Chapitre 3: Chapter 3 – Half-Baron
I was conscious, I knew this because I could think clearly. I didn't feel like I could move my body yet, because I felt like I was dreaming. I got flashbacks of the time back at earth right before I woke up in the pirate ship was where I experienced a very weird dream. I was in a dark cavern which was dimly lit by flames on the cavern walls, I walked deeper into the cavern as I felt like something was calling me. Chilling voices would sound out in the cavern, but I kept walking instinctually before I found myself at an altar.
There were mysterious engraving on the altar in a language I couldn't read. But there were pictures depicting slaughter and blood sacrifices, dying children and a headless demon. That actually freaked me out a lot, but the real feeling of the chills happened when a faint voice whispered from behind me.
"Owen…."
Turning back in fright, I saw a masked figure in a Chinese ceremonial robe standing a few feet away from me. He extended a hand and waved it as if he was saying goodbye.
"screw you!"
"You sneak up behind me in a creepy costume and now you're saying bye?! Can you be any more shameless??!", I complained in anger and annoyance, I was no longer scared.
"Ho ho…..Fear not my child, the world has a plan for you, give me your hand and you see your future" the figure said mysteriously as it did not seem to care about what I said.
This kept seeming like it was no dream as things became more crazier by the second. I stared at this masked person in annoyance as the words he said sounded like a fake fortune teller trying to scam me.
"I don't want you to read my palm I'm broke; how do I leave this place!?" I said as I kept getting more annoyed.
The mysterious didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he was being taken as a roadside fortune teller.
"CHILD! you dare speak to me in such a manner, I am an immortal and I come here to you with a gift from the heavens!" he said. "close your eyes and place your palm on my sacred stone and I shall bestow upon you this gift".
'What in the world….'
I felt cold from the bottom of my heart as I felt my purity being threatened as this creep wanted me to touch his 'stone', I wasn't going to be abused by some person that calls himself an immortal and goes around making people touch his 'stone'.
"I don't have such a fetish, how do I leave" I asked once more as I was at the end of my patience.
The masked figure felt his vision blacking out as he was taken by me as a sexual felon and almost dropped to the floor in frustration.
"No more…Child, that is sufficient!!" he said as he began chanting in a weird language.
I stood speechless staring at the weird situation before me and cursing my whole life.
"I give you one wish, one wish and it shall be granted! But there are only two choices; to finally reunite with your lover or to start a new life in a new world. Choose now!" the masked figure boomed as energy revolved around the both of us.
A bad premonition struck me, it seemed like he wasn't joking around, and I finally tensed up. Seeing that he was giving me a choice of a wish, I quickly thought of my current situation, I was stuck at home in quarantine and I could not even meet the woman I loved. So, I chose the first option as I was pretty content with my current life even though it wasn't perfect.
"uh…I choose the first option, oh splendid and most colorful Immortal with a nice mask" I said sheepishly, not knowing the exact words to use.
"You have chosen! Find me in the domain of light! Go" he boomed in a deep voice as energy wrapped around me and caused me to close my eyes.
'Wow, that flashback was vivid', I thought to myself in my consciousness.
I suddenly heard some voices in the background, a familiar set of voices.
"He risked his life to assist me, and he even took down the captain, I hope he wakes up soon" the female voice said.
"Hehe captain, that is my most prized student, how can he be normal? Say, to compensate me for bringing in such a student, why not increase my pay?" the familiar male voice said as he audibly licked his lips in greed.
Then followed a sound of a metal pot banging on a head as the familiar male voice gave a yelp and disappeared.
I slowly opened my eyes to see the commotion and saw the fatty on the floor with a bump on his head. Next to him stood the short mustached pirate grumbling at him. And watching over this comical scene, Angela stood with a slight smile.
"Enough garben, keep the pot back in the kitchen, don't assault my men" Angela said before the short man grumbled and left the room.
Noticing me finally wake up, Angela walked up to me with relief in her eyes, even the fatty stood up ad smiled widely. "You've done well Owen, you have become stronger than most men in this ship, and your wit far surpasses the strategist, I hereby appoint you as first-mate" Angela said, making the fatty's eyes almost pop out.
"Boy, your rank surpasses even a general like me, I hope you show justice to your post", the fatty said with an air of righteousness. Seeing that the fatty wasn't greedy today, I nodded and thanked him before looking at Angela with a complicated look in my eye. Catching me look, her eyes betrayed her as it showed a hint of emotion. She immediately turned around and spoke emotionlessly; "Once you've recovered, come find me to train, you can become a baron within the week".
'A baron? I'm that assuming it's the next stage in my cultivation' I thought to myself. I was then left with only the fatty in my room, he said a few words to encourage me to train harder and left.
Finally finding myself alone, I felt my stomach rumble as I realized that I hadn't eaten ever since I woke up on this ship. But for some reason, I could last longer without eating ever since I got here.
'Is this an effect of my core energy? Does it sustain my body?' I thought to myself. There was probably no better explanation to that, I got off my bed slowly, testing out each part of my body to make sure I wasn't injured anymore. I twisted my arms and legs and shook it around, everything seemed okay. My back was slightly sore as it took many bashes from the nomad captain. I realized that it might take a while to completely recover from that.
I noticed my desk to be filled with certain items, one of which was a basic plate of cooked fish and a cup of water. The other item was a gold cup embedded with jewels, inside it lay a note.
'This is your share of the spoils! Eat up and use your core energy to recover from the wounds! - Angela'
The captain really seemed to care about her crewmembers or was it just me…. Shaking away the thought as the latter could not be true as she always maintained a distance and seemed very cold. Even though her eyes showed a bit of emotion just a few moments ago, I couldn't make sure of anything so I cast aside the thought and sat down on the floor, driving my core energy to the injuries on my back.
I felt a cool sensation as the energy flowed through my veins and circulated along the injured area, swiftly repairing the broken cells in my back. Before I knew it, I made a complete recovery and finally could train again.
I left my room and knocked on the captain's quarter door, when there was no response, I headed towards the deck. As I passed the numerous cabins, I spotted Angela in a tight-fitting suit practicing a fist routine on a wooden puppet. Her hair flew around as she punched the puppet in numerous angles, I was mesmerized by the beauty of her combat style. I still saw the woman I used to love in her figure as the only thing that changed was her personality, she looked like the same Angela as I used to know. Noticing that someone was staring at her, she stopped and looked back. Upon noticing that it was me, she eased up and beckoned me over from the distance.
"Before anything, lets get you on your way out of the mortal realm, not every enemy pirate ship will be easy to sink if you're just a mortal. Start lifting some weights while focusing the energy in your core to repair your muscles the second it breaks down due to the workout, don't use energy to lift the weight" She instructed.
A fundamental principle in building power lay in repairing your muscles as soon as it breaks down, making it stronger than it ever was. If I used my energy to lift the weight, I would be able to lift many times my weight, but if I preserved my energy and only used it to rebuild my broken muscles, I would become stronger.
This principle matched with the fact that my back was now stronger after repairing it with my energy, so I got straight to work.
I went towards a heavy bar and lifted it with all my strength, making sure that I didn't use any of my core energy. Within moments of a few rounds of workout, I was heavily sweating, drenching my top so much that the outline of my muscles was easily seen. Under the gaze of Angela, I felt an odd sensation, I quickly focused on the workout, driving my energy to my arms and shoulder to repair the muscles that broke down during the workout. Within an hour of intense workout, the energy in my body suddenly boomed, I felt as if a surge of energy was washing my body, strengthening all parts of my body and converging into my core. My body absorbed large amounts of energy from the air for a few minutes, eventually slowing down and stopping after a while.
I felt as if my core can now store more energy, and the quality of my energy core was much higher, I felt like I could now hold more thicker and purer energy.
"You've finally reached semi-baron, you are now at the average strength level in this ship, the rate of growth for your age is very rare" Angela said with an approving nod.
"Now, I will teach you technique that was passed down from my master, it can save your life in a tight situation, it is called the deity's fervor. You can call upon the assistance of a deity by offering a portion of your core energy to it" Angela explained.
"The deity here is Helen the swift, she is a minor deity, so you won't require a special altar to form a connection to her. Just say her name in your mind and focus a portion of your core strength to be taken by her in exchange for a swift boost in your speed".
"Understood" I said after struggling to make sense of the influx of information, I have come to terms that this place is no longer earth as such events that took place cannot ever happen on earth.
'Helen…..Helen' I thought as I focused on a quarter of my core energy and willed my speed to increase. A light glow erupted from my body as I felt that I could move fast. Things around me become slower as I noticed even Angela smiling as her eyes blinked in slow motion. I was extremely excited as I moved around, I felt like a superhero in a movie that I watched as a kid, I could even effortlessly dodge bullets and throw out a hundred punches in a few seconds.
I knew that this boost in my speed won't last forever so I took advantage of the remaining time to stare at the woman who I had already dedicated my life to years ago. Angela suddenly frowned, "is there something on my face?".
"uh….no, I was just accidentally staring" I replied sheepishly.
Angela didn't know how to react to that, so she paused for a few seconds and decided to ignore what just happened. "Alright, familiarize yourself with the skill, and remember to use it only at an interval of ten minutes after every use, or you will suffer heavenly backlash" Angela added seriously.
I nodded in understanding as even I understood that the heavens should have a balancing force, as not limiting such a thing may lead to too much power in the hands of individuals
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone