'An awakened, huh… There is so much of this world I don't know about. Feels like I am just spectating from the inside.'
Lumin thought to himself, staring long and hard.
He was in such deep thought that he didn't notice when Shirley had stood up from the table and grabbed a book from her room to present to him.
"Here, take your time and read this," she pushed it towards him.
"What is this?"
"A sex book on how to sleep with a girl."
"..."
"..."
"Relax, I'm just joking," Shirley waved her hand. "It's a guidebook on awakening and how this world works. Once you've learned this, then you can decide what it is you want."
Holding the book, Lumin gawked at it for a while. "Thank you."
"No need to thank me; hell, I'd rather you didn't read it even. My baby is growing up too fast. Sigh, it can't be helped."
She rested her jaw on the table, stretching the empty bowl to Lumin.
"I want seconds."
"You should really watch how you eat, Miss Shirley; you might end up gaining some weight. You said you wanted to lose some," replied Lumin after grabbing the plate.
"Ack! I did say that! Totally forgot. Oh well, tomorrow we start anew!"
"Sigh, you say that every day."
…
Later that night,
Lumin was seated on a branch right outside the cottage, in his hands the book Shirley had given him in the afternoon.
Since she was busy doing her research and Lumin was less busy, he decided it was best to spend his free time studying.
And there were several things that he learned.
For example,
There are three stages to a human's growth:
The Needless are those who have no connection to the essence around them.
The Awakened, those who can see and influence the essence in other things.
And the last stage, which was the Bound Initiate.
Bound Initiates are those who have gotten to one of the Seven Pillars and chosen a path, allowing them to break into a new stage of growth that starts with the lowest rank, which is the Echo Rank.
Flip!
Lumin opened the next page.
'Was I seeing things then?'
He was sure he saw the screen pop up in front of him, and it told him he was an Echo Rank.
But according to the book, in order to even get to that rank, you needed to have made contact with the Pillars, something he had never done.
'The book doesn't specify what the Pillars are or the method to advance either. I guess they are in the later chapters.'
As he flipped open to the next page, he quickly saw something that caught his interest.
How to absorb essence from surroundings.
'Oh?'
Not wanting to waste the opportunity, he began reading every piece of information regarding that topic that the book had to offer.
It explained different methods as to how Awakened could get stronger, even without being Bound Initiates.
Beginner Awakened are people who have barely discovered how to control the essence around them.
Amateur Awakened have a bit more advantage as they can gather the essence within them, strengthen their core, and increase their physical and mental strength.
While the Experts are people who have fully mastered the art of essence manipulation. They are capable of using artifacts and other magical items.
'I guess I am still a beginner, then. If I want to get to the Amateur rank, I need to learn how to gather essence within me.'
Lumin calmly placed the book on the ground and then grabbed another leaf, but this time, nothing happened.
Though the plant was not as it was the last time, he still expected something similar to happen.
Not like he could find a plant like that anyway; it was rare.
'Hmm… I'll ask Miss Shirley about it.'
When the next day arrived, he did just that during their morning breakfast.
"Miss Shirley, what rank are you?"
Shirley paused, the spoonful of eggs almost entering her mouth.
"I see you've been reading the book I gave you."
"Yes. I think I know a bit about how powers work; you mentioned something about it when talking about the Fecits."
An audible grunt left Shirley's mouth.
"You learn things too fast; it's kind of annoying."
"..."
"Sigh! I am a Throne Rank."
Lumin excitedly leaned against the table. "Are you for real? You really are a Throne Rank?"
Surprised at how excited Lumin was, Shirley was more surprised than anything. Actually, it was more the fact that she had never seen him make such an expression.
He looked so innocent and painfully attractive.
Blushing, she averted her gaze. "Y-yeah, I've been in the game battling Fecits for over a hundred years; it's quite normal."
"You've lived a hundred years, but you look so young."
"That's because aging deteriorates immensely after getting to the Aether Rank. Most people who get to this rank live for thousands of years—if they're able to keep growing stronger."
Lumin was speechless.
Now that he thought about it, Shirley had been battling the Fecits in the forest all by herself for years. Of course she was going to be impressive.
The Throne Rank was the second-to-last rank; they were so powerful that people gave them the nickname Demigods.
"That's impressive," he blurted out.
Shirley smiled proudly. "Anyway, you don't have to worry about it. If you really intend to use this power, then you should focus on choosing a pathway first. That should be the first thing on your mind." She took a spoonful of eggs.
"Miss Shirley, I want you to teach me everything you know," said Lumin, with determination etched on his face.
He continued,
"I want to be able to fight alongside you while you are fighting the Fecit. Please teach me."
She didn't respond. Instead, she dropped her spoon, looked to the ceiling, and then—
"AHHH! WHYYYYYY?! Why is the world taking my sweet Lumin from me?!!!" she cried out, swinging her legs back and forth.
Looking at her, Lumin couldn't help but chuckle.
Suddenly, Shirley stopped squirming and then pointed at him, "If I agree to teach you, you better promise to never leave me to go on some stupid adventure, or I swear I'll never forgive you."
'That is what she was worried about?'
"I promise."
"Good. I want to eat now."