When Song Yi’s ‘technique’ ended, nothing remained of the enemy. She had destroyed the estate’s road-facing side, the road, a part of the mountain, the Cursed Ones, and the agents of the Scourge. It wasn’t just destruction that lay ahead. Flora rapidly grew from all disintegrated surfaces. The new immortal brought death and destruction, and life too.

Even though Nil was eager to ask Song Yi about what she had just done, he kept his mouth shut. On Earth, most Summoned considered it bad form to ask about another’s ability. It was private information, and only the authorities had access. He guessed things weren’t too different wherever the Nexus had sent him. The formality with which Kim Hwan addressed the Song sisters only reinforced the belief.

“What is it, Honored Summoned?” Song Yi asked. Her words were short and curt. “Your kind can’t wait to return home after their quests. Yet you linger. Is there something you want more than our thanks?”

As soon as the quest ended, the timer on the Schema interface started counting down from ten minutes. Nil also had the option to accept a teleport back immediately.

“I’m just marveling at the destruction you caused with what seemed like a flick of your finger,” Nil commented. He spoke much faster than normal as his heart pounded, and he felt his cheeks flushing. It wasn’t that the woman before him was the most beautiful person he had spoken to, but she seemed the closest thing to a real god he had ever encountered. “The way you and your sister circulate energy is fascinating. I was just taking a moment to study the flow to emulate myself, hopefully.”

Song Yi’s eyes narrowed. She looked him up and down. “You can see the Qi flowing through us?”

Nil nodded. “More clearly with Song Yun than you—”

“You, my lady,” Song Yun whispered. Kim Hwan stood on the other end of the courtyard, putting together a pack. The man had retrieved horses from somewhere deeper in the estate. Nil had seen no sign of stables, and he wondered where they had stored the animals. He glanced at the trio for a moment before returning to his work. He almost seemed hesitant to look at Song Yi directly.

“The Qi flowing through you is so bright, it blinded my sensing ability,” Nil said, stiffening as Song Yi moved closer. The air turned viscous. Moving and breathing became a challenge. “My lady.” He almost forgot to add the honorific. “I can somewhat see Song Yun’s now. It was clearer while she was cultivating. Kim Hwan, on the other hand, might as well be invisible to my Energy Instinct unless he’s cultivating or using his techniques.”

“Interesting.” Song Yi glanced between Nil and her sister thoughtfully. “I’ve never met a Summoned capable of sensing or tracking our Qi. Especially one from a barren world.” She moved so close Nil could smell her sweat along with a familiar stench. A little pond of black sludge sat at the center of the cultivation room. It was the same horrid waste material he had produced during his ascension but in greater quantity. Nil considered it a wonder she didn’t smell worse. “You’ve got a fair bit in you, though. Raw energy is in your core, and Demonic Qi is in your arms. Curious.”

“I’m working on purging the Demonic Qi. My unformed soul weapon is warped. It seems to absorb it.”

“So you’re not interested in cultivating it?”

Nil shook his head. “I only want to learn how to guide the energies in my body and control their flow. Finding a way to expel the Demonic Qi would be great.”

“You did well keeping my dear sister alive and ensuring I wasn’t interrupted,” Song Yi said. “So, I suppose you deserve more than whatever the Nexus promised you.” The immortal poked Nil’s sternum. A little mote of white light flowed into him. “You have a minor power seed trying to merge with the greater. I gave it a little push. Turning you into a cultivator would take years.” She paused. “Maybe months with that sensory ability, but it would be pointless, given you live in a Qi-barren realm. So, maybe this will help.”

“Thank you, my lady,” Nil said, bowing awkwardly.

“Run along now. I’m ravenous and wish to feast before we depart.”

Nil eagerly checked his Schema interface after teleporting to the Nexus, his heart racing.

Energy Instinct has become a sub-ability of Brutal Battery.

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Energy Instinct can no longer be switched off. However, focusing on the ability will increase its power. The visual aspect will only activate during the focused state.

Available Spark and Finesse-focused evolutions for Energy Instinct:

* Seeker Of Arcane: Release a negligible pulse of energy that travels a hundred feet from you, detecting living organisms and other energy sources. Your passive detection is considerably sharpened, and you have an easier time detecting what you can Absorb and what you can not.

* Master Of Self: You have instinctual control over the energy within your domain. Absorption, expulsion, internal circulation, and all else come naturally to you. Gain minor proficiency in shaping personal energy within six inches of your body.

* Curse Eater: Process and assimilate all Cursed Energy you absorb to reinforce your attributes. Side effects may include hallucinations, fading sanity, and changes to your appearance.

It wasn’t a tough decision.

Nil discounted Curse Eater straight away. He wanted nothing to do with Cursed Energy and couldn’t wait to purge the vile presence from his body. The uncontained energy didn’t just look ugly but also left him feeling sickly. The thought of processing and assimilating it turned his stomach, and the side effects also concerned him.

Seeker of Arcane was a decent option, but Nil was okay with his current sensory abilities. If the Schema offered him the option again in the future, he would accept it in a heartbeat. It sounded like a magic sonar that would significantly increase his range. The ability to tell whether Absorb would work against an incoming attack was incredible too.

However, in Nil’s eyes, neither option held a candle to Master Of Self. He guessed it was born of Song Yi’s gift. Improved control over Brutal Battery’s stores was enough to make it a worthy pick. The idea of doing the same with Cursed Energy especially excited him. He liked the prospect of not absorbing any more of it and slowly expelling what he already had stored in his soul weapon. Nil wasn’t quite sure what ‘shaping energy’ meant, but if his mental image was correct, the element was a lot more than a cherry on top. He mentally thanked Song Yi before picking the upgrade and investing his Schema Tokens in Finesse.

* Might: Iron 2 | Potential: Bronze

* Finesse: Iron 6 | Potential: Gold

* Mind: Mortal 9 | Potential : Iron

* Spark: Iron 8 | Potential Platinum

Brutal Battery: Iron 3

* Absorb: Iron 4

* Expend: Iron 3

* Toggled Supercharging: Mortal 8

* Energy Instinct: Iron 0

Feats:

* Haunting Visage

* Armsmaster’s Disappointment

* Through Sheer Grit

* The Power Of Belief

* Restless In Body And Mind

Nil had one Schema Token. He banked it for later before visiting the Fountain of Pyrene and then Layla.

There wasn’t much to discuss. He pushed the Nexus employee to consider Isabella again and reported Udit’s willingness to work for the new ludus. She handed Nil a contract to take to his father. He was happy to learn things were coming along well, and the operation would be up and running in less than a month.

Finally, the pair moved on to discussing the Symbiotech matter.

“This is taking longer than expected,” Layla said. “Do you need more people for this? I have new agents with perfect skill sets for this job. They have their own quests, but I can redirect them for your benefit.”

“Andrew and I are planning to do it within the month,” Nil said. “I know it's taking time, but we’re trying to get all the information we can first. He’s infiltrating and seeding their system, so I can’t be pulled up on criminal charges. We also need to minimize collateral damage.”

“Why?” Layla raised an eyebrow. “We want Symbiotech going down. Collateral damage is good.”

“Perhaps property damage, but there are children in the building. We need to find out why they’re there and the nature of the experiment involving them and ensure they’re not hurt. Ideally, I want them out of the building before we do anything.”

“And how the hell are you going to pull that off? Need I remind you that everybody, including the unwilling Katherine Park, has had more information and results in the past three months?”

“I believe we’ve isolated where they’re storing the Cursed Energy, and I have someone looking for other people like Pietro. Give me another month, and I’ll get the job done. We want to hurt them hard enough to ruin their reputation. Andrew is preparing a media packet that will get leaked when I finish my part. I don’t want these bastards covering up their crimes again.”

“Fine. I’m trusting you, Nil. We’ve invested a fair bit on your word.” Layla paused, scanning an invisible surface between them for a moment. “I’m going to find someone to assist you. They’ll stay out of your way and only help if you need it.”

“Thank you for trusting me.”

Layla nodded. “Good job on the quest, by the way. A new immortal will make a big difference to the Beacon World and its neighbors. I hope you make good use of your new store access. Mostly Summoned from Qi-rich worlds, get into the Moon Rabbit Emporium.”

“I’m keen to check it out,” Nil said. “The Song siblings got me excited about all of this cultivation thing.”

“Your growth is essentially Schema-assisted cultivation. It's about time you visited the Nexus Market. There is a lot in there you might find useful regardless of whether you rely on weaponry and armor.”