Soul of Searing Steel

The blood and flesh of the beast billowed from the flames, reduced to ash. Smoke that flickered in light wafted, gathering into a cloud in the dark room. Ripples converged over the shrine like lightning within clouds, stirring waves within the smoke. It was a ritual that the Huard named ‘Offering’ since two thousand years ago.

Primordial energies dwelled within all things, with animals being capable of obtaining another’s attributes and abilities through ‘consumption’. All life hence climbed the steps of evolution, with the ancient Huard obtaining the right of the future through hunting and devouring, while every other formerly competing species became their food.

Even so, it was remarkably low in efficiency: ten grams of beast flesh only resulted in a single gram’s increase of strength, not to mention limitations to the development of that strength. The Huards, who resembled bipedal mountain goats in appearance, were bound by their carbon-based forms, meaning that their feeding and evolution would not allow them to gain more than five tons of physical energy.

Still, five tons remained a sufficiently huge number and could easily allow the Huard to slit steel and kick down walls of stone despite their small physical bodies. They could also move unobstructed, shifting around every corner of their planet’s continent as if it was level ground. Nonetheless, that was far from enough—the Huard soon turned their eyes to the birds and fishes, bent on conquering the seas and skies after claiming rule over land. And after that, they would move on to subdue faraway, unknown places.

That was why the primitive and crude ‘feeding’ was done away with, as the ‘Offering’ method was founded and became the main discipline of the world.

“In the name of our God, O beast, release the strength you had!”

The fires of the shrine danced as the slain beast was charred into ash. With an illusory invoking of the ‘God of Offerings’, the Huard blessed their food and obtained its essences through the fire, gathering them as radiance within the shroud, which they absorbed to gain strength several times more than through feeding.

A feral beast with the ability to split mountains would bless a Huard with the power of a demibeast that was also free from the fragile physical form, allowing them to easily surpass their previous limits. While each beast could only be used as Offering once and the number of Offerings for each Huard was determined by their innate talents, it was an improvement that allowed the Huard to develop rapidly, raising huge temples, altars, and cities in barren mountains or wastelands, building a unique civilization that revolved around Offering.

It had been so even when they reached the Void.

“Offering is the beginning of civilization, a variant of the Truth that is equivalent exchange.”

“Hunting other gallant lifeforms, opening oneself to all future possibilities, challenging one champion after another so that we are refined time and time again—that is the life of a Huard.”

The Huards’ beliefs were ‘Hunting’ and ‘Feeding’, with ‘Conflict’ and ‘Offering’ at its core. They treated all alien lifeforms equally by viewing them all as prey—slaughter was glory; hunting was virtue. The death throes of champions who were triumphed over was the greatest praise, just as the darkest shame was to slay unarmed inferiors and pregnant entities.

The way of the sword, the toughness of the body, the vigor of lifeforce, and the striking beauty of magic—as offerings the Huard placed on their shrines increased over two thousand years, the power they obtained increased in turn. All types of new Extraordinary powers were fused into their bloodlines, and though it caused a schism in the ancient Huard Empire, it allowed them to become powerful.

The strongest of them could slay world-sized behemoths in the Void, masterfully controlling various supernatural abilities and countless moves to defeat their foes. They would then set fire to the remains of those behemoths and offer them to the great Void sun, consuming its light for unparalleled power.

Those powerful beings who roamed the Void were hence known as Predators, with dozens of them forming four groups that combined as the League of the Hunt, earning fame even in galaxies beyond.

But that was all there is was to it.

***

Such was the limit of the way of Offering—there were no creatures in the world more powerful than Void Behemoths, and they would not be of natural birth even if they exist, just as they were capable of strengthening their own existence by stealing power through Offering. Just as the Huard became aware of the limits of Feeding two thousand years ago, they knew that their own civilization may have possibly entered a limbo now. However, it was the only limitation of the Huards as a race.

“Sir, please place Primordial Lifeforce Crystal obtained after the Offering into the silver cylinder.”

Before a black steel shrine that was ablaze in purple sacrificial fire in the dark priest hall, a giant lizard corpse was being reduced to ash, while milky white Primordial Life Force weapons were forming amidst grey-white smoke—twelve huge Huards were standing around shrine rather bewilderedly, while a female human stood before a silver cylinder and instructed them.

She had a beautiful face with long platinum hair, and was smiling as she guided the leading Huard to collect the lifeforce crystal from the smoke and place it into the silver cylinder beside her. Amelia Makarov appeared not nervous at all despite facing a crowd of intimidating alien warriors, naturally because she had the confidence of Silver-tier and the status of a Mycroft envoy.

The untamed Huards were one of the rare Class 4 civilizations and certainly had their own pride and confidence, but after consecutive communication with Joshua, Pope Igor, the Seven Gods, Barbarossa, Vahina, and many others, the stature of the Mycroft civilization rose at once from ‘roadkill’ to ‘leading authority of an alliance’. It should be pointed out that such a forthright civilization was very convenient, especially for the appetite of the Mycroft people as another Extraordinary civilization.

And now, as one of the apprentices of a certain Legendary champion, Amelia was presiding over a brand-new form of Offering for twelve young Huards with the silently approving watch of several Predators.

“Is that so…?”

Amongst the twelve Huard youths who were in the exchange, the first Huard stroke its huge horns, unsure what to do with the novel Offering ritual. Still, being an advanced race, their fashion that resembled medieval knights and warriors was merely a matter of taste, culture, and tradition, and hence did not mean much.

That had been why he quickly recovered the crystals after burning the offered beast. He did not hesitate to place the fist-sized crystal into the silver pillar beside Amelia, even though he would have usually absorbed it into his body, and it would have been enough to turn a normal human into an adventurer who could hunt big cats by brute strength.

“Primordial Lifeforce Crystal detected… appraised value: 212 exchange points. Restoration Beam Number 951125 at your service—what do you wish to redeem?”

The surface of the silver pillar rippled after the lifeforce crystal was placed within, absorbing it completely with not a single trace left. The ripples then formed a screen, whereupon a line of Huard language was displayed, with distinct numbers labeled.

“I want to redeem grade-one Aura strengthening with 200 points!”

Having been informed by Amelia about the intention of the experimental Offering before it started, the tribune did not hesitate to state his desire. As Huard Predators looked on silently from both ends of the Priest Hall, the silver pillar flashed for an instant to process the exchange.

“Confirming redemption, 200 exchange points deducted… strengthening,” an inorganic voice spoke from the silver cylinder, before a translucent beam shot out and engulfed the Huard. The flash lasted almost two seconds before it shrunk, focusing on the center of his chest before diminishing.

“Redemption completed—grade-one seed of Aura cycle formed, please confirm.”

“Such… such power! I understand now!”

What a path to mightiness that lay right beneath his feet!

Before the silver cylinder finished enunciating every word, the goat-headed being leapt up, unable to hold down his excitement—even without enhanced physical bodies through Offerings, each Huard could jump five meters high. And that was how this particular Huard had his horns punch through the ceiling and was stuck above the Priest Hall, thanks to his abrupt burst of strength.

Thud.

The awkwardness did not last too long. Soon, the first redeemer quickly pulled himself out of the ceiling, and even if he had made a fool of himself in front of his predecessors and peers, he was unable to repress the thrill. It had been some time since his power was cultivated through Offerings, and yet a presence that was absolutely no illusion had shaped within—it was that presence which improved his power that he could pierce the sturdy ceiling of the Priest Hall with a single leap!

He could also sense that the source of that presence was from the Aura cycle seed at the center of his chest. The Huards, who were well-researched in terms of lifeforce, could discern that it was a distinct yet converging power system as compared to Offering!

As the platinum-haired mage smiled and two Predators looked on in surprise, the young Huard animated the Aura cycle seed in his chest. A thin but truly existing Aura cycle appeared at once in his body, and the young Huard could clearly feel his ability to energize and run the Aura cycle to rapidly increase his strength!

“The school of Offering is a formidable method that the Huards used in enhancing the tribune’s power. Aura, however, remains different—not only would it nurture a person’s physical form, but its essence enhances their original strength as well.”

Watching as the young goat-headed person excitedly cracked the air with punches and nullified the painful recoils through Aura, surprising even himself, Amelia continued to explain with a smile. “That is why the lifeforce cultivation of our two races complements each other. Your champions would become stronger, just as we could forge the strongest base for our own trainees.”

As the two powerful Predators nodded slightly seemingly in approval of her explanation, Amelia now positively beamed, and there was little wonder since completion of diplomatic quests meant over dozens of thousands of exchange points. She then turned towards the Huard who had now already fully adapted to grade-one Aura, and was displaying immeasurable delight.

Endless data flowed in Amelia’s eyes as her Mr. J v2.7 Deluxe Pre-order System instinctively calculated the energy level and attribute of the being before her, her heard immeasurably awed.

“Congratulations… Saffron.” She then said quietly at the first individual amongst the Huard civilization to cultivate combat aura. “You have been upgraded.”

The Huards were not the only ones to suffer that blight. In truth, similar scenes were happening not merely in a single spot, but in millions of places across the Multiverse.