Hector did his best to ignore Evelyn’s driving. He had passed over the keys because he wanted to concentrate on his cultivation during their trip back ho from Professor Rahman’s hotown. He’d reached level three the previous day and was eager to power ahead.
The fact that his dream ended with Volithur getting to level four annoyed him. He’d gone to sleep proud to have caught up in level with his dream counterpart, then awoken to discover himself behind once more. As irrational as it was to compare himself to Volithur, Hector wanted to win the impossible race.
Yet now he found himself struggling to concentrate on chaos cultivation. Evelyn’s driving left much to be desired. She accelerated too quickly, tended to drift out of her lane while playing with the radio, waited until the last mont to apply the brakes, and generally comported herself with an unnecessary level of aggression.
Hector not only worried about the possibility of a collision, he also couldn’t help but feel that his car was being abused. He told himself often that his priority was stopping a world-ending apocalypse. That only went so far to assuage his concern over his vehicle.
Jeremy cleared his throat. “Did anyone else think Professor Rahman was a bit of an ass?”
“You’re just mad that he was smarter than the three of us put together,” Evelyn said.
“How would you know what I’m thinking?”
“Because I feel the sa way. I’m pissed he figured out how to make my ability useful while it’s still under-powered,” she shot back. “And you constantly argued with him about everything. I know you were trying to win a single battle all of yesterday and you failed every damn ti. The dude is smart. Whatever. Get over it.”
The car fell silent and Hector refocused on his cultivation. That ended when they pulled into a gas station. Evelyn elbowed him. “I can pump, but you need to swipe your credit card.”
Hector waved off the offer for assistance and erged to refill his car’s tank. As he watched the numbers tick higher on the pump, he let his mind wander. Despite the sense of fulfillnt he derived from his rapid progress, constant cultivation had already grown tedious. Part of that ca from dreaming of Volithur’s efforts. It felt like he’d been laser focused for weeks instead of a day.
Hair rose on his arms. Hector glanced to a man he could see from the corner of his eye. Tall, burly, and dressed in biker’s leathers. The man also stared at Hector as if he was about to lose his mind. Hector’s brow drew down. He didn’t want trouble. If trouble had found him, then it was fortunate he had enough cosmic energy to block a few strikes with his aura.
“Can I help you?”
The man pointed at him accusingly. “How the hell did you get to level three on Earth?”
Hector opened his ntal senses and grunted in mild surprise. The biker was a level one Xian. “Aura cultivation. You can’t stay in one place, though. Spaces recharge after a few weeks, so rotate through the best ones every so often.”
“I don’t believe you,” the man accused.
Hector’s gaze hardened. “And?”
The man tilted his head, studied Hector for a few monts, then shrugged. “There’s not much I can do about it given our difference in levels. I don’t think my nine milliter could even put a scratch on you.”
The words chilled Hector. He could imagine this man following him ho and causing trouble for him and anyone he associated with. A hardness arose in him. He was on a mission to save the world and would not be bullied by so pathetic level one creature.
Hector extended his domain for the first ti. It took half of the energy he had in reserve to form it up, but when he twisted the energy into invisible steel cables, they fird up very nicely. Either the sight of an active domain or the look in Hector’s eyes caused the man to back off with his hands raised.
“Hey now, I’m not going to cause you any trouble. I’ve got kids, man. I’ve got kids!”
Hector withdrew his domain, pulling as much of the energy back as he could. “If I ever see you again, I’ll assu you’ve been following and take decisive action.”
“I promise you won’t see again. No way, no how.” The man hesitated. “Just… give sothing, man. I have a true insight for exclusion. I know how to make an aura barrier that can stop anything. If I was your level I could manifest a shield through my externality that nothing on earth can break. I just can’t get my cultivation going here. On Tian it just happens for the first four levels without even trying. Earth has nothing for to work with.”
Hector folded his arms. “Use aura cultivation. It’s hard and ti consuming on Earth. Be sure to cultivate over twelve hours a day and hoard every bit of energy for advancents.”
The man’s shoulders sank in defeat. “Twelve hours a day? What, you been doing that since the dreams started? That’s too much, man. Just… what is your life, even, at that point?”
A visceral disgust rose up in Hector, manifesting as a sneer he couldn’t stop. “If you’re not willing to put the work in, you don’t deserve strength. Gaining power requires sacrifice. The fact that you have better things to do ans you don’t really want it.”
The man retreated from Hector’s glare, then took off down the road on his motorcycle. Evelyn and Jeremy returned soon from their visit to the restrooms and their journey ho continued. Overflowing with motivation after his interaction, Hector dove deep into his cultivation.
Now that he knew that his mission was to grow strong enough to use a transit sphere, Hector could properly plan. He didn’t need to perform any body enhancent or ntal enhancent. He would dedicate every sliver of energy he gained to increasing his soul level. He needed to be ready to travel once the dreams taught him how to create a transit sphere.
Their road trip ended at the park and ride where they’d set out from. Jeremy awkwardly thanked them for including him in their efforts to save the world and offered to hang out in the future if they ever wanted. Once he departed, Evelyn turned to Hector with a sigh.
“I don’t think we should be together anymore.”
Hector frowned. He’d assud the expiration date of their relationship was nearing, but the sudden announcent surprised him. “Is this because you thought I had a stroke at the hotel?”
“No,” she said. “That certainly wasn’t fun, but my decision has to do with what happens next. Whether you find help in ti or not, you are leaving Earth. The only reason we ca together was because we shared a grand purpose. My part in that is over. I’ve glanced into our future and you do nothing but obsessively gather cosmic energy the next few weeks. We might as well end things now if we’re not going to spend ti together.”
Her words made sense. Too much sense. Hector felt a touch of regret for that. He didn’t expect their relationship to beco a passionate love affair, but the ease of their parting left him feeling hollow. “I understand, Evie. I’ll send a text before I leave Earth behind. Take care, alright?”
She forced a smile. “You too, Hector.”
His drive ho went quickly and soon he found himself in the house with his soon-to-be ex. She studiously ignored him as she watched television. Hector stood next to her for a minute, then spoke when it beca obvious she would not acknowledge him.
“Get divorce papers drawn up. You can have the house, my retirent accounts, everything.”
Jen turned to stare at him. “Why? What’s happening? Are you okay?”
“I’m leaving Earth behind.”
She glanced at the ceiling as if it might have so insight to offer. “Leaving Earth as in….”
“Traveling the multiverse,” Hector said.
“Traveling the multiverse,” she repeated. “That sounds insane, Hector.”
“I’m not talking about turning into a dog-person hybrid, Jen. I’m a Xian cultivator. Soon I’ll be able to make a transit sphere and go wherever I like.”
Jen looked away from him. “Did things not work out with the other woman?”
“Things were never serious with Evelyn. I’m going to save this world and then go find Tian.” He hadn’t put much thought into it, but Volithur had mythologized the ho world of the Xian to such an extent that Hector had to see it in person. And if Tian didn’t satisfy, well, there were plenty of other worlds.
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