Three minutes. That's how long it took for Ren to kill six direwolves - one alpha and five of her offspring. With his hands clasped behind his head, Ren lay on the lifeless corpse of the direwolf alpha, whistling happily to himself as he basked in the shifting rays of sunlight filtering through the beautiful forest canopy above.
Around him the forest had come back alive, with the soft rustlings of tree leaves playing as a backdrop, to the orchestra of chirps, hoots and hisses of the returning critters. A sharp pinch on his exposed ankle drew Ren’s attention to the bravest of the flying scavengers who had apparently tired of waiting for the choicest direwolf meat, and had pecked him with its beak.
Its more timid brethren had wisely focussed on tearing open the bellies of the smaller direwolves, and indulging themselves but this limping green-feathered beast with its missing talon, had decided to take the risk. Ren chuckled to himself as he casually picked up a nearby rock and bashed the creature’s brains open with a precise throw. Darwinism was truly a universal concept.
The sight of the leaking brains on the bird reminded Ren of his knife, still marinating within the skull of the direwolf corpse beneath him. Getting up, he tilted his head in admiration of how deeply he had hammered the blade into the beast’s eye. Both blade and hilt had been forcefully jammed into the eye socket that Ren had to tear the surrounding flesh and muscle to get enough of a grip around the weapon.
With a pull the blade exited with a loud suction sound. Content thrummed through him as his gaze hovered over the beautiful blade and the few hair strands wound tightly around the grip. He quickly set to cleaning the blade on the wolf’s fur, taking care to clean between each groove.
As he cleaned the blade, Ren reviewed his performance in the fight against the direwolves. It had been a very enlightening experience, giving him a benchmark on the strengths of the local beasts. He especially focussed on the strange phenomenon that occurred after one of the alpha’s subjugated his sense of reality, filling his head with illusions.
Deep in thought, he idly carrassed the hair strands wrapped around his knife’s hilt as he thought through the experience. Recalling the blue glow that had momentarily filled the clearing just before the illusions began, Ren’s gaze shifted to the crystalline gem embedded into the dead alpha’s skull. He had noticed it prior to fighting with the direwolf-pack but he had just marked it down as a superficial oddity of the native species.
With the fight over, he examined the crystal closer and realized that it was abnormally clear, with a pale blue sludge slowly swirling within. Ren raised his head and scanned the clearing, focusing his sight on the bodies of the smaller wolves he had killed. They each had crystals on their foreheads as well, although much smaller and the color was pure white.
Reaching downwards, he held the protruding portion of the crystal with his fingers and tried prying it off. At first the crystal resisted as it was fused into the skull of the wolf, but Ren just applied enough strength to pull it out.
Wiping the crystal clean on the wolf’s fur, he held it up to the sunlight, watching as the light refracted into its base colors as it passed through the crystal.
“Interesting. So basic physics principles are the same in this world,” Ren mused aloud. “Gravity seems to be about 25.4 m/s², so similar to Jupiter.”
Rolling the crystal through his fingers, his eyes routinely surveyed the landscape as he collated the readings he was getting on the new world. He was still unsure of what the locals called this planet but from the preliminary readings he was getting, this world was multiple times bigger than Earth.
Despite this fact, some things were suspiciously similar while others were extremely different. Inhaling deeply, he enjoyed the earthy musk of the forest, and the chirping of bugs hiding within the foliage. He tossed the crystal into the air and snatched it quickly before the extended talons of a swooping scavenger could steal it.
A good natured chuckle escaped Ren’s lips as he headed towards the nearest direwolf pup’s corpse. “I’ll be keeping this, thank you very much,” he laughed as he set to harvesting the smaller crystal from its head.
He wasn’t sure, but he highly suspected that these gems would be worth something to the locals. Having come from a whole other universe, Ren had zero items he was willing to trade. Apart from his blades of course, but those were not for sale. He almost pitied the unfortunate soul who would suggest that nonsense. If he was in a good mood, he might just end the sod’s life quickly without the usual torture.
Shaking his head, he immediately set out across the mini-battlefield, harvesting all four of the remaining crystals from the smaller wolves. Along the way, he stumbled across the daggers he had tossed during his earlier fights.
However, he couldn’t find the last of his daggers that should have been lying close to the man he stuck in the armpit. He searched around the man’s remains but there was no dagger in sight. After making a few rounds around the clearing, he was forced to face the grim reality that he would not be finding the blade. Someone must have stolen it.
“Ragnod, was it?” a sinister smile played on his face. “Looks like you have excellent tastes in blades. Just wait till I introduce you to one more!”
His mind blazed with ideas on how he’d acquaint the guy to his golden blade. It always surprised him how many layers could be peeled off a living human before they lost consciousness. But that was on Earth. Here, who knew how long that would take?
Lost in his thoughts, he heard the baying of an unknown animal at the edge of the clearing, followed by unsure steps. Ren’s head swiveled towards the sound and he watched as an older man in leather armor stepped into the clearing, his spear held stiffly before him.
Ren studied the bald-headed man, who stared right back at him. His face was devoid of all hair except for two bushy eyebrows and a thick handle-bar mustache, both liberally streaked in gray. The man looked like a veteran warrior who hadn’t kept up with his training as he aged. However, the confidence in his eyes spoke to years of hardened experience in the field.
As the silence stretched on, Ren’s eyes shifted towards the man’s chest and he watched as energy swirled within, moving through complicated cycles. The old man’s outwardly calm expression clashed against his rapidly beating heartbeat and the steadily increasing energy cycling that Ren’s senses picked up.
Almost casually, the old man looked at the carnage in the clearing, then up at Ren.
“Peace, honored stranger,” he spoke with a small smile, but Ren noticed the way the old man’s eyes fixated on him, looking for any signs of aggression. “This humble old man was just passing through when I heard fighting and wolf howls. As an Acolyte of the Luminous Temple, my faith demanded I step in to provide whatever help I could.”
The man lowered his spear, planting it beside him and leaning on the weapon like a walking stick. He scanned the clearing once again, his eyes slightly going wide when he noticed the state of the dead alpha lying beside Ren.
“Although, it seems like I was too late,” he continued sadly, looking at the barely identifiable slabs of meat of the dead man a few paces away. “Praise be to the Venerable Kringle, at least one of you survived.”
He waved his hands and a gust of wind swept towards the few scavengers still feasting on the dead swordsman, shooing them away. Ren had been moments from sending his daggers into the old man at the unexpected movement, but he stilled his hands, when he realized it was not an attack aimed in his direction.
“...Thank you,” Ren said hesitantly, picking up the sword sheath strapped to some piece of remaining human flesh on the ground. He saw the old man’s brow furrow at that but the man was courteous enough to act like he was unbothered by the act.
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“My name is Ren … of clan Turing,” Ren improvised after some thought. “I can’t seem to remember much else though. I must have been knocked senseless while fighting the pack of wolves with my partner,” he continued, pointing at the dead man lying on the forest floor.
Ren remembered the sudden increase in hostility that had ensued after he introduced himself by his first name to Ragnod. He was in no rush to repeat the experience, especially since he needed a guide to the nearest civilization hotspot. So he quickly made up a connection to the dead man and adopted the last name of one of his favorite scientists from Earth.
“Greetings, Ren of clan Turing. This old man is named Algor. I am but a humble hunter providing meat for the Luminous Temple” he replied. “I would be honored if you would accompany me back to the village. I can see you are a man of honor and strength. I am sure one of the priests or priestesses at the Temple would be able to help you recover what you have lost.”
“Thanks Algor. I’ll be in your debt,” replied Ren, smiling charmingly as he strapped the sheathed sword to his waist. A sudden shift in the old man’s demeanor however caused his hackles to raise in seconds.
“Careful there, honored Ren,” Algor hissed. “Words have power and can be as binding as the strongest chains. By Kringle’s mercy, my day’s of dealing with debt are long over”
Ren tilted his head slightly, as he observed the old man for a few seconds. Algor looked genuinely upset and lost in his thoughts. The old man’s hands fidgeted as he pulled a wine sac from his belt and gulped in a few mouthfuls. Ren was curious as to the story behind such an outburst but it wasn’t a priority at the moment.
“Apologies if my words offended you,” Ren spoke after a bit.
“Bahh, no need, honored Ren,” the old man waved. “My demons, my problem. Come let us send your dead partner off properly. Do you want to retrieve his remains, or perform the adventurer's rite?”
Ren nodded at that and chose the latter. He expected a funeral pyre or some digging to be done. However Algor gathered what remained of the body into a heap then looked expectantly at Ren.
“... I don't remember what to do.”
“Right,” Algor responded with a nod. “Do you remember his name? If not, that is okay as well. Just say some kind words for his soul to rest easy in Kringle’s embrace”
“...He was a swordsman. He died doing what he loved. Rest easy my friend” Ren improvised.
Algor nodded then reached out for Ren’s hands. Placing the rest of the wolf crystals in his pocket, Ren grabbed the old warrior’s hands.
“Spirits of Harosheth, here lies a proud warrior. Take his remains to enrich your soil and may his soul be free” Algor said in a songlike manner. At the end of his words, Ren jumped back a bit as the remains briefly glowed white then slowly sunk into the forest floor. In seconds, there was no trace of a body on the spot. Not even the blood.
Algor chuckled, shaking his head after seeing Ren’s reaction. “You get used to it,” he said.
“What is Harosheth?” Ren asked, trying to wrap his head around what he just witnessed. That was magic, real magic. His joy skyrocketed once again. If he had known this was a possibility, he would have jumped head-first into the sun decades ago.
“Everything you see honored Ren is Harosheth. We are in Harosheth Forest,” Algor replied as he began walking out of the clearing.
“And it has spirits?”
Algor furrowed his brows looking worriedly at Ren. “How many direwolves do you remember fighting, honored Ren?” he asked. “You really can not remember anything?”
“Nothing. I know who I am but everything else is covered in thick fog,” Ren answered cautiously, wearing a pained expression.
“What about your cultivation? This old man knows that is a sensitive topic but can you tell what stage you are in?”
“Cultivation stage?”
“Kringles balls!!” he whispered. He then realized what he had said and quickly knelt down rocking back and forth as he said a quiet prayer. After he was done he stood up and bowed slightly to Ren.
“Forgive me honored Ren, I should not have used the Venerable’s name in such a manner. I will atone for my sins when we get back”
Ren nodded gravely, deciding it was easier to play along than to admit that he had no idea who or what Kringle was.
“Everyone is born with some essence.” the old man continued after gathering himself. “But the average child is only taught cultivation techniques in their 7th year. Cultivation geniuses are able to start earlier than that, but to find out if your child is one, you would need the services of a Diviner but they are too expensive for common folk. It is always a sad day when some poor soul has his child explode on him because he was convinced he had birthed a genius.” Algor shook his head as he pushed some ferns out of the way.
Ren was riveted by the impromptu lesson, but he kept his head on the swivel looking at the creatures swinging through the branches as they made their way towards Algor’s cart. The tentacled creatures were hooting and screaming at each other, with sudden deadly scuffles happening at random, and for no apparent reason.
“Cultivation starts with pulling essence into the body and circling it through your meridians. After each cycle, a small part of the gathered essence will remain within the body, strengthening it. This is called the Essence gathering stage, and it contains 9 unique Tiers. Moving on from tier to tier requires countless hours of pulling essence from the air or from essence stones.” the old warrior continued as he pulled out a small essence stone from his pouch.
“This is an essence stone. They can be found shallowly buried around the forest floor” he continued. Ren looked around sharply at that, trying to find one.
Algor chuckled at his antics, then tossed the stone towards Ren. “You can have this one, honored Ren. This is a low level essence stone and it is the main thing that attracts young cultivators to this part of the forest. Better stones can be found deeper into the forest but the monsters who dwell there are much stronger and very protective of their territory.”
“After the Essence gathering stage, there comes the Qi core stage. Very few people in the village are at the Qi core stage. To transition from Essence gathering stage to Qi core stage, the cultivator would need to have reached the 9th level of the Essence gathering stage and then compress all the gathered essence into a point above their dantian, forming a Qi core. This is much harder than it sounds. It also helps if you have an appropriate technique to ensure a powerful core is formed. If not, the cultivator either receives damage to their meridians and has their path forward crippled, or they die in a violent explosion” he winced at that.
Ren greedily soaked in all this information, looking forward to being able to perform his own magic. However, a worm of doubt slowly crept into his mind. All his life, he had always been grateful not to be afflicted with the frailty that plagued humanity. Although he had ‘skin’, ‘muscles’ and ‘bones’, they were all made with the best nanotechnology and polymers.
His skin was supple enough to the touch to fool the most inquisitive person, but it was strong enough to stop most energy and projectile weapon attacks with minimal breakage.
His bones were made of rare lab created composites and his internal organs performed the usual tasks that their biological counterparts did. His nuclear core … well, he could think of it as a pacemaker. Yeah, a pacemaker! But the one thing Ren was sure of was that he was not human. Would he be able to cultivate?
“Above the Qi core stage is the Chakra stage. To get more information on these stages, or any further stages, you will need to go to the academy or apprentice yourself to one of the Qi masters. These types of information are closely guarded and are full of pitfalls. To cultivate is to defy the heavens afterall,” Algor finished as they reached his cart and mount.
The animal let out a snort of displeasure as it saw Algor walk towards it. It was munching on something but Ren could not get a clear view of what it was.
“Aii ya! Spit it out! You know you are not a spring Kefo anymore,” Algor reprimanded the animal. “Do not look at me like that. Who knows what ailments that flying monkey had brewing in its belly?”
The animal ignored him but tossed its head away from his reaching hands, keeping its eyes on Ren. It was a huge reptilian animal with intelligent eyes. Standing at about 6 ft tall with powerful legs, it reminded Ren of the dinosaurs from earth. Its razor sharp teeth were currently crunching the last bits of its meal as a long tongue snaked out of its mouth to wipe it clean. Algor noticed his mount's attention on Ren and then introduced him.
“This here is my dear friend, the honorable Ren of clan Turing. He will be riding with us back to the village”.
“Honorable Ren, this is my stubborn mount Trixx. She has been with me for years now, but she is as stubborn as the day I broke her,” he continued. Trixx bayed in derision at this, making Algor chuckle.
Unsure of how best to respond, Ren just smiled and nodded towards the creature before following Algor to the small cart attached behind Trixx. He climbed up and took his seat, glancing quickly at the carcasses of the animals the old man had hunted on his trip. Algor went behind and covered the animals with a tarp, then climbed into his seat as they finally made their way down the path towards Ren’s first village in this new world.