A rancid smell filled the room, and we all instinctively turned to Elric, who had just opened his eyes and jumped up.

"This is—"

"Disgusting," Lyra finished, clutching her nose.

Sia gagged beside her. "Go away."

Elric grinned. "Why don’t I give you a hug first?" He turned to Sia, mischief in his eyes. "You too, of course."

They both stood and backed away in sync. "Elric, don’t you…AHHH!"

Lyra screamed as Elric moved.

And I mean moved.

Fast was an understatement. Thea must've been taking it easy on me while I was still learning, but Elric? He was on a completely different level.

Another shriek echoed through the room, Sia's, this time, as she, too, fell victim to the tainted embrace.

I turned to Thea, expecting amusement, but instead, I found her wide-eyed, stunned.

"That was way faster than me…" she muttered. "I could barely see him."

Elric must’ve heard her because he called out, "No one said you can’t use MP and inner force at the same time, Thea."

Her eyes widened further, and then, as if testing his words, she sprinted forward.

For just a few steps, she moved with the same blinding speed.

And just like that, I was once again left behind by the existence of systems.

I shook my head.

No.

I already made the decision not to be left behind. This just meant I had to work harder, advance faster, and create techniques that worked with my talents… whatever those talents were.

Okay, that smell is unbearable.

"Stop flirting, you three. Just leave. Please," I begged.

They all nodded and walked out, the stench thankfully leaving with them.

I slumped down, exhaling. I needed a break.

Thea finished her sprinting, like a total maniac, and walked over. "What's wrong?"

I smiled up at her. "Nothing."

She sat beside me, gaze turning serious. "You know, without you, none of this would be possible."

I let out a small laugh. "You would've figured it out eventually, cultivation nerd."

"No," she said firmly, eyes filled with something deeper…concern, maybe. "I was getting ready to form a core, Peter. You're the reason we can do this. All of it. Don’t think you’re holding us back. You’re pushing us forward."

I blinked.

For some reason, hearing her say that meant more than I expected.

"Thanks," I said, grateful. Then, deciding to change the mood, I grinned. "Wanna try whispering?"

She smirked. "Sure. I’m tired of running, and my MP needs to recover anyway."

I turned to her and circulated my energy near my mouth, already familiar with how Air Lance worked. If I just reduced the energy further and kept it steady, I should be able to.

"How long does it take for MP to recover?"

Thea tilted her head. "What?"

…Guess I failed at Phantom Whisper.

I tried again, focusing harder this time. "How long does it take for your MP to recover?"

She squinted at me, then gasped in realization. "Ohhh!"

Then, with complete seriousness, she asked, "Why would I go undercover?"

I stared.

"What."

"Like, to find the group who kidnapped—"

I held up a hand. "Not what I said, Thea."

She at least looked a little guilty. "Oh. Well, it kinda sounded like that."

I sighed, already resetting my energy flow. Third time's the charm, right?

I took a breath, concentrated, and whispered again.

"How long does it take for your MP to recover?"

This time, her eyes lit up in recognition. "Half an hour or so."

I pumped my fist in the air. "Yes! Finally!"

Thea smirked. "Now you try."

She spoke first. "When will you eat?"

I thought about it. "Dunno. When do you want to eat?"

She shook her head. "No."

Then, as if to completely crush my sense of achievement, she nailed it on her second try.

"When do you want to leave?"

I groaned. "Seriously?"

She shrugged.

"Alright," I said, shaking off my wounded pride. "Soon. Let’s see how Body Refinement works with Elric, then we can head out."

"Sounds good."

We spent the next few minutes practicing. Thea didn’t use her system, conserving her remaining MP for the trip, and we ended up turning it into a weird game. Trying to see if we could understand each other through barely-whispered words.

Before long, the door creaked open.

Lyra entered first, her face slightly red, followed by Elric and Sia.

"Ready?" I asked, standing. "Let’s see if you guys can observe the energy. I’ll go first."

Thea hesitated but eventually nodded. Everyone placed a hand somewhere, my back, my side, my shoulder, wherever there was space.

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It was a little distracting.

Still, I closed my eyes and focused.

I sank into my internal force, letting it guide me.

The nauseous feeling hit for only a moment before a deep, calming warmth took its place. But something felt off. This wasn’t enough.

I could tell.

This amount of world force wouldn’t stick to anything.

I might have Perfect Conversion in the Grand Channel, but that meant nothing for my skin.

I kept pushing forward.

…and wow.

This is nice.

Feels like I’m relaxing with Thea.

So warm. Comforting.

I wonder what’s gonna happen to us.

War is coming.

A few years, and we’ll be on the battlefield.

I need more power.

Much more.

This… this isn’t enough.

And it’s so easy.

The world around me suddenly twisted.

My skin burned.

My eyes snapped open.

Pain.

I gasped, looking down.

Thin cracks lined my arms, blood seeping out between them.

The others looked pale, beads of sweat forming on their foreheads.

I forced the words out through the pain. "So? What did you see?"

Lyra and Sia both shook their heads.

Elric and Thea, however, exchanged glances.

"The same foreign energy as before," Elric said. "It moved away the second you woke up."

Then he placed a hand on my shoulder, casting a healing spell. One that stung way more than it needed to.

I clenched my teeth as the pain dulled.

Same thing happened to me before.

I exhaled, steadying myself. "Next thing to test… let’s see if its influence grows the more we use Body Refinement."

I turned to Thea.

"You wanna try?"

She met my gaze, nodding resolutely.

"Yes."

Elric and I got into position while Sia and Lyra moved off to finish their Body Purification alone.

Thea began cultivating, her face slowly reddening. Then more.

I sent in my energy and waited. At first, I saw nothing.

But then, just like before, the violet force swept in.

It started small, almost subtle.

Then, in an instant, it expanded within her. Not because more world force was being absorbed, but as if it had been dormant before entering, only now fully awakening.

"I’ll try isolating it myself first," I told Elric. "Step in if I say I need help."

It wasn’t any bigger than before like I thought it might be, but it was definitely brighter glowing like an ominous light. Its brilliance had grown alongside our progress in Body Refinement.

I wrapped my energy around it, more practiced now, more confident with the others here. My hold solidified, but an idea struck me.

I sent in more energy, slowly, gently, without cutting off its connection to her just yet.

She hadn’t started injuring herself, so I had a bit of time.

I pushed in a large portion of my internal force and attempted something I couldn’t do before.

A thin sphere began forming. A fragile, translucent core within Thea’s body.

It was weak. Brittle.

But solid.

It took far more of my power than I expected. Nearly thirty percent of my internal force was gone just to make this thing, but Thea’s body didn’t seem to struggle against it.

The moment it fully formed, Thea’s eyes snapped open.

She looked like a cooked lobster.

I briefly wondered. Could a core only form when the Grand Channel was full? Or did something change when the energy locked into place?

She looked at me expectantly.

I nodded. "It definitely increased, so maybe more people will be needed eventually… but not anytime soon. I’d suggest keeping two people on standby at all times. If two are ever required, make sure three are present."

They nodded in agreement as Thea and I stood.

"For now, let’s spar and check your stats," I said.

So far, she didn’t seem to notice the core yet.

But as soon as we exchanged a few blows, she stopped.

"Something just left my body."

I smiled. Good. My human experiment had worked.

"I formed a core around the energy," I admitted. "Sorry I didn’t tell you first, but I figured you could crush it easily."

Elric’s eyebrow shot up.

"You can form cores… objects inside other people?"

Then he smiled.

A slow, delighted smile.

…Why did that smile look so terrifying?

"Thea sat down, closing her eyes. A moment later, she opened them again.

"It’s gone," she said. "The core shattered on its own. That weird energy must’ve broken it."

I let out a breath. "I don’t think we should make it any stronger. Last thing I want is for something permanent to form inside your Grand Channel."

She nodded.

"Let’s just finish this spar," I added. "We can check how much your endurance has raised afterward."

We moved again, exchanging blows, circling the room.

Elric, meanwhile, sat off to the side, completely focused on something of his own.

Probably some cruel new skill.

…Like clogging someone’s arteries with his internal force.

I really, really didn’t want to ask.

Thea and I were still catching our breath as she walked over to the monitor, tapping a few commands until her updated stats displayed on the screen.

[Thea]

Class: Warrior

Blessing: Storm Heart

Free Stats: 5

* Strength: 20

* Agility: 50

* Stamina: 20

* Endurance: 15

* Magic: 5

* Precursor Energy: 15/22

Techniques: Swift Stride, Phantom Whisper

Titles: N/A

Missions:

Bottom Rank Level 2

Objective: None

She froze.

“Where is my MP and SP?”

The room went silent.

Everyone turned their gazes to the monitor.

I felt my pulse quicken as I scanned the numbers.

Thea had ten MP and SP before, right? But now… they fused. And not only that, there was an extra amount added on top with a new name.

“It worked.”

I barely spoke the words out loud.

They all turned to me.

Thea’s expression twisted in confusion, still staring at the screen.

I swallowed and elaborated, “Thea… I think you absorbed the foreign energy.”

Elric took a step closer, eyes narrowing with intrigue. “So it combined her two stats and renamed them?”

“It must have,” I said.

Lyra, still glued to the screen, muttered, “But MP can’t just increase. Even free stats can’t be assigned to it. It only rises when you advance a system rank…”

She trailed off, realization settling over her.

We all just stood there, staring at the screen.

Something big had just happened.

And none of us knew how it would affect each of us… yet.

Not all of us had both SP and MP. Would the system grant it upon gaining Precursor Energy? Maybe not, but I was guessing our resident healers and mage had more MP than Thea to begin with anyway.

And also… what would it do to me?

"Okay," Sia spoke up, snapping me from my thoughts. "So, should we go?"

"Yep, I think so," I replied.

We all stood and stepped out into the streets. I glanced at Thea as she pulled the cube from her pocket, muttering, "Status."

"Where are we heading?" I asked.

She spun around slightly, adjusting her bearings, then finally pointed toward the edge of town, toward the trees. "That way."

Before we left, Lyra and Sia stopped at a nearby store to grab camping supplies. The load was split between Thea, Elric, and me.

Then, just as we were about to take off, Thea turned toward me, flashing a cute, knowing smile.

"Keep up," she said, voice laced with mischief.

Ah. Payback for outing her behavior under Lyra’s spell.

I exhaled. "Yep."

Everyone took off at a steady jog.

I set off after them, Thea lingering just enough to let me catch up.

We kept a fast pace, Lyra and Sia using their MP to keep up with the rest of us.

The noon sun hung high at first, but as time passed, it began its slow descent, casting longer shadows across the trees.