"What did you do wrong?" The huntress asked as she walked around the area, glancing at his kill and her own.

"I should have been more aware of my surroundings like you taught me." He replied, feeling a little ashamed of the earlier display.

"Yes. Always be aware of your surroundings at all times. Just because you killed an enemy doesn't mean others aren't nearby. Bodies attract bodies."

"Bodies attract bodies?" He asked, a little confused.

"If you enter an area and see a lot of dead bodies, what would you think?" She turned and asked him.

"I would wonder how they all died." He answered after thinking for a moment.

"Exactly that. If they're all dead, the hairs on the back of your neck should stand on end because something killed them, and the threat may still be nearby."

"It's not uncommon for groups to leave out corpses or treasures in plain view, hoping to lure you in and have you drop your guard as they ambush you."

"Also, seeing a friend on the ground, you might want to rush over and lend aid, but that would be foolish as you might just become another corpse. Always remember, bodies attract bodies."

He didn't say anything and just nodded at her, remembering to keep this lesson in mind for the future.

"You're injured. Let's deal with your wounds, and we can process the kills back at the village." Texon said as she crouched near each dead animal and sent them into her storage device.

They moved away from the area in case the blood attracted other predators before they came to a rest. The huntress pulled out some ointment and began smearing it over all his cuts and bruises, nodding at him for not making a fuss about it.

"Come on, let's get back to the village. It'll be dark soon." She said, and they slowly started to move back through the underbrush. He started using the time to think about the earlier fight before forcing himself to stop. His mind needed to focus on the now and not slip into his habit of daydreaming, or he would get caught out again.

Like that, he had just discovered rule number two in his cultivation lessons. Thinking about this new rule made him recall both of them.

Rule number one: Always have a plan.

Rule number two: Always be aware of your surroundings.

These weren't just something he had made up to use if and when he remembered. He wanted to form positive habits and force him to recall them instinctively in any situation they needed, hoping they might save his life one day.

With that in mind, he began to combine both of them as he moved through the underbrush. Taking in his surroundings, he began quick mental planning, preparing for any situation he might face.

That large bush would be great for cover for an ambush.

That thick tree might have something hidden in the branches.

Dried leaves and twigs. It's best to avoid stepping in that area because of the noise.

As he went through these mental checks and balances, his mind was so hyper-focused that he was shocked when they stepped through the clearing into the valley that held Mysthaven.

"You did good on the way back. Even some of the other more experienced hunters might have struggled to do better at moving through that rough terrain as quietly as you did." Texon said, and he nodded.

Walking towards the village, it wasn't long before they reached his house, and he saw the door open.

"Looks like your parents are back. Go on and see them. I'll process the hunt myself." Texon said and turned to walk away without saying anything further.

He didn't mind her dismissive attitude as he was used to it by now. Having spent time with her, he could tell the woman was someone who just said what she felt and didn't like social interaction much.

She still cared in her own way, and he could tell she put a lot of effort into teaching him.

"You're back." He said to his parents, who were sitting at the table and talking as he walked in.

"So are you. How was the hunt? You're hurt?" His mother said, standing up and beginning to fuss over him.

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"Not really." He said, and he wasn't lying.

He had Rejuvenated on his journey back to the village, forgetting to wipe the ointment off and doing so now.

His parents weren't idiots, and they obviously had various suspicions about him. They seemed happy to let him have his secrets and not push for answers, which he was grateful for.

"Did you manage to get it?" He eagerly asked.

"We did. Look." Marcus said, producing a thick old book on the table before him and sliding it across.

Taking a seat, he read the book's title, noting the name. 'The Mirage Weaver's Manual'.

Opening it, he quickly flicked through it, noticing the many basic diagrams and notes. He wasn't reading it and just wanted to get a better sense of it beforehand, and as he got towards the back, he found the cultivation technique also had an accompanying skill called 'Many form Mirage'.

"This is too much and must have cost a fortune?" He asked as he looked up and closed the book.

"The village chipped in, and we got a discount because of the General." His mother said as she sat beside Marcus, giving him a soft smile and nod of encouragement.

He didn't say much but thanked them, feeling a little overwhelmed. This little village had already become close to his heart, and he swore again to do all he could for it once he grew up.

After a meal and some chatting, he excused himself to his room and began to read using a Lightstone to see the words. Starting from the front, he slowly flicked through the pages and began to take the information in.

It was apparent from the start that the cultivation manual portion wasn't as in-depth as the one his father had from the Darklight clan. It was still a level or two up from the scuffed version he had created for illusion essence.

His parents knew his core was a mix of illusion, time and space essence, but getting a cultivation manual that mixed all three was probably impossible. It was just such a rare combination of essences that were already rare themselves.

He could cultivate with this 'The Mirage Weaver's Manual' fine, and it would work, but there would be issues. He would only be able to process a third of his usual essence due to it missing out on the space and time aspect. This would make his cultivation speed abysmally slow.

There has to be a way of cultivating all three. I don't believe it's not possible.

An idea began to take form as he contemplated the issue. Closing his eyes, he sat up, legs crossed and began to meditate. Following the directions of the new cultivation manual, he started to process his first cycle.

He used his willpower on his core, focusing on illusion essence only as he forced it out and into his body. He twitched as a peculiar sensation like pins and needles spread everywhere. He knew this was just part of the process, and it wasn't very painful, just strange. The essence began to surge into his cells, and he watched as they changed subtly.

He wasn't sure how long he kept the process up as it was hard to keep track of time when he was so focused. An odd thought that he could use the hourglass-shaped core to time things nearly derailed his efforts, but he pushed it away for later contemplation.

A bizarre sensation pulsed out in the centre of his brain, and he turned his attention there, spotting the strange black hole that had formed. He knew this was his soul aperture, and its presence meant he was ready for the next part of the cycle.

Instead of directing the essence to the cells across his body, he pushed it all up and into the aperture. It didn't require much effort, as any essence that grew close got automatically sucked in.

Strangely, he felt no feelings or sensations when working on his soul and wondered if he was doing something wrong. After a time, he felt a sense of pressure spread in his head, and he knew this was it.

There was a kind of pop, and a sudden rush of euphoria hit him before it vanished as quickly as it came. He knew this signalled the completion of a cycle and that he was now officially classed as a cultivator.

Remembering his earlier thought, he checked the bottom part of the hourglass and noted it was now roughly half full.

There was roughly a five-hour turnaround between flipping, so he had around two and a half hours before rejuvenating. Sometimes, it was more and others less, but he had not yet figured out what caused this variance.

Alright, it's time to do some testing.

He repeated the process using his self-created time cultivation technique instead of his new illusion method. Before starting, he made a few tweaks to it here and there based on his new understanding the Mirage Weaver's manual provided.

The process of doing a cycle this way didn't feel as smooth. It was far more painful and took longer, but he managed it. The cycle ended with the same transcendent rush, and he couldn't find any problems afterwards.

Feeling confident, he did it again, but this time with spatial essence, much to the same result as his attempt with time essence. It felt a little smoother and wasn't as painful, so he made a note to compare the two methods and see if there was something he could use to improve his time aspect method.

For now, he just checked everything over and breathed a sigh of relief at not finding any issues. This meant he had created a simple cultivation method, but something was nagging at him.

Everyone would do it if it were just as simple as using a different cultivation technique for every essence your core housed. The books had not mentioned anything about it, and he felt it best to get some answers from his parents before carrying on.

Checking on his core, he noticed it was slightly more full at the bottom and deduced each cycle took him around ten minutes. He knew the more he cultivated, the longer they would start to take, so it wouldn't always be as fast.

He debated using the techniques to cultivate and restore his core to full but dismissed it after some thought. It would happen when he Rejuvenated anyway, and he didn't want to do anything more without getting answers. With those thoughts in mind, he turned over and went to sleep.

***

The night had passed, and he was sitting at the table eating breakfast across from his parents. He had decided to broach the subject of using separate cultivation methods with his parents.

"Doing such a thing is like putting together a house using different-sized parts. The house would end up wonky. It will not be a problem early on in cultivation, but it will eventually damage or destroy your core. That's why people use cultivation techniques that perfectly combine essences," Marcus replied, wiping his mouth after eating.

With that answered, he just nodded and finished his breakfast as he internally grumbled at how difficult cultivation was becoming, and he had barely started.

He didn't mind it so much as he enjoyed the depth and the challenge, but it could be frustrating.

Oh well, there's not much I can do currently. Today, I can look at the skill technique that the manual had and deal with these issues another time.

With his day planned out, he vigorously attacked his breakfast, finishing it before heading outside to help his father with the farm.

Chores first, then practise.