Takeo's nap hadn't been that restful. If it could even be called a nap. He had been in a state of half-sleep, half-awake. His new companions had been busy most of the time. Xander had been practicing his sword forms, and just listening to him almost dragged the young man into meditation. Connor had been meditating himself, for a little while, then went back to tinkering.

Physically, he was fine, not even a bit tired. It was his mental state that dragged him into the mud at every step. Between the incongruity of his new situation, the weirdness of his new companions' lives, and the fact that he had been reborn. His memory of before isn't fuzzy per se, but not being able to recall names, made exploring his past a chore. All this left him in a strange state of flux, like living a lucid dream. He will probably need quite some time to straighten things up.

But, for the moment, let's go with the flow. It's not like I could have handled a tenth of these goblins...

"I wonder what time it is?" he asked, mutedly. The arena was still in its superwhite and contrasted splendor. The sky hadn't changed either. It was as if they had been projected onto some blank canvas some God had forgotten to finish.

He set himself up and stretched his arms and legs. It feels so good to have legs again! An idle thought crashed his bucolic musing. I haven't peed in some time... nor have I felt the need to, either. He felt suddenly a bit dizzy. I'm not sure I want to know why...

"Ah, you're up!" asked a bouncing Xander. "That's great, let's eat something quickly and we can leave this place definitively behind. This..." he waved his hands about, "This whole colorless place is starting to get on my nerves."

Connor had been working on assembling a goblin skeleton with the bones he had collected. Strangely, it seemed some had been missing and he had been forced to replace them with iron. It was strange. He had built a small stand and every bone was minutely attached with a thin leather strap. The whole thing was creepy, but also fascinating. "Did you have any success?" asked Takeo.

The young crafter and puppeteer to be shrugged. "My Guide seems to be somewhat happy. She definitely dislikes the morphology of the goblin though."

"She?" asked both Takeo and Xander.

"Well, I get the impression my Guide is or was feminine. I don't know why honestly, it doesn't feel like it would be important enough to be included in the inheritance." he shrugged. "But I'm pretty sure it's a she." He looked at his creation, he had left a very distinct hole at the center of it. He seemed lost in thoughts for a moment. "Say, Takeo, could you examine something for me?" he asked, suddenly.

The young man nodded, "Sure, what is it?" If this is the price of his fare toward the next Haven and hopefully security, so be it.

Connor pulled some shiny orb from his Spatial Ring. I can't get enough of seeing him do that. That's just SO COOL. I want one! The young man had to drag himself out of his reveries. There were so many things one could do with such rings. Focus! He went next to Connor and touched the odd little orb. It looks like a bottled tempest. Intriguing. It feels like one too

He got his Book to open at the appropriate page and read:

Mana Core (epic):

Autonomous Mana Generator and Engine.

Capacity: 250 units of Mana.

Regeneration: 5 units of Mana per minute.

Maximum Output: 25 units of Mana per minute.

Task: Collect 10 Mana Core (0/10)

He was a bit surprised at the description, it was probably the longest he'd ever seen. "It's called a Mana Core," and he read the description. He removed his finger from the orb. It was now dutifully recorded in his Book anyway.

"So, not a battery. Something even better than that," muttered Connor. "That would explain why my Guide is ecstatic about the thing." He stored the Orb back in his Spatial Ring and went to dismantle and store his current project, all while muttering about the possibilities it opened.

"Let's leave him at that, Takeo, I recognize the signs. He's going to be scheming all day now." Xander had already taken some food out of his backpack. "We only have a few fresh supplies, so take a bite and savor them, because that's the last of it. The rest will be hard bread, cheese, dried fruits, and meat."

On a leather sheet, there were some slices of red bread, orange-red cheese, that didn't smell half as bad as he'd been expecting, and four octagonal blue and green things that must be "the fresh supplies" that Xander had mentioned. Xander helped himself to one of those and deftly opened it. Takeo observed the inside of the fruit with boundless curiosity. The inside was constituted of two parts. Against the leathery shell was the fruit's flesh itself, brighter green than that of a- Rah, fucking headache! LEAVE ME BE He massaged his head and grabbed one of the weird fruits. He mimicked Xander's action and almost without any effort the fruit split up. Some of the juice fell on the sandy floor and promptly disappeared. The smell immediately reached him, it reminded him of a bit of cut grass, in a more acidic way. Right in the middle of the fruit were a bunch of little fleshy blue globules that Xander had scooped and gobbled. These too reminded him of things from... back home, albeit differently. This didn't kill him, so hopefully it won't kill me either... He scooped some with his hand and put them in his mouth. The cut grass flavor he had smelled earlier came again, barely even sweet. He crunched once and was overwelled with syrupy juice, and shattered seeds. The mix is weird, but... still appreciable. He quickly scooped all of the globules and happily munched them. Then just like Xander did, he peeled the leather skin and bit into the remaining flesh. This time, it went against the comfort zone of the young man. It was spicy, and the texture felt like butter. I'm not sure I like that... He finished the fruit and drank some water to wash it down.

He then took a bit of bread and munched it. Thankfully the bread despite the color is still breadlike. One new experience a day, that's enough for now. It was comforting to be eating something "normal", and not some magic apple of Rebirth. By the time he had finished his meal, Connor had also joined them and gobbled his own breakfast. Sooner than he would have liked, Xander was already packing his stuff.

They went toward the Door. "It's a Brown-Blue-Green Door," stated Xander, as if it actually meant something. "It's going to be a pain..." he muttered.

"Is it?" asked Takeo, confused, and maybe a little bit fearful.

"Brown Doors aren't fun-fun doors. Not that any of these are, but Browns tend to test your Endurance," explained Connor. "You see, the first gem on the Door usually gives the type of Challenge and is loosely related to the color of the Orbs. The second and third gems tell of some variations. Mostly no one can predict what is behind a Door unless somebody has already been through and sent back intel," he shrugged.

Xander cleared his throat, "Yeah, that's something we will have to teach you at some point. Not that it's science, but there are some cases you don't want to cross if you can."

"So this one is going to be painful, in the literal sense, not in the bothersome sense?" asked Takeo, a bit less worried. Pain, I can deal with.

"Probably," replied Connor. Xander seemed to agree. "Anyway, we don't have the luxury of the choice, so let's go." He glanced at Xander and went through. The swordsman turned to Takeo and said, "Wait five seconds, and then you go, okay?" He didn't wait for the young man's answer. I guess that's a yes... He waited for the countdown to finish and went through the Door.

Just like his previous crossing of the Doors, it felt like he was stepping through the galaxy. The weightlessness of it all, the stars shining and zipping around him. It was also disconcerting in the way that he made a simple step, but that step spanned through millions of kilometers. His landing on the receiving side was again less than stellar. Xander had given him some advice, but he also said that nothing beats experience. I guess I'll have to get used to it.

His new companions didn't seem to be shouting or busy killing whatever so he took his time watching their new environment. I know I should be more... adventurer-y. Ready to kill whatever jumped into my face. But I'm not. I'm just not. He sighed, another thing to add to his list of things to get used to.

At least, this time the world around them wasn't some black and white, overly saturated and contrasted place. It was a forest. A very dense forest... When he was younger and still complete, with a working family, he had often been to forests over the weekend or during holidays. They had been camping or rented a lodge. They had done many activities there, he had always enjoyed it. Yet this forest was somehow different. For one, it was dense, the sense that usually, there were of course trees that went high up, but there was also a lot of space between them. Here, that space was filled with bushes, shrubs, and other plants. And not small ones, but tall ones, more than a meter tall for some, more even. That made it hard to see far away and reinforced the oppressive feeling of the forest. The air was humid, but not as heavy as it could have been. A faint breeze moved the leaves and branches, and the sun was shining through the gap in the canopy. All around, they could hear birds chirping and playing whatever games birds did.

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Takeo peered through that opening in the trees, his eyes squinting. A small mountain? Maybe more of a hill, I'm no expert. The hill was devoid of trees and let him recognize three little slabs of stone. The Doors are right on the top. Then it crossed his mind that he shouldn't be able to see the Doors if they were on top of a mountain, or a hill. The things were two meters high. Shouldn't they be small black dots? Maybe it's a small hill?

"Hey, guys, I think I see the Doors." He pointed at the gap in the trees. "They're on top of the hill."

Connor and Xander looked at him and then in the indicated direction, "I do see the hill." Connor said. "But I don't see the Doors."

The swordsman concurred, "I don't see them either. But, you're probably right."

Probably? Takeo thought. I'm not sure if I should be offended or not.

"Fuck," grumbled Connor. "It's going to be a pain."

Takeo suddenly grasped that while they hadn't seen the Doors, he hadn't spotted the very obvious problem his companions had clearly been pondering ever since their arrival. It was a forest, true, with trees and leaves. And in between the mess of colors, and bushes the young man saw thorns. Thorns on tree trunks. Thorny bushes. Thorny vines. Even thorny leaves and grass, for god's sake!

For once, he had to agree with Connor, "This is going to suck..." Besides that the forest seemed peaceful enough, he could hear chirpers above, wind in the leaves, and wood cracking. They had landed in a small clearing thankfully devoid of thorns.

"Well, I see several options," began Xander. He lifted a finger, "One, we try to go through this hell in a straight line. I'm not favorable to this plan..."

Connor snorted. Takeo laughed a bit uneasily, "Pass?"

Xander smiled slightly and went on, "Second, we follow one of the three paths." He pointed in three directions where the thorns were strangely absent. A faint path could be seen, barely a few centimeters wide, and would require them to clear some of the thornless bush. Another maze? The last one hadn't been that much fun... The swordsman didn't seem to be too keen on the idea either. "Probably the best option, and the natural way to solve this Challenge."

"Third," Xander continued, "We burn the forest down. Or something similar."

"Like what?" asked Takeo, dumbstruck.

This time Connor outright fell on his ass laughing. "I didn't expect that one from you!" he exclaimed, somehow proud of his friend.

Takeo was still confused. "But won't we die? I mean, just the smoke would kill us, right? It's still a thing, that we need air to live?" Connor seemed to find that even more hilarious.

"Yes. As you say, it's still a thing," confirmed Xander. "But, our Master always said it was good to consider the most improbable way to solve a Challenge, because sometimes... That's the only way."

From the ground, Connor had calmed himself and added, "Plus we could probably dig ourselves a shelter, and let everything burn above. Besides, we don't even know if we're susceptible to the thorns."

Xander grunted, "That would be a poor Challenge if without a counter Jade, we could defeat it..." He looked at the nearby thorns. "And who knows, maybe they're poisonous. We don't have that many medical supplies and our antidotes might not be efficient."

Takeo was wondering how to solve this issue as well. His previous experimentations, both with Xander and alone seemed to imply that he was "sturdier" than before. He still wasn't keen to be skewered by thousands of thorns. Connor seemed to take the issue seriously now. He summoned some leather from his spatial ring, wrapped it around his hand, and probed some tree trunk's thorns.

When he was done, he looked at his bleeding hand and shredded leather. "Well, I'm not dead. But I'm not sure I want to do that again." He pulled out a bandage roll, and his water canteen and began to clean his hand. "Seems not to be poisoned, or at least not immediately. But it's not a good idea to get stabbed by them. It went through leather like it was nothing."

"Could try that again with metal this time?" suggested Xander. "If it doesn't go through, we could use our swords to cut a path. Or make some sort of sled"

Takeo looked around, "With that many trees, I'm not sure the sled would be practical. Cutting through the forest might work, but it would take a lot of effort and time," he observed.

"I still like the idea of burning everything," Connor said, "But I've only one or two Igniter left. I don't think it would be enough." He mused some more, "If I was sufficiently trained, it could probably make some carriage with long impervious legs. But I'm not," he seemed disappointed.

At least with some training, he could provide an alternative solution... Takeo mentally grumbled. He went through his loot and the few Jades they had accumulated. He could teleport himself, but not that far. They had another Movement ability on hold, but nothing that seemed potent enough to be useful. He absentmindedly wondered if his staff would be useful. After all the book says it is Extremely durable, right? But then, what would I do? Bash the shrubs to death?

"Okay then, for now, we follow one of the trails. Any preferences?" asked Xander. He secured his backpack once again, then looked at Connor, "Maybe I should give you some of my stuff Connor? If you've still some space?" The archer and probatory crafter agreed and took the whole backpack. "That's handy," appreciated Xander.

"Not that much more space left though. It's a small one." Connor commented. "I'll have to get a bigger one at some point."

Takeo only had his bag and it was mostly empty. It contained his Talisman, but he could feed them to his Book, and that stone he'd kept for emotional reasons. It came from his rebirth place and felt strangely attached to it, but he could still store it in the Book as well. The dagger had been securely fastened to his belt, along with the purse. His apples were already stored. Maybe it was time to say goodbye to his vine-braided bag? He honestly didn't understand how it had endured so long.

Still, it weighed nothing, so he would keep it, or? Well, the Book could probably store it just as well... And a few seconds later he was also liberated from most of his belongings. "This Book is awesome," he commented.

Connor seemed disgusted. Xander snorted at his friend's reaction, "You're just jealous!" Taking another look around, Xander pointed at the left path. "Let's go that way, if nothing else, it's the closest." Of the two other paths, one went directly backward, and the other one was on the far right.

Had we been in a game with nothing to lose, I'd clearly choose to go through both other paths... It was a sobering thought. Is that a game? He wondered. I mean,...

Barely a few meters into the forest, Takeo asked his loaded question. "Guys, can we die?"

Connor snorted, "Be my guest, go take a walk and tell us."

The swordsman was at the head of their little expedition, he replied more seriously, "While it might seem evident, yes, we, you included, can die. We're not immortal, yet."

"Yet?" Takeo asked, confused.

"Holy Lord Robert, Ladies Jessica and Lyrael, and the Despicable Gurtav. All ascended according to the teaching of the Holy Church. It is believed that they are immortal now. It is, among other things, one of the reasons why people become Pather and most importantly Ascender. To become immortal," replied Connor seriously.

"Okay... What's the difference then between an Ascender and a Pather?" asked Takeo. "What does it take to become one?"

"Pathers are people who have taken the Path, earned their Seal. A true Pather, not those that abandon the Path and live in Haven, will strive to become an Ascender and earn, find, buy, or steal an Ascending Jade. One of the Black, White, or Purple Jade. Let's forget about the Golden one," explained the archer, a bit annoyed. He is an Ascender, he had said that yesterday. But with a crapy Jade, according to him. It's still a way to immortality, isn't it? But Takeo was still confused as to why that was important.

"I see... How does that help to become an immortal? That seems quite arbitrary." he insisted.

"All other Jades are... limited?" interjected Xander. "Ascending Jades are not." He seemed to ponder for a second. "Let's say you get a Fireball Jade. If you activate it, it will fire a nice little ball of fire, straightish, and explode. Simple." He bashed at an unruly bush. "Now, however strong-willed you get. You will never be able to alter that behavior, although you will become quicker at summoning it, more accurate, and probably use less mana for the same bang. Through upgrades, you may change that a bit. For example, you'll get ten little marbles instead of a fat ball, but you'll also lose the previous form."

Oooh, upgrades? Takeo thought. That's interesting... He added that to the list of things he would have to investigate later.

"Now, take some guy with any White Jade. That's those that allow Mastery over Mana. It will take him heaps of training, but, one day, he'll manage to summon a ball of fire. Give him more time, and he will have both that ball, and a fire rain, and so on." Xander seemed to be enjoying himself. "And that's just the beginning. The more you train, the more you can do. And that's just the White Jade alone. It's also got a Guiding Spirit that will actively help you along a specialization."

The young man could already see himself with such a Jade, And wouldn't that be fun? Takeo shrugged, "I guess I see your point, but... I still don't see how that helps become immortal."

"We honestly can't answer that. Maybe the highest orders of the Holy Church know? But we certainly don't. It is known that the Holy Lord and his companions were all Ascenders and that they performed several miracles, which somehow ended with them Ascending. But that's all we know," replied Connor, still annoyed but this time it seemed directed at the Church. "And I hate this. It feels like they're dandling a candy in front of us, but we can't have it. And they're not even telling us why."

Xander added softly, "Whatever the truth is about ascension and immortality. Even if it doesn't exist, gaining mastery over your Jade is still a worthy goal, Ascending one or not. Being strong means you get to live as you want."

Well, there is that... Takeo pondered his companions' motivation. From the eagerness that Xander had displayed, it seemed to the young man that this was the sort of discussion he had had already a bunch of times. I can probably guess what it would be like to grow up in a world where such things are possible if only you manage to get your hand on some mystic Jade. His old life seemed so distant right now, but it bore onto his young shoulders. He had no power, and thus no agency. He had been just a little kid in a world of greedy grown-ups. But now... I could have it all? I just need that single little Jade... Lost in his thoughts, he trod along the Path.