Chapter 5 - Martial Arts Pavilion

After making my decision about my predicament, I am now concentrating on waking LILY as my first priority. Except for the time spent eating or playing with my mother, I have been absorbing energy from the atmosphere. I even tried to direct the remaining energy towards LILY to reduce the time it would take for her to wake up, even just a little. Nearly five months have passed like this. Life has become almost monotonous: eat, sleep, play with my mother, and absorb energy. Even though I can’t yet manipulate the energy in my body freely, I have become somewhat proficient at guiding it slowly in the direction I want.

Another thing I discovered while analyzing the energy is that it feels somewhat familiar, though I can’t pinpoint what it is. I have a feeling it will become clear in the future. It seems to be taking more time than necessary for LILY to wake up, like a stalled car engine that needs a jump start.

What I didn’t realize is that we can’t manipulate pure and wild Spirit energy as I’ve been doing. If anyone knew what I was attempting, they would go crazy and see me as a monster…

One day, after finishing my meal and preparing to return to my room to start absorbing energy again, a maid came to inform me that my father was waiting in his study and that I should go meet him there. I nodded and walked to my father’s study.

My father’s study is essentially his office, where he handles administrative tasks. I stood outside the large carved doors and knocked lightly.

“Come in, Azalon.”

I opened the doors and walked in. Inside were my father and the scary old man I had seen that day. I bowed lightly, as I had heard from my mother that he was a respectable elder in my father’s clan. I then looked towards my father and asked,

“Did you call for me, Father?”

“Yes, we are going somewhere. Get ready in an hour.”

“Yes, Father,” I replied, bowing again before turning and walking to my room.

An hour later, we left the mansion in a carriage. It was my first time leaving the mansion, and I took in the surroundings with interest. My father and the elder spoke in hushed tones, and no matter how much I concentrated, I couldn’t hear them. Then I had an interesting idea and berated myself for not thinking of it sooner. I tried to absorb the surrounding energy as it had become an instinct over the past year and a half. The energy was absorbed, divided, and disappeared, leaving me with just a trickle. I concentrated, imagining that energy moving towards my ears to enhance my hearing.

As I willed, the energy started moving towards my ears, and suddenly, a cacophony of noise exploded in my ears. It was so overwhelming that my mind went blank and was filled only with noise. I let out a low shout and collapsed unconscious.

When I woke, I was groggy and my ears were ringing. I looked up to see my father shaking me and speaking, but I could hear nothing but white noise. Slowly, my hearing returned, and I heard my father scolding me for falling asleep in the carriage. I looked outside to see a large arch with two metal gates and the name “Martial Arts Pavilion” written above.

I looked towards my father and saw him exchanging a glance with the elder. He then took my hand, and we got out of the carriage and walked towards a middle-aged man standing beside the gates.

As we approached, he bowed to the elder and my father and said, “Elder, welcome back. Lord Dragus, welcome. Oh, he must be the Young Master, right?”

“That’s right, Leo. He is the one meeting with the Head Elder today,” the elder replied.

I wasn’t sure what to do. In my past world, I would have walked up and shaken his hand, but that’s not the custom here. So, as my mother taught me, I took two small steps, lightly bowed with cupped hands—being the son of the city mayor, I couldn’t bow too low—and greeted him.

“Azalon greets Elder Leo.”

My father looked at me with pride, and Leo and the elder looked pleasantly surprised by my etiquette.

“Good manners. But I am not an elder, Azalon. You can call me Uncle Leo.”

“Azalon greets Uncle Leo.”

“Good. Now let’s go to the Head Elder,” the elder said to Leo.

He nodded and led us inside the pavilion. The pavilion was vast and beautifully maintained. We walked along a blue stone path through a well-kept lawn. At the end of the path was a four-story building made entirely of a white stone-like material. I couldn’t help but be fascinated by the stone, as I had never seen such a material in my past life. My father noticed my interest and lightly laughed.

“Azalon, this building is made of white stone called Spirit Stone. It is mined from places where Spirit energy is concentrated. It forms when Spirit energy gets absorbed into natural stones over a long period. Sometimes it takes tens or even hundreds of years to form a mine of Spirit Stone. That’s why it’s very costly. Even I can’t afford the material cost of this building. It was built by the empire, and we are just maintaining it.”

That made sense. So, it’s a rare material. My hands itched to take a sample to experiment with, but I didn’t have the proper equipment. Ahhh, how I missed my state-of-the-art laboratory. My mood instantly became broody.

We walked inside the building, and I stood there, gawking with my mouth open. If I had to compare the interior to something from Earth, it would resemble the reception area of a five-star hotel. The entire floor was made of the same white stone as the building. The walls were adorned with paintings and murals depicting various legends of the country. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, lightly clinking with the flow of the air. Various cushions were placed for visitors to sit, and three maids were serving drinks.

I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. This was supposed to be a martial arts pavilion, yet there was such luxury here? Leo turned towards a pair of doors at the end of the hall. We walked up to them, and he knocked lightly.

“Come,” replied an elderly but commanding voice from the other side.

My father and the elder entered, with me following. Leo bowed and left. We stepped into a simple, efficient-looking office-like room. The room gave off a stark contrast to the luxurious atmosphere just outside the doors. An elderly, lean man stood with his back to us, looking out of the window. He was dressed entirely in white, with a slight hunch.

He turned towards us. Based on my estimation, he was around 80 years old, with a long white beard and long eyebrows falling to his cheekbones. He was completely bald, and I could see a distinctive mark on the middle of his head. His face was full of wrinkles, and he looked as if a strong wind could blow him away. But in contrast to his frail appearance, his eyes shone with vitality, as if only his body had aged, not his soul.

“Lorvak pays his respects to the Head Elder,” my father deeply bowed. I followed suit; if even my father had to bow, what could I do but do the same?

The elder laughed lightly and said, “How are you, Lorvak? It’s been a long time since I last saw you.”

“I am fine, Master. It’s indeed been a long time. I was made mayor when I last saw you, and you went into seclusion to attempt a breakthrough.”

“Hmmm… That’s right. Even though I couldn’t break through after all these years, I feel as if I can reach that stage very soon. But enough about those matters, Lorvak. You said your son’s body can handle three times the normal amount of energy that a human can withstand. Is that true?”

“Yes, Master. I brought him with me so you can test his condition and provide him with the basic steps,” my father replied with another bow.

I couldn’t make heads or tails of the conversation. Master? This elder is my father’s master? Is he a martial arts master or someone of higher authority? Before I could process this, my father lightly pushed me towards the elder. I suppressed my curiosity and looked up at the elder, who was gazing at me as if searching my soul. I felt an immense pressure from him, and I couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat.

“Come here, boy,” he said in a commanding voice, and my body moved automatically, unable to refuse the order.

The scene from that day with my father repeated itself. The elder lifted his hand, which glowed with a light azure light, in contrast to the pale yellow light of my father’s. So, there is a difference in the colors of energy? He placed his palm against my body, and the light rushed into me. Unlike my father’s, the light on the elder’s palm did not disappear but instead glowed with an even more intense color.

After a while, my body felt saturated with energy, but he didn’t stop. I continued to absorb the energy, feeling as if I were a water balloon on the verge of bursting. Suddenly, his palm flickered with bright azure light, followed by a rush of energy into my body, like a dam breaking.

My body felt like it was swelling, and pain flooded my entire being, so intense that it felt as if the very fibers of my life were being tormented. It was the most pain I had ever felt in either of my lives. Amidst the pain, I heard a faint crack, like something breaking under

the relentless influx of energy. With that crack, the excess energy slowly dissipated, leaving me with a comfortable feeling. However, the lingering effect of the pain still remained in my mind.

I slowly recovered and looked around to find myself curled up on the floor. My father had a concerned expression, and the two elders looked surprised.

“It seems what you said is not incorrect, Lorvak. His body can indeed endure higher levels of energy than a normal human. All that’s left is to test his comprehension level. If he can refine even a fraction of the energy he can absorb, he may reach unprecedented heights. Perhaps he might even attain realms that even I can’t reach in my lifetime.”