"Close your eyes and concentrate!"
Pa!
Shirley slapped the wood against Lumin's arm.
He twitched, seated in a meditative pose with a red cloth tied around his eyes.
He was seated on a rock, located somewhere inside the forest, next to a waterfall.
Pa!
Lumin received another strike to the arm.
"Your breathing changes; you'll ruin your form if you keep that up." Shirley kept moving in circles around him, inspecting his every move.
She was dressed in white shorts and a white crop top, her hair still packed in a ponytail.
It had only been a day, and Lumin had already gotten the basics of what she was teaching him.
The technique was called Essence Gathering.
A special practice done by those who were still beginner Awakeners. It was a process where one tries to become one with their surroundings, allowing the essence around them to gather into their body while also regulating it back out.
Mastering this would allow one to maintain proper control of their energy, giving them a massive boost in mastery.
So far, Lumin had mastered the gathering of essence energy; in fact, Shirley noticed he didn't need to try, the energy chose him itself.
His main issue was getting it out of his body.
After multiple trials, Lumin soon realized something.
'I can see them,' he whispered to himself, his eyes closed. Concentrating.
With every breath he took, he saw the green waves pull closer to him and slip into the pores of his skin.
According to what Shirley told him, he should only start by collecting small bits of essence and letting them out.
But there had always been that one problem.
'No!'
Lumin instantly panicked.
In a single motion, a load of essence energy flowed into his body, every vein inside him glowing with the power.
Alas, Shirley was there.
"You idiot!"
Pa!
She slammed the stick against his back.
Falling to the ground, Lumin quickly tried to catch his breath; any more and he was sure his heart was going to explode.
"Do you have a death wish? Don't gather any more than your body can handle! How many times have I mentioned this?!" Shirley frowned, raising the stick up as if fighting the urge to whack Lumin again.
"I'm sorry, I tend to lose control when I try to push it out. It's like, the energy I gathered refuses to just go."
Hearing his response, Shirley sighed.
"I have to admit, for a beginner, it's quite strange that you're able to gather so much essence energy at once; no normal person could pull that off without going berserk. Then again, I am speaking to someone whose clothes can never get dirty."
Lumin sat down, a frantic look on his face. "You keep teasing me about that."
"Duh, I have never seen clothes like that before. It's quite obvious it's an artifact, probably a grade S artifact. Why wouldn't I be jealous?"
She continued,
"Anyway, the reason why I told you gathering too much essence inside you can be dangerous is because too much essence in a vessel that can't control it will cause a loop in the body; this will, in most cases, blow your heart to pieces.
And once you die, due to the influx of energy, you will most likely turn into a horrible monster with no soul whatsoever, and then I'll have to kill you."
"I could have been a monster?!" Lumin leaned forward, "Why didn't you mention this before?"
Shirley scowled,
"Are you questioning my training method?"
Lumin shook his head.
"Good. Our discussion made me figure out a way to fix your issue. Hehehe, if essence energy loves you so much, we'll give them a body that can handle it. Drop and give me 500 push-ups!"
"Wh-?"
"Now!!!"
The next time, Lumin knew he would receive a beating with the stick; to avoid that, he immediately did as Shirley asked.
He went on to do 500 push-ups, ending up half-dead by the time he was done.
For a full week, his training focused on body improvement.
He ran up the mountain 25 times a day, did jumping jacks 30 times a day, and did every other method of training Shirley cooked up for him.
Every day was worse than the last; each day felt like he was going to war with the devil.
…
Four months passed, and Lumin had trained his ass off, ready to attempt the Essence Gathering method again.
While he was sitting on the rock, meditating, Shirley remained in front of him, waiting to see if he was going to pass or fail.
Deep breath.
'First, I calm my mind.'
His body entered a deep state of peace; every sound was sensitive to him. The ants lifting the dead insects, the eyes of his master focused on him, the wind caressing his shirtless back—he felt and understood everything.
Once he had gotten hold of this feeling, he began his next move.
"What the—!"
Shirley leaped back, shocked at the scene playing out in front of her.
Essence came flooding into the young man's body in masses, creating a twirl of wind, threatening to blow everything in his vicinity away.
Like desperate worms, they forced their way into his body, sending waves that pushed Shirley further away.
She couldn't believe her eyes—how is he able to control this much energy in just four months of training his body alone?
After gathering all the essence, Lumin rapidly released the energy back.
This not only sent a wave so powerful that it ripped trees from their roots and also sent Shirley flying, but at the same time, the screen he had seen many months ago finally appeared to him once more.
[Essence has been gathered.]
[Your Pathway can now be accessed.]
[The Pathway of Vitae.]
[An ability has been unlocked.]
[Life Leech.]
[Stats can be accessed.]
'It's the runes from before. It finally showed itself again. Wait, Pathway? I have one? I never went to a pillar… not any that I can think of. I should tell Shirley about this.'
He opened his eyes.
"Shirl—"
Lumin halted, noticing the destruction around him.
Thinking a Fecit attacked, he quickly stood up, screaming—
"Shirley!"
To his surprise, she was buried under a tree not too far away from him.
He ran towards her.
"Are you okay?!" Lumin used his strength to lift the tree, pushing it to the side.
Shirley didn't say anything, despite the relief of not having a tree crushing her.
"Shirley…"
Without any warning, she replied,
"I guess I can't ignore it anymore. Lumin, you are not normal."