《Dive Sasquatch God!》


 Chapter 1: Awakening

    ¡°Silly girl, stop playing with spider webs.¡±


    These were the first words that registered in Kimarya¡¯s mind. She stood and shook her head from left to right, trying to clear her jumbled thoughts.


    Her vision started clearing, and she focused on her surroundings. She felt her back pressing against something solid, which she assumed was a tree, as she noticed the ominous, humid forest around her.


    These details immediately alarmed her, as the last thing she remembered was being in a city.


    ¡°Where am I?¡± she wondered.


    She moved her arm to brush something tickling her face and realized it was long wavy hair.


    When this registered, she stopped moving for a moment in shock before firmly tugging on it again and feeling a stinging pain.


    Kimarya was absolutely sure her hair wasn¡¯t that long. The pulling seemed to trigger something, as a massive rush of information violently exploded in her head, almost causing her to pass out.


    She felt like her head was going to explode!


    She heard a beep in her mind.


    ¡°FLOODGATES PROTOCOL INITIATED!¡±


    ¡°Kimarya, a massive amount of new information has been discovered. This information contains a foreign language, culture, memories, thoughts, and beliefs. Something forcefully assimilated some of it before protocols fully kicked in. How do you want to proceed?¨C¡±


    Kimarya stayed entirely still as her splitting headache died down.


    ¡°We appear to be in an unknown and likely hostile environment. How would you like to proceed?¡±


    Kimarya replied, ¡°Sunny, please scan through all the assimilated information, prioritize potential threats and safety, and then organize the rest in a new folder. Categorize it so we can look through it later on.¡±


    Sunny responded, ¡°Understood. Starting emergency full-body cellular scan.¡±


    Kimarya sat in silence, holding onto her hair for a few minutes as her mind finally stopped spinning.


    Sunny continued, ¡°I have determined that this is not our original body. In fact, with the biological markers detected, I can hardly even consider this body to be human. I have detected many new biological factors in the host body. 300¡­ 2,000¡­16,000 unknown factors.¡±


    Realizing what Sunny said, she urgently started to observe her body.


    Was this body smaller than her old one? She looked at her surroundings before realizing that the woods and everything around her were vastly larger- likely enough to put the evergreens to shame!


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± Kimarya asked in alarm.


    Kimarya, with her back pressed against a massive tree whose elastic, pore-like bark sank in slightly under the pressure of her hand as she stood.


    She looked down at her hands, noticing the dark red hue of her skin and the absence of her tattoos and body mods.


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    This was a completely different body, one smaller and seemingly more agile than her old one.


    She walked on shaky feet, trying to get a bearing on where she was and how she had gotten here.


    As she examined her body, she realized she was wearing crude clothing made of animal skins and odd fabrics but with impeccable stitchwork.


    She felt anxious as she tried to recall her last memories. She remembered being in a city, not a dark forest.


    ¡°Sunny, what¡¯s going on?¡± Kimarya asked, her voice tinged with alarm.


    Sunny responded, ¡°Kimarya, after scanning through your memories and the new information, my general conclusion is that you died in your sleep of a heart attack and other odd complications being reborn in the body of this person.


    ¡°This body differs vastly from the standard range of a human being; there are even new organs outside of what humans are supposed to have. Even the usual ones are slightly different but with similar functions. The vitality of this body is tremendous! The muscle density and structure are beyond anything that a human should have.


    ¡°It¡¯s safe to assume we are in a different world.


    ¡°Gravity and environmental factors vary significantly from those on Earth. Sunny showed Kimarya a blue screen of light in her vision, showing text.


    Name: Draeneoy


    Age: 13 years old


    Sex: Female


    Health: Unknown status, but healthy.


    Kimarya¡¯s mind reeled at the flood of information. ¡°All of this sounds insane,¡± she said, her voice laced with disbelief. ¡°How is this possible? 13 years old? Is Draeneoy the name of the host of this body?¡±


    Her heart suddenly skipped a beat.


    She stopped breathing briefly before asking, ¡°Wait, where is she?¡±


    Sunny responded, ¡°Regarding the host, it seems she also died from an unknown toxin, likely from our immediate environment. The likely source is the odd tree-like organism you were leaning against. I recommend creating more space between it and yourself.¡±


    Kimarya immediately increased the distance between herself and the odd tree, brushing off her entire body. There seemed to be some bizarre powder substance all over her body.


    Sunny continued, ¡°From looking through these memories, she seemed to have been on the autism spectrum.


    ¡°Unfortunately, this made her incompatible with her tribe and culture, so she didn¡¯t have a great time. In fact, the reason she was out here was because of a tradition among her people, where some 13-year-olds go out into the sacred woods to find an ancestral spirit guardian or never come back. Based on the dangers and creatures out here, the more likely scenario is death. It¡¯s a coming-of-age ritual, to describe it better.¡±


    Kimarya wondered out loud, ¡°Death from what? Are there more of those toxic mushroom... trees?¡±


    Sunny responded, ¡°It¡¯s actually a gigantic variation of mushroom - but Kimarya, there seems to be a massive ecosystem of dangerous and extremely powerful creatures all around. Apparently, with the coming-of-age ritual, an extraordinary method exists to accept an ancestral spirit guardian. The inhabitants of this world possess an astounding growing potential to increase their power.


    ¡°Your options for right now are to either get back to the village or try your luck to form the Ancestral Spirit Guardianship. The latter would undoubtedly be more dangerous and most likely lead to death if its lineage doesn¡¯t accept you. However, banishment from the village for not doing so would be assured if we return now without it.


    ¡°Assuming that we make it back¡­¡±


    Her body started shaking, and goosebumps formed on her skin as she grew serious and rightfully scared. Kimarya stood in the dark and humid forest, her thoughts in turmoil as she tried to decide what to do. On the one hand, she could return to the village and risk banishment from people she had no emotional attachment to.


    On the other hand, she could follow the insane rite of the coming-of-age tradition and most likely die in the process. Having already experienced death once, she was not keen on going through it again. She weighed her options carefully, trying to find a solution that would keep her safe and allow her to explore this strange and exotic world.


    Finally, she made her decision. ¡°Sunny, I don¡¯t know what to make of this world, but I¡¯m not willing to risk my life on such a low chance of survival. Take me back to the village.¡±


    Filled with determination, she made her way through the forest, her gaze sweeping the trees and underbrush in search of potential threats. Despite the fear of encountering a terrifying creature, she couldn¡¯t help but be filled with a sense of wonder and admiration for the peculiar plants that encircled her.


    She had never seen anything like them before and couldn¡¯t wait to learn more about this new world and its possibilities.

 Chapter 2: World Merger

    Kimarya always stuck to her choices regardless of whether they were sound or completely irrational. When she made a decision, she fully committed to it, viewing failure due to poor planning as far more tolerable than failure due to hesitation or second thoughts. This unwavering commitment had ultimately steeled her will over the years.


    As she made her way through the dense and dark forest, following the directions Sunny gave her, she called out, ¡°Sunny, tell me--¡±


    ¡°Sorry to interrupt, but walking back at night has too many significant risks. The tree on your right seems to be the safest and most suitable shelter for the night. Let¡¯s head there before making a plan of action.¡±


    Kimarya nodded in agreement; she understood that attempting too much in a new and uncertain environment was a recipe for disaster.


    She picked up her pace, moving towards the tree Sunny had indicated. After several awkward minutes climbing to a considerable height on the massive tree, she squeezed herself into a secure spot between its branches.


    She asked, ¡°Sunny, what are our most important goals?¡±


    ¡°Priority-wise, we should focus on updating our understanding of this new body, surviving the trip back to the village, concealing the body swap, and understanding village politics.¡±


    Kimarya sighed and said, ¡°Might as well start in that order, Sunny. I¡¯m glad to have you with me through all of this.¡±


    Sunny made a beeping noise in appreciation. ¡°Beginning with the detailed body update, you¡¯re roughly 2.13 meters (6 feet 9 inches) tall.¡±


    Kimarya held back her shock to avoid interrupting Sunny and continued listening to the debrief.


    ¡°As I mentioned earlier, your new muscle density is highly dense, and you have a unique cellular structure that reduces weight while also increasing the efficiency of both slow and fast-twitch muscle fibers.


    ¡°You have various new organs, some redundant in that they support and overly strengthen your immune system and other bodily functions. I detect an odd collection of substances and cellular activity concerning this immune system.


    ¡°I cannot calculate the extent, but it indicates a solid resistance to illnesses, diseases, toxins, radiation, etc. The toxins of that mushroom-like tree must be on a whole other level to still have taken the life of the previous host of this body!¡±


    Sunny continued, ¡°The most astounding thing is that this body has an almost perverse vitality level. It¡¯s robust enough to comfortably sustain several upgrades to myself regarding my computing strength, sensing capabilities, and management of bodily functions as your enhanced subconscious mind.


    ¡°There is also an extremely bizarre amalgamation overlaying all of your body.


    It¡¯s a combination of electromagnetic radiation and an unknown energy densely packed within the body, operating in accordance with your life force, brain, nerves, and even more profound.


    I can¡¯t scan deeper and see the full extent. Still, I can only describe it as a subtle organ¡ªmaybe even a secondary body complementary to your physical one, essentially a whole new organ system.


    ¡°After processing some of the information from this host body, I understand it as what allows you to ¡®cultivate power.¡¯¡±


    Kimarya finally couldn¡¯t hold herself back and interrupted, asking, ¡°Cultivate what power? What do you mean by cultivation? Is it like what I¡¯ve read in stories of ancient monks attaining power through meditation, martial arts, and analyzing the laws of the universe?¡±


    ¡°Precisely, such a capability seems to exist within this world and with you now. There was no evidence of this in our world.¡±


    ¡°I will need some downtime to upgrade my functions and capacity. It would be best not to begin something like this until safely reaching the village.¡±


    Kimarya responded, ¡°I still have questions about being almost SEVEN FEET TALL! But what more can you tell me about cultivation?¡±


    Sunny continued, ¡°This concept is similar to our world in that cultivation involves training and discipline to increase one¡¯s strength and understanding of the world around them. However, the specifics of cultivation in this new world are now unclear. It may involve meditation and martial arts, unique techniques or tomes different groups have, or other methods or practices.


    ¡°We will need to gather more information before we can fully understand the concept of cultivation in this world.


    ¡°Something I can do now is to assimilate the current remnants of the subconscious of the host body to induce a more harmonic balance within this body. As well as a quick jump in our processing powers to enormously increase proficiency while doing multiple tasks and increasing memory capacity.¡±


    ¡°I will start after you sleep.¡±


    Sunny stopped before pointing out a fundamental set of impulses and information she¡¯d been overwhelmed with.


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    ¡°Kimarya, I¡¯ve noticed that the host body¡¯s survival instincts are disturbingly unfathomable. To some degree, I considered it impossible.


    ¡°Going through some memories, I understood that Draeneoy had the potential and talent to be an ultimate instinctual fighter. After several clashes with other kids, many in the village called her the Supreme warrior without a soul.


    They value the fighting, but her behavior made her out to be the embarrassment of the clan. Common knowledge of the autism spectrum here is nonexistent. Likely, the previous host couldn¡¯t make the necessary connections with cultivation, and it was stuck in her head.


    ¡°They were seen as a joke; the village considered this a punishment from the gods. She had instincts that no one could compare to but couldn¡¯t or wouldn¡¯t cultivate. Giving such a gift from the heavens onto the body of a fool without a soul was something many said about her. It truly was such a cruel misunderstanding.¡±


    Kimarya couldn¡¯t help letting loose another sigh.


    She felt her rage bubbling up like a smoldering fire inside her. This tragic situation resonated within her heart. It could also be the last and faint vestiges of the ego of the previous owner of their body. Perhaps the stirring of these feelings was its hope of changing their fate?


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Draeneoy, wherever your soul has gone in the afterlife, find peace in that I will gain you the dignity and acknowledgment you deserve.


    ¡°Sunny, you can begin the integration of her memories with mine. We¡¯ve both been dealt a heavy hand. I really died. It isn¡¯t the time to be hesitant about taking in these memories¡± said Kimarya with a stern look in her eyes and a warm and confident smile.


    Sunny said, ¡°Understood, well done, Kimarya. Beginning integration of memories¡­.¡±


    There was darkness. Kimarya saw flashing images and moments that were alien to her. A younger Draeneoy was not interacting with other children running around their village. She realized that calling it a village was wrong; it was more like a small or medium-sized city. The people had truly bizarre and considerably brutal customs.


    Their homes were built without a roof, multiple levels, but with long poles from one wall to another.


    They didn¡¯t even have ladders or stairs and just jumped to the higher levels. Their construction was wholly inconsiderate of those differently abled. You either had a highly athletic range of motion or were filth. She remembered her mother, Grothie, who was always distantly caring for her, but even then, it was rough. Occasional hugs and bonding, but intense moments of one-sided bouts. The intensity of this rough treatment grew with every few months.


    Kimarya always saw Draeneoy, not understanding how a peaceful moment could turn into intense pain. How her mom went from one moment hugging her and helping her to a higher level of their home, then going away.


    Later, after helping her onto the third level, she suddenly pushed her.


    Draeneoy was very good at maintaining her balance but always fell off when her mom pushed her.


    She always maintained total trust in her and didn¡¯t even force out any counter-resistance to her mother¡¯s touch. She easily fell off the other side onto a hard pole she had to grab on lest she face a long fall.


    After handing her a new fruit at other times, her mother sometimes bursts out with a jab towards her and strikes her shoulder. A blow that sent her tumbling into the expanse from the second or third level of the home; luckily, she could always catch onto something to stop her fall.


    She seemed to always feel distressed, never understanding the seemingly random aggression.


    She could never make the connection that it was training, some brutal semblance of nurture. She could barely express her feelings of trust and affection to her parents; this factor already made it so much more challenging.


    Kimarya, after seeing these memories, understood that it was a custom from many generations ago, and it was even seen as a correct way of showing affection to the young.


    A caring parent works hard to prepare their children.


    Even everyday interactions with friends, family, and lovers seamlessly tie in acts of combat.


    It was their culture. A clan with such brutal customs for survival that their young, if born with any disability, were discarded by their family.


    It became a point of frustration for her parents, especially after noticing something bizarre in her after her birth.


    Shortly an hour after being born, she already tracked objects and people with her eyes. She could raise her head and chest when on her stomach. She responded to smiles whenever one of them smiled at her, gripping objects and bringing them to her mouth.


    These were things that their people should have only been able to do within a month of being born.


    A week after being born, she could already reach out and manipulate things in the areas around her. She could even crawl or roll around to get to places something that made taking care of her a more significant task for her parents, especially considering the structure of homes.


    She could sit up and had superb control of her head by turning it in response to noises and being able to follow and track sounds.


    A month later, she had utterly dominated the skill of crawling and could already stand to increase her access to new objects and things for her to manipulate.


    They were astounded but highly overjoyed with the coming months and her development advancing enormously; she grew as a robust and healthy child. Until they realized she hadn¡¯t yet talked. Even though she understood language and commands very well, she never attempted communication.


    She had a habit of looking at everything and always observing. At home, there was always a particular corner of cobwebs that always drew her attention the most. She spent hours daily observing the old cobwebs and new ones that those spiders made. She would even draw them out on sand or paper whenever her parents let her use it. It was her only focus and happened enough for her mother Grothie to constantly tell her to stop making spider webs ¡°Silly girl.¡±


    Kimarya couldn¡¯t help but feel pain along with Draeneoy when she heard the words that always intensely bothered the nonverbal and non-communicative girl. She always ended up drawing these patterns more and more intensely and hiding more and more inside herself.


    Kimarya sometimes overheard her parents saying she had uncommonly powerful instincts and a body that only popped up in their village every hundred and sometimes a thousand years. They felt like she had no soul.


    Her defensive instincts are unmatched, but it rarely goes past that she only defends! We¡¯ve been trying to prepare her for the mandatory coming-of-age event for all the children of royal candidate families when they turn 13.


    To either come back with a guardian spirit, die, or return to be banished from their clan forever.


    "KIMARYA, WAKE UP RIGHT NOW!!!"

 Chapter 3: Murder Crow

    Kimarya woke up to her body roughly slamming down onto a branch and heard a crash immediately followed by a loud cracking sound right above her.


    She awoke dazed and in shock; she felt such a terrible presence with an intense killing intent that made her body shiver.


    But her body kept moving on its own. Sunny had control and was diving headfirst into lower branches. She felt highly disturbed by this feeling and easily regained control. Still, she missed a branch and tumbled down without control.


    She looked up and saw six two-foot-long black objects and realized she almost got nailed to that tree as an easy meal for whatever was chasing her.


    Kimarya screamed in her mind, ¡°Sunny, what¡¯s chasing me?!?!¡±


    Sunny shouted, ¡°JUMP NOW!¡±


    Her body took control. It wasn¡¯t her nor Sunny, but something mysteriously compelled her body to move. She crouched and sprang forward like a cannonball between two thick branches and into the empty abyss.


    Immediately after, she heard a thunderous cracking sound. She sensed a large body crash with significant momentum behind her, pulverizing the branches that she just dived through.


    This existence was a hunter, yet not a hunter. This strikingly intelligent and brutal creature had no care if its meal had long stopped breathing with the miasma of rot or if it still labored to breathe as this creature fed on it while it was still alive.


    Kimarya had the sinking impression that it was often the latter for this monster.


    Her panicked mind and memories of this body told her this was¡­. a Murder Crow!


    The Murder Crow opened its maw and unleashed a terrifying cacophony of sounds that didn¡¯t seem possible to come from a single living creature. It sounded like the death throes of dozens of people and hundreds of creatures. She even heard the thunderous cracking of a tree as it collapsed under its own weight.


    All those cries were in the background of its genuine caw that, if the rest raised your goosebumps and hair from the message of fatality within it, this caw would be the final straw that broke the camel¡¯s back. A sound so terrible that it contained a fatal message that said, ¡®I am the reaper that caused these noises, and you¡¯ll be the next one to join in my orchestra of death.¡¯


    She didn¡¯t notice or couldn¡¯t see the nearby tree branch as she swung through the air, but her instincts did and grabbed it forcefully. Her hands gripped so hard onto the rough bark to counter her incredible momentum that it left her palms bloody with no more skin.


    Kimarya didn¡¯t feel any of that.


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    All she could focus on was that call, finally making her mind buckle. The innocence of Draeneoy and the past life of Kimarya, whose most dangerous encounters were the smog of her city, nearly being hit by a car a few times, or the several fights she had as a teenager. None of that could compare to this moment of absolute horror.


    This was too much for her. A full-blown panic attack was building up where she¡¯d likely let go of the branch and indeed be the next cry added in the crow¡¯s horrifying cacophony.


    Maybe her contribution would be a panicked and maniacal laughter that she heard in between the majority governed by screams and cries.


    ZZZZZZZT


    Electricity ran through her nerves. Tightening her grip on the branch, she instantly pulled herself up and kicked off seconds before the branch she was on was shredded by the fearsome talons of the Murder Crow.


    She felt small stabbing pains on her back as the furious splinters reached her. The boiling adrenaline rampaging through her veins swallowed up her full-blown panic attack as she masterfully glided like an Olympic acrobat between branches. Heading deeper into the tree, branches grew thicker and more densely packed.


    She crouched as she slid between four massive branches, each as thick as her waist. She looked back again and saw the Murder Crow angrily caw at her before fiercely grabbing the branch with its vicious beak, pulling on it before violently crunching right through it.


    It continued towards her, and with every step, it violently bit down and jerked its head. The loud crunching of the branch sounded off as it got closer to her.


    Kimarya noticed the space between the thick branches getting smaller and smaller, so she immediately ditched this direction before she eventually got foolishly stuck between these branches and became an easy meal to that monster.


    She screamed, ¡°Sunny, what do I do? Where do I go?¡± before jumping and diving onto a nearby tree.


    The Murder Crow¡¯s eyes glinted with intelligence. Its fake outrage didn¡¯t trick its little snack into trapping itself like its other, less exciting meals. It silently jumped into the air once more to continue its chase.


    Kimarya swung through branches, kicking off at random times. Her decisions seemed to lack whim or reason, but every time she made those calls, she would hear the thundering crash of the Murder Crow pouncing on where she should have been. This went on six more times, but then she did not hear the resounding crash of the Murder Crow, who began to strike less frequently.


    For some reason, this didn¡¯t make her feel any safer. She tried to increase the randomness and directions as Sunny furiously scanned and pointed out all possible paths she could take, looking for the best escape route.


    ¡°Kimarya! Right over there, there¡¯s a gorge between those trees! The water might take that path during a storm rush as it cuts through the land!¡±


    Kimarya avoided making a direct beeline towards the gorge. She had a sinking feeling that the Murder Crow was much more intelligent than it appeared.


    She kicked off the branch before feeling the intense pressure in her heart. The Murder Crow attacked as she was in mid-air! She heard snapping branches above her as she realized this and swung her arms and roughly caught onto a branch that stopped her mad dive forward. She felt like she nearly popped both arms out of her shoulder sockets. A millisecond later, a massive shadow covering up her entire vision crashed through the area she would be at if she continued her dive forward in the air.


    Her heart beat extremely loudly as if she had just seen her own death before she dropped onto the ground and madly rushed towards the gorge less than 30 feet away.


    ¡°I''m going to make it!¡±

 Chapter 4: Why is Sasquatch this lame?

    Sunny shouted, ¡°It''s too easy! Think of a better way, fast!¡±


    Kimarya stopped suddenly. At that moment, she heard shrill whistling noises and saw two sharp, two-foot-long black pole-like objects impale the ground where she would have been if she hadn''t stopped then and there. She immediately felt a cold sensation on the back of her neck. This feeling reached her spine before she dived behind the nearest tree on her right. The unnervingly shrill whistling noise was quickly followed by the sound of the tree on her back being stabbed by more dark objects.


    She got up and dashed between and around trees as she made a slightly longer but safer route, using as many obstacles as possible against that flying beast; she was within 5 meters of the gorge, and the long, dark, and sharp objects kept reaching closer and closer to their mark.


    Four meters away from the gorge before it nicked her left thigh, causing a stinging gash that wasn¡¯t particularly deep. Something was not able to slow her down just yet, but it still increased the pressure on her, and the wounds still started bubbling out in scarlet blood. She considered stopping and faking moves but felt it would not work.


    So she lowered her head and ran even faster, trying not to run in a straight line.


    She got within 2 meters of the gorge before she noticed the ranged attacks were less and less frequent till they seemingly stopped, but by that time, she had over ten cuts all over her body. Some were small, others way bigger. All she could smell was the scent of her blood. If anyone saw her at this moment, they would think she fell in a vat of red paint. Hardly any spot on her body was without scarlet red.


    Just then, she heard the Murder Crow¡¯s horrifying call above her. Her head grew fuzzy and heavy as fear and panic started building up right away. Kimarya felt like she was running through water as the pressure built up inside her head, every moment becoming heavier and heavier until she felt her knees and neck could not bear the weight.


    She heard Sunny¡¯s voice yelling something at her, but it sounded so far away that she couldn¡¯t understand. She could only look up as she saw the Murder Crow hovering. Its massive wingspan blotted the sky and made the winds go wild, and its ethereal azure eyes locked onto hers. Terror and panic were rising to their peak inside of her, waiting helplessly for the first vicious peck to finally come and bursting out as a dreadful scream of pure and absolute fear originating from both her, her instincts, and Sunny.


    She saw some movement in her peripheral vision before a body suddenly tackled her hard into the ground. She fully expected to hear and feel the tearing of her flesh but saw it was a young boy.


    This boy seemed to be 13 years old. He had long black hair with patches of brown in random places and earrings on the top part of his left ear. He seemed in a panic, yet with alert and weary eyes he glanced at Kimarya before looking back at some gigantic shadow pushing between trees. This new creature was running on all fours. It had a wolf-like appearance and very long, mangy hair on its back, round ears, and a vicious all-black snout. A gigantic hyena suddenly burst out, thundering out of the brush. This hyena, after ambling out, immediately raised its head.


    It was roughly 7 feet tall when its head was raised, and its body was over 10 feet long. It advanced slowly, making a very threatening, low growl that seemed to shake the air. So strong she could feel it in her lungs, like when the bass from a large speaker is so strong it shakes your innards. That low-frequency sound reverberated through their body and organs, followed by fierce grunting. This hyena looked at its prey and the newfound presence next to it. The hyena had several nasty cuts on its front legs and sides but still powerfully stalked closer to its prey.


    It continued to do so before its low growl suddenly stopped. Its body froze before it started making a shrill, whining sound in absolute terror as it noticed the Murder Crow hovering unfazed in the sky like an uncaring king. Its eyes widened before it immediately turned its tail and bolted at a speed that didn¡¯t match its gigantic lumbering body. It dove right back into the brush. It was almost gone before a massive body crashed on top of it¡ªthe Murder Crow.


    You could hear the hyena¡¯s muffled and miserable yelping as its head was brutally smashed into the ground by the massive force of the crow¡¯s claws. They watched, unable to look away, as it totally and completely dominated the hyena; so smoothly was this process like its own grim art.


    The Murder Crow¡¯s head went up, its beak pointing down. The world seemed to stop momentarily before its beak fell furiously towards the soft spot of the hyena¡¯s neck. It slammed down like an evil meteor into its bulging artery in that neck. Blood burst out like an unending stream, soaking the crow.


    The hyena¡¯s scream intensified for several seconds before it got shut off by a second peck of that beak to the base of its skull. It was like an evil hammer slamming through rotten wood. The Murder Crow turned around, brandishing its massive wing in their direction. It flicked six glinting black feathers at the two of them. Their inexperience made them unable to use the Crow¡¯s distraction to escape while the crow butchered that gigantic hyena. They were even less capable of blocking or dodging this fearsome attack.


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    The boy stepped forward with a severe expression.The air around him started vibrating, the wind picked up, and a massive shape formed around his body. A fearsome snout materialized first, followed by two burly front paws that frantically swiped at the feathers that flew toward them like furious black stars.


    It blocked four of them before the remaining two pierced deeply into the not-yet-fully-formed body with shining yellow eyes. Amazingly, it looked just like a hyena!


    The remaining two feathers crushed through the hyena form, making the boy fall backward. Dark blood started to escape from his mouth and nose from the backlash of the defeat of his Ancestral Spirit Guardian form!


    After the hyena¡¯s death, he finally unlocked the last barrier to conquering its essence and could materialize its form as his own ancestral spirit guardian.


    The Murder Crow was already in the air as it rapidly closed on its two remaining prey. They would both make impressive additions to its cacophony of death.


    The boy got up, took something out of his pouch, and, with a ferocious expression, swallowed it. The surrounding wind picked up and vibrated more fiercely than before as he made several rushed hand signs.


    He was trying to do another forceful Ancestral Guardian spirit capture! He wanted to do the same thing he did to the hyena to the Murder Crow!


    A booming sound came from his body, and the crow¡¯s eyes dimmed and grew unfocused. This change only lasted a measly second before being shaken off by that vicious bird.


    The boy¡¯s face immediately showed his alarm, panic, and disappointment. He knew what he had done should have stunned it for at least a minute! It took the hyena two minutes before it recovered! He hoped to have enough time to attack it as he did to the Bestial Hyena when he injured it.


    His original plan before all of this was to use this second pill to take more of the essence of the Bestial Hyena and finish it off. At least it was before he changed his mind as he saw the escaping Kimarya and tried to drag his troubles to her and get her help not to waste that precious second pill.


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t see that she was being hunted. Not only that, but it was a freaking Murder Crow!


    Although it¡¯s very young, he would have run the other way and taken his chances with the hyena alone if he knew what it was. At least then, he¡¯d have a chance of winning or keeping his life!


    Everyone knew that it¡¯s a certain death if you encounter the Murder Crow. Its intelligence, strength, and speed make it something you can¡¯t make into an Ancestral Guardian Spirit. It¡¯s too devilishly strong, and everyone who has tried has never survived the attempt!


    He muttered, ¡°What awful luck!¡± as the Murder Crow came upon them.


    Kimarya finally escaped entirely from the lull of its genuine attack. She knew that the gorge was her only chance. An unlikely ticket to save herself was just a meter behind her. She could jump down as the Murder Crow finished off that kid in front of her.


    She paused before clenching her fist as she ran forward to fight alongside the boy when suddenly she felt some incredible pressure building in her head. Was the crow using its incapacitating call of death again?? It couldn¡¯t be; its beak is closed!


    She released a pained scream followed by a brilliant light shining from her eyes.


    She blacked out; all she could see was darkness till she heard a gruff voice, as if unused to speech.


    ¡°Good job, kid; you got this far before this great one had to save you, hahahahaha.


    Kimarya knew this voice was in her head, and in her shock, she asked, ¡°Who the hell are you?!¡±


    ¡°I have detected a foreign entity,¡± said Sunny.


    ¡°Initiating expulsive and offensive measures.¡±


    ¡°CRITICAL FAILURE, UNABLE TO EXPULSE. AHHHHH!¡±


    Kimarya heard Sunny scream. It was the first time she had ever heard her scream. She felt a terrible buzzing in her head. She was petrified as she realized that whatever that voice in her head was, it completely overwhelmed Sunny, her powerful, enhanced subconscious.


    The voice sounded out again, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, huhuhuhu, yours truly is the good guy, call me... Santa.....¡±


    ¡°Just kidding! Everything is excellent. Sunny is fine. Isn¡¯t that right, Sunny? I just wanted to make a cool entrance.¡±


    Sunny said, ¡°All systems seem to be uncompromised. We¡¯re fine, but we have a putrid, disgusting intruder in your head, Kimarya. THIS IS UNNACCEPTABLE!¡±


    Kimarya could hear Sunny¡¯s anger. She ignored the mysterious voice and didn¡¯t respond directly.


    Sunny said, ¡±It, for some unknown reason, has as much authority in this body as we do, Kimarya. It¡¯s certainly not Draenoy. Foreign entity, please leave immediately!¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t do that, Bud. The only reason you reincarnated together is because of me, so let¡¯s all calm down and let your great one handle this!¡±


    ¡°First, I¡¯m not Santa. I am known as Sasquatch or Big Foot. You may be asking yourself why this great one saved you. I did it because I could tell you were a big fan. Two, you were dying and, three, other reasons... but yeah, I chose you, Pikachu, to make my escape, huhuhuhu.¡±


    Kimarya interrupted, ¡°That was incredibly lame. Now I definitely know you¡¯re a harmless idiot. Where is the Murder Crow and that other kid? Are you really a Sasquatch? Why are you in my head? What did you escape and why with me?¡±


    ¡°Lame? I thought it would be cute, anyway. You and that boy are really about to get shredded by that nasty bird, but I took you into this separate space outside of the holds of time to chat! So, for a short while, you¡¯re safe enough to dare call this great sir lame! Relax as I explain some things before dealing with that interesting bird.¡±

 Chapter 5: Have you ever seen Sasquatch pitch?

    It continued, ¡°I am Sasquatch; there¡¯s only ever been one, me! Why aren¡¯t you more excited or even scared after discovering this noble one¡¯s glorious identity?¡±


    Kimarya responded frustratedly, ¡°A 13-foot-tall evil bird has been chasing me! I can¡¯t feel anything other than petrified right now!¡±


    Her eyes suddenly gleamed with passion for a second before she forcefully suppressed it and kept a blank face as she quickly added, ¡°Also, in the stories and myths, they have always mentioned a massive zone spanning the US, Canada, and even the east around Tibet of many sightings. Many reports have come in at similar times worldwide, so unless you can be in multiple places simultaneously, there are more Sasquatches!¡±


    Sasquatch responded cheerfully and with an arrogant tone, saying, ¡°Grand point, kid. I¡¯ll explain that part later, but currently, you and I have no more time to talk! The short explanation is that I used your soul and Sunny¡¯s bizarre existence to escape your world after some crude knitting to hide my grand and majestic existence from that damned bastard¡¯s pitiful awareness. I finally tricked that old fogey and got out!!!¡±


    Everything went dark¡­


    Kimarya suddenly heard a popping noise, snapping her to attention. She was back in her body and saw a massive claw opening up in a grabbing motion only a few feet from her right shoulder. It was from a distance that would be impossible to dodge, a space that could be traversed in less than a second for that monster.


    She was sure that if it connected, it would crumble her shoulder like flimsy paper.


    She heard a loud, derisive snort in her head and suddenly felt strangely calm. A gaseous substance started swirling around her incredibly fast, much faster than the claws of the Crow. This substance instantly formed into a massive humanoid figure with Kimarya floating in its middle.


    Its long and burly arms masterfully grabbed onto the Murder Crow¡¯s claw before its other arm pulled back, and its hands formed a fist. It had formed muscles under its skin, tensing up like steel cables full of power before bringing a ferocious fist strike at the Murder Crow.


    BOOM! It was hit dead on its chest before immediately rocketing backward, smashing through two trees before finally stopping.


    Kimarya breathed a sigh of relief, believing that the fierce strike had killed the Crow.


    But it quickly stood back up in an unstable fashion. She saw intense burning anger in its piercing eyes.


    It launched itself almost 20 feet into the air, its wings spreading, trying to catch onto the air before crashing down to the earth. One of its wings broke from her earlier punch and crashed through two massive trees. Its wing was bent at an awful angle. Its eyes fiercely glinted as its fury reached a new peak before it hopped forward, crossing almost a distance of three meters in a single bound.


    It raised its one good wing and madly swung it in her direction; it unleashed two dozen of its fearsome feathers, making all its previous attacks seem like child¡¯s play. Because they were, it was always playing with her! Never actually having gone full out in trying to kill her. The air was immediately consumed with an awful mass of whistling noises as the dozens of feathers flew like long, darkly glinting shadows at her.


    Kimarya, in her giant humanoid form, picked up the kid behind her, then dived to the side and narrowly dodged most of the deadly feathers.


    Most of them.


    Kimarya noticed one penetrated the area of the giant humanoid form right in front of her face. An inch closer would have taken her left eye out!


    Her giant humanoid form straightened up with fierce, domineering airs; the razor-sharp feathers were squeezed out from all the areas they punctured.


    Her form¡¯s long arm reached the ground and grasped the air as if grabbing a rock or an object. The Murder Crow noticed, and its eyes glowed brighter with viciousness and wariness, but it saw that there were no rocks or objects underneath those fingers.


    Its fierce eyes narrowed as if indignant and humiliated by its prey making a fool of it. The Murder Crow opened its vicious maw and unleashed its most terrifying call yet! Human screams seemed to rise from all around Kimarya, each more pitiful than the last, all forming a web that tried to crush her consciousness into a cage of madness.


    As the call sounded out, all the shadows grew longer. They stretched towards Kimarya. Weird motes of light started appearing. She could almost make out aggrieved faces whenever she got a clear look at any one of them.


    As the dreadful cacophony sounded out, a hideous flame coalesced in front of its opened maw; it pointed it right at her!


    This flame started giving her a weird sense of lethality and crisis. She knew she should not let that fire touch her. She felt the hand of her transformed state gripping the air, pulling back as if ready to throw a large rock. The crow continued to glare, apparently still furious and not falling for the trick being played on it.


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    The giant humanoid body, at 13 feet tall, got into a stance as if to throw something before suddenly making a perfect pitching pose.


    Kimarya couldn¡¯t help feeling embarrassed, darkly muttering to herself, ¡°What the hell is Sasquatch doing at a time like-" She didn''t finish talking as her surprise pushed all thoughts out of her head as the giant humanoid pitched the air. The whole body felt as if a large weight was suddenly displaced. The dirt at her feet caved in just a little.


    ¡°Wait, did it actually throw something? I didn¡¯t see a rock?!¡±


    The air started screaming as a blurry shape flew at the crow, whose eyes opened wide. The crow awkwardly used its good wing to smack at the air. Amazingly, a large greyish rock fully appeared and smashed this wing!


    THUNK!


    The Murder Crow¡¯s body shuddered at the heavy impact, hitting the strong muscles on its wings and making it step back to regain its balance.


    Kimarya, in the gigantic humanoid form, didn¡¯t want to be an observer anymore. She faced resistance that only after the shortest of moments let her take control.


    ¡°I have an idea. Let¡¯s do that rock thing again, but multiple times; how do I do it?¡±


    Sasquatch¡¯s voice answered, ¡°You can¡¯t, but I can get around that. Just say ¡®rock¡¯ and grip down near the ground, where I can gather the earth element to make it. Then you can lift it up and throw it.¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡± Kimarya leaned down, grasping at the air before muttering rock. Suddenly, she felt something like a mass of very dense water slowly swirling around and between her fingers. She gripped it, and its still translucent form turned harder and heavier by the second as she raised it over her head; the giant hairy humanoid moved per Kimarya¡¯s will into a throwing position before letting loose fiercely, and the large rock twice the size of her head, shot out like an invisible cannonball.


    It flew straight at the amalgamation of all the terror, anger, and anguish, condensing into a vicious flame, almost ready to be shot out. Every second it grew, the stronger the feeling of deadly crisis grew within Kimarya¡¯s heart. This was her target!


    She hoped she could interfere with the crow¡¯s life-threatening attack. Still, very soon, it was made clear that it wouldn¡¯t be easy as the rock volleying at her target was smashed away by the crow¡¯s good wing.


    Sunny said, ¡°You have to stop its attack before it fires it; I don¡¯t think we can dodge or defend from that attack. It¡¯s radiating a ferocious flame-like energy!


    ¡°Knew that would not work. Let¡¯s try this instead!¡± yelled Kimarya.


    The giant humanoid Sasquatch reached down, grasped at the air, and pulled back in an extremely domineering fashion before fiercely throwing forward!


    The Murder Crow was prepared and swung out its wing to successfully block this attack, just like the previous projectiles, but hit nothing. Its eyes opened wide before turning into slits as it realized Kimarya had deceived it.


    Its attack started growing faster than before, and its call was more disturbing. The strange boy was rolling around amid a heavy panic attack, unable to even gather enough sense to run away.


    Kimarya¡¯s form reached down low once more and grasped air before immediately throwing again. The crow swung its wing, not daring to risk being hit. Kimarya repeated this action, but this time, as she grasped down, she whispered rock.


    The earth elementals danced and converged onto her palm as she pulled back to pitch. She lightly flicked the unhardened mass into the air before following through on her fake pitch, as that energy floated up in the air.


    The Crow cawed angrily and swung its wing again. It was cautious. Not a second after that fake pitch, she leaned down and grabbed at the air before throwing another fake pitch. The Crow flinched, swinging out, expecting an actual stone, and its eyes started shining in fury.


    Kimarya didn¡¯t lean down this time; she just snatched upwards and squeezed the amorphous energy into a tiny stone before throwing it furiously. The crow was in mid-swing and couldn¡¯t pull back its good wing in time. The rock smashed against the amalgamation of fire in front of its beak!


    The rock exploded against the flame, and the whole construct grew unstable. The Murder Crow stopped its cacophony attack in its attempt to entirely focus on stopping its out-of-control fire attack. Still, Kimarya wouldn''t give it a chance as she took a long step forward, reached down low to the ground, and picked up an actual rock before screaming, ¡°Rock!¡±.


    Maybe it was the urgency in her voice or something, but the elemental earth energies rushed toward her hand and into the rock in her palm, which was half the size of her head. The energy coalesced into the rock as it blinked between visible and invisible, not before growing dark like a shadow.


    All of this happened barely a moment after her last attack landed. Not even two seconds passed before she rose, pulled her arm back, gave an embarrassed smile, pulled into a pitcher¡¯s pose in honor of Sasquatch, and threw this attack with all her might.


    This rock made no noise as it barreled towards the crow. The Murder Crow saw all of this and felt grave danger from this attack before giving up on reigning in its attack and, in its last-ditch effort, prematurely unleashed it. The evil flame flew at an astounding speed while instantly growing twice its size with no hint of stopping its mad growth before Kimarya¡¯s attack punctured right through its middle. This flame attack started collapsing within itself right away.


    Kimarya¡¯s attack lost no momentum after puncturing through the Crow¡¯s attack. It homed in on the crow, who unfurled both its broken and healthy wings and used them to block in front of its head and chest before the attack went straight through both wings and even its chest, continuing right through its heart!


    "Success, you did it, Kimarya! That hairy creature, too¡­." said Sunny.


    Kimarya laughed while the odd substance around her that made up the giant Sasquatch form swirled around her gently before disappearing.


    She turned to the boy, who seemed to come to reason; she dropped her smile and glared at him, asking,


    ¡°Who are you, and why did you try to share that hyena problem with me?¡±

 Chapter 6: Leerum Epsum

    Still trying to calm down and return his breathing to normal, the boy answered, "Leerum Epsum.


    ¡°I''m sorry about the whole hyena thing. I couldn''t kill it safely enough, so I tried to find a better way to kill it or at least seek a more favorable environment. I was doing that till I saw you running. I admit that it was a little shameful of me to force my problem onto you to help me kill it. But I made a big effort trying to make it into my Ancestral Spirit Guardian and felt too pressured."


    Kimarya huffed, still upset, before Leerum continued in a distressed voice, "I never would have imagined you had such awful luck to be targeted by a Murder Crow! I would not dare run to you even if I had ten more guts. Not even if I knew you had a Demonic Ape as an Ancestral Spirit Guardian."


    Kimarya heard an indignant snort in her head. "How dare he confuse me, this great and magnanimous lord, as a pitiful Demonic Ape," grumbled Sasquatch.


    She asked him, "What''s a Demonic Ape?"


    Leerum, thinking that Kimarya recklessly got a creature she couldn''t identify, said, "It''s a Grade 5 Spirit Beast; its species reproduce fast and are incredibly powerful and annoying due to reaching this level of strength immediately after becoming adults. The only downside is that their potential is so abysmal that the best possible scenario only transcends up to a grade 1 creature, which is not terrible strength. It has incredible strength, but after reaching a certain level of attainments in cultivation, you lose the advantage of its strength, and it could even lower your innate potential. The power that, at best, would allow someone to have a limit of a low general. Many people looking to reach incredible heights of power too quickly pick these as Ancestral Spirit Guardian forms but lose out in the long ru-" Leerum lowered his voice and averted his gaze awkwardly after accidentally saying that.


    "Ok, I understand," Kimarya responded, thinking about Sasquatch''s response. Thinking herself lucky, she asked, "Sunny, do you have more information on this Spirit Beast grading system?"


    Sunny responded," Yes, I do. The Spirit Beast system is essentially like this:


    ¡°(First stage) Animal Grade (1,2) ----> (Second stage) Beast Grade (1,2,3,4,5)


    ¡°For example, the Hyena from earlier is a Grade 2 Beast, and this Hairy Intruder is a Demonic Ape, a Grade 5 Beast.¡±


    Kimarya heard a sarcastic tone at the end of Sunny''s assessment before feeling the anger and indignation of Sasquatch rumbling over before it loudly interjected, "You dare call this great sir a Demonic Ape?!? I am an Existence that transcends all of your mortal understanding! I''ve witnessed events and things you could never imagine!!"


    Sunny coldly interrupted with more information.


    "(Third stage) Creature Grade (1,2,3,4,5) -------> (Fourth stage) Broken Existence Grade (1,2,3,4,5)."


    Leerum looked at the quiet Kimarya, who was seemingly in a daze. He thought that his unfiltered response had upset her before asking, "What''s your name?"


    Kimarya ignored the still upset and grumbling Sasquatch and paused Sunny''s prompts. She looked back at Leerum, hesitatingly answering, "My name is Draeneoy Stormblood, but please call me Kimarya."


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    Leerum was about to continue before he choked on his next breath and, in an unsettled tone, quickly asked, "That family¡ªSo you''re chosen....wait...You''re that Draeneoy?!? The supreme warrior body and holy daughter of the Stormblood family?!? You can''t be her! She-" He stopped continuing as Kimarya fiercely glared at him.


    Leerum fell to his knees, kowtowing.


    "I''m sorry! I wasn''t thinking. I didn''t want to say that. Please punish me for my transgression!"


    Kimarya felt a headache coming as she grabbed Leerum, trying to get him to stop kowtowing and stand. To her great alarm, she noticed she couldn''t make him budge a single inch. Finally, she yelled, "Stop that. I know you didn''t mean it. Let''s just get back to the village before another Murder Crow or something comes and kills us."


    Leerum stiffened after hearing this and got up, saying, "Thank you, Holy daugh- I mean, Kimarya."


    Kimarya awkwardly smiled before following Sunny''s instructions to return to the village with Leerum in tow. The journey was made easier by the increasing light from the rising sun.


    After traveling a day and a half before finally bumping into a guard station letting them know the location of the slain Murder Crow and Hyena as Kimarya and Leerum received medical treatment and were led to their own personal waiting rooms to wait for the conclusion of the trial.


    After waiting a few days, she heard knocking, only to be surprised by an awkward Leerum with an odd bag in his hands at her door.


    "I wanted to give you these for saving me as well as compensation for taking the Murder Crow''s core... I''m sure you know how important it is for stabilizing and completing the Ancestral Guardian forms," he said as he handed her the pouch.


    He continued, "This is a spatial pouch, the only one in my family. Inside it is everything usable of the Murder Crow except the core... I desperately needed it to finish my Ancestral Spirit Guardian form. But without a Murder Crow as an Ancestral Spirit Guardian, the core wouldn''t help you, even if you found another one. Its benefits would be less, but please know that its flesh is considered a cultivation treasure. It is a creature that has absorbed and amassed an incredible amount of natural energy, so it will greatly help your cultivation. Its feathers could be used as weapons and even as a resource to build a formidable cloak with great defensive strength."


    Sunny said, "Spatial pouches are incredibly valuable. As the name suggests, they are a lot bigger inside than the outside. They are built using a fantastic technique and unique ingredients.


    Kimarya was shocked and held onto the spatial pouch before replying, "I''ll give you the pouch back when I''m done with it. I can''t accept it; it''s too special to give it away!"


    Leerum shook his head before saying, "Thank you for your assistance, Hol-Kimarya!" Then, he immediately sprinted away.


    Kimarya, with an amused smile, closed the door. After a few days alone, she and Sunny digested and comprehended more and more of Draeneoy''s knowledge and had a more complete understanding of this world.


    They learned that cultivation was the sacred process of power that improved health and increased longevity¡ªthe very path to power! This is done by cultivating and comprehending natural ambient energies known as Qi as you advance on your path to building your Dao foundation.


    The Dao was the path in your heart, principles, hopes, goals, emotions, and everything that makes up who you are. There were no wrong paths in the advancement of your Dao. This is what makes up the base and foundation of your cultivation. The growth of your comprehension of the Dao is what allowed your cultivation to grow. Comprehension of the natural laws was required; otherwise, you risked Qi deviation. A correct balance of these two, plus your innate talents, determined how fast you could have cultivation breakthroughs and how far you could go.


    When determining someone''s attainment, better known as cultivation base, one''s aura gives distinct impressions.


    The cultivation levels she was aware of so far are as follows:

 Chapter 7: Momma Bear

    The Dao is the path in your heart, principles, hopes, goals, emotions, and everything that makes up who you are. There are no wrong paths in the advancement of your Dao. This is what makes up the base and foundation of your cultivation. The comprehension of your Dao must grow with your cultivation and comprehension of the natural laws, or else you risk Qi deviation. A correct balance of these two, plus your innate talents, determines how fast you can have cultivation breakthroughs.


    When determining someone''s attainment, better known as cultivation base, one''s aura gives distinct impressions that allow others to identify their cultivation stage.


    The cultivation levels she was aware of so far are:


    Awakened Realm


    Transcended Realm


    Eclipse Realm


    Nirvana Realm


    Karmic Sage Realm


    Kimarya thought these stages to be very interesting. "How powerful can people get?"


    ¡°Immortality is one of the primary goals in cultivation. Another one is trying to reach the peak of existence and the ultimate power that comes with it. This environment and world can be very dangerous. According to the knowledge of the host, cultivators can change the weather, crumble mountains, sink islands, raze entire lands, and kill countless people if they wished to.¡±


    Kimarya replied, "Can I start now? How do I do it?"


    ¡°The basis for cultivation revolves around your comprehension of nature, usually referred to as the Dao. This is a comprehension of something marvelously intertwined and overlapping at least three things. First is understanding the natural world and its phenomenon, the second is the natural laws within energies, and the third is developing your path in cultivation.


    These three are essential to being at the peak of any level of your cultivation level. Lacking any of these will result in lower subpar quality in your energy, power, mind, and body.¡±


    Kimarya''s eyes were practically shining excitedly when suddenly her vision blurred, and her consciousness slipped away for a second. As her eyesight cleared up, she saw she was floating off the floor and couldn''t move her body. An invisible pressure she couldn''t even think of resisting held her. She couldn''t control any aspect of herself, not even blink when she wished. Her body continued breathing by itself; her eyes blinked by themselves. The power was both completely overwhelming and gentle.


    She floated there, not moving even a millimeter from that position. Nothing moved besides her body, which was still breathing and blinking.


    She heard the cold and bitter voice of a woman. "You. What did you do to my precious Draeneoy?" The voice started in a barely audible whisper until it grew into a low snarl that reverberated and crashed through her mind, building up into an almost overwhelming vibration that threatened to drive her insane. This was the worst pain she ever felt. It was so awful she was almost immediately on the brink of insanity. Her mind was unable to focus; the sound similar to static from TV was all she could hear and feel, along with the indescribable pain. It was so awful that in her complete desperation if she weren''t immobilized, she may have even ended it all by biting her tongue off; it was that awful.


    Kimarya felt so much pain she couldn''t think, and just when she felt she would die, it all stopped.


    "I know you aren''t my little one." Said the voice. Grothie felt such pain, nearly overwhelming grief yet fury. She broke the rules by not seeing her child before the trial''s final results, which the chosen must overcome. If only she weren''t the chief of her auxiliary village with all her responsibilities and customs of the clan, she wouldn''t have minded downgrading and becoming a common citizen and not having her child be part of the chosen of this newer generation.


    She loved her baby so much that she decided not to give her protection; she hoped this trial would help her wake up, even if it meant her death. Her future would only have been limited if she was protected. Even if she weren''t aware of the protection, it would still be too great of a splash in the oceans of karma and ultimately a blemish in her Dao if she genuinely decided to head down the path of cultivation.


    But her little one isn''t there anymore. If it weren''t for the remnant emotions of her little Dre revealing that there was no foul play or that she would hurt the body of her offspring, she would have erased this soul that dared occupy her child''s body. With her skills in Augury, she saw that little Dre accepted everything, that little Dre accepted her, that she was even happy. Maybe this person could accomplish her mama''s hopes for her.


    She was wrong.


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    All I ever really wanted for her was her happiness. Like any parent, I wanted you to crush all others and gain our family face and prestige. But it was only ever secondary. I''m sorry I called you a silly or dumb little girl. I''m sorry I tried to keep you from looking at those spiderwebs. I knew it made you happy, but I chastised you for it. You never failed me, little one. I had my hopes for you; I was even going to forcibly take you away and not have you take these trials; I had the power to do it. Your father convinced me, or I let myself be convinced.


    At the last second, you gripped my hand and said: "Mama, I''ll go." It was one of the few times you ever spoke. My heart shook and beat much stronger than when I was steeling myself to crush tradition and swim against the stream. If I knew this would have happened, I may have done it.


    Even your death would have been easier. Then you''d be resting within the trees and waters humming that particular song you only hummed to the spiderwebs or when I held you, dear child of mine. That would be easier than seeing a stranger in your body, using the child I carried within me for nine long months. I''ve lived thousands of years, but those nine months with you felt like a lifetime.


    Grothie felt her tears welling up in her eyes, her breathing almost losing control. I can''t see her body like this. I didn''t see any bad or sense any malice in this new person''s eyes.


    She steeled herself, made her choice, and said, "I know your name. You asked that boy to call you Kimarya instead of the name I gave my child, and you aren''t my child. I won''t kill you, even though I''m feeling such maddening fury. I don''t know what kind of ties I will have with you, but later on, I will."


    Kimarya gently floated down and was dazed for a long time as to what the hell just happened.


    Kimarya realized that this voice, this person, was Draenoy''s mother, Grothie. She realized that she knew I wasn''t her daughter. It seems I escaped a calamity for now and resolved the dilemma of whether to hide my identity from her parents or how to let them know.


    "Kimarya, I have detected some bizarre traces of the phenomena that happened. I have not made sense of the results of the scans. Even that hairy creature was hiding and likely couldn''t have done much of anything to assist."


    "Huhuhu, this great sir was asleep and never noticed; else, I would have been able to save you if it were to get dangerous," Half-heartedly responded Sasquatch.


    Knock, knock, knock


    After the knocking, a loud and stern voice said, "It is time for the evaluation of the trial, Chosen, Draenoy. Please follow me."


    Kimarya shook the last traces of her daze away and followed the guard up a large hill with colossal stones in a formation that reminded her of Stonehenge, her previous world, except much bigger and more intact.


    Twenty other kids her age or Draenoy''s age stood together, while five elders were on a large rock with a smaller formation of stones, with an oddly shaped green stone in the middle.


    Everyone around Kimarya was making a large fuss over the person in the middle, saying things like, "Who is he?" and "Why are the elders treating him with such high esteem and respect?" as they noticed how the other elders treated the cloaked man in the middle.


    The cloaked figure in the middle, who appeared to be a middle-aged man with green hair poking outside of their cloak and had the most prominent presence out of all the other elders, spoke, "Welcome back, Chosen and trial takers of the Honey Badger Earth vein village, I am Shamaner, Nominal Grand Elder. I am here to oversee this ceremony and look for a disciple."


    He continued, "Please come one at a time to the Vertuold Augury stone at the center. Place your hand here, and it will respond to two things: Ancestral Spirit and latent talent.


    It would show a silhouette of your Ancestral Guardian Spirit and stars for your amount of latent talent.


    One star means little or no latent talent for cultivation.


    Two stars mean below-average latent talent for cultivation.


    Three is a decent latent talent for cultivation.


    Four is an average latent talent for cultivation.


    Five is a tremendous latent talent for cultivation.


    Six is a genius-level latent talent for cultivation.


    Seven is demon-level latent talent, appearing only once every ten thousand years.


    There were 105 participants this year, but only ten were Chosen, and the rest were villagers who took the test.


    Kimarya looked around, but there were still fifty-four kids around her. She muttered, "Don''t tell me these are all the survivors..."


    Shamaner kept talking. "Only 54 have returned from our holy zone, seven being Chosen. Please start coming forward one at a time, although this process is only mandatory for the chosen."


    Kimarya saw in Draenoy''s memories that it was a great honor to show your ancestral guardian spirit and latent talent, especially when establishing a master/disciple relationship with a high-level Elder.


    Kimarya watched people go up one at a time. The first person, a girl, got three stars and a sort of Slug creature with a spiked shell.


    The second person had a large snake with the head of a wolf and five stars, which drew some gasps. "It''s a steel wolf-headed snake, and they even have five stars!


    More and more of them went by until the 30th chosen had a winged three-eyed tiger, which drew the most attention until it was shadowed by an amazing six stars of a true genius! A few of the elders conversed, nodding their heads in excitement and clear approval. Kimarya heard kids around her talking, saying, "Alastair, he actually has such amazing latent talent in combination with that dreadful three-eyed winged tiger. He will surely be a pillar of the village and clan!"


    Kimarya decided to go after him so she wouldn''t attract too much attention. She walked forward and noticed that everyone had a strange reaction to her, but she ignored it and walked forward until she was in front of the stone.

 Chapter 8: Divine Augury Stone

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 Chapter 9: Leerums Plot

    At first, there was silence. Some of the crowd even started to grow excited, but then they realized that the elders weren''t smiling and understood why. Her ancestral guardian spirit was a Demonic Ape, which meant that her chances of future success were nearly zero.


    At best, her prospects could reach the heights of a low-level elite but never a powerhouse of the times.


    Her future growth was severed.


    Cultivation already had walls and points of extreme difficulty, adding to the calamity of growth barriers that Demonic Apes had.


    This could only be the cruelest joke ever. Some of the not-so-smart ones finally realized the weird atmosphere where they initially expected clapping over her aptitude and intimidating ancestral Guardian Spirit form.


    Some elders sadly shook their heads. How could this happen? Such a demonic level of aptitude just for it to be wasted because of an erroneous choice in an Ancestral Spirit Guardian. It could be worked around and amended with enough effort, even if it was a speed-based creature!


    Even a flying bug would have been better because they had higher chances of mutation and atavism when costly methods were included.


    Something impossible with the Demonic Apes, who seemed to have been cursed by the old heavens. Even if your additional Ancestral Guardian Spirit has a higher growth potential than the Demonic Ape, the curse of the heavens will still limit future growth.


    It gives excellent and immediate power and is a very useful tool, but only if you accept you won''t ever grow past a certain point. Only those with subpar aptitude or who wish for a fast increase in power at the cost of a higher future choose these creatures.


    Shamaner''s eyes had a barely perceptible glint as he watched all of this happen. Kimarya was awkwardly holding herself up with confidence that didn''t match the atmosphere as she stepped down from the platform.


    While Kimarya was stepping down, Leerum had closely watched her this whole time and found her reaction odd. What he was about to do now, taking advantage of her moment, didn''t feel good. Usually, he only cared about matters involving him and his family, but he had an unpleasant taste in his mouth about doing this to his benefactor.


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    He had no negative feelings towards her, nor many positive ones, besides considering everything they went through significant. Still, he needed to take advantage of this situation that he knew would have happened, albeit never imagined her talent would be so absurd.


    He already found her highly intimidating, and that''s without mentioning her unmatched latent talent. However, he mostly felt sad about her reduced prospects in cultivation.


    He shook his head and stepped up onto the platform. He looked at all the elders before politely bowing and placing his hand on the deep green Vertuold Augury stone, feeling its pull.


    Kimarya watched Leerum while she hid a smirk that tried to reach her face. How could she not have imagined that the person who would immediately go up after her disappointing display would be the sly Leerum? She expected to feel more upset but found it more amusing and not as bad if it were someone else.


    Suddenly, the stone started shining, and a piercing cry rang out where the most cowardly jumped. All the elders furrowed their brows, looking around for a second until their gaze rested on the manifestations rising around Leerum. After that, they heard mad laughter and a cacophony of sounds from many kinds of creatures.


    A vicious beak rose from the black gas, enormous wings spread open, and piercing blue eyes blinked into existence and stared into the skies. Looking through everyone present with a profound dignity deep within. Underneath the Murder Crow''s manifestation, a vicious hyena stood very still, as if subdued by the Murder Crow that overwhelmed the senses of all the younger people present.


    Everyone gasped, even a few of the elders. Everything was quiet for a second until some started shouting and speaking of how amazing it was that Leerum managed to get a Murder Crow and a Bestial Hyena!!! Everyone focused more on the fact that he managed to get the Murder Crow.


    Then, the stars started forming above Leerum, the part that mattered almost as much as the Ancestral Guardian Spirit.


    One star, then a second and third star, formed. It didn''t just stop there; it went to five stars, and a hazy sixth slowly formed to the crowd''s gasps. Alastair, standing in front of the crowd who had been ignored, furrowed his brows, and a venomous glint appeared in his eyes.


    The elders around Leerum and the Vertuold Augury stone all nodded and praised this youngster, especially considering he was not a child of noble birth. Very few have been able to defeat an infant Murder Crow. The future prospects of this member of the younger generation would be almost limitless as the nightmare hegemon of the skies known as the Murder Crow.


    Leerum smiled and bowed again to the Elders before walking off the stage, which made several of them nod in approval only after seeing his potential. In contrast, Shamaner only smiled in an unreadable way.

 Chapter 10: Dara Voidspire

    The elders around Leerum and the Vertuold Augury stone all nodded their heads. They praised this youngster, especially considering he was not a child of noble birth. Very few have ever been able to defeat a Murder Crow hatchling, and the growth potential of this younger generation member could be said to be unmatched.


    Leerum smiled and bowed to the Elders before walking off the stage, which made several of them nod in approval. In contrast, Shamaner only smiled in an unreadable way.


    After Leerum, everyone else went up with different talents ranging from 3 to 5 stars, with only nine others having five stars and amazing Ancestral Guardian Spirits. Last up was another well-known member of the younger generation, Zeal SwordTooth, who had 6 stars of talent and the dreadful Winged Vampire Kangaroo variant that was just as shocking as Leerum''s and Alastair''s results.


    The testing ended as a high elder walked up and told all the participants to get their share of resources based on their results at the auxiliary treasury. He also said that Shamaner had made his decision and would contact those he had picked.


    Kimarya followed the crowd to the auxiliary treasury before being approached by a quiet and awkward Leerum. He started saying "Hey¡­" before Kimarya interrupted him. "Save it. The less attention I get, the better. Just don''t let it become a habit, or I''ll consider it a serious offense against me. Oh, and now you owe me another favor!". She smiled while narrowing her eyes.


    Leerum involuntarily gulped at her threat. He wasn''t sure why someone who had yet to cultivate could be so intimidating. He nodded his head in agreement and started talking to Kimarya. "Right now, we''re going to pick up some resources, which are 300 exemplary grade energy Jades and 20 blessed grade energy jades! We can also choose two exemplary items!"


    Kimarya muttered in her head, "Sunny?"


    "Based on our information, there are 7 levels of energy Jades, which function as both the currency of this world and energy resource that contain massive amounts of natural energy that are also used as power sources.


    The energy jade grades are:


    Exemplary Grade


    Blessed Grade


    Sacred Grade


    Holy Grade


    Energy Jades are naturally occurring precious stones containing dense amounts of natural energy. They are typically found deep underground or in special areas containing a high concentration of energy for many years, allowing them to grow.


    Kimarya smiled and internally thanked Sunny, who she felt gave a smug smile toward Sasquatch who immediately started to grumble and bicker with Sunny as Kimarya tuned them out and paid attention to Leerum who was moving her through the small crowd of other kids who had just taken the test.


    Kimarya was also excited to see what items the treasury would have and if they would help her initiation into cultivation, so she allowed herself to be led by Leerum.


    When they got there, they could see that everyone was there. Though most of the attention was focused on Alastair and Zeal. Some of it was drawn towards Leerum and Kimarya when they arrived.


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    Alastair only gave an arrogant smile at Leerum as if to mock this commoner from a lowly family in decline who dared try to climb up on a pedestal that he was born to reign on. Zeal gave a quick glance at Leerum and Kimarya before ignoring them and even Alastair.


    Alastair seemed to be the crowd''s favorite, as he wasn''t cold to those that approached to fawn over him, unlike Zeal, but also from a prestigious and noble family called the Salpan. Zeal was from a very ancient and powerful family line known as the SwordTooth clan, so even with his haughty arrogance that puts no one in his sights, many people still crowded around him, although at a greater distance than those around Alastair.


    Some other kids on the outskirts went over to say hello to Leerum and establish good ties with him. He came from an ancient but vastly deteriorating family that lost its qualifications and the great honor for their younger generation to qualify as chosen for several generations already.


    Leerum was much more humble than Zeal and more approachable than Alastair, so he got along well with several of them. Kimarya herself was approached by one or two people. One girl named Dara Voidspire approached Kimarya.


    Like everyone, she seemed to be around 13 years old. She had long hair that went past her shoulders. She wore several gemstones on her many necklaces and bracelets and gave the impression of a comfortable yet quirky and cheerful person.


    As they arrived at the treasury, Kimarya was genuinely excited to choose. Walking in individually, they were handed a small spatial bag or ring with ingredients and other unique items. Alistair peered into his bag before smugly handing it to a lackey, saying it was not something that could reach his eyes. Zeal didn''t even glance at or accept the spatial bag offered to him as if nothing offered was even worth his consideration.


    Soon, it was Kimarya''s turn. Considering she already had the spatial bag Leerum gave her, she decided to receive a ring instead of another bag and slipped it onto her left pointer finger. For many of those who finished the trial, this was their first spatial item, and they were very excited even before considering the rewards within.


    After everyone else received either a bag or ring, they met an elder who managed the treasury. The elder handed each three glowing slips of paper with runes drawn on them and explained that they were necessary for them to remove weapons or items from a rack. They explained that everyone must place the paper on the item to be able to remove it and that it only worked for items on the first four floors. Obviously, they could only get one item per slip of paper.


    As everyone split off into a few different groups, a large one centered around Alistair headed in one direction, and another group of three, two girls and one boy, made their way into a side row. Naturally, Kimarya was one of the girls, the other Dara, and the boy was Leerum, who cheerfully chatted with Dara.


    The two knew each other and grew up as good friends. Luckily, Leerum didn''t allow Kimarya to be excluded from their conversation as he excitedly pointed out weapons and their properties. It seemed like Leerum and Dara were weapons fanatics. Kimarya saw that the floors of the treasury were genuinely massive, to the point that they never bumped into more people, choosing items as they browsed through.


    Leerum asked Kimarya, "What kind of weapons are you thinking of choosing?"


    Kimarya stopped to think. I''ve never held a weapon in my life besides a stun gun or a toy at laser tag.


    Kimarya responded to Leerum, " Are there any of those that fire projectiles, like a bow or crossbow?"


    Leerum stopped to think for a second before he was playfully knocked on the head by Dara, who giggled as she said, "Idiot, why are you thinking so long? Of course, there are. A sign up ahead even says projectile weapons." She turned to Kimarya and said, "Come, follow your big sister!"


    Leerum quietly followed behind the two, muttering to himself, wondering why she seemed so unfamiliar with something so well known?


    Kimarya was starting to really like Dara. She learned that Dara is a severe, in-your-face fighter who quickly rushes into combat, with a straightforward attitude to match, and who also cherishes friendship. Kimarya also learned that her Ancestral Guardian Spirit was the deadly nightmare panther, a great choice with a mighty constitution and one of the best growth potentials seen in the present.

 Chapter 11: Lets run before he returns with that rusty cauldron!

    Kimarya was starting to really like Dara. She learned that Dara is a severe, in-your-face fighter who quickly rushes into combat, has a straightforward attitude to match, and cherishes friendship. Kimarya also learned that her Ancestral Guardian Spirit was the deadly nightmare panther, a great choice with a mighty constitution and one of the best growth potentials seen in the present.


    As Dara led the way, they arrived at the projectile weapon section after a few minutes of walking. Kimarya saw many weapons, such as composite bows, short bows, longbows, crossbows, dart blowers, and throwing knives.


    Kimarya was imagining a crossbow, so she browsed through the area until she saw an interesting one. Dara also noticed it and said, "That looks pretty strong. It says here that it''s called Sinful Tundra, a repeating crossbow."


    Kimarya walked closer to the crossbow, noticing it was primarily black and some brown, with a rectangular section on the top for the bolts. Ancient-looking blue runes were on the underside.


    Kimarya decided at once that she had to have this crossbow. She felt a resonance with it. Kimarya placed one piece of paper over the bow, and after a flash of grey light, the crossbow was free from its invisible constraints, and she could finally hold it in her hands. She felt a strange power flowing inside the bow as she held it before putting it away into her bag of holding.


    Leerum was farther back, looking at a bow this whole time, but he also paid enough attention to notice that Dara and I looked at him. He said, "This is called Freezing Bow of the Wolves, and it has two elements: Ice and Wind!" After Leerum said that, Dara was about to say something, but he quickly put his paper onto the bow, releasing it and putting it away.


    Dara shook her head before looking back at Kimarya, where she said," Guess it''s my turn. I''d follow the trend and get a bow or whatever, but I''d never use it, plus I have lousy aim." She gave a mischievous smile before saying, "I like being up close where the sweat and blood dance, where I can get up close and look people in the eye before stomping them into the ground." she giggled.


    She again led the way till they saw short swords, long swords, scimitars, maces, bludgeons, and mauls.


    Dara stopped and reached toward a large, half-wooden, half-metal bludgeon before muttering, "This is perfect!" Kimarya thought she could see stars in her eyes, but she could only chuckle and walk closer to read its name.


    It''s called Haughty Thunder Bludgeon of the Tiger!


    A weapon of two elements: metal and electricity. It had incredible hardness and weight from the metal elemental aspect and extreme speed of electricity. No wonder Dara was so excited. It was an incredible and oppressive combination for combat that rightfully earned the tiger in its name.


    Dara quickly pressed her paper slip to the top to release and claim ownership of this incredible weapon.


    Kimarya already felt a good connection within their small group. It was her turn to get a second weapon or item. Apparently, it was something everyone else implicitly agreed on based on Dara and Leerum''s expectant looks when they both turned to look at her. So Kimarya asked, "Is there a miscellaneous section we can choose from? I sort of feel I could choose a non-combat item. Maybe later, I could get a shielding item as well."


    Leerum and Dara both had an odd reaction before Leerum responded, "I''ve been here before. There are some useful items for Crafters and random items used to build complex formations."


    Kimarya was intrigued by the understanding she inferred from Leerum''s mention of word formation before asking, "Sunny, what formations is he referring to?"


    As Leerum led the way, Sunny answered, "By formations, you can consider it a magical script of power. These scripts/designs are derived from their understanding of natural phenomena in the universe mimicking effects like fire, electricity, pressure, etc. They''re natural laws derived through generations that have power and effect change when written. It''s very similar to programming. The universe and reality are computers; those experiencing it create micro versions of the world onto items or space. They are built using the powers of the profound ways of cultivation. They are powered in three ways: unique and powerful ingredients are used to create the item that accumulates energy on its own and from its environment. They could be powered by the energy contained within energy jades and even by the energy from cultivators themselves!


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    These formations can shield the sect for as long as they have energy jades or are powered by cultivators that can hopefully overpower and defend against attacks. They can also protect from unauthorized access, attacks, and natural calamities. Usually, they are all over cities, sects, towns, monasteries, and homes.


    Formations can perform attacks and affect environments, like allowing concentration and empowering cultivation comprehension to better help cultivators. Their functions and applications are limitless!


    Kimarya''s eyes were shining. This was almost exactly like programming, something she did professionally and had a grand passion for in her previous life! She thought, "I wonder what amazing things I could create in the future!"


    As they walked through many sections of weapons, they saw an elder carrying a large, old, and rusty cauldron that, for some odd reason, caught Kimarya''s attention. Her eyes met the Elder''s, who stopped and asked, "Yes? Can I help you with something, little one?"


    Kimarya drew on some confidence and said, "That Cauldron, could I perhaps get it?".


    The elder blinked at the surprising question before responding, "This ancient cauldron no longer works, so it will be stored in the back to be used later as scraps. It is ancient, but it was created with excellent material that we could reuse to make new items."


    She responded, "I want it, please. Can I trade it for this paper that I received?" Leerum and Dara were both shocked and implored her not to do that. They explained that there were cauldrons of much higher quality up ahead and not to waste this opportunity on old trash. The elder was also shocked and told her to reconsider.


    Kimarya hesitated after seeing everyone''s reactions. However, when she looked back at the cauldron, her initial feeling only grew stronger.


    Sasquatch suddenly said, "You wouldn''t be making a mistake to get that old item. This great one feels it''s not as simple as it appears."


    Kimarya decided and said more firmly, "I need this cauldron. Please allow me to take it.".


    The Elder shook his head as if to say no, thinking about how precious the metal was. However, seeing Kimarya''s determination and the slip of paper, he conceded.


    "Very well, but just so you don''t feel that this old uncle is cheating you out of this special paper slip, you can have some basic crafting supplies. The rest of the discarded and faulty items, this old one, were going to be recycled as well since you appear to be an aspiring crafter." Chuckled the elder. "Although they were going to be recycled, you might be able to use some for a while as you grow in your studies without fear of expensive failures in this arduous path. The materials they are made of are not too bad. I''ll be right back; please be patient."


    After twenty minutes of being questioned by Dara and Leerum, she rejected the crazy suggestion from the daring Dara, who said that, "we could run before the elder returns with the rusty old cauldron." Leerum quickly covered her mouth, saying, "Don''t be rude, Dara!"


    A minute later, they heard the footsteps of the elder, who held a ring in his hand. Kimarya walked over with the paper slip and put it in the elder''s hand, who handed the ring to her.


    Kimarya accepted the ring, even though she couldn''t check its contents because she wasn''t a cultivator yet. She also thought having Leerum check in front of the Elder would be too rude.


    Kimarya thanked the Elder before leaving but was stopped by the Elder. "Everyone has less than 10 minutes to finish choosing items. I''m sorry for my delay in taking 20 of your minutes, but I suggest hurrying up. An extraordinary announcement is coming, so the time limit will be enforced."


    Kimarya said, "Sorry I took up so much of your time, Leerum and Dara. I think the best thing to do is split up so we have enough time to make such an important decision¡­"


    Dara was about to retort but was interrupted by Leerum, who said, "She''s right, Dara. We can meet up later, but we really don''t have enough time. I''ll take my leave first and see you guys outside in 10 minutes."


    Leerum quickly left while Dara hesitated momentarily before heading in a different direction as she waved goodbye to Kimarya.


    Kimarya turned to the Elder before describing a specific weapon she had in mind, hoping something similar existed in the storage. The Elder smiled and nodded before leading the way.


    After 5 minutes of walking, Kimarya and the Elder reached their destination. Kimarya smiled and said, "This is it, and it''s better than I hoped!"


    The elder shook his head and said, "The youth sure are different these days. Good luck, little one!" and left.


    Kimarya only smiled and put her paper against the item before quickly stowing it away. She was absolutely pleased with her decision.

 Chapter 12: Great Epoch of the Veil

    Kimarya was among the last people to leave the building. Everyone congregated near an open field. While she looked around, trying to find Dara and Leerum, she suddenly froze in shock. Above everyone on the field floated over a dozen elders in the sky! The one who held a more prominent position was the Elder Shamaner, who was in the center, with most people orbiting around paying attention to him.


    She suddenly felt her body lean to the side as a surprised Dara''s hand narrowly missed Kimarya''s shoulder, which she had just now tried to tap playfully to surprise her.


    "Wow, how''d you do that? Are you sure you haven''t started cultivating?!"


    Kimarya smiled at the playful Dara before saying, "Not yet. I''m preparing to start soon!"


    A gentle but resplendent voice interrupted. Kimarya recognized it as Shamaner''s voice.


    "Little ones, you have all survived a significant coming-of-age tradition of our sect."


    "I would like to once again congratulate all of you! You have maintained the honor of your houses and this sect." He continued, "Many of us elders have candidates in mind whom we are interested in accepting as personal disciples, but the final challenge you must face will help us make our final decision."


    For some reason, Kimarya felt as if he was directing his words toward her even though he was talking to the crowd here.


    "For the last challenge, I first will have to explain a phenomenon that happens in every era of this world. This has happened once in every era when this world merges with another dimension. We refer to it as "The Fall of the Veil." "The Veil is an adjacent world with its own population of beings. In every era of this world, there comes a moment where both our worlds become one for some time, be it a few days or thousands of years before the Veil comes up, and we are separated once more."


    Shamaner continued," This phase almost always devolves into a pandemonium, of mass casualties, war, disease, and strife till a balance between all life is eked out."


    Many people in the small crowd looked astounded and even terrified. A disciple shouted, "Will the sect be safe? What about smaller villages?! "


    Dara leaned close to Kimarya and whispered, "He used to be a vagabond cultivator who was accepted into our sect. He was a tree demon who gained enlightenment from the Dao and transfigured into human form before being welcomed to our sect."


    Shamaner patiently responded, "As cultivators, we never shirk and hide from danger. You all know there are treasures and opportunities wherever there is a challenge and difficulty. The falling of the Veil inundates the world with energies extremely beneficial to cultivation. Many unique kinds of momentums, materials, creatures, and phenomena are revealed to the world, making these eras a golden age for cultivation."


    "Almost all major sects were purposely built near special zones connecting to the Veil, and in these sacred areas grow Veil Crystals."


    Shamaner explained that these crystals are extraordinary and allow an easier connection to the Veil. These crystals become more powerful the closer you get to the center, so everyone must try to reach their limit before selecting their crystal. These zones release a unique and painful resonance that hampers participants'' cultivation levels and strength, so you must depend on your talent and fortitude.


    When you choose your crystal, there is an opportunity to catch a glimpse of your future! At the center lies the Prime Crystal Embryo, the centermost crystal of this sacred ground.


    "All the candidates should go as far as they can withstand and no further. Please be very aware of your limits, or you may rush to your doom.


    Now go, little ones, may your path in the Dao be eternal and profound!" After he said this, multiple people rushed out in excitement to try and pick the best crystals or to compete with one another to see who could reach the furthest depths of the field of glowing crystals.


    Almost immediately, multiple kids dashed forward with glowing auras surrounding them. Some even fully activated their Ancestral spirit Beast skill and turned into a wide array of large, lumbering animals.


    But shortly, those who transformed immediately reached their limit before reaching one-third of the way to the center.


    Someone in a bird form who tried to fly to the center dropped like a stone.


    When their Ancestral beast form dissipated, it was a thin teenage boy with black hair and a long but thin nose writhing in pain as if being electrocuted by some mysterious energy. After he vomited 3 mouthfuls of blood, he moved no more.


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    People finally realized that the Elder Shamaner''s warnings weren''t meant lightly. Everyone stopped rushing towards the center and began to advance. Some even retreated as they realized their limits in this challenge and selected crystals close to themselves.


    Kimarya saw Alastair and Zeal walking past the warm corpse of the kid who overestimated themselves. They walked at a measured yet fast pace. They didn''t make the mistake of everyone else and never rushed towards the center with their full strength.


    Alistair had a golden, regal aura wrapping around his body, his hair moving free from the burden of gravity because of his detonating energy. Zeal had a fierce blood-red aura rampaging around him as he only gazed forward, seemingly no one getting into his sights. Alistair maintained his head high, basking in the attention of everyone else till he noticed someone walking behind him and Zeal.


    Leerum! He walked with powerful and confident steps. Around him was his dark green aura, rippling around him like a thin shell of armor. Bright azure spots were flitting on the surface, and a baleful aura of wildness pulsing from him.


    Kimarya heard Dara mention her name. "Be careful. You haven''t yet cultivated, so don''t push yourself too hard. Big sister is going to go ahead, okay?" She smiled, and a bright silver light borne from her spine surrounded her. An aura of oppression and violence sprung out from her. A few of the stragglers immediately noticed her as she broke into a strong jog.


    "It''s my turn, I guess." Kimarya stepped forward into the field of crystal outcrops and almost immediately felt pressure weighing down all her limbs as if gravity had increased. She felt an uncomfortable sensation on her skin that seemed to invade deeper and deeper into her flesh. She trudged along, thinking she wouldn''t be able to make it any distance with this bizarre sensation. As she continued, she no longer could pay attention to others in her surroundings. All she could focus on was not letting the weight of the sky crush her into the ground.


    Soon, it felt like she was carrying another person, and she started perspiring. The invasive feeling only grew worse into a dull pain as it pulled at her muscles and nerves and sought to reach her core.


    She could only shuffle forward, agonizing over every step as if she carried the weight of the entire world. The invasive feeling now felt like electric glass growing into her bones and nerves. She had to pinch her numb arms to make sure her blood wasn''t turning into crystals; the pain was almost overwhelming.


    She heard a voice past her foggy eye as two people walked past her. "Activate your cultivation, or you''ll die before you reach any decent crystals!"


    "Idiot, can''t you see that the dumbass doesn''t even have a cultivation base? It''s already amazing enough that she''s not dead. Girl, stop and choose an outer crystal before you die. Hmph!"


    That''s right, Kimarya has yet to do any cultivation. Everyone else has been cultivating for several years already! She smirked and asked in her head, "Sunny status update."


    "Body status is 9% cell damage, Kimarya."


    She smiled and kept on one step at a time as the pain grew more agonizing. It felt like her skin was on fire, her bones ached. She was almost only 11 meters into the field, and it already felt like she had boiling water in her bones. "Sunny"


    "Body status is 19% cell damage."


    "What percentage of cell damage is the upper limit where I''d still be able to walk back from?"


    "36% of cell damage is the absolute most you can work with to ensure a safe return from this hazardous zone.


    "Okay, I''ll choose a crystal then. I noticed that my steps haven''t gotten any heavier, so the weight I''m experiencing isn''t physical weight or an increase in gravity; it''s something else!"


    She continued on in her impossible and torturous trek. Suddenly, she saw a flashing light right in front of her. She saw a bloody figure swaying unsteadily on their feet as they held onto a large outcrop of crystal. Green energy poured into his body. It looked like some mystical baptism of radiant green light before dimming.


    The boy yelled, "Elders, I have finished the trial. Please help me out of this field!" There was no response. "Elders, I can''t make it back out of the special zone, please!"


    As Kimarya slowly walked past, the boy coughed up blood, and his knees hit the floor.


    "Please!" a voice spoke up at this moment. "It is forbidden for us to interfere in this process. Your fate lies within your hands. Please make every effort to return. You have only completed half of your final trial."


    He puked up blood right when he almost stood up. Kimarya could tell that if he didn''t stand up again, he would be unable to make it back alive. It''s still a question of him returning, even if he stood up.


    "Please, I already got the stupid crystal; just help me out of here!! PLEASE!"


    No voices responded to him.


    Suddenly, he felt an arm grab underneath his shoulder, and he was awkwardly lifted to standing on his feet.


    It was Kimarya.


    "If I can help you walk and take you a few steps, do you think you can make it back?"


    The boy wiped off blood from his lips as his eyes spoke of how grateful he was. He caught his breath and let out a weak "Yes."


    "23% cell damage Kimarya!"


    She ignored Sunny and helped him for three meters until she felt a noticeable change in the pressure on her.


    "This should be good enough!" gasped out Kimarya as she was drenched in sweat and blood trickled down the side of her mouth.


    "27% cell damage."


    The boy walked forward, wheezing and spittle colored in blood painted the floor. "Thank¡­ you, senior sister!"

 Chapter 13: Veil Crystals

    Kimarya, with an awful strained smile, walked forward once more. The trek was almost twice the effort it originally took, and it didn''t get any easier to return to the spot she was at.


    She stared straight ahead at the cracked ground with crystals trying to escape from the earth. Each of the sparse outcrops of glowing green crystals. Some reached just the height of her thighs, others towering over her. She looked down at an outcrop near her feet. If she merely reached down, she could safely accomplish this challenge without risking her being stuck in a bed for months, crippled, or even dying for overestimating herself.


    "32% cell damage, Kimarya"


    Kimarya almost regretted helping that kid. She coughed out a mouthful of blood. She couldn''t go on much longer. I must pick a crystal even if I''m not at my 36% target. This pain is too horrible, thought Kimarya.


    She looked at multiple crystals in her area; she saw more people. Her fists clenched. She wanted to pass as many of them as possible. The disdain and derision weren''t something she could easily forget. Making it further than some of them was the best way to smack their faces through her accomplishments. She also felt she was partly responsible for the previous occupant of this body, whose memories she inherited and was still digesting with the help of Sunny.


    "32% cell damage"


    She took nine steps before she fell to one knee. Her eyes were blurry, but she still saw a few heads turn to her. They sat cross-legged, still accepting the legacies of these crystals. She imagined there were faces with more derision or shock at how far she''s come.


    "34% cell damage, Kimarya"


    She felt nothing of her body besides the jarring feeling similar to electricity sloshing back and forth in waves through her bones. If it wasn''t for this, she likely wouldn''t have been able to walk this far with how numb her flesh was. She only got closer to a small group of people before falling to one knee. She didn''t pass anyone, but she knew she couldn''t stand up and walk much further.


    The sound of a snort made its way into her ears. At first, she was shocked that she could hear anything besides the blood pumping inside her head and her heart laboring. This made her mad. Pulling at all the strength she had in her body, she tried to stand. Her legs suddenly gave out, and she completely fell to the ground. Humiliation, she felt indignant. I only wanted to get close to this group and ,show them she could do as much as them with no cultivation.


    She looked to her side, and a short and shiny green crystal was within reach. Within reach was a way to end this challenge and her torture. She kept staring into the deep green crystal. Was it mocking her, too?


    Her indignation only grew. She wasn''t ready to give up. She couldn''t accept this situation.


    "Kimarya¡­ 34% cell damage"


    She couldn''t accept this result. She only needed 10 more steps to reach those bastards laughing at her.


    Her body suddenly shook. The pressure on her skin, organs, bones, and cells immediately alleviated itself.


    As this pressure left, her chest grew incredibly warm.


    Her eyes grew clear, and the crowded faces mocking her disappeared. She saw only one of them with a mocking smile. The others were mostly indifferent, and even a couple had worried looks.


    "Weird? What''s going on?" The pain was gone. It felt like the air grew less heavy. The mind-numbing pain from this field of crystals was no longer debilitating.


    "Kimarya, the hazardous radiation isn''t affecting you as much as before! Unknown bodily function was triggered, and the duration of the effect is unknown."


    Kimarya shakily got to her feet. She wiped the blood from her under her eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.


    She walked forward. The air and her body still resisted, but it was nowhere as difficult or painful as before.


    Ten steps. She stopped next to the fellow who had caused the snort and derision. She said, "Thank you. I probably would have given up were it not for your kind encouragement." There was a mocking smile on her face.


    She ignored the rest, made eye contact with the two who were worried about her, and gave a small nod of her head before continuing forward.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Moving between towering crystal outcrops. She found some people in meditative stances too busy incorporating their crystals to notice her.


    She later saw a corpse, and her breath was stuck in her throat. She looked towards his face, and it wasn''t anyone she knew. She still froze in shock, she''s never seen so many horrible things.


    "34.7% cell damage"


    She turned another corner and saw a very bloody Dara in a corner with a radiant smile on her face as she had her hand pressed against a crystal, her eyes closed. Her heart grew warm at seeing that she was mostly okay and that she had made it this far. She would continue and not distract her until she saw her nose twitch and opened her eyes. Shock immediately painted itself on her face! "K-Kimarya?! You need to get back from here.The pressure from this will kill you."


    "Wait, how did you even make it this far? I almost died getting here!" She glanced at the blood on Kimarya''s body and sleeve. "You aren''t ok, but you shouldn''t be this casual, so deep into this!"


    Kimarya responded," I don''t know what happened. I reached my limit earlier, and suddenly, all the pain and pressure fell off of my body. It''s still hard, like I''m walking under a waterfall, but it''s manageable."


    Dara mumbled to herself and then asked, "Your chest, does it have something to do with your chest?" "My what-?" Kimarya lifted her shirt and saw that underneath her skin, a glowing green and brown circle was present.


    "There''s a glowing circle at the center of my chest under my skin!" Dara responded, "That''s it; you somehow activated your Heart Spirit!"


    "You don''t have too long, especially if this is your first time. Leerum shouldn''t be too far if you go further, and he''d help you get back safely!"


    Kimarya nodded her head and sped up her pace.


    She walked 23 more steps in a winding path between crystals, and before she saw four silhouettes up ahead, one of which was Leerum!


    As soon as she turned the corner, all three turned around. Shock immediately showed itself on Leerum''s face. The other three frowned.


    "How did this trash make it this far? Don''t tell me her parents are helping her cheat."


    "It would make sense, considering she lived through the first trial and even got the trashy ape with no cultivation."


    "You, what treasure are you using to make it this far? If you let me reach the nexus, I can overlook your cheating and not report it to the elders!


    "Kimarya, go back¡­ it''s not safe over here¡­" Leerum whispered.


    Kimarya looked closely at Leerum and saw blood leaking from his lips. He looks exhausted. She also looked at the other three, who looked equally haggard as Leerum. She looked ahead and saw a red haze in front of the four people.


    Alastair roared, "How dare you ignore me! Hand over the treasure, and I won''t report this to the elders!"


    Zeal snorted and looked at him with disdain. Leerum flinched but moved to get between Alastair and Kimarya before he said, "You need to go! Whatever item you are using, he might take it, and you''ll die from the pressure of this area. Pick a crystal and go!"


    Zeal snorted once more and turned away before selecting an exceptionally bright crystal on the outskirts of the red haze in the center of this treacherous domain. The other two people looked at her, blood running from their eyes, making them look terrifying. She could see the temptation in their eyes before they glanced at Leerum. She frowned and said, "Alright, I''ll hand it to you!" Alastair was surprised and smirked toward Leerum, "Nice try, worm, she knows better." He continued, "Girl, I''ll help you get a good crystal for making the right choice, hehehe."


    She walked towards Alastair. She saw the two people with Alastair and Leerum glance at each other, then shook their heads after looking at Alastair before choosing their own crystals nearby. They couldn''t endure this pressure, knowing they couldn''t take the treasure. She knew it. They would try nothing against the overwhelming Alastair.


    Leerum frowned with a confused look, but he got out of Kimarya''s way. Looking at him as she passed, she winked. His face paled, and before he could get out a word, he coughed up a mouthful of blood. She stopped and told him to choose a crystal before walking in front of Alastair and handing him something. He smugly smiled before rage filled his face. He looked up but saw that Kimarya had already dashed into the red haze. He still didn''t take one step forward, even though he was fuming with rage as he threw the dirty stone in his hand to the ground.


    He wasn''t an idiot with a death wish. He wouldn''t dare follow her into that.


    Leerum, who looked back right at that moment as he touched a crystal, shouted, "KIMARYA NOOO!"


    Immediately after she saw all white, she screamed so hard her vocal cords might have even torn. Every part of her consumed her consciousness with unimaginable pain. Dreadful pain, she couldn''t even escape to unconsciousness to escape from it.


    She writhed on the floor, making guttural screams.


    "56% cell damage KIMARYA. GET BACK OUT OF THIS!"


    Sasquatch said, "Huhuhu. Let this great one help you with smacking some stupid child faces."


    Light shone and covered Kimarya from head to toe.


    Kimarya''s eyes, wet with blood, could see. She once again had control of her body. She knew her clothes were drenched with blood. She was just now uncontrollably vomiting blood till now.


    Sasquatch interrupted her, "This magnificent one can''t maintain this transformation for long. Get the crystal!"


    She woke up from her daze and, with long strides, reached the crystal. It was tiny, blood-red, and had golden light at its core.


    As she touched the crystal, everything went dark!

 Chapter 14: Vision of Doom

    Kimarya opened her eyes. She was in a city of stone and wood. Smelled the saltiness of the ocean in the cool breeze on her face. She tried to turn her head in confusion at the scenery change but found that she had no control of her body as if she was an observer stuck in her own head. Kimarya stood between pillars reaching the sky, holding up a wooden roof.


    There were no walls. She saw ?she was high up. It seemed to be some sort of ancient temple up on a hill.


    She thought, ''Is this the vision the Great Elder Shamaner mentioned?''


    Her body moved on its own. She even heard her own voice in her head talking to Sunny about this temple. This was a very bizarre feeling, very different from when Sunny or Sasquatch took over her body. When moments like those have happened, she can always feel deep down that she can override them if she truly needs to.


    She kept gazing at this temple; she saw many hieroglyphic-like inscriptions on the floor and crawled up the massive columns. Kimarya could feel Sunny answering affirmatively to the Kimarya of this vision and scanning them. She wondered if she could communicate with them. She started yelling, "Sunny, Me-Kimarya, Sasquatch, can any of you hear me?"


    She tried this repeatedly, but her vision self and Sunny continued doing what they were doing, utterly oblivious to her many attempts.


    Suddenly, she heard a snoring sound louder than Kimarya''s and Sunny''s. The snoring sound suddenly stopped. "Hmm, how odd? You''re Kimarya, yet you aren''t my Kimarya. What is going on?"


    "Huhuhu, I thought I felt someone knew in this occupied head. Please explain to this great and powerful and oh-so-magnificent one, what seems to happening right now?"


    Kimarya, both surprised and elated, said, "Sasquatch, I was just in the Veil Stone selection, and I touched the centermost crystal, and I''m in a vision right now! Why am I being shown this? Can they hear you responding to me?"


    Sasquatch responded, "Huhuhu, this great one already knew this, just testing you! This magnificent and omnipotent one knows everything! No, this great one had to make some efforts to respond to you." When Kimarya heard this, she wanted to facepalm so hard but ultimately couldn''t.


    "Stop playing around. Please communicate with myself and have her help her past self-----"


    Suddenly, she felt the most dreadful feeling of danger she had ever experienced, something that was completely incomparable to the Hyena and Murder Crow. It felt like every single one of her cells was screaming. She felt as if she was utterly insignificant. Like she was less than even an ant before some primal colossus looming above that seemed to push some dreadful formless pressure against her intent on pulverizing her.


    She felt completely and utterly trapped!


    Sunny screamed, "RUN NOW! DREADFUL EXISTENCE! LESS THAN 0.0009% CHANCE OF SURVIVAL!


    Sasquatch shouted in her head in a voice so booming and more agitated than she ever heard him, "GET OUT! TURN AROUND AND WHATEVER YOU DO, DON''T LOOK AT IT!"


    It was too late.


    When someone tells you not to look at something, especially in a stressful situation, few people can be so disciplined to gain control of their body within less than a split second of your brain interpreting a message telling you to not look at something dangerous? Her chin rose, and her glazed eyes finally focused on the massive city. Then, past the city was the crimson sea mirroring the equally red and orange skies painted by the sunset.


    Except she saw a massive blotch in her vision. At first, she thought it was a smudge on her eyeball, maybe a hair or particle getting stuck in her eye. She thought perhaps a cloud or even a mountain range rising from the sea before she finally realized that it was a creature so massive her eyes were incapable of totally encompassing its entirety and recognizing it as a living being. How could something so massive exist? It clicked in her head at that second. Her brain whirred into complete awakeness as the shapes made sense. It was a colossal body with what appeared to be two massive appendages at its front. Appendages appeared to be scythe-like arms whose sharpness even pricked her eyes when she stared directly at them. Each arm-like appendage seemed to be big enough to dwarf an aircraft carrier, its massive body behind it pushed forward as if trying to tear the ocean in half. Its forward momentum creating massive waves in its wake. Its upper body pushed forward out of the sea and what appeared to be 6 colossal legs that could shoulder the skies and a seemingly infinitely long underbody shaking the ocean and threatening the skies as it broke the surface of the seas.


    Kimarya heard Sasquatch shout, "GET OUT NOW OR YOU WON''T HAVE A CHANCE TO ESCAPE IT!!!".


    Kimarya felt this moment to be the most dangerous moment of her life. She heard herself respond to Sasquatch, and she still couldn''t understand how a gigantic and slow creature more than 300 miles away would warrant her need to escape at this moment.


    "It will be on top of this peninsula in less than 2 minutes, so you need to move right now. It''s faster than its size would make you think!"


    She looked back at the monstrous fiend, and somehow, it seemed much bigger and closer than she had thought just a moment ago.


    Sunny and Sasquatch simultaneously shouted, "RUN!" Kimarya''s body ignited with energy rampaging from within her core. Blasts of air assaulted the area around her as her hair rose up.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    She pressed the red button on her wrist and, from within her ring of storage, shot out a golden box that sprang open towards her, and its contents connected to her light armor and fully encompassed her. Four long metallic appendages formed on her back, the back two slightly longer and more sturdy than the front pair. What caught Kimarya''s eye as she observed her vision self do all of this was when a computer chip came out magically from her chest, flew to the back of this golden suit, and landed on the protective spinal area of this suit.


    **Fight or flight mode activated**


    Kimarya turned and dived off the side of the temple, the exact opposite side of the monster. She did this with zero hesitation regardless of the city looming hundreds of feet over where she was as her tactical suit transformed into a sleek wingsuit as the appendages retracted.


    She could hear herself mutter, "My cultivation doesn''t yet allow me to fly. But I prepared this suit for the meantime. Stutter step isn''t quite as effective on the ocean or quick in this environment." She glided around spires. She saw people stunned by the pressure emanating from the monster as she screamed, "There''s a monster coming. Run!"


    She didn''t look back.


    She knew she could barely escape herself, let alone save others. Kimarya quickly saw the edge of the city before Sasquatch said, "Escape towards the sea. The land route is closer to it. Just go straight into the ocean!"


    She altered her direction slightly, seeking to fly directly off the side of the city and into the ocean. Kimarya muttered, "It''s been like two minutes. Is it really here?"


    She made the mistake of turning her head to the side. She felt her heart skip a beat as she saw its colossal form towering over the town and even the gigantic temple overlooking the city. It stopped, and she finally saw that the surrounding haze around it was millions of tiny tentacles moving all over. She saw powerful cultivators shouting as they flew up to it and immediately got impaled by these vicious tentacles.


    There was no chance of resistance. It was as if they were less than flies to it, as it ignored them as the gigantic head looked down directly at the temple.


    A voice rolled out like a wave from this monster, totally inhuman and colder than any she could imagine. "Lesser beings, cherish the honor to be consumed by me¡­..DIE!"


    The tentacles grew still for a second before they impaled all the cultivators high in the sky and made their way to the city. At that moment, Kimarya finally flitted over the peninsula''s edge and towards the water below. Her heart was beating so fast she was sure it would explode! She crashed into the water.


    **Adapting to aquatic escape mode, mimicking the most efficient form for this environment**


    The wingsuit reassembled itself around her. The tough and spiky edges retracted to a smooth surface where water would not come in as she resurfaced. Oxygen was pulled inside of the two vacuums on her side. The form lengthened and resembled a sleek teardrop shape. The materials in front of her head grew pointed, and further behind her legs, a fish-like tail was formed.


    Above her body rose a blue-black dorsal fin. The suit changed color as its form resembled a Marlin! The form punched through the water as the body undulated in the sea. Its mighty tail went back and forth incredibly fast.


    She looked back again and saw tens of thousands of others dive off the cliff. Hundreds flew up into the sky. Resistance or fighting was impossible, so they tried to escape.


    Tentacles followed behind each of them. She even saw one coming directly for her, who was ahead of many.


    She dived further and pushed as much energy as possible into her suit to maximize its total output as her speed tripled.


    Yet even as she increased her speed more and more, she could still feel the tentacle locked onto her, rapidly following behind her. Those who tried to escape by flying were swiftly taken out by the tentacles in the air. They were quickly punctured through. Those were the ones with weak cultivations. On the other hand, those more robust and with much faster flying speed barely escaped into the horizon, carrying one or two loved ones or their disciples. There was not enough time for the rest of their families, friends, and loved ones. Just escape.


    Others who tried to swim like her seemed to have had better odds in the water, but ultimately, the drag of the water slowed them down, and the tentacle finally caught up and grabbed them. As she swam, she saw all the fish and sea life in the ocean; millions of them were frantically escaping in the same direction as her as she passed them. The roaring of the water couldn''t drown out their frantic sounds or even the people as they screamed in panic. She utilized her total cultivation, pushing to her absolute limits, and swam around those before her. She even weaved between massive fish in the area, trying their hardest to escape the horde of tentacles.


    Predators and prey alike fled, ignoring instincts as they fled a threat much bigger than the fears written into their blood by their ancestors. They all fled like one, an unending tide.


    Kimarya saw her vision self looking from side to side. She was confused about what she was looking for in such a dire moment when all she needed to do was flee as fast as possible.


    She jerked her head in the direction of a speeding blur, rampaging and smashing aside all the fish and people as it propelled through everything. Its speed was incredible as it cleaved through the water. The ancient corpse shark was the deadliest and most feared creature on these shores. Only blood followed as it rampaged through all things in its way. Kimarya''s eyes shined as she moved towards it. A vicious hook was being formed on the side of the suit. She immediately understood her plan; her future self planned to attach herself to the shark and hope it could escape with a plus one.


    Kimarya swam between large and small creatures as she made her way to the area it would soon pass through and was ready.


    As it came up below her, she shot the hook towards its rotting dorsal fin before it immediately caught on and immediately pulled her along.


    Spikes formed on her underside as the insane water resistance pushed her against its body. The hooks sunk in and the Marlin form immediately flattened out and sunk more and more hooks into its body to secure itself to its body.


    Her surroundings blurred, and the speed of this corpse shark was truly unbelievable as it fled in distress, using all of its fearsome might to get away from the monstrous existence back in the town, extinguishing the lives of all living beings.


    Sunny said, "Chance of escape, 90%." Kimarya responded, "I think we will finally be able to get away!"


    Sasquatch interrupted," Just to let you know, we have company. Apparently, the past version of yourself witnessed all of this as a vision." Kimarya started to feel the vision begin to weaken and grow light. She quickly shouted, "Ask her about the microchip! Have Sunny give me the data to make it! The vision is ending!"

 Chapter 15: Deadly Seed Mission pt. 1

    Future Kimarya¡¯s face scrunched up with confusion and surprise.First, because Sasquatch told her that her past self was with them, and second, because she knew exactly what her past self meant¡ªthe microchip! The microchip was the most significant focus of her other life before she passed into this new world.


    She was a materials engineer who specialized in microchips and nanotechnology.


    ¡°Sunny, prepare a backup file for the microchip!¡±


    Sasquatch quickly interjected unusually seriously, ¡°Kimarya, you can¡¯t just mess with time so easily like this! Allow this handsome and magnificent one to seal dangerous information that would hurt more than help. I¡¯ll even leave a little gift or two, huhuhuh.¡±


    Kimarya tried to smile in relief but forgot she was still a disembodied observer in her future self¡¯s body. ¡°Thank you so much! Tell her I said thank you!¡±


    ------Kimarya woke up with a huge but distorted smile as she lay in bed.She thought, ¡°I barely managed to make it back after the vision ended, but I lived!¡±


    PAIN.


    She was in so much pain, not just from her body but much deeper than that. This was a pain that came from her soul.She lay back in her bed and closed her eyes. A bright, glowing spot appeared inside her mind. This was the source of her smiling. Yesterday, she fully expected to wake up from her vision with nothing.But she had indeed benefited a lot from her horrifying vision.Inside this glowing white object in her mind was so much information that it made her head ache.


    When she focused on it for a few moments, she saw instructions for making the computer chip with detailed notes, bizarre schematics, and names of materials!


    Crystalline Fireflake Sand, Stormlight Marble, Electric Jade ,Everstone Five Metals, Skyfall Metal, Green River Ocean Sand, Heavenly Coal from a spiritual tree struck by lightning,


    Kimarya saw her future self¡¯s notes emphasize that she had a long process in identifying and even creating materials similar to those used to process and create all the components for a superconductor graphene chip.


    Apparently, with the magical materials here, she could make something that could outperform all the chips from the futuristic world she came from.


    She saw that in her notes. It took her almost three years of experimentation and research to develop these schematics.It also discusses ¡°Dao life Soul Embryo,¡± a special technique in which cultivators merge a weapon, shield, armor, or tool with their souls.


    It¡¯s known as the Dao Life Soul Embryo. It goes into the item and merges it with your soul, so this object will grow in strength, matching your own.The only items that can become a soul item are those built explicitly by the individual.


    No one can give someone an entirely created powerful item they can immediately make into a soul item.


    The biggest limiting factor is that energy levels do not match the strength of the individual and soul resonance with the item.When someone creates an item, the level of attention, focus, thoughts, emotions, and energy used to make it are major factors in its growing resonance with its creator.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Soul items face two major restrictions. The first is that the item must have energy levels that the owner can handle, so the energy jades used to power the item in construction cannot be higher than their level.The second restriction is that the item must have a certain level of resonance with the owner.


    The instructions said she could have her teacher process the materials, but she would need to do the entire process herself.She would need to cut the formed graphene crystal into a square to keep connections as short as possible.She must mix special liquid solutions to form a coating and process each step.


    Luckily, the more complex aspects, like etching, can be done later after the chip is created. She only needs to create the physical chip.Exposure resistance, Development, Etching, Coating, Baking 9 times, Gate contact, Vacuum Baking, Acid Bath, and--Her frenzied thoughts were interrupted when she heard knocking at her door.


    ¡°Kimarya, it¡¯s us, Dara and Leerum!¡±After struggling to stand up and unlock her door, she was able to let Dara and Leerum into her room.


    She looked at Dara and Leerum, and boy, they looked rough¡ªworse than how she felt!


    ¡°You look awful,¡± all three said at once before Dara and Kimarya burst out laughing. Leerum stood there with a bitter smile and rolled his eyes.Dara hugged Kimarya and asked, ¡°You had us so worried! How.. How did you do that?¡±


    Kimarya shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know, it was all a blur..¡± Leerum shook his head. ¡°That was too risky! You even offended Alistair with that trick. He is way too petty and will try to get revenge for how you humiliated him!¡±Leerum badly tried to hide an immature smile before continuing, "He deserved it, but it was not smart!"Dara waved her hand to dismiss his worry. ¡°If he wants to go after you, he has to make it through me!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your big sister will protect you!¡±Kimarya smiled in appreciation. Dara really was too nice.¡°It¡¯s still hard to believe that the Great Elder Shamener picked you as his disciple!¡±


    Dara shook her head before saying, ¡°Considering she managed to get the prime crystal embryo, that¡¯s not the hard-to-believe part of this. The hard-to-believe part is that someone who has yet to cultivate their power managed to beat everyone else!!¡±Kimarya, attempting to change the topic, asked, ¡°After all the elders picked a disciple, they mentioned that we need to get ready for the Seed event?¡±


    Leerum looked at her before explaining, ¡°The elders will be giving us guidance and basic training to prepare us for the Seed event.¡±¡°After we all returned from the Veil Crystal zone, they each picked a disciple representing their factions as our clans vie for benefits.¡±With the Seed event, we will all receive a stronghold seed and be sent to a distant land that is being contested by various powers worldwide.These stronghold seeds are powerful mystical artifacts that, once planted, will grow into a small stronghold for each participant that will grow based on the resources you can accumulate.


    After growing, each stronghold has basic functions of primary defenses, various essential buildings, and a contribution portal. So, you will put valuable resources on the altar, and it will measure its value before teleporting it to the clan. Resources like energy jades, crystals, unique metals, mystical ores, rare herbs, and any resource of value.At the end of each month, there will be a ranking list of those with the most contributions. Our young generation will remain in this far-off location for several years, growing in power, accumulating resources, and conquering towns and cities near us from scratch. Alone.We compete against each other and are measured for our resourcefulness, leadership, power, and abilities.They have prepared a few unique resources for us to compete for. Still, overall, we will essentially be alone, with our lives and destinies in our own hands.


    We have 2 months to prepare and receive teaching from the elders who took us in as disciples. We are not allowed to take treasures from our families, only resources we can obtain with the prizes given to us for the challenges we have passed.


    ¡°..... This is absolutely insane..¡± muttered Kimarya.She asked, ¡°We¡¯ll all be thrown into some undeveloped zone together and forced to take over everything and everyone around us?!??¡±Leerum kept silent for a moment. ¡°Worse. We will all be alone. Separated from each other by a considerable distance to build up our own strongholds...¡±


    ¡°.... Can I just opt out of this?¡± Asked Kimarya.¡°No, we can¡¯t,¡± replied Dara.¡°We came here because you REALLY need to start cultivating your martial power. You don¡¯t have much time!¡±

 Chapter 16: Deadly Seed Mission (Pt. 2)

    ¡°We will all be alone for some time before we are allowed to teleport to central ports to trade and make contact with each other.¡± Said Leerum.


    ¡°You have to understand that EVERYONE is a cultivator but you! You have only 2 months to break into the awakening realm, so you have a sliver of a chance to survive. I¡¯ve assessed everyone¡¯s level, and the average cultivator being sent on this mission is usually in the Awakened realm Rank 2 middle stage.


    Every realm of cultivation has three stages: rank 1 early stage, rank 2 mid-stage, and rank 3 late stage between each realm.


    Awakened realm Rank 2 is the absolute minimum to survive missions to gather resources and expand your stronghold.


    Elites or those with great talent, Awakened realm rank 3, and the super elites have barely reached the Transcended realm Rank 1.


    I¡¯m at the Awakened realm rank 3, and Dara is only a step away from reaching the Transcended realm. Zeal and Alastair have just reached the Transcended realm a day after getting their Veil Crystals.


    Your talent is above theirs, so you have a significant chance to break into the Awakened realm before being sent off to the mission, but you need to start fast!


    You will probably first meet with your master Shamaner today. He is a super powerful nominal elder and tree demon! So, he specializes in medicinal and cultivation pills, pastes, and crafting.


    After Leerum and Dara left, Kimarya was once again alone¡­ At least as much as someone with two voices in her head could be.


    She shivered as if a cold wind was assaulting her as she remembered all that had happened to her. The terrible Murder Crow, her seeing someone die horribly for the first time ever in the Veil Crystal challenge. But worst of all, she couldn¡¯t get the image of that horrible existence in the vision she had out of her head. She swore to herself that she would never go to that city on the sea and meet that thing again.


    She started shaking as tears began to swell in her eyes. Suddenly, her body stopped moving. Her shaking did not stop by itself; her whole body couldn¡¯t move any more!


    She rose again in the air, the familiar floating feeling as if the entire sky tightly wrapped around her but much more gently than before.


    Kimarya heard Grothie¡¯s steely voice say, ¡°You survived. ¡±


    ¡±I have decided not to erase your existence... The scars of your challenge have joined with you¡­you did well.¡±


    ¡°As those young ones have stated, you have two months to cultivate your martial power. I have decided to awaken your third eye and leave you with the sacred cultivation technique I have set aside for my little one. The ties of Karma are already there¡­ and I don¡¯t disprove of your weak and sentimental conduct.¡±


    ¡°Remember that kindness and a soft heart will always be punished eventually. Sometimes death is all one can find when trying to save weak fools when you do not have sufficient power.¡±


    ¡°Reaching Awakened Rank 2 is the lowest bar possible to survive the Seed missions of our people. You need to grow fast and stable and claw out every benefit and resource. Fail to do that, and you will always be prey to fate and all those underneath it. A string of bad luck or even just one mistake is enough for you to be consumed.¡±


    ¡°It''s clear you have not¡­faced many challenges. The Murder Crow, dreadful as a species, the one you encountered was barely still a hatchling.¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°Remember this, mercy is only for the strong.¡±


    Her consciousness started fading as she heard Grothie mutter, ¡°How is this possible?¡± in shock.


    Later that day, she was woken up by a slow and measured knock on her door. It was Shamaner


    She struggled to her feet and opened the door. She saw this very tall and lanky Elder with wild green hair and a dazzlingly kind and earnest smile who said to her, ¡°Hello, little one! Your performance was astonishing! I hope you are feeling well?¡±


    Kimarya, with difficulty, smiled and said, ¡°Yes, great Elder. I am in a bit of pain, but I¡¯m well.¡±


    Shamaner shook his head, still smiling.


    ¡°No need to be so proper, young one. Here, take this pill and follow me.¡±


    Kimarya picked up the small round white pill from his hand and swallowed it.


    Suddenly, her stomach grew very warm to the point it was almost painful. Her aching body suddenly didn¡¯t ache half as much as before!


    She stomped on the ground and barely felt any slight discomfort.


    ¡°This pill is amazing!¡±


    He nodded, put his hands behind his back, and started walking away. Kimarya quickly followed behind him through this area with few buildings. She passed by beautiful stone and wood buildings. Each building was made from red granite-like stone with a unique combination of wood to outline each floor. There were many wooden poles sticking out of the walls and a triangle-shaped rook made out of wood.


    Some trees looked like massive oaks all over the area.


    Finally, they reached their destination, a clearing with lots of vegetation around and a massive building in the center.


    ¡°Welcome to my herbal garden!¡±


    Suddenly, it was as if she had walked into a soft wall of aroma that seemed to energize her and remove almost all her discomfort.


    The plants were of many colors, as if a painter randomly painted the diverse plants with random colors at their whim.


    She noticed that the Elder kept walking into the building, and she quickly caught up.


    Inside, she saw many cauldrons, some of different shapes and all with beautiful patterns all over.


    She saw drying herbs all along the walls, which swayed and moved as the frequent breeze came through the building''s many holes and entrances.


    There was a short table in the center with many large stones around it, an ancient-looking jade teapot with steam coming out, and cups around it.


    Shamaner sat down behind the table.


    ¡°Welcome, Draeneoy. It''s this old one¡¯s pleasure to have you here.¡±


    ¡°This is amazing! How do the cauldrons work?¡±


    Shamaner smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m not one who is strict when it comes to authority, but customs are very important to me, little one.¡±


    Suddenly, she remembered something Leerum mentioned on the rite of disciple and master, and she quickly kowtowed her head, touching the ground three times.


    She picked up the teapot and poured him some tea before returning to do two more kowtows.


    ¡°Grandmaster Shamaner, will you accept me as your disciple?¡±


    He picked up the tea and sipped three times before putting the cup down. Then he picked up the kettle before pouring tea into a cup he slid towards the seat opposite him.


    ¡°Draeneoy, do you swear to never share my teachings unless given my explicit permission?¡±


    ¡°I do!¡±


    ¡°Draeneoy, do you swear to always respect and honor your master?¡±


    ¡°I do!¡±


    ¡°Draeneoy, do you swear to do no evil and bring harm to the balance of the world?¡±


    ¡°I do!¡±


    ¡°Draeneoy, as your master and guide, I swear to have an ocean¡¯s worth of patience for you. I swear to respect your dignity and not lead you astray to disrespect your parents, family, clan, and tribe.¡±


    ¡°You poured tea for me as a stranger; now rise as my disciple and drink.¡±


    Kimarya felt overwhelmed by the emotions of this rite of passage. She sat up on the stone table next to it and drank the tea in the cup.


    At first, it was very bitter for half a second before it was sweet.


    ¡°Now, we don¡¯t have much time until the seed mission; please show me all your items!¡±


    Kimarya handed her ring of storage to Shamaner. ¡°I can¡¯t yet access it, master Shamaner.¡±


    ¡°Please call me Shamaner when we are alone, little one!¡±


    ¡°Sorry!¡±


    His hands started to shine lightly before several items came out of thin air. He looked over them before pausing over the old rusty cauldron.


    ¡°I¡¯m very curious as to why you picked this cauldron?¡±


    Kimarya responded, ¡°I don¡¯t know, I sort of just felt that I really needed to have it.¡±


    Shamaner nodded, ¡°Interesting. Are you interested in crafting items?¡±


    Kimarya thought about her job in her other life and nodded.


    Shamaner continued, ¡°It is old and likely has one use left, but I recommend practicing on another.¡±


    He waved his hand, and a cauldron in the corner of the room rose into the air and hovered in front of Kumara.


    ¡°You can have this one!¡±

 Chapter 17: To craft a soul relic

    She also remembered the message from her future self telling her to form a soul relic BEFORE she breaks into the first stage, Awakening.


    ¡°Senior, I want to make my Soul Relic before I break into the Awakening realm!¡±


    Shamaner was stunned. ¡°You said you want to craft a soul relic before you become a cultivator? That would be a terrible waste!¡±


    ¡°You can only use energy jades similar to your level within the item, and there are no energy jades for a mundane.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already impressive that you made it through the first two stages of our rite of passage with zero cultivation base, but you wouldn¡¯t be able to make a weapon with anything but the most fragile materials, and it would not be enchanted. This would give you the worst-performing weapons and shields that would be useless after going past a realm or two!¡±


    ¡°I know, senior, but I¡¯m not making a weapon or a shield.¡±


    She remembered the instructions her future self left her and continued. ¡°I want to make an amulet but use specific materials to inherit specific resistances from making that Item into a soul relic. I want to take advantage of the side benefit of the relic to gain specific elemental resistances from the materials.¡±


    Shamaner paused before asking, ¡°Are you sure? The soul can only bond with three soul items. You can¡¯t get back this use¡­¡±


    Kimarya nodded with resolution, ¡°Please help me, senior!¡±


    ¡°... Alright, what materials will you need? I will make them my gift to you for becoming my disciple.¡±


    Kimarya quickly listed, ¡° I will need Crystalline Fireflake Sand, Stormlight Marble, Electric Jade, Everstone Five Metals, Skyfall metal, Green River Ocean Sand, and Heavenly Coal from a spiritual tree struck by lightning. I will also need glacial essence and Dao water."


    Shamaner was silent for a minute as he referenced his knowledge of what could be created with these materials.


    He suddenly laughed, shaking his head, ¡°You are a very interesting disciple!¡±


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.¡°Very well, I will get these materials for you. Seems you already have knowledge of crafting!¡±


    She looked away while nodding, feeling uncomfortable about not being 100% honest with her teacher.¡±


    ¡°They are things I¡¯ve read and heard people discussing!¡± Technically, this wasn''t a lie since this is how her future self studied and experimented to gain this knowledge, right?


    Shamaner nodded, ¡°I gave you this special mundane cauldron. Here is a manual on how to practice with it. I forbid you to practice with it outside of this space. It can be dangerous for beginners, understand?¡±


    Kimarya nodded her head, ¡°Yes, senior!¡±


    ¡°Since you are going to begin cultivation after forming your Soul Relic, I will prepare special cultivation pills using the flesh, marrow, and heart of the Murder Crow, I do not advise waiting so long to start, but I will do this for you.¡±


    Later that day, Shamaner led her to the village library, where she saw many books on a massive variety of subjects and helped her choose books on the ingredients she had chosen.


    She decided she would need to come back there and record as much information as possible within Sunny¡¯s database.


    After the library, they went to the village¡¯s storage to pick up the materials she would need. ¡°You will need to spend as much time as possible with them and get to feel the properties of these materials.¡±


    ¡°Every day, you will practice with the cauldron before training your body and getting used to your new weapons. Behind my herbal garden is a training area. I will teach you a few basic weapon techniques, and you can practice them on your own before I test you every two days.¡±


    The next day, Kimarya woke up early and returned to the herbal garden. She looked carefully at all the herbs and took in the strong aroma of these medicinal plants as she made her way to the building.


    She cupped her fist with a short bow to the waiting Shamaner. ¡°Greetings, senior.¡±


    ¡°Welcome, let us begin!¡±


    ¡°This is called the Mundane cauldron. It is a cauldron for artisans who are not yet cultivators. You can insert energy jades to operate it and put your hands on these crystals on its front to connect to it. Just visualize and command it to do what you wish. It has very limited functions. It can only burn to ash, melt minor magic metals, and shred things into powder.¡±


    ¡°Insert a jade here, place your hands on these two base crystals on its front, and burn this piece of wood. It may take a few tries for you to get the hang of it.¡±


    Kimarya was extremely excited and did as Shamaner instructed her. After inserting the jade into a little compartment, she heard it begin to hum. She sat cross-legged and placed the wood into the square cauldron, made of an odd dark stone, in front of her.

 Chapter 18: Overclock

    When she placed her hands on the crystals, she gasped, feeling as if she had a connection with the cauldron. She could feel every corner of it; it was almost like a turbulent out-of-body experience, where her consciousness was in her body yet encompassing the entire cauldron!


    She willed it to burn; she visualized a raging flame in her mind, and suddenly, a ball of flames coalesced underneath the wood, and it quickly caught on fire on the bottom of the cauldron!


    Shamaner was incredibly excited, and it seemed evident that his rash disciple had a great innate talent for crafting. Usually, it takes an entire day before someone can connect and even control it to make a spark! He made sure not to let his excitement show on his face.


    It''s best to be careful with geniuses like this; arrogance can often limit their potential and creativity.


    Kimarya looked up, smiling, ¡°I got it on my first try!¡±


    Shamaner kept a straight face and said, ¡°Not bad, not bad, but you should be able to control a flame to surround the entire piece of wood to burn it equally; your control of the flame is way too uneven!¡±


    ¡°Keep practicing and try to maintain an even flame surrounding the object. It also doesn¡¯t have to rest on the bottom of the cauldron. Visualize a hand reaching forward and holding the wood in the air, and it will float.¡±


    You will need to split your attention to make the item inside float and apply an even flame, covering it entirely. You have until the end of the day to be able to do both things for longer than it takes an incense stick to burn.


    Shamaner knew this goal was impossible, but he already saw a frustrating look in her eyes and knew he had to prevent her from becoming arrogant. Usually, it takes multiple days for those with high talent to control object manipulation and basic flame control. It¡¯s best she gets disappointed, so she can always work hard and try her best!


    Shamaner left many pieces of wood with her and left.


    Kimarya was astounded. This cauldron allowed her to do telekinesis within it! She was able to make the piece of wood spin and float up and down shortly after her master left. I wonder if I can make a weapon out of this exact mechanism. There are so many things I could do with this concept!


    She continued experimenting with the cauldron and learned that if she focused on a tiny particular spot, she could zoom in on the item like a cheap microscope! Although it gave her a massive headache the closer she zoomed in, she realized that making the quantum chip would be much easier than she imagined!Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Sunny, uhh, how long does it take for an incense stick to burn, like a minute or something?¡±


    ¡°No, it takes approximately 25 minutes on average.¡±


    Kimarya gritted her teeth, making the flame underneath for 30 seconds already took significant focus from her.


    She focused again on the wood piece and floated it in the middle of the cauldron, then concentrated on making a flame shroud the entire thing.


    It took several seconds for the fire to burn around the top of the log, but before she made it grow to the sides, the wood had already turned to ashes.


    She used the tools she got from Shamaner and cleaned the cauldron before adding another wood piece.


    She focused on weakening the flames, but they had holes all over before she suddenly lost focus when the log split into three pieces after 2 minutes.


    She tried it in many different ways, finding newer problems each time. The flame was too thin, missing patches all over, and she focused too much on controlling the flames, which caused the log to hit the sides.


    But after each try, something in her head started hurting. It was like she was utilizing a part of her brain or a muscle to control this cauldron.


    Sunny suddenly said, ¡°I have identified the part of the brain that interacts with this magical tool. Do you want me to isolate and stimulate this region to strengthen and make your control more efficient?¡±


    Kimarya absentmindedly said, ¡°Sure, go ahead,¡± and tried to keep focusing on controlling the flames and levitation of the wood before she felt a scorching hot pain in her head that felt as if it was being stabbed by millions of needles.


    She almost collapsed to the floor before it ended as quickly as it came.


    ¡°Sorry, Kimarya. I am still not accustomed to this body''s monstrous vitality. Adjustments to the body usually take days and weeks, not mere moments!¡±


    Kimarya sat down to catch her breath, trying to massage her head, but she obviously failed to reach the sore spot in her head.


    Annoyed, Kimarya sat upright and held onto the cauldron until she was steady. ¡°Maybe we can do adjustments when I¡¯m asleep!¡± she said in her head.


    She placed her hands on the crystal and suddenly perceived the log and the cauldron with astounding vividness!


    It was as if it were a phantom limb of hers. She could perceive so much more of the cauldron and could feel and see so much detail on the log!


    She could see how dense it was, with thin and thick spots across it. With a single thought, she could control it to be perfectly steady and even anchor it in the air after visualizing a dozen hands holding it in place from all directions.


    She focused on making fire around it, and the log got incinerated in just a few seconds as a massive flame explosively filled the entire cauldron; even its sides started shining from the intense heat. She flinched and dove backward, scared it would blow up in her face.


    ¡°What the hell!¡± screamed Kimarya.


    Shamaner dropped the teacup in his hand, his jaw hitting the floor in shock, ¡°What the hell!¡±


    Kimarya asked Sunny in her head, ¡°Did I just overclock this cauldron?¡±


    Shamaner suddenly appeared in the room next to her, asking, ¡°What did you just do?¡±