“So your core doesn’t have a trunk or a bed or anything?” Micro asked Kel while they relaxed on the paved area. Blue had fallen asleep while trying to gather energy, and the sect leader had entered a deep state of meditation.
“No, I don’t think so.” Kel replied excitedly.
“But after spending so much time watching the way you move through life in the dungeon, the way I perceive time in a state of meditation seems to have changed. It’s difficult to explain, but I feel like I was relying on spiritual stamina in the past, whereas now I’m able to look past the time it takes to assimilate a card’s teachings and devote a timeless effort to the process. I cannot thank you enough for your guidance, master!”
“I’m happy for you, Kel.” Micro replied with a steady grin.
“That sounds… good… I think…”
“Are you sure you’re feeling okay after your attempt to assimilate a Core Card of too high a level?” Kel asked as a look of concern returned to his eyes.
“I’ve heard stories of people whose entire existence was obliterated in the process…”
“Well, I did notice it was pretty heavy when I carried it into the garage.” Micro explained.
“The garage?”
“Oh, my core.” Micro corrected himself.
“Once I was in there, I dropped it in the bed like I did the last time, but the springs bottomed out and the concrete floor cracked. Everything started shaking and my eyes went all fuzzy, so I threw the card back out.”
“You threw it out… of your core?!” Kel gasped.
“Then the explosion…”
“Yeah, that’s when the bang happened.” Micro confirmed.
“It took a while to clean up the mess in the garage, and I think I have a flat tire… But I managed to get the card out in time.”
“Master…” Kel sighed.
“I know… Yellow means danger…” Micro replied in apology.
“I’ll try and read the signs…”
“Your old master isn’t here to read them for you now.” Kel added sympathetically.
“So I will tell you in his place… It is time for you to slow down. Can you see that it is only natural that your soul is not yet able to bear the weight of such a powerful Core Card?”
“I’ll be more careful about signs, I promise.” Micro smiled.
“I appreciate your effort, master.” Kel replied.
“Now let’s take a look at these cards… I haven’t seen them before but with my new skill…”
Kel’s eyes suddenly turned a shade of blue similar to Blue’s thin wings. After a moment, he nodded in satisfaction.
“How interesting…” Kel said as his eyes returned to normal.
“As you can see, both are Jade level cards of the Dark element. This one is the Spirit Wave Skill Card, and this is the Spirit Taste Skill.”
“What do they do?” Micro asked excitedly as he looked at the cards.
“I’m afraid that is the limit of my skill, master.” Kel replied with a bow.
“But I feel as though a higher level Appraisal Skill card would allow me further insight into things. I’m limited to identifying the name of things. I thought the skill would be most useful when in unfamiliar lands. Telling the difference between edible and poisonous plants can be as useful as a powerful attack.”
“So that skill helps you read signs?!” Micro gasped.
“Where did you get it?!”
“I found it on a short quest in the Fire Mountain Art Dungeon.” Kel replied.
“Perhaps you’ll find it there one day too, though it is impossible to promise it will reappear any time soon. Dungeon’s aren’t as predictable as that, you see?”
“I’ll learn these cards first then.” Micro replied.
“Master…” Kel said with a stern look.
“...After I get some rest…” Micro answered obediently.
“And I’ll make sure I don’t need to patch up my back tires…”
“Do whatever it is you need to do in order to fully recover, master. A cultivator does not neglect their own health in the pursuit of power.” Kel explained thoughtfully.
“To weaken yourself in search of power would be self-defeating. Let us return to the sect, now. It seems Tae has also mastered the Turtle Art in good time.”
Kel and Micro turned back to see Tae at the summit covered in a shining armour. She stood up and inspected her armour-clad body, then dispelled the shield with a sigh. Micro waved at her when she looked down the hill to them, and she waved back.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“Good job, Tae!” Micro shouted happily.
“Another master has emerged, it seems…” The sect leader added quietly as he opened his eyes.
~
Micro, Kel, Tae, and the sect leader walked back down to the bustling sect headquarters around the time Micro was beginning to crave a second helping of honey buns. With Blue asleep in his pocket and Trill holding on to his Core Cards, it seemed as though the day might be a peaceful one.
“Oh dear…” The sect leader suddenly mumbled with half a smile.
“What is it, grandfather?” Kel asked.
“It seems the Sparrow Sect has something to say about the news I had Lana deliver…” He replied.
“Tae…?”
“Yes, sect leader.” Tae replied quickly.
“I see them too. Three of them will likely arrive here shortly.”
“Should I hide you somewhere safe, master?” Kel asked with concern.
“I think we should take this opportunity to make things clear to them.” The sect leader interjected, then looked at Kel with a sly grin.
“Rather, I think this is as good a time as any for you to begin proving yourself to the alliance, unless that was nothing but a young man’s boasting…”
“Very well.” Kel replied humbly.
“We shall meet in the courtyard where Lana drew her weapon. This should end where it began.”
“Can we eat before I get stabbed with another stick?” Micro asked as he rubbed the part of his chest where a lingering pain remained.
“Of course, master.” Kel replied.
“We should fortify ourselves for the day ahead. This way.”
“I’ll leave this to you, Kel.” The sect leader said as he turned away.
“I must tend to matters regarding the Amber level Dungeon you found… Such a busy day…”
“Thank you, grandfather.” Kel bowed as his grandfather walked slowly away.
Micro, Kel, and Tae continued on through the courtyard and followed a path that led a short way around the mountain to a quieter area. Kel introduced several of the elders of the sect on the way, and explained the functions of some of the smaller structures they passed. Many were meant for various forms of food preparation, but there were also baths, study halls, small libraries, and many places meant to facilitate meditation for younger disciples.
They sat down together at a table on a veranda that overlooked the vast landscape below. Micro looked around at the little villages scattered around the mountain, only partially interconnected by winding dirt trails. Kel thought he noticed Micro shaking his head in sadness as he looked out over his territory, but he was distracted when an old man appeared by the table, balancing a large platter above his head. He was a large man, lacking the muscular build shared by most of his colleagues, and he wore his grey hair and beard long and untidy. However, Micro thought he looked remarkably friendly, and wondered if the shield on his back was big enough to be of any use to him, other than perhaps as a dinner plate.
“For the young master and his friends.” The man said with an exaggerated bow.
“Thank you!” Micro shouted as he located a large dish full of meat at the centre
“So you’re the little one running around causing mayhem!” The big man’s voice boomed with laughter.
“Is Kel taking proper care of you?”
“He’s teaching me to read signs!” Micro replied happily with a mouthful of fried meat.
“Thanks for the fuel!”
“This is Toa, a mentor to us all.” Kel introduced the man warmly.
“But he insists you call him the cook.”
“Thanks, the cook!” Micro said gladly.
“No, just ‘cook’ will do.” Kel corrected him.
“Thanks, just cook!” Micro repeated as the old man continued to laugh.
“No, Micro…” Kel frowned.
“Pfft!” Blue’s muffled laughter could be heard from his pocket.
“Seriously…”
Kel realized Micro’s intent, and his face reddened as Toa the cook laughed louder and louder. Even Tae was unable to fully stifle a grin as she hid her face behind the bowl of soup she was drinking. Several others on the veranda looked over at the noisy table, curious about what had brought such a reaction from the old cook, but the air cleared after as Micro continued to eat as much and as fast as he could.
“Your appetite and humour are beyond your years, little one!” The cook laughed.
“Cultivating burns a lot of fuel!” Micro replied as he looked around the table for more meat, but a disappointed look surfaced on his face when he found none.
“I’ll fetch you another bowl of mountain-fried beef right away!” The cook assured Micro.
“You have good taste! Kel here could do with a bit more meat in his belly…!”
Kel flinched as Tow abruptly pinched his stomach with a frown.
“All skin and bones, just like your grandfather…” The cook sighed.
“I’ll never understand why cultivators of a sect with ‘Mountain’ in the name are all bean sprouts…”
“It’s you who is strange, cook…” Kel grumbled as he massaged his sore stomach.
“Few cultivators manage to stay that fat after achieving such spiritual strength. It is a testament to your constitution…”
“You’d all be Amber Core Cultivators by now if you ate as much meat as our new young master over there.” The cook laughed.
“Is it really made of mountains?” Micro asked with an amused look.
“In a sense it is!” The cook replied heartily.
“The meat is cooked right on the finest rocks the mountain has to offer. Every bite is full of the rich life force of this sacred place, and every bite honours this ancient hill. The cattle were raised on the plains just beyond that village, sustained by streams that flow down from this mountain. From the moment they are born, even the grass they eat grows in soil fertilized by minerals that are carried down the mountain by those streams. You’ll find no meat like it in the empire or beyond, I tell you! It’s as fine as-”
“More, please!”
“Right away!” The cook guffawed as he ran back to the kitchen with heavy footsteps and a big smile.
“It sure takes a lot to keep you going, master.” Kel smiled while enjoying a colourful salad.
“That’s one thing that hasn’t changed since before I came to this world.”
The cook quickly returned with an even larger helping of his signature dish, insisting that Kel and Tae also partake of it, but it was Micro who finished most of it in the end.