While Adrian was fretting about his strange situation, brought by the uncertainty of trust in Rowen and old Wan, young Levis was finely having the most in-depth sleep he had in a long time, while nothing else was bothering him, be it the voices in his head, cultivation or of his life circumstances and crises, as that was a constant source of stress for his barely adolescent mind.
[Time to wake up!]
However, as all things good their end is always unexpected, and with undesirable timing, as Levis had the impulse of beating the one that had awakened him, while he was sleeping.
[Hmmm!]
[I said time to wake up!! The sun is up by some time already, and that woman had come here twice for you, but you did not wake at all, so she went to call for your aunt Healer, I think.]
[What? Why did you not say that first?]
[What? Do I need to say that your village Healer will come, for you to wake up? Or Are you afraid of her, more than that other woman?]
[Aunty Healer is not scary, she is far more than that, if I am not careful, she will undress me of all my clothes in front of the whole camp.]
[Hah-aha, I will like to see that.]
“Where is he?”
[Damn it, she is here!!]
“Sister, here.”
“Ahhh! I am fine. I am fine. No problem here.!
Though as Levis rose up to his feet, he shot outside of his tent, to be met by the two middle-aged women, that had two different expressions as they were looking at him.
“You wake up?”
“I told you he was just tired, there was no need for me here.”
“That---!? Why did he not woke up when I tried two times in a row?”
“Aha-aha, Aunty village chief, I have been so tired that I could not feel or hear anything in my surroundings.”
[Why have I not sense here when she tried to wake me up?]
[I tried to tell you yesterday before you got to sleep, that if you are not trying to actively sense your surroundings, you will not sense anything that is not dense in energy or has a strong murderous intent at you, there will be no reaction, as your body is ranking all things in your surroundings, in terms of relative dangerousness.]
“Auntys I have to go now, I will see you later.”
“Wait, I am not done, Levis—.”
However, as the boy made a run, as though scared that something bad might happen to him, the hands of the wife chief extended, as though wanting to grasp him back.
“Do not worry, his high activity will calm down as he grows, though I do not know how his hig—.”
“He will leave us.”
“What? What are you saying.”
Yet, while the two women left behind by Levis began to talk about him, he himself was already moving to the outskirts of the camp, from where he could see many villagers that were moving to work, tending to the animals, or as they seemed to be planning for the building of a new village, on a hill not too far from where they were at this moment.
However, as he was on the river bank on the forest side, he could look south at the endless prairie, though his facial expression revealed a slight show of revulsion and unsavory at this moment, while his mouth was twitching non-stop for no evident reason.
[Is it ready? Do I really have to do It?]
[It was you, who wanted to help your village Chief, not me. However it is all up to you if you want to waste the preparations for these two days, is your decision to make.]
In a moment though, Levis made his peace and resolve, as after he cleaned his hands, he took his right index and shoved it in his mouth, making himself gag a few times before he had the strange feeling of his stomach pushing against anything that was in it at this moment, as after not a few moments later he vomited all that there was in his gut.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Although as he looked down at the unsavory ugliness he had done, a few red spots could be noticed, however, the boy did not hesitate to use his hand and grasp the red things that were concealing themselves, as he immediately rush towards the river, while sporting a mixture of disgust and unwillingness, as he was grasping hard what he was carrying in his hand.
However, after a few movements in the water, he was done cleaning his hand the things in it, as he raised it and open it into the air, to see the sight of three berries in his hand, while he pinched one of them between his thumb and index, for an inspection, as his energy and mind fused to formed a cocoon surrounding the berry, while his consciousness was moving freely as it inspected it the best way he could.
[Energy! There is energy inside of it! And is the mellower kind, If I am to absorb it, I could probably do it, extremely fast.]
[It was originally yours, though the fact that the energy is the way that it is, is the proof of your own fine work. Otherwise, if this wild fruit were to absorb energy on its own, it is hard to say how easy it would have been to absorb it in that case.]
[---Now I can help the village Chief?]
Though as Levis was looking at the camp, he begin to walk towards it, while storing the berries in his pocket.
[Yes.]
[Now can you explain how this happened? The pain I had to endure, in making these three berries, was not at all “trivial” as you had put it.]
[Making and creating something always hurts you, but do you really want to know?]
[Yes.]
[Disciple, you yourself asked for this, so you better not sleep midway thru his explanation or this guy will hammer your head.]
[I will not, I am all focused]
[Ahamm. If you so want, I guess, I can tell you. But first, you know that energy moves thru the air?]
[Ah, yes! That's from where I absorb it all the time, no!?.]
[That is true, but not the whole truth. Energy exists everywhere, from the air to the water or to the ground, well mostly into the ground, or any other moving or being that exists. However, this is where differences exist, as the rate of movement is different from the very fast of the air to the slow in the water to the difficult and challenging earth. However, a balance exists as the water and ground tend to have a higher concentration of energy, the absorption rate is very difficult in water, and it is another story, when we are talking about the rate with which cultivators can absorb the energy from the earth, as even when they use special formations or items it is a very arduous task, at lower stages that is. Yet, the grand part of the energy present in the air and the water is added from the ground as it loses it, while another part is added from the beyond of the sky, although this is less than one or two-tenths of all the energy present. Do you understand, what I have just said?]
[Yes I think I—do.]
[Good, now you need to know that every living thing that can cultivate, have different kinds of energies. Well, plants do not, as, at the beginning of their lives, they will only absorb energy in their whole being, before reaching the point to form a core of energy like all other cultivators, though exceptions exist. Their beginning is somewhat similar to your current physique only to opt for a dantian later on, as they will develop consciousness, from the basic natural instinct that all life forms possess. However, the most attractive aspects of any plant rich in energy, are the potent properties, and the mellower energy that is easy to absorb. Now what you have done to your fruits is a kind of similar thing where you had ripped your energy apart from your consciousness while grinding it against if self, to make it as neutral as possible, while filling the berries. This way, absorption to start one's cultivation will be easier, after all, you can not cultivate with someone else's energy, as that will conflict with your own, and bring many risks. Now go to your village Chief. Just think of this as though you are a bird, feeding your hatchling to grow stronger, this way, it will not be so gross, as you are taking it to be.]
Though, as he was returning from the river with the fruits in his pocket, he walked inside the camp, while observing the guards that were patrolling, and looking out from the watch tower on the west side. Though as he was moving randomly inside the camp while trying to get a better understanding of the place that was housing all the small little villages and their villagers for the surrounding territory, as the first time he had arrived, he had not taken a proper good look at the affluent place, full people young and old.
However as he continue to move, he noticed the figure of a burly man in the distance parting from a few other villagers, although the man was quite the strange sight as he was wearing a sleeveless upper garment, while he seemed to intentionally show the numerous scars on his arms, for all to see. Though his face did not give a feeling of intimidation but friendliness, even so, his large and big stature could put a lot of pressure on all that did not know him.
“Levis?! What are you doing here?”
“Hunter!? I just came from the river, and I am about to go to the village Chief, but I wanted to look at this place a little more.”
“Good, there are a lot of people and things here, but if you want to look for the fool, go that way over there."
As the Hunter pointed towards the north of the camp, Levis that was playing with the fruits in his pocket took a look at the man in front of him, before thinking of something, as his eyes squinted and looked sideways for a moment as though he was mulling about an idea.
“Can you come with me?”
Yet, as the man was about to leave the boy to his thoughts, the sudden request of the boy stopped him in his track, as he turned around to look at him with a grin
“Are afraid of losing your way through all these people or you are lost already?"
"No, you just need to come with me to see the village Chief, I have something to do---, no give."
"What?"
Though, as the boy was not inclined of answering him, the man had no choice but to leave it as it was, and decide on his reply.
"Alright, I will come with you there. Ahh---, I hope there is something to drink, these bastards are charging a weighty piece of meat for a jug of wine.”
However Levis could not say anything about what he was ready to give him otherwise, he would be in for a beating from the man, though as they were walking to the tent of the Chief, the boy was thinking about how to make them eat the berries, as that was the hardest part to achieve.
Nonetheless, even though there were around a thousand and or so people in the camp, the place was not very large, as, after a short period of time, both Levis and the Hunter were facing the tent of the village Chief.
"Well boy, let us see this fool. I am coming in!"
Impatient as what Levis remembered the man to be, as not even after a moment that they had arrived, he directly barged inside the place where the Chief was recovering from his injury, before even announcing his action.
Though once they were inside the tent, Levis that had no choice but to follow the Hunter, was surprised to see that, outside of the presence of the Chief, there was another young man with similar facial features to the man in question, while the two of them looked at the burly man and the small kid that had just barged in with no consideration whatsoever, for the one who was already residing inside.
"Good morning, Village Chief and---, old brother Nider?"
"Uncle Hunter and Levis, what are you doing here, and say something befou----."
"Wait, wait, let me. Aham---, Hunter, you bastard say something before you enter, are you not the one to act as the village Chief now? So act as one when you what to meet with someone!"
"Do I need to put the pretense with you?"
Even as the village Chief was actively trying to scold and rebuke the Hunter for his action, the man seemed unmoved by any of his words, as the man was looking dumbly at him.
"Well---, not with me but routine might help you here. So why are you here?"
"It is not me that had wanted to come, and see your stupid face, but this brat had taken me along with him."
"Levis? Is there something that you---, want?"
"Ahhh------, well what I want---, you see, Is for you all to eat this!"
Though at the end of his long thinking, Levis chose to just show the berries, and try to fool them one way or another.
"That is---!?"
"You brat, you brought me here for this!!!"
"Eh! Those are wild---!?"