I set the revelation aside and gathered just enough energy in the dog’s body to start feeling nauseous. Thankfully, I didn’t sense any compulsion to keep going, further confirming my theory about the limitations placed on humans.
I repeated the process a few tis to establish a pattern, just to be sure. I was only guessing, but if the system had the dogs registered, despite the terrible naming, it probably tracked their stats, too.
Marcus could tell later whether they started teaching each other, or if one kept improving. If they didn't, I could just repeat the process five more tis on the others.
Satisfied, I pulled out of the body and opened my eyes, only to shut them again and shift straight into my own cultivation. One breath in, then absorption… but I hit my limit just a while after.
I opened my eyes again. It was still dark out, and Marcus was in the middle of so basic movents, but stopped as soon as he noticed watching.
“Good, I was getting bored,” he said. “Let’s do so sparring. You said it’s faster, right?”
I nodded and stood, glancing around. The space wasn’t cramped, but it wasn’t exactly roomy either. “Should we go down?”
He shook his head. "Going back and forth for safety would be a hassle." Instead, he moved to the circular hatch he’d carved into the ceiling, climbed up, and pushed it open.
“Let’s use this spot. I haven’t finished it, but it should be big enough for so close-quarters combat.”
I followed him up. The room was plain, empty, and completely pitch black.
Marcus fixed that quickly, giving a decent little shock.
From the palm of his raised hand, glitters of colorless light began to spread, drifting across the space. They floated into every corner and crevice, dozens of small, holiday-esque lights hovering midair, casting a soft, shifting glow.
I looked at Marcus, waiting for an explanation.
He gave a faint smile. “An ability from my old companion.”
“You can share techniques with your tas?” That sounded a lot like my own power.
“Once you advance far enough as a tar,” he said, “I’ve heard you can connect on a deeper level. If you hit the advanced rank, supposedly the bond grows strong enough to share more than just powers. Not totally sure what that ans, though.”
He cracked his neck as he spoke, and I mirrored him, stretching out my back.
“Now that you know I’m not actually a tar,” I said, “mind explaining how familiars work? I get that they have nas, but what else can you see?”
He dropped into a stance, and I followed.
“Depends on the rank. I can see their MP and if I increase the ‘bond,’ I can view an ability and eventually learn it.”
That sounded insane. I wondered if that included non-instinctual techniques. “Let’s go all out and get this over with… maybe don’t use anyth—”
He didn’t let finish.
Marcus moved, closing the gap in a breath. His feet ignited with a soft pulse of light as he surged forward.
I could track him, but barely. I braced just in ti for a hook, but he dipped low, sliding around like his boots were slick with oil. A fluid, gliding motion, then a kick slamd into the back of my knees, knocking off balance.
I dropped, but pushed off the floor reflexively, launching myself forward. I twisted in midair just in ti to see another pulse of light fire from his palm right where I’d been a second ago.
“You fell for such an obvious feint?” he said, mocking. “You need way more battle experience.”
I grumbled and surged forward, activating Swift Stride. The burst of speed was once again stronger than usual, sothing I noticed imdiately.
Marcus slamd both palms to the ground.
Nothing happened until I took one more step.
The wood beneath beca slick as if friction was erased, and just like that, the delicate balance required to manage Swift Stride completely fell apart.
“CRAP!” I yelped as I lost control and hit the ground hard, sliding forward helplessly.
‘He’s right, you need more experience.’ Wyrem offered, ever helpful, as I found myself face-to-face with a bright palm aid directly at my chest.
Should’ve learned that shield technique from Synthia.
The strike hit like a piston. Air slamd from my lungs as a jolt of energy rocked through my body, vibrating my Grand Channel and Nexus. I lost control of my power in an instant.
‘Peter?’ Luna asked coolly.
Through the haze, I turned my head and caught a flicker of deep crimson. “Uhg-wa?” I croaked.
‘Tell when you start a fight,’ she added, with a voice full of thinly veiled hostility, her body coated with an irritated pale red. Yeah… peaceful cultivation interrupted by an earthquake running through my bones? Probably not super helpful.
“This is why those camps are useless,” Marcus muttered, grabbing by the arm and dragging up whether I wanted to move or not. “They call it training, but putting amateurs against amateurs just breeds bad habits.”
I gasped for air, trying to steady my breath. “I didn’t use all my abilities,” I defended weakly.
“Bet you’d still fight like crap even if you did,” he scoffed, not with contempt, but with that sharp tone only good teachers carry... Then again, don't know how many I've had to compare it to.
“This damned country,” he said, walking toward the stairs as I followed behind. “They only let a few shine, while refusing to polish anyone with hidden potential. Just more at for the first charge.”
He didn’t just sound bitter, there was sothing else in it almost like regret.
“What about other countries?” I asked, unsure what else to say. “Other places. There’s gotta be sowhere else.”
We made our way to our own spots. I sat beside one of the dogs lying off to the side, and as I did, it cracked an eye open, then closed it again as I stroked its head.
“There’s only Voxter and the State of Stars,” Marcus said. “Well… maybe sowhere far off past the Shattered Expanse... There might be sothing.”
The na caught my interest. “What’s the Shattered Expanse?”
He shrugged. “Just a stretch of dangerous islands, far as I know. No one who goes past the first couple ever cos back.”
I nodded, filing the info away. Definitely buying a world, or continental, map once I got out of here. Whatever I could get anyway. “Back to the grind, then.”
He gave a strange look. Right. Maybe not a common phrase here. Still, he closed his eyes and resud cultivation without comnt.
We settled into a rhythm: cultivate, spar, repeat.
It didn’t take long before I started catching more of his feints, but Marcus didn’t make it easy. His fighting style shifted constantly. One match he’d co at like a storm, the next he’d fall back into pure defense, mixing in new tricks just to throw off.
He had a scary level of control, not over his techniques, though that too, but his body. Sothing that he learned through surviving the real thing. Not drills or youth matches. Actual field experience.
I had so for sure, but I imagine no where near his.
He relied on two main techniques, but he’d refined them so much they felt like extensions of his body. Each could split into unique applications, but they all funneled into two core effects.
The first was that pulse of light, innocent-looking at first, but when he ramped it up, it vibrated through the air with a low hum like it could split wood. I found out during one match, it could.
The other technique seed to reduce friction, letting Marcus glide across the floor like he was skating.
Sotis he’d combine the two, light pulses and glide, making him feel like a ghost slipping just out of reach, with a flash of light marking the mont right before impact.
And the whole ti? He wouldn’t stop running his mouth.
“Can’t believe you’re still falling for that,” he muttered after dodging one of my counters. “You’re too rash.”
I tried to steady my breathing, but he was already circling again.
“If soone charges you,” he went on, “prep’s great, but don’t blind yourself with it. Defending and waiting are often good strategies, but learn to read the fight more.”
Despite the tone, it didn’t feel like he was mocking . There was a rhythm to his feedback, sharp jabs when I ssed up, real advice tucked in behind the smirk.
Sotis, his comnts shifted from to the state. “This is why the damn camps fail people.”
And… I couldn’t even argue. He was right. Half the things I’d learned at camp ca from getting beaten or nearly killed. There weren’t any drills or guided sparring. Just rules, brutal mismatches, and consequences. Just pure survival.
Still… if this were a real death match, and he used all his companions? What would the result be?
He hadn’t even used Spiritual Objects yet aning he probably hadn’t bonded enough with his newest beasts.
The dogs had started to move around on their own too. Sniffing, nipping, and occasionally roughhousing. Sotis one would co over just for attention, as if on rotation.
‘Hey, I think I finished Body Refinent!’ Luna suddenly called out.
But I was curious due to my own recent experience. ‘That’s good news. But can you try sothing?’
‘Yeah, what?’
‘Can you try purification again?’ I asked.
She was going to be my test. Luna had already absorbed every type of energy but one, so in theory, she should be able to progress further. Then again, she wasn’t human and didn’t share my limitations, so maybe not.
A few minutes passed and then two things happened at once.
First, the sll hit. and the poor dogs all recoiled at the sudden stench in the air. Marcus had successfully purified his body with Natural Force.
At the sa ti, Luna’s surface darkened completely black, before a thin outer layer peeled away, revealing her usual blue beneath. ‘I, um… I’m done,’ she said.
I’d expected it, but still I stared.
Even Wyrem sounded stunned. ‘How strong will your body beco if you continue? M–my apprentice is truly magnificent! Wait until I br—’ He cut himself off, but I didn’t press.
Luna was already handling that situation.
‘I guess just focus on building your structures now,’ I told her. ‘You’ll probably overpower soon enough.’
‘I already do.’ Deadpan with zero hesitation.
‘She is my student. You’re just a ho. Of course she is stronger.’ Wyrem chid in.
Luna lit up. Apparently, Wyrem had mastered the balance between bragging and flattery, and she was all for it.
I ignored them both.
“System,” Marcus called out, glancing my way. “You said after this I can increase my stats, right?”
I nodded, still pinching my nose. “Yeah. But I’d finish your purification first. And maybe… get clean.”
“Sure, jus—” He paused, squinting at sothing. “That’s odd.”
Curiosity sparked. I leaned in, already half-expecting it had sothing to do with the dogs.
“What’s up?”
“They… Why do they have two MP numbers?”
My heart skipped. “What do you an?”
“Exactly what I said,” he replied, pointing at the pups now play-fighting across the floor. “Five of them have two different MP values now.”
“Not more?” I asked, confused.
“No, Peter.” He looked at , genuinely astonished. Then, of course, he defaulted to the teasing tone I was still getting used to. “Am I speaking a different language?”
*Ahem.* I cleared my throat, mildly embarrassed. “Okay, okay. Try getting them to use a skill. See if they can cast from both bars.”
One of the dogs stood imdiately, posture sharp and alert, and after a brief stillness, it turned toward the window and I froze.
It began forming a Spiritual Object, sa as before. A speck of energy, slowly growing as it condensed. But this ti… it shimred with cold.
It pulled warmth from the air, crystallizing it.
An icicle, pale blue, floating for just a mont before launching through the open window with a sharp crack.
That second MP bar.
I understood imdiately. The influence I had on the hound.
It had absorbed Water Force.
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