“You know your biggest issue?” Watcher asked. “You lack the killer instinct. I know you took lives in the Death Gauntlet, but your chances of winning a ticket are low unless you’re willing to do the same in the pre-Cleansing events.” Watcher Behind The Stars didn’t present himself as Master Seer. Instead, the entity appeared to him during his morning meditation the same way he had when Nil paid for lessons. “But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You’re a nurturer first and a soldier second.”
The words didn’t shake Nil’s resolve or focus. He concentrated on absorbing the volcano and world tree’s Qi. It flowed through his energy channels, refreshing muscles and joints as it passed and then gathered under his navel, gently swirling. It was a lot calmer than his Source Sphere, and Nil knew that was how it was supposed to be. The maelstrom of Source was for the outside. Within, he needed calm and control.
“This arena life isn’t for you. Quest. Help people. Do good for the multiverse in your own way. Leave the cutthroat work for the people with a stomach for it.”
Nil continued to ignore Watcher and pressed his fingertips together before him. His eblows rested on his knees, keeping his arms relaxed. The gems on the back of his gauntlets glowed silver and gained luminosity as he gathered energy within them. He slowly coaxed out a sliver and created a small vortex. He rarely created Source Spheres with defensive energy, but there was something he wanted to try.
Controlling the Source in its silver form proved harder. It went well with energy shaping but not manipulation. Trial and error had taught him that silver was resistant to movement. It desired rigidity. Creating a Source Sphere with it gave him a mild headache, but maintaining focus proved more challenging. He only needed it for a moment. Nil had something specific in mind.
After forming a grapefruit-sized Source Sphere, Nil pulled the energy back, leaving nothing but the outer shell. It was rigid and firm. A firm grasp of shaping helped him maintain the silver sphere when he switched to Expend, and the gauntlets’ gems turned crimson, and it was time for him to push manipulation to its limits. Nil slowly emitted energy and created a crimson vortex. He pushed until just before the maelstrom of destructive energy caressed the silver. It was like oil and water. They didn’t mix or react with one another.
“Excellent!” Watcher exclaimed, changing his tone. “Now stabilize it.”
Nil did just that. The encased Source Sphere wouldn’t prove helpful in combat, doubly so when he switched back to Absorb and the construct remained. It made for an excellent practice tool. Once Nil mastered it, translating the technique to other shapes would be considerably easier. When Nil released the sphere and took a step back, it hovered in place. He thrust a palm into it and used a combination of emission and manipulation to drive it forward. It flew several meters before the shell collapsed, and the sphere started diffusing, extending the range significantly.
Weild The Source has progressed to Iron 9!
Source Gauntlets have progressed to Iron 9!
Please consult a soulsmith about ascending your soul weapon to Bronze Realm.
Energy Instinct has progressed to Bronze 0!
Your mastery of internal and external energies has significantly improved. You can draw on defensive Source energy for a second after switching to Expend from Absorb, and the same is true in the opposite direction.
The base upgrade was far more powerful than what Nil had anticipated. It would make his current exercise significantly easier. As his ability to maintain Source constructs improved, Nil could foresee holding silver barriers for a few extra seconds as he switched to Expend and prepared to strike.
Pick one of the following for the ability evolution:
* Energy Psychometry: When surrounded by alien energies, you’ll gain a rough idea of its source and purpose. The more time between the expenditure and your detection, the less information you’ll find. The psychometry has a limit of one hour.
* Energy Purification: Absorb any and all energy and purify it before cultivation, separating the bad from the good and only keeping what you desire. The rejected darkness will dissipate and fade into nothingness. Harmful foreign substances will also struggle to survive the purification process.
Both options were excellent, but Nil didn’t foresee needing psychometry unless he worked for CIT or took on more investigative quests. Meanwhile, Energy Purification felt significantly more tailored to his life as a cultivator, as well as the kind of work the Nexus expected him to do. He and his friends could avoid Cursed Energy build-up in their systems if he absorbed and purified it. In fact, he believed it would significantly help him eliminate the Scourge and assist in the reclaiming of fallen worlds. It meant that he wouldn’t get any more double-edged traits, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Taking Restless In Body And Mind had proven itself a mistake. Nil wouldn’t get any more symbiotes to rip the bad out of his system. He wasn’t sure, but the idea of using Energy Instinct to purify Emily absorbed during her quests also appealed to him.
“Good job maintaining your focus,” Watcher said. “Perhaps derision isn’t the best tool for rattling your focus and concentration. I’d like you to continue the exercises independently. I want you to be able to create Source weapons and use them without consuming the energy. It’ll help you diversify your attack style and approach.”
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“I tried to emulate Iris’s Source Arms,” Nil said. “I’ve been studying it with Energy Instinct for months, trying to figure out the different elements. Silver is the stable shell for the volatile crimson within. I need to figure out how to nullify the silver’s absorption abilities, but it should serve as the Source Sphere bomb for now.”
“It’s not the most efficient use of energy, but yes. Keep at it. You’re close.” Watcher paused. Nil caught the number of eyes on the man’s face multiply for a moment, but when he directly looked at the man, they disappeared. “It won’t be long before you bend the Source to do your will.” Watcher almost sounded amused as he continued. “I can almost foresee it.”
“Are you clairvoyant?”
“No such thing exists. The future is flexible and forever changing. One can calculate probabilities and guess at possibilities, but nothing more. Many have attempted to find their best future and then force it to come true but they never succeeded. In fact, the only thing they achieved was the hastening of their downfall.”
“What are the chances of me making it into the Cleansing?” Nil asked.
“Low. I’m afraid the odds are in the Void’s favor.”
“Don’t you intend to do anything about it?”
“No.” Watcher didn’t elaborate.
Three tickets were gone. Wilson Luduses now had two. Shawn had one. In the following days, the numbers changed, but it wasn’t all bad news. Zora lost her match by a narrow margin, while Cara Sue won hers. Then came Selia’s turn. Andrew alerted him of the match, and Nil caught the final minutes of it. She faced two foes just like he had. Both were from Wilson Luduses.
This time, the arena construct put the challengers in a maze. They had to fight their way past several Cursed Ones, reach the maze’s heart, and protect it. The rules reminded Nil of king-of-the-hill style of games. One person had to hold a position for a certain amount of time to attain victory.
Selia breezed through the challenge. A beacon of light rose from the heart, marking its location. Selia phased through walls and monsters, reaching the maze’s center long before her competitors. Then, she activated the central device and held the position with grace as they arrived bloody and tired after several battles.
The Cursed Ones Selia had avoided also found their way to the light, creating further trouble for the other competitors. It took a quarter of an hour for the device to finish powering up, and she needed to stay on the large circular pressure plate, ensuring the device didn’t lose its connection to whatever fed it. Its activation released a pulse that destroyed all Cursed Ones and teleported the competitors out of the arena.
There was no second place. Both fighters from Wilson Luduses got marked third, while Selia walked away with the Cleansing ticket. Nil was happy for his girlfriend, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel like a failure. Despite all the extraordinary opportunities the Nexus had granted him, he was falling behind.
No. You still have a chance.
“Given all your breakthroughs and strength, you’ll get one for sure,” Iris assured him. “There is little one can do against poison.”
“I don’t know if the Schema is fucking with me or things would’ve been different if I ascended Energy Instinct sooner,” Nil replied. “It might’ve given me the tools to purge the poison from my system.”
“That’s usually how it goes with the Schema. Or, so I hear. My brother lost his arena fight to Mind Magic, and the Schema offered him a manual on warding against such attacks a week later after reaching a growth milestone. If he had the manual earlier, do you think he would’ve won?”
“No.” Nil sighed. “Getting a technique or ability and learning to use it effectively in combat are two different things.” He smiled. “Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Iris. I’ll be fine.”
“We can do more to cheer you up, you know?” Iris’s mischievous grin clarified what she meant.
“I appreciate the offer, but nothing has changed.”
Iris shrugged and left to clean up for dinner.
He washed and went to bed, feeling down. Andrew had tried to cheer him up early in the day, but it didn’t help much. Nil needed some time to stew and decompress. He stripped down to his shorts and climbed into bed. Sleep proved elusive, and it took quite a while to find him. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. A warmth joined him under his blanket. Nil felt smooth hairless skin against his back, and the characteristic softness of breasts accompanied it. Then, a delicate but toned arm wrapped around him, driving away the final traces of slumber.
Nil jumped out from under the covers straight away, ready to rebuke Iris. He froze. The hair and body shape didn’t match. Nil had encountered the same smile in bed several times before. It was Selia.
“Were you expecting someone else?” She asked, obviously amused. Selia sat up, and the moonlight caught her face.
“No,” Nil answered. “I’m just surprised.” He dropped to his knees and pulled her into a tight hug. “I haven’t seen you in forever.”
“I’m sorry. The Weavers didn’t want me getting distracted during my training.” Selia kissed him, and the knot in his stomach unfurled. All the tension that had built up since the loss melted away. “The notes were the most I could manage without getting caught.”
“I guessed as much. Did you give you a free pass after winning a ticket?”
Selia shook her head. “I’m supposed to be starting ascending my body to Silver Realm tonight. They think I’m locked in the warded ascension chamber. Since there is no fixed time for the process, I thought I could get some hours with you, and they’d be none the wiser.”
“What are the consequences if you get caught?”
Selia shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t really care right now. I wanted to come to you when you lost. It was so bloody close. They wouldn’t even let me celebrate my win with you.” She kissed him again, delicate fingers caressing his hair gently. The gentle touch sent a shiver down Nil’s spine. Goosebumps appeared on his arms. “How about we set aside all the bullshit and save our concerns for the morning?”
“That sounds amazing to me,” Nil replied. “How long do we have?”
“Dawn would be pushing it, but let's not worry about that right now.”