore a pair of glasses that gave her an air of intelligence. But every time she stepped into the arena, she would remove them, replacing that scholarly aura with the powerful confidence of a warrior. She was truly one of the strongest of their generation — the final obstacle he had to overcome.
Before the match began, on a quiet afternoon, Dante spent some time learning more about Kaela, about where she came from — her homeland. Kaela hailed from a place known as the Kingdom of Varkaal, a land steeped in ancient traditions that traced back three thousand years, to the very dawn of recorded history. The faith that reigned there, The Faith of Kael'Zar, had endured for three millennia, surviving through two cataclysmic wars, each lasting millennia themselves. It wasn't until three hundred years ago that the empire Arcantheon Republic was founded, finally ending the age of calamity that had plagued the New World for so long.
The Path of Beast was one of the ancient routes humanity took to ascend their strength to godlike levels at the dawn of civilization— much like the Path of Artificer. It was the first Path of Ascension humankind ever walked, back when they were weak, fragile, and vulnerable, before gene modifications existed — much like the people of Eden world today.
The Path of Beast focused on consuming the flesh of powerful magical beasts, absorbing their essence and strength. In doing so, practitioners gained physical might and abilities akin to the monsters they hunted, channeling that power into martial arts.
Compared to the Path of Artificer, it was less complex, easier to begin, and its resources were more abundant in the early days of history. In that era, humanity was surrounded by countless magical beasts, until the creatures were hunted to the brink of extinction. But the Path of Beast had a darker side — it could corrupt the minds of those who followed it, twisting them to become like the very monsters they consumed, both in body and spirit.
When such practitioners died, they often transformed into the beasts whose strength they had taken. Or worse — when their will crumbled, as was all too possible for those who walked this path, they became terrifying hybrid creatures beyond imagination. That explained Kaela's overwhelming strength — she was stronger than she let on. She, too, was a follower of the Path of Beast. And at the same time, she wielded the power of the Path of Artificer.
But Dante understood that one could truly master only a single Path, while the other would serve as support. In Kaela's case, he believed she had chosen the Path of Beast as her main path, with the Path of Artificer as a supplement. The proof was clear — she devoted almost all of her Foundation's capacity to carrying her sword. 'I don't even know what to say about that,' Dante thought, a faint smile touching his lips.
The reason for choosing a single primary Path came down to the consumption of resources. Resources in this world were limited. To ascend along any path, one needed Essentium Crystals and many other rare materials.
Dante didn't know just how hard it was to obtain them, but he assumed it was incredibly difficult. In his two months here, he had tried everything to acquire more Essentium Crystals for himself — and failed every time. There was no viable method. If he wanted to grow crystal-producing plants, he'd need land, and land was prohibitively expensive. He could learn to craft Prime Sigils — powerful artifacts and weapons — but he had no idea where to begin.
His only hope lay in a profession mentioned in his Spellbox: Thread Diver or Hacker. It hinted at the possibility of unearthing treasures hidden within the Sea of Threads. 'For now, I don't know what those treasures are, but I can't help but hope. Maybe that's my only real path to resources.'
Beyond the matter of resources, the Path of Beast and the Path of Artificer shared many similarities or replicates, and combining them didn't result in a simple 1 + 1 = 2. Instead, it was more like 1 + 1 = 1.1 — or worse. So splitting resources between both Paths was inefficient. That's why most chose one as their main, with the other as a versatile support, like Kaela.
As for components — they were the simple building blocks of magic, pre-programmed and activated by essence. Components typically represented basic functions like basic shield, essence infuser, transmuter, energy release, and so on.
On a windless afternoon before the final match, Dante and Kaela trained together on the empty field, bathed in the soft, golden light of the setting sun. This time, Dante set aside his familiar bat, choosing to fight bare-handed. He wanted to test the purest form of his perception and prediction — relying only on himself and the Mindstep.
Their movements were swift, shadows weaving and colliding, feet brushing lightly against the earth. The low sun painted Kaela's braided hair in molten gold as she advanced with sharp, precise strikes. Dante's gaze was intent, the violet gleam of Mindstep flickering in his eyes, reading every intention, every breath, every twitch of muscle.
And then — something strange happened. One of Kaela's blows broke through his prediction, came dangerously close to grazing his shoulder. He stepped back, frowning slightly.
"Hold on — stop for a second, Kaela." Dante raised a hand, his voice calm but tinged with uncertainty. "Do you have any idea why my ability to predict your moves just failed? Just now, it was off."
Kaela blinked, then laughed, her eyes sparkling with mischief, part playful, part sincere.
"Oh, maybe I just got faster," she said, tilting her head, winking at him. Her smile seemed innocent, but if Dante had been paying close attention, he might have caught the fleeting glimmer in her gaze — the flash of a secret uncovered.
"Is that so..." Dante drew a deep breath. 'Then I'll have to try harder.'
The spar continued, the air between them charged with silent tension. But in the back of his mind, Dante was already considering the possibilities — that perhaps there was a flaw in his Mindstep component. He didn't know what it was yet, but he would figure it out, eventually.