With that, he left, closing the door behind him.
Roy stared down the Beast core for a few more seconds before quickly sitting back down in his cycling position. He’d never pulled Essence from a core before, but when he reached his senses out to it, he could feel it in his hands and thrumming with power. He wondered if how it would work if another Martial Artist tried to compete with him for the Essence inside the core. Would they be able to take it from him?
He was curious, so before he began drawing on the core, he placed it on the ground before him and reached out to it with his perception. He was relieved to find that while he could indeed feel the core’s power, he was unable to draw the Essence from inside. It appeared that he would have to be making physical contact for him to be able to absorb the contents of the core.
Picking it up again, Roy began breathing in the rhythm of his cycling technique, this time reaching for the core clutched between his fingers instead of the Essence in the air. The core responded immediately, and Roy gasped as the Power Essence flooded into him in a rush. It was pure, heavy, and concentrated energy.
The Essence he was pulling into his core felt much more potent than the Essence in the air. Within seconds, his core was straining to the bursting point, and another minute of cycling later, he advanced to 2nd Dan. As Irusaru had predicted, it didn’t give him nearly the same feeling as advancing the first time had.
His core expanded a bit, the Essence within condensing down and making room for him to pull in more. He’d had no idea that a single core could contain this much power. If it would only have taken two Orange level cores to have him advance to 2nd Dan, this single Green level core did it all on its own, and there was still Essence left afterward.
The core was still nearly half full, and Roy greedily drained it dry. As soon as the last of the Essence left the core, it shattered in his hand, falling to the ground in a fine powder. Roy wasn’t paying attention to that, however. He was busy cycling all of his new Essence into his core, pushing to fill it further.
Despite not needing to, he still ran the Essence through the pattern in his chest before cycling it into his core, which was now full once again. When the last of the Essence had been cultivated, he could feel the core beginning to strain once more. It felt different this time, like no matter how hard he pushed, he wouldn’t be able to break through.
That was fine, as he already knew that he wouldn’t be able to force his way into the next level of advancement. That would be for some higher power to decide. As Roy opened his eyes, he wondered if the higher power had something to do with the mysterious man who had shown up at his first trial. Or perhaps, it was whoever was in charge of that man?
Shaking his head, Roy rose to his feet. His body once again felt improved, though only slightly this time. His senses were a bit sharper, his eyes and ears a bit better, and his muscles felt a bit stronger. Looking down to his waist, Roy smiled as a second yellow slash appeared above the first on his Belt. He was now only one step away from advancing to Yellow.
28
Aika and Irusaru were arguing as Roy exited the small house, a wide smile stretching from ear to ear.
“Oh, you’ve advanced! Congratulations!” Aika said, breaking off her argument with the old man and coming over to stand by him.
“Thanks,” Roy said, his grin not diminishing in the slightest.
“Yes, congratulations on advancing. You now have seventy days to advance or die,” Geon piped up, completely ruining his good mood.
“What’s wrong?” Aika asked as his expression fell.
“None of your business, girl. Now come on. It’s already past eight, and I want to get moving.”
Aika gave him a worried look but moved to follow the old man. Roy followed after her. Ferry suddenly came bounding out of the gloom, practically crashing into him.
“She’s excited to see you. She didn’t like it very much in the school’s stables. She said they smelled.”
“I’m happy to see you, too,” Roy said, feeling his dark mood retreating as the ferret pushed her head into his chest.
“Enough of this. I’m leaving now. If you’re not fast enough to keep up, you’re being left behind!”
With that threat, Irusaru took off.
He didn’t use any Movement technique that Roy could see, but he still moved fast for someone so small and so old. Aika dashed after him, her legs glowing white as she used a Movement technique to keep up.
Roy, on the other hand, had to scramble quickly onto Ferry’s back, then urge her to run to catch up with the other two. The three of them streaked through the school gates, heading in the opposite direction in which they’d entered. People who saw them coming immediately moved out of their way. Some looked angry enough to yell, but when they saw Irusaru, they were quick to shut their mouths.
“Where exactly are we going?” Roy called down to Aika.
He felt strangely inadequate as both Aika and Irusaru ran, while he was forced to ride. Even if he’d known a Movement technique, it would have done him little good. Those two were much more powerful than he was, and he’d have no chance of keeping up.
Ferry, while not nearly as powerful, was a Beast. Her body was built for running, so she didn’t have a hard time keeping up with them at the pace they were going. Though Roy knew that if Irusaru decided to really move quickly, none of them would be able to keep up.
“A training ground in the center of The Crater,” Aika called up to him as she dodged and whirled through the crowded street.
While she looked graceful in her movements, Ferry more bowled than wove her way through.
“What exactly will we be doing there?”
“Training,” Aika replied with a giggle. “What else?”
Roy sighed. She and Irusaru might not get along, but the two of them were similar in more ways than one. They approached the stone walls at breakneck speed, and Irusaru detached himself from their group, speeding ahead to the walls.
Roy was about to tell Ferry to slow down when a line appeared in the stone once more, and a large section of the wall sank into the ground. He could see a man standing near the wall, his body surrounded by a shining brown light. Earth Essence.
They shot through the opening and out into the open air. Roy immediately noticed a difference. This part of The Crater seemed to contain fewer stone spires, leaving the ground mostly open and flat. Lightning flashed across the sky, golden Essence bursting forth and floating above their heads.
“We will continue at this pace until dawn; then we will rest,” Irusaru said, as he came up next to them.
Aika nodded, and Roy groaned. It looked like he would be having another sleepless night.
***
Shah Koya stared blearily out at the wide-open area, dotted with spires of stone. Storm clouds roiled overhead, and lightning flashed across the sky in the distance. It had only taken them two days to reach this place, as opposed to the nearly month-long journey they’d been facing before. Still, he was uneasy. For as long as he’d been alive, his clan had always warned their young to stay in the Waterwood. The Crater was full of monsters who could crush any of them with little effort. Yet here he was.
Koya had no choice in the matter. If he ever wanted his clan to allow him back, he would have to catch the thief who stole their Dungeon core. In order to do that, he would have to follow him into The Crater.
“Koya, I don’t like this. We shouldn’t be here.”
Koya turned as Izu spoke up. He and Kozu were both staring out at the blasted landscape and both visibly shaking.
“We have no choice,” Koya snapped.