the multi

Chapter 14: Battle and Rank 1

The tunnel I'd dug must have reached at least two or three miles, perhaps longer as I'd been digging for more than two hours—there were about 15 minutes left until I reached Rank 1. I was about halfway back when I heard the quiet echoes of trouble in the distance. Despite the distance, once I was past the rubble and could run while boosted—if a bit awkwardly—I made it back down in minutes.

I didn't have a chance to appreciate my superhuman feat, however, as I was met by chaos. 

Ming Lin and Shui Jianfeng were both up and fighting. They were closer to the mossy caverns, probably so they could have more room to fight. From what I could see, there were three—no two, no four spirit beasts?

It was hard to tell, as one might be dead, and the rest seemed to dip into the earth around us and disappear randomly. From what I could see of them when they fully emerged, they looked like some kind of horned lizard. They were tall enough on all fours to reach my waist.

One might have been larger than the rest, but I only saw its bigger head poking out of the walls and ground before it would disappear again. Unlike the others, it never fully emerged. That didn't make it harmless, however. Each time it appeared, it would launch several spears of rock from the ground next to it. The spears were about as long as a human arm and rocketed through the air toward Ming Lin and Shui Jianfeng.

Shui Jianfeng did his best to dodge and deflect these spears, but it was Ming Ling who did most of the work for the two of them. She lashed out with her pick, rapidly swatting away a majority of the attacks. But despite her efforts, it was clearly not enough.

Not when the other lizards also attacked from all directions. Sometimes, they appeared from under them and tried to take a bite of their legs. Other times, they appeared at odd angles, leaping out of the ground and trying to overwhelm them in a rush.

And while most of these attempts were fended off, the new wounds on Ming Lin's arms and legs showed that they were slowly gaining ground.

I cursed after I took this all in and did the only thing I could do. Reaching out to the walls, I activated Rock Claws. I quickly reshaped them as best as I could to emulate two swords. I'd gotten better at reshaping after fighting so many moles, and I had even more Qi to spare now as well as more room to fight, allowing me to try something new. They were rough and crude, and still attached to my hands a bit awkwardly, but they should be enough to make use of my Swordsmanship skill. 

I would have gone for a sword and shield combo, but insight from my Skill told me that that kind of fighting was not included with my skill. Odd, but not something I was going to question at the moment. So dual-wielding it was. Even if my inability to adjust my grip on the swords further complicated things. 

With my weapons done, I took a deep breath and then charged to join the fight. I aimed for the nearest of the lizards. It seemed to sense me and turn its scaly head towards me for a second, locking onto me with its slitted eyes. Then it sank into the ground like it was a thick liquid, disappearing from sight.

I tensed and stopped for a moment, wary of where it might strike from. But then I felt it. Once it got within my range, I felt part of the earth shift strangely in a way that didn't quite make sense. At the same time, I could sense the Qi emanating from it, making it obvious where it was. 

I tensed further as it moved towards me, though I couldn't help but be surprised at its speed. It wasn't slow, but it certainly wasn't fast. Not as fast as the lizards when they popped out of the ground and rushed to attack. Which made it really easy for me to be ready for it. When it was near my feat, I stared at the spot I knew it would come from. 

The earth bulged as it appeared and gave way like liquid. Its mouth was wide open, and it snapped out like a cobra. But I was more than ready and met it with my long sword. I stabbed at it with all my strength. Unfortunately, all my strength wasn't enough. My blade went into its mouth, carving up the soft flesh there. But when it snapped its mouth closed, it tore right through my stone blade, stopping me from doing any real damage.

Right… These were reshaped digging tools. Not weapons.

I cursed and lashed out with my other shorter sword, drawing a hiss from the creature as it sunk back into the ground. I glared at it and stabbed again out of reflex, hoping my blade would still reach it before it got away fully. 

With its slowed speed wading through the earth, I just managed to reach it with my short sword that split the earth with ease. I felt the thing recoil in pain, then it rushed out of my range. Still not very fast, but too fast for me to go after it by just digging.

I grinned a bit at having injured it, even if a bit. Maybe next time if it tried again, I could kill it before it surfaced, if it was dumb enough not to learn from its—

"Watch out!"

I jolted at the sudden shout and turned to the source. Then I realized my mistake as I saw something moving in my peripheral vision. Instinctively, I swung what was left of my right sword to knock it out of the air. I somehow managed to intercept it, but the spear of stone broke into many pieces which peppered me, cutting at my skin. One piece even nearly got me in the eye, instead just cutting into my brow.

Fuck!

"Pay attention to your surroundings!' Ming Lin shouted as she and Shui Jianfeng continued to defend themselves against the three other lizards harassing them. They were boxed in by the constant harassment, and it didn't help that neither were in any shape to disengage.

I glared at the sight and kept my gaze focused on the larger lizard that must have sent that spear at me. As if sensing my gaze, it turned to look and then launched another spear in my direction. This time, I was much more prepared and managed to sidestep it. Then, I took a second to touch my broken blade to the ground and reshape it. Instead of just fixing it, I made it longer as an idea came to me.

I didn't take my eyes away from the general direction of the big lizard, though, keeping an eye on it whenever it appeared. It was the only way I could anticipate its attacks, and it was a good thing that it couldn't fire them from underground. Even when I felt the other lizard return, I kept a lookout for the spear launcher.

When the lizard in the ground moved to just behind me, I quickly lept back over it and stabbed down. Before it could even start to emerge, my longer stone blade was already stabbing into it, without me having to bend over.

It let out a piercing screech of pain as the liquid earth fell off of it. I'd managed to get my sword buried in one of its eyes, and it flailed around frantically, trying to get away. Something I wasn't going to let happen.

I forced my sword down hard, causing another shriek and some more violent twitching. Then I pulled back to avoid another spear of earth sent at me, accompanied by a shrieking roar of anger. The big lizard was not happy about what I just did, it seemed.

Still, I grinned as I saw the lizard I'd stab stop twitching, and a blue halo appeared around it. 

"One down," I said as I turned my attention back to the big lizard and saw it sink back into the ground. When it didn't resurface moments later, I tensed, ready for the coming attack.

At the same time, the other two lizards were still snapping away at both Ming Lin and Shui Jianfeng. But, without the constant barrage of rock spears, the two of them were given a much-needed reprieve. Enough so that the next lizard that tried to take a bite out of Ming Lin's leg was stomped into the ground with her foot. Then it was almost killed as Shui Jianfeng brought his pick down on its head. Unfortunately, it still managed to sink into the earth right before the finishing blow.

And that was all that I saw before I had to refocus on my own fight. I felt the big lizard get within the range of my Earth Sense. Right off the bat, I could tell it was faster than the last one. It was also larger, and its Qi greater as well. I wasn't sure if this was a Mid-Stage Rank 1 or just a strong Early Stage, but regardless it was definitely more dangerous than the one I'd killed.

I only had a moment to consider what to do before it was already under me. It appeared from the ground faster than the other lizard, and its mouth was ready to take a bite out of my leg. I pulled back before it could and stabbed down. Unfortunately, all I managed to do was stab it in the tongue before it bit down and cut my sword in half again.

I really needed to stop aiming for their mouths. However, that was easier said than done when they always charged at me mouth first.

I leaped back, then was forced to dodge again as two earth spears shot out of the ground back to back. They moved incredibly fast, and I only managed to avoid the first. The second grazed my shoulder, cutting through cloth and skin. Then the lizard sank into the ground before I could do anything else.

It repeated this attack pattern a moment later, but this time, I couldn't even counterattack. It didn't give me enough time to fix my blade, and my other one was too short to really stab at it before I had to retreat. I was completely on the defensive. Still, I managed to react in time thanks to my constant awareness of its location underground. I avoided both spears, and the lizard sunk away once more.

It charged me from below again a moment later. I avoided an attempt to bite my leg, then was forced to divert a spear with my good sword while dodging another. This time, the spear barely missed my head, grazing my cheek and forcing me back. I needed to change things up, or I was going to stop getting lucky and get skewered.

I looked around for a second as it went back into the ground. Then I saw the still glowing corpse of the lizard I'd killed. I was tempted for a second, but I didn't think trying to beat the lizards at their own game would work. Instead, I had a better idea.

I put my hands together and started reshaping. I fused the rock in both hands together to form a big, dense mass. Right when I was done, the lizard appeared again and forced me to dodge another bite. Then the spears came again. One I dodge. The other one, I tried to block with my mass of rock, hoping it would be enough.

My arms jerked hard at taking the spear head-on, and the harder Earth Spear pierced through. Thankfully, it stopped before it actually reached me, but it was a close call. Yet the fact that it was in my shield now was a good thing. Extra mass.

Reshaping again, I fused the rock spear into my shield and made it bigger and thicker. It was draining my Qi a lot faster to hold so much rock with my Skill, but I shouldn't need to keep it up for too long, so I ignored it.

When the lizard attacked again, I was even more ready this time with my thicker shield. I diverted one spear away and caught the other. It pierced through even less this time, and I integrated that mass into my shield.

Then I reshaped again. This time, though, I aimed to alter the shape, making it a shield with an extended sharp bottom. It took a moment, and the lizard managed to attack again from under me once more before I finished. But because I maintained the shield shape, I just diverted the earth spears sent at me without issue. 

And once I was ready, I steadied myself and waited. A moment later, I felt the lizard come up from the ground. This time, treating the bottom of my shield as a much wider and longer blade, I drove it deep into the earth. 

It easily cut through the stone, and my large makeshift blade sank into the flesh of the lizard. I felt it spasm wildly, and then something weird happened. The earth around it stopped feeling strange to my senses, and then the ground started to tremble as it thrashed within the earth. Rock was sent flying, and I leaped back, pulling my sword-shield out. 

I could see a thick coating of red blood on the bottom of my blade, and I grinned. Excellent. Despite being bigger, this thing was just as vulnerable to the blade made from my Skill. I'd worried that it might be too tough, but thankfully that wasn't the case.

However, despite the damage I did, the lizard continued thrashing. A hole opened up in the ground, revealing its whole body and the damage I did. Most of its lower jaw had been torn apart, yet it wasn't out of it just yet, if how violently it moved around was any indication. It might still recover.

So I rushed back towards the hole and leaped down, shield-blade first. I drove the big blade at the lizard's neck with a loud shout. My rock blade-shield, which was a lot sturdier than my swords, cut through scales, flesh, and bone, decapitating the beast.

The body continued to twitch for another moment before finally falling still.

I stood over the body for a couple of seconds, breathing heavily. My stomach and chest felt very warm. Then an angry shout reminded me that things weren't over yet. So I leaped out of the rough hole I was in, ready to help finish off the other two lizards.

I didn't get a chance to do that, though, as when I got out, I saw Ming Lin bury her pick in the head of the last lizard. Another lizard's head was half out of the ground with a similar wound in its head.

I stared, panting for a second, and then relaxed, letting the stone shield-blade drop from my hands as I ended my Skill.

"Don't let your guard down!" Ming Lin shouted, making me tense up again and look around. 

I didn't see anything, or feel anything, but I kept my eyes peeled and moved to form another shield blade. Yet, as more time passed and nothing happened, I started to feel confused.

"What's left?" I asked, looking back and forth.

"Nothing as far as I know," Ming Lin said, moving to catch Shui Jianfeng who almost stumbled as his pick fell from his hand. He was really pale now and sweating profusely. "But you should never just relax immediately after a fight. That's how you get killed by the danger you didn't see coming."

"Oh, okay," I said, trying to not be annoyed at that. It was probably good advice since I really did just want to take a moment to breathe—my chest was starting to feel a bit strange. But with so many ambushing things down here, that was probably a bad idea. "Is he going to be…"

I started to ask, but Shui Jianfeng stumbled again and collapsed into Ming Ling's arms. His eyes were droopy, and his sweat was leaving streaks in the dirt and dust that covered his face from the fighting.

"How far along is the tunnel?" Ming Lin asked grimly.

"I'm not sure," I said with a wince, rubbing at my chest absently. "I can only sense 5 yards around me, so I don't know how much I have left to dig. I've been digging as fast as I can."

Ming Lin sighed and nodded at that. "Well, hopefully, we can leave soon."

"Yeah," I said, taking a moment to look around at all the corpses. Then I winced when I looked further towards the mossy caverns and saw even more of them. They must have killed several before I got here. "Maybe you two should hide in the tunnel with me. I can dig out a place for you to rest, so you can be closer to the exit when we get out, and not have to deal with so many attacks."

It would make it more dangerous for me when I pushed out the excess earth I dug up. But if we were lucky, maybe we were close enough to the surface that that wouldn't be much of an issue.

Ming Lin thought about it for a moment before she nodded and started dragging Shui Jianfeng over to the escape tunnel. "That's probably for the best. We can't hold this spot much longer."

I moved to follow, but then I remembered the two lizards I'd killed. So, instead, I rushed over to the hole where the big lizard was and focused on the blue halo.

I sped-read the Skills available, and then I started to rush over to the other one I killed. Just so I knew all my options and what I could take. As I did, the rush of power I had from the boost from Spirit Stone Devouring ran out. The sudden loss of energy made me wobble for a second as the stone shield drained my much smaller reserves. I reshaped them to get rid of the excess mass while I steadied myself. 

But even after that, I still felt off balance, and my chest felt really hot. Almost uncomfortably so, as if all my Qi was gathering there. Was this because I was about to rank up? Hopefully so, but I didn't have time to think about it too much. I wanted to get away from all these corpses as fast as I could.

So once I was okay, I moved over to the small lizard and checked what was available there as well. As I read, I dropped the claws off of one hand, so I could pop some more spirit stones in my mouth if I needed to. I held off on actually eating one, as the heat in my chest continued to grow, and I wasn't sure if the two effects would interact. 

When I went over everything, I made my decisions quickly. I took a Skill called Earth Wader from the smaller lizard and then Earth Spear from the larger one. After that, I started back towards the escape tunnel, but something moved out of the corner of my eye.

I jumped in fright and slashed at the air with my remaining claw.

But there was nothing there. Instead, it was one of the lizard corpses. The one that I had thought was already dead when I appeared. It was twitching, barely clinging on to life. I stared at it for a second before I realized what I had to do.

I ran over to it and quickly brought down my claw onto the beast's head, killing it. To my relief, another blue halo appeared, and I quickly focused on it. And when I saw what Skill was available, I felt just a little more hope that things might turn out okay.

I quickly selected the Skill, Burrow Creation, before rushing back over to the tunnel. Ming Lin was already ahead, and I moved to catch up. I wasn't sure if the Skill would do exactly what I wanted, but I was hopeful.

"He—" I started to say as I got close before I felt something strange happen. All that energy gathering in my chest pulsed, and then the rest of the Qi in my body seemed to rush there. My feet gave out from under me, and I crashed into the ground.

Then I felt a burning pain in my chest as the wild energy there pulsed again and again. Things only got worse from there, and I started to scream.

Chapter 15: Rank Up and The Surface

I felt like I screamed for hours. During that time, every one of my muscles seemed like they were on fire, and the feeling in my chest continued to get worse and worse. It kept pulsing with power, and each time it did, my agony only increased.

Eventually, though, after I don't know how much torment, things finally started to settle down. The pulses became fainter. The pain receded. My breathing got easier. Then my muscles relaxed, and it was like all of that had been a bad dream.

Each second that passed after that felt more and more bearable. And then my weariness seemed to disappear as I felt a pulsing in my chest again. This time, though, there was no pain accompanying it. Instead, there was energy. Qi flowing back to the rest of my body. Far more than before. It made me feel powerful and energized in a way that I'd never felt before. 

I moved to get up, feeling invigorated despite what I'd just been through. Then I froze at what I saw.

I was still in the escape tunnel where I fell to the ground. Ming Lin and Shui Jianfeng were there too. Ming Lin was sitting on the ground, her back to the wall, while Shui Jianfeng's head was in her lap.

She looked at me with red eyes.

I swallowed heavily and looked back towards Shui Jianfeng. He looked… really still and was even paler.

"Is he…" I started to ask but couldn't finish.

"No," Ming Lin said softly. "But he's completely focused on suppressing the poison and keeping himself alive now. I will have to carry him."

I grimaced at that. Fuck. How much time had I lost because of my Rank-up? And damn it, why hadn't the System given me a warning that ranking up would knock me out? If that had happened just a bit earlier, I could have died during the fighting. And now Shui Jianfeng might end up dead because I've been out this whole time.

Frustrated, I opened up my Status page to see if it could tell me more.

Status page:

Name: Michael Lan Li

Human Cultivation: None

Spirit Beast Cultivation: Early Stage Rank 1 (0% to next stage)

Qi: 75/75

Stats:

Strength: 35

Vitality: 40 (+40) = 80

Dexterity: 25

Mind: 15

Skills (12/20 slots): 

Primal Vitality (Passive) (Rank D: 1%) Basic Swordsmanship (Passive) (D Rank: 1%) Earth Sense(Passive) (D Rank: 1%) Rock Claws (Active) (Rank D: 1%) Earthen Camouflage (Active) (Rank E: 0%)Spirit Stone Devouring(Passive) (D Rank: 1%) Qi Leech (Active) (E Rank: 85%) Burrow Reinforcement (Active) (D Rank: 1%) Spirit Beast Cultivation (Active) (D Rank: 1%) Earth Wader (Active) (D Rank: 0%)Earth Spear (Active) (D Rank: 0%)Burrow Creation (Active) (D Rank: 0%)Skill Consolidation. (13 Options available.) 

For just a split second, I was stunned at what I saw. I'd been too focused on digging to check my stats regularly. So seeing everything increase by so much was startling, to say the least. Especially my Vitality. Not only was it my naturally highest base stat, but with Primal Vitality it was insane now. 16 times normal! No wonder I felt so energized.

Still, my astonishment didn't last long as I remembered the current issue. But, not all hope was lost. With this much more strength and with this much more Qi, there was still a chance we could get out of here in time. I just needed to move fast.

"I'll start digging right away," I said, moving past the two of them as best as I could in such cramped quarters. "Is… is there anything we can do right after we reach the surface to help him?"

"Maybe…" Ming Lin said, still weary. "I know some herb lore. I might be able to find something in the forest to help… But… I'm not sure."

"Alright then," I said, trying to hold onto that hope. "We'll focus on that once we get up there. Should only be a matter of time now. We just lost a lot of time, but I'm a lot stronger now and I have a lot more Qi. I can do this."

"I hope so," Ming Lin said before she reached down and picked Shui Jianfeng up. But despite her words, she didn't sound hopeful at all. Instead, she looked and sounded defeated.

I grimaced at the sight but turned to rush up the tunnel. Hopefully, if I got us out of here fast, she'd regain hope.

I could hear her moving right behind me, not having trouble keeping up despite carrying her friend and her injuries. We only stopped when we reached the rubble I had been pushing down the tunnel before. For a moment, I considered the best way to get past. Then I remembered the Skill I'd gotten just before my Rank Up.

It could take care of this issue, and it would even speed up my digging!

Burrow Creation (Active) (D Rank): Mold, shape, and reinforce available earth to create a stone chamber for rest and safety. Strength of chamber walls is determined by the quality and amount of available earth.

Cost: 1 Qi per cubic yard "Step back for a second," I said, turning to address Ming Lin. It probably wouldn't affect her, but still better to be safe than sorry. "I have a new Skill that should let me remove all this easily. And it might even make digging even faster."

I gave her a moment to back up before I activated the new Skill while reaching out to touch the pile of rubble and imagining what I wanted. 

Immediately, I felt the core in my chest pulse, Qi flowing out of it to my hand. Then it entered the rubble and expanded. As it moved to cover more of the rocks, more Qi was used, but I had a lot of it now and could keep up. Once everything was covered, it all seemed to melt and merge into the surrounding stone, changing the color to a darker hue. 

And just like that, our way was clear.

Perfect. It worked just how I hoped, making it so I wouldn't have to push any more rubble all the way back anymore, and I could even use it to reinforce the walls. It also worked pretty fast. About as fast as I could dig before, which combined with the lack of excess earth and need for reinforcement, made this method even faster.

"Did you see that?" I asked, turning back to Ming Lin. Her eyes were still red, but she had clearly seen what I had just done. Her eyes looked just a bit less dull. "We can still do this, okay? Just give me a little more time, and then we will find whatever herbs you need for him."

Ming Lin nodded once slowly at that. Then she did it again more firmly. "We'll be relying on you," she said, her voice still soft and quiet. "Thank you."

I nodded firmly and grinned, doing my best not to let any of my doubts show. Had to stay positive in situations like this, or we'd both lose hope. "It's no problem. You've both saved me a lot down here and even before all this. It's the least I can do."

With that said, we started rushing back up the tunnel even faster than before. Ming Lin was right on my heels until we reached where the tunnel ended. Wanting to do this as fast as possible, I took out the single large spirit stone I had left and ate it whole. The energy pooled in my chest again, though I noticed it seemed to be positioned just below my core. Then I noticed that I wasn't even close to my limit from that.

So I took out the rest of the spirit stones I had and ate until I felt that I couldn't anymore. A quick look at my status showed me that 250 Qi was my new limit. So, I had a total of 325 Qi to work with. It took a lot of spirit stones to get that much—going through most of my reserve of stones—but it would be worth it if I could get us out of here in time.

So with that done, I began to dig.

I pressed my hand against the end of the tunnel and activated Burrow Creation. Rock melted away from my touch, and the tunnel began to extend. I moved forward to keep within range as I continued to work the Skill, not wanting to delay for even a second more.

This went on for some time. Even with my massive new reserves, Burrow Creation eventually ate up all my excess Qi. I had to eat more and more of my dwindling spirit stones to keep at it. At the same time, I couldn't help but notice the lack of any more spirit stones in the earth around me. A good sign that we were far from the mines. But a possible issue if I ran out of Qi before getting us out of here.

I tried not to think about that as I continued to dig. Nor think about what would happen if I failed. Instead, I just gritted my teeth and used the Skill again and again. Stone continued to melt away from me and formed a tunnel with as steep of a curve as I could manage without hurting our ability to walk up.

All the while, my spirit stone supply continued to decrease. When there were only six spirit stones left, my worry returned with a vengeance. But, not soon after that, was when I finally felt it.

I wasn't sure what it was at first. The earth at the edge of my range just felt strange. But as I continued to process what I was feeling, I started to understand.

The rock above wasn't solid stone anymore. Instead, it was looser. We were getting close to the surface.

"We're getting close," I said, excitedly turning to look at Ming Lin. She'd followed along with me this whole time with Shui Jianfeng on her shoulder.

Her eyes widen at that. "How far?"

"I'm not sure," I said, grimacing the moment I said it. I rushed to add, "But not much longer. I can feel it. The rock above us is loose now. We have to be nearing the surface."

"Then dig," Ming Lin said urgently.

I nodded at that and spun back around before I started using Burrow Creation again with renewed vigor. The rock outside of my ascending tunnel continued to get looser and looser. A couple more uses of the Skill then let me feel what had to have been soil at the edge of my senses.

Excited, I kept pushing, going as fast as I could until I finally felt it. My Earth Sense felt short of its maximum range. Because there was nothing but air beyond a certain point. We were at the surface.

Excitement filled me, and I almost shouted for joy. But before I could, I felt something else. Footsteps. And QI. I froze as I felt it and tried to get a better grasp of what I was feeling. Yet the more I did, the less I liked it.

The Qi I felt emanating felt stronger than the moles but perhaps weaker than the lizards. It reminded me a bit of what I felt from Ming Lin though a bit weaker. Yet there were several of them. And, I realized after a moment, that the footsteps seemed to be in pairs. As if the things above walked on two legs…

Fuck… What were the chances? Then again, I suppose we are luckier than unlucky. We could have exited and then run into them instead of them wandering over us while we were hidden.

The people above didn't linger and soon moved out of my range. But I knew what I felt, and I really wanted to curse. But just in case they were still too close, I refrained. Instead, I started to step backward slowly.

I turned and saw Ming Lin looking at me confused, and I held up a finger to my lips. Her eyes widened at that before they darkened. We started to move back down the tunnel as quickly as we could.

When we were far enough that I felt safe that our words wouldn't be overheard, I explained the situation. 

"It has to be a bandit patrol," Ming Lin said, sounding frustrated. "We must be very deep in the Amberwood for them to be able to hide the mine. So there couldn't be any other people around for what you sense to be anything else."

I grimaced at that. "Okay, so I'll use my other Skills to deal with this. I can swim through the earth like the lizards. I'll scout around, make sure they're gone, or at least figure out where they are. Then we sneak past them if we have to and begin looking for the plants you need."

"Maybe," Ming Lin said, frowning as she scrunched her brows. Then her eyes widened as if she had a realization. "Or maybe… this is our chance to give Jianfeng more time."

"I don't think I follow you," I said.

"The Amberwood isn't known for having many venomous spirit beasts," Ming Lin said, speaking faster as her excitement grew. "But there are several kinds out here. One of the Marauders might have a pill to deal with that just in case. And even if they don't, they should at least have some healing pills. Even a healing ointment could help, as you can eat those if you really had to, and it would bolster his vital energies and give him more time."

I nodded but couldn't help but hesitate just a little. I wanted to save Shui Jianfeng. And I was a lot stronger now. But there were still just only two of us, and I was still very new to fighting. And while Ming Lin didn't move like she was injured, she clearly still was and only had a pick for a weapon.

Could we really do this?

"I'm not sure about this," I said, hesitantly. "I think there were at least five of them. I don't know if we can manage that many as we are now. And what if other Marauders hear our fight and join them? Are the pills really better than us rushing to the city for help? Or trying to find some plant to help him?"

"Yes, they are," Ming Lin nodded firmly. "At best, I might buy Jianfeng a day if I get lucky and find the right plants. A healing pill could give him several or even allow him to save himself. And the bandits might be able to give us directions if we capture one, or they might have a map on them which will help us navigate back to the city faster. As for reinforcements… You will have to scout things out to be sure. But I find it unlikely they have that many patrols out here. The Marauders are nothing but thugs and bandits."

Ming Lin's face twisted in disgust and hate.

"I doubt they would have the discipline to be so thorough with their patrols. And if they are, then we will revise our plan again. You should be able to check that without being seen given your new ability. Though be careful. If their group is as weak as you felt, then they shouldn't have a spirit sense. But you should still try and be as cautious as possible. As for our chances, they are not as bad as you seem to think. We don't fight them head-on. With everything you can do, we can set a trap for them. A pitfall would help even the odds quite a bit."

"Okay," I said, nodding as I considered that. Setting a trap… Given everything I could do now, that could very well work… As long as I managed to scout them properly, and either they followed a set path or I got them to chase me. "Yeah, I can see that working. I can see that working really well. I'll start scouting then."

"Stay safe," Ming Lin said as she started to set Shui Jianfeng down. "And return soon. We will need to act fast.

I nodded firmly and turned around to head back up. It was time to scout and to use my new Skill, Earth Wader.

Earth Wader (Active) (D Rank): Wade through any earth as if it were a liquid. Speed can be increased at a greater expense of Qi. 

Cost: 5 QiBase Upkeep: 2.5 Qi per minute.When I reached the top of the escape tunnel again, I put my hand against the wall and activated my Skill. My Qi seemed to resonate out of me in a strange way, then the earth turned to viscous liquid at my touch. I stepped forward right into it.

It was a very strange sensation as the earth gave way and enveloped me in darkness and cold. I couldn't breathe like this, but I found myself having little issues holding my breath. Probably due to my incredibly high vitality. 

Moving my arms like I was swimming in water, I started pulling myself up.

I swam as quickly as I could—about as fast as a quick jog—until I reached just below the surface of what I hoped was the forest outside. Then I moved around in a circular search pattern in an attempt to find the Marauders, pushing more Qi into my Skill to increase my speed. The more Qi I used, the less the earth around me seemed to resist my movements.

Not long after that, I found them, both to my relief and disappointment. They'd stopped for some reason and were all clustered together. I stayed at the farthest reaches of my Earth Sense from them, just in case they had any way to detect my presence. I double-checked that everything I noticed before was still true, both their numbers and the strength of their Qi.

As far as I could tell, my initial assessment was right, so I moved on to the next step of my scouting. I continued to push my speed above the normal amount, swimming around in another search grid to see if there were any traces of other Marauders.

I couldn't spend too much time on it, as we would need to act soon. But from my rushed survey, it seemed that there were not any other groups of people. With that checked, I decided to do one final thing to ensure I knew just what we were getting into. I moved back towards where the Marauders were, stopping just far enough that I should be out of sight.

Then, finally, I emerged from the ground. I did it slowly and only popped my head out. Unlike in water, I didn't have to spend any effort keeping afloat as I spun around to take in my surroundings. It felt kinda like I was neck-deep in mud.

The first thing I noticed was that I was indeed outside. In a forest, to be precise, though the trees here weren't all that dense. I could see the sky and the sun above and guessed it must have been the late afternoon.

Once I was done checking that, and didn't see any immediate dangers around me, I started moving towards my targets again. It was awkward and made me afraid something would appear and take a bite of my head. But I held my nerve and just got ready to sink back down in case something decided to attack me. I kept my head on a swivel for anything in the trees as well.

Occasionally, I had to sink back down because of plants in the way. But, in just a short amount of time, I got close enough to finally see what I'd sensed before. I was hidden under a bush that I could peer out of.

The first thing I noticed was that they were indeed the Marauders. They had the same dark clothes and black cloth face masks. They seemed to have stopped for a break, grouped up together as some of them sat and some leaned against trees. They were also eating and drinking.

All of them were armed, and occasionally they would scan their surroundings, but none seemed to notice me. Probably just worried about spirit beasts. Aside from that, I couldn't make out much about them. But if we wanted to ambush them here, then I would need to hurry.

So I dipped back down into the ground and started heading back towards my tunnel. It was a bit disorienting, but I had made sure to constantly remind myself where the tunnel should be. I managed to find it without much issue and dropped out of the earth and into the tunnel.

After that, I quickly relayed everything I saw to Ming Lin. She'd been planning out our trap while I'd been scouting and quickly began directing me as to what we would do. It wasn't anything complicated, but I couldn't help but feel that it would be very effective.

I ended up excavating a large hole just under the surface of the ground above. Originally, for the sake of speed, it was only supposed to be a couple of yards deep and rely solely on the spikes to do their damage. But once I started digging, I realized something I failed to notice earlier. Burrow Creation worked much faster and less Qi intensively when working with loose soil. This allowed me to make a much deeper pit that was still wide enough to catch as many of the Marauders as possible without spending too much time.

Capping off this now much larger pit was a hardened layer of rock, preventing the remaining soil above from falling down. It was thin enough that I should be able to make it dissolve pretty much instantly with another application of Burrow Creation.

After the pit was done, it was time for the spikes. I carved the rocks into spikes with Rock Claws, then I used burrow reinforcement and burrow creation together to make them as hard and solid as possible. Once that was done, I rushed back to where I'd seen the Marauders earlier to make sure they were still there.

I cursed when I didn't find them where I thought I would. In a panic, I started rushing around in the earth, hoping they hadn't gone too far. Thankfully, they hadn't and weren't moving all that fast either. It seemed they didn't feel the need to cover too much ground quickly.

After that, I popped my head back out just to get an idea of where they were on the surface. I then dove back down and rushed back to our tunnel and pitfall. There, I dug another hole down to the tunnel out of sight in some underbrush to let Ming Lin out. I told her the situation since she would be the one luring them over to the trap while I waited below to activate it.

"Given the speed of your technique, use it right before I step over the pit," Ming Lin said as she left the tunnel. "That should let me jump over it and for them to fall in given the speed they should be moving at."

"Alright," I said, feeling incredibly nervous about my first real fight with other people. "Stay safe. Though, are you sure you will be able to get them to chase you?"

Ming Lin frowned before she reached up to her hair and undid it from the tight men's style topknot it was in, letting her long hair run freely down her back. Despite her dirty and ragged appearance and the men's clothing she wore, it had already been apparent that she was a woman. But now it became even clearer. "Yes, I can get these men to chase me through the woods. It's not hard to get scum like them to do something like that."

I grimaced but nodded. "Then good luck."

"You as well," Ming Lin said. "Remember, some of them might manage to survive the fall or not fall in at all. The trap is to even the battlefield, but we will likely have to at least finish them off. Be prepared for this to become a battle."

After I nodded firmly at that, she turned and rushed off.

When she was out of sight, I hurried back down the tunnel. I took a branching tunnel that led to the pitfall and the small ledge I'd created just under the surface to give me room to stand.

Then I ate all but one of my last spirit stones. It wasn't enough for a full boost, but given my new level of strength, I hoped it would be enough. After that, I began to wait for the start of my first true battle with people in this world, hoping that it would turn out well.

Chapter 16: Ambush

The wait for Ming Lin to return was agonizing. It took a lot longer than I thought, though whether it was time feeling slow or because the Marauders had gone further away or diverted their course, I didn't know. All I could do was constantly worry that something might have gone wrong. That she'd end up captured, or worse, killed. But, despite how my mind kept whirling with more and more possible problems, I did my best to stay focused and prepared.

Because I really didn't want everything to go right on her end, only for me to fuck it all up at the last moment because I got distracted.

So, when movement entered the edge of my range, I noticed it immediately. I tensed up, and when I felt the person in the lead about to reach our trap, I activated Burrow Creation. I focused on fusing the thin layer of rock and dirt above me into the edges of the pit trap. The Skill effects were almost immediate, and the pit opened up as the ceiling started to dissolve and flow apart.

Looking up, I saw through the shifting liquid-like stone Ming Lin's long flowing hair. She easily leaped over the pitfall to the other side. Right on her heels were the Marauders, who had barely any time to react.

The first one fell with a yell of shock. I saw his surprised face drop by me, and then he was gone. The next reacted faster. He almost skidded to a stop, but the one behind slammed into him, and the two tumbled down.

Then one of them finally managed to react in time. He leaped over the hole and managed to land on the other side.

I glared at the sight and activated Spirit Stone Devouring's boost. Power exploded through my body, and I glowed blue. Then the last man appeared right at the edge. He had much more time to stop, and his eyes quickly locked onto mine. He glared daggers down at me and started to unsheathe his sword.

I reacted faster and used Earth Spear three times. Arm-sized spears of rock shot out from the wall behind me towards him. He cursed, deflected one, then was forced to throw himself to the side to dodge the others.

I used that opportunity to flee back down the tunnel. Ming Lin would take care of the two up top since they would still be at full strength. My job was down below.

There was one more branch of the escape tunnel leading down to where the bottom of the pit was. I was supposed to make sure that any who fell were truly out of commission. And given the screams and cursing I could hear coming up from the pit, it was clear I still had work to do.

Once I reached the branching path, I touched the tunnel walls and activated Rock Claws. This time, I shaped them into two short swords attached to my hand as there wasn't going to be much room to fight in the pit. Then I rushed in.

It took me only three strides to reach the pit and the men there. I just moved so fast with my new cultivation and boosted abilities. So I barely had time to think before I had to react. 

One of the men was already on his feet, standing up amongst broken spikes. There was one lodged in his shoulder and a big wound on his leg. Despite that, he spun to face me with sword in hand. 

But he was injured, and I had a lot of raw speed and strength. So I thrust out my sword and managed to catch him in the throat before he could even try to retaliate. And just like that, I took another human life. On purpose this time.

But I didn't have time to think about that. There was still one more Marauder alive down here. He was worse off with a spike sticking out straight through his thigh and another through his arm. Yet he somehow had ripped himself out of the ground. He was also a big man and looked pissed as all hell.

I tried to rush him and finish him off. But right after I took one step, he did something. There was no visible light, but I could feel the Qi emanating from him grow with my Earth Sense. Then he moved. 

My instincts screamed at me, and I leaped back, crossing my two swords in front of my chest. Despite all my increased strength and speed, it was only barely enough to save my life. Even then, his saber, now glowing with a silver light, slashed out in a flicker and cut both my blades apart like they weren't even there.

In what felt like slow motion, I saw him turn his blade, ready to bring it back up in a reverse slash. My heart beat hard in my chest, and I tried to do anything to stop it. But there was nothing I could do. My swords were broken and far too weak. And despite all his injuries, he was still far stronger and faster than I expected.

Damn it.

Another heartbeat passed, and I wondered if this would be it. Then he stumbled, flinching as his injured leg gave way.

And just like that everything seemed to go back to normal speed.

That small stumble let me just barely evade the second swing of his saber. I felt a shallow cut on my cheek but that was it. Then I fell on my ass, off balance by my desperate attempt to dodge.

Shit.

I backpedaled as the man glared at me hatefully and started limping towards me with his saber at the ready. The metallic silver glow on it returned, and each step sent terror up my spine. He was too fast for me to handle, and my weapons wouldn't match him. I also couldn't get away from him in these cramped tunnels underground—

My thoughts came to a halt as a realization hit me. The terror disappeared, and I leaned back. I activated Earth Wader.

The ground gave way as my back hit the earth, and it enveloped me as I sank in. I had just a second to hear the man curse and try to rush over to me before I was swallowed by darkness. Submerged, I rushed to delve deeper in case the man tried to break through the ground toward me.

Then, when I felt safe enough, I took a moment to consider my next move.

In the heat of combat, I'd forgotten one of my Skills. I didn't want to do that again, but I also couldn't waste too much time. The guy was injured and slowed, but he may still get back up the tunnel. And as strong as Ming Lin was, I didn't want to make things any harder on her by making her deal with another bandit. Especially not with her injuries. They didn't bleed and didn't seem to affect her movements anymore, but I doubted she was back to 100%. She was also only armed with a pick.

Two ideas came to mind right away, both emulating how the lizards had fought.

I dismissed the first one quickly, however. That idea involved appearing just behind the guy and trying to drag him into the ground with me. It might just work, even if re-emerging from the earth slowed me down a bit, if I was careful enough. That would give me enough time to get a weapon and stab him while he was trapped in the ground. But, with how fast he'd already shown himself to be with his saber, I didn't want to risk losing a hand making the attempt.

Thankfully, the second idea didn't have that issue.

So I swam back up towards the pit, behind where the marauder was headed. Then I used Earth Spear. From within the ground, I couldn't fully grasp where his whole body was, just the parts of his body that contacted the earth. But I could guess, and I planned to send enough spears to ensure I got a hit. All from the safety of the ground.

Or, at least, that had been the plan.

Unfortunately, instead of a spear forming from the earth and piercing into the man's back, nothing happened. My Qi tried to reach out to the earth around me but failed to do anything. The Qi couldn't mold and shape the earth around me for some reason.

It took me a second to realize why that was the case. It was Earth Wader. The two Skills couldn't be used in concert for some reason. Which explained why those lizards had fought the way they had instead of doing what I tried to do. 

I would have cursed if I wasn't still immersed in the earth. Instead, I rushed to emerge from the ground before the man could get away. I didn't emerge fully, though, just enough to get my upper torso and arms out, leaving me the opportunity to escape faster in case he turned to attack me again.

Then I tried to use Earth Spear once more. This time my QI reached out beyond the earth closest to me affected by Earth Wader. A spear of rock formed from the ground and shot towards the man's back. I grinned in triumph and thanked the System for how automatic these Skills were, even as I launched several more spears back to back.

Yet despite my sneak attack, the man somehow sensed it and spun around. He cursed as he strained his damaged leg, but still managed to cut three of them apart with such force that the halves flew by him and did no damage. But I still had Qi, and his movements were even more fucked than before.

So I just kept launching them as I drained my reserves. Over and over again, the earth around me rose into condensed arm-length spears of rock. They shot out toward the man rapidly, and then he chopped them away. 

But after the sixth one, the man started to slow down. He chopped one apart, but not as powerfully as before. Its fragments cut into him as they went by. Then it happened again and again, making him bleed over different parts of his body, even as he tried to move forward.

Yet the few steps he took towards me meant that the spears reached him just a bit faster. And eventually, he failed to stop one of them, and it hit him in the stomach. He shouted in pain, and then another spear sank into his chest. Another sank in right after that before one more went into his throat, and it was finally enough.

Blood gurgled out of the big man's mouth. His body was tense and hate burned in his eyes. His saber was still held tightly in his hand. But he was done. After another moment, his body started to slacken. The fire in his eyes went out, and he fell to the ground, dead.

A blue halo appeared around his body.

I almost relaxed at that. But I remembered Ming Lin's words and sank back down into the ground. When nothing happened, I had a second to wonder what to do. Before I decided to go help Ming Lin. She should have won her fight, but better to be safe than sorry. 

Though before I rushed up, I reemerged in the pit again for a moment. I grabbed the sword of the first man I killed. Earth Spear was pretty powerful, but was Qi intensive to use a lot. And a real metal sword would be much better than the ones I could make from rock. So better armed, I dove back into the walls and swam up.

When I reached the surface, I didn't sense anything in my range. I moved around for a moment and found nothing, causing me to worry even more. So I finally just emerged with my head out of the ground. 

Immediately, I heard the sound of a shout in the distance and then the earth shook. I pulled myself out of the ground quickly and rushed over, leaping over a fallen tree to see what was happening. After pushing past some smashed-apart underbrush, I found myself in a rocky clearing where I found Ming Lin.

To my relief, she'd won.

One of the men she'd been fighting was slumped against a cracked boulder, his chest caved in. The other one was at Ming Lin's feet. She was rising from a crouch, blood dripping from the fist that had smashed the man's head in. Her hair swayed in the wind, and she looked exhausted. Her eyes were lidded, and her breathing was heavy. She had a new wound on her cheek and another gash on her other arm, but aside from that she seemed to be okay.

And despite appearances, she didn't let down her guard at all. When I took another step towards her, her head snapped up, and her gaze locked onto me. But when she saw it was just me, her posture relaxed ever so slightly.

"Are they all dead?" she asked, moving to loot an axe from the man at her feet.

"Yeah," I said, wincing as I looked back at the two very dead bandits. It hadn't been my job to try and capture any, given my inexperience. But it seemed these guys had been too tough for her to hold back against. "All dead."

Ming Lin's face scrunched at that as her breathing calmed. "Well, so much for interrogating them. Go back and search them for any pills or ointments. I'll search these ones and return in a moment. Then we moved out just in case."

"Alright," I said, nodding quickly at the reminder of why we took this risk in the first place. 

I rushed back towards the pit and the other tunnel entrance. As fast as I could, I made my way back to the three corpses and started to dig through their clothes. At another time, I might have been disgusted. But I didn't want all of this to be for nothing, so I bore with it and searched.

The first man, the one with the sword, only had a small pouch with some coins, spirit stones, and a gourd. I cursed and quickly moved on to the next, the man who had actually died in the fall and to the spikes. Again, there were no pills, and I cursed.

Finally, I searched the big man's body. I saved him for last because of his size, though I quickly realized that wasn't as big of an issue as I thought. My newfound strength made it simple to move him around and search him.

Like the others, the big man had a pouch of coins and food on him. But as I patted him down, I found another pouch. Eagerly, I pulled it from where it was tied to his belt and opened it up. And inside was a jade bottle! 

Gently shaking it and hearing something small rattling around inside confirmed my suspicions, and I shouted in excitement. Then I started rushing back down to where we left Shui Jianfeng. As I ran, I heard Ming Lin coming down behind, me and we both reached the small alcove where he lay together.

He was still lying on the ground, his skin deathly pale and his chest barely moving. My fist clenched at the sight, and I turned to Ming Lin and held out the bottle.

"Are these healing pills?" I asked hurriedly.

She quickly grabbed the bottle from my hand, and I noticed she had her own as well. Good. Double our chances. She poured the two bottles into her hand and examined them closely. Then she nodded and rushed to kneel by Shui Jianfeng.

She lifted his head into her arms and held one of the pills to his lips. She pushed it into his mouth, then massaged his neck to get him to swallow. Once he did, the two of us watched with bated breath.

Several moments passed like this.

Then Ming Lin slumped.

A cold numbness filled me at that. Was it not enough? Could we feed him the other pills? Maybe I could—

"He's going to be okay," Ming Lin said, her voice soft and relieved.

It caused my whirling thoughts to freeze.

"He is?" I asked after a second, staring at Shui Jianfeng and trying to see what she saw. He… still looked about the same. Though maybe his breathing was a little better? Maybe?

"Yes, his breathing is getting better slowly," she said, just holding onto her friend for a moment. "I can also vaguely sense the poison being expelled little by little from his body. I don't want to disrupt his efforts by trying to make sure, but he should be okay for now."

"For now?" I couldn't help but ask. I was really hoping for more.

"Yes," she said, moving to stand up, and she laid him back down. "The pill you found was a healing one. Mine were only cultivation pills. It will give him time, but he still needs a healer to make sure he makes it. But we have time to get him to one now. And I have a map."

She pulled out a folded-up piece of parchment from the sash around her waist and unfolded it. It was a rough-looking thing but had a lot of markings and landmarks on it. 

"We should be here," she said after a moment and pointed to the spot on the map. Then she drew her finger to the southwest. "This is the most direct way to Everlake City. But there are several marks for dangers, I believe. Spirit beast habitats that we will want to avoid. It would take several days for us to get to the city from here. Maybe less if we rushed, but we are in no shape to try that and potentially run head-first into danger."

That… I wasn't sure if that was good or bad. Did we have several days now thanks to the pills? 

"Is there nothing closer?" I couldn't help but ask.

"There might be…" Ming Lin said slowly, carefully studying the map. Then she pointed at something to the east of us. This is a town, I think. It's not clearly marked, but I think I've been there before. There should be a local doctor there that can help. We should be able to make it there in a day without running head-first into danger."

"What are our chances of encountering any help before then?" I asked, remembering Shui Jianfeng mentioning their friends possibly looking for them. "Shui Jianfeng mentioned that your friends in the city would have been looking for you two. Or at the very least, is there any chance we might run into more friendly people that might have more pills for us to borrow?"

Ming Lin took a moment to consider it. "It's possible that our friends might be searching for us out here. But there's no way to know if they've tracked us down to this place. As for any other people in the Amberwood… It's probably best if we stay away from them. Some might be kind. But more likely they will see our state of weakness as an opportunity. In fact…"

As she trailed off, Ming Lin moved to put away her map. Then she retrieved one of the non-healing pills she'd recovered from the Marauders. "I'm going to reapply my disguise technique. Just to prevent any unsavory attention if we do run into anyone."

Right… I suppose two men would be less tempting of a target for potentially unsavory people as opposed to a man and a woman. It was an unpleasant thought but understandable given how this world seemed to be.

"Alright, you do that then," I said. "I'll harvest the corpses in the meantime, and then we can leave."

Ming Lin's head snapped towards me at that. I looked at her alarmed, then around us for any sign of danger, but there wasn't anything. What was she…

Oh… I guess I never mentioned I could use my System on people before. Crap.

"You can use your ability on dead people as well?" Ming Lin asked slowly.

I winced but nodded. "Yeah…"

There was a long silence between us before she sighed. "You've saved both me and Jianfeng. So I will take this secret with me to the grave. But please do not reveal this to anyone else, and be cautious of observers in the future if you have to use it on people. Spirit beasts are one thing. But if you can take techniques from the dead, then every major faction in the city will either want you dead or as their slave. They guard their central techniques jealously, as they can make or break a clan or even sect."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said slowly, filing away this worry for later. I hadn't thought of how people might react to me harvesting Skills from humans. At least not in that context. I'd mainly thought people would be disgusted by my desecrating of the dead. But in hindsight, given what I knew about cultivation and the importance of special techniques and stuff, it was obvious there was a much bigger concern. "Thank you then for telling me… I'll be careful."

"Good," Ming Lin said before she popped the cultivation pill into her mouth. "I just need a moment to reapply my technique. After that, I will move the two bodies on the surface into the tunnel. After you've finished with the bodies—remember to grab any food or water—seal up the pit and the entrance to the tunnels. It won't perfectly hide what happened here, but it will buy us time."

I nodded at that and left Ming Lin to reapply her technique. I headed back to the pit, where I wondered for a moment if I should physically loot the bodies first before harvesting them. But then I remembered the man I'd taken the Swordsmanship Skill from. His body had disappeared, but his clothing and the items on him had remained. 

So to make things easier on myself, I decided to harvest them first. Though before I did, I realized something that I hadn't noticed while I'd been in a rush. All three bodies had blue halos around them. Which meant that even the one that I didn't directly finish off was available to be harvested. Whether or not that was because the System considered the trap me killing the guy, or because environmental deaths were free harvests for me, I wasn't sure. 

But that was something I would have to explore later.

Instead, I focused on each of them and quickly read through all the Skills available to me. Then I made my selections, getting three more new Skills.

Metallic Razor Slash (D-Rank)

Minor Cultivation Talent (D-Rank)

Burst Step (D-Rank)

Once I made my choices, I needed a moment to deal with the rush of information from the Skills. The worst was the cultivation talent, as while it didn't give me much information, it made me far more aware of the Qi running through me and the wisps of it in the air when I breathed it in. But this only lasted a moment, and once I was good, I moved to go through the piles of clothing and equipment left behind after my harvesting.

I gathered food, as well as a sheathe for my sword before I headed back up to the surface. I then sealed the tunnel and the pit as best as possible with Burrow Creation. The tunnel was easy, but the pit took a bit more time, as we had to tear up some bushes to hide it better. It was far from perfect, but it was better than leaving everything as it was.

After that, Ming Lin—now back to looking like an effeminate man again—and I began our journey, finally leaving the tunnels and mines behind.

Chapter 17: Traveling and Skill Consolidations

We traveled at a slow run. Ming Lin carried Shui Jianfeng, as despite her greater combat ability and her new weapon, she was still injured. Nothing debilitating for her, but they were bad enough that a normal person would have probably bled out. Heck, from a comment she made, other cultivators might have more issues in her shoes as well. 

She was only able to manage despite this because of something she didn't want to discuss, and I didn't pry.

As for me, I'd taken a few nicks during the fight, but they would have been manageable even before. With my new Vitality stat, they'd already healed completely, not even leaving behind a mark. So it only made sense that I would take the lead and leave my hands free to fight.

Before, I might have been worried about being the one to fight first. And I still wasn't super confident if it was more bandits or a strong spirit beast. But, with my newfound strength, a proper sword in hand, and a couple more spirit stones, I wasn't feeling too bad about it either.

I'd, of course, still prefer for us to not run into any problems. But I'd long since learned that this world did not care one bit about what I'd prefer.

So I remained ready and vigilant, hand on the sword at my hip, running just ahead of Ming Ling. She stayed close and redirected me whenever she saw any signs of danger. Or we had to detour because of something marked on the map. Since I wasn't great at navigating normally, let alone in a forest, I was happy to follow her instructions.

At least for the first half hour or so. After that, our quiet trip—we kept talking down to a minimum to avoid attracting any unwanted attention from spirit beasts—started to wear on me. I could only stay hyper-vigilant for so long before it got boring. I tried to tell myself that this was a good thing since excitement would probably mean danger. But that didn't make it any easier to deal with.

Thankfully, I did have some things I could do to keep myself entertained. One of the first things I did was try out one of my new Skills, Burst Step.

Burst Step (Active) (D Rank): Kick off the ground while unleashing a burst of Qi, launching yourself forward at incredible speeds. Speed can be increased at the cost of additional Qi.

Base Cost: 5 QiNot a particularly complex Skill, but incredibly useful. It would make attacking and retreating a lot easier. I used it only a couple of times, though. Just enough to get used to it and understand it. I would have liked to test it out more, enjoying the way it launched me around, but stealth and safety were paramount. 

I could justify rushing around for a moment for testing purposes. I couldn't justify continuing to do that just for fun.

Which was also why I only tested Metallic Razor Slash once. 

Metallic Razor Slash (Active) (D-Rank): Envelope your weapon in metal Qi, boosting its cutting power and durability up to 3x times depending on Qi spent and execution of Skill.

Base Cost: 10 QiBase Upkeep: 2.5 Qi per minuteI needed to know if there were any quirks not mentioned in the description. And when I found there was none, I moved on from testing, as I couldn't cultivate on the move and there was nothing else I needed to try.

That left me with going through all my new Skill Consolidations to kill time. There were a lot more than before, 18 of them for my 15 Skills. I also couldn't read very quickly, as I was constantly looking away from the System screen for any signs of danger. Eventually, though, I got through all of them.

There were a couple that I decided to take pretty much instantly. They were either beneficial, making a good skill even better, or didn't lose me anything.

Spirit Stone Devouring(Active&Passive) (Rank D) + Qi Leech(Active) (Rank D):

Qi Devourer(Active&Passive) (Rank D): Gain the ability to absorb Qi from either eating sources of it or from draining it from touch. Qi is stored for up to 1 hour before it begins to dissipate. Stored Qi can be used to power other Skills or to boost Dexterity, Strength, Vitality, Qi reserves, and Qi regeneration up to 3x based on Qi consumed.Boost Duration: 10 MinutesWarning: Repeated continuous use of the boost will put your body under great stress.Earthen Camouflage(Active) (Rank E) + Earth Wader(Active) (Rank D):

Discreet Earth Wader(Active) (Rank D): Wade through any earth as if it were a liquid. Decrease the chances of being detected in the ground by 50%. Speed can be increased at a greater expense of Qi but will reduce stealth capabilities.Cost: 5 QiBase Upkeep: 2.5 Qi per minute.Burrow Creation(Active) (Rank D) + Reinforce Burrow(Active) (Rank D):

Reinforced Burrow Creation(Active) (Rank D): Mold, shape, and reinforce available earth to create a stone chamber for rest and safety. Strength of chamber walls is determined by the quality and amount of available earth, as well as the amount of Qi expended.Cost: 1 Qi per cubic yard Some Skills I was strongly considering, but wasn't sure about just yet. They seemed to broaden the scope of the Skills considerably, but at the cost of some extra features and possibly ease-of-use. I wasn't sure about that last part, but I didn't think now was the time to test it. Not when it might cost me two of my best abilities. I might still be able to recreate the Skills with the new ones, but not well enough to be used in combat.

Rock Claws(Active) (Rank D) + Rock Spear(Active) (Rank D):

Earth Constructs(Active) (Rank D): Create constructs out of earth shaped by your will and imagination. Additional Qi can be expended to increase the size or strength of constructs. Cost: 10 QiUpkeep: 2 Qi per 5 MinutesDiscreet Earth Wader(Active) (Rank D) + Rock Spear(Active) (Rank D):

Earth Manipulation(Active) (Rank D): Shape and manipulate any earth, limited only by how much Qi is expended, your will, and your imagination.Range: 5 yardsMany more just seemed lackluster or even useless, so I left those alone for the moment. Perhaps, in the future, when I needed to free up some slots I'd go back to those. But I'd ignore them for now.

One Skill in particular did stand out above all others, though not necessarily in a good way. Despite having great potential, I couldn't help but find it disappointing.

Minor Cultivation Talent(Passive) (Rank D) + Spirit Beast Cultivation(Active) (Rank D):

Hybrid Cultivation Talent (Passive) (Rank D): Gain the ability to cultivate in a hybrid manner, combining the path of Immortals and Spirit Beasts. Immortal cultivation techniques will need to be adapted for this hybrid path. Speed of cultivation is dependent on the Rank of this Skill and the quality of Qi and resources available.Compatibility: Early Rank 2 Materials and belowWell, perhaps disappointment was too harsh for Hybrid Cultivation Talent. I could see it possibly being a powerful Skill. Maybe it would make me cultivate much faster than the average spirit beast or cultivator. But there were just two issues I had. One, I had no idea how to get a technique to work with it, rendering it potentially useless for now. The other issue was that it didn't solve my spirit beast core problem.

I'd hoped, when first seeing a consolidation involving Spirit Beast Cultivation, that it might be able to preempt any future problems having a core might bring. Unfortunately, that wasn't to be. Perhaps another consolidation might fix that in the future, but for now, I'd just have to hope that I didn't encounter anyone strong enough to notice it.

After that, I was left without anything else to do, and it was back to being bored and running in silence. Something I found really annoying. Right up until the boredom was broken. Then I began to regret not appreciating the boredom more.

It started slowly at first. We found signs of spirit beasts a little too close for comfort and had to slow down. We'd gotten far enough away from the bandit camp, and far enough off the bandits' traveling routes, that spirit beasts were more common. The map was also a lot less detailed about any potential dangers where we were, making it even harder to travel safely.

And things only got worse as we continued. Eventually, we started almost running right into some beasts. Not wanting to risk Shui Jianfeng, or leave behind signs of battle, we hid from most of these encounters. On one occasion, however, we weren't given that choice and ran after crippling one of the spirit beast's legs. 

That had been rather stressful, as the sound of the fighting had attracted even more trouble. Thankfully, the spirit wolves that had appeared thought the crippled spirit boar was a much better meal and went after that instead. 

Unfortunately, things didn't get better after that, though not because of more spirit beasts. Instead, we began finding human tracks out here. Something that worried us both greatly, as it meant that our map of the bandits' routes was possibly wrong.

Sure, the tracks might have been unrelated, but neither of us was willing to take the risk of that. And as Ming Lin had brought up before, even if they were unrelated, there was no guarantee that an encounter with strangers would be a good one. So we were forced to be even more cautious, slowing down further to avoid the extra danger.

It made an already tense situation more nerve-wracking.

Which was why I found myself very relieved when Ming Lin finally called for us to take a rest in the early evening. The sun couldn't be seen anymore thanks to the trees, but the sky wasn't yet dark. There was just a growing orange hue to everything. 

With my Rank 1 cultivation and Primal Vitality, I didn't feel too tired despite hours of running, hiding, and some fighting. I felt like I could probably last at least a couple of hours more physically. But mentally, I was exhausted, and I was happy to dig us a hideout to rest in. Which was probably why I let down my guard.

Ming Lin, however, didn't. One moment, I was just about to dig, with her by my side carrying Shui Jianfeng. The next, she grabbed me and forced all three of us down into the underbrush. She clamped a hand over my mouth, and then we just laid there, waiting.

After a moment, she removed her hand but held one finger to her lips. I nodded as I tried to figure out what was happening. But then I heard it. It was quiet and distant at first. But I managed to pick up voices. Voices that were coming towards us.

Eventually, it got clear enough that I could hear what they were saying.

"Are we truly searching this whole forest?" a voice asked. At the same time, I heard the rustling of leaves from the direction of the speaker. "What are we even looking for anyway?"

"Seriously, Shi Xian?" another voice asked. "Do you ever pay attention when the Captain speaks? Or does it just go in through one ear and out the other?"

"Oh, piss off, I listen plenty."

"Really?

"Yeah."

"Then what are we doing here?"

"Ugh…"

"Exactly. If you weren't the captain's nephew, you'd never have been allowed to join or would have been kicked out a long time ago. How your mom raised you, I'll never understand.

"Hey, don't you talk bad about my mom!"

"You dumbass! I'm not talking bad about your mother. She's an amazing lady. I can understand how she's related to the captain. You, though, the heavens must have been playing a cruel joke when you were born."

"Oh, piss off."

"Enough, you two!" Another voice interjected. This one was gruff and older. They were really close now. I could feel one of them with my Earth Sense, and they felt really strong. Much stronger than Ming Lin or anyone else I'd encountered with my Earth Sense so far. "Are you trying to lure every spirit beast in range to us?"

"No, sorry, Boss."

"No, Sir."

There was an exasperated sigh followed by a moment of silence. But the people had stopped walking for some reason. 

Crap. This wasn't good. Was this really a coincidence, or were they fucking with us? I turned slowly to Ming Lin to see if she had any ideas of how screwed we were. But she kept looking towards the direction of the voices, her body tensed with one hand on the axe at her waist.

I grimaced and slowly moved to grab a spirit stone for me to eat, just in case.

That's when I felt it. Something else entered my range from behind us. Two things, in fact, moving slowly. I tried to grab Ming Lin's attention and eat my spirit stone at the same time. But I wasn't fast enough.

And before I knew it, the two other people rushed us. They had swords to our throats in a split second.

"Well, well, well, just who do we have here?" One of the guys standing over us asked, a big grin on his face. 

We were quickly disarmed after that, unable to fight them off with literal swords to our throats. Then we were forced to kneel, with our arms tied behind our backs. Shui Jianfeng was dropped beside us, earning an angry hiss of breath from Ming Lin.

"Just what were you three doing skulking around out here?"

The man who asked the question was the oldest among the five that captured us. He'd been the one with the gruff voice. He was middle-aged-looking with a beard and mustache. A bit on the tall side and very ripped. He wore only a leather vest and pants, with bandages underneath them, and had a big saber on his hip.

There was nothing to indicate if he was part of the Marauders, though. No mask, and he didn't wear the dark tunics the bandits did. But there was no guarantee that they all dressed like that. Nor did that mean this guy wasn't just part of another bandit group.

But, there were some signs that made me think otherwise as I observed our new captors. Mainly it was the two of the men in the group who were quite young. They'd been the two arguing and were dressed a lot differently from the rest.

They wore cultivator robes that looked to be a lot better quality than the clothes of the people I'd seen so far. The robes were the same design, blue with white accents in the shape of clouds decorating it all. Not the kind of clothes I'd think bandits would wear. Though I suppose there was nothing stopping successful enough bandits from wearing nice clothes. 

"We're just out here trying to make a livin," Ming Lin said, annoyance in her voice. "Just hunting for some cores, but one of us got hurt, and now we are trying to get him to town. And we weren't skulking. We were just hiding from any dangers."

I did my best not to react to that. Apparently, we were pretending to be hunters. I could do that… Hopefully.

"Really?" the big man asked, sounding amused. He crossed his arms and leaned over us, blocking out the sun that was behind him. "Just the three of you decided to come so deep out here in the Amberwood? I know that people consider this place safer than the South, but it still seems pretty damn foolhardy."

"We got lost," Ming Lin said, sounding frustrated. "Running from some spirit beast that chased us deeper in. It's hard to escape when you have to carry your comrades around. We're just trying to leave now and get some help. Our friend was poisoned by some plant. Now, can you let us go? What right do you have to hold us here?"

I was impressed by Ming Lin's acting. If I didn't know any better, I would believe she was just a disgruntled hunter and not an escaped slave.

"What right he asks," the older man said with a laugh. He turned to his fellow. "You hear that, men? He wants to know what right we have. Who wants to explain it to him?"

One of the younger men in robes scoffed and stepped up. It was the one wearing white and blue. His hair was tied up in a topknot, which seemed to be the most common hairstyle for guys from what I'd seen. But he had a decorative-looking hair ornament holding it in place. "I will."

My heart started thumping hard in my chest when he unsheathed his sword. I considered if any of my Skills would be able to get us out of here. Unfortunately, I didn't think there was. I might be able to escape, depending on how fast the middle-aged man was, but I would only be able to do it alone.

"This is our right," the young man said, holding his sword to Ming Lin's throat. "Now, answer the question honestly. What were you three doing out here? And are you part of the Black Wind Marauders?"

To her credit, Ming Lin didn't flinch at that at all. She just looked up stoically as if her life wasn't being threatened.

I did my best to copy her, but I could practically feel the cold sweat falling down my back. I didn't like seeing them hold her at sword point. The only reason I didn't panic more was that question. Clearly, they weren't part of the Marauders, unless this was just some strange trick. The only question left was why they were looking for them.

And what would they do with three unaffiliated people out here?

"We aren't a part of the Marauders," Ming Lin said calmly. "Can I ask why you would even ask that of us? We're just trying to hunt out here, not get caught up in whatever problems you people have."

"Really?" the older man asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because we tracked a big group of them to these parts. Think their base might be around here somewhere."

"Well, good for you," Ming Lin said, shrugging despite the sword still at her throat. "But that has nothing to do with us. Now, can we go?"

"No, I don't think so," the middle-aged man said, crouching down slowly to look into Ming Lin's eyes while the other man still held a sword to her throat. "The Black Wind Marauders have pissed off the wrong people. An up-and-coming member of the Alchemy Association. One with enough pull to get the help of a foundation establishment master who will be here soon. So, if you are part of the Marauders, then you better start spilling your guts. Or I can bring you to our employer, and she can show you just how angry she is."

"The Alchemy Association?" Ming Lin asked, her indifferent visage breaking all of a sudden. She looked at the other man with wide eyes, then she frowned with furrowed brows. "You're saying Young Miss Sun Xia came here personally?"

Young Miss Sun Xia? Was that the same Young Miss she had mentioned before? If so, did that mean that these guys were actually here to save us? 

"You speak as if you know her," the middle-aged man said with a scoff.

"I do," Ming Lin said with a serious look on her face as she held her head high. All her pretenses of being a disgruntled hunter disappeared. "And you should take us to her now. We just escaped the Marauders, and she'll want to speak to me. Especially since she's here personally."

"Really?" the older man asked as he straightened up. He eyed us for a long moment as if weighing Ming Lin's words.

I felt my heart thumping in my chest as I waited to see how he would respond. Things might be finally going our way. All of it depended on if this man believed us or not.