Odyssey of the Blind God

Nial finished setting up everything he needed to practice the 10,000 Refinements of Imperfectia properly.

It was pretty simple; he needed a basin in which he would fit, and enough clean water to fill the basin several times so as to replace the water when it would be overflowing with impurities. This was to make sure that he could maintain the highest efficiency in the practice of the body refinement technique.

As for the other things he required, they were nutrition solutions and a powerful source of mana. Nial possessed a few million Origin crystals and a bunch of Dungeon Cores. That was more than enough to finish the 5,000 Refinements of Imperfectia he was missing to finish the technique.

'I told the merchants to deliver nutrition solutions to the Orion Artisan Guild whenever they have fresh stock…that should be enough, I guess?' Nial thought with a shrug before he averted his focus to Ryu and the Little Oracle.

He knew that Ryu would absorb mana from his surroundings and the Origin crystals when he was busy refining his body but he was not actually sure if the Oracle would be fine without him.

"I will give you a big surprise when you finish your Cultivation session!" The Oracle merely said as if she could read his memories.

Nial nodded his head, not thinking too much about the word 'Cultivation', or what surprise the Oracle could give him. He ruffled her hair before finishing the last preparations to go all out practicing the 10,000 Refinements of Imperfectia.

'It's time to get stronger again!'

***

'Sooo tireddd….'

Nial felt stiff and drained even though he was stretching his body. He was not sure whether it was day or night but it didn't really matter either way.

His body felt much stronger than ever before and the power that surged through every cell of his existence pulsated, invigorating Nial over and over again.

Nonetheless, he was tired…his mind seemed to have been wrung dry, but that was only obvious…he hadn't had any sleep in the last four months, after all!

As he was invigorated from the surrounding mana and the drastic changes of his body, Nial didn't really have the need to sleep anymore.

Unfortunately, given that he wasn't just awake in the last four months, his mind was exhausted.

He couldn't form a proper thought right now and the tiredness that fogged his mind wanted to make him sleep by all means, while his body wanted the exact opposite.

His body wanted him to stay awake, continue to refine the imperfections within his existence and become much stronger.

But that was not exactly something he could do just because he wanted to…well he could but he didn't want to, not while feeling like this.

'1500 Refinements completed in four months, and bits of progress in my Mana Core… I guess that is not bad…'

Nial whisked away the remaining Origin Crystals around him, preventing them from further empowering his body before he welcomed the huge body that emerged from the shadow behind him.

He didn't even have to turn around to know who it was as he smiled lightly.

"Don't hesitate, Tyrant, just knock me out!" Nial said quietly but in a tone that didn't allow the Tyrant of Destruction to disobey his orders.

Tyrant lifted his huge hand that was stretched out and shaped as if he wanted to imitate a blade before he moved rapidly.

The only thing Nial felt was a blow impacting with tremendous pressure on his neck and it was only moments later that he slumped to the ground, his mind slowly overpowering his body.

Finally, he fell asleep…or did he lose consciousness?...it didn't really matter, either way. His mind was able to shut off.

[Are you sure that you didn't hit him too hard?] Kaeldur's voice resounded quietly in Nial's head but he didn't care anymore.

[I gave it my all…Master is strong…]

**

Nial was not sure how long he was asleep, but he woke up in his bed after some time. The bed had been added to the wooden hut when he decided to move in with his father.

As for their old wooden hut, it was located in the territory of two other Elven races, exactly at their borders.

Miles moved out of the house because the environment was rather degrading for his health as both extremes of searing heat and chilling cold had affected him.

He felt much more secure and oddly comfortable in the Forest of Life that had adapted to the energies of the Nightshadow and Dark Elven. It was a little bit gloomy and ominous but that was the only problem.

As the father of Nial, the one in possession of the Essence of Darkness, Miles was treated very well by the Nightshadow Elves and the Dark Elves.

This was especially true in the case of the Royal Princess and a bunch of High Elves, though it was not related to his Essence of Darkness.

"Are you finally awake, son?" Miles asked with some relief in his voice. He prepared some tea and placed one of the mugs at the nightstand next to his bed.

As for the remaining mugs, they were given to the guests that had arrived.

"I'm awake, and feeling as if I've been reborn…but why are there so many Elves around our wooden hut? Did someone start selling treasures nearby, or what?" Nial asked, still sleep-drunken when he visualized everything around him.

In a range of several hundred meters, hundreds of new wooden huts had been created. That was insane, especially as Nial realized that some trees had been moved aside to make space for a bunch of new, already-grown trees.

The forest's density around their place had increased dramatically and so had the population of Nightshadow Elves and Dark Elves.

"If you consider your naturally leaking darkness out of our hut a treasure sale that doesn't cost anything, then yes, someone is selling treasures nearby," A familiar voice resounded from the living room.

Nial's focused moved over to the living room, where he visualized the Royal Princess, Evalyne, and a few more Elves other than the guards, who followed her everywhere at any time of the day.

It was almost as if the guards didn't even know what it meant to give the Royal Princess some privacy, or what holidays were.

Did they even sleep?

Nial had no idea, but he was more focused on the new guests, whom he had never seen, or more like visualized, before.

Nial stifled a yawn and went to take a shower up without too much of a hurry. He put on some clothes that could be considered comfortable yet also formal enough to meet up with the Royal Princess.

At the same time, he had investigated the new bunch of people using his Mana Sense in its finest form.

He left the room and was immediately confronted with the pressure of several strong presences. "Nial, the treasure merchant, finished washing up,"

Nial tried to lift the mood with a small joke, but he could tell that he failed miserably. Everyone in the room was way too serious. Only the Royal Princess liked his joke. The corners of her lips rose for a moment until she recalled the reason for their visit.

"It's good that you finally woke up. Sleeping for four days straight makes me envy you…" Princess Evalyne tried to crack another joke and lighten the atmosphere but she also failed miserably to release the tension in the room.

'Four days? Well…that's nothing in exchange for staying awake for four full months. Nice deal, I guess.'

"Either way, how about I give you a quick run-down on the situation, while you sit down?" The Royal Princess asked, yet, her voice didn't really sound as if she gave him a choice.

Nial nodded his head and he sat down while releasing a whip of darkness from his arm to reach for the mug of tea from the room he had just left.

The darkness whip got hold of the mug and it ended up in Nial's hands just a moment later.

"I'm ready," He said calmly, taking a sip from the tea before he gave the Royal Princess his whole attention.

However, before Evalyne could even open her mouth, they heard the sound made from a clicking tongue that was followed by some silent grumbling.

"What a rude brat…"