Chương 37: Sir Silverblade
Johan climbed out of the bird's nest to see a blue marble house with it's door open. From the house, the scent of seasoned meat cooking along with various other dishes hit Johan causing his mouth to water and his stomach to rumbled loudly.
"COME INTO MY ABODE, BOY!," yelled the knight from within the house, "I AM IN THE KITCHEN. ME AND MY MEN HAVE ALREADY STARTED COOKING A FEAST!"
Johan walked towards the abode, drawn in by the delicious smell of food. Johan walked into the abode and found it to be much larger and spacious inside than it was on the outside. This phenomenon was most likely due to some mana technique. He was greeted by a beautiful black haired asian girl wearing a maid's uniform.
"Welcome to Sir Silverblade's abode," said the asian girl bowing politely, "I am Lin, his senior disciple. Follow me and I will take you to the kitchen to see him."
Lin abruptly turned and led Johan through a hall into a large kitchen where tall muscular asian man with long flowing black hair was carving up fresh the carcass of a bird on one table, his assistants were preparing a variety of other dishes on other tables.
"Welcome boy!," boomed the muscular man looking at Johan, "I am Silverblade. What do you call yourself?"
Johan realised that the man in front of him was the knight he'd seen before without his armor.
"My name is Johan," said Johan holding out his hand.
"I'd shake your hand," said Silverblade raising his eyebrow, "but my hands are covered with blood from carving up this fine beast. While killing is best done fast, I find, the act of carving, should be done slowly and savored. It is respectful to prepare food with the utmost of care, humane. So for now, we will save a proper manly hand shake for another time. Come, wash your hands and join me in carving, I'll show you how to properly cut an adult birdman in order to maximize deliciousness. A man must take pride in cooking. No man is complete without fine culinary skills. We will eat a feast unlike any we've eaten before! These birdmen are not native to this realm, the taste is unique, exquisite, rare and ravishing."
"Is the giant turtle your stead?," asked Johan on a hunch.
"Of course," boomed Silverblade smiling, "Brilliant and beautiful, but you should see him outside the Looking Glass Realm. This place interferes with many creature's mana based abilities. It is one of the reasons why strong figures of higher cultivation tend to avoid coming here. If they have even heard about it. Few people have. The interference makes them vulnerable to assault and murder by people of much weaker cultivation based on physical ability alone. But Tortulo, my stead can travel light years in seconds outside of here and in battle is a force to be reckoned with. Having him on our side is a major reason why me and my men can live as mercenaries, teachers, explorers and scientists with so few members, rather than needing to join a sect. I saved him when he was just a baby, nursed him back to health, and he has been my loyal friend ever since."
"Incredible," said Johan, "A lot of this is new to me. I am from earth, this realm, and all these mana based phenomena are new to me. I was planning on joining the fight tournament to join a sect, but this bird grabbed me and brought me here."
Silverblade's eyes widened in excitement.
Then Silverblade boomed "An un-screened earthling, so far out? Have you had your talents and skills assessed yet?"
"No," said Johan.
"Boys! We have a mana virgin! HAR HAR HAR HAR HAARRRRR!!!," boomed Silverblade excitedly, "Lin take over for me! Lets pop this boy's mana cherry and get him classified."
Lin, who had been joined the others in preparing meals gave Johan a sympathetic look and the other people who were in the kitchen paused to look at Johan before starting to whisper to each other curiously.
She walked over to Silverblade, and began cutting up the bird.
-- Ø --
Silverblade cleaned himself up and hurriedly rushed Johan through his abode, to a room filled with ancient artifacts.
"There are opportunities that many people who have hurriedly broken through to the higher realms miss," said Silverblade, "places that they cannot obtain benefits from because they were designed for the young and weak. Those who haven't even broken through to the first realm. Mistakes that cannot be reversed, but you ... you are a white sheet of paper. It is rare for a uncultivated human to be able to survive in places like this. Even a weak bug here, can kill you because your defenses are lacking and the bug has grown in a mana rich environment that forces cultivation, while you did not. This is part of why Looking Glass Realm has such strict screening procedures and requirements prior to letting new arrivals from earth out. People released without being ready die on average within their first day outside the city."
"If that were the case," said Johan, "why don't the bugs hurt people in the ghettos?"
"The inhibition and equalizing effect of the ores around the factory are unique," said Silverblade, "even Godly Monarchs are reduced to mortals in areas where the ores haven't been cleared. Furthermore, these ores are unique to this realm only and only work in this realm. Some speculate that the ores were used by an unfathomably powerful figure in the past as part of a secret technique to seal off Yggdrasil and setup the machine the earth realm runs on."
"But no one knows for sure how the ores or the machine work?," asked Johan.
"No," said Silverblade, "But I have a theory. I think the machine is a device that harnesses the power of Yggdrasil and uses that power to create a pill or supplement of sorts. I also think that the people who have been removed would have been potential gods if not for the machine using their god essence to create this pill."
"What makes you think that?," asked Johan.
"The anomalies," said Silverblade, "I think the anomalies are occur because this supplement is almost complete, and the machine's need for mana is being reduced. Plus, the fact that even Godly Monarchs are mere mortals near the portal to the earth realm ... as if it is draining their power. Plus, a man I met of unimaginable strength in an ancient tomb in a dying world a billion years ago. I met him on his dying days."
"Billion years?," asked Johan curiously.
"Yes," said Silverblade, "cultivating and tempering yourself to higher levels with mana techniques suited for you, extends you lifespan, and keeps you looking young. Mortals still live to around 80 years these days on your world still, correct?"
"Yes," said Johan stunned.
"I guess that would make your realm quite peaceful," said Silverblade, "most of the most powerful violent, and cruel lords of the upper realms are the older ones stuck in their beliefs and ways. Countless trillions die daily and are oppressed because of their cruelty, experiments, ruthlessness and reliance on strength and power to control and gain opportunities. But I digress. Imagine a pill that taking instantly gives you several affinities. The ability to gain strength, the ability to easily utilize lightening techniques, fire techniques, space time techniques, an affinity for speed ... and countless others. You'll be able to instinctively use these and with access to a proper education, master it, in a fraction of the time it would take anyone else today. Those cruel lords would go mad for it."
"But other then the word of a dead man," said Johan, "there is no proof this pill exists. He might have made it up."
"Aye, and this boy," said Silverblade, "is exactly why this realm is still relatively peaceful and untouched. Do you think those old fogies would sit idle if there was a sliver of proof regarding its existence? No. They would not. There would be all out war. This land would be overrun. The only proof is a conversation I had with a dying man and a drawing of the place the pill is housed in."
"Are you searching for it?," asked Johan, "Is that why you are here?"
"I searched for quite some time in the early days, but then gave up my pursuit," said Silverblade, "without any clues, it is a dead end. Plus, he said the entrance works on a timer. It only opens for ten years every century, making discovering it even more difficult."
Silverblade pointed to a frame drawing of a labyrinth his wall. What if this was the Labyrinth him and Neil discovered? Him and Neil had not explored it completely.
"This is the drawing the man made for me," said Silverblade.
Could there have been more reason why his alternate self had chosen to travel back in time to that location other than chance? Neil had said he had gotten incredibly strong and didn't know how or why. What did this mean?
Johan secretly committed the map to his memory.
"But," said Johan, "as amazing of a story it is, for now it is just a glorified fairy tail. Much like the existence of Atlantis or El Dorado back on earth."
"Hmmmmm," said Silverblade, "sounds like some interesting lunch talk. I have never heard of those places. But we'll leave those stories for later. For now, come, I want to test your ability I have a bunch of simple low level cultivation techniques. Grab one learn it and perform it in my cultivation room, my array formation will estimate your potential and suggest a better cultivation technique for you. I enjoy helping the youth of today become the best they can be. If I had cultivated a technique proper for me when younger, I'd be much stronger than I am today. I wasted so much wasted time. Cultivating in the wrong methods limited me."
Silverblade took out a jade box, and within it were several white cubes with engravings on it.
Silverblade continued, "Some get more from sound based cultivation techniques, other movement, others mental, others written or array based and others need special items. They accomplish the same thing in different ways. Then within those techniques are sub-methods, that cater to your unique learning abilities. But for my array to assess these will do."
"How do learn from these?," asked Johan.
"Ahhh boy," said Silverblade with a laugh, "you must still use books or scrolls in the city. Welcome to the world of mana. Hold the cube in your hand, and focus on the cube. That will activate it."
Johan picked up a cube and held it in his hand and did as Silverblade said.
Crystal clear images flooded into Johan's mind and his eyes began to glow blue. He saw himself, and felt as though he was experiencing and being led through the cultivation technique intimately by a private tutor. It felt more natural than reading a book because even the details couldn't be missed. This cultivation technique was a combat based cultivation technique. You initially stood in a squat, with your hands tucked in by your side, while focusing on the point below your belly button also known as your lower dantian. Then from that position, you took in a deep breath, sucking in air from the room around you and directing the mana from the air into your lower dantian. Striking out with your fist with speed and strength while maintaining the stance once your dantian was full, would convert the mana into a form digestible by you, bind it to you and redistribute the energy to your meridians helping nourish them, growing them, as well as causing your dantians to grow. The stronger your dantians and meridians were, the more advanced mana manipulation techniques you'd be able to use and more stamina you'd have. Upon death, your unique mana would be released into the atmosphere.
Johan realised that the meditation technique Neil had previously taught him was a far inferior to the low level cultivation technique he was seeing now. Perhaps, its effectiveness was less because he'd learn't a faulty version of it since it had been taught to him through verbal communication rather than by cube.
Regardless, Johan was eager to learn about the cultivation technique most suited to him. It would be an invaluable asset in his quest for strength.
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
RatTurtle
RatTurtle Sometimes, learning opportunities come at the most unexpected of times. Don't hold back, learn whenever you can, for this is the purpose of life. It will make you a more interesting person.
Until next time.
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