The Broken Carriers did not have many options at hand. Most of them became mercenaries or joined the army, as they had little chance of survival in the wild lands, among monsters and the True Carriers. Not to mention the Second and Third Rank Carriers, for whom the Broken Carriers were no stronger than commoners.
True, the Broken Carriers were still superior to ordinary people, as they held a Circle, which meant they had the first Catalyst. Ethan was looking at one right now, his Broken Circle hovering behind the Construct.
[Construct
Stage: Broken Circle
First Catalyst: Triumvirate Path (Patterns 1/3)
Connected Artifact: ???]
'Tsk, it's not certain that I'll even be able to open all the Patterns with this incomplete circle!' Ethan complained inwardly.
Each Circle had a Catalyst. The Catalyst was the Carrier's ability, while the Patterns were its variations. The Patterns could differ greatly from each other even within the same Catalyst, but they retained their basic qualities. If the First Pattern summoned a defensive barrier, then most likely the other Patterns of that Catalyst would also focus on defense or support, although an attacking Pattern could appear while maintaining the same element.
Ethan shook his head. "I have to restore my Circle. At any cost!"
It seemed like a dead end for Ethan. But he had one trump card — the old note in his hand.
His only chance to stop being a Broken Carrier.
Stuck. Stuck. Stuck.
Ethan knocked on the door of a house on the outskirts of the city.
Soon the door opened, revealing an old man with an eye patch over his left eye and a stone right arm — a magical prosthesis.
"Agh? Who are you? If you're from the government, fuck off. I've told them a hundred times I'm not going to be an instructor in their crappy army!"
Ethan didn't understand what the old man was talking about, but he held out the note.
"Mr. Roger Lorvel, you need to read this."
The old man snatched the note from his hands. His face suddenly broke into a grin.
"Hah, so you're Edgar's grandson. Hah, he's been missing for five years, but he still manages to remind me of himself! What do you want, kid?"
"The old man said to come to you for help, that you know how to fix the Broken Circle. If that's true, then tell me what to do!"
Without saying a word, Roger folded the note and turned away.
Roger looked back over his shoulder. "And? You decided to come now?"
"It was difficult, but I always found ways to solve my problems, but not now."
Seeing him leave, Ethan clenched his fists and rushed forward.
"I can't stay a Broken Carrier! It's a road to nowhere! Shouldn't you know that better than anyone?"
Roger spun around when the gears revolved deep in his eye.
His palm caused a blue splash, throwing Ethan into the wall with a crash.
Roger raised an eyebrow, looking at Ethan, who was getting up despite his trembling legs and a trickle of blood running from the corner of his mouth.
"Proud, determined, and arrogant? Tsk. You're even worse than your old man."
He waved his hand.
"Come in. I'll tell you everything I know, but don't think it'll be easy."
As a former military man, Roger knew many secrets. The army was the best way for Broken Carriers like him to climb the career ladder and achieve something.
He knew how to fight, Ethan had just experienced it firsthand, but no matter how hard he trained or tried, without Full Circle, his Construct was almost useless. He could improve his skills, and find one or two Patterns to gain new abilities, but Roger could not reach the Second Rank.
Ethan was trying to avoid that fate.
"I'm ready. Anything. Well..." Ethan stammered. "Except money. I spent almost everything I had."
"Hah, if it were a matter of money, the rich wouldn't remain as the Broken Carriers."
He leaned forward.
"If you want to rebuild your circle you have to find the missing piece. You must hurry, it's only possible while your energy is active. You only have three months left.
"You must take the circle of someone who is a perfect match for you, someone who will become your donor, no matter whether human or monster and with it their life."
Ethan's eyes grew darker.
"I don't see the problem with that."
As long as there was a chance he would fight for it.
...
The first thing every Carrier had to do was make contact with their Construct to get their first ability.
Even for the Broken Carriers, that was the case.
Tap.
Ethan touched the core in his space, causing the gears inside to come into motion.
Then, the mechanical voice of the Construct echoed in his mind.
[Triumvirate Path (First Circle Catalyst)
Pattern #1: Fully Assembled
Pattern #2: 23%/100%
Pattern #3: Impossible without a full circle.
A hard path took the form of power from a ruined source, with gears struggling to move, but a purposeful heart that turned dark too quickly for its age.]
As expected, the two Patterns were a limit for a Broken Carrier like Ethan. Only if he could find the right parts to create the Second Pattern could he gain another ability.
The Patterns were clusters of energy that were perfectly suited to the qualities of a particular Carrier, be it a Broken Carrier or a True One. They could be found anywhere: in monsters, anomalies, resources, or even other Carriers, but not in ordinary people.
However, from the very beginning, Ethan, like any Carrier, had access to the First Pattern, which he was going to use right now.
With the next grinding of gears, Ethan waved his hand as a stream of darkness ran along it, forming a line from his elbow to the tips of his fingers. The blob found its only place, becoming a vertical line on his hand.
Roger, sitting on a rusty barrel, grinned.
"Not bad, not bad at all. You managed to get the gears moving in just a week. You may not have talent, but your head definitely works! Hahaha!"
The rumble of a train passing over the bridge drowned out the sun and cast a shadow over the two Broken Carriers standing amid the junkyard. Ethan and Roger were on the edge of the Orsire City in an area called the Lower Expanse, while the train moved toward the towers and tall buildings filling the city center and looming over the land below.
This was the Upper Expanse, where Orsire City originally took shape on a hill. The Upper Expanse was located at the top of the hill and was a wealthier region than the Lower Expanse, which had spread out at the foot of the hill. However, many factories, forges, and army buildings were based in the Lower Expanse, so both parts of the city remained crucial, even though ordinary people would have preferred to live in the Upper Expanse.
Step.
Ethan stepped forward as an impulse ran through the dark cross. His fist slammed into the iron beam.
The corrosive effect of the darkness made a hole in the beam, and the upper part fell to Ethan's feet.
Ethan glanced at Roger over his shoulder.
"What do you think?"
Roger leaned on his prosthesis.
"Well, you're almost ready. Go on, son, there's not much time left."