Shun POV:
I stared at the blinking red dot surrounded by a vast forest that connected to the mountains.
“...Sharir is massive.”
It had been five days since I left Shako, and I travelled almost nonstop. The buildup of lactic acid caused nausea to assault my mind without rest, but it was necessary.
I navigated through some more bushes, locating a small path in the distance. It led to what appeared to be an abandoned cave.
Another reason why I didn’t pass out was due to the danger of monsters and animals. Their presence forced me to take extra caution, and those restraints were the same as taking a quick breather; this cave was no exception.
I died to a truck once.
I wasn’t going to be eaten next.
I took my time scouting out the area around the cave till I made it to the entrance. My back pressed against the rock wall as I directed Atlas inside the dark hole.
The light emitted from its map would provide better vision to gauge the structure and safety of the cave. It would also act as a temporary distraction in case there was a monster slumbering within.
Once Atlas reached the 12-metre mark, it refused to go any further. The artifact trembled, and I was forced to move from my position. I inched forward, with Atlas at the limit of its range. If I encountered anything, I would at least have a 12-metre head start over the monster, or worse, monsters.
30 minutes later, my hand rested against the wall at the end of the cave. I turned around and examined the wide area the tunnel led to.
“Deactivate.”
Atlas dropped into the palm of my hand. The map disappeared along with the light it emitted, and darkness swallowed me whole.
I took a seat on the hard ground before shifting into the lotus position. I recalled every facet of information regarding cultivation and Ki that I had read in the past.
Thousands of books opened in my mind. I flipped through an innumerable amount of pages at a rapid speed.
[You have activated the ‘Book History’ skill.]
I dispelled the annoying window, interrupting my process of separating information into the appropriate categories. Even without the additional clarity added to the words on the pages, I had already begun to consolidate a deeper understanding of how to accelerate the formation of my own Ki Center.
With my organisation complete, I closed my eyes and began meditating.
***
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[Congratulations on completing your Ki Center!]
The entire cave trembled from the enormous amount of Ki spiralling out of my body. Long wisps rushed away from me in an uncontrolled manner, failing to regulate itself properly.
“I’m already familiar with this concept.”
I closed my eyes again and focused on directing the Ki pulsating from my Ki Center along Ki Channel routes referenced from hundreds of diagrams. I discarded the incorrect images, mixing and matching them until I felt my Ki flow back and forth in a continuous motion.
The process lasted for the next few hours. I guided my Ki down the correct routes, fixing my Ki Channels through the repeated action until I broke through to Irini.
‘...’
A surge of power strengthened my body now that Ki had the proper pathways to circulate.
‘It’s nowhere near enough.’
The Ki Center itself was comprised of a spherical core for its centre. The nine circular rings that surrounded it seemed to represent the number of Ki Stages, but then what did the core mean?
Portia mentioned that Ki was an inseparable component of life, so even without a complete Ki Center, Ki still exists within an individual?
‘It’s plausible.’
I pulled up a table containing all the information I currently had on the 9 Ki Stages. After adding to it, my gaze hovered over the next two Ki Stages I needed to reach: Nagi and Uso.
“Both Japanese words...”
I got to my feet and made my way out of the cave into the nearby forest. Food wasn’t an issue due to the knowledge I obtained from Herb: a botany specialist. Thanks to him, I didn’t starve to death. Various vegetables and fruits became my source of nutrition on my journey here.
As expected, Ki lessened the effect of hunger, allowing the practitioner to practise for longer periods of time without being distracted. I surmised that higher Ki Stages had a greater effect, but it was also possible that it functioned on a case-by-case basis, similar to individual metabolism.
I wiped away the red contents of a juicy fruit from my mouth. Fruit and vegetables wouldn’t be enough to build the body I needed to kill Chloe Ravendawn.
“Nagi means Calm.”
I studied the rustling leaves among the thicket of trees, taking in the state of nature that was untouched by human hands.
嵐の後には凪が来る。
It meant ‘After the storm comes a calm.’ Nagi was written as ‘凪’ and described the state of the wind coming to a stop. Hence, the storm would pass. However, it could also be written as ‘和ぎ.’ The latter, more archaic word, could be used to describe the mentality of someone calm, or even the environment itself.
“The elements?”
Following Portia’s explanation on Ki, this hypothesis was likely. Now that I had a solid direction to go in, I needed to deal with a more pressing matter at hand.
“First, my body.”
[The Mission Log has been updated.]
[Mission: Body for Revenge
Difficulty: F - ???
An easy revenge is not a sweet one. Prepare yourself for war, or run with your tail between your legs.
Time Limit: None - ???
Reward: Null.
Failure: Null.]
An ominous chuckle disturbed the tranquil atmosphere of the forest. It wrapped around my thin hand that gripped the bulging sides of my cheekbones. It matched the rising motion of my shoulders and took away whatever little light remained in my eyes as I peered down at the system window.
“I expect nothing from you.”
The only thing I had in this world was the knowledge I accumulated from the vast number of books I read, but that was enough. That was more than enough now that I was free.
“All of that knowledge will be used to kill you, CHLOE RAVENDAWN!!!!”
My Ki exploded out of me until I calmed down. I sat in the middle of the small clearing and rested my arm over my knee. I recalled every single piece of information regarding martial arts that I had backlogged in my mind.
[You have activated the ‘Book History’ skill.]
[You have activated the ‘Fast Reader’ skill.]
The words on the thousands of pages became clearer, allowing the speed of my reading to become somewhat faster than before. The system’s additional aid was meaningless.
A training regime soon formed in my mind. I added and discarded exercises to the several categories underneath it with care.
‘Good.’
The regime was complete. I stood up and ruffled my hair before throwing off the dirty rags covering my upper body. I cocked my head to the side and parted my lips.
“Day 1, Begin.”