Chapter 38: Problems between tribes

On Earth, scientists had put forth and proven a theory that stated all living beings were composed of Etherium, and releasing the seals on an individual allowed them to manipulate Etherium.

'If we go by this theory and what I've observed while watching Mooglie, then it's this Etherium presence in the body that gives an individual their presence. So, what Mooglie does is merely diminish this presence, and to do so, he uses Etherium. That's why there are ripples in the Etherium flow, which become disrupted. In conclusion, he uses Etherium to conceal Etherium, as contradictory as it may sound,' thought Alex before continuing.

'Apparently, the key and essential element to learning how to hide one's presence is to have control over Etherium in such a way that we can conceal the Etherium projected by our bodies, which reveals our presence. Furthermore, from my observations, I'm almost certain that Mooglie himself hasn't fully mastered this technique because if he did, I believe he wouldn't produce those ripples.'

After several hours of researching how Mooglie's technique worked, Alex realized that even though he understood how it functioned, he was far from mastering it. How could he? He had just realized that the Etherium stored in his body was the source of his presence.

However, this didn't mean he knew how to make that presence disappear.

'But I know that having good control over my Etherium is crucial, so that's a good starting point,' he thought before getting to work.

***

After discovering the secret of learning the concealment technique, Tom got to work immediately. Since he had no one to explain what to do, he had to find his way through trials and errors. It took him days to finally figure out what he needed to do.

Fortunately, once he found the right path, he made rapid progress. The first step in his learning journey was to become aware of his own Etherium flow. This required tuning into the subtle energy surrounding and emanating from his body. Thanks to his training in creating resonance with Etherium and his long hours of meditation, he succeeded in just a few days.

The second step, on the other hand, took longer than the last. The second step was visualizing his Etherium flow, to succeed he had to Visualize his Etherium flow as a gentle, glowing aura that extended from his body. It took him a little over a week to master this step since he had difficulty visualizing his Etherium.

The third step, the one he was currently on—two weeks after mastering visualization—was the most challenging yet. It involved intentionally controlling his Etherium flow to reduce his presence. However, this step proved elusive and difficult to grasp, and he had not succeeded in it yet.

Of course, Tom didn't spend all his time learning just this technique. He also trained his Astralums, especially his Time Astralum, as he struggled to determine the path to increasing his mastery level over his deconstruction Astralum.

For his Time Astralum, he could now freeze something inanimate for 15 seconds with intense concentration, and 10 seconds without it. However, the range of his Time Astralum had not increased and was still limited to 7 meters.

Fortunately for Tom, he no longer needed to find food for himself; Mooglie took care of that. Each day, his subordinate brought him rabbits to eat, and Tom was grateful to have such a capable subordinate.

Strangely, something unusual was happening, according to Tom. What he found strange was that he was starting to understand Mooglie better. This was, of course, normal when you spent so much time with someone.

However, what he found bizarre was that sometimes Mooglie didn't even need to make signs or movements for Tom to understand what he meant.

But being Tom, he didn't waste time pondering this. For him, if he didn't have enough information about something, he didn't dwell on it.

To him, Mooglie was his subordinate, and better understanding his subordinate was a good thing. That was all that mattered. Not to mention that, besides providing him with food, Mooglie was providing very important information.

The first thing he learned was that Mooglie's concealment technique wasn't a unique creation by Mooglie himself. It was a technique possessed by all members of their tribe—or clan, community, or whatever it was.

The second thing he learned was that Mooglie's tribe lived in this very same mountain, but they resided at the very summit.

The third thing he learned occurred due to an incident. Tom decided to return to the cave he had been in before. On the way, he fervently prayed that the crystal creatures had left the area.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Worse, as soon as Mooglie spotted them, he immediately tried to leap at the crystal creatures with a frenzied look on his face.

Tom had to use all his strength to stop him and prevent him from jumping to his death—and likely his own if the creatures discovered them.

He had to drag Mooglie with him back toward where they had come from.

Only when the crystal creatures were out of sight did Mooglie regain his senses.

After they returned to their branch, Tom questioned Mooglie, who made him understand that his tribe and the crystal creatures were enemies, which explained Mooglie's reaction.

It wasn't planned, but Tom finally learned why the crystal creatures were still there, even though weeks had passed since Tom had killed one of them, and they had appeared.

Apparently, these creatures had a great camaraderie, and attacking one of them was akin to attacking them all. That's why, after seeing the remains of the creature Tom had killed, they decided to camp where they had found the remains.

According to what Tom had understood from Mooglie's explanations, the relationship between the two tribes was so bad that Tom thought these creatures probably believed that Mooglie's tribe was responsible for the murder and decided to stay for retaliation.

During that time, Tom's thoughts were, 'So if I become the leader of the monkey tribe - which is my intention - I will automatically become an enemy of these crystal creatures.'

Initially, when he had entered this forest, such a possibility would have made him hesitate. However, now, with everything he had experienced, his understanding of his own strength, and the methods he needed to become stronger, Tom couldn't help but grin and think:

'I'm looking forward to it. Besides, I'm sure I'll obtain more cores, so there's every reason to be excited about it!'