The villages surrounding the sect were completely silent, apart from the sound of animals grazing here and there. Lena remained quiet as she restored balance to her internal energy while they made their way out of the sect's territory. The moon was high in the starry sky when Micro finally stopped to look around, and Lena stirred from her trance.

“Worry not for me, young master.” Lena said with a tired voice.

“It is not my first time recovering from a hero's summoning, though I am surprised to see you in such good condition.”

“It seems like the chaos energy is what the magicians use to steal energy from cultivators, somehow...” Micro replied.

“But the dog in my soul just eats it all.”

“You are immune to the effects of chaos, because of a dog...” Lena said with a sigh.

“And have you stopped walking because...?”

“I was just thinking it would be nice to let the children rest a while.” Micro replied, adjusting his grip on Kolt and Kira, both of whom were still fast asleep, draped over his shoulders.

“They are certainly weak. Very well.” Lena nodded.

“This is as good a place as any. Do not be guided only by worry though, young master.”

“Worry…” Micro repeated with a heavy sigh.

Lena looked at him knowingly while he seemed to become stuck thinking about the word. Eventually, she cleared her throat to snap him out of his confused state.

“It is natural for humans to feel fear, but it is helpful to understand its source.” Lena said with a conviction which reassured Micro, if only a little.

“I never felt scared before I came here, or anything at all, not really…” Micro replied.

“You are uniquely fortunate to have known a life completely free of fear. Fear can bend and break even the strongest of us.” Lena continued.

“But you are human now, more or less. You should seek to understand what you are capable of, as well as your limitations.”

“I’ve been able to feel a lot of things, but when Nora sent that new soul down here…” Micro’s voice quieted as he recalled the sensation.

“I couldn’t control my body anymore. I couldn’t organize my thoughts. That’s fear…?”

“Before such power, fear is a natural response.” Lena nodded her head.

“At least for the young.”

“Do you not feel fear, Lena?” Micro asked.

“I am not so old and wise as to be completely free of fear’s grasp, but it is not something which hinders me. Rather, you might say it accompanies me.” Lena explained.

“You possess a human mind, for better or for worse. Its strengths are yours to harness, but its weaknesses are yours to overcome.”

“You can overcome fear?” Micro gasped.

“How?!”

Lena chuckled at his bright expression, then shook her head.

“No advice of mine will be of practical use to you.” She said softly.

“You cannot climb a mountain before you come to stand before it.”

“So many mountains…” Micro sighed.

“I think I understand though. Thanks, Lena.”

“It is my pleasure.” Lena smiled widely, though she quickly regained her composure.

“I have spent so many years overseeing Azar’s growth. I must admit your willingness to improve yourself is quite… refreshing…”

Micro recalled Azar’s aggressive demeanor and frowned, but he was brought back to the present by the sound of Kira’s voice, a faint whimper escaping her mouth as she stirred, unable to wake.

“Can you watch them for a little while?” Micro asked while lowering the children to the ground as delicately as he could.

“I'll gather some sticks.”

“Sticks?” Lena asked.

“For what?”

“To make a fire.” Micro answered.

“The old man always felt refreshed after relaxing by a fire. Maybe it'll help.”

“Fire does serve as a catalyst for some cultivators...” Lena nodded.

“The mundane may have some useful traditions.”

“I'll be right back then.” Micro said as he ventured toward the forest's edge. The area where they walked was largely grassless and barren, but the forest remained predominantly in sight to the east.

“Avoid stumbling into a dungeon on the way.” Lena called out to him and she settled down to meditate.

~

Micro took a deep breath as he stepped under the cover of the forest's tall trees. The refreshing smell of plant life was a relief from the dusty plains he'd experienced that day.

A noise caught his attention, and he began bracing himself for an unknown enemy’s attack, but he was relieved to see the noise was caused by several small rocks moving nearby.

“Just some gravel golems...” Micro sighed.

“I wonder why they always look so busy.”

The rock-like creatures were no taller than one of Micro's tires, and their movements seemed slow and clumsy, but he recognized a sense of urgency in the way they worked at whatever they were doing. He couldn't see them well through the leaves and brush, but he recalled his newly acquired Spirit Vision Skill, and was shocked at the clarity with which the scene emerged despite the distance.

With a better view, he watched them quietly for a while, curious about their nature and activities. He followed one gravel golem in particular as it waddled away from its group on short, rocky legs, and watched in surprise as it suddenly began digging. Its tiny hands were more like decorative bumps on the side of its round body, but it scooped up dirt with ease by using its mouth as a shovel. Micro was most surprised by the fact that after scooping up a mouthful of dirt, it didn't spit it out elsewhere. Instead, it swallowed bite after bite of dirt and rocks, chewing it energetically before continuing to scoop up another mouthful.

“I wonder where it all goes...” Micro wondered aloud as the creature continued to fill itself with an impossible amount of dirt.

He looked around again, and noticed he could also easily see the flow of energy in the world around much more vividly than before. The individual elemental energies stood out to him easily now, while they had all blended together before.

“I wish I could use the skill with both eyes...” He sighed.

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“Oh well. I have a lot of skills already...”

He began gathering sticks and storing them with his storage skill, throwing handful after handful over his shoulder into the small portal which opened when he willed it. As he began to think about what else he might store in the dimensional pocket, Micro suddenly realized it had become hard to keep track of all the Core Cards he'd acquired, especially since he'd mastered so many in the middle of a fight recently. Though the cards filled his mind with knowledge, he felt uncomfortable not knowing the extent of his abilities in his new body. He stopped by a tree after collecting what he estimated to be one truckload of wood, and closed his eyes.

He entered a trance, and found his core glowing brighter than ever, still radiating an amber light. Entering the garage where his soul resided, he was pleased to find the dog sitting calmly on the roof of his truck, several specs of chaos energy evident on his nose.

“Thanks for eating all that chaos up for me.” Micro said to the dog.

“Are you sure you're okay?”

The dog didn't reply, but its tail continued to wag energetically as Micro walked around to the bed of the truck.

“Alright, let's organize these a little...” Micro said as he looked down at the cards messily gathered on the bed.

“The old man would never let things get this messy.”

After spending a momenting sorting through the cards, he arranged them by colour and took a moment to look at them more closely. The dog turned around and looked down at the cards, apparently amused by them.

“Are you interested in cultivation too?” Micro asked the dog.

“These are my core cards, but there are a lot more to find.”

The dog seemed keen to listen to Micro's explanation, or perhaps it simply enjoyed Micro’s company, so Micro began to introduce the cards one by one. First, he counted up the jade coloured cards on the left.

“I already have seven Jade Core Cards, huh... Doesn’t seem like a lot.” Micro thought for a moment, then smiled up at the dog and continued.

“The Turtle Art has been useful for making armour and boxes, though it uses up a lot of energy. The Armour Trait makes my skin harder, but it's not like having a metal body. Spirit Taste might be my favourite so far. You should try finding that one first if you get the chance.”

The dog licked its lips at Micro's explanation, and Micro continued.

“This is Spirit Wave. It's hard to control, but it's a simple attack.. Storage is nice, because my new body doesn't have a convenient bed like this.” Micro pointed at the truck bed, and the dog barked in reply.

“This is the Charm Skill. Dogs wouldn't need it, but apparently it makes people like you more. And finally, this card is the Spirit Hammer Skill. It was a gift from my friend's cousin. I wonder how Vale is doing now.”

Micro made a complicated expression as he recalled his experience with Vale and his reputation, but he shrugged and carried on.

“I have six Amber Core Cards. Those are a little stronger.” Micro explained.

“Well, rather than stronger, it seems like they just require a lot more energy to use. These two cards are both the Serpent Art, but one uses Fire energy and one uses Water energy. You seem to like the taste of chaos energy the most though, huh?”

The dog barked several times, then began drooling at the mention of chaos. Micro wiped the wet patch on the bed with his sleeve, then pointed at the next card.

“This is the Spirit Shield Skill. Making strong shields is useful here, because people keep attacking me.” Micro said, a tired grin emerging on his face.

“This Poison Skill isn't as scary as it sounded, actually. You can make all kinds of poisons with energy, but not all of them are dangerous. Spirit Vision is a very useful skill. I'm glad I finally mastered this one.”

Micro pointed at his good eye and looked up at the dog.

“I can even tell what people are feeling now, kind of. The energy around people says a lot about how they feel, though Lena's is usually too calm to read well...” Micro scratched his head, and his eyes fell upon the final Amber Core Card.

“The Sleepless Trait... Now that I think of it, I haven’t been sleepy at all since I mastered this one, so I guess it’s working.”

Micro thought for a moment about the dreams he'd experienced for the first time in his new body, wondering if he'd made the right choice not to sleep anymore, but he recalled another recent memory which had haunted him at night, his hand wandering to his shoulder as he grimaced, and decided he'd rather not experience that shock ever again.

“Anyways, let me know if there are any Core Cards you want.” Micro said to the dog.

“Although we'll need to find you a body first... You need one of those, so you can make your own core… Hmm...”

~

Micro returned to find Kolt and Kira beginning to wake from their heavy slumber, while Blue and Trill had begun meditating peacefully next to Lena. The energy flowing around the three cultivators was reassuring in the open plains as night fell, but Kira had started shivering.

Recalling a camping trip the old man had taken his son on, Micro made a small pile of sticks, then began rubbing two of them together. He wasn't sure exactly what technique the old man had taught his son, but after accidentally breaking several sticks, he was able to produce a few embers by rubbing two larger logs together as fast as he could. However, when he placed the smouldering log on the pile, it simply sizzled for a while before it was completely extinguished.

“That...” Kolt mumbled as he watched Micro working.

“What is it?” Micro asked, happy to hear the boy's voice.

“That's not how you make a fire...” Kolt coughed.

“Who... who would start a fire like that...?”

“It's harder than it looks.” Micro shrugged.

“Get a smaller stick, then rub it on that piece of wood there...” Kolt managed to rise to a sitting position, and pointed at two bits of wood.

“And all the wood is damp. Scrape some bark off, there...”

“Like this?” Micro asked as he attempted to follow Kolt's instructions.

“Just back and forth, then catch the ember...” Kolt frowned. He reached out to take the stick, but couldn't find the strength to keep his arm extended and soon fell forward onto his face.

“You just rest.” Micro replied.

“I'll figure this out.”

Kolt fell back to sleep as Micro continued struggling to make a fire with the sticks he'd collected. Micro began worrying more about Kira as she shivered quietly on the ground near him, but his efforts remained fruitless.

“Didn't I already teach you how to do that?” Blue suddenly asked.

“Oh!” Micro shouted so loudly that Trill jumped out of his trance and landed behind Kolt.

Without wasting any more time, Micro began focusing as much energy as he could in the centre of the pile, and a roaring flame soon consumed the damp twigs, sending a plume of dust and smoke high up into the air. He threw some more wood on top of the fire and then lay Kolt and Kira closer to it, finally content that they would remain warm for the remainder of their rest.

“Lucky kid, having a great teacher like me.” Blue scoffed as she closed her eyes to continue meditating.

“I really was lucky to meet you.” Micro replied as he got comfortable by the fire.

“I don't think most cultivators would consider the cirumstances of our meeting lucky.” Blue quietly retorted.

“Though we've had a bit of fun since then.”

“Will you be able to recover your energy tonight?” Micro asked, noticing Trill had returned to his place near Blue and joined her in a trance.

“We don't all have a strange extra soul to eat chaos energy.” Blue spat.

“It'll take a while to clean up. It feels like most of the energy in my core was blown away by a dirty wind. Are you not going to sleep?”

“I don't need to sleep anymore.” Micro replied happily.

“What?” Blue blurted out, opening her eyes wide in surprise.

“I mastered the Sleepless Trait along with the other cards I got from Feng's master.” Micro explained.

“What kind of cursed life is that?!” Blue nearly screamed in horror.

“I didn’t think you’d actually use that one…”

“It's nice though. Sleeping isn't that fun, is it?” Micro said timidly.

“Dreams can be-”

“Dream what you like!” Blue continued.

“A life without naps... That hurts to imagine.”

“Sorry, Blue.” Micro nodded in confusion.

“Whatever.” Blue shook her head.

“Entertain yourself. I have cultivating to do.”

Micro smiled and nodded, then leaned back while looking up at the starry sky. He hadn't spent much time worrying about the stars he could see from the ground on his old world, but a lonely feeling emerged as he looked up at the foreign sky. No familiar constellations could be found, and no planes or satellites littered the scene. However, several small flashes of light did catch his eye.

Among the stars, brief explosions of various colours blinked in and out of view occasionally. He wondered what they could be, but even with his Spirit Vision Skill, he was unable to make any sense of them.

“I wonder if they have spaceships here...” Micro wondered quietly.

“The old man always enjoyed news about the space station...”

Despite not feeling the need to sleep, a sense of fatigue eventually found him as he sat quietly, and Micro closed his eyes to join the others in a state of meditation, gathering up the energy around him and circulating it through his body, strengthening his core little by little in the process.

However, he spent much of the night playing with the soul of the dog which resided in his nostalgically constructed core.