Morning came too quickly for Micro. Though the room’s only window to the outside world was still shut, he felt the warmth of the morning in the air. He was fully awakened by the sound of tea filling a cup near his head, and he opened his eyes to the same girl he’d struggled to converse with the night before.

  “Thanks,” he said through a stifled yawn. “Thanks for the tea…”

  However, the girl only bowed her head, placed the cup of tea in front of him next to a tray of food which Micro hadn’t noticed before, and turned to leave in a hurry.

  “I don’t think I’ve slept that well before…” Micro said while rubbing his eyes. He’d lost sight of the girl by the time his eyes could focus properly, so he looked around the room for Kel. “I’ve only slept a few times though.”

  “Forgive the girl…” Kel called out to Micro from across the room. “Sara comes from a family of good listeners, but they are lacking in manners.”

  “That’s fine.” Micro shrugged.

  “You are as gracious as you are wise…” Kel said calmly. He sat with his hands in front of him with a jade Core Card floating above them, a sight Micro recognized from the cave. However, as he watched, the Core Card suddenly glowed brighter than ever before.

  “Wha—” Micro said, startled by the flash. However, when he looked again, the card seemed to have vanished.

  “At last…” Kel sighed.

  “What happened to your Core Card?” Micro asked.

  “I have finally incorporated its teachings into my soul, master,” Kel declared, smiling widely at Micro. “The insights I have gained in my time with you have been truly priceless!”

  “What can you do with that?”

  “It will allow me to better discern the true nature of things,” Kel explained. “But that is not important now.”

  “Whatever…” Blue suddenly said through a yawn. Her voice was muffled in Micro’s pocket, but Sara, who had once again appeared in the doorway, shrieked and ran away.

  “Sara—” Kel turned to the door which Sara had just slammed shut and sighed. “She has a particular aversion to pixies, you see…”

  “Why?” Micro asked as he scooped up a bowl of meat and rice.

  “Her mother is a senior disciple of the sect,” Kel explained. “She challenges the Jade Fire Mountain Art Dungeon often, and she has taken many rewards for her efforts over the years. Many of the cards were of great benefit to her family, but there was an incident several years back.”

  “An incident?” Micro mumbled with a mouthful of food.

  “Sara’s mother has reported that upon claiming the rarest card she’d ever seen in the dungeon, a pixie appeared the moment she crossed through the gate into our world and stole it from her,” Kel said with a sad gaze. “It was a shameful day for the sect, but pixies are dangerous creatures, and such things are known to occur. Though pixies haven’t been as active in recent years, she has yet to rediscover the card…”

  “That doesn’t sound like something a pixie would do,” Micro asserted. “I’m sure it was a misunderstanding.”

  “You idiot,” Blue chimed in. She jumped out of his pocket, landed on his shoulder, and stretched her arms and wings. “That yellow brat in your other pocket literally just stole all your cards the other day.”

  “Oh, he did!” Micro nodded with wide eyes. “Wow…”

  “Blue, was it?” Kel addressed the pixie with a stoic expression.

  “Hmm?” She looked at him over her shoulder with one eye closed.

  “Might I ask, if I may…” he mumbled. “Why do pixies do such cruel things?”

  “Heh?” She blurted out while scratching her ear.

  “Why do creatures with no use for the possessions of cultivators insist on using their terrifying power to torment and steal from us?” he continued with a bitter expression. “Even going so far as to set fires or dig up gardens…”

  “Why?” she scoffed. “Why not? Ah, I guess the war was before your time, kiddo.”

  “What war…?” Kel asked in confusion. “Wait, that ancient—”

  “I keep forgetting how young you all are!” Blue groaned and rolled her eyes. “Well, you won it, alright? So stop being a sore winner.”

  “We won a war… with you?” Kel tilted his head to the side as he asked. “But why does that—”

  “Why indeed…?” she wondered aloud, not caring to let Kel speak. “Who cares? It passes the time.”

  “Passes the time…?”

  “You wouldn’t understand what it’s like to have so much of it.” Blue stretched her back and sighed. “Wow, I can’t believe how tired I am. Am I dying or something?.”

  “Are you okay?” Micro asked.

  “Hmm?” she mumbled as she jumped back into his pocket to resume her rest. “Oh, I’ll still outlive you, especially if you keep doing what you’re doing.”

  “That’s a relief,” Micro said, more relaxed than before. Micro stood up and stretched his own arms and legs as soon as he was finished eating, then realized Kel was still sitting motionless with a complicated look in his eyes.

  “Kel?” Micro called out once. “Kel!”

  “What?” Kel answered as he returned from his thoughts. “Oh, forgive me, master. Yes, we should go.”

  Kel stood up and took a deep breath, apparently putting his conversation with Blue out of his mind. He adjusted the position of the shield on his back, then straightened his posture and addressed Micro.

  “Grandfather wished to give you a proper introduction to the arts of our sect. Normally he doesn’t take direct disciples, but you already hold a Jade Turtle Art Core Card, and you appear to have no issues utilizing the elemental energies of fire, so he’s excited to accept you as a student. Tae will also be joining us today.” Kel gestured to the door, and began to walk with Micro. “I suppose Rose may also be receiving special lessons, but I am uncertain what is planned for her….”

  “I can finally learn how to eat Core Cards properly!” Micro celebrated.

  “Properly, indeed.” Kel let out a strained laugh as he adjusted his attire. He continued after tightening his green headband. “You’ll also learn to be more aware of the aura you emit. The shield you erected to protect yourself in the Turtle Art Dungeon must be tiring to maintain. You may wish to lower your output when you can, or you may one day find yourself depleted.”

  “I need to be more efficient…” Micro replied with a sad expression. He quickly began to meditate and viewed his core, now a much more familiar shape, and tried to regulate the flow of energy. “It’s easier now, but getting an even coat of energy all over me is tricky.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “It’s just astounding that you can do it at all…!” Kel gasped. “Even when asleep your aura was consistently contained, but it is incredible how quickly you are able to refine it. The power of will really does transcend knowledge…”

  “There, that should be fine for now.” Micro smiled as he awoke once more. “It feels more like a coat of paint now.”

  “Today’s lessons really will be a valuable experience for both of us,” Kel continued, his excitement returning. “I hope I am able to teach you even half as much as I have learned from you.”

  ~

  Kel wasted no time in ushering Micro out the door, leading him quickly to where they would begin their training. Though Micro eyed the glowing dungeon portal intensely as they walked by it, he diligently followed Kel. They first walked up the stairs which led to the former guest room, passing it uneventfully on their way up to a much higher platform. Micro enjoyed the view for a moment, but their climb became steeper very quickly, and he didn’t hesitate to voice his dislike of travelling uphill. By the time the sun was high enough to warm the mountain air, they had nearly reached the summit. Near the summit however, there was a large, open area, paved with stones and decorated with the same turtle statues Micro had grown used to seeing everywhere on the mountain. Waiting for him and Kel at the centre of the paved area were the sect leader, Tae, and Rose.

  Tae and the sect leader looked pleased to see Micro appear over the ridge, though Rose looked slightly uncomfortable. Rose waved, but she was much less talkative than Micro remembered her to be. The sect leader gestured to them to be seated with a wave of his hand, and the mood quickly shifted. Kel, Micro, Tae, and Rose sat in a line in front of the sect leader, who was using a large rock as a chair.

  “Kel, Micro, and Tae,” he began with a heavy voice. “You three have proven yourself worthy to inherit the highest arts of this sect. Kel and Tae, I believe you know what you have to do.”

  “Yes, grandfather,” Kel replied, while Tae simply bowed to indicate her understanding. Kel then addressed Micro. “We will be starting our journey to mastery of the Jade Fire Turtle Art. It is tradition that we meditate near this mountain’s summit after returning from the dungeon.”

  “Indeed, you shall,” the sect leader confirmed with a wide smile. “It may take you an hour, but it may take you a lifetime. However, I am optimistic. It is a beautiful day to begin a long journey!”

  “Thank you grandfather.” Kel joined Tae in a deep bow. “Then I will leave Micro in your care, sect leader.”

  “See you later, Kel.” Micro waved at the two as the departed. “Good luck, Tae.”

  “Thank you, Master Micro,” Tae replied, then shot a sideways glance to the awkward Rose. “I am hopeful that my younger sister will redeem herself in time.”

  Kel and Tae then got up to leave, smiling to Micro as they passed him, and made the short trek up to the peak of the mountain where they sat down and began to meditate on their cards. Rose appeared even more uncomfortable now that her sister was gone, but Micro looked excitedly at the sect leader.

  “Micro, I have heard a great deal about you from Kel.” He rose from his stone seat and walked to the centre of the paved area as he spoke. “Though you have much to learn, you display inhuman levels of patience, diligence, perseverance, and many other attributes essential to a cultivator.”

  “Thanks, master!” Micro replied.

  “It is apparent that you were a powerful student in your world,” he continued. “And your master was indeed a figure beyond our comprehension, but it is also clear that your training was not complete. Is that a fair assessment?”

  “Training? I only had to pass a few safety tests every few years,” Micro replied with a tilted head. “I just did what was required of me.”

  “So, you were still practicing the fundamentals of your art when you were summoned, and yet you have already achieved such power…” The sect leader scratched his chin as he continued. “Then you will not be offended when I suggest that you are still lacking in some areas.”

  Micro just nodded and smiled in reply, eagerly awaiting the sect leader’s next words.

  “Your courage and your will are both hampered by your lack of discretion,” he said with a serious tone.

  “Discretion?”

  “While you are true to your goals, you appear blind to the obstacles which keep you from achieving them. You walk a straight path to your goals even when the path itself is not straight,” he explained while moving his hands through the air to illustrate his point. “And you press forward toward your destination at a constant speed, but there are times in every journey when one must slow down or even stop.”

  “But there are no stop signs or traffic lights anywhere! Driving myself makes my mind hurt…” Micro interjected with a look of sincere frustration. His eyes began to water slightly as he explained. “And Blue only tells me which way to go. I’ve never had to set my own speed or apply my own brakes before. I only did what my driver needed me to do, efficiently and reliably…”

  “I’m sorry that you were separated from your master before you learned such things,” the sect leader replied with a sympathetic tone. “But the signs you speak of are all around you, even if they are not the ones you are familiar with.”

  “Really?” Micro asked with raised eyebrows.

  “Indeed.” The sect leader nodded. “Let’s take the amber dungeon you almost jumped into as an example. Upon reflection, can you think of any signs you missed which may have encouraged you to stop what you were doing?”

  “Stop signs…” Micro thought to himself for a moment, and his eyes lit up. “It was a yellow light!”

  “Precisely.” The sect leader nodded again, choosing not to dwell on Micro’s observation. “Sometimes the signs are as simple as that. However, what were the signs that you should not allow such an inexperienced cultivator as Rose to teach you to refine your core?”

  “But Rose is very talented!” Micro said as he turned to smile at Rose, though Rose was unwilling to look back at him. “Well, I think she is. She is, right?”

  “You are unaware that her reckless decisions nearly resulted in your death and hers?”

  “Reckless?” Micro gasped. “Death?!”

  “In her haste, she failed to account for the nature of your soul before instructing you to dismantle your core. Without knowledge of such things, she assumed the process would be as simple for you as it was for her. Her inexperience and youth would alert most to the dangers of following her guidance in such important matters as core refining…”

  “That sign…” Micro stuttered as he raised his hand to his head. “That one hurts my brain a little.”

  “Fear not,” the sect leader reassured him. “You will grow accustomed to both the abilities and the limitations of your new vessel in time. Though your soul remains a constant, your mind will no doubt be full of new thoughts and ideas. Your nature will remain unchanged, but the way you view this world will be as new to you as the world itself. Although the magicians use vile means of creating such vessels, yours does appear functional in the ways that matter.”

  “So, I’m not broken?”

  “Far from broken, you are an exceptional young specimen,” the sect leader said, letting out an amused laugh.

  “And the thoughts I have… and feelings…?” Micro continued with an exasperated sigh. “Those are getting out of hand…”

  “You will master those as well, in time. If your goal remains to find your way home, then I am certain you will learn much about yourself in the process. Now, it feels shameful to teach one as strong as you the fundamentals, but we must begin.”

  “Okay!”

  “It appears you have some understanding of how to circulate your internal energies, but forming a shield of aura is the most you’ve been able to do, correct?”

  “That’s right. It’s a bit like a radiator, but the result feels like a coat of paint,” Micro answered while recalling the process.

  “Kel taught me how to do it in a cave.”

  “Very good. Rose, come here, please,” the sect leader said, then beckoned Rose to his side. She did so quickly but with a bitter expression. “Rose will demonstrate a more versatile technique for you now. Rose, remove your shield and begin the elementary internal energy circulation exercise.”

  Rose looked embarrassed as she removed the shield from her back, setting it on the ground nearby, and then placed her hands together. She closed her eyes tight and almost immediately began to glow. Micro looked more intently at her, but he wasn’t sure exactly what he was seeing.

  “You can see the energy moving?” the sect leader asked Micro casually.

  “I think so,” he replied while watching ever more intently. “It’s more like I feel like I can see it.”

  “A good observation,” the sect leader applauded. “Rose is demonstrating the most fundamental of exercises, meant to practice control over one’s own internal energy. It is one thing to simply contain your energy, but it is another to channel it from one point to another without allowing it to escape your control.”

  “What about Core Cards, then?” Micro asked. “Don’t you need those for learning skills?”

  “A common misconception, but not entirely false…” The sect leader stroked his thin moustache and continued. “I may be getting ahead of myself. Kel said cultivation was not practiced the same way in your world.”

  “Fuel is more straightforward there, at least…” Micro agreed. “We burn it, and stuff happens.”

  “What a rare opportunity to peer into another world’s power…” The sect leader smiled, but he shook his head and continued on with a stern voice. “Now then, let us start at the beginning.”

  “The beginning?”

  “Yes, the beginning. I feel you may benefit from understanding the culture of out cultivation before practicing it yourself.”

  “That’s probably true,” Micro replied. “I really have know idea what everybody is talking about most of the time.”

  “Then we will start with the very beginning,” the sect leader declared. “The origin of cultivation as we know it…”