For the first time in recent memory, Micro began to find his journey relaxing. Blue and Lena were increasingly diligent in avoiding unnecessary encounters with the forces of nature, and the weather was calm. Warm rays of sunlight poked through the trees, and a warm breeze filled the ancient forest. Blue continued to introduce the wildlife they didn’t avoid, while Lena kept to herself at the front of the large group.

  By the time the sun was about to set once again, his mind had even started to wander back to the events which had led him to his current situation. However, his thoughts stalled at the point of impact between him and the bandit who he’d found chasing two small children.

  He remembered the foul odor of the large man, the disgusting aura his soul produced, and the crude way he shouted. But what he remembered most vividly was how he felt. His stomach still felt ill, and his mind had never fully settled. Micro appreciated the words of comfort offered by his friends, who reassured him that he had done nothing wrong.

  “But it still feels wrong…” Micro’s thoughts escaped his mouth with a sigh.

  “What feels wrong? You eat some wild mushrooms or something?” Blue mumbled back, only half awake. “I warned you about the purple ones, right?”

  “Killing people…” Micro clarified. Several people walking ahead of him turned around awkwardly upon hearing his words, but he offered an apologetic smile and slowed his pace slightly to create some distance between them. He found Kolt walking with his sister, looking around at the trees, excitedly examining the energy of the world. “I’m glad the kids are alright, but I’ve never been in an accident like that.”

  “It wasn’t exactly an accident,” Blue teased him, though his solemn reaction didn’t amuse her. “But I guess you’re more of a tool than a weapon.”

  “Memories can be nice,” Micro continued. “But some memories get stuck at the front of my mind. This one…”

  “It really isn’t fun to dwell on death,” Blue suddenly spoke with a rigid tone. “Whether you kill an army full of bandits tomorrow or never kill again, just keep going.”

  “I don’t think it’s fun either, but—”

  “Well then have some fun!” Blue shouted. “You’re killing the mood.”

  “Hmm…” Micro nodded slowly. “Thanks, Blue.”

  ~

  Micro decided to close his eyes and sleep as quickly as possible that night, hoping to put some distance between him and what he’d experienced at the bandits’ camp, but his dreams took him back more quickly than he would’ve thought possible. The sounds he heard in that moment filled his ears as he slept, and the rusty smell clung to his nose.

  “Hey…” A boy’s voice suddenly interrupted the dark dream. “Hey, you…!”

  Micro stirred from his sleep, noticing a hand on his shoulder. As he regained his senses, noticing it was still dark, he discerned the silhouette of Kolt before him, his sister standing not far behind.

  “You shouldn’t be so rude…!” the girl whispered anxiously. “He’s a proper cultivator, you know?”

  “Shut up,” Kolt whispered back at her over his shoulder.

  “You shut up!” Kira snapped, her sharp tone waking Micro up completely.

  “What’s wrong?” Micro asked. He sat up and looked at both of the children. “You shouldn’t talk to each other like that.”

  “I’m sorry!” Kira turned away in fear at Micro’s rebuke, but Kolt rolled his eyes and continued.

  “Woah, you don’t look so good,” Kolt blurted out when he got a good look at Micro’s face. “You eat some bad mushrooms?”

  “No, I’m fine,” Micro shook his head, trying to put his dreams from his mind. “It’s nice to see you again, but you should be sleeping.”

  “Teach Kira to see energy, like me,” Kolt demanded.

  “Now?” Micro asked.

  “We’ll be out of the woods soon,” Kolt said quickly. “It’s probably now or never. We’ll be in some mine in a week at most, and you’ll be sitting on some mountain, eating your free beef.”

  “Oh…” Micro nodded his head. “That’s actually pretty likely… Okay then. I’ll try.”

  “Really?!” Kira gasped.

  “Quiet down, noisy little brat!” Kolt whispered with his finger over his lips.

  “Oh? Another kid?” Blue spoke up, climbing out of Micro’s pocket. “Need a hand?”

  “I think I’ll be fine this time,” Micro replied, shaking his head quickly. “Come here, Kira. Sit next to your brother.”

  “Okay…” Kira slowly made her way toward Micro, then sat next to her brother. Kolt showed her what he thought a proper way to sit would be, and she stared at Micro with shaking eyes.

  “Do you know anything about cultivation or energy?” Micro asked.

  “Just what my brother told me…” Kira replied with a meek tone.

  “Let’s get started then. Close your eyes and pay attention to what you sense,” Micro explained with a smile.

  “I told her all that already,” Kolt whispered. “Get to the part where you light up.”

  “Okay,” Micro answered, finding Kolt’s direct way of speaking oddly refreshing. Without wasting any more time, Micro rooted himself to the ground and began collecting as much energy in his core as he could, allowing it to flow through his body steadily. He was surprised by how much more energy he could channel with his newly ascended core, and he was excited to test its limits. However, he made sure not to increase the energy in his body too quickly, fearing what may happen to the children in front of him if he lost control.

  “Oh!” Kira suddenly shouted.

  “Huh?” Kolt blurted out.

  “That was fast.” Micro opened his eyes in surprise and looked at the energy of the children. Kolt’s was as he expected, but the amount of energy flowing throughout Kira’s body shocked him. Though it wasn’t at the level of a cultivator, it was far more energy than he had seen in any ordinary person.

  “That’s neat,” Blue remarked as Micro marvelled at Kira’s radiant glow.

  “No way…” Kolt’s expression was one of shock and horror, and Micro recognized feelings of envy and frustration on the boy’s face.

  “She’d remind me of a baby pixie if she wasn’t so huge,” Blue continued. “Energy sticks to her like tree sap.”

  “It sticks to her?” Micro asked.

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  “If she was to live a bit longer, she’d be as strong as a pixie one day whether she cultivated or not. Well, nearly…” Blue sighed. “Sorry you’re human, kid.”

  “Am I doing it right?” Kira asked with a tiny voice more like a whimper.

  “What are you even doing?!” Kolt pouted.

  “I can see lots of lights, and I feel like I just ate…!” Kira whispered while looking around with her eyes closed.

  “What the—” Lena’s voice suddenly blurted out. “I thought I sensed another jade core, but it was this child?”

  “Oh, good evening,” Micro greeted Lena happily. “I was just showing them how energy works. Kolt got the hang of it pretty fast, but Kira makes it look easy!”

  “You…” Lena stared at Micro with a mixture of confusion and fear. “What have you shared with these mundane children…?”

  “What’s the problem?” Micro asked, his head tilted.

  “That’s right, you wouldn’t know…” Lena sighed, some sympathy evident in her voice. “If you were to share even the smallest detail of a sect’s teachings with an outsider, a mundane child no less…”

  “I thought anybody could cultivate,” Micro replied, confused by Lena’s foul mood.

  “The implications extend far beyond sect politics, Micro,” Lena continued with a more hushed tone as she closely analyzed the children. “The empire is built on order, and the dangers of a young cultivator recklessly sharing techniques of even the lowest arts are well documented. Do you seek to spread chaos in this way?”

  “What’s wrong with showing them what’s already all around them?” Micro asked. “They already had some energy. I just shone a light on it.”

  “You are no sect’s master, Micro,” Lena answered sternly. “It is by no means a sin to take disciples, but to spread the powers of a cultivator among the disorderly masses is to court death in this realm. The empire may not respond to threats of the weak, but it will not tolerate of chaos of any kind.”

  “You lot are always so boring,” Blue scoffed. “A bit of chaos would do you some good.”

  “Your provocations are founded in ignorance of the empire’s will,” Lena replied, unshaken by the pixie’s taunt. “Micro is a disciple away from his sect. His actions here constitute a crime that is universally recognized.”

  “Pfft!” Blue rolled her eyes. “Tell me more about your little universe.”

  “But I doubt you would tolerate my disposing of the evidence here as a favour to you—” Lena brought her hand to her head with another long sigh, looking at the children for a moment, then back at Micro. “Never mind…”

  “So they’ll get in trouble if they cultivate without joining a sect?” Micro asked. “Can they just join Kel’s sect?”

  “You have no authority to initiate them. Even your acceptance by Kel was a great risk for him, though some good came of it,” Lena replied thoughtfully. “Will you abandon your quest to bring them back to the sect at once, or will you maintain your course and hope not to be discovered? The Water Serpent Moon Sect will not welcome them, and they are not the only sect whose cultivators travel these lands.”

  “Can they just pretend they can’t see energy?” Micro asked.

  “Even a blind cultivator would notice the energy in these children now, especially the girl,” Lena replied. “And their lack of affiliation would be obvious upon the most casual of inspections.”

  “Hey…” Kolt mumbled, though his frustration was replaced by a cold chill when Lena briefly glanced at him. “What’s going on…?”

  “They are unaffiliated with a sect. Wherever they go, they will be seen as rogues, troublemakers, agents of chaos,” Lena said with a deep frown. “You haven’t simply offered them directions to the nearest oasis. You have shown them a path to true power.”

  “Are cultivators that scared of a couple kids?” Blue laughed. “Just how fragile is your world that these brats get you so riled up?”

  “It is the fact that they were not accepted by any sect before they acquired those teachings,” Lena reiterated. “It is especially precarious to have a summoned hero of the magicians as their master.”

  “Your petty politics might kill you,” Blue spat back. “But they’ll definitely bore me to death!”

  “So they need a sect…” Micro frowned, looking at the children. They were more confused than frightened by the conversation happening around them, but they seemed aware of the trouble they might be in. “Can they just make their own?”

  “A sect comprising two cultivators without cores?” Lena let out a dry laugh. “No. An expert would find traces of your energy in their auras.”

  “What if I made my own sect?” Micro asked. “I’m still just learning about cultivation, but I do have an amber core now.”

  “You have such ambitions?” She asked with some disbelief. She raised her eyebrows at Micro’s question and paused before opening her mouth to speak again. “What of the sect whose colours adorn you now? Would you betray your friend so easily?”

  “Maybe my sect can fight Kel’s at the tournament one day,” Micro answered excitedly. “We’ll become good friends there!”

  “I see…” Lena replied slowly, but her eyes brightened after giving Micro’s suggestion some more thought. “I think you may have stumbled upon a uniquely appropriate path.”

  “I do syumble a lot!” Micro laughed.

  “As any child must!” Lena smiled widely, but quickly cleared her throat and returned her face to a less amused expression. “Forgive me, but you often display a decisive quality which reminds me of one I knew in my youth. The birth of a new sect is not commonly witnessed. The benefits of clinging to the hierarchy of an established sect are obvious to most young cultivators.”

  “And you’re obviously a stick in the mud,” Blue remarked.

  “So, I don’t need a license or anything?” Micro asked. “Am I a sect leader now?”

  “License? No, there is no such thing. Your honour will bind you to this decision,” Lena replied. “And on my honour as a disciple of Master Feng, rightful heir to the Water Tiger Moon Sect, and as an Imperial Guard, I have witnessed this event.”

  “Thanks, Lena,” Micro replied.

  “What’s happening?!” Kolt suddenly shouted. “Are we about to die or what?”

  “You’re in my sect now,” Micro laughed. “I don’t think anybody will try to kill you today.”

  “Today…?” Kolt whispered. “What about tomorrow?”

  “Who knows?” Micro shrugged. “You should get used to people trying to kill you on this world.”

  “I’m used to it,” Kira suddenly added without much emotion in her voice. “We were lucky so far, but…”

  “What happened?” Micro asked, startled by the powerful emotions he could feel in her aura despite her timid appearance.

  “Our family was so big,” Kira answered quietly. “But now it’s just us. We were probably going to die too, soon…”

  “Well, you’re my passengers now, so I’ll keep you reasonably safe,” Micro assured her with his thumbs up. “As long as we don’t run into anybody strong than me, at least…”

  “They’re your disciples, not your passengers,” Lena corrected him kindly. “I wonder what name your sect will be known by. Will you rely on the Turtle Art’s teachings, or do you feel more connected to the Mycelial Art? You also have many skills you could draw on. What philosophies will guide your sect?”

  Micro was surprised by the excitement evident in Lena’s questions. He vaguely understood what she was asking, and he gave some thought to what sort of sect he would lead. Kel’s sect surely embodied the teachings of the Turtle Art, though there were plenty of ways to interpret the Art itself. The Mycelial Art felt familiar enough to him now, but it felt more like a tool than a philosophy. Lena grew slightly impatient as he thought.

  “What would be your guiding principle as sect leader?” she asked.

  “Guiding principle…” Micro mumbled as he strained his mind for an answer. “What is yours?”

  “My sect balances the teachings of the Tiger and Moon Arts,” Lena replied. “We are patient hunters and decisive predators whose hearts reside in the natural tidal forces of the world. I personally feel more of an affinity to the Moon Art, though the arts compliment each other well.”

  “I see…” Micro replied. “Affinity…”

  “Which art resonates most with you?” Lena asked.

  Micro thought so hard about his Arts for a moment that he entered a trance, finding himself standing before the garage-shaped core he’d built and rebuilt. He opened the door and walked inside, noticing a bit of dust on the shelves had accumulated. The dog stood up with its front paws on the steering wheel of his truck-shaped soul and barked happily, and he smiled back. He looked in the bed of the truck and the Core Cards he had mastered.

  “The Turtle Art is nice, but my armour ends up looking more truck-shaped,” Micro mumbled to himself. “The advice the turtle gave about being patient is nice, but I wouldn’t say it’s what defines me…”

  As he thought, the soul of the summoned dog barked at him happily. Micro walked over to pat the dog’s head with a smile.

  “What do you think?” Micro asked the dog with a dry laugh. The dog barked twice in reply, though it didn’t get Micro any closer to an answer. “Mushrooms do go well with everything, but I don’t feel like its philosophies are something I feel super comfortable with…”

  He crossed his arms and continued to think, becoming a little frustrated by the simple question of what kind of sect he would make. However, when he turned back to look at the cards stored in the back of the truck in front of him, an answer suddenly emerged from his confusion.

  “I’ve got it!” Micro announced as he emerged from his trance.

  “Will you also choose the Moon Art? Or a combination of—” Lena began to excitedly guess, but Micro shook his head and continued.

  “My sect’s name could only be one thing!” Micro said while rising up to his feet. “The Truck Sect!”