43 Lily's Speech

"Alright, alright. " Lin Ke says calmly. "I'm sorry okay? Of course the great Lord Lily would not do anything to harm my growth."

Lily crosses her cat arms as she puffs out her chest in pride. "Hmph! Of course I wouldn't!"

"Soooo. Would you mind explaining to me how I'm supposed to practice?" Lin Ke asks, a little impatient to start.

"Alright then." LIly says. "Hang on… Do you also want your cultivation upgrade at the same time? It might help out with inscribing your runes."

"What's the next sub-realm again?" Lin Ke asks.

Lily looks at him disappointedly, "It's the Aperture Tempering Sub-realm, remember? Jeez, you have to remember these things."

"Yeah, my bad." Lin Ke apologizes. Then, he contemplates his choices. From what he could tell, it seems as if the Aperture Tempering Sub-realm could be beneficial to inscribing runes. However, he really didn't want to know the degree of pain that would be occurring this time.

Just as he thought that, Lily couldn't help herself, and interrupted his silly pandering.

"Lin Ke." She said seriously. "Look at me."

Lin Ke, a little surprised at her serious tone, looks up at Lily. Her brows were furrowed and her arms were crossed, but she didn't sound too happy.

"Lin Ke… Are you really going to back down because of a little pain? Really? I really don't want to say these things, and they aren't really what I'm best at saying but… your pain is nothing… This small bit of pain is nothing. Nothing compared the pain others might have gone through." Lily said in a slightly angered tone.

"Do you really think that this is pain? When you compare it to Lia, is this really pain? Either physically or mentally, do you really think this is dealing you more pain than Lia has had to endure in the past few days? Do you really think you have a RIGHT to speak of pain? She had been wounded so heavily by that dude from the upper realm but she didn't complain… NOT ONCE! She lost her entire family and her last surviving relative died in front of her eyes… SHE STILL TRIED TO BE STRONG." Lily was shouting at the end of it.

"Lin Ke, it's not that there's anything wrong with fearing pain. However… if you really want to help Lia… if you really want to help --, pain will be inevitable."

Lin Ke stares at Lily, a little lost for words. Lily's speech hit Lin Ke hard. 'She's right... ' Lin Ke thought. 'How is this considered pain? It only lasts for mere seconds, and I gain more power. What does Lia gain? Nothing… Nothing at all…'

Sighing, Lin Ke couldn't help but laugh at his own ignorance and uselessness. In the end, he wasn't even as brave as a girl a year younger than him. How pathetic… What would Lia think if she had heard this discussion? Would she think he was pathetic too?

Lin Ke felt nothing but disappointment for himself, that he would be so… so…

"Lin Ke." Lily interrupts. "Now's not the time to get all depressed at yourself. Now's the time for you to make a choice. Will you accept the pain, the troubles, the bumps on the road, and continue to improve? Or will you be stagnant, stuck in your peaceful painless bubble? You can still decide… I get that you come from a world where pain and suffering is a faraway issue to you, but this world is different. To climb to the top… Not only will you be faced with these issues, you might also have to make painful decisions."

Lin Ke clenches his fists and nods in agreement. "You're right Lily. I need to be stronger… I must get stronger! There's so much to explore in this world, it would be a shame if I died before it."

After validating his own resolve, Lin Ke takes a deep breath and looks at Lily. "Lily, give me the cultivation level up."

Lily looks at him closely, satisfied at his resolve. She nods and says, "Alright prepare yourself. Also, right after, you will be sent to a practice stage where you have all the time in the world to practice creating the perfect runes."

Lin Ke nods and before he knew it, his vision had already faded. This time, he tries to calm himself down as best as he can. The familiar words once again appear.

"Initiating Startup Process…"

Preparations Complete… Will Host please prepare himself.

Starting Countdown. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5…

3, 2, 1… Beginning Process.

Lin Ke, no matter how much he steeled himself for the impact, couldn't help but scream out in pain. This time, he felt as if his blood vessels were about to burst, as if someone doused them in a gallon of gasoline and lit it up with a flamethrower. He felt as if his insides were liquifying, as if his whole body was melting… melting… melting away....

Then, as quickly as it came, the pain disappeared. It disappeared quite suddenly, giving Lin Ke an intense feeling of relief and comfort. It felt as if someone had just doused the flames within his body with cold cool water, making him sigh in comfort.

When Lin Ke opened his eyes, what he saw made him quite a big shock.