NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5: BREAK THROUGH
A few moments later, Jack sat cross-legged in a meditation pose. His eyes were closed, and his body faintly radiated a green glow.
William felt the gust of wind gathering around Jack as flowers and weeds sprouted around him.
"Calm your body, young master," David instructed. "Try to sense the essence around you and slowly guide it into your bloodstream."
Jack followed his words carefully.
"Now lead the essence toward your brain and gather it in your essentric cortex," David continued.
Suddenly, Jack's body glowed brighter, and the air around him turned more violent.
[WOW, HE'S ABOUT TO BREAK THROUGH!]
"Not yet, Wiz. This is just the beginning," William thought to himself.
Essence, William knew, was like magical particles akin to mana or ki. Those who could sense it were called mystics. Its origin was unknown, but history recorded a time when people began to feel these special particles in nature, granting them extraordinary powers.
Mystics started sensing essence around the age of five. However, William, being a true genius, felt it at the age of three. Essence flowed from the environment into a mystic's bloodstream and then to the brain, where it was stored in a unique body part called the essentric core. This organ only developed when one started sensing essence.
"Leading essence to the essentric cortex isn't hard," William whispered to Wiz, "but maintaining a constant flow is the real challenge."
Suddenly, Jack began to struggle. His body broke out in sweat.
"Calm yourself, young master," David said firmly. "Don't absorb too much essence, or you'll suffer from essence sickness."
"Essence sickness?" William murmured. It occurred when one absorbed more essence than their body could handle. Marks would appear on the body, and the condition worsened with further use of essence.
The light around Jack grew even brighter.
"Now, use the essence to break through, young master!" David commanded.
"BAM!" The violent air around Jack calmed, and the glow disappeared.
"Huff… huff…" Jack panted, his body drenched in sweat.
"Congratulations, young master. You've broken through," David said, pride evident in his voice. "You are now a mystic."
David placed his hand gently on Jack's head, his palm glowing faintly red. "Young master, you have nature essence."
William whispered softly, "Third Eye."
STATUS WINDOW
Name: Jack de' Medici
Essence: Nature
Level: 1
Race: Human
Age: 5
HP: 150/150
Essence: 10/150
Strength: 30
Agility: 32
Intelligence: 120
Durability: 30
Skills: None
There were various types of essence—fire, water, nature, light, and earth, to name a few. Most mystics could sense and absorb only one type, usually determined by their lineage. It was, essentially, genetic.
"Well done, young master. You should quickly share this news with Lord and Lady Medici," David suggested.
"Yeah, okay. Thanks for guiding me, Sir David." Jack beamed, running to William. He picked him up, grinning. "Did you see that, William? Wasn't I awesome? Don't worry. Your big brother will always protect you."
William whispered to himself, "He said those very words when our parents died during the attack."
[ISN'T HE A DEPENDABLE OLDER BROTHER?]
"Maybe," William thought.
Jack carried William into the mansion, where chaos reigned. Servants were running in every direction, frantically searching for something.
"Not here!" one shouted.
"Not here either!" another cried.
Jack approached a servant. "What's going on? What are you looking for?"
"Young master, the thing is… Young Master William has been found!" the servant exclaimed in relief.
A dangerous aura emanated from Baroness Mowbray, Jack and William's nanny, as she approached. Jack broke into a cold sweat.
"Where did you take Young Master William?" she asked, her smile not quite reaching her eyes.
[HE'S IN BIG TROUBLE.]
"Well… I went to see William, and… he wouldn't let go, so I took him to the training ground!" Jack explained in one breath.
"Didn't you find a better excuse, young master?" she said sternly.
"I'm telling the truth!" Jack cried.
Amanda, dressed elegantly, entered the scene. "Good morning, my lady," the servants greeted, bowing.
"Mom! I went to see William, and—"
Amanda chuckled, kissing Jack on the forehead. "I know, Jack. But you should have told us. Do you know how anxious we were?"
"I'm sorry, Mom," Jack said, looking down.
Amanda smiled warmly. "Don't you have something to tell me, Jack?"
Jack's face lit up. "Oh, yeah! Mom, I broke through! I'm a mystic now, just like you and Dad!"
"Really? My son is a genius," Amanda said proudly. "We'll host a grand event to celebrate your breakthrough. But…"
"But what?" Jack asked nervously.
"You're punished. You won't see William for a week."
"What?! That's unfair!" Jack cried.
That evening, William lay in his cradle in the dark.
[WASN'T TODAY CHAOTIC?]
"Indeed," William whispered.
[SO, WHAT'S YOUR PLAN NOW?]
"The most important thing in this world is strength, not intelligence. Without strength, your plans can be crushed by someone more powerful."
[SO, HOW WILL YOU GET STRONGER?]
"By starting essence cultivation early."
[EVERYONE STARTS AT FIVE.]
"Yes, but I mean starting now."
[NO, YOUR ESSENTRIC CORTEX ISN'T DEVELOPED.]
"Essentric cortexes develop when the body starts to sense essence subconsciously. What if I forcefully introduced essence?"
[NO, YOU CAN'T.]
Ignoring Wiz, William focused on his surroundings. At first, he felt nothing.
[TOLD YOU—]
Then, faint traces of essence brushed against his senses. He absorbed them, circulating the particles through his body.
[YOU'RE A LUNATIC!]
He expelled the essence and collapsed in exhaustion. His body was drenched in sweat and icy cold. Though he'd absorbed only two particles, the impact was immense.
For the next two days, William suffered from a high fever.
William lay sick in his cradle, his small body shivering under the weight of exhaustion. Around him, maids and doctors bustled with concerned faces, their every movement deliberate and cautious. Amanda sat beside the cradle, her expression calm but her eyes betraying the storm of worry inside. Her hand hovered gently over William, glowing faintly with a soothing green light as she used the "Heal" skill.
"Stay strong, my son," Amanda whispered, her voice trembling just enough to betray her composure.
Outside the room, Jack stood silently, his hands clenched into fists. His green eyes glistened with guilt and helplessness as he watched his younger brother.
[WOW, HE'S REALLY KEEPING HIS PROMISE. BIG BROTHER'S ALWAYS GOT YOUR BACK.]
"Shut up, Wiz," William muttered inwardly, his sapphire eyes half-lidded from fatigue.
[HEY, WHY ARE YOU SCOLDING ME? I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO THAT CRAZY ESSENCE THING!]
"You warned me, yes," William replied, his tone calm but sharp. "But you failed to mention that forcing essence into my body could have destroyed my neural pathways forever. I could have been paralyzed for life!"
[WAIT… WHAT?! DIDN'T I—] Wiz stammered. [OH. UM, SORRY!]
William let out a faint sigh, his expression unchanging. "It's fine, Wiz. Mistakes happen."
TWO DAYS LATER
When William woke up, his room felt suffocating. Ten maids surrounded his cradle, their eyes trained on him like hawks, their movements cautious and rehearsed. Every time he shifted, one would flinch as if he were made of glass.
When his nanny finally took him out of the room, the entourage of maids followed closely, forming a protective wall around him. Even during dinner, they remained, standing as silent sentinels in the corners of the room, their watchful eyes never leaving him.
[UGH! THIS IS RIDICULOUS. YOU'RE BEING TREATED LIKE A BABY EMPEROR.]
William's lips quirked into a faint smirk. "Well, thanks to someone, I've earned this royal treatment."
[HEY, I SAID I WAS SORRY! I DIDN'T THINK IT THROUGH, OKAY?] Wiz grumbled.
"It's fine, Wiz. Really." William's tone remained composed, his eyes glinting with maturity far beyond his years. "Mistakes happen."
[WHEN WILL THIS END?]
"This?" William glanced at one of the maids fussing over him. "Not until my brother's breakthrough ceremony. So, a whole week of this."
[UGH! A WEEK?! THIS IS TORTURE!]
William chuckled lightly, but his thoughts remained focused. Strength comes with sacrifices, and this is only the beginning.
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DING!
[SORRY FOR DELAYING THE CHAPTER . WILLIAM WAS SICK SO WE COULDN'T UPLOAD THE CHAPTER]
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