The Ocean

  The kill squad arrived back at the ridge.

  Feet dragging but faces beaming.

  Dan, having just woken up from a nice nap, met them at the perimeter with a stiff but relieved nod.

  "We dropped six goblins," Kim said, slightly winded.

  "They looked pretty bad off. We think they were what was left of the camp."

  "And Luna's a beast," Chris added, dropping his spear and wincing as his sore muscles protested.

  "She CC’d two flankers before they even knew what hit them."

  Luna cried quietly, swishing her tail back and forth.

  Dan ruffled Luna's fur, acknowledging her effort with a smile.

  "Good work. Jimmy should be back soon. If he found something big, we need everyone at full strength."

  He glanced at Chris, eyeing him up and down.

  "Try to break through, then get some rest. Looks like you need it.”

  “Thanks, jackass.”

  Chris made his way to the low-burning coals, grabbing a piece of the Qi-infused wood.

  Maybe this could be the final accelerant.

  He settled in, cross-legged, and threw the wood onto the fire.

  A bright sparkling flame devoured the enriched wood.

  He drew only on that pure stream to feed his combustion.

  Sweat immediately broke out on his brow, his face twisting in effort.

  He pushed harder, hotter, faster.

  Steam hissed from his soaked-through shirt.

  He felt the familiar building pressure, the agonizing needling as the volatile heat searched for a release.

  The seed trembled, so close to ignition, but it kept slipping.

  Like trying to light a wet match in the wind.

  Come on, you stubborn bastard!

  Yet the seed held, refusing to yield to his sputtering will.

  The energy flow stalled, failing to reach the explosive compression required.

  Face twisting in pain, the flow backfired, burning and scorching his channels.

  He gasped, bloodshot eyes snapping open.

  I’m not gaining ground.

  His fist thumped into the log he sat on, small sparks bursting to life, and immediately dying.

  I am just burning myself out…

  With a growl of frustration, Chris stared through his screen, at the ashes.

  Ninety-two-fucking-percent.

  Lame…

  His hooded gaze flicked over to his big brother.

  I can't fall behind…

  Kim moved with determination to the quiet, clear pool.

  She knelt, looking past the mirror-like surface, to peer intently at the crystal below.

  The pool was a perfect match to her affinity.

  She took a long, steady breath, closing her eyes.

  Unlike Chris's violent burn, her process was one of patient accumulation.

  She channeled the aspected Qi from the Nexus directly into her pathways, joining and helping guide the flow of the goblins’ erratic power.

  The cultivation accelerated, drawing it all in.

  Her seed swelled, growing tighter and denser under the relentless pressure.

  She was moving past her established limits, pushing the boundaries of what she could contain.

  The pressure built to an agonizing point.

  With a profound, structural pop, the containment failed.

  An ocean of Water Qi exploded outward from the center of her being, consuming the delicate whirlpool she had been maintaining.

  The volume was immense, chaotic and roiling.

  The internal ocean broadened and deepened, settling into a giant spherical sea held in her center.

  It distended as it swirled, flattening out, water ripping into the cold depths.

  Wind whipped through the air around it, carrying a haze of droplets.

  Kim sat, her hair tossed on a swirling breeze.

  The grotto’s air grew thick and heavy.

  A prismatic mist clung to Kim’s skin, refracting the faint bioluminescence of her green-blue eyes into a fractured rainbow.

  She gasped, as exhaustion was replaced by the serene, immense power of the unrestrained ocean.

  She rose, her body feeling fluid and impossibly whole.

  Congratulations.

  The Core of Inexorable Flow formed.

  She stood at the edge of the pool, just feeling the flow of her new Core, playing with the Qi.

  The humidity built, water raining down from the ceiling.

  Luna eyed the falling rain, and slunk her way out of the grotto, head hung low.

  The ocean inside her moved like it had always been there, deep and calm.

  Every breath feels like drawing from an endless well.

  She waved her fingers, the air around them shimmering.

  Tiny droplets formed, and started falling like rain.

  She smiled.

  This is just the beginning.

  A couple of hours later, Kim was still marveling at the feeling of her new Core as she examined her new stat sheet.

  Chris was still sitting by the fire, mostly quietly, cursing any and everything.

  His head snapped up, when a low whistle cut through the high-mountain air.

  Jimmy flowed back into the camp with the same fluid grace he had used to leave, face grim.

  He gave a curt nod to Kim as she walked out of the cave, eyes still shining with the success of her breakthrough.

  "That is a good look for you, Kimbo," Jimmy said, his voice flat.

  He immediately unslung his bow and walked straight to Dan, ignoring Kim’s chuckle.

  Dan smiled at his approach, "YO! So what did-”

  “Think ‘Path to Power’ or ‘My Path’, something like that,” the annoyed Jimmy cut him off.

  Dan’s eyes widened from the sudden outburst, unfocusing after a small nod.

  Then nearly fell out of his head.

  Dan was dumbfounded.

  “…Talk to me goose…”

  “Yeah, I believe the ‘System’ just defines our ‘class’, so to speak.”

  Jimmy glared up above, mumbling to himself, “There is always another layer to be discovered it seems…”

  The powerlifter stood rooted to the spot.

  “Apparently I crush things…”

  He looked down at his cracked and callused hands, as if for the first time.

  “Nice find.”

  "I found something else as well," Jimmy snapped out of his musings, eyes darting toward the north-east peaks.

  "The next Treasure is a massive source, stronger than the last, radiating some sort of heavy earth and… thermal Qi."

  “DID YOU SAY THERMAL?” Chris yelled from the fire.

  Dan's face tightened with concern.

  "I see your hesitation, what's up?"

  Jimmy held up his hand, while his glowing eyes stood out dusk's dwindling light.

  A one foot tall, perfect holographic representation of the Rock Elementals formed above his palm.

  He smiled.

  “What's that, the Michelin Man?” Chris asked, eyebrow cocked.

  “Pillsbury Doughboy?” Kim guessed.

  “A statue?” Jaime queried.

  “Robocop?” Dan was scratching his beard.

  Jimmy frowned.

  “I guess Jaime wins.. They are rock golems.”

  Belle tilted her head.

  “It looks like a really angry potato man.”

  He let it wink out with a sigh.

  "Potato or not, it will crush us if we are not careful."

  “Ranging from five feet to nine feet tall, they are immensely dense and move around slowly. Also…”

  Jimmy paused, eyes flicking over to the vibrating Chris, “...some are radiating heat.”

  A smile momentarily breaking through his serious demeanor.

  Chris stood, flexing his biceps, “I’m going to be so much stronger than you Dan-”

  “COOL your excitement though, we do not know what they are capable of when agitated."

  Jimmy cut him off before he could build steam.

  With a flick of a hand, he brought another vision to life.

  The black gaping void stretching deep into the earth.

  "They are guarding this, another Dungeon-”

  “Gasp, for dramatic effect,” Chris stated with an exaggerated stretch and yawn.

  Jimmy’s voice was quiet, “Do not take this lightly…”

  Something about it sets me on edge.

  Dan stared at the illusion intently.

  It's like I can feel fate pooling around us, pulling us there.

  He looked up.

  Spectacled eyes were already locked onto him.

  Jimmy feels it too.

  Chris distractedly glanced at the hologram-

  “HA! Um.. Jimmy? Is that supposed to be your ass?”