Although Alan went out of his way to make sure Su'ong was completely aware of the risks that using the [Stone of Calling] presented, namely conjuring up some wretched creature from the Impure Realm, he might as well have saved his breath. In complete opposition to the uncertainty coursing through his veins, Su'ong hadn't seemed overly concerned.
If anything, the idea of testing her new and improved self against a potentially formidable foe while remaining virtually unkillable had instilled a crazed gleam in her eyes. She quietly stated that her current goal was growing capable enough to reclaim her grandfather's Crest when she returned to the Beast-Folk village.
“It weighs heavily on my mind.“ She breathed out a long, slow sigh and gave Alan a thoughtful look. “Meeting you has given me a fresh chance at a future I never dared to dream possible. I may never find the words to express my gratitude for everything you have gone through on my behalf. Yet… This is something I must accomplish.“ Judging by the set of her jaw, and the seriousness of her tone, that was all the motivation she needed.
After a lengthy discussion that very nearly turned into a pointless argument, Alan was able to convince Su'ong that it was best if she remain out of sight. “Just until we know what we're up against!“ He assured.
Understandably, she wasn't very happy about being sidelined, but her begrudging acquiescence went a long way towards putting Alan's nerves at ease. If all went well, her assistance wouldn't be needed at all. While keeping her out of harms way was his main priority, should Alan start getting the shit kicked out of him by some profane horror, he knew that a surprise attack could turn it all around.
Without knowing what to expect, there was little else they could do to prepare.
*WARNING!* Activate the [Stone of Calling]? Yes/No.
Before he could conjure up another reason to delay, Alan selected Yes, while focusing intently on the stone. Almost immediately the smallest vortex of energy he had ever seen appeared in the air above his hand. The miniscule translucent tornado fluctuated unsteadily, as if it was already teetering on the brink of collapse. At the same time, he felt a tugging sensation within his arm. Alan resisted the urge to throw the stone into the lake as a steady stream of energy was syphoned from both his body, and the environment.
Ever so slowly, as Alan's Celestial Energy, and the vortex of ambient energy were channeled into the stone, the runes in the center began showing the faintest traces of an inner glow that inched its way outward. One by one, each row of runic script was illuminated. Until finally, nearly a full minute after beginning the calling, there was only one line left. Heart thrumming like a bass guitar, Alan held his breath and watched the last row of symbols around the outer rim of the disc-like object activate.
On edge and now holding on to what looked like a blazing star plucked right from the sky, Alan braced himself for whatever was to come.
*WARNING!* Insufficient ambient energy detected. Unable to activate [Stone of Calling].
That wasn't the desired outcome. Against all expectations, the [Stone of Calling] failed to activate.
“You've gotta be shitting me!“ Alan roared, casting the object of his frustrations at the floor. Before his eyes, the stone fell dim. For a fleeting moment, he basked in the comforting idea of stomping on it. After banishing his impulsive desire Alan considered trying again, only this time while boosting the process with an additional surge of his own energy supply. Although it sounded reasonable in theory, that idea was promptly dismissed.
Not only were his current energy stores bordering on pathetic, but regardless of his current agitation, he didn't actually want to accidentally break the stone. The System prompt had specifically stated that a lack ambient energy was the root cause of the problem. Had the solution been so simple as that, Alan knew the System was more than capable of making such a simple adjustment.
“Judging by that scowl, I'm going to assume something went wrong…” Su'ong said as she walked out into the open. “What happened? I saw the stone begin to light up, and then right as I was sure something was about to happen, you randomly spike it into the floor…”
Basked in the pale radiance of the false moon and stars, Alan lifted his face and met Su'ong's questioning gaze. He opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out was a deep breath. In truth, he wasn't sure where to start. In truth, he didn't even know whether he was upset or not. Sure, it was annoying, but if the [Stone of Calling] refused to activate, then his worries of what it might summon were pointless.
“Well? Are you just going to stand there? What happened?“ Su'ong asked again, manifesting her spear and waving it in Alan's general direction only to dismiss it again, visibly growing agitated.
“So…” Alan said, unsure how to break the news that all of their tense planning was for nothing without getting himself poked full of holes. Short and to the point is probably gonna be my best bet…
“Looks like this cheap ass stone isn't going to work here.“ He mumbled, breaking eye contact to glare down at the object of his mounting displeasure. The only explanation he had to offer was what was cited on the warning notice, so it only took a moment to explain.
Although Alan wasn't quite sure what he expected her reaction to be, the mischievous grin that rapidly blossomed on her face definitely wasn't it. “So you are saying that all we need is more ambient energy?“ She asked while scooping the [Stone of Calling] from where Alan discarded it. “Then I guess that I will see you out on the island!“ With that, Su'ong turned and rocketed off towards the lake, taking the stone with her.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Shapely… ass? It must've been some kind of a lame joke, because so far as Alan could tell, he had no ass to mention. All he saw back there was the thick base of his tail. “Got some fucking thunder thighs going on though!“ Alan declared, slapping his leg with a resounding clap, taking in the sight of the over-defined, barely concealed musculature hidden just beneath his Class armor.
Alan remained behind at camp just long enough to wolf down the leftovers of Su'ong's dinner. He felt like a sneaky glutton, but even cold and greasy as it was, the Almiraj stir-fry was far better than his BBQ'd Roc debacle, and he was unwilling to let it go to waste.
Once he'd licked the plantain leaf-turned plate free of all remnant bits and juices, shrugged, and hungrily shoved the makeshift dish into his mouth, Alan collected his storage Case and made the short swim out to the island.
The surface of the lake appeared to be choppy black ink. It was so dark that he couldn't see his hands underwater, yet even though he couldn't see what was potentially lurking, he had a strange premonition that he was surrounded by Silver Lake Chubs. It was a strange, yet familiar feeling. It almost reminded him of an empowered version of the radar-like effects of [Water Manipulation] without the accompanying mental image to help understand what he was sensing.
Am I picking up residual effects of that long-gone Skill?
[Water Manipulation] had been an active Skill before it was assimilated into [Elemental Manipulation], which was also an active Skill. Now that the effects of [Elemental Manipulation] were assimilated into the passive Skill [Celestial Energy Manipulation] Alan wasn't sure what to expect.
It was hard to resist the urge to use [Blighted Sense] to put his theory to the test, but with the lack of any sense of danger, and a potential showdown on the horizon, Alan was hesitant to use his energy stores frivolously. He still struggled to adapt to his drastically reduced reserves. It was bad enough when the System awakened his Cultivation Core, and with it, created his Celestial Energy. But now that his Realm Seed was taking another fifty percent, a few Skill activations were enough to leave him feeling drained.
When Alan pulled himself ashore, he found himself in near darkness. The swirling clouds above the island restricted his access to the light provided by the moon and stars, making the path forward far more treacherous than it should've been. Due to his heightened Perception, it was hardly an inconvenience. However, the lack of ambient lighting made it next to impossible for Alan to spot the heavy patches of wretched-smelling, slippery ooze that liberally coated random sections of the shoreline.
“Shit man, I broke another nail! Why the fuck are we doing this at night?! I'm gonna be worthless in a fight if I shatter all of my fucking toes!“ Alan cried out, having just slipped for what had to be the hundredth time, and kicked a large stone hard enough to dig shallow indentations into its surface with his toenails. In reality, it would take a lot more than this to cause him any lasting injury, but that didn't stop his foot from throbbing.
Far beyond the limitations of his patience, cursing himself for not swimming around the island, Alan finally limped up to the shallow pool in which he'd killed the Pistol Crab. After a moment of consideration, he decided that some cold water on his aching feet was well worth risking another encounter with a pissed off crustacean. Taking his time, allowing his feet to soak in the chilly depths, Alan meandered his way to the opposite bank, where he found a visibly flustered Su'ong waiting for him at the base of the lone staircase.
She wasted no time informing him that she had already tried multiple times to ascend the stairs, but kept winding up back at the beach regardless of her focus. Despite plainly being able to see the top, she nonetheless kept getting turned around. “The scary thing is, I never even realize that I have gotten turned around until I am suddenly staring out over the Lake…” she said, obviously struggling to come to grips with what she'd been repetitively experiencing for the last half hour.
Although he tried to be empathize, Alan was finding it difficult to make sense of what she was talking about. But he didn't have to wait long to find out firsthand. Taking notice of Alan's confusion, and seeking to prove her point, Suong turned and sprinted up the stairs at breakneck speed. Before she even made it halfway to the top, her forward progression halted completely. Her legs kicked as if she were still running, but a swirl of mist had gathered up in the air around her, quickly becoming a hazy bubble that encapsulated her from head to toe, while somehow preventing her from proceeding.
The very next step Su'ong was able to successfully take made Alan's jaw drop so fast that in nearly popped out of socket. Her body was suddenly facing the lake and taking a measured step down the stairs in his direction. Having never seen her turn around, he was unsure what to make of it. As Alan struggled to understand what he just witnessed, Su'ong calmly strode down the rest of the steps without averting her gaze from the inky lake's surface. She swayed slightly with each step as if in a trance.
The eerie bubble around Su'ong only lasted until she reached the bottom stair. As if encountering a sudden boundary, it dispersed into a tendril of mist that slowly ascended towards the heavy clouds encircling the island. It could've been the darkness warping his perception, but from what he could tell, those clouds were already far more dense than they were when he arrived.
“Uhh… Su'ong?“ Alan asked, beginning to grow worried. For the last several minutes, she had stood there with a blank expression. Her eyes seemed fogged over, as if she weren't even there. Unable to keep still any longer, Alan paced back and forth, keeping a close watch for any sign of change as he considered whether or not shaking her awake would be an acceptable course of action.
Luckily he didn't have to find out. Before he was able to make up his mind, Su'ong suddenly spoke.“Ugh… my head,” She rubbed her temples and complained. When she took a step forward and nearly fell, Alan rushed to her side, but she waved hoff I'm his assistance. “I'm fine.“ She said, wavering in place. She didn't look fine, not at all, but Alan wasn't about to press the issue.
Alan was eager to discuss what he'd seen, but felt it best to allow Su'ong some time to gather her thoughts before he started pestering her. In the midst of trying to decide what he should do in the meantime, Su'ong sat on one of the few rock outcroppings that were free of sludge and made up his mind for him.
“I'm going to need a bit of time to recover. I think I might have done that one too many times… For a minute there, I… thought I was somewhere else. But now I'm not so sure what to believe. Everything is so foggy. How about you see if you can succeed where I failed? I'll watch, just… will you do me a favor?" She asked, giving Alan a pleading look.
“Don't do anything stupid.“