I Reincarnated As A Stick

Chapter 269: A Long-awaited Trial

Whoosh!

A few seconds after the trio had disappeared in front of the guards in Verdant Breeze Town, the three soon appeared in the middle of what seemed to be plains. With the blue magic circle enveloping them throughout the teleportation gradually disappearing, the three were eventually able to see their surroundings at greater detail, with Felix and Argentum being able to see more than Blob. 

Unsurprisingly, the two noticed that a kilometer or so away from them, one would be able to enter a small forest if one headed towards a certain direction. As for Verdant Breeze Town, just as Argentum requested from Felix, the distance between them was more or less around 5 kilometers or so, which allowed Argentum to still see the outline of the town, albeit vaguely.

“So…why did you request me to bring you two here in what seems to be the middle of nowhere?” After doing a brief scan of the surroundings, Felix soon focused his attention on Argentum before asking this question. In response, Argentum let out a slightly awkward chuckle before focusing his sense of vision onto Blob. Blob, on the other hand, noticed Argentum’s gaze and thought that he might be tired after speaking all this time. With that in mind, Blob imitated the sound of one clearing their throat to attract Felix’s attention before responding.

“To make sure that the guards were on our side before we fought against the leader you killed, Argentum decided to make a deal with the guards. Fortunately, it had succeeded. If not, we might have a few injuries on our bodies before you arrived,” Blob said, letting out a light chuckle at the end of his statement.

“And what could that deal be?” Felix asked soon after. This time, it was Argentum who replied, saying, “We told them that if they did not make a move on us, we would slaughter all of the beasts surrounding the town, making sure that they wouldn’t have to defend against the beasts for about a month or so.”

“Hmm…” Felix pondered over the deal Argentum made with them for a bit before saying, “By allowing them to take a breather for a month, you would give them the chance to train and improve their combat power, thus making their subsequent fights against beasts easier.”

“You truly have some good foresight, Argentum,” he said not long after as he let out a light chuckle. He then added, “With that kind of foresight, you would surely become a great leader of Verdant Breeze Town.”

“…” Listening to Felix’s conclusion from his and Blob’s statements, Argentum was left at a loss for words. Never once did that thought cross in his mind as he made the deal. The only thought he had back then was to maximize the number of profits he could get from antagonizing the former leader of Verdant Breeze Town.

Nevertheless, this did not stop Blob from looking at his creator with an aura of awe and admiration as he said, “To think that Argentum was thinking that far ahead…incredible.”

In response, Argentum let out an awkward chuckle as he pondered over ways to change the topic within seconds. Using the old coughing to change the topic trick, he then told Felix, “Anyways, that’s why we’re here in an area that’s still close to Verdant Breeze Town in a way.”

“I see.” Felix nodded in understanding. At this point, Argentum thought that after Felix had inquired on what the two of them were about to do, he would leave. But for some reason, with his index finger and thumb under his chin, Felix started to contemplate for a bit while he still looked like a handsome man in a blue suit. After a while, an expression of enlightenment appeared on his face as he said to Argentum, “I’ve made up my mind.”

“Hm?” Argentum uttered in response. What was Felix pertaining to when he said he made up his mind? Just as he was about to ask Felix just that, Felix was one step ahead of him, letting out a light chuckle as he asked him, “Mind if I help you out in killing the beasts?”

“Eh? What’s with the sudden question?” Argentum asked as a response to his question, wondering what was going on inside Felix’s mind as he asked that. Thankfully, Felix took no offense to his question, recalling what was in his mind a while ago before taking in a deep breath. He then replied, “Well…I’m an incredibly strong guy that can kill beasts that would be difficult to defeat at their current strength with just the simple snap of a finger.”

“Wouldn’t it be stupid to not use my power to fulfill your end of the deal?” he added soon after, to which Argentum hastily replied, “Well, yes…but…”

“Are you feeling bad that it looks like you’re using my power for your own benefit?” Felix asked Argentum not long after, to which Argentum nodded without hesitation. Seeing Argentum nod, Felix let out a chortle as he told him, “Let me be the first to say that you shouldn’t feel bad. This world naturally operates in that manner.”

“If you still feel bad, just think of it as my investment into your future,” Felix continued with a light smile on his face. He soon added, “And if you still feel bad even if I said that, then just think of it as repayment for the recipe you gave me. I feel like an additional 5% control over my inheritance is not enough repayment for the recipe you gave me, which would help me out in the long run.”

“I…” Argentum tried to find the words to say as a counterargument to Felix’s reasoning, only for him to give up in the end as he let out a long sigh.

‘I guess I should accept his offer, lest he thinks that I’m not giving him respect,’ he thought to himself as he sighed. After a few seconds of silence, he then looked at Felix and said, “Alright, fine. Go ahead and kill the beasts.”

“Finally,” Felix let out a chortle as he raised his right hand, ready to snap at any time as all of the energy in his body was redirected towards the tips of two fingers. Just as he was about to snap his fingers, Felix briefly suppressed his urge to do so as he looked at Argentum once more, asking, “Do you want me to snap them away into nothingness, or just kill them, leaving their corpses there?”

“The latter,” Argentum said without hesitation. “I’d be asking too much if I asked you to clean up the corpses of the beasts as well.”

“Fair point.” Although Felix thought that it was fine for him to clean up the corpses as well since it would probably take a long time for Argentum to do so, he decided to follow Argentum’s wishes since he had a feeling that if he gave Argentum a few more benefits, Argentum would feel immense guilt from the feeling of using him.

Snap!

And with the conversation between now over, Felix went ahead and snapped his fingers without hesitation, allowing a shockwave of energy to spread throughout a large area in a matter of an instant. Surprisingly, even though both Blob and Argentum felt that the intent of destruction behind that simple snap was enough for the two to disappear from the face of this world, for some reason, the energy dodged the two of them, heading towards other entities instead.

After half a minute or so, multiple howls, screams, and roars could be heard resounding throughout the area they were at, forming a symphony of wails. What all of the wails had in common was the fact that all of them made the three feel the pain those who wailed felt, the area eventually coming to a lull after a minute or so as multiple faint thuds resounded throughout the area simultaneously.

Wiping off the dust on his suit, Felix flashed a smile at Argentum as he said, “And with that, you can consider us even. Once I get back, I’ll make sure to increase your control over the inheritance by 5%.”

“Glad to hear that,” Argentum said in response to Felix’s words, radiating an aura of cheerfulness as a way to reciprocate Felix’s happiness. Just as Felix was about to snap his fingers once more, a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind, prompting him to look at Argentum once more as he shyly asked with an awkward chuckle, “At this point, I think I’m asking too much from you but…”

“Do you want your teacher to know about the existence of the godly potions? Or do you want to keep them a secret?”

“Hmm…” Argentum pondered over the question soon after, thinking that it might be a good idea for him to tell her about the existence of the potion. Not only would it give him another trump card that might have incredibly high combat power on Felix’s level or higher, but it would also allow him to use it as a bargaining chip to increase his control over the Flame Spirit Inheritance.

“Though she might not be happy if I decide to go over 50%,” Argentum muttered to himself, inwardly chuckling. A few seconds later, Argentum looked at Felix with the cheerful aura still surrounding him before saying, “Yeah, that’s fine. It would allow Teacher to grow in strength as well.”

“What a generous student…” Felix could not help but say after hearing Argentum’s statement, eventually bidding farewell to both Blob and Argentum as he snapped his fingers soon after, opening up a rift. After passing through the rift, Felix soon disappeared from both Argentum and Blob’s field of vision as the rift soon closed.

“So…” With Felix now gone, Blob looked at Argentum and asked, “What now?”

“Since we’ve already reached the final destination in my plan, it’s time for us to head back to where I originally came from,” Argentum said in response, only for him to lightly chuckle with excitement as he soon continued, “But then, that would be breaking my promise to myself.”

“Your promise to yourself?” Blob could not help but ask, to which Argentum responded, “Before you were made, I attempted a Power Baptism. I swore to myself that after I had finished what I had to do in Verdant Breeze Town, I would attempt the Power Baptism again.”

“Don’t you think a place like this is a great place for me to undergo a Power Baptism?” Argentum rhetorically questioned Blob before letting out a slightly maniacal laugh as a large gust of wind blew through their surroundings.

Ding!

‘Your control over the Grand Blue Inheritance has slightly increased.’

Hearing a notification from the system just as he was finished laughing, Argentum went ahead and opened his notification screen. Soon after, he could not help but say with a light giggle, “As expected from Felix. Incredibly fast.”

“Anyways, it’s time for me to start my second attempt,” he soon muttered to himself as he allowed his aura to be released at its full power. While he was doing so, Argentum could not help but ask him, “Will you need my help in the Power Baptism?”

“Definitely,” Argentum looked at Blob and radiated an expectant aura. He then continued, “I’ll have to borrow that shield you conjured for your Power Baptism. For now, be on standby.”

“Alright.” Blob nodded in response to Argentum’s orders, allowing him to be at ease as he soon commanded, “System, use all of the Power Baptism Energy I have to trigger a Power Baptism!”

Ding!

In an instant, Argentum heard a notification sound from the system, which was soon followed by the system’s feminine-sounding voice as it said, “The user does not have enough energy to trigger a Power Baptism.”

“Ah, right,” he said to himself not long after as he glanced at Argentum. It was at that moment that he remembered that he used his spare bar of Power Baptism Energy on Blob. Scratching his head for a bit as he felt that the hype he had built up disappeared in an instant, he muttered to himself, “Now where do I get more Power Baptism Energy? Only Animates could provide me with a lot of Power Baptism Energy.”

“Wait a second…” Repeating the last statement he said to himself over and over again, he then recalled the wails he heard resounding throughout the area a while ago, utilizing his enhanced senses to pinpoint the closest location where those wails came from. Casting the two strongest movement speed boosting spells he had in his arsenal, he then dashed towards a certain direction, prompting Blob to ask, “Argentum! Where are you going?”

“Just going to grab some Power Baptism Energy for a bit!” Argentum responded with a shout, mostly due to the fact that he was already far away from where Blob was. Indeed, as he repeated the statement in his mind, it occurred to him that beasts were Animates as well. Thinking that it was a bit easier for beasts to ascend to a class, he thought that he could obtain a single bar of Power Baptism Energy from a single beast.

After half a minute or so, he soon found the corpse of what seemed to be a wolf in the deeper reaches of the forest. Without hesitation, he went ahead and commanded the system to convert the energy inside the corpse into Power Baptism Energy, with the system doing its usual stuff soon after that.

Ding!

‘The user has obtained more than enough energy to undergo a Power Baptism. Excess energy shall be stored for future use.’

“Lucky,” Argentum said to himself in a cheerful tone as he read through the notification he had received. He could not help but think that Animates truly had a lot of energy inside their bodies. With that in mind, he could not help but ponder as to how much energy he would obtain from an Inanimate or a Pseudo-Animate.

Thankfully, that moment of contemplation did not last long as he remembered the reason why he was here, hastily heading back to where Blob was as he shouted, “Blob, prepare the shield!”

“Alright!” Blob shouted back in response before adding, “[Aegis of the Grand Ignis]!”

Whoosh!

In an instant, a large shield made out of Fire energy particles soon manifested in front of Blob’s field of vision, prompting him to grip on it tightly before throwing it towards Argentum.

“Catch!”

Swish!

Fortunately, the timing of Blob’s throw was right, allowing Argentum to grip on the shield tightly before casting spells on it.

“[Higher Algor Magic: Aqua Burst Omega, Second Verse]!”

“[Higher Algor Magic: Aqua Benefica Grandia]!”

Fwoosh!

After casting two spells on it, the size of the shield had grown by a decent degree as three pairs of wings made out of Water energy particles manifested on its edges. Not only that, but he felt like the shield had become easier to wield while the defense it brought had improved by multiple notches.

Eventually, Argentum stopped dashing as he looked at the moon hanging in the sky. Without hesitation, he soon shouted, “System, use all of the energy I have to trigger a Power Baptism!”

Rumble…rumble…

Not even a few seconds have passed since Argentum was finished commanding the system, but dark clouds had already appeared a few thousand meters above where he stood.

Ding!

‘The user has attempted a Power Baptism!’

‘After adjusting the difficulty of the trial based on the user’s current power, the decided tribulation shall be…’

‘The Blossoming Lilac Lightning Tribulation!’

Being notified by the system that he had obtained new notifications, Argentum soon read through the notifications he had received, eventually radiating an aura of madness amidst the excitement he felt.

He then looked up at the dark clouds before letting out a maniacal laugh.

“Bring it on!”