Augmented Aspects: Chapter 267 The Pool (Patreon)

Chapter 267

The Pool

Food.

Apparently the first thing I was going to take care of was food. Well not food for me, I fed nearly constantly on my own stream of mana in the form of Spirit Sustenance. Which seems odd considering I now know that more goes into my body than just mana, as I have both Qi and ephemeral energy, but for some reason mana is enough to stave off my hunger.

That is something that I think will need to come back to. It could be something as weak as that was the only form of energy the system seemed to know about at first, but that doesn’t seem to be the full answer.

I’m beginning to think that there are layers to this world. Layers that seem to work together for the most part, only to then separate later on. Take for instance mana, the world seems to be in balance with what mana is and mostly what it can do.

Mana is the gaseous form of energy that can be manipulated from outside the body, and occurs naturally in the world.

Qi by contrast begins in a body and then can be pushed out to the world. All living creatures have Qi, even spirits of once living creatures have Qi making this harder to determine. For if you just saw Qi in a given place, you might assume it is a naturally occurring phenomenon. It is, but only in the way death is a natural state of being after life. Thus it is clear that for areas where there is a lot of residual Qi, one could assume that a major battle of some kind took place in that area.

As for ephemeral energy it is a lot rarer and harder to determine. Ephemeral almost seems to be the realm of dreams, but not quite. There is a direct contact needed, but unlike mana or Qi, leaving a clump of ephemeral energy in one place will not cause the energy to dissipate.

All of this is to say that while casting both Blight Immobilizing and Purifying Cleansing Rain and Perfect Resurrection on the newest sample of species that Kujo brought proudly for Ms. Kujo, I was a bit distracted.

Well, I wasn’t the only one who was distracted.

The regressed boy whose name was Lansiter, or something like that, was terrified and found himself backing against the far wall of the multi-level complex we were in.

Penelope too looked shocked, but that was mainly due to the way she had all but been thrown out of her comfortable bed by the violent movements of a very hungry Ms. Kujo who had been stirred to life by the smell of living breathing creature of the Blighted Plains.

With so much food and action, I couldn’t warn her in time as I was focused on casting two spells simultaneously. Fortunately, my fourth Simulacrum was there to catch Penelope as she fell, then proceeded to princess carry the much larger woman away from the Kujos.

Oddly enough, I should have been frightened, given my proximity to both, but I didn’t. For whatever reason, I knew two things. First Ms. Kujo would not bite me, even if hunger ravaged her body for whatever reason. Second, if she did bite at me by mistake, I would easily defend myself and make it so her meals were not as fresh or fulfilling later on.

But again, most of this was based on my trust for the Kujos and the fact that for the most part we seemed to have a relatively good relationship going. Namely, I took care of, provided shelter for, and purified the food for the Kujos, while they ate and occasionally helped out where needed.

Crackle.

The odd sound of snapping bones could be heard, as Ms. Kujo hungrily tore into the carcass of the maximum level desert cow creature.

Only once the main monster was fully deceased, and being devoured by his partner did Mr. Kujo take the level 1 replica replacement of the same beast and carry it off to the local monster zoo area.

Still, being this close I could see a number of the changes I made to this lair come to life. Well to be fair, I didn’t make the changes, these were the fourth Simulacrum who acted how I would have acted while being forced to be here.

Namely, the Fourth Simulacrum went wild with Enchantments, even implementing Master Enchantments to take advantage of the situation.

What was the situation? Well simply put, my Simulacrum took the ides of what Professor Rahul De’Gravitas had implemented in his own workshop in Deolar, and enhanced it.

Before Professor De’Gravitas had set up an array to capture ambient energy and siphon it into two different collection points. Mana would thus go towards his upper layer where he would use the harvested mana to strengthen himself. While the accumulated Qi force from the once living, but now deceased Deolar spirits was put into what was effectively a giant grease trap that I then used to break through to a next layer of Qi Core development.

Based on guidance, and refining the processes created through our synching of minds, my Fourth Simulacrum was eventually able to produce this rejuvenation labyrinth for me, while I focused on other aspects. Which is great, as it means my Simulacrums that aren’t reading are also still producing results for me.

Thrum.

I can all but feel the enchantments spark to life the moment ambient blood, bone, and viscera particles land on the ground. Something that is to be expected from such large predators who are eating.

In this case, the Master Tier Enchantments are doing multiple things. First and probably most important part, they are cleaning up this place by removing excess blood, bone, fur, dust, and all other naturally occurring traces of dirt and converting them to energy. Energy that is then cleaned and processed into a newly created pool.

Obviously, the pool is not on the same level as the Kujos, as that would be a tripping hazard. So instead, the pool is built conveniently one floor below, again by my Simulacrum who used many forms of earth manipulation and master level etching before having it so the pool would be fed continuously by the ever-eating Kujos.

“Holy goodness, she is quite enthusiastic with her eating.” Penelope says, her voice trying to calm down, but clearly showing signs of distress.

Once again Penelope is holding up her glow stick, to see in the darkened room.

As she does, light shines on Ms. Kujo who just shifts her eyes slightly so that they aren’t blinded by the magical light, as she continues to dig into her food.

With Mr. Kujo gone the boy, something Lanbliter, just cowers even further back in fear.

Seeing that both Penelope and Lancaster are having troubles, I decide to use this last hour before my last and final class of the day, my assumed Legendary Bloodline Awakening class. Why we decided to host the class at the same 5PM slot is beyond me, but apparently that is what Mallory told everyone, now I just had to waste my afternoon until it was time.

Which was why, I decided to spend this last hour and change effectively.

“You got her?” I ask my fourth Simulacrum.

The Simulacrum who had just been smiling down watching over Ms. Kujo as she ate turned to me and just smiled, before giving me a thumbs up gesture.

That little gesture was all I needed.

“Come on, let me show you where I keep the pool.” I tell Penelope.

“You have a pool?” Penelope asked.

“Of course, what do I look like, one of those hobo pixies without a house that they are squatting in that has a self-made indoor swimming pool?” I ask.

“Umm, I don’t think that sounds as enticing as you originally thought.” Penelope stated.

“Ah probably, but you in?” I ask a bit of excitement filling my words.

There is a look of hesitation on Penelope’s face, as she apparently does not like the idea of using an indoor swimming pool. That or maybe the idea of squatting in a vacant building is beneath her?

“Well I’ll just leave you here in that case, then I’ll get you on my way back for class.” I state, letting her prefer to stay here.

“Wait, you aren’t taking me with you?” She asks.

“Not if you don’t want to come,” I reply.

“Oh, well, in that case, yes, please take me with you,” Penelope asked, apparently confused about why I would abandon her.

Though really, I think here she is probably the safest she can be. My Simulacrum, Ms. Kujo and yep, Mr. Kujo is now back, so she would be more than safe from any attacks. That was also assuming that any intruders found the entrance to this building. For the life of me, I still cannot find it, but honestly at this point I’m not looking too hard for an entrance. Mainly I just want ways to ensure I can keep others out, there are already enough freeloaders here with the Kujos, I could only imagine if people or monsters I didn’t like started appearing here.

“Wait, take me too,” Lanblister or whatever the boy’s name was pleaded as he began charging towards me.

Poof.

Only to suddenly see and then try to swerve around a Mr. Kujo who just appeared right in front of him.

“Ahh!” The boy cried out, before rolling twice on the floor and then crouching low just sprinted towards the two of us.

All the while both Kujos just stared at the odd kid charging forward.

“Yes, Callistro, we will not leave without you,” Penelope said.

“Callistro?” I asked, tasting the name and wondering why I thought it began with an ‘L’.

“Yeah, come on.” I say, already having hold of Penelope, but then reaching out a hand for the boy, Callistro, who had a stupid name.

I don’t need to touch the two of them, as I could easily Teleport the three of us such a short distance easily, but I want to make it appear like it is farther.

Also, the less others know about my Teleportation abilities, the better.

Poof.

We are down below in the wide-open area that surrounds the pool.

Even now, the glowing runes can be seen. At least that is how I see the world around me, as multiple complex and overlayed patterns of runes flare to life and extract, purify, and then amplify residual Qi fragments from the animals above and converts them to Qi that I can freely infuse into my body down here.

Glow.

As we approach, Penelope pulls out her glowing rod and illuminates the pool that is all but stirring with extra energy being added.

Splash.

Before I know it, I am already in and diving around.

Fortunately, all of my clothes are soul bound, meaning that any damage they sustain now will be healed by my mana later on. Meaning, I don’t even need to change as a means to protect my clothing.

Instead, I can just use this time to freely enjoy the warm waters around me.

Tingle.

As soon as I enter, I feel my body sensing the residual Qi energy in the pool water, as my body begins to pull in that same energy into myself.

Since my core is effectively my entire body now, thanks to my last Bloodline evolution, things are easier and harder. It is now much easier to pull in ambient Qi from the world around me, as my core is now set to the outer layer of my skin. Simultaneously it is tougher to gather enough Qi to be able to condense my core as my core is ten times the size that it was previously.

Still, I can feel the energy being pulled into my body, causing my whole being to thrum with unbridled energy.

“Is that blood?” The boy, Callisy something, cries out.

“Of course not,” I shoot back, coming up from below the waves as I let the warm water cascade down my face.

Horror.

“You sure, because it looks a lot like blood to me.” Penelope asks, more than a note of shock in her voice.

“I mean, it is probably the high iron content you are seeing,” I state.

At that Penelope and the boy both relax slightly.

“I mean, by the time the energy gets down here, all of the blood itself should be stripped away. With the only parts that remain being the residual motes of Qi.” I reply.

And like that, I see I gave one answer too many as it is clear that neither of the two will now join me. Not that I wanted the boy to join me, but Penelope probably could use all the physical help she could get, and the energy here is more than enough to help most form a first-tier core easily.

Thrum.

At that thought, I feel my whole body zinging and pulsing with energy. There is so much energy that it almost seems impossible for me to contain it all within myself.

Gravity.

That’s when I feel the force of gravity awaken within my body. Gravity is one of those odd forms of power that is hard for most people to mentally quantify. I too have a hard time imagining it, as it seems to be more pervasive than even mana. It is a force that is always present, even if one can conquer its effects for a moment gravity, like an overly eristic partner, will always make sure it has the last word.

Thus, it is little wonder that I end up using gravity and its unyielding force of smothering pressure to grab hold of all of the energy around me, and forcefully pull it in, while condensing it to a more stable state. Just as liquid nitrogen can be turned into a liquid, and then to a solid with enough force, pressure, and the appropriate temperatures are met, so too can Qi be condensed in one’s own body.

The process is a lot more intricate than I originally thought, particularly as I didn’t take into account just how messy two overgrown dire phase wolves were when it came to eating. Which of course meant that I had not real concept for how much residual Qi energy could be processed and collected by my various arrays, resulting in this.

While I was going through this, Penelope and the boy were not idle. They had taken a few steps away from the pool and were content to engage in conversations far away from the warm waters, but not close enough that they might touch the actively engaged wall runes.

“So do you think she will become some type of vampire pixie with this?” The boy pressed.

“God I hope not,” Penelope said.

“Me either, last thing I need is for more people to tell me I suck.” I reply, before almost missing a step in my cycling of energy.

I don’t even know how my one zinger will be interpreted, as I’m too focused on the immediate outcome here.

Finally, after a long time, I finally gain control over gravity. At least I think it is gravity, it almost feels like I’m holding my stomach in, you know the way you do to impress someone very attractive walking past you. This sensation of trying to squeeze gravity within my body is like that, but ten times tougher, as I have almost no clue what I am doing. Though to be fair, that has never stopped me in the past.

Instead, all I can do is focus on tensing all my muscles as tightly as possible in all ways around me, before realizing I can relax slightly in certain places.

Then as more time passes, I feel a strange sense of control over the newly condensed power within my body, as I realize that the condensed particles are not only pushing inward towards where a natural core would be, but are also holding themselves in place due to gravity from alternate directions.

The moment the energy stabilizes into a semi-permanent nearly liquid state, that is when I realize I have met the next stage of development, while also feeling the reward from the system letting me know that it acknowledges my accomplishment.

Hidden Quest Complete: Forming a Perfect Qi Body: You have advanced your cultivation base to include your entire body. Not only have you resolidified your previous gains, but you have experienced exponential growth of your previous benefits gained from your Qi reservoirs. Rewards: Tier V Perfect Qi Body, Experience…

Seeing the build up of energy, I immediately clench down on the revealing of further benefits. I was of course unable to stop the notification about the advancements from the Qi Body, but I did not want any further accidents to come out from this. Particularly as I could almost feel a lingering announcement waiting to happen.

“Oh!” I exclaim as I promptly pop out of the pool.

Poof.

Then once on the shore, I take a quick look at the details of my new Qi Body.

Tier V Perfect Qi Body: You have managed to create the Tier V Perfect Stage Qi Body and have begun your path in the realm of cultivation. Effects: Longevity VII, Body Improvement VII, Movement VII, Qi Reservoir Size VII, Qi Circulation VII, Combat Attacks VII, Aerial Combat VII.

Longevity: Your body has begun to slow down the effects of aging. You will now age at a rate of (N times 10%) slower.

Body Improvement: Your Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Attractiveness, Perception, and Willpower will all be increased at a rate of (N times 10%).

Movement: Your movement speed has been increased by a rate of (N times 10%).

Qi Reservoir Size: The size of your initial Qi Reservoirs is (N times 10%) larger than standard cultivators will experience.

Qi Circulation: The speed of your Qi Circulation will be (N times 10%) faster.

Note: All ratings are at (N times 10%), where N equals the current stage of your listed effect rating.

It seemed that while the number of related skills didn’t increase. A total of thirty percent increase per skill, not bad, but not exactly what I wanted. Particularly as now I would appear to be a child for at least two additional years after my eighteenth birthday, whenever that is.

“She’s back,” Penelope said, as she held up her hand and let her glowing light source linger over me. Though apparently I might not have looked quite right as both Penelope and the boy cringed at my sight.

“What?” I ask.

“You’ve got a little blood on your face,” Penelope said.

Cleanse.

A quick application of one of my favorite utility spells and boof, all excess pool residue is easily gone.

The moment it is gone Penelope relaxes slightly, but still looks concerned.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t eradicate it all, what I didn’t use is even now being recycled by the runes and readded back to the pool for later use.” I say, trying to reassure that the energy is not being destroyed, but rather converted. Well converted by mana to disparate energy particles, that are then sorted by size and complexity to be fed back here, to my own underground Qi pool.

“Um, I promise never to enter the faculty building again, so could I please be taken from here?” The boy pleads.

Hearing that, I realize that it is almost time for my last and final mid-term.

“Yeah, Penelope and I need to deliver a mid-term anyways.” I state.

“Thank you so thank…” the boy begins, but we are already Teleporting by the time he starts to thank us. “You, gahh…” he ends his comment with a hiss, as he begins to cover his eyes from the rays of the setting sun.

  “Now who’s the vampire.” I state, as I turn to enter the still destroyed school building used for holding so many students taking the Legendary Bloodline Awakening course.

“Final one, I’ve got this…” I say to myself.

Then just as I state the words, I already see the golden threads of fate weaving about me, as if my words somehow awakened them from their slumber.

“Oh, no…” was all I could say, as I realized I just tempted fate with my words.