Touch

As requested, one morning, two white-clothed cultivators appeared before the entry of the common building. They knocked to notify them of their presence, which took the disciple by surprise. First, their suspicion of it being a trap made them cautious, but they eventually opened the door when seeing that these people wore the sect's uniform. One of the cultivators bowed.

-'Greetings. We are in charge of delivering these two low-grade cultivation sets to you.'

He moved away to let them see a small chest placed on the ground.

-'You may use them as you wish. Goodbye.'

And they took off without waiting for an answer.

The disciples took a moment to pull themselves together, and then interested themselfs in what their visitor had left. The inside of the chest was separated in two by a thin partition wall. On each side were five pills and one ceramic bottle.

-'Should we give it a try?' Moss asked.

-'Definitely.'

Upon consuming those pills and elixirs, both of them felt a burning power rise inside their bodies. Lauren immediately started to meditate but Moss could not, and somehow felt like an idiot. Still, he noticed an improvement in his common body sensations while he helped the sister to train with her technique.

On that night, his focus ability considerably increased as well. This improvement was welcome, as it was his first attempt at the dark state cultivation of his art.

Regarding this new exercise, everything was reversed. He had previously been summoned to feel the light filling him, but he was now expected to feel the attraction of the darkness. After more than five hours of concentration, he did notice a strange gravity emanating from the shadows, particularly the one on the moon, and focused on it.

His body felt different in the morning as well. It was hard to describe. Like being more balanced, yet more conflicted. He could now sense two powers coexist inside him.

But there was more to come.

At the same hour as the day before, someone knocked. Would there always be someone at their door at sunrise now? This was becoming a habit. After making sure that this was not a trick of potential enemies, they cautiously opened to a young man dressed in dark grey. His features were common, his hair black and short.

-'Greetings. I am senior disciple Elehago, and I have been supervising you since the first night of your trial. We are not allowed to talk a lot so I will be straightforward. There is, at the top of this tree behind me, ...' He pointed at an incongruous tree that had never been there before. '... two high-grade cultivation sets. Their effects are fifty times stronger than the low-grade ones you were given yesterday. Needless to say, they are very useful. The sect will not give them to you like last time, however. You may have them only if you manage to win at a game against me. The game may change each day and you will be allowed to play until you leave this place. No more after that. I will add that consuming the content of this chest almost guarentees your ability to cross the stairs smoothly.'

Their eyes widened.

Elehago did not feel great, giving them hope like this. These high-grade sets were, in fact, his additional payment for the job. Should the disciples leave without winning once, he would be free to have them.

-'As for the rules of the day: touch me once and you win.'

The disciples looked at each other, then at the chest entangled in this weird tree twigging. It was ornamented with brass, copper and was artistically carved as well.

-'Will you fight back?' Moss asked.

-'Not today.'

-'Then we can give it a shot after this sister is done with her morning practice.'

-'Take your time, take your time.' Elehago waved at them. 'But one last thing. Brother Moss, for heaven's sake, do not use spiritual enhancers randomly... Only do so before meditating. That applies for you as well, little miss. You had me grinding my teeth with that since day one !'

Had he really been monitoring them? For the time being, they could only answer humbly.

-'Thank you for the advice, senior brother.'

Who could have blamed the sister to have trouble to focus after that? Eventually, she got up impatiently.

-'I cannot concentrate! Let's give it a try.'

Moss inwardly sighed. Young people.

The brother was waiting for them close to the prize-tree. He smiled when they went out and made them sign to approach.

-'Come, little friends.'

They carefully walked near him while separating themselves to catch him in a vise. He did not try to move away. When the distance grew close enough, the disciples dashed as fast as they could... And only managed to grab thin air. The senior brother had dodged in a nonchalant spin. Not moving very fast, but the timing had been just right. They had a few more tries with similar results. After that, they ran after him for ten minutes. Always close but never catching up. The cultivator looked like he was taking a stroll. The disciples soon panted heavily and had to make a pause.

-'Senior brother !' Lauren complained. 'You are an expert. How are we supposed to match you?'

She expected no answer but one came back.

-'Maybe if you use your cultivation?'

Elehago faced them with his hands in his back, not looking too worried. The girl took some time to think about it. Her formal three mind seals skills were not developed yet but it was true that entering a state of meditation increased the quality of her movements. As for Moss, he could reflect light and see in the dark.

-'Brother Moss, can you try to blind him with light ?'

The interpellated startled.

-'That would not be very pleasant. Senior brother, is that fine with you?'

-'Go on.'

It was the sister's turn to sigh inwardly. This old man really was too polite. But Moss did a good job since he had been playing with his new skill on every occasion. A light spot immediately condensed on their senior's face, soon having him lift his hand. They both threw themselves at him without a warning, and at a notably higher speed.