I Reincarnated As A Stick

Chapter 253: Lesser Origin

Even though he was dumbfounded from what he was seeing with his sense of vision right now, he naturally knew that a Fire-based Pseudo-Animate would eventually die here unless they were of a sufficiently high grade. Continuing to look at Argentum and his companion back and forth, although his companion was a few grades higher than Argentum, it was still not enough for it to withstand the Water element prevalent in this area.

Snap!

Without hesitation, the Grand Blue Master snapped his fingers as he let out a sigh of slight annoyance, wondering what was going on inside Argentum’s mind for him to ask him such a request. Not long after he snapped his fingers, a strand of blue energy gradually made its way to Argentum’s companion, instantly feeling invigorated as it noticed that it did not feel that weak when surrounded by the Water element anymore.

“Eh?” Blob could not help but mutter in slight stupefaction. Just a while ago, he was in great pain, feeling that every second he was inside this place, a great chunk of his health would be shaved off. But now, the pain he felt was more or less tolerable, making him conclude that he could move like usual as long as he ignored the constant but mild pain he felt.

Moving his limbs around for a bit, Blob eventually let out a sigh before sorting out the thoughts in his mind. Soon after, his sense of vision focused onto Argentum beside him as his voice took on an infuriated tone. “What the heck, Argentum? Did you really have to summon me without any warning? You told me that I’d be heavily disadvantaged here in this area before we entered, but who knew that the pain I felt would be far worse than I imagined?”

“But aren’t you fine right now?” Argentum said in response to Blob’s questions, leading Blob to become silent as an aura of slight annoyance and infuriation emanated from him. Eventually, Blob let out another sigh filled with annoyance before saying, “Well yeah, but you know you could’ve warned me that I was going to be summoned so I was more prepared.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Argentum said in response, finally feeling a bit of remorse from what he had done. “The thought came out of the blue so I thought I should do it as soon as possible before I forget it.”

At this moment, the Grand Blue Master interrupted the conversation between the two as he looked at Argentum and asked, “Argentum, er…could you explain your reasoning as to why you summoned your friend out here in an area where he’s elementally disadvantaged?”

In response, Argentum took in a few breaths of air before responding with an awkward chuckle, “As I’ve said before to my companion, the thought came to me all of a sudden. I thought that I might forget it after we form a contract, so I decided to do it as fast as possible.”

“I see,” the Grand Blue Master said, eventually nodding in understanding. He then looked at Blob beside Argentum before saying, “Argentum, you should really take better care of your companions next time. Who knows when they’ll help you out while you’re in a pinch.”

Argentum let out a short sigh as he nodded, feeling even more remorse from before thanks to the Grand Blue Master’s words. He then said, “I’ll make sure to keep that in mind.”

After that, he took in a deep breath before going ahead and introducing his companion to the Grand Blue Master by saying, “Anyways, Grand Blue Master, this is my companion Blob. We became companions in the Inferno Plains where Teacher’s inheritance resides.”

Surprisingly, Blob already got over his grievances with Argentum since he followed up on Argentum’s words, taking a few steps forward before respectfully bowing. From the aura emanating from the being in front of him, Blob immediately realized that this being was the one that gave him the [Water Resistance] skill. With a respectful tone, he said, “Nice to meet you, er…”

“You can call me Grand Blue Master,” the Grand Blue Master replied, letting out a light chuckle before asking, “Would it be fine if I call you Blob?”

“That would be fine, Grand Blue Master,” Blob replied, emanating a slightly gleeful aura soon after. He then told the Grand Blue Master with a grateful tone, “Also, I would like to thank you for bestowing me resistance to the Water element. I sincerely appreciate it.”

“No worries,” the Grand Blue Master replied as he waved his hands back and forth nonchalantly. “Is this how Argentum usually treats you?”

Hearing that question, Argentum had the urge to interrupt Blob and answer it, but unfortunately, Blob did not give him the chance to do so, opening his mouth not even an instant after the Grand Blue Master was finished questioning him. He shook his head as he responded, “Not at all. Before we arrived at this area, Argentum helped me out in reaching the current strength I possess, deciding that his own strength is second priority.”

“Hoh?” the Grand Blue Master uttered as his interest was piqued. “Might I ask what grade were you originally before Argentum helped you out?”

“Er…” In response, Blob scratched his head for a bit before responding, “If I’m not mistaken, Normal-grade?”

“Really?” At this moment, the Grand Blue Master’s vision was fixated on Argentum, who was looking at the two of them with an aura of slight solemnity. Eventually, he ended the conversation between him and Blob as he said, “Thanks for answering my questions, Blob.”

“You’re incredibly welcome, Grand Blue Master,” Blob replied, letting out a light giggle after that. With the conversation between the two now over, Blob looked at Argentum and said, “So…what are we going to do now, Argentum?”

Surprisingly, rather than say it out loud, Argentum sent a strand of his energy towards Blob with a message attached to it.

‘I’ll place you back to where you were before. Is that fine with you?’ This was what the strand contained.

Blob pondered for a short bit as a response, eventually nodding slightly as Argentum said out loud, “I still have to form a contract with the Grand Blue Master, so is it fine if you go back to where you were?”

With Argentum’s mental message from before, Blob followed his lead as he replied, “Sure. Make sure to call me when you need me, okay?”

“I definitely will,” Argentum replied. He then went ahead and commanded the system in his mind to keep Blob.

Whoosh!

Not long after, Blob had disappeared from the room where he and the Grand Blue Master were in, leaving the Grand Blue Master in a state of slight stupefaction.

Since he had already lived for a long time, he knew that some were well-versed in magic related to the Space element. He had a hunch that Argentum used such a magic related to the element to summon his companion, but he felt no fluctuation from the element at all, leaving him in a confused state.

In the end, rather than going ahead and asking Argentum as to how he was able to do it, he decided to keep the question to himself, thinking that there was no reason for him to know Argentum’s vital secrets if he did not want to reveal them.

“Where were we?” Dispelling the thoughts in his mind, the Grand Blue Master said a few seconds after Blob disappeared from the room. “Ah, right. The contract.”

Snap!

Once more, the Grand Blue Master snapped his fingers, hastily conjuring a magic circle that covered both of them in an instant. Noticing what was happening, Argentum could not help but become slightly shocked at the speed at which the circle was formed, but eventually calmed himself down as he thought that different beings had their unique ways of establishing contracts.

“Just stay still, okay?” the Grand Blue Master said to Argentum, to which Argentum nodded in response. He then said, “Oh, and also, once I tell you to release some of your energy, release it, okay?”

With Argentum nodding once more, the Grand Blue Master started the process of establishment, hastily infusing a great amount of energy into the magic circle beneath them. In an instant, the magic circle flashed a bright blue light, making Argentum feel that his connection with the heavens outside the inheritance had become stronger.

“Let the heavens be the witness and adjudicator of the contract being made on this fateful day,” the Grand Blue Master said not long after, making sure that every word he said was clear. “I, the Grand Blue Master, owner of the Grand Blue Inheritance, have decided to form a contract with Argentum, the Undying Flame Spirit’s student.”

“May the contract allow us two to contact each other at any time and any place within the confines of Erudinia,” he solemnly murmured soon after as he then released a bit of his energy, which soon transformed into a ball. The Grand Blue Master then focused his vision towards Argentum before muttering in a solemn voice, “Release your energy now, Argentum.”

Whoosh!

In an instant, Argentum released his own energy, transforming into a ball that did not lose out to the Grand Blue Master’s in terms of size. Seeing that Argentum followed his words, the Grand Blue Master then continued with the establishment process as he shouted, “May our energies be our signatures for the contract. I declare that from this day forward, the contract binding the two of us shall become effective!”

Bang!

A few seconds later, the ball of energies the two had made exploded all of a sudden. Before Argentum could avoid the explosion, he realized that the explosion did not hurt him at all, but instead infused him with a feeling that he had gotten closer to the Grand Blue Master. Soon after that, the magic circle beneath their bodies gradually disappeared, enhancing the connection Argentum felt towards the Grand Blue Master.

Although it was still a bit lacking when compared to the connection he felt with Eleanor due to the Spirit Contract, it was still pretty strong. 

With the contract now formed, the Grand Blue Master looked at Argentum with an aura of happiness as he let out a light chuckle. “Well then. That wasn’t so hard now, was it?”

“From this day onward, you’ll now be a partial owner of the Grand Blue Inheritance,” he added after that. He then pondered over something for a bit, eliciting Argentum to ask him a question, saying, “What are you thinking about, Grand Blue Master?”

“I was just thinking that since we’re already bound by a contract, we could consider ourselves as brothers,” the Grand Blue Master said in response, the aura of happiness surrounding him intensifying. “Don’t you think it’s a bit unfair for you to call me a nickname while I can call you by your real name?”

“To be honest, I have no comment regarding that,” Argentum replied without hesitation, which slightly surprised the Grand Blue Master. Nevertheless, since the Grand Blue Master thought that he should treat someone who would become his equal in the future while he was pondering, there’s no harm in telling Argentum his real name.

“Felix,” the Grand Blue Master said out of the blue, slightly confusing Argentum. Noticing Argentum’s confusion, the Grand Blue Master cleared it up by saying, “Felix is my real name.”

“Felix, huh,” Argentum repeated the name. For some reason, the name awakened a vague memory Aurus had regarding a person he would watch from time to time. Then again, the details were quite hazy so Argentum did not bother to try and recall it. “What a nice name.”

“I know, right?” Felix replied as he chortled. “Anyways, what are you going to do next? Head towards an inheritance for Earth-based Pseudo-Animates? If so, I could recommend a few good ones for you.”

Surprisingly, Argentum shook his head in response as he said, “I’m not heading there at all. My next destination is Verdant Breeze Town.”

To Argentum, telling the Grand Blue Master about where he was going to next did not really pose any harm to him. If the Grand Blue Master harbored any malicious intent towards him, then he might have decided otherwise.

“Verdant Breeze Town…” the Grand Blue Master repeated those words, recalling what kind of place it was. A few seconds later, his aura turned to that of confusion as he asked Argentum, “Why would you head towards a place that’s more inclined towards the Wind element?”

“I have my reasons,” Argentum said in response. This time, he decided that it would be better for the Grand Blue Master to not know about his plans since the reward at the end of it would probably even make Felix jealous.

In response, Felix shrugged his shoulders as he said, “Alright, then. I won’t force you to answer. Then again, I must remind you to steer clear from Animates if you’re planning to do some looting.”

He then chuckled as he continued, “Those times were quite fun, but having a great defensive skill would definitely help you out in coming out of the town with greater rewards.”

“I’ll keep the Grand Blue Master’s words in mind,” Argentum said not long after that. Soon after, Argentum went ahead and said his goodbyes to the Grand Blue Master, to which the Grand Blue Master went ahead and used a bit of his energy to teleport Argentum out of his inheritance.

Using his energy to look at Argentum slowly increasing his distance from the Grand Blue Inheritance for a bit, Felix eventually let out a sigh filled with joy as he said with a chortle, “I should tell Eleanor about what he chose. I’m pretty sure she’d be shocked as well.”

“Then again, why is Argentum aiming to obtain skills from the foundational elements?” he asked himself soon after as he made his way to the place where he usually resided. He pondered over it for a bit, his thought focusing on the phrase ‘four foundational elements’. After a while, an old memory surfaced on his mind just as he arrived at his place. This old memory had something to do with the four foundational elements he was mulling over, prompting him to try and recall all he remembered about the memory.

After a few minutes have passed, an aura of intense shock radiated from him as he shouted, “Is he seriously aiming for that?!”

“Is that even possible? I’m pretty sure that kind of requirement came from the myths,” Felix could not help but mutter soon after as his aura turned to that of expectation.

Forming a chair where he could sit down comfortably, the Grand Blue Master sat on it as he let out a laugh, muttering, “Who knew that Argentum’s ambitions were actually far bigger than I thought? I wonder if Eleanor has already thought about it.”

“An element that triumphs over the four foundational elements in every way possible,” he said to himself in an amused tone. “An element that can only be formed once the four foundational elements unite.”

“Lesser Origin.”

“Well…”

“Good luck, Argentum.”

“You’ll surely need it.”