Even though he failed to replicate the necessary routine, Nil consumed the Spirit Pill. He needed to design his routine around the pre-decided training sessions, and it took a couple of days for his body clock to adjust.
Nil's day started at half past nine in the evening. He freshened up, made himself a vegan pill, and then retired to the garden room for eight hours of uninterrupted cultivation. He circulated energy through his body, compacted and focused it at points, and then sent it shooting to another part of his body. The imagined tiger grew stronger and more powerful with every passing hour. Nil put all thoughts of new ranks out of his mind and focused on nothing but what the manuals had taught him.
The garden grew more beautiful with every passing day. The first saplings already stood ankle-high, and several new ones peeked through the dirt. Nil had spread a couple of bags of mulch and plant feed around. The former came with tiny, colorful pellets. He didn’t know what they were at first. Now, he knew they were earthworm eggs. They and Meatball tilled the soil together.
The whelp occasionally settled in Nil's cupped hands when he meditated. At other times, she slept in a nest of dirt, uneaten food scraps, and somehow bits of bone. He couldn't tell where she had found them. Nil had never seen Meatball defecate or found traces and hoped the fragments had come from her feces.
The new plants from her magic released a soothing aura. He detected weak traces of the Qi he found in Hwang Mei’s universe and eagerly circulated it through his system. With every passing, the energy signatures grew weaker, and on the third day of his new routine, he saw results.
Spark has progressed to Bronze 2!
Brutal Battery’s stores swelled, and Nil felt readier than ever to take on the world.
The solitary cultivation ended at six in the morning. He showered and swam a quick couple of laps before breakfast. Shawn joined them for every meal following Adam's passing, occasionally joined in on conversations, and in rare instances, smiled or even laughed. Nil couldn't tell whether he was trying to fill a hole Adam left behind, was getting involved in memory of his friend, or ensuring Selia didn't crumble under the weight of the loss. Shawn and Nil didn't talk about much besides training often, but he no longer felt like a complete arsehole.
Whenever Nil found himself alone with Selia, the air turned intimate, but things didn’t progress any further. They talked, opening up about their pasts and mostly discussing family. She understood that he was in time-sensitive training and never kept him for long.
After breakfast, Nil joined Isabella or Noah for their training sessions. The Forge grew more crowded with every passing day, making him glad about booking time slots early. Once done, Nil swam a few more laps, had ice baths on days with Noah, and steam after Isabella’s sessions. Sometimes, he ate alone. Occasionally, he found friends or joined his father.
A week flew by. Nil finished absorbing the Spirit Pill. Gained a few more ranks and consumed his banked Schema Tokens. The growth was substantial.
Might has progressed to Iron 7!
Mind has progressed to Iron 2!
Spark has progressed to Bronze 5!
Energy Instinct has progressed to Iron 3!
Wield the Source has progressed to Iron 3!
Galvanise has progressed to Iron 2!
Source Gauntlets have progressed to Iron 2!
When the soul weapon gained its first rank, Nil hadn’t noticed much of a change. Physically, nothing changed at Iron-Two either, but he sensed an emptiness in the crimson gems. Their capacity had increased.
Neither of Meatball's abilities had gained ranks, but Nil couldn't help but think she had grown and her barky carapace had darkened. He measured the whelp and took photos just to track her changes. She especially enjoyed digging and traipsing around the plants that emitted unearthly energies. Their presence was warming, and he felt stronger around them. Nil guessed the Body Pill's components were among them. The processed medicinal sphere’s effects had long left him, yet he gained a full rank in the related attribute.
Unfortunately, the same set of pills would do him significantly less good if he used them again. Thanks to his recent windfall of tokens, Nil had enjoyed a burst of rapid growth. To achieve the same again, he would need to purchase better quality pills made with higher rank and significantly rarer materials. Body and Mind Pills for Bronze Realm cultivators were ten-thousand Schema Credit each. Meanwhile, the Spirit Pill was twenty-thousand Schema Credits, putting them all well out of his reach. Nil hoped that his growing garden would make them irrelevant. He just needed to give Meatball time to grow her plants and feed her more of the same. As his mastery of the Mangrove Tiger Cultivation technique improved, his growth rate would as well.
After finishing his final eight-hour cultivation session and the subsequent technique training, Nil no longer felt mentally drained. In fact, he felt sharper than ever. His body and mind had adjusted to the grueling routine. However, he missed meat and indulged in extra for lunch, making up for the lost week. The cafeteria had beef stroganoff, chicken in a ginger and spring onion sauce, and roasted salmon. He indulged in it all with steamed baby potatoes, broccoli, and whatever other greens the cafeteria had on offer.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
As Nil ate, he scrolled through the information packet Bunty had sent him the night before. It had all the requested details regarding the listed Iron Gauntlet companions. Unsurprisingly, the weakest and most inexperienced of them had been at it for more than a year. Nil needed time to pick his opponents and left the full recordings for later. For the time being, he analyzed the clips and read the connected information.
New or old. I can’t take any of these bastards lightly.
Nil discounted a few opponents straight away. Natasha ‘Airlock’ Patel’s power was hard to pinpoint, but it seemed she dealt with air pressure and could create vacuum pockets. Her enemies bled out of all orifices, starting from the ears or swiftly suffocated. Trying to avoid something he couldn’t see concerned Nil, and he didn’t want to deal with oxygen deprivation again. All of his losses had involved losing his air supply.
Omar ‘Djinn’ Fahid was removed from the list for similar reasons. His power involved creating and controlling colorful fires. Galvanized only protected Nil’s arms from heat. Escaping fire would prove challenging unless they ended up in a favorable environment. Omar liked to toy with his enemies and kill them slowly. Instead of incinerating them, he trapped them in fiery vortexes where they slowly burned or suffocated as all of their oxygen burned away. If Nil moved fast enough, he was sure he’d find a way to break free of his favored attacks. However, getting blinded by the flames also concerned him.
Four targets remained besides Pietro. Nil needed to pick two as his first two Death Gauntlet opponents. The system worked on a challenge basis. His opponents, of course, had the right to reject his request for a fight. However, every refusal counted against the challenger and cut them off from Death Gauntlet matches for several months. Given the frequency of the listed individuals’ matches. They needed to gather Cursed Energy every three to four months.
“I’ve been wondering why they don’t just ascend and go for the Cursed Ones in the Bronze Death Gauntlet,” Susan said, making him jump. Nil and his new ludus friends never planned to eat together for lunch. Varying schedules made it challenging to set a routine. However, they sat together if they found each other during mealtime. Klocky Kennit’s clips had Nil so engrossed he didn’t hear the woman approach. “They’re bigger, stronger, and probably contain four times the Cursed Energy of their Iron-Realm counterparts.”
“They’re sick cowards,” Nil said. He’d been wondering the same thing forever. “There is no benefit in staying in the Iron Realm. I don’t know enough about the others, but Pietro specifically targets people from our Earth. He preys on the desperate and frustrated who’ve failed the Gauntlet of Ten.”
“I think that’s just a part of it. It probably has more to do with their victory in the Iron Gauntlet being nearly guaranteed. Almost no one has soul weapons, and they can’t compete with the difference in power.” Susan’s drink arrived first, and she eagerly downed half the glass before continuing. “The fact is they won’t be strong enough to attempt the Bronze Death Gauntlet straight after ascending realms. They’d need time to get stronger, ranking up their abilities, attributes, and soul weapon before they try anything. It's mostly experienced individuals who’ve failed out of the Gauntlet Of Ten a couple of times or more who risk death.”
“That’s a long time to go without gathering Cursed Energy for their soul weapons and any other affiliates.” Nil sighed. “That explains why we don’t have many suspects in the higher realms. Or so I hope, at least.”
Susan moved her chair closer to Nil and gently took his left hand in hers. “Are you sure about this? The Nexus has jobs for me on and off Earth that don’t involve the Death Gauntlet. I’m sure there will also be some for you eventually. The Death Gauntlet isn’t the only option.”
“I know.” Nil squeezed Susan’s hand, giving her a gentle smile. He appreciated the woman’s affection. She had a warm, comforting, sisterly presence. “But of all of the Nexus’s Iron Realm employees on Earth, I’m the only one with a soul weapon. And considering my ability, I have the highest chance of taking out the more dangerous targets without getting killed. If it’s not me, Selia, Shawn, or someone will challenge Pietro and they might not win.”
“You might not either, Nil,” Susan whispered. “I don’t want you to end up like Adam. Andrew pretends to be strong, but he’s not. Getting you back means a lot to him. He might not be able to handle your loss well.”
“I have no choice but to win and survive,” Nil replied. “I’ve made up my mind, Susan. I need to do this. It's not just a vendetta because of what happened to Aisha anymore.”
“For your friends and family?”
“And myself.”
“I suppose there is no changing your mind.” Susan sighed. “Just be aware that I might not be around for your first Death Gauntlet match.”
“Do you have a quest?”
Susan nodded. “I’m not doing much good over here. There are no Earth-side quests. We don’t know when Andrew will be back. Watching all of you work so hard with such amazing resolve has me feeling guilty and useless. Maybe I can do some good elsewhere.” She grinned. “The reward also includes a Silver Ascension Token.”
“Damn. I thought I was on the verge of catching up with you, but you’re shooting off ahead. So the next time I see you, you’ll have a Body of Silver and be extra sexy?”
“Maybe.” Susan chuckled, but the humor melted away swiftly. “I need to survive first. The quest won’t be an easy one and might go on for a few months. If I succeed, the token might go to empowering Skoll and Hati instead. As a Summoner, I’m less likely to face the same problems as Selia.”
“Just stay safe,” Nil told Susan. He was just Katherine’s friend and Andrew’s lover at first, but they had become close friends somewhere along the way. “Andrew won’t take it well if you don’t make it back either.”
The pair mainly ate and talked about Andrew as they ate. Nil told Susan stories from their childhood and how things changed as they grew up. He hugged her before they parted. Susan went off looking for Udit while Nil returned to training. He hadn’t slept in quite a while but now needed to reset his body clock. So, he pushed himself while watching his future opponents’ match recordings.