Chapter 91: Little creature.

No one knows what the little furry creature in the cave resembles. Some say a rabbit, some say a chinchilla. But no matter what people compare it to, they agree on one thing.

That shit is far too cute to exist.

People tend to find small round things cute due to mother-nature, the cruel mistress that she is, imprinted in us that round things are cute due to the roundness of human infants.

One may ask themselves have they ever seen something so cute they just want to bite it. Well this is the case for Ming right now.

The furry little creature in front of her is so cute she just want to bite it. The poor thing was just shivering uncontrollably trying to hide itself in the corner of the cave. Ming reached out her hand and carefully picked it up.

The creature was still sensing the hostility coming from Ming and tried to struggle free. Sadly it was far too small to do so and its bites and claws can’t penetrate the layer of aura around Ming that’s keeping her warm.

[Ming]: I’m going to keep you as a pet.

The little furry creature could only resign to its fate. It went limp in Ming’s arms as she cheerfully pet it.

Ming opened her backpack and placed the little thing inside of it. She was going to have to tame it later. It was only by chance she happened upon such a cute pet. Her actual goal on this barren area of the mountains was to find a certain ore.

This cave that she stumbled upon just happens to have traces of the ore she wanted. One may ask what kind of ore requires such a harsh condition to grow. The powerful winds constantly bash on the side of the mountain creating a weathered layer on top while underneath the riches lie safely.

The slivers of blueish glow dimly hummed in the cave. It was this blue glow that Ming was looking for. It was an impure vein of cold mithril. Some say that it’s a mythical ore but the discoverer of the thing must have found similar properties to that of lore, thus naming it Mithril.

[Ming]: I’m going to have to ask Brigid to purify this for me later.

She took a ball of blood and let it slowly seep into the cracks in the cavern wall. This blood was from the frostbjorn ape as it doesn’t freeze under the extreme temperatures up this high in the mountain.

She solidified the blood and it forced the cracks within the walls to widen. This makes it easier to extract the chunk of ore. Using water pressure from a precise blast of blood, she carefully cut out the large chunk of mithril.

[Ming]: This will be more than enough for the android.

She smiled in anticipation as she stored the large chunk of turquoise ore into her backpack. Inside, she could see the furry little thing taking a nap in stasis.

Thinking about playing with the furry thing later, she skipped along and started to head down the mountain. No use staying here in this barren wasteland since she had already collected what she needed.

By the time she reached their original camp, it was already night fall. The fourth day gone and pass in the blink of an eye. It seems she was the only one who finished first.

Taking out the fluffy creature, she decided to feed and play with it. She gave it a piece of jerky and watched as it nibbled on it with caution.

[Ming]: What to name you…

She ponders as the fluffy thing ate.

______

Crule woke up from his nap feeling slightly refreshed. The fight with the dragon was far more serious than the lynx and it took a far greater toll on him. Moving his body slowly, he could feel his broken ribs had repaired a little. Thank goodness energy speeds up bodily healing functions.

His muscles still ached and every movement causes creaks in his bones. Forcing himself to get up, he walked to the lake and took a sip. After waiting for a while, realizing he didn’t get any adverse effects, Crule stuck his head into the lake and drank deeply.

The cold refreshing water woke him up fully and refreshed his body. He took off his cloak and jumped in for a bath. The dust had gathered on his body overnight and washing it off felt renewing. Wiping the water off his face he floating on the lake looking up at the doom like ceiling.

Feeling motivated, he closed his eyes and tried to establish the next gates.

Seven gates are the mortal realm gates. The following two gates after it belongs to ancient realm.

Having already established seven gates, Crule has reached the pinnacle of human reach. To go beyond that would require understanding of the universe itself.

What is his power? How does it work on the atomic level? These are the question one must ask to achieve the eight gate. The ninth gate, one must ask what role their power plays in the larger universe and how much does one affect the universe around them.

Crule’s power was named name things, Hunger, famine, consumption, and devouring. But what is it? Within this universe, his power seem to contradict the conservation of matter law. One cannot simply destroy matter, they can only convert it. But what does Crule’s power do that makes it look like he was destroying matter? People would say that his aura “eats” matter.

But does it really? Understanding where that missing matter actually goes was an understanding that had always escaped Crule. Even in the previous world he failed to establish the eighth and ninth gate.

He spread his aura before him and watched closely as the particles of dust falls onto it and disappear. He kept looking, hoping to find something he missed before.

If only he could slow down time to see his power in slow motion. Focusing intensely on the dust falling on the disk of aura on his hand, he floated calmly on the lake.

[Crule]: Just what am I missing?

He stared at the disks for nearly an hour but still nothing came to him.

He made another ball of his aura on his other hand and brought it close to the disk. He then willed the disk to consume the ball. The ball slowly vanished as it slowly sink into the disk.

Having feel like this was the correct way, he tried again but with a larger ball.

[Crule]: God dammit, why aren’t I magically getting insight into my powers…?

Crule finally got out of the water and dried himself with a towel from his storage. He can’t really start a fire in a cave where he doesn’t know whether or not it had proper airflow or not.

Putting his cloak back on, Crule once again pressed balls of his aura into his aura disks.

Maybe he will get it, maybe he won’t. Only time will tell.