Jon could see the hundreds of thousands of spiritual items on the list available to him. Mortal Ranked Piercing Longswords integrated with a Fragment Of Pierce or a Fragment Of Thrust. Mortal Ranked Savage Gauntlets integrated with a Fragment Of Savagery or a Fragment Of Violence. Mortal Ranked Planter Pots integrated with a Fragment Of Life or a Fragment Of Growth.

There literally existed over a thousand combinations for each category of item within existence. Mundane items such as chopping boards or couches, combined with fragments as strange and obscure as a Fragment Of Verdant or a Fragment Of Duplicity.

Jon stared at the seemingly never-ending list in front of him, leaning back into the log behind him. He had just integrated his War Mana Core, so Jon possessed a total of twelve empty slots throughout three Mana Cores. Despite being able to integrate so many fragments all at once, Jon found himself intrigued with the wide variety of spiritual items in front of him.

"Fragment Of Victory combined with a Mortal Ranked Imperial Flag. Fragment Of Curse combined with a Mortal Ranked Black Grimoire. Fragment Of Resurrection combined with a Mortal Ranked Verdant Lotus Flower… the combinations are literally endless," Jon muttered to himself.

Although the existence of spiritual items were unknown to him, Jon did suspect that such things were capable of being created.

He did often wonder how mortal crafted weapons and armour would hold up against powerful abilities capable of reducing an immense amount of blunt force damage or the intense crushing weight of an illusory mountain peak. Jon had to replace his makeshift tree branch spear every few days knowing that it could not keep with the amount of physical force he could produce.

If not for Assail, Jon knew that he would pose a lot less of a threat during a fight. [Behold Thy Luminous Spear, Clad In Green Radiance] was a somewhat hasty decision made in the moment, although not one that Jon had ever regretted, knowing how powerful the summoned weapon could be.

There was a vast assortment of items that Jon knew would be useful.

[Fragment Of Water] [Mortal Ranked Soft Gourd] (Water)

[Fragment Of Warmth] [Mortal Ranked Wolf Cloak] (Warmth)

[Fragment Of Bread] [Mortal Ranked Giant Oven] (Bread)

[Fragment Of Fire] [Mortal Ranked Spiritual Wand] (Fire)

[Fragment Of Expansion] [Mortal Ranked Extended Rifle] (Expansion)

A soft gourd capable of using the ambient water natured spiritual energy to replenish itself, granting one a near infinite amount of water.

A wolf cloak capable of providing warmth even amidst rain and wind. Although it was not completely weather resistant, it could keep someone warm even in an ordinary mortal blizzard.

An enormous bread oven capable of manifesting a variety of different types of bread. So long as a sample of bread was fed to the oven, it was capable of reproducing it using spiritual energy.

A spiritual wand that could improve the effectiveness of Spells with the Fire Trait. Additionally, one could draw upon their Mana Cores to fire bolts of flame towards their enemies.

A powerful rifle with an extended barrel capable of shooting targets at range. Jon did not understand whether it was the firearm itself embedded with the Fragment Of Expansion, or just the clip, but it was capable of storing upwards of a fifty rounds within the old, world-war era firearm.

The possibilities were endless!

Jon shook his head before dismissing the task reward page. There were just too many options to choose from. He would have to spend a few days at least sorting throughout all the possibilities and choices available to him.

"At least I have another fragment of choice to choose from. I should probably look to integrate at least one fragment into my War Mana Core before I do anything else," Jon muttered, nodding to himself before moving towards his duffel bag.

The eighteen-year-old tread softly against the damp sands, opening the zipper on his duffel bag before scurrying through it, looking for his collection of various fragments and Mana Cores within. Looking down at the bottom of his bag, Jon furrowed his brows, before lifting his head, his [Monstrous Intuition] alerting him to the presence of something around him.

Jon spun around, manifesting Assail in his hand, holding the weapon halfway down its length and swinging it with all the strength his enhanced physique was capable of producing.

His strike hitting nothing but air as a familiar teasing tone whispered into his ear.

"That was certainly quite close. That [Monstrous Intuition] of yours is quite effective when paired with your Minerva-Sagacity Eyes aren't they?" Schwarz Eis admitted, manifesting herself with a swarm of white-blue motes of spiritual energy.

The White Lady Of The Winter Castle seemed quite impressed given the expression on her face. Although she lacked methods of concealment or stealth, manipulating her spiritual energy to disguise her presence was not that difficult.

"What was the effect description of your [Monstrous Intuition] again Jonathan?" Schwarz Eis asked.

Opening his status page, Jon recited the effect description for the first ability he ever obtained.

[Fragment Of Instinct] [Monstrous Intuition] (Knowledge, Passive, Ability, Enhancement, Sensory, Perception)

Effect (Mortal): Dramatically increases the effectiveness of natural instincts and intuition. Slightly increases memory retention and effectiveness of the five senses. The more "Knowledge" you can grasp on a target, the greater the effectiveness of this ability.

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"Interesting. Although its actually quite weak, its effectiveness scales off additional knowledge. You should take care to pair [Monstrous Intuition] with your Minerva-Sagacity Eyes and Hades-Sagacity Shadow. Both of them will be quite useful in the future," said the winter demon spirit.

Jon knew that Schwarz Eis was referring to when Jon would become a Knight. Although it was still a ways away, given that he now had five out of a possible six Mana Cores, he was inadvertently not that far from completing the first requirement to become a Knight.

The second requirement… was also unknowingly within his grasp as well.

Taking a small breath, Jon dismissed Assail, watching with narrowed eyes as Schwarz Eis took out his small lunchbox container full of fragments. The winter demon spirit did well not to shake the container around, waking the others around them, merely opening it and throwing two Fragments towards Jon.

The human caught the two fragments, noticing the two System integration notices that appeared in the corner of his vision.

Fragment Of "Trap" discovered.

Would you like to integrate this into your Ice Mana Core, Spear Mana Core, or War Mana Core?

Y/N

Fragment Of "Stealth" discovered.

Would you like to integrate this into your Ice Mana Core, Spear Mana Core, or War Mana Core?

Y/N

Raising an eyebrow, Jon looked down at the first fragment that Schwarz Eis had given him, a somewhat confused expression on his face.

"A Fragment Of Trap? But it seems so- " Jon watched the winter demon spirit cross their arms, looking at him as if a mother waiting for their child to stop their little temper tantrum. The eighteen-year-old paused mid-sentence, taking a deep breath before changing the tone of his voice.

It was not like Jon to do such a thing, but the human was incapable of thinking straight while in Schwarz Eis' presence. Jon knew that she was beautiful, perhaps beautiful enough to distract him with just her appearance alone.

Despite this, Jon had no intention of trying to attract Schwarz Eis. Although he did admit, she was perhaps the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, there was something about the way she treated him that did not seem outgoing or flirtatious.

She knew how to play the game. Way better than he could at least.

"I mean, I do not understand the benefits of a Fragment Of Trap. The focus of my abilities is a close-ranged combatant, not someone who prepares a battlefield before entering a fight. I do not understand how this would benefit the rest of my build", said Jon, observing Schwarz Eis smile before raising a finger and gesturing towards Jon as a whole.

"That is partially correct. Yes, you are a close-ranged combatant. One with a variety of physical enhancements and abilities tailored towards stacking powerful buffs or inflicting debilitating debuffs upon your enemies. You even possess methods of resisting debuffs, although we will come to that later."

"What you need most Jon, is three things", Schwarz Eis raised three fingers.

"The first being a method of instantaneous, or enhanced movement. [Dance Of The White Star] increases your speed, although given that it is a Technique, will require significant practice before bringing it up to a level capable of mimicking movement-related abilities. I think you should use one of your remaining fragments of choice on this, although at the end of the day it is up to you".

Schwarz Eis lowered one of her fingers.

"The second being a method of targeting multiple enemies at once. Crowd-control, although a human term, is quite an apt bit of terminology in this situation. You are incapable of fighting numerous enemies all at once. Your abilities might allow you to last longer than the average combatant, but you will fall given your opponent's possess sufficient teamwork and strategy".

Schwarz Eis lowered another finger, wagging her remaining one in the air.

"And the third being abilities that can allow you to move or perhaps even fight without being seen. Although some fighters neglect this in favour of a more rounded build, given your personality, I can see you fighting on your own quite a bit, even whilst being in a large group such as this one. Both the Fragment Of Trap and the Fragment Of Stealth will assist you in this regard", Schwarz Eis suggested, watching as Jon looked down towards the two fragments in his hand.

The Fragment Of Stealth was one that he eventually planned on integrating himself, although was unsure of which Mana Core to integrate it into. His newest Mana Core, the War Mana Core seemed like a good bet.

The Fragment Of Trap on the other hand…

Schwarz Eis' made sense. He did quite enjoy fighting on his own, even whilst having companions such as Avahni and Wilheim. Jon did wonder if he should integrate a Fragment Of Roar, or even a Fragment Of Morale, knowing that it would produce some sort of area-of-effect buff for allies within range.

Rolling the Fragment Of Trap between his fingers, Jon pondered what manner of ability this could manifest, before taking a deep breath, accepting the integration notice. If he was paying attention, he would have seen the ghost of a joyous smile appear on Schwarz Eis' face, pleased that her master had accepted her request.

Ashvattha Rana felt a similar feeling throughout her form, although was somewhat disappointed that it required another summon in order to convince Jon of integrating specific fragments. The enormous bodhi tree wished that she still possessed her Fragment Of Transformation, the one that allowed her to take another form.

Ashvattha Rana knew just how much more powerful Schwarz Eis was compared to her at her greatest level of strength. Despite knowing the difference between the two of them, Rana could not help but feel somewhat inferior as a result.

"Do not feel displeased with yourself Ashvattha Rana", said the winter demon spirit, patting one of her larger roots, "I have dealt with immature and indecisive children before. It is through no fault of your own that you are unable to sway Jonathan towards the Path in his mind. You have managed to assist a mortal who once knew nothing of manipulating spiritual energy or shaping Mana Cores into someone that might very well become the Monarch of his planet. Continue supporting him. I will play the "bad cop", if I am using that right?".

The bodhi tree nodded, feeling slightly uplifted after hearing the White Lady Of The Winter Castle.

Schwarz Eis nodded, knowing that it would require a little bit more from Jon's side in order to lift the spirits of the Earthen Treasury Womb. It had been quite a long time since she had to deal with the squabbles and disagreements between two summons.

Her own summons had long since been annihilated. The moment her original body was killed, her connections with her summoned companions had vanished, at least the ones who were not connected to one of her Titles.

Schwarz Eis showed a wistful expression, before hearing the faint lapping of joyous waves from within Jon's Sea Of Knowledge, smiling as his mental construct betrayed the feelings he was currently experiencing.

She could see the grin on her masters face, enjoying the immaturity that Jon had not quite lost yet. The young human reciting the effect description manifested from his Fragment Of Trap.

[Fragment Of Trap] [False Spear Art; Concealed Spear Detonation] (Spear, Trap, Spell, Technique, Debuff)

Effect (Mortal): Chant, placing your hand on a surface. This surface shall become marked with a concealed spear-shaped spiritual construct. Upon physical contact with the mark, this spear construct will be released, shooting forward towards the target. Those struck with [False Spear Art; Concealed Spear Detonation] shall be inflicted with an instance of [Concealed Bleeding].

The number of concealed constructs capable of existing at once is equal to the number of fragments integrated into your Spear Mana Core. The length, width and shape of the Spell is determined through the amount of spiritual energy poured into it.

[Concealed Bleeding]: Inflicts a continuous spear-natured damage over time effect. Remnants of spear natured spiritual energy linger within the wound, preventing blood from exiting.

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