Chương 77: Chapter 65 – Essence and Experience

Cade blinked at the System notification hovering in the corner of his vision. You have gained experience. The message lingered for a moment before he willed it away. Cade remained crouched where he was, still tasting the faint warmth left behind by the essence he had inhaled. The sensation had already begun to dissipate, leaving behind a gentle calm in his body. But the System message stuck in his mind. Cade sat back on his heels. Why did that give me experience?

Normally the System only awarded experience when he killed something. Monsters, beasts, the Lords of the Swamp—each kill had granted experience that slowly pushed him toward his next level. He hadn't killed the plant, Vorduun had. Cade frowned slightly. Unless… His mind began turning the idea over. The tortoise had burned the plant down and condensed its essence. Then Cade absorbed that essence into himself and the System had notified that he gained experience. Maybe the System doesn't actually care about the kill.

Cade's eyes narrowed slightly as the thought formed. Maybe it cares about the essence, the underlying foundation of reality. If essence was the fundamental energy of existence like Vorduun said, then it would make sense for the System to measure growth using that same energy. Cade's thoughts were interrupted by Vorduun's rumbling voice.

"How was your first experience purposefully absorbing essence?" Cade looked up at the ancient tortoise.

"Something unexpected happened," he admitted. Vorduun tilted his head slightly, his ember-lit eyes watching calmly.

"Would you be willing to help me run a few experiments?" A deep chuckle rumbled out of Vorduun's chest.

"You truly are like a hatchling," the tortoise said with amusement.

"You have tasted essence once and already you crave more." Cade gave a sheepish shrug.

"Something like that." Then his expression grew more thoughtful.

"The System told me I gained experience when I absorbed the essence you produced," he explained.

"I want to see if that happens again. I want to see if the amount of essence I absorb changes how much experience I get." Vorduun listened quietly. The ancient tortoise's gaze sharpened slightly at the mention of the System, but he didn't comment on it. Instead, he inclined his head.

"Very well." A faint smile touched the corner of his mouth.

"This experiment aligns with your training regardless." Cade grinned.

"Great." He stood up and brushed the dirt from his knees.

"Then could you find something with a little more essence this time?" Vorduun huffed softly.

"That will not be difficult." He turned and walked a short distance away before stopping beside a bush nearly half as tall as Cade. The plant spread outward in a dense cluster of thin branches, each one covered in small, glossy leaves and dozens of bright red berries that glistened in the light. In Cade's [Essence Sight], the bush looked very different. A single green strand of life-attuned essence ran along the central stem. It was thicker than the one he had seen in the previous plant, though not by much.

Smaller threads branched off the main line, extending outward through each of the bush's branches. But what really caught Cade's attention were the berries. In his normal sight they looked like nothing more than bright red fruit. But with his new skill he could see they were blazing. Each berry glowed with dense green life essence that far outshone the thin strands running through the stems. Cade leaned forward slightly.

"Wait," he said. Vorduun paused.

"Can you separate the essence after breaking it down?" The Duke glanced back at him.

"Clarify." Cade pointed toward the bush.

"The berries are packed with essence," he said.

"Way more than the stem and branches. Could you condense the essence from the berries separately from the rest of the plant?" Vorduun studied him for a moment.

"That level of manipulation is not meant for beginners," the ancient tortoise said.

"It would be more beneficial for you to observe the essence of the entire plant condensed at once. That is the next step you will eventually perform yourself."

"I get that, but could you humor me?" he asked, a faint grin spreading across his face. Vorduun huffed softly and after a moment, the Duke turned back toward the bush.

"Very well." White flames flickered to life between the corners of his jaws. Cade watched intently as the tortoise exhaled. The bush vanished inside a bloom of brilliant white fire. Through his essence sight Cade saw the plant's green strands engulfed by a swirling cloud of white. The life essence unraveled under the assault of Vorduun's flames, breaking apart into drifting clouds of pale light.

Some of the drifting essence gathered together in smaller clusters while other portions condensed into thicker, brighter masses. Cade watched as the essence from the stems and branches drifted into one group while the essence from the berries formed into another. In his normal vision, Cade saw two distinct masses of ash floating where the plant had stood. One was noticeably smaller and looser, the particles spreading thinly through the air.

The other cloud was larger and far denser, the ash packed tightly together as it hovered above the scorched ground. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Even without his new sight the difference was obvious. But through his [Essence Sight] the contrast was even more dramatic. The larger cloud shone far brighter.

The white particles within it glowed with a dense brilliance, each pinprick of condensed essence radiating far more strongly than those in the smaller cloud. Cade watched the two clouds carefully. So the amount of ash and the density correlates to the amount of essence within, he thought. The larger cloud clearly contained far more essence than the smaller one. Cade leaned forward and shoved his face into the smaller cloud first and inhaled deeply. The ash stirred and drifted toward him.

Tiny white pinpricks floated through the air and into his mouth as he breathed in. The moment the condensed essence touched him, the familiar warmth spread through his body. It was the same gentle sensation he had felt before. Another notification flickered into existence. You have gained experience. Cade leaned back slightly as he willed the notification closed. The warmth within him dissipated. Okay, he thought. So that wasn't a one-time thing. Absorbing essence definitely triggered the System.

But the experiment wasn't done yet. Cade turned toward the larger cloud. The dense mass of ash hovered patiently in the air beside him, the condensed essence within it shining brightly in his new sight. He leaned forward again and inhaled. This time the sensation was different. The warmth that entered his body was stronger. It spread through his chest and limbs with greater intensity, lingering longer as the essence integrated into him. Cade felt his muscles relax slightly.

The dull aches left behind by his fight with Brahm eased a little. Even the faint headache that had been nagging him since he deactivated [Hyperfocused Meditation] softened around the edges. The essence flowed through him before finally settling. Another System notification. You have gained experience. Cade frowned slightly. The message was identical to the first. No indication of how much experience he had gained. Just the same simple notification.

Then again, the System had never shown him hard numbers for experience before. But in the past it had said that he gained extra experience for killing a creature above his level. Was that just due to the difference in essence within something stronger than himself? He sat there for a moment, thinking. If the System was converting absorbed essence into experience, then the amount of essence should matter. The second cloud clearly contained more and it definitely felt different when he absorbed it.

But the System message didn't change. Either the System isn't showing the difference for some reason… … or I just don't have enough data yet. Cade exhaled slowly. There were too many unknown variables. He needed more information. More tests. More samples. Eventually he nodded to himself. I need more data points to make any conclusions. The warmth from the essence faded completely as his body finished integrating it.

Cade stood up, brushed the dirt from his hands, then he turned toward Vorduun and gave the ancient tortoise a short nod.

"I'm ready for another round." For the first time since they began training, Vorduun looked slightly surprised. Cade noticed the expression immediately.

"What?" he asked. The Duke studied him carefully.

"I did not expect you to absorb the essence so quickly." Cade blinked.

"Isn't that what you told me to do?"

"Yes," Vorduun said slowly.

"But that much essence would be difficult for our hatchlings to process." He gestured toward Cade with one claw.

"When I observe you with my sight, the essence enters your body and merges with your own as if it belongs there."

"That's… not normal?"

"Not for beginners." Vorduun's gaze sharpened slightly.

"Most hatchlings require time to force the essence to settle within their channels. You absorbed it effortlessly." Cade rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I wonder if that's the System." Vorduun did not interrupt, but his eyes sharpened with interest.

"The System gives me experience when I kill things," Cade explained.

"But I got the exact same notification when I absorbed the essence from those plants. So I'm starting to think the System might actually be converting essence into experience." Cade paused.

"Or maybe it's integrating the essence into my body and just calling it experience. I don't really know yet." Vorduun hummed thoughtfully.

"Hmm. That is… interesting. Tell me, what exactly is this System you speak of?" Cade shrugged.

"For all I know it's an all-powerful entity controlling everything." He began counting on his fingers.

"It shows me my stats. Tells me when I level up. Gives me skills. Assigns quests that seem designed to push me in certain directions." He paused suddenly.

"Wait." Cade looked up.

"You don't have the System?" Vorduun shook his head slowly.

"I possess a Record that categorizes and defines my cultivation but nothing as… advanced… as what you have described." Cade opened his mouth to ask another question but Vorduun raised a claw.

"That discussion can wait." The ancient tortoise gestured toward the jungle around them.

"For now we focus on your training. You need to continue absorbing essence. Your channels still require filling."

"What do you mean by filling my channels?" Vorduun regarded him calmly.

"Learning to control the flow of essence within the body is easiest when the channels are full," the ancient tortoise explained.

"Even with the essence you have already absorbed, yours are nearly empty." Cade instinctively glanced down at himself. With his new sight he could faintly see thin lines running through his own arms and torso—far dimmer and less defined than the brilliant network inside Vorduun's body. They looked almost fragile by comparison.

"So I just… fill them up?" Cade asked.

"In a sense." Vorduun shifted his weight slightly.

"If you possessed a Core, this process would be simple. You would draw essence from the Core and flood your channels with it. Then you would learn to guide and shape that flow." The Duke tapped Cade's torso lightly with one claw.

"But you do not yet possess a Core." Cade grimaced slightly.

"Right. I'm still working on that."

"So instead," Vorduun continued, "you must rely on external essence. By absorbing it and integrating it into yourself, you will slowly fill your channels." Cade frowned thoughtfully.

"And that helps me control it later?"

"Yes." The tortoise nodded.

"When the channels are full, you will feel the essence moving within you. From there I will teach you how to guide it. How to shape it. How to use it." Cade's curiosity flared immediately.

"What comes after that?" Vorduun's eyes glinted faintly.

"That is a lesson for another time." Cade sighed quietly. Part of him wanted to push further. To demand the whole roadmap right now. He wanted to know where this led and what he would eventually be capable of if he continued down the ash tortoise's path. But another part of him understood what the tortoise meant. None of that mattered if he couldn't even take the first step. He took a slow breath. One step at a time.

"You're right," he said aloud.

"I should just focus on absorbing essence for now." A faint smile tugged at the corner of Vorduun's mouth.

"Wise." The ancient tortoise looked around the clearing briefly before returning his gaze to Cade.

"I believe you are ready to absorb more than the paltry amount provided by these plants." Cade glanced around the jungle.

"Yeah," he said.

"Maybe you could burn down a whole patch around us. Condense it into one big cloud of essence for me to absorb?" Vorduun huffed quietly.

"You underestimate how little essence these plants contain. The life within them is faint. Even an entire patch would provide only a modest increase." The tortoise's eyes drifted toward the deeper jungle beyond the Ashen Front.

"Living creatures contain far greater and denser quantities of life essence." Cade followed his gaze.

"So you must hunt." Vorduun gestured toward the jungle behind them.

"Go into the swamp. Find a living creature. Kill it. Then bring the body back here." Cade frowned.

"And then?"

"I will strip the corpse of its essence," Vorduun said.

"And you will absorb it." Cade glanced into the jungle. The trees were thick and tangled beyond the Ashen Front, the undergrowth dense with life that had not yet been consumed by the advancing tortoises. He looked back at Vorduun.

"You're not coming with me?" The Duke shook his head slowly.

"If I did, you would find nothing." Cade blinked then he remembered the way animals had scattered earlier when the tortoises passed. That's right. If Vorduun came along, the entire jungle would empty itself before I got close. Cade sighed and rolled his shoulders.

"Alright." He turned toward the jungle they had come from.

"Guess I'm going hunting."