Moving on…

The Clone had been correct again. It was instinctual to stop adding dedicated Essence to his core before they started to deplete their free Essence.

Sen and Josh finished at approximately the same time and looked up at the Clone from their seated position.

“Good. Now you must expunge the remaining creatures below and obtain the Earth Attunement items from the temple.”

The Clone looked up with a sharp expression, “First, however, several points in evaluation to improve your rather pathetic performance yesterday... Aside from constant observational enhancements, continually cycling your Essence is wasteful. You would have had sufficient stores to eradicate the creatures below yesterday if you had used your Essence only when needed–not endlessly flooding your channels for every twitch of your hand and blink of your eyes… You must improve your actions in this regard.” He took the time to glare at each of them concerning this until they turned away in embarrassment. Only then did he move on, “Secondly, be prepared for significantly improved performance compared to yesterday. You have increased your Essence capabilities related to the speed of access and volume of use by at least twenty percent. You have also increased the free Essence available in your meridians by approximately fifty percent. This is a vast improvement. The terrestrial creatures below were no match for you yesterday. They are less so today.”

“That may be true individually, but before my hearing empowerment was cut off, I could make out quite a few creatures still down there.” Josh said, concerned. “We’re likely going to be even more outnumbered than we were before.”

“Likely.” the Clone nodded in agreement. “However, you will find the saying ‘quantity has a quality of its own’ is even more applicable to your Essence than the numerical superiority of terrestrial enemies in a battle space. Trust in your growth.

The Clone paused and adopted a look that made Josh feel like he was channeling Clint Eastwood’s nameless death dealer before he proceeded. “Essence users are dangerous when they utilize their powers appropriately. Act accordingly. Eliminate these foul beasts with expedience. Aside from Essence, time is the most valuable resource in the iterations. Do not waste mine.”

Dismissed, Josh and Sen picked up their clubs, walked down the tunnel to the hole, and dropped down to the plaza floor. They could hear the five remaining heartbeats clumped together a bit more than a football field from where they stood. Once again, the rhythm was in the 40-45 bpm range, indicating sleep.

Josh leaned over to Sen and spoke in a low voice. “Okay, sneaking up on them won’t work. They can feel our electromagnetic fields or our Essence or are very sensitive to micro-movements of air. If they are like the bats I’m used to in my world, they could even be using a form of echolocation to pinpoint our location and approach. The possibilities are limitless...” Josh shook his head to focus. “... The point is we need to move in fast, brain these bastards, and move on to the temple. As much as I hate to admit it... the Clone is right... We’re stronger... My Essence pool feels supersized today!”

Sen nodded. “I agree. Strike first. Strike hard. Show no mercy.”

Sen halted them with a raised fist at a short distance from the sleeping forms. They could see the little monsters holed up in another collapsed outbuilding a stone’s throw from the looming temple and its rising tower. All five curled up like dogs on the ground, and their thin rib cages rose and fell with shallow breaths.

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Sen held out his hand with three fingers extended. They both cycled Essence to their legs, upper body, and torso... basically, the whole body. Sen then lowered his fingers one at a time... three... two... one–

They exploded into motion.

Anyone with human eyes would have seen two streaks as after images blazing across the intervening space from where they started and ended. Sen charged in with his stick held in the active position over his right shoulder like a Japanese katana and brought it down in two quick and precise strokes, each eliciting deep crunches that left nothing to the imagination.

Josh ran in with his own stick overhead in both hands like a berserking highlander pulling a giant maul from the heavens for the purpose of ultimate destruction. A massive splat sent a ring of hot black gore in all directions at once that covered him and Sen. Neither of them cared about their new paint job as they realized that even before the other monsters had reacted to their presence, they had each eliminated one on the opposite edges of the group and were already moving on to their next targets!

But the pygmy bats were nothing if not quick, and even with Josh and Sen operating at full enhancement, the remaining three started to rise. Sen executed an accelerated front snap-kick to the jaw of the one in the middle right. It went spinning off into the darkness with its now shattered neck as the focal point of a new and horrific rotation. Fragments of the beast’s needle teeth flew from its destroyed mouth as it spun end over end and away.

Josh again swung his club from right to left, in the power stroke of a lumberjack looking to fell a tree in one hit. His attack obliterated the cranium of the next in line, leaving a loose bag full of cracked and fractured shells that sagged over the falling pigmy’s left shoulder. The business end of Josh’s root finished its arc embedded halfway through the turning face of the center cannibal with a dull wet thunk that again sprayed him and Sen with its now dead fluids.

All five creatures were down!

They hadn’t even had a chance to screech! Looking to the right and left, seeing all the creatures accounted for, they stopped cycling their Essence. Josh had only spent about 7 percent of his current free Essence.

The Clone had been right again. Josh wasn’t particularly happy about that, but he couldn’t deny that properly applied Essence use had left the standard-terrestrial creatures no chance at all. And Josh couldn’t argue with the logic. If you wanted a cup of water a few times a day . . . you didn’t leave all the faucets in your house running at full blast every second. Go figure.

Josh had felt like a wrecking machine... and now he felt drawn to reach out and absorb the Essence of the downed cannibals. Reading Sen’s body language, he felt the same way. After the improvements they had gotten from just two each, neither of them was inclined to waste the opportunity. Through silent agreement and a short dance of ‘you or me first?’ Sen stood guard and let Josh go first. He absorbed the turgid earth-flavored Essence in less than thirty seconds. While the first one hadn’t significantly filled his core, Josh didn’t move to purify it. He knew it had taken hours to cycle the first two beasts’ Essence, even if it hadn’t felt that way. On top of that, this was not a safe place, and the funds were in the bank, so to speak. He let the foreign Essence sink to the bottom of his core with a spiritual thunk.

Then Josh had to deal with the real question. Could he get the second one now? He wasn’t sure. Holding up two fingers in a V to Senyak, he raised his eyebrows for Sen’s opinion.

Sen shrugged, unsure if Josh could handle two right now, given what happened last night...

Josh puffed his cheeks and blew out a breath. This isn’t going to be the last time I will have to push the limits to get back home... He needed to get back to Sophie. To do that, they needed to advance. He and Sen couldn’t afford to leave anything on the table. Not if they wanted to achieve their aims.

Reaching out to the second downed creature, its neck bent at a ninety-degree angle, Josh went for it. The Essence aligned itself as though he were a lodestone and funneled into his meridians through his hands. When the Essence hit his channels, Josh quickly felt like the two pounds of sausage in a one-pound casing, as his grandfather used to say about girls in tight shorts. As before, the non-purified Essence made its way to his core and kerplunked down to the base of his committed Essence. The terrible feeling of being overstuffed dissipated somewhat after the foreign substance had migrated to his core.

Josh took a minute and shared his experience with Sen, who quickly followed suit. Josh smiled slyly when the Essence entered the cultivator’s meridians, and Sen’s eyes bulged out of his skull. Sen smirked back at him. I’m going to have to teach him the deep and powerful significance of giving another man the finger in moments like this.

Finishing their work, each of them gave a meaningful look to the other before turning their heads toward the only other landmark inside the cavernous space.

Stark and brooding, the Temple’s walls lay a short distance ahead in the darkness. They stood up and turned to face it. A ten-meter-high wall encircled the structure with squared corners holding a watchtower at each. As far as Sen and Josh could tell, the central building and its looming tower filled most of the courtyard within the walls.

“Let’s find a door?” Sen suggested.

Josh nodded in agreement. They walked around the temple wall counterclockwise, away from the opening they’d crawled through to get into the plaza. When they got within shouting distance, the towers didn’t appear occupied. No brands hung in any of the empty wall sconces. They also didn’t hear any heartbeats or other noise... But. upon rounding the second corner, a few things changed.

As a matter of fact, everything changed.