Is That A Wisp?

Of course, other than just trying it out because it seemed interesting, Krune was doing it because of the payment. Awakening a Spirit was extremely expensive, not to mention incredibly hard to achieve. Because of that, any Spirit Awakener obtained a lot of God Stones. Usually, it was used to awaken the Spirit of equipment. After all, paying to awaken a Spirit of something useless didn't have that much use.

'Still, what about the Spirits themselves? I understand that a piece of equipment with a Spirit is definitely much stronger than one without it. However, Spirits will gain sentience as well. What would happen if the Spirit doesn't want to fight alongside you? What if it simply decides to go away now that it can think like everyone else?'

To resolve those questions, Krune would need to head to the Spirit Awakener Guild. However, it was still too early. He had just broken through to the 2nd Stage of the Mortal Rejection Realm. Obviously, the guild would kick him out if he tried to join like that.

'Well, I better go back to the inn and continue cultivating.'

And with that, Krune spent his next seven months cultivating, trying the God Realm's food, and thinking about his next steps. Of course, he made sure to keep part of his mind continuing to ponder over the Sub-Laws of the Balance Laws. However, these things would take a very, very long time to be completed. In any case, Krune had eventually reached the peak of the Mortal Rejection Realm and went for the breakthrough.

As mentioned before, the Godly Fusion Realm was the moment when one began to fuse all three Godly Parts of one's body—Dantian or Demon Core, Body, and Soul. In Krune's case, his Body and Demon Core could be said to be the same thing, though. That being said, his current breakthrough was far easier than his previous one.

Once again, Krune had a small dark cloud above his hand.

'And here you are, trying to intervene in my Karma and Destiny once again. Just why is the Calamity Law aiming at me every time I make a breakthrough? Sigh... It's not like someone will come out and answer my question.'

Krune then let go of the dark cloud and checked his foundation now that he had entered the Godly Fusion Realm.

'So good. There's no instability whatsoever, even though I only took seven months to do it. Godly Energy is truly convenient in this regard. The 1st Stage of the Godly Fusion Realm has just started fusing my Wisp Core and my Soul. Nevertheless, I can barely feel any difference. I guess it can't be helped since my soul and wisp core had always been connected to each other. Now I just need to go through the nine stages to finish the process.'

Krune got up and returned to his human form before exiting the room. It was already time to pay rent again, so he headed straight to the counter. Naturally, the attendant noticed the difference in Krune's cultivation.

"Congratulations, brother. It seems like you finally recovered a bit of your cultivation."

Krune smiled, not bothering to tell the guy that he had never been in the Godly Fusion Realm before.

"Thanks. Well, here's the payment for the next month."

Krune then took the God Stones out and passed it over.

"Very well. Your stay has been increased by another month now. However, are you okay with God Stones? I haven't seen you go out that often. Do you still have enough to not work?"

Krune nodded as he replied.

"Indeed. I'm running out of the stuff. However, I wanted to reach the Godly Fusion Realm before trying to find something to do. Otherwise, it would be too hard."

The attendant agreed with Krune as he said.

"That's true. However, the Godly Fusion Realm is the first breakthrough that naturally happens while you're still a baby growing up. You won't even remember when you did it by the time you grow big enough to retain permanent memories. I still think it'll be hard for you out there at your current level."

Krune laughed when he heard that.

"Hahaha! Indeed, even babies might be stronger than me. However, the 1st Stage of the Godly Fusion Realm is the minimum requirement when you want to join a guild. Now that I'm at it, I'll try entering a guild."

The attendant looked at Krune with a weird expression after hearing that.

"The reason the guilds accept participants at the Godly Fusion Realm is that they wish to nurture talents from the time they're still kids. I don't think you'll have a good chance of passing the tests considering your age. You should try finding a normal job first. After all, the examinations cost God Stones as well."

Krune knew that the attendant was trying to help him, so he simply nodded.

"I know. However, it won't hurt to try at least once. If I fail, then I'll go find something else to do. There's one kind of job that I'm pretty much sure I can get, so I'm not that worried."

"Oh! In that case, it'll be a good experience for you. Well, good luck out there."

Krune then left the inn and headed straight for the Spirit Awakeners' Guild. He had passed here before to collect a few materials for study. Fortunately, the basics of the profession were available for anyone who wanted to try it. That made sense since cultivators and demon beasts that could become one were rare. That being said, the guild had to do its best to find as many as possible. One of the ways the guild had done that was to have all the information about becoming a Spirit Awakener available to the public.

Krune quickly headed to the counter where the attendants were located. However, he had to wait in line first. Because Spirit Awakeners were rare, there was more demand than supply. Because of that, the Spirit Awakener Guild was always packed with customers. 

Eventually, Krune's time arrived.

"Hello. I would like to apply for the Spirit Awakener Test."

The attendant nodded in response. Many cultivators and demon beasts wanted to become one, after all. People wishing to take the test keep appearing every day.

"Sure. The test costs 500 Rank One God Stones. We have many candidates every day, so we have one test happening per week. Have you already gotten the study materials?"

Krune nodded as he answered.

"I came here a few months ago and took the files into my communicator. I feel like it's worth giving it a try now."

The attendant nodded, saying.

"Very well. Let me see... Ah! Wait, you're only at the 1st Stage of the Godly Fusion Realm?!"

In an instant, everyone in the queue looked in Krune's direction. It was extremely rare to see someone with a level of cultivation as small as Krune's.

"Wow! This guy is really at the 1st Stage!"

"Hey, bro. How did you become so weak?"

"Hahaha! Man, you want to become a Spirit Awakener with your current cultivation level?"

"Brother, you're just wasting your God Stones. Why don't you give them to me instead?"

Krune shrugged his shoulders while ignoring everyone else.

"The limit to try the test is the Godly Fusion Realm, isn't it? Since I paid it, you should have no issues with it."

The attendant sighed as he shook his head. He also thought that Krune was just throwing his God Stones for naught.

"Are you sure? After you pay, there's no coming back. We won't return the God Stones to you."

Krune didn't mind.

"It's fine, it's fine. Even if I fail, I'll take it as an experience."

"Very well."

The attendant then prepared an electronic token for Krune.

"The test will happen two days from now. Independent from age or cultivation, everyone has to awaken the Spirit of a One-Star Godly Fusion Equipment. However, the higher your cultivation, the easier it is to control the process, so you'll be at a great disadvantage with your cultivation."

Krune nodded.

"Alright. I'll come back two days later, then."

As the people and beasts around Krune laughed, he went ahead left the guild. Soon after, he headed straight to the Blacksmith Guild. Krune could pass by without being able to make pills. However, he truly didn't want to have someone else forging his shields. That being said, he also intended to take the Blacksmith Test so he could have access to materials and information. Fortunately, he was already at the Peak Divinity Stars Level, so he only needed a little push to reach the next level.

'I got the study materials of the Blacksmith Guild a few months ago as well. Sure enough, the God Realm's forging process was even more refined than the realms below. It wasn't hard for me to reach the Mortal Rejection Stars Level. After all that training, I should be able to even forge a Godly Fusion Stars Equipment now.'

Once again, Krune asked to take the test. The attendant and those close to him found it funny that Krune wanted to do that at his level. Nevertheless, since he paid, the attendant allowed him to do so. The good thing was that the Blacksmith Test was on the same day, so Krune stayed there to take it.

By the end of the day, Krune left the Blacksmith Guild with his Blacksmith ID. It was far from being a problem for Krune to forge a piece of equipment at the Godly Fusion Stars since he was also at the Godly Fusion Realm. Then again, no one thought much about it since that was the lowest level a Blacksmith could reach in the God Realm.

Eventually, two days went by, and the Spirit Awakener Test was about to begin.