Diary, Self-Understanding, 5th Stage

Below the mountain, on the plains that would've otherwise been filled with snow if it wasn't because of that amazing array.

"Over here sir, this is the one you have asked for. It has 3 females and 1 male. All of them have great Spirit Sense perception, and they have already been questioning me when are they gonna be taught by the Genius of the academy, eheh." A pretty young woman with a cute outfit that was just for one's eye, be it for the sake of appearing cute tempting, or even formal - all in one without a real purpose; a bit better than those which the major organizations use just to make their core disciples and higher-ups feel 'very' comfortable with.

Though there were missions that would challenge oneself to the point it wasn’t that they needed to be strong enough but smart and have some scheming qualities, or at least some shrewdness in order to achieve the goals of the academy and themselves. There were also those missions which, besides one of a higher cultivation base being able to take those, as long as they paid well. There were also those that were pretty normal and totally safe.

In this case, the young woman guiding Ciemnosc towards his own bedroom was doing just that, taking a job with a mission of simply guiding the students to their own bedrooms. There wasn’t a single bedroom for students that wasn’t to be shared with others. There was a lot of communication and instinctive cooperation thanks to this. And to the several different qualities that the academy offers to everyone and even more as a group, the rivalry is, of course, strong between bedrooms instead of between each student as if they are to compete with each other.

But, to Ciemnosc, who was being guided by this fine, and finely dressed young woman, that could not be of less importance.

“Thank you,” Ciemnosc looked at the bedroom he chose from afar, still not entering its precincts, and looked at the door. There were no windows, but there was some Spirit Sense flying out from within, not reaching where he was standing of course. But Ciemnosc could feel those strands of Spirit Sense not only excited to see when the ‘Genius’ would arrive, but also a bit tired which could be easily told it was from studying or practicing with it hard and clear.

“No need, sir.” The young woman smiled, then looked at Ciemnosc as if expecting something from him. Ciemnosc darted his eyes lower, then took out a good 100 Inferior Powerful Stones in a hide bag and gave it to the young pretty woman.

“Oh, my, many thanks. I was just trying to ask you out, but I guess this is a good ‘no’. Hehe, enjoy your bedroom, Mr. Genius.” The young woman hesitated for 2 seconds before half-confidently taking it with her left hand. Her Spirit Sense scanned it over more than a second before saying these words with her eyes showing infatuation - for money and Ciemnosc’s generosity.

“...” Ciemnosc gestured to the young woman, and she began taking her feet away from here, going back to the reception in each little district of students’ dormitories to get a new lost student to gain money from - no lewdity involved; most of the time.

Step, step, step, step…

After the young woman left, Ciemnosc stepped into the wary but excited strands of Spirit Sense, and after they examined him for a couple of seconds each, the 4 strands of Spirit Sense retracted, and Ciemnosc could hear, not even needing his Spirit Sense, the sound of many pairs of feet moving down the stairs inside the 1 floor-only bedroom.

Ciemnosc entered the building, having already scanned the layout. He now looked at it with his eyes somewhat remaining still and direct while looking somewhere else. It was as if he, with his very own eyes, was capable of seeing some things that others, even with their SPirit Sense, would never be capable of. He continued on like this before moving on to the stairs that were pretty obvious but hidden by some walls as well.

The entrance of the building was located at the north, right in the middle of it all, and surrounded by a moderate amount of grass. While the walls were made of bricks of stone and the ceiling and floor of a really smooth and incredibly harsh stone. One that Ciemnosc hadn’t gotten to read of before but already knew of its components, potential, and even how it would or could react to certain other experiments he has been enduring not going into like a madman so far.

Entering the building from the entrance, immediately, 2 walls extended over a good amount of meters in a straight line in parallel to each other. These were rooms, and though they were adhered to the walls to the side of the entrance and spanned over more than half of the western and eastern walls respectively, they took about ¼ of the whole 1st floor itself while taking a much longer than wider space.

Within each room, there was a slightly large circular table with some chairs around them, not as many chairs as those in the previous type of bedroom he stayed, without leading students in them, but in these ones that did have some leading students— up to 2 —; it seemed as if many things could be done with just this silly and seemingly unimportant change and difference.

In 2 of the corners of each of these 2 rooms, which were the ones that were adhered to the walls of the building itself, and to the sides of the entrance, a ton of barrels were around, ready to be used for storing both liquid and solid drinks and food respectively. Oh, and each had a chimney. It was small, but it was really helpful, pretty neat.

Farther to the south of the 1st floor, there were 2 rooms specifically made for cultivation. One was slightly smaller than the other, but both had 4 praying mats for cultivating together or separated, either in separate rooms or in far apart praying mats in the same room - with a bonfire in the middle which was actually really nice for cultivating. It wasn’t necessary to practice Fire related skills or cultivation methods. One just needed to light it up with Inferior Powerful Stones, and they would do their own marvel.

These 2 rooms were practically against one another unlike the 2 ‘living rooms’, and they were half a circle in shape at the southwest corner with their doors facing each other, also made of bricks of stone. To the right from those 2 half-circular rooms, and in front of the door of the eastern ‘living room’, were the stairs that led to the ‘comfy basement’.

Step, step, step, step…

Ciemnosc went down the stairs, which were actually quite long themselves, and took over 20 seconds for Ciemnosc to come all the way down and begin to see the lit up lights below, also knowing there were 4 people in it and standing before it with their arms behind their back, their hands holding each other behind their bums.

In this slightly formal ‘formation’, Ciemnosc came down at last after almost another 10 seconds to see 3 beauties and 1 handsome fella. Their handsomeness and beauty weren’t just that though. It made their actually strong and commendable Spirit Sense and cultivation at the Spirit Gathering realm 10th stage except for an orange haired beauty at the 5th stage of the Conflagrate realm.

“Welcome to your brand new first bedroom, Genius Ciemnosc.” The orange haired beauty said, her blue eyes all over Ciemnosc, they were tired but excited nonetheless, and it made great sense with her Spirit Sense being just the same.

“My name is Missa, I was the leader of these fellow students so far, but now I am glad to be under you as well. I am at the-” Missa, the orange haired beauty, began saying with her short orange hair from the front but really long towards her back said, pride but humbleness in her heart as she spoke, which Ciemnosc immediately liked. But he interrupted her still.

“Conflagrate realm, 5th stage, mhm,” Ciemnosc said, and immediately, there were reactions among the 4 as they looked at each other. “Wow!” - “It is so great!” - “Nobody can do that when they aren’t at the Conflagrate realm. This Genius is really a Genius…” - “Incredible, so amazing!”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Which one of you is the other leading student?” Ciemnosc asked after they went over their excitement and slowly became silent once again. Then, the blonde haired beauty stepped up, and her regularly sized but wow attractive chest spoke with pride and hoped to be praised endlessly. “Fatima here sir Genius! Ready to listen to whatever order you might have and to learn from you!

“...” Ciemnosc nodded and then looked at the remaining 2, the brown haired beauty and the handsome dude. “My name is Leen, Genius Ciemnosc.” - “M-my name is Gallah, respected student, Genius Ciemnosc!”

Though the handsome young man was quite too excited and almost behaved like a little girl finding her first singer crush in her entire life before falling into depravity, it was alright and okay. While the remaining beauty was all calm and collected, the appraisal in her eyes could not be hidden.

Fwoo- fwush~. Tap tap tap tap.

“...” Ciemnosc said nothing while taking out a ‘package’ that consisted of just a ton of books wrapped up by a light brown, dull paper and a ribbon holding them all together. Each of these packages landed on the 4’s hands, who took them and didn’t place their spirit Sense on them, too tired to even do so. Then, as Ciemnosc walked towards the bedroom that looked like no one used it, he spoke to them, and his words were like challenges and their life-important decision.

“Read this and, when you understand them completely, you can come back to me so that I’ll start teaching you.” Ciemnosc wasn’t worried about the students and the leading students here coming over to him ‘thinking’ they understood but did definitely not. The requirements to have reached up to here, having received many resources and support from the academy meant that anyone above the Phrenic realm was a gem in the major organizations.

Of course, though such a person would be a gem in the major organizations, even above Enaro’s level in understanding and learning, even if not in the cultivation of talent. Here in the Rocaloi Academy, these people were just the norm and below average even. Only those that were very young and in the middle stages of the Spirit Gathering realm in the Rocaloi could be considered more or less above average.

And Ciemnosc, within this bedroom, with these peak Spirit Gathering realm cultivators and 1 Conflagrate realm cultivator at the middle stages, with their Spirit Sense being of the best in the entire academy, it could be said that only them could be in Ciemnosc’s bedroom, sharing it together Though it was also the fact that Ciemnosc wanted to tutor some students and get some extra 1 Supreme Powerful Stones as well as… something from them, that such kind of people was in his bedroom and he was in theirs.

In every bedroom, even in the ones of only 3 students without any leading students allowed to live in those, and in the very 5-students bedrooms as well, it wasn’t always full. And though these bedrooms could act as teams for the missions to come and for the missions of the past, it wasn’t necessary. However, Ciemnosc was going to take these people in his missions. They were not only great in terms of cultivating talent and Spirit Sense, but clever themselves.

As these 3 beauties and 1 handsome fella received Ciemnosc’s books, which he wrote himself in notebooks because whatever, they started opening them to reveal their contents by looking at the portrait. But in each of the books in their ‘packages’, only these words written on its cover and nothing from behind: ‘These are just the basics for allowing me to tutor you, study well.’.

Everyone: “...”

That, and with the fact that Ciemnosc was going on a mission like many others in a week and that they could very well lose this very first chance to team up with him and show their sincerity, wasting a damnably great opportunity, they hurriedly stepped into their own bedrooms without a shred of care for their tiredness.

Creak- thud, fwump.

In his own bedroom, Ciemnosc fell on his big bed himself. The entire basement was pretty damn cozy, no wonder there was such a difference between bedrooms with leading students and just students. It was such a huge and tremendous motivation to want to have these bedrooms for themselves, just waking up in a cozy place that might be cold or hot as they pleased in the morning or night, go up and grab a drink or bite from the barrels. Mm mm.

The stairs that were to come down were long and not just leading straight down, really taking away a lot of light from the floor above and below. Once one stepped onto the basement floor, they would face a wall, and behind them were the bedrooms for each of the 5 individuals, with a large, rectangular blue carpet below even the stairs’ steps themselves in the direction of the wall in front.

To the right were 2 bookshelves to store anything, but currently, there were none on those bookshelves. They were positioned in a ‘7’ shape, with the bookshelf positioned straight instead of crooked, and both were against the wall. Though there was a little gap behind the bookshelves on top. And 4 small, rectangular pink carpets were in-between them on the floor; pretty comfy.

To the left of the stairs was another bookshelf, but only with one small pink rectangular carpet in front of it in the middle, and in front of that small pink carpet was another large rectangular blue carpet, as well as right behind the stairs. They were vertically positioned before the in-between of where the also half-circular shaped bedroom’s door was for a total of 4.

To the leftmost corner of the basement floor, another bookshelf which was taller and without little doors to keep the books in it, with actually some books in it, but this one at least had a large pink rectangular carpet in front; it was the same for almost in the middle.

There were a few wells here and there and a few chimneys as well so coldness and warmth were already secured. And without even the need for arrays, as just some ingenious creation and well use of materials and resources was all that this whole building needed.

The circular bedrooms were all ‘cut in half’ by the wall, made of bricks of stones, each one having a large bed for one person, but it could very well allow for a ‘guest’ to sleep together, or more at the same time.

There were also 2 praying mats close to the bed, 3 chests for each, and a desk. There were 2 of these bedrooms with desks full of documents that had a lot of writing in them and were still with some left blank spaces to fill to the left. And only the other 2 with mostly blank papers on them to the right. The former was for the students, and the latter for the 2 leading students, while Ciemnosc’s bedroom, which was from a deceased student, was in the middle of them 4.

The floor was not smooth like on the floor above, it was seemingly of many little, smaller bricks of stone than those for the walls. And this made the basement all the much more unique.

Rustle rustle.

“...” Ciemnosc opened his eyes, the whole back of his body against the bed’s incredible mattress, he didn’t sit up but directly stood up from that position and moved over to his new desk. Without noticing anything about it before, this was Ciemnosc’s first desk, and it felt damn good to know he had a little table to ‘start mode working on’.

Ciemnosc sat on his chair, now noticing that from the number of papers in it, mostly blank, a couple were still with writing on it. In one of them, he could see the ‘goodbye note in case of…’ which was pretty much well used according to what his guide told him when coming here.

Reading through it silently, the image of a young boy in his mind, writing this appeared in Ciemnosc’s head, with both half a smile and a terrified face as if he was about to go to war. How fitting it was didn’t matter to Ciemnosc though. But then, the scenery changed, and it came for Ciemnosc to see the sudden death of being run over by a large car near the Little Lake just a few days ago - and it coincided with these students having arrived back to the academy just 2 days ago.

‘Ugh, my head…’ Ciemnosc closed his eyes, but just for a moment before he was back to normal. And with the paper in his left-hand holding that ‘in case of’ note beginning to burn a black flame with some ordinary reed-orange-yellow in small proportions, he also added inside his head. ‘Don’t worry, I made sure war was going to come, and for your superior’s negligence as well… I’ll make everyone pay… I was going to punish them in any case.’

“Haa- humf~,” with that, Ciemnosc left the desk while the remaining papers with something written on them fell onto the trashcan to the side. Leaving the chair and correctly placing it under the desk, he went over to pick a praying mat up and place it on the bed. Throwing several Supreme Powerful Stones on his new bed, he sat on his praying mat smugly at his cleverness cross-legged and faced the north even underground.

“...” His face was serious with a total of 8 Supreme Powerful Stones and a cultivation base so extremely solidified and even advanced by a bit, Ciemnosc’s open ultimately cold eyes closed at a regular speed and another 2 Supreme Powerful Stones appeared in both his hands.

Pshift, pshift pshift pshift pshift pshift pshift pshift pshift.

At the same time and so suddenly, as if being snatched away by their soul by an evil ghost, the Supreme Powerful Stones in his palms, grabbed lightly by his fingertips and fingers themselves sounded at the same time. As soon as they sounded, the other 8 Supreme Powerful Stones around him on his comfy bed began to do just the same, only in a much slower, tranquil, and even marvelous manner than the ones in his palms.

The 2 Supreme Powerful Stones’ pure energy in his hands directly entered the skin of his hands, which then traveled at an unreal and inexistent speed with even more impossible efficiency towards the rest of his body as if simply to meet his whole body before becoming part of his Linked Psychogenic and Dantian.

It wasn’t necessary. Any cultivator could just let that pure energy travel directly to their Linked Psychogenic and Dantian. But not Ciemnosc, not only he needed, possibly even more Power Energy than a cultivator a whole realm above himself, let alone one in the same realm - he also had to feed his physical body a lot, and his ‘something’ that he still couldn’t figure out lurking as if asleep and dormant but fully awake in his ‘being’.

Besides those, he also had to share with his Natal Spirit, though other cultivators would take minutes to make every small strand of pure energy travel through their entire bodies, to Ciemnosc, to say that it was instantaneous… it was a misconception that utterly humiliated his capabilities.

And that was already with extremely large strands of pure energy.

…