Chapter 11 - Leaving

After hearing Rosalia's confession, Garner's determination to see his family grew even stronger.

In the aftermath of the incident at his home, Garner successfully broke through into the Warlord rank, unlocking a vast storage of essence within him. He also noticed that his body was automatically absorbing essence from the surroundings, gradually replenishing his reserves.

It was almost imperceptible, the tiny trickle of essence replenishing Garner's reserves on its own. Though minuscule, it was remarkably convenient for him. Back in his small bamboo house, Garner found himself observing and consolidating his newfound strength.

A bright idea sparked in his mind. What if he could enhance this automatic replenishment? Activating his "All-Seeing Eye," he noticed a few essence particles indeed entering him spontaneously.

He first observed how it functioned, examining his body and its limits. After studying it for a few minutes, he discerned something crucial.

Activating his skill once more, Garner observed a few white strings emerging from his body, pulling in the essence around him. With his willpower, he elongated the strings and added a few more.

Yet, the outcome remained unchanged. He still received the same amount of essence as before. Puzzled, he pondered once more. Was it not working?

Then, he noticed something else: the limit. Despite lengthening the strings, they still only reached two meters away from him, pulling in nearby essence.

A grin spread across Garner's face. "So, it lies with the limit, huh? Then, how about this?"

Changing the law once more, he expanded his limit from two meters to four meters, testing it first. And he was right; the amount of essence he received now had doubled.

He suddenly yelped with excitement and attempted to expand it from 4 meters to 10 meters, adding more strings. Now, the essence he automatically absorbed could be noticed more obviously. He was now receiving 200 essence per minute, but that didn't stop him. He expanded the limit once more from 10 meters to 30 meters and added even more strings than before. He smiled wildly, now receiving 600 essence per minute. He could now float in the air indefinitely!

Garner deactivated his skills and rushed out from his bamboo house, hurrying to find Teresa to test his theory.

Meanwhile, Teresa was meditating in her bamboo house when she heard a hurried knocking at her door.

"Who is it? Do you mind? I'm meditating!" she furiously called out.

"Teresa, it's me, Garner. I want to show you something! Hurry, it can't wait," Garner replied urgently from behind the door.

"Alrighty, coming," she got up and opened the door to see Garner smiling.

"What's up?" Garner asked with an excited expression.

"Nothing? I feel like you're even crazier than before," Teresa replied ironically.

Garner pouted, "Look closer," he said.

"Wait, you've broken through to Warlord now?!" Teresa was surprised; it had only been almost two years, and he was already a Warlord?

"And I changed the law of my automatic absorption. Now I am getting 600 essence per minute! Isn't it great?!" Garner was obviously excited.

"No way! You did? Can you do it with me too?" Teresa was now also excited.

"That's why I'm here!" Garner replied.

Currently, Teresa could automatically absorb 400 essence per minute. Garner was more efficient than her, even though she was of a higher rank.

"Let's go!" Garner flew and headed straight for the tallest mountain peak. Teresa also followed by leaping from tree to tree.

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Garner and Teresa found a spot and sat down. Garner activated his ability and observed Teresa's situation.

"It's the same as mine, but your limit is around 20 meters. I'll start now. Let me know if you feel anything odd," Garner stated.

"Got it," Teresa replied.

Garner changed the law of Teresa's limit to 30 meters and added a few more strings. He noticed that he was actually consuming more essence when doing it to Teresa than to himself. He continued and expanded the limit to 70 meters and added more strings again.

"Garner, are you alright? If it's too much, then stop," Teresa was worried because Garner was sweating more and looked a little pale.

But a sudden gush of essence halted her, and she began to concentrate and meditate. Her essence rose from 8,000 to 9,000 and still slowly climbing.

She then started to absorb essence manually and was now on the edge of a breakthrough. With a deep breath, a massive wave of aura exploded, a sign of Teresa's breakthrough into the Duke rank.

Garner stopped what he was doing after reaching 70 meters and noticed that Teresa's aura was climbing rapidly.

A beam of light drew from the clear sky, and Rosalia, who was staring at the mountain peak, smiled.

"Oh my God, Garner, your method made my breakthrough possible!" Teresa exclaimed, now a Duke and able to store at least 15,000 essence. Since Garner expanded her limit to 70, after the breakthrough, it was expanded once more to 90 meters. Now she could automatically absorb 1,800 essence per minute.

No Duke rank could have that replenishing skill. The limit they could have was 30-35 meters, and they could only replenish 600-650 essence per minute. This was unheard of before.

Teresa also noticed that a few specks of dirt from his body came out, making his clothes stink and dirty.

Garner, on the other hand, was breathing heavily. He didn't think that enhancing a general rank could be this consuming. Now that Teresa is a Duke, he can't do it anymore because it requires more essence, which he doesn't have right now.

The most special thing is not just Teresa but himself too. Warlords could only break through after reaching 5,000 essence to store, but Garner broke through, reaching 8,000 essence. This was unheard of before as well.

Garner was a miracle worker, making all impossibilities possible. He looked at Teresa and saw that she was consolidating her strength and replenishing her essence, so he took a chance to replenish as well.

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This was the last gift he was leaving for Teresa if he ever did not come back. Garner had already decided to look for her family in the heart of the kingdom. He had waited long enough; he could not wait any longer.

In the evening, after they returned to Rose Village, Garner started packing all his things and getting ready to leave when Teresa opened the door.

"What are you doing? Are you leaving?" Teresa was surprised.

"I have to go. I have waited long enough, and I have gained the strength to protect my family," Garner exclaimed seriously.

"Then I'll go with you!" Teresa was also determined. She was already wearing a backpack.

"I already knew you were leaving when you helped me with my breakthrough. The village is no longer enough for us to grow. We need to experience everything ourselves," Teresa said.

"Yes! The outside world is the perfect place for you both to gain experience and grow," Rosalia arrived as well.

She bid farewell and let the two go outside to train.