"Is there anything in here you recommend for me? I am about to break through so if there is something here that could help?"

  "The Essence Stabilizing Jade could help you. You could wear it and it will make your energy more stable. You could also take the Arcane Formation Array. Its a portal array and could help you with your pillar creation but it would be more reliant on the energy in the area. It has a great effect than the jade. Further there are the Solidity Pills they help after you've made the pillar but come with great impurities as we did not have a great alchemist at the time."

  Naturally I asked him which was better or which I should pick but he refused to answer. I quickly ruled out the pills. They were the cheaper of the trio but I didn't want to deal with impurities. I had already eaten enough pills to make that a future problem. Of course, that was also a good argument to take them. I seriously considered the array. It was the more expensive option at 4,000 points but it would be useful the entire time. Further once I finished with it I could leave it in the academy. Thus making everyone else stronger.

  Last was the jade. At 3k it was the middle of the road option but that also meant it was excellent at anything. It could be worn which meant I could use it freely and it could be left with the academy but only one person could use it. I was about to make my selection when I saw something else. The item was called the Boundless Dewdrop and it wasn't anything special. It didn't have a description but it was like the item was calling to me. It wasn't quite the same sensation as the caress that guided me nor was it my treasure sense.

  "What is the Boundless Dewdrop?"

  "I don't recall. It was an item that was added toward the end but I can't recall why I added or what it was for."

  I looked up at the giant not sure if he was fucking with me or not but there was no hint of deception on his face. If anything he genuinely looked unsure. "Since you don't know what it is can you just give it to me?"

  He shook his head. "No, the System has its restrictions. I am already providing it at the lowest price I can."

  I sighed and made the purchase. The item was 1,500 which meant the jade was the final item. I made my final purchase and the menu blinked away. A moment later five boxes and a statue appeared. The statue was much much bigger than I thought which in retrospect made sense. It was nearly as tall as Korum and depicted a bald warrior with sword raised as if prepared to strike someone down. I had expected the statue to have an array or some energy rich material inside it but there was nothing. Instead it was like the statue itself held some special meaning.

  It felt a bit like the Tao fruit only different. Ultimately it wasn't something I would use so I placed it in my ring and collected the other items. The jade and the Boundless Dewdrop went into my ring. "One for each of you." I flashed them each a grin and handed them a box. The only person that didn't get their box was Xerxes. "I am going to keep yours in my ring until we get back."

  "Good." He responded.

  The others opened their boxes but after a brief discussion we all decided it would be better to wait until we had time. None of us knew how long it would to take to refine the items and what benefits they would bring about. "Korum, I assume you are unable to leave this place?"

  "That is correct though it won't matter not for a few years yet." The giant stood up and stepped toward us. Each step filled the room with a hair raising majesty. His spiritual energy surged until he was as bright as a sun to the Eye of Heaven. I stumbled back a half step before something grabbed hold of me.

  "Wha—" The words died on my lips as Korum reached out and placed a finger in the middle of my forehead. My world was engulfed in an all consuming white light. Information flooded into my soul and formed a pure white sigil. Whatever Korum created was more than anything I had ever seen. It was like a sigil made up of many many sigils. Each one held enough knowledge to crush my soul dozens of times over. I bit back a scream as my consciousness was yanked back the world. My vision swam as I collapsed to one knee.

  "What the hell was that?" I groaned. I closed my eyes and took several steadying breaths before I felt back to normal. I got up ready to shout but when I saw Korum I froze. Korum had been a spirit but he had felt powerful. As if he was more real than we were but now he looked dim for lack of a better word. As if all his light had been squeezed out. Even the throne and axe seemed worse. Before they were like celestial treasures that could have cut the world in half now they were frail. As if they could break if Korum tried to raise them again.

  "Do not look at me with such pity." Korum began though even his void was weak. It was barely a shadow of what used to be. The voice that had felt like it could crush me. "An impartment has a price even for a spirit. It will take me sometime to properly restore myself."

  "Can I help? I could give you a bit of energy or maybe bring some crystals here?" I barely managed to keep the sadness from my voice.

  "Once you are at the same realm as me you might be able to help but until then I will wait here. I look forward to seeing you when you are ready to break through to the third realm."

  I opened my mouth to protest but before I could Korum leaned back in his throne and disappeared. I stood there in shock for a few minutes before I cracked my neck and turned around. "Alright, well for now lets leave. I am not sure if this place will remain safe. The last thing I want is to fight something strong again."

  "Thanks." Trey said as he patted his bag. "I don't know what that thing is but it seems pretty good."

  "Same from me" Aaliyah added as she disappeared into the darkness.

  "Its no big deal!" I called out though I wasn't sure she could still hear me. "Its all good Trey. I am still not sure how a fire and ice mix would work but its up to you."

  The walk back through the castle was uneventful. The few rooms we hadn't checked were either empty or filled with art which I liked but I decide to leave behind. Now that I knew the Korum I wasn't sure if looting his home was a good idea. Further I didn't want to carry it. When we were back at the entrance I had it sealed and spread the word that people weren't to enter. I wasn't sure what the consequences would be if someone violated the rules but I figured I would deal with it if it came up.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  I was about to open a portal when I thought against. This was a great chance to practice my new trick. "Want to race? On foot this time?" Trey laughed and Xerxes howled before we took off. In a dead sprint I was faster than Trey but slower than Xerxes but when I added in my new step. I was faster than both. Unfortunately aiming was still incredibly hard. I could aim the general direction but the amount of energy used would alter the distance and that was on top of the way I stepped. If I stepped at the wrong angle I would end up off balance or crashing into something.

  By the time we arrived at the underground town my ego was bruised, I had a massive headache and I was in last place. "Note to self. Train in an area where missing didn't mean I would hit a wall"

  "That's so weird. Its like your teleporting but you aren't really." Trey added. "Can you show me how?"

  I shrugged. "I don't think so. I guess that your whole fire and Ice thing are the results of your Tao so you should figure out what you can do with it. I imagine cooking things and maybe alchemy."

  Trey groaned and rolled his eyes. "Don't get started on that. Desbera has been 'reminding' me to take the lesson on alchemy."

  I cocked a questioning eye brow at him. "So why don't you? I am pretty sure alchemist make money. At least as much as an array master if not more."

  "It just seems boring. You stand in front of a weird furnace thing that reminds me a bit of a play kitchen and control the fire. If you do it wrong it might blow up."

  I shrugged. "I guess, its your call ultimately. I would go for it just to have that in my tool kit but it would be a bit of work. Assuming that its anything like arrays."

  He shrugged and then interlocked his fingers behind his head. "Maybe right now though I want to focus on catching up to you. It feels like every time we separate you come back ten times stronger."

  I grinned. "I wouldn't say every time but you just have to keep your eyes open. Opportunities to get stronger show up all the time."

  "Uh huh just invite me next time you go off on an adventure."

  I laughed and nodded my agreement. "The next one is the ocean so take a few days to deal with that item and then we will set out."

  After that we split up with Trey heading home while me and Xerxes went over to the academy. We had a short conversation with Desbera about where she wanted the statue placed and how people could gain access to it. Since I wasn't sure just how potent it would be I decided to make it free. I gave her the authority to add it to the contribution shop as a kind of service. It made me feel like we were starting some sort of library but that wasn't too big a deal. I left a few of the fancier statue parts behind as well so people could study them.

  Despite my work with arrays time wasn't something I had a lot of. With that decided Xerxes and I made our way back to the tower. "Yours should help you break through. At least that was my intent."

  "Is it alright if I break through before you?" The emotion in his mental tone caused me to stumble a step. It wasn't quite fear nor was it anger. It was closer to disbelief or anxiety. Ether way the emotion wasn't like the crazy Qilin.

  "Yeah, why not? Both of us being as strong as possible before we go exploring would be for the best. The last thing I want is for us to get attacked and we die because we were worried about something else."

  Xerxes didn't say anything for several seconds. I started to get worried that I had broken him when he let out a howl. The howl was nearly enough to shatter the glass in the whole building but I didn't say anything. The excitement I felt only made me want to reach level 50 faster.

  "Alright, calm down. I am going to get things set up. I assume you don't know how long the breakthrough will take?" He confirmed and I activated Ethereal Convocation. I spread word with all members of the council. The Tower would be locked down until Xerxes finished. I considered forbidding anyone from being within a mile but of the building but that would mean a not insignificant amount of people would have to leave their homes. Which seemed kind of dickish.

  With that taken care of he and I entered his personal cultivation chamber. I activated the array and shattered a few spirit stones to get the juices flowing. I let Xerxes get comfortable while I pulled out the treasure. The Primordial Beast Drops were in a palm sized white bottle. The bottle was shaped a bit like a tiger and was made out of what I thought was marble. Their was a stopper on top that looked simple though I could see the small array drawn in it. The stopper was simple at first glance but there was a small array written across it. This array had the simple and blocky design of the System. Which only made me more curious.

  Had the System sealed it after it was taken away? If so why? Had it known that it would give this place to someone? That they would have a beast companion or was it just storing it better? I couldn't be sure how good Korum was at his best but surely he could would have arranged safe storage. I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind and focused on the present. I stopped the array and unsealed the bottle. As soon as I did I was hit by a medicinal smell that made my blood boil. It wasn't just medicine, it was like the bottle contained the essence of a hunter that stalked a forest. Or two beasts locked in primal combat. A fight where nothing mattered but dominance.

  My aura swelled for a moment as I was overrun by the desire to fight. Intellect Fortress kicked in a moment later and the effect ended. I quickly stoppered the bottle not wanting any of potency to fade. Damn that was nice. I grinned at Xerxes who let out a derisive snort. Though the hunger in his eyes made it clear how he felt. "Do you think you should drink it? Or should I pour it in a bowl and let the aroma fill the place?"

  "Drink it. It is harder for beasts to refine things outside of the body. The additional time would cause it to lose potency."

  I was about to ask him a few more questions but the look in his eyes told me that I was playing a dangerous game. He was pretty loyal to me but I wasn't sure if that would stop him from setting me on fire. I held the bottle out to him and pulled the stopper out. I tipped the liquid into his mouth before the aroma could spread too far. Xerxes swallowed it down and closed his eyes. A warning from my danger sense sent me running to the door way.

  Before I could make it half way across the room a weight descended on us. It was similar but not quite the same as what I experienced during the tutorial. It felt like something was watching us or rather watching Xerxes. His scales and fur glimmered with barely restrained power as an unseen wind passed through him. The vibrant pearlescent colors of his scales pulsed like a steady heart beast as he drained more and more energy. The arrays strained to meet his needs and I reached into my ring for anything that could help. I tossed out spirit stone after spirit stone until I felt the room enter a strange equilibrium.

  His breathing slowed and for a moment it felt like he synced with the world or rather the heavens. The air in the room constricted as if everything was holding its breath. As if the world was waiting for judgement. In the next moment the energy in the room surged and Xerxes' eyes flew open. He got to his feet and tossed his head back. A roar that shook the foundations of the buildings blasted out from him along with remaining spiritual energy. I didn't need my soul sense to know that the glass in the building had shattered and I didn't much care.

  I watched the energy coursing through his body condensed. Turning into a thicker almost syrup like liquid that had no issue moving through his channels. Xerxes began to glow with a fierce primal light. Xerxes scales seemed to come alive with as he unleashed his aura. It felt like we had been transported into a primal battlefield. A place where civilization had faded and the law of the jungle reigned supreme. Xerxes locked eyes with me and the connection between us strained. For a moment I thought that it would break as fresh vitality surged into me.

  I felt much more alive for lack of a better word. The dull aches that I hadn't really noticed faded away as fresh energy flooded my veins. It felt like I had just taken a hundred expresso shots. I grinned at him as the world slowly returned to normal. Now that the transformation was complete the changes in his body were even more pronounced. It wasn't so much as the amount of energy he had changed, It was the quality of that energy. I could tell that he could gain levels again which meant he likely had to gain another fifty. Though I couldn't tell if how much energy it would take.

  "Well, you might just be the strongest thing on Earth." I laughed and a moment later Xerxes howled again.