Chapter 37 - A Hunger For Knowledge

Jiran woke up to the unfamiliar sight of a thick, canvas roof rippling gently in the soft breeze. A sleeping roll he didn’t remember entering the night before fell down to his waist.

To his right a familiar sack from the seamstress lay open on the ground, its interior stuffed with new clothes.

Seamstress. Clothes. Lenton.

Jiran shuddered at the invasive mental image of the old woman’s taunting laughter while she wrapped her arms around Lenton.

Noooo! That is not the mental image I want to wake up to!

Jiran leaped out of his roll and threw on the first outfit that appeared to match before heading for the tent flap. Just before he exited, a small dark shadow in the corner caught his attention. Upon looking closer he recognized the cube artifact and a happy smile spread across his face.

That’s where you got off to eh little buddy? Well, you and I have a date later, so you just wait right there for me. I’ll be back before you know it.

Beside the cube was a notebook he recognized from Samris’s study along with an inkwell and quill. Remembering his promise to Samris, Jiran took a moment to write down the few details he knew of his unique ability before exiting into the cool dawn.

At first glance, the campsite looked empty. The crackling fire drew Jiran’s attention and his eyes nearly passed over Lenton as the old man was sitting so still. A table crammed full of foodstuffs stood nearby.

A grumble from his stomach reminded him why he was out here in the first place and not already experimenting with the cube. Jiran scooped some oats into a cup and poured in a thumb full of boiling water. A dash of dried fruits topped off his meal.

Jiran shook his head when his eyes landed on Samris’s comfortable chair. He instead chose the tree stump that was likely Niya’s usual spot.

Lenton had yet to open his eyes. His face was a mask of serene relaxation. He sat so still, Jiran couldn’t even discern if he was breathing.

“The prodigal fool returns,” Lenton’s eyes were still closed, though Jiran could now see his chest rising and falling.

Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bedroll.

“I'm not sure I follow. Master Filibree.”

“I told you the plains were dangerous and you charged right through them. Who other than a fool would do such a thing? Perhaps next time someone is kind enough to warn you of danger, you will consider avoiding it entirely.

Oh. Oops.

“You’re right. Sorry, Master Filibree. Also, Thank you for dropping me off there,” Jiran said with slight embarrassment.

He tried to add that Lenton had saved his life but the words wouldn’t form.

Too close to the secret, I guess. So annoying.

I should just be thankful things worked out. I got a ton of benefits from going straight through but if there had been tier fives sprinkled in with the fours, I would have been absolutely screwed.

He’s right, I should try to be more careful.

Lenton’s breathing stilled and he once more seemed to sink into the background.

He usually teleports away as soon as he’s done speaking. This is my first chance to ask him some questions. What’s my most important question? I might only get one before he disappears.

Challenger density? I wish.

Even if I could talk about it and he warned me away from absorbing more of it, I would still do it. Now that I’ve stepped onto this path, I don’t want to get off until I know how far it can take me.

Jiran thought for a while about the most pressing question and ultimately decided it had to be the reason they were out here in the first place.

“What did I tell Niya that was so bad it could tear the empire apart?”

Lenton smiled as if Jiran had passed some secret test.

“The only way to take a true step forward in life is by correcting our problems one at a time. Choosing to resolve a weakness rather than chase after power is a path that will take you far.

“I’ll help you arrive at the answer you seek with a question. How do people normally activate their skills and techniques, Jiran?”

Jiran spent several minutes considering his childhood memories searching for clues. Not a single one surfaced where someone mentioned anything about activating a skill or technique outside of saying or thinking of its name.

“They say the name, aloud or in their head.”

“An astute observation,” Lenton replied in a dry tone.

“And how does that differ from what you taught Niya?” A single of Lenton’s eyebrows curled in Jiran’s direction.

“All I told her was how to bypass the automated version of the skill because it’s so much harder to use,” Jiran replied defensively.

How is that so bad? Using a better method is obvious!

Lenton sighed, disappointment clear in his expression.

“Your intelligence attribute should be high enough to recall her words clearly. What was the last thing she said, the clue that helped her succeed in your method?”

Jiran imagined himself back at the training field in the woods. He remembered the boar, cooking, absorbing densoon waves, and waiting for Niya to claim her mana for the first time.

Her exact words coalesced in his mind as if they were happening now and not a memory.

‘The density refused to cooperate until I remembered what you said; that it wasn’t supposed to be there. As soon as I pictured density being something unnatural that I wanted to take as my own, it all clicked into place.’

Okay, but what’s so empire-shattering about that? Obviously, density and mana don’t have a normal place in the building blocks of the universe…

Ohh, duh. How could anyone from Madra ever come to that conclusion? I’m the only one who thinks of this stuff as magic. To everyone else, it's just the way the world works.

Density is in everything, it’s everywhere, as far as anyone from this planet is concerned, density might as well be the hand of god that built and maintains this planet.

If I shouted from the rooftops that it was some kind of alien, mystical radiation rather than a natural part of the world itself, they would think me nothing but a madman. Until they tried my method and it worked to the extent of instantly gaining twenty levels in the molding skill.

Then the Church of the Voice would probably assassinate me as the heretic that I am. The information would already be out there though, and it would ripple through society causing untold damage.

Well, shit.

“I see you have arrived at a conclusion.

“My turn. Where do the unique abilities derive their considerable power if they have no basis within the tiers? If they are independent of density and mana then how do they interact with us?” Lenton’s face was suddenly deadly serious.

“Uh, I have no idea?” Jiran replied hesitantly.

“What do you think this is, Jiran? Are you the only one who gets to learn? Why should I teach you if you have nothing to teach me?”

“A lesson taught is a lesson learned?” Jiran quipped hopefully.

“I’ve been teaching since before your great grandparents were a twinkle in their parent's eyes. I’ve little left to gain from teaching another.” Lenton shook his head with a look of pity in his eyes.

“When you can answer some of my questions, I’ll gladly tell you anything you want to know. Until then, figure things out for yourself. Above all, you must learn to think, reason, and solve.

“Then one day, we can discover the unknown together. I’ve no use for a drone who only knows how to absorb information spoon-fed to them through a textbook.”

Lenton sighed and looked up at the first fibers of red light filtering across the clouds.

“Jiran, you’ve done remarkably well for yourself in an incredibly short amount of time. Already your accomplishments exceed some of the most vaunted academics in the empire. If I let you continue to forge ahead on your own, who knows what you’ll discover next.

Oh, if only you knew.

“Yet there must be reciprocity between us. I have learned from you. So, I’ll answer two more questions.

“Better make them count,” Lenton threatened.

Stingy! Whatever, I’ll take what I can get. What to ask?

Jiran almost asked if he could save the questions for later but realized his mistake just as he opened his mouth to ask. He slammed his lips together around a spoonful of oatmeal instead.

What exactly is regular density? What about mana? Where do the status screens come from? What’s the best way to level and evolve techniques? Why are the seasons so long? Why does a mental image of molecular structure make techniques so much more powerful?

Two dozen more questions ran through his mind in a flash before he stopped to really think about what were the most important things right now.

What would be the most beneficial and increase my power the most?

Gaining attributes? No, I’ve already figured out a way to do that which is impossibly fast.

Mental imagery? A clear mental image of mana and density would probably drastically increase the potency of all my techniques and abilities.

“What exactly is density?” Jiran finally asked.

“How disappointing," Lenton shook his head.

“A week ago, I thought density was a natural force that is necessary for the survival of all living things as well as Madra herself. Now I’m not even sure about that! So how in the twenty-seven layers of the inferno do you think I know the true nature of density?!”

“Did I not ask you the very same question the day we first met? If I knew, I wouldn’t have asked!”

“Think harder about your last question, who knows when you’ll get another,” Lenton suddenly rose into the air and vanished leaving Jiran’s second question to die on his lips.

Jiran sullenly finished his breakfast and relieved himself before returning to his tent. He grabbed the cube and returned to the fireplace to practice.

He started where he last left off. With a stable flame from his hand that warmed the cube, it immediately began to float and its red mechanisms unwound enough to reveal the first inner layer.

Most of the red filaments were restricted by parts of different colors. After slowly spinning the cube he decided that blue would be the next most optimal color.

If red is fire, then blue would be water or ice. I’ll try ice first.

Jiran switched his flame to the skill so it would continue to burn automatically. He then covered his other hand in a warmth Coating to protect it from the cold and immediately his mana destabilized.

What just happened?

He tried again, slowly and with methodical precision.

A coating to protect my left hand. A small flame. A coating to protect my right hand. Another failure?

The same result manifested each time. The moment he tried to add a third effect, the first two destabilized.

I can only use two techniques at once? Okay, I can work with that.

Jiran used a coating on each hand and then activated a flame manually. With a deep breath, Jiran split his focus between fire on one hand and ice on the other.

His brain spun with the conflicting mental images of molecules slowing for ice and speeding for fire.

Closing his eyes, he envisioned a partition in the vastness of space. On one side a vast, icy desert froze all life in an endless blizzard. On the other side, an inferno raged like the surface of a sun.

After multiple failures, he finally felt the two techniques stabilize. He opened his eyes and blinked away the sweat that entered them.

https://imgur.com/Ztw1CGY

A full third of the outer layer of the cube had peeled away to reveal even more of its inner workings. Red and blue cables deeper inside struggled against the two remaining colors of gold and green, seeking a freedom of movement that was denied them still.

I can barely maintain these two. How the hell am I going to do two more?

A blink revealed a series of flashing gold messages that refused to be ignored any longer.

Shaping + 6

Coating + 2

True Origin of Fire + 2

True Origin of Ice + 1

That’s it! Coating is level forty-eight and shaping is forty-two. Just a little more with both of them and I’ll unlock subskills. Wait, coating is a technique, not a skill. Do they unlock sub-techniques then?

Jiran looked at the cube’s two colors he hadn’t experimented with at all. A new hunger burned in his eyes.