Lightning Is the Only Way

Saron looked with surprise at Gravis. Trading? Why this all of a sudden? "You want to trade? Why?"

Gravis didn't react in any major way. "I am very close to reaching the tenth level of Magic Gathering. I only need like 300 more Magic Stones," Gravis explained. "I was on my way to the Earth Guild to sell them some weapons I got from the Darkness Guild."

Saron's eyes shone in recognition. "The Darkness Guild? Did you make the Darkness Guild the same offer as the Fire Guild?" he asked.

Now, it was Gravis' turn to be slightly surprised. "You know about that?"

Saron only laughed slightly. "Everyone knows about it. At least, every guild on the western side of the southern Middle-Continent. Something like this doesn't happen every day, after all."

Gravis shrugged. "Sure. As for your question, yes, I also fought with the Darkness Guild. I wouldn't have gotten enough resources to get my body to the tenth level, otherwise."

Saron rubbed his chin in thought. "The tenth level of the Body in the Magic Gathering Realm is rarely seen. Without a sufficiently powerful element or Magic level, you would have issues. Though, I have noticed that your lightning is different from normal lightning," Saron mused. "For you, it actually makes sense to break into the tenth level of the body before breaking into the Spirit Forming Realm."

Gravis had noticed the specific wording of what Saron had just said. "Judging by what you said, upgrading the body to this level is also possible in the Spirit Forming Realm?"

Saron raised one eyebrow. "Of course. Why wouldn't it be?" he said like it was something obvious. "Though it is way harder. The bigger the difference between the Energy and the body, the harder it is for the body to catch up. It has something to do with balance, but I am not clear on the exact reason."

For a second there, Gravis had started regretting tempering his body. If he had just concentrated on his Energy, he would have already reached the Spirit Forming Realm. Yet, after Saron thoroughly explained everything, Gravis was glad that he had upgraded his body first. He already had so many troubles getting this amount of resources. If he needed even more in the Spirit Forming Realm to upgrade his body, how long would that take?

"So, anyway," Gravis continued, "are you interested in buying some weapons for Magic Stones?" Gravis asked again.

Saron laughed lightly. "You said you needed 300 Magic Stones, right?"

Gravis nodded.

WHOOSH PACK!

A sack appeared out of nowhere and was thrown to Gravis, who quickly caught it. "I'll just give you that," said Saron nonchalantly. "Before I chased after you, I officially left the Wind Guild. I have no need for Magic Stones anymore. Just take it as repayment for telling me about my daughter."

Gravis looked at the sack full of Energy Stones and sighed. 'It's really strange that Wendy and her father both gave me a lot of wealth before they died. Wendy was already set on dying, and Saron won't be able to escape his doom.' Gravis looked up into the sky. 'I am partially at fault for killing both of them, yet they still help me and give me their wealth. What are the chances of that happening?'

Gravis pocketed the sack and bowed slightly to Saron. "Thank you. I won't act politely and will just accept them." Gravis laughed bitterly. "First, Wendy supported me before she died, and now you too. Is this coincidence or destiny?"

Saron smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure. I think it's because you are the only real danger to Heaven. Wendy, and now also me, hate Heaven for what it has done to us, and you are our only hope for revenge. I think you could say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Gravis laughed a little. "I think you're right," Gravis said with more motivation than before. "Where there are enemies, there are friends. A world can't be only black. With so many people around, I am bound to meet some that share the same goals as me. I guess this is just how the world is."

Saron and Gravis remained silent for some seconds. "Alright, I think I should leave now. I want to say goodbye to some friends of mine. Goodbye, Gravis, and I wish you luck!"

Saron laughed lightly and flew away. Gravis wasn't sure if he meant the luck thing seriously or as a joke. "Goodbye, Saron," Gravis shouted after him.

After Saron had left, Gravis also turned around and left. It was time for him to reach the tenth level of Energy Gathering, and then the Spirit Forming Realm. Gravis sprinted towards the Wind Wall. He would make his breakthrough there.

After around a minute, Gravis finally arrived before the Wind Wall. True to its name, it looked like a literal wall made out of wind. From Gravis angle, the Wind Wall looked like it split the world apart. He couldn't see the end of it on either side and also couldn't see the top.

The Wind Wall itself didn't look as he had expected. He had expected it to look like a wall made of green, streaking winds. Instead, the Wind Wall looked like a blue sheet with some darker streaks appearing on its surface from time to time. The Wind Wall was incredibly smooth, almost like it was made out of glass.

Gravis walked up to it and tried touching it with his hand. When his finger touched the Wind Wall, his whole arm was thrown aside like it had been hit by something moving at incredible speeds. Gravis looked with surprise at his hand. Luckily, it wasn't injured.

Gravis put in his hand again, this time, using his physical strength to keep his arm steady.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Gravis was able to keep his arm steady, but it created a divide in the Wind Wall. The divided wind shot out of the wall and into the distance, making a noise similar to highly pressured water escaping into the atmosphere. Gravis kept his arm steady as he felt the power of the wind hitting his arm.

After some seconds, Gravis pulled his arm out again and looked at it. No injuries. 'Just as I expected,' Gravis thought. 'If the Wind Wall had the ability to damage a body at the tenth level, then crossing it wouldn't be so simple. At least, people at the initial stage of Spirit Forming would have major issues in crossing it, if that were the case.

Gravis activated his Elemental Synchronicity and stepped into the Wind Wall. To him, it felt like he was underwater. It felt like nothing was actually moving while his body just floated in the wind. With a nudge, Gravis flew upwards inside the Wind Wall. He rose for multiple kilometers until he couldn't rise anymore. He had reached the upper limit of the Wind Wall.

Gravis appeared above the Wind Wall and stood above it. The top of the Wind Wall looked like a fountain, wind and Energy falling down from both sides of the wall. Gravis also noticed that there was nearly no Energy up here, except for the one falling towards the two continents. The Energy density up here was even lower than in the Outer-Continent.

Gravis looked up into the sky and noticed that he couldn't see a single cloud above him. By now, it was night, so Gravis could actually see the pure, moonlit sky in all its glory. For a minute, he only looked into the night sky, lost in his thoughts. After that, he looked down and saw a carpet of clouds below him, stretching into the horizon and blanketing the earth.

'Clouds are just steam, so I should be able to walk on top of those. I bet they are comfortable,' Gravis thought to himself, but quickly shook his head. 'No time! I have to reach the tenth level of Energy Gathering. This should be a good spot. If anything happens, I can just vanish right into the Wind Wall.'

Like this, Gravis sat down on top of the Wind Wall, on a height of about seven kilometers.

Above him were the stars, and below him were the clouds. A shower of wind and Energy sparkled as it fell through the clouds and then vanished into the atmosphere.