Chapter 11: Different Missions
Aster, Xander, Leylah and John counted everything on the table in front of them before frowning and looking at the group opposite them.
The currency system in all the planes around dell plane is tied to gold, making gold one of the most important commodity for ordinary transactions.
The major forces occupied gold mines while using banks, an old world term, as the intermediary between them. Places outside the shelter are filled with danger making it almost impossible for a weak rank 8 to own anything in the wilderness.
Marked paper notes guaranteed by the bank are used as medium of transaction, copper coins are the smallest currency unit in Dell.
Silver and gold are represented with notes provided by the bank. This is to prevent carry bulky coins, reducing the load of inter shelter merchants.
Monetary value become unnecessary once an awakened joins a major team, the major teams all have shares in mines where they pool manpower and provide protection to the miners and transporters.
Monster energy sources are used in transaction among experts. Monsters are created because the energy they fused with are either conflicting or they are unable to absorb it. This leads them to the instinct of destruction.
When this monsters are killed, due to the conversion of energy, the energy fuses with parts of their body and blood forming energy sources and crystals. This energy source and blood crystal are purified before the pure energy left is absolved.
“Exploring the ruin dungeon is going to cost more than what you are giving us right now, we have to prepare everything we will need ourselves, this crystals are not enough for the danger.” Aster said.
“We will give you more than this if you succeed in bringing back the high level energy source in that ruin, we are only giving you this mission because of your track record. Do you think Bruno plane does not have her own mercenary teams?” the employer, a man looking like a sleazy merchant asked.
Xander furrowed his brows while staring at the man, he turned to Leylah who shook her head at him. After a while of internal struggling, “fine, we will only give you the energy source, any other spoils will remain ours.”
The merchant thought for a while before nodding.
“I hope we have a pleasant cooperation.”
They both shook hands before the merchant left. They already knew the deal will go through anyway, after all, Xander would not have brought all his teammates if he was going to refuse the offer.
“John, tell Aaron to ensure those rookies become something before we return so we can send them to clear the bird cave. Prepare everything we need so we can stay up to three months. We don’t know if there will be a change within this period.
…
The trio sat in a lotus position facing Aaron who also sat down with his eyes closed yet they felt he was everywhere.
“You can feel my presence everywhere right? That is because your spirit is not focused. If I were to attack you right now, you would not know how you died.
Apart from the difference in rank, your spirit level is also very weak. Lucian, you have the ability to divide your mind, it will provide you protection if you try your best to escape.
Rank 7 is the first spirit level qualitative change, the warrior will be able to display partial transformation of the chosen path not just because they advanced, it is also because there is a change in the sea of consciousness.
The sea of consciousness is partially condensed at rank 7. I suspect rank 4 is an important threshold both for the spirit body and the sea of consciousness that’s why it is difficult to reach this level.
When you advance to rank 7, you will have a stronger spirit power than the rest which means faster speed in doing the same thing.
Relax yourselves, ensure your breathing is steady, look into your sea of consciousness. Hanging on different lantern holders were aqueous crystals releasing mist into the hall.
They all gradually relaxed as Aaron’s voice came to them, “your sea of consciousness is currently scattered with different runes and symbols. Each of them representing your awakened path, you need to accumulate energy on the runes until they are filled, you will know when it happens.
Look carefully at the peripheral of your consciousness and you will “see” faint runes shining partially bright, this runes are the key to your advancement to rank 8. You need to focus on not only feeling your rank 9 awakened runes, you also need to ensure you feel the other runes with energy.”
Lucian continued driving into his sea of consciousness while looking at the peripheral runes and symbols through his second mind.
Aaron continued slowly, “you don’t need to rush into thinking you have the entire process in your grasp right now, listen carefully as I continue.
For a rank 9, absorbing energy from the void can be dangerous without proper preparation and supervision, the elements in the void are in chaos. You need to ensure you don’t go above the limit you can withstand so you can process this chaotic energy into your own.
Chaotic elements can make your consciousness impure making it difficult for you to advance further than rank 7. It is different for you, energy crystals have filled up the entire void here making it easier for you to absorb them without worry.
Look above your sea of consciousness, confirm the energy above is pure before you allow them in so you can fill up the runes.”
The trio looked above their sea of consciousness and immediately revealed a look of surprise, for Lucian, pure flames were burning over them, they were converging to form fireballs, ravens, all sorts of weapons forged with pure fire making them look solid. He revealed a look of contemplation before slowly absorbing the energy into his consciousness.
The energy permeating the hall could be said to be neutral and aqueous like when looking at the hall with the naked eye but just as bubbles could reflect different colours, this energy will take the colour and signature of the spirit body and sea of consciousness closest to it forming a mutual attraction force.
Reina saw a different ice like weapons, ice mirrors, hurricanes and water vortexes floating over her sea of consciousness, feeling excited she began to slowly bring this energy in.
Adam was already clear on how mischievous Aaron could be, he waited until he was sure Aaron was no longer going to add anything before looking upward. He was taken aback when he saw stars, different space points, partial revolving doors et cetera. He just followed his instincts by absorbing them.
Aaron did not join them in this exercise, he calmly waited for them while reading books and reciting poems. He still had things he needed to tell them.
Three hours later, the trio woke up from their meditation looking excited, they felt like if they continued like this it would not take them a month to advance to rank 8. They looked at the crystals on the wall and were surprised because they already lost their lusters looking like they will crumble at any moment. They could only shake their heads in regret turning to face Aaron with hope in their eyes.
Aaron who seemed to have seen through their thoughts scoffed, “don’t even think about it. I need to finish up what I wanted to say before you start the physical training.
“I knew it… Adam muttered under his breath, I won’t stop training until I can beat him up. He is always releasing information at the wrong moment, how unreliable.”
Aaron continued, “the moment you awakened, you realise you gain some abilities that lean towards partial transformation. The sun path fireball that can disrupt thoughts, moon path have multiple transformation depending on the painting you awakened with. The same is true for other paths.
The painting you used in awakening was gotten from different ruins in the past. According to the records present in different planes, this painting are partial fusion of a monster part and a path energy source. They resonate with your sea of consciousness and spirit body, imprinting the corresponding runes and symbols in them. That is why new energy crystals are needed to keep them functioning when they are needed.
The reason for the sun path flames, burning in the beginning is currently unknown but from rank 7 upward, the sun path can summon meteors, have extreme resistance to negative energies due to their high purification powers, create realistic illusions and thunderstorms.
After hearing all these, I am sure you are now well rested. You have to run through the maze of confusion so you can call it a day.”
They all grunted in anger, they were not well rested at all. They could only grind their teeth and run into a mirror placed in the innermost path of the hall.
“Mutated sun and star path artifact Maze of confusion, this artifact is in form of a mirror but having an independent space within. The maze separates everyone that eneters into it, opening fake doors that gives hope to the trapped, this doors will sometimes return you to your starting point without you being aware because thought have been disrupted.
The only thought of those trapped within will be to escape but the more the desire to escape the more doors of hope is open leading to a loop. Every six hours, doors to the outside are open but before this six hours you must not have passed through more than two doors or it will be an insult to the mirror.
A person outside the mirror can bring out those trapped within the mirror but it cannot be more than one at every six hours intervals regardless of the number of time the trapped as entered the doors. Those that resist the maze fiercely are given the illusion they had entered multiple doors with horrors in them in order to give them new hope that the door opened will lead to their escape.”
…
Gunvor woke up to the sound of sirens ringing, he jumped up in confusion from his sleeping position and without taking in his surroundings, he rushed to the windows and looked out from the high rise building.
“Where am I? How can I enter this strange place through the book? I think I saw the shadow of a door within the book before I entered it, what was it?”
He was very perplexed, he turned again looking through the window again this time though his eyes were filled with different symbols drawing the entire place close to his view. Strange moving boxes that are actually cars were all over the place.
He kept feeling that something was amiss but he couldn’t pin point where this feeling came from. Before he could look up to observe the sky, someone jumped at him from the back. He quickly turned because his perception told him it was a child. For a rank 5, having basic knowledge of everything around them was a must.
The child was smiling while looking at him, “uncle, mum said you should come eat.”
He broke out in sweat when he heard her voice but he couldn’t feel the reason for this terror. He could only nod awkwardly at the girl while following her, he didn’t even know how he understood the language but he instinctively felt he understood it’s meaning.
If only he looked backward, if only he looked at the sky.
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