《Hanging out with the Mutants》


 Prologue

    I am back.


    The street is full of people. There''s a guy in a business suit walking with a briefcase. He looked at his watch while talking with someone on his phone. Then he looks at me. His eyes showing curiousness as he passes me by. There is a woman with a baby on a stroller. The baby is wailing loudly. She desperately tried to stop the baby from crying. Then she looks at me, like the other guy, with an eye full of curiosity and bewilderment.


    I tried to ignore the people looking at me as I take another look at my surroundings. Towering skyscrapers filled the landscape, seemingly overtook the trees and nature. The cars passing by like a shadow, sometimes stopping because of the red light. And the floor which is flattened by asphalt and cement.


    It''s a city.


    I took a deep breath as I tried to recall my memories of the past.


    I was an orphan. My parents died when I was 4 years old and I was left in an orphanage. I grew up as a normal high school boy. There is not a single extraordinary thing in my 17 years of living, or so I thought¡­


    While I was going home from school, I was thinking of stopping by a convenience store when "it" happened. In a road devoid of people, a magic circle-like thing appeared out of nowhere. The magic circle looks very much like those in the animes I''ve watched. It was full of unknown patterns.


    I was thrilled, fantasizing that I''d be summoned in a western fantasy world of magic and swords.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    There was a flash of light.


    But, instead of being transported to a western fantasy world, I was transferred in a world of cultivation. I appeared in an unknown forest. My first few days were harsh, always running away from wild beasts. I got accustomed to sleeping outside, scraping every edible plant available.


    After a week, I met the first humans. They were a group of youngsters, like me. They gave me food and helped me get out of that forest. That is when I realized that they are not normal humans; they have powers. They told me that it was the "Essence" of the world. It was vague, but I got the gist of it because of all the cultivation novels I''ve read.


    When parting, they offered me to enter their sect. Feeling grateful for everything they''ve done for me, I didn''t hesitate to join as I know that it will benefit me as well.


    That was the start of my path.


    My life starting from there was a non-stop cultivation. I cultivated, and cultivated, and cultivated some more until I am strong enough to defend myself from that survival world. I continued cultivating while fighting the strong, then taking some treasures, and cultivated again. That was my life-cycle.


    A few decades later, my life took another turn while exploring an unknown valley. I discovered an Ancient manual. I didn''t know its significance until the world witnessed it. It shook every expert; its existence enough to bring the world to chaos. It was sought after by every clans and sect in the world. My life was in danger, yet again.


    I desperately tried to protect it and sought help from my sect. But, what I did not expect was the betrayal of my sect. Greed filled their eyes. Not much different from the world. Because of it, I decided to hide and cultivate in the forest I''ve first appeared from.


    But, I know that this peace is only temporary.


    One day, I was discovered and chased around the forest. I was cornered eventually after a few days of playing cats and mice. Then, "it" happened again. There was a magic circle right below me. The experts were bewildered and tried to stop it but failed. There was a flash of light.


    Then, the next thing I know, I was standing here.


    I look around again.


    Yep. This is Earth, alright.

 Chapter 1- They who are known as Mutants

    "What are you wearing?"


    A tiny voice called behind me. When I turned around, I saw a somewhat 10-year old brat. He was holding a toy car as he stared at the clothes that I''m wearing.


    I looked at my clothes again. I''m wearing a long, gray robe with white hems on the sleeves. It was adorned by cloud patterns. It was a ch¨¢ngsh¨¡n, commonly worn by the traditional Chinese people. Right. In the middle of the downtown, wearing a ch¨¢ngsh¨¡n was indeed weird. I can roughly understand why people are still sending me glances from time to time.


    "Hey, kid. What year is it? Where is this?" I look at the boy as I asked him.


    "???" The boy showed a puzzled look after my question. It was only a little later that he processed what I asked and replied, "20XX. New York City."


    After that, I roughly asked several questions more. I am still not sure whether I am in my first life''s world or not. Because from what I remember, New York was more developed there than compared to here. And just as the boy said, the year now and the year I got transported have a difference of roughly 10 years. Meaning, this was the Earth 10 years before I''m transported. That was my first reason of thinking this is not the Earth I know.


    Secondly, the boy asked me a question which clouded my mind even more.


    "Are you a mutant too?" He asked while his eyes are sparkling.


    "Mutant? What''s that?" I asked back, as a new term appeared which is not in the Earth I once lived in.


    "A mutant is a mutant, you know?" And the boy answered me so.


    I guess a kid is still a kid. I expected too much from this 10-year old something kid. Either way, later on, I will make sure to research this world a bit more. I need to learn this world''s difference with the Earth I know. I also needed to make sure to blend in the society faster so that I could avoid trouble. One thing I learned in my path of cultivation is that uncertainty spells trouble. A wrong step in cultivation can cause your life; a poor choice of the fight will also likely get you killed. For now, what I need most is the information I can use to my advantage while staying in this world. Especially on those ''mutants''.


    I turned my back to the boy, prepared to leave.


    "Hey, where did you come from!" he shouted, as he still can''t take off his eyes at my clothes.


    "Somewhere¡­ far away" I replied while I took a side glance to him. Then, I waved my hand off and continued to walk away. My long, tied up black hair fluttered in the wind.


    ------------------------


    I am currently standing in front of a TV shop.


    In the televisions lined up beyond the glass wall, a woman in red clothes was being broadcasted. A strong, attractive woman in her early 30''s. She wore rectangle-rimmed glasses. Her hair was also red, just like her clothes. Her chest was voluptuous. It was perfectly shaped, despite being restricted by her clothes.


    On the screen, she appeared to be in a platform for a hearing. Around her were two rows of circular desks, occupied by people with white hairs and seemingly knowledgeable disposition. It was a Senate hearing room.


    "At the beginning of another stage of human evolution, these mutations manifest at puberty and are often triggered by periods of heightened emotional stress." (The woman)


    The woman said as she looks at the people around her. Her tone was dignified, eliciting a serious mood.


    "Thank you, Ms. Grey. It was¡­ quite educational." (???)


    A man said, after hearing her speech. His voice showing not a bit intention of hiding the sarcasm within it. The woman, named Ms. Grey, heard it and she faintly closes her eyes and inhaled a light breath. On the desk of the man who spoke was a placard; written on it was his name, Senator Robert Kelly.


    "However, it fails to address the issue that is the focus of this hearing. Three words." (Senator Kelly)


    Senator Kelly continued his words, appealing to the people around him.


    "Are. Mutants. Dangerous." (Senator Kelly)


    The eyes of the people around focus on him as he said those words slowly.


    "Considering it is the agenda of this committee to register mutants as though they were¡ª" (Ms. Grey)Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    "It is the appointed task of this committee to present to the President a comprehensive report that he may best decide whether or not to pass a registration act. We are not here to study about mutants. We are merely here to assess their potential threat¡ªif any¡ªto national security." (Senator Kelly)


    Ms. Grey was interrupted by Senator Kelly. His eyes showing a mysterious glint that was not there before.


    "Ms. Grey, to what extent are these mutations actually a threat??"


    Another senator joined the conversation, pressing Ms. Grey for an answer. She''s a woman with locks of white hair. On her placard, it shows that her name was Lucinda Rowee.


    Ms. Grey took a second to process the question and then answered.


    "Some mutations manifest themselves as powers, but these are remote in the extreme. Most are merely physical alterations." (Ms. Grey)


    "But are they dangerous?" (Senator Rowee)


    The senator asked again with a tone of displeasure, not liking the fact that Ms. Grey was dodging it.


    "A person driving behind the wheel of the car can be dangerous." (Ms. Grey)


    "Well, we do license people to drive?" (Senator Rowee)


    The senator replied with sarcasm, gaining a laugh from the crowd.


    "But not to live." (Ms. Grey)


    She replied with a tone of gravitas, silencing them at once.


    Senator Kelly has been waiting for an opening like this and is ready. He raises a blown-up photograph: a grainy, super-zoomed, somewhat obscured image of a car on a freeway which appears to have ''melted''.


    "This was taken by a traffic control video in Orange County. A man in a minor confrontation literally melted the car in front of him. I don''t know where you come from, Ms. Grey, but where I come from; you don''t go melting people''s cars when they cut you off. You do it the old-fashioned way¡ªyou give ''em the finger. But what you presume to tell this committee¡ª"(Senator Kelly)


    "I presume nothing. I am here to tell you that in time, the mutator gene will activate in every living human being on this planet. Perhaps even your children, Senator." (Ms. Grey)


    "I can assure you, there is no such creature in my genes." (Senator Kelly)


    The senator replied full of seriousness, but hidden within it was ridicule. The room laughs. Senator Kelly mistakenly thinks it is for him until the double meaning occurs to him. He is momentarily embarrassed, but he quickly recovers.


    "That was funny, I have to admit. You certainly seem to be amused, Ms. Grey." (Senator Kelly)


    He continued.


    "To be frank, Senator, I am tickled." (Ms. Grey)


    She replied with a playful smile. The room laughs again, good-naturedly.


    "I wonder how tickled this committee would be to learn about your associate Professor Xavier." (Senator Kelly)


    Ms. Grey reacts to his words. Her face showing surprise that was not there before. She seemed flustered to hear these words from him.


    "Or about his so-called ''school for the gifted''. Come now, Ms. Grey. As you are so open to disclosure, share with the people here the purpose of this school." (Senator Kelly)


    Ms. Grey quickly collects herself, she replied,


    "There is indeed a... a school specifically designed¡ª"(Ms. Grey)


    "For mutants. Is that not correct, Ms. Grey?" (Senator Kelly)


    The Senator now gestures to the monitor which now displays a massive estate mansion behind a high iron gate. Mutters of confusion were heard from the crowd. Ms. Grey looks down, not meeting his gaze.


    "In fact, a school whose student body is almost entirely these so-called ''remote cases''. ''Remote in the extreme'', I believe you said. So remote, the location and purpose of this school were, until this very moment, unknown to the American people." (Senator Kelly)


    The confusion of the crowd is finding focus. And the focus is Ms. Grey.


    "That was simply for the protection of the students who¡ª"(Ms. Grey)


    She replied a bit hurriedly but was interrupted.


    "Who what? Who what, Ms. Grey? Who melts metal with their minds, perhaps control human thought? A girl who can walk through walls? What goes on in that school that no normal person has been allowed to set foot inside? Who is this Professor Xavier and what exactly is he preparing these mutants for?" (Senator Kelly)


    "Professor Xavier is without question the finest¡ª"(Ms. Grey)


    She tried to defend, but,


    "Answer the question, Ms. Grey. What goes on in that school?" (Senator Kelly)


    He presses her even harder.


    "Education. Enlightenment." (Ms. Grey)


    A weak reply.


    "Enlightenment indeed, well, I''ll put this to you, Ms. Grey. I am thinking that this Professor Xavier is an extremist. Nothing more than a Michigan Militia-man with a degree and some very ''extreme'' parlor tricks. Tricks he does not yet want the world to see." (Senator Kelly)


    Now the crowd has chosen its side, and Ms. Grey is not on it.


    "There are some things the world is not ready to¡ª"(Ms. Grey)


    She was losing her grounds. She started another sentence only to be interrupted again by the Senator.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen of the press. Members of the committee. I put it to you that any mutant left alone may indeed be harmless to our national security. But if history has taught us anything¡ªpower unchecked is power to be corrupted. Unless we begin immediately to take action against the efforts of people like Ms. Grey and this... this Professor Xavier, a minority of a few thousand may very well be organized against a population of millions¡ªtotally unprepared for whatever unearthly perversions await them." (Senator Kelly)


    Not giving Ms. Grey a chance to reply, he said,


    "They are very real. They are among us. We must know who they are. And above all, we must know what they can do!" (Senator Kelly)


    The crowd reacts loudly in support of the Senator''s preach. Some cheer, some roar, some yell obscenities at Ms. Grey.


    Below the screen, there is a phrase of words that says ''Mutant Registration Act''.


    ------------------------


    From the broadcast I just watched, it seemed that this world is indeed not the previous Earth I resided in.


    Firstly, this world has humans with supernatural abilities, called ''mutants''. This is definitely not on the Earth I know. It is also different from the world of cultivation I''ve experienced, in which this world closely resembles Earth but has some elements that are not in it. The ''mutants'', who are said to have manifested some abilities, seems to be oppressed and deemed as a dangerous existence here.


    It seemed that in this world, I would have to live carefully and peacefully away from these mutants.


    But, at that moment, I was shocked to notice a white phosphorous light faintly flowing in the air. I thought it was merely an illusion, but as I observed it, I saw it landing on my shoulder and was absorbed in my body.


    Then, it struck me.


    I can continue to cultivate it this world.

 Chapter 2- Trying to cope in the world

    <Third-person point of view>


    Meridian, Mississippi.


    In an ordinary two-story house. A middle-aged woman was playing piano. She stares at the music sheets as she presses the keys. The melody echoes in the house.


    Just upstairs, there is a room that is decorated with pink and frilly curtains. The corners of the room were adorned with artificial flowers, creating a vibrant feeling. The room is oozing a very feminine image. It was a girl''s room.


    On one side of a room, there''s an image of the whole map of North America. The map occupies a big portion of the wall. It was adorned by pictures of different places, most likely tourist spots. The pictures were connected by a thread, appearing as a pattern for a journey.


    A girl''s slender hand was tracing the thread. She points at a picture of a waterfalls and murmurs,


    "The Niagara Falls, up¡­ to the Canadian Rockies and then¡­" (The girl)


    She stopped, turned around and looked at the boy lying on her bed.


    "It will be an adventure." (The girl)


    The girl smiles beautifully. She appeared to be a 17 years old girl. Her auburn hair flows straightly at her back. The color of her eyes'' is an unusual color of green. The chest department is especially not lacking, measuring approximately D-cup or so. The sun from outside the windows bathes her figure, highlighting her devilish waist more.


    The boy she''s talking to chuckled.


    "Now when''re you gonna do this?" (The boy)


    He asked.


    The girl lies on the bed, next to the boy. She turned to face him and said,


    "I don''t know¡­ after high school? Before college?" (The girl)


    She replied in uncertainty. The two looked at each other''s faces and locked their gazes.


    Then, the boy slowly brought his head closer to the girl''s.


    The girl, knowing what will happen next, closed her eyes.


    The two''s lips connected.


    The kiss signified their feelings for each other. They just stayed like that, enjoying the moment. Then¡­


    Blood vessels started to appear in the face of the boy. His face slowly lost the color of red; starting to look pale. The boy widens his eyes, petrified. The girl, noticing something was amiss, opened her eyes.


    She gasped. She was shocked to see the appearance of the boy.


    She hurriedly parted from him and the boy collapses on the bed; he spasmed and fell unconscious.


    "Kyaaaaaaa-!" (The girl)


    Downstairs, the middle-aged woman playing the piano was interrupted by a scream. There was also a man past his primes who''s fixing something. They both looked up and hurried upstairs.


    The girl in the room cried and cuddled herself into a corner. She continued to wail loudly until her parents came up. The father, upon seeing the state of the room;


    "Marie!... David?" (The father)


    He checked to see the status of the boy, while the mother turned to face her daughter.


    "Call an ambulance!" (The father)


    "I don''t know what happened to him¡­ I just¡­ I just touched him¡­ I didn''t mean to... to"


    The girl continues to cry.


    The mother, seeing her daughter like this, approached her and tried to hug the girl.


    "Calm down, honey." (The mother)


    But,


    "Don''t touch me¡­" (The girl)


    The girl sobbed, inching away from her closing mother. The mother tried to embrace her daughter.


    "Just calm¡­" (The mother)


    "Don''t¡­ Just, JUST GET AWAY FROM ME!" (The girl)


    The mother stopped. Not knowing what to do, she just followed her husband and went downstairs to call an ambulance.


    Shortly after, an ambulance came and brought the boy to the hospital. The police asked several questions to the still shaking girl. The girl desperately avoided any physical contact from anyone.


    ------------------------


    Later that night, the girl, wearing a hooded jacket, escaped from her room. Covered in darkness, she makes her way out of the house; out of the house she''s been living for 17 years. She knows that she awakened, and her powers will only bring harm to those around her. Thus, she walked the path where no one gets hurt; where she is alone. She abandoned the name Anna Marie D''Ancanto, and went rogue.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ------------------------


    <MC''s point of view>


    I can continue to cultivate.


    I was surprised to realize this fact as I continued to look at my surroundings, now noticing the white phosphorous lights in the air. Back in the cultivation world, these white phosphorous lights are what we call "Essence".


    Essence is the root of everything. It is inside of every living creature. The trees, the animals and the surroundings; all of them contains the Essence. In the cultivation world, these Essences are the foundation of everything. The reason why is because Essences are needed to transcend human capacity. The human genes contain a lock that greatly stopped our evolution. With this lock, early humans found it hard to coexist with the wild beast.


    Then, during the darkest age, one human found a way to unleash the capacity of the genes. This man was honored as the founding father of the cultivation world, as he was the one to introduce cultivation. He stated that to unlock the genes, humans needed to access their ''dantian''. The dantian is located in the lower belly, and it is the natural center for the body''s energy. But, the dantian alone cannot unlock the genes. Aside from it, humans also need help from the external environment. The help they need is the energies in nature.


    They called it the ''Essence''; short for ''the essences of nature''. With the Essence entering the body, the dantian will circulate it around the human body in the passage of the blood vessels, and then it flows back to the dantian to coagulate, shrink, and solidify the energy. This process continues to happen until the locks on the genes weaken, eventually disappearing. This is the start of cultivation.


    With this newfound way, the humans in that world managed to rise from the bottom of the food chain and dominated the beasts. They continued to explore the nature of the Essence and its endless possibilities. The humans in that world eventually created tools and techniques that make use of the Essences. They focused on researching and developing the Essence, that''s why that world lacks technologies and machines, despite their history of thousands of years. They heavily relied on nature.


    Back in my sect, the practitioners taught us the way to unlock the genes by giving us a manual. Then, it was up to us whether we work hard to cultivate or not. But one thing is always sure¡ªyou will get eaten if you''re weak. That''s why I desperately cultivated, as if my life''s on the line; which is actually true, in a sense. I cultivated day and night, learned many techniques from different manuals, and managed to control the elements. I used all my abilities to fight the strong and clawed my way up to the top. Because I know that if I slack one bit, it will cost me my life later down the road.


    It was that kind of world.


    The survival of the fittest.


    Now that I''m in this world, I can finally relax in peace and maybe take my time cultivating. But, now that I know that there are mutants lurking in the world, I, once again, regained the instincts that are instilled in me. I can''t tolerate the fact that my life can be threatened anytime.


    Thus, I made my resolve.


    I will cultivate again, from scratch.


    Then, I will try to enjoy this peaceful world as long as I can.


    ------------------------


    Although I did finish setting up my objectives, what I need to do first is to cope with this world.


    Firstly, I am still wearing the ch¨¢ngsh¨¡n I wore during my days in the previous world. In a place like New York, you will most likely get stared at if you wear something like this on a normal day in the middle of the street.


    Secondly, I need to establish my lifestyle quickly. For that, what I intend to do first is to find a source of money. Without money, I can''t buy a house or rent an apartment for me to stay in. Although I got accustomed to sleeping outside back in the forest, I don''t want to sleep in the streets of New York, especially if I have a choice. In this modern world, I will choose to live as comfortable as possible; something I did not experience in my past two worlds.


    Not just housing, I will also need to procure my daily necessities. Food, water, household items and, like I said, clothes. Food and water must come first, and then I will slowly collect items that I will need in my daily activities.


    All of that requires one thing in common¡ªmoney.


    I thought up to that point and slowly focused my gaze on my left hand.


    On my ring finger lays a jade ring.


    It was a simple, circular loop. Made from the finest jade, it shines with a mysterious shade of green. The jade ring was also adorned by runic patterns. And as the pattern implies, it is not an ordinary ring. It was a space storage ring. It was capable of storing things into a different dimension, made possible by the use of the Space Element¡ªa special attribute of the Essence. It was the fruit of continuous studies of the practitioners in the cultivation world. Its space was boundless; the only thing limiting the space was the capacity of the user''s Essence. Once a practitioner wore a jade ring, it will forever be bound to the user''s dantian. So when the user dies, the items within it will naturally be destroyed.


    In short, since I am transported here and¡ªmost possibly the case¡ªdid not die; I am assuming that the items within it are still there.


    I took a deep breath, and slowly poured my consciousness inside the storage ring.


    I released a relieved sigh.


    The items and treasures I''ve amassed in the previous world are still there. The talismans, medicines, cultivation pills, magical weapons, manuals, and my most treasured precious minerals are still there.


    Although I was not the best, I can at least say that I have the ability to make a normal to a unique magical weapon of that world. All practitioners in that world requires a second profession, aside from cultivation, that they can focus their time to. Instead of pill making, or beast taming, and any other jobs, I especially chose the blacksmithing profession. The reason why is because, naturally, to create my desired weapons.


    Although I can''t sell the pills, weapons and most of the minerals, I think that I can at least sell the silver stock I have left. Thinking it like this, maybe my goals are not that far from the future, after all. But there was a little bit of problem¡ªmy lack of Essence.


    In order to use the storage ring, I need to inject my Essence to the patterns on the ring. The patterns will then resonate with each other, and convert the Essence into the Space Element. I can then access the different dimension in which my items are stored into. But as I have returned to the beginning of cultivation, my Essence naturally scattered across space, maybe during the world transfer.


    I sighed as I check the amount of silver I can draw out with my current Essence. 1 kilogram. That was my limit. Naturally, just that amount won''t be enough to fund my needs.


    I think that I might need to continuously accumulate Essence enough to draw out a sufficient amount of silver.


    I found a deserted back alley and started to do my work. I sat cross-legged and tried to focus my consciousness in my dantian. The Essence inside is stimulated and slowly circulated around my body, then flows back in my dantian. This created a whirlpool of Essence, slowly manifesting a suction force. When the suction force was sufficient enough, I slowly stretched out my consciousness to my surroundings. The white phosphorous lights appeared again; slowly approached my body. Then, it was sucked in my dantian, joined the whirlpool and then flowed inside my body.


    I repeated that process until the signs of dusk appeared.

 Chapter 2.5- Mysterious people

    <Third-person point of view>


    On a place somewhere on Mississippi, a car stopped in front of an ordinary two-story house. The sign in the house gate stated ''D''Ancanto residence''.


    The door of the car opened. And two human figures stepped out.


    The first one that came out is a man on the prime of his life. He wore a black business suit, paired with a slender necktie, and a clean haircut. The man looked like an ordinary corporate worker. On the face of the man, however, was a visor. It was a red visor, entirely covering his eyes.


    The second one who got off the car is a woman. The woman wore a teacher''s outfit, donning in a tight pencil skirt. The woman''s skin is dark colored, in contrast with her hair that is colored pure white. Her eyes shining a light color of blue.


    The pair walked towards the house, knocking the door afterward.


    A few seconds later, a middle-aged woman''s head popped out. When she saw the guests, she immediately opened the door widely. She led them to the living room and beckoned them to sit down as she prepares some snacks. A little while later, a man past his prime came up from the basement. He politely greeted the two and sat in front of them. The man and woman pair returned the greeting.


    After the middle-aged woman brought the snacks on the table, she sat beside her husband.


    The man with a red visor looked at the white-haired woman, and the woman nodded.


    "Tell us the story." He said to the married couple.


    The husband sighed and began narrating the story. Their daughter invited a boy in her room. They hang out for some time. It was afternoon then that they heard their daughter suddenly screamed. They both went upstairs to check what happened. They were both greeted by the sight of their daughter cuddling herself in a corner, and the boy twitching on the bed, unconscious. The husband checked the state of the boy and was still not sure of what happened. They called an ambulance. They also tried to calm down their traumatized daughter, but she just avoided them. She screamed at them to not get any closer or touch her every time. Then, they called the man and woman''s organization, hoping for some help.


    The duo listened attentively to the story, making sure not to miss any part of it until the end.


    Then they both looked at each other, and both simultaneously nodded.


    "Ma''am, where is the child?" The white-haired woman spoke.


    The mother told them that she was upstairs, and went up to call her.


    A few moments later, she came running back down and straightly dashed to them.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "She''s gone! Honey, Anna''s not there in her room. She''s gone!"


    The middle-aged woman cried out to her husband. The duo quickly got up at the same time. Then, they all went upstairs, finding nothing but air and furniture in the room.


    The duo then assured the parents that they will try to find their daughter and bid them farewell.


    Back inside the car, the man with a red visor took out his phone and dialed a number.


    A few moments later, a voice was heard.


    [Scott? What happened to the child?] A deep, gentle voice resounded.


    "She was gone. She escaped from her room." The man with a red visor, named Scott, replied.


    [Did you figure out her powers?] (Professor)


    "Somehow. By her parent''s description, it might have something to do with ''absorption''. And I''m guessing that she can absorb mutant powers too." (Scott)


    "What do we do now, Professor?" He continued.


    The other side of the line was quiet for a few moments, and then, the ''Professor'' spoke again.


    [Come back here with Storm first. We''ll be using the Cerebro. We need to find her first before Magneto does.] (Professor)


    "Okay" Scott replied curtly, and then ended the call.


    The woman, called Storm by the Professor, spoke. She said, "You think she''s okay?"


    Scott looked at her for a second and then replied, "It''s okay. She''s a tough child."


    "That''s not what I''m saying." Storm said and then continued, "Her powers are dangerous. And she''s in an unstable mind. If someone¡­."


    "Professor will find her." Scott cut her off. "Now let''s go. I just hope that no one messes with her."


    Scott started the car, and then drove until the car cannot be seen from the house anymore. The sun setting in the horizon looks beautiful.


    They were unaware of the fact that someone was listening to their conversation.


    ------------------------


    Located a few miles from the coast of the eastern seaboard, there was an island of relatively small size, making it practically undetectable. It appears rather ordinary from the outside, but on the inside, the island was heavily fortified. The interior of the island was reinforced with steel girders, heavy titanium furnishings, and metallic walkways.


    In a room full of metal furniture, there stood several figures. There are four people standing in a line. A female with her skin colored in peculiar blue; a skinny man with eyes like a toad; a man with a head like a lion, full of hairs; and a man that you can hardly call a human, and more like a giant blob. They''re all facing a man.


    The man they''re facing wore a metal helmet, covering his whole head, only revealing his front face. His face shows the test of time, with locks of white hair hidden beneath the metal helmet. He also wore a cape. The room was simple, yet exudes an unexplainable feeling.


    The man who''s standing inside the room waved his hand. Immediately, a metal chair slid towards him, positioned at a place where he can immediately sit; so he did. The chair moved with just his thoughts.


    [Did you figure out her powers?]


    [Somehow. By her parent''s description, it might have something to do with ''absorption''. And I''m guessing that she can absorb mutant powers too.]


    Two male voice can be heard conversing on a transmitter located at the metal table, just behind the caped man''s chair. It was Scott''s and the Professor''s conversation.


    The man listened intently at the two.


    [What do we do now, Professor?] (Scott)


    [Come back here with Storm first. We''ll be using the Cerebro. We need to find her first before Magneto does.] (Professor)


    The caped man snorted.


    "Charles Xavier. You never changed. You continue to obstruct my plans, and stop me until the end. But,¡­ "


    The man addressed the Professor with his full name, Charles Xavier, clearly showing that they know each other. Then, the man stood up and walked towards the outside of the room, cape fluttering.


    "¡­ It''s my turn to move now, old friend."


    The four followers followed behind the man silently.


    The man is called in many names, but the name he always uses is¡ª Magneto.

 Chapter 3- Early trouble

    <MC''s point of view>


    I stood up and patted away the dust that accumulated in my body. Thinking of the current situation puts a load in my mind. With people awakening their powers one by one, the world is in fear of what the future will bring us. As a supposedly a ''normal human'', I should also be in the side of those against about mutants freely walking in the streets, like that Senator Kelly. Yet, as a human with cultivation, I can justly protect myself from harm, but, as a result, I will need to cultivate again from scratch.


    "Haaah"


    I heaved a sigh.


    I cleared up my mind. For now, I should focus on what''s on my plate first.


    First, I focused my consciousness inside the storage ring. It was full of treasures and manuals. Then, I brought out 30 kilos of silver. The silvers were processed, as they appeared as a bar. I brought out a total of 30 silver bars. I don''t know the current exchange rate of silver, but I think it was enough to get me through tonight.


    After I brought out the silver bars, I found a piece of cloth in my storage ring and used it to bind the bars. I then turned towards the exit of the alley, preparing myself to leave. I trudged the path I took in entering to leave the alley. It was a zigzagged alley, which I chose specifically to avoid being interrupted.


    But at that time, when I walked towards the final turn, several voices reached my ears.


    "Hey, hey, hey, kid! Is this all the money, huh?!" (Voice 1)


    "Be honest! Did ya hide anythin'' from us?!" (Voice 2)


    "Bring it all out, or else!" (Voice 3)


    I saw three rough men encircling a hooded figure. The first voice came from a mohawk guy with piercings all over his face. He holds a wallet in his left hand and a metal bat in his right hand, resting it on his shoulders. He gave off a what you can call ''thug #1'' aura. The second voice came from a fatso. His shirt marvelously failed to tuck his belly away. He also holds a metal pole, gripping it from end to end and resting it on his shoulders. While the final voice came from a bald man whose face is full of tattoos. You can''t see a clean part on his face. He said those words as he holds the knife in his right hand, waving it off towards the hooded figure.


    "I-I did not h-hide anything! I-I swear!" (Hooded one)


    The one in the hood spoke, denying the three men of their accusations. Surprisingly, it was a voice of a girl.


    "I''ll give ya one last time. Bring it all out, or boss''ll get mad!" (fatso)


    The fatso spoke, seemingly tired of playing games with the hooded girl.


    Bashii!


    He smashed the nearby trash bin to threaten the girl. As a result, the girl was terrified. The thugs started to question and harass her again, as she looks like she''s about to cry. The light in her eyes dimmed.


    Then, they noticed my presence. The four of them simultaneously turned to me, looking surprised to see a person in this alley. Furthermore, a person wearing a traditional Chinese dress.


    "Hey, hey, who''re you?! Huh?! (Mohawk guy)


    The mohawk guy spoke out first, then he pointed his metal bat in my direction. I was only 10 steps away from them.


    "What are you wearing?! Why are you here?!" (Tattoo face)


    "What are ya doin'' here?!" (fatso)


    They bombarded me with questions. The tattoo face guy swears out loud, while the also fatso threatens me with his metal pole. The hooded girl, who''s facing in my direction, was surprised. Then the surprise turned into hope as the focus on her eyes resurfaced.


    "I was just passing by"


    I replied with a light tone, not wanting them to continue bothering me, as I will be late if those pawnshops close before I exchange the silvers. In the worst case of that happening, I will be sleeping in a park tonight with an empty stomach. I definitely don''t want that. Thus, I tried to avoid joining in their conflict as much as possible and continued to walk away.


    As I said those words, the complexion of the girl turned back to hopelessness.


    I''m sorry, but I''m not kind enough to help those in need. I don''t have a hobby of meddling in some people''s business. Plus, I''ve experienced my fair share of trouble too.


    I apologized to her in my mind, as I tried to walk away. But then, tattoo face came close to me and blocked my path.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    "What''s in that bag? Answer!" (Tattoo face)


    He said while eyeing the thing I was holding in my hand.


    "None of your business. Now move."


    I replied with a bit of displeasure, not liking the fact that he still stopped me even though I already ignored them. The two other guys who heard my reply sneered and gripped their weapons harder.


    "Heh. You''re dead!!" (Tattoo face)


    Then, tattoo face slashed his knife at the makeshift bag I''m holding.


    Klank! Kla-klank! Klunk!


    Thus, the items stored in it scattered on the floor.


    Silver bars.


    The trio''s eyes started to shine as they looked at the dozen pieces of silver bars on the floor. Then, they turned their stares at me, maliciously grinning at the same time.


    "Haaah"


    When they started to approach me, I heaved another sigh. They mistook it as me being helpless, however. But in truth, I was internally cursing out my unluckiness at times like these. Guess I''ll need to finish things out quickly.


    Klunk!


    I dropped the bag of silver. Their eyes immediately followed it dropping to the floor, producing a muffled sound. I used that moment.


    I immediately dashed towards the mohawk guy with the metal bat. While he was still distracted by the silver bars, I positioned my palm in his solar plexus and gave it a slight nudge.


    "Guaah!" (Mohawk guy)


    He flew 3-5 meters backward, letting out a muffled groan at the same time. The mohawk guy lied on the floor, twitching and spasming from time to time. Foams coming out from his mouth. The two guys, witnessing their comrade just lying there unmoving, turned towards me.


    Rage filled their eyes. The fatso immediately swung down the metal pole toward my head, roaring out at the same time. I stepped sideways to avoid it. The metal pole met the floor, denting it lightly. I quickly measured his strength and was amazed at the fact that this fatso has 1/4 the muscle strength of an awakened cultivator. In short, he was slightly stronger than me, who still hasn''t taken a single step in unlocking my genes.


    I guess this was because of the fats in his body, storing enough energy to release stronger power. But, because of these fats, he was also slow in recovering his stance and following up his attacks.


    I stretched out my hands, formed a claw and aimed it at his face. His eyes widen in surprise, tried to avoid it but failed. He shrieked loudly, as I put pressure on my hands clutching his face.


    Then, I immediately kneed his chest. He fell on all fours, coughing out loudly, as air escaped his lungs.


    "Aaaarrghhhhh!" (Tattoo face)


    When I turned around, I saw tattoo face charging straight at me. He was moving slowly like he''s in a slow-motion video. He continued to slash his knife in my direction, all of which I avoided. After several slashes, he was already panting. Issuing another war cry, he thrust out his knife, aiming at my face.


    Thus, I caught it with my thumb and index fingers.


    He stared at the knife between my fingers, his mouth agape.


    Then, he slowly lifted his head; I can see the reflection of my face in his eyes filled with horror.


    "Wh-what the hell are you?" (Tattoo face)


    I replied with a sincere smile, and punched him to the face. He flew crashing into the trash bin and lied there unconscious. Meanwhile, the fatso stared dumbfoundedly at the scene. He was already half-standing, still clutching his chest.


    I walked towards him, with a smile still on my face contrasting with the dreaded aura around me.


    "H-hiiiii! D-d-d-don''t come near me! B-boss will kill you! Do you know our boss?! He''s the kingpin around these areas, you''re on his territory!¡ª"(fatso)


    When violence failed, they tried to threaten me.


    Yup. This is your typical 2nd rate thugs, alright.


    But, I''m not having that shit today. I am still hoping that I can exchange the silver bars for money so I can find a bed and food tonight.


    I quickly shut him up by clawing his neck and smashing him to the floor. He fainted before he can let out a scream.


    "Haaah"


    I heaved yet another sigh, not knowing how many times I''ve sighed today.


    I stretched out my body and it produced cracking sounds, signifying stiffness in my joints. Even though the enemies are only three, they are still armed with weapons. I now need to be careful to avoid any injury, as I don''t have the rock-hard defense I have back then. I was spent.


    When I fought them earlier, I utilized a little bit of my Essence to strengthen my arms. Although I said ''little bit'', that amount still put on a heavy load towards my dantian. The whirlpool in my dantian just formed a little while ago, thus the circulation of my Essence is still slow compared to a normal cultivator. When applying Essence on my arms, I utilized the stored Essence I intended to use later.


    If I compare it to something, it will be like a battery exhausting the energy stored within. Thus, now, my body is in its weakest state. Heck, I even think I will have trouble carrying the 30kg of silver later. Thinking of the silvers¡­


    I quickly scurried towards the silver bars scattered on the floor. I picked up the cloth and deemed it impossible to bind the silvers with it. That tattoo face really messed up my plans.


    I piled up the silver bars with each other and looked for something that can bind the silvers together. Just then, my eyes met with someone sitting on the floor. It was the hooded girl.


    "Hey, you"


    I called out to her, to which she replied,


    "H-hiii! I-I did not see anything! I did not see anything!" (Hooded girl)


    while inching away from me. Seeing her actions, I scrunched my eyebrows.


    I just saved you, didn''t I?! Well, technically, I just save myself some trouble but still! This ungrateful brat.


    I complained inside my head. Then I slowly walked towards her. The girl, seeing my displeased appearance closing in, closed her eyes tightly as she began to shed out tears silently.


    I stretched out my hands towards her; or more specifically, towards her back. I reached out and grabbed her backpack. Then, I took it off her. Opening it, I saw nothing inside. I walked away from her and went back to the silvers.


    Confused about what is happening, the girl slowly opened her eyes. She was surprised to realize nothing happened to her body; not even a scratch. She was dumbfounded for a moment, but then she stared at me putting the silver bars in the bag.


    After I finished putting it all, I closed the bag. I put it in my back and stood up, preparing to leave. But then,


    "W-wait!" (Hooded girl)


    The girl called out to me. Facing her, I saw her standing up unsteadily. Taking a closer look at this girl, she got a weirdly white-colored hair. Her eyes taking the same color as her hair, just a shade darker. At first, you will get an impression that she''s blind, just looking at her eyes. But she can see clearly, as she stared holes in my figure. Her facial features are also not bad, her nose bridge being high and all. But she was thin, not a single baby fat on her cheeks.


    Seeing my inquisitive gaze, the girl spoke as she closed her eyes.


    "T-take me with you! Please!" (Hooded girl

 Chapter 4- The slave girl

    "Hello Sir, are you picking out a ring for your significant other? We also offer necklaces and bracelets, guaranteed quality¡ª"(sales lady)


    As soon as I stepped inside a pawnshop, the sales lady welcomed me warmly. I picked this pawnshop out of many others because this place doesn''t have many customers.


    "Do you guys exchange silver here?"


    I signaled the sales lady to stop talking and quickly stated my intention.


    She paused and processed my question for a second, and then she replied respectably.


    "Yes we do, but we only accept silver with high purity. If you have any needs, sir¡­"


    "Get your manager here. You can''t decide this deal."


    I interrupted her. The sales lady alone could not make a decision on this transaction.


    She looked rather disappointed but remained professional. She didn''t believe that a guy dressed in a traditional Chinese outfit with a backpack could talk about the deal here. She called out the manager in charge of the pawnshop. A moment later, a chubby guy came out of the back door.


    "Hello, Sir. How may I help you?" (Pawnshop manager)


    "I want to exchange my silver to money."


    I replied curtly and pointed at my backpack. His eyes sparkled and he quickly said, "Please follow me."


    I followed him when he guided me to another room. After I sat down, I put the bag on the table in front of me and showed its content. After the manager had looked at the silver bars from my backpack, the manager gasped. He counted the 30 silver bars in it.


    Maybe this was the first time he saw someone with so many silver bars nonchalantly putting it in a backpack, and dressed in a ch¨¢ngsh¨¡n.


    Thirty bars of silver; each bar totaling 1 kilogram. After the manager had recovered, he coughed and called an examiner to check the purity of each silver bar. An old man comes in with a few apparatus for checking the purities of a metal and started to examine each of the silver bars. He quickly wrote the result and handed it to the manager.


    "All of it weighs a total of 1058 ounces. The purity is flawless. Do you have proof of ownership for the silver, Sir?" (Pawnshop manager)


    "None."


    The manager thought for a moment and motioned the examiner to leave. Only two of us remained in the room.


    "Let me be frank with you, Sir. Dear customer''s silver bars come from somewhere unusual." (Pawnshop manager)


    The pawn shop manager''s eyes flashed with cunningness before fading away. The silver''s purity was identical to a bank''s. However, silvers from the bank usually have a trademark, but mine didn''t. The origin of the silver was questionable, of course, as it came from another world.


    "Don''t worry. There are no criminal records on these. These silvers are from my work."


    I answered without too much emotion on my face. I didn''t lie; it was indeed my work back in the cultivation world.


    Understandingly, the pawnshop manager didn''t inquire further. He quickly stated,


    "1058 ounces of silver. The silver is currently trading at $10 per ounce. We''ll buy every ounce for $10, which come out to be 10580 U.S dollars. Are you okay with that, Sir?" (Pawnshop manager)


    "Yes."


    "Would you prefer cash or transfer?" (Pawnshop manager)


    "Cash."


    The pawn shop manager nodded thoughtfully and called for a staff. After he had received an envelope, he handed it to me and in return, I handed out the bag. It was a successful deal.


    "Nice to be doing business with you, Sir." (Pawnshop manager)


    I heard the manager''s voice as I continued to walk out of the pawnshop.


    ------------------------


    After I got out of the pawnshop, I immediately went to a nearby convenience store. It was beginning to get darker and darker.


    On the outside of the convenience store, waiting for me was the hooded girl. She was fidgeting, eyes swimming around. When she saw my figure, she instantly broke into a joyous smile and ran up to me.


    "Haaah"


    I sighed and recalled our conversation earlier.


    ------------------------


    "T-take me with you! Please!" (Hooded girl)


    The girl shouted as she closed her eyes.


    "..."


    Hearing no response, she slowly opened her eyes and was at a loss when she saw my leaving figure.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    "P-please wait!" (Hooded girl)


    She once again called out and this time, ran towards me. She desperately chased after me and blocked my path.


    I was forced to stop.


    "Mister, please take me with you. I don''t want to work for them anymore!" (Hooded girl)


    She desperately appealed to me as tears run down her face.


    "Not my problem." I muttered in a low voice and walked past her.


    If I helped her, I know that trouble will come knocking on my doorstep. When she said ''them'', she was specifically talking about the kingpin of this area, like the thugs said. Although I can easily make this group of thugs kneel to me, that was when I still have my previous cultivation level. But now, I am just an ordinary person. I''m just starting to cultivate. Heck, I didn''t even unlock my genes yet. So asking me to face a whole organization right now is a little overboard.


    "They intend to sell me!" (Hooded girl)


    When I heard those words, I halted.


    "Haaah" I sighed and turned around.


    Seeing me turn around, the girl stopped crying. She quickly wiped off her tears and snot and looked at my face seriously. She said,


    "Mister, I-I can do a lot of things! I can snatch wallets, an-and, uhm, I-I can¡­I can¡­ I¡­ u-uuuu"


    She quickly appealed her usefulness to me, with her voice growing smaller and smaller until it trailed off.


    "I don''t need a thief in my house." I replied.


    Then, she lightly bit her lips and confessed,


    "I am a mutant!"


    Wh-what? Did I hear that right? Mutant? As in those who have superpowers?


    "Mutant?" I asked, squinting my eyes.


    "Yes! Believe me, I''m useful!"


    Hmmm. If she''s a mutant, then¡­


    "What is your mutation?" I asked again.


    This is the most important part. The woman in TV said that mutations are classified in two cases: those who developed superpowers, and those whose physical body just mutated. I don''t know the extent of physical mutation, but if it turns out that these mutations can be just ''longer and stronger hair'' or ''faster-growing nails'', then I can assume that these mutations are basically useless. Thus, I inquired.


    The girl, hesitating a bit, finally spoke after some time.


    "I can heal wounds." (Hooded girl)


    I froze. Instant healing is especially precious in the cultivation world. Cultivating will strengthen your whole body, which can then enhance your regenerative ability. But these will only come later if one steps on the upper-stage of cultivation. During the early and middle stages, the regenerative ability of a cultivator is only at the limit of healing a cut, burn, bruise, swelling, and minor internal injuries. Furthermore, that world was full of wild beasts, so healers were indeed precious there.


    If I am not mistaken, when healing, the healer needs to call out the Essences in the surrounding, in his body, or in the body of the person in need of healing and turn that Essence into the Light Element. Light Element is a special element, which is harder to cultivate than other basic elements. In total, there are 8 elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Dark, Light, and Space element. The 5 basic elements are the attributes most commonly seen in the environment: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, and Lightning elements. While there are special elements that are rare and hard to cultivate: Dark, Light and Space element.


    Light element is especially hard to cultivate as the cultivators hypothesized that it is the elements closest to the Gods and fairies. When the Light element is discovered, the world of cultivation took another step in dominating the wild beasts. Healing, in a sense, is a very special ability, especially in this world where no one can access the elements, except me.


    I stood there for a moment to think. The girl nervously looked at my face, waiting for an answer. After a few seconds, I spoke.


    "Your name?"


    ------------------------


    Back on the current situation, the girl reached the place where I was standing and gave a smile. Her white row of clean teeth is in contrast with her dust-stained face.


    I walked past her, going straight to the convenience store, while she followed me around. A guy wearing a traditional Chinese outfit and a poorly dressed girl following behind him is not something you can see every day. The lady on the counter wore a weird expression after seeing our appearances. Nevertheless, she did not chase us out and still respectfully greeted us.


    I quickly headed to the clothes section. I picked up several shirts, underwear, denim pants and a pair of shoes and turned towards the girl.


    "Choose your clothes" I said.


    The girl was surprised. She refused at first but eventually gave up after I said I won''t be walking around the city with a poorly dressed girl in tow. That would just cause various misunderstandings. Thus, she also picked several dresses, some pants, and several pairs of underwear, while a red hue appeared on her face. Next, we went to the food section. I picked up a basket and just grabbed whatever snacks and instant noodles I want to eat that can last me and the girl for a whole day.


    I went to the counter and asked the lady for a price. I quickly paid it which amounted no less than 500 dollars, mostly because of the clothes. After I''m done paying, I asked if there''s a restroom, which she quickly pointed out. I went there first and wore the clothes I bought: A white shirt with a label "Tired...", a denim pants and a pair of white shoes. I used the mirror in the bathroom. I looked like an ordinary civilian now; with my hair still tied up in a ponytail, a face with a high nose bridge and very dark pupils that resembles an abyss. My skin was tender and smooth, all thanks to the Essence circulating inside me.


    After I got out, I saw the girl also wearing the clothes we bought. She wore a one-piece white dress, blurring her body figure but emphasizing the bump at her growing chest. I noticed that she also washed her face, revealing a slightly white skin; like her hair. She looks just like a ghost. When she saw me, she dashed towards me with light footsteps, while showing a brilliant smile.


    With her on tow, I went out of the convenience store. I immediately brought out some snacks from the plastic bag I''m holding and handed her some. I thought I heard a small voice saying ''thank you'', but, whatever. I also ate some snacks. With this, I can now take it slowly on finding an apartment.


    I called out a taxi and told him to bring me to a place where I can rent an apartment. After 10 minutes of driving, we arrived at a slightly tall condominium building, just a little outside of New York. I paid him and went out of the car with the girl. The building has 6 floors in total. The driver said that it was a newly erected condominium, thus there were still many vacant rooms.


    I went inside the building to be greeted by a middle-aged man wearing glasses. He was the owner. I told him to pick a two-bedroom apartment with a kitchen and a bathroom. The monthly payment was $3500, which I paid immediately. Now, my remaining money is roughly $6500. But I was not worried; after all, I can just bring out more silvers if I need cash. What I need right now is a place to stay.


    After I was given the keys, I immediately went up the 4th floor, where my room is. When I went inside, it was clean. The tables and chairs are dust-free, even the windows. I can clearly see that they really care about their customers. I put the noodles and snacks inside the refrigerator and turned towards the girl.


    "You. Go bath first." I ordered.


    The girl slightly pouted, and said strongly,


    "Mister, please call me by my name!"


    "Haaaah" I sighed, and after a few moments of hesitation, I spoke.


    "¡­ Elizabeth, go bath first."


    She smiled in satisfaction and said,


    "Mister, you can just call me ''Eliza'' for short. Instead, what''s Mister''s name?" (Eliza)


    A long silence. Eliza continued to stare at me, demanding for an answer.


    A little while longer, I replied.


    "Agnus. Call me whatever you want."


    "Okay! Master!" (Eliza)


    Wait, what?!


    Thus, I acquired a slave in a modern world.

 Chapter 5- Cultivation and Elizas first

    "Haaaah"


    It was a rough day, yet it is only my first day here. The mental fatigue is different from battling wild beasts and cultivating non-stop. In the modern world, you need to strictly follow the laws and norms of society, which can be a bother sometimes. Whereas in the cultivation world, you don''t need to follow anything as long as you''re strong; the downside is, your time will always be used cultivating. The two worlds have a different kind of fatigue, but both are still exhausting and taxing to the body.


    After I ordered Eliza to clean herself, I directly went inside one of the two bedrooms in this apartment. The bedroom was designed to be simple; only having a bed, desk, chair, and a cabinet in it. It lacks furniture but I can slowly fill that up.


    I directly lied down to the soft bed, and slowly closed my eyes. I was really exhausted. My weak body still can''t handle battles. If I have more time, then I can cultivate more and unlock my genes, officially entering the Pre-ancient stage.


    Cultivating has three major stages: the Pre-ancient stage, the Ancient stage, and the Post-ancient stage. Each of the major stages contains 3 mini-levels.


    The Pre-ancient stage is focused on cultivating the body; namely, cultivating the Muscles, cultivating the Bones, and cultivating the Blood Vessels. Each mini-level focuses on cultivating a particular part of the body, enhancing and evolving it.


    The Ancient stage, on the other hand, cultivates the soul. Its three mini-levels are cultivating the Heart, the Mind, and the Spirit. Cultivating the Heart not only enhances the blood circulation but also gives a strong determination to face the problems. Meanwhile, cultivating the Mind enhances the capacity to think and the speed at which our minds work, giving the ability to think logically and make correct decisions at any given time. And cultivating the Spirit gives the tenacity and will to the soul. It will develop protection towards evil spirits.


    The early and middle-stages are also known as the foundation building or readying the body for the next stage; which is the Post-ancient stage.


    Going from the Ancient stage to Post-ancient stage is the most critical point in the life of a cultivator. One wrong step in transitioning will cause the Essences in the body of the cultivator to go haywire, crippling the cultivator.


    The Post-ancient stage is what''s also known as the stage where you''ll enhance the Essences in your body. Post-ancient stage is where you will learn how to control the Essence more fluidly. Its three mini-levels are cultivating the Internal Essence, cultivating the External Essence, and cultivating the World Essence. Cultivating the Internal Essence is learning how to utilize the Essence inside your body, and cultivating the External Essence will make you able to use the Essences outside your body. That''s why I said that acquiring a regenerative ability will only be possible in the late stage of cultivation.


    Cultivating the World Essence, on the other hand, is different from the two mini-levels. The difference lies in the fact that the two mini-levels make use of a normal Essence, while the last mini-level cultivates using the World Essence, a higher form of the Essence. The practitioners of the cultivation world discovered the existence of the World Essence after someone reached the peak of the Post-ancient stage. The use of the World Essence is a bit difficult to explain. One difference between the World Essence and the normal Essence is its fluidness in entering the body; it is better than the normal Essence. Another one is its usage, in this case, the conversion of elements. The World Essence is on another league compared to the normal Essence when converting it into the elements, especially the special elements. All in all, it is a better version of the normal Essence, especially when executing a technique.


    Regarding the techniques, I''ve cultivated many of them and stored them inside my storage ring, but my most prioritized techniques were the ones that came from the Ancient manual I discovered.


    The movement technique; Nine-step Flow.


    The breathing technique; Flow Synchronization.


    The body technique; Discerning Flow Eyes.


    The movement technique, Nine-step Flow, consists of 9 stages. The One-step stage, Two-step stage, up until the Nine-step stage, which is also called Soaring Sky stage. Cultivating every stage can make you utilize an additional of one ''enhanced step''.


    Enhanced steps are steps that can accelerate your speed, boost your jumps, make sharp turns which are impossible to human standards, or even double-jump in the air. Enhanced steps have many applications. The last stage of this movement technique will give you the ability to soar the skies, which is impossible for an ordinary movement technique. It is because even the highest tier movement technique ever recorded only has 4 stages, meaning it only has four enhanced steps available.


    The breathing technique, on the other hand, is learning how to utilize the Essence better. The Flow Synchronization consists of only 4 stages; namely, Becoming One with the Flow, Imitating the Flow, Fusing the Flow, and Sublimating the Flow. Each stage teaches a different style of handling the Essence. This Essence training technique starts with learning how to become one with the flow, to imitating the flow, then fusing the flow and lastly, sublimating or enhancing the flow. The final stage of this technique is a little similar to the World Essence, for the fact that it can enhance the Essence, but only a little inferior.


    Meanwhile, the body technique, Discerning Flow Eyes, does not only makes use of the eyes as the name suggests. Instead, it makes use of all of the six senses. The technique has four stages; Discerning the Body, Discerning the Essence, Discerning the World Essence, and Discerning the Future.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    The first stage will enable a cultivator to sense any implications in a body, and also measure a body''s specifications; like strength, endurance, mental capacity and etc. etc. It is like Superman''s X-ray vision, using the six senses.


    The second stage will help you interact with Essence better. It enables you to sense the Essence better, thus speeding up the cultivation speed. It also has many uses, like examining the opponents'' Essence easier, or easily identifying the movements of the Essence in your surroundings.


    The third stage can help you in discerning the World Essence.


    And lastly, the fourth stage will enable the cultivator to predict the future, by reading and analyzing the movement, the nature and the behavior of the Essence, whether it has a good or evil intent.


    In those three techniques, I''ve only reached until the Seven-step stage, Becoming one with the Flow stage and Discerning the Essence stage. My cultivation on the breathing technique is especially low. It is not that I am a slow cultivator, or I prioritized the other techniques; it is because the practitioners constantly chasing me to acquire the Ancient manual. I can''t relax even a little bit to cultivate the breathing technique, but on the contrary, I''ve cultivated the Nine-step Flow faster because of all the running. My highest cultivation level, on the other hand, is just below Cultivating of World Essence stage, the final mini-level of the Post-ancient stage.


    The main evidence of that is because even though I haven''t unlocked my genes yet, I can expertly handle the Essences inside and outside of my body. Even though I still can''t convert Essences without the help of runic patterns, or makes use of Essences in executing a combat technique, I can still do the basic manipulations like coating a body part with the Essence to enhance it or using the Essence to enhance one of my six senses.


    In my speculation, I will need at least a week to open my gene lock and to finally enter the first stage of cultivation.


    I was thinking of such thing when I slowly felt my consciousness drift away.


    ------------------------


    <Eliza''s point of view>


    My name is Elizabeth. Just Elizabeth.


    Elizabeth was still a baby when she was dumped in a dark alley by her parents, so she didn''t know her name. The ones who raised Elizabeth were the thugs. When Elizabeth was six years old, an age where she should be going to school and making some friends, she was taught how to snatch wallets.


    Elizabeth grew up in the streets of New York, always looking for a wealthy target.


    There is only one rule ingrained on Elizabeth: ''You earn, you eat. You come home with nothing, you eat nothing''.


    Elizabeth turned 17 years old this year but she is still growing. The others of my age always teased at how small I was. They said I look like a child and will never grow up.


    My mutation first appeared when she was 12 years old.


    It was snowing back then. Elizabeth was tailing another target. He was a middle-aged man, wearing a winter coat and a fedora hat. He walks steadily, all the while smoking tobacco. When he turned in a corner devoid of people, Elizabeth took that chance as a signal and ran towards him.


    Elizabeth pretended to bump into him while secretly reaching for his pocket. But what Elizabeth didn''t expect was for him to snatch my hand. He gripped it tightly and dragged Elizabeth away towards a deserted alley. In a dark corner, he beat Elizabeth up senseless until she was half-dead.


    Elizabeth received so much pain that it turned Elizabeth numbed, the only thing she''s feeling is the cold. Then, the man kicked Elizabeth one last time and left her. Elizabeth doesn''t even have the energy to cry.


    Lying there alone, Elizabeth slowly noticed a white light envelops her hands. Then, the bruises and scratches in her hands healed at a visible rate. Elizabeth slowly regained the feelings on her hands.


    Then, she tried to move her hands to the parts of her body. Everywhere the white light touches, it healed instantly.


    It was only after Elizabeth healed her whole body that she felt dizzy. Elizabeth looked for a clean corner without snow and leaned there quietly. Then, Elizabeth fell unconscious.


    When Elizabeth woke up, she immediately remembered the strange thing that happened to her wounds. Elizabeth tried to conjure the white light, and it did. It appeared on her hands again, coating it brightly. That''s when Elizabeth realized that she is no longer normal. In addition, Elizabeth''s hair and eye color turned white, no longer the color of black.


    Ever since then, Elizabeth hasn''t shown her powers to anyone, afraid that she will get experimented on like in the movies.


    Until yesterday, Elizabeth thought that she will die alone in a dark corner, shivering.


    But, because of the three thugs who''ve been forcing Elizabeth all the time to give them her earnings, Elizabeth met her Master.


    Master was cold at first. He did not help Elizabeth the first time he saw her and even tried to ignore Elizabeth. Even when Elizabeth cried in front of him, he still treated Elizabeth coldly and even took Elizabeth''s bag.


    But Elizabeth knows that behind of that cold face is a warm heart. Elizabeth was sure of it. She knows because Master accepted Elizabeth when Elizabeth desperately begged him.


    He accepted Elizabeth.


    Her, who was wearing rug-like clothes. Her, who smells because she hasn''t taken a single bath in weeks. Master accepted all of Elizabeth, even her weird hair and eyes.


    Master even bought Elizabeth some clothes, food, and a bed to sleep. Furthermore, Master didn''t ask anything for return. Elizabeth was glad to meet Master. Because even though Master''s cold outside, Master still took care of Elizabeth.


    Master is too good for Elizabeth.


    That''s why; Elizabeth will do all her best in order to be of use to Master.


    Elizabeth will repay Master''s kindness with her service.


    <Third-person point of view>


    Eliza hummed as she poured the warm water on her skin. Then, she picked up the soap and cleaned her petite body with it.


    Making sure that she cleaned every nook and cranny of her body, she smiled in satisfaction. But then, she frowned on disappointment when she saw her still growing chest.


    Her chest was only starting to grow, just like a little bump. Eliza''s chest looks like two cute rabbit heads, her cute pink nipples still hidden. Eliza rubbed her chests lubricated with soap. Someone told her that her chests will get bigger if she rubbed them daily. At first, she did not think anything of it. But now that she has someone to serve, she became concerned about it.


    "Nnn¡­ ahhn.. unnh" (Eliza)


    The little Eliza moaned while rubbing her chest.


    Then, she felt a tingle in her womb.


    She reached out her other hand downwards and started to rub the lips of her slit.


    "AAHHhhh¡­ Masterr¡­ uNNnnN" (Eliza)


    She started moaning. She felt a weird sensation in her womb and started to rub her chest and slit faster.


    "KUuu.. somethi-something''s coming! UUuuU.. AhHhhhh¡­ M-masterrrrr.. something''s¡­ coming.. it''s comiiiiinnng-!" (Eliza)


    Eliza finished releasing and just lied down on the bathroom floor. Her spring juices squirted out of her slit.


    "Haa¡­ haaa¡­haaaa¡­ Master¡­" (Eliza)


    The bathroom was momentarily filled with panting and a woman''s scent.


    The 17 years old girl started to fall

 Chapter 6- Discoveries and Countermeasures

    "jyupo¡­ jyupo¡­ gishii"


    H-hm? What is this?


    I slowly opened my eyes, woken up from a weird sensation. Immediately, I saw a head bobbing up and down. Pure white hair tucked between her ears. Moist eyes that seem like it''s looking right through my soul. With a red hue on her face, the 17 years old Eliza was busying herself between my legs. The girl is sucking my rod with a serious look on her face.


    "Good morning, Master!" (Eliza)


    When she saw me woke up, she immediately raised her head and greeted me. She smiled beautifully. Eliza looks like straight out of heaven, except that this girl still has my syrup on the side of her lips.


    "Gishii¡­ Keurrup¡­ puaaahh" (Eliza)


    The girl continued sucking me off as if it''s natural.


    Seriously, what is this?


    I stopped my thoughts there, as heat arises in my head. The girl, seeing me tilting my head up, grabbed the hilt of my rod and jerked it off. Eliza licked and swallowed my glans and continued demanding for my syrup.


    "Keurrup¡­ nnNnh¡­ mmn"


    She slowly pumped my rod, getting faster and faster every second. She hollowed her cheeks and started to swallow it deeper and deeper until half of it reaches her throat. I can feel the temperature of this girl''s mouth. Her throat expanded and contracted repeatedly as she holds my rod deep inside her mouth. Then, she moved her mouth up and down my rod. Shivers ran down my spine every time she does that.


    She continued doing that for a few minutes until I felt like releasing. I immediately grabbed her head and pistoned inside her mouth. Her saliva covered my rod as I moved faster and faster.


    "I-I''m going to come!"


    "Mhmpp!¡­ nnNnhh!¡­ uufFpp!" (Eliza)


    I groaned and dumped a load of my white juice inside this girl''s mouth.


    "Puaaaahh.. haahh¡­ haahh.." (Eliza)


    I slowly moved my rod out of her mouth. Then, she opened her mouth and showed me the white trophy. She swallowed all of it, with no hesitation. She then licked the dripping white syrup left on my rod, wiping it clean.


    After she cleaned it, I tucked away my half-withered rod that just finished releasing. Pheeww


    Now then, what was that about?


    "Hey" I called out to her.


    "Explain."


    She took a moment to process what I said, smiled and showed her row of white teeth to me. I can''t believe my rod was just inside that mouth a few seconds ago.


    "Elizabeth is Master''s slave. So, Elizabeth thought that she should service Master. That''s what the prostitutes of the thug-house said." (Eliza)


    Prostitutes... Oh, so she was raised in that kind of environment...


    "Elizabeth thought that she needs to do her best in order to pay back Master for taking her away from that place." (Eliza)


    The girl started to tear up as she clasps her hand above her small chest. She''s trembling. She looks like a glass that will break at any given moment.


    "Elizabeth was saved. She''s not alone anymore. So¡­, p-please don''t abandon me, Master! Elizabeth will do her best!! She will make sure to serve Master for her entire life!" (Eliza)


    She cried and closed her eyes tightly. Her trembling grows even stronger. Eliza was desperate to escape from her hell-like life, thus, she saw me as her last hope and hold on to me. She was trying to prove her worth to me, even if it means becoming a slave.


    I knew it... Shit... I don''t like this...


    "..... Don''t force yourself." I muttered.


    Elizabeth stopped crying. Her head slowly lifted up as she looked at me. I threw my glance to the side and avoided her gaze.


    I don''t like this but...


    "... Make sure to keep up."


    She stared blankly at my face, lost for a long time before she realized the situation. And she started sobbing silently; this time, tears of joy instead of sadness came out.


    "Thank you, Master. Thank you!!" (Eliza)


    ...Fuck. I''m beginning to think that this world is softening me up. But...


    "You betray me you''re dead. Got that?"


    I gotta make that clear to her. I''m not having my back stabbed twice in two consecutive worlds...


    She looked up at me and wiped away the tears and snot on her face. This time, she put on a determined look as she replied.


    "Yes, Master!" (Eliza)


    I tousled her hair, to which she bashfully closed her eyes and slightly purred like a cat. Cute.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    "Now, then... Let''s have some meal first before we discuss what will happen. I want to prove something and I''m gonna need your help."


    "Elizabeth will do her best!" (Eliza)


    We went outside the room. Eliza immediately trotted towards the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and picked up some cup noodles and light snacks. She heated up some water and waited for some time before pouring it on the cup noodles.


    "Hmm~ hmmmm~ hm~ hm~ hmmm~" (Eliza)


    I took the seat in the table and watched her small figure preparing the noodles while humming happily. A thought came to my mind.


    I gotta buy some proper meals later.


    Then, she brought the cup noodles in the table and poured water in my glass. I took the finished cup noodles and ate it up quickly, Eliza doing the same. We sat across each other eating some cheap instant foods, both not speaking a word.


    After we finished cleaning up, I took her again to my bedroom. And no, I''m not doing what you''re thinking with your dirty minds.


    I told Eliza to sit on the bed while I stood in front of her. Then, I quickly got to the topic.


    "Show me your powers."


    "Yes, Master" (Eliza)


    Eliza closed her eyes and clasps her hands in front of her; she looks like she''s praying. Her hands started to emit a white light. While she was doing that, I poured a little bit of Essence on my eyes. This was one of the training methods of the technique Discerning Flow Eyes. Then, I saw it.


    The cause of the white light. The origin of her powers. Essence.


    I knew it. This must be...


    I slowly clasp her glowing hands with mine and inspected it using the Essence. I particularly observed the constitution of her hands on a microscopic scale. I examined it for a long time and checked it twice¡­


    The genes on both of her hands were unlocked.


    This phenomenon is very similar to a cultivator, except it''s only on her hands. A cultivator cultivates to slowly unlock all the gene locks on the human body and utilize the Essences of nature. Her mutation, I assume, was Healing Hands. It is very similar to when a Healer heals a person. The Healer will need to call the Essence on his/her hands that have unlocked the genes and convert it to the Light Element.


    In this case, Eliza''s hands unlocked the genes on the bones, muscles, and even the blood vessels. The mutation in her hands was slightly different to a normal unlocked gene; in which she doesn''t need to manually convert the Essence into the Light Element.


    This was truly interesting.


    I still can''t figure out why her body can convert the Essence into a Light Element but, let''s call it the ''Constitution'' of her body for now. If that is accurate, imagine if she unlocked all the genes on her whole body. If it was plausible, maybe she will experience a ''second awakening''. I don''t know if it''s possible, but I will make sure to discover the truth behind this.


    "M-master?" (Eliza)


    My thoughts were stopped by a call. I followed the voice and saw Eliza''s face is beet red. Oh, I was still clutching her hands. She started to breathe a little roughly.


    This girl...


    "Thank you for cooperating, Eliza."


    I slowly took my hands away from hers. I thought I saw her disappointed for a moment, but, whatever.


    "Master. You can use Eliza anytime." (Eliza)


    She said as she gazes up at me while lowering her head slightly, blushing.


    "A-ahem" I faked a cough.


    Shit, this girl''s dangerous. A little succubus, if I say so myself.


    "Let''s go. We need to buy proper food and our daily necessities today. Wait in your room first; don''t go out until I''m done preparing something." I said as I turned around.


    "Yes, Master!" (Eliza)


    She then went to her room.


    That''s right. I''ve been thinking of putting up countermeasures for mutants after I watched the T.V. yesterday. I certainly don''t want to be attacked by a person who can walk through walls or a mutant that can teleport, if there is any.


    Thus, I thought up of one solution last night: runic patterns. Like the magic circle that I saw when I was being transported, I can also write runic patterns, which I learned eventually during my time in the cultivation world. In this case, I will especially design a barrier that can act as an alarm and signal interference, or anything that I do not permit to enter.


    I immediately grabbed a knife and carved various runic patterns all over the apartment. I wrote a total of no less than 500 characters all around the walls, the floor, and the ceiling. I should be writing with an Essence-knife¡ªa knife created from pure Essence¡ªbut I can''t do that yet so I used the oldest technique in setting up barriers.


    The runic patterns made the house look like someone scratched all over it. The next thing I did was to pour a little Essence in every one of them. Of course, I don''t have the capacity yet to do that in one go so it took a really long time. Every rune I poured Essence into shined, and by the time all of them were shining brightly, I focused my consciousness to arrange the consequence of connection and reproduce the design in my mind.


    By the time I was done, it was already noon. The runic patterns that got connected disappeared along with their shines. But it was still there, now working.


    I called out Eliza and told her that I''m done and went out with her.


    Eliza was humming the song she hummed earlier. She was slightly behind me in my left side.


    I stole a glance at her.


    She quickly noticed it and smiled at me beautifully. I averted my gaze.


    This girl is really cute when smiling. Despite my mental fortitude that is cultivated for decades, I still felt uncomfortable being shown such a smile. Dangerous, dangerous¡­.


    ------------------------


    We walked for 10 minutes to get to the nearest grocery store, which I saw last night in the taxi. It was a medium-sized supermarket. I quickly went straight to the vegetable and meat section, with Eliza bringing a basket following me. We looked like normal siblings going shopping, so we have not gathered many stares from the surroundings.


    We selected foods that can last us for a week. I picked chicken meats, sausages, fish meats, eggs, bacon, seasonings, and some vegetables for side dishes. We also bought milk, sugar, pancake mix, and some coffees. Eliza put them all in the basket. While at it, I also went and bought daily necessities like cooking oils, toothbrushes, toothpaste, tissues, soaps, and shampoos.


    Lastly, I went to the instant food section. I wanted to buy some snacks and instant foods in case of emergencies. Loaf bread, potato chips, crackers, and lastly, some noodles.


    While I was picking out some noodles, I notice a hooded girl beside me. I knew she was a girl right away despite being in a hood because of her D-cup breasts. The clothes she''s wearing failed to hide her bombastic figure. She was also picking cup noodles. I ignored her and continued picking noodles. Thus, I failed to notice our closing distance.


    I only noticed our distance when I accidentally grabbed her hand instead of the instant noodles.


    At that moment, I felt a strong suction force that stimulated my dantian the moment I touched her. My instincts kicked in and my dantian circulated at full force, resisting it. Then, I pulled my hands away from her.


    As I looked at her, our eyes met together. Green. The color of nature dominated her eyes. Her eyes shone for a moment but quickly disappeared, like it was a lie.


    Mutant.


    That was the first word that came to my mind. The green-eyed girl looked at me blankly for a long time. Confusion filled her eyes.


    "Master?" (Eliza)


    Possibly because of Eliza''s call, the green-eyed girl woke up from her daze.


    "Y-y-you-- who are you?" (Green-eyed girl)


    She asked, her eyes wide. She failed to hide the surprise in her voice as she stutters.


    "Who are you? A-are you the same as me? Are you a-a..." (Green-eyed girl)


    She asked hurriedly, her voice trailing off in the end, not managing to finish her sentence.


    "Mutant? No, I''m not." I replied almost instantly.


    "Lies, that'' a lie! Please help me out! Everything I touched slowly dies, but you didn''t! Y-you can fix me, right?! Please help me!" (Green-eyed girl)


    The green-eyed girl almost cried hysterically. She tried to reach out to my hand but I avoided it.


    "No." I replied coldly. I then turned the other way and urged Eliza. "Let''s go."

 Chapter 7- A stubborn girl

    "No." I replied coldly. I then turned the other way and urged Eliza. "Let''s go."


    ¡°Yes, Master¡± (Eliza)


    Eliza took a last glance at the hooded girl and followed behind me. She must be seeing her old self in that girl. Eliza took pity at her, but not enough pity to go against my orders.


    We left the still dumbfounded girl in that section and went straight to the counter.


    God, spare me from another mouth to feed, please.


    I prayed in my heart, despite knowing that it will not come true. That girl was quite desperate, just like this one back then. I looked at Eliza and secretly sighed. By the time I was thinking of such things, we reached the counter. I quickly paid it all off, costing me at least two grand.


    My money¡¯s quickly being washed away. I gotta earn again soon.


    I thought, and both of us started walking towards home.


    ------------------------


    ¡°Master.¡± (Eliza)


    Eliza called me. The third time.


    ¡°I know.¡± I replied, didn¡¯t stop walking and continued to do so like I heard nothing. We walked for a while until just a few blocks before we reach the apartment building. Then, I stopped. Eliza, who was carrying the grocery bag, also stopped. She turned and directed her gaze towards a nearby telephone pole. I also followed her gaze.


    In there was a fly. A very tenacious fly that wouldn¡¯t stop from following us since we got out of the grocery store. When she noticed that we were staring directly at where she¡¯s hiding, the green-eyed girl flinched and hid her body even more behind the pole.


    ¡°Come out.¡±


    I beckoned to her in a demanding tone. She stayed silent for a moment and slowly walked towards us. She¡¯s standing three steps away from us, head looking down on her feet.


    ¡°Listen up.¡± I started the conversation, causing her to look up.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any superpowers. I¡¯m not a mutant either. I can¡¯t help with any of your problems. So, just stop following us and go home.¡± I slowly articulated my words one by one so she can clearly understand.


    The green-eyed girl, who looked down again after hearing my words, bit her lips silently.


    ¡°Haaaaah¡± I sighed. ¡°Go home, kid¡± And advised her one last time before turning around, this time, not looking back.


    Eliza and I went to our apartment. We unlocked the door and then closed it afterward. She headed straight for the refrigerator to put down the foods that we bought earlier. When she was done, she headed straight towards me who was resting on the sofa. She waited for my orders.


    ¡°Clean the house. Or do anything you want to do, just don¡¯t disturb me. I won¡¯t eat lunch, so make yourself some light meal later.¡± I said and made a beeline towards my room once I heard her confirmation, locking it afterward.


    I was planning to cultivate until dinner. I estimated before that it will take at least a week before I fully unlock my genes and enter the early stage, but my mind changed after seeing the abundance of the Essence in the surroundings. I speculated that this is because there are no cultivators here who gather them, or any mutants that actively use their powers around this area, that¡¯s why the Essence accumulated; for millions of years, in fact. I am not the first human to use the Essences in this world, but I may be the first human to gather it on this planet.


    I sat down cross-legged on top of the bed. I closed my eyes and concentrated my consciousness in my dantian, slowly stimulating the whirlpool of Essence in it. Then, I reached out to the abundant Essences around me, slowly gathering them at a massive amount.


    ------------------------


    I slowly opened my eyes, exhaled the air in my lungs, and breathed in a fresh one. I cultivated for the entire day, and when I looked at the window crack in the room, I saw a red hue piercing the walls. The sun was signifying a timeout. I tried to inspect the change in my body and especially noticed the whirlpool starting to expand and circulate faster by a significant amount. I was right; maybe I just needed 3-4 days in order to unlock my genes, with the way things are going.


    I got up, and went towards the living room, finding Eliza silently dusting the TV. She looked up at me and greeted me a ¡®good evening¡¯ before finishing her work. She took off the cloth covering her face and patted some dust on her. Then, she put on an apron and went towards the kitchen, intending to prepare a dinner.


    Meanwhile, I confirmed something before I went towards the doorsteps. The Essences before and after I cultivated was just slightly reduced, which is impossible especially if I accumulated that many Essences. This place should have sparse Essences for a while before they regenerate. Thus, I found it weird and checked to see if my guess was right.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    I opened the door, and yep, I was spot on. The reason why Essences gathered around here is because of this girl. The green-eyed girl from earlier followed us until here and stayed outside the whole time. If I would make an assumption, from the suction force I felt earlier when we touched, I¡¯m guessing that she has the ability to absorb the Essence of any living thing she touched. And not only that, but she can also cause attraction to nearby Essences. That¡¯s why the Essences gathered around here.


    I assume that this girl has an ¡®Absorption Constitution¡¯. If this is the case, then I thought that she may be a special existence. That is because; the part that mutated on her wasn¡¯t her physical body parts, but her dantian. Even though I can¡¯t say that there are others who have mutated the same, I am pretty sure that cases like these are very rare.


    I saw her cuddling herself just beside my door before she saw me and hurriedly stood up. She looked at me in the eyes, appealing her stubbornness. We continued our staring battle for a while, until she opened her mouth, ready to talk.


    ¡°I-¡­¡±


    *Grrrrooowwwl*


    But she was interrupted by the little tiger in her stomach that started to complain.


    Steam rises up from the head of the green-eyed girl as she blushed.  She bashfully lowered her head down, not meeting my gaze.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go home?¡± I asked coldly.


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t have anywhere to go home to¡­¡± (Green-eyed girl)


    She muttered, to which I internally groaned. I face-palmed and cursed my fortune.


    Why are there suddenly girls who have lost their homes and ¡®coincidentally¡¯ met me?! Is this my karma for monopolizing the Ancient manual in the previous world?!


    I tried to calm down my thoughts


    ¡°Then, why are you here?¡± and asked her a question.


    ¡°That-that¡¯s because¡­ b-because¡­¡± (Green-eyed girl)


    The girl¡¯s green eyes swam around the surroundings, finding it difficult to answer my question.


    ¡°¡­because, y-you¡¯re the only one w-who¡¯s not affected by my powers¡­¡± (Green-eyed girl)


    Her reasoning was absurd, following someone just because he¡¯s not affected by your powers. If perchance that I am someone with bad intentions, then¡­ She would¡¯ve been in danger.


    ¡°Haaaaaah¡± I sighed a little longer than usual. Speaking of which, I noticed that I¡¯ve been sighing a lot more lately. These mutants are definitely the main cause of it.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± I asked.


    She still has her head down, as she replied,


    ¡°I¡¯m Ro--*Ggrrrooowwlll*--gue¡± (Rogue)


    She was timely interrupted again by the tiger in her stomach, who is demanding for some food.


    ¡°U-uuuuu¡± (Rogue)


    Rogue blushed even more fiercely and covered her face with her hands. I groaned internally again, expressing a slight irritation.


    ¡°We can¡¯t converse while you¡¯re hungry.¡± I said as I turned around, leaving the door open.


    She immediately caught my drift as she followed me afterward. She still hasn¡¯t lifted up her head until she closed the door behind her. I went straight to the table as she looked around the living room. She followed me shortly after and took a seat opposite of me. I observed her as she lowers her head for a while. No one spoke, creating a tense atmosphere.


    A little while later, Eliza came in with a simple dinner using some of the potatoes and chicken breasts we bought earlier. The bite-sized potatoes were just simply boiled and the chickens¡¯ fried, as Eliza was also not that much skilled in cooking like me. She grew up lacking in food, after all. I quickly noticed that the portion she prepared was a little more than usual.


    I looked at her. She met my gaze and quickly smiled. With that, I understood. She had predicted that Rogue will wait outside and I will let her in out of pity. It looks like Eliza knows what actions I will take in situations like these.


    What a scary girl¡­. I thought


    ¡°Th-thank you¡­¡± (Rogue)


    Muttered Rogue under her breath, and then slowly ate her portion. We also followed shortly after. After finishing the meal, Eliza brought all the dishes in the sink and started washing them. Meanwhile, I faced the green-eyed girl, who lowered her head, again.


    ¡°I can¡¯t help you.¡± I started the conversation, which caused her to bit her lower lips lightly.


    ¡°We¡¯re not charity either.¡± She lowered her head even more, almost tucking it in her voluptuous chests.


    ¡°¡­ But, it is indeed true that I may be the only one that is not affected by your powers.¡±


    I can almost see her widened eyes even when she¡¯s looking down.


    ¡°All because of various reasons I can¡¯t tell.¡± I continued,


    ¡°So, if you want to stay, be useful. Or else go to some other place.¡± and ended my proposition at that.


    At this time, she abruptly lifted up her head and looked me with surprise expression on her face. Then, her eyes slowly teared up, and she nodded her head several times. After that, she repeatedly said ¡®thank you¡¯. I left her crying in the table and went to my own room. Eliza will take care of her.


    After I sunk in my bed, I felt disgusted at myself. The reason why I took care of her wasn¡¯t just because she doesn¡¯t have a home to return to, or she is a dangerous existence to the public. Those were only the minor reasons. The main reason why I decided to take care of her was the cause of my disgust to myself. The first thing that came to my mind when I learned about the possibility of her Constitution: Dual-cultivation.


    In the cultivation world, the dual-cultivation¡ªa joint cultivation of a man and a woman through sexual intercourse, accepting the vitality of each other; sometimes one-sidedly and sometimes benefiting both parties¡ª was not entirely publicly supported, but not condemned either. What¡¯s condemned about dual-cultivation was the fact that, some evil cultivators make use of it to create a ¡®cultivation furnace¡¯¡ªor one-sidedly stealing the vitality of the partner.


    Of course, I did not think even for a moment to make Rogue into a cultivation furnace. I intend to use the method that will benefit us both. But that did not justify the fact that I will still use her to my benefits later.


    That¡¯s why; I can¡¯t stand the sight of her thanking me profusely while I have such evil thoughts. And even if I said that she needs to be useful, I don¡¯t intend to rape her to achieve my goal. I will ask for her consent.


    But, before all of that can happen, what I need first was to enter the early stage of cultivation. I also need to achieve the first stage of the breathing technique, Becoming One with the Flow, to start the dual-cultivation with her. I reckon that it will not take more than a month, with the presence of Rogue around. Hell, I can even feel the Essences at around 5 kilometers in radius still rushing to gather in this place. This apartment literally became my cultivation cave. Thus, I resumed cultivating.

 Chapter 8- An ordinary day?

    After a night of cultivation, I woke up refreshed and energized early in the morning. I still can¡¯t believe the rate at which I¡¯m amassing the Essences. At this point, the only thing lacking now was the speed. With Rogue here in the house, Essences will still gather even after I absorb a huge amount of them the whole night. I stretched, causing several cracking sounds around my stiff joints.


    Just then, I heard light footsteps coming from outside my room, clearly getting nearer and nearer. At this time of the day, there is only one person that came to mind after seeing the figure halting outside in front of the door.


    ¡°Come in.¡± I said, permitting Eliza inside. ¡®Yes¡¯, replied her as she twisted the doorknob which I forgot to lock last night. Then, she entered and stayed standing in front of the door.


    ¡°How¡¯s the girl?¡± I asked.


    Knowing that I¡¯m talking about Rogue, she relayed what happened after I left. Rogue eventually stopped crying after some time, and then she and Eliza shared the same bed for the night. She slept soundly, even now. After that, Eliza proceeded on telling her main reason for coming here.


    ¡°Master. Elizabeth wanted to serve Master every morning!¡± (Eliza)


    The girl cried out, toning her voice a little so as to not wake up the sleeping Rogue in the other room, only separated by thin walls.


    Seeing my rod slowly taking up a stance, Eliza stared intently at it. I can¡¯t help it from getting erect after remembering what happened last time. I want to put it inside that mouth of hers once more.


    ¡°Come here.¡± So, I gestured her to come close to me, as I was lusting so early in the morning.


    Her face beamed up, as she trotted like a deer and went in front of me. The girl kneeled on the floor, matching her face at the level of my rod. She lightly caressed the rod that is still on my pants. Then, Eliza sniffed it a few times, inhaling a huge amount of the scent of my rod.


    ¡°It smells Master.¡± (Eliza)


    The girl said. Then, she rubbed her face on my pants, all the while sniffing my scent. She was trying to familiarize herself to the scent of my rod.


    After some time, Eliza started to unbuckle my belt. Her hands fluidly took off the belt. Then, she lowered the pants down to my ankles. The final piece of cloth covering my lower half now was the underwear I wore, which was taken off shortly after.


    My erect rod popped out and stood at full attention, surprising Eliza. She sniffed it again, and lightly put her right hand in the base of my shaft. Eliza started licking it like a candy, and slowly moved her hand up and down my shaft. She licked the underside of my rod, going up to the glans, and then licked the glans all around.


    ¡°Put it in your mouth.¡± I said. I just stood there and watched her silently.


    She nodded and stopped licking. Eliza opened her cute little mouth, and then put the glans that is covered in her saliva and syrup inside her mouth.


    ¡°Kishii¡­ gishii¡­ kerreup¡­ eupphh..¡±


    Her head bobbed up and down, as her lips continued to stimulate my glans. She spat out my glans for a moment, producing a soft ¡®pop¡¯ sound, and then lubricated the shaft of my rod with her saliva and syrup.


    After that, she swallowed my glans again and continued pushing it deep in her throat. I can vividly feel the temperature of this girl¡¯s mouth, heightening the pleasure I¡¯m feeling. I collected her unstained white hair in a bundle and lightly guided her head.


    Eliza stroked my shaft intensely after being lubricated. I tilted my head up in pleasure, and shivers started to run down my spine. I can feel the heat slowly rising up inside my urethra. After sensing me in pleasure, Eliza¡¯s moist eyes stared at my face as I also looked down at her small figure giving me a blowjob.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming. Take it all in!¡± I groaned. I let go of her hair and hold her head with both my hands as I pistoned inside her mouth. Her hands stopped jerking my shaft and just settled around my butt cheeks. My rod started to twitch inside her warm throat.


    Then, I unloaded a lot of white syrup inside her throat, causing it to contract. Her throat started to squeeze out my syrup.


    I looked at the face of Eliza, my rod still on her throat, not finished unloading yet. Moist filled her eyes, as it rolled on the back of her head; her cheeks ballooned after I unloaded all my cum. Her dazed pleasure-filled face was good to look at. This little girl is only 17 years old.


    I pulled my rod out of her mouth, causing her to snap out of her daze and looked straight at my face. She opened her mouth and showed me the white trophy as she slowly swallowed it along with her saliva. After that, she rested for a little bit.


    I brought her some tissue to wipe the sides of her mouth. She took it as she stood up and thanked me. She pocketed the tissue, afterward. Meanwhile, I tucked away my rod and wore my underwear and pants. After we¡¯re done, we just stood there, silently gazing at each other. Affection filled Eliza¡¯s eyes as she looked at me.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    I walked up to her, and brought my head down to peck her forehead lightly, surprising her. Then, I walked past her and opened the door, going out of the room. She followed me closely, with a bright smile on her face. She¡¯s in a good mood.


    Then, she went straight to the kitchen again, while I sat on the sofa, waiting for the meal. Silently, Rogue emerged from the room she was sleeping in, yawning out and rubbing her eyes, still half-asleep.


    I looked at her coldly.


    The green eyes met mine, and she fully woke up. She dashed straight to the kitchen and help in creating the meals. I broke my stare at her back and reached out to the remote. I opened the TV.  I watched some news for a while until the breakfast was ready.


    When the smell of the cooking oil entered my nose, I immediately made a beeline towards the table and watched the TV from there. Then, Eliza and Rogue came in with the dishes. It was a simple breakfast: fried bacon and sausages, sunny-side up eggs, and some toasted bread. They laid it down the table, and Eliza handed me the glass filled with milk that she made. I took a bite off the sausages and was surprised. It tastes very delicious.


    I looked at Eliza, but she shook her head quickly and looked at Rogue, so I followed her gaze. Noticing my and Eliza¡¯s gaze on her, she looked up from her plate and swallowed half of the sausage in her mouth. She licked the side of her lips that was smeared with oil seductively, but not intentional. She was unaware of her actions.


    We eyed her for a while until she straightened her back and puffed out her D-cup breasts, highlighting it more.


    ¡°I am good at cooking!¡± (Rogue)


    She said proudly. She closed her eyes, tilted her head up and smiled in satisfaction, waiting for my praise. But the praise never came. I continued eating, ignoring her who¡¯s high on her horse.


    Not liking the fact that she got ignored, Rogue ate the rest of the meal while pouting. When we finished eating, just as they picked up the plates, we heard an interview on the TV that caught our interest.


    ¡°... This school is merely as a means of helping those with these rare and wonderful gifts to learn more about their abilities that they may control them and use them for the betterment of all mankind.¡±


    On the screen, a man past his prime sat in a wheelchair. His deep, gentle voice echoed in the room. He looked kind in nature and the type to help others in need. His head was clean, no hair present. He stared silently at the camera as if talking to the viewers. Just below his image was his name: ¡®Prof. Charles Xavier¡¯.


    ¡°But some have said you are training a race of superhumans, indoctrinating the genetically enhanced¡ªor some would say, ¡®mutants¡¯¡ª into some strange cult.¡± (Interviewer)


    The interviewer on the TV said, looking at Prof. Xavier for his reaction.


    ¡°I can assure you, the only idea I am putting into their heads is the fellowship of men.¡± (Prof. Xavier)


    Prof. Xavier answered, unperturbed. After that, the TV went on a different topic.


    I looked at both of them, who is also staring at me. I made a decision. But before I could speak, Eliza beat me to it.


    ¡°Elizabeth will stay by Master¡¯s side. She will not leave Master forever.¡± (Eliza)


    She looked at me strongly, full of determination. I shrugged and turned to Rogue, who likewise turned to face me.


    ¡°I will stay. Even if I go there, I will just hurt anyone I touch, so I will stay.¡± (Rogue)


    She said, with her voice trembling ever so slightly.


    ¡°Suit yourselves.¡± I muttered as I got up and turned towards my room, leaving the two of them.


    I want to quickly unlock my genes so I can officially start my cultivation.


    I have a feeling that many things will start to change.


    ------------------------


    <Rogue¡¯s point of view>


    I am washing the dishes with a little girl beside me. The girl¡¯s name, if I recall it right, was Elizabeth. She said she was 17 years old, but she looks like she¡¯s just 14. She¡¯s the same age as me. ¡®That man¡¯ calls her Eliza, for short. We¡¯re both wearing plastic gloves as I wash the plates, and Elizabeth dries it with a towel.


    There was an awkward of silence as neither of us speaks.


    Finally, I couldn¡¯t endure the tension anymore and was the first one to strike up a conversation.


    ¡°Elizabeth, what is ¡®that man¡¯ like?¡± I asked.


    Elizabeth stopped what she¡¯s doing for a moment and looked at me.


    ¡°That man? You mean Master? Ah, he¡¯s kind; he¡¯s generous and very strong. And although Master is cold on the outside, in truth, Master is very soft. He helped Elizabeth before, so she knows.¡± (Eliza)


    ¡°Eh? Kind? Generous? Soft? Where?...¡± I uttered in disbelief, to which I received a strong glare from Elizabeth. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry.¡± I quickly apologized.


    ¡°That¡¯s okay. But yes, Master is kind, generous and soft on the inside. Isn¡¯t that why you¡¯re here now?¡± She said in remonstration.


    ¡°Ah.¡± Then, I realized she¡¯s right. If he¡¯s not kind, he wouldn¡¯t have let me stay inside his house. If he¡¯s not generous, he wouldn¡¯t have given me food. If he¡¯s not soft, he would¡¯ve kicked me out after I slept.


    ¡°Do you realize Master¡¯s kindness now?¡± Elizabeth asked me in a tone of reverie.


    ¡°Yes¡­. But, why do you call him ¡®Master¡¯?¡± Their relationship really confused me, that¡¯s why I asked.


    ¡°Well, why not? Elizabeth is Master¡¯s slave!¡± She smiled as she replied in a cheerful tone, and then she laughed in a silly manner. Answers and actions of hers both left me dumbfounded, mouth agape.


    ¡°What? Slave? H-how many years have you two been together?¡± I managed to squeeze out a question as I rubbed my aching temples.


    ¡°Years? Ufufufu. No, not years!¡± (Eliza)


    ¡®Huh? Not years? Ah, they¡¯ve been together for a decade, then? Since this girl is just 17, does that mean that ¡®that man¡¯ raised her? Ah, maybe that¡¯s why she called him Master! Did he turn her into a slave? Maybe he plans to turn me into¡­. Nonono, I¡¯m with him for just¡­¡¯


    ¡°One day.¡± (Eliza)


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right, just one da¡ªHuh?¡± I blurted out a surprised voice. I looked at her. I thought she can read minds, but that¡¯s not it. I tried to recall my question earlier ¡­ How long have you been with him?


    ¡°Elizabeth met Master the night before yesterday, so she has been with Master for only one day.¡± She narrated, at which I completely lost my cool.


    ¡°Just one day?! And you¡¯re already calling him Master?! What?!¡± I barraged her with questions, my tone going up a few notches.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. What¡¯s with you? Getting worked up all of a sudden. Let me tell you this; Master won¡¯t accept a disobedient slave. So, let¡¯s go. We¡¯ve got a lot of cleaning today too!¡± (Eliza)


    She said as she finished wiping all the plates, and walked out of the kitchen. I just stared at her back for a long time, not knowing what to say. Finally, after a few minutes of silence, I blurted out a sentence which came from the bottom of my heart.


    ¡°I wanna go home¡­¡±


    I imagined my life with them and felt shivers run down my spine. I quickly followed Elizabeth, wondering what will happen to me from now on.

 Chapter 9- Elements

    A week quickly passed by.


    I already unlocked all my genes and reached the first stage of cultivation; cultivating the Muscles. On my third day of cultivation, I unlocked all my genes and officially stepped on the cultivation path. I felt all shackles on my body gone and was filled with an omnipotent feeling before quickly vanishing. My body felt many times lighter. The circulation speed of the whirlpool of Essence in my dantian increased several folds. I now have better control over the Essence, and can store much more of it in my body. I was also immunized from ordinary sickness.


    This was the ideal human body¡ªaccording to the practitioners in the cultivation world.


    After I unlocked all the genes, I immediately started cultivating my muscles. Cultivating my muscles doesn¡¯t mean I need to lift barbells or do push-ups. It¡¯s not the external training ordinary humans do but an internal one¡ªfor the whole body. The process of which I cultivate the muscle is simple. I just need to gather Essences around the surroundings, circulate them in my dantian and let them flow through my body¡ªthis time, focusing on tempering the muscle tendons and ligaments.


    Repeating this process will yield the cultivator a stronger, more flexible and more durable muscle tendons and ligaments. Although this stage will strengthen the muscles, it won¡¯t necessarily make you more macho. It will only enhance the already existing muscles, so your body shape will still remain even after fully cultivating it. I am already near the peak of this stage, by this time.


    On the fourth day onwards, I started going out of the house whenever Ilock myself inside my room. I went out using the windows. The first thing I did after getting out was to procure money, of course. I emptied out my silver stocks and sold gold next, which earned me a quite lot of fortune these past few days. I visited so often that the manager and I even became trade partners, offering me a higher price, which is always welcome.


    Then, I found an abandoned building without any residential houses around. I started training the techniques in the Ancient manual and other combat techniques. The Ancient manual is written in a dialect from the cultivation world, so I have no problem letting the girls see it. Although I already understood the basics, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to read the manual while resting in the house. One time the girls saw it, but I dismissed it as nothing but scribbles of some language. They took it as such and never inquired any further.


    I trained from early morning into late afternoon every day. And before I go home, I always drop by the supermarket to resupply our refrigerator, which is also a kind of training for the movement technique. I also bought some clothes for Rogue one time during my shopping.


    By this time, I already reached the first stage of my two main techniques from the ancient manual; One-step stage, and Discerning the Body stage. I admit that I wouldn¡¯t be able to reach the first stage of the movement and body technique if Rogue¡¯s presence isn¡¯t here. I trained the movement technique and other combat techniques during the day and the breathing and body technique during the night.


    About the breathing technique, although I made a huge leap these past few days, I still estimated that I am still a week away from reaching the surface of Becoming One with the Flow stage.


    Right now, I am sitting cross-legged in the abandoned building. My eyes are closed and my breathing turned rhythmic. I am not cultivating; I am trying to feel the Essence around me.


    I have already started cultivating the 3 main techniques on the Ancient manual, giving me the flexibility I need in the upcoming battles. I have also started doing combat techniques. Cultivating the muscles has also earned me quite a defense. What I lack now, I think, is something that I will need if I ever clash with these mutants. I am trying to convert the Essence into elements more efficiently to the point that I can use it in battles.


    I opened my eyes and stood up. Slowly breathing out the air in my lungs, I raised one of my palms and gathered the Essence in the surroundings. It was quicker compared to before, all thanks to the fully unlock genes in my body.


    I gathered it towards me¡ªmore specifically, my palms¡ªand it slowly took form. White phosphorous lights are gathering in my palm, and if you look closely, you can see that it sometimes flicker and show different colors. This phenomenon might be similar to how the white light spreads apart into the visible spectrum when it meets a prism. Strangely enough, the Essence¡¯s white light consists of 8 colors, signifying the 8 elements. Fire (red), Water (blue), Earth (yellow), Wind (green), Lightning (indigo), Space (violet), Light (white), Dark (black).This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    What I needed to do was to find the red specks and disperse all other colors in it. I converted the Essence into the most basic form of the fire element, a fireball. Quietly burning in my palm is a fireball with a diameter of a head. The fire doesn¡¯t burn my skin; it only produces a warm heat that travels through my palm.


    I snuffed it out eventually and breathed a sigh of relief. It may be slower and weaker compared to the fireballs I made back then, but at the very least, it is better than nothing. I think it might be usable in battle soon enough.


    This fireball would¡¯ve made me pant heavily if I tried to conjure it the first time I got here in this world. But, now that I have set up my foundation, I can do it with a lot to spare. So, not wasting any second, I moved into the next element.


    Leaving the blue specks of light this time, in my hands appeared a water orb, the same size as the fireball. I threw it towards the wall, creating a small crater as the two collides. I repeated the same with the other elements, conjuring a ball of them with a diameter of the head.


    After I successfully conjured the 5 basic elements, what¡¯s left is the 3 special ones: Light, Dark, and Space. I hesitated to try conjuring them at the moment, because even in the previous world, I have difficulties using teleport, heals, and even raising a simple skeleton. I admit that it might be my lack of talent, but I will surely take my time figuring a way out so someday, I can use them however I want.


    I postponed the 3 special elements for various reasons besides my lack of talent. Firstly, I don¡¯t really need to master the use of the light element, because I will just teach the girl who already has a talent for it: Eliza. I will nurture her use of light element to the point where even when not touching, she can still heal someone. I thought of training the two girls so that they will survive even without me because I know that I won¡¯t always be by their side if something bad happens.


    Secondly, I don¡¯t need to raise skeletons and mummies in this world. I¡¯m not building a massive army to try and conquer the world; that would be troublesome and pointless. Right now, I just want to be away from troubles.


    That¡¯s why; I don¡¯t have a need to master these two elements yet. But in the case of the space element, I have a different perspective. In a world where transportation equals money, a skill like teleportation would surely be handy in many cases. But, try as I might, I still have troubles creating even the smallest space crack or even bending the space a bit. Teleporting might still be a long way to go.


    After that contemplation was done, I raised up my other hand, palms facing upward. I looked like a waiter holding two bowls if you look at my figure and doesn¡¯t know that I was converting the Essence.


    After a few seconds, on my right appeared a fireball, looking much smaller than the previous one. On my left appeared a circular rock, much smaller and unrefined unlike the other one too. I threw them both towards the wall, meeting in mid-air and creating a mini-meteor.


    Boom!


    The previous dent that the water orb made earlier was completely replaced by a much bigger crater, causing cracks to appear on the wall. I was a little bit satisfied at my attempt to dual-wield an element. I can do it with any permutation that I want with the elements that I can currently convert.


    ¡±Pheeew¡± I breathed out slowly and finished my experimentations for today as I can already see the shadows of the night.


    I turned around and left the abandoned building, heading toward the grocery store. I am halfway there when my path was blocked by a large, muscular man. I looked up and saw that he was grinning. Behind him are dozens of people holding metal bats, poles, wrench, and even a knife.


    ¡°You messed with the wrong gang, bro.¡± the muscular man said in a deep tone.


    I sighed and clenched my fist that it almost turned pale.


    ------------------------


    ¡°Hey, open up.¡± I said as I knocked on the door of the apartment that we¡¯re staying in. A few moments later, I heard a series of light footstep coming from inside and the door was opened by a smiling Eliza.


    The next instant, however, her smiling face was quickly replaced with a terrified one. The moment she saw my figure covered in scratches and bruises, her mouth dropped and her lips trembled. She wanted to say something as her mouth continued opening up and down but she can¡¯t say a word.


    ¡°Let me come in, I want a good bath. You can heal me later¡±


    I entered the apartment and closed the door. I left the standing Eliza as I entered the bathroom and soaked myself in warm water. I felt my fatigue disappear at the same time with the dirt in my body. I took off my mind from anything that I¡¯ve been thinking and just relaxed in the bath.


    After having enough relaxation, I went out of the bath and changed to a new set of clothes. Eliza healed me after that while her eyes turned watery. I did not say anything, but she knows that it was because of the gang that I rescued her from. We ate a quiet dinner at that time, as Rogue mysteriously stayed silent.


    Thinking of Rogue,...


    Rogue completely assimilated with us and joined our circle; she can now speak her thoughts freely in front of us. After she opened up to us, I discovered that she is a talkative person; that¡¯s why I always left her to Eliza, as they both became close friends in no time.


    I continued living with the two girls peacefully, not knowing that a storm was about to head our way.

 Chapter 10- Evil plans

    <Third-person point of view>


    In an undetectable island located a few miles from the coast of the eastern seaboard, there is a laboratory of some sorts.


    Mortimer Toynbee, a slender looking thug whose agile leaping ability and superhuman strength have earned him the name ¡®Toad¡¯, lazily reads the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. His long tongue shoots out¡ªswiiish¡ªand turns the page of the magazine.


    Across the room, Sabretooth, with a hairy-head like a lion, is silently watching TV as he sharpens his retractable nails. It was not unlike the nails of a lion. His nails were 1-2 inches long, sharp-pointed, and oozing with bloodlust. It has clearly been through many battles.


    They are a bestial and sinister bunch.


    In the corner, there is a human blob. The Blob is busy devouring a bucket of cereal, precariously balanced on his huge belly. No further words to be said. He was as huge as 5 men combined, and still have room to spare.


    In another corner, there is a woman¡¯s figure silently attending to her nails. Her skin¡¯s colored in peculiar blue. She blows a breath on her nail and moved on to the next one. The woman has a very seductive body. Paired with her blue-skin, it creates a very mystical feeling. Her whole eyes are yellow in color


    In the middle of the room, there stood a machine of some sorts.


    A fantastic spire which occupies a hallowed space in this lab. It is meticulously designed, and, with its intricate circuitry, wires, and power boards, it resembles, most closely, a combination of a microwave oven and a fantastic light source¡ªonly far sore dark and foreboding.


    Magneto silently walked inside the lab.


    The four looked at him in unison.


    Magneto looked back at them and urged them to follow him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. We got work to do.¡± (Magneto)


    ------------------------


    A Helicopter streaks across the sky.


    Senator Kelly sleeps fitfully in the largest seat.


    *A bump of turbulence*


    He suddenly woke up and looked outside the window, seeing the ocean. Senator Kelly looked outside the window again and sees nothing but water. They are flying low. He looked at his secretary who¡¯s still sleeping. He woke him up.


    ¡°Where the hell are we?¡± (Senator Kelly)


    The secretary looked outside the window and looked at Senator Kelly, puzzled. He stood up and went to the door of the cabin in the helicopter.


    ¡°Pilot?¡± (The secretary)


    No answer.


    ¡°Pilot, what is this? Pilot?¡± (The secretary)


    The secretary continued asking, still not getting any answer.


    Senator Kelly looked outside the window again and saw the helicopter is closing in on an island¡ªwhere, is anyone''s guess. What is known is that the place is no pleasure resort. It is, in fact, some sort of refurbished island fortress, complete with turrets, built right into the side of the cliffs.


    There is a clearing in the middle of a ring of trees at the base of a rocky rise. The helicopter touched down. The pilot, wrapped from head to toe in a flight suit and helmet, gets out and opened the side door, exposing Senator Kelly and his secretary to the intense wind of the rotors. They covered their eyes, cowering.


    Three figures came out of a hole in the mountain. One seems extremely larger than the other two.


    The secretary and Senator Kelly stepped out respectively.


    As the figures got closer, Senator Kelly can make out the figure of Magneto, Blob, and Sabretooth.


    ¡°Dear God... Dear... God.¡± (Senator Kelly)


    The Pilot removes his helmet to reveal Toad, smiling.


    ¡®What the hell is this?¡¯ Senator Kelly is utterly confused.


    As Magneto nears, the secretary stepped forward to greet him, putting his arms around Magneto''s neck and kissing him deeply. Then Magneto looks deep and lovingly into the secretary¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°It''s always your type that has something to hide.¡± (Magneto)


    And with that, the male secretary morphs into a beautiful woman who has blue-colored skin. She was widely known as Mystique. Her mutant power requires no further explanation; she can imitate anyone in this world.


    Senator Kelly, of course, is shocked. Mystique shows a little hip, raising the waistline of her outfit mockingly.


    ¡°You... wha... who are you... Where is my secretary..?¡± (Senator Kelly)


    ¡°He''s been dead for some time, Senator. Care to know how long? Or would you rather not think about it.¡± (Magneto)


    Magneto said, making Senator Kelly¡¯s skin crawl.


    ¡°You bastards¡­ Who are you?¡± The Senator spoke in fear.


    ¡°Who we are is not nearly as important as what we are.¡± (Magneto)


    Toad and Blob grabbed the Senator and his attempt to run back for the Helicopter ended up in vain.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± The Senator gave up struggling against the two superhumans.


    ¡°What we want is not nearly as important as whom we want. Ooo, I love this. I could write a book of these.¡± (Magneto)Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°People like you are the reason people like me exist.¡± Senator Kelly was afraid of the mutants in front of him.


    Hearing that, Mystique walked up to him.


    ¡°And people like you are the reason I was afraid to go to school.¡± (Mystique)


    With that, she smacked Senator Kelly on the back of his head, just enough to make him faint.


    ------------------------


    Senator Kelly woke up. He looked around himself and found out that he was in a laboratory of some sorts. He was tied in a metal chair.


    In front of him was a machine. It is a tall spire. On top of it was a round platform. The platform has two pedestals lined up with a little distance to each other. It looks like a person should stand in between the pedestals to make it work. The platform also has two arcs; One full-arc that has its ends from left to right and one half-arc that is positioned in the back. The two arcs intersect in the middle of the platform, where the person should stand in between the two pedestals.


    Senator Kelly looked for an exit but discovered that all of them were blocked by Mystique, Sabretooth, Toad, and Blob. He had no way to go.


    He heard crisps footsteps behind him, at which Magneto appeared slightly after.


    ¡°You will be the first, Senator. Please do appreciate the honor.¡± (Magneto)


    He whispered towards Senator Kelly. No further words need to be said.


    Magneto levitated up to the platform. He stood in between the pedestal and grabbed it.


    Then, the full arc started to spin around the platform. It looks like it was protecting the inside of it as it slowly sped up. The end of the half-arc lit up. It produced a milky white light. The light started to expand, enclosing the platform like a barrier very slowly.


    Magneto, inside the machine, looks like he¡¯s in pain. He gritted his teeth as he endures it until the end.


    Then, the barrier enclosed. There was an explosion of light as the barrier expanded at a rate very different from how it enclosed at first. It expanded very fast, instantly engulfing the figure of Senator Kelly in the room. The Senator closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. The last thing he saw before fainting was the figure of the weakened Magneto up in the platform.


    Magneto pulled his hands away from the two pedestals and he lost support, his legs gave up from exhaustion. He was only supporting himself up by holding on to his knees.


    The machine slowly deactivated, the white light was gone. The full-arc stopped spinning.


    Inside the room, the figure of Senator Kelly glowing in a shade of pink was very noticeable from the eyes. His skin gave off a slimy appearance.


    ------------------------


    Senator Kelly woke up with a start, his suit is rumpled and dirty, showing signs that time has passed.


    He looked around only to discover that he is in a cell with no door, simply bars that jut out of the stone floor and ceiling.  A television outside the cell is on to keep him occupied. News coverage of the Ellis Island Summit is what¡¯s on the screen.


    Only a sink, a toilet, and a stainless steel mirror are here as comforts. Not even a bed.


    Magneto is in the cell with him.


    Just beyond the bars, he sees Sabretooth playing chess at a small table. Senator Kelly cannot believe the sight of the latter, having never seen such an extreme mutation. The pieces on the chess board are metal, and some invisible force moves the pieces playing against Sabretooth.


    Certainly, the cause is Magneto. It is as though they did not notice Senator Kelly waking up. Until he grabs his belly and curled up, groaning in pain. Magneto looked at his watch.


    ¡°And how are we feeling, Senator? Advanced, I hope.¡± (Magneto)


    ¡°What did you do to me..? OH GOD.¡± The Senator winced in pain as Magneto looks at him.


    ¡°Are you a ¡®God-fearing man¡¯, Senator?¡± Magneto asked, and Senator Kelly¡¯s expression told him that he is indeed afraid of something right now.


    ¡°I have always loved that term. As if there was something to fear.¡± (Magneto)


    Senator Kelly clutched his stomach harder, visibly in pain.


    ¡°Interesting fellow, this ¡®God¡¯. The power to drift a continent a few inches... drop whole canyons a foot or two. Impressive, wouldn''t you say?¡±


    Magneto continued his preaching.


    ¡°But do you think that God himself is ever going to actually step in and do something really, really scary? He''s not, Senator. You know why?¡± Magneto asked a rhetorical question. Senator Kelly could not do anything else but glare.


    ¡°Man, however, seem to have the ability to make leaps and bounds in his apparent absence. Punching holes in the ozone, melting the ice caps, and in all other ways making the Earth a better place... But for whom? For you, Senator? Not likely. At least... not until now.¡± (Magneto)


    Senator Kelly jolts from a new pain just coming in.


    ¡°But what if you could change¡ª adapt to your new environment.¡± (Magneto)


    ¡°J-just, what are you...¡± (Senator Kelly)


    ¡°What if you could breathe pure carbon monoxide, Senator? The kind your fellow man is pumping straight into the atmosphere as we speak? Fly above the water that might one day cover the face of the Earth, or swim faster than any fish in the sea. What if your bones could heal¡ªquickly¡ªimmediately? What if you could walk through walls?¡± (Magneto)


    The Senator shuddered.


    ¡°If you could move things with your mind? If you could read minds? Would you consider yourself a freak of nature, Senator? Or would you just consider yourself prepared... for the future?¡± (Magneto)


    Senator Kelly winces from some terrible agony.


    ¡°Don''t fear God, Senator. And certainly¡ªmost certainly...don''t fear me. I''m here to help you. You...the man who represents everything I hate about the Homo Sapiens. Because I''m going to turn you¡ªand leaders like you¡ªinto us, mutants. Believe it or not, you are a leader, Senator Kelly. You set an example. For others. And if more of you were like more of, well, ¡®us¡¯... the world would be on the way to becoming a much, much better place.¡± (Magneto)


    He paused, smiled at the wincing Senator and continued.


    ¡°Welcome to the future, brother.¡± (Magneto)


    Senator Kelly screamed in pain. Then, Magneto went out of the cell by bending the bars with his mind and returning it to a perfect shape afterward. He left with Sabretooth.


    ------------------------


    Senator Kelly is hunched over his toilet, heaving. On the television is an interview with Prof. Xavier that we have seen before. The same words about the fellowship of man, etc.


    The Senator slumps to the floor, catching a glimpse of himself in the stainless steel base of the sink in the corner. His skin seems to be turning white; translucent, even. Veins are visible all over his face and he has thinned considerably. A lock of hair is in his face and when he goes to brush it aside, it simply falls out in his hand, leaving a patch of skin on the front of his scalp matching perfectly the skin on his face.


    And he screamed. He seems to be excreting some sort of clear fluid and his breathing is starting to take on a gurgle that is all too unpleasant. He is in obvious pain.


    He walked towards the only window in his cell, obstructed by metal bars that cannot even fit a head. He observed the outside; seeing a cliff just beyond the windows. The waves continued to roll, hitting against the reefs.


    Senator Kelly pressed his face against the metal bars. It is only then that he heard a slimy sound and his head squeezes between the bars like a soft-shelled egg. He gasps in pain, choking on the clear mucous. After adjusting to the shock of what has happened, Senator Kelly gets an idea. He turned his shoulder towards the bars and began to push. His feet slid in the floor and his fingers stretched and cracked inside, then his ribs began to pop out one by one, with the brittleness of undercooked spaghetti. It is agonizing, but Senator Kelly finally managed to pull his horribly-altering body through the bars.


    Just then, Sabretooth came in and saw him escaping. He immediately bent the metal bars and entered the cell. Sabretooth rushed over the window bars to grab Senator Kelly¡¯s leg. The Senator screamed, and he started to wiggle out of Sabretooth¡¯s grasps.


    Sabretooth hardened his grip but failed due to the slime-like fluid that is oozing out of the Senator¡¯s body. The Senator fell in the ocean.


    His ¡°body" hits the water surface and produced a water pillar. Then, his ¡°body¡± was taken away by the waves. His ¡°body¡± looked like toothpaste, drifting in the ocean.


    ------------------------


    Sabretooth went to Magneto¡¯s room. He reported about what happened to the Senator.


    ¡°He''s dead. Squashed like a paste.¡± (Sabretooth)


    Magneto was disappointed for a moment, but quickly got over it and he smiled.


    ¡°It changes nothing. We''ll simply make our debut without him. It was magnificent, was it not? His transformation.¡± (Magneto)


    Magneto pulled something from a drawer, and then tossed it in the table for Sabretooth to see.


    ¡°That¡¯s why, we¡¯ll need this child. She is the key to our plans. Set out. Find her.¡± (Magneto)


    Sabretooth picked up the picture. He saw a teenage girl. Auburn hair with an angelic face. The most noticeable thing about her, however, was her eyes. It shone a bright color of green.


    It was the picture of¡­. Rogue.

 Chapter 11- Turning into a mutant

    <Third-person point of view>


    A massive estate mansion behind a high iron gate is sitting quietly at Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, located in Westchester County, New York.


    Beside the iron gate, is a placard stating ¡®Xavier¡¯s School for Gifted Youngsters¡¯.


    Originally built in the 1700s by Dutch settlers, this sprawling multi-acre parcel is located roughly 40 miles outside of New York City near its own private waterfront¡ªBreakstone Lake. In its near 300 years of service, this estate has been the primary residence for New York¡¯s elite society, as well as the students of Xavier¡¯s School for Gifted Youngsters¡ªan exclusive private academy run by a renowned geneticist, Professor Charles Xavier.


    Featuring three lavish stories, in addition to the main basement and two sub-basements, this property is built to survive even the most catastrophic apocalypse.


    In one of its many state-of-the-art facilities¡ªin a lab of some sorts¡ª, there stood several figures while looking at a holographic screen that displayed the status of a person¡¯s body.


    A woman with a red, flame-like hair operated the panel and displayed a more detailed statistics. The woman wore a lab coat, but somehow, her bombastic figure still displayed its magnificence around her. But, no one seems to be new to this sight as they all focused on the screen.


    ¡°How is he, Jean?¡± A man spoke to her. The man is the only one not standing; he¡¯s sitting in a wheelchair. He had a deep, gentle voice, paired with his all-knowing eyes. He oozes a strong feeling of wisdom. He asked Jean¡ªor, in her complete name, Jean Grey.


    ¡°His vital stats are going up and down for the past 7 hours. He¡¯s not doing well, Professor.¡± (Jean Grey)


    A blue, furry hand suddenly pressed a few keys in the panel and displayed the profile of the man they¡¯re discussing. The source of the hand is¡ª a blue humanoid creature¡ªor some sort of a beast, in a man¡¯s figure. The man stood a bit taller than an average Joe. His whole body is covered by a fur, not much different from a lion, with the color tinged with a deep blue. He has two sharp fangs jutting out of his mouth. Hank McCoy; he was also known as the ¡®Beast¡¯.


    ¡°Robert Kelly. He is a U.S. Senator and a major proponent of the Mutant Registration Act. He is presumed to attend to the Ellis Island Summit a few days later. He was reportedly seen on the beach this morning, and the next thing we know, he¡¯s knocking on our doorstep. A 100% Homo Sapien. Until yesterday.¡± Beast spoke in a deep tone. He stopped and looked at Jean Grey. Jean continued the report.


    ¡°According to this statistics, his genes are behaving in an erratic manner. It looks like someone has tampered it and altered it artificially. This turned him into a¡­¡± (Jean Grey)


    ¡°A freak?¡± This time, a voice sounded in the back. They all turned towards him. The man who spoke wore a white shirt under a black leather jacket. It was paired with a worn out pants. Under the clothes is a well-built body. It was clear that he was a fighter. He also has a kept beard, adding to his ferocity. He smokes tobacco as he tinkers with three metal claws jutting out his knuckles. The claws measures at least 20cm each.


    ¡°You can¡¯t smoke here.¡± A man who wore a red visor¡ªthat covers his eyes¡ªspoke, not hiding the animosity in his voice. It was Scott¡ªor more commonly called as Cyclops.


    The man who¡¯s smoking snorted. Then, two of the three claws retracted, leaving one claw protruding in the middle, creating a sign we all know too well. Nonetheless, he still snuffed out the tobacco. He picked it off his mouth and pressed the lit end on his palms, creating a sizzling sound. He moans in a bit of pleasure. He pocketed the tobacco afterward, planning to use it later. The weird thing is, however, that the palm that should be burnt is unblemished¡ªor more accurate to say, that it was burnt but it healed instantly at a visible rate.


    ¡°Savage.¡± Cyclops muttered in a low voice, turned around and fully ignored the man.


    ¡°Yes. Freaks. Mutants. The term Logan used is what the world says about us.¡± The Professor said in a manner-of-fact tone.


    The room fell in silence. After a few moments, a woman with white hair spoke.


    ¡°But, how is this possible? How can genes be modified artificially and who would do such a thing?¡±


    It was Storm. The woman with dark skin, white hair and light-blue eyes. She asked in wonder.


    ¡°We can only find out after he woke up.¡± (Professor)


    The figures of Jean Grey, Beast, Professor, Cyclops, and Storm stared at the lying body just beyond the glass separation. The man named Logan didn¡¯t show a bit of interest as he played with his claws again.


    At that time, the figure of Senator Kelly lying down convulsed.


    Jean Grey and Beast were alarmed. They immediately checked his vital stats and pressed some keys. They went inside the room where Senator Kelly is laid down and did some adjustments to the equipment connected to the Senator. A few moments later, the Senator showed signs of stabilizing and woke up.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Help...me... It hurts...¡± He called out. Senator Kelly¡¯s figure can no longer be called as ¡®human¡¯. His body, or what¡¯s left of it, has now evolved into nothing more than a mass of vaguely humanoid jelly. Plasma juices can be seen oozing out of his body.


    Jean Grey took samples of Senator Kelly''s plasma, while Beast probes him here and there. Storm and Cyclops stood still, watching in horror. Professor tries to see the face of his adversary in this blob of gelatin.


    ¡°What did they do to you? Can you tell me anything?¡± (Professor)


    ¡°Un... conscious... Light... Bright... light¡­.¡± The Senator mutters a broken sentence.


    Senator Kelly flinched, and then his whole gelatin-like body started rippling, changing into various shapes.


    ¡°Pain... Terrible pain.¡± He continued.


    The Professor pulled himself closer, looking deeper into Senator Kelly¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Open your mind.¡± The Professor said. Then, he stretched out his hands and touched the part that looks like the head of the gelatinous blob.


    And the next thing that Senator Kelly felt was a weird sensation as the Professor probes into his mind.


    (The Professor can only see what Senator Kelly has seen)


    Vision fades in and out in a sedated haze.


    Senator Kelly is laid out on a trolley, being wheeled towards a cell that seems to have no door, only metal bars. Then, the metal bars bent sideways to allow the trolley to be wheeled through.


    He looks up and sees Magneto wheeling the trolley, smiling down at him.


    *FLASH*


    Senator Kelly is looking around a large, domed room. In the center is a machine; it looks like a tall spire with a round platform at the top.


    Long and cylindrical, tapering towards the bottom. Two arcs at the top; one full arc and a half-arc sticking out in the back.


    *FLASH*


    Magneto is seen in the center of a machine. He looks visibly in pain as he operates it.


    A light slowly formed around the platform, enclosing it like a barrier. Then, the light exploded.


    It engulfed the figure of Senator Kelly.


    The last thing Senator Kelly saw was the exhausted figure of Magneto.


    *FLASH*


    <Third-person point of view>


    Then, the next thing the Professor saw is the conversation between Magneto and the Senator inside the cell.


    He also witnessed how the Senator got out of the cell¡ªby squeezing his whole body in the metal bars.


    The Professor snapped back in his chair, physically affected by the visions. Frightened, shocked, and perhaps even in pain. His breathing is erratic.


    All rushed in to help him, but he waves them away, collecting himself.


    ¡°What is it? What did you saw?¡± Beast asked in trepidation.


    ¡°Evil... Something... evil¡± (Professor)


    ------------------------


    Everyone, except Logan, stood behind the glass separation, whispering. He still showed no concern.


    ¡°A long cylinder you said. A warhead of some kind?¡± (Cyclops)


    ¡°An antenna?¡± (Jean Grey)


    ¡°Was it part of a bigger structure?¡± (Storm)


    All of them probed about the machine after the Professor described his visions. The Professor shook his head, frustrated.


    ¡°It is something so simple. I just didn''t get a good enough look at it, but it seems so.¡± (Professor)


    ¡°What does it do?¡± (Storm)


    ¡°From what I am able to surmise, Magneto has developed a device to artificially trigger the Mutator gene, effectively giving him the power to turn anyone he pleases...¡± (Professor)


    ¡°Oh God.¡± Storm exclaimed.


    ¡°But how did Senator Kelly¡ª¡°(Jean Grey)


    ¡°They think he is dead.¡± (Professor)


    ¡°He might be better off.¡± Beast spoke.


    All eyes fell on him.


    ¡°He seems to be adapting to his environment literally from room to room, like how a salamander changes color. Senator Kelly is, or at least recently, was a perfect organism. The mutant of all mutants.¡± Beast continued.


    ¡°So maybe this machine is what made Logan.¡± Cyclops said as he looked at Logan in the corner of his eyes.


    Logan¡¯s ears twitched, his attention turned into them.


    ¡°Certainly not Magneto''s design. Senator  Kelly''s metabolism, heart rate, respiratory¡ªeven the cell production¡ªare all working at an exponential rate.¡± (Beast)


    ¡°How long does he have?¡± Jean asked.


    ¡°I couldn''t say.¡± Beast said, and he continued. ¡°The Professor said that the machine was operated by Magneto¡¯s power. It would emit a white light, a light like none us had ever seen. I surmise that the light that engulfed the Senator is what caused the mutation. However, it seems that the machine requires a great deal of energy, as it left Magneto exhausted just after one use. The question is, how does he intend to use it, and where?¡±


    ¡°The Summit.¡± Logan spoke, gathering everyone¡¯s attention. He turned towards the direction of the TV in the room, and all of them followed his gaze. On there, the news about the Ellis Island Summit¡¯s preparation was reported to be completed. The Summit was to be attended by political figures and leaders of the world. It was the fiftieth-anniversary gala celebrating the formation of the United Nations. It will happen a few days later.


    ¡°My god. He¡­ ¡± Storm halted.


    ¡°His target is the leaders around the world.¡± Beast continued Storm¡¯s sentence, silencing the room.


    ¡°But then, his target would be too big. He can¡¯t possibly support the required energy. It will leave him dead.¡± Beast continued. ¡°He can¡¯t be thinking of sacrificing himself. So, the real question is, what does he plan to use as an energy replacement?¡±


    The room fell silent.


    ¡°Absorption.¡± Then, the Professor spoke in a grave tone.


    Beast¡¯s eyes lit up, as he understood what the Professor said.


    ¡°A few days ago, a teenage girl was reported to have the power of absorption. It is most likely that Magneto has already caught this news. Maybe, Magneto intends to use her as a scapegoat by letting the girl absorb his powers, and forcing her to operate the machine.¡± Beast explained to those who didn¡¯t understand.


    Storm and Cyclops¡¯ face darkened, as they are the ones who¡¯re supposed to bring the girl in question back in the mansion.


    ¡°We need to find her.¡± The Professor said, ready to turn towards the direction of the Cerebro. But, just then, a scream resounded. They turned toward the source.


    They saw the figure of Senator Kelly convulsing. They all rushed into the room, except Logan. Jean and Beast tried to operate the life-support machines. But, it did nothing. The blob known as Senator Kelly contracted and expanded repeatedly. Then, it melted, leaving nothing but a puddle of slime. Senator Kelly was no more.


    ¡°Oh God.¡± Storm covered her mouth and rushed out of the room; she cannot stomach what she had just witnessed.


    ¡°Such pain... Pain like I could never have imagined...¡± The Professor tried to touch what¡¯s left of Senator Kelly. ¡°Poor creature. Poor, cursed creature...¡± Tears came to the Professor¡¯s eyes. Then, the Professor arches in his chair, as though jolted with electricity. Jean holds him to keep him from falling to the floor.


    ¡°I''m alright. I''m alright... He''s gone. Please... a moment.¡± (Professor)


    The Professor turns away to collect himself.


    A few moments later, faced them all.


    ¡°We need to find that girl, before Magneto gets to her.¡± The Professor said as he turns to the direction outside of the laboratory. He was followed by all, including Logan.

 Chapter 12- The calm before the storm

    <Third-person point of view>


    Their group arrived in front of a somewhat circular metal door. In the metal door lays a big ¡®X¡¯ mark, with a hole in the middle of the X. A blue light came out of the hole and scanned the Professor¡¯s iris. Then, the circular metal door separated into two and slid to the sides.


    There lays a room; a massive spherical room. The room was enclosed with metal panels, with only a path leading to the middle of the spherical room.


    All of them walked into the room. Jean Grey, Beast, Cyclops and Storm seems unperturbed; clearly showing that this was not their first time seeing this room.


    On the other hand, Logan¡¯s eyes sparkled with curiosity. He looks around the circular room. He looks down at the bottom of the room, discovering that it was covered by darkness.


    ¡°This is the Cerebro. It can detect all living organism in the planet by transmitting extrasensory data my mind. Cerebro can separate humans from mutants, thus, it is used to locate potentially gifted children. Magneto helped me in creating this room¡­¡± The Professor explained to the bewildered Logan, all the while operating his wheelchair to go to the middle.


    In the middle of the room, at the end of the bridge-like path, is a control panel. The panel consists of complex circuitry and wirings, all connected to a helmet resting on top.


    The Professor silently picked up the helmet and put it on his head. He closed his eyes.


    Logan, who¡¯s thinking what sort of bullshit was this, opened his eyes wide. He saw the metal panels enclosing the room started to fall one by one. He crouched down, taking a battle stance.


    Jean Grey touched his hand telling him it¡¯s okay. Logan looked at her, and he relaxed his stance. He brushed off Jean¡¯s hands. Jean just smiled wryly at his actions.


    Meanwhile, Cyclops glared at Logan, but stayed silent as it might disturb the Professor.


    Logan looked around again, now noticing that the metal panels are all gone, replaced by darkness. Then, in the darkness, lights slowly appeared. White lights.


    The world was recreated.


    It was the projection of the happenings around the world.


    The projection displayed a man, jogging in a park. The man was holding a dog leash, connected to a Siberian husky. Then, the projection moved to display a woman watering the plants. Next, to a man shoveling the ground in a construction site.


    ¡°The Cerebro displays 3D images, projecting the outside world.¡± The Professor spoke as the image zoomed out and displayed the spherical Earth.


    ¡°These white dots represent every living person on the planet.¡± He continued as white lights filled the land continents.


    ¡°And these¡­ are the mutants¡± Red dots appeared all of a sudden, scattered around the globe. ¡°You see, Logan? We''re not as alone as you think.¡± The Professor smiled at Logan.


    The white dots still exceeded the red dots by a huge margin, but the red dots scattered around is not a small number either.


    Meanwhile, Logan is still in a daze, seeing this sight.


    ¡°So this is what you used to find me, huh.¡± He muttered.


    ¡°Yes. And this is what we will use to find that child.¡± The Professor said as the white dots disappeared, leaving the red dots in the Earth¡¯s image. Then, the image started to zoom in and changed into various projections. It showed a Caucasian boy with snake-like eyes, then a Japanese girl wielding a katana with electricity running through her body, then to the next one, onto the next. All of them were mutants.


    The Professor started his search for the girl.


    A few minutes later, the image moved at a high speed, barely visible to the human eyes. The landscape continued to change.


    This left the Professor sweating. Beast, Cyclops, Storm, and even Jean Grey were bewildered. Even Logan was able to tell what was happening, despite witnessing this for the first time.


    The Professor can¡¯t find the girl.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    The image moved faster even more, and the Professor started to breathe heavily. The others grew concerned.


    As Jean was about to stop the Professor, the image stopped suddenly.


    Jean and Beast froze, and their eyes widened in disbelief. They stared blankly at the image.


    ¡°W-what..? Is-is she¡­ ?¡± (Beast)


    It was a picture of an African boy with a spiked hair. Spikes that can be likened to a porcupine¡¯s. But, there is nothing out of ordinary in the image of this mutant; except that he is the last mutant the Professor has found, but still didn¡¯t manage to locate the girl.


    ¡°No¡­ I can feel her¡­ She is still alive¡­ but¡­ She is¡­ hidden¡­¡±


    The Professor spoke while panting, visibly exhausted. He never thought that he will fail to find the girl, despite searching for all the mutants. But, he can indeed feel a wisp of her presence.


    ¡°She is¡­ somewhere¡­ around New York¡­ the last of her trace.¡± (Professor)


    ------------------------


    <MC¡¯s point of view>


    I opened my eyes widely.


    I stood up from my cross-legged position. Then, I scanned my surroundings, trying to find an abnormality. I squinted my eyes.


    Just then, I felt the alarm in the barrier I set up a week ago going off. Someone might¡¯ve tried to get past the barrier¡ªor if it¡¯s not someone, then maybe kind of some ¡®force¡¯.


    Nevertheless, the one behind it has an amazingly high power. I can¡¯t hope to match it¡ªnot until I cultivated enough. Luckily, though, was that the barrier was set up with a strong foundation; else they would¡¯ve been able to break it.


    I didn¡¯t imagine that someone will target us this early. I was hoping to buy a week or two, if possible. By that time, I would¡¯ve started cultivating the bones, giving me stronger physical power and defense. But, now that signs have appeared that something ugly might happen later, I need to prepare so that I can cope with any challenge that comes my way. After all, I¡¯m not living alone now.


    I shook off my current worries and walked outside of the room.


    In the living room, I saw the two girls sitting on the couch, facing each other. They are holding playing cards in their hands.


    Rogue is holding a total of three cards in her hands while glaring at Eliza.


    Meanwhile, Eliza is holding a total of four cards in her hands, wearing a nonchalant reaction towards Rogue¡¯s glare. ¡°Come on, pick one already¡±, Eliza urged Rogue.


    ¡°I know, I know!¡± Rogue gritted her teeth, visibly agitated. She extended a trembling hand towards Eliza¡¯s cards. She picked one in the left side and lifted it up. Rogue closed her eyes tightly as she brought the card in front of her, then she opened them wide.


    Rogue beamed up, smiling ear to ear like an idiot. She looks like a child that got her favorite toy as a Christmas present. Then, she paired up the card that she got from Eliza with one of hers, decreasing her card-count into two, while Eliza holds three.


    She looked at Eliza with a provocative smile¡ªa triumphant face, as most would deem it.


    On the other hand, Eliza seemed unperturbed. She unenergetically picked one of Rogue¡¯s cards and paired it with hers, bringing her card-count down to two, while Rogue holds her final one.


    Now on the verge of winning, instead of a happy face, Rogue¡¯s expression darkened. Her triumphant face was nowhere to be seen, quickly replaced by a cloudy one. She looked intently at her card, and towards Eliza¡¯s. She alternately looked at the cards. Then, she seemingly gave up as she sighed in dejection. She slowly put her card down.


    Just when I thought that she gave up, she closed her eyes lightly and clasps her hands in front of her chest. I was still thinking of what she¡¯s trying to do when she started reciting a prayer. She recited a long ass prayer, coupled with an unknown mantra at the end.


    While I was still dumbfounded, her hands blurred and one hand picked up her own card, then, in the next instant, she was holding one of Eliza¡¯s card on her other hand. Her two hands met up, putting the two cards in front of her. Rogue smiled in satisfactory, and slowly opened her eyes.


    In the next instant, her smiling face broke, replaced by ultimate disbelief. Her eyes turned into needles, and her eyelashes started to quiver. She slowly lifted her head and looked into Eliza, meeting her eyes. Eliza¡¯s eyes contained not a bit of intention to hide the mockery in them. It gave Rogue a shiver in her spine.


    Then, Eliza slowly stretched out her hands towards Rogue¡¯s cards. Rogue¡¯s eyes reflected the slowly closing hands of Eliza.


    The next moment, Eliza delivered the final judgment and picked a card from Rogue. She paired it with her card and slammed it down for Rogue to see.


    ¡°No¡­ I-I¡­¡± (Rogue)


    ¡°I won. That¡¯s 12 times out of 12 games.¡± Eliza slowly stood up and said in a manner-of-fact tone.


    Meanwhile, Rogue collapsed down on the floor; she¡¯s on all fours. The figure of a little girl mockingly looking down at an older girl that is kneeling in front of her can¡¯t seem to get out of my mind.


    ¡°What are you two doing?¡± I asked from behind them, causing them to look in my direction.


    Eliza quickly fixed her expression and smiled; her mocking expression just a little while ago seemed like a lie. She trotted in front of me.


    ¡°Master, Elizabeth won against Sister Rogue 12 times!¡± She said in a cheerful tone. If she was a dog right now, her tail would definitely be wagging from side to side.


    ¡°M-mhm. Good job.¡± I said as I patted her head, causing her to purr like a cat.


    Rogue looked at me like I was a traitor. She slowly got up and sulked on the couch.


    I looked at the two opposing expressions of the two girls; one smiling, one frowning. I then released a sigh.


    ¡°You two. Hurry up and prepare dinner.¡± I said sternly, causing the two girls to straighten their backs. They both went towards the kitchen. I was hoping that they get along more while watching their figures cook.


    It¡¯s not like they don¡¯t get along at all, but there are times where they quarrel over small things, like that case earlier. Eliza already opened up to Rogue, calling her name with a ¡®Sister¡¯ attached to it. While Rogue can already show her true feelings to Eliza, like how she acts when it¡¯s just the two of them in a room.


    They cooked a sumptuous dinner that night. I ate my dinner silently as I watched the two bicker about small things they disagree with. It created a light atmosphere in the room.


    I didn¡¯t know back then, that this was what they used to call ¡®The calm before the storm¡¯.

 Chapter 13- The Sword and the Memory

    After we finished eating, just before they could wash the plates, I told them to go straight to the living room and leave the plates for later. I said we¡¯re gonna have a discussion, and this made the girls nervous, as this was the first time I called them for such.


    Back in the living room, I sat on a one-person couch while they sat on the longer one; both couches facing each other. They are nervously waiting for me to start the discussion.


    ¡°We¡¯re being targeted.¡± I went straight to deliver the news, shocking the girls.


    ¡°Wha, why?¡± Rogue asked, not knowing I confronted a gang when rescuing Eliza.


    Meanwhile, Eliza¡­.


    She¡¯s looking down, feeling dejected. She might be thinking that she had brought us problems. I knew that this will happen at any time soon, but it is indeed too soon. Trouble is already looking for us, and she thinks that it¡¯s because of her.


    ¡°Eliza, come here.¡± So I beckoned the dejected girl, and she slowly stood up and came towards me, head¡¯s lowered.


    While she was still feeling dejected, I pulled her into my lap, hugging her back. She was surprised at first, but quickly held the hand embracing her waist tightly. I felt her body trembling ever so slightly.


    ¡°Master¡­ I-I¡­¡± (Eliza)


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s not your fault. Those thugs brought you up, but they never did touch you, did they? They might¡¯ve had a reason for doing so. But, now that I have taken you from them, their plans might¡¯ve gone to waste. They were gonna find us sooner or later, so it¡¯s not your fault. I was already preparing for it ever since I accepted you.¡±


    I said to her soothingly while caressing her hair, attempting to ease her mind. I am not aware that my feelings for this girl are already this deep.


    ¡°Mhm¡­¡± She nodded weakly, her trembling noticeably lessened.


    ¡°Yeah. Leave this stuff to me. You can just focus on doing what you¡¯re normally doing at home. Clean, play games and do other stuff. If ever I come home tired or wounded, you can just heal me, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, got it, Master!¡± Eliza said, turning around and hugging me from the front. She then sobbed in my chest.


    ¡°Yes. We can solve this problem easily. Me and you¡­¡± I gently patted her back.


    As I said that¡­


    ¡°Hey, what about me? Where am I in your plans?¡±


    I heard a voice from the front. Looking up, I saw a fuming Rogue. Oh, so I created a world of our own while trying to pacify this little girl. Thus, we forgot this leech here. That¡¯s right, leech.


    I looked at her coldly, causing her to shrink.


    ¡°You are not good at fighting, are you? You didn¡¯t even start practicing your powers yet. So, tell me, what can you do?¡±


    ¡°I-I¡­ uuuu,¡± (Rogue)


    ¡°You can¡¯t support me in battles either. You might even throw up when you see blood. So, you¡­¡±


    Her figure shrank every time I blurted a sentence. And then, I delivered the final nail.


    ¡°You go wash the plates and throw the trash tomorrow.¡±


    I stood up, cradling the resting girl in my arms; her breathing has already turned steady. She fell asleep while crying. Then I left Rogue on the living room.


    I locked the doors in my bedroom and laid down the girl in my bed. I caressed her cheeks and kissed her forehead.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Master¡­¡± Eliza muttered under her sleep. I caressed her cheeks one last time, and then I stood up.


    Walking towards one corner of the room, I opened the windows. I went out and closed it afterward. I was hanging to the railings of the fire escape ladder. I jumped down; the four floors height didn¡¯t daunt me in the least. I landed softly, and then I dashed out.


    In the night, my figure was quickly swallowed by the darkness.


    ------------------------


    <Third-person point of view>


    Back in the apartment, Rogue stomped her feet while heading towards the kitchen, visibly agitated.


    ¡°Hmph! That Agnus!¡±


    She said while cursing out to him internally. She started washing the plates roughly.


    ¡°Wait till I got stronger. Let¡¯s see by then who will come asking for my help--!¡±


    She laughed like a madman. Rogue was busy thinking of such a triumphant scene in her head, thus, her head was flying in dreamland and she didn¡¯t notice that one plate fell towards the floor. The sound of the plate breaking woke up the fantasizing Rogue. She immediately stopped laughing, her face turning pale.


    She quickly looked left and right, checking if someone saw. Then, she crouched down in a panic and picked up the pieces one by one. She threw them towards the thrash bag that¡¯s somehow getting full. After she¡¯s done, she patted her chest and released a relieved sigh. She looked just like a criminal after disposing of the evidence. She quickly washed the remaining plates and went straight to her room, locking the door afterward. Then, she let herself fall in the bed, planting her face in the pillow.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°Uuuu. Why am I annoyed in the first place?  Is it because of what he said? Or¡­ is it because of-of him hugging Elizabeth in front of me?..... Arrgghhh I don¡¯t know anymore!¡±


    Rogue punched the pillow under her, huffing and puffing at the same time.


    ¡°You idiot! Agnus is an idiot. Idioooot!¡±


    She imagined Agnus¡¯ face in place of the pillow while she threw curses and punches on it. A little while later, she stopped and panted heavily.


    Then, the next instant, she hugged the pillow tightly and giggled like a fool. No one knows what¡¯s on her mind¡­


    ------------------------


    <MC¡¯s point of view>


    I went to the rooftop of the abandoned building that I have always practiced on. The night sky is devoid of stars, spreading darkness in the surroundings. Even the moon was hiding behind the dark clouds, creating a foreboding feeling.


    I just stood there, in the middle of the quite wide rooftop, letting my hair flutter.


    Then, a flash, and something appeared on my hand. The previous dark surrounding now gave off an icy-blue light. The source of which, of course, is the sword I held on my hand.


    The sword looks slender as it measured at least two and a half inches in width and a meter in length. Its blade is sparkling in a diamond-like manner, all the while releasing an icy coldness around it. The sword hilt, on the other hand, is just at the length that it¡¯s fitted in my hand. It has the same material as the blade, and the cross-guard is adorned by snowflakes. The sword has a feminine appearance.


    This sword is one of the unique-sword series I made back then; the Nameless sword series. It was the ice-type one, a variation from the water element. Of all the type of swords I made, this one became my favorite. I stared at the sword as it first appeared in this world.


    Swiish


    A blue diagonal line was drawn in the air.


    I was still looking at the icy blue sword in my grasps when the stone pillar in front of me slid off each other, cut in half. I was thinking of nothing else but the sword, seeing nothing else but the sword, and feeling nothing else but the sword.


    Before I notice, I was already in a trance. The memories started to flood me.


    ------------------------(flashback start)


    I¡¯m running in a forest. I¡¯m heavily panting, my clothes drenched in sweat. My legs are already numbed and my mind is telling me to stop and just lay down on the soft grass.


    But, I can¡¯t do that. I can¡¯t give up. They will catch us.


    I don¡¯t care about my life but I can¡¯t let her die.


    I need to save her.


    I gazed at the girl breathing weakly in my arms as I convince myself.


    ¡°Hang on, just hang on. We¡¯ll lose them soon.¡± I said as I tried to shake off our pursuers. I ran deeper into the forest.


    ------------------------(flashback end)


    I kicked the floor and dashed towards the still falling pillar.


    Then, crisscross cuts filled the space in front of me. The air moved away from the path of the sword.


    Wherever it went, it would draw a blue line. Whatever it touches, it freezes. I slashed like a madman.


    The reality in front of me and the memories started colliding.


    ------------------------(flashback start)


    The three figures chasing me can already be seen. They were sent by the Upright God Sect. They were supposed to be a good-natured sect, but here they are, prepared to kill someone to satisfy their greeds.


    Their figures are slowly catching up to me and will reach me after a few moments. I stopped below a tree and laid down the girl in my arms. Next, I covered her with a blanket I took out from my storage ring.


    ¡°Wait for a little, Bing¡¯er. I will finish this quickly. Don¡¯t stand up. Just wait there.¡± I said as I kissed her forehead.


    ¡°¡­Mhm¡±


    I heard her weak reply as I turned around and faced the pursuers.


    They immediately rush into me and we engaged in combat.


    ------------------------(flashback end)


    I stepped a few meters left of the falling pillar and slashed it at that side, and then I moved to the other side and did the same.


    I danced around the pillar but I only looked at my sword, not taking my eyes off even for a moment. At that instance, I felt my heart turn cold, not unlike the sword I¡¯m wielding.


    ------------------------(flashback start)


    Ding!


    A crisp sound resounded as I deflected a slash aimed at me. The source of the slash is enraged, and the cause is the two bodies that littered the ground; lives I reaped.


    Ding!  Ding!  Ding!  Ding!


    The opponent sent a barrage of frenzied attack towards me, so I deflected it all and I started counterattacking. I slowly pushed him back, making the difference in our cultivation clear.


    Although I¡¯m already exhausted, I¡¯m still higher in cultivation compared to him. I managed to fling away his sword and was about to deliver the last strike.


    But then, I saw him grinned wickedly. As soon as I looked into his eyes, I saw another figure rushing towards my back.


    I immediately turned around, but¡­


    ¡°No!¡±


    I was already late when I heard Bing¡¯er¡¯s voice.


    Blood splashed across the ground as the sword pierces a stomach. Not my stomach. But the girl who shouted.


    I saw her smiling faintly as she looked at me, and then she fell to the ground.


    ------------------------(flashback end)


    Tears ran down my cheeks as I slashed the broken pillar into smaller parts, then into smaller parts, and then into even smaller parts. The tears that ran down my face turned into ice crystals before it even drops to the ground.


    When the pillar reaches the ground, it was already cut into countless pieces. Each piece was coated in ice, reflecting the light coming from the diamond-ice sword.


    ------------------------(flashback start)


    The ground is littered by dead bodies by the time I was finished. I quickly ran towards Bing¡¯er.


    ¡°No, no, no. Please, hang on, don¡¯t close your eyes. Please. I beg you.¡±


    I immediately broke into a run towards the outside of the forest to seek a healer. As my battered body was pushed even further, I started to feel my eyelids grow heavy.


    Then, the girl in my arms spoke a word, but not a voice came out. I immediately understood it as I laid her down.


    She stretched out her hands to wipe out the tears falling in my cheeks. Then, her storage ring lit up and a diamond-ice sword came out. It was the sword I gifted her. She weakly pushed it into my arms.


    I grabbed it off her hands and told her not to move anymore. ¡®Treasure it¡¯, her mouth says.


    ¡°Yes, yes, I will treasure it. I will keep it by my side forever so you just hang on there, alright? We¡¯ll still unravel the mysteries of this world together, right? You promised me. You wouldn¡¯t leave me alone, would you?¡± I heard my voice trembling.


    She smiled at me apologetically and closed her eyelids.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do this to me. Come on. Don¡¯t do this to me¡± I held her closer, wanting to share the heat of my body. She caressed my cheeks, which prompted me to look at her paling face.


    ¡®Sorry¡¯, was the last word she said.


    I held the girl in my arms as I started to sob. Her body was as cold as the sword in my hand.


    ------------------------(flashback end)


    After that, I was left panting. I broke my stare at the sword as I slowly regained myself. The tears that came out of my eyes are frozen in the ground, appearing as little crystals. I slowly took a deep breath and exhaled it afterward.


    When my mind steadied, I quickly ran the simulation of the actions I just did. That simple demonstration of mine already caused me so much energy, and I still haven¡¯t used any of its available features.


    It seems like I would have to practice even more to get myself accustomed to this sword.


    This sword is my most treasured item. And I will not hesitate to use it.


    Because,¡­


    I have someone to protect now.


    And I will protect them with the sword you gave me. I promise.


    This time, I won¡¯t let anyone go.