Chapter 68
Core Progression
Dan stood chest heaving, skin crusted with rime, steam billowing off him.
The Qi seeping from the Guardian was unlike anything they had yet seen.
A thick, light blue haze.
Ghosts of crystalline structures lingering in the air.
They wasted no time.
Jimmy tugged on the beams of Moonlight, casting aside the cold.
The cloud grew darker.
He could feel the dim orbs of light orbit around his Seed
Dan grasped his cracked hands around all the Frost he could.
Beads of sweat crystalized.
Frostbite receded from his fingers.
He felt his Seed contract, shifting as frost took hold.
This left a cloud of mostly unaspected, roiling pale blue Qi for the rest of the party to grab.
With pathways full, they investigated the rest of the ‘Dungeon’.
They circled the spire, finding nothing but ice and their echoed steps.”
Just the Natural Treasure standing proudly in the center of the room.
“This feels like a one and done situation.” Jimmy spoke up, after spending a few minutes in close examination of the spire.
“Though it does emit its own Qi, I don't feel any kind of source supplying it. I think it formed from some event, and here it sits.”
“So what do we do with it?” Dan bent over with a furrowed brow, looking closer.
“I think you break it off and see what happens. If it collapses into Qi, absorb it. Form your Core.”
“If it stays together, we take it from there.” Jimmy thought out loud.
Dan glanced around.
Chris shrugged, throwing his arms in the air.
“Fuck it.”
It snapped with a weight infused kick, a few shards falling away.
Jimmy and Kim caught it before it could fall to the ground.
They all stared in silence at the five foot long glowing white crystal, waiting for something to happen..
A sharp crack filled the cold dense air.
From above them.
They looked up to see cracks start to crawl across the ceiling, the ice starting to mist away.
“Jimmy, grab any pieces! Everyone else, GO,GO,GO!”
Dan snatched the dense freezing shard, throwing it over his shoulder, and started herding everyone towards the exit.
Luna, already there, barked encouragement at the slow clumsy humans.
The icy, crumbling rock did them no favors.
They stumbled, slid, and scrambled out of the exit.
Cracks thundered above them, frost filled the air.
“Keep going!” Dan yelled, as they burst from the Dungeon mouth, snow filled air chasing them.
When, gasping and shaking, they finally made the perceived safety of the tree line, they looked back.
They waited.
And watched…
It took about another six minutes for the cave to collapse on itself, blowing out a small puff of snow.
“Huh. Guess it wasn't that dramatic.” Dan scratched his stubbly bald head.
"All right then,” Dan clapped his hands, “let's head out…”
They made it back to camp in a Qi fueled haze.
The powerlifter sat on his usual stump, treasure across his knees.
“Any suggestions, Jimbo?”
He leaned his unstrung bow against the rock beside him and sat down with a tired sigh,
“Who knows man? Your guess is as good as mine… The right way?”
Dan laughed and scratched his beard, frost flakes falling.
“Yeah I know.. we will figure this shit out. Wish me luck.”
He closed his eyes, and let out a long breath.
Reaching out with his Domain was a challenge.
It felt like an overworked muscle, just waiting to cramp.
He felt his head and Seed throb in tandem.
But reach out, he did.
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It just feels right.
The waves of power pulsed out from it.
Encompassed in his Domain, he could feel every bit of energy. Every bit of structure.
He didn't think, he just did.
He flexed with his considerable will.
The crystal held firm.
His mind flashed– family, laying still, frozen in the bottom of that cave.
“NO.”
The treasure shattered with a tinkling chime, the glittering shards of crystal falling.
They broke down to a haze, pulling forcibly in.
Frozen lava flowed through his pathways, reaching his tiny, dense Seed.
It expanded, and a white frost bloomed across it.
Any and all movement slowed to a stop, cracks growing through it click by click.
With a jarring, painful snap, it shattered.
The heavy chunks blew out, turning into a storm of icy comets.
It swirled, reforming painfully under its own extreme weight.
Congratulations.
The Core of Heavy Frost formed
The Core of Heavy Frost was small and dense, colored a deep black with a hint of blue.
It was frozen solid, scars crisscrossing its surface.
It constantly cracked and shifted under its own weight, spewing out plumes of frost.
An active ice planet.
He could use the Qi it jetted out, or if not, the gravity of the Core pulled it back to the surface.
It settled, fusing and closing the fissures.
On the cycle repeated.
It spun with a depth of weight he hadn't felt before, reaching, wanting to put a stop to everything.
His knees buckled under the weight, but he held firm — the Core demanded it.
The Bowman sat cross-legged, straight back, and eyes to the night sky.
As he heard the tingling of shattered crystal, he closed his eyes and all outside noise faded away.
He started his arduous process of aligning the light waves running through his channels.
Waves..
But light also acts as particles?
With a mental click he factored in lights’ wave-particle duality, and everything started to fall into place.
Of course.
It was so simple.
Superposition.
Fucking imbecile.
The ephemeral moonlight practically teleported into Jimmy's perfectly ordered Seed.
The softly glowing white ball rippled, and softly broke apart into a million pinpricks of light.
They swarmed, ordering themselves into a sea of stars.
They twisted in complex geometric orbits.
Beautiful…
Congratulations.
The Core of Elusive Light formed.
The sea of stars spun faster, orbits tightening, light bending.
Elusive, untouchable.
Kim's Slowly Turning Whirlpool churned.
She could feel it expanding her reserves.
It feels like I'm holding a whole swimming pool..
She could also tell it wouldn't be enough.
The Water Qi reservoir she had been cultivating gave her a massive boost across the board. But it still was a low tier natural treasure, and she had reached the end of her returns from it.
97 percent.. So close..
Kim’s eyes flicked to Dan and Jimmy, envy and pride warring on her face.
Unfortunately, the rest of the group slowly came to the same conclusion as Kim.
Chris’ Ever Increasing Burn sputtered out, leaving him at 92 percent.
“Are you kidding me? It must take longer when you are more powerful..”
George chuckled at his son and shook his head.
His Cycle of Regeneration left him at 86.
“Hmm.”
Annette and Jaime finished at 76 and 68 respectively.
“I'm just over halfway there Mom!” Belles’ eyes sparked with excitement.
“Good job sweetie! See? We will be alright.”
Annette and Jaime’s gazes met, both tight with worry.
Jimmy and Dan exchanged a look — two new Cores, the rest still climbing.
The night was quiet.
The real work was just beginning.
