His World

P.O.V. Aadi 

Waking on a familiar bright green couch I see my plant which I had left in my room this morning due to working out and sparring, sitting on the table to my left. Glaring at it I connect with it and send my dissatisfaction of it across the link, feeling it's confusion as well as wish to make up for whatever it had done wrong I send a picture of the earlier events.

Feeling it's frustration I know something must have happened that I don't know of, sending my confusion over I wait to see what it does but no response when a cough comes from the couch beside me on my right.

Lucien is sitting their in the same Joggers and sweatshirt from earlier with his shoes taken off at the foot of his ugly brown couch.

Seeing him I feel the nervousness from earlier return, though not to the same amount I know that him telling me means that he most likely wants to talk about my world.

As if to prove the thought right Lucien says, "I know this will make you uncomfortable but we need to talk about your world, I need to know the difference and help you know how to cover it up in front of others." 

The reason is understandable, especially after earlier where I showed just how different our worlds are from each other in terms of fighting.

"I also need to know if their is any way for your world to find and track you as it could spell trouble for my own if that is the case, if so I will try and find a way to prevent them from back tracking you." Lucien continues. And although it saddens me to think he would potentially block my only way home it is understandable to prevent it as he would not want a potential invasion of his world.

Taking the clipboard and pen he handed me I explain my worlds history and what had happened these last 15 years on my planet.

"Fifteen years ago my world didn't have mystical energy or dungeons, it was a normal advanced technologically inclined society. That changed fifteen years ago when the first tunnels began to appear and drag anyone and thing into them a year passed and we were able to barely deal with the disaster when an even worse one came. Your world calls them dungeons most likely cause they are underground and monsters are trapped within, the same is untrue in my world. We call them tunnels because just like we can enter them the things inside can also get out. If a dungeon goes to long without being cleared the things inside are spewed out forcefully into my world and often wreck havoc by the end of the second year humanity lives completely in enclosed cities in areas with as little energy as possible to decrease the amount of tunnels that appear. My country went from over 1,279.3 million people to a little over 12.793 million and only ten cities that people can live in without monsters existing at every turn." I can feel myself shaking as I remember the pictures shown of the events that happened back then.

"It was also when tunnels appeared that people began to awaken the energy in their body, and I do mean body not mind as the cultivation style of my people requires one to condense an energy core at the dantian area, most only succeed when they are fifteen though some can do it slightly sooner it is often hard to do so. It was also then that what we called The Trials showed up and began pulling all awakened in to undergo basic training on how to handle their new found energy. But the other animals and creature in my world also began to awaken and like the monsters from the tunnels they attacked humans indiscriminately another reason for the walls." Taking a deep breath I try and calm my shaking to keep my writing as legible as possible.

"Along side the energy that awakens people came what you call impurities and we call corruption, it was rampant and their is little that can be done in my world were most of us do not awaken mental energy like you do, mental energy I have discovered acts as a neutralist to corruption and will expunge it from your body if  powerful enough." I look at him to see his reaction to this part and can see the look of curiosity on his face at such a fact, clearly having not known this.

  "Scientist learned that by absorbing energy from monster cores the amount of corruption that enters the person is drastically lowered and that even before you awaken you can absorb it to increase awakening chances." Remembering my siblings complaining about having to practice I feel tears enter my eyes, wiping my face I ignore them and continue on, it is best to get this over with.

"At fifteen all kids will enter The Trials as they are able to condense a core and control the energy at that point. Guilds showed up to take control of newly awakened and to help deal with the problem caused by corruption, although we can cleanse some out the medicine is hard to make and requires specific items to make so it is expensive and only hunters who enter tunnels and kill monsters can afford it while the rest of us can only cultivate till almost covered and stop as no one wants to die to self implosion caused by the blocking of veins." I look up and see the look of distaste on his face at this part, clearly he doesn't agree with the fact the government had made a life saving drug so expensive it is unaffordable by anyone but the rich and privileged.

  "Because many low potential people couldn't enter the dungeons without rapidly developing corruption the guilds came together and made a law that only those D-Grade and above can enter the dungeons for safety purposes while the government put into act a plan to increase population so as to start back up old industrial lines by offering a basic accommodations and food for those in the household with kids under fifteen. They also put into law that abandoning any child to orphanage would be seen as a forfeit of government aide and even if you had children in the future if you couldn't take care of them they would just get taken away the same would occur if identified to be neglected or abused." I can see a slight hint of both approval and distaste at this as he appears to realize that it is a type of protection for the children born to families that only do it to get aide.

"Kids are required to begin physical training after they gain the ability to run and martial arts practice at 5 when they start school, kids will be provided cores based off their potential until they turn fifteen, after fifteen you are required to pay to continue school or be strong enough to get a scholarship or sign a contract with the military to say you will work for them after school to continue. Most families have multiple children as the government offers preferential treatment to those that give birth to high potential healthy children." I can see his face tense as he realizes very quickly what that probably means for those with limited potentials in such households, they become nannies and servants in the house.

"You can start working small jobs in government run facilities at five, but am unable to touch the money until you are fifteen, either you or your parents." I sit the clipboard and pen down as I wait to see his response.

"Your world is definitely quite different then ours, with energy having only been in your world for a small period there is probably a lot you don't know about how it works and how to track someone across space using it." I can feel myself relax at that statement, clearly he viewed the chance of them tracking me at non existent. 

"What was your potential before entering the dungeon? It must be quite high with what you did." Lucien asks, I shift as I know it to be quiet the opposite.

"I had the lowest possible potential." Is all I say, watching him freeze as he realizes his mistake.

"From the sounds of it you use a drastically different type of cultivation than others, why?" Lucien asks. I pick the board back up and write.

"I had access to no energy or any energy item when I was pulled into the dungeon and if not for slimes being scared of water I would have been overcome by them before I could begin to properly cultivate. Anyway because I can't just absorb outside energy from the dungeon as I would be overwhelmed by corruption and have no cores on me I decided to experiment to see if I can't use the energy my own body makes to cultivate. I succeeded and prevented my death due to either corruption or slimes using the new energy in my body." I can see a hint of pity in his eyes as he realizes just how dire of a situation I was truly in. But the next question causes me to tense.

"How long were you in that Dungeon?" I feel tears fall once more and shaking from earlier return. 

"One year and Five months." Refusing to look at him I sit the board and pen back down and I grab my plant and just sit there as silence reins throughout the room.

P.O.V. Lucien 

Sitting the boy on the couch from the last time he was in this room I grab his plant and sit it next to him, while taking off my shoes and sitting to his right I wait for him to wake up.

He awakes an hour later and immediately notices his plant, I can feel him release mental energy at the plant. Waiting until he finished whatever he was doing I cough to get his attention, once the energy stops fluctuating.

Seeing the boy turn and look at me with nervousness in his eyes I know it will be a harder talk than earlier, ripping the bandage off I directly say, "I know this will make you uncomfortable but we need to talk about your world, I need to know the difference and help you know how to cover it up in front of others." 

Seeing the understanding on his face I continue, "I also need to know if their is any way for your world to find and track you as it could spell trouble for my own if that is the case, if so I will try and find a way to prevent them from back tracking you." 

I see a flash of hurt and sadness but also understanding, passing him a clipboard and pen to make this conversation go faster and to have a document of exactly what his world is like if I ever need it, and wait for him to start of his own accord while looking at him. He lifts the pen and starts writing, due to the angle I'm able to peer over his arm and read it as he writes.

"Fifteen years ago my world didn't have mystical energy or dungeons, it was a normal advanced technologically inclined society. That changed fifteen years ago when the first tunnels began to appear and drag anyone and thing into them a year passed and we were able to barely deal with the disaster when an even worse one came." This is already a drastic difference as energy has existed in our world for thousands of years but only a few in his, but I knew it would not be a pretty transition for his world due to the effects energy has on the environment.

"Your world calls them dungeons most likely cause they are underground and monsters are trapped within, the same is untrue in my world. We call them tunnels because just like we can enter them the things inside can also get out. If a dungeon goes to long without being cleared the things inside are spewed out forcefully into my world and often wreck havoc by the end of the second year humanity lives completely in enclosed cities in areas with as little energy as possible to decrease the amount of tunnels that appear." I tense as I read this, monster from the tunnels spewing out into my world just cause someone couldn't kill them fast enough.

The amount of dungeons that appear everyday is at least several thousand and for his world not accustomed to energy the death toll would have been horrific, not only that but it would take a long time to recover and get back to even a smidgeon of normal society after that, his world is probably still in a state of war.

"My country went from over 1,279.3 million people to a little over 12.793 million and only ten cities that people can live in without monsters existing at every turn." I see his hands shake as he wrote this and I understood that the death toll was far grander than I could have ever guessed, if it was just his country alone that suffered that much devastation then what of the others.

"It was also when tunnels appeared that people began to awaken the energy in their body, and I do mean body not mind as the cultivation style of my people requires one to condense an energy core at the dantian area, most only succeed when they are fifteen though some can do it slightly sooner it is often hard to do so." This is a big shock as it means an entirely different energy system and style as well as a very distinctive piece of evidence that most likely environment may effect ones ability to access ones mental energy. Although it had been theorized by researchers it was never able to prove it as no one would risk their child's future to experiment with it and most black scientist have no interest in that field.

The boy continues, "It was also then that what we called The Trials showed up and began pulling all awakened in to undergo basic training on how to handle their new found energy. But the other animals and creature in my world also began to awaken and like the monsters from the tunnels they attacked humans indiscriminately another reason for the walls." 

This is less shocking as something like both of those exists in our world, we call it the tower and awakened people can go to it to grow and experience different things with less threat to ones life than a dungeon. While creatures known as Daemons exist with heightened intelligence and are innately hostile to humans, although an alliance exists with them to keep the fighting minimalized their are still some skirmishes with them.

"Along side the energy that awakens people came what you call impurities and we call corruption, it was rampant and their is little that can be done in my world were most of us do not awaken mental energy like you do, mental energy I have discovered acts as a neutralist to corruption and will expunge it from your body if  powerful enough."

As me and Nilan had thought, they don't have a proper means to treat it but for it to be because of their lack of access to mental energy, or that mental energy had that trait at all surprised me. It made sense why it was no big problem for us and a big one for them if this is true, he is sure Nilan will find this fact extremely interesting as he was sure to start studying this after realizing this particular difference between his and our world.

"Scientist learned that by absorbing energy from monster cores the amount of corruption that enters the person is drastically lowered and that even before you awaken you can absorb it to increase awakening chances." The boy cries slightly while writing this clearly reminded of home by it. That was fascinating as we also use cores to cultivate but clearly they can only be used after accessing ones mental sphere and not before that.

"At fifteen all kids will enter The Trials as they are able to condense a core and control the energy at that point. Guilds showed up to take control of newly awakened and to help deal with the problem caused by corruption, although we can cleanse some out the medicine is hard to make and requires specific items to make so it is expensive and only hunters who enter tunnels and kill monsters can afford it while the rest of us can only cultivate till almost covered and stop as no one wants to die to self implosion caused by the blocking of veins." The boy looks at me intently after writing this.

I feel nothing but distaste as truly humans are humans, withholding a life saving drug so only the privileged can afford it and the less fortunate can only suffer, always like that no matter the world.

"Because many low potential people couldn't enter the dungeons without rapidly developing corruption the guilds came together and made a law that only those D-Grade and above can enter the dungeons for safety purposes while the government put into act a plan to increase population so as to start back up old industrial lines by offering a basic accommodations and food for those in the household with kids under fifteen." My hands tighten into fists as I can already see the horrible outcome for those children born only because of this law, neglected and thrown to the side now that their use was up.

"They also put into law that abandoning any child to orphanage would be seen as a forfeit of government aide and even if you had children in the future if you couldn't take care of them they would just get taken away the same would occur if identified to be neglected or abused." At least they weren't complete idiots and prevented the worst but he was sure as long as their is no physical evidence their will still be emotional miss treatment and little care actually given to the children.

"Kids are required to begin physical training after they gain the ability to run and martial arts practice at 5 when they start school, kids will be provided cores based off their potential until they turn fifteen, after fifteen you are required to pay to continue school or be strong enough to get a scholarship or sign a contract with the military to say you will work for them after school to continue."

As I had suspected they are still in full blown war time actions and increasing their soldier count as much as possible to deal with the situation, while starting those capable of working as soon as possible to make the most of them.

"Most families have multiple children as the government offers preferential treatment to those that give birth to high potential healthy children." I tighten my fist as I knew those with low potential were probably made to serve and take care of the other children while being given the least from their parents, treated little better then servants.

"You can start working small jobs in government run facilities at five, but am unable to touch the money until you are fifteen, either you or your parents." I tense and relax at this, at least the parents can't take the child's hard earned money even if they are to young to use it themselves responsibly.

"Your world is definitely quite different the ours, with energy having only been in your world for a small period there is probably a lot you don't know about how it works and how to track someone across space using it." I say, and watch him relax at my words that show I no longer view his world as a potential threat, and I don't they are to surrounded by enemy's and with limited numbers, add on being new to energy their is no way for them to come to our world.

"What was your potential before entering the dungeon? It must be quite high with what you did." I try and make him relax after a most definitely upsetting conversation, I appear to have said the wrong thing however as the boy shifts uncomfortably.

"I had the lowest possible potential." He had gotten better at saying things quiet quickly after yesterdays hang out, we had forced him to talk some, although only small word or phrases he could say them well at a decent enough pace to just seem overly careful of his words rather than slow witted.

I freeze as I realize my mistake, but another question itches at me, "From the sounds of it you use a drastically different type of cultivation than others, why?" He clearly changed cultivation style, but why if he had a pain free one before.

"I had access to no energy or any energy item when I was pulled into the dungeon and if not for slimes being scared of water I would have been overcome by them before I could begin to properly cultivate. Anyway because I can't just absorb outside energy from the dungeon as I would be overwhelmed by corruption and have no cores on me I decided to experiment to see if I can't use the energy my own body makes to cultivate. I succeeded and prevented my death due to either corruption or slimes using the new energy in my body." 

I feel pity go through me as the true danger and risks the boy had to take to be able to survive as he had, with limited options and no resources he gambled and was lucky the gamble paid off.

"How long were you in that Dungeon?" I know it is to soon to asks as the tears start to flow from the boys eyes and him begin to shake immediately after I ask.

"One year and Five months." I tense as I realize what he had just said, one year five months trapped alone in a monster infested place with an ever decreasing safe area, no wonder the boy collapsed as soon as we appeared and he knew he was most likely safe. He has been in non stop fear and danger for one year and five months, unable to properly rests.

The boy sits the board down immediately after writing that clearly done with the conversation, he grabs his plant and curls up around it on the left side of the couch. Silence reins in the room as their is nothing I can think of to make the situation better. Getting up I sit next to him and start rubbing his head, the boy begins to sob and then finally falls asleep, small sobs still escaping him even in sleep.

Putting the boy in bed I sit down in the rocking chair in his room as I contemplate how to go after this, the boy needs human interaction more than I had previously assumed going so long with only touch's meant to harm. Constantly fighting and with no communication the fact the boy came out even mentally stable as he is proves his mental strength more then the energy in his mind ever could.

Sighing I look at the Boy curled tightly under the blanket and think of buying him a pillow to hug to sleep.