It took three days for Ju to go out on his own again. He decided not to visit the meditation room immediately, so he spent some days with Moon-Flower.
They both visited different restaurants and pubs, but Moonflower consumed so much alcohol that Ju decided not to return to those places again. The two also visited the library and read books together, especially those about the world's history and geography.
Moonflower made rapid progress in her reading, so Ju had to purchase her books; at least that way, she would not be too bored when he left.
Meanwhile, Ju tried to see if she could use Essence, but she did not react. This bothered the teenager, but he decided to wait it out since she was still young.
“Maybe in a few months or a year.” He thought hopefully.
Ju felt that the faster she could sense and use Essnece, the easier it would be for her to learn how to defend herself should the need arise. In the wastelands, age was just a number, not an excuse. No one would ever show remorse just because their opponent or target was a child.
Right now, Ju was silently walking towards the central part of Ender Town, deep in the settlement. As he went further, the spiritual pressure of each passerby or random person grew so much that Ju was sure he sensed perhaps an Essence artist or two.
The time he spent with Master Pike and the others made Ju's spiritual awareness much more sensitive, an improvement that the boy could not quite explain as there was no information relating to a sudden boost in spiritual awareness without a significant breakthrough.
“I seem to have a bit of talent regarding the perception of spiritual pressure.”
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
However, Ju could not be too sure and grew complacent. This is why he desperately wanted to raise the number of tides in the tempering formula to four and above. If he could somehow get used to that pain and persevere, Ju felt that it could have massive benefits in the future.
Ju already reached the entrance of the Meditation room. Contrary to its massive reputation, the building did not have a truly magnificent design; Ju saw a monolith of rustic elegance looming against the desolate landscape. The building’s exterior is crafted from angular stones that seem to glisten under the sun's bright light. The structure is vast yet devoid of excessive ornamentation; it is large and simple, embodying a certain austere beauty. Tall arched windows puncture the façade, their frames dark as obsidian. Each tile of the roof, crafted from glazed ceramics, carries a faint iridescence, glowing, creating an illusory cascade of shimmering scales across the area.
The place was heavily guarded, even more so than the library. Only a small number of people entered and left, demonstrating its exclusivity. Ju was immediately spotted as an odd one among the others. Although his dressing was quite new and personally given by Master Pike, it still seemed a bit inferior to regular visitors to the Meditation rooms.
“Do you wish to buy time at the meditation room or have a permit?” The guard at the entrance asked curtly
“I have a permit. ” Ju brought out the token and handed it over.
When he saw the logo on the token, the guard looked surprised and somewhat disbelieving.
“Come with me. I can not verify this. We should see the manager, " the guard said with a hint of respect as he stepped back for Ju to pass. Of course, this cautiousness was not directed at Ju but at the person the token represented.
Ju noticed that the other guards did not even pay attention to them. Instead, they focused completely on their posts, excluding strong spiritual pressure. Ju doubted he could defeat even one of them in a fair fight.
“They seem stronger than Tylen and Aron and well-disciplined. As expected of a place like this."
The teenager thought to himself as he entered the building.