The Mech Touch

When ingested the Dark Apostle Self Defense Manual Enlightenment Fruit, Ves did not really think about the implications of each word in its lengthy and multi-faceted name.

He should have.

He really should have.

The fighting style was created by an ancient cult — yes, a cult in the truest sense — that was based on the premise that 'darkness' would eventually devour everything in the universe!

While there were plenty of scientists and other clever people that accepted the premise that the current universe had a finite lifespan and that all stars might get snuffed out one day, they argued a lot about the exact causes and mechanisms that would lead to this outcome.

The cult that spawned the so-called Dark Apostles possessed a very particular belief on the darkness that would supposedly engulf everything one day.

Their beliefs were not as superficial as believing in the power of dark energy, a power that was very difficult to grasp and harness due to only showing up in the more desolate places of the cosmos.

The cult believed that there was a reason for dark energy to exist. They assumed without question that dark energy was either the byproduct of an unimaginably powerful 'dark god' or may even be the unfathomable body of that demonic entity itself!

The members of the cult possessed many interpretations of the nature of dark energy, but they were all united by the central premise that there was an immensely powerful dark entity and that he acted on the universe through dark energy and maybe even dark matter.

Ves shook his head in utter confusion and disbelief. The enlightenment fruit dumped all of the possible theories that the darkness cultists had come up with, and many of them consisted of a confusing blend between pseudoscience and superstition about darkness!

Even though the members of the cult clearly had a few screws loose in their heads for worshiping a personification of darkness of all possible choices, there was a reason why the cult managed to persist for a long period of time.

Their prayers and worship actually produced feedback!

No matter what variation of dark god they believed in, they all received a definite if vague and mixed response.

Most of the time, they only received vague injections of darkness energy from a source that was incredibly powerful, but also distant to the point where it probably resided in a far-away dimension.

Whatever the case, this dark entity seemingly affirmed the cult's superstition and encouraged its members to dedicate their entire lives to the interpretations that may or may not have any relations with this mysterious source!

Perhaps the cultists who joined this club since they were young never saw any reason to question all of the dubious explanations, but Ves could not bring himself to ignore all of the holes and wildly irrational beliefs mixed between more reasonable observations.

Ves did not really care too much about this forgotten cult. He also had no interest in worshiping this mysterious dark entity.

However, the staff fighting method taught by the enlightenment fruit was intrinsically designed for practitioners who could actively draw upon the power of this mysterious dark entity!

Many of the more extraordinary techniques relied upon leveraging the power of concentrated dark energies of a much higher quality than was available from the environment.

Unless the staff wielder himself was already a True God-level entity that possessed a good grasp on the power of darkness, his only choice of executing his strongest fighting techniques was to borrow it from the mysterious entity that was supposedly fated to devour the universe by engulfing it in darkness!

There was a reason why the enlightenment fruit cost a whopping 200 Ascension Points. Much of the value of the Dark Apostle Self Defense Manual was invested in the extraordinary techniques that enabled Ves to fight beyond the limitations of a mortal warrior!

It reminded Ves a lot of the flashy techniques of the Shadow Dance Dagger Style acquired by Saint Tusa.

The difference was that Tusa was only able to augment his beautiful and flowing fighting techniques with a modest amount of shadow energy that originated from himself and the environment.

Ves on the hand instantly learned the methods to draw upon a much more powerful but also dangerous source of energy to massively increase the effectiveness and lethality of his own staff blows!

"The Dark Apostle Self Defense Manual is not entirely based on qi cultivation. It is also based on contract cultivation!"

Ves welcomed the former, but felt disgusted by the latter.

It was as if he suddenly opened the curtains that blocked the view of a window for the first time, only to see that there was a gigantic black worm with a frighteningly large mouth sleeping right outside his house!

Ignorance was definitely bliss in this case. Ves really preferred to remain blind and ignorant to the apparent fact that there was an ancient dark god lurking in the darkest depths of this universe!

Yet now that the enlightenment fruit forced him to open up the curtains and take a glimpse at this primordial entity that may or may not devour the cosmos one day, Ves could not get rid of this cursed knowledge.

Yes, it was definitely a curse. Ves knew a thing or two about them. It sounded crazy, but gaining awareness of an incredibly powerful but also malevolent entity that was at least as powerful as a God King may actually constitute a curse!

After absorbing this enlightenment fruit, he unfortunately gained a faint sense that he could easily reach out to the dark entity that the cult worshiped in ancient times at any time!

"There is absolutely no reason for me to do this! I would rather die than get marked by this existence!"

The good news was that the enlightenment fruit may have forcibly made him aware of the existence of this dark deity, but was unable to do so the other way around.

So long as Ves did not actually pray to the dark god, this primordial sleeping giant would have no reason to cast its terrible gaze in his direction!

As much as Ves desired to unlock the full potential of a brand-new extraordinary fighting style, he would never want to obtain it at the cost of selling his soul to a cruel and uncaring entity! That was just a terrible deal!

It was a pity that not everyone could make such a sober cost-benefit analysis, mostly due to the lies and manipulations spread by the Dark Apostles.

The fear that this ancient dark god might wake up and devour the souls of the depraved cultists was a strong reason why the Dark Apostles frantically and fanatically offered their allegiance to this mysterious entity.

Fear as well as awe not only drove the Dark Apostles to worship this dark deity, but also wander around the ancient cultivation community in order to convert more people into the same beliefs!

After all, if the pool of cultists expanded by a lot, then the probability that this dark entity would eat your own soul decreased.

"Isn't this basically an attempt to spread bad luck towards other suckers in order to save yourself from misfortune?"

How cynical. As the de-facto leader of the Interim Leadership Council of the Red Collective, Ves had engaged in numerous discussions about how to make 'sects' more benign and productive.

There were plenty of ways for an organized gathering of cultivators to become a force of good in human society.

However, there were also plenty of ways for sects to degenerate into dens of iniquity where every member turned into opportunistic killers and robbers.

The cult that spawned this manual definitely fell into the latter category!

As much as Ves hated the origin of the staff fighting style, he could not afford to forget about it and never make use of it. The many blemishes did not succeed in drowning out the stuff that was genuinely useful.

As Ves became immersed in the more basic and neutral staff fighting techniques, he couldn't help but call up his Oceancaller and increase its size until it reached the proportions of a typical staff.

The way he gripped the lengthy relic had changed. His mind already began to think about the myriad of techniques he could execute with this weapon. From blocking incoming attacks to sweeping the legs of his opponent from under him, Ves suddenly gained a lot of confidence in his ability to fluently pull off moves that required at least two decades of focused weapon training!

The enlightenment fruits offered by the Tree of Possibilities never granted total mastery of a weapon style.

However, they did not infuse the minds of their users with the bare basics either. The fruit that Ves had just eaten had basically simulated the gains of dedicated training and mastery up to the threshold of the initiate level!

This was the point where practicing standardized moves no longer produced as many gains as before.

A qualified initiate had not only grasped the fundamentals of a weapon style, but also began to adapt it to serve his own needs and inclinations.

That was a process that an enlightenment fruit could not bestow in an instant. Ves would have to dedicate long hours of practice and hope that he would gain an epiphany that would allow him to reach a new level of staff weapon mastery.

Ves did not have a strong desire to do so. He already became enamored by the fact that he had become a qualified weapon wielder all of a sudden!

He understood much more extensively why his weapon instructor expressed so much disgust towards his previous attempts to learn how to wield a staff.

The enlightenment fruit was so thorough that it instantly reformed his entire body, mind and spirit to acquire the developed muscle memory, the brain chemistry rearrangement and the intuition honed through hundreds of sparring sessions!

This not only allowed him to perform the basic staff techniques efficiently, but also judge which techniques he should employ in different situations without needing to put too much conscious thought behind his actions!

"It doesn't necessarily turn me into a qualified soldier or warrior, though."

The enlightenment fruit did not bestow him with actual combat experience or anything like it. The gains were merely equivalent to Ves attending a weapon school for a long time.

It did not teach him how to fight on a battlefield by himself or part of an organized army. Ves still wouldn't be able to fight alongside the soldiers of the Bluejay Fleet in complete coordination.

That was fine. Ves at least gained enough proficiency in wielding staffs and maybe other polearms to be able to pose a serious threat to others with such weapons.

This was what Ves wanted to acquire the most. The enlightenment fruit definitely fulfilled his most essential requirements.

However, Ves could not get over the fact that he would miss out on the greater potential of this extraordinary staff fighting style if he did not actively weave the power of darkness in his more special staff moves.

He could pull off a lot of cool stuff that would definitely give him an edge against the approaching phase lords.

Relying on his meager domain and ambient E energy of a medium-energy environment to fuel his staff techniques was completely inadequate.

Even though it was labeled as a 'self defense method', the extraordinary fighting style was able to turn Dark Apostles into frighteningly lethal killers due to empowering their moves with potent darkness energy!

This actually added to their notoriety and made them even more feared and reviled in ancient times!

Though Ves was too afraid to ever think about drawing energy from the original source of darkness, he might be able to modify the Dark Apostle Self Defense Manual to draw from a different source.

The question was who. The spacetime bubble cut Ves off from most of his existing design spirits, not that it made any difference because none of them were aligned with the darkness element.

"Should I create a new design spirit? No. That is not necessary. I have a much more convenient source at hand!"

Ves quickly figured out that there was no need for him to do anything elaborate. Blinky could serve as a weak but barely adequate source of darkness energy!

"Mrow!"

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