Chapter 16: A new path.

  They left Dilchak’s emporium and stood in the clearing. The sun was now high overhead. Despite it feeling like a long day, it was barely midday, and Billy was feeling slightly disoriented.

  His eyes kept looking over at Lorna. Ever since the previous night she had been cold and distant. Not just to him but also to the others.

  “What do you think we should do now?” Billy asked Lorna.

  “Why are you asking me?” she snapped back. “You are the leader.”

  “Just asking for opinions,” Billy said.

  “I suggest we pick up the squirrel bodies and head back,” Trevor said. “I want to see what my cultivation style thing is all about.”

  “I agree,” said Yuki. “I have some ideas for clothing and will need as much daylight as I can get. Time to get you out of those stupid robes.”

  “I want to get Billy out of his robe too,” Su Li said with a wink.

  “Ok!” Billy said, doing his best to ignore Su Li. “Let’s head back.”

  He had been tempted to suggest that they hunt for a while so that Trevor could get to level 1 and Lorna and himself could get to level 2, but could sense that the group needed some thinking time.

  As they moved off, he noticed that Lorna was not moving. She just stood there and fidgeted with her new weapon.

  “Lorna?” Billy asked.

  She looked at him. The anger in her eyes that had been there previously had been replaced with sorrow. “I will not be coming back.”

  “What? Look if it is about yesterday, I am sorry.”

  “Yesterday, today - everyday! It is about everything, Billy.” Her cheeks grew red and she pointed her spear at him. “I am tired of everything. Tired of carrying you – tired of carrying these children. You are slowing me down. If we don’t get stronger fast, we will keep dying. I have already died once and it was the worse experience of my life. And I am sick of being powerless.”

  “We are stronger together,” Billy said.

  “Are we?”

  “Lorna!” Trevor said. “Don’t be like this. Let’s go back to camp and talk about it.”

  “I am sick of talk. Sick of wasting daylight and time on you. The demon was right. We are a bunch of stupid noobs who are going to keep getting our arses kicked until we get either get wiser or die for good. Well, this is me wising up. I am going to go and get stronger. I am going to stop babysitting you losers. I am leaving!”

  “That’s not fair,” Su Li said.

  Billy opened his mouth to say something but stopped when Trevor’s hand dropped on his shoulder. Trevor just shook his head and Billy closed his mouth.

  “Then go!” Trevor said. “It is what you do best. You know where to find us when you have come to your senses.”

  Lorna looked at them both and then turned and ran off into the forest.

  “Should I go after her?” Billy said.

  “Leave her,” replied Trevor. “She is always like this. Every time she starts to get close to something she runs. Every time she gets good at something she quits.”

  “Will she be back?” Yuki asked.

  “One day, I guess,” Trevor said. “She usually comes back. Eventually.”

  Billy kicked at the ground. Again, he felt helpless. Just when he thought they were making progress something happened. He checked the party interface and saw that Lorna had already left. He guessed she did not want to share experience or have them spying on her, but it also meant that anything could happen and they would not know.

  “She was right, you know.” They all turned to look at Yuki. There were tears in her eyes. “She was carrying us. We… I … need to do better. My father would be ashamed of me.”

  Su Li went over and put her arm around Yuki. “If your father saw you fighting the squirrels he would be proud of you. But yes, we can and will do better. All of us. Won’t we, Billy?”

  “I am scared!” Yuki said. “So scared. I woke up this morning wondering if it’ll be the day I die or get taken by something worse than rat-fiends.” She shuddered. “I always feel safer when Lorna is around.”

  “We are all scared,” Trevor said. “It is nothing to be ashamed of. Even Lorna is scared.”

  “I am definitely scared,” Billy said. “And sick to my teeth. But I will not give up. Let’s go back to camp. We need to learn how to use our abilities and that won’t happen standing around here.”

  It was a quiet solemn group that headed back to the camp. After picking up the squirrels, Billy started to realize the seriousness of their situation. Without Lorna to rely on he did not feel able to protect everyone. Yuki was right; they needed to learn how to protect themselves.

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  ***

  “She was wrong, you know,” Su Li said as they entered the clearing. “You were the one who saved us in the beginning, Billy. You died to save us.”

  “She was wrong about that,” Trevor agreed. “But not about everything.”

  They settled into camp, Billy keeping watch while the others tended to the camp chores. Yuki in particular was in a rush to get things sorted so she could try out her new tailoring skills. As he watched, he opened up his menu and looked at this new cultivation manual – Aetheric Defiance.

  Upon request, the cultivation option opened up into its own mini menu.

  Cultivation manual – Aetheric Defiance.

  Cultivation stage: Gatherer Stage: 0

  Mana Available: 36/36 MP

  Basic technique: Defiance – unlearned.

  Common technique: Resurgence – unlearned.

  Uncommon Technique: Aetheric body – unlearned.

  Spells available: none

  The first thing he noticed was that it now showed information about the mana available. While he had seen mention of mana affinity and control before this was the first time he had seen this. It must have been unlocked when he gained his cultivation manual. He wondered if it was connected with the techniques available. There was even a menu option for spells available. Excitement overtook him, and he began to parse through the different options.

  Each of the categories opened up into a swathe of information except for the spells available tab which was blank. Billy realized there would be no shortcut. He would have to learn and understand each and then practice and practice. The techniques looked more like cryptograms rather than instructions and it was he would need better control over his manner to even begin to master the most basic technique. They all seemed to require a lot of mana too. Even the defiance technique would require 200 MP.

  He reviewed the defiance technique again as he felt that would the easiest to assimilate. He was surprised to see that even at the lowest level, it would allow him to boost his power while fighting. He reads through the instructions. The beginning to assimilate the process was not much different to how he usually meditated. What was different was how he proceeded after that. The key to learning and mastering the technique would involve being able to control the flow of mana within his body. He recalled what had happened when he had tried to work with the flows of mana earlier – he knew that he would need to improve on that. Fortunately, the technique came with a primer – a series of exercises he would need to master first that would improve his ability to handle the flow of mana within his body.

  He tried to follow the first stage of the exercise but his mind was not in the right place. He kept coming back to the incident with Lorna. He was not as confident as Trevor that she would be back. Every time he thought about it he felt chewed up inside.

  He went back to his normal meditation exercises again to clear his mind and settle his emotions. Once more, he tried to settle into the trance-like state needed for the meditation technique. His breathing slowed, and he could feel the mana energy moving around him, around the trees. His mind slipped as he reached for the flows.

  So close! This was definitely going to take some time to master.

  He pulled the war hammer from the belt of his robe and looked at it. He had never envisaged that this would be the weapon for him, and he was not sure if Dilchak was being genuine or trying to lure them into some trap.

  He grasped it firmly on and took a few swings and then tried to move while using the war-hammer. When he moved his arm he found that the weight of the weapon pulled his arm out of position and threw him off balance. He would need to become stronger and more agile to make the most of the war hammer, but he could sense the potential. Up close, he could do a lot of damage, and he also seemed to end up close to his enemies.

  “Looking good, little dude,” Su Li said from behind him. “Although I think you are overextending.”

  He turned around. “Little dude? Just what language are you speaking?”

  “Chinglish of course. It was a surprise to me that you all can understand me so well.”

  Billy smacked himself in the forehead. Of course, the system translated different languages. No wonder she could speak so fluently. And it probably explained the weird phrasing sometimes.

  She smiled at him. There was a tinge of sadness in her face as well as vulnerability. “Look I have decided we can’t be an item. Don’t take it too badly, Billy. I’m not ready to settle down just yet. But we can still be friends. I’ll even let you hold my hand when you are scared.”

  Billy could not stop himself from laughing. Whatever happened she did not seem to lose her sense of humour. She may be annoying at times, but he realized that she was a much-needed part of the group. As was Lorna – but he understood that maybe Lorna didn’t understand that yet.

  Su Li sat down on the floor and watched him. “I never thought I would miss my family and friends this much. I even miss my teachers and some of them were hateful even to a girl in a wheelchair.”

  “Yuki is here.”

  “Yes, she is! I think she is struggling here more than most of us and she hated her parents. Do you miss home, Billy?”

  He thought about it for a moment. “You know something. I don’t. Out here, life feels more real. I feel like I can achieve something.”

  “Well, the ground is definitely real. I am glad to be able to walk but I miss my mattress! I miss showers! Damn I miss showers!”

  “I think we need to focus on what we have. We have each other, Su Li.”

  She stared at him. “We do. Oh, you need to go and see Yuki. She said she wants to measure you. She keeps muttering about inferior cloth and working with only two colors. Just remind her to keep her hands to herself. She can be very handsy. At least the tailoring keeps her occupied.”

  “Have you tried practicing with your weapon? The chain knife thing looks interesting.”

  She pulled out the knives. He saw that she had wrapped the chains around her waist. Probably not the most convenient thing to do if they were suddenly attacked.

  “Stab stab is easy enough, but when I have tried throwing them, that is difficult.”

  “Have you tried swinging the chain and then releasing like rodeo style?” he asked. He mimicked the motion of swinging the chain over his head and then releasing.

  She thought about it for a moment. “Ok, I need space.”

  She moved over until she was about five metres from a tree. She took one of the knives and then grabbed hold of the end of the chain. She slowly swung it around her head, gradually building up speed. The blade glistened in the sun as it revolved around her head until the chain and knife blurred into a silver circle. With a loud “Ya!” she released the chain. The knife hurtled towards the tree, scraping the bark as it grazed the side.

  “Close!” she screamed in delight. “That was much better.”

  “You need to practice. We all do.”

  ***

  For part of the afternoon, they practiced with their weapons. Even Yuki took a break from her sewing to join them for a while. Billy could tell by the way she moved with the staff she was already used to it, and it was not long until she was making fluid and rapid moves with the staff.

  While Yuki finished sewing and Su Li practiced more with her weapons, Billy took Trevor hunting for frogs and for food. It was not long before they had bagged three of the frogs as well as another salamander. The new weapons made the task almost easy. Billy was happy to reach level two and get Trevor to level 1. What was even better was that the new storage rings made the task of collecting food and materials much more convenient.

  They finished the night with Billy trying to lead them in meditation. It was a difficult task as he really had yet to understand what he was doing himself fully, but he was gratified when, after an hour, Yuki and Trevor had picked up the skill. They all still had unassigned stat points but he assumed that would be resolved once they better understood their cultivation paths.