Della began by explaining, "When you descend to the world down there, you will find yourself overwhelmed by a swarm of energy. As you have grown up in an energy deficient environment, it will be better if you prepare yourself beforehand in case you get harmed by the sudden influx of energy. But don't worry, your soul is powerful enough to withstand that. Just be careful, and you will be fine. Now let me tell you about how you can make use of and exert control over energy."
Anom straightened up as he listened to her with full focus.
"Any being, whether it is a human, animal, plant, or any other species, starts understanding about energy by observing the impact the energy has on themselves and their environment. Like how hot and cold waves affect the climate, how fire can burn as well as nurture, how water can decide the life and death of mortals by its flow, how gravity works, and many other ways in which energy interacts with a being. To be clear, everything is made up of energy; even the beings who wield control over energy are themselves made of energy. Energy has various levels of control, and what the beings of various races are trying to do is gain the power to take this control as their own. To become one with energy."
"I don't know about the division they use currently, but last I heard, they divided the initial path into three levels. The first was energy initiation, or Chasing Energy Stage, the second was Energy Assimilation, and the last was Energy Creation. I'm not going to explain them in detail as it will be better for you to find out about them for yourself." Della explained the basic information to Anom.
"So how should I start?" Anom understood the basics; he just needed to know how to initiate gaining control.
Della spoke, "It's actually quite simple. The first beings that existed during the beginning of the world observed how energy flows in nature and gained ideas and comprehension to create skills and techniques of their own. You just have to understand your own body after deciding the path you want to take and develop your understanding of energy in a way that's suitable only for you. Energy is like the materials you use to build houses. You can utilize it however you want, as long as it confirms the laws of the world. I think you would be able to grasp it pretty quickly, given your understanding of your world."
Anom muttered to himself, "Oh, so it's like a code. And skills and techniques are like applications and programs. It will be quite interesting."
"Hmm? What's a code?" Della found what he was muttering to be interesting.
"Uh, how should I explain it? It is like what you said about building a house. In my world, there is this thing called a computer, which utilizes codes to do a myriad of functions. It helps humans do many tasks that would have been impossible to do manually." Anom scratched his head as he tried to explain it in a simple manner.
Della tilted her head as she somewhat understood what was being said. Suddenly, her eyes shone as she gestured for Anom to come closer.
Anom showed a confused expression as he got his face near her.
Della put her hand on his forehead, saying, "Although I'm not using my powers right now, I can still use some tricks." She then instructed, "Now think about this computer thing you were talking about, and I will get the information directly from your mind."
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
"Okay." Anom was lost in the soft sensation of her hand as he absentmindedly replied and closed his eyes to think.
"Hmm. So it's like this: Interesting. You were right. To use just zero and one to create such complex algorithms. Oh, this thing called the internet is such a wonderful thing. You can get so much information. Even the most developed planets might not have this level of network, which provides information at a low cost."
Right, right. Anom nodded absentmindedly as he continued to relish the warmth of her hand.
"Oh, what's this novel thing? It looks like some kind of story collection. Oh, so do you like these types of stories? Hmm, it is amazing how the authors used their imagination to create such wonderful worlds. Some of the concepts are similar to those in the texts of the ancient civilizations on your planet. It looks like some of the texts got disseminated among the common people. This knowledge will surely help you in the future. Always remember to use it for reference."
Hmm? This was not what he was thinking about. Maybe it was because it was part of the same group of information. That's how mind maps work, right? Whatever, I don't mind.
"Hmm? What's this? It occupies a smaller area compared to the previous topics, but it's still greater than the rest. Anom, keep steady. Looks like I will have to dig deeper."
You can get whatever information you want. Anom simply didn't care as long as she kept her hand on his head.
"So it's called Por-"
"Too much information!" Anom was alarmed as he jerked her hand and backed off.
Della stared blankly for a second before her face started to blush as she avoided making eye contact with Anom.
In the morning, she was listening to some stories from Anom about his world and got engrossed in them. She was especially interested in the various human relations and interactions, as the only relationship she had experienced was that of being a master to her subordinates. Only Cassana was somewhat like a friend to her.
Anom was embarrassed to explain too much when he got to the topic of the relationship between a man and a woman as a couple.
But Della insisted, so Anom could only helplessly explain it to her. This continued till Cassana, who happened to pass by, listened to their conversation and dragged Della away while calling the poor Anom a "shameless pervert" repeatedly.
Della didn't understand the reason Cassana was so worked up at first until Cassana explained it to her. The goddess, aloof from mundane matters, blushed so hard that it looked like evening was going to fall.
Anom also realized that she now understood about such matters after Cassana, who was somewhat knowledgeable due to her visits to the lower world, explained to her about how a lady should treat such matters.
He spoke while trying to keep a straight face: "Ahem, I should go now. I will leave tomorrow morning, so I should rest early." He tried to sound casual as he got out of bed.
"Wait!" All of a sudden, Della got up and grabbed his hand, pulling him back.
Anom was trying his best to not act out of place. As he was distracted, he lost his balance due to the sudden pull and fell back on the bed, right on top of an amazingly soft surface.
Della and Anom's faces were close enough that they could feel each other's breath. Anom brainstormed an idea to get out of this situation without making her feel embarrassed, and when Della spoke, "You still haven't finished your story about how you stole that red diamond from that castle in the forest. And the one about the bet you made with someone to steal the undergarments of the wife of the president of some country. And the one where you had to dress as a woman to get out safely. My curiosity will disturb my concentration. You don't want to affect my cultivation, right? So finish all of these stories before you leave."
"But that will take the whole night!" Anom was not sure about what to do now.
"You can sleep till late in the morning. Or maybe you find it a bother to accompany me." Della said with a pouty face.
Anom stared at her cute expression in a daze. This was the first time he saw such an expression on Della's face. He almost couldn't prevent some natural reactions from happening.
"Anom?" Della spoke after seeing Anom staring at her without replying.
Anom was jolted back to his senses as he got up as slowly as possible.
Let me enjoy this while I still can.