Chương 17: Recovery

Mason woke up in a sleek hospital room, which he recognized to be from the Baxter Building with a single glance. That blue and white theme was unmistakable.

"Mason?" Mason looked to the side, where he saw his mother, who had gently called out to him, as if afraid speaking too loudly would hurt him. She sat there, next to his bed, holding his left hand. Or holding the cast around his hand, in this case. Only now did he notice his bed was surrounded by all sorts of medical contraptions, most of which he did not recognize. Smartest man in the world for you.

"Hey mom. Fancy seeing you here." She smiled slightly, "Yeah. I'm here to visit an idiot. A handsome idiot too courageous for his own good."

"Must be quite the idiot to have landed himself in the hospital."

"Hmm. But he's my idiot." Mason smiled and circulated his Essence through his body. His condition had improved remarkably. His left arm was no longer numb, the bones underneath had stitched themselves together, and his chest cavity had returned to its original shape. Mason was sure he had some assistance from whoever had operated on him. But this level of regeneration was no surprise to Mason. Essence was quite literally the energy of life.

Although it could make him stronger, its main characteristic was life-giving, and it granted him improved regeneration. Moreover, not only was Mason's Essence much stronger than a normal person's, but he had also mastered the old man's cultivation technique well enough that it had become somewhat passive. It only worked for a fraction of its full potential when left passive, but it was still enough to increase his passive regeneration even more. After a moment, Mason asked, "How long have I been unconscious?"

His mother stared at him, her gaze more stern this time as she replied, "14 hours. You came in here with your left arm ruined beyond belief, almost torn off, your chest cavity caved in, and your skull cracked. And now you're fine." Mason did not need her to voice the obvious question: how? Mason had not fully recovered, but he was close. The injuries had closed, and although he was weakened, he estimated it would only take a few more hours to recover completely.

Less so considering he was awake and could circulate his Essence actively.

"I told you I didn't take any steroids." Her face softened a little.

"You did, yes. But it was something, wasn't it?" Mason shook his head and gave her a brief explanation of his cultivation. She listened in silently, and once he was finished, she sighed and asked, "And I suppose you don't intend to stop there, do you?" Mason smiled. Of course he would not. He did not know how it was possible, but despite still being in the Body Refinement Realm, he had awakened both Essence and Breath of his Three Treasures.

Were he to awaken his Spirit as well, he would be considered at the peak of the Awakening Realm, something only a few across human history had ever managed. There might not even be one such figure alive in present times. His first guess was that this was thanks to his unusual situation. Although he had not reached his peak of the Body Refinement Realm, he had achieved what was normally the peak.

Besides, it had actually been a week since both his Essence and Breath had reached what was normally the limit of the Body Refinement Realm, and he had not made any progress since then. At first, he had thought this had been because it represented a qualitative jump between two realms, and would simply take more accumulation, but now that he had awakened the two Treasures, he realized they had both grown closer to his Spirit.

In that case, he might have a foot in the Body Refinement Realm, and another in the Awakening Realm. His current realm was a hybrid between the two, created by his abnormal situation. Stolen novel; please report. He… certainly was an interesting case. He was sure the old man would love to examine him later on. Maybe he would have some insight into his situation. But for now, the door to his room opened, and a man in a blue suit entered.

He had dark hair with white sideburns, and Mason immediately recognized him as Reed Richards. Reed's eyes locked onto him at first, before turning to his mother, greeting respectfully, "Ms. Tunt, a pleasure to meet you again." His mother nodded silently, and Reed turned back to Mason, "Mr. Tunt, I am thrilled to see you awake. How are you feeling?" Mason sat up in his bed, and with a tug of his right arm, tore off the cast around his left.

Both hands freed, he clenched his fists, and although the left one was still weaker, he replied, "Fine. Better. Better than I expected to be after a punch from the Hulk. By the way, I'll have to thank the Invisible Girl for saving my life." While Camille, Mason's mother, looked shocked at his feat, Reed eyed him with interest as he smiled, "If anyone has to be thanked, it would be you. You saved many lives yesterday, including mine, and without showing so much as a shred of hesitation. You, Mr.

Tunt, are a hero, and you should be proud." Camille, although feeling internally proud, commented dryly, "Please do not encourage my son's suicidal tendencies, Mr. Richards." Reed's expression froze before a pang of guilt flashed as he hurriedly tried to explain, "N-no, Ms. Tunt, I did not mean-" Mason cut him off with a chuckle, "It's fine, she knows what you meant." Camille rolled her eyes before planting a kiss on Mason's forehead, saying, "I love you, stupid son."

Mason grinned, replying, "If only Elena shared some of your intellect with me. That greedy goblin took everything for herself." Camille shook her head with a rueful smile before turning to Reed, speaking with an even yet commanding tone, one that had been developed over years of being in charge, "I want him home tonight." Reed nodded sheepishly, stepping aside as she walked out. Once he was sure she was out of earshot, Mason decided to comfort the man, "Don't worry, she's like that with everyone."

"Oh no, she certainly is an impressive woman. Stayed here all night. Your sisters and your father stayed for most of the night too. Some others tried to come see you, claiming to be your friends, but we doubted you have hundreds of friends wanting to see you."

"What do you mean? Do you have a problem with me? You don't think I can have friends?" Reed once more immediately got flustered, missing the teasing tone in Mason's voice as he apologized, "No, of course not! I just meant that-""I'm fucking with you; of course those weren't friends. Thank you again. Although, I do have to ask; what happened after I fell unconscious?" Reed looked taken aback at first, before sighing, sounding exasperated as he muttered, "Am I that easy to tease?"

Seeing Mason did not dignify him with a response, Reed pinched the bridge of his nose and answered, "You did not miss much; Victor knows when he is defeated. He returned to Latveria, while the Hulk disappeared." Mason nodded, having expected as much. Meanwhile, seeing he had nothing to say to that, Reed added in a more careful voice, "I understand you came to us to be tested? By your friend, Miss Tiles?"

"That's right. I assume you ran your own tests while I was unconscious." Reed nodded frankly, though he still assured him, "Only the strict minimum required, though with hindsight, you might have been able to heal just fine on your own."

"Still, thank you. And if you were about to ask, yes, you can review what Alice found. If she agrees to it, of course. I trust you would be above stealing her research, so it's fine to me." Reed looked at him with curiosity as he asked, "I already spoke with Miss Stiles, who assured me you had already agreed, but I had to ask myself. If I may ask though, why would you be so willing to be analyzed? When I got my own powers, I certainly was not comfortable with anyone else analyzing me. I'm still not, to be honest."

Mason shrugged, crossing his legs in a lotus position as he replied, "There are several reasons, really. First, I know my own limits; I'm not some super genius; the readings of my situation would be spotty at best, if not incorrect."

"I'm not a super genius."

"Second, from what I understood, your powers were acquired accidentally. They were unpredictable products of chance. Mine are the result of training. It's like… your intelligence. Would you feel the same reluctance allowing people to test your mind as you would your powers?" Reed scratched his chin thoughtfully, "I would not be necessarily comfortable with it, but I think I understand your point. I must admit that from a personal standpoint, your case is fascinating.

The sheer amount of energy your body is producing, you may be able to power an ordinary house all by yourself. And I believe you said anyone could learn to achieve this?"

"In the same way anyone could build that portal that sent you to the place that gave you your powers." Reed looked interested, and after a moment, looked at his crossed legs and asked, "Are you about to meditate? I believe meditation is deeply tied to internal alchemy." Mason nodded, inwardly noting Reed had done some research.

"Of the Three Treasures, the Spirit is the most elusive. Meditation allows one to get more in touch with their Spirit, and use it to direct the other two."

"Does that mean the Spirit is the strongest of the Three Treasures then?" Mason frowned, thinking about the question for a moment, before answering, "It's… hard to say. Technically, no, the Three Treasures form a unity within the body, and feed into each other. You could say that each has their strengths." Reed was about to ask another question, but Mason raised a hand to stop him, saying, "All things will come in due time.

I do need to meditate to accelerate my recovery, and you would be far more equipped to ask me questions once you have reviewed the data Alice found." Reed looked awkward as he gave an uneasy smile, quietly nodding and retreating, only now realizing he may have overstepped.