Wow! What is this energy overflowing from within me? Just a moment ago I was cursing that damned monk with all fiber of my being as he pour his energy towards me which made my injuries hurt like a bitch. But now? All the fatigue, all the pain I was enduring from the beating of the crazy mage lady. It's all gone like magic. In its place is the feeling of rejuvenation. Like I took a relaxing dip in a hot tub after a hard days' work. Not only that. I can feel that I can do anything!

I was so focused on this new but somewhat familiar feeling that I didn't notice what the other people's reaction are. I was powerless for so long that I was so amazed and excited by this feeling of being powerful for the first time that I didn't see what was coming. With a strong jolt, I was almost knocked down when an arrow hit me in the shoulder.

Argh! What the hell? I shouted internally. I look around and saw the female elf Alora with a bow in hand, being restrained by the knight Philip and the Dwarf inventor. She was shouting something about me being dangerous because of the sheer amount of energy I am emitting.

I can see it in their faces. The mixture of awe and some hint of fear. I don't really want to hurt people needlessly. With this amount of power not only am I quite confident I could escape these adventurers and the loony cult, but also become strong enough to defeat them once I am able to control this overflowing Ki.

I winced a little when I plucked the arrow from my shoulder. I was expecting for blood to spurt but as soon as I pulled the arrow out, the wound healed almost immediately that I almost yelp in surprise. Seeing the rest of the party's guard is up, I try to calm them down. "Even a stray dog have the decency to be thankful to the hand that fed it. Then what would I be if I don't show my gratefulness to the one who gave me strength?" I declared. They kinda rescued me from getting eaten by wild animals in this god forsaken forest, and without Mark I would already got captured by those wierdos.

I can feel the eyes of Alora locked towards me full of malice. Gee lady. I am trying my best to be nice here. I like this party and respect how each one of you have each other's' back so much that I will overlook the fact that you guys are basically captured me and is sending me to jail or something. But hit me with one more arrow and I swear to god that I will drop kick you in the name of gender equality.

As I am musing on what I will do with this great power, I began to notice something. It was so subtle that it almost slipped my attention. I look at my hands as the creeping realization hits me and the feeling of dread rises deep within my heart. This overwhelming life-energy bursting out of my body is disappearing.

I can sense it. As my energy erupts, it disappears into nothingness the further it travels from my body. The fear in my heart keeps rising as the feeling of unimaginable power drains out of my body and I am helpless to stop it. I try to stop my Ki from leaking but I have no idea how and I don't even want to know what would happen if I run out.

"Uhmmm… How do I turn this off?" I asked Kurt the monk. This guy should know how, for he also uses Ki.

He gazed at me with steely resolve before he answered. "Before I teach you how to control your energy, you should promise me, one more time, that you will help us rescue our friend.

This is basically blackmail! "Yeah. I promise."

As Kurt walk towards me, Philip the Knight also added. "Also you will not use that energy against us or any innocent people."

"Yeah, don't worry. I won't." Oh my God! Please hurry. I am starting to feel that more than half of my Ki was gone already.

I can see Philip nodding at Kurtis before the monk started to come to me once more. He stood before me and was studying my face like he always do. He placed his hand on my shoulder and asked those same questions once more. While I replied with the same answers also.

"Okay. Stand over here and relax." He stated. What the hell man. How could I relax when I feel like my very life force is seeping out of me by the second? My heart feels like it is about to go into overdrive from the very idea of death. Damn it. I don't want to die like this. Standing here and dying because I can't control my Ki. What a stupid way to die. I would rather die in a battle than to go out like this.

Sensing me tensing up he put his hand on my shoulder. "Trust me. You must relax first if you want this to succeed. The more nervous you are, the more difficult it will be to properly control your Ki." He stated before removing his hand from my shoulder.

"Okay. Haaaa…" I tried to calm myself down by closing my eyes and do some breathing exercises. Inhale. Exhale. That's it. Calm down and everything's gonna be alright. Inhale. Exhale. Like flowing water in the stream you are serene. Inhale. Exhale. I start to feel my heartbeat finally stabilizing as I find calm.

Kurt senses that I finally calmed down. "Good. Good. The first step in controlling Ki is to remain calm. We will now go to the second step." He continued. "Close your eyes." I closed my eyes on his instruction. "Now. Try and sense your Ki. Can you feel it? Your life force leaking out of your body?" He stated.

What the heck man. I just calmed down and you remind me that I am dying!

"No. You must remain calm. Leave your fear behind and focus your senses on your Ki." He reprimanded me. His voice calming as he advices me to do the same.

Inhale. Exhale. Once again I started to calm myself and once I found peace, I focused my senses on my Ki. I can feel it. The energy starts from my stomach and pours out from every pores of my body, although I can feel that it was more concentrated in various parts of my body. Just a few minutes ago this energy was blinding. My Ki expanded tens of meters from my body. But right now it I feel that is less than a quarter from where I started, only extending a few meters now.

"I can feel it. My Ki." I stated while my eyes are still closed.

"Good. You could feel the energy coming out of your pores and dissipate after it exits your body right?" I nodded in answer. Upon seeing my confirmation, he continued. "Good. Now, try to visualize your energy to surround your body."

"Yeah. I can see it." I answered.

"Unto the next step. Now go imagine an invisible layer surrounding your body and will your Ki to be contained in that layer." He instructed.

Following his instruction, I imagined my Ki wrapping around my body. My concentration was pushed to the limits as my Ki struggles to escape my control. It's just too much! It feels like I am holding a raging bull by the horn as it overpower me trying to escape my grasp.

I can feel my sweat pouring out like a waterfall and soon I was drenched. Time is not my friend here as I feel weaker as moments passes by.

"Shit!" This is harder than I thought. Like grasping oil from water.

"Don't be frustrated. It disrupts your concentration. Focus. You can do it." I hear him say while my eyes are closed. His voice clear and calm. "Focus on nothing but your Ki. Sense where your Ki begins and where it ends. Concentrate your Ki that it envelops your body."

Damn it. If it is that easy then I would've already done it. I try to contain but it pushes back. Like I was trying to hold back flooding waters from a broken dam.

I feel myself getting much weaker. Gone was the feeling of relaxation. Although I don't feel any pain from my wounds since it has already healed earlier, right now the feeling of relaxation is gone. In its place was fatigue, like I walked a hundred Kilometers without rest. Arms and legs are heavy like lead. My body feels like it is submerged in mud and it drags me down.

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Shit. I don't want to die like this. I need to get back home. Back to my family. I want to see their faces once more. To be with them. To laugh with them. To feel their love once more.

With the image of my family came to my mind, everything just fades into the background. The feeling of safety and love from my childhood until I got into college fills my heart. I will that feeling to surround me, filling my soul with warmth and all my fears and troubles melted away.

I don't know how much time passed as I drown myself in that warm feeling. It abruptly ended when I felt a hand touched my shoulder.

Jolted back to reality, the first thing I saw was Kurt's face smiling at me. "Congratulations. You did it." He uttered.

At first I was confused as I forgot what I was doing. Then I noticed something. A warm feeling not that different from what I felt earlier. That is when I saw it. A yellow Aura of energy surrounding me. It was unlike the white hot energy overflowing from my body earlier and even though it was not as enormous like before, extending only about 10 centimeters from my skin, at least it was not leaking anymore.

After a momentary loss of focus, my Ki began to leak once more, but not it is snail pace compared from before.

"Don't lose your focus now. Maintain the energy. Will it to surround you. That's it." He advised while walking around me.

I try to recall the feeling from before. Of safety and love. After a few seconds, my Aura once more stabilized. "Am I going to stay like this forever? Just meditating to control my Ki?" I asked which prompted my Ki to leak before I get it under control once more.

"Not at all. Now that you learned how to control your Ki. I am going to teach you how to maintain it without as much effort. Mind you it will still leak if you have not yet mastered its control but it will be so slow that it would not be life threatening as before." He answered as he sit in front of me once more.

"So. How do I replenish my Ki? It just occurred to me that I have lost vast amounts of it earlier. What I have left with right now is not even a percent of what I lost." That feeling of absolute power. How sad it only lasted a few minutes.

"We replenish Ki through meditation and rest. Although the speed of which we recover varies from person to person." I try to maintain my Ki as I listen to his explanation. "To tell you the truth, even the Old Masters in the Monastery couldn't even compare to your amount of Ki and they cultivated theirs for 5 decades. But let us not stray from our goal. We need to let you acclimate with your Ki first so it does not need much concentration to maintain. Now, let us start with breathing exercises. Follow me." He stated.

I closed my eyes once more and followed his instruction. After that I once more drowned out my surroundings. There is only me, my Ki, my breathing, and the constant and steady sound of my heartbeat as my Ki wraps around me as if assuring me that everything is going to be alright.

************************************

This man is amazing. They said that you can judge a man by his Aura. Those who are easy to anger and is aggressive usually have Aura that is like a raging flame threatening to consume everything. Those who are calm and peaceful have this Aura that is cool like a stream of water.

However, this man's Aura is filled with feeling of security and love. How could a man whose Aura is filled with such emotions emit such evil energy when we first met? What has happened to him I wonder?

Using Focus to my eyes, I am able to see every movement of his Ki. His control is still rough. The distribution of his Ki is not balanced, his Ki tends to be more abundant in his arms and legs. His warrior instinct showing through. This means he prefers to go in the offensive and he apparently favor his left a little bit more than his right.

"Hey. How is he doin? That enormous energy I felt earlier. Is it him?" Ortho whispered. He is now sitting beside me. Watching the meditating Cloud.

"Yes. It came from him. Amazing isn't it?" I answered. Truly amazing. Such large amount of Ki that I would not believe it if I didn't witness it myself. Even then I feel that what I saw is just an illusion.

"Amazing? It was terrifying! How could he possess such absurd Ki that we could even sense it? I am not even sensitive to Ki at any level." Philip asked. He is holding Alora's bow who is glaring daggers at Cloud.

At that moment I felt Cloud's Ki was stable enough that he could probably contain his Ki with minimal leak. He opened his eyes. He looks tired, far cry from his energetic and dominating presence just minutes ago when his Aura was literally pressuring them with just sheer power alone.

"Congratulations. Your Ki is now stable. You learned it quite quickly too. Although you have a long way to go before you could master Ki, this much is at least enough for you not to die from losing too much. For Ki is basically life-energy, which means if you empty your reserves, you will die." I warned him. "Now go take your rest. Sleep is a good way of replenishing your lost energy apart from meditation."

He just nodded tiredly and offered a weak word of thanks. Losing that much energy in such a short time must've taken its' toll.

I helped him to stand up and assisted him as he walk towards his cage. This way Alora would at least have some peace of mind and maybe not kill him while we sleep. I don't really know why she hates him. We just met the guy but the hatred I feel from her was immense. From Cloud's expression, he also doesn't have a clue.

"Are you sure he will not turn against us? Maybe we should just seal his Ki too. Just to be safe." Philip suggested. I sense a hint of uncertainty from him. Not surprising since Cloud was able to release such outrageous amount of Ki that those whose Ki nodes are closed were still able to sense it.

"You are the one who suggested that I teach him to use Ki so that he would be useful in the rescue mission?" I asked him.

"I know what I said. But now, I am not so sure." He answered.

In an effort to assure him I said. "Don't worry. Most of his energy is gone. He wasn't able to control it that it dissipate into nothingness. What's left is a below average amount of Ki. Just enough to protect him and possibly do some damage to an unsuspecting mage, but not enough as to pose any danger towards us. Also, it would take decades if not centuries for him to possibly reach the same level of Ki once more, so don't worry. If he did turn against us, as he is now, we can handle him without much effort."

"Besides, we could use him as a bargaining chip to trade for Mark." Ortho interjected.

Alora then suddenly burst into anger. "No! You must not hand him over to those people under any circumstance. If you do plan to do that, I will kill him even if I have to kill you too." She snarled. "I am able to tolerate the fact that he still breathes, but if you turn him over to those people even in exchange for Mark, don't blame me for what will happen." She said threateningly with knives in her hands.

Philip and Ortho raised their hands in surrender.

"Don't worry. By my life, I promise we will not turn him over to those people. Not that I intend to from the start. This man have a great potential, if only we can guide him to the right path." Indeed. How could someone who have such a warm Aura emit such evil energy? This must be the reason for my Pilgrimage. A part of Gods' plan to lead him to the Path. I must bring him to the Monastery to face the Abbot. Maybe we could learn more of the Gods' plan.

"Okay. We got Kurt's assurance. Could we also trust you to not kill him?" Philip who is still holding Alora's bow asked her.

She hesitates for a moment before answering. "As long as you hold your end of the bargain then yes, I promise I wouldn't kill him."

"Ye just hesitated there fer a minute. How could we be sure ye'r not just tellin what we wanted to hear?" Ortho who has returned to sifting his belongings asked.

"I will let Kurt hold my pulse." She motioned me to hold her wrist. Once I hold her wrist she continued. "I promise I wouldn't kill that disheveled man in this mission." She declared. Her pulse was normal. No hint of lie.

Philip turned towards me and I nod in confirmation that she didn't lie. "Okay. We believe you." He handed back her bow. "Although I am not pleased that you only agreed for this mission, I guess it is the best that we can expect."

Before Alora could take her bow, Philip continued. "I don't know history behind you two that you act like this. If you tell me, maybe I could help." Philip offered.

Alora, with a sad smile on her face answered. "It would be best if you don't know. Believe me. It is for your safety. As long as we are inside this forest, it would not be safe to be with him." She then chuckled. "Heh, even if we get out of the forest it would still not be safe. Believe me. Even if you think that he means well, a person like him will bring nothing but chaos. Best if we take him out now that he don't know what he possess."

"And what does he possess?" Philip asked once more.

Alora was startled when she realized that she said more than enough. "No. I said more than what I should have. Forget what I said and don't ask anymore. I don't want to see you guys hurt, or worse." After that she proceeded to walk towards the tree she was leaning on earlier. She placed her bow and quiver beside her and fell asleep.

"Better listen to the Elf." Ortho suddenly said. "I know that she and I don't see face to face much. But this is the first time I see her scared. A person who doesn't cower from danger and is always the first to jump in and draw blood, bein afraid like that? I have a really bad feelin about this."

We all stood there without saying another word, with only the sound of Ortho trying to find something in his ruined tent to break the silence.

Philip was the first one to speak. "I guess we can all have a secret or two we have to hide to our friends eh? Oh well." He sighed before he continued. "You guys, take your rest. I will stand guard tonight. Ortho, stop going through your gadgets for a moment. I promise no one will touch them until you wake up. Kurt, you should take your rest also. I presume that you would want to teach our friend here how to properly use his Ki once he wakes up."

"Don't push yourself too hard Philip. We all share burdens, we are a party aren't we? Come and wake me up after 4 hours and I will relieve you. That way we could all rest our tired body." I suggested.

Philip just smiled and took a seat in the middle of the camp.

I leaned against the cart. Before I slip into slumber, my mind went to Cloud and started to plan what are the things I should teach him and how. But one thing is for sure. I have my job cut out for me tomorrow.