《The Villain's Sword Is Sharp》 Chapter 1: Sect Trials Begin Chapter 1: Sect Trials Begin "Listen up you short bastards, I''m not going to repeat myself!" A tough, well-built man with a bushy beard stared at a crowd of 14 and 15 year old kids. They were in the middle of a snowy forest, all wearing fur coats but still shivering in the bitter cold. "This is the first of your 3 trials. If you wish to join our glorious sect, you must pass each of them. Of course, you can quitter, but... let me just say you won''t get another chance. Our sect has no use for quitters." As kids who had been born in the sect and brought up in its boarding school, everyone had already seen some of their friends taken away, never to return... "Your first trial is this: you must escape the Frozen Forest and reach the vige north of here. If you arrive with less than half the people here, you fail. If you exceed the time limit of 3 days, you fail. If you can''t find the vige, you obviously fail. And as you can probably guess, our sect has no use for failures. That is all." Like a well trained group of soldiers, the children saluted and shouted in unison, "Glory to the sect!" The burly man gave a hint of a smile... then disappeared into thin air. This was the world of cultivators and Anima. Even a low ranking concealment-type Anima could help a cultivator disappear like this, so the children weren''t too surprised. Without wasting time, they gathered together to form a n. However, that only turned into a massive argument. "We need to leave now!" "Why are you in such a rush? We should explore and get a better idea of our surroundings." "He said the time limit is 3 days, so it probably takes a long time to reach the vige. We can''t waste time here!" "So what if there''s a time limit?! Spending half an hour looking around won''t make us fail. Besides, we need to look for signs of animals or Wild Beasts. It''ll be dangerous if we wander into their territory." In the end, they decided to quickly search the surroundings. They fanned out and everybody inspected a different area. Isaac Dahl was exploring quite far away from the clearing they started in. The trees were thick and he could easily get lost so sometimes he drew arrows in the snow to show which direction he came from. He had snow-white skin like most residents of the continent of Northern Tundra. Itplimented his sharp facial features and pale blue eyes which looked like two marbles made of ice. He was also very thin - it looked like he was malnourished. As he was searching, he found a small burrow at the bottom of a tree. After that, he found tiny footprints in the snow and a few other signs of arctic hares living nearby. In his memory, hares were the prey of wolves, arctic foxes, peregrine falcons and some of the weaker Rank 1 Wild Beasts. Any of those could pose a danger to the group, but Isaac couldn''t find signs of any of them so he just returned to the clearing. When everyone gathered back at the clearing, they reported their findings. "There were definitely signs of hares." "Yeah, I noticed that too." "I saw a hare dart back into its burrow." "I spotted w marks on a lot of trees, the bark waspletely scratched off. I think bigger animals live north of here." "w marks? If the bark''s been scratched off, it''s probably not foxes." "Its definitely wolves. We should avoid them." "What about the time limit? We can''t waste time going around the territory." "She''s right! Besides, the vige is north of here. If we go too far east or west we could miss it." Despite Isaac and a few others disagreeing, therge majority quickly decided to go through the wolves'' territory. There was no point splitting up, since they would still fail if less than 50 people made it to the vige. They all set off, and Isaac moved towards the back of the group so he could run if things got dangerous. A pack of 10 to 15 wolves didn''t frighten the group of youths. However, that all changed if the pack was led by a Rank 1 Wild Beast. Even though it was the lowest rank, a Wild Beast wasn''t somethingmoners could fight. Only Rank 1 and above cultivators could take on the ferocious might of a Wild Beast. Isaac looked around and spotted many others hanging near the back. They obviously had simr ideas to him and didn''t want to get trapped in the middle of the group if they were attacked. As they officially entered the wolves'' territory, Isaac sighed internally and prepared to meet any potential danger. It had snowedst night so the snow beneath their feet was especially deep. It made progress slow and difficult. They had been walking for 2 hours without making much headway before the boy next to Isaac started a conversation, "What''s your name? I''m Johansen, by the way, but you can call me Johan." Isaac stayed silent for a moment since he had no desire to make small talk. However, the snow-covered pine forest seemed to go on forever. The scenery never changed and nothing was happening despite being in wolf territory, so talking was the only thing to do. "I am Isaac." "What do you think about the trial? Since it''s called a trial, it should be testing something." "Survival skills and teamwork more than half of us have to pass through a forest filled with wolves." "Mm-hmm" Johan nodded in agreement and added, "I think decision making is a also a key point of the test. Do we search our starting area or not? Do we go around the wolves'' territory or through it? We don''t know how far the vige is, so how fast should we go to get there on time but without exhausting ourselves?" "... " Isaac paused for a moment and didn''t speak. He and most of the other trialees grew up in an area of the sect known as the ''farm''. However, Johan''s behaviour had been uncharacteristic of someone who''d lived there. For example, he looked unnatural when saluting the instructor, a mistake that would''ve been beaten out of you after a week in the farm. His speech was also friendly and informal, which was unusual in the farm. People who grew up outside the farm usually had powerful parents and some form of background, so Isaac tried to probe for Johan''s family name, "I wouldn''t mind making friends with somebody as smart as you. Whenever I make a new friend, I always like to reintroduce myself to them: my full name is Isaac Dahl, what''s yours?" "Haha, I said you can just call me Johan." "If I don''t know your full name, we might not be proper friends though..." "I think the opposite''s true: if we only call each other by our first names, we''ll be a lot closer." "I guess there''s some truth to that. I''ll just call you Johan from now on." "Then I hope we can get on well, Isaac." Since Isaac couldn''t get Johan to reveal his surname, the conversation ended there. Their exchange wasn''t entirely useless though, since Isaac had told the truth by saying he wouldn''t mind being Johan''s friend. Being on good terms with somebody with a strong background was almost always beneficial. However, Johan''s background wouldn''t help with walking through the forest, so Isaac put it to the back of his mind and focused on what he was doing: simply cing one foot in front of the other whilst keeping a vignt eye out for wolves. Eventually, the group stopped walking and took a break. They''d been using the sun to navigate, keeping it to their right so they were always walking north. However, now it was midday and the sun was directly above them. They stopped for some time and ate snow to hydrate themselves while they waited for the sun to start setting in the west. A couple of curious trialees took a look around and discovered more signs of wolves white fur, scent marking and scratches left on trees. It seemed they were near the centre of the wolves'' territory. Chapter 2: Hunted Chapter 2: Hunted Isaac actually became less worried when he heard they were in the middle of the wolves'' territory. Wolves wouldn''t let intruders this deep into theirnd, so they should have been attacked already if they were going to be attacked at all. However, resting in wolf territory was never a good idea, regardless of whether Isaac thought they''d be attacked or not. Having waited for half an hour, the sun was no longer directly above them. The short, dark-haired woman leading the group quickly found north and they set off again. Isaac was definitely one of the least fit in the group. He was thin without much muscle or fat and looked seriously underfed. Because of his weak physique, he was struggling to keep up after another few hours of walking. He wanted to suggest a break, but then somebody else shouted, "Let''s pick up the pace! We can rest when we''re away from the wolves." After that, Isaac just gritted his teeth and kept putting one foot in front of the other. After walking further, his breathing was ragged, his feet ached and his legs felt like they were on fire. However, there were a lot less trees in this area, meaning they had reached the edge of the woods. Then, the silence of the forest was shattered, "Ahh-ooooooooo" "Wooooooooo" "Ahh-wooooooo" Howls rung in the air. The wolves hadn''t ''let'' the group into their territory. They''d actually been out hunting in the north of theirnd. Now, however, Isaac''s group had run into them. Several people panicked and immediately ran, sprinting out of the forest. These were cowards who could never pass the trial to begin with. 3 wolves burst out of the trees to the group''s left and immediately charged towards those who''d run away. It was their natural instinct to target these stragglers instead of therge group of people. At first, the group gave a collective sigh of relief. Only 3 wolves wouldn''t pose a threat to their 90 strong group. Furthermore, the wolves weren''t even attacking them. However, they soon heard a horribly loud, bloodcurdling howling from the distance. The howl was closely followed by several other, fainter howls. "Wh-what the hell was that?!" "Wild Beast! It must be a Wild Beast!" "We''re doomed... what do they expect kids to do against a Wild Beast?" Some members despaired, but they obviously hadn''t given up on their lives just yet. "Quick! We''re nearly out of the forest so let''s make a run for the vige!" They hadn''t given up, but they also weren''t thinking clearly. None of them knew where the vige was, let alone how long it would take to run there. These people had lost their rationality under the pressure of being chased by a Wild Beast and its pack, causing them to make a rash decision. On the other hand, most trialees managed to keep their cool and decide calmly. After considering his options, Isaac dashed back towards the woods. He wanted to use the trees as obstacles, making it harder for the wolves to catch him. However, it wasn''t enough to just escape by himself: he needed at least half of the other youths to survive as well. When he was a good distance ahead of the group, Isaac turned around and shouted, "Into the forest, it''ll be harder to chase us there!" Many trialees had simr ideas to Isaac even before he shouted, and they were already running towards the forest. Everyone else saw them and felt that Isaac''s suggestion was much better than running across the open tundra, trying to beat wolves in a fair race. Even some of those who''d just started running out of the woods heard Isaac and turned around, sprinting back into the forest. Isaac was running ahead of all of them, just 500 metres away from reaching the thickly packed trees of the forest. However, he was already exhausted. He felt he could make it before the wolves reached them, but he didn''t want to underestimate the speed of a Wild Beast so he pumped his legs as fast as possible. Others began to overtake him as he sprinted towards the forest. He felt a twinge of desperation as he realised he might be left behind but he cleared his mind and ran even harder. Isaac made a final push despite his exhaustion, and reached the area where the real, thick forest began. He bent over with his hands on his knees, panting hard as he looked up. Wolves were finally entering therge clearing where they had been. They immediately saw the other group running through open tundra and gave chase. However, these wolves were just the frontrunners. The main pack arrived about a minuteter, and there was a monster in the middle of them. It was more than twice the size of a normal wolf, making it nearly as tall as a human. Its sleek silver fur and dark blue eyes gave it a majestic aura, but Isaac didn''t care about that. He was more focused on its bulging muscles, razor sharp teeth and savage ws which looked more like kitchen knives. When the beast looked directly at Isaac, he felt as if his heart had stopped. The pressure it exuded was terrifying. Thankfully, its eyes were filled with disdain for the puny creature it caught observing it. It didn''t consider Isaac a threat or prey worth catching. It simply ignored him, howled, and loped away to join the chase on the open tundra. Most of the pack left with it. However, a few wolves stayed behind. These wolves were at the bottom of the pecking order. Even if they killed something, other wolves woulde to steal their food. Therefore, they usually hunted away from the rest of the pack. Isaac counted how many wolves stayed behind, then immediately headed to re-join the group. He hadn''t been left behind. After everyone slowed down, he caught up with the group and told them the Wild Beast wasn''t chasing them. However, wolf howls soon came from behind them. "I thought you said they''d left!" "I saw the Wild Beast go the other way, those are normal wolves from the pack." "We can''t run, we''re too tired. If they''re normal wolves, why should we fear them?" There were about 70 people in the group, and Isaac said he''d seen less than 10 wolves stay behind. It would actually be more dangerous to run, since they would lose their numerical advantage and get picked off one by one. That made the group decide to stay and fight if they had to. Just as they had finished deciding, 20 or so wolves rushed out of the forest like a wave of white fur. "Ahhhhhhh!" "Help! Hel Urgh!" Nobody was prepared. Several trialees were taken down by wolves without any chance to defend themselves. The wolves then pounced on top of the fallen trialees, and others could see them twitching and struggling before they went still. When one of the wolves looked up, its eyes gleamed fiendishly and its snout was covered in blood. There was absolute chaos. Wolves ran directly at the group and everyone scattered. Isaac saw a wolf running straight for him, saliva dripping from its mouth. His first thought was to escape. He sprinted towards the trees, running in and out of them so the wolf couldn''t chase him at full speed. However, it was still quicker than him even when it had to keep twisting and turning. Isaac quickly realised he couldn''t lose the wolf and made a new n; he changed directions and ran towards somebody else. The person didn''t see Isaacing behind him and was surprised when Isaac ran past. He turned around to see what Isaac was running from and was immediately pounced on by the wolf. Isaac looked back at the scene and smirked. He kept moving and tried to find a more peaceful part of the battlefield where he could wait safely, but he was incredibly unlucky. One of the wolves nearby stopped eating and looked up. Maybe it thought Isaac was too close, or maybe it had been starving for so long that 1 meal wasn''t enough. Whatever the reason, the wolf abandoned the body it was munching on and leapt at Isaac. Isaac didn''t expect it to attack, meaning he had no time to dodge. He could only raise his arms to protect himself from the wolf''s ws. He was bundled over and ended up on his back with the wolf on top of him. Its mouth was open and its teeth were bared, ready to take a bite out of him. Isaac acted quickly and stuffed his right arm into its mouth. The wolf bit down, leaving deep puncture wounds in Isaac''s arm. Then it tried pulling its head back to take another bite. However, Isaac wouldn''t let it go. He pushed his arm deeper into the wolf''s mouth, causing it to gag. It couldn''t bite down again because of the gag reflex and started to shake its head, trying to get free. Isaac''s fist was blocking its throat and stopping it from breathing. The wolf started to panic and thrash around. It even fought against its gag reflex and bit down hard on Isaac''s arm, trying to make Isaac take it out. Isaac gasped in pain but he knew he had to endure. If he drew his arm back, the wolf would bite him to death. Even though it hurt, he pushed his arm in deeper. The wolf bit down again and frantically scratched at Isaac''s face with its ws. He covered his eyes with his left arm and turned his head to the side. The wolf seemed to be getting weaker as it was choking and running out of air. Its bites and scratches had grown significantly weaker. However, it didn''t give up. It rolled over and over to shake Isaac off. Isaac had to wrap his legs around it and cling on for dear life. Just as Isaac was about to lose his grip, he pushed his arm upwards hard. The wolf''s teeth got stuck into his arm and stopped it from slipping out. Eventually, the wolf suffocated and died. Isaac flopped onto his back, panting heavily and clutching at his injured arm. He tried to sit up as quickly as possible since he could be attacked again at any time. However, something stopped him. Chapter 3: Seperation Chapter 3: Seperation When Isaac nced upwards, he saw arge, muscr man towering over him. It was the man he''d lured a wolf to attack. When Isaac looked past the man, he saw a wolf on the ground, lying in a pool of blood. Surprisingly, Erik had killed it and not by suffocating it like Isaac had. At first Isaac wasn''t sure if Erik would try to kill him, but then he remembered the condition of 50 group members surviving. Many had died to this point so losing any more members would risk failing the trial. Still, Isaac would have to watch out for Erik in the future since it looked like he wouldn''t just let this go. Isaac picked himself up and quickly looked around. Many people were still alive, but there were also numerous bodies staining the snow red. Then he heard a shout from another part of the forest, "Climb trees, the wolves can''t get up!" He recognised Johan''s voice and decided to take the advice. However, pine trees didn''t have any low branches. Shimmying up the trunk would usually be an easy task for him, but his wounded arm turned it into a huge struggle. While climbing, he slipped down a couple of times, then nearly ran out of energy before he reached the first branches. After reaching the first thick branch, Isaacy down on it and stared up at the sky. The adrenaline was already fading and his arm hurt more and more. Compared to the wounds on his arm, the cuts on his face were just scratches. He tried moving the arm, but a searing pain ran through it. When he saw how much it was bleeding, he removed his fur coat and tore off the arm of the top he wore underneath. He tied the piece of cloth tightly around the wound and applied pressure to stop the bleeding. The bleeding never stoppedpletely, but it slowed to an eptable level. Isaacid t on his back and looked at the beautiful blue-ck sky between the pine branches. The smell of pine wood and blood filled the air. Over his own heavy breathing, he could hear wolves eating. Utterly exhausted, Isaac fell asleep. In the morning, most of the wolves were gone. They had either finished eating or dragged their meals away to enjoy them elsewhere. The group of trialees climbed down from their trees and gathered together again. They hadn''t eaten anything yesterday, except for the snow they ate to stay hydrated. When they were eating snow again in the morning, somebody walked up to Isaac, "You bastard, I''ve been looking for you!" the person pointed at Isaac, repeatedly jabbing his finger into Isaac''s chest, "Why did you tell us there were less than 10 wolves?!" "I''m sorry! I''m s-s-sorry! They must have been hidden in the forest, I didn''t see them, I swear!" Of course Isaac saw all the wolves. He only said there were less than 10 because he didn''t want the group to run; if he said the real number of wolves, everyone might not have decided to stay and fight. In that case, Isaac definitely would''ve been one of the first caught since he was already tired. However, the whole group would turn against Isaac if they knew he''d deliberately deceived them, meaning he needed to act pitifully and pretend it was an innocent mistake. Unfortunately for him, this kid wouldn''t let it go, "Come on, don''t just apologise! How are you going to make it up to us?" Ah. This kid wasn''t really angry, he just wantedpensation. However, Isaac questioned his intelligence they didn''t have anything with them other than the clothes on their backs, so what did this guy expect Isaac to give him? He probably wanted Isaac to do something instead, like scouting ahead for the group. However, they had already passed the wolves so there was no danger ahead of them and they didn''t need a scout... Wasn''t this guy just causing trouble for no reason? Isaac was about to handle it himself, but a calm voice stopped him before he could. "Who do you think said to run towards the forest in the first ce? If we didn''t listen to Isaac, we would''ve all been caught by the wild beast. This is his mistake, but he''s also made contributions, so we can excuse him this once. There''s no need to start any conflict." It was Johan who came to Isaac''s defence and mediated the situation. Isaac basically hid behind him and let Johan do all the talking. It was much better to let a smooth talker like Johan handle this, especially since he seemed to have a good opinion of Isaac and wouldn''t create trouble for him. After hearing Johan''s speech, the guy stopped confronting Isaac and backed off. Most of the group just observed and treated this drama as a bit of entertainment, but some of the people who got injured were still giving Isaac angry gazes. Isaac didn''t care. He simply got ready with everyone else. Then, the group gathered together and continued walking through the woods. It didn''t take them long to leave the forest. However, they still couldn''t see the vige, forcing them to organise a proper search. The group spread out into a long horizontal line with gaps of over 100 metres between each person, letting them search a wide area without splitting up. They walked for most of the day, searching for the vige without finding it. Just when some people were beginning toin, a dot became visible on the horizon. As they walked closer, that dot grewrger andrger until it began to look like a fully-fledged settlement. When the people who saw the dot became sure it was the vige, they shouted to the people next to them, who shouted to the people next to them and so on. Eventually the whole group gathered together again and walked towards the vige. The vige was surrounded by a low wall made of wood, meaning they couldn''t see anything inside. The group walked over to the vige''s gates to try and get in. Before they could get close, the gates suddenly opened by themselves. Isaac felt his vision shake and the previously silent vige became noisy. When he looked around in surprise, he couldn''t see anyone else from the group. The surroundings and noises had changed in an instant, so Isaac assumed he''d been trapped in an illusion. However, he didn''t know what he had to do to escape. After a moment, he realised this was the beginning of the 2nd trial. It was probably an individual trial, seeing that everybody had been separated somehow. He would need to have a look around and find a way to pass it by himself. Since the gates had opened, Isaac decided to explore the vige. He walked through the gates and down the main street. After 5 minutes, he found himself in a market. Stalls selling food, pots and pans, homemade clothes, hairpins and other essories lined both sides of the street. The sweet fragrance of street food hung in the air and chaotic shouts of stall owners could be heard. They were all loudly advertising their goods, creating a blurred cloud of noise. Isaac obviously didn''t have any money or things to exchange, so he ignored the stall owners and walked through the market. Ahead of him was the residential district, but to his right was arge courtyard surrounded by wooden fencing. In the middle of the courtyard was a building bigger than any of the houses in the vige. It only had 1 floor, but it was very spacious and took up most of the courtyard. It was even in the middle of the vige, meaning it had to be an important ce. Isaac took note of it and kept walking. It was already early evening when Isaac entered the vige. After he had finished exploring and building a mental map of its streets, it was eventer. Since he couldn''t rent a room or find anywhere to stay, he had to sleep on the freezing cold streets. He also couldn''t find food to sate his hunger; the only constion was the snow he had to quench his thirst. Not eating for another day didn''t matter so much, since his hunger had disappeared when he entered the illusion. It wasn''t just his hunger: his fatigue and the wounds on his right arm were also gone. It seemed the illusion replicated a person''s real body, but not the condition it was in. However, if he kept sleeping on the streets in the future, he would likely get hypothermia even in the illusion. ************************* Outside of the illusion, two trial instructors were chatting. "You don''t need to pity them, we went though the same thing." "Was it really the same, though? I know this trial is more difficult than anything I did." "It just seems difficult to you since you never use your brain. Need to think more, y''know?" The instructor tapped the side of his head to emphasize his point. The trialees were unconscious while they were in the illusion, so their bodies wereid out in the snow. The instructor was walking around them, looking at the trialees. When he saw Isaac''s bandaged arm, he smiled and pointed at him, "Look at this kid, he escaped from a wolf with that scrawny body of his! I bet he''s smarter than you and he''s only 12." The other instructor justughed. "I guess we''ll see how smart they are by how many pass! The trial''s definitely harder this year though. I know it''s how the sect has always done things, but to put kids in an illusion that''ll destroy their minds if they die in it... just seems unnecessary." "You know what''d really be unnecessary? Wasting resources on kids who luck out on easy trials and aren''t up to standard. You should take more pride in our sect we''re a group of elites, so it should be difficult and dangerous to get in." "Whatever. I''m gonna meditate while we wait." The instructors stopped talking and went about their business again. Silence returned to the forest. ************************* Isaac barely slept all night due to the cold. He was up early in the morning and went straight to the business district of the vige. He hadn''t properly explored it before, but now he had a goal and something to look for. He saw several shop keepers setting up signs in the road, but only one caught his attention. He walked over to the person putting up a banner for a tavern and started a conversation, "Hello missus, do you need some extra help around the bar?" "No, not rea-" "Please, please, I''m ready to help! I''ll do exactly what you tell me to and work really hard, so can you please give me some food and a ce to stay!" Isaac''s coat was already dirty from sleeping on the street the day before. He''d also made a special effort to adjust his clothes and mess up his hair to look as poor and untidy as possible. When the tavern keeper looked at him and heard how desperately he pleaded, her heart melted and she gave in. "Alright... but if I catch you cking, you''ll be out! No second chances!" "Thank you! I promise I''ll be perfect!" The tavern keeper led him to a small room in the back and brought him a te of cold breakfast. "Finish that quickly then go out the back to wash your clothes. When that''s done,e find me at the bar. Don''t keep me waiting more than half an hour." "Yes ma''am." Isaac mumbled through mouthfuls of food. He finished breakfast quickly and scrubbed his clothes clean using one of the water buckets behind the tavern. When he came back in 20 minutes, the tavern keeper smiled kindly at him. "Good. Just let me just fix your hair and you''ll be ready to wait tables. I have other workersing inter so don''t worry, you won''t be doing everything by yourself." The tavern keeper herself worked the bar, serving customers drinks and keeping an eye on everything. It was still very early so there weren''t any customers right now; the tavern keeper only woke this early to wash sses and tes from the night before, so Isaac helped. When the tavern''s guests woke upter, thendy cooked while Isaac served them, something she would usually do herself. The morning passed smoothly and they reached the day''s first challenge. Lunch time was the second busiest part of the day and a tavern on the main street would get lots of customers. It was these customers that made Isaac decide to work here. Chapter 4: Eavesdropping Chapter 4: Eavesdropping Isaac still didn''t know enough about the trial. He''d thought about it overnight and decided he still needed more information. Bars, taverns and brothels were all perfect ces to gather such information. All kinds of people were constantlying and going and they always talked a lot. Chatting to some of the tavern''s customers or even overhearing the conversations they had with each other would tell Isaac a lot about the vige. Now that it was lunch, he had a chance to listen to all the vige''s rumours, gossip andtest news. His colleagues had arrived earlier so they were prepared for the lunch time rush. The 1st wave of customers were the town guards who got early lunch breaks. Isaac immediately went over to take their orders, but they were onlyining about how boring work was. The gate being found open was the only thing that happened in weeks. In particr, they mentioned they hadn''t seen a wolf for almost a month, which seemed unusual. Anything which looked out of ce was important since it could be rted to the trial. They ordered food and drinks very politely and Isaac had no excuse to eavesdrop any longer. He took the orders back to the kitchen and gave them to one of the chefs. The ingredients were already prepared and some of the food was even pre-cooked, so the meals were made quickly. When Isaac went back to serve them, he finally found an opportunity to inquire, "The wolves have been behaving weird recently, haven''t they? Honestly, it worries me quite a bit. Do you have any idea what''s happening with them?" The guards didn''t know. It was to be expected considering their low positions. However, they did mention that this had happened in previous years around this kind of time. Either it was their natural behaviour for this season or something unusual was taking ce this time every year and making the wolves act strangely. His curiosity was satisfied so Isaac went to wait on the new customers who had entered. Throughout lunch he picked up on interesting bits of conversation, but none that seemed like clues about the trial. When lunchtime was over, some of the part-time employees left. However, there still wasn''t enough work to keep everyone busy. When he didn''t have anything to do, Isaac tried talking to the other full-time employees. After asking a waiter about who the vige head was, the waiter said it was a man in histe 50s who lived in therge building Isaac saw yesterday. They also said that the vige head had been ill recently. However, Isaac was asking too many questions about things a vige resident should already know. The waiter had started to get suspicious of him and was reluctant to answer anything else. Isaac exined that he''d been living on the streets for a few weeks, so he didn''t know any of the recent news in the vige. The waiter didn''t seem totally convinced, but Isaac was pulled away to help wash up and couldn''t say anything else. He did odd jobs around the tavern until dinnertime. The employees ate a very early dinner together and got ready to serve tables until midnight. The tavern could get very rowdy, especiallyter when people had drunk a lot. At dinner, Isaac found a table of middle-aged men drinking together, "What can I get you, sirs?" "Another round of beer." The men were already a but drunk, but Isaac took their order nheless. When Isaac came back with the drinks, he heard them arguing. One of the older men had obviously drunk too much and wasining loudly. "Taxes have increased again! Farming''s already hard enough in this godforsaken climate, but that ipetent vige head just keeps making things worse!" "Calm down and stop embarrassing yourself. I know you don''t like it none of us do, but that''s just how things are. What can we do about it? Leave the vige?" "You can''t me me forining though. He''s not even up and about, yet he''s still ruining our lives! If things are like this now, I dread the day he gets better!" "About that, do you know why Dr Jensen is treating him?" "Huh?" "I mean, Dr Ivar''s the best doctor in our vige, so why isn''t he treating the vige head?" The other man couldn''t stand his friend''s ranting and tried desperately to change the subject. A third farmer cut in and answered, "I heard Dr Jensen''s grandmother left her a set of herbal remedies, making her an expert at curing breathing problems. Maybe it''s something to do with that?" When Isaac put the drinks on the table, the older man immediately went to take one. However, 3 other men simultaneously pped his hand away. Then, they all looked at each other andughed. "Victor, you''ve had too much already man!" "Hahaha" The table quieted down and there weren''t any problems (or interesting bits of information) after that. The rest of the day was rather uneventful and Isaac spent a peaceful night in his room. ************************* That night, a meeting was taking ce elsewhere in the vige. 13 people were sitting around a table in a bar, but the bar was empty apart from them. Even the barkeeper had left. The woman at the head of the table was the first one to speak. "Let us start with a report of everything which has happened since ourst meeting." "The new taxes have not been well received." "Our business in Sarape Vige is going well. They seem to find our products unique and particrly attractive. "Dr Ivar feels his reputation had been damaged by the new rumours." "The vige gate was found open yesterday evening." "Do we know why?", the woman at the head of the table asked. "The guards are sure they didn''t leave it open. They only have 2 keys anyway: the head guard showed me that the first one hadn''t been moved from his draw, and this deputy assured me the second one was always hung on his belt. He never let it get out of his sight. The only other people with a key are you and the vige head." The woman pondered for a short while. "And the locks have not been changed? Nobody has noticed anything unusual?" "The lock is definitely still the same. As for something unusual... I don''t know if it''s relevant, but a friend told me someone was asking too many questions at the tavern earlier, could be an outsider who entered through the gate. My ''friend'' can be a little unreliable though. It''s possible the guy was just especially chatty." "It''s nothing solid, but it''s a lead. I say we have someone check him out. If he''s suspicious, we can give him a tail. If he''s not, we''ll leave him be." One of the people on the other side of the table gave their suggestion, and the woman nodded in agreement. "A good idea. Though remember to be careful. We knew the sect would not like our ns when we started this. If he is somebody from the sect, we have to be wary of him but we also absolutely cannot kill him and provoke the sect even more." ************************* After giving it some more thought while hey in bed, Isaac felt the trial''s setting was special. Many low-level sect missions took ce in small viges like this, so perhaps the trial was meant to resemble a sect mission. If that was the case, Isaac could narrow down what the trial would be about. Missions from the sect were usually about gathering information. Hunting for certain resources, delivering messages, and helping enforce the rules of the sect were alsomon missions. Isaac felt confident the trial was made in the style of a mission, so he would probably have to do at least one of those things. He went to work the same way he did the day before and tried to ask more questions about the vige head. However, he was unaware of the man who came in at lunch to eat quietly and subtly observe him. Chapter 5: Figure It Out Chapter 5: Figure It Out The only noteworthy thing Isaac heard that day was an interesting story. Apparently, the vige head had a daughter; she was his only child. When she was younger, he took her to the sect to be awakened. However, the gatekeeper wouldn''t let them in. Even when the pair got down on their knees and pleaded, the gatekeeper still turned them away. Thus the daughter was never awakened and had no chance to be a cultivator. The story meant that the sect and probably some other ces from real life existed within the illusion. At least, they existed in theory. It was a bitplicated but illusions were spaces built within the mind. That meant illusions couldn''t be infinite and they had to have a limit. Isaac hadn''t tested it but he guessed this illusion''s limit was either the vige or the area around it, so he couldn''t leave to visit the sect. The second important part of the story was that the vige head and his daughter might have a grudge against the sect. Information like that could help work out what the trial was about. At the moment, Isaac wasn''t sure whether it was rted to the vige head and his daughter or the strange behaviour of the wolves. However, he might find out by testing the illusion''s limit. If he couldn''t go outside the vige, it meant the trial had nothing to do with wolves. When night fell, Isaac snuck out of the tavern. His room didn''t have a window so he had to creep into thendy''s room, steal the key from her bedside table, then unlock the tavern''s door and leave. Then, he walked to the edge of the vige. The wall surrounding the vige was too tall to climb, topped with spikes and patrolled by guards. Nevertheless, it was designed to keep things out, not shut them in. There were steps up to the top of the wall for the guards to use, but Isaac didn''t mind borrowing them for a bit. However, he was stopped by an invisible barrier the moment he tried to climb them. His foot couldn''t even cross the line of the first step. "This must be the limit..." Isaac knew what a limit was and why illusions had them, but he didn''t know what they could do. Some illusions would copse if you passed the limit, but these illusions usually had crazily strong defences (like illusionary dragons) to stop people doing so. Other limits teleported people to a random ce within the illusion, which could be inconvenient and dangerous. Imagine being teleported into the sky, 3 miles above the ground. St. Luckily for Isaac, this harmless type of limit was the mostmon. If it wasn''t, or if he''d been unlucky, Isaac''s story might''ve ended here. Blissfully ignorant of his luck, Isaac returned to the tavern. He locked the door, put the key exactly where he found it, and went to bed. He slept for as long as possible before thendy came to wake him up. It went without saying that she wasn''t happy. "Get up, there are customers! Remember what you said on the first day about being perfect? This is not perfect! This is less than ideal! Wake up and get to work." "Okay." Isaac''s nd response dissatisfied thendy. However, she didn''t say anything more and left the room to get back to work. Isaac got ready as quickly as usual and entered the main bar area. He''d only returnedst night since it meant he didn''t have to sleep on the streets. Since his business here was done, Isaac waited until the tavern keeper was in the kitchen before opening the now unlocked door and leaving. He didn''t n oning back. ''Taverns are filled with hundreds of rumours, but what I need now is a single piece of crucial information.'' Isaac had to dig deeper into the vige''s connection with the sect, but he couldn''t do that in the tavern. He was on his way to visit Jax, the vige''s best cksmith and a member of the vige council. However, Isaac failed to notice the man following some distance behind him. Eventually, he arrived at the smithy. It was on the outskirts of the vige so the walk took longer than expected. When he arrived there, he saw a bear-like man sitting at an anvil and hammering. After noticing Isaac approach, he got up and wiped the sweat from his brow, "Hello young man, is there anything I can do for you?" "Are you Mr. Jax?" "Yes son, you don''t have to call me Mr though, I''m not that old, hahaha!" Isaac didn''t know why he wasughing, but he just yed along. "I''m looking for a job. Lady Seliora from the Red Dragon Tavern rmended Ie here." "Seliora? She must either deeply dislike you or truly think highly of you to send you here. I''ve tried hiring assistants before but none of them were cut out for it. If you think you''re up to the task, I''ll give you a chance. Let me finish this, then I''ll find some work for you." Jax continued hammering for another 20 minutes. Isaac waited without saying anything. When he was finished, Jax looked up at Isaac with a big smile. "Good! Looks like you have enough patience for the job!" Jax led Isaac inside the smithy and found his own list of tasks. He pointed to three bullet points, "Do these, then make lunch. As for pay... does lunch and 12 copper coins sound okay?" Isaac wasn''t sure how much purchasing power copper coins had but he nodded enthusiastically anyway. Jax grinned again, "Better get to it, then." Jax and Isaac both went back out to the front of the smithy. Jax returned to forging, while Isaac found a pile of farm tools. He picked them up and brought them over to the grinding wheel, then sat down and used the pedal to spin the stone wheel while he sharpened tools on the stone. After he was done sharpening them, his next job was to go to the back yard and chop firewood. However, Isaac never made it to the back yard. When he went back into the smithy, he immediately started looking for Jax''s living quarters. When he found them, he entered the room and began searching for anything about the vige council. He was looking for a diary, a transcript or any document with details about council meetings and the vige head''s ns. Isaac was determined to discover if there was a connection between the vige and the sect. ************************* Meanwhile, a familiar man had started talking to Jax outside. At least, he was familiar to Isaac who had served him at the tavern yesterday. "Hey Jax, how''s it going?" "Slow. Not too many orders recently, the high taxes mean people don''t have much money to spend right now." "But wasn''t your council the one who passed them?" "Sure, the council passed them. Doesn''t mean I agree with them. Actually, I voted against them." "That''s tough. I saw a kid here earlier, what''s he doing?" "Just got him running some jobs. He said Seliora rmended this ce to him. Anyway, I don''t see you often. How''ve you been and what are you here for?" "Just here to catch up with an old friend. Why don''t we go inside and have a chat? You can tell me some more about that kid while you''re at it, I know it takes a certain type of person to catch your eye." ************************* Inside, Isaac was rummaging through cupboards and desk draws. He''d searched over half of the room but still found nothing. Suddenly, he heard the front door opening and people entering. He froze. Footsteps became louder and louder as Jax approached the room... and walked right past it. Isaac let out a deep breath. However, it would be difficult to leave the room unnoticed, and they''d eventually realise he hadn''t been chopping firewood in the back yard. The only saving grace was that he heard Jax talking to somebody. Hopefully that would distract him and give Isaac a little more time. He started searching more frantically, no longer caring about throwing books and paper on the floor. It was fine if he made a mess so long as he left before Jax discovered it. ************************* Ten minutester, Jax and his friend were talking over a cup of tea. "I''d have Isaac make us lunch, but I don''t know where he''s wandered off to." "Wouldn''t he be doing the jobs you gave him?" "I called for him out back, but he didn''t answer. Either he couldn''t hear me, or he''s gone walkabout." "Isn''t that quite worrying, though? A boy you don''t know or trust could be anywhere on your property." Jax frowned. The man''s words had obviously made him concerned. "Hold on, I''ll go and look for him." As Jax got up and walked into the hallway, he saw Isaac closing the door to his bedroom. Chapter 6: Out of the Black Chapter 6: Out of the ck "What were you doing in my room?" "I''m really sorry Mr. Jax, I was just looking for the toilet." Isaac did his best to look innocent and apologetic, but he wasn''t sure if Jax would believe him. "Why would the toilet be in the house? Didn''t you see it in the back yard when you were chopping wood?" "I thought that was just a shed... I''ve never lived in a house before, so I didn''t know where the toilet would be. I''m truly sorry, Mr. Jax." The vige didn''t have running water so most toilets were outside. However, Isaac''s exnation was a believable reason for not knowing that. When Jax looked at Isaac''s dejected face, he decided to give him a chance. "Okay. Let me just go and see how much wood you''ve chopped whilst you make lunch." At this point Isaac began looking for chances to run. Fortunately, he had been asked to make lunch alone. The moment he heard Jax step outside, he immediately left the kitchen and walked towards the front door. Then, he felt a hand firmly grasp his shoulder. "Stay." The voice was just as firm as the hand grabbing his shoulder. Isaac was stunned and froze for a second, but then he sprang into action. He grabbed the kitchen knife he''d stolen moments earlier and plunged it into the man''s arm. He felt the satisfying moment of contact between de and flesh and heard a scream of pain. Pulling the knife back before the man could react, Isaac made a dash for the door. "Where do you think you''re going, brat!?" The man gave chase whilst clutching at his arm, but Isaac was already outside. The man burst through the door and ran out onto the street, "Stop him!" Several people heard the shout and were confused. Isaac had already blended into the crowd of people on the street, so they didn''t know who the man was shouting about. More and more people started to stare at the man, surprised by the blood flowing from his arm. When the man realised that Isaac had escaped and everybody was staring at him, he was furious and extremely embarrassed. He went back into Jax''s house, mming the door behind him. ************************* Meanwhile, Isaac had slipped away down a back alley. He was rather disappointed with himself. ''How could I make such an obvious mistake? I knew there were 2 people in the house, so why did I be so careless after only 1 of them left? I reacted quickly and dealt with the situation well, but I should''ve known leaving like that would make me look guilty. Maybe I could have lied about still needing to go to the toilet and escaped that way?" After a task, Isaac would always evaluate what he did well and where he should''ve done better. He believed it was crucial to the process of learning and improving; if he ensured he never made the same mistake twice, he would eventually be perfect. Of course, bing perfect was impossible in reality, but he could at least keep learning from his mistakes and continue improving. Mistakes aside, he''d gotten what he came for. Isaac pulled out a folder from inside his fur coat. It was titled "Vige Council Meeting Autumn 4" and had been hidden inside Jax''s mattress. The first few pages were just about the rise in taxes and a few proposals such as reducing the number of vige guards. However, most of the folder was filled with ns to relocate the vige. The vige head''s daughter had led the council meeting since her father was ill, and she wanted to move the vige to the other side of the forest, nearer to an iron deposit. It seemed like a good n. However, the iron deposit was outside the sect''s territory and so would the new vige be. The main reason for opposing the n was that the sect wouldn''t let it happen. Even Jax, whose business would benefit massively from a nearby iron deposit, passionately disagreed with the n because he was terrified of what the sect might do. Jax had then written some notes about the vige head''s daughter having separate meetings with her supporters. They were trying to make the move happen as soon as possible. All of this gave Isaac a focus. If the vige moved, they wouldn''t have to give the sect a quota of food and young men and women every year. Isaac would pass the trial if he prevented the vigers from even thinking about moving. The easiest way to stop them moving would be for the sect to awaken the vige head and his daughter. That would satisfy their grudge from years before and make them indebted to the sect. However, that was impossible since Isaac couldn''t leave the vige. Convincing the vige head not to move would also be difficult. When he and his daughter needed a favour, the sect had refused them. Now, his daughter had formed a group trying to move as soon as possible. It was unlikely that Isaac could persuade them. Instead, Isaac thought he should make an example of those who defied the sect. ************************* It was about 2pm, so the sun would set soon. In Northern Tundra, the days were short and the nights were long. Especially in Autumn. Isaac was at the market. He didn''t have any money, but he also didn''t need any; he was only pretending to browse products while he checked out the vige head''s house. On his first day in the vige, Isaac saw arge building in the middle of a fenced-off courtyard. While working at the tavern, he discovered the vige head lived there. Now, he spent over an hour checking it out from every angle. When he was satisfied, he left and waited for nightfall. When everything was dark and the vige was asleep, Isaac returned to the vige head''s residence. He pulled himself up onto the rooftop of a nearby house and looked into the courtyard to see where the guards were. Just like earlier, 2 of them were patrolling around the house. Isaacy t on the rooftop so he wasn''t spotted and waited for the first guard to pass. Then he got up and jumped from the rooftop to grab the top of the courtyard''s fence. He quickly climbed over and dropped down silently on the other side. Then, he ran across the courtyard and pressed his body t against the building before the second guard turned the corner. It was so dark that you could only see a person''s silhouette, and Isaac''s was hidden by the dark building behind him. The second guard walked past, about 3 metres away from him. After they were gone, Isaac pulled lightly at the window frame above him. However, it didn''t budge. It was either jammed or locked. Isaac was prepared for that, though. He peeked around the corner to make sure the guard had their back to him, then moved stealthily to the building''s door. When one of the guards had gone to the market earlier, Isaac had pickpocketed him. Back at the ''farm'', he''d often have to steal food from other kids, so his hands were pretty deft. Taking a key out of his pocket, he unlocked the door and opened it a crack. ''Shit!'' The door opened onto a long hallway running through the middle of the building. At the end of the hallway, a guard was leaning against a closed door. Isaac quickly and quietly shut the door. Fortunately, it seemed the guard was nearly falling asleep and hadn''t spotted him. He couldn''t sneak in whilst that guard was still there so he needed to create a diversion. He waited for another gap between the patrolling guards and climbed back over the fence. After leaving the courtyard, he made his way to the residential district on the eastern side of the vige head''s house. He walked into the first street he saw and looked at the row of houses in front of him. Then he picked up a stone, weighed it a couple of times in his hand, andunched it through an empty-looking house''s front window. He walked up, kicked the rest of the ss out of the window, then hopped inside. Twenty minutester, everybody in the area were woken by a child screaming "Fire! Fire! Help! Somebody, please, save my mother!" One of the houses on the front street was utterly aze. Of course, the vige head''s house was right across the street so the guards heard as well. "Come on, they need help." "... we should probably stay here, though." "Who do you think pays our sries? It''s the people of this vige! We''re civil servants, so it''s our duty to help!" Just as the second guard was about the follow the first, the other guard rushed out of the building. "Alex, you stay inside. At least one of us needs to stay here. Us two are enough to handled it." Alex looked a little reluctant like he still wanted to help, but he went back inside anyway. The two guards rushed out of the courtyard and hurried to help extinguish the fire. Isaac was a little disappointed to only see 2 guards leaving, but he had already stopped shouting "fire" and had run into the empty courtyard. He already had the kitchen knife behind his back as he opened the door. The guard obviously saw him, since he wasn''t trying to stay hidden this time. "How did you no, what are you doing here kid?" "My *sob* parents are trapped in a fire *sob* please, please help them!" Isaac never stopped walking towards the guard while he spoke. "My 2 colleagues are already there. I''m sure your parents will be alright." "But... but I''m so worried. Won''t you help me?" Isaac was just a few steps away now. "I told you, my colleagues will help you. I''m sorry but I need you to leave now, and what are you hiding behind Ahh! Hmmm gugggh!" Isaac stabbed the guard in the chest, then covered his mouth and slit his throat mid scream. Everything was silent for a moment as Isaac tried to hear whether the vige head or his daughter had woken up. Unfortunately, he heard groggy mumbling from the room to his right, "Alexander, what''s going on? ... Alexander?" Isaac had to finish his mission quickly. He quietly entered the room to his left and saw a young woman lying in bed, still asleep. He approached the bed without making a sound. If he used the knife again, she would scream and he could get caught, so he picked up the pillow beside her. He pushed it down hard over her face. The he used the few seconds before her panic reflex woke her up to climb onto the bed, kneeling on her arms. The woman awoke in a fright, but she couldn''t even open her eyes because of the pillow pushing on her face. She tried to push whatever was on her face away, but her arms wouldn''t move. At the end of the bed, her legs started kicking frantically. She was still woozy from having just woken up, so she felt weak and had no idea what was going on. If she was fully awake, she might have been able to free her arms and push Isaac away. However, all she could do now was struggle futilely. Terror began to set in as she realised she needed oxygen NOW. She was taking gasping breaths by reflex, but she was sucking in the pillow cloth instead of air. Slowly, her kicks started to get weaker and weaker until they stopped entirely. Isaac kept the pillow over her for a while to make sure, then he put it back next to her. He left the folder full of ns to move the vige on top of her body as a finishing touch, then flipped open thetch on the window and disappeared into the night. Chapter 7: Little Monster Chapter 7: Little Monster The vige head opened the door to his room while rubbing his eyes. He looked left. Alex wasn''t there. He looked right. Alex was lying in a crumpled pile, covered in blood. Huh? Alex was covered in blood? The vige head quickly realised there was an intruder and rushed to his daughter''s room. When he burst in and saw his daughter ''sleeping'', he breathed a sigh of relief, not knowing she''d been consigned to eternal slumber. He picked up the file left on her chest and flipped through it. When he saw the ns to move the vige, he realised this was a warning from the sect. They held his and his daughter''s lives in their palm. He shook his head and sighed internally, thanking the gods no harm hade to his precious daughter. It would be for the best not to antagonize the sect in the future. However, as he was thinking all this, something began to feel... off. Something just wasn''t right. Maybe his daughter seemed a little too still. Her chest didn''t rise and fall as it should when breathing. The vige head started to worry. He ced 2 fingers beneath her nose, hoping to feel her soft breath on them. But there was nothing. In a panic, he grabbed his daughter by the shoulders and gently shook her, but her eyelids didn''t even twitch. Even when he shouted at her to wake up, there was no response. He struggled to ept it no, he couldn''t ept it but deep down, the vige head knew she was dead. He knelt beside her bed and cried. He remained there, unmoving, for quite some time. The perfectly still spectacle looked somewhat like a tragic painting: a pale girl lying covered in bedsheets as her grieving father knelt beside her, head in his hands. The windows were wide open, revealing a brilliantly ck sky and myriad of stars in the background. Eventually, the vige head looked upwards towards the heavens, still crying. "Christin *sob* who *sob* Christin, who did this *sob* to you? *sob* Christin, which dog of the sect do I need to kill!?" ************************* While the vige head was mourning, Isaac had distanced himself from the crime scene. As he ran through the streets, he wondered why the trial hadn''t ended yet. ''Either I was wrong about the trial''s goal and it doesn''t involve their ns to move the vige, or the vige head still wants to move despite his daughter''s death. People are cold-hearted. They value their own lives above anything else, so I doubt the vige head will insist on moving when his life is on the line. ''But I don''t have any other leads on what the trial could be about. It''s probably better to confirm my suspicions before I act on them. I should only start looking for other ways to pass the trial after making sure the vige head doesn''t n to move the vige.'' Of course, the best way to make sure was the same way he''d made sure Christin wouldn''t move. However, Isaac had to n properly if he wanted to kill the vige head. He couldn''t overpower a grown man in a fair fight and he probably couldn''t assassinate the vige head, who would be on guard after his daughter had been murdered. Isaac recalled a conversation he''d heard in the tavern the vige head had respiratory issues. He could take advantage of that by fighting him in a dusty, enclosed space. Isaac remembered the dusty alleyway behind the tavern and decided to see if that was suitable. ************************* The vige head was furious. All he could think of was avenging his daughter and he didn''t even know where to find the culprit. As he left his house, he formed some semnce of a n. His other 2 guards were just returning from helping with the fire so he called out to them. "Tell me where Niko lives." The guards were surprised by the vige head''s rudeness since he''d always treated them in a friendly and polite manner. However, they could sense his awful mood so neither of them corrected him or asked why he wanted to know. The guard on the right answered quite quickly, "It should be 34 Shawtooth Street... he''s invited me for a drink a couple of times." While he was bedridden, his daughter had been keeping him updated on everything happening in the vige. She''d mentioned that a suspicious individual possibly from the sect had entered the vige and she''d had Niko tail him. Since he knew where Niko lived, he rushed out of the courtyard and headed towards 34 Shawtooth Street. Niko''s house was on the outskirts of the vige so it took the vige head a while to run there. He was so out of breath he was panting when he reached his destination. He took a few moments to gather himself before hammering on the door. "Niko you bastard, get out here!" Niko opened the door with an angry expression, but he was sensible enough to not say anything rash when he saw who it was. He put on a forced smile and said, "What do you need, sir?" "You''ve been tailing a kid recently. Where is he and why aren''t you following him now?" Niko''s expression turned extremely bitter this time. Not only did Isaac stab and utterly embarrass him, but now he had to endure the humiliation of exining it to the vige head. "He stabbed me and escaped... I don''t know where he is." "Trash." The contempt in the vige head''s voice was palpable. "How could you lose a prepubescent kid?" The vige head seemed calm, but that just made him scarier. His gaze was cold, unfeeling and ruthless. "I just " "I don''t fucking care! Bring me to where he was staying! Now!" ''If you don''t care, why did you ask?'' Niko was also furious by now, but he swallowed down his smartass remark when the vige head practically exploded with anger, his calm facade disappearing. He could only grit his teeth and withstand the displeasure as he led the vige head back to the tavern. ************************* The tavern was on the main high street near the vige head''s residence, so Isaac had arrived at its dusty back-alley far before the vige head reached Niko''s house. However, Isaac hade up with a great idea during his short journey. When he reached the back alley, he went straight to the tavern''s waste bins. After rummaging through the bins, Isaac had pulled out many empty beer bottles. He took one and broke it in half. He was left with the bottom half, which was a circr base with ss sides ending in jagged points, and a top half which had the neck of the bottle leading down into simr sharp, jagged edges. Isaac threw the top half away and continued to break more bottles, keeping only the bottom half. He then took the bases and lined them up on the floor, under the rooftop on one side of the alley. Next, he covered the t base of each bottle-half in dirt and dust from the alley floor. Now the bottle-halves were concealed. Looking at them from the side, you could see a circle of sharp ss edges protruding out of the ground. However, the edges were very thin and sharp. Looking down from the rooftop above, it would be very difficult to spot them unless you already knew they were there. Just to make avoiding the ss even more difficult, Isaac broke more bottles and created another line of them behind the first. Now that his trap was ready, all he needed was an unsuspecting victim. It was time to either attack or provoke the vige head and lure him to this alleyway. As such, Isaac immediately headed back to the vige head''s residence to try and find him. ************************* Not too longter, Niko and the vige head arrived at Seliora''s tavern. Just like he had at Niko''s, the vige head hammered his fist against the pine wood door. "Open up, it''s the vige head!" They had to wait a couple of minutes for Seliora to wake up ande to the door. The pair could even hear her grumbling on the other side of the door. "Damn kids, impersonating the vige head at this time of night. If he catches you, I wonder what he''d do..." She unlocked the door, obviously ready to shout at whoever might''ve knocked on it. However, she was dumbfounded when she saw it actually was the vige head. She immediately felt nervous as she realised the vige head probably heard what she''d said. However, those nerves were reced by relief when the vige headpletely ignored it and spoke about something else. "You had a kid staying here and helping you for two days. Show me his room." "Ookay,e in." Seliora brought them both to the room Isaac had stayed in. A hard stare from the vige head told her they wanted to be left alone, so she went to prepare tea, shutting the door behind her. Niko and the vige head were left alone in the room. Niko was taking a look around, inspecting the empty desk and drawers next to the room''s bed. Meanwhile, the vige head slowly raised his arm until his palm faced the back of Niko''s head. There was a momentary sh of pale blue light, then Niko dropped to the ground. He was lying t on his face, evidently dead. Cause of death was quite obviously the icicle embedded halfway into his skull, still sticking out of his head. Andreas, the vige head, looked down at the body in disgust and spat on it. "Worthless bastard, couldn''t even follow a kid. Your ipetence got my daughter killed, so it''s fair that you die for it too." Chapter 8: Revenge is Best Served Icy Cold Chapter 8: Revenge is Best Served Icy Cold Andreas had killed Niko with the Ice Fragment Anima. It was a secret only his daughter knew: he was a cultivator. Andreas stepped over Niko and stood by the bed. After scrutinizing the pillow, he picked up a hair. Suddenly, the hair disappeared from between his fingers. The vige head had used the rather unusual Proximity Hair Anima. It could only be activated on a person or animal''s hair. It would help the user find the hair''s owner; the user''s hair would stand on end when the target was nearby. For the vige head''s Rank 1 Anima, his hair would start to rise when Isaac was within 300m. The closer Isaac was, the more his hair would rise. The Anima was strange and had a requirement of needing a strand of hair. However, it was a very effective searching Anima under the correct circumstances. After securing the piece of hair, the vige head left. Minutester, there was a piercing scream as Seliora found Niko''s body. The neighbours were not very happy. Meanwhile, Andreas was rushing all over the vige. He was frantically searching for Isaac, waiting for the Proximity Hair Anima to react. However, it never did. No matter how desperately he looked, it never showed a sign of Isaac. The vige head was exhausted. His breathing problem was made worse by all this running. Eventually, he decided to head back to his house and n his next move more thoroughly. It was then. Just as he was heading towards his house, his hair twitched. His previous calm was gone; now he wore a bloodthirsty grin. He moved in a circle, seeing what direction his hair reacted to most. When he went north-east, his hair started to rise higher and higher. Now that revenge was so close, he forgot his previous exhaustion and ran like a cheetah towards his daughter''s murderer. Isaac was lying on a rooftop, observing the vige head''s house. He''d only seen guards moving around and hadn''t spotted the vige head even once. Suddenly, he noticed amotion in the street to his left. A man was charging in his direction, hair on end like he''d been hit by lightning. Isaac didn''t recognise him at first since he''d only heard a vague description of the vige head before. However, the ragged breathing and obvious desire to kill told Isaac who it was. He didn''t know how the vige head had found him, but now wasn''t the time to think about it. He stood up and got ready to run. However, he had to wait for a second first. He couldn''t get caught, but he also couldn''tpletely escape the vige head; he needed to bait him towards the tavern. Surprisingly, the vige head stopped and raised his arm. There was a sh of blue light from his palm and Isaac felt blood dripping down his arm. Only then did he realise that an icicle had been fired at him. However, the vige head was breathing heavily, making his arm shake and causing his shot to be off-target, just grazing Isaac instead of hitting him directly. Isaac was stunned; it was apparent the vige head was a cultivator. His cautious nature told him to escape since he hadn''t nned for this. On the other hand, his logic told him this was the best chance he''d get. The vige head was sick and obviously exhausted. If he could injure him with the ss trap, he''d have a chance. By now the vige head was near enough. Isaac ran at a moderate pace across the rooftop and jumped to the next one. Looking back, he saw the vige head climb onto the roof he had been on. Two more icicles went whistling past Isaac, but he''d expected these so he managed to dodgepletely. The vige head quickly realised he couldn''t hit Isaac and stopped firing since continuing would only be wasting his Qi. The chase continued across the vige''s rooftops. Isaac was quicker but he never escaped even though he could have. The vige head realised he was being baited after a short period of chasing, but he didn''t care. He just wanted his revenge. In fact, he started to slow down when he saw Isaac wasn''t escaping. He knew Isaac wouldn''t run away so he slowed down to conserve energy. When they reached Isaac''s trap, the vige head wasn''t as tired as Isaac would have liked. He might actually have recovered a little energy. Isaac dropped down and grabbed the roof edge with his fingers. Then he kicked off the wall and jumped over the rows of ss he''d left there. A small cloud of dust was kicked up when hended in the alley. The vige head appeared on the roof a few secondster, looking down at Isaac and smirking. He already knew Isaac was leading him somewhere so he expected an ambush or a trap. In that case, he would much rather stay on the roof and fire icicles at Isaac. "She looked really peaceful before I killed her. Imagine the life she had ahead of her... inheriting the vige, marrying a good husband, living happily and sessfully with a family. But no, your decisions and my actions cut all of that short. Now she''s gone to join your wife in theher realm. I bet they''re having fun with the thousands of male demons there." Isaac began to provoke the vige head, trying to lure him down into the alleyway. His words were clearly effective since the vige head was staring daggers at Isaac, but he still didn''t jump down. Andreas was furious. His mental state could even be described as a murderous rage, but he still retained his rationality. Isaac''s taunts had only made him surer the alleyway was a trap. However, Isaac didn''t mind this oue either since Andreas would continue to attack and waste Qi. Isaac had been scratched by the vige head''s icicles before, but that was because he got caught by surprise. Now he knew Andreas'' palm glowed blue before he fired, giving him time to react and dodge the icicles whenever he saw that. Since he was confident in dodging, it didn''t matter how many icicles Andreas fired; he would evade them all. The alleyway was quite wide so Isaac had room to dodge. *Thud thud thud* 3 more icicles mmed into the earth. Isaac stood there with a mocking grin which almost said ''Come and get me''. "I killed your daughter! Me! She kicked and she tried to scream, but she couldn''t! It was so pitiful watching her... you should''ve been there to see it!" The more he provoked Andreas, the more reluctant Andreas was to jump down. However, the battle wore on and he realised he was only wasting Qi. "You little prick, your remaining lifespan can be measured in seconds!" He jumped down from the roof directly. "Arghhhhh!" The vige head''s right foot hadnded on a particrly sharp spike of ss. It pierced his shoe and left a deep wound on the sole of his foot. Luckily, the ss his left footnded on was less sharp and couldn''t puncture his shoe. However, he could still barely walk. Dodging and manoeuvring would be difficult, so he would have to keep Isaac at medium range and attack with icicles. On the other hand, Isaac had no ranged methods of attack. He had to get up close and personal to deal a decisive blow, which meant closing the distance and dodging icicles at a much closer range than he had before. Running in immediately would be suicide: he''d walk right into a fatal icicle. He had to make Andreas exhaust his Qi by making Andreas think he could hit him whilst not actually getting hit. Isaac took 2 long strides towards Andreas. However, he had to stop and duck left as an icicle whizzed by. Ice Fragment Anima was among the mostmon offensive Anima in Northern Tundra. At Rank 1, the icicles it fired were about half the length of a pencil and were shot at considerable pace. They had a lot of momentum and getting hit by one would do considerable damage. However, Isaac kept dodging. One icicle was shot to his left with another one aimed at his right leg. He moved left and ducked under the icicle. Then one directly at him. He dived and rolled right, then quickly stood and stepped back. An icicle stabbed into the ground in front of him. The vige head was already breathing raggedly. He looked like he was nearly out of Qi as well since he was firing fewer icicles. Isaac saw this and rushed in for the kill. However, as soon as he got closer, Andreas'' eyes lit up. He quickly fired a fan of 3 icicles, giving Isaac no space to dodge. Isaac didn''t expect it, but he still ducked by instinct. He felt a searing pain as an icicle caught the top of his head and he knew death had only been inches away. It was bleeding a lot and it hurt like hell, but luckily he''d avoided a critical injury. Isaac staggered backwards a step but caught his bnce in time to evade the next icicle. He looked up at the vige head but his vision was obscured by the blood flowing down into his left eye. Andreas looked back with utter hatred and contempt. He was firing icicles from his right hand, meaning he could shoot them from Isaac''s blind spot. Isaac tried to close the distance again. He wanted to injure Andreas'' right arm and stop him using the Ice Fragment Anima. Andreas let him get closer this time, since he wanted to take advantage of the blind spot in close quarters. When Isaac was 2 metres away, Andreas fired an icicle. It was one of thest he could manage with his Qi running out. However, it was in Isaac''s blind spot. He saw itte and had no time to dodge, so he tried to twist his body and was hit in the left arm. Meanwhile, he took a final step forward and shed at Andreas'' right shoulder with his knife. Andreas'' eyes widened in surprise, but a thin shield of wind protected his shoulder just before the knife made contact. Breeze Barrier Anima was normally used to block projectiles, but Andreas poured most of his Qi into it to soften this blow. Despite that, the knife still cut deep. If he didn''t use the Anima, Isaac might''ve cut all the way to his bone. Andreas roared in pain and gave Isaac a powerful left hook to the body. Isaac stumbled backwards, creating some separation again. Andreas tried firing more icicles, but his uracy was dramatically decreased. Isaac didn''t even have to dodge since the 2 icicles missed. Both sides were struggling. Blood was streaming into Isaac''s eye, his left arm had an icicle sticking out of it, and he was winded from the blow he just took. On the other hand, Andreas couldn''t put pressure on his right foot, was almost entirely out of Qi, and was unable to aim properly. He was also having major trouble breathing. Isaac noticed this and kicked arge cloud of dust at him. The vige head coughed violently, creating an opening. Isaac rushed in again, his knife aimed at Andreas'' neck. However, he couldn''t see Andreas'' right palm angle upwards. With thest of his Qi, Andreas fired an icicle into Isaac''s midriff. In the moment before his death, he was content knowing that Isaac''s wounds would kill him. It had cost him his life, but he had avenged his daughter. As Isaac copsed to the ground, bleeding heavily, he also sighed in relief. Then bright light filled his vision. Chapter 9: Surprise! Chapter 9: Surprise! The light was blinding and Isaac couldn''t see for a few seconds. He blinked a few times before his eyes limatised and he could see the grey sky above. The sun was rising in the sky and he''d been staring directly at it, exining the blinding light. He tried to sit up but grimaced when he tried pushing himself up. His right arm was wounded and hurt terribly. It reminded Isaac that he had left the illusion and was back in the real world: the injuries from fighting Andreas were gone, but the wolf bite he had suffered was back. He tried sitting up again, but nausea and dizziness attacked him. He''d lost too much blood and now it was starting to affect him. He shut his eyes and waited for the dizziness to subside. After he felt a little better, he looked around the clearing and saw everybodyid on their backs like he had been. Then, movement in the corner of his eye alerted him. Somebody had walked out of the forest and towards the area they were in; it was Erik, the muscr boy Isaac had lured a wolf towards. He looked a little surprised to see Isaac awake, but his expression soon returned to indifference. Isaac noticed he was carrying some green herbs. After Erik sat down and started eating them, Isaac realised he was incredibly hungry as well. He followed the direction Erik appeared from and found a small area of nts springing up from the snow. He picked his own and ate them where he was before going back. On the way back, he looked for firewood but none of what he saw was dry enough, so making a spark would be impossible. Back in the clearing, he ate some snow before unwrapping his bandaged right arm. He looked around at the people lying in the snow and undressed one of them to take his top. Isaac reced his own ruined top with the new one, then he tore the left arm off of his old top and tied it around his wound. After that, there was a few hours of tension. Isaac and Erik had nothing to do, so they just eyed each other cautiously. The next one to wake up was Johan. He chatted with Isaac for a bit and Isaac told him where to forage for nts. The third trial could be another team trial so it was better if everyone was in good condition. They had to wait 3 more hours before more people started to awaken. After talking to Johan, Isaac discovered 3 hours in real life was a day inside the illusion. That meant Johan had finished a day earlier than most people, Isaac had finished 2 day earlier than that, and Erik had finished even earlier. However, that didn''t bother Isaac much. It was the end result that was important, not the process. If he was stronger than Erik in 5 years'' time, that was what was important not who finished this trial first. When the instructor arrived, 25 trialees had woken up including Isaac. He beckoned to them to follow and walked away wordlessly. Isaac did a quick count and found there were 32 bodies still lying in the snow. The first test had eliminated 43 out of 100, but this had killed more than half of the remainder. On this trajectory, the third trial might kill two thirds of the 25 survivors. All of the trialees were anxious when the instructor led them to arge stone building. It wasn''t tall or wide, but it seemed to stretch deep into the forest. When the instructor pulled a lever, a section of the stone slid away to reveal an entrance. The instructor told them to enter but didn''t do so himself. When they were all inside, he pulled the lever again and the entrance disappeared, trapping them. It was dark inside the building. The narrow passage ahead of them was only illuminated by 2 ming torches near the ceiling. There were 2 more torches at the end of the passage but that was some distance away, making the middle of the passage particrly dark. Anybody who''d survived the first 2 trials was intelligent and calm enough to observe the surroundings before moving rashly. The building was made from grey bricks and looked quite old. In some areas the bricks were damp and moss grew on them. Judging from its appearance, the sect had been holding trials here for a long time. However, it seemed well maintained other than the moss and there were no issues or broken areas for the trialees to exploit. They all realised they had to head down the passageway, but it wouldn''t be a trial if all they needed to do was walk. No-one wanted to take unnecessary risks, so it was hours before one of them was willing to take the lead. He walked a few steps through the corridor without any trouble and started to gain some confidence. Maybe the trial was in the next room and this corridor didn''t have The boy didn''t even have time to finish his thought. Without even realising what had happened, blood spurted from his throat and he died within seconds. The onlookers could all see his body suspended by the wire running through his neck. Nobody had seen the almost invisible wire. It had been sharpened to perfection and left at the average person''s neck height so it cut the boy''s throat with no resistance. The wire was so thin and sharp that you couldn''t see it in the dim light and it was only visible now because of the blood dripping from it. Strangely, the boy''s death made everyone else more confident. Now they knew what traps to expect, they all felt much more secure. A girl with a long ponytail soon walked down the passageway and approached the wire. She crouched down and slowly moved under the wire whilst looking up to see where it was. She felt a stinging pain along her neck and quickly drew back. However, it was toote. A second wire had already ruptured her windpipe and she couldn''t breathe. She gasped for air wildly but couldn''t dy the inevitable, and copsed to the ground with her eyes wide in disbelief. If the first death had made everyone more confident, this one made everyone grimace. The wires were ced much more fiendishly than they had expected. They were in unpredictable spots and might not even be aimed at the neck. There could also be shin or torso height wires designed to injure rather than kill. This uncertainty made everyone more cautious, and for a while nobody wanted to move again. Then, Isaac took off his coat without saying a word. He held the coat in front of him and walked forwards slowly, though he would sometimes stop and look over the coat for other traps. After Isaac safely navigated the first 2 traps and then found 2 more with his coat strategy, others began to join him. Isaac slowed down to wait for them and let them take the lead. He stayed near the side of the group so he always had space to move or dodge, but didn''t go too far back as the people ahead could obscure his vision. They passed many more wires, including some ced diagonally or at awkward angles. Now they were near the middle of the passageway. *Click* *Whirrrr* The sound of gears whirring gave the group less than a second to prepare for a rain of arrows. Somebody stepping on a pressure te had triggered a set of automatic crossbows and screams echoed in the tight passageway as arrows struck. Only the 3 at the front had actually been killed, but the arrows had wounded many. This showed one shoring of the coat strategy: it was difficult to see past the coat. If you were looking over it all the time, you could get caught by a high wire. If you never looked past it, you could walk right into traps like this. You also wouldn''t be able to see the arrows and avoid them. As they continued, the wires and pressure tes grew more frequent. They managed to spot and avoid a couple of pressure tes, but it was too dark to see all of them. Fortunately, they made it to the end with only 1 more death despite a lot of injuries. The unlucky soul had lost his bnce dodging an onught of arrows and fallen backwards onto a wire. Compared to everyone else, Isaac was rtively unscathed. He had some cuts and scratches, but nothing deeper than half a centimetre. His thin, lithe body and excellent anticipation skills made dodging a rather simple task. His confidence in his individual abilities meant he was one of the only people who were happy when they saw the passageway fork ahead. Chapter 10: Battle Talent Chapter 10: Battle Talent The passageway split into 33 new paths. Words etched above the central path read "Enter alone." A lot of the group rested there for a while before picking a path and entering when they felt ready, but Isaac was always ready. He rested for 3 minutes, then took the leftmost passage and walked down it until he came to a wider chamber. *Kirrrrrrrrr* *nk* More gears could be heard and the entrance closed behind him. *Click Click Click Click Click* Upon hearing this, Isaac immediately got into a battle-ready position. It was this low, mobile stance which allowed him to dodge the first wave of arrows flying at him. Several automatic crossbows had popped out of the walls and were already firing. Thankfully the arrows were fired at a lower velocity, since they would be impossible to dodge at full power and nobody would pass the test. However, the room was small and there were many arrows, so dodging still wasn''t easy. At least, it wouldn''t have been easy for the other trialees. Isaac deftly ducked and dodged between deadly arrows without much difficulty. The crossbows began to fire quicker. Even more arrows rained down on Isaac but he still dodged, albeit with less ease. Then, the walls of the room began to move. Not only did this reduce the space for dodging, but it also put great mental pressures on Isaac. He had to n his next dodges while taking into ount all the arrows'' trajectories so he didn''t end up stuck in a corner. As the room got smaller and smaller, Isaac could only dodge with a small margin of error. Many arrows tore through his clothes or scratched him lightly but none hit directly. After a while, he learnt the crossbows'' firing pattern and reloading times. He found a good rhythm and started dodging more easily again, predicting where arrows would be fired. But when he stepped back to avoid the 2 arrows in front of him, another arrow appeared where it shouldn''t have been. The unexpected arrow was headed for the middle of his back and he couldn''t avoid itpletely. He bent his body forwards at 45 degrees to avoid the 2 passing arrows, while simultaneously kicking upwards behind him. His foot connected with the arrow and deflected it. He''d timed it slightly wrong so the arrow cut through part of his shoe''s sole, but the move was still effective. The arrow''s trajectory had been changed and it sailed over Isaac''s head. As he continued to dodge, the pattern had definitely changed. More precisely, it felt like a second pattern had been added on top of the first, making dodging several times more difficult. At the next chance he got, Isaac looked up. He saw a few new crossbows poking out from the walls, exining the changed pattern of arrows. Despite this, Isaac soon found a new rhythm and began evading the arrows without much danger. After the first change, he remained vignt and was prepared for it to change again. However, the pattern stayed the same until the trial eventually ended. By this time, the room had shrunk to the size of a small bedroom. Isaac still hadn''t been hit directly but his clothes looked like rags. He was lucky this was thest trial since his coat was now incapable of keeping out any kind of cold. Even though he was inside, Isaac was shivering. More importantly, the wound on his right arm had reopened. The early signs of scabbing had been destroyed either by his violent movements or an arrow scraping it. Now that the wound was bleeding again, he had to salvage some of his ruined clothes and use them to bind it. After throwing away the old bloody bandages, he sat down and caught his breath before heading through the newly opened door ahead. It led to another room and he could already see des protruding from the walls. When he entered, the door closed and the des began to move. This test also involved dodging so Isaac found it quite easy. It was more than just dodging the des though. There was a mannequin in front of Isaac and sometimes a vital body part or pressure point on it would light up red. Isaac had to strike the red part whilst dodging the des. Once, an especially awkward red spot showed up and Isaac had to evade 3 different des before he could hit it. That was how he discovered the des would speed up if the spot wasn''t hit within a certain time. After that, Isaac consistently hit the spots on time and on target. When the des finally ground to a halt, Isaac let out a long breath. He hadn''t been injured but he was definitely getting tired. Growing up in the sect''s ''farm'' as an outcast and someone who was picked on, he had struggled to get food. He''d been forced to survive by scavenging what he could or stealing others'' food. However, he could never get much which led to him being malnourished. He did thepulsory exercises all the children were told to do, but he could never gain muscle due to not eating enough. His stamina also never improved since doing longer training sessions would only burn more calories and cause him to get even thinner. Eventually he changed his exercise schedule to focus more on bnce, flexibility and agility. Workouts focusing on these didn''t burn many calories or require you to eat well. From then onwards, Isaac honed his lithe and agile body whilst neglecting strength and stamina. He was supremely confident in his own abilities, but from fighting the wolf in the first trial to all the times he''d run out of energy, having strength and stamina would make so many things easier. When he inevitably passed the trials and became an official member of the sect, his living conditions would improve. That meant having his own share of food he didn''t need to fight for. After that, he''d finally be able to begin training in earnest: even if cultivators could use Anima, it was still crucial to have strong physical attributes. As things were now, he had to sit and rest again to recover for the next room. He was extremely fortunate these stages yed to his strengths rather than his weaknesses. Other than just dodging ability, the 2 rooms had tested spatial awareness, quick thinking inbat, timing, striking uracy and other areas ofbat talent. Muscr strength and fitness could be easily improved with enough time, but there were some parts ofbat that couldn''t be taught. Isaac assumed the trial tested these intangibles since they were crucial for cultivators. After thinking and resting, Isaac walked into the next room. It wasrger than the previous 2 and had a mirror in the middle. Isaac didn''t know it, but this was not a normal mirror it was the Reflection Soldier Anima. It functioned as a summonable tool and would create a copy with the same physical attributes as the person reflected in it. Non-cultivators were referred to asmoners, and the copy''sbat standard would be roughly equal to amoner soldier. Of course, as a Rank 1 Anima, it could only create copies up to a certain strength. For example, it couldn''t perfectly copy a Rank 1 wild beast despite being of the same rank. However, Isaac''s meagre strength was nowhere near that limit. The moment he entered the room, he was reflected in the mirror. The mirror began to bend and contort. After a few seconds, it had morphed into a ssy grey-ck figure the same height and shape as Isaac. Isaac''sbat standards werepletely unnatural for a 14-year-old. The type of childhood he''d endured shouldn''t be wished upon anyone, but at least it had given him something. On top of his deadly dog-eat-dog upbringing in the ''farm'', he was a natural genius when it came tobat. When the reflection soldier punched forwards, Isaac slipped the punch and sent a strong palm into the soldier''s torso. The soldier went stumbling back, but Isaac didn''t pursue his advantage since he knew it was a trap. Andreas'' icicles had taught him a painful lesson in approaching his opponent carefully. Since Isaac wouldn''t advance, the reflection soldier did. It feinted a jab beforeunching a roundhouse kick. Isaac wasn''t quick enough to catch the kick so he parried it. The soldier seemed encouraged and kept Isaac on the defensive. It got even closer and swung a left then a right hook. Isaac blocked the left, then ducked during the short pause between punches. He used the opening to kick the soldier''s leg. It didn''t fall, but a couple more might have it limping. The reflection soldier seemed to have very basic emotions. Infuriated, it threw a slurry of punches. Few connected, and even those were blocked or deflected. However, Isaac had no opportunities to counter. Commoner soldiers were well trained and had especially strong basics. Each punch was thrown properly, using the force generated by punching with his whole body. Isaac''s arms were starting to ache after blocking some, but he already had the advantage. He knew his weaknesses better than anybody else. He had let the soldier punch itself out now it was getting tired and he could take the offensive. The soldier missed another punch but this time Isaac responded. He grabbed the soldier''s extended arm with one hand and delivered a lightning quick chop to the neck with the other. Hiscking strength meant he couldn''t kill the soldier in one blow but he''d still stunned it. Now Isaac swept the reflection soldier''s feet from under it with a kick. The soldier tumbled to the ground with Isaac on top of it. Despite the soldier''s attempts to block, Isaac repeatedly pummelled its face from above and it wasn''t long before the soldier sumbed to the ground-and-pound. Chapter 11: Riddle Me This Chapter 11: Riddle Me This "Ha... ha... ha..." Isaac sat on the floor breathing heavily. He''d beaten the reflection soldier and a passage had opened up in front of him again, but he rested for a bit. He gave himself about half an hour, then headed down the path which seemed to curve towards the right. As he reached the end of the passage, Isaac saw 7 people sitting and talking next to a closed double-door. Isaac saw Erik and Johan among them and Johan told him they were waiting for everybody to arrive before they opened the doors. 4 people arrived shortly after Isaac, but nobody else came even after they waited long time. Out of the 19 people who entered the passages, only 12 had exited. That meant the other 7 were either dead or too injured and/or slow to be of use to the group. Therefore, everybody decided they had waited long enough and decided to open the doors. They all entered the circr room which was empty other than an altar in the middle of it. The altar had 5 coloured gems and 2 paragraphs of writing on it, but that wasn''t what caught everybody''s attention: they were drawn to the borate engravings around the room. The engravings depicted a dying forest. There were bushes and trees without leaves and ravens flying through the cloudy sky or perching on one of the trees'' few branches. A nking sound from behind stopped Isaac admiring the engravings any longer. The doors behind him had mmed shut probably on a mechanical timer to shut a short while after opening. Even Erik couldn''t get them to budge. Suddenly, Isaac felt water pouring onto his head. Streams of water were flowing in through gaps in the ceiling and beginning to flood the room. However, nobody panicked. They all stayed calm and remembered that this was a test, so they looked for clues on how to pass it. Isaac''s first thought was to inspect the engravings for a clue. However, Johan had gone over to the altar instead. "''Walk on the living, they don''t even mumble. Walk on the dead, they mutter and grumble.'' That''s the first paragraph, it''s a riddle. The second paragraph is all jumbled up it''s probably in some kind of code." Everyone contemted the riddle, but Johan came up with the answer after about a minute, "It''s leaves! Look for leaves in the engravings!" While most people started searching randomly, Isaac deliberately looked at low areas on the engravings. Since the sect was obviously making things as difficult as possible for them, the leaves might be hidden in a spot that the water would quickly cover. Sure enough, Isaac spotted a single leaf just below the current waterline in the room. He could also see 2 small circles of letters engraved beneath the leaf. The outer circle was the Unified Terranese Alphabet, with every letter in order. The inner ring had every letter of the alphabet but in a seemingly random order. "I''ve found the key to the code! Somebody read the first word of it!" Johan waded through the shin-high water to get to the altar. He read a mix of jumbled letters and Isaac looked at the 2 wheels of letters. He found the first letter in the outer ring, then checked which letter it corresponded to in the inner ring. He did the same for the other letters and read out aplete word, "Twist" Johan read the next jumbled word and Isaac went to decipher it. The others silently remembered the words Isaac read out as he smoothly decoded the paragraph. However, the room was flooding at an rming rate. The water was soon shoulder height, meaning Isaac had to dive down to read the circles of letters. The higher the water got, the deeper Isaac had to dive and the more out of breath he became. Now he was reading each word in-between gasps of air. That was when Erik stopped him. "You''re inefficient. I''ll do it." Isaac knew it was true so he didn''t argue. He wasn''t even displeased. He simply swam to the side of the room and held a gap between the bricks in the wall so he didn''t have to tread water. Then he asked one of the others, "What does it say so far?" "Twist the altar table to open the door into the next chamber" Isaac nodded in thanks before looking back at Erik. However, Erik wasn''t there he had already dived underwater like an eel. Erik was undeniable quicker than Isaac and the code was deciphered in no time at all. Theplete sentence read, ''Twist the altar table to open the door into the next chamber, then remain close to the door and prepare for the danger on the other side.'' When everybody was ready, Johan dove down one final time to twist the circr altar. When he couldn''t twist it any further, there was thudding sound from within the wall, followed by the grinding of gears. Everyone got closer to the source of the sound, trying to stay close to where the door would appear. Everyone except Erik, that was. After decrypting the code, he had remained at the back of the group. That was why nobody noticed him dive back down towards the altar. With even more gear-grinding, a part of the wall was being lowered into the floor to form a doorway. Water rushed over the top of the wall as it got lower, creating a strong current. As this was happening, Erik twisted the altar back to its original position. A barrier of milky white light surrounded him and everybody finally noticed what he was doing. However, it was toote. They were swept away by the current of water and carried into the next chamber. Meanwhile, Erik was protected by the white barrier and stayed next to the altar. He had lied about the code as he was deciphering it, keeping the real message to himself and giving a fake one to everybody else. Now he was left alone in the room as its front wallpletely disappeared into the floor, giving him a full view of the next chamber. It was huge: wide, very tall and half a kilometre long. Several thick stone pirs ran from the ceiling to the floor. At least, Erik assumed they ran all the way to the floor. The chamber was actually filled with unfathomably deep water, which the other 11 had all been swept into. Fortunately they had all been taught to swim at a young age, since Northern Tundra was a continent of ice, snow and water. At the end of the chamber was a tform the only piece of drynd in sight and a doorway with light streaming through it. All that stood between them and the end of the trial was arge dark blue lump right in front of the tform. As Erik was looking at it, the lump began to move. At first it raised its head to see what themotion was. Then it slowly got up, standing on the surface of the water with its 4 hooves. It was a horse-like beast with dark green eyes and a mane of cyan hair which ran all the way down its back and right into its long tail, which flicked and swayed with a mind of its own. Along the top of its head was a crest of menacing coral spikes and its skin was thick, leathery and a deep-sea blue. From the way it walked on water effortlessly, Erik surmised that this was a Kelpie, a veritable Rank 2 wild beast. He absolutely didn''t envy those trapped in the pool with it. Chapter 12: Confronting a Wild Beast Chapter 12: Confronting a Wild Beast However, Erik knew the trial wouldn''t put them in a situation with no way out. He looked down at the altar with its 5 coloured gems and read the single word beneath each. The purple gem said ''Teleport'', the pale blue gem was ''Freeze'', the sunny yellow crystal said ''Restrict'', the grey crystal said ''Spear'', and ''Vines'' was written below the green gem. Erik knew it was down to him to stop the Kelpie using the effects of these gems. The coded message had told him to crush them to use their effects, but he had to wait for the right moment. After all, he also needed to get past the Kelpie and swim to the other end of the chamber. For now, he just observed the situation. The Kelpie had already noticed the intruders and started galloping across the water towards them. It was a wild beast ''wild'' as in dangerous and naturally aggressive so it immediately attacked the first person it saw. Unfortunately for a woman with dark ck hair, that happened to be her. Everybody had scattered and swam in different directions, so she was essentially on her own. She noticed the Kelpie was targeting her and desperately swam towards the nearest person, hoping the Kelpie would attack them instead of her. However, that person was a better swimmer than her so he just swam away quickly when he noticed her n. Soon, the Kelpie was charging directly at her. Without thinking twice, she dived underwater to try and get out of the way. She managed to narrowly avoid the Kelpie as it ran across the surface of the water, going over her. Then it turned around, ready to make another pass. However, it saw the girl was still underwater and dove under the surface itself. When it was underwater, the Kelpie''s tail spread out like a fan; it was possible to see thin webbing between some of the hairs. With two flicks of its tail, the Kelpie shot forwards like a shark. When it resurfaced above the water, the girl''s corpse was decorating its crest of coral spikes. Isaac who was swimming down the left side of the chamber saw this and redoubled his swimming efforts. The Kelpie neighed before charging towards the guy to its right. The man had swam as far as he could while the Kelpie chased its first victim. He wanted to reach one of the pirs near the side of the room and hide from the Kelpie but he hadn''t made it in time. Isaac saw the man reach the pir and pull something on it. Then crossbows appeared higher up the pir and fired a hail of arrows at the Kelpie. The arrows barely left a mark on the Kelpie''s skin, but then it suddenly vanished! Isaac hurriedly looked around to find the Kelpie and saw it was now in the back left corner of the room, not too far behind him. After seeing this, Isaac immediately swam towards the nearest pir. Hopefully he could do the same as the other man and teleport the Kelpie away. However, his hope, was misguided. The Kelpie was not teleported by the lever on the pir, but by Erik crushing the purple ''Teleport'' crystal on the altar. He knew he would need other people alive to distract the Kelpie while he tried to escape, so he saved the man by teleporting the Kelpie into a corner. Putting it on Isaac''s side was just a small measure of revenge for when Isaac had baited a wolf towards him. Not knowing this, Isaac swam towards the pir. He was exhausted andcked physical power, so hegged behind the others despite his strong swimming technique. The Kelpie was obviously aiming for him and was closing the distance between them at breakneck speed. Just as the Kelpie reached him, Isaac pulled the same trick as the girl from earlier and swam under it. The Kelpie careened past him and mmed into the nearby pir, destroying most of it. The lever system was destroyed but some of the gears higher up the pir became exposed. Isaac resurfaced and quickly mbered up the crumbling concrete pir. He grabbed hold of an exposed gear and pulled it down, engaging the mechanism hidden in the pir. Just as the Kelpie charged at Isaac again, there was a series of subdued explosions underwater. The explosions caused a wall of water to fly up, surrounding the pir and blocking the Kelpie. The Kelpie didn''t care and continued to charge through the water, but Erik saw his chance. He broke the blue ''Freeze'' gem to freeze all the water around the Kelpie, trapping it. Then he immediately broke the crystal which said ''Restrict'', reducing the Kelpie''s strength and stopping it from escaping right away. After that, Erik broke the grey and green gems to send a giant spear into the Kelpie''s side, then summon thorny vines to bind the Kelpie when the spear disappeared. After doing that, Erik jumped into the water himself and started swimming down the right side of the chamber. Isaac let go of the pir and dropped down. Instead of sshing into water, hended on the ice caused by Erik''s gem. Isaac ran across the ice, catching up with those ahead of him. In fact, he overtook those to his right and became one of the closest to the exit. There were 3 pirs between him and the exit when he reached the end of the ice. Without hesitation, he dove into the water and swam frantically towards the first one. All the while he heard creaking and cracking sounds behind him. Isaac reached the first pir and hid behind it, but the Kelpie broke free from its bindings shortly afterwards. It looked around with bloodshot eyes but couldn''t see Isaac, so it chased the 2 people to Isaac''s right. While it was upied with them, Isaac made a dash for the second pir. Isaac reached the pir just before the Kelpie finished ying with its victims. Since Isaac had hidden himself again, the Kelpie decided to pursue thest 3 people on the left side of the chamber. The final pir was a long distance from Isaac but he had to try and reach it quickly. However, he was already tired from the long swim and was slowing down. As he swam, he kept looking over his right shoulder at the Kelpie. He watched it tear the other 3 to shreds and then look right at him. There was arge gap between those on the left and right sides of the chamber. Since Isaac was the only one remaining on the left, he was closest to the Kelpie and it quickly pursued him. Fortunately, Isaac was already near the final pir and he reached it before the Kelpie reached him. He reached up and pulled the lever down, hoping for a simr result to before. The lever created a whirlpool-like current around the pir. For the Kelpie, it was like trying to run while the ground under you moved at high speed. It stopped to re at Isaac before diving underwater to try and swim through. Isaac saw this and knew he couldn''t just wait in the middle of the whirlpool. The Kelpie was behind him and the strong current would slow it down. Meanwhile, the tform with the exit was just tens of metres away. Isaac pushed off of the pir and entered the whirlpool. He used the current to slingshot him forwards at a higher speed. The Kelpie had just broken through the whirlpool and reached the pir, only to find Isaac wasn''t there. The Kelpie did the same as Isaac and used the current to elerate forwards. However, Isaac was already pulling himself up onto the tform. As Isaac sprinted towards the exit, the Kelpie came flying out of the water and onto the tform. Isaac was just 15 metres from the exit and the Kelpie was over 30 metres behind him, but it was moving like a train. With just a couple of metres to go, Isaac could almost feel it breathing down his neck. He gave everything he had to put on a final burst of speed and he managed to cross the threshold of the exit. His 3rd trial wasplete. Chapter 13: Two Years Chapter 13: Two Years Isaac breathed the crisp air of the outdoors. The fresh snow and pine trees smelled so sweet he''d never forget them. He just stood there and soaked in this moment of sess. He''d finished all 3 trials: he was a member of the sect. He''d finally earned the right to be a cultivator. The moment he thought this, he immediately focused again and began analysing what he could''ve done better during the trial. He drifted off to his own world and didn''t bother with any of the others who had passed the trial. Isaac only snapped back to reality when the instructor arrived. "Congrattions on passing the 3rd trial. Follow me back to the sect and I''ll arrange new amodation for you." Only 6 people had passed the trial, including Isaac, Erik and Johan. The others were a boy with long hair covering his face and 2 girls called Eleanora (though everyone just called her Nora) and Ingrid. Nora was blonde while Ingrid had long, raven ck hair. They both had jade green eyes and cold, hard stares. Isaac shared a word or two with Johan as they followed the instructor. Johan, with his near photographic memory, said Nora and Ingrid finished 4th and 7th respectively in the second trial. They weren''t to be underestimated. However, even he hadn''t noticed the boy before. Isaac nodded but he didn''t see himself bing their enemy or ally in the near future, so their strength was irrelevant. He was more interested in what would happen next. He knew the sect only awakened people at least 16 years old, and they would only be epted as official members after that. He was curious about what would happen during the 2 years until then, but he didn''t ask the instructor. Speaking to a superior in the sect without being spoken to would be disrespectful and he could be punished. Rank and hierarchy were extremely important in the sect. They helped maintain order and motivate sect members to grow stronger to earn higher positions. ************************* After a couple hours of walking, it was nearly dark. They''d emerged from the forest some time ago and were walking through the open tundra. The snow-covered ice sheets extended like an endless white nket. The only sign of life in this featurelessnd was a spire in the distance. As they drew nearer, they could see the spire more clearly. It was tall, thin and silver like a metalnce piercing the sky. The tower had no decorations other than arge half-moon symbol. It was a sharp contrast to the opulent pce below the tower. When they got even closer, Isaac could see buildings other than the huge tower and pce. He could also see a 6-metre wooden wall encircling the sect. Of course, he''d seen it all before: he''d grown up within these walls. However, there was something magnificent about returning to it all whilst knowing he''d earned his ce here. When they reached the gate, the instructor shed his badge and gave the password. The guards on the wall nodded and opened the gates. Bustling streets opened up right before Isaac. Stalls selling medicine, cultivation resources, and other goods crowded the entrance. Merchants tried to target adventurers just returning from missions, but there was so much noise that nobody could properly advertise their wares. The instructor brought the 6 of them away from the market. Isaac had grown up in a very small part of the sect, so it was only now he had a chance to walk through it that he realised how big it was. Tens of thousands of cultivators and even moremoner servants lived here, yet there was still room to spare. They walked through the residential district and past some stables. Then they reached arge three storey building. "This will be your school and ce of learning for the next 2 years. Here you will develop into proud andpetent members of the sect." Isaac and the other 5 all fixed their firm, determined gazes on the academy. For 2 years, they would strive to better themselves here. ************************* 2 yearster, in the academy courtyard. There was the shing of swords as Isaac and a grown woman exchanged blows. Isaac lunged forwards and the woman went to deflect his strike. However, it was a feint. Isaac''s sword suddenly changed directions and went towards the woman''s neck but she read it well and moved her head left at thest moment. Then she went on the offensive, shing towards Isaac''s extended sword arm. Isaac reversed his grip on the sword, flipping the de around to block the iing attack. However, his new grip was weak. The woman''s powerful swing knocked the sword out of his hand and sent it ttering to the floor. Having predicted this, Isaac punched out with his free hand. He connected with the woman''s stomach, sending her reeling back and giving him an opportunity to pick up his sword. Isaac relentlessly attacked weak points and utilised his free hand to create an advantage in fights. Inparison, the woman used the ssic ''honourable'' sword style, keeping her free arm behind her or out to the side to help her stay on bnce. That meant she could be more aggressive with her sword but struggled to defend against Isaac''s punches, grabs and kicks in close quarters When he looked at the clock on the courtyard wall, Isaac ended the bout and thanked the woman; she had been one of his swordsmanship teachers thesest 2 years. Of course, not everybody could get one-to-one lessons. In fact, Isaac was the only one outstanding enough to get special teaching in swordy. Not only was he a skilled swordsman, but his physique had also progressed by leaps and bounds in 2 years. With proper nutrition and a training n, he was no longer the skinny kid he once was. He was still lean, but now he hadpact muscle rather than just skin and bones. However, his main improvements were in stamina, not strength. He had ced great emphasis on endurance training and was now able to fight, run, or do physical work for extended periods of time. Today was an important day but he hadn''t skipped training: that was the attitude that allowed him to show such improvements. However, it was already midday and he was forced to stop here. He would finish upter. He put his sword back in the courtyard''s weapon rack and walked out of the gate to find Johan waiting for him. The pair greeted each other, then left the sect''s academy district for the first time in 2 years. The sect was split into several areas depending on cultivation rank. There were separate areas for Rank 1, 2 and 3 cultivators around the sect. Any Rank 4 cultivators and elders of the sect lived and worked in the huge Silver Pce at the sect''s centre. In the middle of the Silver Pce was the Lunar Tower. It was easily the tallest building in the sect and was its most important ce. The four Rank 5 members of the sect, known as the senators, lived there and it was a mysterious, secretive ce. Finally, there were 3 areas for non-cultivatingmoners: the area for servants, the ''farm'', and the academy. Isaac, Johan and a throng of other academy students were leaving the academy district and walking through the Rank 1 district towards the Silver Pce. Of course, they couldn''t actually enter the Silver Pce. Instead, they were heading for one of the ceremonial halls nearby. The hall was huge. It was mostly blue and white, but was also covered in patterns of gold leaf. After entering the hall, Isaac saw several alcoves in the wall with statues in them. Each statue had a name que underneath it, describing how the statue represented an important ancestor of the sect. In less than 20 minutes, the ceremonial hall had filled up with 2,500 people. This was the number of new disciples the sect epted every 2 years. They had all gathered here today for the sect elder''s announcement, though they all knew what it was going to be. At precisely 1:00 pm, one Rank 4 sect elder and twelve Rank 3 sect officials walked onto the stage at the front of the hall. The officials stood either side of the elder with solemn expressions. When the elder shouted "Glory to the sect!" using an Anima to enhance his voice, everybody including the officials saluted and shouted "Glory to the sect!" in response. Then they all stood with their heads held high, their hands by their sides and their backs as straight as spears. After observing the crowd for roughly 20 seconds, the elder nodded. "At ease." Everybody rxed their shoulders and got into morefortable positions. However, their eyes were still extremely serious. "Today is a great day for each of you, and the beginning of a very long journey. This journey will be different for all of you: for some, every step will be difficult to take. Others may progress with ease in the beginning but hit a wallter on. "Regardless of which group you fall under, you will experience difficulty at some point in your cultivation journey. However, it is how you deal with this difficulty which will determine your sess as a cultivator. I mentioned that today is a great day for all of you, but whether today is a great day for the sect will depend on your efforts." After the elder finished his speech, a faint spirit-like entity flew out of his throat and towards the official on the left it was the Anima he had used to make his voice louder. Even though Isaac had learnt that Anima existed as ethereal spirits which dwelled in a part of the human body, this was his first time actually seeing one. After that, the elder left by the back of the stage and the official took over. "We will be helping you awaken your Qi Core and officially be cultivators. Please stay in formation and we will call you up row by row to be awakened." The first row came up onto the stage. Most of the row stood in a group near the stage edge, waiting awkwardly. Meanwhile, one person stood in front of each official. Isaac watched the official on the left who seemed to be in charge. She looked at the youth in front of her, then ced her right palm on their stomach. In her left hand, she held a mechanical pocket watch, seemingly timing the event. Even the non-cultivators at the base of the stage could feel the movement of Qi in the air it was flowing towards the youth like a tide. After 20 seconds, the Qi was so dense it formed a thin mist. After 45 seconds, the fog was so thick it began to condense. After 74 seconds, the Qi stopped getting denser. In fact, it quickly dissipated. The official read the pocket watch and Isaac could lip-read her saying, "1 minute, 14 seconds. 3rd ss talent." The other youths on the stage exhibited simr phenomena when they awakened, all taking various amounts of time. After the 1st row had been awakened, most of the Qi in the hall was gone. The officials had to use various resources to replenish it, then they called the next row. The 2nd row came up, and then the 3rd. Isaac was in the 7th row so he still had a while to wait. However, something happened to a person from the 3rd row that everybody dreaded. When the official ced a hand on their stomach and used the Rank 3 Anima necessary for awakening, the youth screamed in pain. The Qi in the room did not flood towards them instead, it seemed to actively avoid them. The person copsed to the floor in a heap and had to be carried away by some of the disciples who had already been awakened. Unfortunately for them, they had been crippled. Nobody knew why, but you could only awaken your Qi Core after 12 years old. However, trying to awaken at 12 had less than a 1% sess rate. That rate rose exponentially the older you got, and the sect disciples awakening at 17 and 18 had a 92% and 96% sess rate respectively. However, the consequence of failure was bing a cripple who could never awaken or cultivate. They were doomed to be amoner who served the sect as a servant for life. In fact, Orthodox sects only awakened their disciples at 20, when they had a ''safe'' sess rate of 99.5%. However, the only truly safe sess rate was when one reached 30 or older. Then you would have a 100% chance of sess. The Orthodox sects would not set their disciples back 10 years just to raise the sess rate by a measly 1 in 200, so they simply advertised 20 as the safest possible age. Isaac believed this perfectly demonstrated the hypocrisy of Orthodox sects, who often used age of awakening to take the moral high ground over Blood path and Neutral path forces. They imed they waited for the safest possible time to awaken their disciples since they wanted the best for them, but it was mostly a front. It was quite fortunate that nobody in the first 2 rows had been crippled, but thew of averages always came into y. After the first unfortunate youth, more disciples dropped like flies. 12 were crippled in rows 3 and 4 alone. Meanwhile, Isaac had been observing some of the awakenings and estimating how long they took. From what he saw, roughly 3 out of 4 people were 4th or 5th ss talents. Most of these would be stuck at Rank 1 or 2 and would be cannon fodder for whenever the sect fought arge-scale battle. 1 in 5 people were 3rd ss talents. These could be Rank 3 cultivators and would make up the main portion of the sect''s higher ranked fighters. The final 5% of people were 2nd ss talents who had the potential to reach Rank 4 but could struggle to do so. Rank 4s would be generals on the battlefield or elders in the sect. As for 1st ss talents, Isaac hadn''t seen one yet. You would only be a 1st ss talent if your awakening took under 20 seconds. Inparison, 2nd ss talents would take under 45 seconds, 3rd ss would be less than 2 minutes, 4th ss was below 5 minutes and 5th ss was anything above that. A shorter awakening time would mean you had a small Qi Core, making cultivation easier. Trying to fill your Qi Core with Qi would take less time and effort, andpressing your Qi when attempting a breakthrough would be much easier, since you had less Qi topress. All 6 rows ahead of him passed and Isaac still didn''t see a 1st ss talent. Of course, there could''ve been one he simply missed, but that was unlikely as the officials probably would''ve made a fuss about it. Now it was Isaac''s turn, and he walked up the stairs onto the stage, just behind Johan. They were near the front so Johan went straight to an official to be awakened. Isaac, however, had to wait for his turn. He watched intently as Johan closed his eyes, sensing the Qi flooding towards him and settling in his stomach. Isaac could see the hand on the official''s mechanical watch tick over 20 and heard the official sigh lightly. However, the Qi stopped rushing to Johan just 16 secondster. Isaac could hear the official announce, "36 seconds. 2nd ss talent." Then the official beckoned for Isaac toe and be awakened. Chapter 14: Awakening and Trial Grades Chapter 14: Awakening and Trial Grades Isaac stood in front of the official and felt their hand on his stomach. Just like Johan, he closed his eyes and focused on the Qi rushing towards the area just above his belly button. He could feel the awakening Anima changing the structure of his intestines in a surprisingly painless way, hollowing out a space in his stomach and drawing Qi into it. The Qi was so dense that he could feel its every move despite never having trained to sense Qi before. Slowly, the Qi started to solidify. Isaac didn''t know how long the process had taken up until now, but it was longer than he would''ve liked. At first, there was just a small dish shaped bit of Qi. That continued to grow, bing more like a bowl with high sides. Finally, the sides continued to extend, meeting at the top to form a perfect sphere. However, Qi did not stop flowing towards Isaac. It continued to strengthen the walls of his Qi Core, stopping it from copsing in on itself. Eventually, Isaac opened his eyes and looked at the official with slight anticipation. The official looked back apathetically. "58 seconds. 3rd ss talent." Isaac was only slightly disappointed. His pale blue eyes dimmed briefly before the me of determination burnt in them anew, perhaps even more fiercely now. As the elder had said, cultivation was a difficult journey and he could not expect everything to pan out nicely for him. It wasn''t like he could control his innate talent, so why get worked up about it? Isaac walked away from the instructor and left the hall via the back of the stage. He walked out behind the hall and joined the crowd of others who had awakened. It seemed like the disciples had begun to form cliques, separating into groups based on talent. There was little mingling between the groups other than some disciples kissing up to those with higher talent. Despite being a 3rd ss talent, Isaac walked straight to the group of 2nd ss talents. Even if his talent was worse, he absolutely didn''t feel inferior to them. Some of the group were about to stop him and ask what his talent was, but Johan answered for him. Some of the others also recognised him as the rumoured swordsmanship prodigy and they vouched for him as well. Since natural intelligence and cultivation talent showed some corrtion, and the fact that he was walking over to the 2nd ss talents, they simply assumed Isaac was also a 2nd ss talent. They all waited behind the hall and talked for a bit until everybody had been awakened. About 5 minutester, the officials also left the ceremonial hall and joined the crowd. The one who looked like the leader shouted, "Follow us." The disciples willingly obeyed, but they were shocked at the direction they were heading. They were already near the Silver Pce a ce reserved for Rank 4 Elders and a select few of special status and now they were going even nearer. In fact, they only stopped upon reaching the wall to the pce''s courtyard and gardens. For most of them, this was the closest they''d ever get to entering the Silver Pce. What they saw next was even more stunning. Beneath the title written in bold ''18124 T.C.'', names and numbers were inscribed on the courtyard wall. T.C. stood for Terran Calendar. The they lived on was known as Terra and it had a unified calendar andnguage which were known all over the world. Of course, thenguage had to be updated every 50 years to ount for new dialects appearing in different corners of the world. However, what drew the disciples'' attentions were the names. Some of them even recognised the names of their friends or acquaintances. "Every 2 years, the names and trial scores of those who pass our trials and enter the sect are recorded on this wall. It is a great honour for your names to be inscribed on the wall of our venerable elders'' residence. "Of course, the names are listed in order of total trial score. There are further benefits to scoring well other than just being named first. ording to your score, you will gain a certain amount of temporary points temp points, if you will. I will exin the use of these at our next destination. For now, you may find your name. Please try to remember your score forter on." Isaac''s unparalleled confidence brought him right to the start of the list. Simr to his expectations, his name was right there in 4th ce. He also recognised Erik''s name in 1st and Johan''s in 13th. Next to Isaac''s name was a number which he practically ignored since he didn''t know how it was calcted and the letter ''S''. Looking down the list, the top 6 names all had ''S'' next to their score, and the names below that all had ''A''. Halfway down the next panel of names, they had a ''B'' instead. Isaac thought for a moment. If their group of trialees had 3 of the top 15 rankers but only 6 people from their trial survived, how bad were the other trials? Isaac didn''t know it, but barely 1 in 10 trials had anyone pass at all. The only reason the sect could find 2,500 disciples was because they ran trials at multiple venues non-stop for 1 and a half years straight. And where did they find so many children? At least Isaac knew the answer to that: it was the farm. The farm was a ce in the sect where they bred a very special species of animal: humans. Most female cultivators didn''t want to have children as it would prevent them from epting missions and earning resources. They would also have to undergo intense physical training after childbirth to return to an eptable level of fitness. Therefore, many years ago the sect had reached a point where it couldn''t find enough disciples. That led to the inception of the farm a ce solely tasked with producing babies who would grow up to join the sect. Babies from the farm didn''t even know the names of their mother and father. It might seem disgusting, but it was effective; nowadays most sect members came from the farm. Besides, the Full Moon Sect was a Blood Path sect. It did things like this to ensure its continued survival and sess. Since Isaac already knew about the farm he had been born in it he continued to observe the names. He wouldn''t recognise any of them, he was simplymitting them to memory so he knew who might be of importance in the future. Several other disciples had simr ideas and crowded around the first panel of names. In the end, Isaac memorized several names but then had to force his way out of the crowd before he was crushed. Rather than bothering to look at the lower ranked names, Isaac just waited. The officials had already said they would bring everyone elsewhere after this, so he stood there patiently until he heard the call, "Gather up again. I will now take you to obtain your first Anima." A wave of excitement passed through the crowd before they lined up in orderly fashion. Isaac just went with the flow and followed along near the middle of the group. This time they were heading away from the Silver Pce and back into the Rank 1 district. On the way, Isaac noticed there were only 11 officials. He quickly asked around and discovered that a 1st ss talent had been awakened and one official had left with them. The sect made a point of being impartial and not giving special treatment, even to the children of elders. The only exception to that was a 1st ss talent. They were so rare and exceptional that they were given a peak Rank 3 instructor to help guide them through the early stages of cultivation though they wouldn''t be provided resources or anything else. The sect still wanted them to learn most things the hard way. If you considered it rationally, the special treatment of 1st ss talents was to be expected. While not being one of the continent''s peak sects, the Full Moon Sect was highly ranked. In fact, it was a first-rate sect. If even a first-rate sect only had four Rank 5 cultivators, it was easy to see how powerful and umon such experts were. Only 1st ss talents had the opportunity to reach Rank 5 with slim, slim, utterly minute chance to reach Rank 6 the pinnacle of the cultivation world. As such, it was obvious how valuable 1st ss talents were and how much the sect would treasure them. If anything, it was shocking how little support the sect gave them. Isaac was surprised that a 1st ss talent appeared in a group of merely 2,500 people. However, he didn''t pay it too much attention as it wouldn''t affect him until muchter on. Instead, he focused on the building they had stopped in front of. It was heavily guarded, with 6 guards of unknown rank standing outside and undoubtedly more inside. Isaac had been able to identify the ranks of the elder and the officials by the distinct badges they wore, but these guards were d in unmarked armour. If he had to guess, Isaac would say that these guards were likely a mix of Ranks 1 and 2 since they were standing guard in the Rank 1 district. Isaac could tell they weren''t Rank 3 as they bowed respectfully upon seeing the officials. However, they still did their job properly and checked one of the officials'' entry permit before stepping aside to let them in. Isaac was stunned at the circr building''s architecture when he entered. Around the edge of the room were several clear boxes containing shimmering Anima. In the middle of the room was arge, circr hole in the ground revealing 2 more floors underground. Concrete steps formed a spiral staircase leading down to these levels. Isaac could also see containers filled with Anima on those levels and was trying to discern their types when he heard the official speak, "I have already mentioned that you possess a certain amount of temp points based upon your trial score. These are meant to help you get a strong start to your cultivation journey: you can pay for certain resources with temp points instead of reward points, which are earned from jobs or missions. However, you will have to pay back all the temp points you use within 3 years. "For those of you with lower talent, we do in fact have methods to raise it. However, it will cost you temp points. Furthermore, we cannot raise talent by more than 2 grades and the higher you wish to raise your talent, the more temp points it will cost. Finally, your foundation will forever be unstable, meaning you can also only raise your talent once in your lifetime. Trying to do so twice will cause your Qi Core to crumble." Chapter 15: First Anima Chapter 15: First Anima Isaac was not surprised by this news; it was something he already knew and had studied. Blood Path forces were willing to extract the Qi Cores of living victims and use them as ingredients to increase the talent of one individual. Other resources were also necessary, but the main one was solid Qi that came from a recently extracted Qi Core. Of course, higher ss talents had Qi Cores made of purer Qi, so it was necessary to use 3rd ss Qi Cores if you wanted to raise your talent to 3rd ss or 1st ss Qi Cores if you wanted to raise your talent to 1st ss. However, Isaac knew that somebody who improved their talent would never truly be as talented as one who had that ss naturally. Even if somebody improved their talent to 1st ss, they could never reach Rank 5 something a natural 1st ss talent could do with considerable difficulty. However, a ''false'' 1st ss talent would still reach Rank 4 much more easily than a natural 2nd ss talent. The ''false'' 1st ss talent was also more likely to reach Rank 4 middle or even upper stage, whereas 2nd ss talents would mostly be stuck at lower stage even if they did seed in reaching Rank 4. For this reason, many Blood Path cultivators with the means to do so did decide to improve their talent. The only reason thing stopping countless Blood Path cultivators improving their talent and conquering the world was the expensiveness of the method. Furthermore, only some higher-ranking Blood Path forces knew the method, so it wasn''t avable to everyone. Isaac had already evaluated his options. He aimed for the peak of cultivation: the venerable Rank 6! How could he be stuck with shaky foundations, unable to reach even Rank 5?! Not to mention, he couldn''t afford to improve to 1st ss as that would require an unthinkable amount of temp points. He could barely afford to improve to 2nd ss but he chose not to. That would limit his future even further: he might not even reach Rank 4. Isaac would rather not waste his only opportunity at increasing his talent until he was sure it was the right choice. Now was certainly not that time. While many people pondered what to do, the official continued speaking, "The reason we are here is because this is one of the sect''s Rank 1 Anima Storage Facilities. As new cultivators, we are giving you the opportunity to choose your first Anima. Of course, you will still need to pay for it with temp points. You have 2 hours to find and choose an Anima." After that, the official listed all the prices for improving talent. Isaac listened for a bit, then left after they stated the prices for 3rd ss talents to improve. He walked towards one of the transparent boxes near the edge of the room. On the wall above the box was a poster with a brief description of the Anima and its price. ''Soft Aura Veil Anima: 58 temp points A defensive Anima which creates a glowingyer of protection around its user which softens the impact of blows, projectiles and other blunt objects. It is less effective against sharp weapons and very weak to fire, dark energy and other formless energies.'' Isaac read the description. This would be a good starting Anima in the other 3 continents, but it seemed subpar in Northern Tundra. The mostmon Anima here were ice-style Anima but the Soft Aura Veil Anima couldn''t defend against ice energy. Because of this, Isaac moved on. Sword Anima could be found in every continent but they were rather umon and Isaac wasn''t sure if there would be any here. Because of this, Isaac was contemting whether to take an offensive, defensive or movement Anima. Most people took an offensive Anima first since it was essentially impossible to win a fight without one. However, Isaac was skilled with the sword, giving him an attacking option which didn''t require an Anima. In that case, he could take a movement or defensive Anima to increase his survivability. Isaac wasn''t overly cautious, but he did have a risk-averse nature so he favoured a defensive Anima. That being said, he would consider a movement or offensive Anima if he found a really good one. After looking for 20 minutes, Isaac had checked all the Anima on the 1st floor. This contained many of Northern Tundra''s most popr Anima. For example, there were 10 whole boxes of Ice Fragment Anima, the Anima the vige head had used in trial 2. There were 100 Anima in each of these boxes, meaning the sect expected 1,000 of the 2,500 disciples to pick this Anima! A ranged Anima might pair nicely with his sword so Isaac considered it as one of his options. Other potential choices were the Ice Shield Anima which formed a thick, floating shield of ice about the size of a dinner te. Isaac also rather liked the Snowshoe Anima which allowed the user to glide over snow-covered surfaces. These Anima were all cheap, easy to form aplementary set around, and versatile: much better than the Soft Aura Veil Anima which specialised in fighting physical wild beasts but wasn''t very useful in fights between cultivators. Finally, there was Isaac''s favourite: the ck Ice Anima. It could make portions of the ground within 15 metres of the user incredibly slippery. It was a more unconventional method and wasn''t truly offensive, defensive or movement-rted. However, it had incredible application in creating openings during battle, especially if the opponent didn''t expect it. After one more look around, Isaac descended to the first underground level. If the ground floor showcased Northern Tundra''s most popr Anima, this floor had the Full Moon Sect''s specialty Anima. It contained a multitude of beast-style Anima including some Anima unique to the sect. These Anima were invented and created by the Full Moon Sect and probably didn''t exist anywhere else in the world. There was more variety on this floor. However, some boxes didn''t have many Anima in them. Every box on the ground floor contained 100 Anima, but here boxes such as the one for the Beastly re Anima had as few as 10. There were also less sets of boxes which contained the same Anima. This meant there were more types of Anima and it took Isaac longer to look at them all. Despite this, he only liked 2 of them. Beast-style didn''t really appeal to Isaac and he certainly didn''t n on umting aplimentary set of Beast Anima. The Full Moon Sect focused on wolves, meaning most of its movement type Beast Anima involved transforming paws or running on all fours, things Isaac couldn''t do whilst wielding a sword. The 2 Anima he had noticed were both defensive type and he wasn''t sure either of them was better than the Ice Shield Anima, let alone the ck Ice Anima. Therefore, with over an hour left, he moved to the bottom floor. This floor was filled with misceneous Anima and none of its boxes were full. In fact, most of them contained less than 10 Anima and many only contained 2 or 3. However, this floor had nearly as many boxes as the 2 abovebined since there was no hole in the middle of it. Since he wanted to leave 10 minutes at the end to make his final decision, Isaac didn''t think he could search the whole floor. Starting in the middle and working his way outwards, he observed the boxes methodically. Crocodile Skin Anima, Dark Pulse Anima, Spring Cricket Anima; even Fixing Flesh Anima, a healing Anima. All useless to Isaac. Time was running out and he was preparing to take one of the Anima from the 1st floor. However, the goddess of fortune seemed to be smiling his way! The sect even had a Fire Anima here, so why couldn''t they have swords too? Isaac was standing in front of a box with its description poster stuck to the lid, ''Spirit Sword Anima: 41 temp points. When Qi is supplied to this Anima, it will take only an instant to create a sword in your hand. This sword will be much sharper and more durable than a normal sword and can pierce the hide of Rank 1 wild beasts. To maintain the sword, you must supply a small but constant stream of Qi and the sword will disappear the moment it loses this supply of Qi.'' At first, Isaac sighed. Though he had found a sword Anima, it seemed like a trashy one with many drawbacks and few benefits. However, the more he thought about it, the better a choice this seemed. While his sword would be useful againstmoners and regr animals, it wouldn''t be sharp enough to pose a threat for wild beasts and hunting them would be impossible. A better, more dangerous weapon would be crucial for fighting opponents like wild beasts with strong defences. Furthermore, the sword was not just a means of attack. A skilled swordsman could also defend with his de: this sword Anima was more durable and would be better for defending. Only thest sentence worried Isaac. Having to maintain the sword would hinder him in battles of attrition. It also meant he couldn''t throw the sword, give it to anyone else, or even let it leave his hand. Isaac''s brows furrowed as he wondered whether to take this sub-par sword Anima. Chapter 16: Formal Disciple Chapter 16: Formal Disciple "You have 3 minutes remaining." When Isaac heard this, he stopped hesitating and opened the box. The Anima would''ve flown away if the box wasn''t made from ferin ss, apound designed to subdue low rank Anima. Instead of flying away with incredible speed, the 2 Anima in the box could only move upwards slowly. Focusing on one of the pair, Isaac extended his will towards it. Evenmoners possessed ''will'', strands of mental strength which could interact with the world around. Will specialised in dealing with Qi, Anima or rted substances. Isaac was currently forcing a Spirit Sword Anima to ept his will. This would usually be a difficult process, but the Anima was still suppressed by the ferin ss. After 15 seconds, the Spirit Sword Anima was filed with Isaac''s will and he had full control over it. He put his arm into the box and controlled the Anima to fly into his hand. He wasn''t holding it or anything: the Anima had quite literally entered his hand. Refined Anima Anima which had been refined by a person''s will had to dwell in a part of the body and there were only a few, specific exceptions. 2 Anima also couldn''t exist in the same body part. For example, the Spirit Sword Anima dwelled in Isaac''s right palm. He could have another Anima in his left hand or in his right arm, but not in his right hand. At least, not unless he got rid of the Spirit Sword Anima first. After thoroughly subjugating the Anima, Isaac climbed the stairs back to the ground floor. He approached one of the officials to show them the Anima he''d picked and they flipped through a few sheets on their clipboard to find its price. Then they wrote Isaac''s purchase down so they could deduct it from his temp point totalter on. Isaac was one of thest to pick his Anima and minutester, they were told to leave the building. When everyone gathered outside, the officials had a final announcement, "We congratte you on bing true cultivators with Qi Cores and Anima. Henceforth, you are no longer honorary disciples of the sect; you are formal disciples you are grown men and women. Therefore, you will no longer receive soft, preferential treatment from us. You will make your way to the empty residences on the other side of the Rank 1 district and decide your houses by yourself. Goodbye and good luck." With that, the officials turned and left together. The disciples the formal disciples were left alone in an unknown part of the sect. However, they were all capable individuals: finding their way wouldn''t pose a problem. They simply turned their backs to the Silver Pce and started walking towards the other side of the district. When they saw the sect wall, they knew they were near their destination. Then they asked some of the people on the streets where the residences for neers were. In fact, their seniors in the sect gave them directions very politely. Not because they were kind hearted, but because they wouldn''t offend 2,500 potentially talented neers for no reason. They reached the empty residences and once again, the matter was settled in a mature manner. The residences were practically the same so there was no need to fight over the best ones. Isaac chose a residence near Johan and a couple other skilled disciples he met while in the academy, and that was the end of that. Standing in his new residence, Isaac tidied some bits and moved a few pieces of furniture such as the bed. He felt it was important to make the room his own, but he liked the minimalistic feel it already had so he''d probably just buy some potted nts and leave it at that. Having a space where you feltfortable and rxed was proven to help during meditation. Therefore, Isaac wasn''t spending money on useless things. Creating a room with the right ambience would help him enter a meditative state quicker and maintain it for longer, noticeably improving his cultivation speed. Therefore, nts were the most cost-effective purchase Isaac could make. Isaac quickly finished organising what was already in his room and made a brief n for some simple decorations. It was afternoon by now and Isaac decided to finish his training from earlier. He made the 20-minute walk to the public training ground and spent over an hour beating the stuffing out of a practice dummy with his wooden sword. After that, he returned to his residence. He had kindly been left enough food for about 2 weeks as well as 3 wooden buckets. The sect had a huge underground reservoir of water and used several Rank 2 Water Propulsion Anima to create a system of running water. However, that service was only avable in the Rank 2 district and above. Here, Isaac had to use a well to draw near-freezing water from the underground reservoir. After making a trip to the well and filling 2 of his buckets, he settled down. He needed resources but wasn''t in a state to acquire them right now. His Qi Core waspletely empty so he had no way to use his Anima. It wasn''t that he couldn''t fill his core up: he could reach 20% full in a few hours... but then his Qi Core would crumble. The walls of Isaac''s Qi Core were very fragile. If he tried to fill it with Qi now, it would be destroyed. Even holding a small amount of Qi would do slight but permanent damage to his core, making it harder to reach higher rankster on. Cultivation worked by meditating and absorbing Qi, then using that Qi to strengthen the walls of your core. With stronger walls, you could hold more Qi. Cultivation was often measured in what percentage full your core was when at maximum capacity. Each Rank was divided into Lower, Middle and Upper stage depending on how much Qi the Core could safely hold. From 0 to 33% full meant you were at Lower Stage. When you reached 33%, you would have to use your will topress your Qi to make it denser and purer whilst simultaneously imbuing this purer Qi into the Qi Core walls. Seeding to do so would mean breaking through to Middle Stage. You would have topress your Qi again at 66% to reach Upper Stage. However, Isaac''s Qi Core was currently at the weakest point of this whole cycle. He would have to cultivate from the bottom up, starting from the very first strand of Qi. Knowing this, Isaac sat cross-legged on the bed and prepared to meditate. He''d learnt about meditation but never had a chance to practice it properly since he couldn''t attract Qi. It took Isaac about 15 minutes topletely empty his mind and reach a meditative state. He spread his will into the surroundings and focused solely on the faint presence of Qi in the room. He could vaguely sense an invisible ''flow'' but couldn''t feel the Qi itself. After about 30 minutes he began to sense the Qi more strongly. It was like a cloud of gas slowly and gently circting around the room. It almost seemed frustrated that it was trapped in this small space, some Qi leaving or entering underneath the door and through the tiny gaps around the window frame. Now that Isaac could properly feel it, he tried drawing a strand of blue Qi towards him with his will. The strand wavered a little as if something was pulling on it, then continued to flow past Isaac. He tried again and again and again, but the closest he got was pulling a strand towards his chest. Ultimately, it took 60 tries to sessfully draw a small strand of Qi into one of his meridian points, through his Qi veins, and all the way to his Qi Core! However, the strand resisted when Isaac tried merging it into his Qi Core. He managed to keep control of the strand and made another attempt to integrate it with his core. This time the strand of Qi resisted even more and wiggled free from Isaac''s will. Again he repeated the process of trial and error. Every time he failed to absorb a strand of Qi, he tried to identify why it escaped and fix that next time. However, just working out the problem didn''t mean he could fix it immediately. Learning to absorb Qi was a much longer process than entering meditation or learning to sense it. It waste at night when Isaac decided to stop. He was getting tired and his concentration was slipping, causing him to break out of meditation more often. ************************* After a night of peaceful rest, Isaac was ready to go again. He ate breakfast and did basic exercises to keep his body active, then prepared to cultivate once more. He failed, then failed, then failed again but Isaac didn''t stop until the sun was high in the sky. As he ate lunch, Isaac thought about why he couldn''t seed. ''The Qi from the atmosphere and the Qi making up my core are rather ipatible. My core was only recently made from atmospheric Qi as well, so what''s the difference between them? One''s solid and the other is intangible, but I don''t think that''s it. I''ve never heard of cultivators having to make atmospheric Qi solid before absorbing it. Maybe it''s because my Qi Core is possessed by me while atmospheric Qi is ownerless energy?'' Isaac had already made several theories about why he''d been failing, but this one seemed more usible than the others. After a hearty lunch and 15 minutes swinging his sword to help rx, Isaac resumed his cultivation. At first he tried to be more forceful with the Qi, smothering a strand of it with his will and thrusting it towards his core. At first the strand stuck, but then it slowly peeled off and floated away. However, it was a sign that Isaac was on the right path. Isaac experimented a bit more with the Qi and discovered that, with some skill and precision, he could infiltrate a strand of Qi with his will. He could kind of push his will into the Qi to gain greater control andpatibility with it. He tried absorbing the strand while doing this and surprisingly it worked! The stand of Qi started to blend with his core and stayed there until he removed his will from it. After he removed his will, the strand stayed attached to his core for about 5 minutes before finally escaping and floating away again. Isaac tried again. He did the same thing as before, infiltrating a strand of Qi with his will and pulling it into his QI Core. This time, he held it there for longer, waiting for it to merge perfectly with his core so it couldn''t escape. When he was sure the strand had fully blended with his core, Isaac removed his will. There weren''t any problems this time; the strand had be a part of his Qi Core. Isaac was ted at his discovery and continued cultivating until the afternoon. At a certain point, he instinctively felt that his core could contain a tiny amount of Qi. It was almost like his core was talking to him and telling him how much it could hold. When Isaac directed his will inwards to inspect his Qi Core, he saw a miniscule drop of pale blue liquid at the bottom, causing him to grin with satisfaction. Even the longest journey began with a single step, and this was Isaac''s. Chapter 17: Sect Mission Chapter 17: Sect Mission Isaac spent another week cultivating. He only stopped to eat, sleep, draw water from the well and do some sword practice. After a week of work, his Qi Core was 5.0% full and he was mostly satisfied with his progress. However, his cultivation was destined to be slow if he didn''t have resources. He wouldn''t be given any resources, since the sect thought it was best to leave the disciples to survive and thrive by themselves. Instead, he would need to earn his resources by taking missions or getting a special job like being an alchemist''s assistant. Isaac was a new disciple who didn''t qualify for any of the better jobs. The only thing he could get hired for was doing admin and that barely paid anything, so he decided to check out the mission board. Throughout the sect were mission boards with different assignments pinned to them, and Isaac didn''t have to walk far to find one. When he got there, he saw many other disciples eyeing up missions. However, they were only considering the easy ones withparatively low rewards. ''They either haven''t worked out how to cultivate or they simply don''t have Anima, so they can''t take harder tasks. A lot of people didn''t have enough temp points to take an Anima since they had bad trial scores or decided to improve their talent. Hopefully that means the good missions will still be there.'' When Isaac walked up to the board, he discovered that there were a lot of good missions left. They were rtively difficult so it was rmended to do them in a group. However, if Isaac could do them with a small group or by himself, he could take several people''s worth of rewards just for him. Standing out in the academy had given him the chance to befriend some of the most talented new disciples, so he could definitely find a couple of people to take this task with him. With his new n, Isaac went to Johan''s house. He knocked on the door but nobody came, so he knocked again harder. This time there was a response, "Hey, who is it?" The loud knocking had forced Johan out of his meditation, so he wasn''t very happy. "It''s Isaac. Let mee in." The door slowly opened and Isaac could see Johan''s tired face. Isaac couldn''t fault his effort in cultivating, but rest was often important to working efficiently. Anyway, he wasn''t here to fix Johan''s cultivation habits, "I have a good opportunity for us to earn some resources. There''s a group mission on the mission board, but I think we can do it with just 3 of us." "... go on." "The mission is to collect some low-level Qi nts. However, the flowers we need to collect only grow in the territory of Rank 1 bone spike bears due to the beneficial effects of the bear faeces on the soil. "There''s no requirement to fight the bears, so I think it''s enough if one person keeps watch in each direction while the 3rd one of us takes the flowers." "Did it also show the rewards?" "5 merit points and 5 reward points. I think it''s supposed to be a mission for 5 people." "I''m in, but on one condition. We do it with just us two." Isaac hesitated for a moment and didn''t speak. "You''re too cautious Isaac. Out of everything we did in the trials, what wasn''t more dangerous than this? If we cut out the 3rd person, we can take 3 points each instead of 2. It''s a 50% increase in reward for a low increase in danger!" After considering it, Isaac felt those words were reasonable. "Okay, but I we''ll go in 2 days. If it''s just us, I want to consolidate my cultivation so I can be confident in my own strength." "What if the mission gets taken before then?" "Even if the mission is epted, it''ll stay on the board for 1 day. If someone with a higher trial score wants to take it, they have priority over the quest and can take it instead of the original person." "Alright. I''ll go with you to ept the mission tomorrow so we can do it the day after." With Johan''s confirmation, Isaac had no reason to stay any longer. He went back to his house intending to meditate for the rest of the day and most of tomorrow. ************************* Isaac was woken up the next morning by a knocking on his door. Johan wanted to ept the mission early so the 24-hour waiting period would end tomorrow morning and they could start the mission early. Isaac didn''t mind since it meant he could focus on meditation for the rest of the day. Though, cultivation was incredibly boring so he might take some short breaks to practice with his sword. Thinking this, Isaac quickly made a breakfast he could eat while he walked. After about 5 minutes, they were on their way to the Adventurers'' Hall. The mission board only showed what missions were avable. You needed to visit the Adventurers'' Hall to actually apply for a mission. They had to walk further to get there, so Isaac had ample time to finish his breakfast. When he did, he dusted his hands off and looked around. The streets weren''t absolutely bustling, but they were quite lively considering the time. Isaac wondered what other disciples were even doing outside. All there was to do was cultivate at home, take missions and asionally visit the market: there was no reason to spend lots of time on the street. Then Isaac remembered how easy it was to burn out when you were doing something. These disciples were years older than Isaac and they had been cultivating for far longer than him. Maybe they were bored by now maybe their thoughts were upied by things other than cultivation. This was a moment of realisation for Isaac: not every cultivator was utterly devoted to cultivation. There was more to their lives people, ces and things that they enjoyed or loved. Isaac had these things too: he loved reading and swordsmanship. Maybe one day he would be like them distracted and content to enjoy life''s smaller pleasures. However, cultivation was something he had vowed to devote himself to ever since he was a barely literate child. It had be his greatest goal in life ever since he was inspired by tales of history''s greatest heroes and demons in the farm library. He knew that he would grow as a person in the future, but he would make sure he didn''t change. He would keep the promise he''d made to himself as a child: that he would be the main character of his own story. A story of his incredible life which would be recorded and passed down through generations, simr to but far greater than the stories he''d read as a boy. Thinking of this, he closed his eyes and smiled, and engraved the memory of this moment in his heart. ************************* Isaac and Johan had rather simr handsome and expressive facial features. Even Isaac''s short silver hair was aparable shade to Johan''s blonde shoulder length hair. Isaac was just a little taller than Johan, making him look like Johan''s elder brother as they walked down the street. After about 40 minutes of walking, they finally reached the Adventurers'' Hall. It was a simple but dignified building with its name written inrge ck letters above the entrance. Isaac and Johan entered the hall and joined the short queue for the missions desk. It was soon their turn and Isaac spoke to the middle-aged woman at the desk, "Hello, Isaac Dahl and Johan..." "Friberg" "Johan Friberg would like to apply for a Rank 1, easy difficulty mission." There were easy, medium and high difficulty missions which were meant for lower stage, middle stage and upper stage cultivators respectively. There was also extreme difficulty for the absolute experts in upper stage. "Okay. What is the mission number?" "1984" The woman at the desk gave them a friendly smile before looking at the metal filing cab next to her. She quickly found the correct draw, pulled it out and flicked through some of the files in it. Then she took one of the files, wrote their names under the applicants category and put it in a different pile for missions which had been applied to. Then she smiled at them again, "Thank you. Please return tomorrow to hear the result of your application." Johan nodded while Isaac didn''t react. Then the 2 of them left, returning to their respective homes to cultivate and prepare themselves for the mission tomorrow. Chapter 18: Leaving the Sect Once More Chapter 18: Leaving the Sect Once More Isaac meditated for several hours with some breaks in-between. He ate an early dinner at 5:00 pm and visited the nearby library to read for a bit. He spent half an hour reading a fantasy about an orange-haired youth who cultivated possession-style and had undergone reincarnation. After reading the first few chapters, Isaac put the book down and moved on. He was mostly here to find information on bone spike bears as well as the puche flower they were supposed to be harvesting. He found the library section for non-fiction and picked out a couple of books about bears and local herbs. He took the pile of books and walked over to a reading desk. Flicking through the pages of ''An Encyclopaedia of Bears'', he found a brief description of bone spike bears in the Rank 1 chapter. ''Bone spike bears are amon species around the world and are easily recognisable by their bone exoskeleton. The bone spike bear earns it name from the armour-likeyer of bone covering it. This exoskeleton gives it one of the best defences for a Rank 1 wild beast, but it has very limited methods of attack its mostmon move is to charge at an enemy and try to impale them on its spikes. Moreover, it is simr to regr bears in size and power, making the bone spikes on its armour the only true threat to an experienced cultivator. ''Bone Spike Bears are naturally aggressive and regrly patrol their territories to ensure there are no intruders. Due to their aggressive tendencies, bone spike bears are solitary animals which do not live near other wild beasts. However, they may have regr bears living in their territory and doing their bidding.'' Isaac looked through 2 more books about bears before turning to the herb books. What he was most interested in was how to harvest puche flowers. They had to collect 5 toplete the quest and if the flowers were damaged, their rewards could be reduced. Isaac read that puche flowers were often found in snowy areas in spots where the soil had a higher concentration of Qi. The best way to harvest them was to dig up all the soil around their roots then lift them out of the ground carefully. They should also be nted again as soon as possible after being harvested. Isaac was satisfied with his newly gained knowledge and wanted to sleep well in preparation for tomorrow. He returned the books to where he found them and left the library. When he got home, Isaac looked through his trash to find some of the empty food sacks he''d thrown away. There were quite a few but he just took the bigger ones and brought them inside. After doing that, he went to bed. ************************* He woke up early in the morning but still felt well rested since he''d gone to sleep early. The first thing he did after eating breakfast was head to the well and fill his water buckets. Then he went back to his house and had a long bath. Bears had a strong sense of smell so Isaac wanted to minimise his scent before the mission. Then he went to knock on Johan''s door to share some of the information he''d read in the library. Johan was also awake and was already meditating. He was pretty annoyed when Isaac''s knocking broke him out of meditation again, but there wasn''t any way to avoid that. Isaac summarised the key points of his research for Johan, then asked Johan to take a bath as well. After Johan left to get some water, Isaac went back to his house and meditated for about an hour. Then it was time to visit the Adventurers'' Hall. Just before leaving, Isaac picked up the empty food sacks he''d foundst night. He stuffed all the hemp sacks into his pockets and brought them with him when he left. He met Johan in the street so they could walk to the Adventurers'' Hall together. Today they went to a different desk, the one for epting missions. The queue was a bit shorter for this desk and they arrived at the front soon enough. To their surprise, the middle-aged woman from yesterday was on duty. She''d obviously changed desks as of today and she still recognised them, "Isaac and... Jacob, right?" "Johan." "Sorry Johan." She gave them a professional smile, "Could you remind me of your mission number please." "1943" The woman found the file in one of her draws and read it. "One group dide to apply for this after you, but their best member''s trial score didn''t exceed yours, Isaac. Of course, neers start with 0 merit points so we don''t have to consider those. Therefore, your application will be sessful so long as you both show me you can use your Anima." Only Rank 1 cultivators could take Rank 1 missions, which was why they had to prove they could use Anima. Isaac activated his Spirit Sword Anima, creating a translucent orange de in his hand. When the woman nodded, Isaac quickly deactivated it to minimise the amount of Qi consumed. Meanwhile, Johan stood there a little confused. "I''m using the Ice Fragment Anima. Where do you want me to fire it?" "You don''t need to. Just cancel it right before you shoot." Johan faced his palm upwards and activated his Anima. Just before it fired, he stopped supplying Qi into it. Unfortunately, his control wasn''t good enough and he stopped toote. With a glow of blue light from his palm, a very small icicle was fired into the ceiling. Johan got a little anxious, but it seemed the woman didn''t n on making him pay for it, "Don''t worry, I doubt that tiny icicle would seriously damage our ceiling. Marcus cultivates nt-style so I''ll ask him to patch up that bit of woodter. "Anyway, congrattions on your sessful application! You must now choose to ept or decline the mission. If you ept, you will have 1 week to return here with 5 puche flowers, otherwise the mission will be considered a failure and you will be fined a total of 1 reward point and 6 merit points. If you decline the mission, I will offer it to the other group who applied." Isaac and Johan spoke at the same time. "I ept." "We ept." The woman looked at them with her ever smiling face and continued, "Good. Here is a map with the location of the flowers. However, I don''t think the map is very urate so I wouldn''t rely on it too much. You''ll also need to show the guards this mission pass when you leave and return to the sect." After handing over the map and pass, the woman stamped the mission file with a unique seal to show it had been epted. "Good luck on your mission." "Thank you." Isaac gave the map to Johan, who imed he knew how to navigate, and they left. The Adventurers'' Hall was just a 5 minute walk away from one of the sect''s gates. When they reached the gate, they took out the pass and handed it one of the armoured guards. There were 2 sections on the pass: ''Outgoing'' and ''Iing''. The guard stamped the ''Outgoing'' section and wrote the date beneath. Then she told them the password for this week and said it would be changed in 4 days, so they had to return before then. If they still needed toplete their mission, they could be told the new password and leave for 3 more days. ************************* Outside the sect, Johan pulled out the map. Isaac looked over his shoulder at the map and saw they were several kilometres away from the ck ''X'' marked on it. Thankfully, the contour lines showed they would be moving downhill. Isaac had been taught map reading and the theory behind navigation when he was in the academy. However, they''d never been brought outside the sect so he hadn''t been able to practice these skills. On the other hand, Johan had grown up outside the farm. He''d received a better education and probably got opportunities to practice navigation and other skills before even doing the trials. Isaac saw this mission as a great learning opportunity where he could pick up some of Johan''s practical skills. He watched all the navigation tricks Johan used to guide them towards the ''X'', and even though Isaac wouldn''t remember or use all of them, he learned a considerable amount. Isaac only stopped observing Johan when they began approaching bear territory. Now he had to focus on the surroundings and make sure they avoided any bears. Isaac knew that there were regr bears here as well as the bone spike bear. If one of those bears discovered them, it could alert the bone spike bear which they couldn''t deal with at their level. Furthermore, the weather had changed quickly in thest 15 minutes and Johan wasn''t happy about it, "Damn. This flurry of snow''s going to reduce our visibility. We won''t be able to see a bear until it''s practically on top of us, and it''ll have smelled us by then. We have no way of avoiding them." "You say that, but think about the direction of the wind. We''re walking into the wind, meaning the wind will carry our scent back in the direction we''vee from. Only bears behind us will be able to smell us, so we should be alright." Johan thought about it for a second, then nodded. The two of them got ready and prepared to enter bear territory. Chapter 19: The Puchella Flower Chapter 19: The Puche Flower The human eye was capable of seeing further than 5 kilometres away. However, this snow meant Isaac and Johan could barely see 1 km in front of them. Thankfully it wasn''t a proper blizzard or a whiteout, otherwise they''d be lucky to see even a tenth of that. They''d already made it to the edge of the forest by the time the snow had gotten heavier, so they were in the right area. Now all they had to do was locate the puche flowers. However, that was easier said than done. Finding 5 small flowers in heavy snow was not a simple task. Luckily for Isaac and Johan, the map showed the flowers were in a clearing. Managing to find the clearing would be a lot easier than just finding the flowers. They were just thinking about how to find the clearing when a bear appeared out of nowhere. They saw it moving between the trees ahead of them. Its brown fur was flecked white with snow and they could see its powerful, intimidating figure up close. They were nearly the length of a football pitch apart and the bear hadn''t noticed them yet. However, their hearts froze when they saw the bear raise its head to sniff the air. "Quick, climb the trees!" Isaac still remembered when everyone climbed trees to avoid wolves in the first trial. He darted behind a tree and started shimmying up it. Johan hissed, "Bears can climb too, Isaac!" before starting to climb another tree anyway. Isaac knew that bears could climb trees, but he was hoping that even if the bear smelled them, it wouldn''t know where they were. Both people and animals had a horrible habit of never looking up, so they should be okay in trees. Meanwhile, the bear finished sniffing and looked around. It had obviously smelled something and was trying to find the source of that smell. Even if the winds were blowing away from it, it could still smell them when they were this close to it. However, they were climbing on the back side of their trees so it couldn''t see them. The bear seemed genuinely confused and wandered around, trying to investigate. While it did that, Isaac and Johan kept climbing their pine trees and managed to reach the branches. They mbered onto them and kept climbing as high as possible. The bear kept sniffing the air and eventually came to Isaac''s tree. Isaac held his breath and stayed utterly silent as the bear looked around. It looked befuddled when it still couldn''t find anything, so it gave a low growl of frustration and trundled away. Isaac didn''t climb down even after it was gone. He kept ascending the branches of his tree, which was one of the tallest ones in the vicinity. He only had the confidence to do so since the snow and wind had lessened over thest 5 minutes. He was nearly at the top of the tree, which was still swaying quite a bit. He got above the tops of the nearby trees and surveyed the surroundings, looking for an area with no trees. He saw the clearing to his right, just barely visible through the flurries of snow. He didn''t dare linger on this rocking treetop, so he quickly shimmied around the tree so his back faced the clearing. Then he descended the tree with abination of speed and safety. Isaac let out a small breath of relief when both feet touched the ground safely, then he did a 180 degree turn so he was facing the clearing. He saw Johan waiting to one side, about to open his mouth and ask what took so long. Isaac spoke quickly before he could even get the words out of his mouth, "Come on, the clearing''s this way." Then he strode away without giving Johan a chance to respond. Johan walked quickly to catch up. "I it''s winter but you don''t have to treat me so cold!" He said it in a joking way but Isaac could tell he was slightly irritated. Isaac was talented at a lot of things, but dealing with people wasn''t one of them. "Sorry. I climbed higher up my tree to find the clearing, it''s this way." Isaac''s apology had a limited amount of sincerity, but it was better than nothing. Johan decided to just let it go and they walked together in silence. Instead of heading directly towards the clearing, they circled around it to make sure it was downwind. The wind had changed direction and they wanted to make sure the bone spike bear which lived in the clearing didn''t discover them. They moved around the clearing and into position without any problems. However, they didn''t know what to do once they got there since they could see bears lying down in the clearing. Simply waiting for the bears to leave wouldn''t work: even if the bone spike bear left the clearing, there would be at least 1 or 2 normal bears left behind. Fortunately, animals were dumb. Even wild beasts were stupid unless that wild beast was a more intelligent species such as a monkey or crow. Even the Rank 1 bone spike bear had less intelligence than a 3-month-old baby, so there was definitely a way to lure it out of the clearing. What do a bear''s instincts tell it to do? Eat, sleep, fuck, and avoid danger. Isaac either had to use something to attract the bears, or do something to make them run away. Isaac chose thetter. If he created a distraction or killed something in the hope they''d smell it and leave to eat it, Isaac could guess that only some of the bears would leave. On the other hand, fear was the primary motivator of most animals: if he did something big enough, he could guarantee all the bears would run. Even if they didn''t want to, their instincts would tell them to. Isaac suddenly activated his Spirit Sword Anima, surprising Johan. Johan got even more confused when Isaac swung his sword full-power at the trunk of a tree. The razor-sharp sword cut a third of the way through the tree and Isaac had to pull it hard to get it back out. "What on Terra are you doing!?" Johan whispered. "It''ll be quicker for you to watch than for me to exin it. I''m going to need a bit of help in a second though." Johan tried to figure out Isaac''s n while Isaac swung his sword at the tree again. Then he swung twice more with less force so the tree was on the brink of falling over. He repeated this process for 6 more trees until he ran out of Qi and had to deactivate his Anima. Then he put his back up against one of the trees and pushed hard with his legs. The tree started to creak and crack, then began to topple over. Johan stood there in shock. Surely this would just draw the bears to them! However, he was even more shocked by Isaac''s next words, "Quick, push the next tree over." However, he quickly realised that Isaac was trying to scare the bears. They''d reached the point of no return with that first tree, so Johan had no choice but toply. As Johan began to push the second tree over, Isaac ran to the third tree he had prepared. ************************* In the clearing, the bears were all awake now and standing with their hackles raised. When the first tree fell, the bone spike bear let out a loud growl, ready to challenge whoever was causing chaos in its territory. As the second tree fell, a lot of its confidence disappeared but it still firmly stood its ground. While the third tree fell, it started to wonder what could cause so much noise and damage. It started to back away nervously. After all 7 trees had fallen, the bone spike bear and itsckeys were nowhere to be seen. They had all run away into the forest, giving Isaac and Johan ample time to find the puche flowers. They quickly searched the clearing and located a grouping of six flowers. When Isaac brushed the snow off their leaves, he saw they had pale blue petals with white stems, meaning they were puche flowers. Johan acted as a lookout, making sure the bears didn''t return while Isaac was harvesting the puche flowers. Isaac took out the empty hemp bags stuffed into his pockets and started dumping handfuls of earth into them. When 6 of them were half-full, he put them down and focused on the flowers. He used his hands to dig carefully around the base of one. Then he delicately pulled it out of the earth while making sure its roots didn''t get damaged. Finally, he rented it in one of the hemp bags he''d filled with earth. Even though they only needed 5 flowers, Isaac collected all 6 in this way. However, he sped up when collecting thest 2 since he was already used to the process of harvesting them and he also didn''t know if the bears would return. When he was done, he called to Johan, "I''m done! Take 3 bags and let''s get out of here!" Johan obediently grabbed 3 bags, using his yful smile to hide the fact that he really disliked being ordered around. If it was someone he deemed lesser than himself, he absolutely wouldn''t take it. However, the fact that Isaac had outperformed him several times during the trials and the academy made it a little easier to listen to him. Even the sess of this mission so far showed Johan that Isaac''s ideas were usually good ones. Carrying their bags of flowers, the pair beat a triumphant retreat. Now all they needed to do was return safely. Wait... that''s a g, isn''t it? Chapter 20: Just Finish the Mission! Chapter 20: Just Finish the Mission! Isaac and Johan left the clearing and quietly moved through the forest. The didn''t run since they had to take care of the bagged-up puche flowers, so it looked like they were taking a normal stroll through the woods. However, neither of them could enjoy the picturesque scenery due to the wind, snow and constant threat of bears. They''d got three quarters of the way out of the forest when Johan spotted a line bear wandering around. "Come on, we''ll kill it and make a little extra profit." "No! Let''s just finish the mission!" It was toote since Johan had already pit down the flower bags and shot an icicle into the bear''s neck. The bear''s thickyer of fat and muscle stopped the shot from being fatal, but it was still bleeding a lot and was utterly enraged. The bear growled loudly and charged in the direction the icicle had came from, heading directly towards Isaac and Johan. Isaac immediately dropped his bags and fled: he''d used almost all of his Qi cutting down the trees and while the Qi in his core would naturally recover, the rate at which this happened was very slow. Even after half an hour of recovery, his core was only about 0.5% full right now. That amount of Qi was enough to create a spirit sword and maintain it for... no time at all. They had to try and stall for a couple of minutes until Isaac had enough Qi to use his sword for a few seconds and could use it to deal a decisive blow. However, when Isaac looked back, he saw that Johan''s icicles weren''t very effective. The Ice Fragment Anima was specialised in long drawn-out battles since each shot didn''t use much Qi and it could be used to wear down the opponent from distance. The downside of the Anima was that it didn''t deal great damage. Against a wolf, arctic fox, or even some wild beasts with weak defence, the Ice Fragment Anima had enough piercing power to kill with a few well-aimed shots. However, a bear was a terrible matchup since its thick fat and muscle stopped icicles prating very deep. There was almost no way for them to do fatal damage. The bear was bleeding from several spots where it had been hit with an icicle, but they''d be long dead before the loss of blood affected it. In fact, it had nearly caught Johan already. As the bear chased him, Johan quickly dodged behind a pine tree and the bear crashed into it. Johan started climbing the tree, but the bear quickly saw what he was doing and climbed after him at a much quicker pace. Johan had to jump down from the tree and started running towards Isaac. "Use your sword, I''ll support you from behind!" "I can''t. I used all my Qi earlier." "How much longer do you need?!" "Just buy me a couple of minutes." "Lend me your Anima and meditate while I hold it off!" "Are you crazy? It''s impossible to meditate here and do you even know how to use a sword?!" "Just lend it to me!" Isaac controlled the Spirit Sword Anima to fly out of his right hand and towards Johan. Johan already had the Ice Fragment Anima in his left hand, so he had to try and wield the sword with his weak right hand. Isaac felt Johan pour Qi into the Spirit Sword Anima, which was trying to resist. However, Isaac forced the Anima to ept Johan''s Qi and activate. Suddenly, a translucent orange sword appeared in Johan''s right hand, startling the bear which had climbed down from the tree. Johan waved the sword aggressively, trying to show the bear he wasn''t easy prey. The bear hesitated for a moment, but it was too enraged to back down now and it stood on its hind legs to give an angry cry. The hulking figure of the bear standing over 2 metres tall was certainly intimidating, but it was also an opportunity for Johan. He raised his left arm and fired 3 icicles in quick session, 2 aimed for the bear''s exposed chest and the third flying towards its throat. Bears were extremely powerful creatures: their swipes could fell trees and they ran with the momentum of a speeding carriage. However, the trade-off for that was slow reflexes. Two of Johan''s icicles pierced the bear''s chest, causing blood to stter and stain its shaggy brown fur while the third icicle was slightly off target, hitting the left part of the bear''s neck instead of its throat. Seeing that he was still unable to deal the bear a critical blow, Johan tried to throw the sword at it. However, the sword disappeared the moment it left his hand and Johan turned to look at Isaac in disbelief, as if to say ''What made you choose this useless Anima?'' Isaac raised his eyebrows calmly and nodded towards the bear which was preparing to charge again, indicating for Johan to focus on the battle. Johan turned his gaze back to the bear and was startled to see it was only 15 metres away and closing that distance fast. Instead of getting caught like a rabbit in the headlights, Johan reacted with the speed you''d expect from a battle-hardened veteran cultivator. He fired an icicle into the bear''s forehead, making it roar in pain and giving him an opening to dodge the charge. As he sidestepped right, he tried to create a spirit sword and sh at the bear''s nk. However, he had just used his Qi to activate the Ice Fragment Anima in his left hand, so it took a moment to redirect his Qi to his right hand and activate the Spirit Sword Anima. This caused quite aical scene. Johan performed a downwards swing without any kind of sword in his hand. Then, when his arm was pointing downwards at the end of the sh, the sword finally appeared. The hilt was created first, then the de extended out of it, the top half getting stuck in the ground. However, the process was so quick that it seemed like the entire sword appeared at once with half of itself underground. Johan pulled so hard on the sword that he almost fell over backwards when it came unstuck. Then he charged towards the bear which still had its back to him after the missed charge. However, Isaac could see the bear''s shoulder rotate as it prepared to turn and swing its massive paw. "Duck!" Isaac tried to warn Johan but it was toote. The bear turned and smacked Johan in the head, sending him flying. Isaac didn''t even need to look to know that Johan was dead, probably lying there with one side of his face caved in. In fact, Isaac wouldn''t have looked even if he was worried about Johan''s survival. He had bigger problems right now, since the bear had turned to stare at him with its beady ck eyes. He immediately called his Spirit Sword Anima and it flew to him, entering his right hand. Anima were spirits, meaning physical attacks couldn''t harm them; the Spirit Sword Anima would be fine even if the hand it dwelled in was crushed. Right now, Isaac only had enough Qi to create a sword and maintain it for 5 or 6 seconds. He had to wait for the optimal moment to activate his Anima, since he wouldn''t get a second chance. The bear charged forwards for the umpteenth time. This thing had to have the stamina of a divine being, since it still wasn''t tired after minutes of near-constant charging. The bear got closer and closer. Just before it trampled Isaac, he grabbed the tree branch above his head and pulled himself up and over the charging bear. He wouldn''t rush up behind it and court death like Johan, so he waited for the bear to turn around. It began to approach, taking slow and purposeful steps with a hint of swagger, showing its unshakeable confidence in its ability to crush the little bug in front of it. When it swung its front paw to do just that, there was an orange sh. The bear was confused. It hadn''t caused that sh, so where had ite from? And why was that insect still standing there? Shouldn''t it have flown away like the other tiresome creature from before? Most importantly... why was it feeling pain in its right forelimb? The bear roared in agony as it realised its paw had been cleanly chopped off. Blood was spouting from the wound like a broken hose, drenching Isaac as he stepped through the shower of blood towards the bear. He stepped to his left, to the side of the bear''s missing forelimb, then brought his sword up. The upwards swing he''d used to slice off the bear''s paw linked smoothly into his next move. He raised his sword above his head with both hands. Then, like an executioner beheading a death row criminal, shed ruthlessly towards the bear''s neck. Without any suspense, the bear''s head fell to the snow with a thud. Then its lifeless body copsed into a heap next to it. Those ssy eyes, still trying toprehend the pain in its forelimb, would not close even in death. For the first time, Isaac turned to look at his deceasedpanion with the slightest smidgen of regret. However, that regret vanished when he saw Johan standing next to a tree, dusting himself off. Chapter 21: Getting Rewarded Chapter 21: Getting Rewarded "By the gods, that fucking hurt!" "Are you wearing a magisteel helmet beneath that hood?" Johan quickly shook his head, but Isaac''s train of thought wasn''t too far from the truth. "Not armour, a defensive talisman. You heard my surname when we visited the Adventurers'' Hall, so you probably realised who my parents are." The sect didn''t allow Rank 1 or 2 disciples to have children since it would distract them from their cultivation, so every child who wasn''t from the farm had notable parents. Even then, Johan''s parents were more notable than most: sect elder Sven Friberg and core protector Maya Friberg. The sect had 48 known Rank 4s, but not all of these Rank 4s could be elders only 25 of them were. The identity of a core protector was even more stunning. There was a mere 6 in the sect and all of them were Rank 4 upper stage. Being chosen as a core protector meant you were trusted to protect the most critical areas of the sect. It was the third highest position in the sect behind only the Rank 5 senators and the ancestral elders who were decided by merit and experience rather than cultivation. Friberg was actually Maya''s maiden name and it was Sven who''d taken her surname when they married. The Friberg family had a rtively long history within the sect and one of Johan''s grandparents was even an ancestral elder. Unfortunately, the other grandparent on his mother''s side was deceased. In regards to his dad''s side, Sven was born in the farm so Johan didn''t even know who his grandparents were on that side of the family. Either way, the Friberg family held considerable influence within the sect and it would be easy for them to procure a defensive talisman capable of resisting a mere mortal bear. Seeing that Isaac didn''t have anything else to say, Johan approached the bear corpse and unsheathed the hunting knife strapped to his waist. Then, he meticulously looked over the corpse, "A lot of holes in it, but this pelt should still be seble. The eyes, ws, nose and teeth should also be worth something as alchemy ingredients." After giving his assessment, Johan began to expertly skin the bear. Isaac watched intently since this was another thing he''d learnt about but never practiced. The way Johan did it made it look rather easy, so Isaac felt he could do it after a few attempts. After Johan removed the pelt, he asked Isaac to fold and prepare it while he surgically removed the teeth, ws and nose. Lastly, he took great pleasure in gouging out this hateful bear''s eyes. Isaac had already folded the pelt, so he went to retrieve the flowers. Thankfully, Johan had put his down gently and even Isaac''s weren''t really damaged when he dropped them. When Isaac brought the bags back, Johan put the various ws and others inside them. Then he draped the pelt over his shoulder, picked up his bags and began walking away quickly, "We need to leave; the bloody smell will attract other animals. After we get far enough away, I''ll work out where we are and we can get back to the sect." They knew the general direction to head in even without looking at a map, so they quickly fled the scene. They walked until they reached the border of the forest, then Johan decided to take out the map. He tried using the curvature of the tree line to find where they were, but like thedy at the Adventurers'' Hall said, the map wasn''t too reliable. It wasn''t detailed enough for Johan to locate them based solely on the shape of the forest, so they walked randomly for almost an hour until they saw a frozenke and used it to find themselves on the map. Navigation in this featureless winter wondend was incredibly difficult, so they''d wandered quite far off course. It took 2 more hours of trekking with all their baggage before the colossal Lunar Tower appeared on the horizon. Winter was filled with short days and long nights, so the daylight was already fading by 2 pm and the temperature was dropping like a bowling ball that''d been thrown from a third storey window. Thankfully the wind had died down and it stopped snowing halfway through their walk, else even their coats would be insufficient against the biting cold. Johan had even wrapped the bear pelt around him despite all the blood on its inside. When they finally reached the sect gates, they showed the guard their pass and entered. Turning in the mission was not their priority. Instead, they hurried home to change into drier clothes and keep their body temperature up. Then they both headed to the Adventurers'' Hall together. Isaac had considered going ahead and iming the mission reward alone, but he decided against it. His rtionship with Johan would benefit him much more in the future than a couple of reward points would benefit him now, especially since he knew Johan was from the Friberg family. Besides, Johan had 3 of the flowers and Isaac didn''t have a discreet way of stealing them. When they eventually arrived at the Adventurers'' Hall, they were a little warmer than before but still damn cold! However, you got used to that on the continent of Northern Tundra, where it snowed even in the summer. Forcing his teeth to stop chattering, Isaac ced his bags counter and spoke, "Hello, Isaac Dahl and Johan Friberg havepleted a Rank 1 easy mission. The mission number is 1943." This was a different desk to before, the one forpleted missions. The man sitting at the desk was slightly too old to be called middle aged, but he gave off an amiable impression to those who looked at him, "I''ll assume that mission was to find 3 puche flowers." The man recognised the fairlymon nts as he searched through his desk to find the mission file. Compared to the woman''s orderly filing system, this guy''s workce was a mess so it took him a while. He was so upied in his search that he didn''t notice Johan ce the other 3 bags on the counter, "The mission was to collect 5 flowers, but we have 6." This time Johan spoke, and his implication was clear, ''What do we do with thest flower?'' Despite his distracted expression, the man was paying attention and quickly gave Johan the answer he was looking for, "I should probably check your flowers aren''t damaged, but if they''re all good, then you''ve obviouslypleted the mission. As for thatst flower..." he paused for a moment to pull out a file triumphantly, "Found it! Anyway, you can either keep thest flower or hand it in with your mission for an extra reward and merit point." 1 reward point was a nice amount above the puche flower''s market value, which was usually around 8 iron pieces. Since they got a merit point as well, there was no reason to refuse the man''s offer. "We''ll hand it in with the mission." "Good. Isaac Dahl and Johan Friberg, right?" They both nodded. The man just did a quick check of the petals and stem of the flowers, not even bothering to check the roots. Then he read aloud as he wrote on the file. "Missionpleted by disciples Isaac Dahl and Johan Friberg, extra reward and merit point awarded for... excellentpletion and an additional puche flower. Alright, sounds good! Here''s your 6 reward points, and I''ll register 3 merit points for each of you!" The reward points came in the form of small octagonal wooden pieces. One face of the piece had an intricate pattern on it and possessed a unique Qi signature which a cultivator''s will could faintly sense. The piece itself was easy to fake, but this Qi signature was very difficult to replicate without using the same Anima that made it. Isaac and Johan obviously split the 6 reward points evenly. After submitting their mission, Isaac and Johan had to go to a different desk. ording to sect rules, they had to report each animal they killed. This was to help the sect keep urate records of the number of animals in the area. There was also a limit to the number of animals each person could hunt per season. For example, Isaac was allowed to kill 2 bears and 5 wolves every season. This prevented over-hunting of certain species, stopping disciples hunting them to extinction in the nearby area. After reporting their kill, Isaac and Johan''s next stop was the market, where they would sell the loot from the bear. The first thing they wanted to sell was the heavy, cumbersome pelt. Bear furs were mostly used for coats, so the pair found a clothier to sell the pelt to. The pelt was probably worth 2 iron pieces and 50 bronze, but the clothier used the damage on the pelt and their inexperience in haggling to drive the price down. In the end, they sold it for 2 iron pieces and moved on. 100 copper pieces equalled 1 iron piece, and 10 iron pieces equalled 1 reward point. Therefore, 2 iron pieces was still a decent price for something that had no use in cultivation. On the other hand, their other bits and pieces were mostly alchemical ingredients though a skilled craftsman might also want the ws to make spear or knife tips. However, alchemy was much more profitable than smithing (if you were good at it) so they could probably get a better price from an alchemist. They found several alchemy stores in the market, but everybody offered them significantly below market price. To be honest, it seemed like nobodycked thesemon resources. Then, to Isaac''s surprise, he spotted a small ckboard with ''Buying any animal ws'' written on it in green chalk. "Come on, let''s ty to sell here." Isaac brought Johan to the small store''s entrance and they opened the door, only to be hit by the pungent smell of mixed herbs and other ingredients. When the door opened, a small bell above it rang to tell the disciple at the counter she had customers. She wasn''t like the middle-aged woman or older man working at the Adventurers'' Hall. This girl was wearing green and white alchemist''s robes, but she was undeniably a disciple just like them. She was likely helping to run this shop whilst being taught alchemy by its owner, a more experienced alchemist. This meant that this girl maybe 20 years old had higher cultivation than them, knew alchemy, and actually had some authority over the shop they were in. Isaac and Johan were in a position where they had treat her respectfully, not the other way around. Therefore, Isaac addressed her politely, "Hello, miss. We were passing by when we saw your sign, hopefully we have some ingredients which will satisfy you." "Oh? You have some animal ws? I''ve been learning to concoct a new pill aimed at improving the effectiveness of beast-style Anima, and these ws are the key ingredient. I''m willing to offer a generous price for any you might sell me now or in the future." Alchemy was immensely profitable once you were proficient at it, since cultivators would pay almost anything for miraculous pills capable of increasing your cultivation, healing supposedly fatal wounds or giving a boundless variety of other helpful effects. However, most things in the world were truly bnced. Learning new pill recipes let alone studying alchemy in the first ce cost a colossal amount of resources since an alchemist could fail hundreds or even thousands of times before sessfully creating a single pill from a new recipe. Nobody could afford to learn alchemy alone, which was why the sect gave budding alchemists and inscriptionists financial support. Because of this, Isaac was confident this woman could afford anything they had. He took out a dirty bag which once held a flower in it, but now had other things. He took a pair of eyes, a nose and a set of ws and teeth out of the bag and put them on the table. "How much would you be willing to pay for this?" "I don''t really need the eyes or teeth, but I can pay a total of 50 copper for them... I do have some use for the nose, though, so I''ll offer 1 iron, 30 copper for that. As for the ws, I can give you 5 iron pieces. I will pay 5, 4 and 2.5 iron pieces respectively for the ws of a bear, wolf, or arctic fox. If you can bring me all 3 of them, I''ll pay 1 reward point and 5 iron pieces." Isaac was a little suspicious of the excessively high price, but if a pie fell from the sky, he''d eat it first and question itter. He tried to haggle over the eyes and teeth, but the woman insisted she didn''t really need them and wouldn''t go any higher. They''d tried other stores already but they all offered less than this, so they agreed to sell them. Johan saw some sess as he took over and bargained the price of the nose up from 1.3 to 1.5 iron pieces. However, neither of them dared haggle over the price of the ws. It was already noticeably above market price, so to try and push the price even higher would be greedy and disrespectful. In the end, they left the store with coins clinking in their pockets. Chapter 22: Accelerated Cultivation Chapter 22: elerated Cultivation Since they''d sold all their goods, Isaac and Johan said their goodbyes and split up. They both had their own things to buy, so they both headed to different parts of the market. Isaac''s first stop was the area for mundane, non-cultivation objects. He bought food, a hunting knife made from bone, and arge metal water bottle. Metal ores were very rare in Northern Tundra and had to be imported from Eastern Mountains, making this bottle a little expensive. However, he bought it anyway since snow eating snow couldn''t keep eating snow when on missions. It could be contaminated and would lower body temperature when consumed, hence the need for an actual water bottle. Other than the bottle which cost several iron pieces, Isaac''s other purchases were very cheap. He brought them all back to his house and then returned to the market to continue shopping with his remaining coins. His next purchases were 4 potted nts and a simple charcoal drawing in a wooden frame, which he would decorate his room with. He had to make 2 more trips to take all this back to his house and it was already dark when he got back to the market. In fact, he hadn''t travelled straight to the market. He''d dropped by the mission board to pick a quest, then visited the Adventurers'' Hall to apply for it. Unfortunately, he could only ept 1 mission at a time, otherwise he would''ve taken more. At his stage, it was impossible to have enough reward points. In fact, he already knew how he''d spend the precious 3 he already had. He headed straight to the sect''s official exchange centre. This was a store run by the sect, not an entrepreneuring individual. Its goods were always reliable and it exchanged a wide variety ofmon cultivation tools for reward points. Isaac went straight to the long line to his left and waited to exchange for Basic Qi Pills. This pill was so popr that the desk Isaac was queuing for was dedicated to selling only Basic Qi Pills. They were essentially the fundamental pill of cultivation: easy to refine, easy to absorb, and providing a significant boost in cultivation speed. Outside the sect, where reward points were worth nothing, Basic Qi Pills were the primary form of currency. When Isaac reached the desk, he handed over his 3 wooden tokens and did a simple trade, 3 reward points for 3 Basic Qi Pills. The person at the desk quickly checked the Qi signature on the reward points to verify they weren''t fake, then handed over 3 small, white pills. Isaac pocketed them and hastily returned to his house. He wasn''t in a rush to cultivate, just to get home without being robbed. When he got back, he organised all his food in his cupboards and found spots for the nts and the charcoal drawing. Then, he put the 3 pills underneath his pillow and began cultivating normally. There were only a couple of hours left in the day, so he didn''t want to take a pill now and not have enough time to fully cultivate it. After cultivating for 2 hours with a short break for swordy in-between, Isaac went to bed. In the morning, he washed but didn''t eat breakfast. He was going to spend all of today cultivating without rest, trying to absorb the entirety of the 1st Basic Qi Pill. He took a pill from under his pillow and looked at it. The pill was small and milky white, like a marble. It had a cloudy surface with different shades of white and actually looked quite appetizing. Isaac had no reservations about eating it, so he popped it into his mouth. It was a little difficult to swallow since he couldn''t chew it, but he managed to wash it down with some water. The pill waspletely tasteless, but Isaac could sense the Qi within it moving down his throat. He used his will to follow the path of the pill down into his stomach. He hadn''t eaten breakfast, so the pill was the only thing in his stomach and it was easy to sense. Isaac honed in on the pill and felt it emitting some of its bountiful Qi as it was being digested. He quickly captured these strands of Qi with his will, drawing them towards his stomach meridian point. Then he brought the Qi through his Qi veins and into his Qi Core. Since his core was also in his stomach, the Qi didn''t need to travel far before it reached his core and Isaac performed the action quickly. Then he brought his will back over to the pill to harness more of its Qi. Unfortunately, some of the pill''s Qi was dissipating and returning to the atmosphere. However, Isaac was absorbing therge majority of its energy. His cultivation speed was noticeably faster than when he cultivated normally, and he continued to strengthen his core. Isaac focused as intensely as possible through the next 6 hours of cultivation. Only after the pill was fully broken down and passed out of his stomach did Isaac let out a breath of turbid air. He was utterly exhausted from trying to concentrate for so long. He wolfed down a huge lunch and tried to recover in preparation to continue meditating. He had already enjoyed the most beneficial period of the pill. It had released most of its Qi while being broken down in his stomach, allowing him to cultivate roughly 3x faster than normal. However, it would continue to release Qi throughout the 24 hour digestion process, just that the amount would drop significantly from now onwards. Since Isaac always sought to maximise his gains, he wanted to cultivate for as long as possible and absorb most of the pill. Therefore, hey on his bed with closed eyes and began meditating again. For several hours, he continued to draw Qi from the remnants of the pill, until he finally felt he''d reached his limit. He''d snapped out of meditation multiple times already and simply re-entered and continued. However, it was bing more frequent and had happened 4 times in thest minute. He knew that his concentration was utterly expended, and that he might damage his will and mind if he forcefully continued. Furthermore, the pill was only providing a 1.2 or 1.3x multiplier for his cultivation speed right now. It simply wasn''t worth it. Nevertheless, he was satisfied with his progress. Just this one day of cultivation was worth more than two spent cultivating normally. Since it waste, he ate again and went to see if yesterday''s mission application was sessful. When he got to the Adventurers'' Hall, he discovered that it was. The mission was to help remap an area of the forest and confirm whether a pack of wolves had moved there. However, its reward was only 1 reward point and 2 merit points. As you could see from how Isaac used them, reward points could be exchanged for goods and services. Inparison, merit points weren''t a form of currency but a number which represented your contribution to the sect. Several rare goods sold by the sect were only for purchase to with a certain number of merit points. This requirement was also present for those who wished to enter special cultivation grounds or get a good position or job. It was the sect''s way of saying ''It is not enough to be wealthy; you also need to be loyal and useful to the sect.'' As for why this mission had much fewer rewards than thest one... it was a mission for 1 person instead of 5. Isaac didn''t mind the lower rewards too much, since they would just be side earnings anyway. Newly furnished with good news about the mission, Isaac returned home to sleep. He had 7 days toplete it so he wasn''t in a hurry. In fact, hepletely ignored the mission for the next 2 days and cultivated with the remaining Basic Qi Pills. After that, he spent half a day catching up on sword practice before he finally, finally decided to leave the sect. Chapter 23: Gone Wolfing Chapter 23: Gone Wolfing Isaac showed a guard his mission pass, and the guard let him leave. Now Isaac was alone on the endless expanse of snowy tundra. This time he was equipped with a bone hunting knife strapped to his belt, more empty hemp sacks, and his metal water bottle inside one of those sacks. He also had a partially filled-in map and a cheap wooden fountain pen. Finally, he''d bought a second map aplete but non-detailed one of the nearby areas. There was an arrow drawn on it, indicating where he needed to go for his quest. Isaac wasn''t exactly a cartographer, but he had practiced map drawing in the academy and he was quite good at it. Therefore, he was confident enough to fill in the nk or missing areas on his iplete map. With this goal in mind, he crossed the clearing around the sect and entered the grand pine forest beyond. The forest was huge,rge enough to be marked on a world map. Comparing the sect to its colossal size would be likeparing a tuna to the kraken. Luckily, Isaac only had to go a few kilometres into it. It was further than his previous mission, since all the areas next to the sect were fully mapped. However, no ''easy difficulty'' mission would send a disciple deep into this dangerous forest. After watching Johan, Isaac now had a better idea of how to apply his navigation knowledge. He stood still for a moment, orienting hisplete map with the lunar tower behind him. When he had everything lined up and knew what direction he was facing in, he set off towards the red arrow he''d drawn on the map. Since he wasn''t trying to navigate in a snowstorm, it was quite easy to keep his direction. He also made sure to pick a route with several otherndmarks, which he could use to reorient himself and stay on course. However, while straightforward, the walk was long and hard. Darkness descended long before he reached his destination, and he decided not to continue through the night for fear of losing his way. He spent the night lying on the branch of a pine, reminding him of that night on the first trial, 2 years ago. Back then, he''d been exhausted and injured after fighting with a pack of wolves. Now he was heading into wolf-territory again. However, he no longer feared them like he once did. He was not the weak, skinny, malnourished boy from 2 years ago: he had grown. Unfortunately, something else had changed from 2 years ago. The season. Instead of the incredibly rare blue skies he''d seen in the first trial, grey clouds and droplets of rain woke him today. However, he didn''t mind it much. The pitter-patter of rain through the branches sounded beautifully melodic. Not to mention, it would also help hide his scent if wolves were present. It had grown dark early, meaning Isaac had slept early and was awake, ready to go the moment dawn broke. He left his near-empty water bottle with its lid off so it could fill with pure rain water, while he oriented his map using an ice-capped mountain in the distance. He''d obviously chosen this resting spot because of the mountain, preventing him from being directionless when he awoke. Once his metal bottle was full to the point of overflowing, Isaac set off. He was already within striking distance of his destination, so he hoped to reach it and do most of the necessary mapping today. He wasn''t being asked to fill out contour lines or mark clearings not unless those things had changed since thest time this area was mapped. No, his job was to mark more intricate details. For example, were there any fresh water sources or springs? Had any icy caves formed? What was the environment like and was it suitable for certain Qi herbs to grow? And, most importantly, had a pack of wolves recently moved here, as some disciples'' mission reports had suggested? These questions could be answered with just a quick jotting or symbol on his iplete map. In fact, the map drawing portion of this mission took barely any time or skill at all. Instead, the hardest part was inspecting the area without missing anything significant. Again, this was something that couldn''t be done in the dark, so Isaac nned to do most of it today and finish tomorrow. As per his expectations, it took just over 2 hours to reach the area ne needed to map. The rain had melted some of the thick snow on the ground, giving Isaac a clearer view of the area''s topography. His first impression was that the map was correct: this area showed a slight incline up towards a very low hill. There were also no signs of major terraforming events, meaning there would be no need to alter the contour lines on the map. Isaac went about his job in a very professional way. He didn''t cut corners in his inspections, recording 2 naturally formed ice caves on one side of the area and regr woond everywhere else. He even wrote that there were no obvious anomalies with temperature, weather, humidity or other factors. Of course, he didn''t have the equipment to do exact measurements for these things, but he had to include his observations in an official mission report. Many missions, such as his first one, only required an item to be delivered or evidence of a service beingpleted. However, most information-gathering missions needed a mission report. Something Isaac had already noticed was that his 1st mission was too easy. Yes, that had been partially due to his ingenuity and ability to avoid trouble. But it also had unusually good rewards considering how short and straightforward it was. He suspected that the initial quests on the board had been easy, letting the new disciples experience an easy mission before they started to do harder work. That was why he was already looking for alternative ies to missions. Just the low rewards for solo missions would not be enough to fuel his cultivation, especially since he was a 3rd ss talent. That was why he was ted to hear the alchemist''s offer for animal parts. In fact, he was here hoping there were wolves to hunt. However, he hadn''t spotted any yet after exploring two thirds of the area. Darkness was falling once again and he decided to curtail his work for today. Since there was still the possibility of wolves living here, Isaac retreated to a spot further away and decided to sleep there. Even if wolves couldn''t climb trees, he''d rather not wake up to find his tree surrounded by them or, even worse, fall out of his tree. His prudence ensured he spent a peaceful night and woke safely the next day. After walking back to the only unmapped area, he continued as he had done the day before. He diligently observed, noted, and even began writing a draft of his mission report on the inside of a hemp bag. It must''ve been around midday when he started noticing fresh scratch marks and scent markings on trees. These were signs from new residents saying ''This is wolf country now, get out!'' Obviously, Isaac wasn''t perturbed. How could the animal he was targeting scare him away?! He was extremely d to see these markings, since he hadn''t made this trip just for a small mission reward. However, the mission still took priority for now, since failing it would have consequences. Isaac noted the presence of wolves on the map, then moved on to a different area, avoiding the wolves for now. He gave the wolves'' territory a wide berth and spent an hour exploring the rest of the unmapped area. After making some notes on his map, Isaac was satisfied with his work. He''d nearly finished the mission, so he returned to the spot where he''d seen signs of wolves. He acted cautiously, first circling the edges of the territory and asionally pausing to add to his map when he was sure he was safe. Then he began moving further inside the territory. He started adding to his map less frequently and checking his surroundings even more carefully before doing so. He was the very picture of caution and precision, never acting without being sure of both safety and sess. Of course, his caution paid off. He reached the middle of the wolf territory without mishap, simultaneously spotting his target andpleting his map. 12 wolves were lounging in the middle of the woods. Most were sleeping or rxing, and none of them were on guard; they must''ve believed they were untouchable in their own territory. Well, Isaac was about to shatter that belief. Chapter 24: Wolves can be Pretty Dangerous Chapter 24: Wolves can be Pretty Dangerous At least, he nned to. Isaac knew better than to bite off more than he could chew, so he wouldn''t go charging into a pack of 12 beasts, each of which could kill the average person. Of course, he wasn''t an average person. He was a cultivator. He was a very intelligent cultivator who still didn''t want to fight 12 wolves if he didn''t have to! It had been raining on-and-off since he epted this mission, and it was doing so right now. In fact, it was pouring down quite heavily, helping wash away his scent. He knew the wolves hadn''t noticed him yet and he would use that to his advantage, attracting the attention of a smaller group rather than all 12 of them. He''d already double, triple and quadruple checked that none of the wolves were wild beasts. He was also certain there weren''t more wolves patrolling or in other areas of the territory. Isaac knew himself and he knew his enemy, so this should be easy. A n formting in his mind, he walked a short distance away and found a branch fallen from one of the pine trees. It was a rather thick branch, so he held both ends of it and put his foot in the middle. Then he used the leverage of his arms pulling up and his foot pushing down to break the branch with a loud *Snap*. Isaac couldn''t see them, but he assumed the wolves had all perked their ears up and were looking in the sound''s direction. Isaac knew some of the wolves woulde to investigate, so he mbered up a nearby tree before they got there. Sure enough, after 5 minutes of waiting, he saw a group of 4 wolves beneath him. Isaac frowned slightly. 2 or 3 wolves would have been ideal, so he wanted to split this group up even more. He swept up some of the snow on the branch and made 4 snowballs. Then he threw them in different directions. There was a session of crunching sounds as the snowballsnded on the snowy forest floor. The wolves looked around in confusion, but seemingly didn''t want to split up. Showing an unusual amount ofradeship for animals, they stayed together and walked to each snowball''snding spot. Isaac didn''t have any way to split them other than by throwing things, so he was forced to make a decision: take on this group of 4 or don''t. Isaac chose to fight; he was already confident of winning, he only wanted to split them to make the fight less dangerous. In fact, Isaac had already nned for this and thrown the snowballs so his tree was between the 2nd and 3rd snowballs. Isaac waited, spirit sword in hand, until the wolves were passing below him. After deciding to attack the wolves, Isaac made another snowball. This time he didn''t throw it. He dropped it right below him and waited for the wolves toe and investigate it. When the wolves were all in positioned directly underneath him, Isaac jumped out of the tree. His ears were filled with the sound of air whooshing by, as the ground rushed up to meet him. However, he stayed focused on the wolves, readying the de in his hand. The wolves didn''t hear him drop, and the wolf below Isaac was utterly unaware of the reaper aiming a scythe at its neck. And it remained that way until its head was cleanly separated from said neck. As the head fell, Isaac also crashed to the ground. The snow helped soften the 5-metre drop, but his knees hurt like hell and he heard a faint *Crack* uponnding. Thankfully, he hadn''t done any damage and his knees only felt stiff when he stood up straight. The wolves heard a loud crunch as Isaded in the snow behind them, and turned around simultaneously. They were shocked to see a man standing there, blood dripping from his fiery orange, semi-transparent sword. Then they saw their friend copsed on the ground, head and body in separate piles. The wolves growled ferociously one of the wolves'' eyes even went bloodshot with anger. That wolf leapt directly towards Isaac while the other 2 circled around to surround him. Isaac wouldn''t just let himself get surrounded, so he stepped towards the pouncing wolf. He used the edge of his de to deflect the wolf''s swipe. Then he shed upwards towards the wolf''s chest, trying to deal with it before the other wolves got into position. However, he was too far away from the wolf and his sword couldn''t inflict a deep wound. He left a long cut from the bottom right to top left of the wolf''s chest, but it was mostly superficial. The wolf howled in pain, but wasn''t seriously injured. It backed off slightly to stay out Isaac''s sword range and prepare to pounce again. As it did this, one of the other wolves leapt towards Isaac from his left, while the 3rd wolf was still trying to get behind him. Again, Isaac dashed towards the wolf in front of him. He avoided the attack to his left while closing the distance to the injured wolf. The wolf was now too close to jump at him but too far to bite, so it swiped again with its other paw. Isaac wouldn''t make the same mistake twice. Instead of deflecting the paw, he used the sharp edge of his sword to block it. Of course, when something soft collides with something sharp, it gets cut. Isaac''s sword tore through the wolf''s leathery paw, embedding itself deep in its bone. Then Isaac took a long stride forward and shed at the wolf''s chest again. The wolf was helpless as its paw was dragged along with the sword, and it couldn''t prevent the de prating its chest. This time Isaac was definitely close enough, as his sword punctured both of the wolf''s lungs and it slumped to the floor lifelessly. He thought both the remaining wolves were somewhere behind him, so he jumped over the dead wolf while pulling his sword out of it. Hended on the other side of the wolf in a low defensive stance, his sword ready to reap another life at a moment''s notice. He had to be ready, since a wolf came leaping over the dead body behind him. Its mouth was wide open, ready to tear into Isaac with its ferocious fangs. Its sudden approach left Isaac only half a second to turn and deliver a straight thrust with his sword. The wolf, stuck in mid-air, could only open its eyes wide with fear. It couldn''t change its course or dodge, so Isaac''s de pierced the roof of its gaping mouth and exited at the back of its head. However, the wolf still had all its momentum. Its dead body crashed into Isaac, bowling him over. He was forced to let go of his sword as was knocked to the ground, the wolf''s face pressed up against his. He could see its dead, ssy eyes which were filled with terror and inside its mouth, where its tongue had been pierced by the sword and stapled to the roof of its mouth. Isaac hurriedly pushed the gruesome corpse away. He hadn''t seen the 4th wolf since the fight started. It might''ve run away, but it could also be lurking behind the trees. Isaac scrambled to his feet, trying to spot the danger in this dark forest. However, he saw nothing. He only heard a snarl followed by the crunch of paws in the snow behind him. He immediately rolled forwards, but it wasn''t enough. A set of ws raked down his back, shredding his coat and tearing the skin beneath it. He was sent tumbling and ended with his face in the snow. Isaac ignored the pain and quickly flipped over onto his back. He saw the wolf looming over him, ready to bite a chunk out of his sweet, juicy neck. He had no time to think. He instinctively angled his wrist upwards and activated the Spirit Sword Anima. In an instant, a sword was created in his hand. The grip was created first, then the hilt and then the de. However, it all happened so quickly that it looked like the sword appeared all at once. The wolf stopped, inches away from his neck. It quivered, then copsed to the ground as blood sshed from its own neck, staining both Isaac and the snow red. As it was created, Isaac''s sword had pierced the wolf''s jugr and killed it. It had nearly missed; just an inch to the left and the wolf might be feasting on Isaac right now. But it hadn''t missed, and the wolf was dead, so it was pointless to think about that. Isaac slowly stood up. His coat was in tatters and his white inner robes were now a muddy red. His face and hands were covered in sticky blood, and that same substance dripped from his sword. His icy blue eyes conveyed endless determination and will to survive, and his demonic appearance destroyed his handsome appeal, making him look feral and monstrous instead. However, Isaac paid no attention to his appearance or demeanour. He simply took the hunting knife from his belt and started harvesting the fallen wolves'' valuable parts. Chapter 25: But Natures Far Worse Chapter 25: But Nature''s Far Worse Isaac knew he had to get out of here quickly, before the smell of blood attracted the other 8 wolves. He deactivated his Spirit Sword Anima, since he was running out of Qi, and got to work with the bone hunting knife. First, he removed the ws and nose of each wolf, tossing then into one of his hemp bags. Then he attempted to skin one of the wolves. His knife cut through its skin, trying to follow the same patterns he''d seen Johan do. However, he couldn''t perfectly remember what to do, and the knife kept slipping as he cut. By the time he was finished, the pelt waspletely shredded. This made him realise skinning an animal was not easy; he''d underestimated how much practice it took Johan to be good at it. Of course, this just meant that Isaac also needed to practice. He went to another body and tried to skin that, however it was even worse this time. He was rushing since he knew he had to leave, so he made even more careless errors. This pelt was so badly ruined there was no point in finishing. In fact, he''d wasted too much time already and he had to leave. Isaac picked up his bag of loot and left the pelts behind. He was extremely thankful for the rain, which helped mask the area''s bloody smell. It was even washing away some of the blood on him, meaning animals were less likely to catch his scent on the journey back. The light of day was already fading, so Isaac used his map and the mountain in the distance to find where he was. In an hour or so, it would be too dark to spotndmarks or navigate at all, so he had to be sure of his directions. The moment he found the right direction, he set off. Every so often, he would wince as he felt the pain in his back. There were 4 long, wide cuts running down it, inflicted by the ws of that final wolf. Fortunately, the wounds weren''t too deep and Isaac had taken some of the fur from his coat and stuffed it into the cuts. It made it more painful, but the blood dried around the fur and fixed it in ce, stopping the wounds from bleeding anymore. It also formed a weak defence against frostbite, stopping his flesh being directly exposed to the cold. The back of his coat had been destroyed, so frostbite was a real danger. Fortunately, he wore twoyers of socks and had gloves, a hat, and a thick cloth to wrap around his nose and mouth. These would protect his extremities (fingers, toes, ears, nose and lips) and reduce the risk of frostbite. Fortunately, the gloves and cloth were in good condition. He''d taken them off before fighting so he could hold his sword properly and breath freely. Meanwhile, the rest of his attire was torn and soaked in blood, rain or both. Even if he didn''t get frostbite, he would get hypothermia if his body temperature dropped. Because of this, he ate some of the high sugar food he''d packed and kept walking to stay warm. Even when it got dark, he kept going and tried to keep going in the same direction. If you''ve ever tried walking in a straight line with your eyes closed, you''ll know that it''s impossible to go dead straight ahead. This was why Isaac didn''t travel at night on the way here. However, now Isaac simply couldn''t stop moving he had to keep walking to stay warm. At worst, he''d head in the vague direction of the sect and try locating himself again when the sun rose in the morning. Trekking through the forest at night was exhausting both mentally and physically, since he had to remain alert for any dangers hiding in the dark. The mental burden was taking its toll and Isaac had been on the verge of falling asleep for half an hour now. He had to keep pinching himself to stay awake, but that was slowly bing less effective and he''d fallen into a semi-conscious state. ''Can I keep going until morning? If I can, will I still have enough energy to navigate and find the sect? Will I be able to find where I am at all?'' Questions swirled in Isaac''s mind, seemingly the only thing keeping him awake. He wanted to answer yes to all of them, but he really wasn''t sure: staying awake wasn''t a matter of willpower, but a limit of the human mind. He didn''t know how much further he could go before the coldpletely sapped him of energy and his brain forcefully shut down. Deep down, he knew he was too tired to walk until morning. Making a fire to warm himself was also impossible, since the heavy rain had drenched every branch in the forest. What could he do then? Wasn''t he out of options and simply waiting for death? ''If I give up, then I''m truly doomed to die. Come on, think. I can''t keep walking, so I need another way to stay warm. I need shelter, but how?'' Isaac urged his fatigued brain to work. Suddenly, he remembered the naturally formed ice caves he''d seen when mapping the area yesterday. His first thought was to pull out hisplete map of the area around the sect. The faint light of the crescent moon lit his map as he read it. However, it wasn''t detailed enough for ice caves to be marked on it, and he didn''t know where he was anyway. Isaac''s tired mind was truly struggling for solutions. He tried looking around his surroundings, hoping to find an ice cave, but how could things be that easy? He''d only found 2 in arge area that took a day and a half to cover. He wasn''t going to find one here after 10 minutes of searching. However, a moment of dyed inspiration struck him. The ice caves were naturally urring, but he could create a simr man-made shelter from snow, like he''d read of other adventurers doing. It would help block the wind and retain his body heat, then he could rest and eat a lot to replenish the heat energy his body lost. As thest of his energy continued to be sapped away by harsh wind and rain, he searched for a suitable ce. Most of the tundra was not t; it was undting, and was covered in miniature hills and dips. Isaac found one of these dips. It was an area where a ledge of earth jutted up 1 metre above the rest of the ground. The earth ledge was covered in snow and bound together by the roots of a nearby tree. These roots stopped the earth from crumbling into a gentle slope. Instead, they held it in a vertical position, forming something like a 1-metre-high wall. Isaac braced his back against the ledge and took cover from the wind. He bit his tongue hard, using the pain to keep himself awake as he packed handfuls of snow onto the top of the ridge, making it higher. He packed the snow tight and solidly, but the wind still threatened to blow over the part he built. In the end, he had to mber onto the top of ridge and keep adding to his shelter. He built a thick, wave-like structure to protect his spot under the ledge. It was solid and aerodynamic, letting it resist the wind safely and giving Isaac more shelter. However, he wasn''t done yet. He knew the wind wasn''t the only problem his clothes were ruined and he couldn''t retain his body heat. He remained at threat of hypothermia because every time his body tried to warm itself up, that warmth just escaped into the surroundings. Isaac started constructing walls for his shelter, starting from his left and working his way around. When he had a 2 foot wall all around him, he stopped and got some food out of his bag. The only reason he''d survived this long was that he''d packed ample rations, which had helped him replenish the energy he''d lost. After munching on sugary, high-energy snacks, Isaac continued to build. An hour and a half after starting, he was crouched in a pitch dark, tiny snow pod with walls all around him and a domed roof. The only thing stopping the roof from copsing was the rain the droplets which fell on the roof all froze, acting like glue which held the snow together. It arched over Isaac''s head, protecting him from the storm outside. Meanwhile, Isaac was rummaging through his bag with shaking hands. His gloves were soaking wet after handling all that snow, so he''d taken them off. The cold had turned his fingers numb, and he doubted whether he would ever feel them again. While his life was secure for now, frostbite could take his fingers, potentially cutting off his path as a swordsman. Isaac had never expected this from merely a Rank 1 easy quest, and he had been forcefully enlightened to nature''s lethal power. Tonight had taken a burning poker and branded his mind with a lesson he would never forget: nature was always enemy number 1 in Northern Tundra. Chapter 26: Barely Chapter 26: Barely Isaac rummaged through his sack with icy hands. His fingers were numb and unfeeling, so he used his palms to work out the shape of things. He found what he was looking for and tried to pull it out, however, his shaking hands made him drop it back into the bag. After finding it again, he pulled it out and put it next to a rectangr waterproof box on hisp. The box was a set of matches, while the package he''d just got out was a lump of seal fat wrapped in birch leaves. It could be used as fuel for a small candle ormp, but Isaac couldn''t use it outside since the wind and rain would snuff its tiny me. He unwrapped the seal fat and opened the box of matches. They were a collection of short pine twigs, all tipped with sulphur. However, Isaac struggled to pick up any of the matches. The twigs were too small and fiddly to hold with his trembling fingers every time he managed to grasp one, his hands would shake uncontrobly and he''d drop it. Eventually, he managed to hold one. However, his hands were continuously twitching and shaking, so he couldn''t strike it against the sandpaper on the side of the box. When he tried to do so, he dropped it. Eventually, after countless attempts, Isaac sessfully lit a match. Its tiny, flickering me brought some light to the snow bunker. He held the match with both hands, not even daring to breath since he might blow it out. He slowly brought the match towards a wick protruding from the seal fat and lit it. The me from the seal fat was stronger. It lit up Isaac''s cramped cave and illuminated the sea of pine-twig matches on the floor. Isaac quickly extinguished his match and began rubbing his hands above the me of the seal fat. Whether it was a cebo effect or not, he could already feel his hands warming up. However, tiredness hit him like a wave. He''d been holding it back as he tried to finish the shelter and light a fire, but now nothing was stopping him from falling asleep. Well, other than the howling of wind and rain outside. Regardless of that, Isaac quickly sumbed to his tiredness and fell asleep while leaning against the wall of his shelter. When he awoke, he could no longer hear the storm. His seal fat had burnt out, but the snow cave was illuminated by rays of sun creeping through gaps in the snow. When he realised the storm was over, Isaac pushed against the wall of his snow shelter, breaking the top part of it and causing half of the roof to copse. Isaac peered through the gap and saw grey skies. However, it wasn''t raining or windy at the moment. He was still shivering and felt stiff from the cold and his awkward sleeping position, but he was in a much better condition than yesterday. He had warmed up during his time in the shelter, so the risk of hypothermia was drastically reduced. Sleeping had also helped him recover his mental and physical energy, so he was much less exhausted. Since he was in an... eptable condition, Isaac was ready to try and return to the sect. He pushed down the rest of the snow wall and crawled out of his tiny resting ce. In the daylight, he got a proper view of the forest around him. ...Yep, it was the same forestndscape you''d find anywhere in Northern Tundra. He had no idea where he was, or even what direction he was facing. Realising this fairlyrge problem, Isaac went for the reliable ''when in doubt, climb a tree'' tactic. It had served him rather well so far. He found one of the taller pine trees nearby, shimmied up its trunk, then climbed through its upper branches. When he reached the top, he saw a clearing to his left and a hill far ahead of him to the right. It seemed that no matter the situation, climbing a tree was always the correct answer. After he climbed back down, Isaac got out his map and started to look for a hill and clearing near each other. He found them in the upper middle region of the map. It turned out he''d deviated quite a lot to the left while walking at night. This put him about 6km north of the sect, which was at the dead centre of the map. Now that he knew his location, Isaac was confident in returning to the sect. He wasn''t at (much) risk of hypothermia, he had (hopefully) avoided frostbite in his fingers though they were still numb and the weather looked good (at least, considering it was winter in Northern Tundra). What could stop him? Literally any of the wilderness'' hidden dangers! Of course, Isaac didn''t dare be overconfident. He had been confident in walking through the night until morning, but that confidence nearly got him killed. Now, he only set off after carefully considering each variable and plotting a safe path on the map. Thankfully, things tend not to go wrong when you n thoroughly and don''t court death. Isaac did both those things, and he found his way back to the sect rather easily. He reached the sect gates and recited the password to the guards. Then, after struggling to find it in his hemp sack, Isaac showed his mission pass and gained entry. Isaac''s mission pass revealed that he only had 1 more day to hand in his mission. It seemed that, by the skin of his teeth, he wouldplete the mission. In fact, the only thing troubling Isaac was that he still couldn''t feel his fingers. At the very least, they weren''t turning blue or anything, so he could only rush back to his house while hoping for the best. When he got home, he mmed the door behind him and immediately went to light the firece. He warmed his hands over the fire for a bit, then got up to eat and change into warmer clothes, then returned to the fire and sat there like a statue for the rest of the day. Fortunately, Isaac had regained feeling in his fingers after less than an hour. However, they still felt stiff and awkward after that, hence he decided to stay by the firece for several hours. After Isaac made sure he wouldn''t suffer any aftereffects such as frostbite or hypothermia, he went to bed and slept soundly. This was a far better night''s sleep than he''d experienced in his cold, cramped shelter. In the morning, Isaac seemed much better. Before, his eyes were sunken and tired, whilst his face looked haggard. Now, he''d regained most of his normal features, including his piercing icy blue gaze. The only sign he hadn''t made a full recovery was his slightly red nose, which showed he''d caught themon cold a minor illnesspared to frostbite or hypothermia. Regardless of whether he was ill or not, he had to turn in his mission today. He wrote up a mission report in the morning and visited the Adventurers'' Hall at midday. After handing in his mission report and the map he''dpleted, Isaac received a reward of 1 reward point and 2 merit points. Then he headed home to drink hot pine needle tea by his fire. He desperately wanted to exchange for another Basic Qi Pill and cultivate, but he knew the constant sneezing and other effects of a cold would stop him from meditating properly. The only thing he could do was eat lots, have warm drinks, and try to quickly recover from his cold. Of course, catching a cold don''t mean he was entirely useless. Isaac tried to battle through it and meditate as much as he could, and he was pretty sessful. It would''ve been a waste to use a pill in this situation since he couldn''t maximise its effects, but he still saw noticeable progress during his 3 days of illness. Now it was time to consider his next step in gathering resources. While most of his troubles were caused by unexpected weather and his choice to fight wolves, Isaac couldn''t deny that the missions were hard. In fact, they were too hard to be worth doing. Instead, there was a much more efficient alternative, which involved gathering beast corpses and selling them to the alchemist disciple he''d met. The amount she would pay for some animal ws exceeded the rewards of most missions, so it might be better to go hunting. However, he had reported killing 4 wolves when he went to submit his mission. The person at the desk told him he could only kill 1 more bear, 1 wolf and 5 arctic foxes this season. Since that was the case, this wouldn''t work long-term unless he found a better way of getting animals. Fortunately, Isaac already had an idea of what to do. Chapter 27: The Scourge of Disciples Chapter 27: The Scourge of Disciples Just steal. That was Isaac''s usual response when he needed somebody else''s things. Other disciples would also be bringing animals back to sect. If Isaac wanted them and was capable of taking them, then why wouldn''t he? Fortunately for the other disciples, Isaac didn''tmence his n yet. While he still wasn''t in peak condition, he had gotten over the worst of his illness and felt ready to exchange for a Basic Qi Pill. Therefore, he visited the market with his reward point and the noses from the wolves he killed. Noses and ws were the only body parts which sold for a reasonable amount, so they were the only body parts that Isaac had harvested. He kept the ws at home since he was trying to collect a set of wolf, bear and fox ws, but he brought the noses along. He found a street vendor who offered a good price, so he sold them for a few iron pieces and moved on. After that, he went straight to the Points Exchange Centre. He queued up to purchase a Basic Qi Pill, handed over his reward point token, and received a milky white pill in return. When he left the exchange centre, he noticed somebody following him. There were rules preventing conflict in the market, so people often tailed a target until they left the market, then stole whatever they''d bought. Fortunately, this was amon urrence so Isaac was always on alert and looking to see if he was being followed. When he spotted his tail, he weaved through a sequence of back-alleys and quickly lost them. After that, he made his way home and prepared to meditate. Isaac spent that day absorbing the Basic Qi Pill and improving his cultivation base. He was confident that his cultivation was higher than any of the other new 3rd ss talents. However, he still had some way to go to equal the 2nd ss talents, especially the stronger ones such as Johan and Erik. Normally Isaac wouldn''t worry about trivial things such as who cultivated quicker. Comparing his cultivation speed or current sess against these people was truly futile, since the only thing that mattered was who would be greater in the end. However, a new announcement had forced Isaac topare his progress to the progress of others. The sect would be holding a tournament for the new disciples in 3 months. If the prizes were just pride and prestige, Isaac still wouldn''t care. However, there were incredibly generous rewards for getting a top 16 spot. Obviously, the closer you were to first, the better these rewards got. However, the most crucial thing for Isaac was ess to a 1 star location within the sect. All top 10 spots would receive this reward, but with a varying amount of time in said location. The sect had 1, 2 and 3 star locations which most people could not ess. Only those with incredibly high merit points could ess 1 and 2 star areas, while only those ranked as elders or higher could enter 3 star areas. On top of these requirements, you would also need to pay a certain amount of reward points to enter. However, the top 16 could spend a limited amount of time in any 1 star area for free. Most disciples would consider this a chance to enter special cultivation grounds with dense ambient Qi. Inparison, Isaac thought of it as a way to ess the sect''s 1 star library. This library had information the non-starred ones didn''t: forms for creating Rank 1 Anima or advancing them to Rank 2, special alchemy recipes, and advanced books for inscriptionists. It would also contain profound information about the cultivation world, such as in-depth knowledge about the nature of Qi, Anima and cultivation talent. This was crucial to Isaac, who had never forgotten the limit his 3rd ss talent gave him. This limit even appeared in his dreams, preventing him from ever reaching Rank 4! However, he knew it wasn''t impossible to break this limit. The sect had showed him that. Isaac strongly believed the sect''s method for improving cultivation talent was imperfect. With enough time and knowledge, he might be able to devise a better one. In fact, a better method might already exist. However, Isaac had no idea where to find such a thing, so he could only rely on himself to try and create one. He had long since started his research he had begun studying the properties of Qi and the theory behind awakening during his time in the academy. He had never expected to be a 1st ss talent: the chance of that happening was far below 1 in 1,000. In fact, it hade as a shock when one of the 2,500 new disciples awakened as 1st ss. Because of this, Isaac had already nned for the scenario where he was not a 1st ss talent. He had told himself, time and time again ''Do not be impatient. Ignore your talent for now and cultivate until you are strong. Then you will have ess to higher quality information.'' However, a chance to ess such information had arrived much sooner than expected! This tournament would be his springboard! It was a heaven-sent opportunity to find some of the information he was looking for, and also earn a plethora of resources to catapult his cultivation further! However, the tournament was merely that an opportunity. It was down to Isaac to surpass the other disciples, fight well in the tournament and truly seize it. Knowing this, he became even more determined. A multitude of thoughts, plots and ns kept flying through his mind and keeping him awake at night. Eventually, Isaac did manage to sleep. When he got up in the morning, there was a renewed vigour about him despite the cold he still had. He seemed bursting with life and ready for action. He was full of vigour when he left his house and went to practice swordsmanship. He spent 4 hours swinging his sword until sweat dripped from every pore, then he returned to his home for a bath. When he finished, he felt clean and refreshed. Now it was past midday and he could properly get to work. Midday was when the disciples would begin to return from their missions or hunting trips. Isaac made his way to the sect gate and found a spot nearby to discreetly watch those who entered. He watched and waited for a suitable target to appear. After 5 minutes, Isaac saw a duo with an arctic fox pelt. Then he saw a group of 12 with the entire, intact corpse of a wolf. However, he let them pass and kept waiting. Many minutester, a party of 6 adventurers arrived, catching Isaac''s attention. He could see they had a well-preserved bear pelt with all the ws, teeth, eyes, etc. still on it. Nothing had been removed to sell separately. Handling 6 people was within Isaac''s capabilities, and bears were the most valuable animal in this area, so this unfortunate group became his first target. Isaac observed them as they headed into a nearby street, nning how to take them out and steal their kill. Of course, this type of theft wasmonce across the sect. However, the new disciples hadn''t all adjusted to sect life. Many felt that the correct decision was to hunt, take missions and earn their own resources very few chose to steal. Only some of the weaker disciples tried robbing others near the gate, so everybody above a certain level of strength assumed they were safe. This group considered themselves strong enough to not get robbed, so they weren''t particrly on guard. That meant they didn''t spot Isaac following them. He tailed them perfectly as they turned left, right, then right again into a narrow alley with houses on both sides. Then, the group stopped. It looked like they were having some kind of discussion, so Isaac hid in a doorway and tried to listen. However, he was too far away and could only catch a few words, "Sven...report...ws... It wasn''t enough to understand their conversation and he couldn''t get any closer, so he could only observe. A woman with a stern expression was making animated gestures with her hands. She seemed to be the one in charge and, after giving a few orders, she and 2 others turned to leave. Isaac pressed himself into the doorway as they walked past, staying silent and hidden. They didn''t notice Isaac, so they walked to the end of the street and turned the corner, vanishing from sight. After they were gone, Isaac pulled a length of ck cloth out of his pocket and tied it around his face so it covered his nose and mouth. Concealing his face would help Isaac avoid any attempts at revenge, so he''d fashioned this bandanna from one of his ruined tops. With his face covered, Isaac made his move. The 3 people all had their backs to Isaac two of them were talking while thest guy was kneeling by the bear and inspecting it. That meant none of them saw Isaac as he silently moved towards them. Step by step he approached, until he was standing right behind the kneeling man. Then he struck like a snake. One hand covered the man''s mouth, while Isaac''s other arm wrapped around the man''s neck in a chokehold. Then he pulled the man into a lying-down position and wrapped his legs around his torso, pinning the man''s arms to his sides so he couldn''t punch out. After 10 seconds, the guy was out cold. However, Isaac continued to apply the choke for 20 more seconds to make sure he stayed unconscious. Then he slowly rolled the man off of him and stood up. Remaining stealthy and silent, he picked up a hand-sized rock from the gutter. Then he stepped towards the duo who were still talking. He swung the rock hard, hitting a man in the side of his head. The man immediately crumpled and fell to the floor. Isaac didn''t give thest person time to react. While they were still processing what had happened, Isaac wrapped his arm around their neck and started choking them out as well. No matter how much they punched, kicked or iled, they could not escape Isaac''s grasp. After 30 seconds, he dropped their unconscious body to the floor. Miraculously, the man Isaac had hit with a stone was still awake. He was lying there, bleeding from his head and barely conscious, but he still tried to grab at Isaac''s leg. Isaac looked down at the man disdainfully. Then he stomped on the man''s arm eliciting a cry of pain and walked past him. He simply picked up the bear pelt and folded it over his shoulder. Then he disappeared into thebyrinth of alleyways from whence he came. Chapter 28: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada... Chapter 28: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada... Isaac brought his loot back home while regretting the fact he couldn''t kill the other 3. Sect rules allowed bullying, beating, theft, and even torture since it would ultimately help the victim. These kinds of events would help temper disciples, toughen them up, and prepare them for life outside the sect. On the other hand, death did not benefit the victim. The sect had no reason to allow murder and it was punished rather heavily, so Isaac didn''t dare. Isaac had to do something he didn''t want to; let people with a grudge against him live. Thinking this, he could only sigh. His face was concealed and he hadn''t used his Anima, so they couldn''t know who he was unless they recognised his pale blue eyes. If they could recognise him from just that, he could only apud them. Realising there was nothing more he could do, Isaac stopped thinking about it. He pushed open his door and entered his house. He walked over to his bed, lifted the mattress up, and ced the bear pelt underneath. Then he put the mattress back, grabbed some food, and left again. Of course Isaac wasn''t satisfied with just one sess! He was heading back to the gate to find some more prey. 20 minutester, he was back in the same spot as before. He waited, watched, and picked another target. Then he followed then through the back-alleys and picked a moment to strike. The oue was a very predictable one; Isaac returned home to hide more loot. Then he went back to the gate and repeated the process. By the end of the day, many things were stuffed under Isaac''s mattress. In addition to theplete bear pelt, there were 3 arctic foxes'' ws and 2 wolves'' ws and noses. For others, feeling ws underneath the thin mattress might have been ufortable. However, every time they poked Isaac he simply thought of the reward points he would sell them for and how much more he would earn tomorrow. Isaac slept soundly and woke up in the morning, ready to repeat the same routine as yesterday. He ate breakfast, then headed to the training grounds where he diligently practiced swordsmanship. When it was nearly 1pm, he went back to his house to bathe and then made sure he arrived at the gates for 1:30. Funnily enough, the first person he saw walking through the gates was Johan. He had arctic fox pelts over both shoulders and looked like quite an enticing target. Isaac knew he would win in a fight, and couldn''t see the exact number but Johan had at least 4 fox pelts. However, Johan knew him well. Even if Isaac covered his face, it was likely that Johan would still recognise him. If he did, there would be long-term consequences: Isaac would lose a skilled partner for missions as well as an opportunity to get acquainted with the Friberg family. In fact, he might even antagonize them. Isaac very quickly decided that 4 fox pelts was not enough for him to act against Johan. Instead, he continued to wait for a better target, preferably one who didn''t know him. Soon, he settled on a muscr female warrior with 2 arctic fox corpses. Unlike Johan who was skilled at skinning an animal and taking its pelt, this woman had left the foxes whole and carried one under each arm. Isaac watched her walk down a street and was about to follow her, but then he saw movement in the corner of his eye. A group of 6 people were moving towards the street the woman had walked into. At first he wasn''t sure, but then Isaac saw how they acted and tried to blend into the crowd and he knew they were also following her. Seeing this, Isaac stayed back a little bit and followed behind the group of 6. However, such arge group wasn''t very stealthy. After several twists and turns, the woman noticed that this group of 6 was always behind her and tried to make a run for it. In hindsight, this was a mistake. Carrying 2 foxes made it hard for her to escape and she was quickly caught. They started fighting in an enclosed alleyway, and Isaac turned the corner just in time to see the woman throw one of her 6 pursuers to the ground. The man sprung back to his feet while clutching his shoulder and backed off. This woman was strong enough to go hunting on her own she was likely a league or two above each of her pursuers individually. However, this was not an individual battle. The group quickly surrounded the woman and used their number advantage to pressure her. Suddenly, gusts of icy wind appeared around the woman, stopping the group from getting closer. The wind contained sharp ice particles which cut at the group as it passed by. The exposed skin on their hands was quickly covered in a collection of tiny cuts and their coats were also buffeted and torn in ces. The wind blew back one disciple''s hood and Isaac could see his head was wrapped in bandages. This triggered a thought and he tried to get a better look at the faces of those in the group of 6. However, the icy wind clouding the air obscured his view. It was so dense that he couldn''t even see the woman at the centre of it. He could only see 6 hazy figures, hesitant to approach the eye of the storm. Suddenly, 3 of them disappeared from Isaac''s view as they stepped deeper into the icy whirlwind. About 5 secondster, one of them was sent flying out. She crashed to the ground several metres away from Isaac, barely conscious. It was not the strong warrior woman, but a skinny girl from the group of 6. After seeing her face, Isaac could confirm this was the group he''d robbed yesterday. However, his attention was brought back to the battle when he saw the icy winds suddenly stop. It meant the warrior woman had either been defeated or had run out of Qi and would be defeated soon. When the wind fully dissipated, Isaac could see her slumped against a wall, out cold. Lying near her were the 2 foxes and the man with bandages around his head. He was bleeding heavily from the side that Isaac had hit with a stone; he''d obviously been struck there again, causing the wound to reopen. Meanwhile, the 4 members of the group who were still standing looked slightly battered but not seriously injured. They exchanged a few jubnt words, then one went to help the bleeding man, while another approached the injured woman near Isaac. Isaac picked up a stone when he saw them approach since he thought he might be spotted. Fortunately, the person didn''t see him as they walked to the injured woman and bent over to see how she was. Isaac saw this as an opportunity. He readied his stone and rushed at the man. The man was looking at his friend on the floor and saw Isaacte. He didn''t even have time to raise an arm in defence as Isaac clobbered him with the stone. Then Isaac felt hands clutching at his ankles. Hah... not this again. The woman on the floor was trying to restrain him so the group coulde and help. Isaac didn''t like that. He stomped hard on her face, breaking her nose and causing her to cry out in pain. Then Isaac turned and threw his stone at one of the other group members. They managed to dodge, but Isaac had closed in on them while they did so. They tried to throw a punch while slightly off-bnce, but Isaac easily parried it. He followed up with a swift blow to the stomach, then chopped the woman''s neck as they were winded and bent over. It was a clean knockout and the woman copsed like a sack of potatoes. This left Isaac in a fair(?) fight against the remaining 2 people. From what he''d seen of their fight, Isaac could tell they either didn''t have Anima or had them but couldn''t use them properly. He didn''t n on using his Anima either, since it could be used to identify him. He was known as the most skilled swordsman in the academy, so he would be the first person others thought of if they saw a mysterious man wielding a sword Anima. That left good old-fashioned fists. Isaac faced off against the duo a short, stocky man and an athletic, 6-foot 3-inch giant of a woman. The man rushed at Isaac, throwing a huge overhand punch that he easily avoided. Isaac tried to turn and strike the man''s exposed side, but the woman quickly attacked and forced Isaac to block instead. Contrary to the huge mismatch in appearances, the pair demonstrated good coordination in attacking Isaac. He was hit a few times despite dodging, blocking and counterpunching to the best of his abilities. However, the fight slowly began to swing in his favour. He was targeting the short man, who was a considerably weaker fighter than the woman. By now, the blows were beginning to add up and the man looked tired. He swung azy right towards Isaac, which Isaac ducked underneath. Then Isaac followed up with an uppercut to the jaw, knocking the man to the ground. However, the woman kicked Isaac in the ribs as he did so. Isaac staggered sideways and the woman came after him while he was off bnce. She threw a left-right jabbo. Isaac blocked the left, but the right nced the side of his head. The woman continued to press her advantage by aiming a knee to the stomach. However, the punch hadn''t dazed Isaac like the woman thought it had. Isaac caught the knee with both hands and used a low kick to sweep the woman''s other leg from under her. She fell t on her back and Isaac jumped on top of her. He delivered several vicious blows to the head until her face was a mess and she could no longer speak, let alone retaliate. Satisfied with his work, Isaac got up and wiped his bloody knuckles on his coat. Then he walked over to the foxes, picked them both up and disappeared into thebyrinth of alleyways from whence he came. Chapter 29: Shes a Trap! Chapter 29: She''s a Trap! Today was pretty much a repeat of yesterday. Isaac returned to the gate and spent a few hours robbing disciples. However, he finished a little earlier than yesterday and went home. ''If I can steal resources from others, resources can also be stolen from me. The only thing other disciples can''t steal is my cultivation base. It''s best if I stop now and visit the market before it closes; then I can sell most of this loot, buy some Basic Qi Pills and finish cultivating them as soon as possible before people try robbing me.'' With that thought, Isaac filled a sack with some of the animal bits. He threw in a pelt, noses, and 2 sets of bear, wolf and fox ws. He had more wolf and fox ws, but he didn''t have enough bear ws to make another set, so he left the other wolf and fox ws in his new hiding spot. Yesterday, Isaac had realised that underneath his mattress wasn''t a great hiding ce. He''d briefly thought about better spots and had decided to create a draw with a false bottom. The first thing he''d done this morning before going to the training grounds was find some unused nks left out in the street. Then Isaac had chopped up the nks and fitted them in one of his cupboard draws. Since everything here was made from pine wood, the nks looked like they were the bottom of the draw when in reality they could be taken out to reveal a secretpartment beneath them. Thispartment was the real bottom of the draw, hence why the nks were called a ''false bottom''. He wasn''t a master carpenter so it was easy to spot if you looked closely, but it should keep things hidden from someone doing a rushed or careless search. It was quite useful for hiding small objects and Isaac put the remaining ws inside before recing the nks. Then he grabbed a second sack and put 2 wolf pelts in it. Holding both sacks, Isaac left his house and headed to the market. He found suitable buyers for all 3 pelts and his collection of noses, earning just over 1 reward point. Then he went to visit the alchemy disciple. The alchemy shop was near the edge of the market in a less expensive plot ofnd. It seemed that instead of purchasing a great location, the owner had spent all their money on building the store itself. It had the slightly odd store name, ''Herbal Fumes'' was written in bold letters across the front of the store, with a row of ornate wooden carvings above and below the name. Therge double doors beneath the name were wide-open as if inviting customers in, and Isaac could tell the alchemy disciple had spotted him standing outside since she was smiling at him. Isaac walked in and greeted her, "Good afternoon." "Good afternoon to you too," she replied in a happy but not overly cheerful tone. "I remembered the offer you madest time and hoped you were still interested in buying animal ws." "Hmm..." the woman seemed slightly hesitant to talk about this topic, "I am still looking to buy some, but I can''t offer the same prices as before. Your friend''s already had a few transactions with me so I have less of a need for them now, I can only offer you 1 reward point and 3 iron pieces for a set of ws." This was a dip from the previous 1 reward point and 5 pieces, but it was still slightly above market price. Trying to negotiate got Isaac nowhere since both he and the disciple knew he''d struggle to find a better price elsewhere. Therefore, he sold both sets of ws for 2 reward points and 6 iron pieces, leaving him with 2 empty bags but pockets full of money. Instead of using that money to buy something, Isaac checked he wasn''t being followed and left the market. He returned home to retrieve hisst wolf pelt as well as the two fox corpses, then headed back to the market. He had long since removed the ws from these wolves and was ready to sell them. In fact, he''d removed the eyes and noses as well. Nobody needed an entire wolf corpse, so he could earn more by selling it in separate parts. The only unfortunate thing was that he couldn''t skin them to sell the pelt and meat separately; instead, he sold the main bodies to a butcher who nned to skin them, put the meat in his shop and sell the pelts to a friend. Then Isaac sold the eyes, noses and other parts to the same buyers who''d purchased his goods earlier. When he was done peddling his wares, Isaac finally paid a visit to the Sect Exchange Centre. He walked inside and joined the queue for one of the desks. When it was his turn, he handed the vendor at the desk 2 wooden tokens and 20 iron pieces, each about the size of his thumbnail. In return, he received 4 milky white pills. Isaac quickly pocketed the pills and left. However, he saw he was being followed again it seemed people always waited near the exchange centre and targeted those who came out. This time, Isaac didn''t try to slip away unnoticed. This kind of thing would continue happening until he proved he wasn''t an easy target, so he decided to teach his follower a lesson. He kept walking while pretending he hadn''t seen the hooded stalker, taking an easy-to-follow route into some empty backstreets. As soon as he left the market and entered the residential district, Isaac immediately took a left turn. He stopped walking and pushed his body t against the wall, waiting for his tail to walk around the corner. Sure enough, the person followed Isaac into this street. A momentary look of confusion clouded their face when they realised Isaac was gone, nowhere to be seen. However, that confusion was reced by pain as Isaac stepped out of the shadowy corner, grabbed their head, and pulled it downwards for a violent introduction to his knee. After Isaac kneed them in the face, the hooded figure was seeing stars. Their hood fell back, revealing a beautiful feminine face, but that didn''t even cause Isaac to hesitate as he swung his fist towards the side of her head. The punch connected with a hollow thud, sending the woman tumbling to the floor. Then Isaac proceeded to kick the living daylights out of her while she curled up in the foetal position. When he was done kicking, he rummaged through the woman''s coat pockets and took the 2 iron pieces she had with her. Then he stood up, cast a single nce towards her twitching, curled-up body, and silently left. He went back to his house and slept. The next morning, Isaac woke up early and didn''t eat breakfast so he could use the first Basic Qi Pill. He steeled himself for a long period of boredom and entered meditation. ************************* Meanwhile, other events were urring elsewhere in the sect. At midday, a freckle-faced woman came through the sect gates with 2 wolf pelts. She stood by the gates for a while and looked around, then she walked towards a nearby street and took several twists and turns until she arrived at her destination. She stopped and put the pelts on the floor. Then she leant against a wall and started getting food and a water bottle out of a bag. She tried to look as careless as possible, inviting someone to steal her pelts, but she was actually very vignt. So were the other 5 people watching from the shadows they closely observed the direction the woman hade from to see if anyone was following her. However, nobody came. After a while, the woman put her food and drink back in the bag with a look of frustration on her face. She turned to the group in the shadows and said, "Where is he?! You told me this was sure to work: we catch the guy who''s been stealing people''s kills, then we force him to hand over the loot he''s umted. That sounds great and all, but he''s not here! How do we catch a guy who isn''t here?!" "Rx, there''s no way he can resist a target as easy as this," spoke one of the shadows, "he probably doesn''te to the gate this early, so he might not have seen you. Let''s go back and try it again." The woman stood up reluctantly and made her way back to the gates. She left the sect and waited outside for about half an hour before asking to be let back in. The guards were confused and a little irritated at her actions, but they opened the gates anyway and the woman entered the sect like she''d juste back from hunting. With the 2 wolf pelts and a sack of supplies in her hand, she repeated the same actions as before. She looked around the square for a bit, then walked into the same alleyway as before and took the exact same turns. Then she reached the street where the group of 5 was hiding, put down the pelts and started eating in the middle of the street, trying to look as defenceless as possible. However, nothing happened even after waiting for a while. "He''s noting, thanks for wasting my time." "Wait! Let''s try again tomorrow, he must not be here today. Think about how much we''ll earn if we catch him, it''ll be well worth the effort..." The woman didn''t seem entirely convinced, but she agreed anyway, "Fine. But if he doesn''te, I still get to keep these wolf pelts like we agreed." Then she picked up the wolf pelts and left on her own. Chapter 30: The Truth About Talent Chapter 30: The Truth About Talent Back at his house, Isaac had just finished meditating. He was absolutely starving, so he used the firece to grill some rabbit meat for dinner and washed it down with a ss of icy cold water. Then he spent an hour practicing swordsmanship stances and forms in his house. Of course, he didn''t actually swing a sword inside since he''d break everything. After that, he simply bathed and went to bed. In the morning, Isaac did the same thing he did yesterday. However, there was also another group doing the same thing they''d done yesterday. At midday, a woman with 2 wolf pelts appeared in the square by the sect gates. She looked around, then walked into a nearby street. Just like she''d done before, she took some twists and turns, then sat down and began to eat defencelessly. Again, nobody had followed her. "What the fuck?! It''ll work, it''ll work, try again tomorrow? Did it just fucking work?! No, it fucking didn''t! I''m leaving, see you never." The woman picked up the pelts and left angrily; she felt like her time had been wasted by a bunch of clowns. Meanwhile, the group that had been hiding was seething with anger. "See, I told you she was unreliable!" One of them hissed as they stepped out into the light. Of course, this was the same group of 6 who Isaac robbed twice. However, they were currently a group of 5 instead, since one of the guys hadn''t recovered from his severe head injury. They gathered around and began bickering. Many insults were hurled, particrly at the person who hade up with the n and the and the one who''d rmended hiring the freckled woman as their bait. They''d actually paid the 2 wolf pelts for her help, so she''d still profited from this little farce despite how angry she looked. Instead of her, it was the group that should''ve been infuriated: they''d lost 2 pelts, wasted their time, and hadn''t even caught a glimpse of the guy they wanted revenge on! But what could they do? They couldn''t give up now; they''d invested too much time and resources into this to simply ept the fact that they''d never get their revenge. But they also couldn''t continue all the time they spent trying to trap Isaac was time not spent hunting. It was time which was not spent earning resources or cultivating. Essentially, it was time spent not getting any stronger while their target and everyone around them was doing precisely that. So, while they werepletely unwilling to ept defeat, they had to make the mature decision! They couldn''t simply halt their progress and be left behind just so they could get revenge on one guy. It just didn''t make sense to do so, and they knew it. So they could only grit their teeth, grind their heel against the cobblestone pavement in frustration, and take their anger out on each other by arguing. Eventually they finished venting their sorrows and came to an agreement. They would hunt for now, and wait for an opportunity to expose the mysterious thief''s identity in the future. Then they would finally have their revenge after all, revenge was a dish best served cold. ************************* Isaac was still meditating while sitting on his bed,pletely unaware of the failed trap which had been set for him. He could feel himself getting closer and closer to the barrier for middle stage. It felt great to know that his effort was being rewarded and he felt a sense of achievement every time he inspected the rising level of liquid Qi in his core. He knew he wouldn''t reach middle stage in the next couple of days, but in a month or so... he might break through before some of the 2nd ss talents. Cultivation wasn''t something you could seed in with just effort. There was an unshakeable gap between talents which became evident from the moment cultivation began: reaching Rank 2 would be impossible for 5th ss talents; it would be troublesome for 4th ss talents; but it would seem easy for those with 3rd ss talent or better. Just one ss in talent represented the difference between easy and difficult. A gap of two sses was the difference between easy and impossible. So long as the person with better talent just put in minimal effort and did the ''easy'' things, they would never be surpassed by a less talented person no matter how ''hard'' they worked. At most, they could equal the more talented cker, hence the saying ''Talent cannot be ovee with effort alone.'' Isaac knew this. That was why he didn''t just put in maximum effort, but he also fought tooth and nail for resources, then cultivated intelligently to maximise his resources and effort. For example, many people would spend 6 hours meditating with a Basic Qi Pill and use the 3x multiplier it gave to cultivation speed. Inparison, Isaac would spend 6 hours meditating with a pill, take a break, then spend 5 more hours meditating while pushing his will to the limits, just to get small benefits that still remained in the pill. Training this way was more exhausting than running a marathon, but it had its benefits: it helped to slightly strengthen Isaac''s will and improve his cultivation speed. Strengthening his will was important since it would help Isaac cultivate longer and with less breaks. It created a positive feedback cycle which allowed Isaac to match or surpass the 2nd ss talents who only cultivated with moderate effort or didn''t have many resources. Of course, he still couldn''t touch people like Erik or Johan who were both talented and hardworking, but Isaac knew he was taking steps in the right direction. That was why he cast aside these useless thoughts and continued to focus on his cultivation. ************************* 3 dayster, Isaac woke up with an improved cultivation base and no more Basic Qi Pills. That meant he needed more resources to feed his developing Qi Core. Where would he get these resources? Of course it was the same answer as before... from other people. Since he knew hunters wouldn''t return until past midday, Isaac went to the training grounds and spent several hours practicing swordsmanship. It was a little harder to learn without a teacher, but Isaac had taught himself many things such as how to read so he was used to figuring things out for himself. Speaking of reading, it had been a while since he''d read a good book, and he felt a strong urge to visit the library. However, he restrained himself and focused on the task at hand... or rather, the sword in hand. When he was done, Isaac returned home to bathe and eat, then he headed to the square next to the sect gates. When he got there, he saw a surprising sight. There were many people like him, standing around the edge of the square and pretending to be preupied by something else while actually watching the sect gates. Hell, some people didn''t even pretend they were doing something else. Everybody was here for the same thing and who didn''t know it? In that case, what was the point of hiding your intentions?! Things had changed drastically while Isaac had been cultivating. Theft was bing increasinglymon and only the strongest disciples dared to go hunting since they could protect their loot from thieves. Even they weren''tpletely safe, since strong people and groups would try to rob them as well! The area for new disciples was in chaos right now and most people who walked through the gate would have at least 3 or 4 people trying to steal from them. In just 15 minutes of watching, Isaac had already seen mad chases through the streets and a whole pack of people trying to sneak up on one guy. In the next hour, he witnessed several more crazy scenarios. And in every one of them, a good target was chased off by hordes of other people. Each time Isaac spotted suitable prey, that prey was targeted by many other people. It reached a point where Isaac realised he''d never get an ideal situation and he''d probably have to target somebody stronger, a person that not many others would try to steal from. His chance came in the form of a man who had a scar under his left eye. The man carried the head of a bear and a bag, presumably containing his supplies and the bear''s ws. Isaac noticed that several people around the square couldn''t even make eye contact with this guy. They''d probably all tried robbing him before, causing the guy to beat them to a bloody pulp. However, that was just Isaac''s guess; he didn''t know for sure. Whatever the reason was, this man had a reputation which made others hesitant to steal from him. Isaac didn''t care about some worthless reputation. The important thing was that he wouldn''t bepeting with 10 other people to steal this guy''s stuff. He even had the bear ws that Isaac was missing. That was why, when nobody else dared to, Isaac secretly followed him down one of the streets. However, Isaac didn''t quite know what he was getting himself into... Chapter 31: Trouble Chapter 31: Trouble Isaac kept following the man... left, left, right, left. They moved through busy streets and entered an empty alleyway. Rather, the man entered the alleyway while Isaac waited around the corner. He would be spotted the moment he entered the alleyway, so he just peered around the corner and watched as the man stopped in the middle of the alley, then threw down the bag and bear head. The man was about to turn around, so Isaac pulled his head back to avoid being seen. However, he could still hear the man shout, "Come out, I know you''ve been following me!" Only a fool would e out'' when he was asked to, so Isaac stayed put. It was likely that the man was bluffing and was just trying to lure out anyone that might be following him. Isaac stayed as silent as possible and didn''t fall for it, but he was surprised by the man''s next words, "Yeah, you with the brown version coat and the blue eyes, hiding around the corner to my right! I''ve been watching you in the reflections of mirrors and window panes. You''ve been following me around like a dog follows its master, so be a good bitch ande here!" The man''s description was a little too specific to be a guess. Isaac could just stay hidden and see what would happen next, but the man would probably just escape. In fact, he could''ve escaped already if he wanted to he''d only stayed so he could teach Isaac a lesson. Isaac disliked the feeling of being caught. It felt like failure. However, he didn''t have many options left, so he pulled up his hood and stepped into the alleyway. The man smiled viciously. His twisted, toothy grin and the scar under his left eye made his face look hideous. "Heeere doggie doggie, look who''s got a treat for you!" He held his arm outwards and beckoned for Isaac toe closer. Of course Isaac came closer. He couldn''t beat this guy up without getting closer. His blue eyes glinted maliciously from underneath his hood, but he did his best to stay calm against the man''s mocking. If anything, Isaac got more serious and less angry than before. His opponent seemed to be relying on taunts to disrupt Isaac''s focus, so resisting his provocations would be the first step towards winning their fight. All the scarred man could see was Isaac walking towards him while looking down at the floor. His hands were in his pockets and his hood was pulled up, meaning the man couldn''t see the glimmer in his frosty blue eyes. In fact, Isaac''s figure looked so meek that the man thought he might apologise and ask for a lighter punishment. That was why he was surprised to find a de shing towards his neck. The attack caught him slightly unprepared, but he would never drop his guard in the presence of a stranger. He reacted quickly, his fingers transforming into ebony ck ws as they moved to catch the de. However, Isaac''s sword changed course mid-swing, a technique he had practiced countless times. The de was now heading towards the man''s chest, but he tucked both his elbows in to block the strike. A normal person''s arms would have been sliced off by Isaac''s attack, but this man had thick white fur covering both forearms. Isaac''s sword cut deep into the man''s arms, but he didn''t even reach bone, let alone cut all the way through. Isaac hesitated slightly after his sword was stopped, giving the man an opportunity. He aimed a hard kick between Isaac''s legs, and Isaac had to jump back to avoid it. This created some distance between the two and there was a short pause in the fighting which allowed Isaac to observe his opponent''s transformation. The man''s forearms were covered in pure white fur, but Isaac knew the skin beneath it was tough and his flesh was dense and muscr. His hands were now paws, with ck ws that were bigger, sharper and more curved than any normal wolf''s. Their sect specialised in Beast-style Anima, specifically those rted to wolves, so Isaac recognised it right away. It was the Razorlight w Anima, which transformed the user to give them the ws of the Razorlight Wolf. One of the disadvantages of choosing a popr Anima was that everybody was aware of their strengths and weaknesses. Isaac knew these ws were sharper than his sword, and the man''s toughened arms would give him some protection. However, it had a ring w: you had to be right next to somebody to fight them. This w was exacerbated by the fact that the scarred man had no movement Anima and couldn''t close the distance to Isaac. The fight resumed as the man lunged forwards. However, he quickly retreated again as his head was nearly skewered. Against most people, he''d be skilled enough to duck and dodge his way into range, but Isaac''s sword stopped him every time he tried to get closer. "Come on you coward, put down that sword and let''s fight like real men!" The man continued hurling taunts and insults, but Isaac responded with silence and another swing of his sword. Wounds were beginning to umte where the man had been caught by Isaac''s de. The growing frustration from his taunts failing and his advances being blocked or even countered caused the man to lose his patience not that he had much to begin with. He took a couple steps back, then charged towards Isaac. Isaac''s sword shed towards his head but the man didn''t react. He continued running towards that de as if it wasn''t about to brutally end his life. His hope was that Isaac would panic and try to stop his strike, since killing a fellow disciple had severe consequences. Then the man would have a huge opening to attack Isaac. But that was just wishful thinking. Isaac did not withdraw his strike. No, he simply spun the sword in his hand so the t side of his de hit the man instead of the sharp edge. Imagine sprinting by the side of a road, when a horse and cartes speeding along in the opposite direction. Now imagine that the cart has a metal sign hanging out of the back which hits you square in the face... yeah, that''s roughly how the man felt. The point is that a very hard object collided with the man''s nose at a very high speed and it hurt very, very much. The man flew about 1m back from the impact alone. His nose was broken so badly that here was no word to describe it, and some of his upper teeth made tapping sounds as they fell on the cobbled pavement. Isaac actually did a double take. He obviously didn''t have time to think about what he was doing, so he didn''t realise the mere impact of his sword might be enough to kill someone. He quickly stepped over to the man to check he was still breathing, then sighed in relief. He was still breathing and also hadn''t suffered serious blood loss. Obviously his nose was bleeding like hell and his face was covered in red, but it wasn''t enough to kill him. After checking, Isaac just stepped over the guy and took his bag as well as the bear head. He wouldn''t get punished unless the man had brain damage, so he didn''t really care what state he was in. If he did have brain damage, Isaac couldn''t do anything about it now. Therefore, he decided to leave. He walked out of the nondescript alleyway, not a speck of blood on his crisp bearskin coat, and returned home. When he was there, he found his cupboard draw with false bottom and pulled out 2 sets of ws. One set belonged to a fox, the other belonged to a wolf. He dumped the ws into a bag which already contained a set of bear ws. Then he slung the bag over his right shoulder and grabbed a handful of the bear head''s fur, picking it up with his left hand. He brought these bits with him to the market. He sold the eyes and teeth of the bear for some copper pieces, and its nose sold for 1 iron piece. The meat in a bear''s cheeks was known as a delicacy in this part of the world, so Isaac managed to sell the rest of the head for 1.5 iron pieces. Then he headed to the alchemy shop ''Herbal Fumes'' to sell his ws. "Hello again!" The alchemy disciple was as cheerful as usual, "Are you here to sell more ws?" "That depends on what price you can offer." The alchemist''s smile disappeared like she''d dropped it. "I really can''t give you much... I''ve already spent most of my allowance on ws from your friend. I can give you 1 reward point per collection of ws." "I apologise, but that simply isn''t enough. If you can offer 2 more iron pieces, then we can start to negotiate. If you can''t do that, I''m afraid I can''t even discuss selling them." The woman smiled wryly in response. She wasn''t going to give a better offer. Isaac knew the market price and he knew this wasn''t the only apothecary buying animal ws. He always came back here since he had been offered good prices whenever he came, not because he had any kind of loyalty or affection towards the store. Now that the money was gone, so was he. He picked his bag up off the counter and promptly left. Now that it was bing difficult to rob anyone, Isaac would struggle toplete any collections of ws. Since the alchemist disciple wasn''t giving him a good price anymore either, he had no reason to continue stockpiling ws. He would just find a good buyer and sell all of them. Since he had the collection of ws with him right now, he sold them to an elderly alchemist for 1.2 reward points. He told the alchemist that he had more to sell and the alchemist seemed very interested. It looked like he could get a good price for them, so Isaac headed home to retrieve his stockpile of ws. However, a deeply unpleasant sight greeted him when he walked into his street. The door to his home was open. It had been bashed to bits and was hanging off of 1 hinge. It almost looked like a battering ram had been used to break it down. Inside Isaac''s house was even worse. His cupboards and draws were all open and his food, clothes, cutlery and various other things were flung haphazardly around the room. His mattress had been thrown off of his bed, and his duvet and pillowcases were torn open. Someone had searched this ce, and searched it thoroughly. They''d even discovered the false bottom in one of his draws, and his hoard of animal ws was gone. He''d been robbed. Chapter 32: Contrasting Reactions Chapter 32: Contrasting Reactions Isaac didn''t even enter his house. The first thing he did was visit a skip to find some damaged wooden nks, then take a trip to the market and use his remaining money to buy food and a substance known as fastener. Fastener was made using the stem of the Ko nt, a verymon Rank 1 Qi herb with few uses. The stem could be burnt and mixed with some other basic ingredients to form fastener, a yellow powder which would be incredibly sticky when mixed with water. It wasmonly used as an adhesive and Isaac acquired a medium sized bag of it for 3 iron pieces. He returned to his house or what was left of it and got to work boarding up the entrance. He pulled the battered door back into ce and spread fastener between the door and the frame. He''d already wet the fastener, so it quickly became sticky and held the door in ce. In fact, the door waspletely sealed around the edges. It couldn''t be opened and you would struggle to break it down again. However, Isaac wasn''t done. He picked up a nk and ced it across the middle of the door. Then he used fastener to secure the nk to both sides of the door frame. He proceeded to do this with 4 more nks, until the door was as secure as a fortress gate and his bag of fastener was nearly empty. Isaac then used the rest of the fastener and some nks to seal all but one window shut. From now on, that window would function as his door. When he''d finished securing his living space, Isaac began to clear up. All the while, he was thinking about who might''ve done this. ''The man I robbed earlier saw my face and the Anima I used, so he might''ve discovered who I was and did this as revenge. But... he couldn''t have recovered from those injuries and came here so quickly. Also, it looks like a premeditated robbery rather than a spontaneous act of revenge. If not him, then who? Maybe one of the other people I robbed? No, I didn''t show my face or Anima to any of them. And like what I thought before, this doesn''t appear to be revenge. ''Then what''s the motive? I''m a poor, newly-inducted disciple. What could I have that would make me a target? What could I have that somebody would want to steal?'' When he thought this, an answer suddenly came to Isaac. Just a couple of hours ago, he''d refused to sell his goods to the alchemy disciple. It was possible that she decided to steal then since she couldn''t buy them cheap. Actually, Isaac took a moment to think about it more deeply. ''Why did she offer me such high prices initially when she could''ve just done this? I thought it was strange when it happened, but I didn''t think too much about it... could she have been enticing Johan and me to stealrge amounts of ws? Then, giving a bonus for a collection of bear, wolf and fox ws must have been to make us stockpile them! Normally I''d sell everything as soon as I got it, but I kept a lot of wolf and fox ws because I couldn''tplete the collection! Then the disciple waited for me to amass a big stockpile and robbed me.'' The only thing Isaac couldn''t figure out was why she kept lowering the prices. He didn''t know that the alchemist''s helper had recently died on a sect mission. She needed somebody to do jobs and acquire resources for her at a cheap price, so she kept decreasing what she was paying Isaac. If he keptpleting her requests despite the low rewards, she wouldn''t have robbed him. Instead, she would''ve continued to use his cheap services until she found a new assistant. If he did well, she might''ve even offered Isaac that position. Obviously Isaac hadn''t epted her lowball offers, so that possibility had gone out the window. Now he was left with a messy house and a head full of new ideas. Of course he was angry and frustrated. Who wouldn''t be after getting robbed? But he controlled that anger rather than letting it control him. Instead of focusing on his losses, Isaac thought about how effective the alchemist''s scheme was and how he could replicate it on arger scale. He could always earn resources the fair way, but this incident reinforced the idea that profiting from others'' hard work was always quicker. He already had a few ideas about what he could do, and he continued to think about it while tidying the mess that was his house. When he was nearly done, there was a series of loud knocks on his door. Obviously Isaac couldn''t open the door, so he shouted out, "Who is it?" "It''s Johan, fucking let me in!" The voice from outside sounded extremely pissed off. His mood didn''t get any better when Isaac told him, "Here,e in through the window." Johan came around the side window Isaac was holding open and red at him. Then he made an undignified entrance through the small window. Thankfully, Johan was shorter and smaller than Isaac, so it wasn''t much of a squeeze. Johan quickly got to his feet and looked around, seeing the boarded-up door and bits of mess Isaac hadn''t cleared yet. Isaac gestured for him toe and sit by the low, shin-height table in the middle of the room. As Isaac sat on the floor on the opposite side of the table, Johan began speaking, "You got robbed too, huh. She''s more of a witch than an alchemist." Witch was considered a powerful insult on a continent where witch hunts had urred less than 50 years ago and were still considered kill on sight, so Johan spat the word coldly. Johan was nearly as smart as Isaac, so it wasn''t a surprise that he figured out the culprit. However, he was an emotional person. While Isaac was now calmly thinking about his next move, Johan was still seething with anger. Isaac felt it was hypocritical since Johan had probably been stealing from others too, but what was hypocrisy to a person like Isaac? Johan''s character didn''t bother him, so didn''t make any remark about it and continued to listen, "The sect gives alchemists like her such arge quota of resources... and yet she''s still greedy for more. And I bet it''s not just us that she''s robbed; she''s probably targeted half the neers in the sect by now. I''m willing to bet she''s amassed a fortune by now think about how many resources she has!" "Probably not many. I imagine she uses all her resources for pill concoction." "And how much would those pills be worth?! Alchemists are so rich because their pills have a myriad of uses and applications. Who wouldn''t pay their arm and leg for a 3rd ranked pill? And we know a whole shop filled to the brim with them! There''s probably a mountain of Basic Qi Pills in there too!" "Yes, a whole shop full of pills, all property of the wealthy and powerful shop owner. It''s no use coveting treasure which lies beyond our means." "But it''s not just those pills; the disciple surely has her own stash! And the shop owner won''t protect her. No, our sect believes in letting disciples learn to seed by themselves, even in difficult situations! She''s robbed us, but we can return the favour a thousand-fold! Her resources are practically waiting for us to take them!" Johan was growing more and more passionate. He had stood up and was gesturing expressively like a politician giving their election speech. Spittle even flew from his mouth as he spoke thest sentence. However, Isaac wasn''t buying it. "Johan, do you want my help getting revenge?" Isaac''s tone was t and emotionless, cutting through Johan''s enthusiasm. There was a moment of silence between the two, and Johan neither confirmed nor denied Isaac''s question. "If you just want revenge, I suggest you wait and think it over for 2 days. If you still think it''s a good idea after that, you are wee to try and get your revenge, but I won''t be joining you. We both know it''s impossible to amass any wealth during the initial stages of alchemy. Any resources you do acquire will be spent creating pills at a low sess rate and trying to improve. Therefore, we also know that trying to get revenge on this alchemy disciple who is both older and stronger than us and has the shop keeper as backing is high risk and low reward. As I said before, I rmend you think this over and don''t let anger cloud your judgement." If Johan''s anger was like a fire, then Isaac''s words were a bucket of water meant to douse it. However, Isaac failed to recognise the nature of that fire: it was wild, uncontroble and electric. And just like all electric fires, pouring water on it would only make it worse. Johan was fuming. He didn''t say a word, but Isaac could see the spark of hatred in his eyes as he turned to leave... and that hatred only grew fiercer when he realised the door was boarded up and he had to squeeze through the window again, so he made his undignified exit while silently cursing Isaac and the alchemist. Chapter 33: Creating Confusion Chapter 33: Creating Confusion Isaac ignored Johan and his fury. He reckoned Johan would see sense in a few days, and then wouldn''t he be thanking Isaac for his advice? After all, revenge was foolish, fruitless andpletely unnecessary. At most, Isaac would take out his frustrations on the training dummy when he practiced swordsmanship. As for all that ''I need revenge to settle the grudge in my heart'' bs? Nah bro, I''m good. What''s a grudge, can you eat it? Can it speed up your cultivation? Instead of wasting time on things like that, Isaac would rather improve his plot to steal other disciples'' resources. Unfortunately, there wasn''t much time left in the day, so he had to leave that for tomorrow. He spent a peaceful night in his half-messy, half-clean room, then woke up in the morning to finish clearing the mess. He had no more resources and no clear direction to go in, so he felt like starting from a clean te today. Like usual, he spent the morning at the training ground, swinging his sword wholeheartedly. After expelling thest dregs of his anger against the training dummy, he decided to do something he hadn''t done in a while: visit the library. In fact, he spent the whole day there, sitting in the corner while enjoying a good book. Truthfully, only half of his thoughts were on the book itself. The other half were exploring several possibilities rted to the sect mission board. In fact, he was so lost in these thoughts that he never ate lunch and only came out of the library when the sky was pitch ck. However, his eyes were twinkling like the stars in the sky. A n was fully formed in his mind, and he was ready to put it into action. He went home and ate heartily to make up for his missed meal, then he went to bed. ************************* 6 hourster, the sun hadn''t risen but Isaac had. He rubbed his eyes as he got out of bed and changed into thick clothes and a coat, since it was cold both inside and outside. Then he went to open his wooden shutter window and let in the fresh morning air. He was in a good mood this morning, so he grabbed some hare meat, wolf meat, herbs and a frying pan from his cupboard. After starting the fire, he rustled up a delicious, well-seasoned breakfast to fill his stomach. With that done, he knew it was time to set his n in motion. Instead of going to the training grounds, he headed to the sect''s mission board. Nobody was around this early, so he had a bit of time to work on his n. Missions came in the form of paper notices pinned to the board, and Isaac carefully took two of them down. Then he pulled a wooden fountain pen from his pocket and started writing on the back of one of the mission notices. He copied exactly what was on the front while also replicating the handwriting from the front side. When he got to the mission number, he didn''t copy what was on the front side of the mission notice. Instead, he wrote the number of the other mission he''d pulled down from the board. Then he started writing on the back of that mission notice. He used a different style of handwriting to do the same thing as before, copying everything from the front side of the mission notice onto the back. But once again, he did not write the correct mission number. This time he wrote the number of the first mission. He grabbed a sheet of paper from his bag and drew a table with 4 columns: mission name, brief mission description, original mission number, and new mission number. Then he filled in the details for the 2 missions notices he held in his hands, before pinning the missions back onto the board so people would see the side he''d written on. One mission was for gathering a special fox pelt, and originally had the number 3956. The other mission was for cleaning the sect''s animal pens, and had been numbered 0918. After Isaac''s tampering, the fox mission said it was number 0918, while the cleaning mission said 3956. There also weren''t any crossing-outs or other signs to show the mission notices had been altered. Nobody would know that these weren''t the original mission numbers, other than Isaac who was writing it down. He continued to meddle with the mission board and changed 8 other missions before he decided to leave. His n might fail if he was seen doing this, so he didn''t want to risk lingering here for too long. Since his work was done, all he needed to do was wait. However, simply sitting in his house and waiting would be a waste of his time, so he spent several hours at the training grounds. After spending most of his day with a sword in hand, Isaac had onest thing to do before the day ended; he visited the Adventurers'' Hall to apply for a mission. "I would like to apply for an easy difficulty Rank 1 mission with the number 4740. My name is Isaac Dahl." "A team applied for this mission earlier. If you''d like me to, I can check whether you''re more qualified to take the mission." "No thank you. If that mission''s taken, I''ll apply for mission 1097; it''s of the same rank and difficulty." "Umm..." the man at the counter sifted through some files before finding the new mission Isaac had applied to, "nobody''s applied for that one. Please return tomorrow to hear the result of your application." "No, I''d also like to apply for some more missions..." Isaac began to reel off a list of mission numbers. Some of them had already been applied to, so Isaac said he''d leave them; others had no applicants, so Isaac became the only one to apply for them. While you could only ept one mission at once, you could apply to as many as you wanted. Isaac officially applied to 5. After finishing his applications, Isaac left. The man he''d spoken to was confused, since the missions Isaac applied for were rather strange: 5 of the missions he''d asked for were easy but tiresome, long, and unrewarding. These missions all had people applying to them already, so Isaac chose not to apply. The other 5 missions were all a little difficult, but not too long and with high rewards; these were the perfect missions that all neers wanted. However, the clerk was shocked to see nobody had applied for them! Nobody other than Isaac at least. What he couldn''t know was that these were all missions which Isaac had changed the mission numbers for. When a team came to apply for one of the good missions, they were actually giving the mission number for one of the bad ones when they applied. This let Isaac sweep up all the good missions, though he could only ept them one at a time. You might think having 5 high quality missions toplete whenever he wanted was a good oue. But a lot was never enough for Isaac; he saw what he had and asked if he could get more. And the answer was yes, he could. He''d taken the first steps, but his n had yet to reachpletion. That would take a bit more effort. Of course, effort should be centred around preparation and nning. Isaac had a little more preparation to do so he returned home and slept early, since he would be waking up in the small hours of the morning again tomorrow. Chapter 34: Angering the Goddess of Snow Chapter 34: Angering the Goddess of Snow Once again, Isaac had to wake up super early to visit the mission board. He started to do the same thing as yesterday, copying missions but writing fake mission numbers. He''de even earlier today so he had more time to mess with the missions. Today he copied 16 missions, then it was time to leave. He didn''t go straight back home; he visited the library instead and spent a couple of hours reading it was mostly informative books about wild beasts and other subjects, but he did dedicate some time to rxing and reading fantasy. After that, he returned home for lunch before heading to the training grounds for his daily swordsmanship practice. Today he was thinking about the ways he could use his off-hand which wasn''t holding the sword. He was already ustomed to using punches or palm strikes to surprise his opponent while they focused on his sword, but those weren''t very effective against animals, let alone wild beasts. That was why he decided to work on a variety of precise finger strikes he could use to target vulnerable body parts such as eyes, throat and acupoints. These would be effective regardless of his opponent''s species and would give Isaac another tool in his offensive repertoire. Obviously he couldn''t master the skill in one session, but he managed to build up the fundamentals of his new technique. Considering he had no teacher, the progress Isaac made was astounding. It was a testament to his special talent with the sword. However, his talent in swordsmanship far exceeded his cultivation talent and this was bing a slight problem for Isaac. The 3ponents that made upbat strength were Anima, cultivation, and battle talent. Justcking one of these things would hold the other 2 back: having abundant Qi didn''t matter if you only had 1 Anima to use it on. Having 100 Anima would be pointless if you only had enough Qi to use 3 of them. And even if you had abundant Qi and a good set of Anima, what was the point if you couldn''t use them properly in a fight? A strong cultivator would have a bnce of good cultivation, Anima and battle talent. However, Isaac''s battle talent was too outstanding. His cultivation and the quality/quantity of his Anima simply couldn''t keep up; they were holding his battle talent back. He couldn''t disy his full talent for fighting with such low cultivation and just a single Anima, so he needed to improve them. What was necessary for buying Anima and improving cultivation? Resources. This was where Isaac''s n was crucial: it would give him the resources to take a qualitative leap inbat strength. And now he had to take the next step towards itspletion. Isaac headed to the Adventurers'' Hall and enquired about several missions, the same as yesterday. Today the desk was staffed by a woman Isaac had never seen before, so she became quite confused but did her job without asking questions. Isaac discovered that 8 of the missions had been applied to, and 8 had not. He applied to the 8 which nobody had applied to, then he left the desk. For a recap of the situation, Isaac had now applied to 13 good missions, but he would have to withdraw his applications if he didn''t ept them within a few days. There were also 13 people or teams who''d epted/applied for bad missions while thinking they were good missions, since Isaac had changed the mission numbers. With this, Isaac''s setup was essentiallyplete and he could begin reaping the rewards tomorrow. As usual, he went to bed early so he could wake up early. Then he went to the mission board to tamper with more missions, before heading to the training grounds so he could practice wielding his sword while using precise finger strikes with the other hand. At midday, he ended his practice early and went to the Adventurers'' Hall, eating a packed lunch while he walked there. When he arrived, he didn''t join a queue; he sat in one of the seats near the entrance and observed the peopleing in. He was looking for 5 people in particr: the ones who epted the first 5 missions he messed with. Of course, he didn''t know what these people or groups looked like, but he knew the missions they epted. When he saw a group walking in with the pelt of an ice-spined arctic fox, he knew they''d epted one of his missions. They would obviously say it was their mission, but it wasn''t. When they applied for the mission, they actually gave the number for a mission to clean the sect''s animal pens. Isaac hade alongter and applied for the fox mission with its real mission number, meaning they hadn''tpleted their mission at all. When Isaac saw them walk into the Adventurers'' Hall, he rushed to the counter for epting missions. It was quite a short queue since it was just after midday and most people were eating or doing missions right now, so Isaac quickly reached the front of the line. "My name is Isaac Dahl. I would like to ept the Rank 1 easy difficulty mission, number 3956." "I see that your application for this mission has already been epted. There is a special request that this mission must be finished quickly, so you only have 3 days toplete it. Of course, this addedplication will be reflected in your reward. Here is your mission pass so you can leave the sect, and good luck." "Thank you." Isaac gave a curt nod and quickly left. He returned to his seat near the entrance and pretended to read a book he''d rented from the library. However, he was actually listening to the conversation between the group with the ice-spined fox pelt and the woman at the task submission desk. "Hello, we''re here to submit a Rank 1 easy mission. The mission number is 0918 and here''s the pelt of an ice-spined arctic fox, as per the mission''s request." One of the group members dumped the pelt on the counter after saying this. The woman at the desk was confused, since she knew about the fox mission and remembered it was number 3-9-something-something. She took the pelt and put it in the storage area behind her, then found the file for mission 0918 and replied to the group, "I believe you have the wrong mission; mission 0918 is to clean the living areas of some of the sect''s livestock. Gathering the pelt of an ice-spined arctic fox is mission number 3956." "Umm... okay. Could you give us the rewards for mission 3956 then?" "I can only hand the rewards to the person who epted mission 3956." "Fine. Give me the pelt back and we''ll sell it. We don''t need the mission anyway." The group were getting quite irritated by now. The mission they''d worked hard on couldn''t bepleted because of a small mistake; a mix-up of mission numbers. However, their day was about to get a whole lot worse. "Items submitted at this desk cannot be returned, no matter the circumstances. Any losses are the result of your own negligence." "Not at all. Our losses are the result of a dysfunctional mission system! Either give us the rewards for mission 3956, or return our fox pelt!" "Items submitted at this desk cannot be returned, no matter the circumstances. Any losses are the result of your own negligence." The woman at the desk repeated the same lines like a broken record (or azily written character). The irritating thing about people working in a store is that they can simply hide behind rules and not listen to anything you say. You could make a logical argument, you could speak persuasively, you could scream at the top of your lungs. But would any of it work? No, because the rules of the store are absolute for its employees; it''s not even their fault. "You have taken our fox pelt, correct? Since you have epted our fox pelt, it means we''vepleted the mission which requires the fox pelt and we should be rewarded for it. If you believe we haven''tpleted the mission, then you have no need for the fox pelt and it should be returned to us, so please hand it over." What was that? A perfectly structured logical argument? Don''t care, the rules say no. "Items submitted at this desk cannot be returned, no matter the circumstances. Any losses are the result of your own negligence." The woman at the desk repeated herself again in a t, disinterested tone. The person speaking on behalf of the group had spent thest of her patience on that final argument. When she heard the same 2 sentences in response, she nearly lost her mind. "We either need a mission reward or our pelt back, what does it take to realise that?! If you think we''re leaving here with nothing, you''re sorely mistaken!" "Items submitted at this desk" "Shut the fuck up you stupid bitch!" The woman at the desk suddenly stood up. A gust of cold wind blew through the hall as blue tattoos appeared around her eyes. The group began to shiver, but only they knew whether it was from the frost beginning to surround them or the fear they felt from her cold, apathetic gaze. Deadly silence filled the hall and everybody heard the woman''s next words clearly, "Rudeness towards staff of the Adventurers'' Hall will not be tolerated." It was a simple and unassuming sentence, but the icy tone it was spoken in terrified the listeners. There was no hint ofpassion in that voice, as if it did not care for the lives or wellbeing of anybody in its presence. If this was a battlefield, the group were sure this woman would snuff their lives out like candles in the wind, showing no hesitation or mercy. That thought alone was enough for them to obediently shut up. When they finally recovered from the shock of the event and came to their senses, the group turned and fled. To the rest of the crowd, they looked like naughty children running from a parent; especially the girl who''d sworn at this goddess of ice and snow. She was so desperate to leave that she tripped over her own feet while sprinting for the door. After the group fled haphazardly, the woman sat back down at her desk. The blue tattoos around her eyes faded and the frost around her slowly disappeared. Then she resumed her usual disinterested expression as if nothing had happened. It wasn''t just her: the whole hall quickly got back to business. They were all busy people with things to do, after all. Now that the group with the pelt had left, Isaac joined the queue for task submissions. All around him was gossip and surprise about how a mere paper pusher in the Adventurers'' Hall was a Rank 2 cultivator, but that was only how it appeared to the untrained eye. Isaac had recognised the 2 Anima she used and they were both Rank 1. That didn''t mean she couldn''t be Rank 2; most Rank 2 cultivators still used some Rank 1 Anima. However, Isaac felt that she was probably Rank 1 Upper Stage since the sect had many Rank 2 guards. It wouldn''t make sense for somebody at Rank 2 to be working in a simple admin position. Regardless of her rank, it was soon his turn to speak with her. Everybody had handled their business quickly and moved on, since they didn''t dare annoy her after that disy of power. But as Isaac stepped up to the desk and she heard the words, "I''d like to im the rewards for mission 3956," her expression quickly turned from disinterest to mild annoyance. Chapter 35: She Cant Stand His Smiling Face Chapter 35: She Can''t Stand His Smiling Face "Do you have the mission item?" You could tell she was already fed up with talking about mission 3956. But Isaac wouldn''t halt his n just to be considerate of her feelings, so he continued. He pointed to the wolf pelt behind the counter and spoke, "The mission item has already been submitted." "Yes, but it hasn''t been submitted by you. Either submit a mission or leave." Isaac just smiled, "Earlier you mentioned that you could only give the rewards to the person who epted mission 3956. My name is Isaac Dahl, I''m the one who epted it." "If you want the mission rewards, you need to submit the mission item. If you don''t have it, please leave." "Where does it say that in the rules?" "... Excuse me?" "I''ve read the rules for applying to, epting andpleting missions. Under the section for submitting missions it says, and I quote, ''When the mission task has beenpleted or the mission item has been submitted, the mission will be considered asplete and you may receive your reward.'' No rule states that I must submit the item myself; so long as it''s submitted, I havepleted the mission." The woman frowned. She looked through the draws beneath her desk for 2 things: a copy of the rules for missions and the file for mission 3956. First she checked through the rules and was surprised to find Isaac was correct. Every minute of a Rank 3''s time was worth more than a Rank 1''s daily earnings, so it wasmon for powerful Rank 3 or 4 cultivators to make a subordinate submit their missions for them. That was why the rules didn''t specify that you had to submit the mission item in person. After all, if the job got done, who cared about how it was done or who did it? The sect got their mission item, so the mission waspleted and they would reward the person who epted the mission. Simple. The woman at the desk had never worked at an Adventurers'' Hall in the Rank 3 district, so she''d never seen anyone use thisplication in the rules and didn''t know about it. However, Isaac had spent a significant amount of time analysing the rules and specifically looking for loopholes, which is how he noticed it. After the woman finished skimming through the rules, she grabbed the file for mission 3956 and verified that Isaac was the one who epted it. The sect used awork of Rank 1 Ink Fountain Anima to keep track of important documents. Rather than offensive, defensive, or movement Anima, these were information Anima. When somebody wrote on one sheet of paper marked by the Ink Fountain Anima, that writing would appear on other sheets marked by the same Anima. It only had a limited range so it couldn''t be used for long-distance transmissions, but it was good enough to keep track of things within the sect and it meant that the woman could see all the recent changes to mission file 3956. She could see that Isaac had indeed epted mission 3956 just a few minutes ago. Just like anyone, she didn''t like being proved wrong, but everything Isaac''d said was correct and not giving him his reward would be a dereliction of duty. That was why she looked up with a moody expression and spoke, "Here are 3 reward points, I will also increase your merit points by 4." "Thank you very much." Isaac epted the 3 wooden tokens with a smile. Meanwhile, the woman wrote down Isaac''s increase in merit points before ushering for him to leave. Isaac left the line like the considerate,w-abiding citizen that he was and went back to his seat near the entrance. After a while, he saw somebody entering with dirt all over him and a bag full of glowing yellow Lumnos Crystals. This prompted Isaac to quickly join the queue for epting missions, and he soon got to the front. "My name''s Isaac Dahl, can I ept mission 2199 please?" "Is that a Rank 1 easy difficulty mission?" "Yes." Isaac waited for a few seconds while the guy at the desk flipped through a few files. Then he wrote a couple things down and spoke again, "Okay. You will need toplete the mission within 7 days; here is your mission pass so you can leave the sect, and good luck." The words ''good luck'' were said with absolutely no sincerity. I mean, the guy talked to and interacted with hundreds of people every day, so it was hard to care about what all of them were doing. He probably just had a selection of pre-set lines which he said to everybody; it wasn''t a job requirement to act friendly with everyone, he just had to do his work efficiently. Honestly, Isaac was thankful for this since he preferred to just get things done quickly and without much talking. He took his mission pass and headed back to his seat, where he pretended to read. However. He was secretly observing what happened at the task submission desk. The man covered in dirt put his bag of Lumnos Crystals on the counter. The woman took them and put them in the storage area behind her, then they exchanged a few sentences. The man grew more and more agitated as the conversation continued, but he didn''tpletely lose his temper or aggressively swear like the group before had. Instead, he stormed out of the hall while cursing under his breath... at least he didn''t get chased out like the previous team. After the man had left, Isaac walked up to the task submission counter. The moment she saw him, the woman at the desk''s mood instantly worsened. "Hello, I''d like to im the rewards to mission 2199." "You just received the rewards for a mission 30 minutes ago. I don''t believe you''ve epted another mission andpleted it in that time." "But I believe we already agreed that I don''t need toplete the mission myself. If you look behind you, the required item for mission 2199 is already there. In fact, you put it there yourself." The woman didn''t say another word. She quickly found the file for mission 2199 and checked the mission item; it was 7 Lumnos Crystals. Then she checked the person who''d epted it; it was Isaac. The woman sighed in defeat. Since Isaac hadpleted the mission, she handed him some reward points and told him to leave, since every second spent looking at his smiling face was a bad one. Isaac received his reward and obediently went back to his seat near the entrance. This scene repeated itself 3 more times with other people who''d epted the missions Isaac had messed with. Of course, the woman at the desk felt incredibly suspicious by now. 5 incidents in a row couldn''t be a coincidence, so she knew Isaac was up to something. He''d even dug up some obscure sect rule she didn''t know as part of his scheme, so she could tell he''d nned this out long beforehand. Now she was caught in 2 minds: should she report these strange incidents of people submitting the wrong quests to her superiors, or should she stay quiet and mind her own business? The former would earn her merit points, some kind of financial reward, and maybe stop her boss being so hard on her. Thetter would give her a chance to get in Isaac''s good books; he''d already shown enough intelligence and cunning to prove he had a bright future, so she might be able to earn a spot as one of his aides if she helped his rise now. This was an incredibly attractive proposition to her, since she''d been stuck at the boundary to Rank 2 for several years and just needed one good pill or Qi herb to break through. She''d already given up on that, since it wasn''t something that she could earn; even if she had the money, she wouldn''t have the channels to acquire it. If Isaac was somebody who took good care of his people, helping him and bing his subordinate might be herst hope for breaking through. If she reached Rank 2, she might even escape her life as a clerk in the Adventurers'' Hall and be a manager. On the other hand, she''d never been an overly ambitious person. That could be seen from how she gave up on breaking through after a year or so of trying. Right now, she had a stable job, a moderate ie, and enough time and money to somewhat enjoy life. She wasn''t sure if she was willing to risk that. Of course, Isaac was unaware of her dilemma and the decision she eventually came to. Could he adapt to the changing circumstances and squeeze out the maximum benefits? Chapter 36: Tidying up a Loose End Chapter 36: Tidying up a Loose End What kind of question was that? He was Isaac Dahl, the man who squeezed benefits out of people like you squeezed water out of a sponge! He was as changeable as a chameleon; he could adapt to near enough anything! However, if there was one thing he did better than adapting to new situations, it was nning ahead. He''d already considered all the likely oues of his scheme, including the possibility of being reported on the first day. That was why he decided to take preventative measures before that could happen. After collecting somebody else''s hard-earned mission rewards for the 5th time, Isaac returned to hisfortable chair by the entrance. He wasn''t waiting for anybody else to enter; all the people who''d taken his first group of mixed-up missions had alreadye and gone. Instead, he was waiting for somebody to leave. Freyja came off duty at 8 pm. Today she''d taken the afternoon shift at the task submission desk in the Adventurers'' Hall and it''d been a day full of ups and downs. At first there had been trouble with some annoying groups and that silver-haired kid, but a good opportunity had presented itself near the end of the day. As she walked towards the exit of the hall, she was still thinking about what to do with that opportunity when a calm and crisp voice brought her away from her thoughts and back to reality. "Hello miss, could we have a brief talk? Perhaps I can take you for a drink." At first she thought it was another idiotic neer trying to court her. She turned towards the voice, ready to bluntly refuse, when she saw who the speaker was: a young man with short silver hair and piercing pale blue eyes. The words of refusal caught in her throat and she fake coughed, "*Ahem* What did you want to talk to me about?" "I know we had a bit of a falling out today, so I just hoped I could buy you a drink, we could talk and smooth things over. Perhaps you could even do me a favour." Isaac tried to make the conversation sound as natural as possible for the people around them while also making sure Freyja knew what he was talking about. Just to make sure she got the right idea, he secretly slipped a reward token into her hand. Freyja was slightly surprised when she felt Isaac''s hand grasp hers, but then she felt the shape of the item he gave her and instantly guessed what it was. She realised that this wasn''t an invitation to a date and felt much better. "Do you have anywhere in particr you want to go?" "Somewhere with a good atmosphere. I prefer lively ces with lots of people and noise; perhaps ''The Drunken Goose''?" "Alright." The pair quickly left the Adventurers'' Hall and headed through the streets towards the Rank 1 district''s entertainment sector. When they reached the sector which included bars, tea shops, theatres, a red-light district and several other attractions they walked down the main street. There were 4 pubs on this street, but they entered the one on the corner. Its sign had a grey goose dipping its beak into a pint ss of beer, underneath which was a name in bold letters, ''The Drunken Goose''. Isaac opened the door to the pub, causing a small bell above him to tinkle. However, he couldn''t even hear it over the raucous chatter andughter which filled the pub. Thankfully it was just past 8 pm, so the ce wasn''tpletely full: the people who came here for dinner at about 6 had mostly left, but the heavy drinkers who turned up at 9 or 10 hadn''t arrived yet. Isaac found one of the few empty tables at the edge of the room and sat down there with Freyja. Neither of them ordered drinks, they just sat there and subtly looked around to check nobody was listening to them. Thankfully, the ambient noise would mask most of their conversation and stop anybody overhearing them, which was why Isaac chose this ce. "I assume you want me to stop me reporting the suspicious circumstances around your missions? It''ll cost more than 1 reward point." Freyja got right to the point. Isaac liked that. "Every day you dy the report, I''ll pay you 5 reward points. If somebody else notices and reports it, I''ll make sure not to implicate you: if anyone asks why you didn''t report me earlier, you can justify it by saying nothing I did broke the rules, giving you no reason to make a report." Isaac''s proposition was very enticing for Freyja. Just waiting for 2 days before reporting Isaac would earn her more than a week''s wages. And that was if she decided to report Isaac at all; if she did her best to cover this up, she could keep earning 5 reward points a day for a very long time. On top of that, she would have a chance to build a good rtionship with Isaac which would inevitably be useful when he grew stronger. She only doubted whether Isaac could keep her out of trouble if things went south. "It''s obvious that you''re breaking the rules in some way or another. If I don''t report something this suspicious and then you get caught disobeying the sect rules, it''ll inevitably fall back on me!" "I promise you I''m not breaking the rules. If you don''t trust me, then there''s nothing I can do: our deal won''t go any further than this." Freyja sighed. Of course she didn''t actually believe him, but this deal was too good to pass up over some minor worries! She would just have to deal with her superior''s suspicionster on. "... If you''re really not breaking the rules, then I guess I can help keep your secret. I won''t report whatever you''re doing to the missions for as long as I can." "Good. Here''s 5 reward points. Every day I''ll meet you here at this time to pay you." With that, Freyja nodded and stood up. She walked out of the bar, leaving Isaac to mull over his thoughts alone. He ordered a drink and sipped at it while thinking about how long he could actually keep his deeds hidden. Obviously Freyja wasn''t the only one who looked at the mission files, and anybody who saw his would notice how unusually fast hepleted missions. There were also people working the other desks who might see Isaac repeatedly going to turn in missions and think it looked suspicious. Any number of freak coincidences could also lead to him getting caught. Unless Isaac paid off the entire department, he couldn''t stop himself being discovered eventually. The question was, could he gather enough resources before then? To ensure that he did, Isaac decided to mess with a higher number of missions. That involved getting up even earlier in the morning to visit the mission board and change several mission numbers. After deciding on this, Isaac knocked back thest of his drink and left the pub. On his way home, he admired the thousands of stars dotting the sky and the bright crescent moon which stood among them. Out of the hundreds of billions of celestial bodies in the gxy, only this one moon caught his attention. It reminded Isaac how difficult it was to truly stand out. No matter how good you were, there was always somebody better than you. That was what people said, wasn''t it? But it wasn''t always true. Just look at the moon: which of those 100,000,000,000 other celestial bodies could match its splendour tonight? Which was more impressive than it? Rather than epting that there would always be somebody better than him, Isaac looked up at the moon and reaffirmed his belief: there would always be one person who was the best somebody who stood unmatched throughout all of history. He desired to be that person. Chapter 37: Fire That Burns Chapter 37: Fire That Burns That desire burnt like a fire deep within him, more fiercely than those stars above. It was a fire fuelled by the pages of legendary tales he''d read as a child, stoked by the teachings of his sect, and kept alive by his own self-belief. That fire drove him forwards with every flicker of its me. It motivated him to achieve feats others didn''t dare dream of, and without it he would be an ambitionless shell of himself. That was why he remembered his goals, his dreams and his fire every time he looked at the stars. Every time he looked at the proud moon in the night, or the dazzling sun during the day. While he was lost in his thoughts, Isaac had walked all the way home. He didn''t usually let his guard down while walking around the sect; maybe he was just getting careless because he''d had a small drink. He shook off his sentimental thoughts and unlocked the window at the side of his house. He hadn''t bothered fixing the door since it would just get broken again next time someone tried robbing him, so he was still using this as his entry point. He climbed through the window and locked it behind him, then went to grab some ingredients from his cupboards and make a simple meal. When it was done, he took his food and sat at the shin-height table in the middle of the room. He slowly ate the bowl of soup he''d made while scolding himself for being so careless in the sect, especially while he was carrying a horde of reward points. Then he ate a side dish of roasted turnip chips and mentally checked his n for about the 400th time, making sure there were no ws in it or variables he hadn''t considered. And for the 350th time, he concluded that there were no holes in his plot. Of course, the remaining 50 times were when he was justing up with his n and had noticed a problem in it; any such problems had long since been fixed. After reassuring himself of this, Isaac finished the side dish he was eating and went to bed. ************************* Isaac was up so early the next morning that you could hardly call it morning at all it was more likete night. He got dressed and made his way to the mission board under the cover of darkness. With so much time before the sect became busy, he could mess with at least 20 missions. So he got to work. As usual, he pulled out the wooden fountain pen and copied out a mission onto the back of a mission notice. Then he wrote the mission number of a different mission on it and recorded all the details on the spare sheet he kept. After repeating the same monotonous process over two dozen times, Isaac finally decided to leave lest he was caught. After finishing his morning duties, he continued with his normal routine: back home for breakfast, a trip to the library, then 2 hours at the training grounds. When he was done, it was midday and time to visit the Adventurers'' Hall. 20 minutester, Isaac stood outside therge, arched entrance to the Adventurers'' Hall. It was incredibly busy today and the queue for mission applications tailed all the way out of the door. Isaac joined the back of it and was forced to wait three quarters of an hour before his turn eventually came. When he got to the desk, Isaac applied to the good half of the missions he messed with today. Then, since the hall was packed and none of the seats were free, he went outside to see whether anybody was arriving with his quest items. Whenever he saw somebody approach with one of the mission items he''d noted down, Isaac would quickly go to ept the corresponding mission, then watch as they argued with Freyja at the desk. After they were gone, Isaac would collect his rewards then go back to waiting. That was how he spent the rest of the day: waiting, watching, and getting rewarded. The only thing he didn''t expect to see was the group from the day before; the group which had argued with Freyja and been chased out. Since they had taken one of the missions Isaac had tampered with, they ended up epting a mission to clean some of the sect''s animal pens instead of the mission they wanted. Obviously that mission wouldn''tplete itself, so not only were they cheated out of the good mission''s rewards, but they still had to go andplete this bad one. Isaac just imagined these proud youths washing out pig-sties and was filled with the urge tough. Of course, he held it back and could only chuckle internally as they walked into the Adventurers'' Hall. Other than that group providing a little entertainment in his day, everything went exactly as nned. He met Freyja at the pub to pay her, then went home and hid his recently acquired resources in a secretpartment. After getting robbed the first time, he''d been forced to create a new hiding spot. This time he had hollowed out a space beneath his floorboards, right under where the table was. To reach the secretpartment he had to move the table, take away the rug underneath it, pull up 2 floorboards, then remove ayer of dirt covering the small box he hid there. Of course, the box was also locked and Isaac kept the key around his neck, though most cultivators wouldn''t have trouble opening a locked metal box. Regardless of that, it was a much better hiding ce than anything Isaac''d had before. He believed that it would be incredibly difficult to find without using an Anima to search the area, so he felt confident leaving his valuables here. He put his new resources into the box with everything from yesterday, locked it up and buried it again, then put the floorboards, rug and table back in exactly the same ces as before, as if they''d never been moved. He even remembered to spread some dust on the floorboards before putting the rug back. He went to bed and slept soundly, then woke up several hourster to tamper with more Rank 1 easy missions on the mission board. After that, everything went just as smoothly as it had the day before. He got his resources without any problems, and there weren''t any signs that he''d get caught soon. In fact, he was making more and more each day, since he''d increased the number of missions he messed with every day. He was making so much that Freyja wanted arger cut. Isaac simply told her that he was the one who''de up with this n and was taking all the risks. Since everything was going so well, he could pay her 7 reward points a day instead of 5, but she would have to work harder and make sure her colleagues didn''t report him. She agreed and both of them headed back to their respective homes. That night, Isaac slept like a dead man. When he arose, he went to mess with the sect mission board, then did a bit of training and made his way over to the Adventurers'' Hall. In just 3 hours, he imed 7 groups'' mission rewards; Isaac was truly raking in a fortune. Right now it seemed like his scheme was perfect. The Adventurers'' Hall was peaceful other than the asional argument; none of the staff seemed suspicious of him; he didn''t notice anybody new among the staff, and it truly seemed like nothing had changed since he started his scheme. Nobody was onto him and it felt like he could keep doing this forever. However, Isaac wouldn''t let himself be lulled intocency. He knew he would be caught eventually, and he just had to dy that date. Indeed, there were currents beginning to move beneath the peaceful surface of the Adventurers'' Hall. Every week, the hall''s mission records were analysed by a specialmittee of auditors. They used a selection of Anima to check for anomalies in the records and discover any suspicious activities. For example, they could unearth cases of theft or embezzlement by employees of the hall, incidences where disciples had faked a mission, or other strange details regarding missionpletion. It just so happened that this analysis of mission records urred today. Of course, the auditors noticed Isaac''s incredible missionpletion speed and found it highly suspicious. They immediately reported it to their superiors and an official investigation wasunched. Chapter 38: The Consequences Chapter 38: The Consequences Of course, Isaac couldn''t know this. Neither he nor Freyja even knew there was a weekly audit on the Adventurers'' Hall''s mission records. This was because revealing the tests and checking methods the sect used would make it much easier for rule-breakers to avoid or trick those tests. Therefore, few people knew about the security measures the sect had in ce: even Freyja, an employee of the Adventurers'' Hall, didn''t know how the hall''s documents were checked. Isaac waspletely unaware of the investigation into his missions urring at this very moment, but the day actually went very smoothly. The first thing he heard about any ''investigation'' was the next day, when a man in a ck coat found him outside the Adventurers'' Hall. "Are you Isaac Dahl?" He asked in a deep, gravelly voice. The man''s stern ck eyes swept over Isaac, analysing him. At the same time, Isaac was analysing the man. He had short ck hair with a square-ish face and a strong jawline. ck stubble dotted his cheeks and chin. His overall figure was simr to Isaac''s lean and athletic, but he had more muscle than Isaac. He stood at 6 foot 3 inches, which was sufficient to look down at the 6 feet tall Isaac but not enough to tower over him. His appearance was enough to intimidate most men, but there were few things in this world which scared Isaac. This man was not one of them, so Isaac responded with a calm nod. The man was pleased with Isaac''s response since he felt calm andposed people were always easy to talk to, but he didn''t let that show on his face. Instead, he gave Isaac an order, "My name is Viktor. I need you toe with me and answer some questions." Isaac carefully inspected the ID card Viktor showed him, then decided to follow the man. They left the Adventurers'' Hall and headed towards the living area for higher ranked officials. This was the area where Rank 2 and 3 cultivators who worked in the Rank 1 district lived. They all knew each other, so the unfamiliar Isaac drew a few curious nces as he walked down the street. Soon, he and Viktor arrived at a small, bleak stone building. Viktor used his fingerprint to activate a certain Anima and unlock the metal door. Then he ushered Isaac inside. The room was lit by 2 flickering gasmps and was mostly empty. The only furniture was a table and chairs in the middle of the room and 4rge shelving units along the back wall which were stacked with papers. Isaac didn''t know what was written on these papers and he didn''t get a chance to check either, since Hayden beckoned for him to sit down. The chair made screeching sounds on the stone floor as Isaac pulled it back and sat facing Viktor. "We''re both intelligent people, so I''d rather not beat around the bush trying to tease information out of you. I''m also sure you don''t want to get beaten until you tell me the truth. I think it''s best for both of us to solve this through a civilised discussion, so how about you tell me why your missionpletion speed is so fast?" Isaac didn''t even bat an eyelid at Viktor''s threat and took his timeing up with a well-worded answer, "I made some alterations to the Rank 1 easy missions. When people thought they werepleting their own missions, they were actuallypleting mine for me." "Don''t stop there. What exactly did you do?" Isaac got a bit more serious at this point. He sat up straight in his chair and exined the entire process of copying mission details on the back of the mission notices but with a different mission number, then going to the Adventurers'' Hall and getting rewarded when his missions werepleted by other people. When Isaac was exining, he emphasised that he didn''t put new missions on the board or take any down except for when he was writing on them, after which he put them back. It was against the rules to add or remove missions from the board without authorisation, so Isaac hadn''t actually broken the rules other than temporarily taking down missions and writing on the back of them, which were both minor offences. Actually, bribing an official was his most serious breach of the rules. Luckily, nobody knew about that other than the parties involved and Isaac had no intention of mentioning that to Viktor. After Isaac had finished exining, Viktor was actually quite impressed. The Full Moon Sect was rather youngpared to other sects, ns, cults, etc., so its rules hadn''t been honed to perfection over time. Despite that, they still had a well thought-out,plete set of rules, so it took a special type of intelligence to find a loophole like Isaac had. However, Viktor''s sense of approval was only momentary; his job was to enforce the rules, so that was what he was going to do. Luckily, he wasn''t a brainless desk worker like Freyja who just followed the rules for the rules'' sake. Instead of sticking strictly to the regtions, Viktor focused more on what would benefit the sect. When he considered the situation, he felt that Isaac''s trickery might actually help the neers. It would teach them to be careful when epting missions or tasks, and not to trust everything they see. Furthermore, Isaac had also only messed with Rank 1 easy missions, meaning his actions had only affected the new disciples who were taking these easy quests. This meant Isaac hadn''t overstepped his boundaries or angered the older, more established disciples, so his punishment could be lessened. On top of that, Isaac had shown great intelligence and potential with this scheme. Hayden had checked his file and had seen that he was a 3rd ss talent who could still improve that to 2nd or 1st ss, though thetter was unlikely. If Isaac could reach Rank 3, he could probably use his intellect to reach a high position in one of the sect''s businesses or special departments. If he improved his talent and reached Rank 4, he could potentially be an elder. A potential elder was worth a hundred times more than some nobody neers who''d probably never reach Rank 3 Upper Stage. Therefore, Hayden believed it would be best not to punish Isaac too severely; he hadn''t broken the rules that badly anyway. But on the other hand, the sect rules needed to appear impartial for everybody. That was why he had to give a punishment which looked like a lot but wasn''t actually muchpared to what Isaac had earnt. After a minute of deliberation, he came to a decision, "Isaac Dahl, I fine you 25 merit points and 10 reward points on behalf of the Independent Records Investigation Committee for tampering with sect missions. Your merit points will be deducted instantly, and you are expected to pay the reward point fine within 3 days. If you do not, the consequences will not be light." Isaac wasn''t flustered by the punishment. Instead, he replied calmly, "You have my sincere thanks for your lenience, and I apologise for taking up your time. Here are 10 reward points; I won''t bother you any longer." In fact, Isaac had already known he would be caught; he was making a gamble and hoping the sect would punish him lightly since they favoured the type of ingenious trickery he had used. He was thankful Viktor had indeed followed his expectations, so Isaac answered respectfully, then handed Viktor most of the reward points in his pocket. Normally he wouldn''t carry valuables with him, but Isaac had already made some money before Viktor found him, so merely paid the fine with that. Viktor had found Isaac at 2pm. What did that mean? Isaac had made over 10 reward points in just 2 hours of work! From this, you could begin to work out Isaac''s profits from the previous 4 days of his scheme. Although he''d started off a little slow, he''d made roughly 100 merit points and 90 reward points even after subtracting his bribe money. If you wanted to take away the fine too, the exact amount would be 79 merit points and 81 reward points. Think about that! Previously, Isaac was ving away doing mapping missions and hunting wolves just for a couple of reward points. Even when he started robbing people, his daily ie didn''t go up by too much. Few Rank 2s could reliably earn 81 reward points in 4 days! Who among the other neers could match his resources now?! Of course, resources were resources and cultivation was cultivation. One could be stolen while the other couldn''t. One could be used to fight while the other couldn''t. One was a heap of pills or wooden tokens, while the other came in the form of raw strength. Resources were nice, but he still needed to put in some effort and use them to strive for a higher cultivation base. That was why Isaac took a quick trip home to collect all his reward points. He dug up the box under his floorboards and emptied it into a bag. He also piled arge amount of food into the bag, then left his house. He was heading deeper into the sect to find a certain five-storey tall pagoda. Technically, the pagoda wasn''t anything special: it was just filled with small rooms the sect rented out at 1 reward point per week. Considering that everybody had their own free residences which were all bigger than the rooms in the pagoda, it seemed like a huge rip-off. However, you would only think that if you didn''t know the pagoda''s main selling point: it was a hugely popr cultivation ground. This wasn''t because it had a high level of ambient Qi or anything special. No, cultivating here would be just as effective as cultivating in your own home. The reason it was so popr was because it was sect-owned property; people could break into your home, but it would be considered treason against the sect if they forced their way onto sect property. That meant nobody could interrupt your cultivation or steal your cultivation resources while you cultivated in the pagoda, which was especially crucial for people undergoing breakthroughs. Being interrupted during normal cultivation was fine; the worst that could happen would be losing the strand of Qi you had grasped. But if you were disturbed during a breakthrough, there was a very high chance of undergoing Qi deviation or having your entire cultivation base crumble. The pagoda''s poprity came because it was a safe ce for breakthroughs and eliminated some of the unnecessary risks you might face while breaking through. Isaac didn''t know how long it would take for him to reach Rank 1 middle stage, but he rented a room on the pagoda''s top floor for 2 weeks. He went up to the room and checked it out, then left all but 14 of his reward points there. He brought those 14 with him when he went to the market and exchanged them all for Basic Qi Pills. Then he walked casually back to the pagoda, giving others the impression he didn''t have anything valuable and wasn''t worth robbing. After trekking up 5 flights of stairs, he entered his room and locked the door behind him. Isaac sat down on the mattress at the side of the room and poured his bag of pills out onto the floor. He was ready to enter secluded cultivation. Chapter 39: Seclusion Chapter 39: Seclusion Secluded cultivation was a very boring and repetitive thing, so not many details are needed to describe it. It was essentially cultivating over and over again, day after day. Although it was boring, it was very effective, so Isaac was more than happy to do it. During each day of seclusion, his cultivation increased. At the end of the first day, his Qi Core was 10.5% full... Day 2: 11.9% Day 3: 13.2% Day 5: 15.9% Day 7: 18.6% .... On the evening of the 14th day, Isaac opened his eyes and exhaled sharply. He stood up and stretched his stiff body, then went to open the room''s only window. The sect was sprawled before him, the lights of a hundred homes and sect buildings illuminating the night. As he observed all of it from the pagoda''s 5th floor, his eyes glinted with newfound strength and brimming confidence. Day 14: 27.9% He was still stuck in Rank 1 lower stage, but his cultivation was 3 times higher than before. If he wanted to, he had the resources to rent this room for another month and make deep strides into middle stage... yet, he didn''t. Middle stage had several benefits; he would obviously have more Qi, his Qi would be slightly purer, and this would amplify the effects of his Anima. However, breaking through wouldn''t fix Isaac''s biggest problem: limited means of attacking, defending and dodging. A true fighting cultivator was somebody who could swiftly dodge an opponent''s attack or tank it head on, then seamlesslybo Anima together into an attack. If they were injured, they could heal themselves, and if they lost their opponent, they could use Anima to search for them. Inparison, Isaac had a measly Spirit Sword Anima which he could use for simple attacking and defensive moves. His defence wascklustre, his attackscked variety, and he had no way of dodging other than physically jumping out of the way. Healing, searching, tracking, and all the other things Anima could be used for went without saying. Isaac could do none of them. A new Anima was the only thing Isaac needed even more than a breakthrough. That was why he decided not to use thest of his resources on reaching middle stage and saved some to buy an Anima. The only unfortunate thing was that buying one might be difficult. At least, buying a good one would be. Previously, Isaac and all the other neers had entered the one of the sect''s Rank 1 Anima storages to pick their 1st Anima, but that wasn''t somewhere anybody could enter. More often than not, your first Anima would determine your fighting style and the Anima you choose after that, so it was an incredibly important choice. Since it was so important, the sect gave neers a chance to pick from the wide variety of Anima in the storage facility. It was an opportunity for new disciples to take an Anima which really suited them, then build their future style around it. Isaac had already used up this opportunity when he took the Spirit Sword Anima he couldn''t go back to the storage facility except in special circumstances. For example, he could spend a certain amount of time in the sect''s one-star locations if he ranked top 10 in the uing tournament. However, the tournament was still months away and Isaac had no other way of gaining ess to the storage facility. Obviously he couldn''t wait months to get a new Anima, so he would have to acquire onemercially. This was the world of cultivators, so Anima were frequently sold or exchanged. The market always had Anima up for sale, but they were mostlymon and low-ranked Anima. Of course,mon Anima were not useless. In fact, they weremon because they were good and everybody used them. However, Isaac was looking for sword-style Anima, which were rare in Northern Tundra and probably couldn''t be found in the market. He would obviously have a look for them, but finding one would be unlikely. He would probably need to settle for an ice, water, or beast-style Anima whichplimented his sword techniques. As Isaac looked down on the sect, he picked out the market. It was one of the brightest spots of the sect and shone like antern which lit up the night. There were actually 3 separate markets in the Rank 1 district, but everyone used the biggest one. It sold a variety of useful tools, talismans, pills and Anima, which was why Isaac would pay it a visit tomorrow. For now though, he had to leave. The room was rented until midnight today, after which he would be kicked out. Being woken up and tossed onto the streets at midnight was not a favourable oue, so Isaac made sure it wouldn''t happen to him. It was about 7 pm, so he made a meal with thest of his food stockpile, ate it, then closed the window and left. He still had a hoard of 65 reward points with him, and he didn''t want to risk leaving them all at home. He had considered renting out a room just to leave his resources in there, but the sect had realised people might fill up all the rooms doing this, so they provided a better and cheaper alternative. Instead of renting a room at 1 reward point per week, Isaac rented one of the nearby lockers at 5 iron pieces per week. He paid the person in charge 2 reward points and took a locker for 4 weeks. He dumped all of his reward points into it, then headed home. Back at home, Isaac didn''t want to stop grinning. Although he''d been stopped only 5 days after starting, his scheme had worked perfectly. It''d earnt him enough resources to triple his cultivation base and he still had more than enough left to buy an Anima; it was too perfect! He was obviously in a very good mood that evening, but he was also exhausted. It had been extremely taxing for Isaac to push his will to the limit every day for 2 weeks, and he fell asleep within seconds of lying down. ************************* He''d gone to sleep very early and still woke upte the next day. The long rest helped him recover from the mental exhaustion of overexerting his will. When he woke, he felt more refreshed and less sluggish than the day before. He only had his trip to the market nned for today, so it wasn''t like he needed to wake up at 5 am anyway. After Isaac got up, he stayed inside to practice some sword forms and stances. Then he ate lunch, and it was already gone midday by the time he left his house. The sun had only risen 3 hours ago, and it would set in another 2. Northern Tundra didn''t have much sunlight in summer, let alone the middle of winter. Isaac just enjoyed the faint sunshine on his skin while he walked. It should be the sunniest part of the day, but its rays barely prated the thick clouds overhead. It didn''t matter. He''d been inside for 2 weeks, so any sunshine was appreciated. While thinking about how he''d catch up on missed swordsmanship practice, Isaac had already reached the market. There was a special section of the market dedicated to selling Anima, so he went there first. Anima shops lined both sides of the street. On Isaac''s left was ''Frostbite and Snow'' while a shop called ''Hidden ws of the Wolf'' was to his right. This was the theme for most of the shops on the street; they either sold water, ice and snow Anima which were highly popr across Northern Tundra or they sold beast Anima which popr across the continent as well as being the sect''s specialty. Even after going into 4 shops, Isaac had only seen a few darkness, necromancy, and wind-style Anima on top of the usual ice, snow, water and beast Anima. He hadn''t even seen any ghost Anima, since they were more popr near the forefront of the war. Oh, did I not mention? Northern Tundra was embroiled in a huge war between Blood Path and Orthodox Path forces. Ghost Anima thrived on the spirits of the deceased, so they were very popr around where the war was taking ce. In fact, they had always been slightly popr around the continent especially with Blood Path cultivators. The war had just made them even more prominent. However, Isaac hadn''t seen even one of those supposedlymon Anima yet. He hadn''t exactly done a proper search, and there was bound to be a few shops selling them along here, but the fact that even they weren''t easily found here killed his confidence of finding a sword Anima. In fact, sword Anima were so niche that they weren''t even a proper ''style''; they were one of many Anima collectively referred to as weapon-style Anima. Of course, Isaac wouldn''t give up on finding a sword Anima, so he searched all the shops on the street. But as he expected, there were none. As for other styles of Anima... darkness, star, wind and other styles of Anima weren''t prioritised by shops, meaning there wasn''t a wide selection to choose from and they weren''t very high quality. Snow-style was also a bad choice since it was very simr to ice-style but was just less developed, meaning it had existed for less time and its Anima were typically worse than their ice-style equivalents. That just left the usual suspects of ice, water or beast-style Anima. Isaac would probably be picking from one of these 3. As for what type of Anima he wanted... he already had an offensive Anima so he didn''t need another one for now. Defence and movement were both higher priorities than storage, searching or other purposes, but Isaac could already use his sword for some defence, so he favoured movement Anima over defensive ones. When he''d narrowed it down, Isaac began to seriously think about the Anima he''d seen. He cast his mind back to all the Anima he''d studied or read about, then remembered what he''d seen stocked in shops. After thinking for a minute, Isaac began to make his decision. Chapter 40: Picking a Second One Chapter 40: Picking a Second One Isaac kept 4 candidates in mind: Aqua Circlet Anima, 3-Toed Phantom Anima, Snowshoe Anima, and Spring Hare Anima. Aqua Circlet Anima was the only defensive Anima among the 4. It was a rather strange Anima, since it would always have some kind of physical manifestation; the Anima itself was still a spirit, but it would create a blue circlet around its owner''s head even when it wasn''t being used. When it was actually activated, that circlet would quickly expand and transform into a blue helmet covering the user''s head. This was one of its advantages; it would provide instant protection for a person''s most vulnerable point. It would then continue expanding to form a thin chest te which protected the user''s torso, but this process was rather slow. If you needed to activate it to block a sneak attack or something which surprised you, it could only protect the head quickly, which was a key disadvantage. It also didn''t protect the legs or arms at all, but its sheer defensive power was one of the highest among Rank 1 Anima. Basically, it covered your vital points and made it near-impossible for a Rank 1 opponent to one-shot you. They could either slowly break down its defences, wait for you to run out of Qi, or target your legs and arms to kill you through loss of blood. The 3-Toed Phantom Anima was an interesting Anima which originated from the 3-Toed Crane, a Rank 1 wild beast. This crane was known for its deceptiveness and ability to create basic illusions, and this Anima borrowed some of those powers; when the user started to move, this Anima would create 2 phantoms which replicated that exact movement but in different directions. For example, when Isaac started to run, this Anima would create 2 exact replicas of him which ran in different directions andsted for about a second. When Isaac swung his sword, the Anima would create 2 replicas of his arm and sword which swung in different directions. The phantom replicas would look exactly the same as the real thing to the human eye, and only investigative Anima would be able to tell them apart. The Anima''s main weakness was that you couldn''t control the direction these phantoms moved in. If Isaac swung his sword and the 2 phantoms appeared behind him, swinging away from the opponent, it would be useless. On the other hand, if both phantoms swung towards the opponent with Isaac, they would have no idea which of the 3 swords was real and which 2 were fake. Therefore, this Anima relied heavily on luck. Isaac had alreadye into contact with the Snowshoe Anima once before; it was one of the Anima he''d seen in the sect''s Anima storage facility when he chose his first Anima. It was a rather extreme movement Anima which was popr in Northern Tundra but wasn''t used anywhere else in the world due to its reliance on snow. Essentially, it gave the user the ability to glide through snow. This meant the Anima would be entirely useless inside, in sheltered spaces, in ces where it didn''t snow, or even in spots where snow had melted. That was why it was usually paired with other ice or snow-style Anima which created snow. Isaac didn''t have these, but it snowed very often in Northern Tundra anyway. While its weakness was apparent, so were its strengths: its speed was very good, enough to be considered in the upper ss of Rank 1 movement Anima. Its turning ability was also impressive, even more so than its straight-line speed. All in all, it was a quick and agile Anima which could be used for escaping, dodging, closing the distance to opponents and many more... so long as there was snow. Otherwise, it would be as useful as a lump of coal in battle. No, it might even be less useful at least you could throw the lump of coal at your enemies. Finally, the Spring Hare Anima was rather simple. It strongly enhanced the muscles, tendons and ligaments in the user''s legs, giving them superhuman jumping abilities and sprint speed. Its main weakness was that even if you jumped 2.5 metres into the air, then you would have to endure a fall from 2.5 metres up. Doing this repeatedly wouldpletely mess up your knees, so it was usuallybined with a healing Anima. Other than that, it didn''t have many weaknesses or strengths it was just a good all-around movement Anima. Isaac picked these out as the 4 most suitable and affordable Anima for him. However, he could only choose one, so he still needed to get rid of 3 of these. He found a spot to sit down in one of the shops and continued to consider his options. His first decision was that he couldn''t use the 3-Toed Phantom Anima. It relied too heavily on luck for Isaac, who fought with skill and precision. It didn''t quite match his fighting style, so it had to go. It didn''t take long before Isaac decided against the Spring Hare Anima as well. Most people saw its ability to do everything quite well as its strongest aspect, but Isaac didn''t think that way. He wasn''t just trying to be ''quite good''; he wanted to be excellent. That meant he couldn''t choose an Anima which didn''t excel at anything. That left the Aqua Circlet Anima and the Snowshoe Anima. Both were Anima with ring weaknesses but top-quality strengths. So long as Isaac fought in a way which minimised their weaknesses, either could be an incredibly useful tool for him in battle. Indeed, there wasn''t much to separate these 2 in terms of how good they were and how well they suited Isaac. That was why he chose the Snowshoe Anima. Beforeing to the market, Isaac had already identified what he needed most, and that was a movement Anima. He would only have chosen a defensive Anima if it was clearly better than any of the movement Anima he could find, but the Snowshoe Anima and the Aqua Circlet Anima were of simr quality. Therefore, the Snowshoe Anima was an easy choice since it fit his needs best. It was also cheaper than the Aqua Circlet Anima. Isaac had only brought 45 reward points with him from his locker, but he could still afford it. Seeing its price written on the wall of the store he was in, Isaac walked up to the store counter and addressed the man behind it, "Excuse me, do you have any Snowshoe Anima left in stock?" The man smiled widely at his potential customer. Compared to the capable alchemy disciple running ''Herbal Fumes'', this shopkeeper was not worth mentioning. He was stuck in Rank 1 middle stage even at the age of 26; his cultivation journey had practically med out and he just worked at the store as a normal employee. He had no status and Isaac didn''t have to respect him. In fact, the man''s tone was slightly servile, "Yes sir, we have quite a few. The price is 42 reward points; I believe you won''t find them cheaper anywhere else!" Technically, the man''s words were correct. Most of the shops on this street sold their goods at the same prices. If they began decreasing the prices of their Anima topete with one another, it wouldn''t be good for any of them. Therefore, they''d made a mutual agreement not to start a price war and onlypete through advertising, customer service, variety of choice and so on. Isaac didn''t care about any of those things. Since the Anima he wanted was avable, and he couldn''t buy it cheaper anywhere else, he would buy it here. He silently passed the shopkeeper 4 leather pouches full of tokens and 2 tokens by themselves. The shopkeeper counted 10 tokens in each bag, then poured them all into a securely locked drawer which actually used an Anima as the key. Then he passed the empty bags back to Isaac and thanked him for his business, "Thank you for your purchase sir. Please wait for a moment while I retrieve your item." The man disappeared into the back room while Isaac waited patiently at the counter. When the man returned, he held a ss box containing a spirit in the shape of an unnaturally white pile of snow. It was shaking and quivering, obviously being suppressed by the box made of ferin ss. The man put the box on the counter, then slowly opened the lid to let Isaac''s will enter it. Isaac focused hard as he poured more and more of his will into the box, overwhelming the Snowshoe Anima. This Anima was much more feisty and harder to suppress than his Spirit Sword Anima had been or maybe this ferin ss was low quality so it didn''t fully suppress the Snowshoe Anima. Whichever one it was, Isaac had to exert all his willpower just to control the Anima and hold it still. When it was mostly subdued, he began pushing harder with his will, trying to invade the Anima and make it his own. It took a long, hard battle before he fully reced the Anima''s natural instincts with his own will. He controlled the Anima to fly into the sole of his left foot, and it settled down there. Fortunately, the Snowshoe Anima would affect both feet and Isaac wouldn''t need to buy a second Anima for his other foot. Isaac did a brief check to make sure nothing was wrong, then he thanked the shopkeeper and left. He was rather exhausted from the battle of wills, so he headed straight home. Just as he left the market, he passed somebody on the street. To him, the woman was just another passer-by. But to the woman... Her eyes lit up. She called to the 5 people inside a nearby store and they began following Isaac from a distance. Chapter 41: The Cruelty of Coincidence Chapter 41: The Cruelty of Coincidence Isaac really was quite tired. He did his best to remain vignt while in the market, but his guard dropped slightly after he left. He wasn''t quite so wary and he didn''t check for people following him as often or as thoroughly as he usually did. This left an opportunity for the woman to follow Isaac through the crowded hustle and bustle of the sect''s streets without being spotted. Of course, she followed carefully from a distance, while her 5panions followed far behind her even an exhausted Isaac would spot a group of 6 following him, so they fell back and just followed the woman. After about 20 minutes, Isaac had got back home. He unlocked the window at the side of his house and was just about to climb in when, *Thwack*, he felt a strong blow to the back of his head. He fell forwards through the window, unconscious. The woman deactivated her Anima and jumped through the window as well. She checked Isaac was knocked out, then called for herpanions. Meanwhile, she rifled through his pockets and found 3 reward points. Within moments, the group were tearing Isaac''s house to pieces and looting everything they could find, which... wasn''t very much. In fact, it wasn''t anything at all. Isaac didn''t own anything valuable his only noteworthy possessions were his 2 Anima and the 18 reward points still left in his locker. But the group weren''t even capable enough to find Isaac''s secretpartment. How could they know about his locker? They were frustrated not to find anything, so they trashed Isaac''s home even more. They destroyed his table, ripped up the painting on the wall, and dug up all his nts, throwing the soil around the ce. However, there was nothing under the table. There was nothing behind the painting. And there sure as hell wasn''t anything hidden in the nt pots. All the group got was the 3 reward points in Isaac''s pocket. For one person, this would be quite a lot. But split between them, it was only 5 iron pieces each. Plus, they knew how strong Isaac was. They were sure he''d amassed more resources than this. A tall woman who wasn''t the one who''d followed Isaac walked over. She had found some rope in Isaac''s house and used it to tie him up tightly. She paid special attention to his hands, tying them up so his palms were touching each other and couldn''t be separated. Then she pped Isaac awake. Isaac awoke in a confused state, but he didn''t panic or get flustered. He calmly observed his surroundings, rapidly working out what had happened and who these people were. The first one he recognised was the tall woman who''d just pped him. When he was stealing ws and animal parts, he''d stolen from this group of 6 twice. He especially remembered this woman since he''d fought her and one of the men in the group, and she had proven to be a strong opponent. Isaac realised this was likely a revenge attack. They had probably discovered his identity somehow perhaps from the scarred man Isaac had to fight with his Anima and had tracked him down to get some payback. Isaac was partially right and partially wrong. This was a revenge attack, that much was obvious. It was also correct the group had got their description of Isaac from the scarred man with a Razorlight w Anima; he''d gone around spreading rumours about Isaac after he''d been attacked, hoping one of Isaac''s other victims would take revenge. However, the group hadn''t discovered Isaac''s name or identity; one of their members just happened to recognise him as he walked down the street. Overall, Isaac had a rough picture of what had happened. What he didn''t know was what the group would do next or how he would get out of this. The first question was answered pretty quickly. Seeing Isaac act so calmly irritated Sanna, the tall woman who led this group. She grabbed Isaac by the scruff of the neck and hit him. Then she screamed in his face, "What other resources do you have? Where are they?" Isaac was slightly shocked, ''Do they know about my locker and the other reward points?! No... if they already knew, they wouldn''t ask like this. They''d directly say to give them everything in my locker. Actually, asking this way shows that they don''t know anything at all.'' After his initial surprise, Isaac quickly picked apart Sanna''s amateurish interrogation technique. He spat a wad of blood onto the floor, then looked up. His eyes were as still as ake despite the situation. In fact, Sanna found hisposure slightly unsettling. "The only resources I have are the 3 reward points in my right pocket. I used up thest of my resources, then went hunting. I sold everything I caught for those 3 reward points." Sanna hit him again. "You think I believe that, you sneaky bastard?! You''re going to tell us where your other resources are!" ''Right... this was originally a revenge attack. Resources are just a bonus for them, what they want most is just to beat me up. Since this interrogation is just another reason to beat me, it won''t matter what I say or do; they won''t let me go.'' Thinking this, Isaac decided not to answer. He looked up and spat out another mouthful of blood and spittle. This time, it drew a smooth arc through the air andnded in Sanna''s eye. She was stunned for a second, failing topute what had just happened. A moment of silence descended on the group. Then Sanna roared with anger and started raining down punches on Isaac. After a few heavy fists, he fell unconscious again and Sanna stopped punching so she didn''t kill him. She picked Isaac up and threw him through the open window into the street outside. Then Sanna climbed out of the window and the group followed. She motioned to one of the group members to bring Isaac with them, then she started walking in the direction of the outskirts of the sect. Behind her, one of the group grabbed Isaac by his feet and started dragging him along the cobbled pavement. ************************* 45 minutester, Isaac was woken again. Sanna was right in his face and he couldn''t see anything else. She was shouting at him and her spittle was flying onto his face, but he couldn''t hear what she was saying; he was dizzy and his ears were ringing from the beating he''d taken earlier. This time, Isaac didn''t spit at Sanna or provoke her. He stayed silent and motionless. The ringing in his ears slowly lessened and he could begin to hear Sanna''s ravings, "How are you going topensate us, huh? You stole our loot; you need to pay that back!" Suddenly, Sanna reached towards his neck. She grabbed the string around Isaac''s neck and pulled at it. There was a key attached to the string and Sanna pointed it right at Isaac''s eye. "What''s this key, huh? Tell me, what does it unlock? Tell me!" She screamed thest sentence again and more spittle flew onto Isaac''s face. However, he didn''t respond; he merely closed his eyes to stop Sanna''s spittle from flying into them. His expression showed no signs of defiance or discontent. Neither did it reveal any hope, fear or anger. He was utterly impassive in the face of Sanna''s threats, like a huge boulder which would remain forever unmoved. Of course Sanna disliked Isaac''s calm attitude. She delivered a flurry of blows to his stomach, winding Isaac and making him gasp. He bent over, nearly falling forwards. However, he couldn''t even do that; his arms were tied to 2 posts, one on either side of him. They held him up and stopped him falling t on his face. Sanna grabbed Isaac by the hair and pulled his head back to look into his eyes menacingly. However, Isaac did not yield. There were traces of pain on his face, but that was the only emotion present. There certainly wasn''t the fear or desperation that Sanna wanted to see there wasn''t even the rage or defiance which made beating somebody up worthwhile. Hitting Isaac just felt like hitting a doll; empty and pointless. She didn''t feel the sweetness of revenge which she wanted and expected, and that just made her even more frustrated. Of course, it was Isaac that she took her frustration out on. It didn''t take long for the rest of the group to join her, venting their anger over the 2 times Isaac had stolen from them. It took a while before they stopped, tired of hitting Isaac. When they looked at his body, it was a mess of small cuts and red marks which would soon be bruises. However, when they nced at his face, they could see an entirely apathetic expression. When he gazed in their direction, his two icy blue eyes pierced through them like spears, making them all feel ufortable. One or two even shivered when Isaac looked at them. They immediately felt shame they had just been intimidated by a defenceless, tied-up man. That shame soon turned to anger, and Isaac had to suffer another round of beatings. For the many hours until nightfall, Isaac endured their savage punches and kicks. Chapter 42: Loyalty Chapter 42: Loyalty Eventually, Isaac was left alone. He finally had a chance to inspect his surroundings. In the darkness, he could just about make out the walls around him; they were battered and rotten. In the corner, there were 2 rusty feeding troughs and a bundle of hay. This looked like an old and disused shed which had once housed animals. The sect had had built new facilities for holding livestock some 20 years ago, so the old sheds had fallen into disrepair. Isaac guessed he was being held in one of these abandoned farmhouses. Nobody came out here they had no reason to so nobody would find or help him. As usual, he could only rely on himself. However, escape wouldn''t be as simple as creating a sword and cutting all the ropes that bound him. His hands were wrapped around the wooden pirs on either side of him and tied in ce. Creating a sword required Isaac''s hand to be empty, so he couldn''t do anything right now. In fact, he could only wait for his captors to return and try tricking his way out of this predicament. In the morning, the group returned. Originally, they had only nned to steal Isaac''s belongings, beat him up, then leave him tied-up here for a couple of days. That would''ve settled their grudge from before and they would''ve let Isaac go. However ns, were subject to change. They had found a mysterious key around Isaac''s neck which he refused to talk about. Overnight, the group had convinced themselves Isaac owned a secret stash of resources which the key opened. Now they were determined to work out where it was and steal all of it. As for why Isaac didn''t just tell them about thepartment under his floorboards... when he was making some ns for the future, he''d made some notes. It was easier to organise his thoughts when he put them down on paper, so he wrote out several ns and goals for the future. These notes were all kept in the box hidden under his floorboards. Originally Isaac hadn''t worried about it being found, since he''d installed a mechanism to make the notes burn if the box was opened without the key. However, if he told the group about the box and they opened it with the key, they could safely take the notes. Then many of Isaac''s future ns would be ruined and they would find out about the locker that contained all his reward points. Isaac had already decided not to give up his secrets. Either he escaped, or he waited until the group eventually released him the sect didn''t give its disciples much protection, but at least it had rules against killing disciples or holding them captive for years. That was why Isaac remained silent when he was asked about his key. He suffered another beating, but it was much better than giving up all his resources and future ns. After a while, Sanna realised they were getting nowhere. She decided to stop interrogating Isaac and took 3 other people with her to go hunting. Isaac was left in the dpidated farmhouse with thest 2 group members. They sat at the side of the room, watching him and chatting to each other. Isaac had nothing else to look at, so he simply stared at the two of them. One of the pair, a man named Christian, noticed Isaac''s icy gaze. If he''d seen that re from anyone else, he might have been a little frightened. However, the owner of those piercing blue eyes was currently tied up in front of him,pletely at his mercy. So Christian did not feel scared. No, he just got angrier and angrier the longer Isaac looked at him like that. It made Christian want to punch him, punch him so hard those annoying eyes popped out of their sockets. So that''s what he got up and did. After getting smacked around for about 20 minutes, Isaac''s expression showed a hint of desperation. It was the first sign of weakness he''d shown since being captured, and Christian quickly noticed it. "What? You finally beginning to regret?" he sneered, "If you tell us what the key''s for, we might consider lettin'' you go." Isaac was silent for a second. Then he gritted his teeth and spoke quietly, "... I have a stash of 18 reward points. If you 2 get me out of here, we can split it between us; 6 reward points each." Christian didn''t think about it for a moment. He delivered a strong right hook to Isaac''s face, "Tryin'' to split us up, huh? You think that''s gonna fucking work?! None of us are like you we wouldn''t sell each other out!" Christian was incensed, and he hit Isaac with all the strength he could muster. Then he spat at him disdainfully and went to sit back down. It was once said that ''If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles''. Of course this was not a battlefield, and Isaac was not a general, but the saying was still applicable. The w in his n was that he did not know the enemy; he had assumed Christian would ept the deal since, in his experience, humans were inherently selfish. However, he did not know that this was a group of 6 friends who had grown up in the farm together, passed the trials together, and stayed together through the academy. Furthermore, their rtionship wasn''t one built on mutual benefits or formed through a need forpanions. They were true friends who had endured countless hardships together until they were closer than family. Christian wouldn''t throw that away for a few reward points. When the group returned, Christian told them all about Isaac''s ploy. They were all furious, but thanked Christian and the other man for staying loyal. Predictably, Isaac was beaten again. Not only were they punishing him for trying to split them up, they also wanted to know where he kept the reward points that he imed to have. His n had backfired and things went from bad to worse for Isaac. The day passed in a haze of beatings and questions, none of which he answered. Eventually, night fell and the group left Isaac alone once more. Isaac knelt on the floor of the dark, abandoned shed, his arms still bound to the posts on either side. Throughout the day, he''d been wriggling and moving his hands, trying to escape from his bindings. While he hadn''t been able to do that, he had worked them loose a little and gained more freedom to move his fingers. He moved the fingers on his right hand and carefully felt the wooden post for any nicks or gaps in it. It didn''t take long to find a shallow hollow on the back of the post. Like the rest of the farmhouse, the wood of these posts was beginning to rot it wasn''t very hard and Isaac could just about dig his fingernails into it. He slowly worked at the soft wood, pulling and teasing it with his fingers. After 20 minutes of effort, Isaac managed to break off a splinter. It was about the size of his little finger and Isaac grasped it between his middle and index fingers. Then he angled the splinter towards the rope which bound his hands and started rubbing the splinter against the rope. Hopefully, with enough effort, he could fray the rope and free his hand. trying to fray it. Chapter 43: Reversal Chapter 43: Reversal However, things weren''t as simple as that. He had to hold the splinter at a very awkward angle for it to reach the rope. He tried to manoeuvre the splinter into a better grip, but it was difficult to hold between just 2 fingers and... he dropped it. Of course, Isaac wouldn''t give up. He dug his fingernails into the wooden post again and started making another splinter. This time he did it quicker. Then he grasped the splinter between his fingers as tightly as possible and started wearing down the rope. However, the rope was strong and Isaac couldn''t push the splinter against it very hard. Even after 10 minutes of rubbing, it didn''t appear to have any effect, so Isaac tried rubbing the splinter against the rope harder. However, that just made him drop the splinter again. But something as trivial as this wouldn''t deter Isaac; he dug out another splinter and resumed the process. The quiet rubbing of wood against rope... it was a sound which could be heard in the farmhouse throughout the night. Isaac went without sleep, tirelessly working on the rope to try and earn his freedom. By morning, there was a pile of dropped splinters by his foot, his nails were cracked from repeatedly digging into the wooden post, and the rope around his knuckles was so frayed only a string of it remained. Isaac gave a strong pull. The rope emitted a tired groan as it was strained to the limit. Then, suddenly, it snapped. Isaac was bound no more. He nced at his free hand and smiled his hard work had paid off, as hard work usually did. Without wasting any more time, he created a spirit sword and quickly sliced up the ropes binding his legs together. Then he destroyed the ropes around his left hand and he was free! However, he wasn''t finished. If he just escaped now, he could guarantee the group woulde looking for him again since they wanted his reward points. Even in the small chance they didn''t, they might tell other people about his wealth. By then, he would have many groups and individuals looking for him. Even if he entered secluded cultivation and used all his resources, people would assume he still had them ande after him. Therefore, he had to show everybody that he was not a person to be trifled with. He left all the broken ropes on the floor, then went over to the door and opened it the lock had rusted away long ago, so it swung open easily. Isaac set the scene to look like he''d freed himself and escaped, but he actually went back inside. He picked up the pile of hay in the corner and moved it next to the door so he could sit behind it without being seen. Then he waited for the group to arrive. About an hourter, he heard an exmation from outside, "Huh? Why''s the door open? Did somebody elsee here?" "Go in and check he''s still there!" Isaac saw a man and woman rush into the room. He was hidden behind the hay bale next to the door, so they didn''t see him. They only spotted the ropes scattered on the floor where Isaac should''ve been tied up. "He''s gone!" "What do you mean he''s gone?!" "What do you think I mean!? He. Is. No. Longer. Here. Was that clear enough for you?!" 4 other people ran into the room to see for themselves. Just like the first 2, they saw the ropes and assumed Isaac had long since fled the scene. However, they were in for a surprise. *Thud* Nobody knew what that sound was. The 5 of them turned around just in time to hear a second *Thud*, and now there were only 4 of them. *Thud* another body hit the ground, leaving only 3 standing. By the time they realised what was happening, the group had halved in size. Of course Isaac didn''t kill them since he''d be punished heavily, but just one strike from the hilt of his sword or the t of his de was enough to send each person to sleep. He continued his onught, moving towards Sanna who was now nearest to him. She quickly recovered from her surprised state and realised she was under attack. However, she still didn''t have enough time to defend herself. The hilt of Isaac''s sword collided with her nose, resulting in a bloody explosion and a sickening *Crunch*. Then, his left hand swept round as he threw a hook. The blow connected with Sanna''s temple and achieved an instant K.O. After dropping her as well, Isaac was left in a familiar 1 vs 2 scenario. Thest 2 faced off against Isaac warily. One of them was the short man who Isaac''d fought before and he was filled with caution, bordering on fear. He still hadn''t been able to afford an Anima since theirst fight, but he gained some courage from the thought that hispanion had one. The skin on her fists began to turn hard and grey, crystalising into rock. This was the Stone Fist Anima, amon Anima in Eastern Mountains but something less often seen here. Isaac didn''t recognise it, but he could guess its effect: a powerful punch and strong protection for the hands. Isaac immediately took a step back to take advantage of the extra range his sword gave him, wielding the de to prevent the woman from approaching. After forcing her to retreat, he quickly turned his attention to the man who was trying to nk him. Unfortunately for the man, Isaac fought with a rather unorthodox sword style which included strikes and attacks with his left hand. The man thought Isaac would be vulnerable from his left and decided to attack, but his lunge forwards was smoothly met with an uppercut. Caught off-guard, the strike slipped through hisst-minute defences and hit him in the chin. He fell to the ground seeing stars, but not unconscious. Isaac tried to deliver a second blow and knock him out, but the woman wouldn''t let him. She attacked Isaac madly, trying to upy him and give her teammate time to recover. Isaac was forced to focus on her and couldn''t finish off the short man, but that wasn''t to say her n went well. The woman was careless while trying to press Isaac. She revealed far too many openings to a swordsman of his calibre and it would''ve been disappointing if he didn''t take advantage of at least one. When Isaac swung towards her, she tried to catch the sword with her stone hand. However, Isaac employed one of his most-practiced techniques: the path of his sword changed slightly in mid-swing and it sailed past the woman''s outstretched hand. The t part of the de smacked against the side of her head, and she too was out for the count. A few metres to the side, the short man was still feeling dazed from Isaac''s uppercut, but he had regained his senses enough to realise this was a fight he couldn''t win. He made a dash for the door, wanting to escape and find a way to rescue his friendster, but Isaac wouldn''t let that happen. He reached the door at about the same time as the man and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. Then he used the hilt of the sword to hit him just behind the ear, knocking him unconscious as well. Isaac dropped him to the floor. Now there were 6 bodies strewn around the abandoned stable, but Isaac wasn''t finished with them yet. There was still some rope remaining from when the group tied him up there was quite a lot of rope, actually; enough to tie up 4 people. That still left 2 unrestrained, so Isaac left the farmhouse and hurried to get some more rope. It took about 40 minutes to get the rope ande back, which was enough for the 2 unbound people to wake up. Fortunately, they were nave enough to try and untie their friends rather than escape by themselves. Isaac returned, rope in hand, to catch them right in the act. A brief struggleter, and all 6 group members were tied up on the ground, ring at him. In reality, the group was vengeful, but they weren''t cruel or ruthless. This made them hesitant about actually torturing Isaac, and they only beat him with their bare fists while interrogating him. The very opposite could be said about Isaac; he was not particrly vengeful, but he was extremely cold and ruthless. If killing someone would benefit him, he would do it. If he could profit from betraying somebody, it would only be a matter of time before he betrayed them. And if torturing a group of 6 would help him in some way? Consider it done. There was an extremely malicious glint in Isaac''s eyes when he observed the 6 on the floor. Chapter 44: Severe Punishment Chapter 44: Severe Punishment Isaac grabbed Sanna, picked her up, then tossed her against the back wall of the shed. He proceeded to do the same to the other 5 members, lining them up along the wall. Then, he bent down and held Sanna''s chin. He forced her to look into his eyes as he spoke, "Watch what I''ll do to your friends and just know that you''ll endure far worse." With those few words, he let go of Sanna and stood up. Then he walked to the person at the other end of the line and pulled them to their feet. Of course, their legs were tied together so they couldn''t run, but they could still stand. It was a man about 2 inches shorter than Isaac, so he looked up at Isaac defiantly. Isaac grabbed one of his fingers and viciously pulled it back. *SNAP* The man''s defiance was reced by agony and he screamed in pain. However, Isaac didn''t wait for him to recover. He grabbed a second finger and decisively broke that as well. The man screamed again and was about to curse at Isaac, when Isaac broke a third finger. The curse on his lips could not be uttered; it turned into incoherent and pained mumbling. Isaac grabbed the man''s index finger one of the 2 unbroken digits on that hand. But he didn''t snap it immediately; he looked into the man''s eyes and waited to see what he had to say for himself. At first, the man was going to try and curse again. But then he looked into Isaac''s cold, piercing eyes and his courage dissolved like salt in the rain. He gritted his teeth, still enduring the pain of 3 broken fingers, then spoke, "I I''m sorry! I apologise for beating you!" There was a moment of silence as Isaac continued staring into the man''s eyes. Then he tightened his grip on the finger and snapped it, before quickly grabbing the man''s thumb and breaking that as well. A shrill scream of agony echoed through the farmhouse. It was lucky this ce was abandoned, otherwise the whole neighbourhood would''ve heard that scream. Isaac grimaced a little since the scream came right next to his ear. He then proceeded to break the man''s other 4 fingers and thumb in quick session. When Isaac let go of his hand, the man was snivelling and on the verge of tears; his friends couldn''t bear to watch, but they were still forced to listen to his stifled sobs. "Wha w-w-w-w-w-what do you want from me?!" He stammered, "I''ll listen to you, I''ll do what you want! Why are you doing this?!" Isaac just grabbed man''s hand again and started ying with his broken fingers twisting them, pulling on them, and bending them in directions they shouldn''t be able to go. The other 5 heard their friend''s howls of pain and couldn''t help but look at what was happening. What they saw caused each of them to shiver in fear, especially Sanna. If she had to endure worse than this, she didn''t know what state she''d be in afterwards... For 4 hours, screams of agony rang throughout the derelict farm area. However, nobody was there to hear them. The 6 group members could only cry, scream, shout, and plead for help without any possibility of getting it. They even tried bargaining with Isaac, begging him to stop torturing them; they promised to do anything he wanted and questioned why he was doing this, but they got no response. It was like talking to an inanimate block of ice. He hadn''t said a word throughout the entire torturing process, giving his victims an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. They couldn''t reason with him; they couldn''t persuade him; they couldn''t trick him, and they certainly couldn''t escape not from this demon. They had no idea when this hell woulde to an end or what they could do to stop the continuous punishment. Fortunately for them, they didn''t need to do anything. At about midday, Isaac knocked all 6 group members out again. Then he picked up one of the rusty troughs in the corner and took it with him to the nearest well (water was the most important resource on a farm, so this abandoned farm area had 3 wells, 2 of which still functioned). At the well, he filled the trough with water and brought it back to the ramshackle shed. When he put the trough back in the corner, he caught a glimpse of the water in it. What was once fresh well water was now filled with dust, dirt and kes of rust. The water had gone a brown-orange colour and surely tasted metallic. Perfect. This was what the group would survive on for the next week or two. Now that they had water, they wouldn''t die. Isaac put the group to the back of his mind and returned to the residential area. However, he wasn''t going back to his house he was going to visit Johan. He''d realised something after this incident: he was extremely vulnerable. People could casually target and attack him without any repercussions (unless he saw who they were and came back for revenge, of course). Getting attacked while he was on guard wouldn''t be much of a problem; he was confident he could hold his ground against or at the very least escape from any group of neers. However, nobody could remainpletely vignt 24/7 without the help of an Anima. Isaac didn''t have such an Anima so there would be many times when he let his guard down, such as while cultivating or sleeping. During the times when he wasn''tpletely alert, Isaac was open to ambushes. Sanna''s group of 6 had proved that. Isaac judged the group''s strength and abilities to be averagepared to other new groups in the sect, but they''d sessfully captured him and interrogated him for 2 days. If they''d found a better way of binding him, they could''ve held him for much longer. If an average group could do this, Isaac might not be able to escape if an elite group chose to ambush him. The best thing he could do was deter any such groups from targeting him in the first ce, and the best way to do that was by acquiring a background. If it was powerful enough, nobody would target Isaac in case the people behind him retaliated. Of course, a background would also grant other benefits, many of which were extremely helpful to Isaac: they could sponsor you resources, help you take high-rewarding private missions, give you ess to arge amount of information, and so on. In fact, Isaac had been considering joining a faction for a long time, but hadn''t due to the restrictions it would ce on his freedom. For example, he couldn''t grantly break the rules, try any more scams, or do anything else which would harm his faction''s reputation. Other than the restrictions, there was a great amount of difficulty involved in joining a faction especially if that faction was a good one. That was why Isaac hoped to enlist Johan''s help. Johan was the son of the Friberg family, a family which included several prominent figures within the sect. The family was also an important member of one of the sect''s 4 major factions. The Full Moon Sect had four Rank 5 experts, each of whom had their own faction. The Friberg family had joined the faction of Martin Sundersen, who was one of those Rank 5s. With a Rank 5 at the helm and other powerful participants such as the Friberg family, the Sundersen faction was extremely prestigious; its influence pervaded the entire sect. If Johan could give Isaac a path into such a faction, that would be the ideal scenario. Isaac had thought all of this while he was tied up in the farm shed, so the first thing he did upon escaping was visit Johan. When he arrived at Johan''s house, he gave 2 confident knocks on the door, "If that''s you Isaac, wait a few minutes and I''ll let you in. If it''s not, please go away, I don''t have any business with you." It seemed Johan had received a few unwanted visitors recently, so he included thest sentence. Of course, Isaac was not one of those unwanted guests, so he replied simply, "It''s me." True to his word, Johan opened the door after about 3 minutes. His hair was wet and it appeared Isaac had interrupted him in the middle of a bath. "Come in my friend, what are you here to see me about today?" It seemed like Johan was no longer angry at Isaac for rejecting his n to get revenge against the alchemy disciple. However, that was only on the surface. Johan was a person who held his grudges for a very long time, so he still remembered Isaac''s refusal and he definitely remembered the alchemy disciple he had just pushed to things to the back of his mind for now. Therefore he weed Isaac in with a friendly smile. When Isaac came to visit him, it was usually with an opportunity or a good proposition, so he was more than willing to hear what Isaac had to say. However, his expression immediately turned gloomy after Isaac''s first words, "I want you to put me in contact with the Friberg family." Chapter 45: Johans Struggles Chapter 45: Johan''s Struggles Johan didn''t know why Isaac wanted to contact his family, but it was a problematic request regardless of the reason, "I am not currently in contact with the rest of the Friberg family; I want to seed in the sect without relying on my family background." "Could you borate?" "I''m the eldest child of the Friberg family leader, but there are still some who oppose me seeding her as the next family head. I wish to grow and develop in the sect independently so I can prove my worth as a cultivator and silence those doubters, hence why I entered the trials despite not being required to." The sect only permitted those of Rank 3 or higher to have children, and Johan''s parents were both Rank 4. Since he was the child of two official sect members, he was a member of the sect from birth and didn''t need to participate in the trials, which were for people trying to ''enter'' the sect. This meant Johan had been trying to win the approval of his family since the trials over 2 years ago, but he still hadn''t seeded. This worried Isaac slightly and he asked again, "But surely that won''t stop you from just putting me in contact with them? It''s not like you''ve cut off all ties with your family, and they won''t think less of you just for introducing me to them, so can you take a moment to consider it?" Just like Isaac asked, Johan took a moment to think. But he didn''t take any longer than that to reply, "I''m sorry, I can''t do it." Isaac''s smile didn''t faulter, but he frowned inwardly. ''If Johan can''t even ask his family a favour as the head''s sessor, the situation must be worse than he''s making out. Perhaps his position as the sessor is unstable and he has a lot of enemies in the family. That way, making contact with the family might put him in danger. Or maybe he''s not the sessor at all and he lied to me his status could be too low to get me an audience with the family higher-ups.'' Isaac had several doubts about Johan, but his chain of thought was interrupted by another question, "Why are you trying to contact the Friberg family to begin with?" "I want to join the Sundersen faction." Isaac had no reason to lie, so he was straightforward. Johan didn''t expect such an answer, but his initial reaction was one of ridicule, "Even if you get in contact with the Fribergs, there''s no chance you''ll be epted into the Sundersen faction. The big factions are much different to the small flies of factions buzzing around the new disciples; they don''t take in nobodies they don''t even take in people with great potential. Factions like that don''t want potential, they want results. You''ll need to put together a resume packed with achievements and missions to prove you''re worth investing in before they even take a nce at you." Isaac didn''t know much about therge factions since he hadn''te into contact with them, but Johan was extremely familiar with these factions. He knew that they had countless subordinates working for them but few actual members, despite the hordes of talented individuals queueing up to join them. They had extremely high standards and only picked one or two special talents to nurture each year sometimes they didn''t choose anyone. Plus, they never epted Rank 1 cultivators since they considered them as children newbies who hadn''t properly experienced the cultivation world. Furthermore, most of the talents they picked were nurtured internally, which is to say they were the children of existing members and were trained by the faction as they grew up. There was utterly no chance the Sundersen faction would ept an unproven Rank 1 from the farm just because he ced 4th in the trials. First, Isaac would need to show he was worth nurturing by reaching Rank 2 and aplishing many impressive missions and achievements. Then he could use his connections to try and get a ce in the faction. After Johan finished speaking, Isaac fell into silence for a moment. He wore a contemtive expression as he thought about what to say next, then he made a decision, "What if I help you solidify your position as the family sessor?" Johan was visibly surprised. He didn''t expect Isaac would offer him help especially when he didn''t appear to gain much from it. But then, his surprise faded and he came back to reality, "That''s simple to say but hard to do. If securing my position was so easy, I would''ve done it a year ago. Forgive me for doubting you, but I fail to see how much of a difference you can make." "I know I''m not capable of negotiating with the Fribergs and getting them to confirm you as the sessor that''s not what I meant. What I''m saying is that working with me will create opportunities for you to showcase your abilities to the Friberg family." "''Opportunities'' is a rather vague term. What kind of opportunities do you mean, and how will they benefit me?" "I want to form a team of people to ept difficult missions andplete them. Each mission will reap high rewards which will aid our cultivation, andpleting enough missions of high difficulty will showcase our appeal to the factions. For me, it can be part of the ''resume of missions'' I''ll need to join a faction. For you, any missions or achievements will show the Friberg family that you''re a worthy sessor and will help silence those who oppose you." Johan didn''t trust Isaac''s personality, but he strongly believed in the man''s ability. He also believed in himself. If the 2 of them tried to form a team, it was going to be one of if not the best team out of all the neers. Working in an environment such as that would be conducive to proving himself and showing the Fribergs he was a worthy sessor. Though, no matter how well he did, bing the next family head was unlikely... As for what Isaac had said about helping solidify his position as the family sessor, he didn''t take that to heart. Solidify what? You mean take back! He was indeed the family head''s oldest child, but he had been pushed out of the spot of family sessor a few years ago. His younger sister had shown great promise and the family was currently focused on nurturing her rather than him, who had only been deemed as ''good'' rather than ''exceptional''. But regardless of the situation in his family, or how (un)likely it was to reim his position as sessor, he could only focus on growing stronger for now. Joining Isaac''s team was a chance to do just that. "When are you going to form the team? How many people will be in it and do you have any in mind already? Since you brought it up, I assume you wish to be the team leader." "I don''t n on forming the team right now, but at some point in the near future. I want to form a team of 4 people in the ssicposition, but I don''t know who could be our defensive specialist or second melee fighter. Of course, whoever they are, the leader shall be me." Isaac''s decision to lead was not made out of pride. It was because most people judged a team''s sess to be the merit of its leader; of course, they would also judge a team''s failures to be the fault of the leader, but Isaac didn''t n on failing all that often. If a faction looked at his mission record and saw he''d led a sessful team, it would be much more impactful than seeing he''d simply participated in a strong team. Of course, this meant Johan was also gunning for the position of leader. The two of them half-discussed and half-argued for a short while beforeing to a decision. Isaac would be the leader while Johan would be listed as the deputy, or vice-leader as he preferred to put it. Johan disliked taking orders, and he usually wouldn''t tolerate working below somebody. But Isaac had earnt his respect over the 2 years they''d been acquainted; Johan knew hismands would always be precise and intelligent, and would usually lead to a good result. That was why he finally epted Isaac as the team leader andpromised for second-inmand. On the other hand, Isaac got exactly what he wanted as usual. It would only be a team of 4, so vice-leader was more of a constion prize than a position with actual power. He could overrule Johan''s decisions whenever he needed to, so he still retained all the decision-making power in the team. Now, however, he had somebody to offload responsibilities onto or pass the me to if things went badly. After securing this optimal oue, he said a few words of goodbye to Johan, "We''ll need to recruit elite members if we want our team to seed. I''ll be entering seclusion for a while, so I won''t be able to contact you for a short time. Meanwhile, you should start keeping an eye out for potential members. I''ll get some other people to look for candidates while I''m in seclusion, then I''ll find you when I get out and we can discuss the details. I''ll see you then." With that, Isaac left. Chapter 46: A Proposition Chapter 46: A Proposition If Isaac wanted to lead a team which could take medium difficulty missions, he couldn''t stay in Rank 1 lower stage. His Qi Core was currently 27.9% full and he still had 18 reward points. Previously he''d saved the reward points since he might need them to buy his Anima, but now there was nothing to stop him pushing for middle stage. Knowing this, Isaac visited his locker and withdrew 14 reward points and an iron piece. Then he went to the market while being extremely careful he wasn''t being followed, bought some food, and exchanged the reward points for Basic Qi Pills. After that, he left the market, taking equal care to make sure nobody was tailing him. However, he didn''t go to cultivate right away. It was already quitete, so renting a room in the Cultivation Pagoda now would be a waste. It would be better to go tomorrow when he could cultivate for the whole day, so he went back to his locker and stowed the pills away. Since he was going into seclusion tomorrow, it meant he couldn''t personally prepare to make the team. Fortunately, he could still get other people to do it for him and he wasn''t just thinking about Johan. If he left everything down to Johan, he would end up as a puppet team leader who got dragged around by Johan and his cronies and then took the me if anything went wrong. No, of course he didn''t trust Johan to set up the team. He''d much rather do it himself, but as already mentioned, he was going into seclusion... His solution to this conundrum was simple; get other people to gather intel for me while I''m in seclusion, then use that intel to make decisions when Ie out. That way, Isaac would still be the one deciding the team members and it wouldn''t need to be dyed by 2 weeks. But there was still a problem: who would gather intel for Isaac? The answer to that was even easier. ************************* After 30 minutes of walking, Isaac was back in the abandoned farm area. He''d originally nned to leave the group tied up here while he was in seclusion, but now he had a better idea. He opened the door with a loud thud, making the prisoners on the floor look towards him. Their eyes with filled with terror and their bodies were in terrible states; every one of their fingers were broken and all their fingernails had been pulled out. There were alsocerations and cuts all over their bodies, burn marks on their... it''s best not to go into too much detail. The point was, they all stared at Isaac like he was Baal incarnate. "N nwo! Dwon''te weer me!" One of the men tried to speak, but he was missing a few teeth... alright, maybe it was more than just a few. Isaac ignored his desperate cries and approached anyway. He stopped a few feet in front of the group, each of whom had a rope tethering them to the wall and limiting their movement. Then he spoke, "Don''t worry, I won''t torture you anymore. In fact, I''ll even set you free," the expressions of those on the floor twisted to reveal surprise and hope, "if you do a job for me." Their excitement was dampened, but only slightly. Even if they had to do something in return, it was still a chance to avoid any future torture and get out of here. Besides, they would''ve been extremely suspicious if Isaac was letting them go without wanting anything. "The job won''t be anything dangerous, and I''ll let you go if you''re willing to ept it. We can even start with a clean te and no grudges between us, so I won''te after you again unless you do something new to antagonise me. If you''re not willing to do the job, I''ll leave you tied-up here for 3 weeks with no food and only the rusty water in that trough. Even after that, I''m not sure I''d let you walk free..." Sanna blurted out, "What''s the job?" "I need you to spend some time listening to rumours and gathering information for me. It''s a simple choice: you work for 3 weeks, or you stay here for 3 weeks and then get tortured afterwards." All 6 of Isaac''s prisoners frantically nodded their heads, "We agree, we''ll do it!" "Oh, but there are a couple more conditions. First, work properly and don''t ck off. Second, don''t disclose my identity or any details about me to anyone. Third, return the 3 reward points you stole from me before. You might think you''re safe you might think the worst I can do is torture you. But if you break my rules or try to cross me ever again, I will force you to ept a mission with me. You know what that means? It means we''ll all be together outside the sect. Once we leave the sect, I can assure you you''ll never return." The 6 of them shuddered. Torture was bad enough, but they had convinced themselves that Isaac couldn''t threaten their lives. Their despair only grew once they realised they''d already failed one of his requirements. "... S-s-sorry, sir... I''m truly sorry, we..." "Come on, spit it out!" "We don''t have your reward points anymore." "What did you spend them on?" To the group''s surprise, Isaac wasn''t angry. That eased the short man''s nerves as he answered, "A High Tide Talisman... sir." "A High Tide Talisman? Good. Bring that to me instead." Talismans were tools created by inscriptionists and were typically used inbat. Inscriptionism was a profession with simr poprity to alchemy; inscriptionists could draw runes or inscriptions using a liquid usually beast blood to achieve special effects. They could draw talismans, create arrays, or enchant items, though an inscriptionist would typically specialise in just one of those 3 fields. Arrays wereplicated systems of runes, usually set up on arge scale to defend or attack a ce. Enchantments could give an item a special function, such as making a pen write by itself, or reinforcing a shield''s durability. Talismans were consumable items that used runes to draw upon the power of their materials and create a special effect. For example, Johan had stolen some talismans when he left the Friberg family to take the trials. He hadn''t needed them then, but he''d used a defensive talisman to guard against a fatal strike from a bear during his mission with Isaac. That talisman was the Iron Guard Talisman and made the user''s skin as hard as iron at the ce they were struck. Inparison, the High Tide Talisman was of lower quality. It was a rather basic attacking talisman that created a tidal wave of water. The wave possessed the power of a Rank 1 middle stage attack and the group had bought it as a trump card, just in case they got into a sticky situation. Soon, it would be Isaac''s. After the group readily agreed to give Isaac the talisman it was bought with his money after all he untied them. "Bring me back to your house to get the talisman. Then I''ll exin your task." "Yes sir, right away." The short man seemed quite eager to impress Isaac. Maybe he was some kind of masochist who needed to be beaten up and tortured before he learnt to respect somebody. Whatever, it wasn''t any of Isaac''s business. He only cared that they got the talisman, and the man''s words gave him some assurance. If they tried to use the talisman on him after retrieving it... well, first of all it would tell him they couldn''t be trusted and they wouldn''t be able to backstab himter on. Secondly, there was no way it would work if he was expecting it. Talismans had a short dy between the point they were activated and the point they actually took effect, since the runes took a few moments to work. The better the inscriptionist, the quicker the activation time of the runes. However, only a shoddy inscriptionist would be selling talismans for 3 reward points, so Isaac would have plenty of time to stop the user while the runes were still struggling to activate. Then he really would go through with his words; he''d force the group to take a mission with him and then cleanly dispatch of them once they left the sect. Fortunately for the group, any thoughts of double-crossing Isaac were long gone. They obediently brought him home. Sanna went inside to search for the talisman and Isaac decided to do some swordsmanship practice while he waited. Soon, he was immersed in his training. Sanna had been inside for about 20 minutes, and Isaac thought something seemed suspicious. He was on the verge of going to check up on her when she walked out of the hut. When she returned, she found him practicing swordsmanship in the street. As she watched his translucent orange de dance, she was extremely thankful they decided not to fight him. After a series of precise cuts, thrusts and shes, Isaac lowered his sword arm and the de disappeared. He grabbed his coat from one of the group members and pulled it over his shoulders while walking towards Sanna. She handed him a piece of paper with intricate red drawings on it, and Isaac inspected it to check it was real. Then he stashed it in his pocket, "Good. Now, the details of your job. You will be my eyes and ears on the street for the next 3 weeks. I want you to pick up any rumours, stories, or information about the new disciples. Specifically, I want you to find people who''ve shown exceptional skills orpleted impressive feats. For the next 2 weeks, find as many of these people as you can and do some basic digging into information about them. After that, I''ll contact you so you can hand me a written report on your investiagtion. "Then I''ll update your task for the final week. And I wouldn''t try writing a fake report if I were you. There will be someone else observing your work and talking to me. If they think your performance is unsatisfactory, there will be consequences. But if things go well, you''ll never have to see me again after 3 weeks." The group all nodded. When Isaac motioned for them to leave, they turned and fled from him. Both Isaac and that cramped farmhouse would be recurring themes for their nightmares. Isaac waited for them to go, then he also left. He returned home to do one more job: destroy the future ns he''d hidden in the box under his floorboards. If his time as a captive had taught him anything, it was that notes like these could be a weakness no matter how well you hid them. If Isaac could''ve opened the box to show the group his key was meaningless, they might''ve released him earlier without him even needing to escape. He memorised the notes thoroughly, reading the important parts over 10 times each. Then he started a small fire in his firece and tossed the booklet of notes in. He prodded them around with a poker to make sure they all burnt properly, then watched as the sheets gradually turned to ash. When they were thoroughly destroyed, Isaac put the fire out. A steady ze would''ve been extremely wee during the harsh winter nights, but keeping the fire going while he slept would be too dangerous especially since he lived in a wooden house. Therefore, Isaac had to bear with the usual chilling cold when he went to bed. He could only try his best to sleep well, since it was important for entering seclusion tomorrow. Chapter 47: One Small Step Forwards Chapter 47: One Small Step Forwards Isaac woke up early the next morning to do 30 minutes of stretches and sword stances. Then he washed up and left his house with arge sack of food. Of course, the destination was his locker. He threw his pills and 2 reward points into the hemp bag he was carrying and continued onwards to the Cultivation Pagoda. The pagoda was only a 2-minute walk from the lockers, so Isaac arrived in no time. He arranged to rent a room for 2 weeks; the 4th and 5th floors were fully upied so he could only take a room on the 3rd floor. It didn''t matter too much, since there weren''t any material benefits to being on the top floors Isaac just liked the views. So while he was slightly disappointed, he didn''t pay it any mind as he walked up the stairs to the 3rd storey. He opened room 37 using the key he''d been given and walked inside. The interior was aplete replica of the room he''d had on the top floor; it seemed every room in the pagoda was decorated the same. It was a small, single-room apartment. Opposite the door was the room''s only window and there was a mattressid below it. To Isaac''s right was a couple of shelving units and a small firece for cooking, and there was nothing on his left. The walls were painted cream white with red skirting boards and red highlights where the wall met the ceiling. Other than that, the room was in and empty. Isaac stowed his food in the cupboards, then sat down on the mattress and poured out his bag of Basic Qi Pills. They rolled on the mattress like small white marbles, and Isaac had to stop some of them rolling away. When he had them all pooled in front of him, he didn''t waste time and picked one of them up. Then popped it into his mouth like a candy. He used his will to follow its journey down his oesophagus and waited until it reached his stomach. When he felt the pill begin to release Qi as it was digested, Isaac swiftly infiltrated 3 Qi strands with his will. Then he pulled them to his Qi Core and blended them with it. He''d be much more proficient at this process, especially after the previous 2 weeks of secluded cultivation. He absorbed the strands of Qi very efficiently and quickly went back to take more of them. As Isaac hungrily absorbed the pill''s Qi, his cultivation steadily grew. He kept absorbing strands of Qi and strengthening the walls of his Qi Core. As it got stronger and stronger, his core could safely hold more Qi and it was approaching thendmark of 30% full. The next day, Isaac surpassed 30%. The day after that, he was nearing 32%. On the 4th day of cultivation, Isaac hit the 33% boundary to middle stage. It waste afternoon and he was still finishing that day''s pill when he realised that, no matter how much he cultivated, his Qi Core didn''t seem to get any stronger. Isaac had already strengthened his Qi Core to the maximum that thin, lower-stage Qi could achieve. He would need to use purer Qi if he wanted to continue improving his Qi Core. In other words, he would need to strengthen his Qi Core by using the sudden surge of Qi produced by reaching middle stage. That way, he could achieve a qualitative improvement. However, it waste and a breakthrough would take a while. Plus, it would take his maximum concentration so it was best to attempt it after he was well-rested. Thinking this, Isaac stood up and stretched himself out. It was just past 5 pm right now, so it was still too early to sleep and rest up for tomorrow. Instead, he chose to do the thing that rxed him most: read. Isaac made an impulsive choice. He left his room and locked the door behind him. He descended 3 flights of stairs at high speed and left the pagoda, walking into the sect''s bustling streets. He pushed through the crowds on the street and made his way towards a quieter area. The nearest library was in a much less busy part of the sect, and Isaac quickly arrived before its ss doors. Warm light emanated from inside like a lighthouse which weed weary sailors, and Isaac didn''t hesitate to step towards that warmth. He opened the door and stepped inside. He immediately went to check the section for fantasy books, looking for the book he''d readst time he visited the library. Unfortunately, it wasn''t there. There were 3 libraries in the Rank 1 district and the one Isaac usually visited was nearly a 1 hour walk from the Cultivation Pagoda, so he chose to visit this nearby one instead. It seemed that this library didn''t have Isaac''s book or somebody had already taken it out, so Isaac had to find another one. He had a short search, then picked up a book about a swordsman with a ''void'' cultivation talent a talent so rare that all techniques for cultivating it had been lost. Of course, no such thing as a void talent existed in the real world, but Isaac still enjoyed reading a few chapters of the main character''s struggles to cultivate. He even found himselfughing a couple of times a rather rare urrence. The interactions between the swordsman and his master were just too hrious. Eventually, Isaac put the book down. He''d lost track of time and 2 hours had flown by. He needed to return to the Cultivation Pagoda if he wanted to eat dinner and get to bed early. On the plus side, he was supremely rxed after his reading session. Reading was like a heavy rain: it washed away Isaac''s concerns, schemes andplicated thoughts, leaving his mind fresh and clear. Isaac left the library in this peak state of mind. He did exactly as he had nned to, returning to his room in the pagoda and eating dinner before he went to bed early. The next morning, he awoke in his dark, quiet room. However, even in the morning gloom, his eyes shone with confidence. He washed his face with a bucket of water one of the pagoda employees had brought up, then he went back to the mattress and sat down. He closed his eyes and sank into a state of calm concentration. Then he maintained that for 30 minutes, making sure his mind was clear of any doubt or hesitation. When he was absolutely sure he was ready, Isaac began. He focused on his will, mustering as much of it as possible and bringing it all to his Qi Core. His willpower enveloped his Qi Core,pletely surrounding it. Then it passed through, entering the core from all directions. Isaac''s will slowly contracted around the liquid Qi which filled up a third of the core. Then, he began topress the Qi, trying to make it denser and purer. The Qi resisted and pushed against his will, but Isaac''s willpower was too strong. He forced the puddle of Qi to get smaller and smaller, denser and denser. As he did so, thepressed Qi began to emit a cloud of steam. These were the impurities in Isaac''s Qi which were being forced out by thepression. Isaac had to split his will into 2 parts; he used the first portion to continuepressing the liquid Qi, while the second part went to trap the steam. He couldn''t let his Qi Core absorb these impurities, so he had to extract them using his will. The cloud of steam continued to grow as Isaacpressed the liquid Qi. Soon he wouldn''t be able to contain all of it. He needed to siphon some of it away before that happened. Isaac couldn''t split his will again: performing 2 tasks at once was his limit. He had to change the shape of the will containing the steam, forming a funnel shape which pointed upwards. The base of the funnel caught all the steam which was trying to rise, while the funnel''s spout pointed through the top of Isaac''s core. A steady stream of impurity steam moved through the funnel and up the spout. As it passed through the walls of Isaac''s Qi Core, it automatically tried to bind to it, but Isaac used the funnel of will to block it and force it onwards. This way, he managed to force a constant flow of steam out of his Qi Core and deal with the steam produced bypressing his liquid Qi. He continued to maintain this state he didn''t know for how long. Gradually, the liquid Qi became morepact and the amount of steam being emitted began to decrease. Isaac could see something forming in the middle of his liquid Qi. It looked like several tiny blue crystals were being created at densest points of Qi. As thepression continued, the crystals didn''t get any bigger, but they slowly became a deeper shade of blue and more of them were produced. Then, the crystals began to be more solid. However, Isaac couldn''t let that happen. The crystals were the purest, mostpressed part of his Qi and he needed to absorb them into his Qi Core to strengthen it to middle stage. If they becamepletely solid, his Qi Core wouldn''t be able to absorb them and the breakthrough would fail. Isaac had already expelled the steam of impurities and the liquid Qi wasn''t producing any more, so he was free to use the other portion of his will. He moved it towards the ball ofpressed liquid Qi and inspected all the crystals. When he felt one was about to be solid, he quickly pulled it out of the liquid before that could happen. The crystal was slightly soft and gel-like. Isaac spread it like a paste on the wall of his Qi Core and tried to absorb it. The paste seeped into the wall of his core, filling any gaps in its surface and strengthening it. Isaac made sure the crystal had been fully absorbed. Then he moved his will away and watched for more crystals which were about to be too solid. When he saw one, he would whisk it away and spread it on a different part of his Qi Core. After absorbing over 100 tiny crystals, the pool of liquid Qi was almostpletely gone. In fact, there was only a single drop left. Eventually, even thatst droplet condensed into a crystal, which Isaac dutifully spread on the wall of his core. There was no loud bang or shy special event, just an empty Qi Core with much stronger walls. Isaac''s breakthrough to middle stage wasplete. Chapter 48: New Capabilities Chapter 48: New Capabilities Isaac opened his eyes and happiness glinted within his icy pupils. He stood up and spent a minute stretching his stiff limbs, then he went to his cupboard and grabbed arge amount of food. Suddenly, he stopped himself. ''Right, I still need to cultivateter so I can''t eat now. I didn''t eat breakfast either, so I''ll need to eat a huge dinner... I''m famished right now. Actually, what time is it? If it''s already night-time, I might as well eat since there''s no time to cultivate.'' Isaac put the food back into the cupboards and walked over to the window. When he opened it, he could see the sun setting in the west; it must''ve been about 1pm. Since there was plenty of time left to cultivate, Isaac could only sigh and give up on eating lunch. He closed the window and sat back down on the mattress, but he didn''t start cultivating immediately. Instead, he considered the benefits of reaching middle stage and what he should do next. ''My Qi Core''s empty right now, so I''ll have to wait for it to fill naturally. When it does fill up, my Qi will be purer and slightly more powerful, so any Anima I use will experience a minor boost in strength.'' If an Anima was like an engine, Qi was its fuel. Using Rank 1 lower stage fuel was like trying to power your engine with vegetable oil: it might work, but the fuel would be hard to burn, and produce a sub-optimal result. Then, Rank 1 middle stage would be like a better brand of oil. It might burn a bit more smoothly and produce a slightly better effect, but it wouldn''t be too different. Upper stage would be like using even better oil, and then Rank 2 would be like using a different fuel entirely: stages were small improvements, while a rank was a huge leap in quality. When Isaac advanced, he''d refined each of his main 12 meridian points using 3 blue crystals. They would still automatically absorb atmospheric Qi to fill Isaac''s Qi Core, but now the process was different. It hadn''t got any quicker in fact, it had be slightly slower. However, his meridians could now filter Qi to make it slightly purer. That meant his Qi Core would always fill up with middle stage Qi instead of lower stage Qi. The process of meditation would also change now. Going back to the example of fuel, atmospheric Qi was like the lowest quality vegetable oil that you''d use at lower stage. Middle stage cultivators like Isaac could absorb it, but they usually wouldn''t. It would be much more beneficial to strengthen the walls of their Qi Core with purer middle stage Qi. That would give them a stronger foundation and increase their chances of future breakthroughs. Since directly absorbing ambient Qi was a no-go, an extra step was needed. Isaac had to take a moment to filter Qi when he brought it through one of his meridian points. However, that filtering process meant Isaac''s cultivation would be slightly slower than before. Absorbing pills was the same; Isaac would have to channel the pill''s Qi through his stomach meridian and filter it before he absorbed it. Despite theseplications, the overall strength of a middle stage cultivator was significantly better than a lower stage one. This was partly because of the boost to their Anima''s power, but it was also for another very important reason: they could own more Anima. Just like all creatures, Anima needed food, and their food was Qi. Normally, Anima would live in ces with high ambient Qi so they always had enough for sustenance, but that changed once somebody refined the Anima and came to own it. They would bring it to all different kinds of ces, many of which would not have enough Qi to feed the Anima. This was why, after being refined, Anima needed to dwell in a cultivator''s body: the cultivator could supply them a small but constant stream of Qi. This stream wasparativelyrge for some Anima and small for others, but whatever its size, it never exceeded the cultivator''s natural rate of recovery. The amount of Qi an Anima consumed per second under normal circumstances was referred to as its ''idle consumption''. Rank 1 lower stage cultivators had a high natural rate of recovery, but their Qi was impure and they could only support the idle consumption of 2-3 Anima depending on their consumptions. Of course, this was also considering that total idle consumption had to be slightly lower than natural recovery rate, otherwise the cultivator would never be able to recover their Qi (unless they wasted resources to do so). Compared to a lower stage cultivator, a middle stage''s natural recovery was slightly slower but their Qi was purer, so it could support the idle consumption of 3-5 Anima. Then, an upper stage cultivator could own 4-7 Anima of their own rank depending on which Anima they chose. Of course, there were some Anima with extremely low (or no) idle consumption, and some with excessively high consumption, but those were exceedingly rare and could only be considered exceptions to the rule. For Isaac, his Spirit Sword Anima had a rather low idle consumption while the Snowshoe Anima''s was above average. Even if he was still lower stage, he could''ve got another Anima, but it would''ve reduced his natural recovery to a snail''s pace. Now that he was at middle stage, he couldfortably fit more Anima. This would widen the repertoire of things he could do and infinitely increase his possibilities in battle. But that was if he could afford one... which he definitely couldn''t. This meant he''d broken through to middle stage but couldn''t take advantage of its greatest benefit. He had a lot of things on his te right now: finish secluded cultivation, create a team, catch the eye of a good faction, prepare for the neers'' tournament which was inching ever closer, and find a way to try and increase his talent. Now, acquiring his 3rd and possibly 4th Anima had joined that list. However, what was in front of him right now took priority. He still had 10 Basic Qi Pills, 9 days left in the room after today, and many hours to continue cultivating now. Isaac picked up one of the pills in front of him, popped it into his mouth and entered meditation. ************************* 9 days passed like a sh. Well, not for Isaac it didn''t. It was over a week of continuous effort and cultivation for him; I mean it passed like a sh for you. Isaac had already finished cultivating. He was packing up the remaining food he hadn''t eaten and getting ready to leave. It had been a sessful period of seclusion: he''d broken through to middle stage, then used thosest 10 Basic Qi Pills to strengthen his Qi Core until it could be 42.9% full. To put that in perspective, he''d used 10 Basic Qi Pills and progressed from 33.3% to 42.9%, an improvement of 9.6%. When Isaac had gone into seclusion the first time, he''d progressed by 13.3% with every 10 Basic Qi Pills: it was already clear how much slower cultivation was in middle stage. However, that was thew of cultivation: the higher you got, the harder it became. Isaac already knew this, so it didn''t discourage him one bit. In fact, he was only motivated to keep pushing through the difficulty and hardships: he thrived on adversity for what others would deem difficult, he would only see as a challenge. He packed his things, content with the step he''d taken in his cultivation journey. Then he headed home with his near-empty bag of food, walking under the moonlight. He was bathed in light, as if the moon was calling him, but he quickly shrugged off that feeling. The moon didn''t need to call him he would find a way to soar through those boundless skies by himself. Chapter 49: Fresh Orders Chapter 49: Fresh Orders Then Isaac shook his head and brushed aside his daydreams of hurtling through the sky on a flying sword. He was getting too far ahead of himself: right now he was still a young cultivator in middle stage with mediocre talent; there was a long way to go before he reached that level. More importantly, there was a lot of work to do before he reached that level and he couldn''t lose sight of the smaller, less mourous things he would have to do to get there. For example, practice lots of it. The Spirit Sword Anima was just like a normal sword with some small differences, so Isaac hadn''t encountered any problems wielding it. However, most Anima required extensive practice to use properly. For example, Johan''s Ice Fragment Anima was easy to use but hard to master; it would take several years of aiming practice to do so. In fact, Johan could only use it somewhat well because he''d trained with other ranged weapons before. On the other hand, Isaac had never experienced anything like the Snowshoe Anima. Using it would be an entirely new experience and it would take him a while to get used to, let alone be proficient with. That meant he had to be dedicated and spend a lot of time practicing with it, but time was something he didn''t have right now. He needed to organise the creation of his team. In fact, he needed to speak to Sanna''s group tomorrow and see which potential candidates they''d discovered. He also needed to do some physical training to get his body back to a peak state after barely moving during 2 weeks of seclusion. And after that, his locker expired in 11 days so he would have to collect the 2 reward points he kept in it. He didn''t dare keep them since they''d likely be stolen, so he would need to exchange them for more pills and spend another 2 days cultivating them. All in all, he had a lot of things to do and not much time. If you wanted to look even further into the future, there was also the neers'' tournament in less than 2 months and it would be best to prepare in advance. Since Isaked time to practice with his Snowshoe Anima, he would have to create some. Learning to use the Snowshoe Anima would exponentially increase hisbat strength, evasion skills and ability to escape from danger, so it was a priority task. Therefore, Isaac decided to slightly postpone picking his team members. He made his way back home for the first time in a while and found his house was still as messy as ever. He still hadn''t cleared up after Sanna''s group trashed it. Thankfully, he''d at least cleaned the dirt and muck off of his bed so he coulde in and immediately lie down, ready to go to sleep. He drifted off within a minute he was mentally exhausted from cultivating and pushing his will to the limit for 2 weeks. Luckily, sleep was an effective form of recovery for any kind of mental fatigue, including exhausted willpower. Isaac slept like a baby that night and woke upte the next day. He ate breakfast at a leisurely pace and left his house just before midday. The sun was high in the sky, but Isaac couldn''t see it through the thickyers of cloud. It was also snowing quite heavily, which pleased Isaac since it meant he could practice with his Snowshoe Animater. For now, though, he was on the way to Sanna''s house. It was the main meeting point for the group of 6, but Isaac also knew the other members'' addresses so they couldn''t hide from him by staying in one of their houses instead. The members all knew this, so they had simply epted their fate and decided to do their job instead of running from Isaac. Isaac arrived at the house and waited outside for a while he knew the group would return to get lunch soon. At around 12:15, he saw a group of 6 people walking down the street towards him and chatting. They were all talking andughing, so none of them saw him leaning against the doorway. When they got closer, Sanna looked up and spotted Isaac. She froze for a moment and stopped in her tracks, but then she quickly recovered her senses. She nudged the man next to her and whispered something to him, then she said something to the whole group but Isaac was too far away to hear. They walked towards Isaac together not confident, but also not showing the signs of fear they had when they saw himst. It seemed that time was indeed the best medicine for anything; even trauma. The group still carried injuries to remind them of Isaac''s short torture session, but those memories had grown less vivid and painful over thest 2 weeks. Isaac believed the group still feared him; it would be difficult not to after what he did to them. But he wouldn''t put it past them to try and cross him again if the rewards were great enough, which is why he decided to never trust them too much. He decided that if anyone else chose to attack him, he would make a public example out of them and try to establish a reputation for being ruthless to his enemies. It might be lesss effective than having a faction back him up, but a reputation for being cruel and cold-hearted would still deter groups from targeting him. Then groups such as this would have second thoughts about getting revenge or attacking him, and he wouldn''t need to worry about getting ambushed as often. Since that was the case, he would get them to spread some bait as part of their new task, "What are you waiting for? I''m a busy man, so let''s go inside and get this over with." Sanna nodded respectfully and went to unlock the door, "Of course. We won''t take up too much of your time." Then she held the door open, and Isaac entered first. Sanna walked in behind him, and the rest of the group followed. When they were inside, Isaac chose not to sit down; the meeting wouldn''tst long. He turned to face the group and spoke, "Hand me the report you''ve written." Sanna beckoned for Christian to fetch the report, "We''ve finished the work you''ve asked of us, and we''ve done it well. We''re happy to help you for one more week, and then I hope we can part ways on good terms, or at least on better terms than we met under." Sanna''s goal was to act respectfully and avoid offending Isaac again, but to also avoid being too servile. If the group did everything Isaac asked without any objections, he would think they had no backbone. Then he might take advantage of their spinelessness and keep making them do jobs for him even after 3 weeks were up. For this reason, Sanna had told her group to not be excessively obedient or call Isaac things like ''sir''. Isaac realised her intention and was a little disappointed. It would be helpful if he had a small group like this to do his dirty work, but Sanna was trying to cut off their attachment as soon as possible. If he put in some time and effort, he could create leverage with the group and force them to obey him, but that was more trouble than it was worth. The benefits would be minimal and it would be better to focus his efforts on more important endeavours. Therefore, Sanna won this quick and silent battle of intent. Isaac didn''t say anything as he took the small notebook Sanna was holding. He flicked through the pages and checked how much of the notebook was full. Then he pocketed it and spoke quickly, "I want you to do more in-depth digging into some of these people, but I need time to read the report and pick who. I''lle backter and give you a few names to find more information on. In the meantime, I want you to spread rumours that I just sold a rare herb for 4 reward points and that I live in house 17 in block 3 of the neer amodation." Sanna and the others were confused but they didn''t question Isaac''s decision. They didn''t care what rumour Isaac wanted them to spread so long as it didn''t have any negative impact on themselves. In fact, they were d Isaac was attracting trouble. They still hated him very much, so they hoped he would court death even more. The group would be extremely happy to spread these types of rumours and Isaac knew it, so he gave the job to them. He''d already said he woulde backter, so there was nothing more to say or do now. He''d already given his orders, so he walked past the group of 6 and left without saying another word. Chapter 50: Undergoing Practice and Making Arrangements Chapter 50: Undergoing Practice and Making Arrangements Isaac went straight from Sanna''s house to the training ground. It was mostly empty due to the heavy snow, but that didn''t bother Isaac he loved the cold weather. As the snow painted his coat white, he walked past the wooden dummies that disciples could practice with. He made his way to the corner of the training field and stood where the 2 wooden fences met. Then, he sent some Qi to his Snowshoe Anima and activated it. He felt the snow below him suddenly shift. It crept over his feet and up his legs, covering his boots and ankles. To an onlooker, it might seem like he was wearing a pair of high-top boots made from snow. Isaac remained still for a few seconds just to make sure the Anima was fully activated and nothing else would happen. Then he tried using it to move. However, working out how to use the Anima took a few attempts: first Isaac walked around, hoping the Anima would automatically activate when he moved. However, nothing happened. Next, he tried standing in one spot and just leaning in different directions, hoping the Anima would carry him in that direction. For the first handful of tries, nothing happened. But then, on one of his leans, he juddered forwards. Isaac quickly straightened his body and he stopped moving. Then he wondered why he didn''t move the first few times but had moved just then. He experimented a bit more and soon discovered the reason. If he leant with just his upper body, nothing would happen. When he had leant such that his heels hade off of the ground, then he would move forwards. After some more trial and error, Isaac realised he didn''t have to lean at all the only thing which mattered was how he moved his feet. If he stood on the balls of his feet and raised his heels off the floor, he''d move forwards. If he stood on the backs of his feet and raised his toes off the floor, he''d move backwards. If he stood on the right sides of his feet and raised the left side off the floor, he''d go right. You get the picture. While he was testing all of this, Isaac tried to stand on his tip-toes. He immediately went careering into the wooden fence in front of him. It seemed that the extent to which you lifted a part of your foot decided how fast you would move. Just raising his heels slightly would cause him to move forward at walking speed, whilst lifting his heels as high as possible had propelled him into the fence at an undesirable velocity. Isaac moved to a more open area of the training field and continued to practice. He worked on going forwards, backwards and sideways at moderate speeds. The Anima could be used to go in any direction, not just these 4, but Isaac wanted to get the basics down before he attempted anything else. Unfortunately, he didn''t have time to finish training the basic motions. It was nearly 2 pm and Isaac still hadn''t eaten lunch yet. He also needed to read Sanna''s written report and pick some people for her group to investigate further. Therefore, he left the training grounds and headed home. Back at his house, he picked up some of the logs which were littered around his house and started a fire. While the fire grew, he used some of the food that was left over from seclusion and prepared a meal. When the fire was fully aze, he popped the food on a tray positioned above it and left it to cook. While it was cooking, Isaac fished Sanna''s notebook out of his inside coat pocket. He sat down near the fire and opened the book. The first page had a list of names and numbers in very neat handwriting. The name was obviously a person who they''d investigated and the number was the page number that person was on. Isaac quickly identified the names which had more than 1 page of information on them and flicked through the pocketbook to find them. The first one was Niks Aalto, a man who supposedly defeated 20 thieves who were trying to steal his hunting loot. Unfortunately, he used a ranged attacking Anima. Isaac already had Johan providing ranged support and having 2 ranged attackers on a team of 4 wouldn''t work. Isaac briefly considered trying to recruit this guy and create a team without Johan, but he believed he could still reap some benefits from knowing someone in the Friberg family. And it wasn''t like Johan himself was useless no, he was also a man of many talents. Even if Niks was better inbat, he wasn''t outstanding enough for Isaac to kick Johan out of the team. In fact, Isaac didn''t think there were any neers wielding ranged Anima who were good enough for him to give up on the benefits that having Johan provided. Even if such a skilled ranged support did exist, they would probably create their own team instead of joining Isaac''s. After thinking this, Isaac skipped past anyone who used a ranged Anima. He read about a few more candidates, then he went to get his fully-cooked lunch and continued reading while he ate. In the end, he settled on 12 people who could potentially join his team. A couple of them had rtivelyplete information, but most only had vague rumours written about them in the notebook. Isaac couldn''t choose a long-term teammate based on one or two rumours, so he decided to have Sanna''s group investigate these people. He''d also promised to consult Johan about potential team members, but Isaac decided to conveniently forget about that promise. It would be much better if he chose the team on his own. Therefore, he circled the 12 names in the notebook and put it in his pocket. Then he hopped out of his window, strolled down the street right past Johan''s house, and headed towards Sanna''s ce. Nobody was there when he arrived. They were evidently out on the streets, spreading the rumour he''d asked them to. However, Isaac couldn''t wait here all day and he also didn''t want to waste time bying backter. Since there was nobody here to wee him, he decided to let himself in. He walked around to the side of the house where there was a row of 3 windows. The windows all had shutters with locks, but Isaac had a sword with a very sharp edge. In a contest between the 2, there was only one winner. Isaac''s spirit sword shed through the wooden shutter before him. Surprisingly, the shutter didn''t fall apart immediately; it still sat proudly in the window frame even with a long cut down the middle. However, now it was more of a decoration than a method to prevent thieves entering. Isaac aimed a couple of kicks at the shutters and the wood buckled and broke. He climbed through the broken shutter and entered Sanna''s house. The first thing he did was leave the notebook on Sanna''s table. Then he found a piece of paper and wrote a note to go with it, ''There are 12 names circled in the notebook. Do more in-depth investigations into all of them, but prioritise Noah Jensen, Eva Damsgaard, Abbie Ibsen and Hayden Stromberg. Hans will continue to watch your progress, so do not put a foot wrong.'' Other than Hans, who was the imaginary person the group thought was watching them, the other 4 names were Isaac''s top candidates to join his team. Isaac needed somebody to defend the team and another close-range fighter to join him, so he''d picked a 1st and 2nd choice for each position. Other than those 4 people, there were the other 8 people who Isaac either didn''t have enough information on or didn''t think were quite good enough to be in his top 2. He would only fall back on those guys if both his choices for that position rejected him or couldn''t be found. After writing the note and cing it next to the notebook, Isaac decided it wouldn''t hurt to have a look around. He did a brief top-to-bottom search of Sanna''s house, but he could only find 3 iron pieces. He obviously pocketed them, then he hopped out of the window and tried to put the broken shutters back in a somewhat convincing position. He didn''t want somebody else toe along, see the open window and decide to rob the house, since they''d probably move his note and the notebook. After putting the broken shutters back in ce, Isaac left. He went back to the training ground so he could practice with his Snowshoe Anima. The Qi he used up during his earlier practice was mostly recovered, so he could work on his forwards, backwards, andteral movement for a long while. Isaac didn''t want topletely exhaust his Qi since he would need to defend himself if he was ambushed. When he finally got down to about 7% Qi, he decided to stop practicing and go home. He thought about the need to quicken his growth speed on the way back. Taking missions was the quickest and most reliable way to earn resources, but Isaac had always been restricted by his solitary nature. He couldn''t find a group of people with simr capabilities to him, so he had been confined to taking easier missions, or missions for only 1 or 2 people which typically had lower rewards. Most of the difficult missions were suited for 4 or more people, and these were the missions that Isaac wanted to take but couldn''t. However, soon he would lead a team and he would be able to take these missions. Perhaps that would grant him another spike in his growth speed... Chapter 51: Putting the Hours In Chapter 51: Putting the Hours In Isaac put those thoughts to the back of his mind and focused more on his surroundings. Thankfully he wasn''t ambushed on his way home and he got back safely. The next day, Isaac didn''t wake up too early. His will was still exhausted so sleep was essential. When he did wake up, he got ready quickly and went straight to the training grounds. Including today, he had 6 days to wholeheartedly train with his Snowshoe Anima and he was determined to achieve his goal in that time: learn to move in every direction with satisfactory control over his speed. In the morning, Isaac continued the same practice as yesterday; moving forwards, backwards and sideways. These the easiest but most important movements to learn, so he spent extra time making sure they were perfect. Just after midday, Isaac left the training ground to go and eat lunch. Then he returned in the afternoon to work on his diagonal movement. This was harder since Isaac had to put his weight on just a corner of his foot. It made it difficult for Isaac to keep his bnce while moving, but bnce and agility were 2 of Isaac''s strengths. He stumbled and faultered a few times, but he soon got the hang of it. By the end of the day, Isaac could move somewhat smoothly in 8 directions. The next day, Isaac was at the training grounds even earlier. He spent 20 minutes training what he learnt yesterday, then he decided to practice something new. He tried moving in random directions. At first, it was very difficult and Isaac fell over a couple of times. After many more attempts, he started to adapt to using all the different parts of his foot. After several hours of practice, Isaac could move slowly in most directions, but he would asionally stumble. Practicing took up a decent amount of Qi, and Isaac had nearly run out on several asions. Just now, it had fallen to 7% once again. Usually Isaac would practice with a wooden sword while he waited for his Qi to recover, but now he decided it was time for lunch. He went home, ate, then came right back. He spent the rest of the day continuing to practice. With each stumble or mistake, he learnt which parts of his technique to correct. With each hour of work, he moved with more fluidity. With each new improvement, his capabilities grew. Eventually, Isaac had to head home. He was reluctant to leave since the feeling of constant improvement was quite addictive, but he knew he coulde back tomorrow. And indeed, he dide back the next day. It wasn''t snowing today, but yesterday''s snow would take a long time to melt so the ground was still covered in snow. Just like before, Isaac activated the Snowshoe Anima and snow covered his boots. Then he picked a random direction and angled his feet towards it. The snow carried him in that direction at a jog-like pace, then Isaac pressed his feet t to the ground again and he stopped. Next, Isaac picked a different direction and tried moving that way. He continued to train by moving in random directions for the rest of that day. By the day''s end, he felt much morefortable using the Snowshoe Anima and was feeling satisfied with his progress as he headed home. When he got home, he saw arge amount of damage had been done to his front door and one of his windows. It seemed that somebody had tried to break in, but the window and door survived the attempt the boards and fastener Isaac used to seal his door obviously worked. To be honest, Isaac wouldn''t care even if the thief seeded. His house had nothing valuable in it and it was already a mess. Isaac ignored the attempted robbery as if it never happened and unlocked the window he always used as an entrance. Then he stepped through it into his house and went to make dinner. He ate, then went to bed. ************************* Isaac woke up bright and early the next day. His exhausted will waspletely recovered and he didn''t feel the mental fatigue he''d been experiencing thest few days. With that load lifted off of his mind, he headed to the training grounds early in the morning. For thest 3 days he''d practiced standing in a stationary position, then using the Snowshoe Anima to move, then stopping again. Now he feltfortable doing that, so it was time to try something different. Isaac decided to attempt changing direction. He started moving one way, then he adjusted the positioning of his feet and tried going in the opposite direction. He fell over immediately. It was already difficult to bnce while moving, so bncing while changing directions was even harder. When Isaac changed directions, he had to shift his body weight very quickly and very precisely while standing on only a small part of his foot. It was very tricky to do this whilst also experiencing a sharp switch in directions which destabilised his bnce. Therefore, Isaac''s first set of attempts all resulted in him falling. But every time he fell, he picked himself up, brushed the snow off of himself, and tried again. Eventually, with a lot of persistence and effort, Isaac managed to change directions without falling over. Things became much easier after seeding once. He simply tried to replicate what he did before and soon he seeded again. Isaac kept going. Despite continuing to fall a lot, he grew better and better at changing directions. By lunchtime, his sess rate was still low but at least he could do it sometimes. Of course Isaac wasn''t satisfied with this result. He rushed home to eat lunch and came back to the training ground as soon as possible. Then he got back to working on his direction changes. He did that for the rest of the day, then he went back home to sleep. The next day, he returned to the training grounds and continued working on changing directions. Isaac spent the whole day practicing changing directions. Then he came back the next day and did the same thing. After 3 days of working on direction changes, Isaac could do a 90 degree turn without losing his bnce. In fact, he wouldn''t fall over even if he did a sudden 180; he would only stumble a little. Isaac had easily surpassed what he''d expected to achieve over this 6 day training period. When he went back home, he even treated himself to some bear meat since he was so satisfied with his progress. Unfortunately, Isaac couldn''t continue to practice with the Snowshoe Anima. Today was thest day Sanna''s group would be helping him, so tomorrow he had to collect the intel they''d gathered and then go to find some team members. He polished off thest of his delicious meal, then went to sleep. When he woke up, he went straight to Sanna''s house. He could see lighting from under her door, so he knew she was still in. He knocked hard, and she opened the door quickly as if she had been expecting him, "Come in. I''ve got the final report prepared and you can ask me about any details you''re not sure of." "I don''t think that''ll be necessary. If you can provide me the report, I''ll leave and we''ll never see each other again." Internally, Sanna gave a huge sigh of relief. Dealing with Isaac was both tiresome and scary. She had to be extremely careful to be polite but not servile, and it was exhausting to constantly keep her behaviour in line. Especially since she hated Isaac so much. Inviting him inside was just a polite formality, and she never expected him to ept anyway. She dly retrieved a notebook and handed it to Isaac, then watched gleefully as he left. Isaac took the notebook back to his house. It was the same notebook Sanna had given him previously, except for some new information written in the back. There were 16 new pages of writing: 2 pages for each of Isaac''s 4 main choices, then a page each for the other 8 backups. It didn''t take Isaac long to skim read through all the information, and he was rather dissatisfied with Sanna''s information-gathering ability. Most of the important information was there, but many helpful details were missing. For example, they''d investigated all the rumours about Hayden Stromberg, but they hadn''t found where he lived or whether he was already in a group. This meant Isaac had enough information to pick which teammates he wanted, but he might struggle to find them. Oh well. That was a problem he could solveter. For now, he read the report again. However, he spent more time on each page and took time to think about how suitable each candidate was. He didn''t just care about how strong each person was. He also needed his teammates to havepatible personalities andplimentary skillsets which covered for each other''s weaknesses. Isaac carefully considered how each person would fit with him and Johan when he read through the notebook. After nearly an hour of contemtion, he came to a decision. Chapter 52: Hunting For Talent Chapter 52: Hunting For Talent Out of Isaac''s first 4 choices, all of them would be great for his team. They were all good inbat and also possessed a set of auxiliary skills which would help in other areas. However, Isaac felt there was one standout candidate. Hayden Stromberg was supposedly extremely skilled with the Ice Shield Anima. He also had incredible survival skills, and there was a story about him surviving a whole week in the wild with no supplies. That might not sound like a big deal, but Northern Tundra had the harshest environment out of the 4 continents. It was filled with dangerous animals, had disastrous weather, and was incredibly difficult to navigate through. Surviving a week in Northern Tundra was harder than surviving a week in the desert, so it was quite an achievement. Other than that, there was another rumour saying Hayden hade 9th in the trials. Isaac could confirm this was true, since he''d written down the names of everyone who ced in the top 20. Somebody with Hayden''s skillset would be a wee addition to Isaac''s team, so he decided to recruit Hayden first. However, he had limited information about Hayden''s location. The only thing written in the notebook was about a fight he had been in. He''d used his ice shield to batter 3 people who tried to rob him. ording to the report, the fight had happened in one of alleyways which connected streets 8 and 9 in block 3 of the neer amodation. Isaac realised that this was near his house. In fact, it was only a few streets away. Isaac wondered why Hayden might go through that street. He either lived nearby, was visiting someone who lived nearby, or was just passing through. Isaac quickly removed thest possibility. There was no need to pass through the neer amodation if you were headed for the market, the Adventurers'' Hall, or any of the other important ces in the sect. The only thing in that area was the amodation itself, so Hayden must''ve been going home or to somebody else''s house. That gave Isaac a good chance of finding Hayden in that area. Thinking this, he decided to go to the street in question. He left his house and walked down a few streets. It took less than 5 minutes to reach the street mentioned in the notebook. When he was there, Isaac decided he needed some more information. ''If Hayden or one of his friends lives near here, the other residents might recognise him. I can try asking around to see if anyone knows where he lives.'' Isaac wanted to try a bit of door-to-door questioning. He walked up to the house on the corner of the street and knocked on the door. A minuteter, it was opened by a woman with a frown etched across her face, "Whadda you want?" "Sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you knew or had seen a man named Hayden Stromberg? He''s got raven ck eyes and hair, is somewhere between 5''6 and 5''8 tall, and usually wears a white coat made from arctic fox fur." "Whatever, man. Quit wastin'' my time." The woman tried to shut the door in Isaac''s face, but he used his foot to stop her closing it. Then he grabbed the edge of the door and wrenched it wide open. The woman had no time to react as Isaac created a spirit sword and pointed it directly at her. She was shocked at this sudden turn of events and the curse she was about to utter caught in her throat. "Answer the question." Isaac spoke in a low, menacing voice. He''d only started out polite since he was asking for some help. However, the woman just took his courteousness as a sign that he was weak in the world of cultivation, the strong went where they wanted, they did what they wanted, and they took what they wanted. If you had to ask politely for something, it was a sign you weren''t strong enough to take it with your own 2 hands. Therefore, many people tried to walk on those who were kind and polite. The woman didn''t expect Isaac to do anything after she rejected him. She had mistaken him for a kind, polite person who would ept it and leave peacefully. However, Isaac was not a kind person. He was only polite since he felt that would make people more likely to help him, but since that failed, he would simply resort to violence. As usual, the most direct approach was also the most effective. The woman opened her mouth and began giving Isaac some answers, "Okay, okay! Calm down man, I dunno anyone like that. People pass by here every day, I dun'' remember all of ''em." It was clear the woman didn''t fear Isaac. She only answered because answering Isaac was easier than fighting him, but that didn''t mean she would cooperate fully. For all Isaac knew, she could be lying about never seeing Hayden so he would leave and not bother her with more questions. "I''m not here to y games. If you give me an honest answer, I''ll just leave." "I''m tellin'' the truth either I ain''t seen him or I jus'' don''t remember him. I got no reason ta lie to ya, so can get rid of the sword and back off?" Isaac thought about it for a moment. ''Perhaps she really hasn''t seen Hayden... could my guess be wrong? Was he really just passing through this area? No, that''s unlikely. There''s no reason to pass through here unless you either live here or are visiting someone that does. If she doesn''t recognise Hayden, he probably doesn''te here that often, so he probably doesn''t live here. It''s more likely that hees here infrequently, probably visiting someone... but who would he visit? ''He wouldn''t be visiting a friend: we got to pick our residences, so he probably lives right next to all his friends. If he''sing over here to visit somebody, it''s probably a person he met after we chose our residences someone he met after bing a formal disciple. He also brought his hunting loot with him when he visited them, which means he trusts them not to steal it. But how could he trust someone he only met recently? Besides, this is a Blood Path Sect; you can''t trust the people you''ve known for years, let alone somebody you met a month ago! Why would you do that? It just doesn''t make sense! Unless... maybe he joined a team already!'' There needed to be a good amount of trust between teammates, so this was the only usible answer Isaac could think of. Hayden must''ve just returned from a solo-hunt and wasing to meet up with his teammates when he got ambushed here. Then he defeated his ambushers and went on to his teammate''s house. After solving this minor mystery, Isaac asked the woman another question, "Are there any notable teams based around here?" "Will you leave me alone if I answer?" "Yes." "There''s three main teams ''round here: Erik Baldur''s team, Soren Arne''s team I think they call themselves the Silverhawks or summin'' stupid like that and Ingrid Fjelde''s team." Isaac had never heard of thest 2, but he definitely recognised Erik''s name. He''d been in the same trial as Erik and they''d had a couple of run-ins, but they''d barely met each other after that. However, he knew Erik had done extremely well in the academy and was one of the most sessful new disciples. Just as Isaac was renowned for his skill with the sword, Erik was known for his extreme talent in hand-to-handbat. Any team formed by Erik Baldur was sure to be an extraordinary team, and an outstanding cultivator such as Hayden would fit right in. Therefore, Isaac was sure he had joined Erik, instead of teaming up with one of those other nobodies. "Do you know where anyone in Erik''s team lives?" "Didn''t ya promise to leave if I answered that question?" Isaac slightly lowered his sword as he said, "This is thest question. Just answer it." "Haaah... I dunno about his team, but Erik''s a high-profile guy. He lives just 3 doors down from here... Oh! Now that ya mention it, I kinda remember this guy with a white fur coat always going in there. I think... he usually came from that direction? I ain''t sure tho." The woman pointed down the street to her left. Then Isaac deactivated his Spirit Sword Anima and the sword in his hand vanished. He dropped his guard a little, just about to thank the woman. "Ahhh!" The woman leapt forwards and Isaac jolted back, trying to dodge her sudden lunge. He created a new spirit sword and was about to sh towards her, but then he stopped. "Ahahaha! Hahahaha... *Cough* *Cough* Ahahaha!" The woman was standing there,ughing. "Tha look on yer face was priceless. Priceless I tell ya! Just take it as payback for wastin'' all my time wit'' stupid questions." Isaac didn''t pay her antics any mind. She''d given him what he needed, so she could mess around however she wanted Isaac couldn''t care less about her. Right now, he had bigger fish to fry: he was about to steal Erik''s teammate. Isaac walked in the direction the woman had pointed. He walked down the street for about 3 minutes beforeing to a stop and knocking on another door. "Sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you knew or had seen a man named Hayden Stromberg? " Isaac repeated the same spiel he''d given the first woman, but the person in this house was much more helpful. They knew exactly who Hayden was and Isaac didn''t need to threaten them to get some answers. In fact, they told Isaac exactly where Hayden lived. 1 minuteter, Isaac was standing outside Hayden''s door. *Knock* *Knock* *Knock* Chapter 53: Planting a Dangerous Seed Chapter 53: nting a Dangerous Seed The door swung open and Isaac was faced by a man with pitch ck eyes. His hair which was also ck was medium length and covered his forehead, but it was wellbed and tidily kept. His skin was pale as snow and his coat was made from the white fur of arctic foxes. He stared at Isaac for a second, then spoke, "Well? What are you knocking on my door for?" "Can Ie inside and talk? I''d like to discuss something with you." "I apologise, but I don''t have time for useless things. I''m going to need you to leave." Isaac stopped him just as he was about to shut the door, "Just wait a minute and hear me out you won''t lose anything just from listening to me. I have a job and I think you''re the right man to do it." "Look, I don''t even know who you are. I won''t ept jobs from random people, so I''ll ask you one more time. Please leave." Hayden tried to close the door again, but Isaac tightened his grip on the door and stopped him, "My name''s Isaac Dahl. I came 4th in the trials, so I''m not just a random nobody. I know we''ve never met before and you probably don''t trust me, but my time''s just as valuable as yours. I wouldn''t waste it looking for you unless I had a good reason to do so. I promise that the job will benefit you just as much as it will benefit me, so why don''t we go inside and talk?" Hayden recognised the name Isaac Dahl, since it had been quite prominent during his time in the academy. Just listening to Isaac''s proposition wouldn''t hurt, so he sighed lightly and said, "... I guess you cane inside." The two of them entered the house and Isaac closed the door behind him. Compared to the basic furnishings in most neer residences, Hayden''s house was quitevish. He had a potted nt in each corner of the room, 3 paintings on the walls, and statues and ornaments in various spots all around the house. He''d also reced the low shin-height table with a proper dinner table and there were 3 well-carved wooden chairs ced around it. Isaac had also seen the coat Hayden wore, which was made from the white fur of arctic foxes. It seemed like Hayden preferred the finer things in life, since all of this would cost at least 4 reward points reward points which could''ve been spent on Basic Qi Pills. Hayden sat down at the table and Isaac did the same. Then he got out his notebook and began reading, "Hayden Stromberg. Ranked 9th in the trials, was somewhat sessful in the academy, then surprisingly chose the Ice Shield Anima. He excels in the area of defence and also possesses impressive survival skills" Hayden cut Isaac off. "I know who I am and I know what I''ve done. Stop reading that and please get to the point." "I need someone with the survival skills and the ability to defend others. Can you do this?" "Of course I can. Actually, you just read it out, you already know I can" "No. What I meant was: can you do it better than anybody else?" Hayden didn''t hesitate or pause to think about it. He proudly answered, "Yes, I believe I can. That''s why you''vee to me, isn''t it?" "Indeed it is. I''ve heard that you even survived for a week in the wild without any supplies." Isaac quickly realised that Hayden was quite a vain person, so he added a line of ttery. However, Hayden scoffed, "A week? No, I spent 11 days braving the wind, snow, and wild beasts. Whoever told you it was a week was mistaken." "Then it seems that you''re even more qualified than I thought. And in terms of defensive capabilities... how skilled are you with the Ice Shield Anima?" "I''m clearly the best among the new disciples. Other than myself, none of the top 30 neers picked a defensive Anima, so I can confidently say I''m unsurpassed." Isaac would need to see Hayden in action to be 100% convinced, but what he''d just heard showed how talented Hayden was. After a brief discussion, he confirmed that Hayden was the real deal and he needed to recruit him to his team, so he began to slowly change the subject of their conversation, "If you''re so skilled, I imagine you''re already part of a team and a pretty good one at that." "Of course I am. I joined Erik Baldur, the academy''sbat genius and the man nicknamed ''Champion of the Trials''. Surely you''ve heard of him." "Of course I have, I even took the trials with him. He''s got quite a controlling personality..." Isaac sighed dramatically, " *haaah* I just think it''s a shame someone as talented as you works under his thumb." The pride in Hayden''s expression melted like snow on a summer''s day, revealing moderate anger at Isaac''s statement, "What did you say? Under his thumb?! Erik''s a friend of mine, not just a teammate. We make decisions as a group none of us work for Erik, so don''t speak that way." Isaac dropped hisid-back act and became more serious. He addressed Hayden in a solemn tone, "I know Erik Baldur and I know how he operates. That man does not have friends: he has subordinates and he has enemies. Maybe he''s changed these past 2 years; that could be the case. But from what I saw of him during the trials, I don''t believe such a thing is possible. If you waste your time toiling away for him, that''s up to you and I''ll leave right now. But if you want any form of freedom or autonomy, I suggest you leave that team as soon as possible he might beradely at first, but that''s just to hook you. Then, he''ll reel you in and catch you before you even realise what''s happening. "That''s simply my advice, and I hope you consider it. As for the job I''d like tomission you for... I don''t think Erik would even let you ept it." Hayden''s expression was one of poorly concealed indignation. Isaac''s words had truly angered him, but he couldn''t help wondering if there was any truth in them. Though he didn''t really believe Isaac, he''d already made up his mind to talk to Erik; they needed to discuss their team''s chain ofmand and whether it would change in the future. He decided to trust Erik for now, but he would keep Isaac''s advice in mind, "I''ll ask Erik whether I can ept amission I''m sure he''ll say yes. Come back in a couple of days and we can discuss it again." Of course, Isaac wouldn''t refuse this offer. Getting Hayden to doubt Erik would be a gradual process that couldn''t be done in just one day. He''d already nted the seed of doubt in Hayden''s mind, so now he just needed to wait for that seed to grow and blossom. Coming back in 2 days would be perfect, so Isaac readily epted and left Hayden''s residence. However, he didn''t go back home. He still had more potential teammates to visit, so he decided to meet his favourite candidate for the position of melee fighter. Thankfully, he had more information on this person than he had on Hayden: her name was Eva Damsgaard and he had a record of details such as whether she was in a team and where her house was. She was a 3rd ss talent who hadn''t joined a team yet, so getting her to join should be less troublesome than getting Hayden. However, you shouldn''t underestimate her just because she was a 3rd ss talent: she was brave bordering on reckless and there were many stories about her fearsomebat talent. It had no bearing on how well she''d do in the team, but Isaac preferred less talented but hardworking people such as her over vain show-offs such as Hayden. Ultimately, ability was all that mattered so he didn''t hesitate in trying to recruit Hayden, but he would be happy to have somebody like her on the team as well. Isaac thought this as he walked over to where she lived. It took about 15 minutes to walk to her house, and when Isaac arrived, he knocked on the door. He waited, and he waited, and he waited a few moments more, but nobody answered. He knew somebody was in the house he''d heard the nging of pots and pans as they made lunch. However, they didn''te to the door. Since they wouldn''te to the door, Isaac didn''t stop knocking. Yes, it might annoy Eva and give Isaac a lower chance of recruiting her, but at least it would force her to talk to him. If he couldn''t even do that, he had no chance of recruiting her. Thus he persisted with his knocking. 3 minutes passed by and nobody came to the door... 5 minutes passed by but Isaac kept knocking... 10 minutes passed by... 15 minutes... 20... Finally, when Isaac had been knocking for half an hour, *Creeeeak* The door opened a crack. An eye stared disdainfully at Isaac through the thin slit, and a cold voice spoke, "Piss off." Chapter 54: Fighting the Ice Queen Chapter 54: Fighting the Ice Queen Then, for the 3rd time today, someone tried to m the door in Isaac''s face. And for the 3rd time today, he didn''t let them. He quickly stuck his foot in the door, preventing Eva from closing it. Then he pulled the door open slightly and spoke in a calm tone, "Eva, I have a way for you to quickly earn resources and "Did you not hear me tell you to piss off? Stop knocking on my door and get out of here." Eva tried to m the door again, but Isaac''s foot was still in the way. Hepletely ignored the pain of his foot being crushed and continued speaking, "You''re a 3rd ss talent, aren''t you? But you haven''t joined a team, so youck the resources you need to cultivate. I know how it feels because I''m in the same boat. The need for an abundance of resources... which can only be acquired by taking higher difficulty missions. But you can''t take them by yourself that would be suicide. That''s why I''m forming a team: so we can take better missions, earn more rewards, and not risk our lives while doing so." Isaac''s words intrigued Eva. She already knew the advantages of joining a team and she had been offered a spot by several teams led by 2nd ss talents. However, she hadn''t joined any of them. Why? Because she disliked 2nd ss talents. As a 3rd ss talent, she had used her blood and sweat to reach the point she was currently at. She respected those who could put in the same effort and dedication she did, but she resented the 2nd ss talents who gave minimal effort yet did just as well as her. She saw most of them aszy bastards who just got lucky but didn''t work hard enough to make the most of their gods-given gifts. Since she didn''t like them, she wouldn''t join a team with them. She also wouldn''t join a team filled with 3rd ss talents, since most teams like that were ipetent. However, Isaac''s ambition had grabbed her attention. If he was truly a 3rd ss talent who still dreamed of epting higher difficulty missions, he was either delusional or extremely strong. This time she didn''t try to m the door. Instead, she wanted to know more, "You just turn up at my door and ask me to join your team... who the hell are you and how did you find me? And why would I join? If you''re a 3rd ss talent dreaming ofpleting higher grade missions, you''ll just be throwing your life away." "If I nned on throwing my life away, there are much better ways to do it than this. I only say something if I''m confident I can do it and I''m extremely confident the 4-person team I''m assembling will be able to take medium difficulty missions at first, and then high difficulty missions after a few weeks. As for who I am... my name is Isaac Dahl. I gathered information about all the new disciples to find team members and that was how I found you. I''ve only picked the absolute best of the neers, so I can assure you this will be a highly skilled team." Eva vaguely recognised his name as the guy who was good with swords, so she spoke again, "I don''t think the team''s as good as you say it is, and I don''t know whether you have the qualities of a leader. I''d rather keep taking missions or hunting by myself instead of joining you." "How much do you make from doing easy difficulty missions? 1 or 2 reward points? Whatever it is, it''s hardly enough. I''m in middle stage and so is one of my teammates. Furthermore, the two of us finished 4th and 12th in the trials respectively, so we have goodbat talent as well as our high cultivation bases. Taking medium difficulty missions won''t be too difficult or dangerous, but your cut of the rewards will be significantly higher than taking easy-grade missions by yourself." "If you put it that way, of course it sounds great but whether it will actually work is another matter. If you want me to join your team, you''ll have to show me something first I want to meet your team members and judge them with my own eyes." "So you want to see it for yourself... that''s not a problem. But you might have to wait a few days, since I still need to recruit one more person. If you''re not sure about the team, why don''t I convince you myself?" "Stop beating around the bush. What do you mean?" "Let''s spar." As soon as she heard the word ''spar'', Eva''s eyes lit up. She was cold, aloof and unapproachable in most aspects. But when it came tobat, she was always ready for a fight. "Right now? Sure, let''s find a back alley." Isaac was the one who suggested the spar, so he wouldn''t back down. He followed Eva as she quickly found a secluded alleyway where they could fight. She led him into a narrow, dingy alley with houses on both sides. When they were both in the alleyway, she stopped, "If you leave the alleyway or get hit, you lose. Those are the rules." She spoke those words, then turned around and sprang towards Isaac like a tiger. Isaac didn''t expect the attack, but he reacted quickly anyway. He stepped back to avoid her palm strike, then quickly created a spirit sword and shed horizontally in front of him. Eva didn''t retreat. She ducked under Isaac''s sword and continued advancing, attempting another palm strike. This time he couldn''t defend with his sword, so he activated the Snowshoe Anima and slid back a couple of metres. Eva''s palm strike hit thin air, but she kepting. She tried to close the distance between them again, but Isaac''s sword jabbed towards her. She couldn''t slip past it this time, so she stopped on a dime and moved back slightly. She narrowly avoided the thrust and the sword tip stopped just in front of her. Then she hit the t part of the de, knocking it down. Isaac nearly dropped the sword, but he managed to hold on. However, he his sword was out of position and he couldn''tunch a follow-up attack on Eva. She took a quick step forward and aimed a strike at Isaac''s sword arm. At thest second, she saw an uppercut heading towards her stomach. She''d been too focused on Isaac''s sword, so his left-handed punch slipped through her guard. She tried to twist and dodge the strike, but she saw it toote. Isaac''s fist connected firmly with her stomach and she released a pained, gasping breath. As the punch hit, Eva was knocked off-bnce and her attack missed its target. Isaac took advantage of the opening she''d left and raised his sword to her throat, "It seems I''ve won." Eva''s eyes burnt with apetitive me which couldn''t be extinguished. She clearly wanted to keep fighting, but she was forced to ept her loss in this spar. She deactivated the Palms of Northern Frost Anima and the thinyer of ice covering her palms began to melt. Then she spoke in an icy tone, "Indeed. You do seem quite capable, and I imagine your team is as well. Tell me when you find a 3rd member. As I promised, I''ll judge the rest of the team with my own eyes and then decide whether to join." It was hard to tell since Eva wasn''t very open with her emotions, but she''d gained a certain level of respect for Isaac after the fight. It wasn''t just because he was strong. If he was truly a 3rd ss talent but he was still stronger than her, that meant he had worked harder than her and that was a quality she truly admired. To be honest, Isaac''s sess wasn''t just a consequence of his hard work it was also down to his intelligence, schemes, and talent with the sword but she didn''t need to know that. Isaac felt he''d done enough to give Eva a favourable impression of his team; now all he needed to do was secure a final good teammate. Hopefully that teammate would be Hayden, but that was a project which might take a week or two. He''d need to visit Hayden again in 2 days, but his team-rted tasks for today were done. Isaac was about to head to the training ground and practice with the Snowshoe Anima, but then his stomach growled. It was already 2 pm and he still hadn''t eaten lunch, so he took a quick trip home and grabbed some food. Then he ate it as he walked to the training grounds to get some practice in. He trained with the Snowshoe Anima for the rest of the day. The next day, he came back and did the exact same thing, but he mixed in a bit more swordsmanship practice. Then, the day after that, he went to visit Hayden it was time to see if that seed of doubt had truly sprouted and blossomed. Chapter 55: Changing Targets Chapter 55: Changing Targets Isaac knocked several times on Hayden''s door. The response was very quick Hayden came to the door within seconds. He flung the door open and saw it was Isaac who had knocked. His face slowly turned red with rage as he spoke, "How dare you try and turn me against Erik? For a job? What job?! If you had a job for me, you would''ve just said it! You were just trying to lure me into joining your team, since you''re too fucking inferior for someone to join if you asked normally! For you to try and poison me against Erik is just..." Hayden continued his tirade, but Isaac just ignored him from this point onwards. He just sighed lightly andmented his misfortune, ''He''s obviously had a long talk with Erik and told him about myments. Instead of allowing Hayden''s doubts to grow, Erik managed to resolve all those doubts and convince Hayden I was lying to him he even worked out my motive. It''s a shame, but I won''t be able to recruit Hayden now it''d be almost impossible to convince him to join my team after this. It seems I''ll have to recruit my second choice for the position of defender.'' Hayden was still venting his anger at Isaac, but Isaac simply turned to leave. He heard the voice behind him be even more enraged, "You think you can try to manipte me and just walk away?! Come back here you coward! Come back here and fight; fist to fist like real warriors!" In response to the threat, Isaac turned around. A translucent orange sword appeared in his right hand and he pointed it directly at Hayden, "If you wish to degrade yourself to the level of meremoners, you''ll need to find a different opponent. I''ll cut your head off if youe within 2 metres of me, let alone try to hit me." Isaac''s words didn''t scare Hayden one bit, since he knew Isaac wouldn''t kill within the sect. However, he knew he couldn''t beat Isaac in a fair fight between cultivators; he specialised in defence, so hecked a reliable means of attack which he could use against Isaac. If Isaac didn''t ept the fistfight, there was nothing Hayden could do. He was forced to watch as Isaac dispelled his spirit sword and simply walked away. If looks could kill, Isaac would''ve been dead 10 times over. But they couldn''t so Isaac was fine. He left Hayden to fume by himself and walked back home. When he was back at his house, Isaac dug up the box under his floorboard and took the notebook out. He quickly re-read all the information about other candidates who could be his team''s defensive anchor. The person who caught his eye most was not his 2nd choice, but a woman named Abbie Ibsen. After Sanna had gathered another round of information, Isaac now knew a lot more about Abbie and she seemed more suited to the team than his original 2nd choice, Magnus Steffanson. While Abbie''s defensive abilities were only slightly above average, her other qualities made her a strong candidate. Currently, the teamcked someone to help them coordinate inbat. Both Isaac and Eva were meleebatants who fought on the frontlines and couldn''t see the whole battle. Meanwhile, Johan was a ranged attacker so he could see the fight developing, but sometimes hismands were be unreliable and led to dangerous situations. However, the notebook emphasised that Abbie was a skilledmander who could observe a fight from a safe position, defend them effectively, and help coordinate their attacks to defeat the opponent. As the team leader, Isaac would also issuemands in battle. However, it was extremely important to have somebody else act as a control tower: observing the whole battlefield and givingmands about the things Isaac couldn''t see. This quality convinced Isaac that Abbie was the best candidate. It was also reported that she had a great personality, meaning she''d mesh well with the other team members. Furthermore, she''d done well in the trials and was resourceful. Isaac didn''t know exactly where she came, but she''d earnt enough temp points to improve her talent from 5th ss to 3rd ss as well as buy the Snow Barrier Anima. Isaac quickly decided she was the best person for his team. He put the notebook back in the box and hid it under his floorboards again, then he left his house and went to find Abbie. Luckily, she was quite easy to gather information on. Sanna had written her address in the notebook, so Isaac headed right for it. When he got there, he knocked on the door and she answered it quite quickly, "Hello, are you Abbie Ibsen?" "Yes... what can I do for you?" "If you don''t mind, could we have a brief talk?" Abbie was all smiles, but there was a calm and calcting mind beneath that cheerful exterior. Like Isaac, Abbie had gathered information about the best new disciples, so she recognised Isaac immediately. A thousand possibilities ran through her mind like a herd of stampeding elephants, but she used the clues avable to quickly deduce why Isaac might be here. He had openly knocked on her door instead of trying to break in, he was being polite, and he wasn''t concealing his face or hiding his identity. That was enough to suggest he hade here with good intentions. However, she wasn''t exactly sure of what those intentions were, so she asked, "Of course! But could you tell me what you''re here to talk about first?" "I n on forming a team to take medium difficulty missions and up, so I''m looking to recruit talented members. Perhaps we could go inside and I can tell you more about it?" There were several tell-tale signs which suggested somebody might be lying, but Abbie didn''t see any of them when Isaac spoke. He didn''t even have a reason to lie, so Abbie quickly assumed this was the truth. While Abbie was observing Isaac, he was also observing her. In fact, he noticed that she was paying close attention to his gestures and mannerisms. He saw the perceptiveness in her gaze and the sharpness in her eyes, and quickly realised she wasn''t as simple as Sanna''s notes made out. He made a mental reminder to keep his guard up around her, but his thought process was interrupted by Abbie, "I''m ashamed I didn''t wee you in myself. Come in," she ushered him into the house, "sit at the table and I''ll make us some tea." "I''m fine, thank you." Isaac opened his coat and pointed at the metal water canteen attached to his belt. He''d just reminded himself to be careful with Abbie he wouldn''t eat or drink anything she offered him until he knew he could trust her. The 2 of them went inside. Isaac sat on the floor next to the low table, and Abbie went over to her cupboards to make a cup of pine needle tea. She put a pinch of pine needles in her mug, then briefly warmed a pot of water over the fire. Then she poured the boiling water into the mug and brought it over with her as she sat down next to Isaac. She waited a minute for her tea to cool while she listened to Isaac, "Firstly, I should introduce myself; I''m Isaac Dahl, a 3rd ss talent who has reached middle stage and is skilled with the sword. My purpose in forming a team is to gather talented individuals andplete difficult missions to earn high mission rewards, and I managed to find you through the rumours that have circting about your skill. Our team currently has 2 middle stage cultivators including myself, but we need somebody who can defend us from behind and help coordinate the team duringbat. Somebody with a skillset such as yours would be ideal for our team." Abbie was already leading a teamposed of her friends, so Isaac wanted to see how she would respond to his proposition. To his surprise, she didn''t even mention it. She immediately began discussing the details of joining his team. It was definitely a good thing, but it also meant her personality was nowhere near as good as Sanna''s notes imed it was. "How many people are going to be in the team and how will mission rewards be split? I believe it''s necessary for a team to fairly distribute its resources." "It''ll be a 4-person team with the ssicposition: 2 people specialising in meleebat, 1 ranged attacker, and somebody who can defend the team. Of course, this may change when our members get more Anima, but we have all the crucial elements of a team already. Furthermore, we have another melee attacker who seems ready to join. If you chose to join us, she''ll probably be close behind. "As for reward distribution... myself and Johan the team''s other middle stage cultivator will take 30% of the rewards each. The other 2 members will each have 20%, but those numbers will be adjusted whenever somebody advances a stage." "I apologise if I''m asking too many questions, but could you describe the team in more detail for me please?" "Myself and Johan have known each other since the trials. Our teamwork is well-practiced and he gives excellent suppression coverage from long range. Meanwhile, I''m best at closing in on the opponent and dealing the crucial blow. Outside ofbat, Johan has a plethora of survival skills and useful knowledge. I''m also well-read and quite knowledgeable I''ll be the team leader and main decision maker for the team. The other potential team member is a meleebatant and her fighting stylepliments mine rather well. She''s proud, fearless and would make a reliable teammate. However, we still have our shorings..." "Youck any form of defence, so you need somebody to protect and direct the team during fights. Am I right?" "Perfectly so." "The team sounds well put-together provided that 3rd member joins, of course. It really does sound like a great opportunity, and I am certainly interested in joining. "But my role is clearly a crucial one, and it carries a lot of responsibility. I did mention that I felt teams should fairly distribute their resources; it seems fair that those with greater responsibility get greater rewards." ''Not only is she ready to abandon her friends, but she''s also quite greedy. I''ll have to handle her carefully in the future.'' Isaac had a few doubts about Abbie''s personality, but he was confident he could keep her under control. He chose to start by denying her request, "Everyone in this team is equally responsible for the team''s sess. Even I the team leader only get arger cut because I have a superior cultivation level. I do not wish to change the distribution of rewards now, as that could cause discord within the team. I hope you can understand." Abbie sighed lightly. "Of course I understand. Truthfully, I am impressed by your consideration for your fellow team members and I''m deeply ashamed of my selfish request. It would be a pleasure to work with a team leader such as yourself, so long as you''re willing to ept me." And so, Abbie Ibsen joined the team. Chapter 56: Foolish Thieves Chapter 56: Foolish Thieves Isaac smiled, "Abbie, I''d be d to have you and I''m sure Johan will give you a warm wee too. In fact, I''d like to arrange a meeting for the team members at my house in 3 days. This is the location," Isaac wrote an address on the napkin in front of him, "The potential 4th member will also be attending. If they decide to join, we can begin looking for our first job as a team." "Of course I''lle I look forward to meeting everyone!" After getting Abbie''s confirmation, Isaac decided it was time to leave. Everything team-rted was done for now, and he had 3 days before he needed to think about it again. As for why he arranged the meeting to be in 3 days... his locker expired today. He still had 2 reward points in it, so he needed to withdraw them before the end of the day and spend the next 2 days cultivating them. Quickly using up his resources was the best way to stop people from stealing them after all, nobody could steal his cultivation. Following this line of thought, Isaac left the residential district and headed towards the sect lockers. After a 20-minute walk, he reached the locker unit. He opened his locker and took the 2 reward points in it, then he found the person in charge and handed over his locker key, giving up control of the locker. Isaac went straight from his locker (well, it wasn''t his anymore) to the market. He exchanged the reward points for 2 small, milky Basic Qi Pills, then pocketed them and headed home. When he was at home, Isaac dug up the box under his floorboards and stored his pills in it. Then he quickly visited Johan''s house to inform him of the meeting in 3 days. Johan wasn''t pleased about Isaac recruiting all the members by himself, but there was nothing he could really do. He just had a short argument with Isaac before agreeing toe to the meeting. Then Isaac went back home. He didn''t want to cultivate today. It was just past midday, so he wouldn''t have enough time to absorb all of a pill''s Qi if he started to cultivate now. It would be better if he spent more time practicing with his Snowshoe Anima today and started cultivation tomorrow. As such, Isaac ate his lunch and then went to the training grounds. He spent the rest of the day using his Snowshoe Anima to practice being able to turn quicker hopefully it would make him more agile and elusive inbat. Practice was difficult, but Isaac got through it. He had fallen several times and was covered in bruises when he went home that evening, but progress always came at a cost and Isaac''d made an awful lot of progress. He hadn''t be a master in one day or anything like that, but his rate of improvement was impressive: if the average person''s learning speed was like a horse-drawn carriage, Isaac learnt at the speed of a steam train. He arrived home at about 8 pm, ate dinner, then spent an hour training sword stances. After that, he bathed and went to bed. ************************* Isaac woke up before 7 the next morning. He got changed, but he didn''t eat breakfast. Instead, he dug up the box beneath his floorboards and took out a Basic Qi Pill. Then he buried the box again and walked back over to his bed. Hey on his back on the mattress, staring at the featureless ceiling. His eyes slowly closed and he entered a calm, rxed state. He raised his right hand to his lips and popped a small, marble-sized pill into his mouth, then swallowed it without chewing. The pill travelled down Isaac''s throat and into his stomach, where he felt it begin to emit Qi. Isaac used his will to harness several strands of Qi and draw them into his stomach meridian point, where he spent a few seconds refining the Qi. Then he guided the strands through his system of Qi Veins and brought them to his core. One by one, he merged the strands of Qi with his Qi Core. When he''d merged all of them, he moved his will back to his stomach and pulled more strands into his stomach meridian. Isaac repeated this process for over an hour he''d sunk into a state ofplete serenity. He was only focused on his inner-self; the outside world was unimportant and nothing could disturb him... *knock* What was that? *bang* *Knock* *Knock* What was going on? *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* Isaac''s peaceful meditation was interrupted by themotion outside. His eyes flickered open and he got up immediately. It wasn''t umon for cultivators to be ambushed during cultivation, so Isaac immediately focused on his surroundings. He saw his door shudder as another loud *bang* was produced. Isaac sighed inwardly in relief, ''Good. They haven''t got in yet.'' Isaac was trying to train himself to break out of meditation at the slightest sound, but that was a trick which took several years of cultivation experience to learn. Isaac had been cultivating for less than 2 months so he wasn''t there yet, but he still managed to wake up quickly for a beginner. He got to his feet just as his door shook again. It looked like it was on verge of breaking, so Isaac prepared to fight. He ran over and stood next to the doorframe, ready to attack the first person who entered. *Bang* The door shuddered and the boards holding it in ce groaned. *BANG* It shook violently. *Craaaaack* *CRASH* *THUD* There were terrible creaking and cracking sounds as the nks holding the door together broke. The door was sent flying and there was a resounding thud as itnded on the floor. Arge cloud of dust was kicked up, nearly causing Isaac to cough and reveal his position. As the dust began to settle, somebody stepped through the entrance. Isaac sprang into action. He used his left hand and chopped the side of the person''s neck the person fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. There came cries of surprise from outside, "Jakob!" "You bastard!" Isaac identified the voices of 2 more people just outside. They''d seen him attack Jakob from behind, so they rushed at him. Isaac turned to face his assants a short, portly woman with freckles and a woman who was unremarkable in every aspect other than her long, flowing raven-ck hair. The two of them were holding a miniature battering ram. Isaac didn''t know where they''d got it, but he didn''t have time to care. The pair rushed at him with the battering ram, and he couldn''t dodge left or right since he was standing in the doorway. Just as he was about to be hit, Isaac grabbed the top of the door frame and pulled himself upwards. He also lifted his legs up and tucked them in to his chest,pletely avoiding the battering ram. As the battering ram sailed below him, Isaac slightly lowered himself and extended both legs. He kicked out to both sides his left foot connected with the short woman''s face and the sole of his right boot struck the ck-haired woman''s chest. The short woman was knocked over, while the ck-haired woman was pushed back a few steps. Isaac let go of the door frame and dropped back to the ground. Then he rushed at the short woman, who was sitting on the ground and holding her bleeding, broken nose. She tried to get to her feet as soon as she saw Isaac heading towards her, but Isaac was no slowpoke. He took less than a second to close the 2-metre gap between them, then he unleashed a roundhouse kick as she was still trying to get up. The kick connected with the side of her head and she was sent crashing back to the ground. She wouldn''t be getting up any time soon. Meanwhile, Isaac quickly span around and faced the ck-haired girl. She was ring at him as a ball of ice gathered between her palms. The moment Isaac turned, sheunched the fist-sized ball. The projectile seemed powerful, but it wasn''t too fast. Even though Isaac was quite close to the girl, he still had time to summon his spirit sword before the ice ball hit him. The ice ball collided with the t edge of Isaac''s de. The impact pushed him back a step and the hand holding the sword shook violently. However, he didn''t drop the de. He hastily advanced towards the woman before she could summon another ice projectile, then he swung his sword directly at her head. The woman ducked and avoided the de. Then, she felt something on the back of her head. ''Wait a minute... that''s not right! His sword missed me, so what''s on my head?'' Those were herst thoughts before Isaac grabbed her hair with his left hand and held her head in ce for a powerful knee strike. His knee collided with her forehead, instantly knocking her out. Chapter 57: Nothing But Thieves Chapter 57: Nothing But Thieves Isaac grabbed the man he''d knocked out and propped him up against the wall of his house. Then he dragged the two women inside and ced them next to him. After that, Isaac rummaged through one of his cupboards and found a long coil of rope, which he used to tie the trio up. When they were all bound, Isaac moved the battering ram inside and stowed it away he could sell itter. When he''d done that, he went back to cultivating. He didn''t want to waste the most effective period of the pill, so he spent another hour meditating. When the pill finally left his stomach, Isaac decided to properly deal with the trio. He grabbed a pail of cold water and threw it over his captives. "Urgh..." *Cough* *Hack* *Hack* All 3 of them woke up, and 2 of them started coughing as water sshed into their mouths. Isaac waited for them to be fully conscious, then he spoke, "You three... you came here to steal from me, didn''t you? You thought you could covet what was mine, didn''t you? So what I''m going to do now is use you as an example; an example of what happens to those who dare to cross me. I''m going to make a mess out of you. I''m going to make a mess out of each of you and no matter how you scream or plead, I won''t stop. And then when I''m done, I''ll disy you for the sect to see, and people will learn. They will learn that the consequences for crossing Isaac Dahl are not light ones." With that, Isaac got to work. His cold, cruel imagination made him look like an experienced torturer as he dealt with the trio. Their screams of agony filled the streets for the next hour or so. After a while, Isaac went back to cultivation. There were still some benefits left in the pill and he didn''t want to waste them, so he spent most of the next 5 hours cultivating. However, Isaac asionally got bored or broke out of meditation. Whenever that happened, he would go to torture the trio again and screams would fill the house. Finally, Isaac took a break from his cycle of meditation and torture. He''d fully absorbed the pill and, as he had promised, the trio had be a mess. Blood, tears and snot caked their faces while their bodies were covered in all manner of burns, cuts, contusions and broken bones. All of them had fallen unconscious from the pain of Isaac''s torture and were slumped in the corner of the room. Isaac walked over to Jakob, then he grabbed him by the legs and pulled him outside. Then Isaac undid the rope around his feet, but he wasn''t setting Jakob free. Not at all. Instead, he found another, longer piece of rope. He tied part of the rope around Jakob''s feet, but there was still a long length of the rope left. Isaac held the end of it as he mbered up the front of his house until he could reach the thick piece of timber which supported his roof. Then Isaac looped the rope over therge timber beam and climbed down. When he got back to the ground, Isaac began to pull on the rope. One tug Jakob''s feet rose off the ground. Two tugs Jakob''s lower body was pulled into the air. Three tugs only Jakob''s head and upper back were still touching the ground. Four tugs Jakob was pulledpletely into the air and was dangling upside-down. Five, six, seven, eight, nine tugs Jakob was hanging 5 foot above the ground. He was strippedpletely naked, exposing his flesh to the bitter cold and disying all the injuries Isaac had inflicted on him. His hands were bound behind his back and there was a rope tied around his legs. One end of this rope looped over the thick wooden beam above, then ran all the way back down into Isaac''s hand. Isaac was currently in the process of tying the rope to the wooden decking beneath him so it would hold Jakob in ce. After tying the rope, Isaac gave it a couple of pulls to make sure it was secure. The he went back inside to grab the 2 women. Just like he''d done to Jakob, he stripped them naked and then hung them upside-down outside his house. He had notid a hand on them with any kind of perverse intent, since he had no interest in such crude pleasures. However, he had not shown any mercy to them either. Their injuries were just as grievous as Jakob''s and anybody who walked by would surely look at the 3 of them and wonder which demon had done this to them. Isaac had done this to achieve precisely that effect. He wanted the new disciples to fear him, which would stop them from robbing or ambushing himter on. It would also have other effects, such as making the disciples more likely to obey him and less likely to defy him if he asked them to do something. In fact, Isaac had made Sanna spread the rumour about him earning some reward points to entice people toe and rob him. Then he would catch them and use them to build the kind of reputation that he wanted. It wasn''t enough to just punish them. He had to clearly show the new disciples that he punished them, and he had to show how severely he had punished them. This was what he was doing by hanging them outside his house. When he''d hung the trio up next to each other, Isaac went back into his house. It was just past 3 pm right now, so he still had a lot of the day left. However, he didn''t want to leave his house in case the prisoners escaped or something happened in the street. Therefore, he decided to try and fix up his home. First, Isaac used resin as glue to stick his door back in ce and then fortified it using some nks. It was nowhere near as strong as when he''d used special fastener made from Rank 1 nts, but resin was still a strong adhesive so it''d do for now. Then Isaac tidied up some of the mess which still hadn''t been cleared after he was robbed by Sanna''s group. It was quite arge amount of mess so it took Isaac a while to clear it. As he was doing so, he could hear amotion in the streets outside. A crowd was gathering outside his house, looking at the 3 people hung there. However, this was just what Isaac wanted. He needed lots of people to see it and then start spreading rumours about how cruel he was. In fact, Isaac was just about to go outside and show everyone he was the person that had done this. However, he stopped after hearing some of the shouts in the street. Everything was noisy so it was hard to make out exactly what was being said, but Isaac caught a sentence fragment, "Look, this is the house, we just have to..." Isaac opened the only window which wasn''t boarded up and tried to look out into the street. There was arge crowd outside maybe 40 people strong. Near the back of the crowd was a rather conspicuous group of 7 who were trying to push their way forwards. Isaac didn''t recognise any of them, but they all looked pretty angry. When they pushed to the front of the crowd, one of them got out a knife and began cutting the rope which was tied to the decking. After a few seconds of work, the rope was cut and the ck-haired woman dropped down. One of the group caught her and lowered her unconscious body to the floor. When Isaac saw this, he hopped out of his window and into the alley beside his house. "Did I give you permission to set them free?" Chapter 58: Why Cant I Just Kill Them?! Chapter 58: Why Can''t I Just Kill Them?! The whole crowd turned to look at Isaac who was standing in the dark alley. The sun had long since set and the street was lit up by lumnos stonemps, but the alley Isaac was in didn''t have any. So when the crowd turned to look at him, they simply saw a mysterious, unidentifiable figure standing in the shadows as snow fell lightly from above. It wasn''t just the crowd the group of 7 also stared at Isaac with ferocious gazes. At first Isaac thought they were angry about what he''d done to their friends. But then he quickly realised that might not be the case. ''If they were really close friends, they would''vee to rob me as a group of 10 and then split the rewards between themselves. Since those 3 came by themselves, it means they wanted to rob me and keep what I had for themselves they didn''t want to share any profits with the other 7. In that case, they''re probably not that close and these 7 aren''t too worried about the other 3. Their main priority ining here is probably to steal what I have and gain some prestige from defeating me. I obviously can''t let that happen.'' After thinking it through and deciding to fight, Isaac stepped out of the alleyway. He pulled his hood back and the light from the streetmps shone on his face, showcasing his thin lips, angr nose and pale blue eyes. He stared directly at the group. Then, without saying anything, he created a sword and dashed forwards at the nearest man. The man didn''t expect it at all. He couldn''t dodge since there were people behind him and to his left, and the house was to his right he could only try to block as Isaac''s sword sliced towards his head. However, his reactions werete and Isaac''s de slipped past his poor defences. The t side of Isaac''s de collided with the man''s head and sent him tumbling to the ground. The other 6 people were immediately infuriated and wanted to attack Isaac. However, they were penned in by the crowd and only one person could actually get to Isaac. The other 5 tried to push through the crowd and reach him, while the 6th person fired 3 small icicles at him. Isaac deflected 2 with his sword and the 3rd missed. This gave him a chance to rush forwards and attack again. The woman couldn''t defend herself as Isaac smacked her with the hilt of his sword and knocked her out. By now, 3 of the group had got out of the crowd and the other 2 would be out in a couple of seconds. 2 people rushed at Isaac while the 3rd circled around to get behind him. The 2 people confronting Isaac were both men, one of whom had long hair and wore a jade hairpin. The other was muscr and well-built with rugged facial features and deep, dark green eyes. Isaac used the Snowshoe Anima to retreat and avoid both their attacks. As he dodged, Isaac moved towards the person who was trying to nk him it would be best to take out this guy before he got surrounded. Isaac thrust towards him with his sword, but the man was prepared. He drew a long dagger from his belt and parried Isaac''s attack. It was hard for him to block it with such a small weapon, but he seemed rather skilled. After blocking, his rat-like facial features contorted into a smirk. Then his body flickered and transformed into a coil of ck smoke. The smoke snaked towards Isaac, but he used the Snowshoe Anima to dart backwards and avoid it. He didn''t know what it could do, and he didn''t want to find out. After moving back to avoid the smoke, Isaac had created a small distance between him and the group. Thest 2 members had made it out of the crowd, meaning Isaac had missed the opportunity to fight 3 of them on their own. The smoke turned back into a thin, rat-faced man and he regrouped with the other 4. Now the whole group was advancing towards Isaac the rat-faced man brandished his dagger; stone coated the fists of the muscr guy; the man with the jade hairpin made a finger gun at Isaac and white light began to coalesce on his fingertip; a girl with twin ponytails began to grow vicious-looking spikes from her elbows; a woman who was missing 2 fingers on her left hand... red at Isaac? Oh. He felt himself slow down slightly probably an effect of that woman''s Anima. This was slightly problematic, since he needed to be able to move quickly and dodge the other 4 people''s attacks. This made him want to target this woman first, but she was standing at the back of the group and he couldn''t get to her. *Vwoom* A beam of white light scorched the tips of Isaac''s hair as he barely dodged it. He''d been keeping a cautious eye on the man with the hairpin, and was prepared to dodge this long-ranged attack. The man followed up with a series of smaller but quicker light beams. *Vwoom* *Vwoom* *Vwoom* Isaac evaded all the attacks, but the group''s 3 melee fighters closed in on him whilst he was busy dodging. Just as Isaac ducked thest light ray, he saw a fist approaching rapidly from the right. He brought his sword up to block, expecting it to cut into the fist. Fist and de collided with a nging sound. The spirit sword bounced off of the stone-covered fist and Isaac was pushed back. In fact, the force of the blow was so strong that his wrist hurt from trying to block it. He quickly recognised this as the simply named Stone Fist Anima. This Anima''s main weakness wasck of range, so Isaac tried to back off and put some distance between himself and the man. As he was about to move back, Isaac noticed a trail of ck smoke behind him. Without thinking, he thrust his sword backwards at the smoke to see if it would have any effect. There was a sudden cry and the smoke materialised back into the form of a man a man who was clutching at his arm which had been impaled by a sword. Isaac hurriedly pulled his sword back and used the Snowshoe Anima to retreat again. Another barrage of light rays tried to block off his path, but Isaac was agile enough to avoid most of them. Unfortunately, he was hit by a couple partly due to being slowed down and partly due to hisck of skill with the Snowshoe Anima but they didn''t cause any injuries. In fact, they didn''t even burn through his 3yers of clothing. It seemed that this Anima was quite weak unless the user charged up a shot. Now that he was further away from the group, Isaac felt himself get slightly quicker. It looked like the Anima slowing him down worked based on how close he was. The further away he moved, the less effective it would get. After working this out, Isaac smirked. He''d used a short period of probing to work out the opponents'' strengths and weaknesses, so now it was time for the real fight to begin. Isaac waited for the trio of melee fighters to approach again. They were a little more hesitant this time, but they were still determined to defeat Isaac and they couldn''t do that without approaching him. The trio advanced towards Isaac the rat-faced man to his left, the woman with spikes growing from her elbows on the right, and the muscr man in the middle. The thin, rat-faced man was grimacing in pain. His right arm had been stabbed was quite severely injured. He stopped for a moment to find something to bind his bleeding arm with, and Isaac took advantage of that opening. He activated the Snowshoe Anima and shot forwards, moving as fast as he could while remaining in control. He steered towards the left, making sure the rat-faced man was positioned between himself and the long-ranged attacker so he wouldn''t get sniped. When the rat-faced man saw Isaac approaching, he hurriedly turned into ck mist and tried to escape. Originally, the Dark Mist Travel Anima would''ve been quicker than the Snowshoe Anima since Isaac was being slowed down. However, Isaac was a middle stage cultivator while the rat-faced man was merely lower stage. Being supplied with Isaac''s pure Qi made the Snowshoe Anima move quicker and Isaac managed to catch up before the smoke escaped. Now that he knew the smoke was still vulnerable to attacks, he smacked it with the t of his de. This time the man didn''t materialise. He stayed as smoke, but Isaac heard a grunt of pain anyway. The smoke continued to flee, but it couldn''t get away from Isaac. He stayed with it and hit it again harder this time. There was another grunt of pain but the smoke kept trying to escape. Isaac had to hit it a 3rd time before the smoke condensed into the shape of a man a man who was curled up on the floor, clutching his stomach and groaning. It really was so troublesome trying to incapacitate enemies rather than killing them. The sword was a weapon which was designed to kill if you weren''t using it to kill, you weren''t using it to its full potential. Just one well-aimed stab at the smoke would''ve been enough to defeat the rat-faced man, but unfortunately sect rules wouldn''t allow that. It had taken 3 whacks with the t of the de to put the man down, and that had given the ranged attacker time to charge a powerful bolt of light. A dazzling dot shone at the tip of his finger, radiating a dangerous glow. Suddenly, that light was unleashed. It shot towards Isaac like a bullet from a gun, and he had no way to defend himself from it. Chapter 59: Leaving Him a Choice Chapter 59: Leaving Him a Choice The bolt of light pierced Isaac''s right shoulder, and he felt nothing for a second. Then a searing pain beset him. He dropped his sword and clutched at his shoulder, feeling a circr hole about 6cm wide and 4cm deep. His finger identally slipped into the wound and it hurt like hell. However, he could feel that it wasn''t bleeding his flesh had been horrifically burnt. Even his blood vessels had been seared, preventing them from bleeding more. Isaac quickly withdrew his finger and looked up with a grimace. He knew he''d been careless this group was more skilled than expected. Isaac cast a nce at the man with the jade hairpin and saw him charging another shot. The other 2 melee attackers were also approaching from behind him, but Isaac didn''t have a way to fight them off. He could no longer wield a sword with his right hand, so he forced his Spirit Sword Anima to fly out of his right hand and into his left. Normally he would only practice swordsmanship while holding the sword in his right hand, but he''d practiced with both hands when he was first learning swordsmanship. This gave him the confidence to face his enemies once again. Isaac created a sword in his left hand and rushed towards the long-ranged attacker. The Snowshoe Anima carried him forwards at high speed, but he grew slower and slower as he approached. The woman''s Anima grew more effective the closer he got, so his speed decreased as he neared her. Nevertheless, Isaac continued to press forwards. He injected more of his Qi into the Snowshoe Anima, trying to push it to go faster. As he pushed forwards, Isaac locked eyes with the man with the hairpin. Isaac''s gaze was determined, ready to fight through the pain of his injured shoulder and defeat his foes. Meanwhile, the other man''s eyes were filled with confidence he was in a 4 vs 1 against an injured opponent. There was no way they could lose. In fact, he was certain of his ability tond his next shot and end the fight there. *Vwooooom* He unleashed another powerful beam from his Anima, which tore through the air as it headed directly towards Isaac. However, Isaac had pre-empted this attack. He swerved to the left and ray of light shed past him. Now he was only 10 metres away from the man, who suddenly realised how bad his situation was. He didn''t have enough time to charge another strong shot and the 2 melee fighters were way behind Isaac, meaning there was very little in Isaac''s way. The man stayed cool=headed. He knew he had to dy Isaac and buy some time for the melee fighters to get back in position, so he unleashed a rain of small light beams at Isaac. He expected Isaac to dodge the beams and waste time, but Isaac defied those expectations. He charged right through the storm of light, letting the hundreds of tiny beams pepper him. Most were blocked by his thick coat, but some made their way through and left small burn marks on his pale skin. Dashing through the light beams felt like getting sshed with boiling hot oil, but Isaac endured it. His eyes were locked onto his target and he charged forwards like a demonic bull. When he was 2 metres away from the man, the rain of light beams stopped and the man keeled over while holding his stomach. It looked like he had been too focused on Isaac and exhausted his Qi. If the Qi Core was simply a container for Qi, this wouldn''t be much of a problem. However, it would be more urate to call the Qi Core an organ of the body which specialised in the use of Qi. Therefore, overusing it woulde with a cost, just like any other organ. The man was currently experienced a heart-rending pain as if a hole had just been drilled all the way through his stomach and out the other side. Thankfully, Isaac was a kind andpassionate person. He swung his de at the man, cleanly knocking him out so he didn''t need to keep enduring the pain. Then he deactivated the Snowshoe Anima to try and conserve Qi and stepped towards the woman with 2 fingers missing. She tried to assume a fighting stance and square up to Isaac, but she clearly wasn''t very skilled at fighting. Her stance was weak and full of openings, almost inviting Isaac to break through. However, he''d learnt to take his enemies seriously no matter how weak they might look. He made a feint to the left before stabbing towards the right. It was a rather mediocre feint since he performed it with his weak hand, but the woman still fell for it anyway. She tried to block the sword, but the de seemed to slither past her guard and stab into her shoulder. She cried in pain, but Isaac did not relent. He stepped forwards again and hit her hard with the hilt of his sword, breaking her nose. Then her hit her again in the side of the head, making sure to knock her out. Now Isaac turned to face the 2 melee fighters who were still approaching them. His Qi Core was still about 25% full, so he wouldn''t have any problems continuing to fight. The only issue was his shoulder, which continued to ache more and more; it might be difficult to win if his opponents targeted this weak point. However, his original speed had been fully restored after defeating the woman, so he was confident in dodging most blows. Isaac activated the Snowshoe Anima and sped towards his opponents. Just before he reached them, he veered to the right and shed towards the face of the muscr man. The man reached out to catch the de, but Isaac suddenly cut downwards. It was a difficult technique to perform with his left arm, but this was Isaac''s most practiced skill and he was confident he could pull it off. The path of the de changed slightly, slipping below the man''s arm. The sword was sharp; very sharp. It sliced through the man''s side, causing blood to spill everywhere and maybe even rupturing his stomach Isaac couldn''t tell. The man''s life would be in danger if he wasn''t treated in a short amount of time, so Isaac needed to defeat thest woman quickly and bring him to a healer, otherwise the man would die and Isaac would be punished to 10 years of confinement in ''The Crevasse''. Watching her friend spilling a bucket of blood on the pavement, thest woman''s face went pale. She experienced a series of emotions including pity, despair and fear, but her heart quickly settled on anger. Her face regained its colour as it started to flush red with rage, but before she could fully express her feelings, she was struck across the temple by the t of Isaac''s sword. His opponent had just been standing therepletely defencelessly... he wasn''t going to wait until she regained herposure! After finally defeating the whole group of 7, Isaac gave a sigh of relief. Then he took a deep breath and shouted at the crowd who''d been watching the fight, "Does anybody have a healing Anima?!" None of them stepped forwards. Rank 1 healing Anima were nearly useless. They could reduce a wound''s bleeding or close minor cuts, and that was about it. Because of this, few people had picked a healing Anima when they entered the sect. Isaac had somewhat expected this response, so he wasn''t disappointed at the answer. Everybody had learnt first-aid and basic medical treatments in the academy, so Isaac quickly went over to the muscr man to try and reduce his bleeding. First he cut both arms off the man''s coat and tied them together. Then he took that and tied it very tightly around the man''s stomach so that it covered the cut. After that, Isaac applied strong pressure to the wound the muscr man would''ve screamed out in pain, but he didn''t have the energy to. Isaac kept the pressure on for about 2 minutes until the bleeding gradually slowed. However, the man fell asleep just around this point. Isaac had been doing his best to keep the man awake, and him dozing off was definitely a bad sign. Isaac dashed over to where the man with ck hair and a hairpin wasying. He pped the man awake and quickly told him the situation. "Get over here, now! Your friend''s about to die!" The man was confused and still in a drowsy stupor, but he heard the words "friend" and "die" and began to panic. Isaac grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him, "There''s no time for any of that shit! Just listen to what I say and he''ll be fine!" The man forcibly calmed himself down. He was regaining some of his senses after waking up and he finally got a grasp of what was going on around him he realised his whole group had been defeated and Frederick, the muscr man, had been injured in the process. Mikhail pulled himself together and ran over to Frederick''s side, ready to help. Isaac carefully unwrapped the cloth he''d tied around Frederick''s wound. Mikhail gasped when he saw it, but Isaac just stared coldly, "Shoot some small light bolts at the wound, just enough to scorch his flesh." "What?! Why" "Why would you do that? Because it''ll cauterize the wound and reduce the bleeding. I told you, just listen to me." "But I don''t have any Qi..." "Overdraw it. Unless you want him to die, that is." Asking Mikhail to overdraw his Qi was akin to asking him to damage his foundation. Overdrawing your Qi was something some cultivators could do as ast resort when they ran out of Qi they would draw upon the Qi possessed by the Qi Core itself. It was extremely painful and would cause permanent damage to the core. Overdrawing a tiny amount of Qi would not do much damage, but it could still be the difference between reaching a higher stage or being stuck in the lower realms of cultivation for life. Mikhail knew this. He knew he was choosing between the life of a friend and his own future prospects. Chapter 60: Mikhails Answer Chapter 60: Mikhail''s Answer Mikhail sat by Frederick''s side, thinking. He was so still that he could''ve been mistaken for a statue. His mind was in turmoil as he weighed his options and thought things through. However, Frederick was losing blood for each second he wasted. He had to stop dilly-dallying and make a decision, before it was toote to make a decision at all. After about 20 seconds, Mikhail settled on a choice. It was a choice you might not expect from a Blood Path cultivator he chose the life of a friend. Frederick was somebody he''d known for most of his life. They''d met in the farm, where Frederick had taken Mikhail under his wing. Then he''d saved his life twice in the trials, and the 2 of them were the only people who''d survived their particr trial. After that, they''d gone into the academy and met the other people in their group. Throughout their journey, Frederick had always been like an older brother to Mikhail. He might live to regret this choice in the future especially if he reached a wall in his cultivation that he couldn''t surpass because of this but he knew he''d never be able to live with himself if he watched Frederick die in front of him now. Mikhail gritted his teeth and drew upon the energy stored in the walls of his Qi Core. Tears fell uncontrobly as an indescribable agony overcame him, but he persevered; he forcibly sucked the Qi out of his core''s walls and transported it through his Qi Veins towards the Anima in his hand. It felt like a thousand maggots had been ced his stomach and told to eat their way out the pain was horrifying. It took all of Mikhail''s energy and endurance to fire 5 small beams of light. Then he copsed. Isaac watched on apathetically. The tear-jerking demonstration of friendship didn''t interest him; he only cared about whether Frederick would live or not. He inspected the man''s injury and saw that it''d mostly burnt closed. Mikhail''s light beams had scorched the wound, cauterizing it and massively reducing the flow of blood. Just to make sure Frederick would live, Isaac wrapped the cloth back around the wound and applied pressure to try and stop the bleedingpletely. When he was confident Frederick would make it out alive, Isaac stopped being so nice. He went back to his house and retrieved arge coil of rope he''d expected some robberies after he asked Sanna to spread the rumours about him, so he''d prepared a lot of rope in advance. When he found the rope, Isaac brought it back outside and started tying up the 7 who''d attacked him. He also found the ck-haired woman who they''d cut free and tied her up again as well. The crowd watched him like a flock of hawks. They were shocked by Isaac''s cruelty when he forced a fellow sect member to damage their foundation, but they had no reason to intervene so they simply observed. It shocked them even more when they saw Isaac tying Mikhail up. We understand the others you haven''t punished them yet. But you''ve already damaged his foundation, do you need to do more?! Isaac had considered letting Mikhail go, but he wasn''t the type of person to do something out ofpassion. He had no rational reason to release Mikhail, so he wouldn''t release him. It was as simple as that. As for Frederick... he was still in an unenviable condition, but Isaac also had no reason to let him go. The wound had stopped bleeding and he didn''t seem to be in any danger of losing his life, so Isaac treated him the same way he treated everybody else. The crowd watched as Isaac bound each member of the group and dragged them into the alleyway beside his house. It was a little difficult to do with his injured shoulder, but he managed. It was even harder to pull each of them through the window using 1 arm. But once again, Isaac managed to do it. Then he went back outside and cut down the 2 people who were still hanging upside-down. Leaving them like that for too long could actually kill them, so he had to bring them in before he went to bed. After he dragged them into the alley, he pulled them through his window as well. Then he decided to put on a show for the crowds outside. They couldn''t see what was going on, but they heard horrendous howls of paining from Isaac''s house. The screams were too bloodcurdling for some of the disciples, so they decided to leave. On the other hand, some of the crowd relished hearing those cries of agony. They stuck around for about 40 minutes, which was when the screams finally stopped. It was gettingte, so Isaac knocked out his prisoners and went to bed. After the screams stopped, the remainder of the crowd also dispersed. As they returned home, they spoke to some of the people on the streets. By the morning, rumours about Isaac''s cruelty had already begun to spread... ************************* Isaac yawned as he got out of bed. He stood up, stretched, then walked to his cupboards and made breakfast. He ate slowly, crunching on the food in his bowl. He seemed to drag out each bite and savour it. Only when he finished eating did he cast a nce at the corner of his room and the 10 people tied up there. When they felt his gaze, the 10 instinctively shivered. His eyes were like 2 tiny worlds of ice, conveying an utter absence of ''decent'' principles such as care or kindness. It was a gaze which expressed no goodwill or positive intent. Likewise, Isaac''s eyes did not express even a hint of hostility. That was because Isaac did not hate these people. But he was still going to hurt them. He was going to hurt them because it suited his goals, not for any other reason, and that was what scared the group most. Because they knew there was nothing they could do to stop him, or to appease him. After all, he wasn''t angry. How could you appease somebody who wasn''t angry? They simply had to wait; wait while filled with dread and terror; wait for the inevitable torture which they could neither avoid nor endure. In fact, the group no longer hoped they could escape any such hope had long been crushed. The only hope they had left was the hope they could survive the hope that they would eventually leave here with their lives intact. ************************* Screams rang from Isaac''s house for most of the day. Just like before, he spent the day switching between cultivation and torture. As evening rolled around, Isaac finished absorbing the Basic Qi Pill he had been using. He also felt he had sufficiently tortured his 10 captives. Even if you were to search their bodies, it would be difficult to find a patch of skin which hadn''t been marred or marked in some way. None of the prisoners were conscious, and a dried coating of blood, snot and tears covered their faces; Isaac had truly been thorough this time and tortured them to the brink of death. Even Frederick had been brutally tortured despite already being on the verge of dying. Isaac had been especially careful with him and avoided cutting him any more instead he had burnt Frederick. He had burnt Frederick over and over until the man cowered at the mere sight of Isaac''s water bottle. It might seem like a strange thing to fear, but Isaac had heated his metal bottle over the fire and then used it to burn Frederick. His body was now covered in countless red circr brands where the base of the water bottle had been pressed against his skin. The others were in no better condition in fact, they were far worse. All of them had many broken bones, several missing chunks of flesh, and many various other wounds. Isaac had deliberately inflicted them with highly visible injuries, so anybody that saw them could clearly see how much they''d been through. This was enough to fulfil his purpose, so he didn''t need to torture them any longer. He walked over to the group and pped them all awake. He''d done this several times already, so they all expected to be tortured again. 10 pairs of eyes looked up at Isaac in fear. Chapter 61: The First Team Meeting Chapter 61: The First Team Meeting "I''m going to set you free." The 10 of them shook at these words. To them, Isaac was a demon; he probably meant he was going to set them free from this mortal coil! "When I let you go, crawl through the streets back to your houses and use the main roads where everybody can see you. If anybody asks, say Isaac Dahl did this to you. If any of you decide to travel through the backstreets, I''ll find you again and cut your legs off." The group breathed a collective sigh of relief being threatened had never felt so great! So long as they could keep their lives and leave this ce, they would do anything Isaac asked. After they nodded in agreement, Isaac undid each person''s bindings and lifted them out of his window they couldn''t climb out themselves with their near-crippled bodies. Then he mbered out of the window as well and watched as those 10 people crawled down the street away from him. Their hunchbacked forms looked broken, almost destroyed, as they made their snail-paced escape. Many people stared and pointed as the 10 people crawled by, but they didn''t care. They simply focused on putting one hand in front of the other and getting away from the devil who was watching them from behind. Isaac watched until the 10 disappeared into the ckness of night. Then he realised he still needed to pay somebody a visit. The team was meeting tomorrow, but he still hadn''t invited Eva Damsgaard toe along. She''d said she would evaluate the team herself before deciding whether to join, so she would probablye he just needed to tell her about the meeting. Isaac made his way through the winding maze of streets, walking for 20 minutes before arriving at Eva''s house. When he was there, he gave a good, hard knock on the door. There was silence. It was just like the first time he''de to meet Eva he could see lighting from under the door so he knew she was inside, but she didn''te to answer the door. "Eva! It''s Isaac!" He wasn''t going to wait outside and knock for half an hour again, so he just shouted out his name. About 3 minutester, the door creaked open, revealing Eva standing there dressed in thick white robes. She wasn''t the most elegant of women, nor the most beautiful in fact, her looks were the epitome of average. However, she caried a certain aura around her that made her feel untouchable. There was an unbreakable pride etched into her features and each of her movements was performed with utter self-confidence, like an icy empress who ruled everything beneath her. That confidence stemmed from effort, devotion, and strength. It didn''t originate from something as petty as her appearance or status. Her eyes revealed slight amusement and poorly veiled interest when she looked at Isaac if he was here, he must''ve found a final member for his team. Hisst visit had truly kindled the curiosity within her, and she was looking forward to meeting his team. She didn''t say this though, "Isaac. I assume you''ve got aplete team since you''vee to find me." "I wouldn''t havee otherwise. We''re all meeting tomorrow if you want to meet the team, it''s the best chance you''ll get." "I''m training tomorrow but I might find time toe. What''s the address?" Eva went back into her house to get a pen and piece of paper. Then Isaac wrote Johan''s address on it with his elegant handwriting. His room had boarded-up doors and was filled with mess. Each and every surface in the house had blood on it somewhere; all in all, it was a poor meeting ce for the team, so Isaac decided to borrow his deputy''s residence instead. He was sure Johan wouldn''t mind. "I''ll see you tomorrow at 10 o''clock. It''s best to meet early, since we can start thinking about taking our first mission if you do decide to join us." "I wouldn''t get too ahead of yourself if I were you. I''lle tomorrow and we''ll see how things go from there." Isaac thought this was a satisfactory answer. He nodded, said farewell to Eva, and left. It was quitete by now, so he went straight home and went to bed. ************************* The next morning, Isaac woke up long before sunrise. Today was the first day of spring but the weather wasn''t much warmer than it had been in winter. The only noticeable difference was that the sun rose just before 9 am now,pared to rising at 10:30 in the middle of winter. It was still dark when Isaac left his house and headed to the training grounds. He followed the main streets which were lit bymps and quickly made his way there. He only had a couple of hours before he needed to return for the meeting, so he split his time between practicing swordsmanship and using the Snowshoe Anima. After 2 hours of hard practice, Isaac returned home. It was still 9:40 when he got back, so he had time to bathe quickly and prepare before the meeting began. Just as he was drying his hair after washing, Isaac heard a knock on the door. It had to be Johan, since he was the only person that didn''t know the meeting was happening at his house. Isaac shouted, "Johan is that you?" as he hurriedly got dressed. He only heard a muffled "Yes." in reply. When he was done changing, Isaac put on his coat and stepped out of his window. He went around to the front of the house to meet Johan, "My ce is in ruins it''s impossible to hold team meetings there, at least for now. I told the other 2 members to meet at your house. It''ll make a much more presentable meeting ce than mine would." Johan was frustrated that Isaac kept acting without consulting him, but he couldn''t help remembering the state of Isaac''s housest time he visited. His own residence was clearly a better meeting ce and Isaac had already informed the others, so he had no choice but to ept it. Heunched a brief rant against Isaac for deciding everything by himself, but Isaac mostly ignored him. In fact, he had to shut Johan up when he saw Abbie Ibsen turn the corner into the street. He brought Johan with him as he went up to greet Abbie. Johan also weed her politely. Then the 3 of them went back to Johan''s house to wait for Eva. When they entered the house, Isaac was surprised by how neat and tidy everything was. Not a single thing was out of ce; the bed in the corner of the room was perfectly made, and every surface had been cleaned until it was spotless. Johan preferred order and regrity to his life, so everything in his house was well organised. Even the door which had previously been broken down was now back in ce. It was a sharp contrast to Isaac''s door which was still boarded up. Abbie was also somewhat of a clean freak, so she felt right at home here. As she and Isaac sat down at the low table in the middle of the room, Johan went to offer them tea. Both epted, and Johan went to make some. When he opened his cupboard, Isaac caught a glimpse of food boxes which had been perfectly stacked and 3 rows of cutlery arranged into soldier-like regiments. As Johan was boiling water for the tea, there came a knock on the door. Isaac got up to open it and Eva strutted right in. She walked into the main room and cast her eyes over its 3 upants, silently evaluating them. Then she spoke to Isaac, "Is this it?" Johan noticed her dismissive tone and turned around to re at Eva. Meanwhile, Abbie just nced at her before going back to whatever she was doing. Isaac answered calmly, "I assume you know better than to judge people based on their appearances. Johan and Abbie are valuable members of this team and I can assure you they''re both highly skilled. But I know it''s not enough for me to tell you that you''ve already made it clear you want to see it for yourself." Johan had finished making the tea already so brought 3 cups over and put them on the table. As he did so, he spoke bluntly, "We also want to see your skills before we ept you, so why don''t we test them?" Eva didn''t seem flustered at Johan''s words. After all, she wanted to see their skills so it was only fair they got to see her in action as well. Besides, she always weed a challenge there was no chance of her backing down. "What do you mean?" "Why don''t we all take a mission together. You get to observe our team, while we get to observe you. Then we can decide whether to ept you or not after the mission." Isaac decided not to intervene and allowed Johan to handle this. It was better this way: Johan and Eva''spetitive spirits would be ignited and they would both try their hardest to outperform the other. It might cause slight discord within the team, but it was nothing Isaac couldn''t mediate. Besides, the team members didn''t have to like each other; they just had to work well together. Somepetition would do them good, since they''d always give their best on missions. There was only one issue. Abbie blew on her tea and then asked, "How should we distribute the mission rewards?" Chapter 62: Deciding on a Mission Chapter 62: Deciding on a Mission This was a slight problem. Johan and Abbie would say Eva should receive a lower portion of the rewards since she wasn''t officially part of the team. Meanwhile, Eva would probably want the rewards to be distributed based on each person''s contribution during the mission. As the team leader, it was down to Isaac to find a solution everybody would ept, "Let''s just use the standard distribution that I decided on for the team. Johan and I will take 30% each since we''re both in middle stage; then Eva and Abbie will each get 20% of the rewards." "I don''t" Abbie was about to object, but Isaac cut her off, "This mission is about learning to coordinate together and seeing how well Eva fits into the team it wouldn''t be wrong to call this a trial mission for our group. Therefore, it''s only right that we use the pre-arranged style of distribution." Isaac''s tone was firm and unyielding, telling Abbie that he wasn''t prepared to budge on this matter. She still believed that she deserved some form of benefit for officially joining the team rather than sitting on the fence, but what Isaac said was also reasonable. He had to be fair to the entire group otherwise the team would fall apart, so she was forced to ept his words even if she disliked them. On the other hand, Eva was silently pleased. Isaac defending her like this showed that he valued her as a potential member and truly wanted her to join the team. It was always nice to feel appreciated and a slight smile tugged at her lips, breaking her typical expressionless look. However, Johan saw that smile and misinterpreted it as a smirk. He felt like she was mocking Abbie and himself, so he was just about tounched a verbal attack on Eva. However, he was interrupted by a firm hand pping down on his shoulder. Then a sharp voice cut through the tense silence, "Since we''ve agreed to ept a mission, we should start thinking about what type we want to take. Johan, what do you think?" Johan was surprised at the sudden question and missed the opportunity to berate Eva. He merely red at her before answering, "Well, I believe we should look for a medium difficulty mission which doesn''t appear to be tooplex or dangerous. Like you said, this is a trial mission so it shouldn''t be too dangerous. However, it also shouldn''t be so easy that we just breeze through it. Since we have 2 middle stage cultivators on the team, one of the lower-tier medium difficulty missions would make the perfect challenge for us." "Well said. There''s no use in wasting time, so why don''t we head to the mission board and look for one such mission now?" Abbie suggested, prompting Johan to nod his head in agreement. Isaac also consented and the group left Johan''s house and headed towards the nearest mission board. When they got there, it wasn''t too crowded. It was closing in on midday, so most people had either already left the sect for their missions or were meditating at home. The group of 4 walked up to the board and started reading the quests pinned to it. "Gather Frostbitten Stctites from the frozen caves... No. The caves are too dangerous. Kill a group of bandits near Siren Town... if it''s too difficult for a town to handle, it''s too difficult for us. Deliver Official Tyson''s letter to Byron Town... far too easy. Also, won''t give us any opportunities to work on our teamwork." Isaac scanned 10 or so medium difficulty quests, but dismissed each of them for various reasons. Then he heard Abbie call out, "How about this one exterminate the wild beast terrorising Kirk Vige? It doesn''t seem that difficult, but it''s also a high priority mission so the rewards will be higher." High priority mission. This tag was given to any mission which needed to bepleted urgently. Missions of this type didn''t have a lengthy day-long application process and you were required to leave the sect toplete the mission immediately after epting it. Speed was of the utmost importance, andpleting the mission quickly would ensure the sect gave you a high mission grade, which could cause the reward to be upgraded. "What are the details of the mission?" "Kirk Vige has been attacked 3 times by a Rank 1 wild beast. The exact species of the beast is unknown, but it is confirmed to be of the wolf family. Now the beast is attacking anybody who leaves the vige your job is to kill the wolf beast or at least drive it away." Abbie read directly from the mission notice, "The base reward is 5 reward points and the maximum reward is 15 points. It appears to be a mission worth doing." The easy difficulty missions Isaac had taken before only had one clear condition as long as you fulfilled it, you hadpleted the mission and there was no need for a mission grade. For example, harvesting the Puche Flowers: what was there to grade? How well you picked the flowers? Missions such as this only had a fixed reward which wouldn''t change no matter how good of a job you did. However, the Kirk Vige mission was different. There were several factors to consider such as whether the wolf was killed or driven away, how quickly the job was done, and whether any damage was done to Kirk Vige while fighting the wolf. These all had to be considered when deciding how much to reward disciples, so mission grades and variable rewards were introduced for missions such as this. For this particr mission, you could arrive 2 dayste, drive off the wolf instead of killing it, heavily damage the vige and do an all-round shoddy job to earn 5 reward points. Alternatively, you could earn triple that by rushing there early, killing the wolf and getting an ''A'' mission grade. Fighting a wild beast with a group of 4 wasn''t difficult at all. In fact, this probably would''ve been an easy mission if it didn''t need to bepleted urgently and teams had time to prepare for it. It was simple,bat-oriented, and the perfect opportunity to show Eva the abilities of their team. Isaac immediately decided to ept the mission, "Remember the mission number we''re taking this one." The group members agreed with Isaac''s judgement. They also thought the mission sounded quite enticing, so they watched as Abbie jotted down the mission number. When she was done, they headed to the Adventurers'' Hall. Just like the mission board, the Adventurers'' Hall wasn''t that busy. The team only had to queue for a couple of minutes before they reached the mission application desk. "Hello, we''d like to apply for mission 1492. It''s a medium difficulty high priority mission to exterminate a wild beast." The man at the desk appeared to be in his mid tote twenties. His hair was long and braided, and a well-kept goatee adorned his chin. He gave Isaac''s group a somewhat disinterested nce before looking through a pile of papers on his desk. He pulled out one sheet with arge red stamp on it and the words ''High Priority'' written in bold. Then he asked for all the group''s names and cultivation stages. Isaac kindly provided them. "Remember, this is a high priority mission: it needs to be done quickly andpetently. Because of this, at least one of your team must be middle stage, so I need to confirm the cultivation levels you''ve told me are correct." The man unlocked one of his draws and opened it, then he pulled out a fist-sized crystal ball. "Please hold the ball and insert a small amount of Qi into it. The crystal is very sensitive to Qi and will change colour based on its quality." Isaac took the ball from him first. He roused his Qi and circted it through his Qi Veins. When Qi passed through his hands, it seemed to be automatically drawn to the crystal orb and Isaac simply allowed it to be sucked in. The orb began to glow a dark blue. "Middle stage. Next." The man made a couple of notes on the file before looking up again. He saw that the orb was now in Johan''s hands and it was glowing deep blue again. "Also middle stage." Abbie took the orb after Johan and she also injected her Qi. However, when the orb glowed it was so dark it almost looked ck. This showed that Abbie''s Qi was less pure than Isaac and Johan''s. She gave the crystal to Eva, who had a simr result. Both of them were at lower stage. After seeing this, the man made some more notes and then spoke again. "You''ve passed the requirements to ept the mission, so now it''s time to decide whether you will do so." "We ept." After hearing Isaac''s confident confirmation, the man handed him a map with the route to Kirk Vige drawn on it. He also wrote up a mission pass with today as the leaving date and the return date as ''indefinite''. "Now that you''ve epted the mission, you must set out toplete it today. Please finish your mission as quickly as possible." With that, the man had finished briefing them. He called out, "Next group,e forwards!" while gesturing for Isaac''s team to leave. And leave they did. The team walked out of the Adventurers'' Hall and all returned to their respective homes so they could eat lunch. Then they regrouped by the sect gates, ready to leave for their first mission as a team. Chapter 63: Expedition to Kirk Village Chapter 63: Expedition to Kirk Vige Isaac showed a guard their mission pass. The guard gave a curt nod, then gestured for the person controlling the gates to let them through. 2 grand, wooden gates slowly opened, revealing a world of snow, ice and pine trees to the group. They stepped through the gates and into the real world, leaving the safety of the sect behind. The gates thudded shut behind them, cutting off any route of retreat. They weremitted to the mission now. That meant they had to take the first step towardspleting it reaching Kirk Vige. Johan had long since requisitioned the map from Isaac, so he got it out with a flourish and quickly set a course to their destination. The navigation wasn''t difficult since a route was already marked on the map. Using the scale at the bottom of the map, Johan estimated the journey would take 2 days if they followed the route. Thankfully, they had all prepared well. Each member of the team carried a bag packed with essentials such as food, water, matches, andrge waterproof sheets they could use to build a shelter. Isaac had prepared especially carefully due to what happenedst time he ventured into the wild. He even carried a spare set of clothes in case his got damaged in battle again. Spare clothes might alsoe in handy if what he was wearing got soaked through. The clouds above were so thick even the midday sun could barely prate them. They loomed overhead, thick, heavy, and strongly threatening to rain. Some of the viges surrounding the sect had a saying: ''there are only 3 guarantees in life: taxes, death, and piss-poor weather''. They were likely to see thetter today. However, rain, snow and hail were constant urrences in Northern Tundra, so the group had already expected to deal with bad weather. They paid no mind to the storm building overhead and embarked on their journey. ************************* Snow crunched underfoot and ravens cawed from unknown locations, concealed by the branches they perched on. Aside from the rustling of trees blown by the wind, these were the only sounds heard by the group throughout 8 hours of walking. The sun had set a few hours ago, but Johan was a better navigator than Isaac and he had been confident of guiding them in the right direction despite the pitch-dark conditions. They''d been trying to keep their pace up and make it to Kirk Vige as soon as possible, so they''d had very few breaks in their walking. Now all 4 of them were exhausted from the trek, so they decided to settle down for the night. It was raining, so there was no chance of them starting a campfire. They all sat together at the base of arge tree and ate some of the food they''d brought with them. When they were finished, they bade one another goodnight before climbing the branches of the tree and each finding a thick bough to rest on. Isaac tied his waterproof sheet between the branches above him to block the rain, but he couldn''t see whether the others had done the same. It didn''t particrly matter to him either, so he dispelled any thoughts about the mission or the group from his mind and tried to get a peaceful night''s sleep. ************************* Being able to sleep well in any circumstances was a skill a skill that Isaac had mastered through years of living in the farm''s noisy dorms. The relentless pit-patter of rain could not keep him awake and he''d managed to drift off just minutes after putting his head down. Now, however, it was morning and he''d already woken up. He untied his waterproof sheet, descended the tree and began to eat breakfast at its base. Soon, he was joined by Abbie and Eva who also looked well-rested after a good night. It had stopped raining midway through the night, so there was nothing to stop Eva taking dry sticks and kindling out of her bag to start a campfire. The trio warmed their hands above the fire and even used it to cook some of meat they''d brought with them. The cut of meat was small but quite high in fat, making it a valuable source of energy and calories. As the meat was cooking, Isaac shouted out for Johan to join them. 5 minutester, Johan emerged from the lower branches of the tree. There were dark rings under his eyes and he looked rather tired. He hadn''t had the same experiences as the other 3, so sleeping in noisy, cold and ufortable environments was still difficult for him. While Johan was still struggling to shake off his tiredness, Isaac took the meat off the campfire and cut some for both Johan and himself. He tucked into his own portion while Johan came over and sat down unsteadily, "I hope you''re able to keep up today, since I''m not gonna slow down just for you." Eva looked up and gave a simple remark. She wasn''t really having a go at him; she just didn''t want anybody to drag her or the group down. However, Johan decided to take it as an insult. Just as he was about to rebuke her, he was interrupted by Abbie, "I''m sure he can manage. Johan wouldn''t be in the team if he wasn''t at least that capable, so you should put a little bit more of your trust in him." Eva didn''t respond and just went back to eating. Johan also calmed down and started eating his meat. The atmosphere of the group was rather cold after that, so nobody said anything and they just ate in silence. Soon they finished breakfast. It was important to reach Kirk Vige as quickly as possible, so they set off without wasting any time. Light flurries of snow had begun to fall from the sky, and the going was tough to begin with. Just putting one foot in front of the other was difficult when you were walking through 3 feet of snow. They trudged onwards for minutes, which stretched into hours, which eventually knotted together into the long rope of a day. Just as they were approaching the end of that rope, an oasis of light appeared on the horizon. At first it was just a faint yellow dot, no bigger than a firefly. But as they crept closer, the dot grew bigger and bigger until it assumed its final form: Kirk Vige, lit up like a beacon in the night. Isaac and the others were like moths drawn towards its light. They made a beeline for the vige so they could finally stop walking and rx their tired bodies. In particr, Johan was looking forward to sleeping in a proper bed where he could get a good night''s rest. On the other hand, Isaac had used his Snowshoe Anima a bit so he wasn''t as tired as everybody else. When they reached the vige, he was the one who interacted with the guards. Compared to the fully-armoured, well-trained guards at the sect, these so-called guards looked more like clowns. The pair of gatekeepers were both dressed in mismatched pieces of ragged leather armour and they were chatting to each other while not paying attention to the surroundings. Isaac had to shout to get their attention. "Hey! We''re disciples sent by the sect, so let us in!" When the guards heard him, they were both shocked. They immediately straightened up their posture and tried to look professional, but failed miserably. One of them said a few quiet words to the other, and then promptly disappeared from sight, leaving only one guard to speak to Isaac. She seemed a little anxious and stuttered as she spoke, "H-hello sir hello sirs and madams," she nervously corrected herself when she saw the rest of the group. She''d caught a glimpse of Isaac''s sect disciple badge and she felt it looked real, so her anxiety only grew, "I-I-I wee you to our humble vige." Then she tried her best to give a formal bow. Her rigid movements made it clear she had never performed such an action in her life, but Isaacmended the effort nheless. "My colleague... has just gone to fetch the vige head, so I hope you cane inside and j-just w-wait for him to arrive. He won''t be long, I promise!" The very idea of asking guests from the sect to ''wait'' was nerve-wracking for the young female guard. She had gathered all her confidence before asking, but she was still extremely nervous when she did so. Contrary to her expectations, Isaac didn''t get angry or berate her. Instead, he calmly ordered, "Let us in and give us a ce where we can wait and dry off." The guard hurried to obey. Isaac saw her disappear from the top of the wall as she went to go and open the gate. 30 secondster, the thick wooden gate began to slowly rise. No; it would be more urate to describe it as a portcullis rather than a gate, since it had to be pulled upwards using a winch. When the portcullis was fully raised, Isaac and the others stepped forwards. They had entered Kirk Vige, the site of their quest. Chapter 64: A Rocky Start Chapter 64: A Rocky Start As soon as the group of 4 had entered, the gate began to lower behind them. The vige had been under attack recently that was why the group was sent here to begin with so the guard was eager to close the gate as soon as possible. Isaac saw her standing by the side, next to a wooden wheel. It looked somewhat like the wheel you''d find on a ship, but it was thicker and had rope coiled around it. The guard was slowly winding the wheel, letting out some of the rope and lowering the portcullis. He couldn''t see it before, but up close he realised how muscr the woman was. There were several pulleys and counterweights which made raising the portcullis easier, but it still would''ve required immense strength to do it without any help. Despite her powerful build, the guard was just as timid as ever. When she finished lowering the gate, she bowed to the group again, "Thank you for waiting. There''s a guest house nearby so I''ll bring you there. I h-h-hope it''ll be satisfactory..." She fidgeted as she spoke. There was something about her bearing that made Johan want tofort her and tell her not to be nervous. While she wasn''t a beauty in the ssic sense, her toned muscles, well-proportioned curves and striking facial features were very attractive. Coupled with her shy but sweet nature, she was a charming woman who even Johan was drawn to. The group walked behind the guard as they followed her to the guest house, but Johan quickened his pace and caught up with her. He walked next to her and began to talk casually. It wasn''t long before the group heard herughing softly at Johan''s jokes. When he saw things develop this way, Isaac frowned. Meanwhile, Eva''s expression twisted into a scowl and even Abbie''s eyes glinted with a faint trace of disdain. It was fine if Johan wanted to act like a Casanova in his own time, but to do it during a mission was just unprofessional. Abbie didn''t say anything since she was waiting for Isaac to discipline Johan, but that never happened. Isaac stayed silent all the way until they reached the guest house. Now that she''d finished guiding them, the guard was about to leave, "I''m sure the whole vige will rejoice once they find out you''re here. We''ve been terrorised by that beast, even some of my colleagues... *sob*" the guard began to cry as she remembered the braverades who''d given their lives to defend the vige, "I... I just hope you can avenge them! I know it''s too much for a lowlymoner such as myself to ask anything of heroes like you, but please kill that beast!" She wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to put on a brave face. However, her bottom lip continued to tremble, "Please! It''s done too much it''s killed too many! I..." She broke down and started crying again. She simply couldn''t stay brave when she thought about all those that she''d lost. It took her several minutes topose herself, and she finally realised that she was overstepping her boundaries by speaking to disciples of the sect in that manner, "I-I-I apologise for showing such a shameful side to myself... I''ve said far too much already I n-need to get back to the wall, I''ve been away for too long, I-I hope you enjoy your stay." She turned to leave as she rattled of words of apology, but Johan grabbed her arm, "Look, if you want to talk about it, then why don''t youe inside" "Johan." Isaac''s voice was icy and firm. It stopped Johan in his tracks and he released the woman''s arm. Isaac ignored the re Johan was giving him and spoke to the guard, "Return to your work ce. Thank you for bringing us here." The guard rapidly nodded her head in thanks, then she turned and almost fled away from the group. It seemed that while she found Johan''s jokes funny, she wasn''t overly fond of him, "Johan,e inside. We need to talk." Johan knew that tone. It wasn''t the tone Isaac used when he was asking it was the tone he used when he was giving orders. Johan hated being ordered around. But he also didn''t want to start a confrontation in the middle of the street and in front of the other 2 group members, so he followed Isaac into the guest house. Isaac revealed his identity to the person in charge of the house and the pair were quickly brought to a private room. Then the person in charge left. Now that they were alone, Johan burst out, "Why can''t I have a little fun? It won''t do us any harm!" "We''re not here for fun, Johan." Isaac said coldly, "We''re here on a mission, so stop messing around and stay focused on the job." "But what if she knows any details about the wolf? I could''ve gotten info" "You could''ve gotten information from her? No. Even if she does know something, she''ll have reported it to the vige head, who we''re just about to speak to. Don''t kid yourself Johan, and absolutely don''t try to kid me. We both know you weren''t digging for information you just wanted to blow off some steam." Johan''s face began to flush red. He always struggled to stayposed when Isaac challenged him like this, and that wasn''t any different now; he felt anger and embarrassment about to ovee him. He knew Isaac was right, but he couldn''t help but try to defend himself, "What do you know?! She could have a first-hand ount of seeing the wolf she might know a lot more than the vige head! You just ruined a good opportunity for us to glean information!" "Johan Friberg. Think long and hard about what you''ve done wrong, because I know you don''t believe a word of what you just said. If you never learn to recognise your mistakes, you''ll never improve. And somebody who can never improve has no ce on my team." With that, Isaac turned around and walked out the door, leaving alone Johan in the empty room. He was caught in a mix of emotions: anger at Isaac for admonishing him; anger at himself for being so unprofessional; and a sliver of self-doubt about whether what Isaac had said was actually true. While Johan was trying to sort out his feelings, Isaac was already outside. He told Eva and Abbie that he''d spoken to Johan and promised that it wouldn''t happen again. Then he invited them toe inside. The guest house was merely a temporary stop where they were waiting for the vige head. They wouldn''t be sleeping here, so it wasn''t necessary to arrange a separate room for the girls. Isaac took them straight to the room Johan was in. By this time, Johan had got himself together. When the other 3 entered the room, he stood up and said with an earnest face, "I''d like to sincerely apologise for my unprofessional actions. It won''t happen again." Johan was a slippery bastard so Isaac had no way of knowing whether he meant it or not, but it was good enough. It seemed like Abbie epted his apology and Eva was at least less angry than before, so any major conflict had been averted. There weren''t any further troubles, so the group started a fire and hung their coats above it to dry. Then they began discussing how toplete the mission. There were 2 real options: wait for the wild beast to attack the vige again and kill it, or try to hunt down the beast before it attacks again. The former would be easier, but thetter would give them a better mission rating since it would be quicker and prevent damage being done to Kirk Vige. All 4 team members were confident in their abilities. If they had to pick between an easy but less rewarding choice and a more difficult but higher rewarding one, they would pick the difficult task since they were confident they couldplete it. That was why Isaac, Johan, Eva and Abbie all agreed on trying to find the wild beast. To do so, they would need to start digging up clues about what type of beast it could be or where it might live. The obvious first step in that process would be to question the vige head, since they would have the most information in the vige. *Knock* *Knock* Ah. Speak of the devil, that must be the vige head now. Isaac got up and went to open the door. 2 people were standing outside; a guard dressed in poorly fitting leather armour, and a man who must''ve been in histe fifties or early sixties. Life expectancy for men in Northern Tundra was about 55 years old and that was if you didn''t fight or put yourself in dangerous situations. For the man to live this long, he was doing rather well. His face didn''t have many wrinkles, but most of his head was bald; there were only a few patches of wiry grey hair. He was quite short, maybe 5 foot 3, and had a slightly hunched back. He looked up at Isaac with his deep, dark blue eyes which showed the vicissitudes of life, "We greet the visitors from the sect." Then he and the guard both bowed, "I am Leon, the head of this vige. I hope we can assist each other in solving the problem which gues this vige." Chapter 65: Taking Extra Precautions Chapter 65: Taking Extra Precautions "Precisely. Let''s not waste any time; sit down and we can talk." Leon nodded and sat down on the floor. There was no table in the room, so Leon sat opposite the other 4 who were also sitting on the soft rug which had beenid out. "It''s already ratherte so you must be getting hungry. If you''d like, Alex can get you some food." Leon pointed to the guard standing near the door, who was evidently named Alex. However, Isaac shook his head, "I appreciate the offer, but we''d rather eat the food we brought with us. Viges such as your own work hard to make food even then you have to give up most of it as a tribute. It would be rude of us if we took what little you had left while we still had our own food." It was true that most of the sect''s food was provided by the viges as a tribute, but Isaac didn''t decline Leon''s offer out of respect for the vigers'' hard work. No, he didn''t want to risk eating food in an unknown ce since there was always a chance somebody could poison it. The chances of it happening were minimal, but it was a possibility nheless. The other 3 all agreed with Isaac. ''Never eat food provided by others unless you trust thempletely or you can''t avoid doing so''; that was one of the principles the academy taught them all. "I can tell that you are very careful people." Leon smiled. He clearly understood why the group chose why the group chose not to eat the vige food, but he didn''t feel offended at all. In fact, he felt it was normal to be wary of people you didn''t know he was acting amicably, but he was also on guard against this group from the sect. However, he understood his position. He couldn''t overtly watch the group since he couldn''t risk angering them it would be bad if they even felt ufortable. Therefore, he told Alex to leave the room and guard the door from outside. Now he could have a private conversation with the team, "I rushed here to meet you when I heard that you had arrived. You are doing us a great favour bying here, so I will do my best to assist you in any way possible." Isaac held up 3 fingers, "We need 3 things from you right now. First, arrange lodgings for us. A single house with 2 bedrooms would be ideal. Second, get a guard to report directly to us. Their job should be to alert us immediately if the beast attacks again so we can help fight it off. Third, free up your time slot tomorrow morning. We''ll have several questions to ask you and you might need introduce us to people who know more about the wild beast. As for now... just tell us what you know about the wild beast." Leon sighed. "That''s not much, I''m afraid only a handful of people have seen it and lived to tell the tale. All I know is that it''s a ck wolf. It''s attacked us 3 times, with each attacking at night. Every time it''s been like a phantom,ing and going as it pleases without us being able to stop it." "Hmm... that narrows it down, but it''s still nowhere near enough to work out which beast it is." Isaac who read a lot and Johan who was very well educated were quite knowledgeable about wild beasts. However, they didn''t have enough information to work out which beast had been terrorising the vige. "It''s getting ratherte, so I hope you can find a temporary residence for us. We can continue this conversation tomorrow when all of us are well-rested." "Of course. Let me just have a word with Alexander and he''ll find you a ce to stay. I already have one in mind near the edge of the vige that way he''ll be able to find you quickly if there is another attack." With that, Leon stood up. He stretched a little and Isaac could almost hear the creaking of his tired bones. Then he turned and left. Isaac could hear quiet words being exchanged outside, then Alexander entered about 2 minutester, "Sorry to keep you waiting. A residence has been prepared for you, so please follow me." Alex led them out of the guest house and to another location not far away. They were walking around the edge of the vige right next to its defensive wall, and Isaac saw ces where the wall was ramshackle orpletely broken. Emergency repairs had been made on the wall, but the damage done to it was still very evident. Isaac suddenly asked, "When was thest attack?" "Excuse me?" "Don''t make me repeat myself." "Uhhh... 3 days ago, I think. Yes, it was 3 days ago. The beast attacked the wall on the other side of the vige; this damage is from the second attack." "How many days has it been since the second attack?" "... That must''ve been 6 days ago." "Then why hasn''t the wall been repaired? And why did the beast attack the other side of the wall instead of this damaged part?" "Uhm..." Alex scratched the back of his blond head, unsure of how to answer, "Not many people dared venture outside the vige after the first attack, so we started running out of wood after we repaired everything from the first fight. Animals are pretty dumb, so we used what we had left to do some basic repairs here and hoped the beast would attack somewhere else. Thankfully, it did." "But that still doesn''t answer my question. A wolf beast would definitely be smart enough to attack the weak points in your defences, so why didn''t it?" "That... I don''t know." Isaac didn''t say anything after that, and the team continued to follow Alex in a somewhat awkward silence. Well, it felt awkward for Alex at least. When they finally reached the residence, Alex showed them in. The outside wasn''t in great condition, but the inside was tidy and clean. It seemed that Leon had made people prepare this residence when he heard the sect would send a team over. After showing them the house, Alex said a few words, "The other 2 houses here have also been prepared. They''re empty and have been tidied just like this one, so you can use them as well if you wish. The vige head''s assigned me to take care of anything you need, so just give me a shout if you want something. I''ll be spending most of my time working, but my guard post is just there," Alex opened the window and pointed at a small raised area on the wall, "so it shouldn''t be hard to find me. I hope you all have a peaceful night''s sleep." After that, Alex bowed and turned away. He seemed a lot more confident andfortable speaking to the group than the other female guard had, and Isaac couldn''t help but wonder whether Leon had tasked Alex to observe their house as well. He didn''t necessarily like it, but it was Leon''s vige, which made it his duty to keep the people in it under control. He would''ve done the same if he was in Leon''s position, so he put his suspicions aside and simply epted that Alex might be watching them from his spot on the wall. Meanwhile, Eva was eating her dinner while Johan and Abbie set up their sleeping arrangements. The house was quite spacious and had a simple setup. There was the central space of the house with a kitchen and dining area, then there were 2 beds to the left and 2 beds to the right. Johan and Isaac would be sleeping on the right, while Abbie and Eva would be on the left. Johan and Abbie finished what they were doing and came back into the central part of the house to start eating, so Isaac sat down to eat as well. There was actually a proper table and chairs in this house, so they all sat together at the table. Isaac''s chair creaked as he sat down, "We don''t know any of the people here, which means we can''t trust any of them. We''re in an unknown ce and we have to stay on guard, so I want to set up a night watch. Each of us will take turns to keep watch while the other 3 sleep: Johan will go first, Eva will go second, I''ll go third and Abbie will gost." This was another thing everybody had learnt in the academy; always stay on guard when entering a new ce. This was the cultivation world: anybody could stab you in the back just to make a minor profit, so it was crucial to stay cautious at all times. The rest of the group also knew this. Since Isaac had put himself in the least favourable third spot, nobody objected and they all agreed with his idea. Gradually, everybody finished eating. Isaac, Eva and Abbie all went to bed, while Johan stayed at the table all by himself. The oilmp in the kitchen cast a thousand fleeting shadows, which flickered over his face ominously. Chapter 66: Starting the Investigation Chapter 66: Starting the Investigation However ominous he might''ve looked, Johan did his job diligently. He knew the importance of staying careful, cautious and on-guard, so he took his post as watchman seriously. Johan didn''t take many things seriously, but when he did decide to do something properly, he would do it very well. He kept a proper watch for the first part of the night, then woke up Eva so she could take over. Eva did her job with equal seriousness, then it was Isaac''s turn and finally Abbie''s. Soon it was morning. Abbie woke the others at about 7 o''clock and they all ate breakfast together. Over breakfast, they had a group discussion about how they would find clues about the wild beast. For their n to work, they needed to discover its species and the location of its den, so those 2 things were their priorities. They decided Isaac and Abbie would ask the vige head some questions, while Johan and Eva would search the vige to try and find clues. The pairs had been chosen so that they were bothposed of a melee fighter and a supporter, with both pairs having a middle stage cultivator. With groupings like that, Isaac wasn''t too concerned about either his or Johan''s group running into trouble. He was only worried that Eva and Johan''s personalities might sh, so he had a word with them before they left. "Eva, I want you to listen to Johan on this job. He''s extremely skilled at searching for clues and investigating things, so if he makes a decision, his word is final." Then Isaac turned to face Johan, "But that doesn''t mean I''m giving you free reign to do what you want. You need to consider each possible course of action and decide on the best one. If Eva''s suggestion is better than yours, don''t be stubborn and stick to your guns listen to her, that''s what teammates are for. We''ll meet back here at midday and brief each other on what we''ve found." Eva and Johan nodded solemnly. This was their first medium difficulty mission, so they didn''t dare take it lightly. Both were determined to perform well and get a good result. After Isaac''s short pep talk, they left the house and got to work. Meanwhile, Isaac and Abbie stayed put. She looked up from the table and spoke to him, "Our meeting with the vige head was scheduled for 7:45, so I rmend leaving soon. The walk to his residence should take approximately 10 minutes." "Let''s leave in 3 minutes. We have to time it so we''re neitherte nor early." Arrivingte would show that they didn''t really care about the mission. Meanwhile, arriving early would be unbefitting of their status as cultivators: it would be like a King arriving early at the Duke''s mansion. Being punctual conveyed just the right amount of seriousness in carrying out their task. When the clock on the wall hit 7:35, Isaac and Abbie donned their jackets and left. They walked through the quiet vige streets towards the centre of the settlement, which was where the vige head resided. Isaac was slightly surprised when they arrived. He''d been expecting the vige head''s residence to look like the one from the 2nd trial the trial where he''d fought a vige''s head inside an illusion. However, the 2 residences looked nothing alike. The head''s residence in the 2nd trial was an expansive one-storey house surrounded by arge courtyard and a fence. Leon''s residence was also single-storey, but that was where the simrities ended. There was norge courtyard or extravagant exterior. In fact, the house was entirely nondescript it was only distinguishable from the other houses on the street since it was slightlyrger than them. Then Isaac noticed that one of the wood panels of the house had writing on it. He got closer and saw that names and numbers were engraved into the wood, ''17597 - 179614 T.C. Kirk Pedersen 179614 179618 T.C. ra Henrik 179618 179641 T.C. Aaron Hilsberg '' The list went on and on. Isaac couldn''t read it all so he skipped to the end, ''18092 - T.C. Leon Daleson'' It seemed to be a record of all the previous vige heads perhaps they had all lived here, in this very house? The mere thought of it was impressive: over 500 years'' worth of vige heads, all living in this one ce, passing on their sacred duties down the generations. Unfortunately, as grand as that might sound, it was unlikely. A wooden home such as this wouldst 100 years 150 at most, so there must''ve been at least 4 or 5 vige head residences over the years. Instead of the age of this building, Isaac focused on the years written on the panel. The first vige head was appointed in 17597 T.C., a year after the Full Moon Sect was formed. The sect had actually been created by unifying the viges in this area, but some of the viges had resisted. The sect had forcibly subdued most of them, but many vigers had escaped and moved further away from the sect to start new viges. Kirk Vige was likely to be one of those viges. However, the sect had been expanding its territory for many years. Eventually, Kirk Vige had fallen back into its clutches. Based on the vige history, Isaac guessed that some people here might resent the sect for taking away the freedom their ancestors had fought for. Then Isaac turned his attention to Leon''s name. The new year had started just a couple of months ago, making it 18125 T.C. now. However, Leon had begun his tenure as vige head in 18092, a whole 33 years ago. That meant he was wise and experienced. He had undoubtedly met many people from the sect during that period, so he must''ve be an expert in dealing with them by now. Even though this was a vige ofmoners, it had an experienced head and a long history. There could be many secrets or hidden dangers within this vige, so Isaac wanted toplete the mission and return to the sect as soon as possible. The less time they spent here, the less time there was for things to go wrong. As Isaac was thinking this, Abbie knocked on the house''s door. It took no more than 10 seconds for Leon to answer it. He weed the pair inside and shut the door behind them. "You are very punctual." He smiled, "I thought you might''ve arrived early, but you''re right on time." As someone who''d been involved in politics for a long time, Leon knew all the tips and tricks of the trade. He even took notice of things like arrival time, so he knew that Isaac was trying to show they was serious about the job. However, it wasn''t enough to be serious. The wolf wild beast was an urgent issue for the vige so they had to be quick as well, which is what Leon was referring to when he said Isaac might''ve (or should''ve) arrived early. Abbie also understood the hidden implication in Leon''s words. She flicked her hair back and spoke, "We might not be early, but we''re efficient. I can assure you we''ll find the wolf quickly and kill it before it attacks again." "I sincerely hope you do so. As I stated previously, I will do my best to assist in any way possible." "Perfect. We have some questions, so your cooperation would be much appreciated. Firstly, could I ask whether you''ve noticed anything unusual recently?" Leon chuckled at Abbie''s question, "Nothing strange at all, this is just a regr vige. Nothing has been out of ce thisst month or so; everything has been the same as usual." "So you don''t have any idea why the beast might be attacking Kirk Vige?" "None at all, I''m afraid. As I''ve said, everything''s been normal. I have no idea why a wild beast would suddenly attack our vige, other than its innate hostility towards humans." "You''ve been attacked 3 times, correct? When were the attacks and when did you request support from the sect?" "Yes, that''s right 3 attacks, all in quick session. The first came 7 days ago, then the second was one day after that. We sent for help immediately after the second attack, but we think our messenger was killed by the wolf since we received no response. We sent another message to the sect 2 days after that, and then we got a response the next day. That was 3 days ago, the same day as the beast''s third attack. It hasn''t returned since then." Just as Abbie was going to ask another question, Isaac interrupted, "I saw where the wall was damaged from the second attack; it still hasn''t been repaired. But then, instead of targeting that weak area, the 3rd attack was on the other side of the vige. Do you know why it did that?" Leon got more serious when he heard that question. "I''ve wondered that too. When we started repairing the damage done in the second attack, we knew we severelycked wood. Nothing we did would be enough to stop the wolf if it attacked here again, so I told the workers to focus on making the wall look strong and stable rather than using all our wood to reinforce it. Maybe the wolf saw our repairs and thought the wall was back to full strength, but still... even if the wall looked like it was repaired, there was still some visible damage it should''ve noticed. I''m afraid I''m as baffled by this as you are." "That''s not a problem, I''m sure we''ll get to the bottom of it in the end." Abbie resumed asking the questions, "More pressingly, weck a good description of the wolf right now. It would be of great help if you could introduce us to somebody who''s seen it." Leon thought about it for a moment and sighed, "There''s only one person who''s gotten a clear look at the beast and isn''t currently dead orid up in the doctor''s infirmary. She is still injured so I didn''t want to bother her right now, but... this is for the vige''s safety; I have no choice. Come with me, I''ll bring you to see Astrid." Chapter 67: Visiting the Valiant Warrior Chapter 67: Visiting the Valiant Warrior The vige head stood up and there was a screeching sound as pushed his chair back under the table. He didn''t say anything else as he walked over to the door, but Isaac and Abbie both followed him. Leon brought them out onto the streets and led the way through a twisting trail of alleys and roads which brought them towards the edge of the vige. This was the opposite side of the vige to where the team were currently staying; this was the side of the vige which was hit by the 3rd attack. Just as they were nearing their destination, Leon spoke, "The first attack was very brief. It was almost like a probing attack to see how strong our wall was, and the beast left after attacking the wall just a few times. Nobody got a clear view of it. During the second attack, the beast stayed a bit longer but not by much. It left soon after our guards arrived, and again nobody got a clear view of it. It was only during the third attack that the wolf entered seriousbat with our guards." A pained expression crossed Leon''s face, "Over a quarter of our guards died that day. Another quarter were critically injured and are still in intensive care. The only blessing is that, with their sacrifices, we managed to wound that sted wolf and drive it off!" Leon''s eyes burnt with intense fury when he mentioned the wolf. He couldn''t contain his anger when he thought of the damage that beast had done to his vige and its people. His spirit was aze with the desire for revenge, but s! Hecked the strength to avenge the vige by himself; he had to rely on this team of teenagers from the Full Moon Sect. Leon had often regretted not bing a cultivator, but he regretted it more than ever right now. But would regret help in the current situation? Would ''regret'' save the vige? Of course not. As the vige head, he had to stayposed. It was his job to lead these teenagers from the sect; he had to give them whatever help they needed to find the wolf, kill it, and resolve the danger looming over his vige. So he continued to exin, "Astrid was one of the guards who was wounded in the third attack. She''s one of the only people who fought the wolf and isn''t still in a critical condition, so she should be able to answer your questions." They walked on in silence for about 2 minutes before arriving at their destination; a small-ish hut right next to the vige wall. In fact, there was a set of stairs leading up onto the wall just 5 metres from here and there was one of the guard outposts on the wall nearby as well. It was obvious the resident had bought this cabin because of its convenient location. It was a great spot for a guard to live since the journey to and from work took about 10 seconds and you could respond in an instant if there was an emergency. Unfortunately, what was ''convenient'' was now ''useless''. It was a convenient location for a guard to live, but Astrid could be a guard no longer her career was over. Isaac and Abbie saw this for themselves when Leon knocked on the door and it was opened by a woman. Isaac''s attention was immediately grabbed by the scar which drew a horizontal line across her face. It started at her right ear and stretched all the way to the bridge of her nose. Half of the scar was obscured by the eyepatch Astrid wore over her right eye, but Isaac could guess it ran right across her eyeball. Other than the scar, there was more damage on the right side of her body. There was a lot of bandages and strapping around her right shoulder and her right arm looked heavily injured. The limb hung limply by her side like it was made of jelly. Astrid wasn''t surprised when she saw Leon who was looking at her with sympathetic eyes but she was confused when she spotted the pair of teenagers behind him. "Vige head, why''re you bringin'' kids here?" she asked in an exasperated voice, "I have enough on my hands just lookin'' after myself without you visitin'' every day." Leon sighed. He felt deeply sorrowful about all the people who''d been killed or injured defending their vige so he regrly visited the doctor''s quarters to see how the injured guards were doing. He also came to see the Astrid, the only guard who''d been released by the doctor. "I''m sorry to bother you once again, but these are not ''kids''. They are cultivators sent by the sect to kill the beast which inflicted those very injuries upon you. They said they needed a better description of the wolf, so I brought them to you." Astrid''s reaction was not one of happiness. Instead, her jaw almost dropped in disbelief, "They''re sendin'' kids like this to deal with a monster like that?! The Full Moon Sect must''ve really declined recently!" "Astrid! Regardless of their age, they''re honourable visitors from the sect! Please stop calling them kids and start treating them with respect!" "What''s respect worth in a world like this? Respect won''t protect them when they try to fight that monster. And if they want to punish me for showin'' disrespect... so what? I ain''t got much left to lose anyway." Leon tried to respond, but Isaac interjected before he could, "We have no mind to punish you regardless of what you call us. We''d simply appreciate your help catching the beast which killed yourrades." Abbie added her own thoughts, "If you doubt our abilities and don''t wish to help us, we''ll leave you alone. We''ll have to fight the wolf whether you choose to help us or not. The mission might be harder without your information, but we''ll still have toplete it." "You" Astrid was going to object, but she stopped herself, sighed, and spoke softly, "If you''ve decided to dig your own graves, that''s your own choice; I won''t try and stop you. If it''s a description of the wolf you want, then I''ve seen it closer than anybody else. In fact, I''ve seen it far too closely." She pointed to the eyepatch covering her eye, "I''ll help you out. Come in." Astrid stepped aside so Isaac and Abbie could enter. Just as she was about to close the door, Leon stopped her, "Do you have any more need for this old man''s presence?" He half-joked. Isaac responded, "Thank you for your time, vige head. If we need you again, we''lle to find you at your residence." Astrid closed the door. Then she went over to her kitchen and started brewing tea without saying a word. Meanwhile, Isaac and Abbie had sat down at her small table. "We don''t want any tea." Abbiemented, but Astrid''s reply was short and sharp, "I wasn''t making it for you." 5 minutester, Astrid joined them at the table with a cup of herbal tea. Then, before Isaac could even ask, she began to exin, "The beast was a wolf," she shivered as she remembered it, "with pitch ck fur as ck as the night itself and orange eyes. Fierce, fiery orange eyes." She paused for a moment and sipped her scalding hot tea, trying to remember the wolf as well as possible despite how painful those memories were, "It was roughly the same size as a normal adult wolf, or perhaps a bit smaller. But despite its size, it was stronger, quicker and more powerful than a normal wolf could ever be. Sometimes when it attacked, arge ck phantom would appear behind it. The phantom looked somethin'' like a w, but I couldn''t make it out clearly since it blended in with the darkness of night. The only thing I could be sure of was that when that w appeared... nobody that stood in its path would survive. I thank the gods it only had a short range, otherwise I wouldn''t be sittin'' here today... just like so many of my colleagues..." Astrid began to break down at this point. In fact, it was admirable that she kept herposure for so long to begin with watching friends andrades being mercilessly killed must''ve been incredibly traumatic. And then having to recall those horrifying experiences just days after they''d urred... she wanted to cry, but she couldn''t even do that properly due to the ruptured tear ducts in her right eye! It took a few moments for her to pull herself together. Abbie went over and tried to console Astrid, while Isaac sat in his seat like a statue and watched the scene unfold. With Abbie''s help, Astrid didn''t take too long topose herself. She took a deep breath and continued to speak, "It had one other ability; sometimes it would just... disappear. Then, a few secondster, it would pop up somewhere behind our defences and start wreaking havoc..." That was all Astrid could say before she broke out into sobs again. Abbie went over to try andfort her again. She tried to put her arm around Astrid, but the warrior batted the arm away, "That''s *sob* all I can tell you. *sob* Please. Please kill that bastard wolf." Thest sentence wasn''t spoken with anger or rage. Nor was it said with sorrow. It was a sentence uttered with cold, gritty desire. When Isaac heard this, he realised that Astrid had already helped them as much as she could and wanted some time to grieve alone. Isaac was more than willing to oblige he had no reason to stay here after all. He got up and tapped Abbie on the shoulder, then whispered into her ear that they should give Astrid some time alone. She nodded lightly and the two of them left. After closing the door behind him, Isaac only walked 2 paces before he heard the smashing of a teacup. Then came a loud scream. "Fuck! Why couldn''t it have been me?! Why did you have to leave me all alone?! Damian!!" Abbie looked back at the lonely, isted shack, but Isaac kept on walking. Chapter 68: Know Your Enemy and Know Yourself Chapter 68: Know Your Enemy and Know Yourself The pair walked back towards the centre of the vige. When Isaac saw somebodying in the opposite direction, he stopped them. He faced the bearded man dressed in loose hemp clothes and asked, "Who does the vige''s hunting? Where can I find them?" "Huh? I never seen you before. Yer an outsider, ain''t ya? Don''t bova us regr vigers and go find out for yerself." The person tried to walk past Isaac, but Isaac grabbed them by the shoulder. His grip was tight and vice-like so they couldn''t get away, "Ow ow oww! Tha'' hurts, lemme go!" Isaac refused to loosen his grasp. Meanwhile, Abbie stood in front of the man and spoke aggressively, "Listen here. We''re not lowlymoners like you. We''re cultivators sent by the sect. Look at this badge." she grabbed the badge pinned to her coat and shoved it towards the man''s face, "We''re here to save your little vige, so show a bit of gratitude and answer the question." When the man heard ''from the sect'', he shook involuntarily, "I''m sorry! I apol''gise sir and madam, I had eyes but I failed to see! Please ''ave mercy on this poor man!" Isaacmanded coldly, "Just answer the question." "O-of course sir! Aivar, Ragnar, Leith, Linna and ra do most of our huntin'', but Ragnar and ra died not so long ago. Aivar stays..." The man proceeded to list off directions to the 3 people''s homes. Abbie whipped out a pen and paper and asked the man to repeat them so she could write them down. Then Isaac asked, "Who''s the most experienced hunter? Which one of them knows the area best?" "Well, Aivar''s been huntin'' tha'' longest, but Leith proba''ly knows the wild best. His dad and grandad were both hunters ya'' see, so he got a lot of knowledge from them." Isaac nodded when he heard the man''s words. Then he released the iron grip he had on the man''s shoulder. The man looked at Isaac somewhat fearfully and somewhat warily. He rubbed his sore shoulder while waiting for Isaac''s permission to leave. "Go." That was all it took and the man scurried away like a sewer rat. Isaac turned to Abbie and spoke, "Good. Let''s see if we can pay Leith a visit." ************************* A short whileter, the duo were sitting at a man''s table and being offered tea. Both declined. Abbie began a bout of questioning, "I''ve heard that you''re a hunter, Leith." "Yes, that''s correct." "So you know the area well." "I''m out in the wild every day, so yes. I have good knowledge of the surroundings." "And would you say that anything''s been strange recently? Have the animals been behaving differently? Have you seen anything unusual?" "The animals were getting rather skittish about a month ago, then they quieted down for a period before bing agitated again... aboutst week? I stopped hunting 5 days ago, just after the second attack on our vige, so I''m not sure if they''re still like that." "Would it be correct to say the animals'' unusual behaviour is due to the presence of the wild beast?" "Yes, I believe so. Though I don''t know what scared them a month back." "You see, that''s why we''re here today; the wild beast. You wouldn''t happen to know where it lives, would you?" Leith was startled by the sudden question. "U-uhh, no. No, I don''t," he stammered. "You don''t sound sure about that though... do you not even have an idea?" "Umm... if I had to guess, I''d say it''s probably somewhere on the west side of the vige the animals on that side have been affected the most." "Thank you for your help, Leith. We''ll be going now." ************************* After that, the pair visited Aivar and ra. They asked simr questions to what they asked Leith, but they either got the same answers or no answer at all. In the end, they didn''t learn much. The only thing worth noting was a question Aivar asked, ''Is Leith alright? His sister diedst month and he hasn''t stopped grieving since, so I''m just a bit worried about him, you see.'' Those were Aivar''s exact words. Abbie responded with a curt ''Yes, he seemed fine.'' and passed over thement, but Isaac picked up on it. The wolf attacks had only startedst week, so somebody dying a month ago was strange. At first Isaac thought she''d died on a hunt which had gone wrong, but Aivar told him she was a guard, not a hunter. He asked a couple more questions and learnt that, just over a month ago, 8 vigers had suddenly died. Aivar didn''t know too much about the case since the vige head had hushed it up, but there were rumours about them being murdered by intruders from Kukk Vige. Kukk Vige was the only other settlement near here andy 3 km northwest of Kirk Vige. This business about ''murder'' was certainly unusual for a quiet vige like this, but Isaac didn''t pay it much attention. His job was to kill a wild beast, not act as a stand-in for the local police, so he had no intention of getting involved. Instead, it was nearly midday so he and Abbie headed back towards their residence near the other side of the vige. When they got back, Eva and Johan were already there waiting for them. Abbie opened the door and saw the pair sat at the table, so she asked, "So? What did you dig up?" Johan sighed, "Not much, unfortunately. We went round to see each ce the wall''s been attacked. The first spot ispletely repaired, you''ve seen the second spot already it''s a shoddy job and the third area is still in tatters. They''ve got a lot of guards focused in that region, but there are still holes in the wall big enough for a man to walk through. "We also heard there were more attacks: merchant groups travelling from the west have been attacked and killed by the beast; people found ruins of their carriages 5 days ago. Other than that, we asked a lot of guards what the beast looked like. But all they knew was that it was a regr-sized ck wolf." "That''s fine." Said Isaac as he pulled out a seat to sit at the table, "We got a much better description; I know what beast it is." Abbie looked at him sideways, using her eyes to ask ''Why didn''t you tell me this earlier?'' Isaac ignored her antics and continued to exin, "It''s a wolf with pitch ck fur and zing orange eyes. Its size is about the same as an adult wolf or perhaps slightly smaller and it has 2 special abilities. The first is a ck w phantom which appears sometimes when it attacks." Johan''s face lit up when he heard this. It seemed he had also guessed what the beast was. However, Isaac continued, "And the second is to ''disappear'' and then reappear somewhere else a few secondster. Rather than disappearing, I believe it is travelling through shadows." "It''s the Sarcevic Wolf, isn''t it." Isaac nodded when he heard Johan''s words. Eva''s expression also brightened as she recognised the name. Sarcevic Wolf. The name ''Sarcevic'' was a very famous one in Northern Tundra. Very few children would grow up without being told the tale of Mikael Sarcevic at least once. He was a legend of this continent known as the ''Prince of Shadows'' for his incredible usage of darkness-style Anima. He was also renowned for founding what used to be the continent''srgest city. As a child, Mikael had been abandoned by his parents. His family had lived in a small vige which worship one of the various wolf gods. Every month their vige would offer a sacrifice to the gods by venturing into the forest and leaving babies just outside a special den. The vigers referred to it as a ''shrine'', but it was actually the den of wolf wild beasts. That month, Mikael''s parents had offered him and his twin sister Tori as sacrifices, since she simply couldn''t afford to raise 2 children. She brought them to the mouth of the ''shrine'' and left them there. Of course, the pair were soon discovered by the wolves. When the 2 adult wolf wild beasts saw the small, innocent babies outside their den, they dragged them inside to eat. The wolves were raising young pups, but these pups didn''t show any aggression towards Mikael or Toni. Instead, they yed with them. The wolf parents saw this and chose not to kill Mikael or his sister Toni. Wolves have very strong paternal instincts. Once they decided not to eat the twins, the wolf parents cared for them as if they were their own children. Mikael and Toni were safely raised by the wolves until the age of 9, when the wolf parents both died. Then the twins ventured out into the wild along with their wolf siblings. It''s unknown how much of the legend is true, but one part of it stuck. After the story was repeated over several generations, people began to refer to the species of wolf that raised Mikael as the ''Sarcevic Wolf''. It was a very famous story and many people were acquainted with the features of a Sarcevic Wolf. It was slightly on the small side for wolves, had pitch ck fur and bright amber eyes, and possessed 2 innate abilities due to its affinity with the shadows: phantom w and self-like-shadow. It was a rare nocturnal species of wolf which only hunted at night. During the day, it would hibernate in its underground den, and at night it would hunt a wide variety of prey: bears, elk, caribou, arctic hares, foxes, oxen, and other wolves. It would even use its phantom w to catch birds if they flew too low. All in all, it was a deadly creature whose strength was approaching the upper echelon of Rank 1 beasts. And now the group had to fight it. Chapter 69: Danger Approaches Chapter 69: Danger Approaches If they wanted to do so, they would have to prepare properly. After giving a full description of the Sarcevic Wolf''s abilities and tendencies, Isaac repeated what he''d heard from the hunters. He told Eva and Johan about the unusual behaviour of the animals, especially in the west. That fit with what Johan said about merchants being attacked to the west of here, so the team were pretty confident the Sarcevic Wolf lived west of Kirk Vige. Isaac was the first to speak up, "Now that we know the vague location of the beast, we can start thinking about how to kill it. Since the mission needs to bepleted as soon as possible, I want to fight it tonight." "But how will we find it? All we know is that it''s in the west." "We can''t find it. That''s why we''ll need to lure it out." The group reacted in shock and disbelief. Luring the wolf out would require somebody to act as bait. Whoever did so would be more likely to lose their life than keep it. However, Isaac interrupted their worried thoughts, "Rx. I never said one of us would be the bait..." Isaac began to exin his n... ************************* When night fell, Isaac, Johan, Eva and Abbie left their residence. They jumped out of the back window in case Alex was watching from the wall above and carefully made their way through the streets towards the prearranged meeting point. This ''meeting point'' was a dirty alley in the slums of the vige. Even the brightest light would still cast a shadow; where there was light, there would also be darkness. There was another side to this seemingly friendly, prosperous vige. It was the side where the vige''s filth and rabble were and hidden away. It was the slums in which the team now stood. It looked no different than the slums you might find anywhere else in the world. Rubbish lined the narrow road and people either lived in small, dirty, decrepit shacks or out on the streets. Isaac saw their pallid faces, their thin, bony bodies, and their lifeless eyes. Most had already epted their inevitable fates, but a few a sparse few still had a glimmer to their gaze. The faintest hint of hope remained, and thus these people were not resigned to death. No, they were desperate to live. The group hade to meet one such person. He was a man with a haggard face and wrinkled skin. His condition made him look as old as Leon, but he was actually just half the vige head''s age. When he saw the group, his face brightened. It was the only element of his appearance that could be described as ''bright''. In fact, it was the only part of his appearance which couldn''t be described as ''bleak''. His lips contorted into an unsightly smile as he asked excitedly, "You promised! You promised, right?!" Isaac raised his hand and gestured for the man to calm down, "We''re here, aren''t we? If we were lying to you, we wouldn''t have bothered to turn up." "But I mean the payment! You''re really serious? I''ll never have to spend another day here so long as I listen to you?!" "Of course." Isaac sighed, "Just walk around outside the vige for a bit and you''ll never have toe back here again. This is yourst chance to decline. Will you do it?" Isaac spoke in a deep, quite obviously fake voice. He and the others were in cloaks which helped them blend into the deep, dark night. The man knew it was fishy. He saw that they were quite obviously suspicious, but he didn''t care. They''d handed him 25 copper pieces before he''d even done anything, so he knew they had money. So long as there was something to earn, he didn''t mind what kind of shady things he had to do. "Yes! There''s no way I wouldn''t do it for 6 iron pieces! That''s what we agreed on, right?" The man''s voice was tinged with nervousness as he spoke thest sentence. He feared this mysterious stranger would suddenly lower the price. However, Isaac saw right through him, "I''m not so petty as to change the agreement now. You''ll have 6 iron pieces as soon as the job is done. Just follow me." Isaac turned on his heel and his cloak billowed out behind him. His 3 teammates and the beggar man followed him as they headed towards the north side of the vige. This side of the vige hadn''t been attacked yet and this area was widely regarded as safe. Most guards had been relocated to the damaged east and west sides of the vige, so there weren''t many people here. That just made things easier for Isaac''s team. Johan, Abbie and the beggar man stayed hidden in the shadows of a building. Meanwhile, Isaac and Eva crept away from the group. They snuck towards a flight of stairs leading up to the top of the vige wall and silently ascended. At the top of the wall, they moved swiftly and soundlessly. The 2 guards nearby were knocked out before they even knew what was going on. Then Isaac peered over at Johan''s group and beckoned for them toe up the wall. He and Eva waited for them at the top of the stairs. When the other group arrived, Isaac did something quite without warning. He jumped off the other side of the wall. The deep snow issued a crunch as Isaded in it. Thankfully, it took most of the oomph out of that 2-metre drop. Behind him came the whooshing sound of a cloak being buffeted in the wind before there was another crunch. Eva stood up and walked over next to Isaac. "Are you sure about this?" "Yes." Cold and concise as always, Eva didn''t ask anything else. The pair waited together for Johan, Abbie, and the man to jump. Sure enough, 3 more *crunch* es sounded in session. The others had jumped down and they joined Isaac and Eva. Then, just as they had arranged beforehand, they entered the outskirts of the forest which surrounded the vige. Now the guards on the wall wouldn''t be able to see them, but Isaac and the team could still see the vige which was lit up like a lighthouse in the dark night. When they were sure they couldn''t be spotted, they skirted around the vige towards the gate in the west. There was small path which led up to this gate well, it''d be more urate to call it a trail than a path. People who travelled between Kirk Vige and the nearby Kukk Vige decided they needed a clear route between the two ces, so this trail was created to make sure people wouldn''t get lost on the way. However, in thest week, many people had been attacked on this route. There was even a group of merchantsing from Kukk Vige travelling here to peddle their wares. Unfortunately, they never made it; their destroyed carriages were discovered a few days ago. Since then, this route became notorious as ''the path of death''. Anybody who walked it would be prey for the monster lurking in the darkness, or so Leith had told Isaac. Instead of thinking ''Hey, that sounds pretty dangerous, I better not go there'' like any normal person, Isaac decided to test Leith''s theory. He forced the beggar man to walk down the road while his team hid in the forest to the side; he and Abbie were to the left, while Johan and Eva were to the right. The beggar didn''t object to walking down this hugely dangerous road. In fact, he didn''t even know about its reputation or nickname. Contrary to what any wuxia novel with a ''Beggars Sect'' would have you believe, beggars weren''t the world''s greatest information gatherers. Of course, some were well-ced enough to hear important bits of conversation, but not Gumundur. He was too concerned with finding his next meal to eavesdrop on others. Therefore, it was easy to convince him to walk down the road. In fact, he was happy to take this trail since it felt safer than walking through the eerie midnight forest. Of course, the trail was in no way, shape or form safer than the forest, but Gumundur didn''t think too deeply about that. They say ignorance is bliss, and Gumundur certainly felt blissful while thinking of the money he could earn just by walking. He kept plodding along the trail, utterly ignorant of the danger approaching him from behind... Chapter 70: Deadly Shadow Form Chapter 70: Deadly Shadow Form Johan was the first to spot the Sarcevic Wolf. It didn''t have a dramatic appearance. No, it arrived silently and without anymotion. In fact, Johan didn''t even see it approach; he merely saw the darkness behind Gumundur meld, morph and rapidly change shape to take the form of a ck wolf. He tried to tap Eva on the shoulder and alert her to the threat, but that was unnecessary. Before his hand could even reach her shoulder, everyone''s attention was drawn by Gumundur''s loud cry. The wolf had swiped viciously, cutting across the back of his legs. Gumundur stumbled and fell to his knees. As if it had been expecting this, the wolf rose up behind him, orange eyes glinting with menace. Its jaw opened unnaturally wide, almost like a snake''s, then snapped shut. Gumundur''s head burst like a watermelon. Fragments of skull and brain flew everywhere. The headless body fell limply to the ground, and the wolf climbed on top of it. It stood over Gumundur for a second, observing its handiwork. Then it dipped its snout to munch on what was left of his head. The wolf ate from the open skull as if it were a bowl, mopping up morsels of grey brain matter and crunching on his bones like they were crisps. However, Johan''s sight was pulled away from the wolf when he caught motion in the corner of his eye. Isaac and Abbie were approaching the wolf from behind and just slightly to its left. Abbie stopped about 10 metres from the wolf, but Isaac kept going. It seemed he wanted to ambush the beast whilst it was still eating. Seeing this, Johan and Abbie moved through the woods to a position ahead of the wolf. If it ran away, it would being right towards them. The wolf twitched, then it looked up. Perhaps it had heard Isaac? No. He had been slowly, silently gliding forwards with his Snowshoe Anima. Maybe it heard the rustle of leaves as Johan moved forwards through the woods? That seemed more likely. The wolf might have been eating dinner, but it hadn''t invited any guests! It sniffed the air to ascertain the position of the unexpected intruder. Isaac saw this and knew the wolf would smell him. He shot forwards like an arrow, moving as fast as he could while staying in control of the Snowshoe Anima. The Sarcevic Wolf finally noticed him. It spun and bared its teeth, but Isaac was already within 2 metres of it. He raised his hand, created a spirit sword, and shed at the wolf''s exposed nk as he sped by. The Sarcevic Wolf wasn''t known for its defence. Isaac''s razor-sharp de prated its skin without difficulty and tore through the wolf''s tender flesh. It issued a howl of pain and tried to swipe at Isaac, but he was long gone. The Snowshoe Anima carried him out of the wolf''s range and he stopped 5 metres away. The wolf turned to face him, and Isaac looked at it mockingly. It still hadn''t noticed Abbie and it was his job to keep things that way; he had to keep its focus on him. He approached the wolf again, moving slower this time. The Snowshoe Anima was much easier to control at lower speeds, so it would be easier to evade the wolf''s attacks like this. Isaac closed the distance. 4 metres... 3 metres... 2 metres... without warning, the wolf swung its paw. It was way too far away to hit Isaac, but Isaac felt great danger nheless. He tried to stop with his Snowshoe Anima, but it wasn''t quick enough. His brain was still screaming at him to get out of the way, so he deactivated the Anima and threw himself to the floor. Only the others clearly saw what happened. An ominous, 4-pointed w appeared behind the wolf as it swung. The w was half a metre wide and just under a metre tall; it was mostly ck but the nails of the ws were tipped in a dark, bloody red. When the wolf reached the apex of its swing, the phantom w shed forwards. It took less than half a second to reach Isaac, but he was already falling to the floor by now. The w sailed over his head and travelled about a metre past him before the it began to fade and disappear into nothingness. The wolf dashed towards Isaac the moment it saw him on the floor. He tried to scramble back to his feet, but there was only 2 metres between them and wolves were incredibly agile creatures. It took a step forwards and leapt through the air towards Isaac before he could get up. Isaac desperately raised his sword to defend, though it would be almost impossible to block the powerful wolf. Suddenly, a wall of snow rose up in front of Isaac. The wall shuddered when the wolf cannoned into it and white powder flew everywhere. Abbie stood with her hands together pointed in Isaac''s direction. The wall was her doing; it was the Snow Barrier Anima which created a thick wall ofpacted snow. However, snow was still snow. No matter how thickly you packed it, it would never be the toughest of materials. The wolf''s 2 front paws burst through the wall, then came its head. Isaac expected the rest of its body to follow, but the barrier truly was thick. The wolf had lost momentum as it tried to break through and couldn''t even make it to the other side. It had gotten trapped in the snow. The Sarcevic Wolf unleashed an infuriated howl and tried to burst free using its powerful body. However, Isaac wouldn''t give it the time to do so. He shed at one of the beast''s exposed paws. His swordcerated skin and flesh just as easily as before, cutting all the way to the creature''s bone. The wolf yelped in pain and frantically shook its body to break free from the wall. It quickly freed itself and retreated a few steps, limping as it did so. Isaac couldn''t pull his sword back it was stuck in the wolf''s leg. The sword was dragged out of his hand and disappeared the moment it lost contact with his palm. Then he had to waste Qi creating a new de as he mbered to his feet. There was a small opening a short time period where Isaac was unarmed. He was prepared for the wolf to attack him before he could create a new sword, but it didn''t. It sniffed once at the air before its eyes became filled with bloodlust. Then it suddenly changed form. Instead of being a solid wolf made of muscle, bone, flesh and physical things, it quickly changed shape into a mass of writhing ck shadows. Before Isaac could react to what was happening, these shadows swiftly melted and disappeared into the floor. Isaac immediately realised he wasn''t the wolf''s target. It had smelled Abbie and was trying to take her out first. Isaac couldn''t allow that. He activated his Snowshoe Anima at the max speed he could manage, and bolted forwards in a straight line towards Abbie. However, he wasn''t quick enough. A shadowy shape appeared behind Abbie and the wolf began to materialize, "Behind you!" Isaac shouted, but Abbie didn''t even turn around. She put her hands together and calmly pointed backwards at the floor behind her. Isaac saw a snowke fly out from between her hands. It seemed to move slowly, but was actually deceptively quick. It burrowed into the ground behind Abbie and a wall of snow shot up from where itnded. Just as the wall was created, the wolf finished transforming from shadows back into its physical form. It had learnt from its previous mistake and didn''t try to jump through the snow. Instead, a ck w phantom appeared behind it as it readied a powerful swing. Meanwhile, Abbie was running away from the wolf and Isaac was still speeding towards her. Neither of them could see what the wolf was doing since the snow wall blocked their sight. Everything was silent for a moment, then there was a tremendous *Bam*. The snow barrier exploded as a huge ck w burst through it. The dark red tips of each point shone maliciously as they cut through the air towards Abbie''s back. Chapter 71: Power of the Melee Duo Chapter 71: Power of the Melee Duo The ws dug viciously into Abbie''s back, piercing deep into her flesh. She cried out in pain as the blow flung her forwards, and she crashed face-first into the snow. Her left hand immediately went to the wound on her back. She felt 4 wide, inch-deep holes in her skin. It was a dreadful injury. Her fingers became sticky with blood and she was assaulted by a wave of pain when she touched it, but she was actually relieved. The attack had missed her spine. Breaking the snow wall had also reduced the w''s power, otherwise the wound wouldn''t have stopped at just an inch deep. Abbie was lucky the damage hadn''t been worse, but her life was still in danger. She knew this, so she didn''t waste time rolling around or screaming in pain. She raised her head and hurriedly scanned for the wolf, trying to see if it would attack her again. It was about 2 metres behind her, panting heavily after using the phantom w ability again. However, it wasmon sense for a wolf to attack injured prey. When it saw Abbie was hurt, the beast shook off its tiredness and pounced at her. Abbie tried to scurry away. She winced at the shooting pain in her back, but tried to battle through it. She scrambled desperately, but her boots couldn''t find any purchase in the snow. Her movements felt painfully slow. She wasn''t going to make it... *Phwoosh* There was a strong gust of wind as something shed by Abbie''s left. *aaang* It felt like the air itself shook with that sound. Abbie looked up, stunned. She was just quick enough to see the majestic sh between man and beast. Sparks flew as Isaac''s de collided with the wolf''s fangs. Abbie watched the sh tensely since the oue could decide whether she lived or died. It was an even contest. 2 fangs broke, while a spider web of cracks ran down the sword. Isaac recoiled 2 paces back, while the wolf retreated 1 step. It shook its head and released a long, mournful howl. Meanwhile, Isaac expressionlessly created a new sword. He steadied himself then stepped in front of Abbie and shouted, "Johan, administer emergency first aid! Eva, hold off the beast with me!" Johan and Eva were a short distance further down the path, lying in wait in case the wolf tried to escape. However, they immediately came running when they heard Isaac''s shout. Meanwhile, Isaac was in a stand-off with the wolf. He was hesitant to attack, since he was worried the wolf might get past him and kill Abbie. On the other hand, the wolf was exhausted after using each of its innate abilities twice. Unlike humans, wild beasts didn''t have a Qi Core or possess their own Qi. Instead, some of them were able to harness the ambient Qi in the environment to activate certain abilities. However, these innate abilities couldn''t be used without limit. They were immensely taxing on the user: changing into shadow form damaged the Sarcevic Wolf''s body, while using the phantom w was extremely exhausting. The wolf stared Isaac down. It panted heavily, trying to recover while also looking for holes in Isaac''s defence. It couldn''t find any. The confrontationsted for a few seconds, then the wolf heard 2 people running towards it. It realised that waiting any longer would be bad, since more enemies were about to arrive. It panicked slightly it knew it had to attack Isaac, but it didn''t know how. In the end, animals are still animals. The Sarcevic Wolf was no smarter than a regr wolf; it was just more aggressive and bloodthirsty. It leapt towards Isaac without any kind of n. However, it failed to ount for its injured forelimb. Isaac had severely injured its front paw earlier, so the wolf couldn''t jump as far as it thought it could. Its leap was rathercklustre and Isaac easily defended against its attack. He even countered with a thrust towards the left side of the wolf''s chest. The wolf dodged with impressive agility, then itunched another attack to Isaac''s right. The pair traded blows for several seconds, giving Johan and Eva time to reach the fight. Eva ran directly past Abbie to join thebat. Meanwhile, Johan stopped and knelt down by her side, "Turn over." He said in a solemn tone. Abbie did as she was told and rolled over onto her front. She grimaced and let out a hiss of pain. Johan inspected her back with a serious face. He''d learnt a lot about treating wounds, but he''d never had a chance to practice it so he was at a bit of a loss when he saw Abbie''s grievous wound. He decided to do the basic things first. He tore 4 bits of cloth from inside Abbie''s already-destroyed coat and stuffed into the w marks on her back. "Ah!" Abbie tried to grit her teeth but couldn''t help uttering a short exmation of pain. Johan tore another piece of cloth and handed it to her, "Bite down on that. If you end up biting your tongue, things will only get worse." After Abbie put the cloth in her mouth, Johan went back to treating her wound. He used both hands to apply strong pressure to the cloth. The bits of cloth were pushed deep into Abbie''s wounds. There was a muffled scream as she shouted into her fur gag, and she clenched her fists so tight that her fingernails cut into her palms. However, Johan didn''t stop. He had to keep the pressure on until her bleeding slowed down. Meanwhile, the battle raged on. Isaac focused on staying in front of the wolf and not letting it get to Abbie or Johan. Meanwhile, Eva circled around it looking for any opportunity to attack. She''d struck it thrice by now, and different patches of its fur were ice-crusted after being hit by her Palms of Northern Frost Anima Eva''s typically deadpan face was filled with joy as she fought. She danced around the wolf, looking to get her 4th hit in. Then she spotted the slightest of openings and dashed in to take advantage of it. The wolf reacted quickly. It turned its head and tried to bite Eva, but she didn''t try to dodge. Her fighting style went something along the lines of ''You can take my flesh, but I''ll crush your bones'', so she almost invited the wolf to take a bit out of her shoulder while she aimed a palm strike at the centre of its forehead. Her palm glowed pale blue and a thinyer of frost covered it. The wolf had already experienced and learnt to fear her self-destructive fighting style, so it chose not to trade blows. It stopped its attack and pulled its head away, swivelling back towards Isaac. However, just taking your eyes off Isaac for a second was a mistake. When the wolf turned back to look at him, it was startled to see a sword flying towards it. It couldn''t dodge in time and Isaac''s sword prated its soft chest, stopping just centimetres away from its heart. The Sarcevic Wolf cried in pain and quickly retreated a few steps. For the first time since the fight started, it realised that its life was in danger. It had initially deemed its assants as pesky vermin who would be easily dealt with, but that opinion quickly changed once they began to fight. Now it had seen the true strength of its opponents and questioned whether it was really worth fighting them. The answer to that was a rather emphatic ''no''. It had attacked them for 2 reasons: the first was that they looked like easy prey, but now it realised that was not the case. The second was that they looked bothersome; but risking your life over something ''bothersome'' would just be stupid. Therefore, the proud and regal Sarcevic Wolf let its survival instincts take over. It gave the group onest hate-filled re. Then it turned and ran. Isaac simply watched as it fled into the forest. Eva quicklyined, "Shouldn''t we chase it?" "No." It was a quick and firm denial, but Eva still wasn''t satisfied. Maybe she just wanted to fight some more, or perhaps she disliked the idea of her target escaping, "So, are we just going to let it go?!" "Hold on a minute I never said that..." Isaac spoke in cold, calm tone but Eva saw the ruthless glint in his eyes. She shook her head and smiled slightly it seemed that Isaac didn''t like his prey escaping either... Chapter 72: Hunter or Hunted? Chapter 72: Hunter or Hunted? Isaac didn''t want to let the Sarcevic Wolf escape, but that wasn''t a priority right now. Instead, treating Abbie was more important. To be honest, Isaac probably could''ve left her die that way the mission reward would be split between 3 people instead of 4. However, she was one of the valuable team members he''d picked out after sifting through all the data. It''d be hard to find a recement with simr skill, so the ability level of the team might decrease. Furthermore, the others would lose trust in him as a team leader and the team might start to be dysfunctional. Isaac had never been the type to sacrifice long-term benefits for the sake of short-term gain. He made it an absolute priority to make sure Abbie was okay before they chased after the Sarcevic Wolf. He walked over to Johan''s side to watch how the treatment was going. Abbie''s bleeding had slowed down after pressure had been applied for a long time. Johan slowly took the bits of cloth out of her wounds. They were drenched in blood so he threw them to the side and looked at the wounds more carefully. Then he picked up 2 handfuls of snow and rubbed snow around the wounds. This was to clean them and reduce the chance of infection. The coldness of the snow also caused a process known as vasoconstriction: the blood vessels in the cold areas constricted and got smaller, reducing the flow of blood to Abbie''s wounds and slowing her bleeding down even more. Johan didn''t know this was happening, but it was. And it was very helpful. When he was satisfied the wound was clean, he spoke to Isaac, "Unfortunately, I''m not a doctor there''s not much more I can do." "Is her life in danger?" "No. But if that wound''s exposed for too long, she could still get frostbite." Isaac thought for a moment before calling Eva over. "Eva. I want you to take Abbie back to Kirk Vige and make sure she gets treated by their best doctor. Oh and please lend her your coat." Eva''s gaze turned slightly stern. She didn''t want to be stuck with babysitting duties. She wanted to be at the heart of the fight! "What''ll you and Johan be doing? Why can''t he take Abbie back instead of me?" "As a trained melee fighter, you''re physically stronger and quicker than him. Abbie needs treatment as soon as possible and it''ll be easier for you to carry her back to the vige. Besides, I need Johan to help track the Sarcevic Wolf, and a duo of one melee fighter and one ranged attacker will be better inbat than 2 melee fighters. Furthermore, we''re both middle stage cultivators and the strongest in the group." Eva was almost buried under Isaac''s avnche of reasons. She had noeback so she was forced to reluctantly ept her role. She nodded with a slightly sullen expression, "Okay. I''ll bring Abbie back." She walked to Abbie''s side and looked her over twice. The sullenness in her expression was gradually reced by a serious demeanour Eva always took the attitude that if you were going to do a job, you might as well do it properly. This was no time to sulk or be downcast; she just had to get on with her task. She picked Abbie up and Isaac helped her move the girl into a better position. She ended up carrying Abbie on her back like a backpack. Abbie''s arms were draped over Eva''s shoulders and Eva could see the girl was barely conscious. She realised that another person''s a fellow teammate''s safety was now in her hands. She took that responsibility with the utmost seriousness. Her face was filled with determination as she left. Isaac and Johan bade her farewell and good luck, then returned to their job. It was a job which was undeniably more interesting than carrying an injured person; they had to track down the Sarcevic Wolf! The 2 of them both went to the spot where the fight had urred. This was the obvious ce to start since the wolf''s traces were everywhere. They quickly identified 3 main areas: the area Isaac had first fought the wolf, the spot where the wolf had attacked Abbie, and the ce where Eva and Isaac had confronted the wolf. The third spot was the most important since the wolf would''ve left a trail leading when it ran away. Isaac and Johan went over to investigate. The whole area which was about the size of a person''s garden was a mess. Snow had been kicked everywhere and blood was sttered all over the ce. It was hard to make anything out. There was only one clear clue: a set of paw prints leading away from the scene and into the forest. Alongside the paw prints were trails of thick blood which had soaked into the snow. Johan knelt down beside the prints. "Its gait is irregr it appears to be limping. And these blood trails show it''s received heavy injuries in multiple ces." "Yes. I injured its nk, chest and forelimb rather seriously." "Good. Following the footprints would''ve been difficult in the dark, but an obvious trail of blood like this will make it rather easy to track." Johan was about to set off in pursuit of the wolf, but Isaac stopped him, "Wait. Help me take care of this body first." Isaac pointed towards Gumundur''s corpse. When Johan heard this, he adopted a slightly puzzled expression, "Is that necessary?" "If we don''t move it, the vigers will find it eventually. Then they''ll question why we used one of them as bait to lure out the wolf and it''ll cause some tension between the vige and the sect. That could cause our mission grade to decrease." "Will they really care? He was just a beggar anyway; nobody in the vige will miss him." "Whether they care or not, its better to move him than to leave him here. Come on, we''ll just dump him somewhere in the forest where the beasts can eat him. It''ll only take a minute." Johan nodded. He went to grab Gumundur''s feet while Isaac grasped the body''s arms. The two of them lifted him and moved him about 100 metres into the forest, where they dumped him in a bush. Then they returned to the path where they''d fought the wolf. "I''ll follow your lead." Isaac let Johan track the wolf while he followed behind. They traced the tant blood trail into the forest, where it weaved through the trees and led into the unknown. The forest was eerie at night. The heavy silence was only asionally broken by a noise: sometimes by the cry of an owl or nightjar, sometimes by the loud crack of a branch which had been stepped on. A strange sense of foreboding filled the night. Anything could be lurking in the darkness, ready to jump out at the pair. Anything at all could be hiding behind the veil of night... But nothing happened. They followed the blood trail for 10 minutes, constantly on high alert. But still nothing happened. They continued to follow the trail, going even deeper into the deadly forest. And then everything was silent no more birds called. This lent the forest a certain lifelessness. It felt as if nothing lived here, as if everything had been scared away by some apex predator. *Crraaack* The silence was shattered by the loud sound of something breaking. Isaac looked at what he''d just stepped on it was thin, long and porcin white. It was a bone. He looked to his right and, amidst the darkness, could make out a mangled human skeleton. Ity there, resting against a tree, mostly destroyed. Only the legs were fully intact. Isaac shook his head and walked on. 10 pacester, *Crraaack* This time it was Johan who''d stepped on a bone. These bones must''ve been quite weak to break under a person''s foot. Isaac wondered why these bones were so peculiar and why they were here. However, they continued to walk on. Soon they reached a small clearing which was filled with skeletons. Most were human, but there were several wolves too. Isaac didn''t check thoroughly, so there might''ve been more species amongst the mess as well. In the centre of the clearing, surrounded by the skeletons, was an unassuming hole about a metre and a half wide. The snow around the hole had been cleared away and it was circled by a halo of dirt. Along the dirt ran a trail of blood. The trail disappeared into the dark hole. The hole''s entrance was pitch ck, like a gate which led directly into hell. It was the Sarcevic Wolf''s den, living ce, and current location. Chapter 73: Showdown Chapter 73: Showdown Isaac stared into the ck hole, but he couldn''t see anything. He and Johan cautiously walked up to the side of the den; they could hearboured breathinging from inside. Since they were right beside the entrance now, they could see a little distance inside. They could barely see 2 ck paws poking out from the darkness at the bottom of the den. They saw the paws shake, then disappear. The wolf had been lying down, but it had sensed the 2 people approaching it so it rose and let out a low growl. Before it had been loud and aggressive, but this growl was quiet and menacing like a warning not toe any closer. Isaac nced at Johan, then created a spirit sword and stepped into the den. Johan positioned himself behind, ready to provide ranged support. They could see the inside of the den more clearly now. There was a 3-metre-long passageway which led into an underground chamber. Isaac slowly walked down the passageway, crouching slightly since the roof was only neck height. He kept his knees bent and his feet rather wide apart, in a position where he was ready to dodge or react. He heard another low growl from the chamber below, so he readied his sword. Just as Isaac reached the end of the passage, there was sudden movement. A pair of jaws came snapping at him, slobber flying everywhere. He pulled his sword into position and defended against the strike. Then heshed out with a jab. The wolf retreated, and Isaac used the opportunity to advance 2 steps and get out of the passage. He emerged in arge, circr chamber where he could adequately stand up. The wolf stood in the middle of the chamber; its hackles were raised and its back was arched. Red blood slowly dribbled down its ck chest and right nk. The fur around its front right paw was also stained red and it walked with a limp. Meanwhile, its mouth was a mess; it had lost 2 fangs and there was blood all around its jaws though most of that was Gumundur''s. At this moment, the Sarcevic Wolf looked rather like a rat a rat which had been backed into a corner and forced to fight for its life. It regarded Isaac warily, somewhat reluctant to engage. It watched and waited for Isaac to make the first move. Isaac saw this and decided it would be better to seize the initiative. There was no snow here, so he couldn''t use the Snowshoe Anima he had to run towards the wolf instead. 3 quick strides brought him face to face with the beast. He brandished his sword, feinting towards the head before actually targeting its injured chest. The wolf raised a paw to protect its head, but then it saw the de''s trajectory change. It was too slow to react; it couldn''t defend itself. The wolf knew it would be hit no matter what it did, so it flew into a frenzy. Any defensive precautions went out of the window and it leapt towards Isaac''s sword. Isaac didn''t expect this. He was unable to adjust his sword and missed the wolf''s heart, which he was aiming for. His de pierced its soft chest again, but it passed between its ribs and failed to strike any major organs. Now, the wolf was flying towards him and his sword was stuck. He was about to release his grip on the sword and slide under the wolf, but then he remembered his mistake from earlier. Previously, he''d failed to protect Abbie and let the Sarcevic wolf get to her. If he slid under the wolf now, it would let the beast attack Johan who wasing down the passageway behind him. He had to stand his ground and protect Johan, but he also couldn''t eat this strike head-on... *Bam* Isaac had spent too much time thinking and not enough time acting. The wolf barrelled into him before he could decide what to do and he was pushed to the floor. The wolf stood over him. It raised its paw and an ominous ck w appeared behind it. Isaac would be turned to mush if the phantom w hit him at point nk range. He directed a punch towards the wolf''s nose, trying to interrupt its attack. Then, suddenly, he saw 3 icicles pierce the wolf''s head. One punctured its eye while the other 2 struck its cheek. The wolf howled in pain and the phantom w behind it dissipated. Isaac quickly created another sword and shed at the wolf. It jumped back, and Isaac was able to scramble to his feet. However, he was starting to run out of Qi now, so he didn''t want the battle to drag out much longer. He heard Johan speak from behind him, "Try to create an opening so I can target its other eye." Isaac nodded, but then the wolf charged at him. It had realised that, to survive, it had kill its 2 opponents there was no alternative or easy way out. It went straight for Isaac''s throat. Isaac swung his sword at the wolf''s iing head, but it read his de and ducked underneath. Now it was biting towards Isaac''s torso. He stepped back and to the side, giving Johan a clear view of the wolf. Johan fired another 4 icicles at the wolf''s eye. The wolf saw themte and couldn''t dodge. All of them struck its face, but none hit its eyes. However, they created a vital opportunity for Isaac. The wolf instinctively closed its good eye as the icicles approached. In the split second where it couldn''t see anything, Isaac darted forwards and thrust his sword towards the side of its head. The de entered just below its ear, pierced through its skull with a *crack* and went all the way through the other side. The wolf died in an instant. When Isaac removed his hand from the sword, it vanished and the wolf''s lifeless body copsed with a thud. The Sarcevic Wolf had met death with its eyes closed. If it weren''t for the wounds covering it, the beast would''ve looked asleep rather than dead. Indeed, it still looked as if it could wake up and attack at any moment. Johan told himself that was just an illusion his tense mind was ying on him. The Sarcevic Wolf could nevere back to life he''d seen Isaac put a sword through its brain. He quietly reassured himself and quickly regainedposure. Then he turned his attention away from the dead beast and towards itsir. They were currently in a rather roomy chamber a chamber that was unnecessarilyrge for a normal-sized wolf. The ceiling formed a dome and was at least 8 feet tall in the middle, while the chamber itself was nearly the size of a swimming pool. The chamber was very clean and there were no skeletons here, despite the piles of them outside. Something felt odd; it didn''t look like the kind of den a wolf would make. Isaac had noticed this too and was already looking around. He started at the edges of the chamber and slowly moved inwards, looking for any anomalies. Suddenly, he stopped, "Johan,e here!" Johan ran over. Isaac was pointing to a patch of earth which looked like it had been charred ck. Isaac ran his fingers over this ck patch, then looked at his fingertips. They had been coated ck by what looked like ash or charcoal. Johan was shocked, "This looks like the remnants of a campfire has somebody been here before us?" "Keep looking. There might be more signs." The 2 of them searched the rest of the chamber. There were a few more signs of campfires being started, but nothing else. Johan''s expression darkened, "It appears as if somebody has started several campfires down here. They removed any burnt logs or leftover wood, but they''ve forgotten to clear the deposits of ash and soot left by the fire. If they were down here..." Johan paused for a moment before continuing, "Was somebody manipting the Sarcevic Wolf?" Chapter 74: Questions Arise Chapter 74: Questions Arise "It seems likely. If somebody wasfortable enough to start campfires in its den, then they must feel pretty safe around it. Either they''re the seconding of Mikhail Sarcevic, or the wolf''s under their control." Isaac''s expression was nowhere near as grim as Johan''s. If they returned to the sect now and submitted their mission, they would probably get a B+ or A- mission grade. However, this mysterious 3rd party introduced a whole new variable to the case. In fact, they presented a great opportunity. Typically, the highest mission grade you could get was ''A+''. Even that was only achievable if youpleted the mission absolutely perfectly, without a single w in sight. However, in special circumstances, ''S'' mission grades did exist. But ifpleting a mission perfectly was only an ''A+'', how would you ever get an ''S''? Sometimes missions weren''t exactly as they were described. In a mission to protect a VIP from Rank 1 wild beasts, a Rank 2 beast might show up out of nowhere and the difficulty would suddenly rise. In that case, the mission''s previous difficulty, rewards and grading all went of the window. For example, there would be no punishment for failing or aborting the mission. However, if you could stillplete the mission despite the increase in difficulty, you could get an S mission grade. You would also receive rewards well above the supposed ''maximum'' rewards set for that mission. Essentially, you had to go above and beyond the mission''s requirements to earn an S grade. Now, with the appearance of this mysterious person, Isaac''s team had the opportunity to do that. S grade on his team''s first mission? That would draw the factions'' attention. However, Isaac wasn''t blinded by greed or visions of sess. For all he knew, those visions could turn out to be mirages. What if this mysterious person was a Rank 2 cultivator? What if there were 10 people instead of just 1? There were a lot of new questions which needed investigating before he took action. Instead, he spoke to Johan, "Skin the Sarcevic Wolf and harvest its most valuable parts. I''ll look for more clues outside the den." Johan nodded, so Isaac turned around and left. He entered the short passageway, walked up it, and emerged outside of the den. It had begun to snow lightly and thick clouds blocked the light of the moon; it was even darker than before. He wouldn''t be able to find clues or footprints in this darkness, so Isaac started by investigating the skeletons strewn everywhere. At first Isaac had brushed over them. He''d assumed they were prey hunted by the Sarcevic Wolf, but now that seemed unlikely. The wolf would''ve brought its food into the den before eating it, but there were no skeletons inside the den. Also, there would''ve been some flesh left on the skeletons'' bones. However, all the bones werepletely clean there were no traces of flesh, skin, muscle or blood anywhere. There were a number of uses for human and animal bodies, ranging all the way from food to demonic rituals flesh was quite a useful resource. Isaac guessed the mysterious person had used the flesh on these creatures'' bodies. What for? That much was impossible to know. Isaac took a couple of small bones and put them in his pocket. Then he searched the surrounding area. As expected, he couldn''t find anything in the darkness. He shook his head dismissively, then headed back into the Sarcevic Wolf''s den. Johan had nearly finished skinning the wolf, so Isaac sat down to watch and learn. He saw how skilfully Johan handled the knife and remarked in admiration, "Well done. How much do think this''ll sell for?" "I can''t say for sure, but the hide''s pretty valuable since it has strong dark-attribute properties. The ws are worth a pretty penny too, so we should be able to 15 reward points for everything. Did you have any luck finding clues?" "Too dark to spot anything." He took out one of the bones, "But the bones around the entrance bother me. I have no idea what the bodies were used for." "A demonic ritual?" "Perhaps. But demon-style has been unpopr for centuries." Demon-style Anima allowed the user to make sacrifices to the demons of the Nether Realm. Then the demons would lend the user a certain amount of their power based on the size and quality of the sacrifice. Orthodox sects understandably hated demon-style Anima not just because of the need for a sacrifice, but also due to the history between the Orthodox and the demons. Demonic cultivators had been kill-on-sight for aeons now, so most people had stopped using demon-style Anima. However... "If it was going to happen anywhere, it''d be here. Northern Tundra is nearly ruled by our Blood Path after all." "What ''nearly ruled''? We only own half the continent. The Orthodox and Neutral Paths share a quarter and the rest is owned by other species." "Well, yes... but their defeat in the war is inevitable." Johanughed, "And to think they were audacious enough to call it ''The Great Demon Eradication'' when they attacked us. Just look at them now!" He chuckled again, then continued speaking, "Anyway, that''s beside the point. What I mean is: Blood Path is the most prominent force on the continent, so there''s probably more demonic cultivators here than anywhere else." As somebody who was very well-read on the subject, Isaac knew Johan was wrong: Southern Jungle was the birthce of demon-style and had the most demonic cultivators. However, Johan was right; that was beside the point. The point was that there was still the possibility of this being a demonic ritual. Nevertheless, Isaac wasn''t somebody who quickly jumped to conclusions. Just because it could be a demonic ritual didn''t mean it was one. In fact, the perpetrator might not even be a cultivator. Isaac''s thought process was interrupted by Johan, "Alright, I''m done." "Let''s go back then. We should see how Abbie''s doing." Johan nodded. He passed Isaac the wolf''s fur while he picked up the ws, eyes and other bits. The two left the den and started jogging back towards the vige. ************************* It didn''t take long to get back and the guards let them in without asking any questions. After the guards let them through, one of them walked up to Isaac, "Hello sirs, your friends came through earlier. One of them came back and left a message for you: ''I''ll be waiting at granny Bna''s pharmacy'', that''s what she said." "Thank you. Where is this pharmacy?" "Go left for about 100 metres, then turn right, then take the first street on your right; that''ll put you in the business district. It''s the third building on your right. There should be a sign outside with the name." Isaac didn''t say anything and simply nodded. He and Johan immediately set off towards the pharmacy. Their feet thudded against the earthen streets as they ran. Left, right, right; it didn''t take long to arrive at the pharmacy. The normally busy business district was empty at night. Not a single sound could be heard, until Isaac''s 3 hard knocks on the door rang through the silent night. Only a moment passed before Eva opened the door, "Come inside." Her expression was rather rxed, which calmed Johan''s nerves; it meant Abbie''s condition was alright. The two followed Eva into the pharmacy. The entrance was a medium-sized room with shelves around the edges and 2 racks in the middle. Various medicinal products were stacked up and disyed for sale. Eva took them past the counter at the back of the room and led them into the back of the shop. There was a hallway leading to 2 more rooms; 1 on either side. Eva opened the door to their left and brought them into a room with a treatment table. A girl dressed in a fluffy white gown wasying on the table and a hunchbacked old woman was inspecting her back. The girl on the table was obviously Abbie. Her face was pale, but her sleeping expression didn''t show any pain. Meanwhile, Isaac assumed the old woman was granny Bna. She turned to gaze at the trio who had entered the room. Isaac looked at her wrinkled face. She had half-shut eyes, wore sses with wooden frames, and had 2 small moles above her left eye. Her hair was long, grey and tied back into a ponytail which disappeared behind her. She gave the group a soft, warm smile, then spoke in a small voice, "Please, do take a seat. I wish to finish checking your friend, then I shall tell you her condition, the medicines she should take, and how long it will take to recover. Please, bear with me." Johan responded with a nod and a thank you, while the other 2 just sat down. "Did you kill the wolf?" Eva immediately asked about the mission, so Isaac reliably informed her, "Yes. But something was strange. I''ll talk about itter, after we''ve returned to our residence..." He cast a nce across to Bna, who looked like she was minding her own business but was undoubtedly listening. Then he asked Eva a couple of questions about how Abbie was doing, before whispering to her, "Go back to the residence. Pack up all our stuff and bring it here." Then he whispered the same thing to Johan. The 2 of them stood up and left the room without saying a word. Meanwhile, Isaac sat and waited while Bna finished checking Abbie. After 10 minutes, she slowly walked over and sat next to Isaac. "Your friend is doing well. I have treated her with ointment made from the leaves of the Heikko nt, so her wounds should close within two days. She will be able to move by tomorrow and she will be mostly recovered in two days, but it may take four to eight weeks to make aplete recovery. It takes time for the body to replenish lost blood, you see." The woman spoke in a slow and steady tone. The Heikko nt wasn''t a Qi herb, but it was still a somewhat valuable nt with strong medicinal properties. It must''ve been difficult for amoner to acquire such a nt, so Isaac promised to pay 1 iron piece aspensation. Granny Bna gratefully epted. "Did you truly kill that evil wolf?" The old woman asked, but Isaac didn''t reply. It wasn''t his job to make small talk, and disclosing mission details to strangers was always bad practice. The granny sensed his reluctance, so she turned her attention elsewhere. "What happened to your shoulder, young man? Allow me to give you some medicine for that which ails you." She pointed towards Isaac''s right shoulder. When Isaac had fought therge group that tried to rob him, he''d been struck by the long-ranged attacker''s beam of light. The wound didn''t hurt much, but it wasn''t healing properly and Isaac had wrapped a multitude of bandages around his shoulder. Granny Bna had caught a glimpse of them when Isaac removed his coat to shake the snow out of it. Isaac remained silent, but he slowly untied the bandages. He stood there like a mannequin as Bna inspected the hole. He didn''t even show a hint of pain on his face when she poked around inside it. After a cursory examination, granny Bna mumbled something and went to get some medicine. She was about to start applying it for Isaac, but he stopped her. "Thank you for your help, but I can do that myself." After that, silence reigned. Isaac quietly applied the medicine while granny Bna busied herself at her cab of medicines. They did their respective things until Johan and Eva returned. *Knock* *Knock* *Knock* Isaac immediately got up to answer the door. He opened it to reveal Johan and Eva, each carrying 2 sacks full of belongings. Isaac beckoned them in and told them to leave the sacks in the hallway. They put the bags down and were about to go into the treatment room, but Isaac stopped them. He brought them back into the pharmacy''s lobby where granny Bna wouldn''t be able to hear their conversation, "We''re leaving Kirk Vige as soon as Abbie wakes up." Chapter 75: A Fresh Destination Chapter 75: A Fresh Destination Neither of the pair were surprised, but both for different reasons. Eva thought they''dpleted the mission and were heading back to the sect, while Johan thought Isaac had a lead and was taking them to investigate it. Truthfully, it was neither. Isaac''s only lead was the unusual bones and he didn''t even know why they were there. That meant the team had to start elsewhere. Namely, they needed to think about the suspects who would want to attack Kirk Vige. To Isaac, the primary suspect was obvious. In fact, there was only one suspect. Kukk Vige. They the only other settlement for miles, and Isaac had heard rumours about a grudge between them and Kirk Vige. Since he had a suspect in mind, Isaac wanted to investigate as soon as possible. Waiting too long would just give the culprit time to cover their tracks and escape, so he decided to visit Kukk Vige tonight. Isaac took some time exining the situation to Eva. He told her about the battle with the Sarcevic Wolf, then described the traces of human activity in its den. He gave her some time to digest the information. Then he exined that he wanted to continue the mission, find out who was behind the wolf''s attacks, and get an S mission grade. Neither Johan nor Eva objected. However, Eva did have a question, "Where would we even begin? If there are no clues or suspects, this will only be a fool''s errand." Isaac announced his suspicions of Kukk Vige and gave his reasons. Johan promptly agreed, "I had the same thoughts; there are obvious signs ofpetition between the two viges. If Kukk Vige wanted to eliminate Kirk Vige, they couldn''t do it openly since the sect would heavily punish them. All the upper ss would be executed and reced with people loyal to the sect. "If they were determined to destroy Kirk Vige, they would have to do it covertly. If they found some way to manipte the Sarcevic Wolf, it would make the perfect tool for destroying Kirk Vige. Then, they could even ept the survivors into their vige and expand. In the future, the vige might even grow into a town." Eva also had her own part to add, "They have the motive and opportunity to attack Kirk Vige, but I doubt they have the means. You''d need special tools, herbs, or Anima to influence a wild beast, but a vige full ofmoners wouldn''t have any." Isaac responded quickly, "We can''t be sure of that. I believe Kukk Vige deserves a thorough investigation." Johan nodded, while Eva wore a pensive expression. After a few moments, she responded, "We have nothing better to go on, so I suppose it''s worth a shot." The trio had been speaking in hushed voices so granny Bna couldn''t hear. Isaac didn''t think she was dangerous, but the academy taught disciples to keep their missions confidential. Outsiders should be on a strictly need-to-know basis, so they made sure not to let the old physician hear. Now they were done talking about the mission, so they returned to the treatment room. When they went back in, they found that Abbie had awoken. She was still groggy, but she was mostly alright. "How do you feel?" Johan was the first to ask. "I''ve been better!" Abbieughed weakly, "But I''m holding up well. My back is still in pain, but that''s to be expected. I feel a bit lightheaded as well maybe that''s because of the blood loss." "It''s good that you''re alright. Do you think you can move?" Granny Bna shouted from the side of the room, "The patient is not allowed to move until tomorrow!" Isaac turned to face her. He stared at her icily and spoke with a chilling tone, "I wasn''t asking you." Then he looked back at Abbie, who was slightly grimacing, "So?" "I''m not sure." Isaac looked at granny Bna and spoke, "Could I have 5 minutes to discuss with my teammates?" "Of course sir, but please remember: the patient cannot move, or it shall hamper their recovery." Isaac ignored the granny''s reminder and waited until she had left the room, "What if I lend you my Snowshoe Anima?" Abbie thought for a second before answering, "I could probably manage it. Why?" Isaac proceeded to exin everything to her. Abbie was intelligent and quick on the uptake. It didn''t take long for her to understand what had happened ande up with her own theory, "Kukk Vige? It definitely seems like a good ce to start, and I can understand why you want to leave quickly. However, can it not wait until morning?" Eva and Johan both expressed their agreement; it would be better to rest for the night and travel in the morning. Isaac thought for a moment, then spoke, "Perhaps I was too hasty. However, we can only sleep for 5 hours. At 6 in the morning, we get ready and leave immediately." The others agreed. They''d already slept from 2 until about 10 pm since they knew they would be going to catch the Sarcevic Wolf at night. That meant they weren''t particrly tired and 5 hours of sleep would be more than enough. Isaac set up a rota where he, Johan and Eva would each have a shift to keep watch. Then he told granny Bna that they would all be staying in the treatment room for the night, and not to bother them. When everything was in order, he went to bed. His shift wasst, after all. Isaac drifted off to sleep, pleased with the progress his team had made today... ************************* 3 hours and 20 minutester, he was shaken awake by Johan. He spent a boring watch shift where nothing happened, then it was time to wake everybody else. Isaac quickly roused the others. They got their belongings together and ate a very rushed meal. Then, they were all ready to go. Eva opened the treatment room''s window, then threw their 4 bags into the street outside. She climbed out of the window and beckoned for the others to follow. Johan came next, then he and Isaac helped Abbie get through the window. Finally, it was Isaac''s turn. He neatly hopped out of the window, closed it behind him and picked up his bag. Of course, he''d conveniently ''forgotten'' to leave the iron piece he promised to pay. While he was putting on his bag, Isaac''s gaze turned upwards. It was still pitch dark at 6 am. The night sky was like a ck canvas dotted with countless flecks of paint. Thick clouds asionally scudded across the sky, obscuring the stars'' brilliance, but they couldn''t block them for long. The clouds would soon pass and the stars woulde back into focus; nobody''s light could be concealed forever. Isaac had heard legends about heroes bing stars in the sky after they died. He''d never believed them, but he felt there was something... enchanting about stories such as that. To grow so powerful you could ascend into the sky what a wonderful goal! However, there were 2 sides to every coin. From down here on Terra, Isaac could not tell the stars apart; they all looked the same to him. If each star represented a hero, then how many heroes must there have been throughout history? How simr must they have been in might and renown, to the point that their stories and legends began to sound the same? If bing a hero meant to be another star in the sky, then Isaac would rather never be a hero at all. No, he would be something quite different... Chapter 76: New Scene, New Suspect Chapter 76: New Scene, New Suspect "Isaac, let''s get going!" Johan''s voice broke Isaac out of his reverie. He realised that they had to leave, but there was a problem. He originally nned to give Abbie his Snowshoe Anima, but the vige roads didn''t have any snow on them. She couldn''t move well, so somebody needed to carry her until they left the vige. Naturally, that responsibility fell to the most physically fit person on the team: Isaac. He took his bag off and gave it to Johan. Then he picked Abbie up in much the same way Eva had carried her: like a backpack, holding a leg under each of his arms. It was slightly awkward, but neither of them said a word. When everybody was ready, the team set off. They moved through the vige alleys and made their way to the western gate. The same group of guards were on patrol, so they recognised Isaac and his team. Isaac had a few words with the guard leader, then she opened the gate and let them through. Now the group was on the so-called ''path of death'', except... the wild beast which gave the path its name was also dead. The route wasn''t dangerous anymore and Isaac could safely follow it to Kukk Vige. Now that they''d left Kirk Vige, Isaac put Abbie down. Then a translucent spirit flew out of his feet. The spirit, which looked like a mound of snow, flew straight into Abbie''s body. "Just lean forwards slightly and put your weight on the ball of your foot. Don''t try to turn or lean forwards too much." Isaac gave Abbie some basic instructions on using the Anima, then they were good to go. Moving forwards at a slow pace was not difficult to do, so Abbie quickly got the hang of things. Everybody else found the 2-hour trip boring, but Abbie had some fun getting to grips with the Snowshoe Anima. She''d already grown to like the Anima by the time they reached Kukk Vige. In fact, she felt reluctant to give it back to Isaac when they reached their destination. Unfortunately, she had no choice. The Anima flew out of her body and back towards Isaac the moment hemanded it to. The guards at Kukk Vige saw the spirit fly between them and were shocked. Then Isaac introduced himself, "My name is Isaac Dahl. I am a cultivator from the Full Moon Sect and these are my colleagues." That was all he needed to say and the gate opened. These people didn''t doubt his identity since they''d vaguely seen his Anima. Most of the guards wouldn''t recognise Anima, but a few had surely read about them. One of the guards who recognised Isaac''s Anima ran to tell the vige head, while the other guards hurried to serve Isaac''s team. It was a simr scenario to when they first entered Kirk Vige, except these guards were far morepetent. None of them stammered when they talked and they all seemed well-trained. They stayedposed even when talking to a cultivator, "Greetings sir," the guard leader gave a shallow bow, "We''ve sent a messenger to the vige head already. She will be here shortly; would you like us to arrange a ce to rest, or would you prefer to wait here?" Isaac cast a nce at Abbie who was injured and needed rest, "Find us somewhere to stay." "Very well." The guard nodded, then introduced one of his subordinates, "Jn will assist you throughout your stay. Please don''t hesitate tomand him as if he were your own subordinate." "My name is Jn. It''s a pleasure to serve esteemed cultivators such as yourselves; I will do my best to attend to you, so you are free to give any orders you might have. If anything dissatisfies you, please let me know." Jn led the group away from the gate and towards a nearby set of residences. He got out a key and unlocked the door of a small house, "This is my home. I hope it will suffice until the vige head arrives. After that, we will arrange proper residences for you." "We would prefer onerge residence, thank you." Isaac and the others went inside. The interior was cosy but somewhat cramped it was a home for one person, not 5 after all. Isaac and the others settled down, and Abbie found a pile of nkets to lie on. Meanwhile, Jn read the mood very well, "Well, I''ll leave you be. I''ll be next door, so please knock if you want anything." The guard politely showed himself out, leaving Isaac''s team alone in the house. As soon as he left, Isaac positioned himself in a corner of the room and began cultivating. Eva and Johan saw him, then decided to follow suit. Abbie continued to lie on her tower of nkets. She cast a nce over at the meditating trio, then sighed. Even if she tried to meditate, the pain from her back would keep waking her up. She decided to stand watch while the others cultivated... An hour passed in the blink of an eye. The trio were still cultivating when a sudden knock on the door disrupted their focus. Isaac woke up first, then the other 2 slowly came to after him. By the time they were fully awake, Isaac was already opening the front door. The visitor was a woman with pale blond hair who looked in her early forties. Her full, azure eyes shone like sapphires or blue moons. Her gaze swept over Isaac from head to toe, lingering on the badge pinned to his coat. She recognised the badge how could she not? It was a silver full moon with 3 ck ws protruding from the bottom right corner. It was the Full Moon Sect''s insignia, and all disciples wore this badge. After confirming the badge''s authenticity, she offered a solemn greeting, "I wee the visitors from the sect. My name is Anna I am the leader of Kukk Vige. I apologise for our shabby hospitality; I did not realise we would have esteemed guests from the sect! Might I enquire why you are visiting us?" "There has been some suspicious activity in the area and we needed to ask you some questions. Could we find a ce to talk privately?" Isaac got straight to the point. His directness surprised Anna, but she responded aptly, "Of course. We can return to my residence and speak there. Guards," she called to the 4 people behind her, "you''re all dismissed." 2 of the guards objected, "Vige head, who will protect you?" "Head, you remember the incident from one month ago. What if they try to assassinate you?!" "I will be in thepany of four brave warriors from the sect. Who would dare to attack me? Even if they did, could you do a better job of protecting me than our esteemed guests?" The guards wore expressions like children who had been scolded. Meanwhile, Isaac coughed harshly; they were not there to protect or serve the vige head. It seemed she was getting a little ahead of herself. "Vige head, we are not here to serve you. Nor are we here to watch while you discipline your subordinates. Let''s stop wasting time and get going." Isaac''s rudeness didn''t annoy Anna. Even the highest-rankingmoner had to bow down before a cultivator; this wasmon sense in the world of cultivation, where only strength mattered. Isaac was powerful enough to reap Anna''s life in a second, so she had to obey him. This was an unspokenw on Terra:moners had to respect cultivators. It was the first thing everymoner learnt as a child. It was drilled into them as a rule of survival: the day they spoke up against a cultivator would probably be the day they died. Therefore, it wasmon sense for Anna to obey Isaac. She wasn''t as wise or crafty as Leon and didn''t have as much experience dealing with cultivators. Therefore, she meekly followed Isaac''s words. She walked out of the house with the team in tow. They walked some distance through the streets, letting Isaac estimate the vige''s size. By his workings, it was noticeablyrger than Kirk Vige and might be a town within 50 years. Of course, that was only if it kept growing. There was plenty of space for a suspect to hide if they were staying here. It would take forever to search the vige or investigate each person, so Isaac just stuck to the most likely hypothesis: if someone from Kukk Vige had manipted the Sarcevic Wolf, it was probably one of the vige higher-ups. In fact, it was probably the vige head. Isaac cast a suspicious nce towards the woman in front of him. Her long golden hair swayed behind her as she walked, and most people would find her figure graceful. However, Isaac couldn''t help remembering her smart, calcting gaze. She struck him as a capable woman: a woman capable ofmitting a crime. Chapter 77: Interrogation Chapter 77: Interrogation Of course, Isaac wouldn''t get too caught up in baseless suspicions. However, he did n to thoroughly investigate the Kukk Vige higher-ups. That investigation would begin when they interviewed the vige head. Anna brought the team to her residence in the middle of the vige. She weed them into the spacious house, and they all sat down around her table. Anna didn''t engage in any niceties such as offering them tea; she got straight to the point, "So, what did you wish to ask me?" "I understand that there is conflict between Kukk Vige and Kirk Vige. Could you exin what caused it?" The questioning was led by Johan, not Isaac. His inquiry seemed to surprise Anna, but she answered nheless, "About a month ago, a Crystal of Pure Frost was discovered in thend between our two viges. Both us and Kirk Vige sent people to im it, and there was a dispute. Neither party would give up the crystal, and they feared the other group would steal it as soon as they left. Both teams stayed there and argued. Our group sent a letter back to the vige, then formed a temporary camp near the cave the crystal was in. Kirk Vige did the same. "The next day, discussions continued. Both viges sent members of their vige councils and they came to an agreement: we would sell the crystal to the sect and split the rewards between our two viges. Again, a letter was sent back to confirm what had happened." Isaac interjected, "Did Kirk Vige steal the crystal?" Anna was silent for a few seconds, then continued. She tried to conceal the hostility in her voice, but some anger still seeped through, "The third day passed and we didn''t receive a letter. The groups should''ve already left to deliver the crystal to the sect, so we simply assumed the messenger couldn''t reach the vige before nightfall. ''They''ll make it back tomorrow'', that''s what we said." She snorted, evidently displeased with her past naivety, "Of course, no messenger arrived the next day either. We were starting to get worried, so we sent another team to track them down and find out what had happened. "The team started by visiting the temporary camp near the crystal. As they approached the camp, they saw a group of figures standing around. They couldn''t see the figures clearly, but they assumed it was the team we originally sent there. They shouted out to say hello, but then... the figures turned tail and fled. The new group ran up the hill towards the camp to see what had happened." Anna paused again topose herself. "All 7 people in the camp were dead. Some of the new group went over to help; they tried to resuscitate them, but it was no use. Meanwhile, three or four people chased after the mysterious figures. However, they were already gone. Everybody had seen them fleeing towards the Kirk Vige camp, so the group hurried there next. "The camp was empty and everybody was gone. There wasn''t a single person there, living or dead." "So you believe your group was murdered by people from Kirk Vige?" "Yes. The team went to check afterwards, and the Crystal of Pure Frost was gone. They killed our people so they could take it." Isaac asked a follow-up question, "Do you know how they were killed?" "The bodies werepletely unmarked. There weren''t any signs of stabbing, strangtion or even a struggle; I inspected one of the bodies myself. We''re quite confident the group was poisoned to death." Isaac pondered for a minute, then asked, "Okay, let''s say Kirk Vige''s party slipped some poison into your team''s food. They would go to steal the crystal straight away and then return to their vige. Why would they go back to the Kukk Vige camp." Anna answered without hesitation, "They were either going to cover up their crime or loot the camp. Then, when our team shouted at them, they panicked and ran without doing either." Isaac nodded. That was a usible exnation. However, the questioning wasn''t over yet. Johan asked in an usatory tone, "Did you ever consider taking revenge? I doubt your vige would stay silent after an event like that." "The vigers were outraged of course they were! Many people had lost friends or family members; even I lost one of my trusted vige councillors. The vige council did consider taking revenge, but we never took action. That would be defying the rules of the sect, so how could we? I only reported the incident to the sect member staying here." This was something Isaac had heard about in Kirk Vige as well. There was a sect disciple sent to watch over this area, and she supervised Kirk and Kukk viges. She was staying in Kukk Vige right now. Isaac suddenly asked, "So the deaths that urred in Kirk Vige a month ago those weren''t caused by your people?" "No, of course not!" The charge seemed to shock Anna, and she promptly denied it. Then, a realisation hit her and she paused for a few moments before continuing, "At least... it wasn''t ordered by our vige council. I don''t know if somebody went alone to take revenge for their family." Again, it was a reasonable answer. Anna couldn''t keep track of everybody in the vige, and she wouldn''t want to even if she could. It was entirely possible that somebody took action independently. However, Isaac couldn''t help frowning. Anna''s responses seemed too calcted; it was like she had prepared to answer these questions. Even the ''shock'' she showed earlier might''ve been fake. Or maybe Isaac was just thinking too much into it. He had to stay impartial to investigate properly so he cast his suspicions aside and decided to think rationally, "Has anything unusual happened since this event?" "No, not particrly." "So you wouldn''t ss the attacks on Kirk Vige as ''unusual''? Or were you not aware of them?" "Kirk Vige has been attacked? Why haven''t I heard about this?" Surprise and glee meshed together in Anna''s expression. She quickly concealed thetter, then enquired again, "It''s strange that I don''t know about such a major event. Are you sure?" "Of course we''re sure, vige head." Isaac spoke icily, "We verified it ourselves." Anna apologised for doubting their information, then spent a few moments contemting the ipetence of her informationwork. Johan took this opportunity to press her, "Have you seen any new faces in the vige thesest two months?" "No we''re pretty isted out here, so it''s rare for us to see new people." "Has there been anyone acting suspicious recently?" "No; not so far as I know." "And you haven''t got reports about Winterfrost Ferns, Powder Moss or White Walker Herbs nearby?" These were 3mon Qi herbs which could influence wild beasts; they could''ve been used to manipte the Sarcevic Wolf. However, Anna seemed confused by the names, "I''ve never heard of ''Winterfrost Ferns'' or ''Powder Moss''... I remember a White Walker Herb being found here, but that was two decades ago. It''s been years since Ist saw a Qi herb." Johan frowned at this answer. If and only if Anna was telling the truth, then the Sarcevic Wolf was probably manipted by a cultivator. Qi herbs were the only way amoner could influence a wild beast, but cultivators had a variety of other methods. They could use talismans, taming-style Anima, or make potions. Then Johan thought about the skeletons around the wolf''s den. Could demonic rituals grant people the power to control animals? Information on the subject was scarce, so Johan didn''t know. Isaac had simr thoughts to Johan. He realised that if Anna was being honest, a cultivator had to be guilty of manipting the wolf. He asked, "Are there any cultivators in Kukk or Kirk Vige?" "I only know of one; the sect supervisor stationed here." "You mean the disciple who''s sent by the sect to watch over this area?" "Precisely so." It was an innocent enough answer, but it only fuelled Isaac''s suspicions. It looked like a cultivator was responsible for the Sarcevic Wolf''s behaviour, and there was only one cultivator in the area. However, that cultivator was a member of the sect and had no reason to target Kirk Vige. Maybe Anna was hiding something from them, perhaps she really didn''t know, or maybe Isaac''s assumptions were wrong: maybe it wasn''t a cultivator after all. Chapter 78: Two Village Heads Conflicting Stories Chapter 78: Two Vige Heads'' Conflicting Stories More investigation was required, and Anna wasn''t giving Isaac the answers he needed. It was time to wrap up this discussion and move on. "Can you bring us to meet the sect''s disciple?" Anna hesitated for a moment, then spoke reluctantly, "She said she didn''t want to be disturbed..." "I''ll handle it if she gets annoyed." "Alright then, I''ll bring you to meet her." She readily agreed once Isaac said he''d take the me for disturbing the sect representative. In fact, she felt ufortable talking to the team so she was relieved when Isaac asked to leave. Everybody got up from the table and left the vige head''s residence. They only had to walk for 5 minutes before they stopped outside anotherrge house. This residence was even bigger than the vige head''s house, demonstrating the preferential treatment cultivators got overmoners. Anna knocked once on the door, but there was no answer. She didn''t knock again and waited respectfully, so they stood there for a while. It wasn''t long before Eva ran out of patience. She moved Anna out of the way and gave three hard knocks on the door. Once more, there was no answer. She knocked again, louder this time. Finally, after a few more seconds, somebody came to the door. It swung open to reveal a mid-twenties woman dressed in a baggy white robe and loose-fitting clothes. Long, flowing light-brown hair billowed out behind her in a mess, and her face was pointed. She had well-defined facial features and might''ve possessed quite an elegant visage, but that elegance was ruined by her untidy appearance and the long copper pipe sticking out of her mouth. She took a deep breath and her closed her eyes for a moment. Then she opened them again andnguidly moved a hand towards her lips. She took the pipe away, then turned her head upwards and blew a thick smoke ring. Then she turned her gaze towards the group at her doorstep. "Fuck. Can''t I get a moment of peace? If this isn''t important, you might need to find a new vige head." The threat was issuedzily, and nobody knew if she really meant it. Hell, even the woman herself didn''t know if she meant it or not. Isaac stared at her. His expression was calm as usual, "Senior disciple, we are here to investigate a matter of some importance. It would be extremely helpful if you could answer some questions." The woman didn''t seem to be paying attention: she was gazing into the distance and taking another drag of her pipe. Isaac noticed this and added on, "Whether you help us or turn us away, everything will be included in our mission report." This caused the woman to look at him sideways it was more of a re than a look, really. She sighed, then took another short puff on the pipe, "Fine,e in. But make it quick." She turned on her heel and walked back into the house. The team followed her. There weren''t any hard wooden chairs when they entered her living room. Instead, they saw 2 long bench-like creations at the side of the room, "They''re called sofas quite popr in the east, I hear. They''re veryfortable. Go on, sit down." The disciple seemed quite proud of these foreign objects. However, she was also impatient to get this over and done with. She ushered the team onto one of the sofas so they could ask all their questions and get lost. While everyone was sitting on one sofa, shey down on the other and continued smoking. Smoke began to fill the room as Isaac asked his first question, "Do you know about the recent attacks on Kirk Vige?" Alice spoke in mild surprise, "What? How recent?" "It''s understandable you didn''t know. Anybody who left Kirk Vige and headed this direction was killed, so news never reached Kukk Vige..." Johan exined a bit, then he and Isaac asked a few questions. The questions were very simr to what they asked the vige head, and so were the answers: nobody suspicious had been seen in the area, none of the herbs Johan listed had been discovered here, and there were no cultivators in the nearby area. All in all, it confirmed what they''d already heard. However, Isaac heard something interesting when he asked about the Crystal of Pure Frost that was stolenst month, "I''m responsible for this area, so I had to look into that." Alice certainly struck Isaac as the type who''d only do something if they had to, "Kirk Vige said everything was a coincidence and their team had actually been killed as well." She brought the pipe to her lips and inhaled deeply, "I don''t buy it though." "What exactly did Kirk Vige say?" "I spoke to Leon. Apparently, he didn''t get any response from his people for 2 days, so he sent a team over to investigate. They found the original group dead, so they went to check what had happened at the Kukk Vige camp. "Suddenly, they saw people from Kukk Vige and panicked. ''If the Kukk Vige search team caught them in the camp surrounded by dead bodies, they''d bebelled as murderers'' that''s now Leon phrased it. Basically, they ran away to their own camp. Then they picked up their deadrades and carried them back to Kirk Vige to get proper burials. "I reckon there''s too many coincidences in the story. Probably a lie to cover up their crime Leon''s pretty crafty, after all." Isaac took a moment to mull it over, then he thanked Alice and said goodbye. She just waved her hand dismissively, "You can show yourselves out." She stayed sprawled on the sofa, while the others got up and left. When they exited the house, Jn was standing there and waiting for them. He said he was there to guide them to their residence. On the way to the residence, Isaac asked a question, "A team of people diedst month. Do you know where they''re buried?" Jn thought the question was weird, but he answered it anyway. Isaac gave a slight nod and remembered the directions Jn gave him. After that, the group stayed in silence until they reached the residence. It was big, but not as big as the vige head''s house. There were 4 bedrooms, a kitchen area and a well-decorated living room. The group were pleased with the amodation. After checking that they didn''t have any more requests, Jn left. The team didn''t have much to do that evening. They discussed who might be behind the Sarcevic Wolf''s attacks, then recapped what they''d learnt today. Later, Johan and Eva went out to investigate some more. Meanwhile, Isaac practiced using the Snowshoe Anima as well as some swordsmanship, and Abbie applied cream to her injuries and rested. The remainder of the day passed without any significant events, and they all went to bed. At least, Johan, Isaac and Abbie did it was Eva''s turn to keep watch first. Just before he went to bed, Isaac had a word with her, "I know my shift starts at 1 am, but please wake me up before midnight. There''s something I need to do before I take over the watch." Eva asked curtly, "What''s that?" "It''s pointless to tell you now. I want to see the results before I say anything for certain." Eva nodded and didn''t ask any more questions. She went to sit down at the table while everybody else went to sleep. ************************* Sure enough, Eva woke Isaac at quarter to midnight. He quietly thanked her, then got dressed and left the house without waking anyone. You might wonder: where was Isaac headed at this time of night? He was going to visit some graves. Isaac wanted to pay his respects to those who''d perished at the hands of Kirk Vige Nah, not really. He was going to look at dead people. Chapter 79: Laying Bait Chapter 79: Laying Bait Isaac breezed through the empty streets like a gust of wind. He moved via back alleys and quickly reached the address Jn had given him earlier. It was a small garden with a pine tree and 8 graves. Each grave had a wooden que with various words from family or friends, but Isaac couldn''t be bothered to read them. Instead, he stood on top of a grave. Suddenly, he created a sword and thrust it downwards. The sword pierced through the soil effortlessly, but then Isaac felt it meet some resistance. The de kept going, but it had slowed down. It only stopped when half the sword was buried in the earth. ''Resistance. That means there''s probably a body buried here.'' Isaac let go of the sword and it dissipated into thin air. Then he swiftly left the graveyard. His bare hands were hardly an ideal tool for digging, so he searched for a tool shed he''d seen earlier. After sifting through his memories, Isaac remembered where the tool shed was and quickly found it. He created a sword and cut the lock, then stepped inside. It was extremely dark, and Isaac could only make out the outlines of tools. Luckily, shovels had quite a distinctive silhouette. There were 2 propped up near the doorway, and Isaac grabbed one. Then he brought it back to the graveyard with him. In the dead of night, in a small graveyard in Kukk Vige, there was strange, spooky figure. It stood there like a hunchbacked ghost watching over the graves. Sometimes the figure would utter a grunt or a sigh as the item in its hands was swung back and forth. If a viger came to visit now, they might think the ce was haunted. After a short while, the grunts ceased and Isaac''s shovel stopped moving. The body was not buried very deep, so digging it up was an easy task. He threw the shovel to the side, got down on his knees beside the hole, and pulled the body out. Then he took a miniaturentern and packet of matches from his pocket. Thetter was used to light the former, and light spilled out across a corner of the graveyard. Isaac could now see the body clearly. It was dry and pale, as you would expect from a corpse. There was a severe sword wound in its chest, but that was caused by Isaac poking with his sword no blood was flowing from the wound; the body''s blood had coagted long ago. Other than his own sword wound, Isaac couldn''t see any injuries on the body. He checked the hands, arms, chest, neck and head, but there weren''t any bruises, scratches or signs of a struggle, let alone an obvious killer blow. Despite this, the corpse wore an expression of absolute agony: he must''ve been in great pain before he died. Isaac understood why Anna thought this could be poisoning, but she''d missed one crucial detail: the victim''s eyes were unusual. The corpse''s pupils had contracted until they were only the size of pinpricks extreme pupil contraction and an agonising death were both signs of a person''s will being destroyed. Isaac believed this was how the man died. However, not just anybody could destroy a will. In fact, it was almost certainly done by a cultivator with Anima which could attack the will. Isaac also learnt something else from the body whichever cultivator did this wasn''t strong enough to instant-kill amoner. Commoners typically had weak wills, but this man had been in pain for a few moments before he died his expression showed that. That either meant the culprit was a Rank 1 cultivator who couldn''t destroy a will instantly, or it was a sadistic cultivator who deliberately killed their victims in a slow, painful way. Isaac had gleaned all he could from the body, so he reburied it. Then, he proceeded to dig up the other 7 people to see if they had any different characteristics. However, they all had the same signs, telling Isaac all 8 were probably killed by 1 person. He buried them all again, then put out his oilmp and left. He ditched the shovel in an alleyway on the way back and arrived at the house at an unknown time. He entered quietly. There was a flickering candle which illuminated the shape of Eva sitting at the table, "You''rete." She whispered as he walked by. "I''m sorry, but I had quite an important task. I''ll tell you about it tomorrow, so get some sleep for now." "Fine. As long as you don''t do this again." Isaac nodded and Eva got up from the table. He took her ce and she went to bed. Isaac''s watch passed uneventfully and he woke Johan a few hourster. Then Isaac went to get some sleep while Johan took watch. At about 6:30 am, Johan woke everybody. "Come and eat breakfast at the table. I''ve got something to tell all of you." Isaac gathered everyone to make the big reveal. He exined how he''d gone digging for bodies and described all the features of the corpses. He, and the others, concluded thatst month''s incident was caused by a single cultivator. This mysterious cultivator was now the prime suspect for the attacks on Kirk Vige. Isaac and the others continued to discuss. They knew a bit more about the culprit now, but they still didn''t have a location, name or identity. Hell, they didn''t even know the culprit''s motive. A motive... Isaac recalled the pale skeletons around the Sarcevic Wolf''s den, then a moment of inspiration struck him like lightning. "Wait... what if they wanted..." Isaac exined his theory, leaving the rest of the group shocked. They all doubted whether what he said could be true, or if anybody was crazy enough to actually do it. However, they did agree that it was possible. They also thought that Isaac''s n for catching them was worth a try. ************************* At 9:30 in the morning, Isaac''s group left Kukk Vige. They were heading back towards the Sarcevic Wolf''s den for one final time. Everyone was on high alert as they trekked through the snow, though they did their best to look rxed. What Isaac had said weighed on their minds, and even the slightest noise or disturbance put them on edge. The chirp of a bird in the trees, the rustling of branches in the wind, the crunch of snow underfoot each sound felt more foreboding than thest. The group imagined the mysterious cultivator hiding somewhere in the woods, watching them. A hooded figure could be creeping up on them right now... But of course, they turned around and saw nobody; there was no hooded figure or mysterious cultivator, just a small trail through the woods. Soon, the group departed from that trail. They had to go off the beaten track and venture deeper into the woods to reach the den, so that was what they did. They pushed past trees, bushes and brambles to make their own path to the Sarcevic Wolf''s den. Eventually, they reached their destination. Skeletons were still strewn around the den''s entrance, and Isaac inspected them again. However, he didn''t notice anything new. He put the bones back, then spoke quietly to the team, "If I am right if there has been a cultivator hunting us, then we need to take the utmost care. After all, none of us want to be fuel for a demonic ritual like this. I''ll act as the bait, while you guys stay in the den like you''re investigating. If you hear me whistle,e as quickly as possible, since that means I''ve been attacked." The others nodded solemnly and seriously. They all walked down into the Sarcevic Wolf''s den, while Isaac stood outside with his hands in his pockets. He surveyed the surroundings briefly, and his silver hair was ruffled by the gentle breeze. Then, he steeled himself for a fight and set off into the forest. The n was simple: Isaac thought they were going to be attacked by the mystery cultivator, so he wandered off on his own to act as bait. When he got attacked, he would give the signal a piercing whistle and the rest of the team woulde rushing out of the den to ambush the cultivator from behind. ************************* Back in the den, Eva, Johan and Abbie were having a look around. However, Johan quickly noticed something strange. The Sarcevic Wolf had lost all its flesh it was now a bare skeleton, just like all the other ones outside. Johan exined to the others, "It wasn''t like this when west came here. No, it still had all its flesh and blood but now it''s been reduced to a mere skeleton. I doubt animals could pick it clean within two days." his frown intensified, "Perhaps Isaac''s right. Maybe this mysterious cultivator came back after we killed it, then used its flesh for another demonic ritual." Eva and Abbie were also worried. They didn''t know how long Isaac would be able to hold off another cultivator, and what if he was caught unawares? He could be ambushed and killed in one shot, then the 3 of them would be trapped here without a leader or a n. They could only sigh and hope Isaac would be alright. They continued to look around the den, and Johan showed the others the deposits of ash on the earth. While Abbie was examining one, she caught movement in the corner of her eye. "Hey... did that skeleton just move?" Chapter 80: An Unexpected Enemy Chapter 80: An Unexpected Enemy "You must''ve been mistaken. Demonic rituals sap lifeforce from creatures something that''d gone through a ritual couldn''t possibly move. Besides, look at it. It''s a skeleton." Johan immediately dismissed her ims, but Abbie wasn''t so sure. She was quite confident she''d seen properly, so she decided to check it out. She approached the skeleton with 2 long strides, and it was as still as a statue. She slowly began to doubt herself, and she walked right up to get a closer look. Yep, it waspletely The skeleton''s tail flicked upwards, then shed towards Abbie like a scythe. She flung herself to the floor, narrowly ducking under the bone tail locks of hair floated down after being cut by the tail. Abbie rolled away and got back to her feet. The other 2 immediately got into guarded positions and they faced off against the wolf skeleton. Abbie''s back was in tremendous pain after that defensive manoeuvre and she tried her best to retreat. Eva stepped in front of her and activated her Palms of Northern Frost Anima. Her hands were covered in a paper-thinyer of ice as she squared up against the wolf. Johan and Abbie stood behind her, ready to provide support. "This wasn''t in the n." Johan spoke the obvious and Eva gave a swift reply, "Get out of the den and meet up with Isaac. I''ll dy this thing and then follow you." Johan and Abbie didn''t object. Both nodded in agreem but Abbie offered some words of assurance, "Keep close behind us and stay safe thank you." Eva didn''t respond; she was too focused on the skeleton wolf. The two began exchanging moves, while Johan and Abbie ran. They made it to the edge of the chamber and reached the passage which led towards the surface but then they stopped in their tracks. Rows of human skeletons filled the passageway. Abbie panicked. She raised a snow wall to block the passageway and then retreated with Johan, but they had nowhere to retreat to! The sounds of battle reminded Abbie they were trapped with the Sarcevic Wolf skeleton. Eva was handling it for now, but there was no telling how long she''dst. Meanwhile, Isaac was probably still wandering through the forest they couldn''t count on his assistance either. They had to trust Eva with their backs while they dealt with the wave of skeletons. The snow wall shook as the skeletons pounded on it. Then, suddenly, the top part of it copsed. However, that wasn''t because it had been destroyed Abbie had deliberately got rid of it and modified the wall to be chest-height. A skeleton began to climb over, but *Bam* an icicle crashed right into its bare skull, causing cracks to spread outwards. The skeleton didn''t stop though. It continued climbing and was nearly over the wall. Then another icicle came flying. It struck to the right of the first and that part of the skull was destroyed. The skeleton''s cranium caved inwards and it fell apart into a pile of bones. The bones ttered as they dropped to the floor but Johan wasn''t listening. He was already firing icicles at the next skeletons in line. His shots sailed over the wall and struck their targets. Some shots bounced off the hard skulls while other times it took 3, 4 or 5 shots to kill a skeleton. Sometimes Johan missed the target, or only hit the chest. He was already having trouble holding the skeletons off, but then things only got worse... without warning, a small creature leapt cleanly over the wall. It charged towards the duo, but was stopped when Abbie created another wall. The wolf skeleton circumnavigated the wall, but it had been dyed and Johan had time to prepare for it. He dispatched the creature with 2 shots to the head. Then he released a salvo at the oing skeletons to keep them at bay. After he dealt with them, there was a moment of silence. The pair had a few precious seconds of respite and Johan thought to himself, ''Thankfully it was just a normal wolf, not a wild beast like the Sarcevic Wolf skeleton otherwise we would have been goners.'' Just as his was counting his blessings, he heard something that made his blood run cold. There was a stampede of weird pitter-patter footstepsing from the passageway. Then a whole brigade of wolf skeletons charged forwards... ************************* Just a few metres behind the other 2, Eva also had her hands full. The Sarcevic Wolf was a menace when it was alive, and it was still a menace now that it was dead. Shecked a movement Anima so she struggled to keep up with the agile beast and had been hit twice already. Also, the Palms of Northern Frost Anima specialised in freezing flesh and blood it had little effect on the wolf''s bones. Eva desperately tried to form a battle n but she couldn''t think of anything. Her thoughts were interrupted as the wolf lunged towards her. Normally Eva would try to trade blows, but that tactic was doomed to fail; she would take far more damage than she would deal. This forced her to change her fighting style. Instead of fighting back aggressively, Eva began to dodge passively and look for an opportunity to counter. Thisbat method really didn''t suit her and she slowly lost control of the battle. She ducked a w swipe then moved back to avoid a bite. Then she targeted the skeleton''s head with both hands, but it spun around and attacked with its tail. Eva had to retreat again but the tail still grazed her. It cut a thin line across her midriff and she began bleeding lightly. Nevertheless, there was no pain in Eva''s expression only focus and icy determination. She knew she needed to turn the battle around or her defeat would be inevitable. She decided it was time to take some risks. The wolf pounced towards her again, leading with its bony ws. Eva didn''t faulter. She slipped towards the left, avoiding the ws by a hair''s breadth. Dodging so narrowly meant she was still within arm''s reach of the beast as it flew past. She pushed out her palms and made contact with the wolf''s nk. One palm hit it in the side, while the other made contact with the hip joint. Both areas froze. The wolf''s bones were covered in small ice crystals, but they didn''t seem to affect it much. It turned around and got ready to attack Eva again. However, there was a slight difference in its behaviour. Eva didn''t notice, but the wolf was stiffening up where its hip joint had been frozen. Its back right leg was slightly clunkier and less mobile. It approached Eva slower this time, walking her down. Its empty eye sockets were eerie and soulless. Eva waited for the wolf to approach. Itshed out with its right paw and she tried to execute the same strategy as before. However, she dodged too wide this time. She wasn''t close enough to counterattack and the opportunity was wasted. The wolf didn''t give her time to rue the missed chance. It followed with a sweeping left paw and Eva was still slightly off-bnce. She really struggled to evade the blow and her stance was broken even further. She stumbled back a step and wolf was on her like a shot. It bared its vicious fangs and bit towards her face. Eva couldn''t dodge, so she tried to grab it by the neck. Her left hand wrapped around its thin neck, but her right hand slipped off of the smooth bone. She tried to pull the wolf away, but its leap had too much momentum. She couldn''t stop it with one hand. Luckily, she managed to change the wolf''s trajectory. Instead of biting her face, it only got a small piece of her shoulder. Meanwhile, Eva''s hand was freezing the wolf''s neck. The wolf didn''t care it was dead anyway. It tried to get a better bite of Eva''s shoulder but she grabbed its snout with her right hand, then she threw it to the floor. Eva quickly grasped her own shoulder and deliberately froze the wound. It took a lot of skill to do: freezing only the surfaceyer of tissue to stem the bleeding while avoiding frostbite by not freezing anything deeper. Eva was currently in an extreme state of focus she was at the peak of concentration and things that might normally have been difficult became possible for her now. The wolf attacked again and she dodged it neatly. There was an opening, and Eva struck towards the skeleton''s spine. However, the wolf had other ideas. It lowered its body in an attempt to dodge Eva''s strike. Eva hastily changed the attack''s direction but she could only deal a ncing blow. Then the wolf swept around with its whip-like tail and Eva jumped to avoid her ankles getting shed. The wolf swiped while she was in the air and it looked like she couldn''t dodge. However, Eva pushed off the low ceiling and avoided the attack. Just when she thought she was out of danger, Eva heard a shout, "Dodge!" But the cry was toote, and an icicle pierced the back of her shoulder. Chapter 81: Fighting on Two Fronts Chapter 81: Fighting on Two Fronts "Arghh!" Eva eximed in pain as the frozen projectile wedged itself in her back. However, her survival instincts kicked in quickly; she dived to the left and rolled out of the way. 2 more icicles whistled past where she had stood. "Tch." The den was filled with the various sounds of battle, but everybody heard this simple tongue click. Eva wanted to look back and see who had attacked her, but the wolf was already upon her. It leapt towards her and she rolled forwards to dodge the attack. Their fierce battle resumed. ************************* There was tense silence on the other side of the den; the battle had stopped. Abbie and Johan both stood there, fists clenched. They stared intensely at the passageway''s entrance and both wore grimaces on their faces. A figure stood there. They couldn''t see him very well since there was a wall of skeletons protecting him, but the bright smile from under his hood felt menacing enough. Another man stood slightly behind him. Johan couldn''t see him properly either, but he could tell the man was tall and muscr with a shaggy beard. It was clear he wasmanding the skeletons, since they stopped attacking and protected him the moment he arrived. The bearded man guffawed loudly, then hispanion in the brown fur coat chuckled too. The skeletons began to move again. They got into an arrowhead formation, then marched through the passageway like well-trained soldiers. Johan fired a volley of icicles to try and fight them off, but he only killed the ones at the front. More skeletons stepped over the bones of their fallenrades and kept walking towards Abbie''s snow barrier. Johan fired even more icicles, but then he suddenly stopped and leapt out of the way. He looked down the passage with wariness in his eyes. The thin man had fired an icicle at Johan and interrupted his attacks; Johan would''ve been hit if he dodged just a secondte. He instantly recognised the projectiles since he used the exact same ones himself, so he tried to warn Eva, "Watch out! There''re two men here, one of whom has the Ice Fragment Anima. Keep an eye out for ranged attacks!" "... Got it." Johan couldn''t see how Eva was doing, but she sounded out of breath. He wanted to help her, but he had his own problems to deal with here. He fired more icicles to try and stop the skeletons, but they had little effect. The skeletons destroyed Abbie''s snow barrier and streamed into the chamber. Abbie created several more barriers. They were set up to slow the skeletons'' advance and funnel them into the middle of the room. The skeletons rushed through the gap in the walls, but that just lined them up for Johan. He continued firing off icicles and many skeletons fell. However, it felt like he was a kid again, ying ''the floor isva''. He couldn''t stand still for a moment since icicles kept flying in and he had to dance to and fro to avoid them. He couldn''t focus on his targets and his own shooting was bing erratic. Abbie was also being targeted by the man. Icicles rained down on her as well and she couldn''t dodge them due to the back injuries which severely limited her mobility. Instead, she had to create snow walls to block the icicles. Johan tried to shoot back at the 2 men, but there were too many skeletons in the way. Besides, he was under pressure: every shot needed to be aimed at the advancing army of skeletons and he couldn''t waste Qi taking pot-shots at the men. Speaking of Qi, he''d used half of his already. Thankfully he''d reached middle stage and the Ice Fragment Anima had a low Qi consumption, otherwise he might''ve been out by now. On the other hand, Abbie wasn''t doing so well. Maintaining the walls was difficult and it was about to be worse... The burly man realised his skeletons couldn''t get through. He grunted, then gave a rxed wave of his muscle-bound arm. The skeletons changed course. Instead of funnelling through the gap in the walls, they attacked the walls themselves. Once these obstacles were destroyed, they would have a free path to the target. Abbie and Johan began to panic. If the walls broke down, then they could just create new ones. However, that was merely a temporary solution. Abbie''s Qi was rapidly depleting and it would only be a matter of time before it ran out. When that happened, the skeletons would tear them apart. ************************* Eva was also in a difficult spot. Johan wasn''t the only one under fire; the smirking man fired icicles at her too. It was incredibly difficult to split her attention between the wolf and the man, so she''d been hit a couple of times. She struggled to move her left shoulder because of the attack from earlier and there were more, less serious injuries around her lower back. Her Qi was also being used up, and she was physically exhausted. The Sarcevic Wolf skeleton stood opposite her. She''d finally noticed the wolf''s weakness and had begun attacking its joints. Several parts of its body were covered in ice and it was moving significantly slower than before. Eva jumped forwards, trying to take advantage of this slowness, but then a ghastly shrieking filled the cavern. She covered both her ears but the sound didn''t get any quieter, and her head began to spin. She became dizzy and felt sick to her stomach. Then she saw movement in the corner of her eye; the wolf wasing. She tried to pull herself together and back away, but her movements were sluggish. Everything felt lethargic, like she was moving through treacle. The wolf attacked and Eva tried to escape. It felt like there was a banshee screaming inside of her head, so focusing on the battle became nearly impossible and she couldn''tpletely dodge the iing w. The w tips raked across her stomach and she began bleeding profusely. Fortunately, the ringing in her head began to subside. She could concentrate enough to freeze the wound and get back into a fighting stance. The wolf tried to press the advantage and attacked again. This time Eva slipped the strike. The wolf''s neck was wide open she couldn''t believe how exposed it was. She darted towards the opening and struck towards it. *Thud* Her palm mmed against a pir of water. The wolf was unharmed and it spun to attack her. She waspletely defenceless against the sudden change of events, and the wolf''s tail mmed into her stomach. She was sent flying a metre backwards and crashed to the ground. She had a long cut just above her waistline and the wounds she''d frozen shut also reopened and continued bleeding. Eva coughed a few times she''d been severely winded and had some trouble breathing. While she gasped for air, the wolf bounded towards her. It crouched down and got ready to pounce, but a trio of icicles shot towards it. Streams of water sprung up to block the icicles. However, while the streams blocked the icicles, they also blocked the wolf. The streams stood for a second, then copsed and sshed to the ground. But Abbie created a snow barrier in that brief moment and the wolf''s attack was foiled. Eva managed to escape, but now Johan and Abbie were under pressure. Skeletons streamed forwards and the defensive walls were destroyed. Abbie tried to raise more, but it was merely ast-ditch effort; her Qi was nearly exhausted. Just as things were looking hopeless, shouts came from behind the skeletons. "Fuck! Die!" "Arghhhh!!" Then there was a loudmotion as the skeletons all changed directions and flooded back towards the passageway. A final shout came from the passageway, "Attack the wolf now!" "Was that Isaac?!" Johan eximed in joy and disbelief. ************************* 7 minutes earlier, back in the forest... Isaac was wandering through the woods, pretending like he was inspecting the surrounding area. He looked like he was off-guard, but he was actually highly vignt and constantly scanned the forest from the corner of his eye. Isaac idled around and waited for the moment he would be attacked; he made sure not to venture far from the den so the team could quicklye to his aid when he signalled them. He continued to wait, and 2 minutes ticked by. However, something seemed... off. The forest was deathly silent. Even the birds they heard on the way here had stopped tweeting. Suddenly, there was a loudmotion. A flock of silent birds flew up and out of the forest; it seemed like something had scared them. Isaac wore an expression of mild confusion and interest, but then he went back to his pretend search for clues. Inwardly, he was readying himself. It looked like the enemy was approaching and he would be attacked soon. However, another few minutes passed. Isaac was still safe. Nobody had attacked him. Isaac grew suspicious. What had scared the birds? Why wasn''t he being attacked? He dropped his act and did a tant sweep of the surroundings. However, he could only see a maze of trees with a carpet of snow; no signs of human activity. The carpet was untouched there were no footprints in the snow and the maze was undisturbed nobody hid in the trees. Isaac grew even more concerned. He was about to go and investigate where the birds had flown away, but then he realised something: the birds had flown from the direction of the den! Everything clicked into ce; he knew his teammates had been ambushed instead of him. Isaac activated the Snowshoe Anima and sped towards the Sarcevic Wolf''s den. Chapter 82: Shrieking Skull Chapter 82: Shrieking Skull He quickly reached the entrance to the den, but then he slowed down. The attackers might not expect him to attack so this was a golden opportunity to surprise them. Isaac kept the Snowshoe Anima active and silently glided forwards. Then he stopped, stunned. There were 2 intimidating skeletons outside then den. One bear skeleton stood guard on either side of the entrance, not willing to let anyone pass. Fortunately, these skeletons had lost the sense of smell they had when they were alive. Their senses had severely diminished after bing skeletons and they hadn''t noticed Isaac yet. He quickly realised that staying stealthy would be impossible. The moment he engaged with the bears, anybody in the passage would be aware of his presence. He also couldn''t sneak past the bears. Their senses might''ve diminished, but they would still notice if somebody tried to walk right past them. That left only one option. Isaac activated his Snowshoe Anima on full speed and shot forwards like he''d been fired from a cannon. The bears noticed him it was impossible not to but he''d already reached the den''s entrance before they could react. However, there was no snow in the passageway. Isaac''s Snowshoe Anima ceased to work the moment his feet touched dirt instead of snow, but he was still travelling at an insane speed. He couldn''t control his momentum and tumbled down the passageway head over heels. The two men in the passageway heard him, but they couldn''t even turn around in surprise. The human projectile crashed into the back of the muscr man and he was sent flying. Meanwhile, the man in the brown coat was caught in shock for a moment as he processed what had happened. Isaac took advantage of this moment and scrambled to his feet. He created a spirit sword and attacked the man, but he''d already recovered by now. He screamed, "Fuck! Die!" and fired a barrage of icicles at Isaac. It would be impossible to dodge all of them at such close range, but Isaac pushed his sword towards the man''s outstretched hand. The de blocked most of the icicles and only 2 got past; 1 struck him in the thigh, while the other grazed his left arm. Meanwhile, Isaac''s sword continued its path towards the man''s arm. The man was astonished to see Isaac block his icicles and was too t-footed to react. The sword pierced through his palm and the man howled in pain, "Arghhhh!!" Isaac withdrew his sword and shed again, aiming for the man''s head this time. However, a wave of ice appeared underneath the man and carried him backwards. Isaac''s movement Anima didn''t work in here, so he could only let Langley retreat. Langley stood there, staring venomously at Isaac and clutching his injured hand. Blood dripped through his fingers and stained the brown earth. However, Isaac ignored the man''s poisonous gaze. He looked past him to see what was happening in the chamber. Bjorn, the muscr man, was back on his feet. He''d heard hispanion''s scream so hemanded the skeletons to change directions and head back towards the passageway. Then Isaac saw Eva, Johan and Abbie. There were several snow walls behind them, but a bone wolf smashed through one of them as he was watching. It took mere moments to calcte what had happened and give his directions, "Attack the wolf now!" The team looked surprised as they heard Isaac''s voice, but the wolf pounced towards them from behind and their joy was short-lived. They began to fight, but Isaac couldn''t watch any longer. He had other things to deal with. His eyes were drawn back to Langley, who had raised his uninjured hand. A semi-transparent skull emerged from his palm. It was about the size of a fist and had a disproportionatelyrge mouth. The screaming skull flew towards Isaac at moderate speed and he would have no problems dodging it. Isaac didn''t feel threatened by the skull, but that all changed when it opened its jaws wide and began screaming. The skull''s screams echoed through the passageway and shook Isaac''s mind. He felt dizzy and disoriented. Then, 3 icicles shot towards Isaac. Isaac dealt with the dizziness better than Eva had. He fought off his nausea and ducked past the icicles, but the skull was getting ever-closer and its effects were bing stronger. Isaac''s eyes widened as he realised the skull''s effects and he made a snap decision he decided to retreat. He backpedalled furiously, not taking his eyes off his opponents as he tried to escape from the passageway. However, 2 new enemies appeared behind him. The bear skeletons outside the passageway had stepped inside and would stop Isaac from leaving. He desperately covered his ears and tried to form a n as the skull approached. Langley saw how the skull was affecting Isaac and smirked maliciously. He struggled to raise his injured hand and bombarded Isaac with more icicles. However, a smile tugged at the corners of Isaac''s mouth when he saw this he''d been waiting for this moment! His expression morphed from desperation to confidence, and he bobbed his head to evade the icicles. They flew past and struck the bears behind him. There were loud cracks as the bears'' bones fractured, then Isaac turned around to deal a sweeping blow with his sword. That was the finisher. The bears copsed into piles of broken bones, and Isaac sprinted past them. 2 stepster, he was back outside the den. He activated the Snowshoe Anima to flee out of the skull''s range, then breathed a sigh of relief. ''That skull''s screams directly damage the will! I need to evade it at all costs.'' Isaac''s maximum-effort style of meditation had helped strengthen his will. His will was already strong to begin with, so that was like giving wings to a tiger; the skull''s screams had a reduced effect on him. However, that didn''t mean he was immune to them direct contact with the skull was still extremely dangerous. Fortunately, it flew slowly. Isaac decided to fight outside, where he had room to move freely and avoid any skulls. However, his opponent wasn''t going to do what he wanted. Langley realised he was at an advantage inside the den, so he stood at the entrance andunched projectiles at Isaac. Meanwhile, Bjorn went back to trying to deal with the team. ************************* Earlier, in the den... "Was that Isaac?!" Johan eximed in joy and disbelief. The skeletons were moving towards the passageway and the team felt a weight lifted off of their shoulders. However, the wolf charged at them from behind, reminding they weren''t safe yet. They''d all heard Isaac''s words, ''attack the wolf now'', and realised this was their best chance to kill the beast. Abbie used her dwindling Qi to raise another snow wall. The wolf crashed into the wall and destroyed it, but it lost its momentum. *Vwoom* *Vwoom* *Vwoom* 3 icicles flew through the air. The wolf couldn''t see through all the snow in the air so it couldn''t dodge the icicles. They struck it squarely in the head and 3 cracks spread across its skull. The wolf shook its head violently then stared at its two attackers. Wait... two attackers? Eva was already next to the wolf, aiming a palm towards its jaw. The strike connected and the wolf''s head was hit upwards. Then another series of icicles hit its exposed neck. The wolf was furious I mean, it probably was. It''s hard to tell how a skeleton''s feeling after all. It spun in a circle andshed towards Eva with its tail, but she''d seen this attack too many times already. She raised both hands and caught the tail. The sharp bone cut her hands, but her wounds were immediately frozen by the Palms of Northern Frost Anima. The strike also made her slide backwards, but she dug her heels into the ground and kept hold of the tail. Then she tightened her grip on the tail and her muscles bulged. With a loud grunt, she pulled the skeleton towards her. The wolf, which was about to attack Johan, panicked. It thrashed about andshed its tail back and forth, but it was toote. Eva gave one powerful pull and the wolf couldn''t stop itself from being flung backwards. As the wolf was propelled towards her, Eva let go of the tail. She stepped forwards to deliver a palm strike, hitting the same part of the wolf''s jaw she''d struck previously. The strength of the blow caused cracking noises, and more fractures appeared in the wolf''s skull. Part of its jaw brokepletely and fell off. Eva anticipated the wolf''s retaliation and backed away. However, the wolf didn''te after her. No, it stood there forlornly for one helpless moment. Then the bones of its body fell to the floor with a tter: now the Sarcevic Wolf had died twice. The trio breathed a collective sigh of relief, especially Eva who was d to finally vanquish her foe. They took a few seconds to catch their breath and reorganise themselves, then they got into formation with Eva at the front and the others behind. They still needed to support Isaac; the fight wasn''t over yet. Chapter 83: Out in the Open Chapter 83: Out in the Open The group were about to leave the den when they heard amotion ahead of them. The group of skeletons had turned around and wereing back down the passageway towards them. Bjorn, the muscr man, was standing among them. He''d been forced toe to the forefront instead of continuing to hide out of sight in the passageway. He saw the Sarcevic Wolf had been destroyed and made some mutterings of surprise and vexation. Hemanded the human skeletons to protect him while a troop of wolf skeletons dashed forwards to attack the trio. Johan responded by bombarding them with icicles. *Ssh* *Ssh* *Ssh* The icicles either missed or were blocked by jets of water; it was the same thing that had blocked Eva before. It had quite a powerful defensive effect, but Abbie also guessed it consumed quite a lot of Qi, otherwise Bjorn would''ve used it to protect these skeletons earlier. She smirked slightly. Now that he was starting to use it, it showed he was beginning to run out of skeletons. However, he was running out of Qi herself so she had to be efficient with her barrier cement. She only used one barrier and blocked off the left side. Now the group just had to focus on their right and they wouldn''t get nked. Several wolves tried to smash Abbie''s barrier. Meanwhile, the others charged to the right of it. They dashed right towards Eva. After fighting the skeleton of the Sarcevic Wolf, these regr wolves were just small fry. She froze the mouth of a wolf with a palm strike, then shattered the skull of another with a spinning backfist. Bjorn tried to make the wolves avoid Eva, but Johan fired another volley of icicles. Water jets surrounded them and the wolves had to stop again. Then Eva closed the distance and attacked them when the jets disappeared. After 2 more wolves got destroyed, the man realised his attack was fruitless. He pulled the wolves back into a defensive position and shouted to his teammate, "Come back and help me down here! I can''t take them by myself!" "What?! And just let this guy attack from behind again? I nearly lost my handst time!" Johan fired more icicles while their opponent was distracted. However, Bjorn was still paying enough attention to react; water jets sprang up to block the projectiles. Then he shouted again, "Let''s break out of the den then. We can''t fight like this!" "I''ll push this guy back. You bring your skeletons up." Bjorn retreated back into the passageway and his skeletons began to follow him. Johan was about to attack them, but Abbie stopped him, "Don''t waste more Qi. Just let them retreat so we can get out of here and meet up with Isaac." Eva agreed, "Conserve your strength. We canunch a concerted attack once we get out." Johan lowered his arm somewhat reluctantly. The three of them walked up the passageway behind the retreating skeletons. The moment they reached the exit, Abbie created a snow barrier and they ran in the opposite direction to the skeletons. The wall shuddered as a rain of projectiles collided with it. Abbie was right; of course they''d be attacked the moment they left the den. Once they reached a suitable distance, she dispelled the snow wall. It copsed into a heap of snow on the ground, allowing them to get a look at the battlefield. The two enemies were about fifty metres in front of them, while Isaac was to the enemies'' right. Abbie noticed that the skeleton army was now much smaller in size it couldn''t really be called an army anymore. Isaac noticed that the group had escaped and gave some crude hand signals. He basically gestured for them to attack towards the left. Abbie, Johan and Eva listened to their captain. Eva pushed up towards the left nk of the skeletons, while the other two stayed back to support her. Meanwhile, Isaac activated his Snowshoe Anima and glided silently towards the enemies'' rear. He didn''t go unnoticed. Langley was extremely wary of Isaac, so he fired 2 skulls the moment Isaac started moving. Isaac gave the skulls a wide berth; he moved far out to the right and avoided the slow-moving skulls. Then he continued forwards. Skulls and icicles both had one thing inmon: they couldn''t hit Isaac. The Snowshoe Anima was too agile for him to be struck at long range and Langley quickly realised this. He stopped wasting Qi and waited for Isaac to get closer before he started firing again. Isaac had to slow down and focus on evading, but he still didn''t get hit. Meanwhile, Eva was moving down the left nk unobstructed. Bjorn had positioned his skeletons in a defensive formation while he waited for Langley to kill that pesky twerp on the other side. Then they''d pincer attack this trio together. That was the n, so he didn''t attack and only sat behind his defences like a tortoise in its shell. But was Eva''s palm strong enough to break this shell? Not quite. She barrelled into the army and fought like she was possessed, but she quickly got surrounded. Bjorn used his Jet Cage Anima to minimise his casualties, while Eva began to umte wounds. She quickly realised she wasn''t making any progress and kicked out behind her. The skeleton was knocked back, creating an opportunity to escape the encirclement. She took it. An agile leap brought her away from the skeletons and back towards safety. Then she red at Bjorn, who had a mixture of smugness and disdain on his face. ''Three pathetic idiots who can''t break my defences''; that''s what his expression seemed to say. Eva didn''t like that one bit. She jumped right back into the fray, but didn''t let herself get surrounded this time. Whenever she noticed skeletons getting behind her, she would back off and choose a new point of attack. Even if Bjorn could save some skeletons with his Jet Cage Anima, he couldn''t protect all of them from Eva. Many were damaged or destroyed, and Bjorn shouted, "What are you doing?! Either finish him quickly ore and help me!" Isaac had been fighting with a conservative style. He''d seen Eva''s group had the upper hand and decided to stall for time until they broke through. Langley had been bombarding him with ranged attacks, but none of them could touch them hem of Isaac''s coat; he was slippery like an eel and agile like a cat. When Bjorn told him to ''hurry up'', Langley''s frustration exploded, "Fuck! I''d like to see you try and kill this bastard! Actually, scratch that, you''d struggle to survive against him!" "Oh yeah? Why don''t we switch then!" Bjorn immediately replied, incensed. However, after his momentary outburst, Langley calmed down, "Now''s not the time to argue. I can''t catch this fucker, so I''ll help you out." Langley turned to fire a skull in Eva''s direction. In this moment, hemitted a grave sin: he turned his back to Isaac. Isaac immediately turned the Snowshoe Anima to the max and darted forwards. The Anima was silent, so Langley didn''t even hear himing. He might''ve lost his head then and there if Bjorn didn''t shout, "Behind!" Langley snapped around just to see a sword heading towards him. He ducked, and the de sailed above his head. He prepared himself to dodge the next attack, but there wasn''t one. Isaac flew past him towards Bjorn. Bjorn panicked and activated his Jet cage Anima. Torrents of water sprung up around Isaac''s feet, but he was too quick. Isaac was long gone by the time the jets were fully formed. Just as he was 2 metres away from his target, Bjorn stepped into a throng of skeletons. Isaac did his best to veer left, but his control wasn''t very good at such a high speed. He crashed into the wave of skeletons, obliterating 4 of them and crashing into Bjorn. The two tumbled through the snow together, but Isaac was the first to his feet. His sword darted towards Bjorn, but the muscr man raised an arm in defence. Isaac''s de cut through flesh and bone. The arm sessfully blocked his sword, but it was left hanging from a string afterwards. Bjorn screamed in agony and missed the opportunity tounch a counterattack. He was still focused on his arm when a left uppercut connected with his jaw. He was sent sprawling into the snow again and Isaac was right on him. His sword cleanlynded on the side of Bjorn''s neck and... stopped? Isaac red at Bjorn with an intense killing intent in his eyes, and Bjorn shuddered under the weight of that gaze. He felt the cold sword ced against his neck and the small trail of blood trickling from where it was ced. He closed his eyes in despair. He knew his life would end here. Suddenly the sword was withdrawn. *Thwack* Isaac struck Bjorn with the hilt of his sword and knocked him out, then called to Eva, "Get over here and secure him!" Then Isaac went racing towards Langley, who had already begun to escape. The furry hood of his coat pped behind him as he fled at great speed, riding the crest of an icy wave. The ice carried him at an almost unbelievable speed for a Rank 1 Anima and Isaac waspletely unable to close the distance. In fact, Langley began to pull away. He avoided the forest presumably because he wasn''t agile enough to weave between the trees and ploughed through a row of bushes like a bulldozer. He continued to wreck all the foliage in his way as he escaped towards the nearby path. Isaac followed him, but only for a short distance. Chasing any further would be fruitless merely a waste of time. He spun around in a neat semicircle and headed back towards where the others were. Bjorn was copsed on the floor, unconscious. Abbie and Johan stood either side of him like bodyguards while Eva was nowhere to be seen. She''d returned to the den to retrieve their bags. Isaac took another look at Bjorn and a slight sense of bloodlust filled him. He''d never killed a man not in real life anyway so he didn''t know why he felt so drawn to the idea of murdering Bjorn. Anyway, he shook his head and dispelled those thoughts. Isaac was ruthless when he wanted to be ruthless (which was most of the time), but sometimes being merciful would yield greater benefits. He knew this, so he didn''t kill Bjorn. They all waited for Eva to return with a bag, which she promptly pulled some rope out of. Johan took the rope and tied Bjorn up tightly. "Why didn''t you kill him?" That was the question on everybody''s lips, but Eva asked it first. "Three reasons: extortion, insurance and reward. He''s probably set his will to destroy his Anima as soon as he dies. This way we can try torturing him to make him hand over his Anima. As for insurance, his ally escaped. He could be a hidden danger for us in the future or he could keep attacking the viges after we leave, so it''s better to exterminate him now. Holding this man hostage means he''s more likely to attack us, giving us another chance to kill him. "Finally, reward. The sect might want to interrogate him and ask why he''s been attacking sect viges. They should give us an extra reward for bringing him in alive." Everyone''s expressions brightened at the mention of an extra reward. They tacitly agreed with Isaac''s decision and Johan kicked Bjorn awake. They had some more questions for him instead. Chapter 84: Bjorns Stubborness Chapter 84: Bjorn''s Stubborness "What''s your rtionship to that other man?" Bjorn didn''t answer and spat a mouthful of blood into the snow; he''d bitten his tongue slightly when Isaac had hit him. "Why did you try to kill us?" Johan buried Bjorn under a mountain of questions, but didn''t get a single answer. He quickly realised how things were going to pan out. "Fine. It''ll only take a sharp instrument and a bit of effort to get information out of you." Bjorn still didn''t respond, but his brow furrowed in worry. His skeletons all stopped moving when he was unconscious, so the group had destroyed them easily and now he had no means of escape. If the group decided to torture him, it would be difficult to resist. However, Isaac called Johan over and had a few words. He said it would be better to move first, then stop to torture Bjornter; he wanted to be back at the sect within 2 days. Everybody listened to Isaac and got their things together. Isaac and Johan went to retrieve the other bags from the den, and Isaac carried Abbie''s for her her back was still injured. It didn''t take long to get ready, and they were about to set off when Abbie cried out, "This man''s not moving! What do we do?" Bjorn wasn''t dead no, he was simply lying in the snow with his eyes closed. Whenever Abbie shouted at him, he ignored her and refused to move. Isaac decided to teach their disobedient prisoner a lesson. He walked up to Bjorn, grabbed his left hand, then drew the bone hunting knife from his belt. He sliced Bjorn''s little finger off. The small digit fell to the ground with an inaudible thud, and Bjorn''s eyes opened wide. He gave a long shriek of pain, and stared at Isaac hatefully. Isaac didn''t care. He grabbed Bjorn by the ear and ced his knife against the man''s earlobe, "If you don''t listen to us, there''s no point in letting you keep your ears. Maybe I should chop them both off now?" "I''ll listen, I''ll listen! Put the knife away!" Johan smirked when he saw Bjorn begging. He spat at Bjorn''s feet and cursed the man as he shakily got up. Then he heard Isaac order, "Johan, wrap up his finger with something so he doesn''t lose too much blood. You''ll be in charge of watching him while we walk; hold him at knifepoint and don''t let him try anything." Johan smiled gleefully at thest sentence. He retrieved a small roll of bandages from his bag and wrapped Bjorn''s finger up, then they all set off. The whole way, Johan''s knife was pointed at the small of Bjorn''s back. Bjorn tried to walk slowly and dy the group, but Johan was having none of it. Whenever Bjorn decreased his pace, the tip of the knife would prick his back and force him to walk faster. Just like this, they walked until the Sun reached its zenith. Then they stopped to eat. Of course, Bjorn didn''t get any food, but he did get something else. Johan had a quick bite to eat, then pulled the man over to the side. "Alright, let''s start again. What''s your rtionship to the man from before?" Bjorn didn''t answer, but Johan brandished the knife at him. Then he mumbled, "Ain''t telling you shit." "Really? Then why did you squeal like a terrified pig earlier? You didn''t seem so tough then." "You won''t get anything out of me. I''m scared of your captain, not you jackass." "Well, I''m sure we can change that." Johan smiled demonically. Then the torture began. The group were sat right across from where Johan was, so they had to eat lunch while listening to Bjorn''s pained cries. asionally he''d use the Jet Cage Anima to protect himself, but the jets would disappear eventually and Johan would go extra harsh on him when they did. He eventually realised protecting himself was a fruitless endeavour and resigned himself to his fate. However, Johan still couldn''t get much information out of him. The most he learnt was Bjorn and Langley''s names and that they were brothers. He couldn''t squeeze any info out of Bjorn, so Johan changed his angle of attack. He tried torturing Bjorn to hand over his Anima. However, Bjorn remained steadfast. Even when Johan cut off another finger, Bjorn wouldn''t still wouldn''t say which Anima he had let alone hand them over. After about 10 minutes, everybody was getting ready to go. Johan realised he wasn''t going to get anything else out of Bjorn, so he sighed remorsefully and was about to put his knife away. Then Bjorn suddenly eximed, "Wait! Not again, I''ll tell you!" ''But I was just about to put my knife away... maybe he thought I was getting ready to cut him again? Whatever the reason, it''s not a bad thing.'' Johan quickly mistook Bjorn''s intentions. Bjorn waspletely aware they were about to leave, but he wanted to dy the group and stop them from leaving. That way, his brother would have time to get ahead of the team and prepare an ambush to rescue him. "Okay, go on then." Johan egged Bjorn on, but he started umming and ahing like he was hesitant to say anything. Johan readied the knife again and threatened to torture Bjorn. Bjorn kept hesitating for a bit, then finally decided to spill some information, "I-I use the Jet Cage Anima..." "So what? We already knew that! Tell me something I didn''t know!" Bjorn''s half-hearted answer only incited Johan''s curiosity. He started pushing for more information, but Isaac suddenly interrupted. "Johan! Come on, we need to go!" "But I''m so close! I bet I can make him hand over his Anima!" Johan protested, but it was no use. Isaac narrowed his eyes and stared at Bjorn, "... He''s ying around with you. If he was going to give a serious answer, he would''ve done it long ago." Johan looked back in disbelief, "ying with me? What kind of maniac ''ys'' like this?" Indeed, Bjorn didn''t look like someone who''d been ying around. He looked like somebody who''d been extensively tortured. Nevertheless, Isaac responded, "I''m sure of it. It looks like he''s stalling for time... maybe he''s waiting for his teammate to rescue him? It looks like he really is delusional." When Johan saw the wry smile on Bjorn''s face, he realised he actually might''ve been getting toyed with. He was furious. He grasped the knife tightly and thrust it towards Bjorn''s side, but Bjorn reacted quickly. Water jets protected him from all sides. Suddenly, a rustle came from the bushes to their right as a trio of icicles were fired towards Johan. *ng* *ng* Isaac was the only person alert enough to block the attack. Two icicles deflected off his spirit sword, but he couldn''t block thest one. It hit Johan''s left forearm, and he cried out in pain. When the icicle hit him, he dropped his knife and Bjorn saw this as an opportunity. He dashed towards the bushes the moment the Jet Cage Anima''s effect ended. However, Johan wouldn''t let him go. He scrambled to pick up his knife and chased Bjorn, firing several icicles at him. However, they all missed due to his injured left forearm. The two disappeared into the bushes. Isaac quicklymanded his team, "Eva, help Johan! Abbie,e with me to catch Langley! If he tries to escape, use walls to block him off." Then Isaac activated his Snowshoe Anima and darted towards where the icicles had been fired from. He reached the bushes, but there was nobody there. Instead, there was a trail of destruction leading further into the undergrowth. Isaac realised Langley was trying to meet up with his brother. However, he wouldn''t let things go Langley''s way. He quickly calcted the path Langley would need to take, then he set off again. He cut back across the path, taking a course to intercept Langley. Branches of bushes and trees snapped by as he flew like the wind. Large branches were cut by his sword, while smaller ones smacked across his face and torso. Isaac paid it no mind. He was solely focused on catching his enemy. Soon, he saw the trail of destruction crossing his path up ahead. He was correct about Langley''s route, but he''d got here slightly toote. Isaac clicked his tongue and followed the trail. After following it a short distance, he heard amotion and headed straight towards it. He slowed down as he got closer, and eventually stopped nearby. He peeked through the bushes and saw Langley holding off Eva and Johan. None of them had noticed him yet. Isaac kept his Snowshoe Anima active. He slowly, silently glided around towards Langley''s back... Chapter 85: Desperate Escape Chapter 85: Desperate Escape Isaac sprung from the bushes like a snake. He pushed his sword towards Langley''s back, but the man heard Isaacing. He twisted around at thest moment and a look of horror covered his face. He was about to scream, but Isaac''s sword skewered him. He could only groan and gurgle as blood spilled from his midriff. *Plop* Langley fell to the floor in a puddle of his own blood. The light in his eyes was slowly dimming... But Isaac didn''t have time to wait for that light to go out. He ended Langley''s life with a quick, efficient jab to the forehead. Then he raised his head and snapped, "Which way did Bjorn go?!" Johan stood there, slightly dazed, while Eva replied, "That way." She raised her hand a pointed a calloused finger in Isaac''s direction. Isaac turned around. There was indeed a small trail through the bushes, indicating someone had passed that way. He nodded his head, then sped away. He closely followed Bjorn''s tracks and it wasn''t long before he came upon the man himself. Bjorn was breathing heavily and frequently looking behind him as he ran. His eyes were nervous and his brow was creased in worry. When he saw Isaac, he immediately panicked. He darted to the right, trying to lose Isaac in the forest. However, Isaac wasn''t so easily shaken. He stayed right on Bjorn''s tail, quickly gaining on him. When Isaac got within 20 metres of Bjorn, jets of water sprung up around him. Isaac couldn''t avoid them and he was trapped for a second. Bjorn used the opportunity to continue escaping, but soon Isaac was after him once more. When he got within 20 metres again, more water jets began to spring up. However, Isaac predicted them this time. He swerved to the side and dodged the trap. Then he put on onest burst of speed to try and catch Bjorn. Bjorn ducked behind a tree. Isaac was going too fast to stop, so he sped past the tree then spun around toe back. When he turned around, he saw Bjorn climbing the tree; it seemed he realised he couldn''t escape on foot. Isaac quickly travelled to the base of the tree and deactivated his Snowshoe Anima. Then more water jets sprung up around him. He simply sighed and created a spirit sword; he wouldn''t be climbing after Bjorn anyway. The moment the water cage disappeared, Isaac swung his sword at the tree trunk. The de nearly sliced through half the tree. He pulled the sword back and swung it again. The tree shook as it nearly fell over and Bjorn looked down in terror. He tried to jump to another tree, but it was toote. Isaac let go of his sword and pushed the tree with both hands. *Creeeeak* *CRACK* *Craaaaash* Thest remaining bit of tree trunk strained against Isaac, but it was fighting a losing battle. It broke with a resounding crack, then the tree began to topple. It crashed through the branches of the nearby pines, andnded with a heavy thud and a piercing scream. The scream, of course, came from Bjorn. ''He''s still alive then... I guess that''s good?'' Isaac went over to the scene of the crash and saw how Bjorn hadnded. He was lying on his back, crying out in pain. His lower left leg was trapped under the tree, and there was blood everywhere. From what Isaac could see, his calf had been pulverized and his shin was broken in at least 3 ces. Isaac ignored the man''s howls of pain; if he was trapped under the tree, that meant he couldn''t escape. He turned around and headed back towards Johan and Eva. When he got to them, he spoke quickly, "Come with me, I''ve caught Bjorn but... he''s in a spot of difficulty." Eva and Johan appeared not to hear. They were both crouched next to Langley''s corpse with closed eyes and intensely focused expressions. A moment of realisation struck Isaac. ''Don''t tell me...'' He also rushed over to Langley''s side and pushed his will into the dead man''s body. First, his will went to Langley''s left hand. There he found Johan''s will trying to subdue a ghost-style Anima. Isaac felt slightly remorseful, but he still redirected his will to Langley''s left hand. There he found Eva''s will trying to subdue an Ice Fragment Anima. Again, Isaac redirected his will. He moved his will to Langley''s feet and discovered another Anima. This was Langley''s movement Anima, and Isaac saw it twitching slightly. Thest remnants of Langley''s will were dissipating and the Anima was regaining its natural instincts. If Isaac left it any longer, the Anima might escape. He quickly used his will to suppress the Anima. Then he split a part of his will and used it to scan the rest of Langley''s body. Lo and behold, there was a fourth Anima in Langley''s neck. Isaac did his best to take ownership of both Anima, but his fragmented will wasn''t strong enough to subdue both at once. The best he could do was suppress the Anima and stop them from escaping. ************************* After a minute or so, Eva''s eyes flickered open. She smiled as she felt the Ice Fragment Anima which had settled in her left palm, then she looked around. She was surprised to see Isaac sitting next to her with a concentrated, almost pained expression. She quickly focused her will back on Langley''s body and did a quick sweep to see what Isaac was having trouble with. Since she was doing a bottom-to-top inspection, she immediately discovered the movement Anima in Langley''s feet. A strand of her will extended tomunicate with Isaac''s, and he told her to keep a hold of this Anima. Then he left the job to her, and his will flew off. Of course, it was going to join its other half in Langley''s neck. The two halves of Isaac''s willbined and began to subdue the leash-shaped Anima in Langley''s neck. Now that his will was whole, it didn''t take long for Isaac to shatter its defences and imnt a piece of his will in the Anima. It flew out of Langley''s corpse and into his own neck. Then his will moved back to Langley''s feet where Eva was trying to subdue thest Anima. It looked like she would be done soon. Isaac assisted her to take control of the Anima, then both their wills returned to their bodies. Both Eva and Isaac''s eyes snapped open at the same time, causing Johan to stare at them. Isaac didn''t exin, he just stated, "Come with me." He brought them to where Bjorn was still trapped by the tree. A sly smile crossed Johan''s face as he saw the predicament Bjorn was in. Meanwhile, Eva looked on impassively. "I didn''t bring you just so you could stare at him. Come on." Isaac brought the duo over to Bjorn''s side. He shared a few words with the other two, and they nodded tentatively. Johan took off his jacket and tied it tightly around Bjorn''s thigh. He stepped back, letting Isaac stand next to Bjorn now. He created a spirit sword and cut off Bjorn''s leg. The muscr man gave a scream of agony, but Isaac ignored it and dragged him away from the tree. Then Eva approached. She used her icy palms to freeze the stump where Bjorn''s left leg used to be. The blood quickly froze and stopped flowing. Johan stepped up to Bjorn and gave him a look of disdain. There was no sympathy in his eyes as he untied the jacket around Bjorn''s frozen thigh, then wiped some of the blood on it onto Bjorn''s face. Chapter 86: Triumphant Return Chapter 86: Triumphant Return When he''d got all the blood off, Johan put his jacket back on and then pulled his coat over it. Isaac picked up Bjorn and they headed back towards the road. Bjorn was floating somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness he was in a hazy, semi-aware state. He happened to be in one of his more cognizant phases when they passed where Eva and Johan had fought Langley. He saw the signs of battle and his foggy mind wondered what had gone on. He looked around dazedly, but a puddle of deep red drew his attention. It sharply contrasted the green surroundings like a blot of ink stands out on a clear page. Bjorn slowly turned his gaze towards this attractive puddle of red, and he saw a body lying in the middle. ''Oh. I wonder who that is?'' Initially, he failed toprehend. Slowly, details such as the corpse''s distinctive brown fur coat and spindly forearms which looked exactly like his brother''s began to filter through. His brain sluggishly processed these bits of information and pieced them together into a shocking conclusion: everything was a dream! That was right! Langley couldn''t be dead, so everything that happened up until now had to be a dream! Bjorn began tough in a low, crazed tone. Hisughter slowly grew louder, louder, louder, until it reached a crescendo of insanity. Then he was suddenly silent. He had fainted again. ************************* Less than 10 minutester, the group were standing at the roadside with Abbie. They''d already briefed her on what had happened, and she seemed pleased with the result. However, she had a crucial question, "How are we going to share Langley''s Anima?" "Well... there are 4 Anima and 4 of us. We''ll each pick one: I will go first, Johan will be second, and you two will y rock paper scissors for 3rd." "What?! Abbie didn''t even fight Langley!" "She''s not even a member of our team!" Both Eva and Abbie exploded, unhappy with Isaac''s decision. Nevertheless, Isaac was unmoved, "Those are both valid points, which is why I''ve chosen a method which is fair to both of you." The pair stared at Isaac begrudgingly, then nced at each other dismissively. They walked towards each other and yed rock paper scissors on Johan''s count. Abbie won. "Right. I''ll take the Shock Cor Anima." ''I don''t need any of these Anima, but the Shock Cor Anima is the most valuable. I can sell itter and buy myself a more suitable one.'' "I''ll have his movement Anima." "I would like the ghost-style Anima." Johan and Abbie both made their choices, leaving Eva with the Ice Fragment Anima. Once they were sorted, they set off back towards the sect. ************************* The group had stopped for dinner, and Isaac had propped Bjorn up against a tree. The man hade to and, after a painful moment of eptance, realised he was not living in a dreand. The moment he knew his brother was dead, he destroyed all his Anima and began weeping uncontrobly. Bjorn cried for nearly half an hour. When he finally stopped, Isaac walked over. He looked at Bjorn''s face. There were still 3 teardrops on the man''s cheeks which he couldn''t wipe away. His eyes were red and slightly wet, but now they looked dim and stony. In fact, Bjorn''s expression looked more like a statue''s than a real human being''s. Isaac asked in a low voice, "Why did you attack us?" He didn''t expect an answer, which is why Bjorn''s response surprised him. He replied in a gravelly, mechanical tone, "We wanted to join the war in the east. We were going to make a fortune as mercenaries. We needed some powerful skeleton soldiers." "Was this your brother''s idea?" "Yes. Langley tamed the wolf with his Shock Cor Anima, then we used it to attack Kirk Vige. We waited for the sect to send a team so we could ambush them. Then we could kill the Sect''s cultivators and turn them into skeleton generals." ''I knew it! The pattern of attacks on Kirk Vige was strange and unnatural; it didn''t look like the Sarcevic Wolf was trying to destroy the vige at all. Besides, Leon said anybody who left the vige died. Then how did a messenger get all the way to the sect? Langley must''ve deliberately let them pass.'' Pieces of the puzzle began to fit together in Isaac''s mind, but there was another crucial question, "Why didn''t you ambush us earlier?" "You arrived in Kirk Vigete at night. We didn''t know you were there until the next day and we decided to wait until you''d left the vige before we ambushed you, but you left in the dead of night and killed the Sarcevic Wolf before we could prepare. "Then you went to Kukk Vige right away. We didn''t even realise you''d left. When you came back to the wolf''s den, we thought that''d be the best chance to attack." Bjorn looked like a robot who was programmed to answer Isaac''s questions; he simply couldn''t refuse. However, Isaac didn''t have much else to ask him. He only gave a few questions about the Anima they''d taken from Langley, then he left the grieving man be. The rest of the story was alreadyplete in his mind, ''The incident between Kirk and Kukk Viges one month ago must''ve been caused by Langley. I imagine he noticed groups leaving the vige for an unknown reason and decided to tag along. Then he killed everybody with that skull Anima and stole the Crystal of Pure Frost. Did he store it somewhere? Maybe he used it for an ice-style cultivation technique? His movement Anima and Ice Fragment Anima did look unusually strong, even for somebody in upper stage.'' ''Regardless, it''s not worth the time I''d need to spend looking for it. More importantly, I made several mistakes this mission. I assumed the skeletons were leftovers from a demonic ritual, but they were actually skeleton soldiers which got destroyed by the Sarcevic Wolf when Langley and Bjorn subdued it. Then, I also falsely assumed there was only one cultivator based on the condition of the bodies I dug up. ''These mistakes of mine left us vulnerable. I need to be more open-minded when investigating things in the future I should stop jumping to conclusions.'' Isaac shook his head. His performance had been good, but it hadn''t been perfect. That meant he needed to reflect on his ws and strive to improve. He noted some key areas of improvement in his mind, then went back to finish dinner. They''dpleted the mission safely, so there was a cheerful atmosphere about the group. They shared a few jokes as the ate by the campfire, and everybody was in high spirits. After dinner, they climbed into the trees to sleep. Isaac had to tie Bjorn to his back and bring him up into a tree as well. ************************* Another snowy day began. The group had already climbed down from their trees and had set off before the Sun even rose. They trudged onwards for several hours, only stopping once for lunch. Just as the golden orb of the Sun began to dip below the horizon, a tall silver steeple hove into view. The setting sun painted a picture of tranquillity across the open tundra, which stretched before them like a rolling white carpet which led to their mighty sect. It reminded Isaac of the view when he''d returned to the Sect after passing the trials, and that thought made him smile. The trials had happened over 2 years ago, and Isaac was reminded of how far he''de since then: he was already capable of catching a middle stage cultivator and killing his upper stage brother. Admittedly they did have poor Anima, but it was an impressive feat nheless. Now Isaac just needed to report that feat to the Sect and receive his rewards... After a little more walking, the team arrived at the sect gates. When they arrived, they were stopped by the guards and asked to show their mission pass. "Here." Isaac handed his pass to a guard, but the guard still wouldn''t let him pass, "This says 4 people. Who''s the man you''re carrying?" Isaac briefly exined who Bjorn was and why they were bringing him back to the sect, but the guard shook her head and replied, "I can''t allow any unauthorised people to enter the Sect. Wait here while I call my superior." Isaac and the others sat in the snow as they waited. About 10 minutester, the guard returned with a short, thin woman in a pale blue coat. She asked Isaac a couple of questions, and he gave concise but truthful answers. Then she decided, "We''ll bring this man into the Sect. The guards will keep him in custody while the Adventurers'' Hall processes your reports and decides what to do with him. Go and file a report as soon as possible." The woman''s hawk-like eyes and pointed nose gave her a strict aura; she reminded Johan of some of the teachers in the Academy. And just like the teachers in the Academy, it felt like hermands were impossible to disobey. The team entered the Sect and headed for the Adventurers'' Hall. Chapter 87: Getting Confirmation Chapter 87: Getting Confirmation It was alreadyte when they got there, so the hall was nearly empty. There were just a couple of people milling about and the team moved past them towards the missionpletion desk. A man was sitting there with a bored expression. There rings under his eyes and it looked like he hadn''t slept for days. "Hello. We''vepleted a medium difficulty Rank 1 mission, but there were several additionalplications for the mission. We''d like to be evaluated for an S grade." The man''s tired eyes sprung open in surprise after hearing ''S grade''. He gave his eyes a rub, straightened up his posture, and tried his best to seem awake, "Are you absolutely sure?" "The mission was to kill a certain wild beast, and we did that. However, we were then ambushed by 2 cultivators one of whom was upper stage. That goes beyond the scope of a typical medium difficulty mission." The man nodded his head, then replied, "I need one of you to write an official mission report. Meanwhile, I''ll get one of my colleagues to interview the other 3 of you just to confirm this qualifies for an S grade." The man disappeared for a few moments, then returned with another man. Isaac spoke to the others, "I''ll write the mission report. You all go with him." Upon hearing this, they all stopped hesitating and went with the new guy. Meanwhile, the tired man handed Isaac a pen and some sheets of paper. Isaac took them and went to sit in one of the chairs around the hall''s edge. He sat there and quietly began to write up his report. ************************* About an hour passed by before Isaac raised his head; he''d been disturbed by a slightmotion. Johan, Eva and Abbie had alle back into the hall and were walking towards him. Isaac ignored them for a few moments to make a few more jottings and additions to his report, then he put down his pen and looked up once more. "Well?" "He said ''it seems like an S grade mission, but my superior still needs to sign off on it''. There''s a bit more admin to do and they need to decide on our new rewards, so the man said toe back tomorrow." Isaac listened carefully to Johan''s response and then nodded. He got up from his chair, walked over to the desk to hand in his report, then walked back to the team. "We''re all finished then. You can all go home; we''ll meet back here at 10 am tomorrow." Isaac began walking towards the door, but then he stopped and turned around, "Oh, and before I forget... good work on our first mission together." The others all smiled. The mission had been a difficult ordeal and it had taken all their guile, skill and teamwork toplete it. Now, however, they were back in the safety of the Sect and ready to enjoy their rewards. It was truly a job well done. Isaac didn''t get too caught up in their jubnt reactions though. He calmly turned around and kept walking towards the door. ************************* The next day, everybody was back in the Adventurers'' Hall at 10 o''clock. They gathered in the somewhat crowded lobby and queued up for the missionpletion desk. When they got to the front of the line, they came face to face with the same man from yesterday. He looked even more tired now than he had before, "Oh, it''s you? Just wait a minute, I''ll grab my colleague." He went to get the same person who interviewed the team yesterday. "Hi, my name''s Martin. Just follow me and I''ll take you to get your rewards." The team walked past the mission desk and deeper into the Adventurers'' Hall. Usually, only staff could ess this area. However, Martin brought them through anyway. He took them to the small lounge area employees could use when they were off-duty or on breaks. Everybody sat down in the chairs near the door. Then Martin began to speak, "Your mission has indeed been awarded an S grade. We had a pretty hard time deciding what to reward you since we didn''t just want to give a mary reward." Abbie was quite disappointed by that statement. She tried to conceal her emotion, but Martin was very perceptive and just about noticed. Heughed, "Don''t worry, there is still a mary reward a whole 30 reward points but there''s also something special." He paused for a moment, letting an air of anticipation descend upon the room, "Your mission report stated each of you obtained an Anima during the mission. However, we know that these Anima might not suit you perfectly. We''re giving you the opportunity to swap one Anima with anything in the Sect''s Rank 1 Anima storage. Unfortunately, you''ll have to pay to make up the difference if you want an Anima more expensive than the one you have, but it''s a great opportunity nheless." Martin was right. Having Anima that fit yourbat style was extremely important, so this was a fantastic opportunity. Isaac replied curtly, "Shall we go then?" "Sorry, there''s just one more thing. The way it is now, your grade for this mission won''t be noted on your team record. That''s because you''re not an officially registered team. If you want this S grade to be put on your team record, you''ll need to fill out the necessary paperwork and form a team within 3 days. I''m about to go off and get your reward. If one of youes with me, I can give you the papers for forming a team as well." Everybody looked at Isaac. He nodded and stood up, "Thank you. I''lle." The two of them left the room and returned 5 minutester. Isaac was carrying a stack of papers while Martin held 3 leather pouches. He put the pouches on a chair and spoke, "There are 10 reward points in each pouch; it''s up to you how you distribute them." As he spoke, a faint spirit flew around his head twice. Everybody''s gaze was drawn to the floating pair of ethereal spectacles. "This is the Librarian Anima." Martin spoke as the spiritnded on his outstretched palm, "Visiting each storage facility and looking around would take forever, so you can just use this to browse through all the Anima we''ve stored." The Librarian Anima was a verymon, very popr Anima across all 4 continents. It was so popr that people had invented literally hundreds of forms to create the Anima using all different kinds of materials. And why was it so popr? Information was power, and this Anima stored information extremely well. Isaac experienced this first hand when the Anima flew towards him. He stretched out his will and used it to activate the Anima with Martin''s permission. Knowledge streamed into Isaac''s mind. However, he didn''t suffer information overload since all the data stored in the Librarian Anima was well organised. The names of many different categories appeared in Isaac''s brain. First were the basic categories such as ''Offensive'', ''Defensive'', ''Movement'' and so on. Then came a plethora of Anima styles, such as ice-style and necromancy-style. Isaac immediately navigated to the ''Weapon-style'' category. When he focused on that topic, everything else began to disappear as if he''d forgotten itpletely, and new knowledge appeared. It was a fresh set of sub-categories like ''Shield'', ''Sword'' and ''Axe''. Weapon-style was unique in that it was made up of several ''sub-styles''. However, Isaac wasn''t interested in any of these other weapon-style Anima. He only had eyes for the sword. He focused on ''Sword'', and about 20 or so names came up. These were the names of the Rank 1 sword Anima the Sect had in storage. Whenever Isaac focused on a name, more information about that Anima woulde up. Isaac looked through all the names thinking about which Anima would be perfect for him. Based on conventional wisdom, he should take a defensive Anima toplete the corebat trio of offence, defence and movement. However, this mission had also showed him how useful ranged attack Anima were, and that a detection Anima was necessary to guard against ambushes. Unfortunately, the sect didn''t possess any sword detection Anima. There were a couple of ranged attack Anima, but they both seemed pretty standard. Isaac was starting to feel rather disappointed when something caught his eye. ''Nihility Intent Anima. A defensive Anima which creates an artificial sword intent to protect the user. The intent has the property of nihility, meaning it shreds attacks into nothingness. However, this Anima requires a lot of Qi per use and attacks above a certain level will only be degraded, not destroyed.'' It was perfect. However, sword intent was something Isaac had only seen in books. Obtaining such a mythical ability even an artificial version of it would surelye at a price. Isaac continued reading the Anima''s description. ''This Anima''s sword intent must be channelled through a sword to be used. Non-swordsmen cannot use it. 87 reward points.'' Isaac was stunned by the outrageous price. Chapter 88: It Begins Chapter 88: It Begins ''It''s... it''s so low! I can''t believe an Anima of this quality is so cheap!'' Sword Anima were most prominent in Eastern Mountains. However, they still weren''t considered mainstream and were slightly umon there. Even in that scenario even in the situation where sword users were umon this Anima would go for over double its current price. It would be as valuable as a Rank 2 Anima. However, Northern Tundra wasn''t just a ce where sword users were umon. It was a ce where sword users were almost extinct. ''It''s called sword intent for a reason; you can''t use it without a sword. Since nobody wields swords around here, I guess this Anima was just left to rot on a shelf and steadily declined in price. Well... that''s their loss and my gain.'' Isaac withdrew his will from the Librarian Anima and immediately told Martin which Anima he wanted. Martin was surprised, but he didn''t judge. He just controlled the Librarian Anima to move over to Johan. The others also picked their Anima. All of them picked Anima which were cheaper than the ones they were handing in, so there was no need to make a payment. Martin just told them toe back in the evening after he''d gone to retrieve the Anima. After that, they all left the Adventurers'' Hall. Outside, Isaac spoke to everybody else. "Right, let''s head back to my house for a debrief. It''s a bit of a mess so I apologise in advance." The others agreed. There were still details which needed to be ironed out, such as how their reward points were distributed. They walked back to Isaac''s ce with minimal chatter or discussion. When they arrived, he unlocked his window and let everybody climb through. They all sat around his table and Isaac ced the 3 pouches on the tabletop, "We already agreed the reward distribution beforehand. Johan and I take 30% each, and you two take 20%. That means we get 9 reward points while you get 6 each. The Sarcevic Wolf''s hide, ws, nose and eyes are worth 15 reward points, so we''ll distribute those with the same splits after selling them." Isaac emptied the pouches and divided the reward points. Nobody objected since this was all ording to their prior arrangement. Next, Isaac asked another predictable question, "Eva. Would you like to officially join our team." He received a predictably short answer. "Yes." Isaac nodded, "That''s good. Now that you''ve agreed, we can start doing this paperwork to make an official team. Of course I''ll do the major paperwork; I just need you to sign some things." Isaac went around and handed each person several sheets. He pointed where they needed to sign and write the date. "I also need you to write your signatures on a nk piece of paper. The applications are getting sent to the teams department in the Adventurers'' Hall, but the mission department also need to keep a copy of our signatures." Isaac went over to one of his cupboards and found four sheets of paper. Then he brought them over to the table, handed one to each team member, and started signing one himself. The others finished the paperwork Isaac had given them before signing the nk piece of paper. When they were finished, they looked at Isaac. He gave a shallow nod as if to say, ''You can go now'', and the others stood up and left. Now Isaac was all alone in his small house. The fire zed in the corner while he sat, motionless, beside the table. There were various papers stacked or strewn across the table, but Isaac''s gaze was drawn to the 4 pieces of in, signed paper. A sly smile tugged at the corners of his lips. He collected these bits of paper and stood up, then he walked over to the fire. He took one of the slips of paper and cast it onto the bed of mes. It snapped and crackled as its corners bent and its body turned ck. Within a few moments, Isaac''s signature had gone up in mes. His smile slowly widened as he saw this. Now he walked back to the table, shifted it to the side, moved his rug, and dug up the box under his floorboards. Isaac ced the signed bits of paper next to his notebook of talented neers. Then he locked the box and put everything back in ce. His smile faded as if nothing had happened and he went back to doing paperwork. ************************* Isaac had underestimated how long the paperwork would take. He had to read a long contract about agreeing to protect the sect if it was attacked, taking at least one mission a month and so on. On the upside, forming this team would provide many benefits. Every member would receive a small monthly wage on top of their mission rewards. Their merit points would also be boosted and they would receive priority if they applied for certain sect jobs in the future. Most importantly, the sect would keep a record of all their missions and the grades they achieved in them. Top teams with good records could receive specialmissions and would always get the best jobs from the Adventurers'' Hall. It was already evening when Isaac hadpleted the paperwork. He brought it with him and went to visit the Adventurers'' Hall. When he got there, he submitted the paperwork and then went to find Martin, who gave him his Anima. It was a spirit in the form of a rusty, broken and cracked sword. Though the spirit looked frail, it was actually very strong and it put up a good fight when Isaac tried to subdue it. However, his will was just too strong. He eventually overpowered the Anima and it became his. It flew into Isaac''s head and took up residence in its new home. Isaac was astonished by its absurdly high idle consumption, but he soon epted it. Great power came at a cost, after all. After receiving the Anima, Isaac thanked Martin and headed home. It was gettingte and he wanted a proper rest. ************************* The next morning, Isaac was up nice and early. He got dressed and decided to go for a walk. He was taking a trip through the quiet backstreets, but he suddenly came face to face with a wall. It was the wall which separated the Sect''s Rank 1 and Rank 2 districts. Isaac looked up at the 3-metre wall and shivered slightly since the entire street was in its shadow. However, the cold didn''t bother him and he simply turned right. He kept walking through the dark, gloomy, cold, empty street which ran alongside the wall. After several minutes of walking, Isaac had to turn right again. He headed away from the wall and made his way to the market. At this time of morning, there was only a fraction of the usual hubbub and noise about the ce. Isaac went straight to the Official Exchange Centre. He traded 7 reward points for Basic Qi Pills, then swiftly left. He ventured back to the outskirts of the market where he found a small DIY store. It was entirely empty other than the owner, who sat behind the counter. They acknowledged Isaac, then went back to whatever they were doing while Isaac browsed in silence. He picked out a variety of goods: a ball of very fine but adequately strong string, a stone shovel, and a small bag of eye hook nails. They were basically nails with a metal ring on the end. Isaac bought the items. He put the string and nails in his pocket and carried the shovel as he walked back the same way he''d got here. At a certain point along his route, Isaac stopped. He nced up at the wall on his right, then he looked along the row of houses to his left. This was a dark, gloomy part of the Sect so nobody lived here and all these houses were empty. There was rubbish flung across the street, and Isaac saw a pile of rotted wood, torn rope, and various other bits of trash at the side of the road. He walked up to the pile and pulled some of the rubbish away. Then he hid his shovel, nails and string deep within the pile of trash and put back ayer of rubbish to cover them. After this was done, Isaac kept walking. He wasn''t headed back home. No, he soon arrived at the Cultivation Pagoda. He paid a reward point to rent a room for a week, then he eagerly ascended the stairs to his assigned room. He got inside and made himselffortable, just as he''d done several times before. He pulled a milky white pill from his pocket and popped it into his mouth. Thus, his cultivation for the day began. Chapter 89: Sneaking In Chapter 89: Sneaking In Isaac went through a regr cycle of cultivation. He spent 2 hours meditating to digest the pill and absorb the maximum benefits from it. Then he took a break to eat lunch. After that, he spent another 6 hours meditating to squeeze some remaining Qi out of the pill. By the time he was done, it was already early evening. Isaac got up and stretched. Normally he''d use this time to do swordsmanship practice, go to read, or just sleep if he was particrly exhausted. However, he had a very specific job to do today. He left the Cultivation Pagoda and walked down the route he''d taken this morning. Soon he reached the spot where he''d hidden his stuff this morning, and he dug them out of the trash pile. Isaac took the string and nails, then looked around the street to find a pair of empty ss bottles. He walked a short distance down the street, then tied the string around one of the bottles and put it on the roof of one of the houses. He created a sword and used the t of the de as a makeshift hammer. He smashed a nail into the house''s wall, right at the bottom near the ground. Then he stretched out a length of string and cut it. He threaded the string through the loop on the end of the nail, then pulled it across the street at shin-height. Then he found a rather heavy rock, tied the string around it, and put the rock on the other side of the street. The very thin string now stretched from one side of the street to the other at a low height, then passed through the eye hook nail and ran up the side of the house. It was tied around a ss bottle which teetered precariously on the edge of the house''s roof. Then Isaac walked down to the other end of the street and set up a simr contraption. Anyoneing from either direction would trip on the string. That would pull the bottle off of the roof and Isaac would hear the shattering of ss. It was a primitive early-warning system to tell him somebody wasing. After setting up these contraptions, Isaac walked back to the spot in the middle of them. He created a new sword, then pointed it downwards. The ground was covered in paving bs but they weren''t joined properly. There were small gaps between them which were filled with earth. Isaac dug the tip of his de into one of these gaps, then he pushed so that a fifth of the de was buried in the ground. When the sword was firmly in, he used it like a lever. He pulled the sword handle towards him, and the tip of the de created leverage on a paving b. Isaac gritted his teeth and pulled with all his strength. The paving b was pulled up and Isaac''s sword came free. He staggered backwards when the de came loose, but quickly regained his bnce. He picked up the now-free paving b and moved it out of the way. Then he went to retrieve the shovel. With the paving b gone, arge square of earth was exposed and Isaac dug his shovel into it. The earth was frozen solid, so Isaac could barely push the shovel an inch into it. He had to stomp on the shovel to jam it into the ground. Then he levered out a spadeful of earth and dumped it into one of the hemp bags he''d brought with him. Heap after heap, soil was slowly deposited into the bag. Isaac''s hole grew ever bigger, and he''d eventually excavated several bags of earth. After nearly 3 hours of digging, Isaac had created quite the sizeable pit. However, he decided to finish here for today. He took the bags of earth and found various spots along the street to empty them; the street was already dirty, so some small heaps of dirt wouldn''t stand out much. Then he went to dismantle his early warning systems. He untied the string around the rocks, took the bottles off the roof, and brought them with him. Then Isaac ventured back to his hole. He stowed the shovel in the pit and put the bottles and string next to it. Then he heaved the paving b back into ce and kicked some dirt on top of it to make everything look natural. When he was happy everything was as it should be, Isaac returned to the Cultivation Pagoda. He tiredly plodded up the stairs to his room and flopped onto his bed. He was asleep within seconds. ************************* Isaac repeated the same set of actions the next day: he cultivated for most of the day, then devoted some time to digging in the evening. On the third day of seclusion, he did the same thing. Now he had aplete tunnel under the wall which divided the Rank 1 and 2 districts. On the 4th day, Isaac made a rather risky decision. He moved his operation into the Rank 2 district and began digging another hole. This time he was tunnelling into the Rank 3 district. Of course, infiltrating the Rank 3 district was a much more serious offence than breaking into the Rank 2 district, so Isaac took extra care not to get caught. By the end of day 6, Isaac had finished this tunnel as well. Then he spent a rxed 7th day just cultivating and resting. ************************* Day 8: Isaac woke up in his own bed. He''d left the Cultivation Pagodast night, but he still had 1 reward point left. He wanted to use it now, but there was a more pressing job to do. Isaac hopped out of bed and swept through his morning routine. Then he left his house, grabbing his coat on the way out. He walked briskly down the street as he pulled the fur coat over his shoulders. Its thickyers of fur and leather helped shield against the blustering winds. He made his way down empty alleys and ghosted through quiet streets with only a handful of people. He didn''t waste much time or draw much attention in reaching the wall to the Rank 2 district. He walked beside the wall with his face turned down and his hood pulled up. Suddenly, he stopped. He''d seen the small pile of trash which was adjacent to his hole. He quickly located the loose paving b and pulled it up. Then he crawled into his cramped tunnel, going backwards so he could pull the b back into ce behind him. It was slightly awkward to go through the tunnel backwards, but Isaac managed. He shuffled to the end of the small tunnel and kicked backwards to move the b away. It shifted to the side and he crawled out into the open air, emerging in the Sect''s Rank 2 district. He brushed himself down and ruffled his hair to get the dirt out. Then he put the b back in ce. Of course, climbing over the wall might''ve been easier than tunnelling under it. However, Isaac had a sneaking suspicion that the walls were been equipped with some kind of rm system. Of course, the Sect didn''t disclose its security measures so Isaac might never know if he was correct or not. However, he always preferred to err on the side of caution. Although it took a few days extra work, he was less likely to get caught tunnelling under the walls than he would be climbing over them, especially if the walls were rmed like he suspected. Isaac didn''t second-guess his choice to dig under the walls. He simply pulled his hood up again (it had slipped down when he was in the tunnel) and started walking through the Rank 2 district. He remained as nondescript as possible as he strolled through the streets. It didn''t take much time to reach the wall around the Rank 3 district. When he reached the wall, he located the spot he''d dug at, lifted the paving b, and disappeared into his hole. Just like before, he pulled the b back into ce behind him. A short crawl through the tunnelter, and Isaac was in the Rank 3 district. It was somewhere a Rank 1 like him had no ce being. Isaac took a quick nce around at the opulent surroundings which were iparable to the Rank 1 district. He soaked in the atmosphere... he breathed the air of strong cultivators. Then heposed himself and pulled a neatly folded map out of his pocket. It was a detailed map of the Sect which he''d traded his shovel for yesterday. After picking out a certain location on the map, Isaac put it back in his coat pocket and set off. Chapter 90: A New Alliance? Chapter 90: A New Alliance? He weaved through the various streets towards his destination. He couldn''t get his map out in front of others since that would tell them he wasn''t from this district, so he tried his best to follow the route he remembered. After several minutes and a couple of nervy moments where he half-expected to get caught, Isaac arrived. Just down this street was arge residence evenrger than the otherrge residences. Its faade was made of pure white stones and metals, and arge marble arc ran across the building''s front, creating an alcove which 2 guards stood under. These guards weren''t wearing normal armour. They had imperious red armour with short, sharp spikes protruding from the shoulders, elbows, knees and left chest. Sect-employed guards wouldn''t receive this kind of armour, so Isaac instantly recognised them as private guards. However, Isaac always expected this residence to be guarded. It housed an important upant after all... He walked directly towards the house, as if he would open the door and strut right in if he wasn''t stopped. Unfortunately, the two guards both activated Anima. Lightning flickered between the fingers of the one on the left, while wind began to whip around the feet of the right guard. Both guards spoke in unison, "Halt! State your name and purpose!" Isaac was calm despite the immense power of the Anima these guards were threatening him with. He answered coolly, "My name is Christian Skiff. I bring a letter from your young master, Johan Friberg." Isaac pulled an envelope from his pocket. It had Johan''s name and signature on it. The guard on the right shed forwards and snatched the envelope before Isaac could react. He shouted at the figure, "Hey! You''re not permitted to open that!" His voice wasn''t panicked; it was stern. It wasn''t the kind of tone a Rank 1 should be speaking to a Rank 3 with, but the guard didn''t seem to care. He closely inspected the envelope, then spoke in a gruff voice, "It''s his signature." "Do we let him in then?" "No. If it''s just a letter from the young master, then you can leave it with us. We''ll deliver it." The guard turned back to Isaac, "You can leave now." However, Isaac didn''te here to deliver an empty envelope and get turned away. "I''m under strict orders to deliver the letter directly; I can''t pass it to anybody other than the intended recipient. Remember, these were your young master''s orders." The guards didn''t need a reminder. They were duty-bound to obey the orders of the Friberg family and ''Christian'' really did have a letter signed by Johan Friberg. They didn''t doubt that he was under Johan''s orders, but it was precisely because of this that they couldn''t trust himpletely. The guards hesitated, before the one on the right spoke, "... You can enter, but we''lle in and supervise you." Isaac nodded. Then the left guard knocked thrice on the door, "Young mistress, there''s somebody here to see you." A soft "Oh?" could be heard from inside, "He ims to have a letter from your brother." "Bring him in." The guard unlocked the door and entered. He beckoned for Isaac to follow him, so Isaac did. He walked past the guard and came face-to-face with a beautiful golden-haired girl. She was reclining in a deep armchair, fiddling with a puzzle of some sort. When Isaac entered, she put the puzzle down and stared right at him. It seemed as if her blue eyes could pierce his fake exterior and peek right into his true intentions. Isaac brushed off her gaze and spoke freely, "I have a letter from your brother, but I also have a few words of private information I need to share with you. That''s impossible to do with these guards here." Isaac showed her the letter, then pointed at the guards behind him. The girl picked up a mug from the side table. She took a sip of whatever was in it, then tapped it twice with her index finger. Then she spoke to the guards. "Okay. Dismissed." The nodded obediently and turned to leave. Just as they were walking away, the girl added, "Just give him 5 minutes. I won''t waste any more time than that." The guards nodded again, then exited and closed the door. Now Isaac and the girl were alone. Isaac began by sitting in the chair opposite her. "My greetings, Miss Lara Friberg." He pointed to the envelope in his hand, "I''m afraid this envelope is actually empty. Johan didn''t want to leave a paper trail which could be linked back to him, so I''m here to deliver a verbal message instead of a written one." As Isaac spoke, he pulled a pen and paper out of his coat and began to write. Lara showed her confusion: the man had just said he wouldn''t leave a paper trail, and here he was starting to write. She was about to ask what he was doing, but Isaac looked up and held a finger to his lips, silencing her. Then she suddenly understood: he''d already realised the guards were still listening to their conversation! Isaac continued speaking. He prattled about a bunch of nonsense, such as how Johan needed help but couldn''t go to the family and wanted to send Lara a message. All the while, his hands continued to move and his pen danced across the page. Eventually, Isaac rounded off his note. He pushed the paper towards Lara and continued speaking nonsense while she read it. ''I lead the team which Johan has joined and I am somewhat aware of the situation in your family. I believe I can be of great assistance to you. Namely, I can sabotage Johan and hamper his actions, causing him to lose credibility within your family. With my help, seeding the position of family head will be vastly easier.'' Lara was rather surprised by the message, and she allowed that emotion to show on her small face. Then she put her mug down on the side table with a loud thud. She waited for a couple of moments, then spoke, "That was the sign for my guards to stop listening. We can discuss freely now." "Thank you. Well, you''ve already read my position and my intentions. What are yours?" Lara frowned slightly, "Isn''t that a rather impolite tone to take with the heir to the Friberg family?" "So you''ve officially been appointed as heir? That''s not what Johan told me." She didn''t bite on his provocation. No, she calmly admitted, "Indeed, I haven''t been ''officially'' named as the heir. However, my ascent to that position is only a matter of time; that''s why you''re here, isn''t it? Staying by Johan''s side gives you no future prospects after all." "I wouldn''t say that... our team just got an S grade on its first mission and I''m sure there''s plenty more sess ahead of us as well. More to the point, I''m sure there''s plenty of sess ahead of Johan. What if he gets recognised for his outstanding performances?" "That''s a ratherrge ''if''. I''m already solidifying my position in the family; it would take an astonishing amount of sess to bring Johan back into the contest for heir." Lara''s visage was calm andposed, but not everything she said was true. There was still a considerable contingent of the family which supported Johan, the firstborn. Despite trying her best to persuade some of those members, very few had actually been swayed ande to join her side. Isaac was unaware of this, but he managed to strike the nail on the head anyway, "A risk is still a risk, no matter how small it may seem to you. From what I''ve seen, Johan won''t relinquish his position without a fight; simply ''solidifying your position'' may not be enough. You will have to show achievements of your own. But you can''t. You''re not even a cultivator..." Lara was just over 2 years younger than Isaac and Johan, but a weird alignment of years meant she wouldn''t be awakened until 4 years from now. This meant there was no way of knowing what ss of talent she would be, let alone whether she would turn into a strong cultivator this had turned into a major political disadvantage for her since many people saw Johan as a safer, more secure selection for the heir position. Again, Lara stayed calm at Isaac''s half-taunt. She was very different from her brother in this aspect; calm,posed andrgely unemotional. Her eyes were still and unreadable, like two deep blue pools. "I am interested in your proposition, but you must recognise the obvious issue with what you''re suggesting: you''ve already betrayed Johan. How do I know you won''t betray me too?" "Because supporting you gives me the most benefits." Lara nodded slowly, then stayed silent for a minute. Eventually, her pensive expression rxed and she spoke, "Okay then. But first, I have a requirement: prove your loyalty. I need to know this isn''t a scheme you and Johan havee up with. I want you to do something which will harm him so badly that I know you aren''t in this together." "Okay." Isaac agreed immediately, "But I don''t work for free." Lara sighed, "This is a test to see if you''re on my side, not a job I''m giving you. Naturally, you don''t get paid for taking a test." "Truthfully, I don''t see the difference. As long as I''m doing something that''s to your benefit, you should be paying me for it." Lara considered it for a moment and Isaac''s words from earlier echoed in her mind. ''Supporting you gives me the most benefits.'' These words told her that Isaac was a very selfish and greedy person, and that they would fall out quickly if helping her didn''t give Isaac any benefits. Isaac represented an opportunity to conclusively defeat Johan and seize the position of family heir, so she didn''t want to fall out with Isaac yet not until she was finished using him and could throw him away. Since she wasn''t willing to fall out with Isaac, she could only offer him the benefits he wanted. "Fine. Your pay will depend on how good a job you do." Lara answered with a smile which concealed her slight displeasure. Isaac also smiled, but he was smirking in his heart, ''Pay me depending on how well I do? Even if I do well, she''ll just say it was an average job and throw me some cheap resources. Well then. I guess I just have to do something so big she can''t even try to deny she was impressed.'' With their conversation over, Isaac left the Friberg residence. Chapter 91: Herbal Fumes Chapter 91: ''Herbal Fumes'' It was quite fortunate that Lara lived alone, otherwise Isaac never would''ve got this opportunity: both her parents were Rank 4s who lived in the Silver Pce (where even Lara wasn''t permitted to enter) and her brother, Johan, lived in the Rank 1 district. Isaac thought about his good luck as he walked away. He got through the Rank 3 and 2 districts cleanly, and breathed a sigh of relief when he reached home turf again. He walked all the way back to his house, prepared an early lunch, and sat at his table thoughtfully. He considered what to do next. He already had a couple of ideas about how he might harm Johan, but all of them would result in Johan losing trust in him. He pondered the issue for some time while he ate, but he wasn''t getting anywhere. He decided to visit the library; reading always helped clear his mind. Isaac took the short walk to his favourite building in the sect. As he entered the library, the smell of aged books greeted him and Isaac happily breathed in. He''d been working, cultivating and scheming ever since he epted the Kirk Vige mission, so it was finally time to rx. Isaac picked up a book of the crime genre and settled down in afortable chair. Time flew by as he flicked from page to page... Several hours passed and Isaac remained engrossed in the book. He flicked to the next page, but... it was nk. He''d gotten so lost in the story he didn''t even realise he''d reached the end of this rather short book. He put the book down on hisp and leaned back into the chair. His eyes were closed as he went over the plot of the book in his mind. Then, one of the book''s events sparked a sudden idea within him. That spark quickly grew and spread rapidly like a wildfire; it ignited twenty more ideas in Isaac''s mind which all connected with each other to form more possibilities. He got up from his chair with a start and pulled some paper from his inside coat pocket and then rifled through his other pockets to find a pen and started to scribble ideas on the page. Some would be written, only to get crossed out momentster. Others survived and had several lines drawn to them, connecting them to other ideas. When the page was three quarters full, Isaac put the pen down. He read what he''d written and considered it again. This time he made some more precise alterations to what was written; crossing out words instead of whole thought bubbles, or adding or removing a line. Eventually, Isaac seemed content with what was written. It''d already been 3 minutes since he made hisst alteration and it didn''t look like he would make any more. He crisply folded the paper and put it back in his coat. Then he deposited the pen back in his pocket and found the shelf his book needed to go on. After putting it back, he left the library and headed towards the market. He had a look around the alchemy section, then headed home without buying anything. Back at his house, Isaac started a fire and burnt his piece of notepaper. Then he put the fire out and hopped out of his window: it was time to visit his neighbour. Isaac knocked on Johan''s door. There no response, so Isaac knocked again, harder. After a few moments, there was a muted shout from inside, then Johan came to open the door. He was rather unhappy Isaac guessed he''d been meditating until he''d disturbed him. However, Isaac didn''t care. He didn''t even wait to be invited in; he simply walked past Johan and entered. Johan looked on with a frown, then shook his head and followed Isaac inside. The two sat down by the table and Isaac was the first to speak, "I''m trying to find a Spelunker Potion, but I can''t find one anywhere. I was hoping you would know where I could buy one." "Why would you even want one? Did you find an unexplored cave system?" Isaac remained tight-lipped and didn''t answer. Johan realised he wouldn''t get anything out of the man, so he continued, "That''s a rare potion. Even in the Rank 2 district, only a few shops sell it; that''s why I was so surprised when I saw some in the ''Herbal Fumes'' shop, but..." "I''m not going to buy it from her." "If you''re not going to buy it, then why not take it?" Johan couldn''t help himself. He still hadn''t let go of his grudge against the alchemy disciple and he hoped Isaac would help him out. To his surprise, Isaac paused for a moment to consider it! Then, his lips parted as he uttered a soft, "Okay then." Johan was delighted. They could finally get back revenge on the alchemy disciple! His unhappiness from being interrupted in the middle of meditation waspletely washed away and he eagerly discussed the details with Isaac. They agreed to meet at the end of the street for 1 am, then go to rob ''Herbal Fumes'' in the dead of night. When they''d hashed out the particrs, Isaac left and Johan went back to meditating. Isaac headed straight back to the market and used hisst 5 reward points to buy an Ethereal Eye Talisman. He purchased a rather high-quality one with a wide detection radius and an average activation time. After buying that, Isaac headed over to the training grounds and got a couple of hours of practice in. He swung his sword with power, used his off-hand to strike with precision, and moved with great agility using his Snowshoe Anima. When he''d worked up a good sweat, it was already gettingte. Isaac deactivated the Snowshoe Anima, letting his sword dissipate as he wiped his brow on the fur cor of his coat, decorating the fur with glistening droplets of perspiration. Then he pulled the coat over his shoulders and started walking home, still breathing deeply from his exercise. Back at home, he cooked dinner and made a cup of ck tea to apany it, since that would help him stay awake. While he ate, he recited the n in his head to make sure there weren''t any ws. He couldn''t find any. After dinner, he sat on his bed and read a book he''d bought some time ago. It was a thick leatherbound hardback with the title in bold, gold letters, ''Dr. Foster''s Compendium of Miracle Medicines Extended Version''. It was one of Terra''s most famous books and it wouldn''t be incorrect to say every alchemist on the owned a copy. Most people would also carry the smaller ''Abridged Version'' with them whenever they went out into the wild, in case they stumbled across a herb they couldn''t identify. Isaac had bought the full version to help brush up on his knowledge of nts and Qi herbs. It wasn''t the most interesting of reads, but the level of detail and breadth of knowledge it contained was truly stunning. Isaac tried his best to read the book, but he felt himself dozing off after nearly an hour. He got up, made himself another ck tea, and decided it was nearly time. The pendulum clock on his wall read quarter to 11 as he got changed into ck clothes. Isaac didn''t wear his coat he chucked on 2 dark jumpers instead. Then he hopped out of his window and into the perfect stillness of the night. Isaac didn''t disturb its tranquil air as he moved through the streets towards the market. He used the Snowshoe Anima to glide swiftly and silently, reaching his destination in a handful of minutes. He came to a stop outside a store withrge double doors, a row of ornate carvings above the doors, then the words ''Herbal Fumes'' above that. The snow covering his boots fell loosely to the floor as he deactivated his Anima. Then he took a half-step towards the doors and looked up at the store''s grand, proudly written name. A slight smile coloured his lips as he took out a talisman and pushed some Qi into it. The piece of beast hide glowed slightly as the runes drawn on it activated. 1 rune... 2 runes... they all lit up in quick session. *Vwoom* A wave of air emanated from the talisman as it fully activated and an image suddenly appeared in Isaac''s mind. The Ethereal Eye Talisman gave him a full picture of everything within a metre''s radius. He could clearly see what was on the other side of the doors, and he immediately noticed there was a string wrapped around each door''s handle. The string extended upwards towards the ceiling and the talisman''s range wasn''t far enough to show exactly where it led, but Isaac imagined it was linked to some kind of rm or trap. Pulling the handle would tug on the string and activate whatever it was attached to. However, as long as it wasn''t pulled, Isaac assumed the string wouldn''t do anything. He created a thin, razor-sharp sword. Then he stood on his tip-toes and angled his sword through the thin gap at the top of the door. Just as the talisman''s effect began to fade, Isaac managed to cut the string. Then he cut between the doors to sh the chain locking them together from the inside. Splinters fell from the doors as his sword scraped between them. The chain dropped to the floor with a nk. Isaac froze at the sound, but quickly realised it wasn''t loud enough to wake anybody. He was just too on-edge. He took a deep breath and perfectlyposed himself. Then he deactivated the Spirit Sword Anima and stepped towards the double doors. He gently twisted the handle and the doors opened with a faint *Creak* He was in. Chapter 92: Catching the Wave Chapter 92: Catching the Wave Isaac surveyed the inside of the shop. On his right was a small counter with floor-to-ceiling shelves of potions behind it. To his left were cupboards containing an assortment of ingredients; mostly herbs and some animal parts. Each drawer had abel for what was inside. Then, dead ahead, there was a raised section of flooring with a cauldron on it. Isaac didn''t know whether the disciple actually used it or it was just for decoration. Isaac ignored the cauldron and the ingredients. He went straight towards the shelves of potions. ''Night Stalker Potion'', ''Strain Powder'', ''Basic Recovery Tonic'', and of course the Spelunker Potion. There was quite the variety of valuable products here, and Isaac didn''t hesitate in sweeping the most useful and expensive into his bag. After he''d filled tworge hemp sacks, Isaac moved over to the counter. He used a sword to prise open the locked till and got a look inside. There were 17 reward points, 12 iron pieces and 231 copper pieces to be used as change for customers. Isaac happily snatched those as well. Then, as he was walking away from the counter, he noticed a door in the opposite corner of the room. ''I''m sure that leads to the alchemy disciple''s sleeping quarters; almost all of these small store owners live in their shops. I better stay quiet and avoid disturbing her.'' Isaac took special care to stay silent as he went over to the cab of ingredients and started sifting through its draws. He realised some of these items were no less valuable than the potions, so he tried to stuff them into his bags. He even packed his pockets with them. When that was done, Isaac went back to the shelves of potions. He knelt down and took two products from near the bottom: one was a tin tub, and the other was a vial of pale green gas. Isaac prised the lid off the tub, revealing ayer of fine blue powder. First Isaac took a handful of powder and threw it over all the shelves, drawers and surfaces he''d touched. The powder melted like snowkes, vanishing in seconds. However, Isaac knew it had taken effect and erased his fingerprints. Then Isaac took another fistful of powder and went to scatter it over the back area of the shop, around where the cauldron was. From there, he walked backwards and covered the floor in powder as he went. When he reached the door, all the powder had already dissolved and removed his footprints. Isaac grabbed the handle of the door and untied the string around it, which was hanging limply after being cut. He took one end of this string and tied it to the string which was still suspended from the ceiling, taking care not to pull on it. Then he tied the string back around the handle and sprinkled some powder over the string and handle. After that, he put the near-empty tin on the ground outside and took out the vial. He uncorked it and tendrils of green smoke began to fill the shop. Isaac watched for about a minute as the tendrils slowly faded and eventually vanished. He silently thanked them for their service; they''d removed his scent from the room. No matter how mystical investigative Anima were, most of them needed some clues to work with. It would be hard to link the robbery to Isaac after he eliminated his traces like this. When Isaac was sure the smoke had dissipated, he stepped out of the shop and closed the doors without turning the handle. When the doors clicked shut, he picked up his bags (which he''d moved outside earlier) and swiftly left. The potions jingled inside the bags as Isaac glided through the streets with his Snowshoe Anima. He had to slow down to stop them from smashing. However, it still didn''t take long to get home. He hopped through the window and immediately looked for somewhere to conceal his bags. Thepartment under his floorboards wasn''t very big so Isaac could only store a few of the most valuable potions there. Then, forck of a better hiding ce, he stuffed the bags under his bed. Next, he started a fire. He threw some twigs into the firece and went to get changed while the me grew in size and ferocity. 2 minutester, he came back in an almost identical set of dark clothes. The only way of telling they weren''t the same clothes from before was because he was carrying the old clothes under his arm. He watched the fire dance from log to log, free, unrestrained and fierce. However, it wasn''trge enough yet. Isaac lumped more fuel on the fire a couple ofrger branches this time. The me leapt up after receiving this new nourishment, eager to burn the hand that fed it. Isaac quickly pulled back, not failing to notice the simrities between the me and its creator. Then he waited a few moments for the me to stabilise and threw his clothes into the fire. Now there were truly no traces of his robbery. After incinerating the clothes, Isaac put out the fire its warm glow crept under his door and told the rest of the street he was awake, and Isaac didn''t like that. Instead, he lit a smallmp and continued reading ''Dr. Foster''s Compendium of Miracle Medicines''. It was currently quarter to twelve, so Isaac read for over an hour before putting the book down and pushing himself off of his bed. He ruffled his hair to look like he''d just woken up, then left his house again. At the end of the street, he saw a dark silhouette. He walked towards the figure; it was Johan. "Come on, you''rete." Johan hissed, but Isaac whispered back calmly, "A minute or two makes no difference. Come on, let''s go." The two set off down the streets. Isaac was using his Snowshoe Anima, but he had to slow down and wait for Johan, who was running quickly and quietly. He could use the Ice Floe Anima, but that would create such amotion that everybody in the neighbourhood would wake up. Since that wasn''t a viable option, they made their way towards the market at a somewhat slow speed. Eventually they reached ''Herbal Fumes''. Johan stared at therge double doors and pulled out a pair of talismans. He activated the first one and Isaac saw his body suddenly change colours to camouge itself with the surroundings. Isaac thought it looked like the one of the creatures he''d read about; the ''chameleon'' which lived in Southern Jungle. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard Johan whisper, "Come on, use yours as well!" "I don''t have any talismans! You go first!" "Fine." Johan wasn''t very pleased, but he stepped forwards and used his second talisman: an Ethereal Eye Talisman. Just like Isaac had done earlier, he saw everything just beyond the door and immediately noticed the string. "There''s a string leading from the handle to somewhere on the ceiling. Use your sword to cut it." Isaac created a sword and slipped it through the small gap above the door. Splinters fell to the ground as he forced the sword all the way across the gap, cutting the string on the way. Then he stepped back to let Johan enter first; he was using a concealment talisman after all. Johan pulled the handle down and opened the door. There was a slight nking as the door hit a pile of metal chains which had been left on the ground. Johan immediately frowned. Why were they there? Then he looked up and cast his eyes across the shop. On the left was a set of drawers, many of which were pulled open or half-open. On his right were some shelves of potions. When he looked closely, he could see many spots that should''ve had potions but didn''t. He took a couple of steps forwards "Watch out!" He heard Isaac shout, but there was already a wave of water crashing down on him. Johan was swept off his feet. He tumbled forwards as the rush of water swept him away and tore through the shop, ruining the ingredients on the left and smashing the potions on the right. Chapter 93: Johans Quite Unhappy Chapter 93: Johan''s Quite Unhappy A few seconds earlier... Isaac watched as Johan stepped into the shop ahead of him. He took a crumpled talisman out of his pocket and unfurled it. Then he sent some Qi into the bit of animal hide and waited while the symbols on it all lit up. Fortunately, Johan was too preupied to notice the very faint glow of the talisman activating behind him. The High Tide Talisman activated and a wall of water rose up in front of Isaac. "Watch out!" He shouted as the wave started rushing towards Johan, but it was already toote for him to do anything. Isaac watched as the huge wave rolled forwards, sweeping Johan away and wreaking devastation upon the shop. There was the sound of a thousand smashes as the water destroyed countless potions. Many of the pulled-out draws of the ingredient cab were also caught in the wave and got swept away. Even the closed ones probably suffered water damage. As the wave began to calm down, Isaac saw Johan''s head burst to the surface. Then he called in a low voice, "Quick, let''s get out of here!" His tone was rushed and panicked, but there was actually a rxed smile on Isaac''s lips. Of course, Johan couldn''t see it though; Isaac had already turned and used his Snowshoe Anima to escape at max pace. Meanwhile, Johan was still floundering around in the water. It was too shallow to swim through, so he tried wading through the water. As he was doing so, there were some noises from behind him. Suddenly, the door in the corner of the room burst open. "Fuck?! Fuck!" The first profanity was when water rushed through the open door and soaked the alchemy disciple''s ankles. The second came when she saw the state of her shop. She immediately fired 2 projectiles it was too dark to see what they were at Johan. Both struck him and he fell face-first into the water with a shout of pain. The woman waded through the water towards him with a stormy scowl. It looked like Johan was done for... ************************* Elsewhere, Isaac was gliding smoothly through the streets. He had his hands in his pockets and an easy expression as if he didn''t have a worry in the world. He made it back to his house without a hitch, unlocked the window and hopped inside. Then he settled down on his bed and started reading again. ************************* An hourter, Isaac heard furious knocking on his window. He put his book down and spoke in a slightly surprised tone, "Oh, you''re alright? That''s good." "That''s good?! That''s all you have to fucking say for yourself?!" Johan was going ballistic, "Why did you just up and leave? Didn''t you know I was still in there?!" Isaac opened the window and Johan jumped at him with a clenched fist. Of course, Isaac was far more skilled than Johan in closebat, so he grabbed the man''s arm, twisted it behind his back, and pushed him to the floor. "What help could I even have given you?" He spoke directly into Johan''s ear, "Besides, when I started to escape, I thought you''d being right behind me. When I realised you hadn''t got away, I realised it was already toote for me to help you." Isaac released Johan''s arm and helped him to his feet. "I''m sorry I didn''t do more." Hisstment helped pacify Johan, who was brushing himself down. His face was still flush with anger and his upper lip was trembling as if he wanted to spit out profanities, but he seemed to have gained some semnce of control. He faced Isaac again. He didn''t try to attack him this time, but there was almost fire spouting from his eyes. "Well? Did you see what happened then?!" "Something lit up next to the counter; I think it was a talisman. When I saw it, I tried to call out but it was already toote the wave was already upon you." "So who set up the talisman then? Tell me something useful!" "How do you expect me to know that? It was probably some kind of extra trap set up by the alchemy disciple." "It fucking wasn''t, dumbass! Why would she set a trap which destroyed half her shop?! When she caught me, she thought I''d done it!" "So she caught you?" "Of course she caught me! Why else would I get back an hourte?" "Then how are you here at all? Why would she let you go?" Johan sighed. Some of his anger dissipated, and was reced by a thin veil of relief, "When I said I was from the Friberg family, she decided to let me go. I didn''t want to rely on my family name, but here I am..." His tone was dominated by a deted, disappointed attitude. He really felt like he''d let himself down he almost regretted not staying silent and getting punished. However, Isaac offered a few words offort, "The way I see it, we need to use every little benefit or advantage we can get our hands on, otherwise somebody else wille along and snatch them from us. The world of cultivators is apetitive one you have to use everything at your disposal to get ahead, otherwise you''ll be left behind. Maybe using your family name isn''t such a bad thing." There was silence between them for nearly a minute. Isaac sat there and watched the subtle changes in Johan''s expression as he thought everything through. Eventually, his visage hardened into one of determination. He looked up at Isaac and spoke in a quiet yet firm voice, "I''ll see you tomorrow." Then he got up and left. Just like that, the incident with ''Herbal Fumes'' and the alchemy disciple was over. ************************* Or was it? Isaac woke upte the next day and was just getting some breakfast together as there came a frenzied banging on his window. Isaac quickly queried, "Who is it?" "Johan. Let me in!" Isaac did as he was asked and opened the window. Johan was standing there with a vexed expression on his face. He didn''t jump forwards and try to hit Isaac (it seemed he''d learnt his lesson fromst time), but it looked like he wanted to. "Have you heard the rumours?" "Have I heard the rumours?" "I said have you heard the fucking rumours?!" "No, I haven''t. Just step inside and speak calmly. You won''t achieve anything acting like this." The phrase ''won''t achieve anything'' really seemed to irk Johan, but he stepped through the window anyway. Isaac beckoned for Johan to sit at his table, and he begrudgingly did so. Isaac sat opposite him and asked, "Well?" "There''s news spreading all through the sect that Johan Friberg was caught stealing from shops in the Rank 1 district and had to be bailed out by his family!" "Stuff like that''s spread already? And all through the sect, not just in our district?!" Isaac did his best to fake surprise. It was a little bit patchy, but Johan was too worked up to notice or care, "Apparently the owner of that shop is an important Rank 3 alchemist who owns a chain of stores; he helped spread the rumours all over the sect using his contacts. Someone from the Friberg family came to find me just half an hour ago and told me my parents weren''t happy. He said I offended an important person and that the rumours were reflecting badly on the family, so I would have to face the consequences!" Isaac didn''t know exactly what ''the consequences'' were, but they sounded ominous. He observed Johan''s panicked state and softlymented, "It''s just a punishment you have to ept it and move on. If you''re worried about falling in your family''s estimation, then just make greater achievements in the future. As somebody who''s known you for over 2 years, I can say with some measure of confidence that you canplete stunning feats you can keep yourself in the race for family sessor." Isaac paused for a moment to let his words sink in. Then he continued, "Still... do you know who got you into all of this? Whose talisman was it?" Johan exhaled sharply, frustration etched across his face, "I still don''t know. I''ve pieced the bits together and realised that ce had already been robbed before we got there; whoever robbed it must''ve left the talisman. Look, now the robbery''s been entirely pinned on me. Whoever actually did it won''t be med, investigated, or get targeted for revenge by the alchemist." He blew out another breath of turbid air and gritted his teeth. "I still don''t know who it was, but if I ever get my hands on them..." His fists clenched so hard his knuckles went white and Isaac could see the hatred in his gaze. Little did Johan know, that mysterious robber was sitting right in front of him... Chapter 94: Hashing out the Details Chapter 94: Hashing out the Details Isaac breathed an internal sigh of relief when he realised Johan didn''t suspect him. He made a cursoryment, "I wish you good luck. If you need help with anything or if you find whoever set that talisman you know where to find me." Johan gave a shallow nod. Then he got up and left without another word. It was evident he was still displeased with Isaac, but not nearly as much as before. Isaac watched Johan leave, then got up and finished making breakfast. After he''d eaten, Isaac pulled one of the bags out from under his bed. He grabbed 2 potions and put them into his coat pockets. Then he grabbed some ingredients and lined his other pockets with them. Finally, he dug up the box under his floorboards and took the piece of paper signed by Johan. With everything ready, Isaac left his house and walked towards the border with the Rank 2 district. He found his hole under the wall and passed through. Then he walked across the district with his hood pulled up and his face concealed. Soon he reached the wall around the Rank 3 district. He went under this one as well, taking care not to crush his potions as he squeezed through the small tunnel. When he got out, he dusted himself down and put the paving b back in ce. Then he made his way towards the Friberg residence, taking a secluded, roundabout route. Isaac recognised the building''s opulent faade the moment he saw it. He walked up to the building and noticed it was guarded by the same two armoured figures. He offered them a basic greeting, showed them the same old slip of paper, and said he''d received a new letter from Johan. The guards had received instructions from their mistress to let this man in if he came again. They recognised Isaac and allowed him to pass. Isaac thanked them again, then knocked on the residence''s door. "Come in." From her unsurprised tone, it seemed that Lara had been expecting him. Isaac gently twisted the handle to the door and stepped inside. He saw Lara reclining in her armchair again. This time she was sipping tea instead of doing a puzzle. Isaac closed the door behind him and sat down opposite her. She pointed to the teapot sat on a tray on the side table, "You can have a cup if you want though it might be slightly cold." Isaac shook his head, "I assume you know why I''m here." "Yes, the stories about Johan have already reached me. You did a good job. Indeed, I must admit that you surpassed my expectations. I didn''t expect you to act so quickly and efficiently." "So then, how should we proceed from here? I''ve already shown I''m not in league with Johan." "Yes, I realise that. Your actions have damaged his reputation too badly for this be a plot between the two of you. You''ve also proved yourself to be quite capable. If you continue sabotaging Johan in this manner, it won''t be long before I''m officially appointed as the family sessor." Lara paused, took a sip of her tea, and thought for a moment, "I could offer you support in the form of resources, but people would wonder where you were getting them from. More specifically, Johan might start to be suspicious. If it''s resources you want, I can only give you a slow and steady supply that will go under the radar." "More than resources, I''d like information." "Oh?" "Documents about the nature of Qi, the theory behind awakenings, or how the sect increases talent. I''d like you to pay me with information about those 3 topics. Obviously, it has to be information that you can''t find in the normal sect libraries." Lara took another sip of her tea and put the now-empty cup down. She''d done some research on Johan''s ''team leader'' and looked into who Isaac was. Just like everybody else, she heard that Isaac was a 2nd ss talent (Isaac wasn''t trying to hide his true talent, but he''d never mentioned it to anybody other than Eva) and that he was skilled with the sword. As a second ss talent who did well in the trials and had a lot of temp points, he could get an upgrade to 1st ss just by saving up for a year or so. If he was being rewarded by her, that time would reduce even more. She couldn''t fathom why he wanted information about awakenings or cultivation talent. if you could just pay the sect to raise your talent, why bother studying the subject? Although she couldn''t deduce the reason for Isaac''s request, she had no problem agreeing with it, "Fine. If that''s what you want, I think it suits both of us. I said I''d pay you ording to your performance on this job, so is there a specific type of information you''d like for your reward?" Isaac pulled a potion out of his pocket, "Right now, I need a channel to sell potions and ingredients. The price has to be at least market price and the goods should be sold anonymously; they can''t be traced back to me." "I can do that. What volume of goods are you looking to sell?" "2rge sacks of them. I also have some ingredients, but not nearly as many." Isaac pulled a handful of pale grey moss from a different pocket. Lara inspected it closely. After a few moments she eximed, "Isn''t this Phantasmal Lichen?! Are all of the ingredients as good as this?" Isaac gave a light nod, "Most of them. Can you sell them or not?" "I''ll find some methods to distribute the potions but I''ll buy the ingredients myself. How will you transport them?" ''There must be an alchemist in her faction that she''s trying to nurture.'' Isaac quickly inferred why Abbie wanted ingredients but not potions. He quickly answered her question, "The tournament''s in just over 3 weeks; it''s the only time when Rank 1s can easily enter the Rank 3 district. I''ll just bring the bags with me when I enter and find a ce to drop them off for you. Then you can pay me the next time you see me." "Alright. Oh, and if you could..." Lara wrote down a final request for Isaac it would''ve been quite serious if anybody heard it, even her own guards, so she took an extra precaution in case they were listening without her permission. Isaac nced at the paper and nodded without a second thought. A thin smile spread across Lara''s face, "Good, good. I''ll pay you well when it''s done..." Then she cast the paper into her crackling firece. It turned to ashes within seconds, incinerated by the magical blue me. Isaac also stood up. He exchanged pleasantries with Lara, then left. Like Isaac said to Lara, the tournament was less than a month away. However, for Isaac, it might as well have started. As the saying went, ''Those who fail to prepare are preparing to fail''. The one who prepared best for the tournament would be the one who was most likely to win it. Isaac''s preparation started now. He wasted no time in getting home. Then he took out his 2rge sacks of potions and put the ingredients and potions he''d brought to show Lara inside. Next, he pulled up his floorboard and took the potions hidden there as well. He also grabbed the 18 reward points and 12 iron pieces stashed there. He put the floorboard back in ce and walked towards the Cultivation Pagoda. To be honest, he looked like quite an enticing target with his 2 sacks which were obviously full of loot. However, Isaac''s reputation preceded him by now. All the hard work he''d done in torturing the various groups was finally paying off: nobody tried to follow or rob him since they knew the consequences of doing so. Isaac lugged his 2 bags to the pagoda and paid to rent a room for 2 weeks. The woman in charge thanked Isaac for his patronage and handed him a key. Her fingers were long and rough, like a farmer''s. After receiving the key, Isaac hauled his bags up the stairs to his room on the third floor. He put them down as he unlocked the door, then shifted them inside. He ced the bags in the corner of the room, and left one of his reward point tokens with them. He brought thest 14 with him as he left the room, locking the door behind him, and headed off towards the market. As usual, he bought arge batch of food with a couple of iron pieces. He also exchanged the 14 reward points for Basic Qi Pills. It was time to enter seclusion again. Chapter 95: Always Moving Forwards Chapter 95: Always Moving Forwards Isaac returned to the Cultivation Pagoda. He dumped the bags of food in the kitchen area, then put 13 pills in the corner with his other stuff. He brought thest pill with him as he sat down on his mattress. Isaac ate the pill, then closed his eyes to concentrate. He quickly entered meditation and started drawing energy from the pill. ************************* 13 dayster, Isaac was lying in the bed. He slowly got up, rubbed his eyes and drew the curtains to the window just above his mattress. Today was his final day of seclusion and it was destined to be a day of hard work. Is directed his will towards the pit of his stomach. When he sensed his 65.9% full Qi Core, he half smiled and half grimaced. Normally he''d cultivate today and attempt his upper stage breakthrough tomorrow, but he didn''t have that kind of time. Every day before the tournament was important, so he''d decided not to wait for his breakthrough. After steeling himself, Isaac took hisst pill and popped it into his mouth. He felt it slide down his throat and into his stomach. As his stomach acids began to dpose the pill, Isaac quickly and efficiently harnessed the energy it was emitting. He drew it through his stomach meridian and all the way towards his Qi Core, where he bound it with the core''s walls. Then his will rushed back towards his stomach. On the way, it encountered a second portion of Isaac''s will. The second will passed it several strands of Qi and then left. The first portion of will took the strands and went to bind them into the Qi Core. Then it came back to receive more strands from the other bit of will. Isaac''s two wisps of will worked together like this for about 2 hours. Eventually, the pill left Isaac''s stomach and began to progress deeper into his digestive system. At this point, Isaac decided to take a break for lunch. He was absolutely ravenous, so he wolfed down arge but quick 15-minute meal. Then he went right back to cultivating. However, the second part of his session didn''tst the typical 6 hours. 3 and a half hours in, Isaac felt like he wasn''t making any progress. He was infusing Qi into his core, but its walls didn''t seem to be getting any stronger. He used his will to check inside the core. Sure enough, it was 66.7% full. Middle stage Qi just wouldn''t cut it anymore; it wouldn''t make his Qi Core any stronger. He needed Qi of higher quality. Isaac knew he was ready for a breakthrough, but he didn''t attempt it immediately. His Qi Core might''ve been ready, but he wasn''t. It was still early afternoon and he had a considerable chunk of the day left, so Isaac took a trip to the library. He settled down with a book and read for 2 hours to rx his mind. When he felt he was ready, he returned to his room in the Cultivation Pagoda. He didn''t waste any time in sitting down on his mattress with his back against the wall. He focused on his Qi Core and used his will to startpressing his Qi. His Qi expelled arge volume of gaseous impurities, but Isaac dealt with them quitepetently. He had already experienced a breakthrough, so he already knew what to do. He used one portion of will topress his Qi, while the second part of his will funnelled the impurities out of his core and into his Qi Veins (through which they left his body). Thepression processsted longer and took more effort this time. If he was a 4th or 5th ss talent with a lot more Qi,pressing it all might''ve been difficult. However, Isaac''s 3rd ss talent and strong will were enough to make this a rtively simple breakthrough. He followed the same steps he''d gone through in his middle stage breakthrough and, soon enough, blue crystals began to form at the centre of his Qi. When they reached the correct shade an ocean blue which was slightly lighter thanst time he extracted them and spread the gel-like substance over the inside of his Qi Core. Then he used the optimum number of crystals to strengthen his meridian points. In the end, Isaac found the breakthrough exhausting but not particrly difficult. When it was done, he flopped onto his back and closed his eyes. He had a pounding headache from overexerting his will and his Qi Core ached painfully. Isaac just thought of them as growing pains. Eventually, he managed to prise his eyes open and the cream-coloured ceiling presented itself to him. Isaac stared nkly up at it. Then he craned his neck slightly and looked around the empty room. After taking it all in, Isaac burst into a spontaneous bout ofughter. Upper stage! It was another step towards his end goal. A small step, but a step nheless. There truly was no feeling like progress; Isaac was jubnt as he directed his will towards his Qi Core. His will hurt, it ached, it didn''t want to move, but Isaac didn''t care. He simply wanted to see the fruits of hisbour. He forced his will down towards the pit of his stomach and into the small white orb that could be found there. Indeed, the inside was empty. It waspletely devoid of Qi, since Isaac had just used it all to strengthen his core. However, there was a fresh bluish coat on the core''s inside like a thinyer of paint applied to a house''s walls. Isaac could sense the slightly darker coat beneath it, and he could also feel the original white wall of his core beneath that. Of the 3, this newyer of sapphire blue was the strongest. Isaac probed it with his will and it pushed back strongly. He was extremely satisfied with this progress and he wanted to inspect it further, but his will wouldn''t let him; it was simply too strained to continue. Isaac decided it was time to rest. Despite the early hour, he grabbed his bags and left the Cultivation Pagoda. He walked over to the row of lockers which was so close it was practically next-door and paid the man in charge hisst reward point. He rented a locker for 2 weeks and put his bags of potions and ingredients inside. When he was sure they were safely stowed, he went back home. Isaa felt extremely fatigued as he walked back, but he forced himself to stay alert for any potential robbers; he''d already learnt his lesson in this aspect. Fortunately, nobody did try to mug him. He reached the safety of his own home without incident. The moment he climbed inside his window and locked it, a wave of tiredness assailed Isaac. He could barely make it over to his bed before he fell asleep... ************************* The Sun was already high in the sky when Isaac rose the next day. He got out of bed, dressed himself, and made breakfast though it might be more urate to call it lunch at this point. He ate slowly. When he was done, he washed up his bowls, put everything away, then left his house. He walked through the streetsnguidly. Soon he came to a wide crossroads which separated 2 different blocks of the residential area. Isaac crossed the bustling road and walked towards the new block of houses. Eventually, he arrived outside a familiar door. In fact, it was very familiar he''d once spent half an hour knocking on it. This time he didn''t have to wait so long. He gave a short, simple knock and called, "It''s Isaac." After a minute, Eva opened the door. "What are you doing here? We aren''t going on another mission so close to the tournament, are we?" "No. It''s precisely because of the tournament that I''m here. We just recently got new Anima, but we''re not adept at using them yet. I thought we could spar, just to get a feel for our new tools." Eva responded readily, "Good idea. Let''s go." Chapter 96: Nihility Intent Anima Chapter 96: Nihility Intent Anima The pair didn''t head to the training grounds. People could watch their training if they went there, and soon everybody would have information on how they fought. Instead, they headed towards a secluded alleyway. It took just 3 minutes of walking to find a good spot. They both took positions at opposite sides of the damp, shadowy alley. Their eyes locked momentarily, then Isaac suggested lightly, "Shall we begin?" and they sprung into action. Isaac created a sword and dashed forwards with his Snowshoe Anima, while Eva''s palms glinted with a thinyer of ice and she sped forwards to meet him. She was also using a movement Anima; a blustery stream of ice blew up around her heels and propelled her forwards. This was the Blown Ice Anima that she''d traded for after the Kirk Vige mission. She still had trouble controlling it, but at least she could move forwards without an issue. As the 2 approached one another, Isaac swung his sword in a sweeping arc. Eva wanted to dart right and dodge it, but herck of control over the Blown Ice Anima became a problem. She could only avoid Isaac''s de by leaning back at nearly 90 degrees. The de sliced just above her body, then she tried to right herself and deliver a palm strike. However, Isaac was moving too quickly. By the time Eva stood straight again, Isaac had already glided past and manoeuvred into a position behind her. He struck out with his left hand and Eva couldn''t avoid. Isaac knew she wouldn''t be able to dodge so he only struck with half his strength. He couldn''t injure her too badly he needed her for sparring after all. After being hit, Eva spun around. However, she saw that Isaac was in a confident, rxed pose, not a fighting one. With a soft smile on his face, he asked, "Shall we try that again?" The two returned to their starting positions on opposite sides of the alley and engaged in a second spar. That was closely followed by a third, then a fourth... ************************* Soon the pair had enjoyed 20 short bouts ofbat. Isaac had won all of them. Nevertheless, Eva seemed in high spirits still. No amount of losing could crush herpetitive nature and she was raring to go for another spar. Indeed, she was quickly getting used to her movement Anima (though she was far from perfect) and the pair''s bouts were beginning to get less one-sided. However, Eva still wasn''t giving Isaac an opportunity to use the Nihility Intent Anima. If he could perfectly dodge all her attacks without it, then why waste the significant amount of Qi it took to use the Anima? At this point, Isaac was beginning to wonder whether asking Eva for a spar had been the right decision. "Come on. Let''s go again." His thoughts were interrupted and he sighed. If she couldn''t get him to use the Nihility Intent Anima by the end of today, he''d find somebody else to spar with or create apletely different method of training. The two returned to their positions and Isaac noticed a glint in Eva''s eyes which differed from her usualpetitive re. They sped towards each other like usual, but Eva slowed down before they met each other. This was a tactic she''d adopted after their first few fights since she had greater agility when travelling at a lower speed. Isaac didn''t change his pace and continued rushing towards her. Without warning, Eva elerated again and shot towards him as well. The sudden change of pace made her stumble and nearly fall. It seemed like she''d been trying to surprise Isaac with an unexpected turn of pace, but the execution of her n was poor. Isaac wondered what she''d expected to happen. She was still a beginner with the Blown Ice Anima, so of course she couldn''t rapidly change speeds like that. He didn''t slow down as he sped towards her, intending to finish her off with a simple swipe of his sword. He swung his sword like a club, aiming the t of his de at Eva''s shoulder. As the sword began its downwards swing, 2 frosty eyes turned looked at Isaac with a gaze of jubtion. The seemingly off-bnce figure suddenly gained a footing and shifted to his right. Isaac was caught by surprise. His sword missed its target and there was arge opening down his right side. An ice-covered palm snaked into the gap he''d left. If it struck, the duel would be Isaac''s loss, but he knew he couldn''t avoid it. He deactivated the Snowshoe Anima immediately. Then he used his will to quickly activate the Nihility Intent Anima instead. Isaac felt a strange power channel into his sword. It had an abnormal quality to it; it seemed chaotic and destructive, but oddly under control at the same time. Isaac knew that sense of control wasn''t a part of the energy itself. It was probably the Nihility Intent Anima manipting the chaotic energy. Then, without warning, the energy burst out from Isaac''s sword all at once. It arced through the air in every direction, almost like an electrical discharge. A field of wild streaks of grey aura spilled everywhere, striking both Eva and the surrounding snow. However, most of the streaksnded on Isaac. There were crackles and sizzles as the fur on his coat was singed or destroyed by the destructive aura. Thankfully the nihility intent specialised in destroying Qi-based substances rather than materials like fur. It had a limited effect on Isaac''s outer garment and he was not injured. The storm of shing grey streaks around Isaac''s sword nearly blinded Eva as she pushed her palm towards him. Several streaks hit her palm and the ice upon it began to melt anyway. *Smack* Her palm hit Isaac. Isaac experienced a stinging feeling from the hit and a chilly sensation from her Anima, but that was all. The field had weakened the Anima to the point it lost its freezing effect. Now it was only powerful enough to make things cold. Isaac sensed the weakness of the palm and deactivated his Nihility Intent Anima. The streaks of grey jumping around his sword began to disappear as it swung towards Eva. Isaac''s unexpected defence had stunned Eva and she barely reacted in time to slip backwards. She evaded Isaac''s de, but she was off-bnce and her stance was broken. Isaac took advantage. Heunched a relentless wave of attacks which left her helpless; she was quickly defeated. After the fight, Isaac went over to check if she was alright, "Are you okay? Did you get hurt by those rays of light?" Eva just shook her head and asked, "What Anima was that?" "That''s a secret." Even though she denied being hurt by it, Isaac could see a small burn mark on her left arm. It seemed the Nihility Intent Anima did have some potential to do physical harm. However, Isaac waspletely unable to direct it. The moment the intent had left his sword, the element of ''control'' given by his Anima vanished. If he wanted to harness the field and control the intent while it was mid-air, then Isaac would need to do so by himself. Both he and Eva slumped against an alley wall as they took a break, and Isaac inspected the state of his Qi Core. It was only 12% full. Isaac had used up a significant portion of Qi during their previous fights, but he still had at least 35% left before this bout began. Outside of activating the Nihility Intent Anima, he hadn''t done much differently to the other bouts. That meant a single uncontrolled burst of the Anima had cost him about 20% of a full Qi Core! Isaac''s Qi Core was 66.7% full after breaking through into upper stage. That meant he couldn''t even use the Anima 4 times! He''d have to practice exerting some control over the intent, otherwise he might start running out of Qi very quickly. On the other hand, the Anima''s power was extremely impressive; it had negated an attack from another Anima of the same Rank. Thought the difference between Isaac''s upper stage Qi and Eva''s middle stage Qi did y a role, the main factor was simply the immense power of the nihility intent. Isaac looked forwards to using this Anima in the future, especially after he got morefortable with it. "Can we take a break for lunch? I''m nearly out of Qi." Eva interrupted Isaac''s thoughts. He hurriedly agreed to her request, then went back to pondering how to effectively use the Nihility Intent Anima. He thought it over for a while longer, then decided to walk home. Isaac ate a huge lunch, then returned to the alleyway. Eva was there, waiting for him. The 2 didn''t exchange any pleasantries. They immediately faced off against each other and began sparring. ************************* At the end of his 5th day sparring with Eva, Isaac thanked her for working with him, but told her he''d like to move onto different preparations before the tournament. He wouldn''t being to spar with her the next day. Eva easily epted his statement since she also had other things to do before the tournament. After passing 5 days practicing with Eva, there were only 4 more days left before the tournament. Obviously the tournament wouldn''t just be full of melee fighters, so Isaac wanted to practice against a different kind of opponent: a ranged attacker. The next morning, Isaac visited Johan to see if he would spar. He took a little bit of convincing, but Isaac eventually persuaded Johan toe and spar. The pair spent 2 days sparring, and Isaac slowly improved at focusing the nihility intent in a single direction to destroy projectiles or weaken attacks. This meant he didn''t waste as much Qi just discharging intent all over the ce. Johan was also pleased with the results of their spars. He was improving with his own new Anima and he was eager to continue their sessions on the third day... Chapter 97: Build-up to the Tournament Chapter 97: Build-up to the Tournament Today was the third day of Isaac and Johan''s practice. The tournament began the day after tomorrow, so they both took it very seriously. They woke up early and met outside Johan''s house. Then they walked to the secluded alleyway together. Practice began as usual with several spars, almost all of which Isaac won. As they were approaching lunchtime, Isaac came up with a different idea. "Can you just fire some icicles at me? I want to practice blocking them." "Okay. Then I''ll lend you the Ice Fragment Anima afterwards and you can fire some at me so I can practice dodging projectiles." ''ssic Johan. Only agrees to help you if you do something for him in return. Well... it''s not like I''m any different.'' Isaac stood just a few steps away from Johan and beckoned for the man to begin. However, Johan was hesitant, "Are you sure you don''t want to go further away? The tournament''s in 2 days, so you shouldn''t risk injuring yourself just for some practice." "If I get hit from here, that just means I never would''ve seeded in the tournament anyway." "Whatever you say." Johan shrugged and raised his left arm, while Isaac readied his sword. *Vwoom* An icicle pierced through the air towards Isaac. Johan expected him to disintegrate it with his new Anima, but no arcs of purple appeared. Instead, Isaac swung his sword like a baseball bat cleanly hit the icicle. It was sent flying back in the direction it came. Johan waspletely unprepared. He could stare wide-eyed as his own projectile struck his defenceless chest, knocking him backwards. He stumbled half a step back and brought one hand to clutch at his chest. As he did so, the icicle fell to the snow-coated ground with a soft *thwump*. Fortunately the icicle''s sharp end hadn''t hit him, so Johan didn''t feel any kind of cut on his chest. However, he did wince in pain as he slightly twisted his upper body. He immediately realised this was not a bruise or a cut the blunt force of the icicle had fractured one or more ribs. He shouted angrily at Isaac, "What the fuck were you doing?!" However, his voice came out as quiet and unintimidating. Speaking loudly would cause his chest to heave and bring about a sh of pain, so Johan was forced to speak with this kind of small voice. Isaac held himself back fromughing and replied in a somewhat earnest manner, "I said I was going to block them. What did you expect me to do?!" "I thought you were going to use your new Anima! And blocking a projectile doesn''t involve hitting it that hard!" "Why wouldn''t it?! If I can do this in a real fight and return attacks to sender, it''ll be much more effective than passively deflecting them. That''s why I wanted to practice it! Besides, you said you wanted to practice avoiding projectiles." "Not like this!" Johan paused for a moment since speaking in such an animated manner was still painful. Isaac took this opportunity to interrupt him, "There''s no use in arguing now; what''s done is done. First of all, are you sure you''re alright?" "No. My chest hurts like hell." "Do you need to see a medic?" "Only if you''re paying for it. It was your dumbass mistake after all." "Like I said, there''s no point in arguing. Besides, I''m t broke. I spent all my money on cultivation resources, so I can''t pay for your medic anyway." "Great. I used everything I had too, so what do I do now? I might be fine in the early rounds, but there''s no way I''ll make it deep into the tournament with an injury like this." "How about taking a loan? You''ll seed in the tournament so long as you''re healthy, then you can pay the loan back with your prize money." Johan pondered it a bit and was about to ask if Isaac could get a loan and pay for him to get healed. Then he thought a bit more and realised there was precisely a 0% chance of that happening, even if Isaac did feel guilty about injuring him. After much umming and ahing, Johan came to a conclusion, "Alright. I have to show my absolute best in this tournament if I want to be the family sessor. I''ll take a loan." Isaac offered to help Johan walk to the loan shark''s office, but Johan declined. His exact words were, "You injured my chest, not my legs. I don''t need your help." Johan left on his own, while Isaac stayed in the alleyway to do some solo practice. There was something specific he wanted to work on, so he got to it. ************************* Isaac trained that entire day and came back the next day. Today he did very light training since the tournament was just around the corner, but there were still some things he could polish up or work on without fatiguing his body much. He did what he could, then finished his session and left. He went straight to the library his favourite ce in the sect. It was the best spot to go to rx, chill out, and get his mind right for the tournament. In fact, he didn''t pick up a book immediately. He sat down in one of the chairs dotted around the ground floor and just soaked in the atmosphere. He watched others reading their books or searching through the shelves to find the right novel for them. He smelled the scent of books, both old and new. He listened to the near-silence which was only interrupted when somebody nearby turned a page. He felt at peace. This was the world of literature, not the world ofbat or cultivation. He could rx here. Isaac sat in the chair for a while. He watched the world go by and just rxed. It was only with an indeterminable amount of timeter that he rose, with his icy eyes looking sharper than ever. His resolve shone brightly in those two frosty orbs. It was good to rx. Moments like this were nice, but they also confirmed what Isaac already knew about himself. He didn''t want to live in peace. He didn''t want to watch the world go by while he remained still. What he desired was the chaotic life of a cultivator. A life where every second was filled with excitement, each decision was risky, and every risk would end in reward... or catastrophic failure. Isaac had only just got his first taste of cultivation and he loved it even more than he thought he would. It wasn''t just the thrill of everything which got him. It was the fact that, instead of reading a storybook, he could go out and live that story instead. Rather, he could go out and live something better than that story that was his goal, at least. Thepetitive side of him also loved the abundance of opportunity in cultivation. Most cultivators would im only the talented really had opportunities, but Isaac vehemently disagreed. Most 2nd ss talents were in middle stage right now, while he was in upper stage. He doubted even the 1st ss talent had reached Rank 2 yet! He''d been ced on a starting line far behind these people, but he''d already caught or overtaken most of them and that was all because he had an opportunity. Just having the opportunity to cultivate gave him the opportunity to be great. Every problem he came across had to have a solution, and if it didn''t, he would just create one. Nothing would stand between him and his goal. After all, Isaac wouldn''t be satisfied with surpassing his ssmates. No... he wanted to surpass everyone. Everyone alive today, and everyone who had ever lived. He wanted to create the greatest story ever to exist. Chapter 98: Grand Opening Chapter 98: Grand Opening Isaac found a book a tried to read a little, but he found himself getting restless. He knew he wouldn''t be able to rx and read in the state of mind he was in, so he left the library. He walked almost aimlessly through the streets, until he arrived in another empty alleyway. He looked around. There was nobody. Isaac made a spontaneous decision to continue training, even though the tournament was tomorrow. He just needed to work up a slight sweat, get his blood pumping and try to control the reckless determination burning within him. Isaac created a sword and began to swing it. Though he only wanted to do a light practice, his movements quickly began more fluid and violent. Soon he was performing a deadly sword dance of his own creation, sweating from every pore with a smile on his face. Eventually Isaac lowered his sword. He deactivated the Spirit Sword Anima and stood there panting. Then, just as spontaneously as he decided to practice, he chose to leave. Still heaving in deep breaths, he turned and walked out of the alley. He returned home. When he got back he made dinner he hadn''t eaten lunch so he prepared quite arge meal and ate it. Then he washed up, meditated for a bit, and went to bed. ************************* Soon, the Sun rose on a new day (metaphorically, of course the Sun wouldn''t actually rise for another hour or two). Isaac woke up groggily, but he forced himself not toze around and to get out of bed quickly. He sshed his face with water to properly wake himself, then he went to get ready. A short whileter, Isaac was walking down the street. He was heading towards the wall between the Rank 1 and Rank 2 districts, but this time he wasn''t going back to his hole under the wall. He strolled up to a gate. This gate was usually locked shut and guarded, but now the guard in charge was holding it open. Isaac joined the stream of teenage disciples flooding through the gate and continued to walk onwards. He seemed to meld into the flowing river of bodies as they all kept walking in the same direction. They bumbled their way towards the Rank 3 district, where 2 guards in pristine silver armour held another set of gates open. Isaac and all the other neers set foot in the rank 3 district. For most of them, this would be their first and perhaps only time entering this district. Of course, that wasn''t the case for Isaac, so he wasn''t awestruck like some of the others, but he still appreciated the district''s splendour. It was nothing short of impressive that the sect could create such opulence in Northern Tundra of all ces, a barren, frostbittennd with the least resources out of all 4 continents. However, Isaac did not desire wealth or grandeur. While he could appreciate the feat of creating these magnificent buildings, he did not feel the same sense of awe or yearning to live there that the others might have. While some people stood in ce and observed their surroundings, Isaac continued to walk. Of course, some people felt the same as Isaac. He found himself walking with these like-minded fellows in a smaller group than before. They walked onwards and, eventually, a hulking shape appeared at the end of the street they were on. It was a building, but a building unlike any other they''d seen. Instead of being made of marble, granite, pale stardust stone, or any of the light-coloured stones which made up the buildings on either side, this was made from brown rust-shaded material. It was hard to tell what the material was, but it stood out against its surroundings. There were two other things about the building which caught the eye: its size and style. Isaac recognised it as a colossal version of the colosseums that were popr in Eastern Mountains, but there was a Tundran twist to the architectural style. The building was more angr than a typical colosseum; its pirs were rectangr rather than cylindrical and it had pointed doorways instead of elegant arches. Several rings ran around the outside of the building, and each had therge words, ''LIFE *** DEATH'' engraved all around them. As Isaac''s gaze swept over the building, it lingered on the top ring. This was the highest point of the building, and ayer of snow should''ve built up upon it. However, it hadn''t. In fact, when he looked closer, Isaac could see steam rising from the ring. It appeared that the snow whichnded on it was being evaporated. Perhaps it was the effect of an Anima, or perhaps it was due to a property of the material itself. Isaac was eager to find out, so he continued walking towards the grand colosseum. It looked even bigger up close. Isaac got the chance to fully appreciate its enormity as he joined the queue to enter. The queue moved forwards at a fast pace as each person was handed a slip with a number on it and then ushered inside. Soon it was Isaac''s turn. The woman at the entrance handed him a piece of paper saying ''0798'' without even looking at him. Isaac took the paper and quickly entered. He walked through a short, narrow tunnel, then emerged within the colosseum. In front of him was an expansive stage, raised to about chest-height and filling the entire inside of the arena. Around the stage were stands, stretching up so high they nearly touched the heavens. Most of the stands were empty, but Isaac could see some ant-like figures taking their seats. He followed the others ahead of him as he walked over to a small section of the stands nearby. It was an area next to the stage which had been cordoned off so participants could use it. Isaac found a set of stairs and walked up a bit until he saw the row ''0600 - 0799''. He sat down right on the end of the row in the chair marked ''0798''. As he sat down, he felt that the seat was pleasantly warm. He felt the ground and the other areas around him and realised that they were all heated as well. This strange orange material which was neither stone nor metal seemed to be emitting warmth, and that had caused the snow to melt as Isaac had seen earlier. Now that his curiosity had been satisfied, Isaac looked back at the entrance he''de through. It was a special side door, not one of the main entrances, and disciples continued to stream through it. The seats around him began to fill up. The rest of the arena was also slowly filling. Isaac could see people entering through the countless entrances dotted around the stands and finding seats of their own. Soon, the seats around Isaac were almostpletely upied. A twig-like man with deep-set eyes hade to sit on Isaac''s left, while a man with apletely average build and appearance but a shy ck-and-white coat was on his right at the end of the row. Suddenly, Isaac noticed somebody walking up to the arena. It was a person dressed in a majestic white coat with red trimmings around the edges. She had a silver moon badge pinned to herpel and Isaac immediately recognised that she was an elder. Out of the tens of thousands of people in the sect, only 50 or so had reached Rank 4. Of those, around half had been granted the title of elder. That meant the woman before Isaac was one of the 30 most powerful people in the sect, and the entire arena quietened down when they saw her walk out onto the stage. "Wee to all of our participants," the woman gave a sweeping gesture towards Isaac''s part of the stands, "and to all of our viewers." She cast her gaze across the rest of the stands, which were about 10% full by now. "Today is the opening of our biannual neer''s tournament, and I, along with everybody else, eagerly await who wille out on top." Her voice was not loud, but everybody could hear her clearly. It was evidently the effect of some Anima. "Unfortunately, we will not see a winner today. Nor will we see one tomorrow. The neer''s tournament is a long journey, and any prospective winner will need patient persistence as well as strength to triumph. I wish all of you good luck; may you put on a as good a show this year as your predecessors have done in years passed." The audience burst out into apuse. While the stadium was only 10% full, the sheer enormity of the colosseum meant that 10% was still some 6 or 7 thousand people. When the apuse died down, the elder had already left the stage. Isaac watched as she floated upwards towards the highest level of the colosseum, then disappeared into one of the private boxes situated there. Meanwhile, a sect official had taken the stage in ce of her. He had arge container with him. He dipped a hand inside, then withdrew it; there were 5 bits of paper in his grasp. He unfurled them, then shouted, "Can contestants 1912, 1743, 0449, 2481 and 1106 please enter ring 1." Isaac watched as a handful of people stood up and walked down towards the stage. As they were walking, the official called another set of 6 names. More people got up. He called another set of people, then another. It wasn''t long before he was announcing, "Can contestants 0063, 2101, 0984, 1209 and 0477 please enter ring 10. On my mark, your fights will begin. Out of the 6 of you in each ring, only thest one standing will progress to the next part of the tournament." Isaac looked down at the stage. It was split into 10 separate circr rings, each of which had 5 disciples standing nervously inside. Tense silence descended for a moment, but it was quickly broken by the simultaneous cries of 10 referees, "Begin!" Chapter 99: Stage 1, The Mass Battles Chapter 99: Stage 1, The Mass Battles Isaac watched the ring nearest to him. 4 of the participants were startled by the official''s shout and they hesitated slightly. The other 2 were ready, and they sprung towards one of the people near to them. Two 1 vs 1 fights started on opposite sides of the ring, while thest pair of participants looked for opportunities to ambush those who were already fighting. Isaac watched closely, trying to determine the level of the fighters. He observed as the two ambushers both failed their missions, were counterattacked, and quickly got eliminated. Both were weak. Then the 1 vs 1 on the left ended, with a woman with long, ited hairing out on top. She sessfully ambushed one of the people in the other 1 vs 1 and eliminated them. This left her and onest person together in the ring. They fought, and the woman managed to push thest person out of the ring, securing victory. Isaac analysed that she was just below the level of Sanna the leader of one of the gangs that had attacked him in the past. Most of the others were around the level of Sanna''s least skilled gang member. Isaac watched a couple more fights and determined that this was usually the case. Most winners were at or above the level of the woman with ited hair. However, Isaac still hadn''t identified anybody that might be a threat to himter on. After about an hour or so of watching, Isaac heard the official call his number. He headed down to ring 4 with a group of other fighters. As they were walking together, some of the others recognised Isaac and started whispering to each other. Isaac overheard one of them, "That''s Isaac Dahl! None of us stand a chance of defeating him one on one, so why don''t we team up?" Isaac pretended that he hadn''t heard and continued walking up to the ring. Everybody stepped inside and spread out around the edge of the ring. "Begin." The referee called before anybody was ready. Anybody other than Isaac, that was. Thankfully only the seating areas were heated, so there was still a patchyyer of snow on the stage itself. Isaac activated his Snowshoe Anima and glided over it towards the contestant on his right. A sword appeared in his right hand and cut down ruthlessly towards the surprised contestant''s head. *CLANG* The sword bounced right off the contestant, but Isaac knew he''d been saved by the referee''s Rank 3 defensive Anima. While the contestant stayed standing, there, wondering why he hadn''t died, Isaac sped past. He heard the referee shouting at the contestant, "You''ve been eliminated. Leave the stage!" as he careened towards the next victim in his path. She had a little more time to prepare, but her defences were far tocklustre to stop Isaac. A thin curtain of light appeared in front of him, but a single sword swipe was all it took to shatter it. Although Isaac had restricted his sword''s power to try and hide his upper stage Qi, it was still too strong for a lower stage cultivator to block. He swung his sword again, and it nged off the frightened girl, who''d frozen like a rabbit in the headlights after her defence was demolished. The referee had stepped in again to save her life, but she had been eliminated from the fight. Now Isaac was left in a 1 vs 2 situation, where his opponents had grouped up together to face him. However, they had no semnce of teamwork and both of them used ranged attacking Anima. They both fired their projectiles directly towards Isaac. Since both were firing at the same spots, it was almost like Isaac only had to dodge one attack instead of two. He used his Snowshoe Anima to agilely avoid their shots and close the distance on them. When he got close enough, he efficiently dispatched them with 2 swings of his sword. The fight was over. A cheer rose up from the stands. Isaac heard a wave of pping and some shouting from the thousand or so people that had been watching his fight. Over the noise, he could hear the referee congratte him on his victory, then ask him to step out of the ring. The referee signalled to the official that the fight had ended, then asked Isaac for his contestant number. Meanwhile, the official called another set of fighters over to the ring. After the referee had written down Isaac''s number, Isaac left. He walked down from the stage and returned to his seat in the stands. He already knew the structure of the tournament. This was the 1st stage, the mass battles, and it was split into 3 parts. The first part was a 5-person free-for-all. Thest man standing would progress to the second part: a 4-person free-for-all on the next day. Then, thest man standing in those fights would reach the 3rd and final part of the mass battles, which was a 6-person free-for-all. However, thest 2 standing would go through. These were essentially preliminary rounds organised to weed out those who weren''t elites. After all, this single stage of the tournament eliminated 98% of the participants. Only 48 of the initial 2500 would be left. Isaac didn''t dare think lightly of a stage with such a ruthless rate of eliminations. Instead of going home like some other participants, he stayed in the stands to watch the rest of the day''s matches. It was important to watch for any stand-out contestants who might be his opponentster on. Isaac continued to watch until around 10 pm, at which point he left. He headed back home for a good night''s sleep. ************************* The next day, Isaac was back at the colosseum bright and early. The colosseum was actually called ''The Ring of Life and Death'', though, ironically, the disciples weren''t allowed to kill each other during the neers'' tournament. It had earnt its name from the bloody events often shown there for the pleasure of the Rank 2 and 3 audience. There weren''t many forms of entertainment in the bleak Northern Tundra, so the sect had built this ring where beasts and cultivators fought. Sometimes wild beasts were pitted against each other, sometimes sect cultivators earnt money by duelling to the death, sometimes the sect''s prisoners fought for their freedom against wild beasts or other cultivators. Whatever the event was, anybody with a ticket was granted entry into the Rank 3 district toe and watch. And they usually thoroughly enjoyed it. Today was different. Instead of random Rank 1s and 2s fighting to the death, it was the sect''s neers duking it out. These fights possessed a different appeal, and many came to watch. Isaac noticed there were significantly more people in the stands than yesterday; the tournament was often marketed as ''showcasing the future of the n'', and Isaac reckoned most people were here to see if these neers truly were worth their salt. He settled down in the participants section of the stands which had shrunk dramatically after 80% of thepetitors had been eliminated and watched as names were drawn. This time only 4 names were drawn instead of 5 and only 5 of the 10 rings were being used. The fights seemed to go a lot slower, and Isaac was forced to wait hours before his turn finally came. As he walked down to the stage, he heard a familiar whispering, "Isn''t that Isaac Dahl?" ''It seems these people have noticed as well... haaah. A 3 vs 1 doesn''t scare me, but I need to keep my trump cards carefully hidden. I can''t waste them here.'' Everyone arranged themselves around the ring and the referee gave the mark to start. These participants were noticeably better than yesterday''s, so they were all ready for the referee''s mark. They grouped up together and faced off against Isaac. Chapter 100: Fighting Efficiently Chapter 100: Fighting Efficiently Isaac fought in a very professional manner. He used the Snowshoe Anima to dodge everything without any wasted moves, and his swordsmanship was efficient and not shy. All in all, he seemed like a fighter with very strong fundamentals but no ir. Some of the more experienced onlookers in the crowd chattered amongst themselves. Most of them had seen fighters like this before, and they all made predictions on how well Isaac would do. Most bet that he would do well, but then me out when he met one of the more ''special'' or ''creative'' fighters who could ovee his efficient and mechanical style. Of course, Isaac didn''t hear their mumblings. Even if he could, he wouldn''t have cared. He ''efficiently'' and ''mechanically'' defeated the 3 opponents in front of him, then made his way back to the stands. He watched a few more fights, but his was one of thest. Soon the day''s fighting was over and everybody headed back home. Isaac had another good night''s sleep, then came back to the Ring of Life and Death the next day. Today was when the tournament started to get much harder. There were only 125 of the original 2500 participants; anybody who reached this stage could be renowned as a strong neer, and potentially join a mid-level faction if they caught one''s eye today. You could say this was the cream of the crop for neers, but now they would be pitted against each other in brutalbat. Isaac watched the battles intensively. With only 125 people left, it was much easier to pick out the strongest candidates and pick those who might be a future threat. Soon, it was Isaac''s turn. He heard 5 other numbers being called out with his: he hadn''t been lucky enough to be put in one of the few fights which only had 5 people. ''It''s in luck''s nature to be unreliable; that''s why I never have and never will count on getting lucky. I already know what to do, so now all I need to do is execute it.'' Isaac walked down to the stage, casting a nce across at the 5 others who''d risen from their seats. All of them were staring at him. When they noticed his gaze, they all looked away. Then they began casting icy nces at each other. This battle was different to the previous 2: two people would go through, not just one. Most people had already decided to avoid Isaac andpete for the second spot. They all assembled in the ring. There was a nervous silence. Then, "Begin!" Everybody sprang into action. Isaac backed off towards one side of the stage, while the others formed a circle away from him. They gritted their teeth and stared nervously at one another, waiting for somebody to make the first move. Isaac had a good opportunity to attack one of them from behind, but he decided not to get involved. He stayed to the side and watched the fight develop. Eventually somebody struck forwards. They immediately faced attacks from the other 4 and were forced to retreat. They were injured slightly and someone else leapt at them to try and eliminate them before they could adjust. Then the other 3 also got involved and the whole thing devolved into a melee Isaac could barely follow. Out of the shing mess of used Anima and striking limbs, Isaac saw somebody get pushed out of the ring. Then the remaining 4 backed off and revaluated the situation. One had an injury running down her forearm, but the other 3 seemed rtively unharmed. All of them were breathing heavily. They faced off for a tense moment, then one of them suddenly turned around. He dashed towards Isaac as light shone through the gaps of his clenched fist. Isaac wore a surprised expression and hesitated slightly as if he didn''t know what to do. A toothy grin spread across the man''s face as he prepared to unleash the light on Isaac. Unfortunately, the man didn''t notice thest of the ring''s snow cover Isaac''s boots. Isaac''s expression changed as he shot forwards and a sword appeared in his hand. The man couldn''t even react as the sword shed towards his neck. He pissed himself as the sword approached. He didn''t want to die yet. His eyes mped themselves shut and he counted the moments until his death. Wait... moments? Shouldn''t he have died in an instant? The man tentatively prised one of his eyes open. His pupil flitted left, and then right. There was no sword to be seen. In fact, there wasn''t even a swordman. Had he been dreaming? Or was this the afterlife? He opened both eyes and looked around. He spotted Isaac standing off to the side and his knees went weak. He fell to the floor despite the referee''s shouts of, "Get off the stage!" Meanwhile, Isaac had returned to his spot on the side of the ring. His eyes were half-lidded as if he didn''t care what was happening on the other side of the ring, but the orange spirit sword remained in his right hand as a warning to the others. They''d all been watching the man attack Isaac. They''d seen how he''d been defeated in a second and had to be saved by the instructor. In that moment, they dispelled any thoughts of attacking Isaac. The fight between the 3 of them resumed, and Isaac watched them all duke it out. In the end, an average-looking man with brown hair, a thin moustache, and a slightly shifty gaze won the fight. After knocking his final opponent out of the ring, he nced up at the referee with jubtion and exhaustion in his eyes. Then the referee called Isaac and the man toe over and give their contestant numbers. Once he''d recorded them, he ushered for the pair to leave. As they walked away from the stage, the man tried to start up a conversation with Isaac. However, Isaac ignored him and walked back to his seat. The man was fuming, but was none of Isaac''s concern. He didn''t have time to waste on petty little people. Isaac closely scrutinized the remaining fights. He paid particr attention to Erik, the muscr man who''d ended up in his trial. Isaac and Erik had some minor conflicts during the trials, but they hadn''t seen much of each other since then. Isaac only knew that he''d done extraordinarily well in the academy, awakened as a 2nd ss talent, then formed a team which included Hayden, whom he''d tried to recruit himself. Watching the man fight, Isaac immediately saw how he''d made a name for himself in the academy. His fist-fighting style was ruthless and brutal,pletely crushing anybody who stood in his way. Isaac quite admired this straightforward style. It was ruthless and efficient, just like his fighting style, but in a very different way. Isaac watched carefully as Erik quickly won his fight. A big cheer rose from the crowds as he walked back to the stands. After that, there were only a couple more fights before today''sbat was finished. However, none of the participants left. Their gazes were all drawn by something floating down from the sky. No, it wasn''t a thing... it was a person! As the person drew nearer, everybody could see it was a woman in a white and red-tipped coat. She had a crescent moon badge pinned to the cor of her coat, and everybody recognised her as the elder who''d greeted them at the beginning of the tournament. Shended in the middle of the stage, but didn''t say a word. Everyone watched as the official walked over and handed her a medium-sized box. After taking the box, the elder finally announced, "To those 48 of you who still remain, congrattions. Those who can make it to this stage of the tournament are typically regarded as the ''elites'' of the neers; the very best of the young blood which has joined our sect." She paused for a moment, "But I do not see it that way. Our sect has thousands of Rank 3 members, let alone Rank 2s, but we have less than 60 Rank 4s. That means, on average, about 3 people from each ss of neers reach Rank 3 the rest just disappear into mediocrity. It is not enough to merely reach this stage. For true renown, for true strength, for true future sess, you must strive for a higher ce beyond this. You cannot be satisfied with reaching the group stage. This is not the end of the tournament." She looked over at the participants, most of whom had heated expressions. They were ready to fight and earn a brighter future! Of course, some such as Isaac and Erik remained calm. The elder''s motivational speech meant nothing to them, since they already knew this. They also knew that somebody could win the tournament but never reach Rank 4, orest and still reach elder status. Talent was still the most important factor. However, that was also why the tournament was so important for Isaac. He needed ess to the sect''s 1-star library where he could ess information about awakenings and start devising a way to improve his talent. His gaze was cold and concentrated as he watched the elder. She reached towards the official''s box as she spoke, "With that said, this marks the end of the tournament''s first stage. Now I will be performing the draw for the 2nd stage the group stage." Chapter 101: Whos in His Group? Chapter 101: Who''s in His Group? "Group A: Alf Pilson, Eivind Blehr, Cami Onstad, Bodil Esmark, Gerd Waaler, and Johan Friberg." The elder called out the contestants'' names rather than their numbers. It was a form of acknowledgement for those who''d made it this far. She continued to read off names, but Isaac didn''t hear his until, "Group H: Hayden Stromberg, Isaac Dahl, Daniel Falkanger..." Then she read 3 more names he didn''t recognise. Isaac jotted them down in the pocket notebook he always brought with him. He was obviously acquainted with Hayden since he''d tried to recruit him before, but Daniel Falkanger was a name he''d memorised a while ago as one of the highest scorers in the trials. He''d forgotten some of the other names, but Daniel''s surname had stuck in his memory for an unknown reason. After reading out the 8th group, the elder stopped. She''d already picked all the names from the box, so she announced, "Those are the groups for the tournament''s second stage. You will fight everybody in your group once. There are 2 points for winning a fight, 1 point for drawing and, of course, 0 for losing. The two with the most points in each group will progress to the third and final stage: the knockout stages. I will also do the draw for the knockout stages now." The official brought two smaller boxes over to the elder. The few remaining spectators all stayed silent as the elder drew paper slips from both boxes, "The winner of group C shall fight the runner-up of group H. The winner of group A shall fight the runner-up of group B..." The elder read out the matchups. There was arge section of unmarked wall behind her. As she spoke, a set of shimmering lines and words appeared in the air. There was arge tournament tree which disyed the structure of the knockout stage, and then 8 tables (one for each group) below it. After she''d finished drawing names, the elder finally announced, "Good luck in your groups. Hopefully you can show us some good performances..." Her feet left the floor as she slowly glided up and away. However, Isaac didn''t pay attention to her exit; he was busy writing down all 8 tables in his notepad. When that was done, he left but he didn''t go home straight away. First he headed to a secluded spot in the Rank 3 district. He looked underneath the decking of a certain house and, sure enough, there was a ck holdall bag there. Isaac brought it back to his house and opened it there. There were 3 leather pouches and a stack of books inside. This was the exchange Isaac had arranged with Lara. He''d left his potions and ingredients under the decking that morning, and she must''ve had ackey collect them and rece them with this holdall bag. Isaac grabbed one of the pouches and opened it. There were 10 reward points inside. He pocketed half of them, hid everything away, then left his house. He was off to find Abbie. ************************* Half an hourter, Isaac returned to his house with a notebook in his pocket. This was not the notebook he''d got from Sanna ages ago, and it was not the notepad he''d been jotting details in; it was a notebook that he''d bought from Abbie. Like Isaac, she had information on a lot of neers. In fact, she probably had more information than Isaac did. She also didn''t have any problems helping him out, since Isaac had seen her get narrowly eliminated in today''s mass battles. That had prompted Isaac to buy some information from her information about the people in his group, to be precise. The price was only 2 reward points far cheaper than a professional information vendor and it drastically reduced the chances of something catching him by surprise in the group stages. Isaac didn''t mind surprises, but he didn''t like risks. Especially unnecessary ones. The risk of being caught unawares was too high for his liking, so he paid a small price to reduce it, and he was d that he did. When he read through Abbie''s information, Isaac gave a sigh of relief; it was extremely fortunate that he knew this beforehand. ************************* The group stages began at 10 am, slightlyter than yesterday''s fights. That gave Isaac time to do some stretching and warmup before he made his way to the Ring of Life and Death. Less than 2% of the original contestants remained, so the area for participants to sit had be very small and there were only a few people there. On the other hand, the crowds in the stands had grown dramatically. The stadium was at least four fifths full, with a crowd many tens of thousands strong. They roared and jeered as new contestants entered and walked towards their seats. The wave of noise was crushing, but Isaac endured it and walked over to his spot. He sat and looked around. It was at this moment he realised the so-called ''stage one'' wasn''t really a stage at all. It was a mere weeding out of the trash, an elimination of the weak and boring participants that weren''t worth watching. Now, at the group stage, each and every contestant was strong. All of them were worthy foes that he had to pay attention to. From here onwards, the battles would be intense and impossible to predict; everyone would be giving it their all, and this was where the tournament started. The crowd knew this too, hence the huge rise in attendance. The atmosphere was raucous, and Isaac tried to soak it in. He needed to adapt to the environment before his fight. Unfortunately, a voice came from above, "Wee everybody! I hope you''re ready to begin your fights!" The elder didn''t bothering all the way down to the stage, since she only had a short piece to say. Respectful silence descended upon the crowd as she hung in the air and spoke, "We''ll begin with group A''s first fights. Johan Friberg and Alf Pinson, go to ring 1. Eivind Blehr and Cami Onstad take ring 2, and Bodil Esmark and Gerd Waaler can have ring 3. Fighters, take your ces." With that, the elder drifted back up to her private booth at the top of the colosseum. The referees standing ringside took over, "On your marks. Begin!" A round of furiousbat was underway... Isaac watched all the fights, but he paid particr attention to ring 3, where thebat seemed to be most intense. Gerd was a well-built 5''9 woman with bulging biceps, a thick neck, and a rough, stony face. Meanwhile, Bodil had a sleek and athletic build but had a simr 5''9 height. She held the initiative in the fight and was pushing Gerd back, but there were no signs of Gerd''s defences breaking. It seemed she was merely waiting for an opportunity. Over on ring 1, Johan was having a miserable time. He was being pursued around the ring by his opponent. He tried firing icicles behind him as he fled, but Alf was just too agile and none of Johan''s shots came close. He''d chosen the Spring Hare Anima which dramatically improved his running and jumping abilities. One of its key upsides was that it was easy to use: you just ran as normal, but everything happened quicker. Having spent some days getting used to the increased speed, Johan was already able to use it proficiently. This was the only thing which kept him away from Alf, whose movement Anima prioritised agility over outright speed. The two remained in a deadlock, and Isaac turned his eyes back to ring 3. Bodil was growing increasingly aggressive with her attacks, pushing hard to crack the steamingyer of ice which covered Gerd''s body. Strange... why was the ice steaming? It wasn''t being melted, was it? Isaac waited for that question to be answered as Gerd continued to passively defend. She counterpunched asionally, but most of the time she was blocking or deflecting Bodil''s strikes. After a minute or so, Bodil began to slow down. Isaac thought Gerd would go on the offensive, but she didn''t. She continued to wait. A few momentster, Bodil began to stagger slightly. Then she dropped to the floor with a thud. Of course, nobody could hear that thud: it was drowned out by a great roar from the crowd. Many of them had been shouting abuse at Gerd throughout the fight, calling her a coward for not attacking. However, the winner was always in the right. Now that Gerd had emerged victorious, those same people cheered and shouted praise. The fights in the other 2 rings were nearly done as well. Another wave of cheers came up as Johan was pushed out of the ring. Alf had eventually cornered him and, despite being struck with 2 icicles, knocked him out of the fighting area. Johan was sprawled on the ground outside the ring, grimacing in pain. He raised his hand towards his chest, but then thought twice and lowered it before anybody saw. He didn''t want people noticing his lingering chest injury. Of course, Isaac''s beady eyes picked up this detail. He made some notes in his notepad, then the official sitting stageside announced the next matchups. It was group B''s turn now. Isaac didn''t have a particrly deep impression of any the contestants, so he watched all 3 battles with equal attention and made more notes. He did this for groups C, D and E as well. However, group F was special. Isaac''s initial judgement had deemed it as the most difficult group: it contained Eva, Erik and 2 people whom Isaac had considered recruiting for his team. Both were high-achievers in the trials, as well as possessing other extraordinary abilities. Isaac also recognised the 5th person as a high scorer in the trials, but didn''t know who the 6th person was. Eva was fighting the unknown 6th person, while Erik was matched with Ole Rkke, who was on Isaac''s list of defensive specialists. Isaac looked on as the fights began. Chapter 102: A Fierce Group Chapter 102: A Fierce Group Isaac was quite surprised. He thought this was going to be apetitive group, but all 3 fights ended quickly. Eva dispatched her opponent without much suspense, rushing in from the start and putting them on the back foot until they could no longer endure her pressure. Erik won with even less room for doubt. His opponent was crushed beneath his fists before 30 seconds could even pse. Until now, Isaac had fought in a conservative manner and keep some cards hidden. It seemed that Erik was taking the opposite approach: he was going all-out and eliminating his opponents in a sh. That way, people didn''t have much time or data to analyse his fighting technique. Erik and Eva''s violent, entertaining styles made them instant crowd favourites. Both received loud cheers, whistles and shouts upon winning. Eva ignored the cheers with a cold expression, but Erik looked into the crowds and sneered. He even mouthed something rude at the fans, inciting several jeers and immediately reversing their opinion of him. Having reversed the atmosphere, Erik smiled. He fed off their negative energy; it energised him. However, other than various curses, Isaac also overheard people muttering. "I hear that Erik Baldur is a pretty big deal. Apparently, the Aalto faction has already recruited him." "What?! That''s unheard of! One of the 4 great factions recruited a no-name Rank 1?" "No-name? You must be living under a rock. Erik''s made quite the name for himself in this very Ring of Life and Death. He''s repeatedly fought above his cultivation stage and already be one of the ring''s highest rated Rank 1 diators. I was here when he slew a Rank 2 wild beast! Granted, it was an Infantile Frost Sprite and there were some restrictions on it, but it was impressive nheless. He''s easily the favourite for this year''s tournament!" The man''s conversation partner whistled, then spoke lightly, "You''re right, that is impressive." ************************* It didn''t take long for group G to fight, and soon it was group H''s turn. Isaac was pitted against lea Jrvinen, a woman with an athletic build and a sharp, stern face. Her nose was thin and pointed, sticking out from her face quite conspicuously. It made Isaac recall the information Abbie had given him yesterday. He held that information in his mind as he faced off against lea in the ring. Before they began, the referee had a word, "This bout willst until one of you is pushed out of the ring or your life is in danger, at which point I will save you and stop the fight. If the fight does not end within 5 minutes, I will stop it and it will end as a draw." Few fights had gone the full 5 minute distance, and Isaac didn''t n on letting this drag so long either. He readied himself... "On your marks. Begin!" and sprang forwards. Most of the snow had been kicked out of the ring during previous fights, so he ran towards lea. The 2 met in the middle of the ring, and Isaac began with a ruthless swipe of his sword, immediately targeting the neck. However, a watery blue helmet immediately appeared around lea''s head. She ducked slightly, allowing the sword to hit her helm rather than her unprotected neck. The surface of the water rippled violently, but it did not break. In fact, Isaac could see the water beginning to extend downwards, starting to cover lea''s neck as well. He was familiar with this Anima: it was the Aqua Circlet Anima. However, he''d never expected lea to possess it, since you could always see the Anima present as a circlet around the user''s head, even when it wasn''t in use. lea had hidden it well using her long brown hair. The wateryyer of protection continued to expand, and Isaac knew it would eventually cover her entire torso. He wanted to strike right away, but he couldn''t. He backed off a bit and exhaled sharply. He''d been holding his breath when he approached lea, so he took 2 deep breaths now and then ran towards her again. The Aqua Circlet''s protection already covered lea''s shoulders, so Isaac shed towards her midriff. lea leapt backwards to avoid it, but she was ying right into Isaac''s hands. He had already anticipated the direction she would dodge, so he continued his forwards momentum and struck with his the hilt of his sword. He targeted lea''s eye, which was not protected by the water helmet. lea reacted quickly, tilting her head so Isaac''s strike bounced off helmet. However, Isaac''s arm was now angled across her face, blocking her line of sight. She tried to back away, but she didn''t see Isaac flick his wrist and spin his de towards her stomach. The tip was inches away from her when she saw it and threw herself backwards in desperation. She rolled to the floor, and Isaac wanted to pounce to finish her off, but he couldn''t. A very very thin mist was beginning to hang in the air. In fact, Isaac wouldn''t have noticed it if he didn''t already suspect its existence. Instead of pursuing lea, Isaac had to back away again. He got out of the mist''s range, then took several gasping breaths. Abbie''s information truly was crucial. She hadn''t said anything about the Aqua Circlet Anima, but she had informed Isaac about lea''s Fatal Fog Anima, which allowed her to breath thin, poisonous gas out of her nose. This gas was high in water content, and hung like mist or fog wherever it was released. Isaac had suspected lea would have a healing Anima to prevent herself being poisoned, but the Aqua Circlet Anima did the job just as well. The part of its helmet which covered the mouth would only let gas through. It wouldn''t let moisture through, and that protected lea from her own Fatal Fog Anima, since it was actually the moisture in the fog which was poisonous. After Isaac took some more breaths, he held his breath and rushed in again. lea was already back on her feet and prepared to meet him. He feinted one way and struck the other, but lea read him. She blocked the strike with her upper arm, which was now covered in water armour. However, she didn''t realise what was under her feet. Isaac had pushed her back towards one of thest patches of snow remaining on the ring. He quickly activated the Snowshoe Anima, and lea had no time to react as he darted to her side. She tried to spin, but Isaac''s de was already at the small of her back. The only thing stopping the de severing her spine was a thinyer of light obviously the work of the referee. "Winner: Isaac Dahl!" As soon as Isaac heard this, he darted backwards and let out a gasp. He sucked in mouthfuls of crisp spring air, gazing calmly at lea. She returned his gaze with a disappointed nce, then deactivated both her Anima with a sigh. She walked over and held out a hand, "Well fought." Isaac shook it firmly, "You too." Then the pair stood ringside to watch the other fights. Well, the other fight Hayden had already won his contest, surprisingly beating Dan Falkanger. Isaac just turned in time to see the final fight end. Eliott Gunn, a wiry man in a thick white top, raised his right arm confidently. His palm spewed out a powerful st of wind and knocked his helpless opponent out of the ring. After seeing that the fight was over, Isaac walked back to his seat along with lea. Just as they did so, the official spoke up. The participants, all thought he was going to announce the end of today''s fighting, but this was not the case, "We will now begin the second round of group battles! Those from group A, pleasee forwards..." The official called out the group A matchups, and each contestant found their ces in one of the rings. The crowd cheered raucously at the official''s announcement, and many people started cheering the name of their favourite group A contestant. Many people cheered for Cami, and a few shouted Gerd''s name. However, Isaac did not hear anybody supporting Johan. That was quite ironic, as Isaac''s vice-captain defeated the fan-favourite Cami with rtive ease. The crowd hissed and booed as the beautiful Cami hobbled off the stage with an injured leg. Meanwhile, Johan''s face flushed with anger. I''ve just put on a great performance for you, but you don''t appreciate it! You even hiss and boo at me! He was infuriated and swore wildly at the crowd. This caused the hissing and jeering to grow dramatically louder. Johan even got locked in an argument with a group of front row supporters. After an exchange of bickering and swearing, a referee had to pull him away and shout at him to go back to his seat. Johan reluctantly listened. After that, nothing interesting happened until group F fought again. Of course, Isaac observed all the contestants and wrote about each of them in his notepad, but group F was the only one which truly interested him. This time Erik was fighting Mari Mller, who''d won her first fight. Meanwhile, Eva was fighting the man who''d lost to Erik and the 2 other losers were also fighting each other. Isaac paid little mind to thest fight and alternated his focus between the other 2. Once again, Erik won his fight very quickly. However, at least Mari put up a better fight than hisst opponent. In order to eliminate her quickly, Erik had to stop suppressing the quality of his Qi. After he revealed his upper stage cultivation, he quickly crushed Mari''s defences and injured her with a crushing blow to the stomach. Isaac was surprised but not shocked. Even with a significant amount of resources probably more than any other neer he had barely reached upper stage. The fact that Erik could match his cultivation was mildly surprising, even though Erik had higher talent than him. Oh well, everybody had their own methods of obtaining resources; it seemed that Erik''s was risking his life in the Ring of Life and Death. At the end of the day what mattered was who fought better, not who had higher cultivation. While Isaac was lost in thought, he nearly missed the conclusion of Eva''s fight. Eva had managed to trick her opponent and, instead of trading blows like usual, had used her movement Anima to dodge a blow at thest moment. Then she''d delivered a potentially fatal blow in the opening left by her opponent, and the referee had to save him. As for the fight between the 2 losers... it was extremely boring and conservative. The match dragged the whole 5 minutes and ended in a draw. After 3 more fights, it was Isaac''s turn to take the stage again. This time he was up against Daniel (or Dan) Falkanger, who''d been defeated by Hayden. He obviously didn''t take the loss very well, and mes of fury were streaming from his round, bird-like eyes. This showed his determination, but it also represented a weakness. Dan was desperate to win the fight, since it seemed unlikely somebody could lose twice and still reach the next stage. He pressed Isaac hard right from the start of the fight, and Isaac was nearly forced to use his upper stage cultivation to beat him. However, he steeled his determination and preserved. He only used middle-level Qi to block the man''s furious barrage of attacks. After 2 minutes of precariously defending, Isaac managed to memorise some of Dan''s attack patterns. Dan had the terrible habit of repeating certain patterns during his reckless onught. However, the next time he used this one, Isaac picked out an opening and decisively ended the fight with his very first attack. Afterwards, Daniel was furious. He punched the ground hard, then shouted at the referee to say he hadn''t been defeated and could continue to fight. He even rushed at Isaac to try and continue their battle, but something whizzed in front of him and embedded itself in the ground centimetres from his toes. This was the referee''s way of warning Daniel not to take another step. Isaac''s strike would''ve certainly been a fatal one had the referee not blocked it. There was no doubt as to who had won the fight, and Dan knew this as well. He was just clutching at straws. The Full Moon Sect was a prideful ce, so the crowd disliked his shameful disy. They began booing violently. After being stopped by the referee, Dan calmed down slightly and realised what a fool he was making of himself. He sighed dispiritedly, knowing that he wouldn''t make it out of the group after losing his first 2 matches. His head drooped and his eyes went slightly red he''d harboured such high hopes for this tournament. Now he cut a very forlorn figure as he walked back to the stands. Meanwhile, Isaac nced over at the other 2 rings. They were empty. Hayden and lea had already won their fights. Seeing that, Isaac returned to the stands as well. Chapter 103: Haydens Chance for Revenge Chapter 103: Hayden''s Chance for Revenge Well, he went to return to the stands, but stopped when he heard the official sitting at the announcer''s table, "Today''s battles are finished. The group stage fights will continue tomorrow, so please arrive on-time." Isaac nced up into the sky where a sea of white words shimmered. They were the group stage tables. He saw that Johan was joint 3rd in his group, Eva and Erik were tied at the top of group F, and he and Hayden led group H on 4 points each. He scribbled down all the tables in his notepad, then headed home. ************************* The next day, Isaac was back at the Ring of Life and Death. The first round of fights passed quite easily for him: his opponent was weaker than both lea and Daniel, so he dispatched them quite easily. However, he continued to only show the tip of the iceberg. He diluted his Qi until it was at the level of middle stage, and he didn''t use the Nihility Intent Anima. He even fought with a very ''ssical'' sword style, not using his left hand to strike at the opponent. Other notable things included Johan''s second victory, and Daniel Falkanger not even turning up, meaning he lost by default. However, the fight between Eva and Erik was easily the morning''s most significant event. Isaac reyed the scenes in his head... Eva and Erik faced each other in the ring. The moment the referee gave the signal to begin, she used her movement Anima to bolt forwards and seize the initiative. She rushed at Erik as the whole crowd chanted her name, and her palms glowed an aggressive blue. Meanwhile, a pair of violet metal gauntlets enveloped Erik''s hands and a smirk covered his face. He also shed head on with Eva and the 2 engaged in a savage close-ranged brawl. Hand-to-hand fights such as this were usually decided within a few moves, so most people expected Eva to win once she attacked first and seized an advantage. Sheunched a flurry of attacks mixed with feints, threatening to eliminate Erik immediately. In fact, the referee was on the verge of stepping in and saving him. Just two strikes. Two precise, heavy-handed blows. That was all it took Erik to demolish Eva''s interweaving web of deadly attacks. The first attack was aimed at her wrist as she tried to strike him. He''d perfectly read her attack, and his gauntlet smashed into her wrist, causing her hand to crunch backwards at an unnatural angle. While Eva was trapped in a moment of pain and shock, Erik''s second strike arrived swiftly. A great overarm punch connected with the side of Eva''s head, sending her flying back. At the side of the ring, a bead of cold sweat ran down the referee''s temple. If he was just a momentte, Eva''s skull would''ve been crushed and it would''ve been his responsibility. Thankfully, he''d reacted in time to Erik''s lightning-quick counterattack... Isaac opened his eyes, ceasing to recall the fight. Eva had gone to get treated after that, but what was truly important was Erik''s shocking disy of might. Isaac knew Eva was not an easy opponent from their spars, but Erik had seen through her moves like they were ss, then shattered them with a single punch. One punch to break the wrist, a second to defeat his opponent. It was cold, ruthless and effective: 3 qualities which made a great fighter. Isaac gazed downwards at the open notepad in his hands. He poured over the tournament tree drawn there and plotted his optimal course... However, his thoughts were interrupted by the official announcing, "Group A will now fight again. Pleasee down to the stage." Another round of fights began and Johan drew this time. He was now on 5 points after 4 fights, putting him second in his group. However, he shared that position with the person he''d just drawn against. Later, in group F, Erik steamrolled his opponent. Eva had also returned and won despite her broken wrist. However, it was a rather pyrrhic victory as it was a fierce fight and she picked up more injuries. At least she had 6 points now, putting her behind Erik''s 8 and ahead of 3rd ce''s 4. Soon it was group H''s turn again. "Group H, pleasee down to the stage. Isaac Dahl will fight Hayden Stromberg in ring 1..." Isaac walked directly towards ring 1 after hearing his name get called. He and Hayden''s paths converged before they reached the ring, and Hayden whispered a few choice words into Isaac''s ear, "I still remember you, so don''t think you''ll get off lightly. I''ll break your face so badly even your mother wouldn''t be able to recognise you though I doubt vermin can recognise their offspring anyway. At least, not if they''ve never met before." Hayden snickered, but Isaac''s expression remained a picture of tranquillity. It was as still as ake on a breezeless afternoon. After failing to get a reaction, Hayden didn''t hurl more insults. He dropped the mockery and spoke in a vicious tone instead, "Fine. Let''s settle this in the ring, then. In a minute''s time, you''ll be getting carried away in a stretcher." People usually talked big to hide their own nerves or insecurities. Isaac could tell Hayden was quite tense as they separated and walked to opposite sides of the ring. However... he wouldn''t mind Haydenughing a little longer so long as he didn''tughst. After all, sometimes one had to lose battles to win the war. Isaac didn''t have any more time for thoughts, though. "On your marks. Begin!" Isaac walked forwards slowly, while Hayden sprinted into the centre of the ring. He wanted to take control of the fight, while Isaac nned to defend and counter like he had done against Daniel Falkanger. However, Hayden had watched most of that fight. He knew not to be careless when attacking Isaac, so he continued to approach Isaac slowly. Isaac had to run to his right to avoid being trapped in a small part of the ring, but Hayden responded quickly. He also moved around the ring, keeping Isaac trapped. Eventually, Isaac stopped running. Since he was on the outside of the ring, he had to run further than Hayden to achieve the same result. Continuing like this would simply wear him out. He couldn''t keep running around the ring, but he also wouldn''t wait until Hayden trapped him. He sprinted forwards to engage with his opponent. A translucent orange sword appeared in Isaac''s left hand, while a shield of ice suddenly formed in the air in front of Hayden. He was also tightly gripping a cylinder of ice in his right hand. Both sides of the cylinder extended rapidly. In just a few moments, the cylinder had extended into a long rod of ice which Hayden held with both hands. One end of the ice rod was shaped into a deadly sharp tip. Hayden angled this tip towards Isaac. Isaac immediately recognised it as the Permafrost Pike Anima. It was sharp, had good range for a melee Anima, and possessed a slight freezing effect for whatever it hit. This effect was nowhere near as strong as Eva''s freezing palms, but it was dangerous nheless. The Permafrost Pike''s key disadvantage was the weakness of its body. The icy rod itself was not too strong, and Isaac might be able to cut it with some clever swordsmanship. He tried to do exactly that. The pair shed, and Hayden used the superior range of his pike to keep Isaac at bay. He shed and jabbed, trying to wound Isaac. However, Isaac was too mobile. He repeatedly evaded Hayden''s attacks, shing at the body of the spear whenever he had an opening. Unfortunately, none of these attacks worked. Hayden was using quite an unusual tactic: his ice shield floated around the spear, protecting it from Isaac''s attacks. Whenever he targeted the spear''s body, the shield would fly in from nowhere and block the attack with a *ng*. Isaac''s attacks would slice great splinters of ice out of the shield. However, the shield would recover after a moment or two. Hayden just had to feed the Ice Shield Anima some Qi and it would mend itself. The two were stuck in an impasse: Hayden couldn''t strike the agile Isaac, but Isaac couldn''t destroy Hayden''s pike. He also couldn''t get close and injure Hayden directly, since the pike would stop him whenever he tried to. However, Isaac began to notice some slight ws in Hayden''s spearmanship. Whenever he shed, Hayden''s movements would be slightly too exaggerated and leave a gap. Just as the fight began to settle into a slow-paced deadlock, Isaac took a risk. He dodged a swipe from Hayden, then dashed forwards. The pike changed directions and swiped towards his side, but Isaac used his sword hilt to hit the pike''s body. He knocked it downwards, pushing it down into the earth. Then he raised the sword and grabbed it with both hands, pushing it towards Hayden''s head. He realised something was off at thest moment. Hayden''s expression was confident instead of panicked, and Isaac caught movement in the corner of his eye. He immediately twisted his de, using it to protect the side of his head. *CRASH* A shield of ice hurtled into Isaac''s head. He just about manged to block it, but the impact sent him flying and the sound of the collision made his ears ring. He quickly tried to get his bearings, and saw a pike piercing towards him. He rolled to the side, and the pike stabbed the earth beside his head. He kicked the pike''s body, trying to get it out of the user''s hands. However, his kick wasn''t strong enough. Hayden kept his grip on the pike and pulled it out of the ground. Then he lunged towards Isaac again. Isaac threw himself backwards, and the spear punctured the ground between his legs. He scrambled to his feet, but the spear had already been withdrawn and readied. The sharp end thrust at his stomach before he could get his bnce. Isaac couldn''t dodge properly. He could only roll backwards and try to escape. He rolled, sprung to his feet, and brandished his sword. But... Hayden wasn''ting after him? He just stood there, smirking at Isaac. Isaac looked around in confusion. Just in front of him was a white line, curving around in a circle. It was the line which marked the edge of the ring. Chapter 104: The Groups Conclude Chapter 104: The Groups Conclude "Winner: Hayden Stromberg!" The referee''s announcement wasn''t particrly loud, but it sounded deafening to Isaac. Even the loud cheers and shouts of the crowd couldn''t drown it out. However, what kind of person was Isaac? Could he not endure a loss? Disappointment clouded his eyes for a moment, but it was quickly blown away by gusts of determination. He had ns, he had strength, and most importantly, he had a hidden hand. These were great assets in the tournament, and Isaac was confident despite his loss. In fact, you could even say this loss made him more confident. He gazed up at the smirking Hayden. His eyes were calm but hard, staring directly at the man who had bested him. Every detail was captured by Isaac''s gaze; nothing could escape his attentive inspection. Hemitted Hayden''s appearance to memory: it was the appearance of a foe who would not be allowed to beat him a second time. Hayden felt Isaac''s gaze. It felt unnatural. In fact, this whole fight felt slightly unusual, like something about it was... off. However, he shrugged off his suspicions he''d already won, so it was pointless to doubt anything else. He issued a mocking chuckle in Isaac''s direction but didn''t say anything. Then he turned on his heel, the in his hands melting as he walked towards the stands. Meanwhile, Isaac turned his gaze towards the other rings. Daniel Falkanger hadn''t turned up, so there was only one other fight. lea was in ring 2 against Vera Andersson, the only person Isaac hadn''t fought yet. The fact that the fight had continued until now showed that it was close, but Isaac saw that lea was slightly on top. After several more exchanges, she finally forced an opening. She had worked hard to create this chance, so she wouldn''t miss it. Just as Vera tried to retreat from lea''s poison mist and take a breath, lea hit her in the side. Vera gasped, inhaling a mouthful of poison. From that moment onwards, the fight was decided. After watching lea eventually emerge victorious, Isaac went back to the stands. He sat down and stared into the sky, looking at the table for his own group. 1 Hayden Stromberg 8 points 2 Isaac Dahl 6 points 3 lea Jrvinen 6 points 4 Vera Andersson 4 points =5 Olivia Berg 0 points =5 Daniel Falkanger 0 points He was ahead of lea since he''d beat her in their fight. However, she could very well overtake him if he didn''t win his next fight. Fortunately, he was fighting Vera Andersson while she had to fight Hayden. In fact, Isaac would go through so long as he beat Vera, regardless of the other fights'' results unless, perhaps, lea beat Hayden. That would result in a 3-way tie for 1st ce, and Isaac didn''t know how that would be settled. However, that was just a hypothetical scenario. He put it to the back of his mind and focused on noting down all 8 group tables. After that, he went home. When he was back home, Isaac analysed the tables and the tournament treeter. It was important to predict who was most likely to go through and adjust his ns ordingly. He inspected the tournament tree: it had 8 branches or 4 brackets on the left, and the same number on the right. Each branch had a title such as ''group A victor'' or ''group B runner-up'', and each bracket had two branches. One branch would be a ''victor'' and the other would be a ''runner-up''. He read the top left bracket of the tree, ''Group C victor vs group H runner-up''. Then his eyes flitted to the bracket second from bottom on the right, ''Group H victor vs group A runner-up''. If Isaac came second in group H, he would probably have to fight Erling Thorgard. Erling had won all his fights in group C and seemed to be a powerful warrior. On the other hand, if he won his group, Isaac mighte up against Johan in the first round of the knockout stages. Of course, he might end up fighting somebody different, but Isaac didn''t view anyone in group A as a threat, let alone their second ce. However, Isaac''s gaze was inescapably drawn downwards. The tournament tree''s bottom right bracket said, ''Group F victor vs Group B runner-up''. If Isaac won his group and his first knockout match, he would probably have to fight Erik in the quarter finals. On the other hand, he wouldn''t meet Erik until the finals if he came 2nd in his group. Isaac''s loss to Hayden worked threefold: first, it would cause his future opponents to underestimate him; second, it allowed him to keep some hidden cards such as his upper stage cultivation and Nihility Intent Anima; third, it would stop him running into Erik (who was almost certainly his toughest opponent) until the finals. Isaac didn''t fear Erik, but avoiding him was an intelligent decision. If they fought earlier, Isaac could get injured or expose some hidden cards early in the tournament, causing him to be eliminated in the next fights. Worse still, he could even be eliminated in the quarter finals. That was why Isaac chose to aim for the runner-up position rather than the spot of group victor. Now, however, he had to pay close attention to Erling Thorgard and the other fighters he could face after that. ************************* Today was the 6th day of the neers'' tournament and thest round of the group battles. Isaac watched the fights more intensely than ever, selecting a few people to pay close attention to. In group A, Alf Pinson won again. He topped the group with 9 points: 4 wins and a draw. Johan also won, putting him on 7 points. He was tied second with Gerd Waaler they''d drawn against each other earlier, so even the head-to-head couldn''t separate them. Erling Thorgard steamrolled today''s opponent as well, giving him a perfect 10 points to win group C. Meanwhile, Erik won and Eva drew in group F. Erik achieved a perfect 10 points, while Eva finished 2nd with 7. However, she was still badly injured. She was against quite an easy opponent today, but she''d only drawn by dodging around the ring and ying for time, which wasn''t like Eva at all. She was quite lucky her opponent didn''t possess a movement Anima. Back in group H, Isaac dispatched Vera with just a slight difficulty. Then he turned to watch the raging battle between Hayden and lea. Actually, the fight was rather disadvantageous to lea. Hayden managed to stay around the edges of her poisonous mist and jab at her with his permafrost pike. Since the fog was her only method of attack, she could only passively take his hits with the Aqua Circlet Anima. However, things got even worse here. After a while, the pike had managed to freeze a small portion of lea''s water armour. The armour would usually dissipate the force of strikes by spreading them out as ripples, distributing the force across the entire armour. However, it couldn''t do this after being frozen. In fact, it was brittle and weak. lea desperately tried to avoid getting hit in the frozen area, but that just led to her being struck more in other ces. Eventually, the water armour froze in multiple spots and lea couldn''t protect all of them. Hayden hit one of the frozen patches, shattering it and breaking her armour. The Aqua Circlet Anima had taken too much damage; itpletely dissipated, returning to its form as a golden circlet around lea''s head. Its gold colour was much duller than before andcked its previous lustre. lea was helpless with no defences. She managed to dodge one strike, but the next would''ve reaped her life. The referee had to save her. When the referee announced that she''d lost, lea breathed a deep sigh. Her shoulders sagged, as if she was carrying her own heavy disappointment upon her back. Like this, she returned to the stands. Isaac also walked back. Even though the fights had ended, today''s proceedings were not over. He sat down and looked at the tables in mid-air. However, they suddenly vanished! Instead, he caught a glimpse of a figure floating down from the top of the colosseum. It could only be the elder. The elder did notnd; she remained about a house''s height above the stage. While she floated, she announced, "The group stages are over, and I would like to begin by congratting Alf Pinson," she listed the 8 group winners, "... and Hayden Stromberg. All of you have performed excellently. To those of you who ced second, congrattions are still in order. However, you won''t make it far in the next stage if you keep performing like this. I advise all of you to push your very limits in the next round ofpetition. "That does bring me on to the knockout stages. I''m sure you all know they begin tomorrow, so rest well and prepare. This year''s knockouts will be fought in the form of duels. In each round you will fight three 1-minute-long duels; winning 2 will of course mean you win the matchup. If a duelsts the whole minute, the referee will judge who won it, but if the referee has to block a potentially fatal strike for a participant... that participant will lose the entire round, regardless of whether they''re 2 0 up, or whether it''s the very first duel. It''s a reminder that, even in a losing position, there''s always the possibility of reversing the situation. "That will be all. I look forwards to seeing you all tomorrow." The elder floated back up towards her private box. Meanwhile, the official at the announcer''s table had something else to say, "Those of you who are tied for 1st or 2nd ce, pleasee down to the stage. You will now fight each other to determine who takes the spot." Several participants including Johan had been waiting for this. They all walked down to the stage and took their ces in the rings. Johan was facing Gerd Waaler, a stocky 5''9 woman with bulging muscles and a harsh, rugged face. After Gerd''s tactics had been exposed in her first win, fights had be significantly more difficult for her. She''d managed to draw with Johan before by blocking or dodging his icicles until time ran out, but she couldn''t get anywhere near enough for the steam from her ice armour to intoxicate him. All in all, she had no method of hurting Johan who attacked from range and possessed a movement Anima. This fight began in a simr manner. In fact, it started in almost exactly the same way. Gerd chased Johan around the ring, but he easily avoided her with his movement Anima. He would stop, fire several icicles, then continue moving again. After 5 minutes, Gerd''s ice armour was noticeably damaged. This was the same as theirst fight, but theirst fight had been dered a draw at this point. Unfortunately for Gerd, today''s tiebreaker fight didn''t have a time limit. The fight continued until somebody won. Johan continued to pepper Gerd with icicles. Both began to run out of Qi, but Gerd''s situation was far worse than Johan''s. Maintaining and fixing a set of armour required much more Qi than firing icicles. After all, the Ice Fragment Anima didn''t consume much Qi to begin with. After 10 minutes of fighting, Gerd''s Qi was finished. The fight was over. Meanwhile, the other tiebreaker fights had already ended. Johan''s victory could be considered as the group stages'' true conclusion. Chapter 105: Onwards! The Knockout Stage Chapter 105: Onwards! The Knockout Stage After watching these fights, all the participants went home. Of course, they left with mixed emotions: some were jubnt, while the majority was dispirited. Isaac was neither. He was supremely m. After all, reaching thest 16 was nothing to get excited about. He had greater goals in mind. ************************* Most of the others arrived earlier than Isaac the next day. When he looked around, he saw 11 other contestants. Many of them eyed him up, guessing how strong he was. However, Isaac ignored them. Instead, he turned his gaze upwards. The group tables which hung in mid-air had vanished, but the tournament tree shone much brighter than before. Titles such as ''Group A winner'' had also been reced with the participants'' names, making the tree much easier to follow. Isaac''s gaze was drawn to the tree''s top left bracket: Erling Thorgard vs Isaac Dahl Isaac already knew he would be fighting Erling, so he''d bought some information from Abbiest night. Unfortunately, it didn''t tell him anything he didn''t already know. From watching Erling, he''d seen the man use 2 Anima: Pool Of Needles Anima and Kilo Fist Anima. The former was a defensive Anima. It created arge circle of water in mid-air, and any attacks which hit the ''pool'' would cause water to ssh out. This wasn''t normal water: its droplets were sharp and needle-like, and they would fly out with equal force to the force of the attack which the pond blocked. It was truly an excellent defensive Anima, but it also had weaknesses. A pool could not be created instantly, taking half a second to create. The ponds weren''t too big either, and could only block a limited area. Erling''s second Anima was the one he used the most. The Kilo Fist Anima aided attacks. Each time he hit something, it would add 1 kilo of force to his hits. That might not sound like much, but the effect stacked so long as the Anima was active. After 20 hits, his punches would have an additional 20kg of force. After 50 hits, they would have an additional 50kg. If a fight dragged on for 10 minutes like Johan''s had yesterday, imagine how many punches he could throw. Imagine how much strength he could umte! However, umtion time was one of the Anima''s weaknesses. He wouldn''t be able to build up much strength during three 1-minute duels. There was a saying from a famous strategist: ''If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.'' When Isaac heard the official call, "Erling Thorgard and Isaac Dahl, please take the stage for the first duel." It was this saying which gave him great confidence. He walked down, shoulder-to-shoulder with the tall, muscr, blond-haired Erling. However, they did not speak to or even look at one another. The atmosphere was icy as they entered the ring. The crowd around them was screaming and the colosseum had an electric air to it, but the ring seemed to be isted in its own tense bubble of space. The two stood less than 5 metres from one another in the small ring. They were both slightly crouched, ready to spring into action. "On your marks. Begin!" This was the day''s first fight and there was ample snow around the ring. Isaac activated the Snowshoe Anima and shot forwards, a sword appearing in his hand. On the other side of the ring, Erling stood his ground. There was no visual effect, but Isaac guessed he''d already activated the Kilo Fist Anima. Suddenly, the space in front of Erling changed. A vertical circle appeared at stomach height and Isaac could see a deep pool of water within the circle. However, the apparent ''deepness'' of the pool was an optical illusion. It was in fact paper thin. Isaac slowed down when he saw the water circle appear. He didn''t know why Erling had activated the Pool Of Needles Anima so early, so he reduced his speed and stayed cautious. This was just as well, since Erling did something utterly unexpected. He stood behind the pool, wrapped his fist around the side, and hit it. He withdrew his fist quickly as drops of needle water flew forwards. Isaac quickly dodged the needle rain. However, another volley of sharp needles came flying again. Erling continued to pound the pool of water like a drum and water needles continuously flew at Isaac. The strategy was extremely ingenious: using a defensive Anima to create a ranged attacking effect. However, it was extremely hard for Erling to aim these volleys. They were all inurate, and Isaac dodged them while continuing to approach. After several volleys, the pool of water had dried up. There was no water left and it quickly vanished. By this time, Isaac was almost on top of Erling. *Sheen* His sword swung through the air, ruthlessly attacking the man''s neck. However, Erling was equal to it. He ducked under Isaac''s de and aimed a punch at his torso. Isaac quickly changed directions with the Snowshoe Anima. He evaded the punch and tried to get behind Erling. Erling spun to face him, but he was ever-so-slightly off bnce. Isaac thrust with his sword, but Erling predicted the strike. A small pool of water appeared in mid-air and Isaac''s sword struck that instead. There was an explosion. All the pool''s water sprung out towards Isaac, while the pool itself dried up and disappeared. A great storm of needle droplets bore down on Isaac. He wanted to destroy all the droplets with his Nihility Intent Anima, then attack the defenceless Erling. However, that was not a favourable option. He felt he could win this fight without revealing the Nihility Intent Anima. Isaac brandished his sword to protect his head while retreating. He blocked some droplets and dodged many, but arge number still struck him. They tore his coat to shreds and dug into his skin. Isaac began bleeding lightly from countless spots on his body. However, the pain didn''t bother him. Instead, this was an opportunity to surprise Erling. He hadn''t retreated far. As soon as the needle rain ended, he sprung forwards before Erling could try anything else. Unfortunately for him, Erling had already created another pool and was beating it like a drum again. More needle droplets flew at Isaac, and he had to dodge them while approaching. He was agile enough not to get hit again, and he reached Erling before the pool dried up. Two pools couldn''t be active at the same time, so this gave Isaac a better opportunity to attack. His de darted forwards in a snake-like motion, seemingly aimed at Erling''s shoulder. The de was slightly slow, and Erling moved to bat it downwards. That way he could break Isaac''s guard andunch an offensive of his own. s... fighting Isaac wasn''t so easy. The path of Isaac''s de suddenly changed. It curved right, attacking Erling''s chest instead. Erling reacted at thest moment and drew his other arm across his chest to protect himself. de vs bone. Isaac had seen this scenario many times, but there had only ever been 1 winner. Isaac''s sword cut clean through Erling''s forearm. He severed it halfway between the elbow and wrist. There was a moment of stunned silence, as even the audience held their breath. Isaac could hear the severed armnd with a dull thud, then the crowd erupted. He couldn''t even make out whether they were cheering or booing. It was just loud. Isaac did his best to ignore themotion and focus on the fight. Severing Erling''s arm had taken all the force out of his strike, and his sword barely made it to Erling''s chest. The fight wouldn''t be official over until he dealt a ''fatal'' blow. Of course, that was just a formality. He delivered a merciless jab to Erling''s forehead, but a thin film of bubbles protected him. It was obviously the referee''s work. "Isaac Dahl has dealt a fatal blow. There is no need for more duels: he is the victor!" The cheers around the stadium intensified. A medic rushed over to stabilise Erling''s condition, but that wasn''t any of Isaac''s concern. He returned to the stands just in time to hear the official call, "Can Tore Kolden and Eva Damsgaard please take the stage." Chapter 106: Unexpected Difficulties Chapter 106: Unexpected Difficulties There were 7 fights after Isaac''s, beginning with Tore vs Eva. Tore wasn''t an outstanding contestant, but anybody who made it this far was very strong. Eva simply couldn''tpete with her broken wrist and other injuries: she lost 3 0. Of course she was disappointed, but it wasn''t that bad. The sect gave medium-sized prizes to those who reached the group stages, but the real prizes started when one entered the knockouts. Eva had already profited significantly just by reaching this point. Isaac had also achieved his main goal. Everyone who reached the knockout stages was rewarded some time in the sect''s 1 star locations. After the tournament, Isaac could visit the 1 star library to look for clues about improving his talent. However, that didn''t mean Isaac would just give up on the tournament there were too many other gains to be had. The prizes increased exponentially with each stage you progressed to, and this was a huge chance for Isaac to earn cultivation resources. Isaac had just broken into Rank 1 upper stage, but he''d already set his eyes on Rank 2. A good performance was crucial since it would earn him a great deal of resources, providing him a springboard to push towards Rank 2. Simrly, an early loss would be fatal. A shortage of resources would significantly dy his cultivation and put him in a precarious position: more talented disciples such as Johan would leave him behind. If that happened, Isaac''s team would crumble. He would also lose his value to Lara and she would throw him away. She might even try to dispose of him to conceal her actions against Johan. Thus it was imperative that Isaac continued to win. With this in mind, he watched the following fights with rapt attention. It was crucial to identify threats and devise strategies to deal with them. Fight 3: Alf Pinson was fighting Liam Berg, the runner-up from group B. It was a close fight and nobody could deal a fatal blow, but Liam eventually won 2 1. Fight 4: Johan was defeated still carrying the injury Isaac had dealt him in training. He''d taken out a loan and paid for a healer, but he hadn''t been healedpletely and the damaged ribs still hampered him. Victory or loss was decided by fine margins at this level. Johan simply couldn''t ovee his injury and was hit by a fatal blow in duel 2. Fight 5: Nora Hoen won. The crowd disliked this fight since Nora used a will-style Anima. That meant the fight was more of a mental battle than a spectacr sh. Fight 6: this ended in a 3 0 victory for Alma Nelsen. It wasn''t that she was strong, just that her opponent was unusually weak perhaps they already had some hidden injuries. Fight 7: Hayden won the first duel by referee''s decision. In the second duel he used the Ice Shield Anima to block his opponent''s ranged attacks, then backed them into a corner and dealt a fatal blow with his pike. Fight 8: the fight was stopped after about 30 seconds. Erik''s opponent was tough and had a very thick defence, but it wasn''t enough. Erik''s purple gauntlets powered by his upper stage Qi shattered those defences without too much suspense. He broke his opponent''s ribs and very nearly copsed one of their lungs. After everybody had fought once, the elder descended from above. She gave them their obligatory congrattions, said some words to encourage those that had won, then left. When she was gone, the remaining contestants went home too. ************************* There were only 8 contestants left now. They all sat in the same row of seats right next to the stage, and there was an air of nervousness as Isaac sat down. However, that nervousness was only felt by the participants. The rest of the crowd was buzzing. The stands were packed out but it was actually quieter than yesterday. ''Buzzing'' was actually the perfect word to describe: people were chatting to their friends or reading matchday programs, eagerly anticipating the first fight. They wouldn''t have to wait long. The elder floated down to announce the start of the quarter finals. After she left, the official called out, "Isaac Dahl and Tore Kolden, please take the stage." Of course the 2plied. They came down to the stage and faced off with one another. Isaac had actually tried to buy information about Tore, but Abbie didn''t have any. This wasn''t unusual, since Abbie wasn''t omniscient. Just to be sure, Isaac visited an information dealer''s and tried to strike a deal with them. However... they didn''t have any information on Tore either! They did know his name, appearance and first Anima, but this wasmon knowledge, not information worth paying for! In fact, thecking information from the information broker made Isaac slightly apprehensive. However, apprehension wasn''t useful in battle so he cast it aside. "On your marks. Begin!" Isaac shot forwards, but Tore didn''t wait for him to get close. 3 arm-thick jets of water appeared in the air. In one quick motion, they all intertwined with each other, thenpressed like a spring which had been squashed. It hung there for half a moment. Then the triple jets shot forwards at incredible speed! Isaac dodged. He''d already predicted the projectile''s direction during the brief time it took to interweave andpress. ''This Tri-Jet Anima is the only one Tore''s used in the tournament so far. Its high attack power has let him win fights to this point, but I''m more agile than anybody he''s faced so far. Let''s see if this is all he''s got.'' Isaac kept moving forwards after dodging, but he saw the ground next to Tore glow bright white. While his attention was diverted, 3 more jets appeared. They twisted together,pressed, and then fired with great force and speed. However, the firing process just took too long. Isaac barely managed to dodge. Once he was out of danger, his gaze was drawn back to the glowing patch of earth. Except, it wasn''t glowing anymore. A strange creature had appeared in its ce. It had the body of a young seal, but the rubbery tail of a fish. It also had huge, bulbous eyes which were nearly half the size of its head. The eyes had no pupils and very little white around the edges they were filled by the creature''srge brown irises. Those saucer-like brown eyes stared at Isaac inquisitively, but then it suddenly snapped to look up at Tore. Tore pointed a meaty finger at Isaac, then thrust his fist forwards, motioning for the creature to attack. The creature... mewled softly and did nothing. Isaac saw that it didn''t pose a threat, so he darted forwards again. Tore sighed and more jets of water appeared in front of him. Twist,press, fire; it followed the same pattern. Isaac dodged easily, but then the strange creature gave azy p of its flipper, like it was pping some imaginary enemy. The triple jet suddenly curved and headed right at Isaac! He barely had any time to react. The Snowshoe Anima carried him back and to the right, but it wasn''t enough. The jets caught his left arm as he retreated. The powerful torrents of water buffeting his arm, pushing it back and twisting it sharply. There was a barely audible *pop* as Isaac''s shoulder was dislocated. He tried to push it back in, but Tore didn''t give him an opportunity to. More water jets were fired, bending in from all kinds of unpredictable angles. Isaac couldn''t pop his shoulder back in and he couldn''t approach Tore. His shoulder throbbed painfully as he danced, finding the eye of the veritable storm and escaping Tore''s onught. Isaac quickly gave up on popping his arm back in. He needed to retake the initiative, so a n rapidly took shape in his mind. He glided back to avoid 2 attacks which crossed in front of him, then he began to charge forwards into the gap they left *Phweep* The referee whistled sharply, then announced, "One minute is up. I judge Tore Kolden to have won the first duel!" Chapter 107: The First Class Talent Chapter 107: The First ss Talent Isaac heard this and sighed. He abruptly halted his charge towards Tore. "Hm!" He gave a short, loud grunt of pain as he forced his dislocated shoulder back into its socket. Then he walked to the side of the ring and sat down. The duels were fought in a best-of-three format, so he still had a chance. Even if he lost the next duel too, he could win in the 3rd by dealing a ''fatal blow'' (a blow which would''ve been fatal if the referees didn''t block it). This was how he''d beaten Erling and he was confident of doing it again, but he didn''t want to wait until the third duel. His mind worked hard, formting a n to ovee Tore. ''Use the Nihility Anima to destroy his attacks and create an opening which I can exploit? No. If I expose the Nihility Intent Anima this early, it''ll give me no trump cardster on. I''ll have no hope of winning the tournament. ''He''s got nothing protecting him at close range. I just need to get past these jets and into close quarters, but how? I have to kill that creature to stop it bending the water, which would let me dodge and get closer. But I don''t have any ranged methods, so I need to get closer to kill the creature. It''s a paradox!'' Isaac''s eyes dimmed momentarily, but then they lit up again. He had an idea. When he was done thinking, he got up. He did some stretches and light preparation for when the next fight started: Tore had been doing this since the duel ended. Neither wanted to let their muscles cool down or tighten up, since this would make them significantly less athletic. After a while, the referee stopped them, "Your three-minute break is over. Please return to the ring." Isaac and Toreplied. As they faced off in the ring, Isaac could see a slight smile on Tore''s lips. ''Good. It''ll be easier to surprise him if he''s confident.'' "On your marks. Begin!" This duel began the exact same way as the first. Isaac created a sword and charged forwards. Meanwhile, Tore used water jets to obstruct him while he summoned his unusual helper. The jets were much easier to dodge when they could only go in a straight line. Isaac rushed forwards while dodging them, trying to reach Tore before he could summon the creature. Unfortunately, he was a few steps too slow. The glowing white pentagram on the ground slowly faded as a seal-like creature with bulbous brown eyes and a fish tail appeared. It squeaked cutely. However, its actions were not cute at all. It waved its flippers, causing the water jets to bend and twist at fiendish angles. Isaac had to halt his progress, dodging and defending frantically. However, he didn''t retreat. It took all his skill to remain unharmed. Eventually, there was a slight gap between attacks. Tore was confident he''d cornered Isaac, so his fighting intensity unconsciously dropped. Isaac took full advantage of this gap. He cocked his arm back, giving it the force of a loaded spring. Then he extended his bent elbow and flung his sword with maximum power! The de glinted as it left his hand and drew a trajectory towards the strange seal-like creature. Tore panicked the moment he saw Isaac draw his arm back. He activated the Tri-Jet Anima as he jumped in front of the small creature, which was known as a Picot. He was ready to fire the jets and knock the sword out of mid-air, but he was stunned: as soon as it left Isaac''s hand, the sword rapidly faded then disappeared entirely! Isaac had also vanished! Actually, Isaac had merely taken advantage of the moment Tore looked away. He had activated the Snowshoe Anima and sped forwards. Before Tore could even react, a sword was already cutting at his throat. The referee managed to save his life, but the fight was over. The crowd cheered raucously as Isaac walked out of the ring. He wore afortable expression, relishing his victory. In contrast, Tore headed for the exit dejectedly. The audience had already forgotten all about him. Ultimately, the fight could only ever end in 2 ways. Either Tore kept Isaac at a distance for all 3 fights and won 3 0, or Isaac managed to get close and dealt a fatal blow. After all, Tore had no movement Anima or closebat abilities. Isaac could easily defeat him so long as he got past the storm of water jets. Isaac got close, so he won. It was as simple as that. He knew this, so he didn''t let the victory go to his head. He merely enjoyed it while walking back to the stands. The fight with Tore had already been pushed to the back of his mind by the time he sat down, and he was fully focused on the fights toe. Fight 2: Liam Berg was fighting Lukas Brink, who had eliminated Johan in the previous round. Isaac was extremely interested in this fight since he would be facing the winner tomorrow, but he was shocked by what he saw. Lucas Brink was in Rank 2! He simply used brute force to overpower Liam, crushing him beneath the overwhelming force of Rank 2 Qi and dealing a fatal blow in the first duel. Fight 3: Nora Hoen vs Alma Nelson. Alma Nelson was likely the weakest participant left (it was either her or Liam Berg) and Nora used her will-style anima to good effect. Alma couldn''t endure the formless attacks to her will and quickly lost. Fight 4: I say fight 4, but there wasn''t really a fight at all; Hayden surrendered the moment he entered the ring. He was in a team with Erik, so he was aware of the man''s strength and knew it was pointless to even try fighting him. Hayden''s surrender whipped the crowd into a frenzy. It was the most animated the stadium had got since the tournament had started, and several people hurled trash at Hayden. They might''ve even fired Anima at him if it weren''t for the no-Anima rule for spectators. Of course, Hayden was furious and Erik had to drag him away. Even while he was being pulled back, Hayden continued screaming profanities at the crowd. It looked like one big pantomime to Isaac. In fact, when he saw Hayden screaming at the crowd and offending Rank 2 and 3 cultivators left right and centre, he was rather d he hadn''t chosen this rash, foolish man as part of his team. Eventually, the drama with Hayden ended and everybody left. Today''s fights were done. Isaac didn''t go straight home. Instead, he secretly made his way to the Friberg residence. Johan had been eliminated from the tournament yesterday, so Isaac hade to discuss his payment for injuring him. Of course Isaac wouldn''t suffer a loss. He made sure he waspensated properly, just as Lara had promised. ************************* The following day, a new round of duels began. It was the semi-finals. Semi-final 1 was Isaac vs Lukas Brink. Semi-final 2 was Erik vs Nora Hoen. Lukas Brink was a Rank 2 cultivator! He was a 1st ss talent, so his cultivation speed was astonishing. He''d even been taught to fight by one of the sect''s officials, so hisbat ability wasn''tcking either. He would easily be Isaac''s toughest opponent so far. Meanwhile, Nora Hoen had an Anima which attacked the will. She would be different to all of Erik''s opponents and pose a unique threat to him. Maybe he would struggle in this matchup too. After all, this was the semi-finals! These were the 4 strongest neers that had passed the sect''s rigorous trials: none of them would be even a little bit weak! There were muttering in the stands as Isaac walked towards his seat, "Lukas is a Rank 2 cultivator! No matter what, there''s no way anyone can beat him." "Yeah the difference between Ranks is simply too huge. There''s no way Lukas won''t win the tournament." "It''s a bit boring now. Who''s he fighting today?" "Isaac Dahl. His swordy''s good and he seems like a solid fighter, but it''s a bit of a surprise he''s got this far. Lukas should walk it." "A surprise? I''ve been watching Isaac, and let me say you''re seriously underestimating him! He barely won against some of the weak people in his group; based on that, he shouldn''t have been strong enough to beat Erling or Tore. But he did! I bet Isaac Dahl''s hiding his strength and still has a lot more to show us!" "If Isaac''s so great, do you think he''ll beat Lukas?" "... No." "Exactly." All kinds of discussions were going on in the crowd, mostly about the Rank 2 Lukas, or Erik who had already been recruited by one of the 4 great factions. They were already anticipating the final between the 2 tomorrow, and almost nobody expected Isaac or Nora to win. Anyone who did think highly of Isaac or Nora was immediately dismissed as a fool andughed at by other spectators. "Isaac Dahl and Lukas Brink, please enter the ring." Isaac had to walk into the ring while enduring this kind of atmosphere. However, Isaac was well beyond the point of caring what others thought. He''d got into a lot of conflicts in the farm and endured a lot of criticism not constructive criticism, just sharp, spitefulments designed to crush his spirit. If he never learnt to block out that white noise, he would''ve never got strong enough to reach a semi-final. Isaac didn''t attach much importance to the crowd''s jabbering. He just focused on fighting his own fight, and stepped into the ring with a determined gaze. Lukas looked back at him with his own bright, confident eyes. He was a prodigy! It was his destiny to win the tournament and stand head and shoulders above his peers! This was Lukas'' own conviction. 2 young stars of the sect faced each other, ready to engage in fiercebat. "On your marks. Begin!" Chapter 108: Becoming a Fan Favourite! Chapter 108: Bing a Fan Favourite! Isaac didn''t jump forwards. He already knew Lukas'' Anima and battle style, so he could predict what the man would do. Seeing Isaac''s decision, Lukas smirked. His legs suddenly shrivelled up and elongated. His trousers tore, revealing 2 long, thin, scaly legs like the ones a seagull might possess but far longer. His shoes also tore, revealing webbed feet with 3 sharp ws each. The ws weren''t long, but their tips gleamed viciously. There was also a 4th hooked w on each of Lukas'' heels. The Stilt-Legged Anima let him transform with the legs of Stilt-Legged Seabird, an enormous bird with 4-and-a-half foot long legs. Its legs were long, powerful and possessed a powerful jumping ability,pensating for the Stilt-Legged Seabird''s inability to fly (due to its great weight). That jumping ability was even greater in Lukas'' hands due to being much lighter. He sprinted forwards to gain some momentum, then leapt high into the sky. As he began to descend towards Isaac, he kicked out. The limited sunlight shone off the hooked w on his heel, making it difficult to look at. Isaac dodged right with his Snowshoe Anima. Lukas couldn''t change directions in mid-air so he missed. Isaac swung his sword at the man as he crashed to the ground. *Crunch* *Crack* There were crackling noises as the de struck Lukas, but arge cloud of dust had been kicked up when Lukasnded; nobody could see what had happened. Suddenly, arge shape wasunched out of the dust cloud. It wasunched towards Isaac and he desperately blocked it with his spirit sword. His arms turned numb from the impact. Then he fled with the Snowshoe Anima. As the dust settled, Isaac could see Lukas there, smiling confidently. His coat was ripped where Isaac had cut him, but there was no blood. Through the rip, Isaac could see thick grey and white fur with clumps of ice stuck to it. The crunching sounds earlier was him breaking some of the ice, but he hadn''t damaged the fur. The fur was created by the Hoar Yak''s Coat Anima. It was a Rank 1 beast-style defensive Anima so, logically speaking, Isaac should''ve been able to damage it. However, it was being powered by Rank 2 Qi! This gave it a huge surge in power, making it difficult for Isaac to damage. There was a small standoff after this probing exchange. Some of the more astute spectators were surprised, "Didn''t Isaac just use upper stage Qi? I thought he was middle stage!" "He must''ve been hiding it. But it would be crazy to keep hidden cards in a fight like this: he has to go all-out." On the stage, Isaac grimaced. Lukas didn''t have a Rank 2 Anima or at least he hadn''t showed one and he didn''t possess an attacking Anima, so the fight should be winnable. However, the Stilt-Legged Anima posed a real problem. Not only was it effective for movement, but it also gave Lukas strong charges and dangerous ws, which could function as good attacking methods. All in all, he had few weaknesses. However, Isaac already had a n. He retreated to the other side of the ring and Lukas chased after him. *Phwoom* He leapt again, but forwards instead of upwards. He was propelled forwards like a bullet, using his own armour-covered body as a projectile. But this was a clumsy attack at least to Isaac, who used the highly agile Snowshoe Anima. He evaded the charge, then delivered a sword blow to the same area he''d struck before. Again, the fur shook and some ice broke, but Lukas was unharmed. He pursued as Isaac continued to retreat. Lukas had already realised jumping at Isaac was a foolish idea; Isaac would just dodge. He changed his tactics and approached more slowly, then engaged in closebat. There was limited space for Isaac to run in the small ring, so he was eventually forced to engage. High kick, spinning roundhouse, leg kick. Lukasunch abination of deadly kicks, attacking Isaac with the ws on his feet. Isaac tried to dodge and block, but it was difficult. Some strikes scraped him, cutting across his left calf or raking down his side and Isaac quickly umted injuries. Inparison, his strikes just bounced off Lukas'' thick hide. A thinyer of hair covered the ring''s floor and showed some damage had been done, but Isaac had only scratched the defences he was far from breaking them. Lukas'' attacks became more frenzied and dangerous as the fight continued, and Isaac was pushed into a precarious situation. However, "One minute is up. I judge Lukas Brink to have won the first duel!" The two separated and walked to the side of the ring. Lukas was unharmed, but his clothes were in tatters. Meanwhile, Isaac''s clothes were in tatters and drenched in blood. He had wounds all over his body, both shallow and deep, but none were in vital areas. His face was bright as he stepped out of the ring things were going to n. On the other hand, Lukas had a slightly disgruntled expression as he sat down ringside he was a proud genius who''d never experienced a setback. He couldn''t deal a fatal blow despite having superior cultivation, and that was uneptable. Still frowning, he popped a Basic Qi Pill into his mouth and sat down. His eyes shut tight and his expression began to ease as he tried to meditate. Seeing this, Isaac''s smile grew even wider. He walked past the referee and kept going to the edge of the stage. He stared out into the audience, lowered his arms, then swung them up into the air. He lowered them again, then swung them up powerfully again. He repeatedly gestured to the crowd, asking them to cheer louder and whipping them up into a frenzy. When the stadium was rocking, he went back to the ring. Lukas red harshly at him, obviously unable to meditate due to the noise, but Isaac ignored it. He sat down and started applying cream to his injuries which would slow the bleeding. He had many wounds, so meticulously applying the cream took a while. He was interrupted as he was treating his lightest injuries, "Your three-minute break is over. Please return to the ring." Both he and Lukas stood up and walked back to the ring. Lukas red at him with more spite and less confidence than before, but Isaac stared back calmly. Despite losing the first duel, he felt that he controlled the tempo of this fight. "On your marks. Begin!" Lukas'' legs transformed to get longer and thinner. He sprinted forwards with powerful, lengthy strides and quickly arrived in front of Isaac. Isaac noticed that he hadn''t activated the Hoar Yak''s Coat Anima, so he rapidly slid forwards and attacked with his sword. Lukas dodged with a step to the side, so Isaac slid past him and moved to the centre of the ring. Now he held the initiative and he relentlessly attacked with his sword. Lukas did his best to dodge, dive and counterattack without activating his defensive Anima. However, Isaac''s attacks were too fierce and precise. After 10 seconds of constant defending, he realised he was making no progress and ayer of thick, shaggy grey fur covered his body, poking out through the holes in his clothes. This hair wasn''t in great condition. Unlike most defensive Anima which were good-as-new once you reactivated them, the Hoar Yak''s Coat retained damage previously done to it. Nevertheless, it was still strong enough to resist Isaac''s attacks. Now that he had protection, Lukas began to disregard Isaac''s attacks andunched his own offensive. Isaac was back under the cosh. He spent most of his time dodging, some time blocking, and very little time counterattacking. Whenever he did counterattack, his sword would bounce right off the thick fur. Lukas asionally grimaced since he had to endure part of the attacks'' physical power, but the de could barely shave the fur: Isaac could only inflict bruises, not serious injuries or cuts. The fight continued like this. Isaac defended desperately. Whenever it looked like he was backed into a corner, he would somehow create an opening and wriggle away. Whenever it looked like he was going to be hit with a fatal blow, he would just about manage to block and endure Lukas had already broken his sword once. Whenever Lukas deactivated his defensive Anima to conserve Qi, Isaac wouldunch a flurry of attacks and force him to use it. Just like this, Isaac endured another round of beatings. Just as it looked like he would be trapped again, he was saved by the bell. "One minute is up. I judge Lukas Brink to have won the second duel: the score is now 2 0!" Isaac took onest nce at Lukas as they walked out of the ring. Lukas'' expression was anxious and worried, not how the victor''s expression should''ve been at all. In contrast, Isaac was neither pleased nor disappointed, despite being down 2 0. Things had deviated from the n and he''d suffered more injuries than expected, but the fight was still salvageable. He just had to deal a fatal blow in thisst round. Isaac saw Lukas trying to meditate again, so he went back to the edge of the stage. The crowd was extremely boisterous after 2 intense rounds of battle especially when they all thought it would end in 1. When they saw the blood-soaked Isaace and try to stir them up, they couldn''t help but cheer loudly. Everybody wanted him to make aeback! Which supporter didn''t like a dark horse or a shock upset?! Again, the noise made it impossible for Lukas to meditate or recover his Qi. He''d even wasted a Basic Qi Pill just trying to. Just like before, Isaac went back to applying cream on his injuries. He''d tried to limit the damage as much as possible, but his blood loss was getting slightly out of hand. It wouldn''t be long before it began to affect his performance. This time Isaac could only apply cream to half of his wounds. Many of the ones from the first round had reopened, but the referee didn''t give Isaac time to treat all of them. He called out mechanically, "Your three-minute break is over. Please return to the ring." And Isaac and Lukas obeyed like robots. Both walked to opposite sides of the ring. Lukas'' gaze carried aplex mixture of confidence, determination and nervousness it had sharply declined from the utterly self-assured look he had in the first duel. Inparison, Isaac''s gaze was as cool as ice; as still as a painting. Lukas had seen him keep this exact same gaze at the start of every duel he hadn''t lost confidence or faltered even once. Lukas found this unerring calmness rather intimidating. "On your marks. Begin!" This time Lukas didn''t rush forwards. After all, he would win the fight even if he lost this duel he just needed to avoid a fatal blow. Isaac also knew this, so he seized the initiative. Some of the ring''s snow had been kicked away or trampled into slush during the first 2 duels, so Isaac skated through the patches of snow that were still there. He zig-zagged his way towards Lukas in no time at all. *Sheen* A translucent orange de cut through the air with a crisp sound. Lukas dodged without activating any Anima, but then the de cut again, horizontally this time. He couldn''t dodge the follow-up strike so grey hair sprouted from his skin, just blocking it in time. Lukas deactivated the Hoar Yak''s Coat Anima and the frozen fur disappeared. Then his legs transformed as heunched a kick towards Isaac. Lukas'' legs were already bloody from being cut so many times, and these injuries made his movements sluggish. Isaac ducked under his sweeping kick, then shed towards Lukas''s body. There wasn''t enough time to reactivate the Hoar Yak''s Coat Anima, so Lukas sprung off of his left leg and jumped backwards. Isaac pursued, shing ferociously. Meanwhile, Lukas swapped his Anima again. His legs shrunk to normal size while fur sprouted out again. Isaac''s attacks didn''t let up. He continued to sh Lukas, who couldn''t really fight back. Isaac hadn''t been attacking randomly throughout the fight. His strikes had been focused on just a few areas, and these areas of the fur were now badly damaged. Now that he could continuously attack, it would only be a matter of time before the fur gave in. Lukas was caught in 2 minds. Should he steadfastly defend or should he fight offence with offence? Or should he make a final push tond a fatal blow? He gritted his teeth. He was a proud genius! He would be the icon of an era! How had he been driven into this situation by an insignificant fly?! Lukas'' arrogance led him to pick the final option. He would stake everything on a final gamble. His legs transformed, and he allowed Isaac''s next attack tond on his frozen, shaggy fur. Then he delivered a spinning head kick. The strike was wild and violent. Isaac dodged it. Then he continued to attack. Lukas roared in anger, disregarding Isaac''s attacks and throwing himself forwards. Heunched his own flurry of attacks, forcing Isaac to defend. However, these attacks were filled with desperation. Theycked calmness or uracy, making them easy to evade. Lukas was so caught up in attacking that he forgot to monitor his own situation. Just as heunched another powerful kick, he suddenly tumbled and fell! His legs had suddenly shortened, causing him to lose his bnce. The fur all over his body had also disappeared. Now he was lying face-down in the ring. He had no defences; he had no clue what had just happened; the only thing he did have was a mouthful of mud and snow! The next thing Lukas heard was, "Isaac Dahl wins the fight with a fatal blow!" Chapter 109: A Deadly Surprise Chapter 109: A Deadly Surprise Isaac didn''t miss opportunities, especially not ones as obvious as this. His de shed towards Lukas'' neck the moment he tumbled over, and the referee had to react quickly to save Lukas'' life. *Bang* Isaac''s sword ttered off the thin but firmyer of ice which covered Lukas. Immediately afterwards, the ice disappeared and the referee announced, "Isaac Dahl wins the fight with a fatal blow!" The crowd erupted. Nobody had expected Isaac to pull of this shockingeback and his dark-horse victory had made him an instant fan favourite. He was also one of the only contestants toe over and interact with the crowd in a positive way, encouraging them to cheer. This also won the audience''s approval. Tens of thousands cheered Isaac on as he stepped out of the ring and headed back to his seat with a broad smile. They even began to chant his name, "Isaac! Isaac! Isaac! Isaac!" Isaac heard the chants and waved to the crowd. Having a good public opinion should benefit his next ns. He walked back to his seat, waving to the audience along the way. When he sat down, he began meticulously applying cream to his injuries. Meanwhile, Lukas was still lying on the stage in a daze; he hadn''t even got up yet. ''I''m a genius! I''m a 1st ss talent who reached Rank 2 in under 3 months. I''m the star of a generation! What just happened? I can''t have lost, surely. No! He must''ve cheated! He must''ve used some strange method to make my Qi run out faster! Yes, yes, that''s right! I have Rank 2 Qi. It wouldn''t run out so quickly when I was only using Rank 1 Anima!'' Lukas suddenly stirred into life. He picked himself up and sprinted over to the referee toin vehemently. Back in the stands, Isaac chuckled to himself. Of course he hadn''t cheated how could he, under the watchful eyes of the Rank 3 referee?! Even if the referee didn''t spot something, there was still the Rank 4 elder in her private box at the top of the stadium. Isaac hadn''t cheated, he had just recognised a simple truth: Lukas'' strongest point was also his weakest. Reaching Rank 2 had given Lukas formidable strength, but it had also reset his cultivation. That was to say, his Qi Core had gone from being 100% full of Rank 1 Qi to being 0.1% full of Rank 2 Qi after his breakthrough, and he would have to work his way up again. Isaac knew that, even with his 1st ss talent, Lukas must''ve taken more than 2 months to reach Rank 2; he should''ve broken through recently. That would only give him a short time to strengthen his Qi Core and increase the amount of Qi it could hold. By Isaac''s estimations, Lukas'' Qi Core should be about 5% full if he continuously cultivated with basic Qi Pills. Whatever he did, it absolutely shouldn''t exceed 10% full this was also due to the significantly slower cultivation speed at Rank 2. Isaac had already thought about this! He had nned to exhaust Lukas'' Qi from the beginning! After all, even if they were Rank 1 Anima, he had forced Lukas to use them continuously and without restraint. Even if it was Rank 2 Qi, this heavy usage would consume a few percent after 2 minutes. Unfortunately for Lukas, ''a few percent'' was everything he had! Inparison, the first 2 minutes of fighting had cost Isaac nearly 30%! And he didn''t even use his Anima as often as Lukas! In the end, though, everything had worked out. The referee dismissed Lukas'' absurd ims and harshly banished him from the stadium. A mixture of jeers and sympathetic shouts could be heard as Lukas walked away. As he walked, his eyes never left Isaac. He was staring at him ferociously. Isaac didn''t care. His gaze turned towards the ring, where the next battle was just about to begin. Erik Baldur vs Nora Hoen! Erik was widely tipped to win, but everyone had just witnessed Isaac''s surprise victory the crowd wondered whether Nora could pull off an upset too. The pair stood face-to-face in the ring as the referee announced, "On your marks. Begin!" Erik sprinted forwards, while Nora closed her eyes momentarily. When she opened them, Erik flinched and jolted in pain. Nora''s Anima had created a mental shockwave which directly attacked his will; he had no way to dodge or block. However, he endured the attack and kept rushing forwards. A steady tide of attacks washed over him as Nora activated her Anima repeatedly. Erik slowed down slightly and his mouth twisted into a grimace. His will was suffering significant damage and his movements were bing sluggish. His consciousness slowly became hazy... But he had a remarkably strong will! He pushed onwards, unwilling and unable to be stopped. Nora showed slight surprise when she saw this. A faint azure glow, about 2 inches thick, covered her body. Meanwhile, purple metal gauntlets appeared on Erik''s fists. They were iid with gold decorations, looking regal and powerful. Both gauntlets crashed towards Nora. One aimed for her face, while the other struck towards her torso. Nora dodged backwards but was still clipped along the torso. Although it was just a ncing blow, the astonishing force made her wince slightly. Nora continued to activate her Anima and attack Erik''s will, but he struck forwards regardless. He was relentless in his attacks, pummelling the blue aura which protected Nora. Soon, the aura began to flicker and dim. In fact, she was fortunate the Soft Aura Veil Anima specialised in dealing with blunt force attacks, otherwise it wouldn''t havested until now. While she was on the brink, so was Erik. Beads of sweat rolled down his furrowed brows, and his face had warped into a horrifying scowl. The attacks to his will were taking their toll, and he was in an immense amount of pain. His movements slowed and his attacks grew weaker. Just as if it looked like he was falling into a disadvantage... *Bang* A sudden uppercut struck! It was not at all sluggish or weak it was filled with absolute power! This rapid change of pace surprised Nora. She didn''t react it time and the blow caught her square on the chin. The blue light dimmed, flickered intensely, then disappeared entirely as she was lifted off her feet and flung backwards. She crashed down outside the ring, unconscious. The referee immediately went to check on her. Snowkes began to sprinkle down over her body as the referee activated a healing Anima, but she still didn''t wake up. Even after a minute of continuous healing, she still didn''t move. The referee tentatively extended a hand towards her wrist. It was cold! There was no pulse! The referee recoiled with a look of shock and horror on his face. The loss of life didn''t bother him what mattered was the impending loss of his job! He''d failed his duty to protect the contestants. Erik''s sudden attack had evene as a surprise to him. When the crowd saw the referee give up and step away, they were shocked. They quickly realised Nora had died, and a greatmotion rose up: this had not happened in the neers'' tournament for many, many years. After all, these were Rank 3 referees with superior reflexes and battle talent. They should be able to read fatal attacks and block them ordingly! Of course, this referee had shown a severepse in his judgement, and most of the audience mocked him for it. The referee seemed to shrink under these criticisms and showed an expression like a wilted flower. Then, without warning, all the jeers and chants ceased. The referee looked around in surprise but still didn''t notice the elder floating overhead until she spoke, "That was truly an unfortunate ending to the duel referee Einar Magnsson will be relieved of his position immediately and his punishments shall be decided by the disciplinary hall." The elder''s tone was grave at first but quickly brightened, "However, we all walk upon the Blood Path: we are more intimately familiar with death than anyone else. Therefore this duel is not a true tragedy, but instead an example of survival of the fittest. The weak die while the strong seed; that is the moral of our path! It should not discourage us: it should motivate us to drive forwards, so that we are not the weak. It should motivate us to be strong, so we are not the ones who fall in battle! I truly look forwards to the finals tomorrow... whoever will fall and whoever will stand, I look forwards to your performance Isaac Dahl and Erik Baldur." The elder cast a nce at Isaac in the stands, then turned her gaze to Erik who was at the side of the stage. While her expression was calm, she was rather angry in her heart, ''I tried to put a positive spin on it, but we actually just lost a promising talent! What an ipetent referee this will reflect badly on me as well, since I''m overseeing this year''s tournament!'' These thoughts remained deeply concealed as she activated her Anima to make her float up and away. ************************* The next day, a heavy air of anticipation covered the entire sect. The neers'' tournament finals! Dueling tournaments were a cultivator''s equivalent of the sports tournaments mortals sometimes held. The bi-annual neers'' tournament was something like a world cup, but with one key difference: almost all cultivators were interested in fighting! It wasn''t like sports which only appealed to certain groups of people, so everybody who could afford a ticket was pouring into the stadium for this major event. Many people even turned up hours early to enjoy the atmosphere. Isaac was not one of them. Despite being one of today''s main characters, he was barely on time. After all, he had various preparations and warm-up routines to go through before he arrived. Erik was the same; he turned up only moments after Isaac. The two exchanged a calm nce but they both sensed the determination in their opponent''s eyes. Soon, the official at his announcer''s table called out, "Isaac Dahl and Erik Baldur, pleasee down to the stage. We''re about to begin the final!" Chapter 110: Old Enemies Pt.1 Chapter 110: Old Enemies Pt.1 The crowd cheered loudly and many of them chanted Isaac''s name. Erik thrived off negativity so he''d continued to deliberately make an enemy out of the audience, causing the majority of people to support Isaac who was already a fan-favourite. However, even after his shock victory, less than half the crowd thought Isaac would win, "Erik Baldur''s already part of the Aalto faction at such a young age, they''re surely giving him their full support. After all, it wouldn''t look good if the young talent they went out of their way to recruit actually lost to a random person with no background." "That''s right. Despite sustaining injuries to his will yesterday, Erik won''t be at a disadvantage. In fact, the faction probably gave him high-ss healing to prepare him for this fight." "Isaac isn''t just fighting Erik, he''s also fighting against the backing of a major faction. This won''t be an easy fight for him." While the audience discussed, Isaac and Erik had already entered the ring. There was no aggressiveness or trash talk, these old enemies just patiently waited for the new referee''s words. These two had passed the trials together years ago and even had some conflicts with each other. Both had matured since then: Isaac was no longer a scrawny kid, while Erik had be wiser and more astute. The extents of their growth would be measured now... "On your marks. Begin!" Both charged forwards aggressively without hesitating one bit! Sword and gauntlet shed in the middle of the arena, sending sparks flying everywhere. Isaac had charged in using his Snowshoe Anima so he had a lot of momentum. His strike was powerful and pushed Erik back a couple of steps. Isaac leapt on him like a hungry wolf which smelt blood. He no longer kept cards hidden and fought with his utmost ability his de shed as it danced dangerously, while he used his left hand to target Erik''s vital areas. Erik was on the back foot temporarily. He dodged and defended, but Isaac could sense he wouldn''t be suppressed for long. Erik''s counterattacks were quickly bing more frequent and they were also bing stronger. Isaac had significant information on Erik since Erik had exposed his strength by fighting in the Ring of Life and Death previously. Erik had fought several fights were his strength increased as the fight went on, so Isaac guessed he possessed the Kilo Fist Anima which increased his punching force by 1kg every time he struck. Knowing this, Isaac didn''t want to drag this out into a long battle. He had to limit the number of punches Erik could throw, then end the battle quickly with a fatal blow. *ng* de struck gauntlet once more, but Isaac felt his hand go a little numb from this collision. The tides of battle were already beginning to turn; he had to do something. Before he could think, Erik''s punch was already heading towards his face. Isaac reacted in a snap. Energy surged around his sword and Erik could feel the energy''s razor-sharp aura before it was even released. Then the energy burst out. It was wild and chaotic, branching out in many paths. However, Isaac managed to direct it in the general direction of Erik''s fist. Grey light descended upon his gauntlets. The purple gauntlets looked strong and imposing as if nothing could damage them, let alone some dim light, but that impression couldn''t be further from the truth the light shredded the gauntlets to pieces the moment it touched them. The gauntlets were shredded into nothingness, leaving Erik''s bare fists to face Isaac''s approaching sword. However, Erik didn''t panic. A smirk covered his face as ck tes of armour coated his body. They remaining grey light collided with this armour and there was a loud screeching like a cat dragging its ws across a ckboard, but the armour was not destroyed. It merely had light, barely visible scratches. Isaac''s eyes widened in surprise and he quickly changed his attack to a block. His sword twisted mid-swing so it could parry Erik''s punch. The punch was nowhere near as powerful as when Erik used his gauntlets so Isaac blocked it easily. then he went back on the offensive but Erik hastily dodged his attacks until all the grey light had disappeared. Then the gauntlets reappeared on his fists and he could fight Isaac more evenly. After struggling through many exchanges, Isaac managed to fashion an opening. Erik''s torso was exposed and he shed towards it. However, the was a tremendous *nk* when he struck. His sword dented the ck armour but then bounced off, sending back a shock which reverberated through his arms. While Isaac steadied himself, Erik attacked. His strength had steadily grown to the point he could fight evenly with Isaac so the pair became stuck in a deadlock. This was not good for Isaac since Erik''s strength keep growing as they traded blows. "One minute is up. Isaac Dahl has won the first duel! Thankfully, the referee ended the duel before the tides could turn. Isaac and Erik separated, but Erik suddenly startedughing, "Hahahaha! Ahahaha... Isaac Dahl, don''t underestimate the informationwork of a great faction! I can see through you like you''re ss you might think you''ve stayed hidden, but trump cards are as exposed as they''ll ever be! It''s just a matter of time before you see defeat..." The audience couldn''t hear what Erik said but they all booed him anyway. They all chanted Isaac''s name as he walked to the side of the ring and sat down. Erik''s attempt at intimidation wouldn''t affect him, but there was some truth to it. The Nihility Intent Anima was the bane of all Qi-based substances. For example, Erik''s gauntlets needed a constant supply of Qi to boost their power and maintain their shape. When the grey nihility intent struck them, its sharp aura annihted all the Qi and destroyed the gauntlets. In contrast, the nihility intent couldn''t damage Erik''s ck armour. This was because the armour was not sustained by Qi! The armour had no Qi in it and was not a Qi-based substance, thus the Nihility Intent Anima had little effect on it. After all, there was no such thing as a perfect Anima. The Nihility Intent Anima countered many methods, but there were also other Anima which countered it. For Erik to be so fortunate as to have one of these Anima... Isaac didn''t think it was a coincidence he didn''t believe in coincidences. No, he thought the Aalto faction must''ve given Erik the Anima for this battle. ''Fine. Background is also a form of strength, so I can''tin about him having external support. Although his armour counters my Nihility Intent Anima, it also has its own weaknesses: it''s not supplied by Qi so it can''t repair itself after getting damaged and it also doesn''t seem very strong just one hit dented it so much. I can still use the Nihility Intent Anima to get rid of his gauntlets and create openings to attack the armour.'' Isaac opened his eyes after creating a strategy. Then he got up to stretch and do light exercises so his body was ready to fight. Soon... "Three minutes is up. The participants must go back to the ring." The 2 contestants entered the ring. "On your marks. Begin!" Isaac and Erik both sped forwards, neither shied away from battle. They met with a thunderous sh, and Isaac''s eyes opened wide in surprise as he was forced back a couple of steps. ''What is this strength?! Even if he kept the Kilo Fist Anima active during the break and didn''t let it reset, he should still only match the power of my charge. Wait... he must''ve continued to hit things during the break and umte more power with the Kilo Fist Anima! There''s a rule against activating Anima before a duel, but nothing prevents you from keeping your Anima active. What a clever loophole!'' After deducing what Erik had done, Isaac''s expression twisted into a scowl. Directly confronting Erik like before wouldn''t work, so his brain worked at lightning speed to form a new n while he dodged and glided around the ring like a slippery eel. Erik didn''t have a movement Anima so he couldn''t catch him, but Isaac would still lose the round if he just ran away. Very quickly, he made up his mind and dashed towards Erik. Erik had expected this, so he responded with a mighty punch. Isaac saw the punch approaching and knew he couldn''t match its strength, but he didn''t panic. His sword swung towards the punch anyway and he changed into quite a strange posture, shifting his body to the side. Just as the gauntlet and sword were about to collide, the sword suddenly disappeared! Isaac deactivated his Spirit Sword Anima, then quickly reactivated the moment he moved past the fist. The shift of Isaac''s body meant the punch was going to miss him, but his sword was cutting down on Erik''s head unimpeded! Chapter 111: Old Enemies Pt.2 Chapter 111: Old Enemies Pt.2 Erik could not dodge; he did not even have time to block. So what could he do? As the de bore down on him, he jumped! He jumped slightly, so that the de did not strike his head it could only smash the armour on his chest! The armour caved inwards with a loud *nk* and Erik was sent stumbling back. His chest was in considerable pain and he coughed twice while trying to catch his breath. Isaac immediately pressed his advantage and attacked again, but Erik was prepared. He struck directly towards Isaac, giving Isaac no room to dodge. This way, even if Isaac pulled the same trick as before, Erik''s fist would still strike Isaac and they would merely trade blows. Isaac knew he couldn''t dodge, but blocking would also put him at a disadvantage. His sword swung towards Erik''s fist, the disappeared when it got close. A momentter, a new sword appeared in Isaac''s hand and continued heading towards Erik''s chest. However, Erik''s fist was simultaneously getting closer to Isaac. Isaac activated the Nihility Intent Anima, causing grey light to spray everywhere and shred Erik''s gauntlets to pieces. He also angled his body slightly to the side. *Crash* *Bang* Isaac''s sword smashed into Erik''s already-dented armour and rent a great hole in it. Meanwhile, Erik''s fist collided with Isaac''s chest. The way he''d angled himself meant he didn''t take a direct hit and reduced the force of the blow, but Erik''s fists were still covered in ck te armour and he was empowered by the Kilo Fist Anima. Even without the help of his gauntlets, he still sent Isaac flying. Isaac was nearly knocked out of the ring, but he steadied himself and managed to stay in. His right hand tightened around the sword''s grip while his left hand clutched at his chest. There was no blood or gore, but he could quickly tell some of his ribs were broken. On the other side of the ring, Erik didn''t chase after him. He also clutched at his chest where the armour was shattered and his blood was spilling. He wasn''t mortally wounded, but there was a nasty gash across his torso and it would quickly turn into a problem if it wasn''t treated. Suddenly, a warm yellow glow enveloped Erik''s wound. He had a 4th Anima! This was the Triage Anima. It healed wounds one by one, starting with the most serious before moving onto those of lower severity. It was a strange healing Anima which had a strong impact on serious wounds but wasn''t very good at healing light injuries. However, Rank 1 healing Anima all had something inmon: they all had low effectiveness. It took several seconds for Erik''s bleeding to slow down and even this could be considered pretty good. He couldn''t wait for his injuries to bepletely healed since the fight was still going on. Once the bleeding subsided slightly, he charged at Isaac. Isaac grimaced when he saw this and avoided him with the Snowshoe Anima. Erikughed as he gave chase, but he couldn''t catch Isaac. On the other hand, Isaac tried to find openings in Erik''s defences but there were very few of these. Isaac even felt some of these openings might''ve been deliberately left to lure him in. He attacked whenever he saw a genuine opportunity, but he never even got a half-chance to deal damage. After a short while the referee announced, "One minute is up. Erik Baldur has won the second duel, making the score 1 1!" There were shouts of displeasure from the crowd. It had been a close duel which could''ve gone either way, but many people felt Isaac had won it. Isaac also felt the fight was incredibly close but he should''ve edged it. After all, he''d dealt 2 solid blows and destroyed Erik''s defences. He''d also held a slight initiative at the end of the fight where he could circle Erik and probe for openings. ''At worst the referee should''ve given it as a draw and not dered Erik as the winner. What''s going on here? Has this referee been bought out by the Aalto faction? After all, Erik has a new healing Anima and a defensive Anima which counters me: both of these should''ve been given to him by the faction. Considering how much they''ve invested in him, buying out the referee as well wouldn''t be impossible. ''There''s also the chance the referee hasn''t been paid and is trying to get into the Aalto faction''s good graces, or perhaps he truly felt Erik won the fight. Actually... thest referee was fired because Erik killed someone on his watch! Was this done deliberately to make sure this referee oversaw out match?!'' Just as he was about to think of other possibilities, Isaac quickly realised he was on the wrong track, ''No... I shouldn''t waste much time thinking about this now. Hope for the best but n for the worst: assuming the referee has been bought out, I either need tond a fatal blow, knock him out of the ring, or achieve a very clear victory like I did in the first duel. Do I have to risk using that final trump card?'' Erik was sitting 5 metres away from Isaac. A yellow glow surrounded his chest area and the long gash there was very slowly mending itself. It had nearly stopped bleeding and had gotten slightly smaller. When the bleeding eventually stopped, Erik deactivated the Triage Anima. He''d kept the Kilo Fist Anima active since the first duel started and had also used his gauntlets extensively. Now that he was using his healing Anima as well, his Qi levels had dropped quite low. Thankfully, his Qi Core was 86% full under normal conditions and his armour Anima only consumed a small amount of Qi when it was first activated, not needing any more after that. Speaking of armour, Erik grabbed the ruined chest te and tore it away. He proceeded to remove all the other ck armour tes and cast them into a pile beside him. Then he started to stretch and do some battle warm-up. After a while, "Three minutes is up. The participants must go back to the ring." This was the third and final duel. The victory would be crowned king of the neers and receive a slew of resources to support their cultivation! Erik and Isaac both returned to the ring, and they each had calm gazes without even a hint of excitement, as if they didn''t care about what was at stake. However, both were actually very determined and intensely desired those rewards. They merely pushed those feelings deep down in their hearts, since any emotion could be a weakness in battle. "On your marks. Begin!" Erik charged forwards while Isaac activated the Snowshoe Anima and moved around the edge of the ring. His Qi was also depleting but he had to avoid a direct confrontation with Erik at all costs. It was bad enough that Erik was umting strength with the Kilo Fist Anima now Isaac was badly injured and absolutely couldn''t sh with him. Instead, he reverted to the tactic he used at the end ofst round. He moved around Erik while looking for openings, only attacking when he saw a slight gap. However, this strategy was ineffective. Erik had very few ws in his fighting style at least, he had very few ws which Isaac could spot. Isaac quickly realised he had to change tact, since the referee would dere Erik as the winner even if the fight was even. It was frustrating, but he had to throw away his advantage of mobility and confront his opponent in their strongest area: closebat. However, he still had a trick up his sleeve. He backed up to create some space, then charged at Erik. He built up a considerable amount of speed and, as he charged, grey light began to glow ominously around his sword. The light gathered and gathered until his sword shone so brightly you could hardly look at it. The glow was powerful and foreboding and grey like huge clouds which foreshadowed a devastating storm. Everyone expected Isaac to release this grey energy after all, the sharp nihility intent needed to be released from his sword for him to use it. However, Isaac showed no signs of unleashing it even as the energy grew even further. In fact, he poured almost all his Qi in to strengthen the grey light. Erik finally sensed danger. This sword, full of razor-sharp intent, was deadly and he had to block it. A fresh set of ck te armoured covered him, and his gauntlets begin to emit thin violet steam. This was the gauntlets'' true ability and Erik had kept it hidden for a long time. However, he was so ovee with a sense of peril that he felt forced to reveal it now. Isaac was traveling at breakneck speed. He arrived in front of Erik before much steam could be released and his sword shed downwards ruthlessly. The air seemed to shudder with this strike and Erik''s gauntlets were torn apart by the palpable nihility intent before Isaac''s sword even got close. He stared at the de, realising even his trump card was useless. This sword was too powerful... *BANG* *SHATTER* The sword exploded! The intent it contained was powerful too powerful to be contained. Fragments of sword flew everywhere before being quickly eliminated by the nihility intent which also sprayed all over the ce. Streaks of grey light jolted everywhere, creating an effect like a sh talisman. A lot of grey bolts collided with Erik''s armour, causing horrific screeching sounds and covering it in shallow scratches. On the other hand, Isaac didn''t have any armour: his clothes were ripped to shreds and he was coated in countless tiny cuts. Erik, who was sure he was about to be defeated, stood there in shock. However, he quickly snapped out of it. "Ha... ha." He gave 2 nervousughs as he looked at Isaac who''d been thrown to the floor by the explosion and was deeply harmed by the spirit sword''s destruction and the Nihility Intent Anima going haywire. As Isaac hazily looked up, Erik pounced towards him. Gauntlets reappeared on his fists as he became sure of his victory. On the other hand, something strange was happening in Isaac''s mind. He''d struggled to control, contain and bnce the chaotic nihility intent as he charged at Erik, but he had lost control of it when he tried to attack. However, just as the energy had slipped away from him, he had a sudden moment of realization as to why he couldn''t control it. ''Nihility intent... an intent so sharp it can tear through Qi and reduce something to nothing. It has a strong chaotic nature, but chaotess can only be directed, not controlled this is why I failed. To be chaotic, that is to be dangerous and unpredictable yet still have a direction. Now I see... my style was too forceful, too controlled. Only when a de receives ''direction'' can it move loosely and flow like water...'' Isaac felt that these thoughts came to him slowly, but he actually realised all this during the instant he spent falling over. *Thud* He came back to his senses when he hit the ground. He nced up calmly, not in a hurry despite the intensity of the battle. His eyes were cloudy and he was in a zen-like state of mind as he watched Erik jumping at him. His mind went nk and his body moved by instinct. Just as Erik''s gauntlets were a dozen inches from his face, a sword appeared in Isaac''s hand. His grip on the sword was loose, not tight like usual. It snaked forwards at an astonishing speed, the tip flickering from ce to ce erratically. Erik was too focused on attacking Isaac. He didn''t notice the sword and, even if he did, he wouldn''t be able to block it. Just as his fist approached Isaac''s face, the sword also neared his abdomen. Chapter 112: Happenings of the Nether Realm Chapter 112: Happenings of the Nether Realm Ariel twisted the tap, then eased himself into therge stone tub. He grimaced slightly as he dipped his toes in since it was too hot, but he got in anyway and submerged his body in the mes. His horns scraped against the bath as he ducked his head down and bathed in the hellfire. He scrubbed his short ck hair with both hands before resurfacing, taking a deep breath, and going back under. While he was underfire, he heard a faint feminine voice, "Ariel, hurry up ande down, breakfast''s ready!" ''Devildamned Mondays. Every week''s the same; I just wake up every Monday to repeat this never-ending cycle.'' Ariel raised his head above the mes and shouted, "Just a minute mum! Just give me a minute, alright!" Then he haphazardly scrubbed the rest of his body before hopping out of the bath and letting the hellfire drain away. A few ghostly faces flickered and the screams of damned souls could be heard for a moment as the fire was sucked down the drain, leaving ayer of ck sludge which stuck to the bottom of the tub. Impurities umted on everything in the Nether Realm, but the hellfire helped burn them off. With just a sweep of Ariel''s index finger, theyer of impurities rolled itself into a small ball. He curled his finger upwards and the sludge ball floated, then he flicked his wrist left and the ck impurities shot into a bottomless chute in the corner of the room. He half-walked, half-ran out of the bathroom and into his bedroom, where he rushed to find some clothes. After pulling onfortable ck trousers and a thin white t-shirt, Ariel thundered down the stairs and into the living room. The left side of the room had sofas and a mirror portal so the family could chill and watch a show, while the right side of the room was upied by a long dining table. It was made of the same grey stone as the bathtub and a te full of food sat atop it. Just as Ariel seated himself at the head of the table, a head with curled ram horns, flowing raven-ck hair and thin reptilian eyes peeped around the door, "Ariel, darling, eat quickly. You need to be at school in 20 minutes." "I know..." Ariel drawled in an annoyed tone, then looked back at his te, "Urgh. Hellroot and beans again? Can''t you cook anything else?" "You should be grateful I''m making you anything at all." His mother answered sternly, "Now eat what''s on your te; you need your lifeforce to grow big and strong!" "Mum! I''m a hundred and twelve now; I''m all grown up so stop treating me like a kid!" Ariel''s mother rolled her eyes, then disappeared to go and do whatever it is mothers do. After watching her go, Ariel looked at the orange nts on his te reluctantly, then nced down at his arms. They were skinny and light red. Crimson skin was very fashionable nowadays so he''d been trying to get a tan, but it wasn''t working out. He looked at his feeble limbs, felt extremely resentful of his weak physique and thin bloodline, then sighed. As usual, mother was right: he needed his lifeforce. He grabbed a fist-sized orange and red bean, then brought it all the way up to his straight, short, razor-sharp horns. A horn pierced the bean and it began to dry and shrivel rapidly. Ariel proceeded to suck the lifeforce out of everything on his te while making a sour expression. This lifeforce had such a strong, acrid vour! His expression only rxed slightly when he was finished. He brought his te into the kitchen where his mother was. She walked him to the door where they exchanged goodbyes, then stood and watched while he walked down the street. Only after he turned the corner did she go back inside. Ariel''s gait was long and his pace was quick as he strutted the streets. ''I''ll have to take the shortcut by the river if I want to arrive on time. Better hurry up.'' His pace increased even further, until he was somewhere between a walk and a jog. Left, left, right, he made 3 decisive turns and quickly arrived at a bridge. Underneath was a thick stream. It was pale, pale blue and fast-moving. The countless transparent skulls all zipped along, screaming as they went. This was one of many tributaries to the great ''River of Souls''. Ariel ignored their irritating screeches and crossed the bridge. Then, despite the road curving left, he followed the river straight on. Brittle bone fragments crunched underfoot as he ground them into bone dust. He didn''t pay attention to the surroundings as he walked briskly, but there was a line of miniature insect-sized red figures on the floor. They all stood on 2 legs, had weirdly humanoid bodies with square heads, and carried tiny bits of bone back to a small dome-shaped structure at the riverbank. Squish. Several minions were crushed underfoot and the others squealed in outrage. They hurled their bits of bone at Ariel''s legs, causing him to finally notice them. He smiled faintly, then made a small game out of seeing how quickly he could squash all of them. This dyed him even further. After finishing his fun, he hurried along to school while praying the homeroom teacher wouldn''t be too mad. 15 minutester, the homeroom door creaked open. It presented Ariel with a ssroom full of pupils and an iron-faced teacher, who immediately began scolding him. "Ariel, you''rete! You''ll receive ten additional opponents duringbat ss! Now go and sit down." Ariel wore a disgruntled expression while heading to his seat, but he sighed internally. Combat ss was the only spark of excitement in his dull life, so 10 extra opponents was more of a blessing than a curse. A nce out the window just reminded how bleak this ursedher realm truly was... Ariel''s mind wandered elsewhere as the teacher began his lecture. His eyes were almost glued to the featureless grey outside his window while he dreamed of better days a brighter future, a free future. s... "Ariel! Pay attention! That''s 10 extrapster and half an hour of supervised study after school." Ariel snapped out of his grand, deluded daydreams, "But teach!" "But what? You''ve already had two warnings." Ariel sighed and resigned himself to the punishment. He struggled to stay focused until it was nearly midday, "Alright. Next isbat ss, everyone line up at the front of the ssroom!" Most of the children groaned, while a few stayed silent or smiled. Regardless of their reactions, everyone dragged themselves to the front of the ssroom and the teacher led them outside to arge field of grey dust which stretched all the way to the dull horizon with nothing else in sight. The dust was loose, light and slippery underfoot but the air was stale and there was no wind to blow it away. Even if the dust was blown away, it would just reveal a secondyer of dust underneath it. The children stepped into the field and looked at the grey rectangr building opposite them. As they watched, many creatures were led out of the building. These creatures came in all shapes and sizes: one had a long, green almost tube-shaped body and stood at 8 feet tall. Another was short and round with spindly legs and tiny arms, and the one behind that was hopping along on its one leg. It also had one eye, one ear and one thick strand of hair coiled around its head, but it had tens of or perhaps even over a hundred arms, each with a single finger. All these different people had one thing inmon though: they were bound by manacles and linked together with thick chains. Burly demons dressed in uniform led them into the field and all the students raced to pick several prisoners. Ariel also ran forwards eagerly. Whilst everybody else rushed to pick the weakest ones, he chose a group of powerful-looking captives including the hundred-armed man. When each ss member had picked 20 opponents Ariel had gathered 30 due to his ''punishment'' for beingte they spread out in the field. The captives had their bindings removed and weremanded to surround the children and fight for their survival. The prisonersplied with varying degrees of reluctance or angst. 30 hulking figures formed a tight circle around Ariel, but his thin lips twisted into a crazed smile. His eyes curved into half-moon shapes which expressed intense delight and anticipation, and he sucked a deep breath which filled his nostrils with the smell of dusty airbined with dried sweat and tears. "Begin!" At once, nearly 30 captives assailed Ariel of course, some were still hesitant. At the same time, other fights were beginning all around the field. However, they were all unlike Ariel''s: many pupils were timid and weak, and one was even killed. On the other hand, Ariel''s fight... Unrestrainedughter could be heard as a ck shadow flitted through a forest of aghast prisoners. Wherever the shadow went, a trail of blood would follow and the captives would fall as if they were trees which had been felled. Ariel''s mouth opened wide as heughed, revealing 7 rows of serrated teeth and a forked tongue which flicked to and fro. His entire body was utilised like a deadly weapon skinny arms and all and his body was coated in ayer of blood. His pale red skin made it unnoticeable, but his shirt had been dyed red from ughter. The teacher observed these events, utterly unmoved. Chapter 113: Tournaments Aftermath Chapter 113: Tournament''s Aftermath A stunned silence filled the stadium. Isaac was lying on his side on the floor of the stage. Erik was over him, one hand pressed to the stage to hold him up, while the other hand was clenched into a fist which was pushing at Isaac''s forehead. There was a thin reflectiveyer of mirror which protected Isaac. Erik''s gaze was fierce but joyous as he locked eyes with Isaac. Isaac''s eyes were somewhat hazy but they quickly regained their focus, then snapped wide open in shock. Erik saw this shock and began tough lightly, delighting in his victory. But then Isaac''s expression changed, bing happier. Then he looked down slightly, donned a broad smile which was so wide it nearly tore his lips, and began tough manically. Erik was confused. He followed Isaac''s eyes downwards and saw a sharp sword pressed against his torso. It wouldn''t cut him in 2 if it weren''t for the thinyer of mirror-like protection which blocked it. Now it was Erik''s turn to be stunned. Meanwhile, the referee had seen everything and was even more shocked than the participants. He stammered a lot before finally announcing, "E-Erik Baldur''s attack hit first! He wins!" There was a huge uproar in the stadium! Many spectators swore Isaac''s attack hit first, others agreed with the referee, but the majority said they struck at the same time. If this was a real fight they would''ve killed each other, so this should be a draw. Isaac heard the controversial announcement but keptughing like a madman, as if he didn''t care about the fight''s result. Indeed, he truly didn''t! He might have lost the rewards for 1st ce, but he had gained something far more valuable in thest few seconds of the match: enlightenment! Compared to tens of reward points, new Anima, or time in a specialised cultivation ground, enlightenment was far more valuable after all, those other things could be bought but enlightenment could not! In fact, cultivators could go their entire lives without achieving it. If it was something that could be bought with money, the queue to purchase it would stretch halfway around the world! Using Anima was an extremelyplex skill: naturally, some people would be good at it and others would not. Meanwhile, a small percentage of people had transcendental abilities when it came to controlling anima. This was no longer simply being good it was having a certain extent of special understanding and ability in manipting a style of Anima. Of course, there was always a sky above the sky; there were multiple levels to this transcendental ability and Isaac had merely reached the first. These levels could be categorised as expert, master, savant and sage. Each stage of mastery could be broken down further into sub-levels: novice, established and experienced. Isaac had only just reached the level of novice expert, but the average cultivator would never reach this level in their lifetimes. Slightly skilled cultivators who lived long lives could reach this stage after tens of years when they were reaching the ends of their lives, while cultivators with considerable talent in their chosen style could be novice experts with around 20 years of great effort. Geniuses could do it in 10 years or less while era-defining figures would have the talent to do it in 5. In fact, bing a sword expert at 17 was not too shocking. A sparse few geniuses who practiced swordsmanship from the moment they could walk had also achieved this feat. However, Isaac had only picked up his first sword 2 years ago! When it came to swordsmanship, his talent was truly heaven-defying! Achieving enlightenment was truly finding victory in defeat, and Isaac couldn''t care less about missing first ce. His crazyughter gradually subsided and he smirked at Erik, who was looking at him as if he was insane. The sword in his hand disappeared and he used his arm to push Erik away. The man was caught by surprise, rolled over and fell on his back with a thud. Meanwhile, Isaac stood up, gave the referee a thorny re, and was about to walk away when, "A splendid performance from two great fighters." A figure in a red and white coat descended from the sky,nding on the stage beside Isaac and Erik. Erik, who was about to attack Isaac again, immediately stilled his anger and turned into a docile puppy before the elder. Isaac was also extremely respectful. "Erik Baldur, that was an outstanding showing. And Isaac Dahl, I do not believe you were any worse." The referee shivered slightly when he heard this, "Tomorrow, you and all the other worthy participants will be rewarded. The reward ceremony is part of our great foundation day celebrations, so make sure you arrive on time. I congratte you once more on a magnificent fight and dere this neers'' tournament... over! Erik Baldur is this year''s champion!" She gave Erik a formal handshake, then did the same for Isaac. Normally, there would''ve been a third-ce fight-off and she would''ve shaken the winner''s hand, but Nora Hoen had been killed by Erik and Lukas Brink decided not to show up since he felt third ce was just an insult, so there wasn''t really an official ''3rd ce'' contestant. After shaking Erik and Isaac''s hands, the elder floated away again and disappeared into her private box. Meanwhile, the crowds began to disperse. Some muttered and grumbled about the dodgy officiating, while others were content with the great fight they''d seen and left in high spirits. Isaac was also in a joyous mood as he returned home. There were 3ponents to a cultivator''sbat strength: cultivation, Anima, andbat talent. After bing a novice sword expert, Isaac''sbat talent far exceeded his cultivation or Anima, so he was eager to enter seclusion and push for Rank 2, then exchange for some new Anima. However, tomorrow was foundation day so he would have to wait before entering seclusion. ************************* Foundation day. It was the anniversary of the day the Full Moon Sect was founded by unifying all the viges around the Frozen Forest. Some people held parties at new year''s, but these were small events. Foundation day was the only event which was formally celebrated by the entire sect and the day was a huge festival where people danced, partied, got drunk, made merry, and remembered their ancestors. Isaac woke up quitete: the whole tournament process had been energy-draining for him and he took this opportunity to get adequate rest. He was awoken before 10 by loud noises and shouts from the celebrations which had already started in the streets. After getting ready, he walked out into the street as well. Many people were wearing masks, or had even used Anima to transform their faces to look like some of the sect''s important historical figures. Confetti was everywhere, people were already chugging alcohol, music yed in the distance and the crowd moved to its beat. For the only day of the year, the sect''s frozen streets felt warm and vibrant. Isaac also smiled widely at this sight. They had even celebrated foundation day when he was in the farm and the academy, so this was a tradition which had been engraved in his bones since birth. It was also important to him for his own reasons: it was the only day of the year where he didn''t think about getting stronger or improving himself and just took some time off. As he strolled down the street, he snatched a bottle from one of the partyers, took a long swig, then handed it back. The alcohol burnt a warm trail down his throat and he walked in time with the music as he headed towards its source. He arrived in arge square with a stage at the front. There were performers on the stage re-enacting the events of a group of Rank 4 vige leaders going around to unify all the other viges. There were several great battles against viges which resisted, where the music rose to a crescendo, and there were also the tragic deaths of heroes where the melody grew soft and mncholic. The square was packed with observers and Isaac pulled in at the back of the square. He couldn''t see over the crowd despite being 6''0 Northern Tundra had a rather high average height after all so he found a bench to stand on and watched the performance. It eventually ended with the Full Moon Sect being created from the union of all these viges. The performers all took bows before curtains were drawn. Someone hurried across the front of the stage and put a wooden signboard in front of the curtains. It read, ''Please be patient while we prepare for our next performance. Our next showing will be The Tale of Ivar Olsen.'' Ivar Olsen was the first Rank 5 to emerge in the Full Moon sect and was arge part of why the sect was so sessful today. However, Isaac was already extremely familiar with his stories and didn''t wish to see them performed. He, along with arge portion of the crowd, left to go and party elsewhere. Chapter 114: A Day to Look Forwards Chapter 114: A Day to Look Forwards Despite it only being 5pm, night had long since descended on Northern Tundra. Isaac had deeply enjoyed this one day of cutting loose, but his few hours of freedom hade to an end: he had an obligation to fill. He was currently in the Rank 3 district, waiting in the stands at the Ring of Life and Death. 46 other people were sitting with him in a small section of reserved seats they were the other neers who''d reached the group stage. The stadium waspletely packed with people squished into every possible space. The atmosphere was even brighter than it had been in the tournament: everybody was drinking most were already drunk, chants rung out, and disordered crowd waves passed through parts of the stadium before stopping. Soon, arge side-entrance opened and several figures started streaming into the middle of the arena. They were dressed in mboyant clothing and danced rhythmically as the band behind them beat drums and yed instruments. Arge float closely followed the dancers and the band. It was purely decorated with fresh, white Snowpetal Flowers and had arge, life-like face mounted in the middle of it. It was Ivar Olsen and everybody cheered when they saw the face, especially those wearing a mask of Ivar. The face wasn''t still. It alternated between several expressions, looked left and right, and even winked at a group of women in the crowd. There were people riding the float and they all waved and blew kisses, very much enjoying the cheers. Another float came in behind, carrying the face of Lars Hansen, who was just as important as Ivar Olsen and received even louder cheers since his poprity exceeded Ivar''s. More floats came in like a train, each receiving a round of apuse. All the sect''s important historical figures were represented, including all the sect''s past Rank 5s all the way up to the current four, as well as a few significant Rank 4 figures. The floats paraded around the arena while confetti rained from above. When they were done, they took one morep around the ring, lined up, and all left via the big side-exit to romp down the streets and keep the party going. Then the side-entrance mmed shut. Suddenly, the air in the middle of the stage shuddered and, out of nowhere, 3 figures appeared. In the middle was the female elder with her white and red coat, to the left arge woman with freckles and sses who pulled a thick brown coat tightly around her shoulders. On the right was a thin man in a ck suit with a white shirt, bowtie, bowler hat and cane. The 3 elders spoke in unison, "We thank our sect''s ancestors for their hard work!" The crowd repeated after them, "We thank our sect''s ancestors for their hard work!" The elders spoke again, "We promise the ancestors we will take the sect to even greater heights!" Once again, the audience repeated, "We promise the ancestors we will take the sect to even greater heights!" Their passionate voices rang out so loudly that they could be heard from anywhere in the sect and even from the surrounding parts of the forest. The elders waited for the crowd to settle before the narrow-faced woman in a white and red coat stepped forwards. "Foundation day is not just a day to celebrate our past glory. It is a day to look forwards to a bright future! As most of you are aware, we have just held the neers'' tournament, so please give a round of apuse for these disciples who represent the future of our glorious sect!" An official led the 47 neers onto the stage and each of them shook the elders'' hands. Then the elders spoke to 32 of the disciples, congratted them and handed each of them 15 reward points before the disciples left the stage. These were the people who''d been eliminated in the group stage. Next, the elders congratted 8 more disciples and handed them even greater rewards Johan, Eva and Erling Thorgaard were among this group. Then another 4 disciples received their rewards and left. The atmosphere in the stadium slowly rose as the number of disciples on the stage was whittled down. Now there were only 3: Lukas Brink, Isaac, and Erik. Nora Hoen would''ve been there too if it weren''t for her untimely demise. Lukas received his prizes first. He had a scowl etched on his face throughout the ceremony and scowled at Isaac whenever he got the opportunity. He was still convinced Isaac had cheated. After Lukas sculked away, it was Isaac''s turn. Arge cheer arose from the crowd as he was several pouches filled with 75 reward points in total, then told he had the opportunity to take any 2 Rank 1 Anima free of charge and could ess the sect''s 1 star locations for 30 hours. Isaac received the gifts gratefully and respectfully thanked the elders. Then he gave a big wave to the crowd and turned to leave. He didn''t look back to watch Erik getting his rewards. A whileter, Isaac was back at home. The celebrations would continuete into the night and he''d considered joining them, but he decided not to. In truth, he could enjoy partying for a bit but social events always sapped his energy right now he just wanted to read and rx alone. So he picked up a book and began reading. ************************* Isaac wasn''t sure when he fallen asleep, but he woke up sore the next morning. He awoke in a sitting position, seated on his bed with his back against the wall. A thick book was still open in hisp and his head was lolling forwards with his chin against his chest. His eyes gradually flickered into life and he stood up to stretch his stiff limbs. Then he went about the business of making breakfast and preparing for the day ahead. He got ready quickly and left his house, heading towards the lockers. He had stowed all his winnings here before heading homest night, so he came to retrieve 56 reward points. Then he brought them with him to the Rank 1 district''s smaller market. There were less people here, so the chances of him getting robbed were lower. Thankfully, Isaac''s ruthless reputation had spread and his strength was well-known after the tournament. Many people coveted his wealth but few had the courage to make designs on it. Isaac exchanged for 49 Basic Qi Pills then headed back in the direction of the lockers. However, he didn''t stop when he reached the lockers and walked straight past them to the Cultivation Pagoda. 7 reward points and a short discussionter, and Isaac had rented a room for nearly 2 months. He hauled all his reward points up to the room, then went to purchase huge amounts of food. When he got back, he dumped 2rge sacks of food in the corner, next to where a bucket of fresh water had been left by the employees. Then he immediately moved back over to the bed area and got to work. He sat on the mattress, popped a pill into his mouth, and smoothly entered meditation. Isaac was a fast learner, so his ability to harness a pill''s energy had significantly improved. He could absorb a slightly higher amount of the pill''s Qi and wasted less of it he was much more efficient now. That efficiency would serve him well through his longest period of seclusion to date. ************************* 44 days of hard,borious cultivation had passed. Towards the end, Isaac''s will was so fatigued he felt like it was going to shatter into a thousand pieces, but he had persevered. After all, one would improve most rapidly under harsh circumstances. Not only had Isaac''s will been tempered and strengthened, but his cultivation had shot skywards like a missile. He sensed his Qi Core gleefully. It was 100% full. A full orb of azure liquid Qiy in his chest like a heavy weight. What was most impressive, however, was that the white Qi Core walls withstood that weight without creaking or cracking. They werepletely stable under the azure Qi''s pressure. Isaac could probably attempt his Rank 2 breakthrough today, but crossing Ranks was slightly different to advancing stages and was far more dangerous. Isaac wanted to wait until he was in a peak condition before attempting, so today would be a day of rest. He spent most of the day reading and sleeping. In fact, he slept for nearly 16 hours that day to help his will recover. The next day, he woke up around midday. He ate in a rxed manner and read for half an hour. Eventually, he sighed and put the book down next to the mattress. His eyes slowly closed as his will sunk down to the depths of his Qi Core. Then he began. Chapter 115: Great Developments Chapter 115: Great Developments 6 weeks ago in a grand hall in the Rank 3 district... "I assume most of you have seen clips from the neers'' tournament?" The neers'' tournament was always recorded using multiple Anima, "If you have seen the clips, you will have seen Erik Baldur. All of us questioned the Aalto faction''s decision when we heard they''d recruited a Rank 1 neer, but he definitely looks like a good seed. On the other hand, we have a gap. We won''t have any strong talents awakening for the next 4 years but we can''t just let the other factions seize dominance during this time. I suggest we recruit external talents too." Sven Friberg voiced his opinion, but everyone else had varying thoughts, "We''ll be fine even if we don''t recruit anyone; we''re an established faction and just one neer can''t shake us. Besides, recruiting Rank 1s will just burn resources we''ve seen this time and time again." "I think there''s still a couple of good talents from the disciples that entered two years ago." "No, we should recruit someone whose Erik''s age. Even if they don''t develop into a good talent, they can at leastpete a bit with him, take some of his resources and slow his growth." After hearing the opinions, Sven responded, "I concur. After all, the best talents from the group 2 years ago have already been taken, but we can still get in early to try and poach a promising neer this year. Even if they''re not established, they still have potential and can restrict Erik." Some others still disagreed, but they were some of the smaller figures in the hall. Most of the important people agreed with Sven''s suggestion and one of them a bald man with a thick orange beard added, "This was actually quite an entertaining neers'' tournament Erik isn''t this year''s only good prospect. In fact, I believe there are 2 people who are at least, or maybe even more promising than he is." "Oh?" Most of the hall expressed surprise. After all, if the Aalto faction decided to rock the boat and recruit a neer early, they should''ve been an outstanding neer who was unmatched by anyone in their ss. Everyone at the meeting waited for Jorge to continue, but he stroked his orange beard and let their anticipation grow. Just as someone was about to urge him to speak, he opened his mouth, "Lukas Brink and Isaac Dahl. The former is a natural first ss talent who reached Rank 2 before the tournament and reached the semi-finals. Thetter was the one who eliminated him a third ss talent who wields a sword with precision, fights intelligently, and was only narrowly defeated by Erik in the finals. In fact, I don''t think he was defeated at all. If you''ve seen the finals, you know what I mean." After saying his piece, Jorge dug a bronze pipe out of his pocket, lit it and started to puff while the discussion developed around him. "The first ss talent sounds like a good option. We know he''ll make big gains from any resources we invest in him and, if we''re lucky, he could even turn into the sect''s next Rank 5." Another elder snorted, "I know a bit about Lukas Brink my son was assigned to tutor him after all. So what if he''s a first ss talent? He''ll reach Rank 4, get schemed against and die. Hecks intelligence and, most importantly, hecks the right temperament to seed in cultivation! His arrogance will turn him into a troublemaker who just makes problems for our faction." Another elder spoke. He was a known rival of the previous grey-haired old man, so he naturally disagreed, "Nonsense! If hecks temperament, then we can train him! He''s only a child so it''s understandable if his attitude isn''t perfect. As long as he has talent, we can still polish and refine him until he bes a gem!" A woman in her mid-twenties with a red butterfly hairpin added, "What''s most important is: has Isaac Dahl improved his talent yet or can he still do it?" Jorge took the pipe out of his mouth, exhaled a long breath of smoke, then replied, "No. He can still improve to second or first ss." That immediately sparked great discussion in the hall and everyone quickly split into 2 sides: one which supported Isaac and one which argued Lukas was better. In the end, the sides had rather even numbers of people, but the side supporting Isaac included the majority of elders and important people in the hall. Many of them had second ss talent and had reached their positions through intelligence and guile, so they favoured Isaac''s cunning and dedicated personalitypared to Lukas'' raw talent. Among these elders was Sven Friberg, Johan and Lara''s father. Maya was absent due to important sect duties so Sven represented the Friberg family today, making him the most authoritative figure here since the faction head, Martin Sundersen, didn''t attend either. This was enough to tip the scales firmly in Isaac''s favour. After everybody had settled down, Sven announced, "Then it''s settled. We will recruit Isaac Dahl into the Sundersen faction." ************************* Present day, 4th floor of the Cultivation Pagoda. Isaac sat on the mattress in apletely calm state. His eyes were closed and his expression was as still as the words on a page while his will sunk down towards the Qi Core in his stomach. The core was full of azure blue liquid Qi, but Isaac''s will was formless and intangible, so it effortlessly floated to the centre of the liquid. Then, suddenly, it began to spin. It created a spherical vortex in the centre of the Qi Core, and Isaacmanded it to start interacting with his Qi. As soon as hemanded this, the vortex pushed all the surrounding Qi away and created an empty space in the middle of the core. The Qi around the vortex began to spin, and the vortex slowly grew quicker andrger. The Qi span faster and waspressed more. Its colour began to change and be paler, but there were many streaks of ck in the mixture. Isaac saw this and put even more effort into the vortex. His expression was no longer calm: his eyes were mped shut and sweat began to form on his furrowed brows while his lips were pulled into a grimace. The walls grew paler and the ck streaks became more obvious. Suddenly, a small portion split from Isaac''s will, dived into the liquid Qi, and scooped up a streak of ck. Then it re-emerged while carrying a few drops of ck liquid. This liquid impurity was much worse than the gaseous impurities Isaac had expelled in previous breakthroughs, so he carefully brought it through his Qi Veins and expelled it from the meridian points in his little finger. Outside, several ck drops dripped from Isaac''s finger and fell on the mattress with a sizzle, burning small holes in it. Meanwhile, the small portion of Isaac''s will was already speeding back to his Qi Core. It scooped another streak of ck from the rapidly spinning Qi and brought it away again. He continued to repeat this process over and over again until he couldn''t see any more ck. By this time, sweat covered his forehead and he felt slightly nauseous. After all, he''d been maintaining therge, spinning vortex of will this whole time. Now, however, was the hardest part. He massively increased the vortex''s spinning speed and he could see his Qi Core walls start to ke and crumble under the force of the spinning Qi. These were the 2yers of blue paste he''d created in his previous breakthroughs: they were broken into kes which dropped into the white-blue Qi, causing it to turn a deeper blue and be thicker in texture. After all the paste was stripped away, Isaac felt his Qi Core groaning and creaking. He knew he had to act quickly. He spun his liquid Qi rapidly, causing the paste to quickly dissolve in it and form a smooth mixture. Then he stopped spinning the vortex and caused it to rapidly expand instead. The Qi was pushed hard against his Qi Core walls and gotpressed. Its colour quickly turned back to white-blue as it began to solidify. Isaac exerted all his willpower topress the Qi as much as possible and, after an indeterminable amount of time, it finally turned into a solidyer on the inside of his Qi Core! This twoyered Qi Core was the sign of a Rank 2! Chapter 116: 0% Chapter 116: 0% Isaac wanted to bring his will over and feel the new Qiyer which was white with a slight blue tint, but he couldn''t. His knew how weak his will was from how it kept quivering, so he pulled it back to his mind where it could recuperate. Then he slumped over and fell asleep. ************************* When he finally came to, everything was dark. He''d slept for the entire day and night had long since descended. His stomach rumbled, so he went to prepare arge meal. He brought his te over to the window and rested it on the windowsill as he ate, looking out over the sect. Lights flickered like fireflies in the night and Isaac''s heart warmed as he surveyed the Rank 1 district, "Just five months! I only lived there for five months and I''m already moving up! Hahahaha," his gaze turned to the muchrger Rank 2 district, "It''s a new world! A new world of opportunities opening itself up in front of me!" He stopped speaking as he took another bite of food, but his thoughts never stopped tossing and turning like an unstoppable tide. Now that he was Rank 2, everything had changed. Most importantly, cultivation would be much more difficult from now onwards. After all, reaching Rank 2 was referred to as ''easy'' for anyone with 3rd ss or better talent. That meant anyone with that talent could do it, it was just a matter of time. On the other hand, reaching Rank 3 was only easy if you had 1st ss talent. Even 2nd ss talents would encounter some difficulties, while it was unlikely for 3rd ss talents to ever reach that realm. As for 4th and 5th ss talents... 5th ss talents could never reach Rank 2, let alone Rank 3. 4th ss talents were also destined to be stuck here forever and never achieve Rank 3. Thankfully, Isaac had a chance to keep up with the more talented disciples: he could stand on the shoulders of a giant. The Sundersen faction had approached him a few weeks ago and offered him a spot in their faction. The envoy had expected Isaac to jump for joy and agree on the spot, but he had actually rejected! Well, rejected wasn''t quite the right word: ''postponed'' was more urate. He had said he would enter the faction after reaching Rank 2. This would benefit him since Rank 1 cultivation was nowhere near enough for him to participate in the political whirlpool of a faction, and it would benefit the Sundersen faction since recruiting a Rank 1 could attract some mocking gazes or poor publicity as it had when the Aalto faction recruited Erik. Since the envoy was a quick-witted man, he quickly realised this benefitted both parties and, after getting Isaac to sign a promise saying he would join the Sundersen faction after he exited seclusion, he left. Now Isaac had a chance to officially join a faction, but he still decided not to. His Qi Core was currently 0% full. He still had to cultivate some more. ************************* Early the next morning, before the Sun even rose, Isaac left the Cultivation Pagoda. He brought 5 Basic Qi Pills and several bags of reward point tokens with him and visited the market. When he entered the sect exchange centre, he went straight to the counter for Basic Qi Pills and passed his 5 to the person behind the counter, "I''d like to sell these Basic Qi Pills." "Five pills? That''ll be four reward points." Isaac nodded curtly and the woman handed him 4 wooden tokens. Then he spoke again, "I''d like to purchase Intermediate Qi Pills." Rank 2 cultivators could still use Basic Qi Pills, but they would have to go through many steps to purify the Qi in them and the efficiency was barely better than absorbing Qi from the atmosphere. Instead, most would use the much more effective Intermediate Qi Pills. However, the clerk''s brows furrowed when she heard ''Intermediate Qi pills''. "Those are Rank 2 goods, I''m not sure if we have them in stock. Wait here, I''ll consult the store supervisor." The woman left, then came back a few momentster. She carried 7 small marble-like orbs with a red hue. This shade of red came from the ferns used to concoct these pills. "These are all we have in stock." "I''ll take six." "That''ll be fourty-two reward points then." Despite the stunning price, Isaac readily handed over 42 wooden tokens. This was almost all of his savings, including his remaining winnings from the tournament, savings from before and what he''d been paid for injuring Johan. Of course, Lara''s reward wasn''t just this though. She yed a role in hinting to her father that the Sundersen faction should recruit a neer, and that a cunning, capable disciple would be the best choice topete with Erik. Although it would leave him with very limited funds, Isaac still handed the money over. After all, the most important thing now was to build up a bit of Qi so he didn''t get caught in a situation like Lukas in the tournament. He swiftly pocketed the 6 red-tinged pills and headed back to the Cultivation Pagoda. As soon as he returned, he immediately entered cultivation. He cultivated for the today and the 2 days after it, but then his rent for the room expired. He scraped together 5 iron pieces to extend his stay for half a week, then spent 3 more days cultivating thest Intermediate Qi Pills. After 6 days of cultivation, his Qi Core was still only 3% full. His Qi was still blue at Rank 2, but it was a much lighter shade of sky-blue and it sat like a tiny puddle at the bottom of his Qi Core. Isaac still wasn''t satisfied, but he couldn''t afford more Intermediate Qi Pills and cultivating without them would make his speed 10 times slower. He had no choice but toe out of seclusion. The day after he''d absorbed the final pill, he returned home to gather his personal belongings. Then he went to visit the Administration Hall, proved his identity as a Rank 2 cultivator, and was assigned a new residence in the Rank 2 district. He brought all his stuff to the new residence. It was a littlerger than his old house and, when he went inside, there was a proper table and set of chairs, and the bed wasn''t just a mattressid on the floor it was an actual bed. Then he walked over to the taps and flicked them a few times. There was running water, hot and cold, so he didn''t need to draw water from a well any time he needed any. This running water system was achieved with the use of many Rank 2 Water Propulsion Anima which drew water from the huge reservoir underneath the Sect. Cold water was sent directly from the reservoir, while hot water was heated by fire-style Anima while it travelled through the pipes. After marvelling at the first example of running water he''d ever seen, Isaac sprung right back into action. He didn''t waste time getting cosy or settling in, he simply dropped his bag of belongings in a corner and then left the house. He headed directly towards the library not just any old library, but the Rank 2 district''s 1 star library. There were 1 star libraries in the Rank 1, 2 and 3 districts, and they mostly held simr information, but Isaac felt he was more likely to find what he was looking for here than in the Rank 1 district''s library. After all, he was here to research Rank 2 Anima forms. Soon, Isaac arrived in front of a wide, 1-storey building crafted from silver birch wood. It hadrge double doors with a guard standing either side and Isaac approached them slowly. "Halt! What is your business here?" A guard raised his armoured arm,manding Isaac to stop, "I ced second in the neers'' tournament and was assigned thirty hours of time in one star locations. I''m here to use some of that time." "You need to check in at reception so they can verify that. Pleasee in." The doors looked thick and heavy, but the guard opened them effortlessly. Isaac walked past into a foyer area where a woman sat behind a wide wooden bench. "Hello, how can I help you?" She gave a professional smile, "My name is Isaac dahl, I''ve been allocated thirty hours of time in 1 star locations." The woman was a consummate professional; she didn''t ask how Isaac had got that time or what he was here to research, she simply busied herself with finding the relevant information. The immense amount of paperwork spread across the 10-foot long table began to float and sort itself, and it wasn''t long before the woman had a single sheet in her hand. "I have everything here. Now, just to verify your identity..." The woman asked Isaac a series of security questions which only he would know the answer to. After making sure he really was Isaac Dahnd not an impersonator, she smiled warmly, "And that''s all! You''re free to enter, and I''ll start your timer as soon as you do. Of course, you don''t have to spend all thirty hours in one go and you can alwayse back another time. Oh, and as a word of advice, you should probably look downstairs." Isaac gave a nod of thanks, then pushed through a small single door to enter the main library. Shelves of books ran from left to right and from floor to ceiling, filling Isaac''s vision. It was like he was submerged in an ocean of paper. However, he didn''t stand in awe or wander around he had limited time after all. He immediately checked the numbers nailed to the bookcases and the key which gave a range of numbers for the bookcases which held certain information. However, these were all rather irrelevant subjects and what Isaac wanted wasn''t on the key. He instantly recalled the woman''s advice and looked for a staircase leading downwards. It didn''t take long to find; there was arge stone trapdoor in the exact centre of the library. Isaac strained his muscles to heave it open. A granite staircase was revealed to him and he took his first steps underground... Chapter 117: New Anima, New Backing Chapter 117: New Anima, New Backing On the first underground floor, he was met by arge wooden door with heavy metal hinges which had been drilled into the grey stone walls. There was a Lumnos Stone next to the door which cast light on the words inscribed in the wall. They were another set of ''topics''. Isaac presumed these were the topics covered by the books on this floor, but they still didn''t include what he was looking for so he went down again. No, no, no. None of the next 3 floors had what he was looking for. Only when Isaac descended to the 5th and final underground floor did he read the words he had been searching for. ''Bookcases 5500 - 6000 Rank 2 Anima Forms'' Isaac heaved the heavy door open and stepped inside. The whole room was lit by Lumnos Stones actually, rather than a room, it would be better to call it a cave of books. Isaac couldn''t see past the first row of bookcases so he had no way of knowing howrge the ce was, but he imagined it was pretty vast after all, this floor alone held 1000 bookcases. He went to close the door behind him, but then noticed a small alcove next to it. Isaac noticed a pair of ethereal spectacles resting in the alcove, shimmering dimly. He extended his will towards the Librarian Anima and easily essed it. It gave him a detailed description of what was on this floor and where he could find it. With these directions, Isaac headed right and made a few decisive turns before he arrived in front of arge stone wall. This wall had many alcoves dug out in it and many Librarian Anima resting in it. Information such as advancement forms were too valuable to record in books so they were registered in these Anima. Of course, 1 Anima could only hold a limited amount of information, so there were thousands here. Isaac walked up to the wall, picked an arbitrary Anima and used his will to probe it. It contained many, many forms which all used the Rank 1 Bestial Bloodlust Anima as a base. Of course these forms were of no interest to Isaac since he didn''t cultivate the beast style which the Sect specialised in. He brought his will back and then nced down at the Librarian Anima in his left palm. This was the one which told him where everything on the floor was. He essed it and quickly located where forms for sword sub-style Anima were stored. Soon, he began to browse them and look for form which used the Spirit Sword Anima or the Nihility Intent Anima as a base. ************************* An hour and a halfter, Isaac left the library. In this time, he''d already sifted through all the library''s sword sub-style forms and remembered a few of the best ones. He''d also had a look at some forms for advancing the Snowshoe Anima. With these forms in mind, he visited a different building. There were many locations where rank 1 Anima were stored in the Rank 2 district. These Anima were often rarer and more precious than the Anima stored in the Rank 1 district, so Isaac headed to one of these storage locations. When he arrived, he had to answer another set of security questions to prove his identity and redeem his 2 opportunities to pick Anima. Now, he''d already considered which Anima would be best for advancing his current set to Rank 2. Snowshoe Anima had many advancement paths but, if you ignored its ring weakness, it could be said to already have half a Rank 2 Anima''s ability. Its speed and agility were outstanding, so advancing it to Rank 2 wasn''t a priority right now. Spirit Sword Anima was Isaac''s main attacking method and, despite being from the rather unpopr sword sub-style, it also had many advancement paths. Most of these forms used the Spirit Sword Anima as a side ingredient which could give the final product the properties of ''sharpness'' or ''piercing power'', such as the form for the Rank 2 Ice de Anima. However, there were still some forms which used the Spirit Sword Anima as the main material and advanced it to Rank 2, so Isaac wasn''t worried about this either. The true problem was Nihility Intent Anima. Isaac desperately wanted to advance it, but he couldn''t find any forms which included it! Indeed, this was an oversight on his part and he should''ve predicted this. After all, he could find several forms for Spirit Sword Anima since it was one of the mostmon, fundamental, core Anima of sword sub-style and even the whole of weapon-style. Inparison, Nihility Intent Anima was a rare and obscure Anima which only sword-users could utilise. It was understandable no forms used it. As the saying goes, a wise man submits to circumstances. Isaac had given up on advancing the Nihility Intent Anima for now and created a new n. He picked 2 new Anima. In fact, his choices were rather surprising. He selected the Ravenous Phantom Anima and the Spectral Hand Anima, neither of which had anything to do with sword sub-style or the forms he''d researched. He refined them quickly since the Anima were being subdued, and the Spectral Hand Anima flew into his left palm while the Ravenous Phantom Anima took up residence in his tongue. After taking possession of the 2 Anima, Isaac set off somece else. He went back home to eat lunch, but his true purpose for returning was much more important. After he finished his meal, he supplied a jolt of sky blue Qi and suddenly, letters began to appear on his forearm. They spelt out a name in inky ck characters, ''William Jensen'' This was the name of the Sundersen faction''s envoy and also the person who''d lent Isaac this Instant Notes Anima. Isaac picked up a fountain pen filled with ck ink and carefully circled the name on his arm. The name glowed faintly, then disappeared. After it was gone, Isaac began writing a message on his arm. Basically, it was saying that he was ready to join the faction. While he was writing, the start of the message began to disappear as the ink it was written in dried. Any letters dried, they were transmitted to William Jensen, who also owned an Instant Notes Anima which was linked to this one. Somewhere else in the Sect, William was reading Isaac''s message which had appeared like a ck tattoo on his arm. The letters faded and disappeared after a short while, and William began to write his response. When Isaac received the response, he saw a time and ce were written inrge but elegantly penned characters. He would be meeting William and another Sundersen faction representative today. There were still over 4 hours until the appointed time, so Isaac went to the training ground to practice swordsmanship. As a novice sword expert, he felt that his movements were far more fluid and unpredictable than before. More than that, he simply had a better understanding of how to use sword Anima inbat. Isaac spent a long time contemting how to maximise his improved understanding of the sword and properly utilise his unpredictable swordsmanship inbat. He came up with a few ideas and new moves, but they all needed a lot more polishing and weren''t ready to be used yet. Unfortunately, he didn''t have much time since the meeting was near. Isaac went back home to take a shower and prepare. Then he walked to the business area of the Rank 2 district where he found an elegant caf with a white and cream coloured exterior. Isaac pushed at the ss door of the caf and it glided open easily, without a sound. The caf was full of people sitting around tables and chatting quietly, but only the people near the door noticed Isaac. Isaac walked over to one of these tables and sat down. Opposite him was a man in a grey greatcoat and a woman wearing circr sses and a fluffy white coat which reached all the way down to her knees. The man, William, spoke, "This is Olivia, one of the Sundersen faction''s Rank 3 members. She''s here because someone of a higher rank than you needs to oversee your recruitment process." Olivia gave a smile and a small wave, and Isaac reciprocated with a nod and a quiet "Hello." After that, things proceeded without a hitch. William gave Isaac some papers, which he read and signed. Then he made an oath on the Death Pact Anima. The terms were loose and unrestrictive, and the key condition was to not betray the Sundersen faction. The moment he swore on the Anima and helped activate it, a lump of thick, dark cloud flew into his head and nestled in his brain. If he vited the pact''s terms, this cloud would obliterate his will and kill him instantly. However, Isaac had demanded to include a condition where, if the Sundersen faction betrayed him, then the pact would be broken and the dark cloud would disperse and cease to bind Isaac. This way he wouldn''t be helplessly betrayed with no way to retaliate, and he also had a way out of the pact. After Isaac formed the pact, William smiled brightly, "Good! You''re one of us now and we''ll announce that you joined the faction tomorrow. Now, we can move onto more important matters. The faction has been handed a mission and is currently in the process of creating a team to take it. I think it would be a great chance for you to gain experience and umte some merit." Chapter 118: Preparations Chapter 118: Preparations Isaac raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise. He hadn''t expected to receive a mission so soon. "How long do I have until this mission? What''s the mission objective?" This time it was Olivia who answered, "The mission will be in 10 days. Several people have been found dead in a certain area of the ice caves, and we strongly believe the culprit is a nest of Carapace Bugs, so we''re sending six teams of four people to exterminate them: one team from our faction, one from the Bakke faction, two from the Goodman faction and two from the Aalto faction." "Howrge is the nest?" "We don''t have a definite size, but intel suggests it is a medium scale nest." "Okay, I''ll ept the mission." Ordinarily, 24 Rank 2s would have difficulty dealing with a mid-scaled nest and this would be a tough mission. However, Rank 2s from the great factions were a different story. Even if they were interns instead of full members like Isaac, their skill would still far surpass the average cultivator and they wouldn''t have much trouble exterminating the nest; it seemed like a rather easy mission. However, Isaac still added, "But taking a mission so soon after reaching Rank 2 is a problem: I have very little Qi and I''ll run out quickly during the mission." Both Olivia and William knew what he was implying: he wanted Intermediate Qi Pills to quickly improve his cultivation. They both wore pensive expressions as they considered what to do. All of a sudden, a female voice spoke in Isaac''s mind. His eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected voice, but he quickly calmed his expression and did his best to look natural as he listened to the voice, "Don''t be rmed, I''m speaking to you directly through a will-style Anima; William can''t hear us. Now, I know you''re close with Johan Friberg I''m linked to the half of the Friberg family which supports him, so I have a proposition for you: if you include Johan in your team for this mission and help him umte achievements in the future, we will give you all the help you need. The pills this time are just a sign of goodwill, you can think it over and answerter.'' Soon after the voice in his head stopped, Olivia spoke in real life. "It would indeed be problematic if you had limited Qi. I''ll gift you five Intermediate Qi Pills, so make sure to use them all before the mission." William watched on with mild surprise as Olivia handed Isaac 5 red-tinged pills. Isaac gratefully epted them and replied, "Thank you very much. I''m sure you''re both busy people who have things to do, and I also have a number of duties including cultivation," Isaac gestured towards the pills in his hand, "so if you''ll excuse me, I need to take a brief trip to the Rank 1 district." William was slightly confused, and wondered why Isaac had told them where he was going, but Olivia smiled. She responded quickly, "Then don''t let us keep you. You''re right, we all have ces to be." Isaac shook hands with William and Olivia, then they all got up from their seats and exited the caf. When they got outside, everybody left in different directions. ************************* A whileter, Isaac was leaving Johan''s house. He''d already exined the situation to Johan and told him about how the mission was a great opportunity to prove his strength. Johan had agreed to join the mission and even thanked Isaac for continuing to think of him despite advancing to Rank 2 and joining the Sundersen faction. Isaac smirked as he thought about this. His decision wasn''t made out of consideration for Johan at all! Even if Olivia didn''t approach him, he would''ve found Johan''s supporters and tried to join them since this was the scenario which offered him the greatest benefits! On one hand, the Friberg family had great resources and influence and were one of the Sundersen faction''s biggest yers. Isaac would surely be rewarded well for helping their eldest son. On the other hand, this put Isaac in a position where he was very close to Johan. This would let him keep doing jobs for Lara and earn money from her as well. This was the meaning of ''ying both sides''! Now that he''d told Johan about the mission, he needed to go and prepare for himself. However, it was toote to start cultivating so he went to do some more swordsmanship practice. The longer he practiced, the more slippery and unavoidable his strikes became. He was adjusting to his new understanding of the sword at lightning speed and was constantly finding new ways to improve his fighting style. Isaac practiced until the end of the day, making huge strides of improvement along the way. When the day was over, he returned home and started remodelling his new house. He removed some decorations and arranged his own personal belongings. Then he moved the empty bookshelf out of the room''s back corner so he could pull up the floorboards where it used to be and dig a hole. He put 4 Intermediate Qi Pills in his iron box, then buried the box in the hole, put the floorboards back and returned the bookshelf to its original ce. With that done, Isaac ate dinner and went to bed. ************************* The next day, he woke early and got ready quickly. Then he took the single Intermediate Qi Pill which was ced under his pillow and immediately began to cultivate. Several hourster, Isaac opened his eyes after absorbing all the pill''s Qi. He sensed the puddle of Qi in his core and felt that it had slightly improved. Then his stomach rumbled loudly. He went to make arge meal and wolfed it down. After he was done eating, he visited the training grounds to practice swordsmanship, staying there untilte into the night. Then he came back home, ate anotherrge meal, and slept like he was dead. Rinse and repeat. Isaac persisted with these same actions for the next 5 days until he had used all of the Intermediate Qi Pills. By now, his Qi Core was a barely satisfactory 6% full. The announcement about him joining Sundersen faction had been made 5 days ago and the news would''ve already spread by now. Isaac had been waiting for this to happen, so he had something else to do now. He paid a visit to the rank 2 district main marketce. Spectral Hand Anima and Ravenous Phantom Anima; he found some good buyers and sold them both! They were both rare, top-tier Anima from the extremely popr ghost-style and, since they were ghost-style Anima, they were also easy to advance to Rank 2. This made them very sought after and both fetched well over a hundred reward points. In fact, the Spectral Hand Anima was sold for nearly 200 reward points, close to the price of a Rank 2 Anima! With pockets full of his new earnings, Isaac visited a couple of other shops. Now he was buying, not selling: he purchased a Controlled Breeze Anima which reced the Ravenous Phantom Anima in his tongue, a Gilt Rain Anima which took up residence in his right forearm, and a second Spirit Sword Anima which dwelt in his left palm. Then he went to acquire some materials, mostly special metals. The Rank 2 district had a much better marketce than the Rank 1 district. Most shops were run by established merchants who had decades of experience and many connections. This meant there was a wide selection of Anima and the prices were slightly lower than the Rank 1 district at least for low-end goods, that was. The Spirit Sword Anima was cheap, the Gilt Rain Anima was a slightly popr material for advancing Anima but had no use in battle by itself, so it was also inexpensive. Only the materials and the Controlled Breeze Anima were somewhat valuable, and Isaac paid just over 170 reward points for everything. Thankfully, he''d used his 2 Anima selections wisely and picked valuable Anima which he could resell at a high price. After selling the pair of ghost-style Anima, he could easily afford this type of purchase. He''d also waited for the news about him joining Sundersen faction to spread, so it was unlikely somebody would be audacious enough to rob him. Possessing wealth without strength is a crime; it is like asking to be robbed. However, background is also a form of strength! With a huge organisation led by a Rank 5 backing him up, nobody would steal from Isaac and risk their entire future for some minor immediate gains. With the confidence that he wouldn''t be robbed, Isaac carried his precious materials in a bag as he walked down the middle of the street. He kept his hood down and his chin up so everybody could see his face. In this manner, he left the Rank 2 district and went back into the Rank 1 district. He walked all the way through the Rank 1 district and out the other side, emerging near the Academy. The Academy and its grounds were on his left, but he walked right and headed towards thebour area of the Sect. There were special farms here which grew normal crops and Qi herbs, and reared both normal livestock and specific wild beasts. Many of these areas were restricted, but Isaac had no interest in them either. He walked past all the farms to arrive at a row of 5 smithies; 3 had plumes of grey smoke rising from their chimneys, indicating the cksmith inside was hard at work. Isaac picked one of the smithies without any smoke and opened the door without knocking. The burly, grey-haired cksmith was sitting on a stool with a well-designed, probably self-made bronze pipe sticking out of his mouth. He jolted in surprise when he heard the door open and saw Isaac walk in. He adopted an angry expression, removed the pipe from his mouth, and was just about to get up but Isaac spoke first, "I want to rent your forge." Chapter 119: Advancing! Chapter 119: Advancing! The cksmith was a very observant man with a good eye for detail. He noticed that Isaac was carrying a bag of materials and had a young face but wore a Rank 2 disciple''s badge, so he quickly realised Isaac wanted to perform Anima advancement. The cksmith was a Rank 2 cultivator himself so he didn''t feel intimidated by Isaac''s cultivation. However, he was over 40 years old and still stuck in middle stage, while Isaac looked young and was surely a promising cultivator with a bright future. The cksmith thought all this in an instant and felt that it would be best to avoid offending Isaac. Instead of charging over angrily, he stood up and gave a polite smile, "How long do you wish to rent it for?" "Three hours." "That shouldn''t be a problem, but the cost will be 1 reward point per hour." "Half a reward point." Isaac directly shed the price and the cksmith frowned, "Eight iron pieces, that''s the lowest." Isaac directly took out 2 reward point tokens and 4 iron pieces and handed them to the cksmith. The cksmith lingered for a second, but Isaac shooed him away, "Go. I would prefer to work alone." The cksmith was displeased but left anyway, leaving Isaac in the empty smithy. Now, why had Isaace to a smithy to advance his Anima? Well, ''advancement'' was originally a natural process which urred after an Anima had absorbed Qi for many years, built a strong foundation and eventually underwent a transformation which brought it to the next rank. Using a form and various materials to forcibly advance an Anima was essentially elerating that natural process andpleting it in a short time. The most importantponent was Qi, which usually came from materials. Then there were also other Anima and materials which would influence the new Anima''s ability, idle consumption, shape, dwelling ce and so on. However, the ''environment'' was just as important as these auxiliary Anima and materials! Since forced advancement was replicating a natural process, it should be done in an environment which was simr to the new Anima''s natural habitat. The issue of environment was also what gave the 4 continents their specialty Anima. For example, it was easy to find ces to advance snow, ice, water and wind-style Anima in Northern Tundra but it was almost impossible to find somewhere to advance fire-style Anima. In contrast, Western Prairies had a great strip of desert across the middle of it where it was easy to find spots to advance fire or sand-style Anima but incredibly difficult to advance water, earth or nt-style Anima. Isaac wanted to create a Rank 2 sword Anima, so he was doing it in a ce which was naturally attractive to swords: a smithy. He put the bag of materials down and took out a piece of paper from his pocket. When he unfolded it, a long list of detailed instructions could be seen this was the form he''d copied down after seeing it in the library a while ago. He read all the instructions twice before beginning, just to refresh his memory. Then he took the first step. ''Burn Windy Qi Incense to fill the room with windy Qi.'' This step would provide Qi for the advancement, but also slightly altered the environment to suit the Controlled Breeze Anima he would be using in the process. After lighting the incense, faint gusts of Qi began to blow around the forge. Isaac nced at his notes again, ''Stoke the forge and begin smelting 2.27kg of iron. When it has melted, add 60g of gold, the higher the purity the better.'' Again, Isaac followed the instructions. He lit the forge and stoked it until the mes within it were roaring. Then he used the forge''s traditional weighing scales to measure the exact amount of the metals he needed. Isaac continued following the steps and the process continued smoothly. After a while, his bag of materials was almost empty. Windy Qi and fresh iron Qi filled the air, while a glowing globule of melted metal sat in the furnace. Isaac watched the metal intently. When he decided it was ready, hemanded the Controlled Breeze Anima to fly out of his body. Its spirit body, which was an invisible gust of wind, hung in mid-air and began to hungrily absorb the Qi in the air. Although Isaac couldn''t see it, he could sense it expanding rapidly as it sucked in all the windy Qi. It also absorbed some fresh iron Qi, but there was an adverse reaction as it rejected some of it. Isaac quickly activated the Gilt Rain Anima. A grey cloud appeared just beneath the ceiling. It rapidly grew darker and then began to rain tiny droplets of yellow metal. Some hit the floor with a clink, but many were stopped in mid-air as theynded on the Controlled Gust Anima''srge body. These droplets slowly dissolved as the Controlled Gust Anima absorbed them. As it absorbed the metal rain, the rejection against the fresh metal Qi decreased and it began to absorb that as well. After a long time, all the Qi in the air was absorbed. Isaac felt the Controlled Gust Anima shaking violently. It was unstable and on the verge of breaking apart after absorbing so much Qi from a different style. Isaac flicked his arm and the Gilt Rain Anima flew out. It was just a small, translucent metal droplet but it shot towards the huge Controlled Gust Anima fearlessly. There was a sudden sh of light and Isaac quickly threw hisst 2 ingredients towards the light: they were a bar of Murky Steel and 10 droplets of Needle Water which were held in a small ss bottle. When the 2 ingredients were thrown into the air, they vanished into the shining light. Then the light began to rapidly contract and disappeared entirely, leaving behind streaks of golden air which Isaac could control to fly around. However, he didn''t control them to do this. This was a half-finished product which was still unstable, only slightly less vtile than the Controlled Gust Anima from before. First, Isaac checked the liquid metal in the furnace. It possessed a chromatic shine with many different colours blurred together, but the colour of gold stood out the most. Isaac nodded. Then he controlled the golden air to float down to stomach level andmanded a Spirit Sword Anima to fly out and float in the middle of the air. Next he took the container of liquid metal out from the furnace. He controlled the golden wind to wrap tightly around the small orange sword spirit, then he poured the metal mixture over them! However, not a single drop fell to the floor. The metal formed an orb with the wind and Spirit Sword Anima inside. Isaac smiled and rxed. He could sense the process of advancing happening within that metal cocoon, so the advancement was highly likely to be a sess. As long as you had a good form, performing an advancement was rtively easy: you just needed to follow the steps properly and you were likely to seed. Right now, Isaac''s form said to leave the metal cocoon alone, so he did just that. He sat on a workbench and read the form over and over again, pondering the profundity of it and analysing how each step achieved a certain effect. He had nothing else to do, so Isaac studied this form for over 2 hours until, finally, the cocoon showed signs of breaking. The cocoon was originally lustrous andrge, about the size of a football. Now, however, it had shrunk to the size of a tennis ball and was a dull grey like all its vitality had been sucked away. Many cracks covered its surface, but the biggest ran all the way from the top to bottom of the metal sphere. With a crackling sound, part of the cocoon crumbled. A golden shape sped out of it and excitedly flew around Isaac''s head 3 times beforeing to a stop in front of him. Now he saw it clearly. There were over 20 miniature gold swords clustered together into a fist-sized space, forming a sword cloud. This was Rank 2 Sword Rain Anima! Isaac had seen many Rank 2 sword Anima recipes, but this was the one he chose to advance first. There were 2 main reasons: its form had a 100% sess rate (as long as the steps were followed perfectly), and it was a strong AOE (Area Of Effect) ranged attack Anima. Isaac hadcked a ranged attacking Anima, so this filled a gap in his capabilities. It would also be perfect against the Carapace Bugs. Most of them had power near the bottom of Rank 1, but they possessed strength in numbers. An AOE Rank 2 Anima like Sword Rain Anima could ughter many Carapace Bugs with a single attack and was an ideal weapon for facing them. Isaac smiled widely. Now that the Sword Rain Anima was in his hands, he had no fear in the uing mission. He controlled it to fly into his left forearm (since William had already taken back the Instant Notes Anima which used to dwell there) and picked up his now-empty bag. He opened the door of the smithy and left while stuffing the bag into his coat pocket. Chapter 120: Setting Out Chapter 120: Setting Out Isaac left the cksmith''s and walked home. On the way back, he rented a locker to store his left-over wealth. The news about him joining the Sundersen faction should stop people from robbing him, but Isaac wouldn''t take unnecessary risks and stored his things in the locker. After doing that, he returned home to eat, then left again to visit the training grounds. Truthfully, he wanted to cultivate. However, he had exercised extremely precise control over his Anima during the advancement process and this had exhausted his will, meaning entering meditation would be difficult. As such, Isaac could only give up on cultivating and go to practice swordsmanship instead. He practiced for a while and came home at around 8pm to get a good night''s sleep. ************************* Isaac awoke early the next day. He went to his locker, took 21 reward points, and exchanged them for 3 Intermediate Qi Pills at the market. Then he put 2 of those pills back in his locker while he brought the 3rd one home with him. The first part of that day was spent cultivating, while thetter portion was upied by swordsmanship practice. The next day, Isaac followed the same routine. On the 3rd day, he cultivated again and brought his Qi Core to 7.5% full. After that, he did some extremely light swordsmanship practice for an hour, then took some time off to visit the normal library. After all, the mission was tomorrow and he didn''t want to exhaust his body. ************************* 17th of June, 18125 T.C. Just as Northern Tundra was passing through springtime and had many sprouts poking their fragile heads above the continent''s nket of snow, Isaac was also in the springtime of his life. Since, and even before the tournament, he had enjoyed many weeks of peacefully cultivating and growing steadily. However, just as ''spring'' wasing to an end for the continent, it was alsoing to an end for Isaac. He was about to enter ''summer''. Now, summer is a time of extreme vibrance and life. At the same time, it is also a time of greatpetition. The countless nts and animals which have emerged during spring must nowpete for sunlight, nutrients and water. They mustpete to spread their seed and protect their offspring. Only those who emerge victorious from this struggle will earn the right to enjoy summer''s glories. On one hand, there were many gains to be had. On the other, unexpected dangers lurked around every corner and would test animals to their limits. Again, this was very simr to Isaac''s situation. The Sundersen faction was a ce teeming with opportunities and benefits, but precisely because of this it was also filled with an astounding level ofpetition. Now that Isaac was beginning to take an active role in the faction''s affairs and throwing himself into this fierce political whirlpool, it could be said that his spring his time for peaceful growth was over and his summer his time topete madly for every advantage he could get his ws on was just beginning. Isaac was currently standing in a square near the Rank 2 district''s gates, waiting for all 6 teams from the great factions to assemble so they could set off on their mission. All 4 people from the Sundersen faction were already here. There was Isaac, Johan who was the only Rank 1 on the entire expedition a tall and thin woman with beady eyes named ra, and Felix, an averagely built man withrge ears that stuck out, a wide but t nose, and deep-set emerald eyes which twinkled intelligently. A senior member of the Sundersen faction had introduced them to Isaac and they had said Isaac would actually be leading the team for this mission! It would be his first test as a member of the faction. This made Isaac d that he''d put all his effort into cultivating and also creating a Rank 2 Anima. If his strength was too low, his prestige in the group would quickly drop and he would be more of aughing stock than an actual team leader. Earning your subordinates'' respect was a crucial aspect of leading a group, so Isaac knew he would need to showcase his impressive sword techniques andmanding abilities once the mission started so he could earn the team''s trust. Other than this, he also pondered what attitude the other groups would take towards him. After all, he was the only official faction member on this mission, while the other teams were full of interns. He and Johan were also the only 2 neers and possessed the lowest cultivation, putting their team in a poor position. The other teams would likely notice this and try to force the least desirable jobs onto Isaac''s team since they wouldn''t be able to resist. It would be Isaac''s job to stop this happening. Speaking of other teams, the team from the Bakke faction and the 2 teams from the Goodman faction were already here. The final 2 teams from the Aalto faction were just arriving while Isaac thought. He cast his eyes across the 8 people. Erik was not among them. The people from the Aalto faction also surveyed the gathering and Isaac felt that, just for a moment, some of their gazes lingered on him. Isaac was extremely perceptive to emotions and he sensed a hint of anger, even disdain in some of those gazes. That was understandable though; he was the youngest out of everybody here but he was also the only official member of a faction. Everybody else was an intern who had been giving it their all to gain that status, meanwhile Isaac had just waltzed in and taken it it was normal for them to be jealous. He disregarded their nces and waited for them to get closer. When they did, a giant of a man from the Goodman faction suddenly called out, "My name is Bjrn. I have the highest cultivation and greatest experience out of everybody here and I have been chosen to lead this mission. While each team has its own leader and they are free tomand their own subordinates, my word will be final and you must listen even if it means ignoring your team leader''smands. This is the decision of all four factions: they have chosen me as the leader to ensure the mission ends in sess." Bjrn''s voice was deep and imposing, making the others feel unable to disobey. There were still several others who disagreed with him leading the mission mostly the other team leaders but none of them voiced their disagreement after they heard this was the 4 factions'' decision. After establishing himself as the leader, Bjrn gave a detailed brief about the mission. He began by describing the target: a nest of Carapace Bugs. Carapace Bugs were Rank 1 insect-type wild beasts. They had tens of pairs of legs, were about the size of a dinner te, and were surprisingly thin. Their main features were a pair of sharp mandibles which could bend steel and slice through iron, and therge shell which covered their entire back, earning them the name ''Carapace'' Bugs. While their defence was impressive, they did not possess any natural abilities such as the Sarcevic Wolf''s ''phantom w'' or ''self-like-shadow'', and a single bug''s strengthy near the bottom of Rank 1. Since this was the case, why were 24 elite Rank 2 cultivators being sent to deal with them? That was because this was not a single Carapace Bug, but a medium-scaled nest which could possess anywhere between 500 and 3,000 Rank 1 bugs as well as several Rank 2 bug queens. Their mission was to exterminate all the Carapace Bug Queens andpletely demolish the nest, after which the remaining Carapace Bugs would fall into chaos and naturally scatter. After exining these details, Bjrn raised a huge, muscr arm andmanded everyone to form up. They all assembled into an orderly diamond-shaped formation with the 2 Goodman faction teams at the front, the Sundersen faction and 2 Aalto faction teams lined up behind them, then the Bakke faction team guarding the rear. Everybody watched in anticipation as therge gates opened in front of them. Then, in their formation, they stepped out into wild. Chapter 121: Goodbye Chapter 121: Goodbye The journey to the ice caves was a long one, and their journey gave Isaac time to ponder the origin of these caves. The Sect was set up close to argeke. However, thiske was frozenpletely solid like a massive block of ice! Even in summer, the frozenke didn''t show any signs of thawing and remained utterly solid. Over the years, many tunnels, caves and passages had been dug through the frozenke, either by humans or wild beasts (normal animals weren''t strong enough to damage the tough ice). This had transformed it into an icy maze which the Sect still hadn''t fully mapped out over the course of 500 years. Many ruins or remnants from forgotten societiesy inside, using mysterious methods to conceal themselves from the Sect''s searching Anima and waiting for a lucky cultivator to break in and inherit their ancient secrets. How theke had been frozen was a mystery, the answer to which had been washed away by the river of time. However, there was one story about the ice caves which was very true and very well known: the Full Moon Sect''s first Rank 5, Ivar Olsen, owed much of his sess due to uncovering a set of ruins here when he was a Rank 4. Stories such as these motivated many sect cultivators to try their luck here and investigate the ice caves, and while the vast majority of expeditions ended in disappointment, a few seeded and served as more stories to motivate hopeful explorers. Isaac glided along with his Snowshoe Anima while he thought of this. Everyone was travelling at a moderate pace to conserve Qi but they were still going far faster than a person could walk (or even run). They made great progress during their first day of travel and eventually set up camp when night fell. Bjrn arranged a guard system where 2 people, each from different factions, would constantly be on watch duty. Isaac had expected some difficulties where other factions might try to bully his team into covering their shifts too, but there was nothing. Bjrn had already stamped his authority on the group, and nobody would try anything untoward under his watchful eye. Everybody went to sleep and the night passed uneventfully. The next day, they continued to travel. Just after midday, they arrived at the bank of the frozenke. Pale blue extended to the horizon as endless ice stretched as far as the eye could see. Everybody rested at theke bank while Bjrn read his map. Their break onlysted a short time, and soon he began leading them elsewhere. He brought them on a walk over theke, taking them towards the entry point marked on his map. Every time he took a step on the icy surface, Johan half expected it to crack and break underfoot. However, it waspletely solid and extremely strong nearly as strong as bronze. Of course it wouldn''t break. The group cut across theke, taking a path towards a distant point on its bank. When they got there, they saw a seemingly bottomless hole which extended down and down and down. After hesitating slightly to swap his current map with one which showed ayout of the ice caves, Bjrn took them down into the depths... Pale blue light reflected from every surface, filling the passage with an unearthly glow. The steps which had been chiselled into the ice were slippery underfoot and their descent was rather slow as several people couldn''t use their movement Anima on these stairs. The deeper they went the further from the surface they got the darker things became. After a whole 30 minutes of descending, everything had be an inky ckness. The natural light of the Sun barely reached this level, and the little light that did reach here was insufficient for human eyes to see. However, this had been expected and nned for. A member from each team activated a Rank 1 Little Lantern Anima, lighting the way forwards. The staircase could be seen continuing downwards into the darkness, heading to unfathomable depths. Nevertheless, Bjrn stopped everyone here. There was arge opening which led to the left; it was a smooth circr shaped entrance which, like the staircase, was clearly made by humans. The group turned down this path, but it was only wide enough for 3 people to walk side-to-side and they couldn''t use their previous formation. They simply walked forwards into the unknown dangers the darkness might hold. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!