A few days after dealing with the

  monstrous stag, Dolan had recovered enough to keep going. They packed up

  the camp and continued south. They were only about a third of the way

  but already their supplies were running low. Even worse, most of them

  were injured to various degrees of severity.

  Although Dolan was gradually recovering from the

  tribulation lightning, he was still a week or two away from being fully

  healed, even if he was finally up and moving.

  Rafi had mostly healed from the nighthound attack,

  although his shoulder still wasn’t quite cooperating. A grimace formed

  every now and then when he tried to brush some branch or leaves aside.

  Carvell had a badly broken arm, and a shield so bent and

  useless that they simply left it behind rather than carry the dead

  weight. He was currently walking with a make-shift sling and was

  noticeably unnerved without his main shield.

  Silas had been gored through his side, and although he

  could walk, he was in no condition to fight. He kept a brave face, but

  the color of his skin was a full shade and a half off.

  Bishop and Sebastian were the only two who were still in

  decent shape, but even they had many minor injuries from all the

  continuous fights.

  For the moment they decided to move fairly slowly.

  Walking for the entire rest of the way wasn’t an option—that could take

  months—but they all needed some time before they could pick up the pace

  again.

  Over the course of the next week, they gradually upped

  their speed. It helped that the number of monster attacks slowed down

  significantly. There was still the occasional encounter, but nothing

  big. Rather, the monsters were finally more in line with what were to be

  expected in this section of the Silvervale Woodlands, annoying but

  weak.

  For the first few days nothing had really changed in the

  terrain, with the exception of growing increasingly damp. Sebastian lost

  his sense of direction after the first day and was relying entirely on

  the expertise of the hunters, who somehow moved without hesitation

  despite the lack of any discernible indication of direction.

  On the fourth day, they moved from a forest biome to a

  swamp biome. It slowed them down some, but they managed to jump across

  on roots, not unlike at the mossy biome at the edge of the woodlands. On

  the sixth day, the swamp turned into a bog which was far worse to

  traverse. There were by far fewer roots and other solid objects on the

  ground to jump between, and at times they were forced to wade through

  pools of water and deep, spongy peat.

  Even with the superhuman levels of stamina and endurance

  provided by their high levels, their injuries coupled with the rough

  terrain and the fast pace they were keeping made the journey exhausting.

  When they finally escaped the bog, all of them were soaked and breathing heavy. Even so, they didn’t stop.

  At this point, they had been in the Silvervale Woodlands

  for three weeks. Longer than any of them felt comfortable with. They

  still had just over a week worth of travel left, through the western

  passage and all the way to the town of Celder.

  Their supplies had dwindled down to just about nothing

  and tensions ran high. This was especially true given that they all knew

  something was wrong at this point. There had been too many encounters,

  all behaving strangely.

  It was clear to everyone that they had to make it through

  to Calindor as soon as possible. Days went by without anyone saying

  more than a few words.

  They ran.

  They slept.

  They got up the next morning and ran, again.

  Sebastian felt his mind wander as they traversed the

  dense forest biome. It reminded him of the first—and last—time he went

  camping back home. He was fourteen and his dad had decided to drag the

  family out camping. “It’s a great way to bond”, Sebastian’s dad had

  said. The whole thing ended up being a series of screaming matches. That

  wasn’t what Sebastian remembered now, however. He remembered the

  s’mores after everything was set up that first night, and his mom’s

  hysterical laugh when his dad dropped his in the fire right after.

  After several more days, they finally reached the base of

  the mountain. The terrain turned more uneven and the trees were much

  more sparse.

  Powerful gusts of wind tore through the area. As the gale

  passed through the various cracks, and crevices of the rocks, and over

  the hills, it formed a shrill whistle.

  Accompanying the stormy winds was a healthy shower of

  rain, nothing torrential but with the help of the wind speed each drop

  still felt like a needle on their skin.

  How the weather had turned from nice and calm to such

  violent winds in the blink of an eye didn’t make any sense to Sebastian.

  The others explained that this kind of extreme shift wasn’t all that uncommon in the woodlands. If anything, they had gotten quite lucky to

  avoid it thus far.

  They were losing what little daylight

  made it through the dark clouds above and had a decision to make—they

  could either turn back and make camp on the edge of the forest biome

  under the cover of some tree, or they could continue until they found

  some place within this new rocky biome to find some shelter.

  After a brief discussion, they decided to continue on.

  Turning back would certainly be more comfortable in the

  short term, but none of them were willing to let comfort dictate their

  choices. If they were to turn back every time they came across something

  uncomfortable, they would be stuck in the woodlands for a very long

  time.

  After a couple of hours or so of wrestling with the

  powerful winds and uneven terrain, they finally found a place in a

  shallow valley with a rock overhang. It wasn’t perfect but it would

  certainly do.

  They quickly set up their tent and installed their fence

  around it. The storm was loud enough that they wouldn’t be able to hear,

  or see any threat in time. Bishop made the decision to use the last of

  their energy crystals to power the fence as an alert if something came

  too close. Everyone agreed, it was well worth it. Dolan’s detection

  Skills weren’t hindered by the weather, but he couldn’t keep the Skills

  active at all times, after all.

  Sebastian entered the tent and let out a sigh of relief

  as the tent’s enchantments, combined with the fence outside, dulled the

  screaming of the wind and the pelting of rain. Having such heightened

  senses was usually a great thing, but it could also be very

  overstimulating. Fortunately he had some experience in that department

  with his [Mind’s Eye].

  Once everything was set up inside, Rafi began making some dinner while the others sat down to chat and rest.

  Sebastian decided that since they were likely stuck here,

  at the very least for the night, he could take the opportunity to make

  an attempt at a breakthrough.

  For the past week and a half he had been at the precipice

  of [Core Formation] stage, but he hadn’t had a chance to actually make

  an attempt to break through. He was a patient man, but he couldn’t hold

  back any longer.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  It was rather risky to attempt a breakthrough in such a

  precarious situation. Being disturbed during the attempt could lead to a

  backlash, after all, but he had felt how weak he truly was during this

  whole experience. If only he had been a little stronger then maybe he

  could have helped more. Maybe he could have noticed the barwendi attack

  in time and jumped in before Carvell and Silas got hurt. Instead he had

  only noticed when it was too late, and all he could do was to rush out

  and stand on the sidelines, watching as Bishop landed the final blow.

  Likewise with the nighthounds, it was all he could do to point them out

  while Dolan did the heavy lifting.

  They still had about a week of travel until they would reach the other side and finally enter the Calindor Federation.

  Although the past week had been relatively smooth, he

  felt confident that they would encounter more powerful monsters before

  the week was done. If anything, the calm of the past week made him even

  more nervous.

  The others still didn’t know about his cultivation—and he

  wasn’t about to tell anyone about that any time soon—but they did know

  how seriously he took his meditation. They also weren’t idiots. They

  knew he was hiding something, but they had the restraint not to pry too

  much.

  Still, to be certain that they wouldn’t disturb him, he

  admitted that there was indeed something more to it than meditation. He

  made sure not to give away any details, but he impressed upon them how

  important it was that he was left undisturbed until he was done. They

  all shared a few looks, and after a few unsuccessful attempts to

  respectfully prod for some more information they ultimately agreed and

  left him alone as they ate and talked amongst themselves.

  Sebastian crossed his legs and took a deep breath to settle his nerves.

  Ever since he reached Peak [Essence Consolidation] stage

  he couldn’t properly further his cultivation any more without a

  breakthrough. His meridian pathways were filled to the brim, after all,

  so instead he had spent his few hours of cultivation each night to

  prepare for this moment. He had gone over the steps as laid out in the

  manual time and time again.

  The basic concept was simple—you take that vast flow of

  liquid essence circulating through your meridian system and, much like

  when you condensed the gaseous essence within your spirit body into

  liquid essence in your Sea of Essence, you condense the liquid essence

  within your meridian system into a solid Core at the center of your Sea

  of Essence.

  At first that Core would be small, the size of a pebble,

  but over time you continue to add to it until you have a solid Core

  which encompasses the entirety of your Sea of Essence. Sebastian’s

  initial instinct was that a solid Core filling his entire Sea of Essence

  would simply block the circulation. He now understood that since the

  Core was your own essence, it wouldn’t block anything. If anything, it

  would act as a heart. It would absorb incoming essence from one side and

  pump it out the other side, stronger than ever.

  There were two options when it came to breaking through to [Core Formation].

  The first option was that you could perform your essence baptism first and form your Core second.

  And the second option was the opposite, you form your

  Core first and then perform the essence baptism. The fact that there

  were two options confused him a little since he felt like either he

  broke through to the next stage or he didn’t.

  The presence of the [System], which monitored and

  displayed his cultivation in simple terms, sometimes made him forget

  that the cultivation method predated the [System]. The essence baptism

  wasn’t just a means of breaking through to the next stage, it could be

  performed at literally any point. It simply cemented his current

  cultivation, and there were advantages and disadvantages to performing

  it at different times.

  Performing the essence baptism first would allow him the

  flexibility of being able to shatter his Core and try again should he

  feel that he failed to form a strong enough Core. However, that also

  meant that he ran the risk of his cultivation dropping down a step and

  losing his Core if he was pushed far enough. If he used up all of his

  solid essence in battle, or if an enemy somehow shattered it, then he

  would drop back down to the [Essence Consolidation] stage.

  Forming his Core first and then immediately performing

  his essence baptism would ensure that his cultivation was firmly within

  the [Core Formation] stage, no matter what. The downside, however, was

  that he would be forever stuck with whatever Core he managed to form.

  Since there was no naturally correct path of cultivation,

  it was certainly possible to do both. Perform an essence baptism first

  and then, once you’re satisfied with your Core, you do a second baptism.

  The manual didn’t name a winner for the first two

  options, but it vehemently discouraged anyone from choosing to perform

  two essence baptisms. Each one was an intense process with permanent

  effects on both your physical body and spirit body, especially this far

  into your cultivation. Performing two of them would almost certainly

  cement your cultivation to the point where it would be extremely

  difficult to expand your Core and progress in your cultivation in the

  future.

  There was no real debate in Sebastian’s mind.

  He had no intention of starting over once he broke through, nor did he have the luxury of doing so in his current circumstances.

  He would form his Core first and then officially break through.

  With his thoughts settled and decisions made, Sebastian

  sunk into his cultivation. The muffled sounds of the storm were the

  first to disappear. Next, the conversations of the hunters vanished as

  Sebastian reached into the Spirit Realm and brought the entirety of his

  focus onto his spirit body. He concentrated further, into the depth of

  his Sea of Essence. At the exact point where he had begun his journey of

  cultivation back in that gorge.

  Liquid essence rushed in and flowed through as it circulated throughout his Peak meridian system.

  His first attempt at forming a Core was crude. He took

  control of the flow and crammed a bunch of liquid essence together,

  hoping it would form a solid pebble.

  All he accomplished was to interfere with the flow of liquid essence through his spirit body.

  The gears of his mind spun like crazy as he tried to

  solve the puzzle of how to proceed. Then, the words of the manual came

  to mind, “Wield your intent to condense your Core.”

  Of course, Intent. He mentally slapped himself on the forehead.

  I got too ahead of myself. Cultivation isn’t a matter of forcing your

  essence together and hoping it makes something worthwhile. It’s a

  journey of intent. Using your will to influence the world. To forge your

  own path.

  Ever since my first steps as a

  cultivator, my spirit body has always acted as a black hole. It’s the

  foundational intent I’ve used rather than the whirlpool described in the

  manual. I shouldn’t muddy the waters now.

  If anything, the more I understand

  the process of cultivation, the more I realize how important it is to

  forge a stable path. My intents thus far, and my naming system, has been

  rather haphazard. Not a joke but certainly not something I’ve

  considered very important, until now.

  Reality itself might not truly

  matter, but my will and understanding of my intentions do. My

  understanding of genuine black holes are irrelevant, for the most part,

  so long as my intention, my willpower, my intent is clear.

  With his original intent, there was never a specific

  point that could truly be called the singularity. He had settled on

  giving that role to his entire spirit body, effectively turning all of

  himself into a black hole. Now, he decided to focus that singularity

  within the dead center of his Sea of Essence. All liquid essence would

  flow into that singularity as it made its way through his meridian

  pathways and into his Sea of Essence. That singularity would then expel

  the essence as if from a white hole, the opposite of a black hole, as it

  continued its flow.

  Wouldn’t that be more like a wormhole—, he felt his thoughts wander before he crushed those thoughts down. Reality didn’t matter.

  He forced the incoming essence through an infinitely small space as it circulated.

  The pressure from pushing his essence into such a small space was almost more than he could bear, but he held on.

  Within a few seconds, he could feel something change.

  That infinitely small space, that singularity, grew larger as more and

  more essence passed through it. It formed something smaller than a grain

  of sand, but it was solid.

  The pressure eased up ever so slightly, and the tiny

  grain grew larger and larger with each minute. After an hour of

  continued pressure, the grain had grown to the size of a pea and

  Sebastian could feel that there wasn’t enough liquid essence to continue

  growing the newly formed Core.

  He relaxed his focus, and his intent, and he stared at

  the perfectly round, solid Core suspended at the center of his Sea of

  Essence.

  There was a shine to it, almost like a polished aluminum

  ball, except almost pitch black. Within that darkness were swirls of

  color. Not quite the dark red of his liquid essence but rather a dark

  purple. Even without his guidance and control, the liquid essence flowed

  into the small Core on one side and was pushed out the other. He could

  feel the that with each circulation, the Core of solid essence added

  power to the liquid essence flowing through his system, and the liquid

  essence in turn added onto the mass of the Core.

  With this, Sebastian was a half-step [Core Formation] stage cultivator, all that was left now was to officially break through.

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