A towel masked the lower half of Wangshi’s face, but it couldn’t completely block out the smell and Wangshi’s nose crinkled in passive misery. Carrying the dead-weight all the way to the penthouse’s bathroom wasn’t the hard part. It was the ‘stuff’ expelling out of his body. After Lark had lost conscious after consolidating spiritual qi, his body begun dispersing miasma.
It’s what his clan referred to as unclean energy that hindered metaphysical training but also affected illnesses and body-tempering. Never in his life had he’s seen so much miasma come out of a person after achieving the purification stage. In his youth, little amounts of miasma would collect on his arms and back that could be wiped away after training, so it was a bit shocking to see the bottom of his bathtub covered with gray grease and yellow pus.
He worried at first, wondering if Lark couldn’t handle the power trinity. But after the reappearance of the tattoo, the boy seemed to go quiet and back into a deep meditative state. Controlled and measured breathing, heat centered in the abdomen and hands. Slowly after, the miasma began to form on Lark’s back and arms.
With this much cleansing done, it wouldn’t be surprising if Lark had obtained the same amount of purified qi base as one of the young masters in the main branch, the caretaker thought.
As he wrung out a warm, wet cloth over Lark’s forehead, he muttered to himself, “Still the power trinity is not enough to match Yuuna’s genius.” A rosy complexion suffused over Wangshi’s cheeks as he happily reminisced. “I wonder if she grew up to be a beauty like her mom?”
He tutted and leaned over to drain the sludgy water.
“If that happened, the clan might’ve decided to pair her with one of the suitable boys in the upper families, but I trust that Yaling would know better.” As Wangshi stood up to grab the showerhead, a terrible growl erupted from Lark’s stomach, startling him. “Is he hungry even in his deep sleep?” Wangshi laughed aloud.
Getting the idea he should prepare some warm food, he hurried to rinse off the leftover miasma from Lark’s body and changed out the water with soapy suds. He cradled Lark’s head to the side so that he wouldn’t slip into the bubble bath. Then he went outside.
Once the door shut, Lark’s eyes opened.
“Shit. Not again.”
He looked down at his body, which was covered by aromatic bubbles. Lavender scented. The floral soaks perfumed the humid air, the smell as thick and strong as when he entered his grandmother’s garden. “This is a bit much, isn’t it?” Lark wondered, sticking his arm up with a wall of bubbles. It was only until he used his other arm to shave it off that he became engrossed by the feeling of slick oil on his skin.
So slippery!
He wiggled his lower half. As expected his calves moved over a buttered surface. Lark’s face twisted in disgust and he grabbed the nearest loofah to scrub all over his chest, where more and more sloughs of grainy flakes rubbed off him (the kind that looked like it came out of the pores of his face). Watching where bits of his skin fell into the water, he then noticed some of his scabs entering the mix. Enough was enough. He just had to get out.
As soon as he stood up though, the door swung open.
“Wangshi—” Lark popped back down. “Wait, don’t come in yet! I’m getting out now.”
A couple of seconds passed and he didn’t hear Wangshi say anything nor did the door close. “Hey?” Lark peeled back the shower curtain and saw Gushi wearing his boxers. “Hey!”
The slime bounded up to the shower curtain, tapping its slime appendages impatiently over the bathmat as if to say, “Why are you in there—wait never mind, hurry and come out already!
“Silly Gushi. Don’t wear my shorts,” he said, reaching over to grab his boxers and then froze to the sight of Wangshi, watching him from behind the door.
Lark yanked the curtain back, while still holding onto his boxers and retreated back behind the scattered bubbles. “Jesus. How long were you standing there?”
A mischievous laugh sounded. “Don’t be so shy. I was planning on checking on you when the slime started moving again. And hey, I might not have been there to change you out of diapers, but who did you come to for advice about morning problems and embarrassed enough to ask where to buy new bedsheets—?”
“Okay. Enough of that. I yield. Just please go away. Now.” Lark roughly pulled the shower curtains and turned on the showerhead to drown out the sound of Wangshi’s laughter.
“Please, wash the slime too while you’re in there.” Out of nowhere, Gushi flew over the shower bar and landed into the soapy, grimy bathwater.
“A-” His scream cut short.
—
Lark held his stomach under the table. “Suddenly I feel ache-y everywhere.”
“Oh Celestia, give me the strength…” Wangshi muttered and pushed over a bowl of porridge to him. Lark picked up his spoon gratingly. Beside him, a stunningly silver slime edged over the food on the table.
“Is it hungry?” Wangshi asked, using a chopstick to poke the side of Gushi’s body, which the slime backed away from. It crawled back over Lark’s shoulder and twisted its antenna to ‘keep an eye’ on Wangshi’s movements.
A small ‘hmph’ left Lark’s mouth. The image of a surprised Gushi landing into the water spoiled the taste. He hadn’t lifted the drain when everything sucked into the small jello container. And he wasn’t sure if Gushi did that instinctively to avoid drowning or if slimes could actually ‘eat’ everything, but the bathtub was spotless after.
“I’m not sure.” Lark licked his spoon and scooped up a safe amount for Gushi to try. Once the antenna moved over the spoon, Gushi did a head-tilt. When Lark nodded, saying ‘it’s okay, try it’ did the slime move forward and partake in the entire half of the spoon.
Lark held still for a few moments before asking for the utensil back. Gushi’s slime coat trembled and it let go, revealing an empty spoon.
“Was it good?” he asked and the slime did another half-turn. Lark turned back to Wangshi and said, “I think he likes it.”
Speechless, Wangshi shook his head. “When we get to Celestia, we will need to talk to a beastmaster to ask about slime training.”
“As I thought you’re more pumped up about this.” Lark picked some side dishes into his soup. “I remember you mentioned your wife and daughter… Do you miss them?
A tired look rose in Wangshi’s eyes. “I’d feel guilty if I said yes, since I’ve forgotten them, but I truly do. I want to see them again.”
“Okay. I got it.” Lark chewed on a long piece of broccoli. “We’ll go to Celestia for sure.”
“Did your guide say anything about why you passed out?”
“Does that normally not happen?”
“No.”
Lark darted his focus to another side dish. “I had a long dream while I was out.”
Both busied themselves eating until Wangshi mentioned a connection to the spatial ring. “There could be a clue at the Celestian academy.”
“What makes you say that?”
“First of all, spatial rings are rare. Not many are made because it requires the rare spatial element affinity to make one, and those with special affinities are often extorted by the royal family.”
“Extorted?” Lark repeated, raising a brow. That was different. “They’re not protected?”
“Some would say protected, but only the royal family had access to their special magic and unless a person showed loyalty or promise, ordinary people would never get a chance to have it.” Wangshi began counting off his fingers. “Spatial magic. Dark magic. Astral magic. And light magic.”
Lark chewed his food slowly. True, if they were “protected” it also meant exclusivity.
“So, looking at your ring, I remembered that the royal family hosted a yearly tournament, but the rewards that last year were so extravagant because the youngest son was participating. They gifted spatial rings to the top three rankers. And if I recall correctly, the third prince had won that year, but he already owned a spatial ring and made gossip circles go crazy when he gifted it to his girlfriend. The other two rankers were unsurprisingly the prince’s followers.”
“Followers, not friends, you say?”
“Of course, those are the rumors but… I suppose a frivolous prince can have friends.”
“Frivolous? Your stories are becoming more and more exaggerated.” Lark laughed, finishing his porridge.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Yeah. Thanks.” Lark breathed a sigh of relief. “Actually… that dream I had…I want to talk about it…”
Retelling the story of someone’s death isn’t easy, but it’s worse when it’s your own. Two freshly poured cups of tea sat between the three. Gushi’s antenna briefly lit red once its appendage touched the side of the mug. Lark pulled the slime into his lap. “Careful.”
Wangshi’s hand rested under his chin, and the other brashly raised the teacup before it finished cooling. “Aiiiyo. Hot,” he sputtered. “How did so much happen in the last couple of hours?”
“I’m not sure either, but every time I hear a bell, inside here.”—Lark tapped the side of his temple—“I enter another world. Sphinx says the process is somehow facilitated by SIM’s creator.”
“The Librarian, yes, I don’t know anyone by that title, except well, you know normal librarians. I mean sure there was that one mean clerk who handled book returns, but still—and so then where’s this book?”
“Oh, right.” Remembering Sphinx’s instructions, he opened SIM from his watch. He tapped on the new menu item under the Item tab called, Library. Something akin to an inventory box floated next to him. It gave off the same pressure as the spatial ring without the inky sphere, but he could clearly see the book in stasis like a 2D-picture. He tapped once again on the picture and an option screen popped up.
“Would you like to take out:
Item: Volume Two of Study of Hands (book)
Yes/No?”
“Yes,” Lark said, and the square ‘unlocked’ for him. He pulled it outside to Wangshi’s awe, who was not used to Lark pulling things out of thin air.
“The rule is I can only take one book out of the library every thirty days.” Lark showcased the green book cover. Gushi stood proudly aside him.
Wangshi slumped over his chair. “I didn’t think it’d be possible, but you’ve achieved bringing the metaphysical realm into the material reality... don’t look at me like that... I wasn’t the studious type to begin with. But I heard of sages entering a metaphysical world and eating the fruit of knowledge to gain powers. Something to that effect. It’s not something that’s widely known so I’d limit what you tell others about this.”
“I feel the same way.” Lark passed over the book.
“This… you said the bird predicted you’d be able to learn a skill from reading this?”
“That’s the thing....both Pisces and Nympha said I’d be able to gain attunement, not necessarily a new skill.”
Wangshi rubbed his chin again. “I see. It’s basically reinforcing a specific talent. Possibly, the passive skill you gained, steady hands, which, to be honest, sounds like a useful skill. Like a surgeon who is known to have ‘steady hands’ is more reliable than one without.”
“I’m sure it is.” Lark snickered, while Wangshi briskly flipped through the pages, previewing every drawing.
“Anyhow I’m not entirely sure how to go about this. I don't have time to read all damn day. If I got to choose, I’d rather watch something fast and awesome.”
“It’s not that I disagree with what you’re saying, but clearly there must be something special about this book we’re missing.”
“The pages are hand-drawn. Which could make it a personal collection?" Lark pointed out, lightly spreading out his fingers over the pages. Running his fingertips across the lettering, he felt the grooves and impressions left behind. Some smooth, and some rough.
“I’ll leave this with you, Wangshi, I don’t think I have the mental capacity to look through it right now.” As he said this, Lark stretched his arms above his head, bellowing a loud yawn.
Quietly, Wangshi placed the book onto the coffee table. “Say, don’t you have any questions to ask me?”
“I do. But I don’t even know where to start or if we even have enough time to go over everything.” Lark checked his watch. Surprisingly it was still Saturday, but well into the evening now.
Just how many things did I do today? Lark’s eyes glazed over Wangshi who had only recently awoken from his coma and agreed to teach him some basics. Then, there was that horrid Sphinx who dropped a million problems after another. Never mind his new spirit familiar who has unfinished business elsewhere.
Who in the world designed the tutorial this way? This was a lot more to handle than a secret boss at the beginning of the game. Lark couldn’t help but grimace to himself unable to really complain to anyone. Hanging his head low, he said to his caretaker, “I’m going to take a nap to mull some things over.”
He was about to head to his room when Wangshi grabbed his shoulder. “If you’re serious about training. I’ll wake you up at 5.”
Although he wanted to whine, he didn’t say anything and nodded before yawning once more. “I should be fine without becoming a sleeping beauty like a certain someone. Just don’t forget Soko’s appointment. I feel like they may know something the world doesn’t yet,” said Lark, quickly bidding Wangshi goodnight lest he should change his mind about training.
Finally, inside his room, Lark dropped and rolled over his bed. Gushi clambered after him and claimed the second pillow as his bed. Lark propped his elbow so that he could look over his slime. In a low voice, he asked it, “Are you okay after absorbing all that crap?”
But it seemed the slime was more tired than he and did not stir from its nest.
He pulled up Gushi’s stats screen first.
“Gushi (Lark’s pet) (Slime)
Title: Converted Buoyant Slime
Known affinities: none*
Lvl 1
Happiness: 100%
Conditions: Purifying miasma (60%)
STR: 12
DEX: 20
INT: 33
MG: 25
SPRT: 15
LUK: 15”
After the episode within SIM, it appeared Gushi grew a bit stronger. Checking the star next to affinities, a cursory explanation popped up. “Possibly a slime with a unique nature.”
“Unique?” For some reason, a tinge of jealousy towards his slime rose in his heart. “What’s this? A special slime sleeping here.” Lark pinched the side of Gushi’s face, who flat out slapped his hand away with its antenna. Chuckling, Lark read on.
“Skills:
[Engulf]
[Transform]
[Flexible Body] - [Splitting]
[Boiling Body]
[Patching] - [Siphoning]
[Perception]
[Propel]”
“That’s right,” Lark murmured. “You gained new skills after fighting him.” As soon as he thought of the ‘resets’ his eyes drooped. Unable to focus, his eyes surrendered to the darkness as the new descriptions of the two new skill windows opened.
“[Splitting] - Can split into parts.”
“[Siphoning] Magic Skill - Rank E
Receives energy from organisms upon contact.
Effect: Regains some health, slows aggressor, may cause limited paralysis.”
To his surprise, the boxes were not there when he awoke from Wangshi’s knocking. That was because the light emitting from the information boxes irritated the sleepy slime, who quickly learned the x’s could closeout information. It wasn’t until meeting Cornelius Goodwing did Lark learn why his slime was so special.