-Brutus-
I was rudely awoken by an incandescent light flashing over my loft. Even though I was under a blanket, the photons still managed to permeate through my eyelids, figuratively raping the optical lobe in my brain.
I grunted in discomfort, as a loud shrieking noise accompanied the blinding light. It was like the uncaring demonic cries of a newborn banshee, calling for its mother’s teat in the middle of the night.
The horrible sound pierced my ear drums and shook my very soul. I’d felt this type of assault on multiple occasions and it never got easier. It was what the lore keeper called her flashbang.
Sitting up I blinked my blurry eyes until they were able to focus on the green haired lady standing before a swirling blue portal. The portal was the only light in the room, since my windows were covered with trash bags and ducking tape.
My head and heart were pounding. I couldn’t remember what happened last night. That was until my memories started coming back in pieces.
After hearing about my new disciple, I couldn’t help but drink away my problems. A new disciple… wonderful. I really didn’t want to see that stupid kid. Isaac was a tragedy. One that everyone was responsible for. Now I had to be the one to deal with him. I could remember opening that thousands of year old bottle of wine.
The bottle laid on the floor, now broken into hundreds of glass fragments. Crap, I really hope I drank it and didn’t just throw it against the wall.
Considering how hungover I was, I probably inhaled it, and chucked it. I couldn’t even remember what it tasted like. What a waste. That bottle was supposed to help with my cultivation. Now I might only get a fraction of that poison affinity.
“Your late you big brut. Isaac’s already at the monastery and get this, he almost killed himself.” She said.
That didn’t sound good. She then went on to explain the situation. How Isaac flooded his meridians with corruption. How Yukio mistreated him, and how it was all my fault. I told that stupid goddess this was a bad idea, but no, she gave him to me regardless.
before I headed out, I went ahead and activated my cultivation method converting my hangover into poison aspects. Then fed that refined energy into the spark within my dantian. The density of that spark grew by a tiny, almost insignificant fraction. I totally wasted that bottle. Oh, well.
The show was over due, so I headed out of the room and prayed to Cosmo that the kid hadn’t died. Scratch that, If she found out, I’d end up spending the next 10 years as her pet turtle. Best to keep it quiet and roll with the blunder.
I followed the lore keeper through the portal and back to Chikyu. Once at the monastery I headed to the disciple quarters and met up with that brat Yukio. The brat was tucking the kid into bed. She was irritated and upset.
“You’d better start detoxing the kid. If he dies then I’m throwing you into the cave.” I threatened. My words caused the hair on the brats neck to go stiff.
She quickly turned to face me, fear creeping its way onto her face. “Please don’t do that!” She begged.
“You were a dick, now redeem yourself by purging the kids corruption, or pay in another way and jump into the cave for a week or two.” I told her.
”Okay, okay, I’m sorry!” She cried. “I’ll get the crystals.” She ran off.
Once she was gone I began to cycle Qi to my eyes creating a spiral like pattern. The kids body went translucent allowing me to look into his meridians. I nearly fell over seeing all that corruption inside of him.
The good news was, his soul gate was slowly allowing that corruption to leak out. The speed at which it exited his body was similar to the steady stream of sand falling in an hour glass.
It was slow and it would only clean a small section of his body, which was why we needed to detox him before all that gunk had time to crystallize.
Once it turned into crystal, he would basically be dead. Maybe not dead, but he wouldn’t be moving much anymore. That was a bad thing. Sure his body was temporary, but I needed him agile for training.
If that came to be, then I'd have to kill him and re-summon him, wasting a god awful amount of time. The worst part would be Cosmo finding out I got drunk on the job. I could pass it off as a cultivation accident, but this would be the 11th time this month and she was pretty pissed last time it happened.
Yukio rushed back into the room carrying a wooden box. She placed it next to the kid, then pulled away the covers. From the box she withdrew a collection of crystals. Eleven in total.
Ten of them were a foggy white and the last one was crystal clear. She began placing the foggy crystals over each of the kids gates. Including the gate that was already open at the center of Isaac’s chest. The brat grabbed the last stone. It was so clear, you could drop it in a pool of water and never find it.
She pressed it up to her chest then fell on her side, as it started to glow white. She was far into the lower spirit rank, so she had quintessence to spare. The girl now tired sat back up, then placed the stone over the kids dantian, which was located in the lower part of the stomach, just above the bladder.
It wasn’t a whole lot of quintessence, but it was more than enough to purge the body. The crystal pulsed into the kid, like a defibrillator shocking a heart back to life. The power forced its way through the kids meridians. They glowed brightly as the aspects trapped within started to turn into active particles.
That’s when the stones over the kids gates kicked in, drawing the essence out. Each one took on the affinity of the aspects they held. Green for wind. Navy blue for water. Red for heat, and lite blue for cold.
The crystals were void of aspects. To make them you had to compress a multitude of affinities into a certain pattern. Layering runes on top of each other to create a siphoning effect.
They also had to be constructed within a void chamber preventing the crystals from aspect contamination. Once created they were then coated in a jelly that would prevent the activation of the runes by blocking the flow of raw essence.
The jelly of course was only able to block the ambient essence that encompassed the worlds. Once you put it near a gate and powered up the raw corruption, the resulting serge of essence would immediately enter the crystals and start a chain reaction, where the runes would activate one after the other greedily sucking up any and all essence within the kid.
Normally, once the corruption turns into essence the cultivator can just purify it into Qi or push it out, but the kid wasn’t gonna wake up with that much gunk inside him and he didn’t have a cultivation technique to rid himself of the aspects. Even then it would take him a while to sort through that mess.
As for the clear crystal it was a little different. That one didn’t need a whole room outside the blue void to be created. In fact it was designed to keep aspects out. While it was easier to make. It was it’s function that made it valuable. The ability to transfer quintessence was unheard of. Only the gods were capable of messing with energy of that purity.
By normal society standards each of those crystals would be worth a country. For us however, they were abundant. Funny how mass production can bring the value of a life saving item to nearly zero. Any backwaters cultivator would only live for 5 years tops and would be in constant pain.
Having corruption in your meridians was like trying to pass a kidney stone, if the kidney stone was spread throughout your entire body. Think elephant man, but instead of your muscles turning to bone, its your meridians and they’re razor sharp and jagged.
It looked like the kid would be fine now. There was still a bit of corruption inside him, but it was nothing a little exercise couldn’t fix.
“For now leave the stones there, so that they continue to suck up corruption.” I instructed.
“Ye-yeah” the brat was nodding off. Yukio laid down next to the kid before falling asleep.
That's what happens when you drain your soul like that. It wasn't even that much, but even a little can feel like you just donated a pint of blood. It was the thing that animated your body after all. I walked over to the futon and covered them both with the blanket.
Yukio would probably wake up after a few minutes, but there was no need for her to catch a cold. She might think I’m a monster, but I really did wish the best for her. Its not my fault she insists on blaming me for her short comings. Any other teacher would abandon her but I was all she had.
Out of everyone in her entire trial, she was the only one to meet the requirements for ascension. Even then she just barely qualified. I guess I’d be a bitch too if all my friends got sent to re-spawn and shuffled across the Cosmo-verse.
Later
After giving that brat Yukio a peace of my mind I told my new disciple to meet me in the courtyard. That’s where I was now. Isaac sure was taking his time.
Over half a day gone just like that. Whelp, can’t change it now. It’s not all bad. Lore keeper says the kid can already craft an aura, and apparently he has good control over essence.
That saves us a lot of time. That imagination of his is really something. It kind of makes me want to try visualization exercises.
With an imagination like that, Isaac might be able to make a decent cultivation technique, some day. For now I’ll teach him the standard one. That’ll give him an idea of how it works at least.
I pulled out my flask twisting off the lid. The smell of my home brew whisky assaulted my sense of smell. The flask was enchanted, so that it could hold 10 times as much. That was the most you could get out of a flask of this size. There just wasn’t much room for much else.
Aside form holding more. It also made time run faster, so that the whisky would age quickly. As of right now it had aged about 100 years. Exquisite.
I took a long sip just as the kid was coming out. He was wearing that flowery thing the lady put together. I’d be lying if it didn’t look good on em. Weirdo.
It was time for training, so I put the flask away. I need to find out what the kid knows. What he doesn’t. What he’s lacking. Let’s start out by testing that janky ass aura of his.
I increased my already cycling Qi forcing my aura to grow and extend over the courtyard. Immediately the kid yelped, falling onto all fours. The pressure of my density aura would turn any living thing to mush with enough exposure.
Of course, right now it was low powered, so it wasn’t all that harmful to the kid. At worst it puts a little stress on his organs, but nothing a healing aura can’t fix.
The kid was struggling against the gravitational pressure. It was like watching a rat stuck in one of those glue traps. I made my way over to talk to him. He was grunting, while attempting to get back up. He looked like he was about to shit his pants.
“Training starts now. Don’t panic. You have the tools to free yourself. Start by creating your aura. It’s the only way to get back on your feet.” The kid wasn’t the type to respond well to harsh treatment like Yukio.
No, with this one I needed to be a bit softer. “Come on kid. You did it before when you beat up the brat, now focus. Try to match your power with mine.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
The kids body went transparent as I looked deeper into his meridians. I watched as the power in his dantian clumsily moved through him like a drunk trying to insert his keys into their front door at 3 in the morning. His control was awful, but still impressive for someone who just started not that long ago.
Surely enough he managed to make a level 1 aura. It was sloppy and unrefined. Calling it an aura would be like calling a pogo stick a reliable form of transportation.
The kid slowly got to his feet. The parts of him that weren’t properly covered by his aura, seemed to struggle. He was also leaking a lot of Qi. At this rate he’ll run out within a few minutes.
“Good job kid.” I smiled giving him a thumbs up for positive reinforcement.
“What is this?” asked the kid still struggling to stand.
“That’s my aura.” I said.
The kid nearly fell to his knees again when his cycling Qi weakened. He stood straight up once he fed it more. Then started giving it a steady flow of energy. The kid was talented for sure.
“Why's it so different from mine?” He asked.
“Once you craft an aura, you have to refine it, until it’s perfect. Then you grow it bigger and feed it new aspects for added effects.” I told him.
“Okay… I can do that!” The kid started shifting his aura around trying to reshape it. It was a bit like watching a bug move under someone’s skin, except it was his aura. I quickly expressed disgust.
“Calm down. Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to probe your aura with mine. As I do this you need to try and reinforce those parts. I’m only attacking the gaps in your shell. Understand?” I said.
The kid nodded. I gently patted his head. It felt a little strange, but was a habit I couldn't shake, much like drinking or smoking. “Alright, let’s start slow then.”
Concentrating, my auras pressure gently poked the kid in one of his ribs. He laughed at the lite touch, then tried to reinforce that area, pushing me out.
The issue was that in order to do that he had to move the aura from another spot weakening the rest of his defense.
“Alright, you see how this part of you is hard now.” I poked the hardened aura over his stomach. It wasn’t hard exactly, but it was better than nothing.
The kid nodded in response. “That’s good, but you need to create a layer over your entire body. I’ll hold pressure over that spot, so you need to keep it protected. Let me try another hole in your shell. Remember hold the aura here, but try to make the rest of your body just as hard.” I said.
“I can do that Mr. Brutus.” Said the kid.
“Mr. Brutus?” That got a chuckle out of me. It’s been a while since a disciple showed me proper respect, instead of fear or hatred.
-Aku/Isaac-
Mr. Brutus was nice. I don’t know why bully was afraid of him. Maybe she didn’t like alcoholics. I felt Mr. Brutus put pressure on my shoulder, so I tried to focus my aura over to that spot, but it was hard.
We’d been doing this exercise for nearly ten minutes. My aura was almost fully covering my body, but it was difficult to focus. It wasn’t just about moving it around, I had to put just the right amount of fluffy cloud over every inch of myself. Just enough to where his pressure can’t poke through. Like the magnetic field around Earth protecting the planet from solar radiation.
While fighting Yukio, I was able to focus my aura into my legs to increase my speed. Then when I went to strike, it all shifted to my fist. The power was so concentrated then. It was fine for attacking, but I had to shift it around for it to work. If I could get it all over my body then I’d be fast and strong at the same time. I’d also have a layer of protection.
In-game, my aura formed on its own. I didn’t need to will it into existence, because it was always there, and when I got into fights, it would expand as if in response to danger. Like a pufferfish, or a peacock, or, or like a guy sucking his gut into his chest to seen more intimidating.
It must have been regulated by the system back then. It reacted to my will as if alive. I don't think that was normal. It was almost like those particles I found near my soul gate.
Last night with boner, I was able to focus that power for a longer jump, and when I punched him, it pulsed like a bell. When I jumped through the air I could slow myself by fluffing it up, turning myself into a big feather.
I did all that without thinking about it. Without really understanding what was going on. I was shifting the numbers around for more speed. For more strength. Even to soften my blows. My stats were like water changing their shape for better results. Shifting from trapeze artist to body builder.
it only started to make sense after I created my own aura. After Yukio mentioned Aura boosts. After Aku showed me the stats of the clothes. Everything in the game was a watered down version of reality. A simulation set by Cosmo as some kind of test.
This lead me to one conclusion. The stats we got in-game were a result of our auras, and the gear we wore boosting those auras in different ways. That’s why these clothes gave me a boost to defense and magic defense. At least that was my theory.
Eventually and inevitably, my power ran out. I was afraid of being crushed, but it turned out alright. Mr. Brutus quickly shut off his aura before I could get hurt. It wasn't completely off. There was still a faint glow around him but it wasn't very noticeable.
“Good job kid. That wasn’t bad for your first time. How do you feel?” He asked.
“I feel fine. A little tired but fine.” I answered honestly.
“Yeah, that’s what happens when you run out of Qi. Now that you’re empty, let me teach you about how all this stuff really works.” He said before taking a drink from his flask.
The man sat down crossing his legs. I did the same. “What now?” I asked.
“You know that thing you did during bath time?” He asked.
I didn’t like the sound of that. “Yeah. I breathed fire.” The guy looked a little confused at my words, but quickly moved on.
“Alright… lets start somewhere else. Listen up kid. You saw that space between the worlds right?” Asked Brutus.
“Yeah, it was scary.” The one I saw while traveling wasn’t as bad as the one I saw in Cosmos soul. That one was super duper huge infinity plus.
“Good. That place is called the blue void. It’s the fabric of reality. It’s where all quintessence comes from. Think of the world’s like nets. That primal energy gets caught in the world’s. This also filters that energy, turning it into what we call essence, or what you might call focus.”
That was interesting. “But… why change the name like that.” I asked.
“Its complicated. When Cosmo created that game world she provided all you players with a sample system that incorporates different power systems. Mages call it mana, Psychics call it spiritual energy, Cultivators like you and I call it essence. It comes in different varieties known as aspects, but for the most part it goes by essence, since cultivation was the original power system.”
So power systems were created, not found. “Why the name Focus then?” I asked.
The man smiled. “That’s a bit of an easter egg. Think about it kid.” He tapped the side of his head with his finger. “What is it we’ve been telling you to do since you got here?” He said.
It hit me then. The new world was a trial to find candidates for ascension. In other words a test, a simulation. Tree lady told me to focus and Mr. Brutus also told me to focus. It’s a hint! “I get it now.”
(Authors note: The other reason I went with focus, was because of the game “jump force,” with so many different power systems in that game they went with the name focus for power, Instead of Chakra, Qi, Haki, or Reiryoko.)
“Right. Look here.” He pulled out a rock. It didn’t look all that interesting. “This rock holds quintessence. Very small amounts of it, but it’s there. Watch.”
The rock started to glow going from a solid gray to a molten brown. It wasn’t like the power in my dantian. It was very dirty. I could feel the quintessence in it. There wasn’t a lot. It was very little compared to the dirty brown stuff. Aku used 10 times as much in her pink system messages
“This is essence. It’s quintessence with earth aspects.” Said Brutus.
“Heaven and earth equals Qi!” I knew all about that stuff from reading xianxia stories off of Royal Road. My excitement was vibrating.
Mr. Brutus reached over and held my face. “Stop shaking your face.” He commanded. I couldn’t stop, so instead I focused my excitement to one of my hands and hid it behind my back.
“That's basically right. Qi is a perfect balance of quintessence and aspects, essence is more aspects than quintessence. Corruption is too many aspects with little to no quintessence. Minimum aspects will get you antessence, or divessence. No aspects will get you quintessence.”
“Wait… what’s antessence and divessence?” Back in the hole, Centa and Aku told me I couldn’t absorb antessence.
“Those are corruption of ego. Depending on what type of person you are, your core can stray away from quintessence and become something else. For example, trauma, dark thoughts, pain, The erosion of a soul, can all lead to a human turning into a demon.” Said Mr. Brutus.
So that’s how I ended up with Squirmy. Now that I thought about it. Centa should also be a demon. She has the same eyes as Squirmy. I remember her and Aku looking into my eyes to check. Could it be betrayal?
“Hey Mr. Brutus… can humans eat demon souls, to increase their quintessence?” If not then Centa might have been trying to hurt me when she offered to let me eat her.
(Author’s note²: this is an inconsistency I need to change. It was stated that Aku’s plan was for Isaac to eat Squirmy, but that’s changed. I guess I just didn’t think about the creation of demons back then, but now I know what I want. I’ll go back eventually and change the wording, but it’s not too big of a deal since it doesn’t change too much. Just a few words here and there. Sorry for the confusion.)
“Not normally. Antessence would have turned them into a demon. If not, then that demon would have possessed their soul. However there is one situation where it could turn out fine, but that’s impossible.” He said.
I tilted my head. “Why’s that?” I asked.
“The only way it could work out is If the demon willingly allows the human to eat them. That would never happen though.” Said Mr. Brutus.
So Centa might have been trying to take over my soul, or maybe she really was sacrificing herself for me? She said a willing soul gave way more quintessence than an unwilling one, so it wasn’t like she would have gotten enough power to fight Squirmy off if she took over my soul. That was a relief, but there was another issue here.
“I ate part of Squirmy during the ascension. Should I be worried about him taking over my body?” I asked. For all I knew I was being controlled right now and didn’t know it.
I watched Mr. Brutus as his eyes glowed a molten brown under his hood. It was a little scary. Like looking into the eyes of hero Brian or something. I wasn’t sure if I should run or not.
“No. Your fine.” His eyes went back to normal. I couldn’t see them since they were hidden under the unnatural darkness of his cloak. “You say you took in antessence?” He asked.
I nodded, “Yeah, it was while fighting Squirmy in my core. I cut off one of his spirit body limbs and absorbed it into myself.”
“Well, your soul looks fine. It’s a bit of a void though. it looks like a demon core, but its not. As far as I can tell your core is purely composed of quintessence.” He said.
I sighed in relief. So I was normal then. How could I doubt Centa. She would probably cry if she knew what I had accused her of. I wish I had stopped Squirmy back in the hole, but I failed. Can I still save her? “Mr. Brutus…”
The man before me seemed to sense the change in my tone as the Isaac in me took a more solid grasp over the wheel. He changed his relaxed demeanor for one that was more attentive. “What Isaac?” He said it in a way meant more for an adult. Up until now he’d been talking to me like I was a little kid.
“My soul was split into four entities. There’s Aku, Centa, Squirmy, and me. Aku and I are linked together. Squirmy and Centa are in a similar boat. I was going to destroy Squirmy so that Centa wouldn’t have to share a body with him. In the end I failed.”
Mr. Brutus grunted in understanding before taking a drink from his flask.
I continued. “I don’t know what happened to her. I don’t know If Squirmy ate her, or if she’s still alive inside of him. Frankly, I don’t know which one is worse.” I felt a tear roll down my cheek and my body seemed to sob on its own.
“Don’t do that to yourself.” He put a hand on my head, ruffing up my hair.
Mr. Brutus had such big hands. They were so big that my whole head fit in his palm, but even though they were covered in calluses, he was still very gentle with me. I could feel the power he had. He could snap my neck if he wanted to, but instead he chose to give comfort.
I reached up taking a hold of his arm with both of mine. Even though I held onto his wrist with both hands, I was only just able to touch my fingers on both sides. I couldn’t help but giggle at how big he was. I pulled his hand away from the top of my head and held it in front of my face.
He didn’t resist at all. I tried biting his finger only to meet hard leathery skin. I then rotated his hand and took a look at the palm. It was so cool. The only other time I saw hands this hard was with my dad. Though dad’s weren’t as big. The similarity was more the fact that they were working hands.
“You done? What are you even doing?” asked Mr. Brutus.
I hadn't realized how embarrassed he was due to the darkness of his cloak. “Sorry Mr. Brutus. Your hands reminded me of my dad.”
He was relaxed now that his arm was back at his side. “He must have been a strong man to have hands like mine.”
I threw my hands into the air. “Dad was the strongest! He used to beat up robbers and yakuza bosses. He even killed a bear with his bare hands once.”
“Holy ᛋᚼᛁᛏ kid. Your dad's like a super hero.” He said.
“He… he was.” I sobbed.
“He still is. As long as you remember him. He always will be. Who knows with reincarnation you might get to see him again. He might not be the same guy, but the soul is still the same.” Said Mr. Brutus.
That sounded nice, but with so many worlds out there, I knew the odds of that were slim to none. Still it’s fun to dream.
“Mr. Brutus, if Centa is still in there, do you think its possible to save her. She’s been suffering for a long time, and it’s not fair that I get to live free, while she gets tormented by that monster.” I cried. I hoped with all my heart for there to be a way to save her.
“If her soul still exists within that demon, then the lady might be able to separate the two, but only if there's enough of her left. There’s no telling what that demons done to her. For all you know she's no longer the same person she once was.” Said Mr. Brutus.
I nodded. There was no point in getting my hopes up. Right now only one thing mattered. “I understand. Then I’ll learn everything I need to know, and become so strong that Squirmy won’t be able to hurt anyone else.”
“That’s the spirit kid.” Said Mr. Brutus before taking another drink.
“Can I have some?” I asked.
He looked at me like I was crazy. “Not yet. Maybe after you get your level 1 aura to form properly.” He said.
That was a surprising answer. I was expecting him to say no. I mean I was considered an adult according to the lore keeper. Mr. Brutus was probably trying to keep me focused.
I was still wondering about that aspect thing. If Qi was 50% quintessence and 50% aspects, then what kind of aspects did I have in my Qi?
It was blue so it could be water aspects, or something else? That Negentropy spell was blue too, so could it be something like time? That sounded really cool.
I took a quick look at my dantian. It was empty except for a tiny spark at its center. I tried to pull on it, but it wouldn't move at all. What I did notice was a tiny thread of Qi shooting out of the spark. It started orbiting around it like an electron.
Was this re-gen? It’s so slow. That tiny spec wasn’t enough for anything. At this rate it would probably take a day to recharge.
“How come I can’t use magic? I have power, couldn’t I just use it to cast spells like I did in-game?” I asked.
The guy let out a deep breath. “You can't use Qi to cast spells. You need specific aspects to form the magic circles. You also need a mana lens to focus essence into the delicate patterns of runes. Lens are what mages have instead of dantians.” Explained Mr. Brutus.
I see. That’s why I couldn’t use quintessence to cast spells. Then the stuff blocking my soul gate. It must have been essence. No, it was more aspect than quintessence so… corruption?
“What about the soul gate? What’s that about?” I asked.
“Gates aren’t too important right now, but it wouldn’t hurt to know. There are ten of them and you need to slowly open them as you go through ascension. Each gate will give you better control over energy as a whole. Having one open is what pushed you over the edge for ascension, but normally you’d want to open up one at the lower spirit rank. One at the upper spirit rank, and two at each rank after. You should have all of them open by the time you reach the arc angel rank.” Said Mr. Brutus.
That meant I was up to standard on my gates. That was good. The only issue was that I was unlocking all these things in this body, while my old body was still a normal human.
“Will my progress transfer over to my old body?” I asked.
“Like if you go back to being that old dude? I don’t think switching back Is even possible.” He said.
I felt my blood run cold at the thought of being stuck like this. “wh-what!” I yelled standing up.
Mr. Brutus didn’t really react. Instead he pulled out his flask and took another sip. “What do you mean by that! Explain!” I demanded.
“You ascended. That means your soul became stronger. If you put your lower spirit rank soul into that mortal rank body.” He enacted an explosion with his mouth and hands.
“Oh…” I fell back down in defeat. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t go back to normal. What would Alice say if she found out? Would she leave me for someone else? I don’t know. It would be really weird being in a relationship with her. Not like this.
“As for transferring your status as a cultivator. That’s impossible. Your power system is made specifically for that body. It'll be left behind the moment your core is pulled out.” He said.
That made too much sense. “Is there anything I can do?” I asked. There had to be something. Anything.
“I guess you could get Cosmo to build you another avatar that looks like your old body, and can hold your new soul.” He said.
I felt my hopes rise like an OD’d drug addict, coming back to life after having their heart injected with pure adrenaline. “Would she really do that! My marriage won’t have to end!” I crawled closer to him to see his face for any reactions. Was it a lie? A joke?
He chopped my head with his open hand to which I recoiled in pain. “Ow!” I cried.
“Your distracting me. Let’s get back on point.”
I nodded as tears gathered in the corners of my eyes. “O-okay…” I rubbed my head.
“Where was I-” He started as he stroked his non-existent beard. “-Right! I want you to do what I did.” He held out a rock to me.
I took it in my hands, as if handling a priceless gem. The stone was oddly warm for some reason. “What do I do with it?” I asked.
“You have that fancy kimono.” He got to his feet. “Try to sense the earth aspects inside it, while we walk to our camp sight.”
“Um… I tried that last time. It didn't end well.” I said, remembering that black tar spilling from my mouth. I could still taste it. that bitter spicy sour sludge. I nearly barfed at the memory.
“The lore keeper gave you that task because she didn’t think you would start absorbing the aspects. Normally it takes someone at least 3 days before they start to feel the essence of the world much less absorb it. You skipped a step and now that you know what the stuff is, I suspect you’ll have a better time of it. Now follow me, were heading out” He started walking towards the front gate.
I scrambled to my feet and fallowed. My body sure felt heavy after I drained all my Qi. Still, I had a question. “Why did you call it Earth aspect. This rock isn't from earth it’s from… whatever this place is called. Wouldn't it make more sense to call it ground aspect? It would be more inclusive that way.”
He laughed. “I said earth as in dirt, not Earth as in your home planet.”
That made more sense. The word earth did mean dirt. He could have also gone with tera.
Once outside what I now knew as the front gate, we were met by a lot of stairs. Like a billion of them. If anything this was a total cliché. One thing was for sure it was gonna be a workout for sure.
That didn't matter though. I needed power. Not the fake power I had handed to me by a system, but the real version of that power that was unshackled by numbers. Max level 100 was a joke. I was going past that. I’ll hit level 101 before I leave this world.
Alice, Centa, everyone. I’m sorry I put you all in danger, but I’m coming to save you. You can punish me later, but for now let me have a win. Just one.