Allan was left wondering about the previous words of 36 and didn't pay the newer ones much attention. But there was one thing that was obvious to him. There was hardly anything that surprised him all that much. Stories about the legends of the energy from his hometown talked with even crazy stories. So what if Spark has further types? He knew very well that the words of 36 and his antics had some truthful meaning to them.
Knowing something was, after all, different from understanding anything. Allan was becoming more appreciative of this saying.
“There is nothing, isn't it?” Allan asks all of sudden as he heard Sarey and 36 arguing about nothing.
“What do you mean, Allan? He is playing with us again.”
“Play? Then why did he decide to tell this to us now?” Allan questioned.
“Hmph! Brats! Consider yourself lucky. That is all that I will tell you about it..” 36 said with a domineering tone, but in fact, planned this topic to tell them sooner rather than later. Since the time Allan changed his opinions of him, 36 was ready to tell him more of his knowledge.
Things about the cultivation word are included, but he was waiting for a better timing since the training is much more important than some talk. Those are the words only, so it wouldn't hurt him to talk about them.
Not like he was all-knowing about everything, but if it all came into the ears of mortals, his words held very high value.
“But I want to know more. Affinity, how it all works with the awakening of the Spark?” Allan asked once again.
“Allan... I will repeat myself again. It is blurry and unimportant to my memories. If the Spark is lit, nothing much matters beforehand. What you are doing is not focusing too much on the energy, but the body, in general, is quite an intriguing concept. I regret the potential of what I would have become if I was a duo Cultivator. The Energy and the Body.”
“Dual cultivator? Can I become one?” Allan asked as he found this question rather intriguing. Something clear at least from his world, that could make his path a bit clearer.
“That... is my intention. If we will have time for that, of course.” 36 said in unlikely honesty.
Then what am I going to do before that time?”
“Your situation differs from regular folks or even irregular ones...” 36 said with some difficulty. He noticed Allan's tone, which was further impatient and more bright.
“Then how about the topic from earlier? What sort of effects does Spark have, and what does this training actually serve as a purpose?”
“This...is to make a way for you to get the first stem in the Body forging. I am unsure if it's gonna make some difference in the grand scheme of the pathways. The Unmoving and the sliver of energy within you is something workable.” 36 said with hesitation. It was for himself, so he did not care much about potential problems. It was unfortunate, yet fortunate, that Allan had a situation about himself that he did not understand.
This whole situation with the soul-fire sounded way too ridiculous, even for someone like him. But tell it to a talking wooden figurine, a blind boy with a soul-fire in his body, and a girl... who appears as ordinary as one could.
“If I will gain this energy core, or however you called it, what will happen when I will awaken my Spark?” Allan asked after a deep consideration about the way he talked. Many past conversations had to be connected to the presence. All in order to make it sense to him.
“You are talking in a way of the guesses. How am I supposed to know?” 36 said, with no hide of his unawareness.
“Because you are the one who made this whole technique breakdown. You said it yourself.”
“It is not MINE. This whole business is The One's business. This book is beneath me as well as this whole mess! If you are so angry or impatient with this, blame them and not me.” 36 argued with a speck of truth.
“I blame no one. Why should I? It's your excuses for answers which are getting on my nerves. Since you don't know, don't criticize me for being disappointed.”
“Y-you!? Hah! What a funny world. I am dying from it already.” The Voice of 36 turned hysterical and went on a rant with Allan right in the middle of this rocky valley.
“Oh my... Another one of their episodes.” Sarey thought to herself in annoyance.
Allan was once again forcing 36's pride into the brink of madness and turmoil. He realized it long ago, but actually going against him meant two different things. There was so much he kept leaving out of his words. It made it quite obvious, and Allan was less and less patient with it. So what if the distant path is unimportant right now? There is a limited amount of time and he was stalling because of the so-called insignificance.
That frustrated Allan to the bitter end, so he has to ask it out loud. “Have anything to say?”
“You brat. Only because you are lucky, I will keep it be. When it comes to your question. I will answer some other day. I believe there will be a fusion of the energy Spark with that small part inside of you that I mentioned. It's just a theory, for now, so I expect failures, as the awakening it... is too damn hard in mortal lands... If I had some means... any... It would end in a different way for sure.”
“The Diary of the Body did not go all the way into details and possibilities. It is that weird... your situation.” 36 changed his mood once more. Pair of Allan and Sarey was already speechless from his way of living. Though, they are getting used to his personality and soul.
“Situation? Am I getting stronger or not? What else in this situation, should I expect from myself?” Allan kept arguing in a forceful matter. Walking closer to 36's figurine and brandishing his holding staff as a walking stick. He always left it by his side. Either laying beside the rock, wall, or on the ground. The secret is to remember its position, so Allan would never lose it.
“That is a nice toy you've got there, brat.” 36 taunted him with no regard.
Bang!
Allan swung his arm in a singular momentum forward. In a brief moment, it looked as if he put his hand forward and the tip of the staff was already in front of the figurine. 36 did not need to be worried about any strikes, so there was only a mocking chuckle that followed this strike.
Yet, for some reason, 36 heard small noises echoing in his mind.
Training, Phase 1.
Demands are not enough.
Strength, exceeding the norm by multiple margins.
Attack with sufficient quality to advance into the first bracket of the rewards.
Portal scroll accessed by the Teacher.
The time limit is set until the end of the 1st year.
“Huh?” 36 exclaimed out loud. Not at all expecting this outcome at all. He heard it in the monotone voice of some strange being. It talked to his soul.
“W-wisher? No. It was something different.” He questioned in his mind, while Allan's staff left the figurine.
Before he even had a chance to marvel about what had happened, Sarey stopped their arguments. She pushed Allan away from the wooden figurine and couldn't do so for the wooden figurine at all.
“Alright! Alright! You two, enough of this. 36, instead of saying nothing, how about providing us with feedback on the reason we are here? Isn't it fair?” She jumped between the two tigers, who were bearing their fangs against each other. Although only one of them is one... while the 36 voice was his choice of weapon. After all, he is nothing but a motionless figurine... for now.
“Feedback? What feedback? He has an excellent beginning and even exceeded my marks. What else is there to say?” 36 added in a speechless manner as he recalled the words he heard in his soul.
The mysterious voice stirred his mind as its implications were very strong. Its true meaning was one that he found most shocking and was meant to happen in the future. When Allan would have betters steps into the Body forging. Considering the time, it was as confusing, as everything after meeting these two mortals.
“Oh? A-alright then. What about the rest of the sides of this training?” Sarey asked once again, as Allan stood there with both hands resting on the tip of his shaft. He was waiting for whether or not 36 would answer it.
“He can do them, however, he seems fit. Do them all one bit at a time if he wants, or all of them at the same time. There are no rules at all. If he has abilities for completing them in a half of season, of course.”
“Heheheh. Well said. I will go past your so-called training with no troubles whatsoever.” Allan said with full confidence while feeling another try at how the wood of the... being in front of him feels. Although he sounded cocky saying this, he was anything but that. It was a clear argument that could lead to different results. Both for 36 and himself.
Allan, in truth, was forcing himself to go beyond himself. Be it by force or not, forcing himself to act outside of his safety, and common sense, was good. He had to have an attitude about being a cultivator, as 36 talked about it. Immortal, cultivator, mortal, body forging... whatever he was or not, it did not matter to him. All he wants is the ability and strength to protect himself while going back to his world.
“I will look forward to this progress, then. As for this upcoming madness, Sarey will deal with you to her best abilities. Heheh. Right?”
Sarey looked a bit unsure of 36's reasoning, but she was unwilling to argue with him at all. From many notes and things she had read in The Unmoving technique, she knew that going against his words was not the brightest idea.
What he left there was too extensive of research while the latter parts are... subjectively speaking, bold with immoralism.
One fact that he makes obvious was to not disclose the many parts to Allan. One thing at a time, while Sarey agreed with it.
“Very well. I am looking forward to doing more experienced training. It is fun, so no need to hold back.” Allan said at last, while this exchange was over.
“You... wait for la...”
“Leave.”
Finishing this brief sparkling exchange, Allan made 36 disappear in a cold voice. They all get what they wanted, with nothing being too much.
36 answered nothing about the soul-fire. That caused Sarey to be more disappointed than even Allan, who has himself.
To Sarey, 36's knowledge must involve something which should be comparable to this. However, his words held some sense to her, too. For a soul to reside inside of another living being sounded very unnatural indeed.
She wondered about that small flaming being from the time it saw her. Getting it out of her head was not something she wanted. Was it a magical creature? What causes an appearance of the soul-fire in nature? How many were there? Are they sentient beings? Can they talk?
These questions surface in her kind instead of caring about the bigger picture. Allan was fine for now, so she tossed it behind her head in a few moments. If he will be not in the future, that was... the difficult possibility that she can't imagine.
The cause for her, was that brief moment, in Allan's forge. It caused her curious mind to be blown away by the strangeness of that creature.
“Well, that was it. Nothing he told was all that valuable. I even tried to force him into saying more about a few more topics, but he is so dull and hard as wood as usual.” Allan said, with some disappointment while becoming himself once more. A bit honest, clueless, and more casual. It makes Sarey chuckle from his change.
“No need to hurry. He told nothing but monitored the future. The progress you made according to his word is excellent, so that is one good thing. He said some meaningful things, but it will wait for later. If not...” Sarey stomped the ground in anger and hope to make her point across the Allan.
She did not forget the words about Spark and everything in-between, though. It had tiny effects on her since the world of the starry sky of Immortals was up to her desires. If she could... have her own cultivation and Spark? That would bring joy to her boring life. Though it was not that boring at the moment for her and she knew it.
“It is too late to cry about spilled milk. As you said, we will figure something out while you trust him, right?” Allan tried to calm him and Sarey down. This conversation was quite resourceful, but he did not understand why Sarey was that upset. Allan's demands were very different from hers.
“I do trust him. He sounded more honest than we met him in the past, so that is about it. Forget it then. Want to go home?” She asked while changing the topic. Coming into some bothersome topics which would hurt her head was not what she wanted. Dealing with 36 had been always a small headache for her for whatever reason.
“Sure, I've had enough for today.” Allan agreed. This small training session was all he needed to figure out a few things about himself. While it is part of the Body Forging, he moved in a pace of an attacking pattern that's achievable by someone who has at least half a year into the body forging. Of course, 36 would never admit out loud,
The pair moved together into the forest after retrieving all their stuff. With the hand of tremendous value, Sarey leads Allan by his hand out.
Leaving this valley of rocks to its fate, their next dozens of days would be spent here, as well as somewhere else. That one only Sarey knew.
In the end, Allan's goal was met today with great marks. 36 said it as well and knew Allan's path was the right one but was it? It was not his to be exact, and it felt like it was manufactured by countless words in a Diary of the Body. He was the teacher and the one who made it to Allan. An unlikely teacher, 36.
Now, t depends on Allan, what he would do with these methods. As teachers had always been a limiting factor in the Cultivating world of immortals. It was the same with the Diary of the Body, countless other realms out there, and planets that are homes for up to billions of lofty immortals.
As for the opposite direction of the coin, the past times of holders of this Diary were different from Allan's. They were stronger, influential, or met with destiny to follow through its trials. Immortals liked it this way, as the progression made everything smooth, but was significantly harder in the reality.
Those holders were all individuals, which were nothing like Allan. They all held some reputation, status, or personal power before being given this opportunity to hold this Diary. Strictly speaking, of course, since there had been some... different results for sure as well. Word try held significant meaning, but it was The Ones, who could had other intentions with this Diary as a whole.
It was possible that these intentions were long lost in the annals of the past.
Only two individual teachers obtained their freedom since 36 became aware of it. As for the students, it was questionable what became of them.
The core idea of this mess that 36 was experiencing was one and only. Not to tell anyone of the existence of this Diary, or its owners or your soul would be extinguished.