"Janus."
The old man descended to our level, his long, snow-white hair shifting lightly in the wind. His voice carried the weight of experience, yet there was a teasing lilt beneath it.
“You’ve taken so long to return and pay your respects. Have you beco so busy with your affairs that you can’t visit an old man in his twilight years?” He spoke like a pitiable grandfather guilt-tripping his neglectful grandson.
Janus sighed. "Master, please don’t tease . You’re no closer to death than I am. But if you're feeling lonely, maybe you’ll appreciate the gift I brought you.”
The old man’s eyes glead with interest. “Oh?” His gaze flicked to Asmund briefly before settling on . “One of your guests?”
Asmund took a step forward and bowed slightly. "Greetings, Sir Ramus." Then, he glanced back at and tilted his head, subtly gesturing for to follow.
I hesitated before awkwardly mimicking the motion. "Oh. Um… Greetings, Sir Ramus."
Ramus barely acknowledged it before turning his attention back to Janus.
“Master, we need to move sowhere private.” Janus glanced at the gathering crowd. “And we need to test the kid. His bone age and his cultivation stage.”
Ramus raised an eyebrow, stroking a thin wisp of hair sprouting from his chin. "He doesn’t know his own stage?" His tone held genuine curiosity, but there was sothing else there too... sothing unreadable.
He turned to the gathering disciples, all wearing matching green coats over gray shirts and pants.
“Return to your tasks. Rather than prying into matters that don’t concern you, you should be striving to beco official disciples.” His voice carried authority, sharp and commanding.
A few disciples grumbled, but most silently obeyed, turning away.
Ramus nodded in approval before continuing. "Follow and explain as we go. I’ll personally administer the test as a favor to you."
He led us toward a large, three-story building in the distance, his stride steady and unhurried.
As we walked, Janus pulled the dallion from his robes. “There’s sothing else, Master.” He held it out. “A Starborn. Asmund and Peter are responsible for killing one.”
Ramus froze mid-step. “…A Starborn?” His hand reached out, gripping the dallion with sudden intensity.
After a mont, he exhaled, studying the object carefully. “Asmund, you continue to impress . If you were just a bit younger, I would have taken you in.”
Asmund rubbed his arm awkwardly. “Truthfully, sir… Peter is mostly responsible. For her death. And my survival.”
A brief silence fell over us.
“I see…” Ramus turned his gaze to , and for just a second, I felt a light prickle against my skin, like an invisible force pressing in. Then, just as quickly as it ca, the feeling vanished.
‘That guy was examining you.’ Luna warned.
‘Thanks. I can see the energy moving around , but what could he possibly learn just by surrounding with energy like that?’
‘Don’t know. Ask later. Might be useful in the future.’
Not a bad idea. ‘Once I know I’m not in danger here, I will.’
*Ahem.* Janus cleared his throat. “Even so, Asmund has been working bravely and diligently against that bloodline. I think he’s more than earned an exceptional reward for his contributions.”
Ramus barely reacted. “And what might that be?”
“The Realm of Eternal Fire.”
Ramus remained silent, his expression unreadable as he continued walking.
Eventually, though, he spoke. “I will convince the sect leader.” His voice was even, asured. Then, finally, he turned, eting Asmund’s gaze. “Considering your accomplishnts, Asmund, you do deserve a chance to develop an essence.”
“Th—THANK YOU, SIR!” For a second, I thought Asmund might fall to his knees and start groveling, but before he could, Ramus raised a hand.
“We can handle this later. Focus on the task at hand.”
“YES!”
Luna humd thoughtfully. ‘Essence must really be sothing.’
I thought back to her unnatural ability. Her power to absorb all forms of energy.
‘Maybe not to you. You might be the most talented piece of grass in all of existence.’
She adopted a bright pink glow. ‘You really think so?’
Honestly? How should I know? I didn’t exactly have an encyclopedia on mystical plants. ‘Of course.’
Luna paused. ‘I’ll pretend I didn’t hear your thoughts.’
Oops. ‘I an… Unless your kind can do what you do, I wouldn’t doubt your talent. My dumb thoughts are just that.’
She didn’t reply, but I got the feeling she had gone back to training.
Just in case, I sent a fresh surge of energy toward her. My vision sharpened instantly, energy trails flaring to life all around .
We kept moving, eventually reaching the building’s entrance.
The mont we stepped inside we were greeted with a, “Ticke—Uh, Greetings, Elder!”
A young man, probably just a few years older than , scrambled to his feet and bowed deeply.
The first floor wasn’t overly impressive. A fairly open hall, a greeting desk, and a single attendant, who was now raising his head from the bow.
To my left, I noticed a circular chamber flanked by two hallways. One leading to a stairwell, the other to an altar at the far end.
“Be at ease.” Ramus barely acknowledged him. “We’ll be using the testing center. Any appointnts may need to be rescheduled.”
The attendant shook his head. “There are none today, sir. Please, take your ti.”
“Good.” Ramus turned to and pointed toward the center of the hall, where the two hallways t. “Stand there.”
At the center stood a black obelisk, slightly taller than and as I approached, I noticed etched runes carved into its surface, unfamiliar symbols that I was unable to read.
The mont I stepped into the circle surrounding it, a shimring barrier flared to life, sealing inside. My pulse spiked. Had they decided to extract information out of ?
Then, Ramus spoke. “Be calm. Wait, and you will be tested.”
I took a slow breath, forcing myself to calm, but I stayed vigilant.
A deep, resonant voice suddenly filled the space, layered as if two voices spoke at once. One baritone, one bass.
[Place your hand on .]
I flinched. “Wha—who?”
[Place your hand on the stone.]
I hesitated, scanning the obelisk. “Who are you?”
[Plac—]
“Alright! Alright!” I interrupted. Clearly, it wasn’t much for conversation.
I pressed my palm against the stone. Instantly, the obelisk lit up from the base, glowing white lines racing upward, forming a web-like pattern that pulsed across its surface before converging on my hand.
For a mont, I considered pulling away, but I wasn’t in any imdiate danger. Janus and Asmund had literally rushed here for protection, so if this thing was ant to harm … they’d be awfully bad at their jobs.
Anyway, my hand stayed. I felt no intrusion, no pull, no pain. Just a faint warmth spreading through my palm. Then, the glow retreated back into the stone, and new runes flared to life.
The structure spoke again.
[Age is eighteen.]
[Cultivation Stage is unknown.]
More runes etched themselves onto the surface as it spoke.
[Cultivation thod is unknown.]
[Internal Force Power is variable. Stable Internal Force Power is equivalent to the peak of Foundation Strengthening.]
[External Refinent is at the peak of the first layer.]
So… even here, my cultivation thod was either unrecognized or outright rare. I wonder if they use the circuit system. Or maybe sothing like Kazriel’s root system?
The barrier shifted excluding the obelisk, and the energy field collapsed inward, pressing against almost like a second skin.
[Circulate your power.]
Janus’ voice cut through the tension. “Peter.”
I turned my head slightly.
“Use it. Everything you have.”
I assud he ant my "not a domain" domain.
With a deep breath, I activated my internal fla and my Precursor Sense surged to life. I forced my Internal Force through the Grand Channel, the condensed energy roaring through like a torrential river.
My muscles tightened, the power flooding every inch of my body.
I used everything.
Even my Beast Force.
Though, to be honest, it didn’t do much.
[Cease.]
I stopped, the air settling around as the forcefield expanded once more.
The obelisk spoke again.
[Active Power is at the Solid stage of Core Refinent.]
[No Essence Attributes detected.]
[Internal Force composition is attributeless Internal Force and two unknown energies.]
[Talent is difficult to determine. Recomndation is allotnt to Core Disciple. Observe performance in the future.]
The energy field flickered, then dimd, finally fading into nothing.
Janus was already moving, practically grinning as he rushed over. “A Core Disciple! Peter, that’s sothing most can only dream of!”
He turned toward Ramus, his excitent barely contained. "Master, as I told you, his power. That strange energy he used."
Ramus nodded slowly, his gaze settling on . "Yes… Peter." Sothing about the way he said my na sent a faint prickle down my spine.
Apparently, they’d been whispering about my Precursor Energy the whole ti I was being tested.
Ramus folded his arms. “Are you aware of what that power is? The one that acted like a domain? And the other as well. Explain both.” His tone wasn’t accusatory, but genuinely curious. Like even he didn’t know.
Maybe having foreign energies mixed into Internal Force was already rare enough. That would explain Janus’ earlier reaction.
I had honestly assud he recognized it. I hesitated. “As long as I—”
“The rewards for new forms of energy will not be small.” Ramus cut off, his voice calm but firm. “I will personally guarantee your protection as well.”
Great.
After a pause, I lifted my right hand, palm up, Luna resting on my skin like a soft blue band. “First is sothing I call my Beast Force.”
I bent my wrist, letting Luna shift slightly in demonstration. "It lets communicate with anim—well, at least with Luna here."
Luna’s voice nudged at the back of my mind. ‘You sure we should reveal my identity?’
‘I need to get as much as I can from this place. This has to be a cultivation sect. No one has even ntioned systems yet. If I can find sothing useful for you and , it’ll be worth it. I won’t tell them about your absorption ability though.’
Ramus stepped forward, intrigued. “Fascinating. Later, we can test this on more creatures. Perhaps even find a way to develop it.” His deepening smile reminded a little too much of Thea’s obsessive curiosity. “How did you co about it?”
Oh, crap. ‘What do I say?!’
‘HOW SHOULD I KNOW?!’
I forced a casual shrug. "Uhhh. I was rewarded it in a trial!"
‘NICE!’ Luna cheered, as if I’d just pulled off so incredible deception. I an… it was a lie. But it wasn’t that far from the truth either.
Ramus exhaled, as if disappointed but not entirely surprised. “I suppose we will have to research it later.” Then, his eyes narrowed slightly. "And the other power?"
It actually had a na. The system had called it sothing specific anyway, so maybe they’d recognize it?
I took a breath. “Prec—”
“OH! Elder Ramus! What a coincidence to see you here.” A new voice interrupted, aged yet sharp, followed by a dry chuckle. “It seems like you’ve brought soone interesting with you?”
I turned toward the newcor. Another elderly man, dressed in similar robes to Ramus, stood just beyond the doorway.
A second figure lurked behind him, partially obscured, shifting just enough to stay hidden from view.
Ramus barely reacted, offering only the barest nod. “Greetings, Elder Craine.” His voice was stiff like he had just tasted sothing sour.
I tried peeking around Elder Craine, but the person behind him stayed just out of sight, seemingly moving intentionally to avoid .
Craine’s smile widened. “Are you taking a new disciple? What a coincidence, I too—” Then, with a quick motion, he reached back and pulled the hidden figure forward, “—am taking an incredibly talented girl.”
The mont I saw her, my heart skipped a beat, and the words ca out before I could stop them.
“Synthia?”
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