Chapter 184- Meditation or Gambling? (Patreon)

Meditation or Gambling

Chu sat crosslegged in the dark stone room which served as his bedroom in the tower, immersed in meditation. His breathing and diaphragm seem to follow a strange but steady rhythm in tune with the wordless movements of his lips. With his eyes closed, an aura of solitude flowed from him. The slight twitching of the eyebrows into a frown and the little beads of sweat accumulating on the forehead indicated he faced some level of hardships.

Currently, Chu focused on his true star field. Like a man standing on the shores of an open ocean, gazing out into the unknown, he glanced at the lone star in the sky. Under the steady chants of the scripture and breathing, he focused on the swirling ocean below. Slowly, the swirling mist above the ocean gradually formed a vertical needle. In the middle of the ocean swirl, it rose and pointed towards the heavens.

"Pierce!"

Chu muttered while willing the mana manifestation to move. Leaving behind a streak of gray light, it flew towards the heavens. A muffled sound shook the mind-world, as the needle shattered dispelling the gathered mana. A long sigh escaped his lips while he opened his eyes.

He had failed again.

"Why the heck can't this be as simple as cultivation from a stone or something. This method reeks of gambling, I work hours to accumulate the mana in that misty ocean through time-consuming meditation, only to form this rocket needle which constantly misses. With only one star in the sky, I can't even begin to triangulate a position. How the heck did I create that star anyway, that must have been some luck!"

Chu mumbled. Currently, he sat alone in the room in meditation as Ming had run out to vent his frustrations in the training field. A week had passed since mage Norivak left the academy, not for Frost City but for the Capital. Apparently, the old man discovered a secret so profound, it required a major discussion with the Archmage and the various heads of the Tower.

Chief Slovac had also traveled with him as they handed over the training for the new apprentices to another one of the senior mages journeying north.

"Think Chu, think! The Bai Feng of the modern world possesses so much knowledge. Don't tell me you cannot find something to relate to this? Look how easy it was for you to visualize that needle as a rocket piercing the sky. A normal apprentice takes months to comprehend the impossibility of touching the heavens but you did it. Find something man!"

Chu berated himself. He tried to form two needles one time during a previous meditation, only to pass out. When he came around, he found himself frothing on the stone floor. Afterward, he learned that quite a few mages turned senile from attempting such a feat. The fright restricted him since he feared and showed respect to this strange method which messed with the mind. Far as he knew, modern day technology had no cure for a ruined brain.

"Ah, you're awake Chu, I spent a great evening sparring in the field with the guards. Oh, I passed by Tye in the workshop, he wondered if you could visit them later. He said something about building another distillation tower or something?"

"Yea, I told him they could make the alcohol purer if he distilled it again. Anyway, why haven't you been practicing lately? Everyone has formed the first star except you. You have to try harder in meditation."

Chu replied while wiping his face with a washcloth.

"Chu, I try but meditation takes up too much time. I prefer to practice my fighting skills instead of wasting my time during the day. Besides, I still can't imagine being able to reach the heavens. Who could touch the heavens, huh?"

"So will you give up this chance?"

"No, I won't but I will only practice meditation at night, once it doesn't interfere with my training. You'll need a sword to protect you if you walk down that path."

Chu looked at Ming who displayed his serious face. Chu knew from the sight of the face that he couldn't force him.

"Anyways Chu, I did discover something amazing when I meditate. Did you know that you could form the shape of anything you remembered seeing? I have been creating a dancing sword, a wagon, even a running horse. That mana thing is flexible."

Chu shook his head. If a mage knew this idiot used secret meditations to play and have fun in the star field, they would undoubtedly kill him. But Ming did have a point. If he spent too much time focusing on becoming a mage, his fighting skills would deteriorate. Unlike a game which allowed for an all-round dual character, this was his life. He had to weight the balance between meditation and the progress he made during the time.

Since mage Norivak departed from the academy, Chu felt a greater number of eyes on him whenever he walked around the academy. No doubt, Chief Slovac, and mage Norivak did this to ensure his safety.

But what about after the meeting in the Captial?

Like the large clans in the Capital, Chu feared the Tower might risk heaven's wrath and decide to confine him. All in the efforts to milk him for more inventions. Since he found what he came for, it was time to retreat. The problem, however, lay in the fact that even if he departed, the Tower might decide to drag him back.

Even if he didn't provide this breakthrough for mage Norivak, Chu had already noticed the faces of the mages in the Tower. The Tower operated as a collective so if he was deemed important, then he could kiss his freedom goodbye. Being confined to a place filled with everything you wanted in this land might sound enticing but he had his own plans.

"Remember, as soon as Sue learns about the means to create spiritual pills, we will leave. I'll try to use some excuse about receiving a revelation leading me to the farm or something to deceive the remaining council members. Tell Sakura to concentrate on the Ancient Talismans."

"Ok, I'll have Amanda send a message out to Mr. Thomas. Sally and Brella have already left the academy on the guise of assisting Mrs. Thomas at the villa. We have one month until winter. Most of the ladies in the academy leave during this time to return to the cities. We can use it as a cover."

"Good thinking, but they will use the wide, stone-paved roads connecting the cities, not the backroad like us. Anyway, it can work. Good plan but begin your meditation."

***

The creature paused in the rocky valley, raising its head up high. To the absent spectator, it seemed as if it sniffed the air for a scent. Only this demon beast didn't possess a nose. The horrifying slits behind the blacken shoulders expanded and contracted while displaying the rotted looking flesh inside.

As if receiving a signal, the head lowered as the beast picked its way behind a large outcrop of boulders deposited from a treacherous mountain landslide. In the confined space behind the rocks, a hidden cave opened into the mountains. With a howl, the Bitzer entered soon followed single file by the large horde growling restless behind it.

The ravenous creatures ran through the pitch black caves and passageways lined with serrated rocks and jagged edges without receiving a wound. This path led directly into one of the numerous valleys of the North Pass, bypassing the large walls and battlements.

A disastrous outcome soon unfolded...

"By the Heavens! Retreat! Retreat!"

"Someone, send a message, a large pack of demon beast has broken through into the Pass."

A patrol of a dozen men with similar armor, shields, and swords found themselves ambushed by a pack of Bitzers. Before a guard could escape on a horse along the boulder-strewn road, a hidden Bitzer jumped off a rock from the side and tore open his throat. An arc of blood droplets colored the blue sky.

Ten miles away...

A party of adventurers sat around an open fire, filling their bowls with hot soup to allay the chill mountain air.

"So I hear the barmaid at the Comfort Tavern finally succumbed to the pressure. Little Jack has successfully wooed the girl!"

"Hahaha, Elder Ang is too straight forward. When we return, I hope to convince her to leave the Dusk Mage fort with me. The earnings from the Military for this gig will help us begin a new life."

A young man's neck turned red while replying to a bearded elder. The three swarthy men in the circle burst out in laughter at the innocence of the lad.

"Haha, little Jack plans to make this his first and last stint in the Pass? I don't blame you, it's better to settle down than to become like us old men, taking this job every year only to blow the money in the tavern."

"Elders have toiled in this job not for the money but for the defenseless commoners beyond the Pass. Mary and I have decided that we will always build a place for elders to retire..."

A scuffling noise and the sounds of falling scree stopped him in mid-speech.

"Ambush?!"

The bewildered words of the member on lookout duty barely escaped before a shrill scream echoed across the valley. The party near the fire had time to reach for their weapons when ten large shadows burst through the rocks and wooded thickets.

"By the North Pass, a Bitzer!"

"Use the wooden spears, nooo don't use a sword!"

The burly gray-bearded leader shouted. He could only watch in dismay as his warning came too late. The swift young adventurer struck down on the flank of the leading Bitzer. The cleaving blow drew blood as both adversaries paused and locked eyes. The Bitzer shifted as blood dripped from its left shoulder blade while sneering at the paralyzed boy. In a fluid action, it lunged at the defenseless boy holding the lowered sword like a statue and ripped open his throat.

"Jack, noooo! Damn you bastard I will take you with meee!"

"Brother An!"

Silence soon dwindled in the inhospitable valley, broken only by the sounds of cracking skulls...

***

Beyond the north mountains, a thin, bloodied figure stumbled among the loose scree. With bloodstained fingers pressing against a vicious wound at the side of the abdomen, the broken left arm hanging limply could only be ignored.

Pausing to scrutinize the rocky ground, the figure frowned and gazed before what could only be described as the result of a rock slide. Limping and squeezing inside, a hidden cave opened up along with a withered smell of a horde. The echo of a terrifying bellow from behind vibrated the air, causing the fine gravel to slide. Gritting a small mouth filled with pearl white teeth, the figure glanced at the mountains before hobbling into the darkness.

A couple of hours later a two-fingered claw reached behind the eight-foot-tall, heavy boulder and tossed it aside like a pebble while snorting...