Jacob looked at the analog watch he had worn to keep track of the time. They were at their third break. His companions were weary and tired. They had been making a little progress since battles had become much harder, and they had to retreat a couple of times.

It had been a bit messy, but thanks to Jacob and Juliet, they had managed not to lose anyone. But, unfortunately, too many Charybdes had come out all at once as soon as they entered the center of the city. And right now, they had just killed around 50% of the monsters.

Fourteen hours had gone by, and it was night again.

After seeing them barely stay straight on their feet, Jacob had ordered everyone to rest more, four hours this time. These people were not soldiers, nor were they yet accustomed to prolonged fights. Their minds were spent and unable to process more information. If Jacob hadn’t allowed them to recharge their batteries, someone would have died soon.

Even Juliet was sleeping soundly while Jacob guarded the rest of them. He, too, was tired. But he had fought wars without one day of sleep for weeks. So one sleepless night wouldn’t impact him as much. And someone capable of spotting Charybdes needed to stay alert at any time.

The Charybdes shouldn’t spot his own Devilish Essence Distortion Formation. They did not move unless they were starting a new swarm that would engulf the entire region.

Jacob started cultivating with his senses still out in the open. Then, if the Charybdes they had run away from tried to ambush them, he would know.

A sudden thought put a smile on his face. This catastrophe had brought him closer to Helena, making them form a deeper bond. Of course, he already knew almost everything about her, but it gave new insights into this version of Helena, who was somewhat different from his past life.

After a couple of hours, he decided to walk around the clearing they had settled in to make sure nothing was approaching. Charybdes could be the stealthiest monster around.

“Jake,” he heard Joseph’s voice.

“Joe, you ok?” Jacob scanned his friend and saw his pale complexion.

“You don’t sleep that well after seeing those… things. It’s just hard.”

“There is a theory about it, stating that their shape can interfere with the brain of other creatures, heightening their sense of fear toward them. But take it as a theory. Charybdes are prone to create much buzz, as you can imagine,” Jacob said with a hint of a smile on his face.

He was now much less reserved about his knowledge, just refusing to answer if anyone asked him about it. So, naturally, no one wondered who formulated those theories or the general knowledge Jacob seemed to possess for no apparent reason.

“Will we make it, Jake?” Joseph asked.

“After Juliet became an armored tank that spits killer fire? Sure. Our chances are much higher now,” he told the kid.

“Juliet… Are you and her?” Joseph was wandering into what Jacob considered the most dangerous territory in existence, even more than a Charybdes nest.

Teenage gossip.

“No, Joe. There are no romantic feelings between her and me,” Jacob stated.

“She looks funny at you many times, though.”

Yes, because we share an Ancestral Bond that makes us soul mates. Well, what can you do?

“Must be this hot body,” Jacob said while flexing a scrawny bicep.

Joseph looked at it and assessed that there was more clothing than muscle on Jacob’s arm.

“I just hope we will make it, Jake,” Joseph said, still rattled from the previous battles.

“Joe, you did great. You have taken to your new Martial Style like a fish does to swimming. You never went close to dying, did you? I saved Marcus’s ass four times. Even Geneva and Marina had to be rescued by Juliet. Even Frederick had almost been clipped by the 8th stage of the Cockroach realm Charybdis’s poison stinger, hadn’t he?”

“And you,” Jacob continued, “you managed to make it. The First Martial Saint… Joseph. I wish you could meet him. You remind me of him a lot. The history of the Martial Style goes like this: a guy was scared out of his wit and hid in the mountain. He had to kill hordes of Demonic Beasts on his own because he sat on a huge treasure without knowing. To survive, he developed a unique Martial Style, quirky as he was and impossible to master for normal fighters.”

“And you gave it to me?!” Joseph's eyes widened. “Listen, Jake, the golden boy thingy was already weird. But this, now? I’m not that good!”

Jacob laughed so hard he held his stomach to avoid falling over.

“Good? Oh God, someone brings me some oxygen. The First Martial Saint was the worst fighter anyone could possibly imagine. He lacked coordination, battle sense, perception. He was one of the weakest people when he started off his journey.”

“And how could he actually survive, then?” Joseph asked in disbelief. “If he was so bad, how come he was the First Martial Saint, and how come you gave me his Martial Style?”

“Oh, I didn’t give you just his Martial Style. You have the Cultivation Technique that was named after him, the great treasure he was sitting on. He hid away from the world, Joe, but that’s the first part of the story. Many Demonic Beasts can use Cultivation Techniques once they acquire sentience. Plus, the valley he had hidden in had an insanely high energy density. And the scroll he had the Cultivation Technique on was one of the greatest treasures ever to exist. It was rumored that some monsters could eat it and instantly evolve. But that’s another story, let’s focus on the guy.”

Jacob winked at Joseph.

“Once he killed off every single horde, even a boundless sea of Charybdes who wanted to rip him to pieces, he was scared out of his wit. He thought that the world outside the mountain would be a hundred times worse. Imagine this guy not knowing about the great treasure he was cultivating and thinking that that was all normal. But a villager came to his mountain, the first human to reach him in centuries. The farmer had discovered by chance his place and begged him to help with the horde his little town was facing.”

“Now,” Jacob continued, “this guy was scared sh*tless. He thought the horde would be a thousand times bigger than his and was trembling and crying, begging the farmer to leave him alone.”

Jacob fell silent.

“And then what?” Joseph was curious.

“The farmer left. The First Martial Saint cried for a couple of hours before cursing himself for being such a coward. Finally, after spending all that time alone trying just to survive, he decided he would go out in the world and die like a true man. He went and killed off the horde, assaulting the village in a few minutes. There are secrets in your Cultivation Technique that not even I know, Joe. But the guy started just like you, scared and with minimal confidence. If you keep it up like this, you are on the good path to become a Martial Saint yourself,” Jacob said the last part with a laugh.

Jacob left Joseph to ponder on his words. Little did Joseph know that Jacob had not been joking despite the laugh.