“So, what was your trial like?” Micro asked Blue as she jumped onto his hand, then hopped up to his shoulder.

“Trial?” She yawned.

“What Trial? The turtle tried to trick me into moving a mountain or something. I forget exactly what it wanted.”

“Did you not try to move it?” Micro asked with a look of surprise.

“The point was just to separate yourself from the flow of time, wasn’t it?” She asked with a condescending glare.

“Time is nothing to pixies. I could’ve taken my card and left any time.”

“But you were the last one to wake up.” Micro said, his curiosity and confusion compounding.

“She found a tall tree…” The giant turtle interjected with a growl.

“She climbed it… And slept…”

“You took a nap?” Micro asked her.

“It was wonderful!” She chirped back.

“I’m still unbelievably weak, but I haven’t felt so refreshed in ages.”

“The mountain crumbled under its own weight while she slept…” The turtle groaned.

“A terrifying creature…”

Four Core Cards then appeared in the air before Tae, Kel, Micro, and Blue. They shimmered and glowed until each of them was plucked out of the air by its new owner.

“Young cultivators…” The turtle turned its head to Kel and Tae.

“The path ahead of you is often clear… though your eyes may be clouded…”

It then turned its head to Blue and Micro.

“Old soul…” It spoke more quietly to Blue.

“Your reward is insufficient… But there is something I can give you…”

The turtle’s eyes began to glow, and before Blue had a chance to run away or hide, it sent out a wave of energy that consumed her tiny body for a brief moment, like a flash of green lightning.

“What the?!” She cried out.

“Did you just… How the… Hey!”

“With a core… You will be able to make use of that card…” It explained.

“You may cultivate as you wish…”

“I’m a pixie!” She shouted back at the giant.

“I’m not a dirty, stinking, no good… Hey… What the… I can’t… It’s stuck… How do you get rid of this thing? Take it back! Eww!”

She rolled around on Micro’s shoulder, sparks flying here and there as she wrestled with the new energy within her, but her frustrated voice indicated she was unable to rid herself of the gift. While she continued to struggle, the turtle turned again to Micro.

“And you…” It squinted as it looked into his soul.

“Your own core is…”

“I know, it’s in pretty bad shape…” Micro shrugged.

“Feng said a master would help me patch it though.”

“An artificial core… incompatible with energies within… bound by the oath of a dragon…” The turtle mumbled as it inspected the Jade coloured core within Micro.

“I’ll offer an oath of my own…”

Again, the turtle’s eyes glowed, and Micro felt its powerful aura penetrate his chest for a moment. Micro closed his eyes to look at his core, and noticed another ring surrounding it in addition to the one Ray had placed there. The first ring was blue and resembled water, but the newer ring glowed like a small flame.

“It is not as powerful… But it will give you more time…” The turtle explained.

“Is there a contract this time too?” Micro asked.

“There is…” The turtle nodded.

“Never veer from your chosen course for as long as you live… And my blessing shall follow you…”

“Oh, that’s a good one!” Blue remarked, having given up on removing her new core.

“Thank you!” Micro said as he waved to the turtle.

“We should be going now.”

“Very well…” The turtle replied as portals appeared behind the four.

“Safe travels, strange soul…”

~

“Ouch.” Micro let out a quiet yelp as he landed on the cave floor with Kel and Tae on top of him, pressing him into the ground, his rusty armour making a horrific noise as it scraped the rocks beneath him. Blue rolled off his shoulder onto the floor in front of him with a small thud.

“Young master!?”

“Tae?!”

“The boy!”

“Pixie!”

In a chaotic scramble of shouts and realizations, two of the cultivators ran to pick Kel up off of the ground, while two scrambled to crush the ethereal little creature in front of Micro with their shields. Blue was unable to get out of the way of the incoming attacks, but Micro quickly scooped her up and dropped her back in his pocket as the shields hit the ground and kicked up a cloud of dust and sparks.

“I told you to wear your seat belt-” He began to rebuke her, but realized his error quickly with a sad look of shame on his face.

“I need seatbelts… What kind of truck has no seat belts at the very least…”

Micro stood up and pushed his way through the chaotic crowd of cultivators as they danced and celebrated the young master’s return from the trial. The two cultivators who lost sight of the pixie quickly gave up their search and joined the celebrations. They noticed the Jade Turtle Art Card in Kel’s hand immediately, and praised every deity that came to mind for his good fortune. When they noticed Tae holding the same card, their celebrations temporarily gave way to shock and a spring of questions, but their joy outweighed their curiosity until their exhaustion caught up with them. They didn’t even notice the glowing dungeon gate vanishing at first, but nobody was sorry to see it leave.

Micro walked out of the tunnel they’d made and realized he was feeling weak with hunger. He sat down on a pile of rocks and leaned his head against the cold cave wall, closing his eyes with a deep sigh.

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“This thing is really stuck in there… That stupid turtle…” Blue’s muffled voice stirred Micro from his half conscious state.

“What kind of pixie has a cultivator’s core?! It’s so gross and green and… Wait… Hmm…”

“Are you okay, Blue?” Micro peeked into his pocket.

“This might actually be convenient…” She mumbled back.

“I’ll never live this down though…”

Their conversation was interrupted when Kel came bursting out of the tunnel. He looked frantic until he caught sight of Micro, then let out a sigh of relief. Micro waved to him, but was confused when Kel suddenly knelt down in front of him and placed his forehead on the rocky ground.

“Micro- No, master…” He said with humility.

“I owe you my life a thousand times over… I am forever at your service!”

“You’re welcome?” Micro shrugged.

“As Heir to the Jade Fire Mountain Turtle Sect, I swear never to forget my debt to you!” Kel shouted at the ground, his trembling voice echoing down the dark tunnels of the cave.

“What the…?” Confused voices could be heard from the recently constructed tunnel’s entrance as Kel’s five comrades joined him in the cave.

“Kel, what is the meaning of this…?” Den called out to his master with indignation.

“How could you-”

“I swear the same, master!” Tae’s voice interrupted Den’s as she joined Kel on the ground before Micro.

“Tae?” Den blurted out.

“What joke is this? To such a boy as-”

“Kneel alongside the young master, Den!” Tae fiercely rebuked him.

“Do you not see Kel on his knees while you lot stand around like a bunch of vagabonds?!”

Confusion and anger flashed across Den’s face, but he quickly realized the severity of his disrespect to Kel, and he led the others quickly to join Kel and Tae in bowing before Micro, daring not to protest despite his ignorance.

After an awkward moment passed, Kel slowly rose to his feet and addressed his comrades.

“I apologize, old friends.” Kel began.

“Our sect is indebted to this child. If not for his sacrifice and guidance, I would have spent an eternity withering away, never to return to my duties as the heir to our sect. He is more worthy than I to carry on the Turtle Art tradition, but I will not falter on my own path. No, never again will I dishonour myself or my ancestors by wilting in fear before any obstacle. I swear to those who bear witness that I will prove the life you saved is a worthy life!”

“Okay.” Micro replied with blank eyes.

“Let’s go.”

Micro felt rested enough to continue his journey, so he stood up and walked up to Kel with a smile.

“Lead the way.” He said cheerfully.

Tae stood up quickly and took a map out from her side pocket. The other four remained silent, as if waiting for words that made sense to call them back to reality. Tae traced her finger along the map for a moment before pointing past the group.

“If we continue that way and veer to the right, we could save a day on the way home.” She stated confidently.

“There should be an exit facing the direction of our sect.”

With that, Kel gestured for his comrades and Micro to walk with him in the direction Tae suggested, and their journey began once again.

While walking through the cave together, Kel took his time formally introducing his comrades to Micro. Micro was already very familiar with Tae, but he was pleased to learn more about the others. He was particularly interested to hear that in addition to the Spirit Shield Skill, all of them had mastered a different Core Card, which qualified them to serve as Kel's attendants.

Tae had mastered the Spirit Vision skill, a skill which Micro was also keen to learn. It allowed her to discern fine details in a person or object, and it helped her see more clearly in the dark.

Den’s skill was called Block. The Block skill improved his ability to react to enemy attacks, making him a useful bodyguard to Kel.

The other woman in the group was called Kas. She was a quiet woman, but the skill she had mastered was called Hammerfist. When she balled up her hand into the shape of a fist and raised it high above her head, it would begin to glow. She brought it down on a rock once to demonstrate, and the rock broke apart like a clump of dirt.

The fourth member of the party was a thin man named Sung, who had mastered the Spirit Scent Skill, allowing him to identify smells that most people couldn’t. It made him valuable in tracking things, and Kel asserted that it served him surprisingly well in combat.

The fifth man was the youngest of the group, Bol-En, but his skill stood out among the group. The Spirit Claws Skill gave him the ability to manifest long claws from his aura, which could easily cut deeply into the rock wall.

Since they were all dressed nearly identically, in their loose fitting robes and green headbands, Micro still had trouble telling them apart, but he enjoyed their company more after learning a little bit about them.

Kel was the only member not to have mastered an additional skill yet, but he felt that his recent experience in the dungeon had given him new insight to the Jade Appraisal Skill Card he possessed.

Tae spent countless hours explaining what had happened in the dungeon, emphasizing Micro’s role in leading them to complete it, while Kel spent his time talking with Micro.

“Master, please tell me more about the ‘trucks’ of your world.” He pleaded.

“Are there many of you?”

“There are millions, probably.” He replied happily.

“All shapes and sizes.”

“Incredible…” He replied, his imagination reeling.

“And what cause do you serve?”

“What cause?”

“Yes, master. What is your purpose?”

“We’re driven…” Micro scratched his head.

“Our purpose is to move when it’s time to move, and we stop when it’s time to stop…”

“Incredible…” Kel soaked in every word.

“But… by what are you driven?”

“Oh, the old man.” Micro replied with a wide grin.

“He drove me all over the place. We saw mountains, oceans, cities, forests… We went everywhere together..”

Micro’s voice faded to a melancholy mumble as memories of his driver came to mind.

“So even you had a master… Amazing… And what of your studies? Were you a member of a sect?” Kel’s questions quickened.

“What arts did your master teach you?”

“Studies? Well, I guess I learned a lot from him…” Micro thought back to all the time he’d spent with the old man and his passengers over the years.

“I learned a lot on the road… There’s a lot of things I didn’t understand until recently though.”

“So you were a nomadic sect, I see…” Kel nodded, committing every word to memory.

“May I ask what it is you came to understand so recently?”

“Well, I always knew my purpose.” Micro replied.

“I knew he relied on me… I knew he cared for me… But I was never able to think about anything like that before…”

“Ah, I understand.”

“You do?”

“We have all taken for granted the things we should cherish most…” Kel spoke softly and glanced toward Tae.

“But some of us are lucky enough to realize our mistakes before it is too late.”

“I think the main problem was not having a brain.” Micro frowned.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, master.” Kel consoled him.

“It is the folly of youth.”

“Well, I can’t complain about having a brain at least.” Micro smiled.

“Everything seems different now. Well, almost everything.”

“You refer to your new vessel?” Kel gestured to Micro’s body.

“It is certainly not worthy of a master such as yourself, but do not fear. A cultivator’s physical form is the least of their worries. We’ll find a way to repair your core, and your body will strengthen with time.”

“This body really is weird…” Micro agreed.

“Is there anything in particular that bothers you about it?” Kel asked in concern.

“No tires, no headlights, no doors, no bumper…” Micro began to list strange words one after the other to Kel’s dismay.

“The ‘trucks’ of your world are mysterious beings…” He whispered in awe.

“Well, we come with manuals..”

While Tae listened silently to their conversation, the other four cultivators whispered amongst themselves, trying to help each other understand what had happened, but they soon gave up.

“Kel’s word is our law, whether we understand it or not…” The young Bol-En asserted during a lull in their quiet conversation.

“You’re right.” Kas agreed, nodding her head.

“We’ll come to understand Kel’s mindset in time, I’m sure. Let us remain vigilant in our duties and guide the young master safely home.”

“Agreed.” Den confirmed.

“I also agree.” Sung concluded.

“Agh!” Micro suddenly cried out, falling to the ground with a crash.

“Master!” Kel rushed to his side, his face white with horror.

“What’s wrong? Are you injured? Is it your vessel?”

“Sorry.” Micro smiled back at him as he rose clumsily to his feet.

“It’ll take me a little longer to get used to legs.”