Chapter 72

  Et Tu, Jimmy?

  The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and there was barely a cloud in the sky.

  Truly, a beautiful morning in the Tutorial.

  So naturally the rest of the group was awoken by Dan and Jimmy quietly arguing.

  “I know my knight was there,”

  Dan pulled with his weight to slightly distort a square of the illusionary chess board.

  “You are mistaken, sir.”

  The knight piece in question started pulsing in time with little spotlights that appeared to shine down on it.

  “Real cute. But I KNOW, that-”

  “Oh, let off of it Dan. He wouldn't cheat you.”

  Kim spoke up in his defense as she approached the pair.

  She turned her curious look to Jimmy, “Since when can you make board games?”

  “Yeah, sure... Since last night, I can simulate pretty much any game we want.”

  “Woah, wait a minute, that ‘Yeah, sure’ didn't sound so convincing to me.”

  The Bearded man squinted at his bespeckled counterpart.

  “Baseless accusations.”

  Jimmy occupied himself by removing a pesky smudge from his glasses.

  “He definitely cheated!”

  You could hear Chris call from his spot by the burning coals, still processing the whirlwind of his loss.

  “Can we play Catan?” Belle spoke up, her hopeful face swung back and forth.

  “Oh, here we go,” Chris could barely contain his frustration, his palms grinding into his eyes.

  “He’s definitely going to cheat in Catan!”

  “Leave it alone already.”

  Jaime skipped over and grabbed Dan in a side hug, “We have better things to do than play games anyhow.”

  “Disagree,” Dan stood still, staring at the now dancing knight piece, hands on hips.

  He appeared deeply disturbed.

  The knight danced faster.

  She stretched onto her tip toes to give the statue that was Dan a peck on the cheek.

  “So what are our plans now?”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Well, the next step should be to look for more natural treasures, possibly Nexus Dungeons. The raw Qi, and any Affinities it may hold, could propel us forward.”

  Jimmy turned, pointedly ignoring the tank.

  “You all need to finish your Cores.”

  Kim’s eyes sparkled,

  “I won't argue with that, I may range around camp for some Qi. Just a tiny bit will put me over the edge.”

  She squatted down, squeezing Luna’s head between her hands.

  “I'm so excited!”

  Luna whined and wagged her tail.

  “I’ll go with you. I need all the heat I can get.”

  Chris was a little melancholy being behind.

  “I still have to think about the fight. I learned so much about my Aura from it.”

  Jaime chimed in, still hugging the immobile Dan.

  “Same here darling. We should talk about it.”

  Annette was balancing an impressively tall column or rounded stones, not shifting at all in the breeze.

  George grunted in agreement.

  “Now that you all are up, I'm going to go scout deeper into these mountains and look for a cave or some indicator of a source of power.”

  Jimmy’s gaze swept the surrounding peaks, the chess set slowly breaking apart and fading from reality.

  It seemed like the knight took just a tad longer to disappear.

  “Also: Loot.”

  Luna whined, head nervously twitching.

  Kim’s head snapped to the mouth of the grotto, thick curly hair whipping in the air.

  Jimmy’s gaze was right behind hers, as they felt a pulse echo from inside the mountain.

  They cautiously approached, humidity thick in the air.

  The Water Qi… It is definitely richer.

  He stepped confidently into the damp cave, everything cast in a thin shade of blue.

  Kim stepped in beside him, her wide eyes turning to meet Jimmy’s.

  “It is considered a Nexus Dungeon now? What does this mean?”

  The air felt heavier, the pool's blue glow brighter, as if the mountain itself was waking up.

  A faint, deep thrum vibrated through the stone underfoot.

  Like the grotto is breathing.

  As water droplets hung in the air, Jimmy felt the ambient Qi rise.

  It felt cloying, the weight of it dragging at his shoulders.

  “...It means not only are we on the clock with beasts and other humans, but with the very world itself…”

  Shimmering waves of light played along Kim’s face, her fingers gliding along the surface.

  “It does seem more potent, but it feels like I've gained all that I could from this…”

  She slowly shook her head.

  “Will this draw things in from farther away?”

  She turned, looking at Jimmy, and stifled a chuckle.

  His glasses were completely fogged over.

  He did not appear to notice.

  Jimmy turned, leaving Kim staring into the cold pool.

  After gathering his bow, and a dagger from their stash of battered weapons, he topped off his canteen.

  He slipped out of the camp, heading northeast, looking for fortune.

  Steps hastened by a new urgency.

  Kim and Chris grabbed their spears and some throwing sticks, and headed south east to the nearest edge of the forest, looking for any Qi rich targets.

  Luna dutifully followed, arming herself with her favorite stick, head proudly held high.

  Baldy stood, his bearded chin rested in his right hand, face scrunched in thought over the newest developments.

  “I’ll just have to find a way to prove it…”

  He stared through space, where the board was just mere moments ago.

  The moisture in the air condensed under his flexed Domain, tiny droplets dappling the surrounding rock.

  “...This atrocity will not stand.”