Calm Wanderer
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(AKJ)Chapter 73 - Library and Training Field
🕑 Added 2024-08-24 10:30:44 +0000 UTCMolvograd, Molkovia, Earth.
Demian's P.O.V.
The question pulled the middle-aged redhead’s attention away from the booklet she held in her hands. While her gaze fell on his face, she shook her head before replying with some confusion lacing her voice. “I’ve got no clue.” She then turned toward Anna and asked. “Do you have any advice for me? I’ve never physically fought before, so I’m not really sure what would suit me the best.” With a look of pondering on her face, the brunette replied. “In that case... I think you should choose a basic sword for now. It’s the easiest to wield for a novice, which is why most people use swords as their main weapon. You can just exchange it for something else if you find something more suitable later.”
Nodding her head, Adeliya claimed. “I’ll listen to you then. Could you choose a sword for me and some suitable protective gear as well, please?” Against such a polite request, the cold woman could not do anything but comply, searching around for a short while before she found what she was looking for. She then handed the Low Tier 1 Broadsword along with a pair of grey boots similar to the ones she previously gave to the other two, a tight-fitted pair of grey pants, and a tunic with a matching color pattern. Those particular clothes provided much more protection than those made of normal fabric, although it was only to a certain point. After all, unless one used clothes made from Tier 1 materials, blocking any casual attack from Chi Gathering Rank Cultivators was a pipe dream.
Unfortunately, Adeliya was still a Body Strengthening Mortal, making it impossible for her to activate any of the protective gear. Not only that, but stronger materials were usually much heavier than normal ones, which ended up making the weapons and armor very difficult, if not impossible to use for lower Rank Cultivators. At least, that was what Anna Lirov explained to the group. To make it slightly better, she also gave the redhead a bulletproof vest, which was the greatest option for her at that moment.
As her gaze briefly fell on Adeliya’s bust, the brunette added. “The lack of proper gear for you is because none of the women under me has similar... Assets as yours.” Listening to her words, Demian could not really deny that the three female Mikhailov’s physiques were truly out-of-the-norm, making him realize that they would probably have to custom-order if they wanted something suitable. “As long as Mister Yanov agrees, it’s possible. I will ask him later.” Anna declared after he shared that particular idea with her.
Once the three had their own protective gear and weapons, the woman went to get some hot weapons with their corresponding ammunition. While observing what seemed to be a handgun, if one were to ignore its greater size and something that looked like a mix between an automatic rifle and a sniper rifle, Demian asked. “Do we really need firearms? Aren’t spells sufficient? Plus, would bullets even be useful against cultivators?”
Bryn’s expression told him that she agreed with his statement, although Adeliya seemed to be satisfied with getting the ‘normal’ gear. While looking toward him, Anna responded matter-of-factly. “Of course, they’re useful against cultivators. At least against those at the Chi Gathering Rank. Our body may be able to resist normal pistol bullets, but certainly not those from automatic rifles or stronger weapons. Well, besides Mr. Yanov, but with his Cultivation at the Peak of the Rank, he’s clearly an exception.”
With a curious look on her face, Bryn insisted. “I heard about something called Body Cultivation. Is it true that it could make you immune to even high-caliber bullets harmless?” Cocking her brow, Anna replied. “Probably. But for once, you’d need a specialized cultivation technique, then you’d need a massive amount of resources. Even with all of that, you might not even have much results unless you possess some related talent.” Pausing for a second, she added. “Of course, once you do have some results, you’ll definitely have an edge against most cultivators.” While moving her gaze from one face to another, she warned. “I understand that the idea can be tempting, but my advice for all of you is to focus on Energy cultivation. Especially with your talents, wasting time and resources on some elusive practice instead of on a surefire way to become stronger is extremely foolish. Focus on reaching the Peak of the Chi Gathering Rank first. Who knows, you may even have a chance to go beyond if you’re lucky enough.”
Despite those last words being said without too much conviction, it stoked Demian’s curiosity. ‘Does she actually know about my Low Earth Talent and Bryn’s High Heaven Talent...? That’s not very likely. After all, she’s at the same Rank as us... Ah! It’s probably because of our age! Well, if she knew the truth, she’d probably change her words to ’definitely’ reach beyond the Chi gathering Rank. Luck is clearly unneeded.’ Adeliya’s next words pulled his attention back to the present situation. “Since firearms are so useful, at least I’ll be able to help if something happens, instead of waiting on the side for others to protect me.”
Demian knew that it was not as simple as she seemed to think due to the physical and mental chasm that existed between the two different Ranks. However, he did not want to destroy her confidence and thus just nodded with an encouraging smile on his face. As the group was done with the armory, Anna Lirov led them to another room close by, that one also protected by two fierce-looking cultivators. Once the brunette shared a few words with them, the four people were let through instantly inside a room as massive as the other two.
Unlike the other two, however, this one was divided into four clear parts. As their mind was trying to make sense of everything, their guide’s voice reached their ears. “This is the Library. Most information that a high-end library possesses is available in written and/or digital format here. There is even some cultivation-related information, but nothing too deep.” Her hand then pointed toward the third and deepest part of the room, which consisted of a few shelves housing an unknown number of round white smooth rocks. All of them were under energy barriers very similar to those they found in the Armory and Resource’s Vault, leading him to believe that they might be those so-called Spells he so desperately wanted to learn.
Indeed, Anna’s following words confirmed his guess. “Those white rocks are called Information Storing Jade. As their name implies, they’re used to store any kind of information. They’re extremely useful for storing complex information that would be impossible to put down in writing.” Tilting her head in confusion, Adeliya asked. “What do you mean?” While looking in her direction Lirov explained. “Words have their own limits, especially when it comes to abstract concepts and physical sensations. However, Information Storing Jade doesn't have that limitation as the information is stored inside through the use of one’s Soul Sense.”
To which Bryn half-questioned, half-claimed. “So that means something like getting someone’s impressions or something, instead of just words... Right?” Nodding in the tall redhead’s direction, the brunette added. ”Exactly. The only downside is that you need to use your Soul Sense to access the information stored inside them.” Despite not calling her out, Adeliya clearly understood that those last words were aimed at her if the slight frown appearing on her face was any indication. Her expression, however, quickly relaxed when Demian gently put his hand on her shoulder and exclaimed. “Don’t feel too bad about it, Aunty. With Roman’s resources and your own talent, it won’t take you too long to reach the Chi Gathering Rank.”
Her eyes moved to meet his before her lips’ corners rose slightly while she let out a cute grunt of approval. “Mmh!” Unfortunately, someone could not (Or would not?) read the room, attracting their attention back to her. “Anyway, those Jades have information on Cultivation Techniques, Spells, Crafting, etc. Mr. Yanov instructed me that you’re allowed to browse everything here, with only two caveats. One, you can only use the Jades inside the Library. That’s what those are for.” She briefly gestured toward the chairs, tables, and, sofas set up in the middle of the room. She then continued. “The second thing is that only one Jade per person can be browsed at one time. In other words, you need to put back one Jade to get another.” She paused for a second before explaining herself. “I understand that it may seem tedious, but you will have to bear with it. After all, even I am under the same restriction.”
As something came to his mind, Demian asked. “Can we come here whenever we want?” Nodding her head, Anna specified. “You can. However, it’s different for the Armory and the Resources’ Vault. Those rooms need Mr. Yanov’s approval to get in. Do you have any other questions before we move on to the next place?” After she noticed the three shaking their heads, she gestured for them to follow her again. This time, the place she brought them to was not located in the front building, but instead in the North side of the three buildings, where what seemed to be a gigantic training field was present, with many sparring rings scattered on both sides.
Even before they reached the open area, the sounds of metal clashes, cursing, and, explosions reached their ears, prompting Anna to start her presentation. “We’re about to reach the Training Fields. There you can practice any Spells without needing to worry about breaking anything.” Indeed, in their view appeared many cultivators practicing, either alone or in groups of two or more. However, it was not the Body Strengthening Cultivators that attracted Demian’s attention, but instead, those Chi Gathering Rank throwing around what looked like magic Spells. “Are those the so-called Cultivation Spells?” He asked their guide curiously.
The latter nodded her head before describing briefly a few of the Spells used. “This is Water Shield, a Defensive Spell. This one is Metallic Needle, an attack Spell. That one is...” She only added a few of them before declaring. “All of those Spells are available in the Library. If you’re interested, you can go check them out later.” To which Demian simply replied. “I will.” “Are those for sparring?” Adeliya suddenly asked the brunette while gesturing toward one of the rings close by.
Following the gesture with her eyes, Anna responded. “Those are special rings. You can use them if you wish to hide your own practice or sparring. Most of the time they’re used by High Chi Gathering Cultivators like myself. It’s a way to keep an ace hidden in case enemy spies successfully infiltrate our organization.” Cocking his brow, Demian asked, intrigued. “It happened before?”
With an expression of hesitation on her face, Lirov answered. “It... Did happen once in the past... Since then Mr. Yanov became much stricter when it came to security.” She fell silent as a look of reminiscence surfaced on her visage for a moment before she shook her head slightly and declared firmly. “In any case, there’s no need to dwell on the past.” She then changed the subject by leading them to one of the rings and showing them how to activate its concealment feature. Once done, she exclaimed. “That’s it for today. We’ll start the proper training tomorrow morning at around the same time. I’ll send you a message half an hour before to give you enough time to prepare yourself.”
Pausing for a second, she then resumed. “In the meantime, you should get more familiar with your gear and also check out the Library while you’re at it. As for myself, I’ll bring the cultivation resources I took out from the Vault earlier and bring them to your room with some instructions on how to use them.” Once she finished with her explanation, she left the three Mikhailovs alone on one side of the Training Field. After looking at the two redheads with a gaze full of meaning quickly mirrored by them, he asked playfully. “Does any of you know how to use swords?”
His quip brought out a few chuckles from the two women with Adeliya retorting in a similar tone. “Do I look like a sword master to you?” After a brief up-and-down glance, he replied. “Nope. You definitely don’t!” To which she replied with mock outrage. “Hey! You didn’t have to say it like that, you brat!” The two then kept bickering with each other for a short while before bursting into laughter at the same time. On the side, Bryn also had an amused grin on her face as she suggested. “Since none of us know how to properly use our weapons, why don’t we go check the Library? I’m sure they should have fighting techniques we can use.”
The other two agreed that it was the best course of action, and the group thus ended up walking back to the room they visited earlier. On the way, Adeliya suddenly commented while gesturing toward the sword hanging on her waist. “I still can’t believe we‘re about to learn how to use these medieval weapons. It feels completely unreal.” With a wistful expression on his face, Demian replied. “I agree. It’s almost like we went back to the distant past.” Then, Bryn remarked. “If you already feel this way when we've only barely started cultivating, how will you react when we reach higher Ranks and meet stranger things?”
Her words plunged the other two into contemplation for a few moments before the young man declared. “I don’t know how I’ll react. But I know one thing: We definitely won’t get bored.” The grin on his face displayed excitement and anticipation for the future. The two women seemed to share the same sentiments, if the grin visible on their faces was any indication. Along the way, the three chatted about the possibilities that lay in the next few months and years for them. Their conversation lasted until they reached the wooden door separating them from the Library. After the guards and the formation let them through, Demian mumbled subconsciously. “This is where it really starts.”
