Chapter 37 – A painful realization
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Hello, dear readers! Here's chapter 37!
Enjoy and see ya next week!
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‘Demian Mikhailov, along with his three perks, his cultivation path and his loved ones, will have to grow his power in a complicated world, filled with superhumans, crime syndicates and other mysterious beings.’
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The Highlands, New Jersey, USA.
Ben's P.O.V.
May's words woke Ben up completely from his previous dazed state. “What?!” Ben exclaimed while immediately standing up. “I've been cultivating the whole day?!” Seeing the others nod, the silver-eyed man rubbed his face feeling flustered, while muttering. “It only felt like minutes to me...” “That's normal.” A female voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
Turning toward its owner, a beautiful redhead wearing casual clothes appeared in his sight. “What do you mean, Nat?” With a knowing smile, she declared. “Cultivating is similar to any other activity. If you enjoy it, it'll seem like no time has passed. The only thing is that the effect is stronger when you're in that state.”
Her explanation cleared a few doubts he previously had and made everyone else's worried expression disappear. Shaking his head helplessly, he turned toward his family members and stated. “Sorry, guys. I didn't think I'd do it for a whole day without stopping.” The group did not harp on it, with May saying. “As long as you're fine, it's not a big deal.”
Taking her into his embrace, a gentle smile appeared on his face at her words. His gaze was however attracted toward Natalia when the latter asked. “Looking at you, I'm guessing you've received some gains?” Chuckling at her words, he replied. “I did. I've successfully reached the Peak of the First Level with my current Cultivation Scripture. I don't know if it's fast or not, though.”
His words drew some amazed stares from Cross and Marco, while the children and two women were not really aware of what that entailed. As for Nat, she commented. “As expected from Ben.” Cocking his eyebrow, the tall man asked. “Is that good?” His question made the redhead agent giggle while Marco had a look of despair on his face. “I'll never be able to beat the Captain, am I?” The latter muttered, bringing an amused smile to Ben's face.
“It's good. Very good even. It took me two days to do the same back when I started cultivating. And I've got Low Heaven Energy Affinity. In any case, it's a good thing, so don't mind it too much.” Nodding his head, he turned toward Marco and Cross before asking. “What about you guys?” Cross replied. “It should take me a bit less than a week.”
“And you, Marco?” Letting out a helpless sigh, the brown-haired man responded. “Around four to five days.” To which Ben retorted. “Not bad. What about you girls?” He asked May, Madeline, and Kate. “It took us a bit of time to memorize and understand the technique, so besides me, none of the others broke through.” Looking at her, the man asked. “You mean?...” Nodding her head, she replied gleefully. “Exactly. I reached the Sixth Level.”
Pausing for a second, she added, puzzled. “Actually, it's... a bit strange. When I started training, I felt some kind of resonance and that's when my strength started increasing at light speed. I'm still not sure why...” Her words reminded him of what happened during his own session. 'Could it be thanks to the Soul Bond?'
While pondering on the mysteriousness of his own perks, the man replied gently. “It's fine. It's a good thing anyway. And you guys too. As long as you keep training, you'll definitely grow stronger.” All of them nodded at his words, despite Kate and Mady having an expression of frustration on their face after they heard May speak of her increase in strength.
Shaking his head inwardly, the silver-eyed man turned his face back toward Nat before asking. “I never asked you before Nat, but... What's your Level?” With a mischievous grin on her face, she instructed. “Now that you've started following a standard cultivation system you should've access to an 'out-of-body' perception, right? It's called Divine Sense. Although it's only a weak form for now. Anyway, use it to sense my body's fluctuations.”
Following her instructions, he closed his eyes before focusing on his senses. As soon as he did, he felt that his previous perception of a few dozen inches increased to a few dozen feet, which surprised him greatly. His so-called Divine sense allowed him to 'see' almost anything in the room, unlike previously where it was stuck a few inches from his body. From what he could tell the only exception was the ground, most likely because of the material density.
Besides trying to look through May's clothes, just to check if it would work, he did not try it with anyone else. He had some self-respect after all. In any case, Ben quickly switched his attention to sensing Nat's cultivation fluctuations to guess her current Level. While examining her energy, he started to think, comparing his own and the ones from the two men with hers to give him a clue.
Opening his eyes, he said, unsure. “You seem stronger than me... Your energy seems similar to Cross, but also different...” Pausing for a second, he added. “I can't find the right words to explain. Are you at the Third Level?” His words prompted her to nod and respond. “That's right. At the Peak of the Third Level to be exact.”
After letting her words sink in for a brief moment, she continued. “The difference between Cross and I comes from the difference in quantity and quality. The quantity because I'm at the Peak while Cross is only a Low-Level Three. The quality because my energy comes from one of the highest levels of scripture, while Cross hasn't converted his inner energy with his own high-level scripture yet.”
With some hesitation, she added. “There's also a sort of different 'flavor' to each individual's energy. After all, even if two people cultivate the same technique, they'll still have some slight differences due to their own physical or mental particularities. But the difference is less pronounced for Low Cultivators.”
“Thanks for the explanation.” Ben said, in a grateful tone. “You're welcome. You'd have found all of this out quickly anyway.” Shaking his head slightly, he retorted firmly. “Be that as it may, you've been a great help to us these days. So, thanks.”
His gaze and words were probably too much for her because she quickly looked away while responding in a gentle tone. “You're welcome.” With his increased senses he even spotted a light blush on her cheeks. Perhaps because of her mental prowess, it disappeared almost instantly.
Faking a cough, the female agent quickly changed the subject. “Anyway, why don't we spar for a bit? That way you'll be able to get used to your strength faster.” Nodding his head, he replied. “Sure. I've been itching for a real challenge for a while now.” A feeling of excitement grew within him at the prospect of fighting someone around his Level. The sensation of using one's body to its maximum potential was something that he never grew bored with.
Especially now with his enhanced strength, he would be able to have even more fun. As the two started moving toward the special ring used for spars. It was similar to those octagonal rings from the UFC except that it was made from an unknown metallic material and its size was much bigger. After all, as Novice Ranks cultivators, Nat and Ben needed the space to use their entire physical prowess.
The two then entered the closed arena while the others went in front of the huge screen outside to watch what was happening inside the ring. Once in place, Nat asked. “I'm guessing that you haven't had time to learn any Spells yet, right?” Nodding his head, Ben replied. “That's right. I chose to focus on understanding my scripture first, before learning anything else.”
“Good idea. Fighting techniques and spells are dependent on your raw power anyway, so it's better to do it that way. Especially since, despite your lower Level, your energy should be as strong as an average Peak Fourth Level Novice Rank.” Cocking his eyebrow, he questioned. “Really?”
With a knowing smile on her face, she retorted. “Don't underestimate a High-Level Scripture and a High-Level Talent. It gives you an enormous boost in power compared to other cultivators of your Level, but who are less fortunate.” Nodding his head, he replied. “I'll trust you on that. So? Shall we start?”
His small but visibly excited grin seemed to amuse the redhead if her facial expression was to be believed. “Sure. But we'll only use normal fighting techniques. Let's start.” As soon as her voice paused, she went from stationary to sprinting toward him in a way that took him by surprise for a fleeting moment.
Fortunately, due to the distance between them and his own extensive combat experience, his body automatically fell into a defensive stance, ready to receive her blow. A fraction of a second later, his right arm moved to block the left hook aimed at his right side, before sending a left jab to force her to move back.
However, she countered in a way that his mind and body were not able to react. Lowering her body slightly under his left arm, she threw a right hook right where his pectoral muscles met, throwing him against the metal wall so hard that the muscular man stayed on the floor for a long moment trying to withstand the pain in both his torso and back.
After the pain was alleviated, he let out a comment in a wry voice. “Fuck! You're ruthless, Nat.” Tilting her head with an innocent expression, she asked, smiling. “Didn't you want to spar? Am I hitting too hard?” Rolling his eyes at the fakest expression he had ever seen, he stood back up as his body seemed to return to normal.
Taking a defensive stance, he asked with both frustration and some strange excitement. “Ready?” Giggling at his reaction, she responded. “Sure. But remember to take into account the strength of the blow when you position your body. After all, our blows could destroy normal metal walls, so if you don't pay attention your body will get destabilized and you'll end up getting hit and thrown away, even if you don't get hurt.”
Nodding his head, he replied. “I noticed. I'll pay attention to it from now on.” Nodding back, she then restarted the spar. Dashing toward him in the same manner as previously, this time she threw a right hook aiming at his face. The air pushed by her fist made him slightly squint his eyes, but fortunately, his reflexes saved him from the blow as he automatically lowered his body while preparing to throw his own right fist toward her.
However, when he did throw his punch, it only hit the empty air in front of him, feeling puzzled for a brief moment, his intuition suddenly screamed at him that a great blow was coming from behind him. Trusting his intuition, the man threw himself in front, planning on rolling away from the woman's blow.
Unfortunately, his reaction speed was clearly too slow. Indeed, as soon as his body started tilting forward, acute pain exploded from his floating ribs on the right side of his body. Right after, he felt himself fly through the air toward one of the walls. In a desperate attempt to protect himself, the middle-aged man covered his head with his arms, right before the nerves located in his upper limbs blared with agony.
The following abrupt drop on the ground drew a few groans of pain from the usually stoic man. This time, it took much longer for Ben to recover from his injuries. Of course, from both his experience and inner sense, he could tell that there would be no lasting damage from the blows, but still. 'It hurts like hell!”
He thought, 'slightly' pissed off now. 'She could have held back a bit at least.'
As if she could read his mind, the redhead explained. “I know it sucks, but it's the best way for you to both understand your body better and how to fight against someone stronger and faster than you. Because you'll probably need to do just that one day, and if you're not prepared, your opponent will be able to use that against you.”
As his mouth opened to protest, the woman cut him off with a shake of her head. “I know you're experienced in normal combat. But you've never had to fight another cultivator before. Or any Supe for that matter. Keep in mind that I just used my physical power. But I also got spells in my arsenal...”
Her words appeased his annoyance, prompting him to realize how arrogant he was when he thought that he understood what he was getting into. 'How can the difference be so big between two Levels? It's insane...' He thought while waiting for his nervous system to stop sending him any pain signals.
After a long moment, his body seemed to have more or less recovered, allowing him to stand up and declare. “You're right. I was too naive to think that I could face cultivators as I currently am.” Shaking his head wryly, he added. “I really need to train a lot more.” With a gentle smile, Natalia replied. “You're already doing great for someone who became a Supe a few days ago and became a cultivator today.”
Staring intently in her direction, he stated while taking a fighting stance. “You don't need to find me any excuses. I'm not that soft. I know that I'm weak and I intend to work my ass off to change that. Let's do it again.” He spotted some admiration in the redhead's eyes as she also readied herself for the next bout.
With a charming smile, she declared. “Let's start!” Before the two resumed their spar. This time Ben was feeling determined to improve his strength as quickly as possible.
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