CHAPTER 57: NEGATIVE EFFECTS

Like an ink drop in water, he saw a foreign influence spread in Baruch’s essence.

Hadrian let out a mental sigh.

The plan before was to use Baruch to see what the swearing of the oath was all about.

Now, with his vessels trapped in that space and having lost his other vessels, his hands were tied on Baruch.

If this thing were to affect Baruch such that it affected my connection or control over him....

Not that he had control over Baruch at the moment, but there was still something he could do.

Retreating back into that space, he summoned Baruch.

He’d hesitated at first. That space was directly connected to his soul, and if that foreign influence that affected soul essence were to come with Baruch, the effect might spread to him.

Judging the risk to be minimal, he did it anyway.

In that space, the expression of his authority, he felt, was at its maximum.

Baruch felt the pain subside. When he opened his eyes, however, he wasn’t in that room anymore, but in a hazy space filled with mist.

I’m back?

His eyes widened in surprise. Hadrian, too, was a little bit surprised. The first time he’d brought Baruch up here, when his fog ball busted, it had taken some time.

This time round, it happened in an instant.

Observing Baruch’s soul body, or what he’d resorted to calling soul body, he saw the foreign influence retreat like shadows when light was cast upon them.

Sensing the pain he’d been feeling go away, Baruch came to the conclusion that the existence had interfered with the ritual.

Does he wish for me to participate in it or not?

This summoning wasn’t like taking over Baruch’s essence, so there was no ecstatic feeling.

The mist around him became vague and blurry and when he blinked, Baruch found himself back in the real world.

Considering they were giving mages of the mind, soul and flesh path special treatment, Hadrian did not want too much time to pass with Baruch up here, such that they became suspicious of the ritual.

He wanted Baruch to be out there quickly so that he may help him with his plan. His only plan.

Though he’d told himself to try and remain calm, he was actually starting to panic.

From the mist, a teenage boy walked out as a seat and table rose for him. Wooden walls rose and a small room formed for him.

The enclosed space made him calm down a little.

He’d come to the conclusion that whether the woman was a witch or mage, it was highly likely that the metal box was a mystical artifact, and like the other mystical artifacts he’d come across, it surely had some negative effects that he could probably take advantage of.

As he thought this, the rank two mystical artifact sword rose from the floor boards and floated in front of Hadrian.

The sword’s negative effect was rather direct, it made the wielder consume a lot of essence just to carry it, let alone use it.

Of course, up here in this space, it was a different case.

The dagger of the rank one space path mage I killed was of the force path. It was a rank one mystical artifact, and though its effect might have been weaker than the sword, it must have been the same.

Hm. That’s one of the reasons I defeated him.

He had another mystical artifact too, a ring, though I don’t know what path it belonged to.

So, if the effect rises with rank like it was with the dagger and sword, Hadrian imagined the metal box, as powerful as it was to drag him into that space, would have a powerful negative effect.

Sigh, I told myself to not let fate decide my life ever again, yet here I am hoping that Baruch can locate her and catch up to her.

Hadrian summoned the cores In front of him and his eyes narrowed on them.

The negative effect of a mystical artifact seems to be tied to the nature of their respective paths of magic.

Of this, he was nearly certain. He’d considered the effect of the essence on him every time he grasped a mage’s essence.

Bagdona’s essence was crushing, the spawn’s and truston’s essence were like holding hot iron, only worse, while Baruch’s essence had that itch effect.

Summoned in that black space of the metal box, there was only one path of magic he could think of capable of this.

The space path.

From rank one, they gain the "carry"ability and can store items in a mystical space where Hadrian had tried but could not reach.

So it’s a space like that.

Well, he couldn’t be completely sure. His world was still small. However, that was the guess he was going with.

The effect of the essence of the space path, like he’d experienced with Haldon and the rank one space path mage, was disorientation.

During that Truston and Haldon fight, though he’d grasped Haldon’s essence, the reason he’d failed to affect the fight any further despite him wanting to was because with every step his vessels would make, he would feel like the ground and space was stretched and thinned in front of him.

And that was only a rank two’s essence..

He imagined the metal box was at least a rank 3 with possibilities of even rank 5.

In the fight, he’d seen Haldon flicker a carriage on top of Truston’s head. Even though it was impressive, it was still an inanimate object.

Therefore, for his vessels, which were not only living beings but were channeling essence to be "carried" the box could only be of a higher rank.

That wasn’t the only thing. Mystical artifacts had cores, and just like mages, when they are being actively used, they consume their own essence.

That’s why mages could use artifacts despite them being of different paths. The artifacts did not use the Mage’s essence.

Whether the mage’s essence opposed the mystical artifact’s essence or not, the essence was still being stimulated.

Huh. So how does a mystical artifact choose which effect to manifest?

Hadrian wondered.

Perhaps, an experienced mage can stimulate the essence of a mystical artifact in a way that an inexperienced mage can’t.

Hadrian made a guess from what he knew so far about mystical artifacts.

As he did, Baruch was being led away from the cylindrical chamber.