After the demonstration, they spent the day in the seaside town. They talked about their experiences in the Control World and everything they had learned and seen. The four of them talked, drank, ate, and watched the scenery. It wasn’t their first visit to the inn, and the locals knew them. Most of them didn’t watch Apocalypse Arena. In fact, a good deal of the world’s residents considered it barbaric. Even if they recognized the Seed Worlders or their arena personas, they said nothing. Instead, the landlord and servers treated the quartet the same as everyone else.
Meanwhile, the other patrons only shot them cursory glances. Mostly locals occupied the inn’s dining room and bar. They left Nil and his friends alone. One commented on Andrew’s artisanry. A couple, seemingly visitors like the group, asked where he worked and whether he had a store.
Andrew and Susan got a room for the afternoon, leaving Nil and Shawn alone. They sat outside, ate, and watched the sea. The passing vessels ranged from Roman-style triremes, sailboats, and galleys to futuristic warships that glowed with arcane lights, which Nil expected to find in sci-fi films. The conversation was light and felt unnecessary. The pair mostly discussed cultivation, magic, and their teachers.
Druids fascinated Nil. Initially, he expected mages who specialized in magic involving life and nature. He also expected animal companions or the ability to turn into beasts. After talking to Shawn, Nil learned that he was somewhat right but also capable of a lot more.
“Druids were the first mages and learned everything they know from Yggdrasil,” Susan had summarized when questioned. “Then they shared everything they know with mortals and spread it around the multiverse. Some records suggest that Qi cultivators and the like outdate them, but the matter is heavily debated.
“Druids went around the multiverse, warding wells of power against the Void and building upon them. They built the waygates, stopped incursions, and gave mortal kind the chance to fight back. Space and time magic, modern healing, and this world are all their doing.”
“So they were the Nexus before the Nexus came to be?” Nil had asked.
“That’s one way to put it.” Susan shrugged. “I’m paraphrasing and am probably leaving out a bunch. They brought Shawn here because barrier and protection magic is their thing. The druid circle thinks he also has the potential to venture into space magic.”
“And what about you?”
“Something, something, natural summoner, and spirit companion host. Apparently, my potential for healing and life magic is above average. Honestly, I’m out of my depth here. Shawn is the one learning things. I’ve mostly been in their libraries or helping with the local wildlife. When I came here, I thought Andrew and I would get to see each other more often than just once a month. It’s better than not seeing him for an entire year, I suppose.”
Andrew and Susan didn’t emerge from their rooms until the sunlamps above the patch of sea started darkening. It made for a wondrous sight, and Nil wished Selia was there to enjoy it with him. They parted ways afterward. Andrew held on to booze since the druids brewed their own liquor and didn’t allow any from the outside world. Nil was eager to leave since he had a match coming up and wanted to cultivate before starting his work day.
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Even though Nil didn’t have a session with Master Seer the following morning, he scaled the mountainside using all of his abilities and made it in a third of the usual time. The crater housed a handful of other cultivators. Nil scanned them all with Energy Instinct. None used the same energy circulation and absorption techniques. Everyone had their nuances and unique methods, and none Nil had asked shared their secrets. Instead of handing Nil a secret, powerful technique, Master Seer had him improve on what he already knew.
“At the end of the day, nothing but the fundamentals matter,” Master Seer had explained. “Most cultivation techniques work in tandem with a subset of powers or elements. Some are more efficient than others, but the end result is more or less the same. They’re all variations and deviations of fundamental cultivation. The best way to describe it would be specialization.
“When you’re cultivating raw energy. The Source. Why bother with specialization? Go with the most basic and fundamental methods because there is nothing better than mastering them. Just focus on your visualizations, your instincts, and the feel of it.”
“But Iris wields the Source and has a unique cultivation technique,” Nil said. “Wouldn’t I benefit from something similar?”
“No. Her use of the Source is vastly different from yours. Her ability is inherited and not handed out by the Schema. It's an application of the Source that’s been refined over several generations. Note how it doesn’t disintegrate anything unless she causes a detonation. Meanwhile, you wield the Source in its rawest form and are discovering the applications yourself. So, you need to work with the basics until you develop something yourself.”
“Nothing comes easy, does it?”
“Not for you. No. You’re not chosen. You’re not special. You had to fight for everything you have literally, wrestle it under your control, and turn it into something valuable. I still can’t tell whether the Source Gauntlets got to you by chance or you earned them. No one said this would be easy.” Master Seer appeared and sounded amused. “You need to get where you’re going through sheer grit.”
“I regret detailing my feats.” Nil sighed.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“I never asked. Understanding your abilities and soul weapon is enough for me.”
Nil casually sparred with the other cultivators, still not using Absorb or Expend. He focused on repositioning with Anti-Friction Lattice and pushing Toggled Supercharging further. Combining speed with toughness or strength made him a significantly greater threat. It gave him hope for the upcoming arena match.
After his morning workout, he descended as fast as possible, had a quick wash, and raced to the market at the bottom of the mountain. Eyes were once again on the world tree's canopy. In fact, a good deal of cultivators spectating the morning spars had occasionally let their eyes drift to the sea of green and brown above.
“Master Roy!” The fishmonger waved when she spotted Nil. Her stall was a roughly grown structure filled with tubs and enchanted boxes. She lifted one far too big and seemingly heavy for her slender build and cosmetic age, and brought it out to the front. “I have your order ready! Live Black Pearl and clams. I have excellent muscles, oysters, and vigor urchin if you'd like.”
“Vigor urchin?” Nil raised an eyebrow, glancing at the fist sized bland and red spheres covered in five-inch long spikes. “How are they different from regular urchin?”
“They give virile men the vigor to keep going all night!” The fishmonger laughed, glancing at the canopy for a moment. “An arena fighter in his youth might not need such assistance, but they're buttery, smooth, rich, and great for stamina. Whether it be for a night with your lady or fight…”
The woman's train of thought seemed to derail. Her blue-grey eyes focused on a patch of Ashe's canopy. Before Nil could ask, he noticed an oddity. A branch was quivering and new woody tendrils slowly sprouted from it. The trees around the point shook violently and nearby clouds dispersed, revealing more such patches.
Several shopkeepers and pedestrians had paused their conversations and trades to observe the occurrence. Nil worried there was a disaster coming and prepared to help with a possible evacuation but no one seemed concerned. The world's average resident was high-Iron if not of Bronze Realm. Nil doubted they'd want much assistance from him. A soft breeze blew through the market and Nil felt a chill at sea level for the first time since his arrival on the Control World.
Then, it happened. And, everyone in the vicinity burst into a deafening cheer. A quivering bud emerged from the growing and shifting branch. It pulsated with gold, green, and orange lights. Then it exploded open, spraying the world with a thick plume of magic that broke into motes and rained on the world below. The jerk also knocked several leaves free. Nil saw their incredible detail as gravity pulled them down. The giant pieces of green pulsed with dense magic and energy. As the wind made the leaf dance on its way down the ambient magic spiked and beautiful, calming lights spread on the ground below it.
“This is the answer to your question,” the Fishmonger said, wiping a tear from her eye. “This is why we call our world Ashe Fall. Each life will inspire growth and health in all life around it. The lucky will get to touch and even luckier might get a fragment to take home and brew. Ashe shares her strength and prosperity with us, letting common folk and spirit companions flourish the generous gift’s power.”
“Spirit companion, you say?”
Eager to share the experience with someone, Nil expelled Meatball from his core. She shivered in his hand and her eyes shot to the falling leaves.
“One should touch down close to us. Want to have a closer look?”
Meatball released a high-pitched squeak, barked like a dog, and then leaped from Nil’s hand. She sped away, weaving through the people still enchanted by the scene.
“Go on, Master Roy!” The Fishmonger cheered. “Go after her. You might never get a chance to feel Ashe’s power this close and personal again.”
“But what about—”
“Leave your shopping in my care if you're worried. This isn't a Beacon World; no one will touch your purchases unless they're in the way disrupting traffic.”
Nil accepted the offer without a second thought. Expend carried him to a nearby roof, and he relied on Energy Instinct to track Meatball. The whelp had already sped over a hundred meters away.
Between Toggled Supercharging and Expend, Nil had no trouble outspeeding his spirit companion. However, the throngs of people in the market kept him from using the latter. The chances of causing accidents and injuries were high. There were also several children and teenagers racing towards the falling leaf. He didn't like the idea of pushing past them. So, Nil leaped from one shop roof to another, taking off with Expend and softening his landings with Absorb. He inflicted no property damage but didn't move particularly far, either. Several young adults—or at least fully grown cultivators—with Iron and Bronze energy readings also pursued the leaf. Energy Instinct's analysis of the supposedly rare event told him that it was an opportunity for the young, ambitious, and eager to get a power boost.
The energy got thicker as Nil got closer to the leaf’s probable landing sight. He could feel it rapidly approaching the mountaintop’s viscosity. The air seemed almost manic. He couldn’t tell whether it was people celebrating or carried away by the wonder of the rare moment of beauty or power. But it didn’t matter. Nil could feel incredible power just outside of his reach.
I must have a piece of it!
Nil felt drunk. His heart raced, and even though he hadn’t yet touched his prize, an alien ecstasy threatened to take over. Unfortunately, his desires never saw fulfillment. Men and women wearing the world-tree crest blocked him. Nil knew the symbol. It was a simple circle showing a tree with deep roots and wide-spreading branches. Intricate leaves grew out of them, filling in the circle and wrapping around the border. Shawn and Susan’s were made of stone, while the pair blocking Nil’s path wore pale wood.
“This is for Ashe Fall’s residents only.
“But—”
The silent one of the pair clicked her fingers, letting off pink and gold sparks. Nil’s mind became clearer. “You’re caught up in the world tree’s fervor. Calm or we shall—”
Clarity washed over Nil when he supercharged psychic fortitude. He felt calmer and not as desperate for the prize that lay ahead. Yet an invisible force demanded he charge forward and absorb the world tree’s energy directly from the source. Then he caught sight of Meatball waddling away, carrying a thick chunk of leaf in her forelimbs and a smaller piece in her mouth.
“I apologize, Druids,” Iris said, seemingly out of nowhere. She looped an arm around Nil. “I’ll take care of him.”
“Thank you but I can take care of myself,” Nil said once she had pulled him away.
“Oh, you’re the one that helped me there.” Iris chuckled, nodding at the ground. Two of her Source Arms drifted along the ground, carrying a large flat piece of Ashe’s fallen leaf. “As a thank you for being an excellent distraction, I’ll share my prize.”