Chapter Fourteen: First Steps

“It’s that simple, then? It can’t be!” Lacy faux cried as she marched through the forest, far behind the other recruits, except Shu, who stood to her left.

“Trust me, I was surprised, too,” Peegra yawned from Lacy’s right side. “It is that simple. Imagine yourself as one with nature in various circumstances and one or two shall resonate with you. However, it does take a while, so get to imagining. You aren’t likely to awaken while walking through the forest but you might feel something and be able to continue your meditation while you rest.”

“Wow, okay. I’ll get on it!”

Yesterday Admin Muriel had agreed to respect Lacy’s wishes to cultivate both her spirit and body, and today she had kept her word. Not too long after awakening to prepare for the wilderness trek, the still astonished instructors Kong and Poko met Lacy with Elite Peegra in tow, the spirit Seed who was assigned as her tutor.

Peegra, as she was encouraged to call him as a fellow spirit cultivator, was not thrilled with his position. It wasn’t for the fact that he hated teaching—on the contrary, he said he loved it—but he did not enjoy leaving the city’s comforts and would miss the conveniences that being an “Elite” cultivator afforded him.

However, Peegra had brightened a little when he met Lacy…for entirely the wrong reason, calling her a “lovely flower”.

Now Lacy, Shu, Peegra, and one other person marched through the wilderness, following the instructors, a dozen proper guards, and the rest of the recruits. Funnily enough, the reason the gaggle of men in front of them were so many steps ahead was unrelated to Lacy and her new status. In fact, neither Lacy nor the instructors informed the recruits, except Shu, of the new information.

The reason the initiates marched so far ahead was marching right behind Lacy, grumbling about stupid koroths ruining his rest. Guardian Mai Mosa had been called upon to protect the vulnerable recruits through the forest in light of the vampires somewhere nearby.

At no surprise to Lacy, Shu smacked her lips and made a suggestive face to the Guardian as she propositioned the powerful man.

To Lacy’s surprise, the offer didn’t bother the Guardian at all.

“Get back to me once you’re a Seed. Perhaps a Sprout.”

Shu gasped and squealed like a fangirl receiving her idol’s autograph as Lacy wondered whether the Guardian was used to offers of sex, before realizing with awe that the man had actually just bestowed Shu some of the only motivation to work harder that she didn’t already have.

Perhaps Mai Mosa was smarter than he looked, despite not cleaning himself up very well and still looking a little bit homeless, except for the very fancy polearm in his hand.

“I can also entertain you, little Lacy, if you’d just agree not to attempt dual cultivation,” the Guardian added, making Lacy deeply frown.

‘Did he really just say that?’ she questioned in her head, before saying out loud, “No thanks.”

“Worth an attempt,” the Guardian chuckled. “Dual cultivation is far too difficult. You are better off supporting our city solely as a spirit cultivator because you are far less likely to die.”

Lacy resisted the urges to both roll her eyes and glance at Peegra, who was a real example of why she didn’t want to live comfortably as just a spirit cultivator. The man was at least twice her age and still a Seed, older than both the instructors and many guards she’d seen, most of whom looked between the ages of twenty and thirty-five.

As far as she understood, Peegra had fully embraced the easy lifestyle that came with being a spirit cultivator and couldn’t break through to Sprout, despite the supposed ease with which he cultivated compared to the guards around them.

“Honored Guardian of Yellowvine,” Peegra said, “can we please refrain from distracting Lacy? She cannot truly train until she awakens, which she cannot achieve without peace of mind. Best that we all remain silent, and perhaps a miracle may occur in the form of a short awakening. I’ve heard some from Yellowvine awakened within a week of being taught how.”

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To Lacy and Shu’s surprise, the Guardian just grunted acknowledgment. This was another example of the status spirit cultivators enjoyed. Mai Mosa was two whole realms above Peegra, but the weaker man hadn’t hesitated to speak his mind, albeit politely.

“I understand,” Lacy said, hiding a smile. “I will try my best!”

……

Lacy managed to contain her boredom for an entire day’s marching before she decided to stir shit up and move forward with her spirit cultivation training.

The sky had darkened and the instructors called for camp. Within minutes, backpacks, duffel bags, and large sacks were emptied to produce an array of half-tents that could protect from light rains but little else, set up in a circle so that anyone could see everyone. They were nothing like modern Earth tents which provided walls. These were just slanted roofs, which made sense once Lacy thought about it. Privacy wasn’t something they could afford, being feeble humans in what was basically a world of spirit animals that outperformed them in almost every way. If a spirit beast attacked, nobody wanted tent walls to obstruct sight lines.

Currently, the recruits sat around several campfires in the middle of their circular camp, a few people cooking, but most men chatting as they rested and waited for food. Nobody was put off by Mai Mosa’s presence, either, since the man was not even present, having slunk off into the darkness to show off his aura and scare away anything nearby. Perhaps he was also hunting for koroths.

Speaking of which, nobody had asked Lacy about the Guardian or Elite Seed who’d accompanied them, but she knew now through secretly listening to the chatter that they thought both were just extra protection against the koroths. Nobody had questioned why they stuck to Lacy and Shu, likely assuming the women just wanted to cozy up…which was only half true due to Shu.

Now, however, everything would change. Lacy planned to make it so her fellow recruits never looked at her the same. She was tired of being looked down upon—

Just as Lacy thought that, a man did approach her. A fellow recruit who had, as far as she recalled, never given Lacy any shit and had even spoken with Shu a few times. He might also have been one of the stronger men who waved a cauldron around in training.

In his hands were two bowls full of steaming stew that had presumably just finished cooking. He sat down in front of Peegra and the ladies, offering the bowls to Lacy and Shu, who gingerly accepted.

“I am impressed that you have made it beyond the preliminaries,” he said directly to Lacy. “It is expected that Shu, who was raised by a guard, could pass, but you seem not to have the same history. For a small woman to throw herself into the guard exams without preparation and easily pass the preliminaries is commendable.”

Shu looked between the big, beefy, muscular man and her little friend, slyly waggling her eyebrows.

“Uhh, thank you,” Lacy replied as she reflexively massaged the sore muscles in her arms. “It hurt, but… Well, it hurt a lot to push myself but the instructors’ expectations weren’t unreasonable. Anyone can pass the preliminary seven days.”

The big man shook his head.

“While anyone can survive those seven days, not everyone does. You were there this morning when Instructor Kong dismissed nine men from this year’s exams. Those initiates, despite all their bluster, confidence, and scoffing at the women among us, did not pass. Besides that, they were not attacked by koroths that they convinced to let them live. Frankly, you have my admiration.”

Lacy blinked rapidly as she processed the sincerity.

“Uhh…thank you,” she inadvertently repeated, unsure of what else to say.

“I am Hoomar,” he said, putting out his left hand.

“I’m Lacy,” she replied, and they shook.

……

‘It’s time,’ Lacy decided.

Everyone had eaten or was eating, her conversation with Hoomar was over, and she’d been “meditating” for over twenty minutes, not including the hours while she’d marched.

Lacy gasped like she was drowning and fell backwards into the grass as she let her aura loose in the same way it had been birthed not too long ago, and all other activity in the camp slowly halted as people stared her way.

Hilariously enough, Peegra had the most exaggerated reaction, looking like a reaction-style Twitch streamer whose audience was still in middle school. The man shot to his feet, his jaw dropped, and he flailed his arms like he’d never learned to use them while he grasped for words that eluded him.

“Did you…?” Shu asked, also unable to contain her excitement as she lifted and pulled Lacy into a hug.

The other recruits, including Hoomar, gathered closer to learn what was going on while the instructors and guards looked on with undisguised joy and awe. They also seemed to know how big a deal it was for Lacy to awaken “so quickly”.

Once the supposed Elite cultivator among them regained his composure, he took it upon himself to announce the event.

“Initiate Lacy has just awakened as a spirit cultivator!”

All hell broke loose as confused men babbled, throwing around the words spirit and elite.

Finally, Hoomar asked Lacy, “Then, you are the first of us to reach Seed?”

Only then did it really set in for her.

“Um…yeah. I guess so. Right, Peegra?”

The man shouted some excited gratitudes to the gods for giving him a talented student before answering her question.

“Yes, by all means, you are a brand new spirit Seed! You still have many skills and techniques to practice—the lack of which make you not much different from an ordinary mortal—but all of that will come with time!”

While still seeming like this was all just as much a surprise to her, Lacy observed how she changed in the eyes of her fellow recruits, going from a somewhat irregular peer to someone they had no choice but to respect. Most of the men seemed conflicted so she took note of those who, like Hoomar, only showed positive reactions.