Central Tower. It was massive, visibly massive even from the edges of the layer but as they got closer, Inero-ie could make out its actual size. It had slowly become the only thing that filled their vision.
A triangular ship flew through the air, flying towards the tower. Inside, Inero-ie jiggled the data stone that the guide passed to him. Sometimes he would fail to catch it but as soon as it collides with the floor and bounced back, it would be back in his palm.
Throw up, catch
Throw up, catch
Throw up, drop, bounce, catch…
Light. It was warm. Passing through the glass that made up the upper half of the ship, the light fell on his body spreading a warmth that he still could not get used to. But it was comfortable. It was so comfortable that if not for the whispers, he would have found a place in a forest and fallen asleep. Even though that was impossible, this palace was still good to recover.
He felt the amount of time he needed to recover could be halved here.
He dropped the data stone again but this time as it bounced back, it escaped his hand because the ship made a turn. He could hear the sound of it rolling around. He got down, his hand feeling the space to find it.
Since the visit to the doctor, he had minimized the usage of threads overall, not using any if the situation allowed it. It was difficult to get used to this overwhelming sense of vulnerability, this state of ignorance.
‘Aha’
Over the cycles, threads had replaced his other senses. Just as most other humans depended upon their eyes to observe the world, he depended upon the threads. They had become as intuitive as breathing but now he had no choice but to stop using them for a while.
It felt like he was stuck inside a void.
Qi flowed into the data stone and he could feel a hologram appearing along with the sound. It was the sound of the man who had allowed him to be here, and who would open the passage to his graveyard. He was thankful to this man.
“Harvester Inero-ie. I wish you the best of luck though I don’t think you will be needing it. Your permit has already been changed from temporary to permanent and so you are now an official resident of the capital. I hope to see this goodwill returned by serving that child to the best of your abilities….”
***
Utterly small, wholly insignificant. A feeling of hopelessness, a feeling of terror. Though it was nothing compared to what he had felt from that snake, it did not reduce the pressure that chained him to the ground.
Unparalleled. He stood there frozen by the aura that exuded from the humongous tower.
A few threads that he had created upon exiting the ship also seemed to have been affected by the aura. Even when he used all his willpower, the most they did was move sluggishly. He dismissed them, focusing all of his efforts to bear the pressure.
“Please follow me, sir.”
He could not register the voice as all his attention was sucked by the tower. He dared not lose focus. It felt like he was standing in front of a massive beast. A single move and he no longer be.
Huff…hufff…hufff
Drop drop drop
Sweat trickled down his face, dropping and smashing into thousands of pieces but he was just standing there, frozen.
He had trained with all his might and it had allowed him to develop his senses to a level that far outstripped his cultivation level. This had allowed him to survive until now. But it was also this that had put him in this predicament now. It had allowed him to peak at the thing that should not have been possible for someone of his cultivation.
“Sir?”
“Sir!”
Intense shaking.
Like an illusion, everything disappeared. That aura, that suffocating pressure. Everything. Like it had never been there. Like it had all been a dream.
Confusion. Surprise.
His eyes opened and he saw a tower. Grand. Piercing the sky, it was so big his eye did not see its top. Covering the vision, it was so wide his eye could not fully capture it. It was like he was in front of a mountain.
“Sir, are you alright?”
Nod.
“Then please follow me.”
Nod.
His eyes closed again.
Step step step.
He followed the guide, the thread allowing him to do so effortlessly.
They entered a massive structure that was connected to the tower and though it was also grand and beautiful, when compared to the tower, it was like a wildflower was next to a rose.
Inero-ie felt a change. It was warmer inside.
***
Knock knock
The guide turned towards him after a moment and said.
“Please enter the room. Lady Sline is waiting inside.”
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The door slid open and then closed the moment he stepped in. He could sense a presence in the room. Instinctively, his threads converged towards the presence. They were still sluggish but were useable. Even though he had broken out of that illusion, it seemed like he had not fully escaped its effects.
“I am Sline Proled Knore, a subordinate of princess Cile Etrost Mus-Draik and will be taking the test in place of princess. Please sit.”
He moved towards the only place in the massive hall where he could sit. The moment he started moving, he could feel a hologram appearing there.
He opened his eyes as he had no choice this time. It was difficult to understand what was on the holograms, especially when did not even have ten threads.
Blink…blink.
Bright. Intense. Blinding. Tears dripped down his face due to the intensity of the light.
He started solving the problems posed in the test. It was easy, far easier compared to what Fria-al had forced him to do. His pace was steady, neither fast nor slow. With no time limit, he did not see a reason to rush.
***
“Please wait a moment, you will soon receive the result.”
Eyes closed.
Now that he had nothing to do, he drifted into light meditation.
Qi. From the air into his pours, from the pours into his flesh, from his flesh to his veins, and from his veins to his circuit. Embedded inside the blood vessels, the Qi circuit was a complex network that spread to every inch of the body.
As the Qi was sucked inside, he again felt the rawness of the regenerated circuits. Just like his body had lost all its muscle memory that had been accumulated throughout the many cycles, his Qi circuit had also dulled upon regeneration but whereas he could retrain his physical body without any danger, doing so with the circuit was not possible at the moment due to his damaged core.
As soon as the Qi entered into the circuits, it was sucked into the core as though it could sense the foreign presence inside the body. Even though it had been just a few days since he had stopped the law training and reduced the number of threads, he could feel the core had started recovering at greater speed.
Once it recovered he would have no qualms about quickly training the circuit.
“Mr. Inero-ie, follow me.”
***
“My lady, I have brought him here.”
He could sense a presence. Instinctively, his threads reached for the target. A habit that had been ingrained during the many cycles spent outside.
Cold. Trembling. Intense.
A cold that could be compared to the temperature of the Mid Barrier, a cold capable of killing everything, freezing anything. He could sense such intense cold Qi from the presence.
‘Impossible!’
He tried to control his shaking body while quickly retracting the threads.
Shiver…shiver..shiver
“That is interesting. What is it and how does it work?”
His eyes snapped open. He was so shocked that he forgot the shivering and stared at the lady with glacial blue hair and a pair of eyes as lively as a rock. Solid, emotionless.
‘How can she sense it? No one ha–’
A memory repeated inside his mind. A memory that had made him unable to move. When he had just come here, that man with the children had been able to sense the threads. But this lady in front of him did not give him that sensation.
That man left him in despair when he could easily kill the one in front of him.
“H.ow?”
His mouth uttered broken words as he forgot to use the device that Fria-al had forcefully given him.
Threads were the result he had obtained after many cycles of trial and error. He had been inspired by the specters. The thing that made them dangerous was the ability to sense everything both at long distances and especially at short distances. He had spent many cycles observing and battling them. Then when he had found that place during an expedition, he had further refined what he had learned.
None had been able to sense his threads just like it was difficult to sense the specters. Rather he had made his threads even more stealthy. It was due to these threads that he had kept his promise until now or he would have died many times over.
Snap!
The room was filled with holograms and papers were spread all over the ground but as soon as the snap resounded, the papers flew off the floor, organizing into stacks while the holograms flickered off.
He kept waiting but he did not get a reply. Soon the shock wore off and his eyes closed again. Ultimately, it mattered not. He just needed to achieve his desire.
“I am Cile Etrost Mus-Draik. My Grand Uncle, Knrama Virria Mus-Draik, told me you possessed skills that will help me in my projects. You have shown yourself to be knowledgeable enough so next will be the test of your actual skills.”
He could sense a hologram appearing and had no choice but to open his eyes again. It showed a 3D character of a large worm along with the basic data.
“These worms leave a special fluid when they crawl through their tunnels. You are to bring back 100 kgs worth of fluid. The time limit is one week. If you bring it within the set time you will be selected. Sline, send him the storage container.”
Catch.
“That data stone contains the basic information about the creature, you will have to search for anything else that you need.”
Nod.
“You can go now.”
“Mr. Inero-ie follow me.”
He leaves the room following Sline.
“The storage container will be sent to your residence.”
[Yes.]
After a short walk, he could feel another presence.
“This guide will escort you out. I hope to see you serve my lady with the skills lord himself has vouched for.”
[Yes.]
***
“What do you think, my lady?”
“Intriguing, especially that thread he had created. I want to study it myself if possible.”
“Threads?”
“You can’t sense them. Even I could barely due to my physique.”
“Then shouldn’t you have been warmer, my lady? He is skilled enough that lord Knrama came for his recruitment.”
“Does a blind man care what expressions people around them carry on their faces? Why do I need to tire myself when does not even open his eyes? Now, let's resume the project, we have rested enough.”
“Shouldn’t you check his report first?”
“I have skimmed through it. If he completes the test successfully, then I will go through them in detail. Also, when he goes out, follow him to see how he performs.”
Holograms once again filled the room while the pages started floating through the air.
“And keep a large distance from him or you will be found.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Soon the pages were again spread through the floor, taking every single inch of space. Both of them levitated in the air, discussing, and hypothesizing.
“We will have to change the materials again.”
“Are the raw materials really the cause? I sense that their essence has been damaged.”
“But that shouldn’t be the case, my lady. They were brought in the dimensional storages so no such thing should happen… unless… can it be that living inside the Core Barrier for a such long time has changed their essence?”
“We will know. Call for another batch.”
“Already sent the request.”