Chapter 60

Thirst For Knowledge

Leo followed the compass' directions, moving further northwest for about fifty yards, just toward the edge of the clearing where he saw strange rock protruding from the ground--it was dark gray, sporting jagged edges and rough texture. The compass was practically blinding at this point, prompting Leo to put it away and crouch down, using his hands to dig out a small hole around the protruding rock.

He frowned--it was similar with the stone quarry. There was quite a few of them at the immediate surface, but here it was even more damning as, after digging just a bit further out, Leo found what looked like a wall. It was very much a storage space rather than a natural occurring iron mine.

Standing up, he glanced back toward the decrepit walls and bowed lightly. Even if all this iron ore was perhaps useless to them, and they just used it for trade or something, to him, it was quite important, and gratitude, even to the ghosts, was necessary.

Since the kids always wanted some employ, he decided to let them dig out the ore and bring it back to the camp while he prepared everything else. They were only short on clay and some reeds now, and Leo suspected that, within five days, they'll have gathered all the materials necessary for the longhouse.

It took a lot shorter than expected, but, at the same time, it wasn't unexpected, as it were. They'd essentially found warehouses of two of the most difficult materials to gather, and the hardest part, converting raw materials into usable resources, was handled entirely by the system.

For now, he'd have to start making a clearing a further out from the camp, which meant some mild deforesting. He'd also have to avoid cutting the trees where the animals built their nests, so he hoped there would be enough clearance for the longhouse as he really didn't want to ask any of the animals to move.

A stray thought fluttered through his head for a moment--to keep the iron mine a secret... for a little while longer. He briefly smiled at the thought and dismissed it, wondering whether his old, Earthbound fear of being alone was resurfacing a bit.

By the time Leo returned to the camp, Yue and Liang had settled the stones and were casually sparring. They did it rather often, but it never broke out into an outright fight--they mostly didn't even use Qi, merely practicing attacking with the art he'd given them and dodging using the footwork. It all seemed so basic, even from the sidelines, that Leo was a bit embarrassed that they were practicing so earnestly. At first, he thought they were doing it to please him, but he quickly picked up on the fact that they were doing it even when he wasn't there.

Considering that they probably had a wealth of spectacle-inducing arts on the outside that could color the sky red, he wondered what was their obsession with his. Was it just fealty of a Disciple? Or were the system's methods in some way overpowered? Yue did mention that she used the footwork to escape her Father who was, supposedly, much stronger than her. Alas, unless he himself went out into the green world and saw firsthand the capabilities of the other arts, it was all a moot thought.

"Master!" the two stopped and greeted him.

"You guys done?"

"Yeah. We brought over all the necessary stone," Yue said.

"Good. I've found an iron mine. Well, not so much a mine as it is iron storage. You guys can start bringing the ores over tomorrow."

"Yes, Master!" both exclaimed.

Leo started making dinner while they started doing their daily pre-dinner exercises--it was mostly stretches and some running, Leo noticed. The stretches were reminiscent of those he'd see on yoga websites, in those odd days when he'd look up any stretch for lower back pain. He memorized a few of the poses, deciding to give them a shot when the kids were gone.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Before dinner, both went for a quick bath--separately, of course--before settling down near the campfires and waiting patiently. Animals, too, began to converge once again, as every other day, leaving the forest's depths.

It was then that it dawned on him--they still lacked animal hides!

Sighing inwardly, he felt a bit dispirited at the thought. Considering that he'd explored quite a large area around the camp without finding any hostile animals, maybe he'd have to send the kids outside the forest to look for them, or go even deeper in a desperate bid? He wasn't certain what the right call was, deciding to leave it for tomorrow. Perhaps, if he asked nicely enough, one of his furry friends might guide him--whether they understood his words or his intentions, it seemed that they could at least be counted on for some primitive communications, if nothing else.

"Master, tell us a story!" Liang immediately said after the dinner was served. Leo hadn't even managed to get a bite in before the young man's bright eyes bored a hole in him.

"Haah, fine. What kind of story do you want?" Leo asked.

"Similar to the Immortal Tortoise one!" Liang replied. "Are there any other mythical animals like that?"

"..." Leo had to be quite careful here as his knowledge of the outside world was nonexistent. To him, in effect, everything was a mythical animal, and if he jumped ahead and started mentioning dragons or phoenixes, it might turn out that they are rather common in this world. So, instead, he decided to talk about something entirely alien--black holes. "Hmm, instead of that, do you guys know what a black hole is?" It's a hole that is--

"It's... a hole that is black?" Liang ventured a guess, and Leo nearly bent over laughing as he'd already imagined the young man saying those exact words.

"Technically, I suppose," Leo chuckled. "But no, they're not just that," he said. "Black holes are incomprehensibly massive things that exist in the vastness beyond our world," he added. "What is the most unique thing about them is that once anything enters a black hole, it can never leave."

"So, it's a prison? Is it a prison for the Demonic Deities?!" even Yue joined in.

"No," Leo shook his head. "They are natural things, not man-made. Nobody can control them or utilize them--they are not so much a prison as they are the final frontier of sorts. There is this idea that our world, and all worlds beyond it, and everything we know, will eventually die out. The night sky flickering with stars will grow dim and one day become extinguished, a black canvas without color. One by one, everything will begin dying out, and black holes will continue growing larger by absorbing things around them. Over the course of innumerable years, there would be nothing left--nothing except for them.

"Everything would become cold and lightless, and in the vastness of everything, only the black holes would be, sort of like reminders that, a long time ago, there used to be life. However, even they are not immortal. They... bleed energy, bit by bit," he simplified it. "So, the idea states that, once the last of the black holes has died, it would consolidate the end of everything. There would no longer be light, life, or energy--just... nothing."

"..." the two fell silent, looks of horror on their faces. Leo chuckled faintly, feeling rather empathetic--the concept of existential dread was the universal sort, it seemed.

"Don't be so scared," he said. "The number of years that it will take is beyond the scope of reality. Both us, and everyone in this world, will have long since perished, with naught but flimsy, cosmic dust in our stead. Do you know how black holes come to be?" the two shook their heads. "It is said that some stars, the massive stars, upon death do not go out in a blaze of glory that alights the cosmos with color--but, rather, they collapse unto themselves so densely that they break the barrier, forming a singularity and forming a point of no return."

"Wow...!!" Yue exclaimed. "How do you know so much, Master?!"

"So much? I barely know a thing," Leo shrugged. "Just some shallow bits of knowledge I picked up on from others. Now, eat before it gets cold. Look at the animals--they've all finished and are eyeing your portions."

"Ah, right! Yes, let's eat..."

Leo laughed faintly at their hurried fingers cradling the wooden spoons and scooping up the stew. At the very least, he now had the topic that he could use to glaze their eyes. It seemed this world had no working knowledge of physics beyond the most ordinary. He feared, if ever for a moment, that there were cultivation methods and martial arts out there capable of 'replicating' the effects of a black hole, the sort of ultimate attack that could potentially end the world.

If they did exist, at least the kids weren't aware of them. But even the thought of attacks like that existing sent shivers down Leo's spine. Someone capable of wielding such a power... wasn't that too terrifying?

He put the thought away, slinking back into the more comforting notions. Tomorrow, while the kids dug out the iron ore from the warehouse, he'd see if his furry friends could take him someplace to hunt. And he hoped verily that he wouldn't run out of tidbits of physics knowledge that he had before the kids departed. But seeing their faces undergo innumerable expressions as he delivered a story was heart-stirring; there truly was nothing quite like a curious mind. It was a sponge, forever thirsty for knowledge.