by Aaron Oster
“Oh, without a doubt,” Geon replied scornfully. “That man could squish any Red-Belt like a bug without even trying.”
Aika’s face paled once again when Roy repeated that out loud, then she flopped onto her back, staring up at the sky above.
“We need to follow him,” she said.
“It won’t do us any good,” Roy answered. “He doesn’t like people. He won’t want anything to do with us.”
“I think it’s time you explain exactly how you know this man,” Aika said, craning her neck to look at him.
“Sure. But I think we should get healed up first, don’t you?”
Aika opened her mouth to reply, just as Ferry suddenly came bursting out of the woods, the emerald leather bag clutched in her jaws.
“How did you manage to get that?” Roy asked as she dropped the bag into his lap, looking quite pleased with herself.
“Never mind that. How did you manage to get away?” Aika asked.
“She ran as soon as the others started attacking the scary man. She saw the bag lying on the ground and decided to take it with her.”
“Well, I guess we owe you once again,” Roy said, scratching behind her ears as Aika began digging through the bag.
“Wow! You really got a lot of good stuff,” she said as she removed the wooden box he’d stolen from Joan’s room. “I can’t believe you…” Aika trailed off as she opened the box, and the fresh smell of a forest clearing after a light rain filled their senses.
“What is that?” he asked, as Aika removed a small bottle containing four Pills, each a shining blue.
“These are…” she swallowed hard, her eyes flicking to Roy in awe. “These are Stockpiling Pills.”
“And?” Roy asked as she removed the cap and dropped one onto her palm.
“And!?” she exclaimed, seeming surprised that Roy didn’t know what they were.
He shrugged, not really knowing what all the fuss was about.
“Roy! A single one of these Pills can help you move up an entire Dan in less than an hour!”
That got his full attention, and Roy looked at the Pills in a whole new light.
“Don’t go getting any ideas!” Aika said, dropping the Pill back into the bottle and sealing it closed. “They won’t be any good to either of us until we reach Blue-Belt, which is a good thing. It wouldn’t do to go about wasting them before that, anyway.”
Roy felt his shoulders sag a bit when he heard that, but he did feel somewhat excited. If he somehow made it to Blue-Belt, he’d be able to advance two entire Dans, saving him what would likely be months, if not years, of work.
“Here,” Aika said, handing him a small green Pill after digging around for a few moments more. “This is a low-grade Restoration Pill. It’s far more potent than the Mending Pills I got and will not only restore your body but your Essence as well. It will take a few hours though, so best make yourself comfortable before you take it.”
Roy immediately popped the Pill into his mouth, swallowing painfully before beginning to cycle. His body was completely trashed. He doubted he could find a comfortable position, even if he tried.
It was mid-afternoon by the time Roy felt well enough to move again. Aika still sat next to him, her eyes closed and hands on her knees as she cycled the Pill. She had been hurt far worse than he had, so this wasn’t a surprise. Not wanting to bother her, Roy silently rose and dug through the bag for a few moments before emerging with one of the sets of robes he’d stolen.
His were little better than rags at this point and needed desperately to be replaced. He was also aware of how filthy he was and needed to wash off before donning a new set of clothing. Ferry, who’d been resting nearby, rose when he started walking into the woods. He debated asking her to stay put, but in the end, decided he could use the company.
This section of the forest was familiar to him. In fact, he was pretty sure the Beast Cores he’d buried would be somewhere around here. He decided that a bath was in order before anything else. It wasn’t long before he found the small stream that connected with Hermit’s just a few miles north and removed his filthy clothing.
Strangely enough, Ferry stopped at the tree line and turned her back on him while he bathed.
“She’s getting smarter, you know,” Geon said when Roy inquired about her behavior. “In case you haven’t realized, she’s already a 2nd Dan Orange and nearly halfway to 3rd.”
“How is she advancing so quickly?” he asked, rubbing the combination of blood, sweat, and dirt from his body.
“Beats me. She refuses to tell me anything, just says that she does it because she has to.”
“What does that even mean?”
Geon did his equivalent of a shrug, bobbing up and down in Roy’s mind.
When Roy finished washing up and dressed once more in the clean and fresh robes, he and Ferry headed back into the forest. It didn’t take him long to find his hiding spot and he had Ferry dig up the Beast Cores. He then spent the next twenty minutes tying them to her, shifting around the weight so it would distribute evenly.
He noticed her eyeing the Beast Cores, and the lack of any containing Darkness Essence.
“Sorry, girl,” he said, scratching under her chin. “I couldn’t find any.”
She butted him in the chest, letting out a low growl, then licked at his hand as he continued scratching.
“You know, she better learn how to talk soon. I’m getting sick and tired of having to translate for her.”
Ferry let out another low growl at that, this one sounding far more menacing than the previous.
“Fine!” Geon groaned, stretching out the word. “She says that it’s alright, she’s just glad you survived. Also, you can make it up to her by trading for a few Darkness Cores when we reach a settlement.”
Roy laughed at that, scratching just a bit harder under her chin.
“Alright. You’ve got yourself a deal. Now come on, I think it’s about time we get back to Aika.”
“I was wondering where the two of you had gone,” Aika said as they returned to the clearing. Her face lit up when she saw the cores on Ferry’s back. “Are all those Light Cores for me?”
In truth, Roy had been hoping to sell them, but seeing the look of excitement on her face was enough to convince him to allow her to have them. He could afford to be a little generous after all.
“Uh, yeah,” he replied, eying her torn and tattered robes.
Though her physical appearance seemed to have mostly improved, the same could not be said of her clothing. In all honesty, he could feel himself beginning to grow embarrassed at the amount of skin showing through the many rips and tears. Clearing his throat, Roy casually turned his back and began digging through their bag once more, retrieving a pair of Itachi robes.
“Here,” he said, holding them out behind him and pretending to search for something else. “There’s a stream about a mile to the east. You can wash up and change into something less torn up.”
“Oh. Yes, thank you,” Aika replied.
Roy wasn’t sure whether he imagined it or not, but Aika’s voice seemed just a pitch higher than it normally was. Not that he could blame her. They’d been in dire straits up until now, and now that their lives weren’t in immediate danger, she seemed to realize the state of her clothes. The robes were stanched from him, followed by a flash of light and a rush of wind.
Roy breathed a sigh of relief, allowing his shoulders to relax. Slumping to the ground with his back pressed against Ferry’s side, Roy decided to take the time to organize the bag and see if he could identify any of the objects within. Before he could get started, he felt a small tickling at the back of his mind.
Then a voice whispered,“Roy?”
“Did you say something, Geon?” Roy asked distractedly as he began laying out all of the items within.
“No. You would have heard me if I said something,” Geon replied testily. “Did you take a blow to the head or something?”
“Yes, several,” Roy
retorted, feeling quite good at getting the upper hand for once.
That feeling was short-lived, however, crushed by Geon’s response.
“Well, then. That would explain why you’re hearing things that aren’t there.”
31
It took him about ten minutes to get all the items laid out neatly before him, in which time he’d tried to plan out their next moves. From what Hermit had said back when they’d first met, Roy had to assume that there was a city somewhere nearby. The best course of action, it seemed, would be to find this city.
There were several problems with that, though. Firstly, they had no idea in which direction to go. All they knew was not to go west, back toward the Crater. The second problem, and the one that was the most worrisome, were the Beasts. They tended to stay away from this part of the forest due to Hermit’s presence, but once they got further from his hunting grounds, they would no longer be so safe.
In the end, he decided to simply wait for Aika to return, though he knew it might take an hour or so. He’d learned that she liked to take her time when washing up from their time training in Tonde Basin and knew what to expect. Right now, however, he focused on the array of goodies laid out before him.
He’d separated the piles into several categories- clothing, Pills and Elixirs, weapons, armor, and miscellaneous items. He didn’t recognize three-quarters of the things that were in front of him, but he was sure Geon would be able to fill in at least some of the gaps in his knowledge.
The first things he decided to check out were the Pills and Elixirs, of which there were several types. There were five bottles containing Pills and two slots in the small wooden box, each containing a single Pill. There were just two Elixirs, as they were far rarer than the more common Pills.
“Those are Water Purification pills,” Geon said as Roy lifted the first bottle, which smelled strongly of the sea.
“You mean like Pills that help Water cultivators?” Roy asked.
“No. They’re pills that will allow you to drink any water – including seawater – without getting sick.”
“Oh,” Roy replied, suddenly a lot less enthusiastic. “And what about these?”
“Food Purification pills. You can eat food that’s gone bad without becoming sick.”
Roy sighed, stashing the two largest bottles back in the bag.
So much for that, he thought bitterly.
The other three bottles turned out to be far more exciting. He already knew what one of them was, thanks to Aika, so he stashed that one away. That left him with a small bottle of yellowish Pills, which he found out helped increase the flow of Essence while cultivating. There was also a bottle of green-blue Pills, which helped increase the potency of techniques over a period of time, and then the two single Pills.
“What does this do?” Roy asked, holding up one of the Pills, a large mud-brown which smelled earthy and fresh.
“This Pill is for Earth cultivators and can help with the creation of Qi from Essence. The process of creating your Qi for the first time can be quite taxing, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. This Pill takes care of most of the work for you.”
“And this one?” Roy asked excitedly, holding up the last Pill.
This was by far the most eye-catching, as it shone with a multitude of colors and gave off a confusing array of scents.
“No idea,” Geon replied, immediately bursting Roy’s bubble.
Sighing, he set the Pill back into the case. Perhaps Aika might know what it was. He would have to ask when she returned. Next, he removed the two elixirs, neither of which Geon could identify, not that he was surprised.
The few pieces of armor, which were mostly made of steel mesh, were easily recognizable, though Geon did surprise him about a particular piece of armor that was meant to fit over his arm.
“It’s called an Enhancement Sleeve, and I’ve only seen it once before. It can increase the power of a technique if channeled through the arm over which it is donned. The downside, however, is that it almost doubles the cost of the technique in question.”
“By how much does it increase the effect, though?” Roy asked curiously, fingering the fine steel mesh in appreciation.
“I’d say you probably get about a thirty percent increase.”
Roy thought on that as he packed the armor away, leaving a shirt out for himself. Aika wouldn’t need one, as her body was way tougher than any armor was, and only something made of forged Qi would be better.
At first glance, the tradeoff seemed to be bad. Paying double the Essence for only a thirty percent increase wouldn’t appeal to most people. But Roy knew better. In a fight, even the smallest increase in power could help tip the scales in his favor. For example, if he were fighting a 1st Dan Orange-Belt, he only had a slim chance at success. However, if he suddenly attacked with thirty percent more power, he may very well come out the victor.
In the end, he decided that Aika would benefit from this far more than he would. She was stronger, and it would give them a better chance at survival if she were the one to use it.
The weapons were pretty average, though he didn’t pay them much attention. He already had a weapon, the small coin given to him by Azure when he’d defeated the golem in the Trial of Beginnings. He doubted any weapon here could even come close to it, especially seeing as the coin could make any weapon he could imagine. Add that to the fact that it would be made of forged Essence and weigh practically nothing, and he had a veritable treasure on his hands.
The last stack of items contained mostly scrolls, a few techniques he couldn’t use, and the bag of coins containing over three hundred Ginka and eighty-two Kinka. The small hexagonal silver coins took up most of the bag, but the scattering of the larger gold ones made him glad he’d risked staying a little extra.
And of course, he couldn’t forget the treasure trove of Beast Cores currently sitting on the ground next to him. Not counting the two he would use and the seven he would be giving Aika, that left him with just over seventy Cores. He would have to trade for some Darkness Cores for Ferry and a few more Power Cores for himself, but in the end, they should come away from this with several thousand Kinka.
That would be enough to buy themselves a small palace, if they so chose, along with servants, fine clothes, and exotic food and tea to last a lifetime. But Roy had a feeling they’d be spending it on ways to make themselves stronger, rather than trying to live in the lap of luxury.
Packing away the remaining items, but leaving the mystery Pill and Elixirs out for when Aika returned, Roy opened his cultivation scroll. The ancient scroll unrolled easily, despite what one might think, revealing the intricate forms needed to apply his cultivation technique. He couldn’t find a name for it thus far, so he’d been calling it the Power technique in his mind.
As soon as he looked at the parchment, something seemed to shimmer. Then, to Roy’s astonishment, lines began shifting across the paper, moving into a slightly different pattern. Then, more lines appeared, showing different directions. The small image of a human outline was joined by another, this one surrounded by even more lines. The difference between the two was immediately noticeable.
“Geon. Do you have any idea what’s going on?” Roy asked, staring in utter shock as the lines stopped moving, settling into their new positions.
The ink then faded to match the rest, and had he not seen it moving just a second ago, he would have believed this parchment to have been unchanged for thousands of years.
“Hmm. I did notice some strange energy running through the parchment earlier, but I couldn’t quite place it. But you did discover an improved cultivation technique the last time you looked, correct?”
“Yeah,” Roy replied, scanning over the obviously improved technique. “But I only looked once I discovered a better way, to see if I’d missed anything.”
“And when you checked, you discovered you had. Correct?”
Roy nodded, looking over to the second figure, which was standing i
nstead of sitting. This indicated a standing cultivation technique and one that would allow him to cycle even when on the move.
“How many times did you check that scroll as a White-Belt?” Geon asked, continuing his thought.
“I don’t know, at least a dozen, if not more,” Roy said thoughtfully.
“And how many once you advanced to Yellow?”
“Just twice. The first was after discovering the technique, and then again just to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.”
“And yet when you checked it just now, the entire scroll shifted.”
“What exactly are you trying to say?” Roy asked, his brows furrowing.
“Can’t you figure it out yourself?” Geon asked, suddenly sounding very smug.
“Obviously not,” Roy replied. “Why else would I be asking you?”
“Well. Since you obviously can’t figure anything out without me, I’ll be happy to oblige! This scroll is very obviously a Scaling Technique. That means that every time you advance to a higher Belt, a new and improved technique will become available to you.”
“Are you…serious?” Roy asked, now looking at the scroll in a very new light.
Before, when he’d believed it was simply a potent cultivation technique, it had been valuable. But if what Geon said was true, this scroll would be priceless.
“Of course I’m serious. Do you think I’d just make something like this up? Clearly, the technique will improve every time you advance. It won’t work within your current advancement level, but it will improve once you advance to Green.”
“Will this work for other people, or just for me?” Roy wondered, “After all, that Blue-Belt took it and must have studied it, so did she see a different technique?”
“If I guess correctly, then it will only work for those using the Path of Power. For anyone else, it will just be the first and basic technique you received at White-Belt. If, for example, a Green-level Power cultivator looks at it, they will see the improved technique. But if you take it back, all you will see is what is available to you at Orange.”
