The competition was over—Joseph and I had made it. We were going to become cultivators.
Later that evening, the hundred of us were invited to a banquet. I felt a bit uncomfortable—I'm not used to parties.
Joseph, on the other hand, would never say no to food. Right away, he made his way to the buffet. I was sitting down, rewatching my three fights. I was proud of myself. Even though it was supposed to be a celebration, some people were still sizing each other up… maybe other battle addicts like me.
In my case, I could feel someone staring at me. And of course—it was Alice. Her face was covered in bandages, and she was glaring at me. I flipped her off in response and quickly turned away.
A guy sat next to me and looked straight at me.
"Name's Aconé," he said, holding out his hand.
I shook it.
"I'm Tony," I replied.
"Tony, your fights were pretty interesting, especially the last one. That girl… she was pretty strong," he said.
"True. Sorry to ask, but how do you fight? I didn't see your matches—I was asleep most of the time," I said with a grin.
"You could say I'm versatile. I switch between hand-to-hand combat and sword fighting. I would've liked to show you in the arena," he said, smirking. He was clearly underestimating me.
"Alright then. After we become cultivators, you and me—one arena. I'll show you real life, kid," I said with a sly smile. He laughed and walked away. Great… now two people had their sights set on me.
Later, near the end, Canou Gérard arrived.
He wore a black suit, a perfectly placed black beret on his head, and carried a cane. I'd never noticed it before, but despite being one hundred fifty years old, he looked like a man in his twenties.
"Congratulations, everyone. You've won your ticket to Australia. But let me get straight to the point: there's an underground cave stretching over several kilometers deep in Australia. It's called the 'Path to Awakening.' This cave has fifteen levels in total. The best floor to begin your awakening is the eighth—where aether is in high concentration. I strongly advise against going to the fifteenth floor. I won't say why, but please… don't go there."
As I listened to his speech, I suddenly felt tired.
"Your journey toward awakening begins tomorrow. We've drugged the food and drinks. When you wake up, you'll already be in the cave, on the first floor. You'll be scattered around randomly. You'll each have enough food and water for at least six months."
"Six months underground in some Australian cave? This guy's crazy," I thought, feeling more and more drowsy.
"Listen carefully. You'll need to sense the aether. Once you do, you'll have to dive into your consciousness and break through three walls. Each wall you break will cause excruciating pain. You must not leave your consciousness until you've stabilized your power in your body. These walls represent the human limit. If you break them without stabilizing… you'll die in a second. In five to six months, many in this room will become cultivators. The rest… will be dead."
Even as I drifted off, hearing the word "die" made me start to panic. My face went pale—just like many others in the room.
"One last thing. Don't leave the cave until you've broken through all three walls. Otherwise, you'll risk exploding. That's all from me. Good luck to you all."
What a bastard… telling us this… after drugging us…