Close Combat Mage Chapter 358

I’ve been enjoying the last week of my vacation…too bad it’s ending soon. >.

Translated by: Taffy

Chapter 358 – Weapon Soul Pt. 1

Suo Jia was serenely sitting at the bow of the s.h.i.+p, entranced by the sight of the endless sea before him. The Diamond Dragon in his arms was currently holding and licking an egg-sized monster core with its small red tongue from time to time, as if it was enjoying a sweet candy.

The sharp sound of footsteps came from behind Suo Jia, breaking the silence. Without even needing to turn around, Suo Jia knew who it was. “Why aren’t you resting? You know, once we reach the sh.o.r.e, we’ll be facing constant battles one after another.”

Nicole didn’t reply, and quietly sat next to Suo Jia. With a sigh, she said listlessly, “I can’t sleep. The s.h.i.+p keeps rocking, and it’s making me a bit dizzy.”

Suo Jia chuckled. “That’s fine too. Since you can’t fall asleep, let’s chat a bit!”

“Sure!” The corners of Nicole’s mouth tilted upwards in interest and she asked, “What should we chat about?”

Suo Jia pondered for a bit, before reaching his hand out. Instantly, the azure trident appeared in his hand. He smiled, “Help me take a look at this, what is it?”

Nicole curiously inspected the trident for a bit with an exceptionally focused expression on her face. After a long while…Nicole trembled as she exclaimed, “No…this can’t be. That’s just a myth, it can’t be real!”

Suo Jia smiled calmly and held the gem on the trident up to Nicole’s face. “You’ll know whether it’s a legend or not after looking at this.”

Nicole took a deep breath and held it as she closed one eye, peering into the blue stone with the other.

After a long while, she sighed and shook her head. “I hadn’t imagined at all that this would all be real! To think that Divine Artifacts really exist in this world! Doesn’t that mean that G.o.ds once existed as well?”

“Mhm…” With a serious nod, Suo Jia replied, “That’s right, the G.o.ds indeed existed in the past. However…after their war, they all left or died, leaving only these Divine Artifacts behind. As long as we have this Divine Artifact and charge our way through the thirteen checkpoints, we can obtain the G.o.dhead and become the G.o.ds of the new generation!”

Nicole gasped and exclaimed in astonishment, “This is really too unbelievable, I can’t even begin to comprehend it!”

“Yes…” Suo Jia turned his head to look at the horizon above the sea and said sullenly, “However…although this weapon is identical to the Poseidon’s Trident in the legends, it doesn’t display any of its abilities in my possession; it’s as ordinary as a rice straw!”

“What?” Nicole asked in confusion, “How is that possible?! While the rest could be fake, that gem can’t possibly be. Even if it doesn’t have many functions, it can’t be as ordinary as a rice straw!”

Nicole suddenly jerked, seemingly having thought of something, and loudly stated, “That’s right, have you made a blood contract? If you don’t give your blood, the Divine Artifact can’t link with you, and you naturally wouldn’t be able to draw out the energy within the Divine Artifact!”

“Blood contract?” Suo Jia furrowed his brows in confusion.

Nicole gave an exasperated sigh and bitterly laughed, “Boss, you can’t really not know of this!”

Suo Jia blankly shook his head and asked, “I really don’t get it, I’ve never heard of such a thing before. Don’t tell me it’s…”

“Ok…” Nicole raised her hands and helplessly sighed, “I give up. I’ll just tell you then. Bite your finger and drip your blood onto that blue gemstone. Then…it will use the essence in your blood to call upon the great energy within the Divine Artifact!”

Suo Jia stared blankly for a bit before he immediately sprung into action, bringing his fingertip to his mouth and biting down hard. Captivatingly crimson blood soon began to flow out.

Under Nicole’s watch, Suo Jia placed his finger on top of the blue gem, and beads of blood rapidly dripped down its surface.

“Sizzles…” As the drops of blood descended, they suddenly began to boil. The red blood bubbles rose up and then burst. At the same time, the blood, as if being sucked in by something, rushed to worm into the gem.

Suo Jia stared at the moving blood and turned to ask Nicole, “How is it? Exactly how much blood do I need? Isn’t this good enough?”

“No!” Nicole anxiously watched the gem as she shouted, “Don’t stop, you’d better not stop. The more blood you offer, the greater your control over the Divine Artifact will be, and the more energy you will be able to draw out. It can be said that the more blood you give, the more compatible you are with the weapon!”

Suo Jia grew dizzy and sweat began to form on his forehead as he stared at the blood continuously flowing into the gem. In pain, he said, “Nicole, I’ve already given a cup’s worth of blood, is it still not enough? If I continue like this, I won’t be able to last!”

“You must not stop!” Nicole grabbed onto Suo Jia and urged, ‘The more blood there is, the better. This blood will form a new you within the weapon, and link the inside and the outside together, allowing the two energies to activate the same magic. That’s why…the more blood you give up, the mightier its force is!”

Suo Jia finally understood. It wasn’t like there was a certain amount that should be offered, but rather, he had to try to get as much as possible in. The greater the amount, the more energy he’d be able to draw out from the Divine Artifact.

A Divine Artifact was defined as a weapon that had a spirit, or its Weapon Soul. This Weapon Soul was created from the user’s blood that allowed the two beings to connect through their spirits, and defeat enemies together. This was what made Divine Artifacts so terrifying!

Seeing that Suo Jia had understood the concept, Nicole continued, “Young Master Suo Jia, the Weapon Soul is formed solely based on your blood. It’s a liquid, it isn’t alive. Once the Weapon Soul is shaped, you can summon it as a separate form. Although it won’t be able to wear any equipment, it can draw out the Divine Artifact’s energy, and attack together with you. The strength of the magic will thus increase exponentially!”

Suo Jia gritted his teeth and pulled out a Life Potion with his other hand, gulping it down. At this point, he couldn’t be bothered to care about other things. The Divine Artifact’s Weapon Soul was too important; it was directly responsible for determining the Divine Artifact’s might and its limits! This was equivalent to the Divine Artifact’s innate ability!

After drinking two refined Life Potions…Suo Jia patiently watched the blood continue to drip onto the gem, completely ignoring any pain. He simply prayed silently for more of the blood to make its way into the gem.

Time slowly pa.s.sed. After some time, when Suo Jia had downed the hundredth refined Life Potion, the blue gem flashed, and stopped sucking in the blood.

Despite this, Suo Jia refused to give up, and continued trying to drip blood onto the stone. Only after confirming that it had indeed stopped absorbing the blood did he hurriedly activate a Moisture Technique and heal the wound on his finger.

“Phew…” Suo Jia let out a long breath. He estimated that he’d pretty much used up the equivalent of all the blood in his body. In other words, the blood currently flowing through his body had been completely supplemented by the Life Potions.

The next instant, a sound rang out and a red light exploded within the gem. At the same time, Suo Jia felt his head blank out. By the time he’d regained his senses, he was astonished to discover that he was in a strange place!

Although Suo Jia was still on the ocean, the s.h.i.+p was gone, Nicole was gone, and…there was a huge glacier floating on top of the water! After looking around the somewhat familiar glacier, Suo Jia suddenly recalled something; wasn’t this the sea realm within Poseidon’s gem?

Suo Jia looked down at his own body, and was astonished to discover that he didn’t actually have any body to speak of. Although he could see around him, the place he stood was just nothingness. It was as if he had concealed himself.

Suo Jia subconsciously raised his right hand. In that instant, the s.p.a.ce in front of him suddenly rippled, and under the control of Suo Jia’s spirit and consciousness, Suo Jia’s right hand gradually appeared before his eyes, as if it had floated up from underneath the water.

Suo Jia was ecstatic by this discovery,and tried to move the other hand, followed by his legs, feet, torso, and head. Finally…Suo Jia’s body completely materialized before him.

Suo Jia’s heart raced as his body soared across the sky into the distance. In the blink of an eye, his body appeared above that glacier. All he could see beneath the horizon was the endless ocean!